#I had to duplicate big justice for the reference

[if-you-heart]

uhh we’re so sorry to hear about your brother that passed away he gets five big booms. boom ! boom ! boom ! boom ! booooom !

[leashybebes]

Random question incoming.

What is you favorite Discworld subseries? (Watch, Witches, Wizards, Death or stand alones?)

ohhhh okay so by random question, i assume you meant "ramble for ten solid minutes about one of my oldest special interests", right?

SO. gun (gonne) to my head, i would probably say the watch books because night watch is one of my favourite books of all time, not just my favourite discworld books. i also read books like jingo at a formative age and they have stayed with me SO MUCH. ALSO. the subversion of the fantasy tropes in discworld is one of my favourite things about the series, and one of the subversions of all time has got to be carrot's "birthright" stuff. as someone who is pretty strongly anti-monarchy, this storyline and the ways it informs the relationship between carrot and vimes is SO GOOD. also also, some of my favourite secondary characters come to us via the watch books, and sam and sibyl are one of my all time favourite fictional relationships ("not a gentleman but a gentle man" rewired my brain istg)

THAT SAID. the first discworld book i read was reaper man, and i do think some of the best philosophy in the series comes in the death books. what can the harvest hope for, if not the care of the reaper man? i'm not religious or spiritual in the slightest but GOD that line makes me wish i was. and of course the whole discussion in hogfather about justice and fairness, the big lies and the little lies. they're just untouchable. and without the death books, we wouldn't have SUSAN. character of all time, SUSAN STO HELIT. she's cynical, she's stern, she's a born educator who knows that children are horrible little gremlins, she's DEATH'S GRANDDAUGHTER. no one's doing it like her.

and then THAT SAID, the witches??? idk man, i really really struggle to separate these from the death books in terms of my ranking because granny?? hello??? i have been able to read the shepherd's crown only twice because i can't see through my fucking tears, good lord. the part in witches abroad where she confronts lily ("because i had to be the good one") speaks to some complicated family stuff of my own and will forever have a place in my heart. and the part where she's trapped in the mirrors and has to find "the real one" and just immediately looks down at herself and says "this one" is like. that's what i aspire to be and to have. and GOD, as a fat, anxious little kid, agnes/perdita was just such a revelation to me. and of course, via the OG witches we get tiffany aching, my queen of cognition and meta-cognition. and of course, because i love a horny old lady, NANNY OGG. and GREEBO. and MAGRAT, my beloved. god, there's just so much in these books to adore.

so the wizards, i adore them as characters, but the wizard focused books generally aren't my favourites, possibly because so many of them are from so early on when i feel like pterry was still finding his voice/world etc. so while the archchancellor (aka fantasy ron swanson c'mon) is a delight and while as someone who works in academia, the commentary on universities is EVERYTHING to me, they don't tend to make the top of my list.

the standalones are easy to lose sight of, because of the (general) lack of tie-in to the wider world BUT a couple of special shout outs:

moving pictures (or is this considered a wizards book?) for the NEVER ENDING parade of puns and references, some of which i STILL get for the first time when i re-read

small gods. THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK, y'all. there are so many things i adore about it, but possibly nothing more than the scene in the inquisitors' office that gives rise to these lines: "And it all meant this:  that there are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal, kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do."

monstrous regiment. WHAT IN THE GENDER. i feel like this, along with things like the development of the dwarfs throughout the series really show what an amazing, kind, loving and thoughtful a person pterry was. GOD i miss him.

lol okay this got even longer than anticipated and i'm STILL NOT DONE. one of the things i love best about this series is that there really is something for everyone. my dad is NOT a fantasy reader in the slightest, but even he liked men at arms and guards! guards!. a friend of mine was struggling to get into the books but because i Know Him and his interests i was able to say "bro. carpe jugulum. immediately." my mum wasn't much of a reader at the time, but i knew that equal rites would get her, and it did.

exTREMEly tl;dr:

1. watch books 2/3. (impossible to separate) death books and witches books 4. standalones 5. wizards

lmao, thank you so much for the ask, i just enjoy thinking and rambling about these books so much 💕

"do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?" gnu sir terry.

[toooldforfandom-liveblogs]

RWBY V08E05 - Amity

Amity! A return to the adventures of RWB? With no Penny sadly. I doubt we'll get so many visual puns again but who knows, maybe they'll make friends with Whitley or at least have a cordial chat with him without killing each other. I have no idea, so let's do this!

Wow, great start. Poor Pietro, got copypasted there with no regard for his feelings.

I'm very glad I was wrong about no Penny.. Even if every second she's on screen increases the chances of something bad happening to her.

Why does the HUD look like someone used the wand from photoshop to extract it from a white background?

Wait, are they going to blow up the Dust to launch amity into space?

Penny is right, that doesn't seem like a good idea but it's also incredibly in-character for the show. Now even caves are a gun.

Someone at Rooster Teeth really likes the idea of little old ladies riding huge robots, and honestly? Can't disagree.

hmmmmmmmm not a big fan of pietro at the moment

oof, my heart

Maria continues to be the voice of wisdom. Sadly, I doubt Pietro is going to listen to her.

In the original tale Pinocchio ends up learning by making bad choice after bad choice. Penny doesn't seem to have that much in common with her inspiration but if she hasn't ever been able to make a choice at all, would it be surprising if the first time she makes a choice it ends up being a bad one? It wouldn't surprise me if this is setting her up to fly away from Amity (against Pietro's wishes) once she notices something went wrong with everyone else (making her vulnerable)

Welp.

look at that poor girl

Aaaa, that's the same expression she used when Ruby said Penny was still the Protector of Mantle. "my feelings don't matter, conceal, don't feel, don't let them kn— wait, never mind

but yeah, she's used to putting everyone ahead of her (because as a robot she supposedly doesn't know better, there's a reason that was her first thought when she was talking with Winter in last season)

aw poop

Cinder was moving so fast she left her shadow behind.

Great deranged expression and voice though. Did she bring both Neo and Emerald or just the latter?

Penny yes

Hey, 9 blades! For a second I thought they wouldn't remember that she lost one.

no, no, no, time for what? aaaaa

Now that we have more context, Cinder using her own experiences to know where to hurt people is * chef kiss *

Intentional reference to the PvP fight?

okay, I didn't expect badass Maria to actually fight using her robot but I blame my own lack of imagination

now I'm hyped, it also gives something the other two something to do.

I think the main problem here for the good guys is that if Pietro gets threatened there's no way Penny is not going to surrender. Although, maybe he gets kidnapped? That'd make him get "swallowed" by a whale... hm. Another possibility is that they threaten Pietro and Penny gets hacked "just in time"

you can't lie to me, subtitles, I know she was going to say bitch

lol at crashing the entire ship into maria to get her out of the way

bad mistake to hurt one of Penny's friends in front of her

Did anyone give a job to poor Emerald? I can almost see Cinder telling Neo to distract people while in the ship with Emerald sitting in the back seat trying to get noticed.

C'mon Neo, leave the old lady alone

…of course she wouldn't leave her alone, she's Neo, she likes playing with her victims

I wonder if Neo has a deeper plan than "killing this old lady while looking like her protege would be incredibly cruel and extra and therefore worth doing"

If the drifting was an accident, where did Emerald go?

waiting for the RWBY shmup

I understand why she's leaving Amity (to prevent their fight from destroying it by accident) but leaving Pietro alone feels like a bad idea.

…this HUD is a lot cleaner, I don't get it, it should be the same png overlay

anyway, took the screenshot to write "wow, Cinder is actually capable of thinking through her rage these days, good for her" but now that I think about it, I'm not sure if she's ever been fooled.

booo

I wanted more evil Ruby

Also, I'm literally loling at Maria yoda-ing Neo.

ah yes, neo, so graceful

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

mmmmmmm

mmm

oof, looks like that was a direct hit. And the worst part is that the second James hacks into Penny, I assume it'll will work that way. Probably her worst nightmare.

Yeah, no, this worked for spiderman because his nemesis wasn't right in front of him.

I like the idea of this shot but for some reason the execution looks weird. Maybe it's just awkward positioning, it's hard to tell the angles.

lmao

* cough *

I mean, yeah, saw that coming.

For a second I thought she was melting her face but then I remembered the one reason Cinder has that arm.

I'm going to need a diagram to know what Emerald was doing.

Yessss, no need for swords if you can make your own

I really need to know what she was doing inside because right now it feels like that was the worst excuse ever to get her out of the fight until the last possible second (and maybe make it another reference to PvP when Ruby exits the corridor?)

Did she finally see Pietro?

Emerald has so much faith in Cinder, sigh

I wonder if before the end of the show Neo will get to stab someone with her umbrella. Maybe it could even be Cinder

First time she gets knocked out?

Cinder with a long spear only means one thing. Someone is getting stabbed

Huh.

I hadn't thought about this until now but before this second I'd have said Emerald's semblance shouldn't work on Penny. Like, what part is she affecting to make Penny see the duplicates? But I guess it does work, somehow. Maybe reality gets processed through Aura.

Fire spear vs laser, who wins?

Giant laser wins

Glad that Penny is confirmed as the most powerful character in the show.

Poor Emerald, two lines this episode and they are both "CINDER"

Damn, she looks done with their crap.

And now she looks absolutely feral. Loving this.

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. If she gets hacked now, Cinder still wins. She wouldn't get the maiden powers but at least she'd stop the transmission.

aaaaa

Emerald breaks my heart. So much love for someone who couldn't give a hoot about her.

At least Cinder seems to know her place with Salem, but I can't tell if she started like Emerald and got her love beaten down or if she just had different priorities after getting saved from what seemed similar circumstances.

Ah, Neo. Now to add to her resume that she beat a granny only because she got distracted.

oh, shut up, Pietro

Is this it? Is this where Penny "rebels"?

Even after all that fight, I think this is the best animation of the episode so far. It conveys so much resignation and annoyance.

I think this is the first time this season RWBY makes me teary-eyed. She finally said it!

This is too cute for this world.

Remember when I said that hug with Ruby felt like a goodbye? Well, this is much worse.

Wooo, she succeeded! (I hope, they did mention the message was a couple of minutes long)

But I'm also even more worried now because it feels like the one last thing she had to do.

They are back!

I wonder if the one character I miss the most will also get a shot.

Pensive Whitley? more likely than you think

He has a lot of potential, especially now that Salem -> Cinder -> Emerald are a thing, making cyclical abuse more of an explicit theme. Not sure if there's enough time to do him justice though, considering he's not much of a character.

"we don't want to reveal Vacuo yet, what do we do?" "put them in the desert"

Yessss, Ilia got a cameo!

Are they pulling her back from voiceless purgatory?

Holy shit, wow, really didn't expect to see her.

Literally a pet. I wonder where the hound falls in the hierarchy

...why is she so happy? She's not supposed to be happy!!

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

yeah

was expecting this

Poor guy, I wonder if this is the first news he gets from her daughters.

Taiyang made me realize they didn't show Yang's team. Huh.

Oh, fuck you rooster teeth.

Fuck oofffff (RT, not you, Pietro)

Is Winter end up doing the right thing? She's obviously affected by seeing Penny's sword there.

Also, I wonder if her new armor is just that or if it's a bracing system to help her move so soon after getting beat. But I guess that wouldn't be necessary if her aura helped her heal.

Hopefully, if Watts escapes and tries to get everyone else to help (since I doubt he can beat all the guards on his own), Qrow shows he learned his lesson about trusting the enemy.

ah, there you go

Okay, this is an amazing reveal. Is Salem transforming Mantle into another land of darkness? Because that'd definitely explain why she was so unworried about the broadcast.

What a way to end the episode. A brief moment of hope completely destroyed, twice.

Penny has been raising so many death flags that her inevitable hacking lacked some impact. I'm still sad (and annoyed at RT for poor Penny being a magnet for suffering) but Watts being Watts maybe he did a bad job just to prevent Atlas to escape? And Penny seemed able to resist? aaaah, I don't know. Now that the hacking finally happened all the foreshadowing is over, anything could happen.

The worst part of the hack is that it modified Penny's thoughts. It wasn't a complete takeover, like with Pietro, it was a lot more insidious. Literally making true what Cinder told her. Ugh.

Looking back at the screenshots, wow, a lot of the episode was just them fighting, but there were some fun moments, like Maria kicking Neo's ass.

Very curious about where it's going. Both the Penny plot (there's absolutely no way hacked Penny doesn't fight Ruby, there's probably a rule written in the universe about having mind-controlled people fight their loved ones) and the river of Grimm which was an excellent secondary gut punch. Really, loved that reveal. "You thought things were bad? lol"

I think that's all for now, until next time!

[longitudinalwaveme]

Longitduinalwaveme Reviews Old Comics, Part 3

Next up is a comic that isn’t actually part of the main DC Universe: The Super Friends #17 (1979): “SOS From Nowhere”. Written by E. Nelson Bridwell, drawn by Ramona Fradon, and inked by Bob Smith, the main reason I bought this comic is because it had the Mirror Master on the cover. 

The comic stars a wide variety of heroes, including Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman, but its focus is on the Super Friends-exclusive heroes the Wonder Twins. 

The story begins with the Wonder Twins, whose cover story is apparently that they’re foreign exchange students, eating with some of their classmates. They’re apparently living with Professor Nichols (a long-time supporting Batman character of the era) and use studying as an excuse to leave to answer their Justice League signal. Apparently, someone is robbing the Gotham Plaza Hotel. Jayna turns into a crow, while Zan turns into a block of ice that she flies off with. (Poor Zan-he always got the short end of the stick.) They fly to the hotel, Zan changes into costume, and then go inside to see that...nothing appears to be wrong! Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman are equally puzzled by the fact that the Wonder Twins never showed up at the hotel. Clearly, something strange is going on...especially since the mystery thief seems to be able to teleport (though the giant reflective surfaces would be a pretty good hint as to the mystery thief’s identity even if he wasn’t on the cover.) 

We then cut to the Mirror Master (who is, of course, Sam Scudder, as Evan McCulloch wouldn’t be created for another ten years). He’s used his tech to trap the big-name superheroes in another dimension, leaving him with only the Wonder Twins to fight. Since they haven’t met him, he’ll have a distinct advantage....which he plans to use to steal their powers for himself! 

The people in the hotel seem unfamiliar with the Justice League, puzzling them, and things get even weirder when the Flash shows up....and starts stealing from the hotel’s safe! (He’s probably a mirror duplicate created by the Mirror Master, but it’s also possible that this is an alternate universe Flash.)

Meanwhile, the real Flash calls the Wonder Twins, asking them why they aren’t helping the other Super Friends. They explain the fact that nothing seemed to be wrong at the hotel and that the other superheroes weren’t there. They have, however, found a trouble alert telling them to go to the Hall of Mirrors...and this, combined with the fact that the Gotham Plaza Hotel has a lot of mirrors, allows Barry to deduce that the thief is the Mirror Master. The computer gives them the lowdown on the Mirror Master’s powers (and his full name, Samuel Joseph Scudder), and Barry warns the kids to be careful, since the Mirror Master will probably come after them now that he’s trapped the Super Friends in what appears to be an alternate dimension. 

In the Mirror Universe, the Super Friends have worked out that they’re in an alternate universe where the Flash is a supervillain. (This seems to be a reference to the Flash #174 (1967), where the Mirror Master and Flash both traveled to a mirror world with a heroic Mirror Master and a villainous Flash.) The heroes escape by vibrating enough to follow the energy trails they created to get into the mirror, allowing them to return to the real world. Barry tells the other heroes that he thinks that this was all an elaborate plan by Mirror Master to capture the Wonder Twins, and that both the twins and the Mirror Master are at the House of Mirrors. 

The twins, for their part, traveled to the amusement park as a sparrow covered in dew, then sneak into the House of Mirrors as a stream and a tadpole. Unfortunately, Mirror Master’s sensors detect the water and start using heat rays to evaporate it, forcing them to return to their true forms. Then we see a reference to the cover of Flash #105 (1959), with Mirror Masters in every mirror....which are then revealed to be mirror images created by the Mirror Masters, who of course are planning to capture the twins so Sam can steal their powers. Luckily for the twins, the Super Friends arrive, beat up the mirror duplicates, and break the mirrors they emerged from. Sam decides that this means it’s time to head for the hills and straps on his mirror jetpack (another nice reference to an actual device used by the Mirror Master in the canonical Flash comics)...only for the Wonder Twins to prevent his escape by turning into a bug and frost, respectively; using the intense cold to crack the mirror. 

As goofy as the Super Friends is, this was a surprisingly good story. The writers had clearly done their research on the Mirror Master, and I loved all the references to older Flash comics. It’s actually almost too bad that this isn’t canon, because Sam and the Flash are on point in this story. Even the Wonder Twins are surprisingly good here, and the idea of Sam wanting to steal their shape-shifting powers makes a lot of sense for a master of illusions like him.

[shinygoku]

Top 10 CSatM Episodes (1/2)

Ahhh, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons...! Probably only Second to Thunderbirds when it comes to the most popular and beloved Supermarination programme, with only Stingray able to compete for that coveted Silver Medal. But for me, it’s my Favourite!

I could go on and on about it, but for now I’ll go over my personal picks for a Top 10, which may give some insight into what about the way the series ticks makes it so enthralling.

Without further ado, let’s jump in! I’m not ordering them by preference, but rather the Episode order as I watched them on my DVDs (tediously the ep listings never seem to be consistent :T) Spoilers for all eps covered! ✂

Winged Assassin

Starting off my Favourites is the 2nd episode of the whole show, featuring a good condensed version of the events of Ep 1 if ya missed it and probably the best explanation on the workings of Retrometabolism that canon media is ever gonna grant us. The plot is fairly straightforward, but what elevates this is the aforementioned Exposition, which feels more organic than it did last episode, the interactions between Scarlet and Blue, and even the shocking twist at the ending, where the mission that had been going so well falls at the very last hurdle, in spite of Spectrum’s best efforts.

One of the most chilling visuals in the series is a surfaced shard of a downed passenger plane floating up from the sea, before the camera pans out to show the duplicated plane flying through the air, and another dark shot later on, of Scarlet’s limp hand with blood running down after he died in the effort to prevent the massive explosion that occurs regardless.

Winged Assassin sets a lot of standards of things to follow; traits like massive collateral damage just as part of the Mysteron’s grander scheme, the close partnership of Scarlet and Blue, Scarlet’s seldom used Sixth Sense and even the occasional downer ending, where the Mysterons manage to sneak a victory in and actually kill or destroy their stated target.

White as Snow

This episode shines a very interesting light on the dynamics between Col. White and Scarlet. It’s obviously one of a superior giving orders most of the time, but in a twist from the somewhat strict nature of Jeff Tracy over his sons who show respect to their father by not arguing back, with these two there’s actually the occassional spark of friction, that Scarlet will voice when he doesn’t like the commands and will only reluctantly go through the motions in the situation. I’m referring mostly to the first Mysteron attack, where a satellite is on a collision course with Cloudbase, but Scarlet unsubtly opposes the plan as there’s the possibility of innocent people on board who would get killed if Spectrum shot it down first. However, he’s overruled... and it turns out that it was indeed a trap, the people on board had been exploded hours ago and what was shot down was a Replicant copy. And that’s just the first half of the episode! But I find it interesting that again, back in Thunderbirds, the call to not remotely destroy something like that on the offchance it was populated would be the Correct course of action, but in this show pragmatism is needed, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Anyway, the episode has another Mysteron attack aboard a submarine, with plenty of tension... but yet, there’s something of a comedic bend to the episode, such as a furious White shouting at the currently dead Scarlet, much to the Naval crew’s confusion, and the scene at the end which I’ve taken the picture from. The weakest part of the episode is probably Blue in charge of Cloudbase, as he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing and I feel they coulda done more with him. Oh well! At least we got the fantastic music insert, which is also titled White as Snow.

Operation Time

Probably ranking in my Top 3, Operation Time is pretty remarkably both one of the most tension filled... yet an extremely funny episode. I guess some of that’s just due to my own odd sense of humour, though some moments are clearly intentional. Both the operation scenes, the Mysteron’s pursuit of the Doctor, and finally Spectrum chasing the Mysteron!Doctor are all played very suspensefully, and I find myself holding my breath. But then the funny scenes, like everything with Magenta and how hilariously pissy and unsubtle the Fake!Doctor gets leave me in stitches! [pun unintended lol]

I dunno, maybe some of the amusement effect is enhanced by the strong contrast between the scenes. Also we get a very grisly death for the Fake!Doctor and this episode establishes weaknesses for the Mysterons that will come up in future instalments. There’s a lot this ep has to offer, even something of an insight into 60′s medicine (though the series is set in 2068). While an extremely minor point, both the scenes with operations have the pssssshh.....fsssssshhhh sound that I associate with ventilators even though they ain’t being used, what’s up with that? But it’s another thing to add to the Atmosphere so s’all good, man.

Odd that I can’t think of much else to put here, I love it so much but maybe it’s so solid in the couple of things it does that’s all there really is to say? I’m feeling frustrated at how I don’t seem to have written enough for it, but trust me when I say it’s excellent and that it’s absolutely a Must Watch if you’re giving the series a look. (Though again, I’m spoiling each ep covered so uhh... read at your own risk if you’re using this to judge it!)

The Heart of New York

An interesting tale that I’ve actually Heard more than I’ve watched, as the audio adaptation is a free sample on the official Gerry Anderson site! [At least at the time of writing lmao, it’s worth a look anyway. This message was not paid for.]

This story is somewhat unique in that the Mysterons’ plan is pretty tame by their standards. They want to blow up... a Bank. Sure, it contributes to the long game they play, causing disruption and destruction, but compared to the casual massive collateral damage they inflict as part of a more focused murder attempt (again, see Winged Assassin and the passenger plane) this is small potatoes. But still, they end up feeling more moral in this episode than the actual ne’er do wells, a trio of would-be Robbers. These guys are pretty assholish, deliberately using the horrible cosmic war that’s already taken lives in the triple digits to hide behind while they take their pickings from a vault. Captain Black locking these morons in with the explosives feels like poetic justice, that they really did get what they wanted and are punished in kind.

Maybe this feeds the Mysteron’s point, that humans are aggressive, corrupt and selfish... though Colonel White challenges this view at the end of the episode, stating the robbers aren’t indicative of humanity as a whole. The whole shebang is a lot like The Twilight Zone, honestly. All we need is Rod Serling to open and close the episode...

Point 783

This episode is a bit harder to go into depth on, to be honest, it’s not one with a particular gimmic that makes it more memorable, but it’s a very solid ep all the same. There’s still a fair few layers that keep me thinking, like how it seems one of the Methane Trunk drivers had seemingly been Mysterionised offscreen to enable the Mysteron’s main pawns to me made. Then the first attempt to kill the Supreme Commander is thwarted by Scarlet’s (somewhat inconsistant) Mysteron Sense and perspex tubes that take their sweet time to descend and don’t even prioritise the actual target lol

Anyway, the meat of the episode is focused on the guest vehicle, the Unitron implacable unmanned Tank that can be controlled remotely by human operator or programmed to destroy something particular, and it will not stop or slow down no matter what’s thrown at it. Something something Proto-Drone Warfare commentary. The Mysterons’ last big attempt to assassinate today’s dude has one of their Mysterionised guys from earlier become the target, unknown to everyone else until he draws his gun inside the SPV (who even points out the 6th sense didn’t activate!). Scarlet gets shot 3 times but manages to eject himself and the Supreme Commander, which leads to the above scene, which offers a nice, human response.

Mr Supreme Commander later chews Blue out as it emerges instead of Scarlet going to a Hospital within 10 minutes, Spectrum insisted on waiting for one of their Helicopters to pick him up, which took 3 hours. Poor Blue has to try reassuring the army guys that Scarlet will be fine, truuuuust hiiiim. It makes me wonder if Spectrum is making things easier or harder overall by keeping his Retrometabolism under their hats, though I can understand they’d have reservations, but just trying to gloss over it with a ‘no no, it’s fine, he’ll get better.’ type answer doesn’t seem all that convincing. But I enjoy that it’s semi challenged here. And this episode summary ended up longer than expected cause all the Thinking I’ve done, haha!

=======

This has gotten a lot longer than expected and will be Two Parts! Find the second half here~

[makeste]

BnHA Bonus Rant # 5: All for One for All

Okay guys, so ever since I first read chapter 217, I’ve been thinking about certain One for All things and going “hmm” a bunch. Like so:

hmmm.

hmmm.

hmmmmmmmmm.

And like. I’ve had these bits and pieces of some kind of theory for a while now, and I think I’m finally ready to try and put them together.

So I’m gonna try to make this as straightforward as possible. First off, here’s the “official” story as far as we have been told:

AFO steals a “power-stockpiling” quirk from User X and gives it to his brother (henceforth referred to as Lil Bro).

The power-stockpiling quirk fuses together with Lil Bro’s own latent quirk, which happens to be a passing-down quirk similar to All for One.

The newly created quirk, One for All, allows the user to stockpile power within the quirk and then pass the quirk on to a new user, who in turn can then pass it on to another user, and then another, etc., all the while accumulating more and more power.

Fast-forward a century or two. All Might, the eighth user of OFA, passes the quirk down to a new successor, Midoriya Izuku. Izuku eventually becomes the first user to unlock another secret power hidden within OFA this whole time -- the ability to use the past users’ quirks.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

Anyway, so that’s basically it. This is what we’ve been led to believe up till this point.

So now, here’s my alternate take.

AFO steals what he believes to be a minor strength-enhancing quirk from User X. However, upon stealing it, he realizes he’s fallen victim to one of the classic blunders: namely, that if a quirk relies on some kind of “stockpiled resource” so to speak, he can only steal the quirk itself, and not said resource along with it. Much like another quirk-copier we know of:

So now AFO is stuck with some useless quirk that does fuckall for him, and wondering what to do with it. And then a light bulb goes off in his head. Of course! He has an annoyingly rebellious brother he’s been meaning to try and persuade to see things his way... by force, if necessary.

He doesn’t want to give his brother anything too strong, of course. Ostensibly out of kindness and concern for Lil Bro’s fragile state, but in reality he probably just didn’t want him to ever be able to oppose him.

But a quirk like this? One that doesn’t actually do anything? That’s pretty much perfect. He can force his brother to submit to him without ever granting him any actual power. So he gives Lil Bro this supposedly useless quirk, thinking that this is the moment when he’ll finally succeed in getting his brother to join him.

But instead, two things happen which AFO did not expect. Two things which, quite unknown to him, will ultimately work to seal his doom.

Let’s backtrack for a sec and examine just what that power-stockpiling quirk is. It’s actually pretty powerful stuff! Basically it seems like it gradually stores up someone’s power over time and then lets them use that accumulated power in bursts.

But as we now know thanks to Deku, that’s not all that it stores up.

Okay, so now just… hear me out.

All for One steals User X’s quirk. Unbeknownst to AFO, upon being stolen, said quirk immediately goes to work doing what it’s been designed to do: stockpiling the power of its current user. It no longer has the accumulated power of User X, because as we made note of earlier, power can’t be transferred through that method. It is, however, still a perfectly fine quirk, and it’s got a new user now. And so as far as the quirk is concerned, it’s back to business as usual. It’s accumulating power once again, this time from a new wielder: All for One.

So that is Thing # 1 That All For One Does Not Expect.

And here’s Thing # 2.

Like I said -- you can’t transfer accumulated power through stealing or copying or otherwise duplicating someone else’s quirk. For whatever reason, it just can’t be done.

But.

A WILD LOOPHOLE APPEARS ohhhhhh shit.

Listen, I don’t know why this is, but it is, though. We already know; we’ve seen it in action. One for All can be transferred from user to user with its power bundled in free of charge. It’s the only quirk we’ve seen thus far that’s capable of doing that. It is possibly unique in this. But it only works if the user wills the power to be transferred. Otherwise it will not happen. And All for One, in his arrogance and hubris, did in fact willingly grant this power to his younger brother.

So here, finally, is what I’ve been trying to get at. I don’t think Lil Bro actually ever had a quirk after all. I think our boy really was quirkless. That passing-down quirk he supposedly had? The one that supposedly fused together with the power-stockpiling quirk to create One for All?

Well, I think said fusion actually took place when AFO was still in possession of the quirk. In other words, I think One for All actually is All for One.

We have a quirk that stockpiles its users’ power and “quirk factors.” All for One was in possession of that quirk. It stockpiled his power. It stockpiled his quirk. And then without realizing it, he passed that power on to his younger brother. The quirk, along with whatever power it had accumulated from him.

One for All is literally All for One. The power to grant quirks from one person to another comes directly from AFO’s power. No other quirk has the ability to do that. We have copy abilities and shapeshifting abilities and clone abilities, and all of these are capable of duplicating others’ quirks to some extent. But none of these powers is capable of granting quirks to other people. The only abilities we have seen that are capable of that are One for All, and All for One. That’s not a coincidence.

Know what else isn’t a coincidence? The fact that Deku all of a sudden possesses multiple quirks. Not temporarily, but permanently and with no apparent restrictions other than his own ability and stamina. Again, that’s a power we’ve only seen in the hands of one other individual before now.

Yeeeeeeeeah.

So yeah. That’s my theory. This entire time, One for All has not actually been an “offshoot” of All for One, but is in fact All for One itself. And AFO has, ironically, been the originator of OFA this whole time. He is the first wielder of OFA. His brother is the second.

Oh hey wait, yeah. So about that. You know how All Might has been really fucking reluctant to bring up the topic of All for One, even now that he’s finally been ~defeated~ and locked up in Tartarus? Like, remember that one panel I was going “hmmmm” at earlier? “I didn’t want to raise that point…”

Well I think that might be because...

Which would mean... well...

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.

So yeah, Deku. Hate to break it to you kid, but you might in fact have a certified evil dude currently taking up residence in that big ol’ hero brain of yours.

“But makeste,” you point out, “we’ve already seen the other vestiges and none of them look like AFO, and also there are only eight of them and if AFO was included, wouldn’t that make it nine?” All of which are good points which I will acknowledge. But in turn please consider:

(1) AFO has a gazillion quirks, including at least one that’s capable of altering his physical body and appearance (namely, whatever de-aging quirk he’s using). He could be invisible. He could be in disguise. He could in fact even be in disguise as a certain explosive boy whom Deku instinctively trusts! That one’s a bit out there, I admit, but frankly all of the theories related to That Silhouette are pretty out there so I’m willing to roll with it. But my point is basically that there are lots of possibilities here.

And (2), we don’t actually know jack shit about the past users of OFA. We only know Deku is the ninth because each user apparently kept count, because at least they were capable of doing that much. But All Might doesn’t know anything about any of the users prior to number six (whom he only had a vague description of, not even a name), so at some point all of that history was lost. It’s possible that they were keeping track of it but then Shimura or someone else purposely destroyed the information and didn’t pass it along to Toshinori in order to keep the other predecessors’ families safe. She gave up her own family for the same reason, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

But my point being, we don’t actually know that there were in fact eight users following Lil Bro. There may well have only been seven, and they just assumed there were eight because everyone caught at least a vague glimpse of the Vestiges once or twice during their time, and they all counted a certain number of people, and so they assumed (quite correctly) that that’s how many past generations of OFA there were. Their only mistake was thinking that Lil Bro was the first, rather than the second.

What else. -- Oh, the thing with OFA being passed down via DNA transfer rather than by touch can probably be handwaved, tbh. That may have been because Lil Bro only received a little bit of AFO’s power and not the full-blown deal initially. Or it could just be that since saying “here, eat my hair” did work, they never thought to question whether it could be passed down via other methods too. But in either case, it may well be that Deku is capable of doing the touch thing and much more now that AFO has been churning about deep within OFA’s core for a couple centuries, and has, just like the other quirks, gradually been growing stronger this whole time. It may well be that All for One 2.0, Version: Deku is finally ready to rumble.

And if so? If he is? Well then that may just be the perfect solution to this whole damn mess. How do you stop a villain with unlimited power? Particularly if he does finally obtain a healing factor quirk at some point in the game and is restored to his former glory? There’s really only one way I can think of: give him a taste of his own medicine. Fire Lord Ozai style. Set a thief to catch a thief. Poetic fucking justice.

So that’s about it, I think. This is my current theory about OFA and AFO. This also means that, just in time for Father’s Day, I’m now pretty sure that AFO is not in fact actually Deku’s dad (and I may possibly owe @addermoray a beer). Or at least, the one theory probably isn’t true if the other is. So yeah, congratulations Deku, you get to pass on all of the I’m-secretly-the-son-of-my-greatest-nemesis angst after all! In exchange, you get my-greatest-nemesis-is-currently-inhabiting-part-of-my-soul angst instead. Heh. Have fun with that there, kiddo.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 5 – All the Easter Eggs and References

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This article contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks episode 5.

This episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks pays tribute to the oldest Trek monster of them all, slips in a few overt references to Enterprise, and even gives us a Geordi La Forge teddy bear.

Although Star Trek Day isn’t until next week, on September 8, Star Trek: Lower Decks is paying tribute to the first aired Trek episode of all time by stuffing its latest episode with more references to the franchise than its ever done before. Yes, somehow, “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” seems to have more shout-outs and callbacks than all the other episodes of Lower Decks combined. We’re not sure if this is true, or whether some clever spacetime compression is at work, but this episode seemed a lot like a Captain Kirk sundae, with Trip Tucker sprinkles, and a side helping of a Will Riker burger. Yeah, two of those jokes are actually from this episode!

Here are all the Easter eggs, references, and shout-outs we caught in Star Trek: Lower Decks episode 5, “Cupid’s Errant Arrow.”

As real as a hopped-up Q on Captain Picard Day 

Boimler says his new girlfriend Barb is “as real as a hopped-up Q on Captain Picard Day.” This references Q, of course, both the character played by John De Lancie in TNG, DS9, and Voyager. But, it also references the species of the Q Continuum in general.

“Captain Picard Day,” comes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Pegasus,” and is generally agreed to be June 16th on our calendar. This is the second Captain Picard Day reference in from a new Trek series in 2020. In the first episode of Picard, “Remembrance,” Jean-Luc saw his Captain Picard Day banner — made by children on the Enterprise 1701-D, in his personal archive. 

Love on the holodeck

When Mariner accuses Boimler of having holodeck girlfriends, he protests, saying “I don’t do that anymore.” Characters on Star Trek, specifically The Next Generation, have a long history of falling in love with holograms.

Reginald Barclay was probably the biggest offender here, and, in “Hollow Pursuits,” he made two holographic recreations of Deanna Troi.

Geordi fell in love with a hologram of Dr. Leah Brahams in the episode “Booby Trap,” and Riker nearly fell in love with Minuet in “11001001.”

Later in the episode, Barb says she believed the Mariner was a “rogue holodeck character,” which could also be a reference to “11001001,” since Minuet’s job was to keep Picard and Riker distracted while the Bynars messed with the Enterprise.

But, when we think of rogue holodeck characters, we generally think of Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes episodes “Elementary, My Dear Data” and “Ship in a Bottle.” Boimler referenced the holographic Moriarty just last week in the Lower Decks episode “Moist Vessel.” 

Geordi  La Forge Teddy Bear 

While waiting to meet Barb, Boimler is clearly holding a teddy bear meant to remind us of Geordi La Forge. Does the bear’s uniform match the TNG era? Or should we not worry about the teddy bear’s uniform?

Phylosian

Mariner offers to set-up Boimler with a “Phylosian,” who works on the Cerritos, and mentions 

“she seems like a nice plant person.” Phylosians are plant people. This race of plant-based aliens originated an episode of The Animated Series called “The Infinite Vulcan.” 

Is Barb a Time Lord? 

While catching up with Boimler, Barb says that in a previous mission she had to “reverse the polarity and reboot the time stream.” Variants of the phrase “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow,” is a catchphrase usually associated with the Doctor from Doctor Who. It (mostly) originates during the 1970s Third Doctor era of Jon Pertwee, specifically the episodes “The Terror of the Autons,” “The Daemons,” and “The Sea Devils.”

That said, the phrase “reverse the polarity,” exists throughout all eras of Trek, starting with the TOS episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” all the way through the Enterprise episode “Harbinger.” 

Barb claiming she “rebooted the time stream,” is also a common Trek trope, and can be traced all the way back to TOS episodes like “Tomorrow Is Yesterday,” and “City On the Edge Of Forever.” 

1920s Chicago 

Barb’s reference to being stuck in 1920’s Chicago references the TOS episode “A Piece of the Action,” where the crew encounters an entire planet of 1920’s mobsters. However, in that episode, there was zero time travel, just a planet of alien mobster imitators. 

Hunky Trek dudes

Intimidated the “hot hunk” named Jet, Boimler says “That guy is like a Kirk sundae with Trip Tucker sprinkles.” Obviously, this references Captain James T. Kirk and the chief engineer of the Enterprise NX-01, Charles “Trip” Tucker. 

Starfleet relationships ending very badly.

Mariner says that “When a Starfleet relationship seems too good to be true, then RED ALERT, it probably is.” Then she launches into a litany of examples.

“She’s an alien who is going to eat you” Most aliens in Trek don’t actually eat people, but aliens who suck out the life force of people they’re pretending to date are fairly common. For example, in the DS9 episode “The Muse,” Jake Sisko is having his energy drained by a creature who is pretending to be an older woman who loves him but is really draining his life force. 

“Or a Romulan Spy” This probably references the Romulan spy T’Pel from the episode “Data’s Day,” though nobody was trying to date her. In Picard, Agnes Jurati was an unwitting Romulan spy, though it’s unclear if the Lower Decks writing team knew about that when this episode was completed.

“Or a Salt Succubus” Ha! This is the big one. In the first aired Trek episode ever, “The Man Trap,” the shapeshifting M-113 lifeform pretends to be McCoy’s old girlfriend Nancy Crater but also turns into a variety of other attractive people and attempts to seduce several crewmembers, and even, in the guise of a hunky dude, makes a pass at Uhura. (Note: Uhura is the only person who didn’t fall for the salt vampire’s bullshit.)

“Or an Android” In TOS, Nurse Chapel falls in love with a secret android duplicate of her old boyfriend Roger Korby in the episode, “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” And, in the TOS episode “Requiem for Methuselah,” Kirk falls in love with Rayna, who is also a secret android. 

“Or a Changeling” There are a lot of people who fall in love with shapeshifters in Star Trek, but saying “a Changeling,” probably refers to the actual species of “Changelings” from Deep Space Nine, of which, Odo is the most famous. 

“Or one of those sexy people in rompers who murder you just for going on the grass” This references the episode “Justice,” in which Wesley falls in some grass and is nearly murdered by scantily clad people who were previously flirting with everyone. 

DS9/ old uniform flashback

Mariner’s flashback to her time on the USS Quito seems to take place while the ship is docked at Deep Space Nine. Notably, the crew does not appear to actually be drinking on the space station, but rather, on their own ship. Because this flashback takes place prior to 2280, Mariner and her shipmates are wearing the later-era Starfleet uniforms with the grey shoulders, first introduced in Star Trek: First Contact. For more about what this all might mean, read our deep dive into this flashback scene here.

Mariner’s conspiracy chart 

There are probably more Easter eggs in this scene than the entire show combined, but let’s do our best! Mariner has several pictures of several Trek aliens displayed, and she mentions some of them, but others are just kind of there. Here’s what we spotted. 

“Barb’s not a Dauphin!” Mariner points to a picture of a furry alien called a Dauphin, which comes from the TNG episode “The Dauphin,” in which Wesley Crusher’s new girlfriend is revealed to be a furry shape-shifting monster with claws.

A picture of Lal, Data’s first daughter. In one corner, there seems to be an image of the android Lal, before she had decided on her gender and species. This version of Lal exists in the teaser of the TNG episode “The Offspring,”

“She could be a Suliban!” Mariner mentions the Suliban, which are time-traveling shapeshifting aliens that plagued the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise, starting with “Broken Bow.”

The Bynars: The purple-headed Bynars from “11001001,” are also pictured. This means that Mariner is entertaining the theory that Barb is a holodeck character, too. Just like the aforementioned, Minuet. 

Seska: Mariner talks about undercover Cardassians for a second, and we see a picture of someone who looks like Seska. In Star Trek: Voyager, Seska was a Bajoran crewmember who turned out to really be a Cardassian spy. Her goal was to get close to Chakotay and to send secrets about the Maquis to the Cardassians. Seska was revealed to be a spy in the episode “State of Flux.”

Duras sisters: The Klingon traitors Lursa and B’Etor seem to be pictured here, too. At this point, in 2380, the Duras sisters have been dead for nine years. They died in Star Trek Generations when the Enterprise destroyed their Bird-of-Prey. That said, maybe they managed to escape?

Transporter clone: Mariner has a picture of two Barbs standing next to each other in the transporter. This references various transporter duplicates throughout Star Trek. The most famous examples are Kirks’ transporter duplicate in the TOS episode “The Enemy Within,” and Riker’s transporter duplicate in the TNG episode “Second Chances.” 

M-113 Salt Vampire: Mariner has a very prominent picture of the M-113 creature in its natural state. This is actually the second time this creature from “The Man Trap,” has appeared in animated form. Very briefly, the M-113 creature was depicted at the beginning of the animated Short Treks episode “Empriah and Dot.” 

Humpback Whales: Mariner has a huge picture of a humpback whale. This must reference Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in which the crew goes back in time to bring whales into the future. What does that have to do with Mariner’s theory? She’s worried about time travel? Does she think Barb is actually Dr. Gillian Taylor? Well, considering that Barb is voiced by actress Gillian Jacobs, it seems possible that this is a reference to Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks), the marine biologist who traveled from the 20th century and into the 23rd. 

An Andorian named Jennifer

While running through the corridors, Mariner pushes an Andorian out of her way and says dismissively, “Jennifer!” Is it weird that an Andorian has the name, Jennifer? Well, maybe not. In Voyager, a young Ktarians girl, Naomi Wildman, had the name, well “Naomi.” 

Breen Infiltrator

Barb says she briefly thought Mariner was a Breen Infiltrator. The Breen were a rarely-seen, but often mentioned alien enemy of the Federation in TNG and DS9. During the Dominion War, the Breen actually were the ones who led the Dominion attack on Earth.

The Breen weren’t seen in canon until the fourth season DS9 episode “Indiscretion.” Throughout all their appearances, the Breen appeared entirely inside of “refrigeration suits,” and no one has ever seen what they actually look like. Meaning, the idea of a Breen Infiltrator is inherently hilarious because they could, in theory, look like anything under those helmets. 

Parasite and Pheromones 

When it is eventually revealed that there is a parasite connected to Boimler, there could be a small reference here to the TNG episode “Conspiracy,” in which Picard discovers several members of Starfleet Command have little bug parasites controlling them.

At the same time, the idea that an alien could have pheromones so strong that other humanoids find them irresistible vaguely recalls Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The backstory Ilia is that she is a Deltan, a species of humanoids who produce pheromones so strong that most people can’t resist. This is why she says “my oath of celibacy is on record.” She’s letting Kirk know that she’s not going to seduce everyone for her own gain, even though she totally could. 

Calibrate the Dyson’s Sphere 

Ron Docent (played by Matt Walsh) bemoans his various responsibilities on the USS Vancouver, specifically having to “calibrate the Dyson’s Sphere.”  In Trek canon, as far as we know, there is only one Dyson’s Sphere, the one discovered by the Enterprise in the TNG episode “Relics.” 

The password was “Riker”

Tendi correctly guesses that Docent uses the password “Riker.” This seems to imply that Riker is famous and well-liked enough in 2380, that he’s a common password. In canon, Riker is in command of the USS Titan during the events of Lower Decks.

Interestingly, if we go by the Picard timeline, Thad Riker, Will, and Deanna’s first child, will be born in 2381, which means, there’s a good chance that during the events of this episode, Deanna Troi is pregnant. Could the Troi-Rikers be buddies with Ron Docent? Is that why he choose “Riker” as his password?

We may or may not see the Troi-Rikers in a future episode of Lower Decks, but for now, you’ll have to excuse me. I need to change my password.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 5 – All the Easter Eggs and References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[daresplaining]

Daredevil Countdown: 8 Days

Trailer #1 Analysis

    We barely had time to recover from Iron Fist Season 2 before Netflix started dumping Daredevil content on us, and it’s been tough to keep up! We were away minding our own business at NYCC when this trailer dropped, and we’ve only just started to pick through it. There are some major revelations in this thing, which I’m very excited about. There are also a few scenes excerpted here that we saw in their entirety at NYCC, so while I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, expect some minor ones.

    Is it geeky to get a kick out of Matt saying this? Because this makes me really happy. He has spent so much time struggling with his superhero identity that just hearing him call himself Daredevil is thrilling. Also, the background seems to suggest that he’s in the church, and may therefore be saying this to Maggie... which is good, because in one of the scenes we saw at NYCC, she called him “the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” and I nearly pitched a fit. 

    We saw this scene, so I won’t go into details... beyond saying that it kicks off what sounds like will be an interesting (read: upsetting) relationship between Fisk and the FBI, and as well as Fisk’s manipulation of the justice system and the city as a whole this season. He is getting out of prison and aiming to reclaim  his throne, and this trailer gives us hints of some of the pawns he will be using to make that happen. 

    Hey look, it’s Rosalie Carbone!

    And we’ve mentioned it before, because it’s been in a bunch of the promos, but it’s great to finally have Fisk in his comics-accurate white suit! He looks great. 

    We’re also finally getting Sister Maggie! In the comics, of course, Maggie is Matt’s long-lost mother. In the show, we know that she works at the orphanage where Matt ended up after Jack’s death, and that she will be providing him some degree of emotional support (not to mention medical help...) following his near-death experience under Midland Circle. Their relationship is very strange, and in the comics they’ve spent a long time trying to negotiate their dynamic. They go back and forth on their degree of emotional closeness (depending on the writer), and while they will likely never have a parent/child relationship in the traditional sense, they do hold deep significance in each other’s lives. Whether that will become true in the show remains to be seen, but at the very least, Maggie will clearly act as a confidante for Matt during this difficult time. 

    This is one of several highly intriguing interactions between Matt and Fisk in this trailer. The surveillance is particularly interesting. It ties into the suggestion later in the trailer that Fisk will develop some control over media surveillance (in the comics he buys his own radio station during Chichester’s run). It also gives me a small amount of hope that we might get expert media manipulator Jonathan Powers (AKA the Jester) in the show, because that would be really cool. But why is Matt in a doctor’s office in a suit? The framing of this scene is great, and I really need to know what’s going on here. 

    Matt channeling that Stick vibe is something I never knew I needed. And this is another intriguing interaction between these two. What is the context here? For now, I love how cocky Matt sounds in this clip. Clearly, his spirit has not been broken (yet?) by this point. 

    At NYCC, there was some mention of a scene that would rival the hallway scene from Season 1. This may be it. I’m already pumped about this, because I love when Matt fights in civvies! If I were to guess what was going on here, I’d assume these are prisoners in Fisk’s pocket who have been instructed to take Matt out. This has serious “Devil in Cell Block D” (a story arc in which Matt is sent to prison) vibes, and that is very exciting. Whether or not the actual story draws from that arc, just a reference to the tone or basic concept would be awesome. 

    After two full seasons of teasing, we’re finally getting a Gladiator origin! Back in our Season 2 countdown, I wrote a post detailing Melvin Potter’s story in the comics, hoping that it would be adapted soon. The show has already laid down several key elements of his character: his vulnerability (particularly in regards to being manipulated by the people around him) and the tug-of-war between his gentle nature and his capacity for violence. In the comics, many of Melvin’s most compelling stories cover this struggle, as Matt and Betsy Beatty (Melvin’s social worker-turned-girlfriend) attempt to help him suppress the dangerous, out-of-control side of himself. As we see later in the trailer, Fisk is going to start using Melvin for his own ends again this season, thus pushing him to protect himself and Betsy by becoming the Gladiator. 

    Yet another oddly candid moment between Matt and Fisk. This is so uncanny that I almost wonder if it’s a hallucination. It’s also worth noting Matt’s lack of sunglasses in these scenes. In both the comics and the show, the glasses serve Matt as a type of mask, and his scenes are given an added layer of intimacy and exposure when he takes them off. Regardless of context, it’s clear that Fisk will be seeing Matt this season at his most vulnerable, with all facades and pretext removed. Which brings us to that quote... 

    Get excited, because it looks like we’re finally getting some big deal Daredevil Secret Identity Shenanigans(TM)! Matt having his secret identity exposed is a longtime Daredevil tradition; such a pervasive plot point that even Matt has begun joking about it. 

Daredevil vol. 3 #7 by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Javier Rodriguez

    Going all the way back to the Mike Murdock Saga in the 60s, Matt has struggled with keeping his double life hidden-- a surprisingly challenging task for a blind guy without outwardly obvious superpowers. Ben Urich figured it out through research and deduction, and while he has remained loyal in keeping Matt’s secret, a fellow reporter once nearly stole his notes and made them public. In “Born Again”, the Kingpin found out and used the information to ruin his life. Later, one of the Kingpin’s underlings sold the information to the FBI, which then made its way into the newspapers. Recently, with his secrets being used as blackmail, Matt decided to make his identity public. He has gone to extreme lengths over the years-- faking his death, lying under oath, creating various alternate personalities-- to protect his dual identity, and the thought of seeing him finally faced with this same challenge in the show is very exciting.

Melvin: “I don’t like it. I know who you work for, Felix. And the Kingpin is never up to anything good.”

Felix: “What is there not to like, Potter? You construct costumes. I am heretowith commissioning from yourself a costume. Said costume being one you are infinitely familiar with-- during such time frame as before you did renunciate your status as a prominent member of the criminal class to open this shop within which we now converse. Speaking of this most neatly custodiated establishment, we will summarily execute its premature demolition-- not to mention the removement [sic] of your most valued body parts-- should you perchance fail to render unto us a perfect duplicate of the uniform of a certain Man Without Fear.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #230 by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, and Christie Scheele

    As we know, that’s going to be Bullseye’s costume. This is a combination of two plot points: one from “Born Again” (above) in which Fisk commissions a DD suit from Melvin to give to a convicted murderer, who he sends to kill Foggy, and one from Nocenti’s run in which Bullseye himself runs around causing chaos as Daredevil. 

    As indicated above (and just like he attempted in Season 1), Fisk is out to ruin Daredevil (and maaaaybe also Matt Murdock?)’s reputation, even more than Matt might manage all on his own.   

    This is a terrifying image, because it brings to mind Karen’s funeral in “Guardian Devil”. But a bunch of the people in the audience are smiling, so hopefully not...  

    ...Unfortunately, they’re still screwed. Bullseye in the church is both a “Guardian Devil” reference and (even better) a movie reference!

    We were shown this scene at NYCC, and it is awesome! I can’t wait for everyone to see it, so that I can talk about what makes it so great. It’s an absolutely killer fight scene that emphasizes just how intense Bullseye is as an opponent when handled well. And I’m not going to spoil this moment in particular... All I’ll say is that it’s something we’ve all been waiting for for two damn seasons, and when it happened at the panel, the whole room screamed. 

    *Cough* Don’t worry, that’s not Bullseye. 

    Also, there is not nearly enough Foggy and Karen in this trailer. 

Bullseye: “Yup! I’m Daredevil now. I wonder-- it’s been easy to play the bad guy-- maybe too easy. Be kinda fun to play the hero. After all, I am Daredevil!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #290 by Ann Nocenti, Kieron Dwyer, and Steve Buccellato

    As mentioned above, Bullseye will be prompted by Fisk to run around as Daredevil, ruining Matt’s reputation. Both actors have talked a little bit about Fisk’s manipulation of Dex, and the fact that this will play a large part in the latter’s turn to villainy. In the final arc of her run, Ann Nocenti penned a story in which Bullseye and Daredevil switched costumes, resulting in an intense exploration of villainy and heroism, and of their bizarre relationship as nemeses. In the show, it should be fun-- and probably a little horrifying too-- to see how this jumbling of identities affects how Matt and Dex see themselves and each other. 

    T-minus one week!

[buildridernews]

[Review] Kamen Rider Build - Episodes 38-41

It's time for an actually timely review for once! I seem to be bucking the whole "I'm consistently halfway into the month when I decide to catch up on last month" trend.

Episode 38: "Mad World" (マッドな世界)

So we ended last month on two big cliffhangers. For starters, Evol now has what he has declared is his final form, which is kinda neat - typically you only see the "final form" term applied to the main Rider, and its origins are with the final boss of a video game, so here it's 100% on point. 

But we also discover that having Sento be possessed by Evolt resulted in his brain being kind of jumbled back together, meaning he remembers being Katsuragi Takumi. It seems like this would be an obvious thing to have come up at some point, in retrospect, but of all the times for it to happen...

As everyone makes a hasty retreat from an overpowered Evol, he decides to take a moment to do some kind of ssspace magic, turning some Fullbottles into these black and gold variants - thanks to magazine reveals, we know these are called Lost Fullbottles...

Anyway, Katsuragi proves to be an unsettling one for everybody to be around since he doesn't entirely trust Ryuga, he makes half-hearted apologies to Misora for using her, and he has a real emotional argument with Gentoku which I'm sure will be elaborated upon in the Rogue spinoff. This scene was interesting since they do some cool editing to alternate between showing Sento's actor and Katsuragi's actor in the same outfit.

When it comes to the whole presentation of Katsuragi being "brought back", there's ways this could go that could be a little bit... clunky, and I don't know if I can properly put into words why. I guess the best explanation I can think of is, it'd be real weird to me if this involved his face turning back to normal as well, because then you'd have to figure out a reason for why he'd want his face changed back that isn't insulting to Katsuragi (since the point of this subplot is to redeem him). Basically I'm glad we just got Sento's actor with a different personality.

So what the hell is Evolt doing right now? Well, to keep that actor involved, Evolt just decided to take on Soichi's appearance because I guess he can do what he wants. That's probably gonna be used to trick us at some point. He's decided that Namba has an ultimatum to answer to: Let him rule the world as a whole while Namba is just a prime minister of Japan, ooor he dies. At the same time, he gives Utsumi an offer to join him since he's a very useful scientist... which both seem like things that wouldn't meet in the middle, but just you wait.

Things get interesting as Utsumi tries begging for help from Gentoku, everyone else (minus a bitter Kazumi) is getting involved, and Katsuragi is staying in the lab working on the block item Sento pieced together before. When it comes time for Utsumi to approach Evolt in Pandora Tower about the ultimatum, Utsumi instead unleashes some Hard Guardians, the gear bros, and suddenly even the other Riders show up! I gotta imagine this was in reference to the talk he had with Gentoku since Kazumi is indeed nowhere to be found. I would have liked to see the moment where Katsuragi agreed to all this but it was interesting to see him try fighting. Especially since he specifically had trouble with a form SENTO invented. Cute.

Then something unexpected happens: Evol takes out the gear bros! They got powered up earlier in the episode with the implication they would die from any further nebula gas dosage, but I figured this was a seed planted for several episodes from now. Nope, one falls, the other switches into Hell Bro mode, then takes a hit from Evol to protect Great Cross-Z. He dies realizing that fighting for the sake of others actually feels pretty good, after seeing how Cross-Z seemed to be stronger for a previously unknown reason.

So, I feel like the gear bros are characters I can completely see others getting attached to, and I HAVE seen that, but they ultimately didn't do much aside from look cool. And if I'm being critical, I'd say they have 3 things that make for a weakly written character: If you make them too cool then they're flawless and boring, if you make them too stoic then there's not much room for personality, and if you focus too much on them being a duo then they have no idividuality - they're just the gear bros, which I've always called them since I can never remember their actual names. They had their moments, as few as they were, but I kinda leave these two deaths with a shrug and "Huh, didn't see that coming."

Then shortly thereafter, Evol kills Namba! And it's so beautiful becaue not only does Utsumi watch it unfold in terror on a tablet, where he can't do a thing besides watch from the camera Namba was recording from, but Evol also fakes him out with a laugh and a hug then turns him to fucking dust. It's so brutal, enough to make a man crack.

And I think he might've, considering Utsumi's memories of being a brainwashed Namba boy flash before him as he laughs maniacally and gladly joins Evol. With a duplicate Evol Driver, he uses a clever pair of Fullbottles to transform into Kamen Rider Mad Rogue, which we will see in more detail next episode! But it's a real cool suit. It's basically all of Night Rogue's suit with color changes, which makes for an interesting Rider suit. Plus, y'know, bringing us aaall the way back to when people found the BatEngine sound on the belt and wondered if Night Rogue would become a Rider.

Episode 39: “The Genius Can’t Be Stopped” (ジーニアスは止まらない)

And so, Mad Rogue takes on everyone with pretty great ease, which isn't surprising since he's a new Rider. Despite not wanting to take part, Grease shows up to help them escape, and once we're back at the cafe/lab we see that Katsuragi still isn't trusting of Ryuga. He's pretty much decided that Ryuga is part of Evolt, and even though Ryuga keeps telling him he's now fully human... he has these strange visions that appear to be from Evolt's memory of destroying Mars. Which is weird since one of them is from the perspective of someone seeing Evol. But maybe that's intentional.

Katsuragi has created what he believes is the ultimate bottle, combining the ingredients of all 60 Fullbottles to form the Genius Fullbottle. Misora isn't impressed, however, because Katsuragi lacks a certain heart that Sento had, which bothers him. He's left with even more to think about as a weakened Gentoku tries desperately to move so he can go fight and redeem himself for his sins.

Katsuragi goes out to fight Mad Rogue, but as he tries using the Genius Fullbottle, it won't activate - something is stopping him. As he takes a quick beating, Great Cross-Z jumps in, giving a wonderful speech about Sento was A DAMN HERO OF JUSTICE and making Katsuragi really come to terms with what Sento had that he doesn't. It's something that will use the Rider system for good, and put a stop to Evolt, so he has no choice. With Katsuragi literally standing face-to-face with Sento in his head, he puts his trust in this person to do what's right. Sento's back, baby.

With his new gadget, Sento transforms into Build's final form: Genius Form. A suit covered in 60 Fullbottles, which happen to be uniform enough to make one red side and one blue side. Super fun transformation.

So, Genius Form has grown on me, and it's certainly had time to. The form got leaked like 6 months ago, and... man, I dunno how that happened since we didn't get proper confirmation that it was legit until more toy catalog stuff came out. That was a leak that made me go "Oh I hope no one got FIRED for that".

Anyway, next episode.

Episode 40: “Ending Revolution” (終末のレボリューション)

Once Mad Rogue tries to fire away at Build, he finds that he's severely outmatched. Build is damn near bulletproof and can move at speeds he can't keep up with. Not only that, but we learn that Build's new bottle can actually get rid of the effects of the nebula gas, which I assume is what he does here to weaken Mad Rogue - otherwise I dunno why they showed it. He unleashes a finisher, then is rescued by Evol. But not before Evol randomly hits Kazumi just to take the Fullbottles his former comrades used to transform into Hard Smash.

So this is a thing we got mention of in episode summaries a while back. These episodes deal with "Lost Bottles", which is a term also brought up in the show by Evolt. I THINK what's going on here is some miscommunication between the show writers and toy developers, because the black and gold bottles are officially called Lost Fullbottles in promotional material for the summer movie and are being called Lost Bottles here. The reason why I think it's miscommunication is simple: Katsuragi referred to the Genius Fullbottle as the Genius Bottle. I'm decidedly going with what sounds like the proper designations.

Back at the cafe, everyone is still processing the fact that Sento is Sento again. He seems to remember all of Katsuragi's memories up until the Skywall incident, so there's that. Gentoku is going through some identity crisis of his own as he has decided to become a gag character - he's dressing informally for once and-- I kinda like him better this way. And I'm glad the sound mixing department knew that the scream from his transformation item was made for comedy.

After a whiplash change in tone, Sento is thinking about the Lost Fullbottles that Evol referenced, when suddenly the voice of Katsuragi pops up in his head with some answers - Katsuragi never made these bottles, but they were made by his father. Sento decides to go to Hokuto, and it just so happens Kazumi also wants to go there to sneak into Faust and retrieve his comrade's bottles. Ryuga, for once in his entire life, recognizes these are all stupidly risky ideas and just gives Kazumi his (apparently now repaired) Dragon Sclashjelly in case he needs it.

While at his mother's old house, Sento finds an odd photo in his father's belongings: A woman by the pier with a boat. I thought this woman was familiar, and it's because she's one of the victims from one of the first episodes who smuggled them to another location by boat! I remember how nice it was to see a victim used that way. However, Sento finds it odd that his father had a photo of this woman in his belongings since he SHOULD be dead, and a Guardian - which would not have been around at the time he was alive - is seen in the background.

Meanwhile, Kazumi does something stupid and sneaks into Faust in disguise, only to be caught and be given more nebula gas - enough that he might die if he loses a fight. He manages to escape, but is cornered by the Hokuto prime minister, who's become Evolt's latest experiment: A Lost Smash. This is a combination of a Hard Smash and some Clone Smash, and he considers it to be this monsters' final form - so it's cool we get that kind of lore for these monsters! She uses Kiba's old Fukurou Fullbottle to transform and beat the crap out of him, only for Build then Mad Rogue to enter the mix.

As Grease feels like he's on the ropes, he thinks about the idealistic speeches Build always gives and about how he's letting it get into his head - using the Dragon Sclashjelly in his own belt, he suddenly gains TWO Twin Breaker weapons, along with a significant power boost!

So, this is another talking point, because if there's anyone that fans wanna see with a new form, it's Grease. He is truly the Necrom of this show, except Necrom's eventual power-up was a whole new weapon, whereas Grease just gets two of the same weapon he had before. So that's a little disappointing. But hey, Necrom did get a new form in some post-finale material - here's hoping they keep the V-cinema thing going and you get a Grease movie!

So, Grease overpowers Mad Rogue, sending him running, and Build uses the power of his bottle to deliver a Rider Kick to our new Lost Smash to safely defeat her and undo the effects of the nebula gas. After she wakes up, it seems like she's come to her senses and the effects of the initial Skywall incident have worn off, so she's become a decent person again. Evolt shows up, however, to proclaim that he's going to use the Lost Fullbottles to create a new world!

And then we get a most unexpected twist if you didn't think too much about the previous photo of the boat woman. She talks with Ryuga and Sawa and she remarks that she did indeed know Katsuragi's father, because he was just there the other day... which means he is very much still alive.

Episode 41: “The Best Match Truth” (ベストマッチの真実)

Picking up where the show left off, Evol tries taking on Build in his new form, and Build manages to catch him before he can switch to his strongest form, which gives him an edge. He does some kind of change to Evolt's body genes, but we don't know why just yet - all we know is he's excited about it.

Hot off the heels of the realization that Papa Katsuragi is alive, the boat lady passes on a USB device to give to Sento, which contains several documents on his inventions, but for now we're getting details on the Lost Fullbottles. I did a post about it, so I'll just say the key parts here: Gathering 10 of the black Lost Fullbottles causes something that defies the laws physics, which certainly raises the stakes. Also later we learn about the origin of Best Matches which is beautiful and tragic, but I also talked about that in a post. Good stuff.

This episode also provides us with a proper recap of the show so far, with the meta commentary I love from the cold openings, and it kinda tosses out a fact I hadn't even caught onto: Every Smash has been a person connected to the group in some way, be it a loved one, a possible witness to an event, or even one of them, like Sawa. But that brings into question who the guy from episode 1 was.

We don't have to wonder for long, as Sawa manages to get enough info on him to know that he was connected to Katsuragi's dad. Sawa arranges a meeting between him and Sento, which he hopes will get him closer to his father.

Meanwhile, we've learned just what effect Build's new form had on Evolt, as he tells all to his masked ally in Faust's lab. It seems that up to this point, Evolt has just mimicked human emotions, but Build's attack has basically caused him to gain actual emotions. Now he's feeling high on life and it seems like he's just being quirky... but there's some implications to that.

Sento meets with the man, but he reveals that he was sent to attack Sento as another Lost Smash, proclaiming that he'll be killed if he doesn't follow orders. Build finishes him off safely, and he starts to learn the truth, until Evol shows up and kills him instantly, then explains that Build's attack gave him emotions. Then Evol attempts to turn Build into a Smash using a bottle he has, but Build's form neutralizes it, allowing him an upper hand. As he successfully starts overpowering our main villain, Evol's rage begins to build up, then he disappears.

That's when Build makes a sudden realization, which the show pretty quickly passes by despite how alarming it is: If Evol has emotions now, that means he can gain a higher Hazard Level and become stronger and stronger.

Finally, Evolt returns to Faust's lab with two more Lost Fullbottles taken from Build during their fight, which means he's up to 6 - only 4 left to go before something unfathomable happens. Then we end on the proper face reveal for Evolt's lab buddy: Katsuragi's father... who I will probably have to start calling by his first name eventually. BUT NOT TODAY.

So that was one hell of a month of episodes! And this latest one tells all, what with the Lost Fullbottles and the motifs of the Best Matches explained. It's actually kinda sad the show's almost over... only a couple more months now.

Next review, however, will be something different.

Yeah. See you Next Build.

[hellsfyr]

        proud   freak   and   member   of   d&d   fantasy   game    𝖍̲𝖊̲𝖑̲𝖑̲𝖋̲𝖎̲𝖗̲𝖊̲ 𝖈̲𝖑̲𝖚̲𝖇̲   as   well   as   bassist   for    𝖈̲𝖔̲𝖗̲𝖗̲𝖔̲𝖉̲𝖊̲𝖉̲ 𝖈̲𝖔̲𝖋̲𝖋̲𝖎̲𝖓̲.   mitch   o'connor   ft.   in   sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜɪɴɢs. drew / they them / 21+   main   blog   is   metalcursed.

copy and pasted from eddie’s blog so it might mention him primarily.

mutuals only;

this   blog   is   private   which   means   i   will   be   selective   with   those   i   follow.   if   i   do   not   return   your   follow,   do   not   attempt   to   contact   or   interact   with   any   posts.   mutuals   only   means   i   will   only   write   with   those   i   am   also   following.   mutuals   may   send   memes,   respond   to   starter/plotting/ship   calls,   and   generally   hang   out.   if   you   wish   to   break   mutuals,   that’s   your   decision,   and   i   won’t   fault   you   for   it.   if   there   is   a   genuine   issue   that   needs   to   be   brought   my   attention,   please   reach   out   and   let’s   discuss   it.   if   i   wish   to   break   mutuals,   i   will   softblock.   hardblocking   will   be   reserved   for   severe   actions.   do   not   attempt   to   reach   out   through   another   blog.

activity;

i’ve   had   a   change   in   activity   since   getting   a   new   job,   so   mainly   expect   to   see   me   online   if   i’m   not   too   busy   or   tired   with   personal   things   wednesdays and thursdays.   i   can’t   promise   the   queue   will   be   loaded   up   and   ready   to    post   other   times,   but   i’ll   certainly   try   my   best.   i   do   not   hold   any   mutuals   to   a   specified   time   limit   on   replies.   i   appreciate   your   patience   when   it   comes   to   my   responses   as   well.

triggers;

as   mentioned   above,   there   will   be   some   dark   themes.   however,   i   will   not   write   things   like   inappropriate   interactions   with   minors,   abuse/non-con,   discrimination,   incest,   etc.   i   won’t   tag   things   unless   requested   by   mutuals.  

shipping;

i   am   open   to   all   types   of   ships.   if   you   have   an   idea,   ask   me   about   it.   my   response   will   vary   from   immediate   to   possibly   brainstorming   scenarios.   if   i   hard   pass   on   a   ship,   respect   that.   again,   no   inappropriate   dynamics   such   as   an   adult   with   minors   or   toxic   relationships.   any   extremely   negative   relationships   will   only   be   referred   to   in   headcanon.   enemies   in   a   non-abusive   sense   or   rivals   are   fine.   as   for   romantic   shipping,   you   know   what   i’m   going   to   say:   chemistry.

headcanon influence;

this   is   a   big   one.   i   will   be   exploring   the   true   life   culture   of   the   1980s   heavy   metal   scene   and   its   influence   on   society.   actual   trials   took   place   with   bands   as   well   as   civilians   because   the   justice   system   conceived   metal   music   and   its   imagery   had   a   damaging   effect   on   society.   the   influence   it   held   over   the   youth   and   its   link   to   crimes   made   anyone   associated   with   the   subculture   suspect   number   one.   using   these   real   life   cases   mixed   with   the   canon   of   eddie’s   role   in   the   show,   i’d   like   to   build   a   character   profile   that   will   be   biased   to   my   interpretation.   music   will   also   play   heavily   in   my   portrayal   of   eddie   who   canonically   is   a   fan   of   dio,   w.a.s.p.   and   other   such   groups.   expect   breakdowns   and   reflections   on   those   bands   and   their   cultural   influence.   for   spice,   i’d   love   to   incorporate   their   inspiration   into   interactions   and   verses   too.  

multiverse;

crossovers,   aus,   original   characters,   and   multiship.   you   may   enter.

etiquette;

no   godmodding,   forcing   ships   or   harassing   for   responses.   you   may   remind   me   of   a   plot   or   thread   we   have   going,   but   please   do   not   attempt   to   guilt   me   into   hurrying.   i   am   a   real   person,   in   the   real   world,   with   other   things   going   on.   as   much   as   i   would   love   to   sit   and   write   all   day   or   gush   over   our   muses   together   until   our   brains   are   slime,   i   won’t   be   online   all   the   time.   if   i   am   online   but   haven’t   responded,   be   patient.   i   follow   the   muse,   and   i   expect   my   partners   to   take   their   time   too.   vague   posts,   negativity   and   all   that   yucky   stuff   can   find   the   door.   i’m   not   here   for   any   ooc   drama.   while   i   don’t   condone   callout   posts   and   related   content,   i   need   to   know   if   i’m   unintentionally   writing   with   someone   abusive.   do   not   steal.   psd credit: jaynedits and imnikkiheat.

duplicates;

i   am   willing   to   interact   with   other   eddies   because   at   one   point   in   time,   i   really   did   enjoy   all   the   silly   aus   we   could   get   up   to   such   as   twins,   or   how-did-we-end-up-in-each-others-universes.   however,   i   have   had   a   few   bad   experiences   that   have   made   me   cautious   with   dups.   i   will   not   follow   first,   but   if   other   eddies   follow   then   i   will   consider   interacting.   basically   if   we   can   stick   to   basic   rp   etiquette,   namely   godmodding,   then   i’m   good.   you   have   your   version   and   i   have   mine.   we’re   individually   unique,   and   we   should   explore   that.   i   don’t   want   to   know   what   i’m   doing   wrong   or   feel   uncomfortable   in   the   choices   i   make.   we   might   go   down   the   same   avenue   as   far   as   mannerisms   and   history,   but   ultimately,   we’ll   make   it   our   own.   i’d   rather   not   knit-pick   who   did   it   best   or   how   similar   a   canon   version   is   to   another.   anyways…   that   got   a   little   ranty,   but   basically,   i   love   the   idea   of   dups.   let’s   have   fun   with   it!

mains & exclusives;

mains,   yes!   exclusives,   the   jury   is   out!   as   of   right   now,   since   this   blog   is   so   new,   i   won’t   practice   exclusives.   i   will   have   main   canon   muses   that   will   take   priority   because   we’ve   known   each   other   a   minute   or   we   have   great   chemistry.   not   sure   what   my   main   limit   is,   but   i’ll   update   when   i   do.  

drew \ twenty-one + \ they them \ discord available upon request by mutuals

[gremoria411]

I feel like another problem SEED has in regards to its Gundam’s is that there’s a lot of them around, and how they’re classified is an absolute *mess*.

SEED has a lot of gundams, and the classification for them is that they have an advanced operating system that forms the acronym GUNDAM. There are however, roughly six different systems this applies to, so what a Gundam is is still somewhat inexact. I seem to recall the original series making a heroic effort to sell phase shift armour (the fancy anti-ballistic armour) as the gundam’s main selling point but this gets abandoned partway through.

It feels like a lot of the reasons as to why there are other gundams in seed work in a vacuum, but then they went and chose all of them:

Five original units, four were stolen, one remains (Duel, Blitz, Buster, Aegis and Strike).

One unit, with multiple equipment packs (Strike).

Upgrades/Dark reflections of the original three unit types (Calamity, Raider and Forbidden).

Big fancy upgrades to the main two units using new tech (Freedom and Justice).

Suit Built by/for the Main Antagonist (Providence).

Duplicate unit of the main Gundam assembled from spare parts (Strike Rouge).

Like, any one or two of those would probably have worked just fine, but they chose all of them. So it just becomes this arms race of “who’s Gundam is the most Gundam” without any real point of reference.

Thing is, Freedom and Justice are actually a step up from the rest, since they’re fitted with Neutron-Jammer cancellers, allowing them to mount nuclear reactors, and by extension achieve much better performance. It’s just that by the time they’re introduced there’s no real way to accurately *show* that, since every other gundam’s already regularly shown taking out scores of foes.

I’m under the impression that the reason as to why SEED has so many Gundams (from an out-of-universe perspective) is because they sell better than the non-Gundam models, so Seed had a lot of them right out of the gate.

To expand further on the thought “does introducing more gundam’s in a spin-off cheapen the original?” I’d have to say…… kinda?

Honestly I’ve read enough side materials that I’m used to it at this point, and Gundams are attractive prospects, both in-universe and out, but it does evoke some pondering. But they can be contrasts with the mainline characters, and they can further expand the world and show

I tend to look on it on a case-by-case basis. Generally it’s down to if I can squint and see it make sense in universe. Sort of like a “well, I guess I can see that”. Some of the examples I’m gonna talk about here also benefit from being implicitly or explicitly weaker than the “main” Gundam’s.

First up, Gundam 00f. Concerning the actions of Celestial Being’s support team, fereshte during the actions of the series.

Adding a total of five new Gundam’s to the series, not counting the “black” variants (since they’re explicitly hollow reproductions) (Astraea, Sadalsuud, Aubhool, Plutone and Raisel)

Generally, I think it works well, since the aforementioned gundams are prototypes of the ones seen in series, being weaker than the ones used by the main characters. They show progression from the 0 Gundam and shed more light on Celestial Being as an organisation. The gundams used by Fereshte are only as effective as they are due to the pilot’s experience and the fact that they don’t draw as much attention to themselves.

New mobile report Gundam Wing G-Unit (sometimes called Gundam: the last outpost). About the Space Colony M-OV and it’s mobile suit development during the main series.

Adding a total of seven new gundams to the series (Geminass 1&2, LO Booster, Aescelpius, Burnlapius, Hydra and Greipe)

Though I do love it……. Seven Gundams is too much, even if you be charitable and don’t count the LO booster. I’m willing to overlook the Geninass units (they look like Gundams and are made of Gundanium alloy, but in-universe it’s either coincidental or the creator had inside knowledge on Operation Meteor) and the Hydra (it’s presented as an answer of sorts to the Epyon, and it’s pilot absolutely strikes me as the sort of person who would build a Gundam to spite Treize), but the other three just feel excessive, considering the amount of time and resources it would take to build them (even including the fact that they’re quite modular).

While it is a nice expansion, I can’t say it adds much to the world of Wing other than the existence of a colony somewhere and maybe a look at how OZ manipulated the colonies.

(I’m also ignoring the retelling that’s supposed to be coming out, since I know nothing about it other than it adds two more Gundams)

Gundam X Astray. A Gundam SEED sidestory and continuation of Gundam Astray.

Astray is a weird side series to me. It feels like the reason why it’s about Astray units is that they realised they had too many Gundam’s and needed something different.

Anyway, this sidestory adds 4 new Gundams (Hyperion Gundam unit 1-3 (though only 1&2 show up) and the Dreadnought Gundam (or the X Astray)).

Honestly, I think this one uses the Gundam’s really, really well. Spoilers follow regarding the mobile suits and their pilots.

The Hyperion Gundam (Piloted by Canard Pars) is a Gundam built by the Eurasian Federation of the Earth Alliance in order to break the Atlantic Federation’s monopoly on mobile suit technology which they gained from the G-Weapons in the original series. I love this, because it shows the Earth Alliance as not being a monolith. It’s shows their individual members jockeying for power, how they engage in realpolitik against other members, and generally helps the Earth alliance come across as a lot more varied than in the show (all the good people die, then all the racists take over). But the Eurasian Federation isn’t actually that good at making mobile suits - they can make something roughly equal to the G-weapons on paper, but they add the umbrella of Artemis tech to it, since that’s really what they are good at. As a result, it’s a very powerful unit- for all of five minutes before the power runs out.

The Hyperion Gundam (the one with the big red cross on its back) is the prototype unit that was a proof-of-concept for the Freedom and Justice. And it’s piloted by a pacifist, Prayer Reverie. But what does he want to do with this colossal weapon? He wants to take it to Earth, and use the tech inside (N-Jammer Canceller) to end the energy crisis. Hey, an actual peaceful use for a weapon of war, that’s pretty good. Also, Prayer isn’t that good of a pilot - but the Dreadnought’s so strong, he doesn’t really need to be. It illustrates how big of a deal the N-Jammer Canceller tech on a mobile suit is (Notwithstanding the fact that the dreadnought can just fly there, it doesn’t need a ship or anything).

I unfortunately haven’t read enough of IBO Gekko to weigh in on Argi and the Astaroth specifically, but I think that Iron-Blooded Orphans handled this really well too. As you said, without the Alaya-Vijyana Gundam frames aren’t really that monstrous, but they are still generally a cut above regular mobile suits due to the twin reactors. However, they’re very, very limited in-universe. There were only ever 72 made, and I believe it’s stated somewhere that only ~30 of them survived? It’s a nice solid limit on how many there are and where they can show up, and that’s not even considering the fact that Gjallarhorn must control a few of them through the Seven Stars (doesn’t remove them, but it limits where they can be). By explicitly calling them out as being a finite thing, it really sells them as being special. But since it happens right at the start, we already know, it doesn’t get sprung on you later. In addition, since we know that they fought in and, more to the point, survived something like the Calamity War already sells them as powerful things in the right hands. They have pedigree, they have mystique and they’re rare enough for those to matter. Lastly, it’s made pretty clear by how Akihiro and Shino fight that a good part of the reason why Barbatos is so effective is because of Mikazuki. The spin-off units are still effective, but Barbatos is an absolute demon. It really sells Rustal using Dainsleif’s on them as even more pragmatic than it was originally.

@gremoria411​ - hope you don’t mind, I’m going to pull out the response to your comment as a post since I’m not sure I can answer in the word limit!

Would you mind expanding on how you believe Wing and Iron Blooded Orphans effectively managed multiple Gundams in a single show?

It’s not a fully-formed idea, but what I mean is something like this:

In Gundam Wing, the Gundams retain their special status right the way through to the end of Endless Waltz. They’re unique, deadly, practically indestructible and it’s a really big deal that Wing Zero and Epyon even exist, because it’s well established you can’t easily build more of them. Dumb as the word is, the idea behind gundanium is pretty smart. These things are never going to be mass-produced and they’re not going to be equaled in battle, either, because the reason they can blast through hundreds upon hundreds of mobile dolls is literally built into them at the conceptual level.

Iron-Blooded Orphans plays with the same kind of thing regarding these machines being a cut above everything else, but ultimately establishes the opposite situation: Gundams weren’t originally ‘rare’ (72 'suits is a very high number by IBO standards), they’re palpably not exceptionally resistant to harm, and in most people’s hands, they don’t perform that much better than the machines they’re fighting. The thing that turns them into kill-everything monsters is gate-kept behind very severe conditions, so it never feels like battles will become trivial by simply having more of them in play.

That last point is why I felt it worth mentioning. What struck me about SEED is that by the time you have Calamity, Raider and Forbidden on screen, it is very hard to take them seriously. They’re Gundams (implicitly, I know the term is not actually used widely in SEED) and unique (not mass-production models like the Astrays), so they should feel like a big deal. But they don’t. They get their backsides handed to them *repeatedly*, because the narrative has to pile on the specialness of Freedom and Justice so they stand out in a swarm of similarly ‘main-character-coded’ ‘suits. It’s trying to have its cake and eat it in terms of how significant Gundams are.

It’s interesting to consider how the different shows chose to handle that, with the extreme ‘only a single Gundam’ model from the 79 series and Turn A at one pole and G Fighter’s complete genericising of the term at the other.

(There’s probably another axis to this thought which is ‘does introducing more Gundams in a spin-off cheapen the original?’ For Wing, the answer is obviously ‘yes’, because of the aforementioned rarity and the colonies not being able to roll them out by the hundreds. For IBO, it’s ‘no’, because the uniqueness is offset on to the pilots. Argi Mirage rolling around in Astaroth isn’t a big deal because Argi is so far below Mika’s level, it’s almost funny. A SEED spin-off could introduce as many Gundams as it liked [and I believe they did] to no effect because the term is already relatively diluted.)

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That you know… This course gives you a detailed insight into the fundamentals of running a small business and the skills to manage one.At The End Of This Course: You would have been exposed to the means and ways of managing a small businesses.Managing a small business is different from those of established or big organizations.It has its own spin of doing things and peculiarities since your resources are limited. What Makes This Course Different?This is a mentoring course. Based on over 30 years’ experience in the field of turbulent entrepreneurship. I had lost out. And I had also gained. Regardless, I have also picked nuggets of lessons between the two experiences. These lessons are shared here with the student, in a free-flowing manner. You get most of the answers you are looking for here. Not all though. 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Watchmen Episode 2 Easter Eggs Explained

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We're piecing together all of the clues and Easter eggs in the Watchmen HBO series.

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This article contains Watchmen episode 2 spoilers.

HBO’s Watchmen episode 2 continues the pattern of the first episode, not only reminding audiences of its ties to the comics, but also offering echoes of the original story in unexpected places. And just as we did with episode one, we’re here to track down all of the Watchmen Easter eggs on the HBO series. 

If you spot something we missed, let us know in the comments or on Twitter and we’ll get this updated!

THE TITLE

The episode’s title, “Martial Feats of Comanche Horsemanship” references the painting that the camera ominously lingers on in Judd’s house during the wake. That painting is a 1834 work by George Catlin, known for his depictions of Native Americans. Weirdly the episode title has rearranged the original name of the painting a bit as it’s titled “Comanche Feats of Martial Horsemanship.” The Comanche were accomplished horsemen, and often fought on horseback. I’m not fluent enough in Native American history or 19th century art to fully explain the possible significance, historical or otherwise of this painting. Please enlighten us in the comments.

THE SQUID RAIN AND THE NEWS

- This episode gives us our first mentions of both the New Frontiersman and Nova Express, the right and left wing papers (respectively) of the Watchmen universe. Rorschach was a massive fan of the New Frontiersman, which in this timeline is also owned (surprise!) by Roger Ailes.

- While the squid rain showers appear to have been going on for quite some time, it appears that the one that we saw in episode 1 was particularly widespread, with people talking about them happening simultaneously in multiple cities across the globe. It’s also interesting to note that people in this world consider them “false flags.”

- And, of course, we get the newsvendor giving the audience the running commentary on the state of the world, just as we did in the original book. While not the same character as the one from the book, this guy, Seymour, is roughly the same age and played by Robert Wisdom (The Wire), and also made his first proper appearance in the second chapter. Also note that in a world without the internet, newspapers are still far more important than they are to ours.

- We finally meet Senator (and Presidential hopeful) Joe Keene. Robert Redford is currently serving his 7th (!) term in office and isn’t planning on running for an 8th. Keene is the conservative candidate most likely to make a run for it. His father was responsible for the Keene Act which outlawed masked vigilante activity in the wake of the police strike of 1977.

RORSCHACH

- To say that Detective Looking Glass is the Rorschach of this show would perhaps be a little too obvious, hence his display of emotion with “then why am I crying under here.” On the other hand, later in the episode we see that even at home he eats with the mask on, Rorschach style. This COULD play into the idea that, like Walter Kovacs, Looking Glass sees his mask as his true face.

We wrote more about Rorschach and his connection to the 7th Kavalry right here.

SISTER NIGHT and THE WHITE NIGHT

- The flashback to “the White Night” is the first piece of Angela’s Sister Night origin story that we get in this show, and like it was for characters in the original book, this will be teased out over future chapters.

- The version of “Santa Baby” that plays during the flashback sequence to the White Night appears to be Eartha Kitt’s. Eartha Kitt wore a mask herself as Catwoman during the third season of the 1966 Batman TV series. It’s interesting to note that the song slows down as danger increases, perhaps to illustrate how time slows and senses sharpen in moments of great duress.

- Also, when Cal wants to open his present it’s “two minutes to midnight.” The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists tracks how close humanity is to annihilating itself via its “Doomsday Clock.” The clock began at “7 minutes to midnight in 1947, hit “two minutes to midnight” in 1953, and has been as far away as 17 minutes in the ensuing decades. It is at this moment once again set at “two minutes to midnight” in part to reflect the growing threat and reality of climate change, as well as reckless nuclear saber rattling by world leaders who probably should know better but obviously do not.

It’s also a killer Iron Maiden tune, but you knew that.

- The blood spatter on Angela’s face almost could be another mirror of the “minutes to midnight” blood spatter pattern on the Comedian’s badge which has long been considered Watchmen’s logo.

- Note that during the flashback in the hospital, Judd’s bandages correspond to the old bullet scars we saw on him in episode 1 when he was putting his shirt on.

- Angela’s phone number is 539-176-2442. At the moment nothing happens if you call it. Not that I've tried or anything.

THE COMEDIAN

- In Nixonville, Red antagonizing a crowd and then losing it when somebody throws a bottle feels very much like the similarly antagonistic Comedian, back when he was partnered up with Nite Owl, taking on a crowd of rioters during the police strike in 1977 before the passage of the Keene Act. Of course, Red and the Comedian would share very little in common politically.

read more: How HBO's Watchmen Was Brought to Life

- Angela’s discovery of Judd’s...um...costume...directly mirrors Rorschach’s discovery of the Comedian’s costume in Edward Blake’s closet in the first issue of Watchmen. Like Angela, Rorschach had no idea of his colleague’s double identity. The difference here is that Rorschach and Comedian worked together professionally as masked adventurers, and didn’t know each other’s secret identities. Rorschach instead stumbles on Blake’s true identity while investigating his murder.

NITE OWL

- Angela and Cal’s children are wearing “pirate” and “owl” costumes. The pirate remains a key pop cultural touchstone in the Watchmen universe, as pirate comics filled the void that superhero comics never needed to fill, as illustrated by the “Tales of the Black Freighter” story that runs through the Watchmen book. “Feed ‘em to the sharks” feels like a reference to that particularly macabre supernatural pirate story. 

The “owl” is a reference to Nite Owl, and while Dan Dreiberg has so far been absent from this show, he’s here in spirit in a number of ways, perhaps especially in the goggles we Angela using to search Judd’s closet at the end of the episode, which look suspiciously like Nite Owl technology. In fact, between the Owlship style hovercraft we saw used as a police vehicle in episode 1, this, and the revelation via HBO’s official supplemental materials that Dan Dreiberg was arrested in 1995 for actions that violated the Keene Act, it might be possible that his punishment might involve creating technology for the police. Or it was simply handed over, confiscated, and then duplicated.

DR. MANHATTAN

- The weird, floating magnetic castle that Topher is building looks very much like the red sand castle we saw Dr. Manhattan building in the first episode. The big blue guy also dismissed that with a wave of his hand. Both structures look suspiciously similar to the castle occupied by the guy who is most certainly not Adrian Veidt (ahem) that Jeremy Irons is playing.

- In the background of Topher’s room there’s a reproduction of Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory,” the “melting pocket watch” painting that could be the surrealist’s most famed work. Considering Jon Osterman’s (and now theoretical Adrian Veidt’s) love for pocket watches, this could be significant, especially when paired with the apparent affinity Topher has with the dwellings/constructions of both characters.

- The play that the “mysterious gentleman” is putting on at the end of the episode is a dramatization of Dr. Jon Osterman’s transformation into Dr. Manhattan, right down to one of the “clones” (if that’s what they are) adopting the character’s blue skin tone and traditional nudity. It wouldn’t be a Watchmen show if there wasn’t some blue dong. If only it was glowing. I’m sure we’ll get there.

AMERICAN HERO STORY AND HOODED JUSTICE

- Opening with “Fraulein Mueller” typing a piece of propaganda can’t be a coincidence in the same episode where we have the “American Hero Story” episode about Rolf Mueller, Hooded Justice.

- The propaganda leaflet dropped on black American soldiers marching towards the line in World War I is word for word from an actual historical leaflet from 1917.

- The FCC warning on American Hero Story: Minutemen feels like a jab at the kind of self policing common in liberal circles. Robert Redford is apparently an exceptionally liberal President, and not everyone is thrilled about it. Note, for example, how the newsvendor jokes about Redford’s “libstapo.”

- American Hero Story focuses heavily on the early days of Hooded Justice. The painting on the back of Rolf’s corpse’s jacket is from a particular Dave Gibbons illustration in the book, meant to be a photograph of Muller as a circus strongman in his prime. The fact that the narrator hints that this isn’t him is a nod to the fact that the corpse was so badly decomposed that they weren’t able to make a positive identification on him. 

We wrote much more about the convoluted mystery surrounding Hooded Justice right here.

You may also note that, like Judd’s dead body, “Rolf” is only wearing one boot.

- Incidentally, the style in which American Hero Story is presented, from the use of slow motion to the speed-ramping to the oversaturated colors and absurdly self-serious and unintentionally hilarious narration and tone, all feel a little like how Zack Snyder envisioned this world in his 2007 Watchmen movie adaptation. 

- Interestingly, they use a kid hawking newspapers to set the stage for Hooded Justice’s first major adventure, and he’s referring to Orson Welles’ famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast and hoax. However, Welles’ broadcast took place on Oct. 30, 1938, while Under the Hood sets the supermarket fight as Oct. 13, 1938. This isn’t an inaccuracy on HBO’s part, and is likely instead just an example of the American Hero Story producers taking artistic license to place the Hooded Justice fight in the fall of 1938 rather than tie it to a specific date.

ADRIAN VEIDT?

- Based on the candles on the cake, it appears to be Veidt’s SECOND anniversary wherever he is, even though only one day has passed for everyone else. Is this a sign of how time passes where he is, or perhaps the perceptions of those around him?

- “Nothing ends. Nothing ever ends,” were Dr. Manhattan’s last words to Adrian Veidt before departing for...redder pastures...at the end of the book.

- The stopwatch kicks off at 9 minutes to midnight. There are nine episodes of this show, hence “it has only just begun.” Incidentally, the Doomsday Clock has been set at 9 minutes to midnight twice in history, once in 1974 and again in 1998.

MUSIC

- The Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion” plays as Angela heads back to Judd’s murder scene, which...seems a little on the nose as far as music cues go.

- The episode ends with “Egg Man” by the Beastie Boys over the closing credits. The egg has been a recurring theme in these two episodes, whether it was Angela making the “smiley face” with the yolks in episode 1, or Will’s affinity for hard-boiled eggs (and the egg timer) in this episode. Look, any time we get a deep cut Beastie Boys needledrop anywhere it’s cause for celebration, and this song, which comes from their second LP, Paul’s Boutique. The song is a simple ode to the joys of throwing eggs at people. Considering the original Watchmen story takes place around Halloween, and this episode airs mere days before “Gate Night” when egg throwing and other mischief is a New York (and elsewhere) tradition, this is both playful and brilliant.

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF

- The paparazzi are wearing wings, and referred to as “moths.” This is likely an evolution of the crude flight technology that former Minutemen member Byron Lewis, the Mothman wore. The last we heard of Mothman in the original Watchmen book, he had suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized. His fate is explored further in DC’s Doomsday Clock comic book sequel.

- Henry Louis “Skip” Gates is indeed a real person, a prominent African-American historian, teacher, and literary critic and scholar. We wrote more about him right here.

- In the alley behind Angela’s bakery you can see the same graffiti that the Knot-Top gang in the Watchmen comic painted. It’s a silhouette of two lovers, intended to evoke the shadows burned into the walls of Hiroshima by the atomic bomb. Somehow that motif made it to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

- Will is 105 years old. He jokes about being Dr. Manhattan, which obviously he is not. One thing notable is that the Bass Reeves silent film in episode 1 featured him wearing a costume that looked an awful lot like Hooded Justice. And Will is fond of the red and purple color scheme of that old masked vigilante. It's probably a coincidence, though. Right? Oh wait, there are no coincidences in the world of Watchmen.

Did you spot anything I missed? Let us know in the comments!

Keep up with all our Watchmen news and reviews here.

Mike Cecchini is the Editor in Chief of Den of Geek. You can read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @wayoutstuff.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Oct 27, 2019

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Rogue One: Second Viewing

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -

Watched Rogue One for the second time today on the big screen.  Here are some more thoughts since I’m not inundated by “HOLY SHIT” feelings from experiencing it the first time. There may be some repeat thoughts.

NB, as usual: have only seen the movie and read a small portion of its prequel Catalyst so far. I try to talk about individual characters themselves, but shipping thoughts concerning RebelCaptain (Jyn/Cassian) and SpiritAssassin (Chirrut/Baze) still occur.

Warning: THIS IS REALLY, REALLY LONG. Not exaggerating in any way.

Quick General Thoughts 

I’d seen the movie a little more than a month ago and have swamped myself in fandom, so I thought I wouldn’t have Extreme Emotions from seeing it again. I even thought I’d be bored for some bits.

I was wrong.

It’s a beautiful movie, and I honestly liked every single performance by the actors and actresses. I thought they were all really good or amazing.

By far one of the most intense movies that I’ve seen in general, not just the Star Wars ‘verse.

Lah’mu

There’s a piece of symbolism in some Rogue One book material that talks about how the movie bookends the theme of “Jyn” and “home.” AKA: Jyn starts the movie by having a home, and Jyn ends the movie by rediscovering home. Figuratively, this is shown by Lah’mu with her parents (start) and the Scarif beach with Cassian (end) (or you could argue the entire Rogue One team becoming family, a la Baze’s “little sister”, as “home”).

However, now I can see there’s also a literal interpretation of this: Jyn’s Lah’mu home is next to a beach. And you remember where she dies? A BEACH.

If one of the Stormtroopers was taught even a little bit of forensic science, Jyn would have absolutely been found underneath that damn rock. They live on rich, loamy soil. Anyone heard of footprints or tracks? I guess Death Troopers are too busy learning how to kill people.

Lyra Erso continues to grow in my heart as a hero and wonderful human being, and I am sad and bitter that beyond one or two lines from Galen and Orson (tangentially for the latter), she is never discussed or mentioned post-Lah’mu. Read Catalyst; Lyra is a badass. 

“You will never win.” = Erso Rebels, one for one.

Lyra/Galen4lyfe. They love each other so friggin much (again, read Catalyst for the one-two-three punch in the gut feels (even though I’ve only read a little)).

I wonder what sort of crops the Ersos grew.

Rings of Kafrene

I originally thought Cassian was very blank-faced about killing the informant and any guilt he felt wasn’t expressed except 100% internally or at a later time on his own. Nope, he definitely shows guilt/regret immediately after shooting the guy, even with Stormtroopers converging. Throughout the movie, in fact, he shows a LOT of guilty faces/body language. Not as perfect as a spy as I thought! (at least 100% of the time)

Wobani Prison

FN-2187 is a reference to Leia’s prison cell 2187. At Wobani, cell 4227 is mentioned. They don’t mean Jyn’s cell, but it finally explains to me why one of my favorite fics (Death Trooper One) uses the designation DT-4227. Tricky, tricky, tricky!

Yavin 4

Yooooo, Jyn is amazing at doing a non-reactive, “I won’t tell you shit” face.

Whatever you say about Draven’s duplicity and cutthroat tactics, Mothma’s democratic idealism is unsustainable bullshit. A lot of fics like to uphold her as this Kind Rebellion Paragon Leader vs Draven, but you know what? Saw had a point in separating from the rebellion. I don’t condone his “civilian deaths are unavoidable” tactics, but Mothma’s path is a fruitless endeavor, and she should have been completely aware of that after twenty years of Empire rule.

This is a passionate, immediate response after seeing the movie again. Maybe someone has some meta to calm me down/see Mothma’s side of the story.

Jedha

So many Asians on Jedha! <3333 (now all dead </3333 )

Small funny moment: the scene where Chirrut and Baze come to the rescue, there’s two little old Asian ladies sitting in the corners of the courtyard just chilling around.

I believe Cassian’s feelings for Jyn went from “unwanted charge” to “shit DEVELOPING FEELINGS” sometime between Jyn saving the little girl and Jyn beating the asses of Stormtroopers with her truncheons. I told you guys that Cassian has a Competency kink.

Jyn’s feelings, on the other hand, went from “jailer” to “friendly.” And I think that explains the level of betrayal she expresses to Cassian after Eadu; yeah, she’s pissed that he was planning to kill her father, but she was also pissed that he had lied to her. She had considered him a friend by the time they had arrived there, and she hadn’t had friends for a long time.

I think it says something about Jyn that, even if she is at most amused by K-2SO or at worst annoyed/indifferent to him, she still is the one who jumps in front of his body when Baze points a gun to him. She responds faster than Cassian, who (definitely) considers Kay his best friend. When Jyn is in a team, she is loyal. (I really, really like Jyn, okay.)

Bor Gullet (the tentacle creature) continues to be gross-looking, and even though I admire the subtle acting choices of Bodhi’s character arc by Riz Ahmed from “nervous defector to traumatized pilot to recovering person”, I do wish we got a better understanding of how damaging this creature (nonhuman sentient?) is. (Apparently the book does a good job?)

Again, I desperately desire more background on Saw’s spiral into severe paranoia. At one point did he start thinking that everyone was going to betray him? At one point did he find the Bor Gullet?

We know that the Empire hates non-humans, but do you know what I found really interesting?  The Rebellion actually showcases only a few nonhumans. Do you know which group represents the most non-humans (besides local populations)? Saw’s Partisans.

There’s not supposed to be galactic racism in Star Wars (I don’t know about extended universe materials, so maybe (most likely) racism exists on individual planet cultures). Rather, it’s replaced by speciesism. And I find the fact that the Partisans are heavily made up of non-humans (and the Rebellion not) extremely interesting if you parallel it to American politics on race throughout the centuries. I’m simplifying the issue, but in fights for equality and justice, who are the people associated with violent protest and riots by society?  Who often feel and are sidelined by mainstream movements?

Still curious at what point Saw separated from the Rebellion. I assume post-Lah’mu, just because Galen seems under the impression that Saw is still in contact with the Rebellion. 

Saw says outright that Jyn was his best fighter. SO MANY RADICAL!JYN FEELINGS. 

and this is why I can’t really support Cassian’s side of the argument after Eadu - Jyn had been involved in the Fight for a very long time. When she says at her interrogation that she “didn’t have the luxury of political opinions,” she has a good reason in saying that! She was never allowed to have a choice: she was born in a Separatist prison, raised by the Empire, ran away from an Empire, and then absorbed into a radical Rebellion cell. It isn’t until Saw abandons her that she makes a choice: the Empire and the Rebellion both hurt her deeply. These weren’t minor hits against her; they performed acts that damaged the core of her soul and transformed her personality. Why does she have any obligation to support either in any way?

Even if you think that abandoning the Fight was a very selfish thing to do, I think it would be incorrect to say that it was an unfounded decision on her part.

Galen mentioning Lyra (;_______;)

I loved all the performances, but Forest Whitaker’s is actually my favorite. Just, wow. (And Jyn’s heartbroken face when Saw refused to leave with her: :( I mean, considering his broken body, no way would he have been able to get out of the mountain, no less to the ship, and he absolutely knew that.)

The destruction of Jedha City was awe-inspiring, in the original etymology of the word (fear, terror). Alderaan’s destruction is sad, but it’s distant - a sphere blows up. The detail of Jedha City’s annihiliation... even on-the-ground videos of nuclear bomb testing and Hiroshima/Nagasaki don’t strike as much fear into my heart (please don’t attack me).

Baze’s FACE when the City is destroyed. It’s SO HEARTWRENCHING. Like, you can see his non-belief in the Force get even worse after the destruction.

Krennic’s “It’s beautiful” brought horrified shivers. I can’t find the tumblr post anymore, but the user talked about the importance of art in injustice (or something like that).

Eadu

All Cassian had to do was snipe Krennic while on that ledge instead of angsting over Erso, and the ending of Rogue One would probably have been less soul-destroying.

I do not understand how geography and the passage of time occurs in some of these scenes. Between Jyn being able to cross the valley and climb up that ladder in the period of Orson’s and Galen’s conversation, Cassian getting to Jyn after the platform is bombed, and Jyn and Cassian crossing back to the other side in no time at all, I assume Einstein’s relativity is involved.

I’m trying to decide whether K-2 revealing that Cassian’s rifle was in a sniper configuration was because (a) K-2 has been described as basically being a child and so he doesn’t even think about it, (b) K-2 didn’t know about Draven’s extra orders to Cassian, so he didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret, or (c) K-2 knows that Cassian would really, really regret assassinating Galen (moreso than anything else he did). My strongest option is (b).

We have to give Draven credit: he only sent the Alliance ships because he thought Cassian was probably dead and Galen still needed to be killed. As soon as he heard Rebels were on the platform, he tried to call off the squadron (I mean, if he had heard it was Jyn and not Cassian, he probably wouldn’t have cared, but still).

I knew beforehand that Chirrut and Baze were married, but holy shit are Chirrut and Baze married. Baze’s self-suffering and resigned sigh after the “I have you” quote!

Little detail I liked: Chirrut puffing air into his hand before shooting with the Bow of Death. Combination of “Gimme luck, Force!” and “Gotta warm up my hands before kicking ass.”

Chirrut is definitely Force-sensitive (I have Headcanons about his pre-movie arc), but there’s no way that Baze isn’t even a teeny-tiny little bit Force-sensitive, too. There’s no way a sharpshooter can be THAT accurate from THAT distance THAT accurately in EVERY battle (every single shot hits someone or some ship).

I’m impressed that the movie did not try to beautify death. Galen died in a super awkward position, and I love the realism of it (even if there was a lot less blood than there should have been).

By the end of the scene, Krennic visually confirms to me that the Galen/Krennic ship is actually a completely one-sided infatuation (seriously, read the book. Galen is laughably blase about the dude).

“You willl never win.” = Erso Rebels, two for two.

Lyra/Galen4lyfe

Some fandoms I can ship characters with multiple people. 

Rogue One is not one of those fandoms.

Jyn had, like, a 2% chance of actually being alive when the platform was bombed, and Cassian still went after her. He’s got it SO BAD. Like, this is the dude who killed his informant ASAP and who K-2SO was certain enough about that he said “we’ll be leaving without you” re:Chirrut & Baze leaving the ship ten minutes ago in the movie. 

Chirrut grabbing Jyn’s hand before the Argument gives me sad feels because it makes me wish that the Jyn+Chirrut+Baze adopted family vibes could have been explored more.

As I said earlier, I don’t think the claims Cassian made against Jyn in their argument had a lot of merit (and I think Jyn knows that, too). But Jyn definitely understands Cassian a lot better after he describes his past, and that’s why she doesn’t dislike/hate him by the time they arrive on Yavin 4. She’s definitely angry and betrayed about his actions/lies, but she now understands why he did them. And I think that’s when she really decided that he was a friend (+ probable realization that this was the second time he had come back for her).

And even though Cassian already feels guilty about almost assassinating Galen, I think his defensive justification took a serious, serious, serious blow not because of Jyn’s words (though that did have an affect), but from the Absolute Overwhelming Disapproval and Disappointment from all the humans on the ship. 

Baze is actually really, really hilarious? His tired collapse against the ship’s closed landing platform post-Argument made me burst into inappropriate giggles.

Mustafar

Darth Vader is terrifying.

I wonder if they hired an actual amputee for the reveal of Vader in that cylinder? Or if it’s CGI.

I’ve never really understood the eye-rolls over his “don’t choke on your aspirations” pun. I thought it was a terrifying addition and very apropos . (Though, if you’re familiar with medical terminology, you’d probably get a giggle from it.)

Krennic gets more and more pathetic every scene.

Yavin 4

Now, I know I talked all about the POC-nonhuman parallels above, but I do want to applaud this movie for its POC representation. The Empire, of course, has always been White As White Can Be, but the modern decision to make the Rebels so racially diverse? And to specifically have the Council be so racially diverse? (look at it! I think only Mothma and one other human was white. The rest of the humans were nonwhite!) That was a calculated decision to comment on today’s political climate.  Think about it: the leaders of the Rebellion were mainly POC. Yes, they unfortunately did not get as much screentime or lines as Mothma and Draven, but what a wonderful step still.

A council that can only make decisions based on unanimous agreement is a terrible idea with that many people.

Cassian showing up with an entire crew of people = moment Jyn DEFINITELY develops Feelings for him.

This gif is always necessary to post:

Cassian has a lot of sway/respect from the people he was able to recruit, but I’m 100% certain that he basically sang Jyn’s praises during the recruitment process. This is the reason they were so okay with her being the mission leader.

STILL ANNOYED ABOUT THE ZERO WOMEN IN THE ROGUE REBEL GROUP.

The trip to Yavin 4 to Scarif really, really highlights the fact that the entirety of the Rogue One family looks towards Jyn as their leader. Yeah, her speech to the group (”Saw always said carrying a stick...”) was, eh, pretty weak compared to Cassian’s (”Make ten men feel like a hundred!”) (Jyn’s not a great public speaker, ok?), but Cassian constantly defers to her. Speech time? You go first, Jyn. Is it time to blow up the mines? Tell me, Jyn. They ain’t co-leaders, and Cassian’s not a shadow leader. Jyn leads, Cassian is her right hand, and everyone else are her believers. (Remember that at Eadu, Chirrut outright states that Chirrut “follows her,” and I’m already forgetting the exact scenes, but I remember having the impression that Bodhi seemed to constantly look towards her (no surprise considering she’s related to Galen). And Baze’s “little sister”! (why no 500+ hours of these people being family. why.))

The side-eye Jyn gives Bodhi when he decides to call their group “Rogue” is still my favorite funniest moment.

Cassian and K-2SO are my favorite friendship in the crew, but I have to admit that K-2 and Bodhi would have definitely developed a pretty funny bromance if they had survived.

Possible RebelCaptain Kiss Moment 1: on the trip to Scarif

Scarif

Sidenote: this review is so friggin’ long, I’m already forgetting the things I want to say.

Seriously, why didn’t Cassian shoot Krennic on Eadu. WHYYYY

The grabber thing that picks out the data files? Reminds me of the claw game in arcades. I would have completely failed this mission purely because of that.

I didn’t realize this the first time, but Admiral Raddus had left even before the Alliance got news that Rogue One had landed. Raddus just up and went “EH FUCK THE COUNCIL LET’S DO THIS” and he had an ENTIRE NAVY follow him despite the very public refusal by the Council. Standing ovation for this dude.

FEMALE PILOTS!!! SO MANY FEMALE PILOTS!!!

Okay, it’s time for me to sing the praises of Bodhi Rook and Riz Ahmed:

Riz Ahmed deserves all the acting awards. Whitaker is still my fave RO performance, but Ahmed is second. It’s such a subtle transition but WOW. 

On Jedha, we meet non-traumatized Bodhi. A little stammery, but he’s being pushed around by the Partisans and no one is listening to him. I’d stammer, too. He’s panicking re:plans, but there’s still steel in him though, a type of confidence.

Then we meet post-tortured Bodhi, and he’s a discombobulated, disjointed, confused mess of a human being. Within the prison cell to his escape outside the mountain, he shows someone whose reaction time is fifty times slower than a non-tortured human being. His dazed look and delayed movements before Cassian pulls him towards the ship is perfect.

Eadu: he’s a nervous wreck. He can’t stop stuttering, even when he���s trying to guide K-2 and Cassian to fly through the rainstorm. He can’t look people in the eye.  

To Scarif: still nervous, but becoming more forward.

Scarif: When Cassian tells Bodhi to find a way to communicate beyond the shield: NO FUCKING STUTTER. HE ORDERS THOSE MEN AROUND AS IF HE’S BEEN ORDERING PEOPLE FOR YEARS. REMEMBER THAT HE’S A FUCKING CARGO PILOT. His voice is so firm, so direct, that none of the soldiers hesitate. When Bodhi makes the run to the shuttle with the cable, there’s a cut to a soldier watching him, and it’s after seeing Bodhi run that the soldier stands up again to fire at the Stormtroopers. I think this soldier is also the one that first decides to run to the master switch, too? (Not sure about that one.) 

And Bodhi basically orders Admiral Raddus to do shit. An Admiral!

BODHI WILL SAVE HIS FRIENDS. HE WILL NOT DISAPPOINT HIS FRIENDS.

BODHI’S LAST WORDS ARE “THIS IS FOR YOU, GALEN.” 

!!!! my heart

“THIS IS FOR YOU, GALEN.” 

IF I WERE TO MULTISHIP A RO CHARACTER, IT’D BE GALEN/BODHI.

I just... I love Bodhi’s character arc so mUCh????11!!? And Riz Ahmed was amazing portraying it????

Melshi seems pretty damn cool. Too bad we didn’t hear more from him.

Baze looks SO BETRAYED when his cannon didn’t take down the AT-AT unit.

Baze and Chirrut at Chirrut’s death was so painful and heartbreaking to rewatch. I like to think that the only reason Chirrut didn’t cup Baze’s face in that moment was because he lost the strength to lift his arm higher and that’s why they just held hands. And the only reason Baze didn’t kiss Chirrut’s hand is because of movie industry homophobia :))))) Also, I realized that Chirrut was hoping/thinking Baze would survive because he says, “Look for me in the Force, and you’ll find me.” :(((

BAZE TURNING HIS GAZE BACK TO CHIRRUT’S BODY WHEN THE GRENADE LANDS BROKE ME EVEN MORE THAN HIS RECITAL OF CHIRRUT’S PRAYER. I could almost hear the “I’ll be with you soon, love,” voice-over.

MY HEART

“Climb! Climb!”

MY HEART

Possible RebelCaptain Kiss Moment No. 2: right before they jump onto the center tower.

Jyn and Cassian must have arms of steel, I’m just saying. If the claw thing didn’t trip me up, I’d fail the mission purely because I couldn’t climb more than one row.

Trying to figure out how many stories Cassian fell down. Fics keep saying really high numbers (like 8 or 12), but it didn’t seem like that? Though that just might be because we were watching it from a higher perspective. (I’m not implying Cassian wasn’t severely injured. I cringed every time he struck a beam. I was just wondering how long the fall was.)

If Cassian shooting Krennic on Eadu would have probably changed RO’s ending, do you want to know what would have completely changed the entire original trilogy? SOMEONE SHOOtinG THE FUCDKING SATELLITE DISH. HOW DID NO ONE HIT THAT EVEN BY ACCIDENT.

“You lose.” = completion of “You will never win.” = Erso Rebels, three for three.

So, since we’re nearing the end, I’d like to quickly talk about Descent/Climb (though Fall/Climb is a more catchy term, if less accurate).

If “abandonment/returning” was one of Jyn’s themes, “climb/descent” is another one.

She “falls” every time Krennic is near her: (1) Lah’mu: she descends the ladder into the hideout; (2) Eadu: she nearly falls off the platform after it’s bombed; (3) Scarif: not Jyn, but Cassian-Jyn are basically inseparable by now anyways: Cassian falls at the Citadel; (4) Scarif: Jyn falls when trying to get back to the transmission tower.

She climbs: (1) Lah’mu: towards Saw (unseen); (2): Eadu: to get to her father; (3) Scarif: to get the plans.

Ok, honestly I have no idea/don’t have the energy to figure out what this actually means, but Jyn went up and down too often for it to not have some sort of importance.

Speaking of themes: from Jyn’s perspective, the entire movie is basically a mirror of her life:

Home on Lah’mu.

Lyra abandons her.

Jyn sees Krennic. Lyra shoots him in the shoulder.

Lyra dies.

Galen “abandons” her.

Saw abandons her.

Jedha: Jyn reunites with Saw (and sees that she’s loved). [Cassian comes back for her x1]

Hologram/Eadu: Jyn reunites with her father (and see’s that she’s loved). [Cassian comes back for her x2] 

Scarif: Jyn thinks Cassian is dead after his fall.

Jyn sees Krennic. Cassian shoots him in the shoulder.

Cassian comes back for her x3.

Home with Cassian/the beach.

Possible RebelCaptain Kiss Moment 3: Side of the head kiss after Cassian stops Jyn from murdering Krennic.

Possible RebelCaptain Kiss Moment 4: Elevator.

Possible RebelCaptain Kiss Moment 5: Beach.

Don’t know the proper term for it, but the quickly-gradual white-out of the screen as Jyn and Cassian are being burnt to a crisp is one of the most visually stunning moments in the film.

MY HEART.

Ships jumping out of hyperspace: cool.

Star Destroyer slamming into Star Destroyer and hitting that Ring Thing: cooler.

Star Destroyer jumping out of hyperspace and Rebel fleet crashing into it while trying to escape: coolest.

Another detail: the ship that had engaged the Star Destroyer and pushed it into the other one was a suicide run. I mean, I’m sure all the fleet knew that this mission was probably a suicide mission, but that ship in particular knew that what they were about to do was a kamikaze move. Serious bravery.

Darth Vader is fucking terrifying.

CGI Princess Leia would have been less uncanny valley if her nose and her eyes weren’t so far apart vertically.

So, the mission plans were on this big cassette thing. And then they were downloaded onto this tiny disc thing. Does the Alliance have better data storage equipment? Or is it like downloading the jpeg version of a CAD file? These are the important questions, people.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

 movie is still amazing and emotionally traumatizing.

god knows how long i’ll be in this fandom. i’m guessing a long, long time. it will never leave my heart even if i visit another one.

every single rogue one family death made me tear up in the theater.

this is fucking long, jesus, i should be spending my time doing other things, like reading Catalyst.

- link to my other Rogue One blabberings -

[christianworldf]

New Post has been published on Nehemiah Reset

New Post has been published on https://nehemiahreset.org/christian-worldview-issues/lgbt/george-takeis-extraordinary-trek-the-washington-post/

George Takei's extraordinary trek - The Washington Post

NEW YORK — As a child, he believed the camp to be a magical oasis, where mythical dinosaurs prowled the woods at night. A native of Los Angeles, he marveled at the “flying exotica” of dragonflies, the treasures of rural life and, that first winter, the “pure magic” of snow.

George Takei spent ages 5 to almost 9 imprisoned by the U.S. government in Japanese American internment camps. A relentless optimist, he believed the shameful legacy of incarcerating an estimated 120,000 Americans during World War II would never be forgotten or duplicated.

At 82, Takei came to understand that he may be mistaken on both counts.

Stories fell into the sinkhole of history, given the omission of the camps from many textbooks and the shame felt by former internees, many of whom remained silent about their experiences, even to descendants. Takei takes no refuge in silence.

The “Star Trek” actor has lived long enough to see thousands of immigrant children jailed near the border. On Twitter, to his 2.9 million followers, he wrote, “This nation has a long and tragic history of separating children from their parents, ever since the days of slavery.”

Sitting in his Manhattan pied-à-terre near Carnegie Hall, the activist for gay rights and social justice calls his government’s actions “an endless cycle of inhumanity, cruelty and injustice repeated generation after generation” and says “it’s got to stop.”

Takei was fortunate. He and his two younger siblings were never separated from their parents, who bore the brunt of fear and degradation in the swamps of Arkansas and the high desert of Northern California. They shielded their children, creating a “Life Is Beautiful” experience often filled with wonder. His father told him they were going for “a long vacation in the country.” Their first stop, of all places, was the Santa Anita Racetrack, where the family was assigned to sleep in the stalls. “We get to sleep where the horsies slept! Fun!” he thought.

[Book review: George Takei has talked about internment before, but never quite like this]

Takei had little understanding of his family abandoning their belongings, the government questioning their patriotism and their return to Los Angeles with nothing, starting over on Skid Row. As a teenager, he came to understand the toll.

“The resonance of my childhood in prison is so loud,” says the actor, who still lives in L.A.

The only surviving photograph of Takei while he was in the Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Camp in Rohwer, Ark., in 1942 and 1943. (George Takei)

This summer, Takei is accelerating his mission to make Americans remember. Almost three-quarters of a century after his release, he feels the crush of time: “I have to tell this story before there’s no one left to tell it.”

He has a new graphic memoir, “They Called Us Enemy,” intended to reach all generations but especially the young, by the publisher of the best-selling “March” trilogy by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

In August, Takei appears in AMC’s 10-episode “The Terror: Infamy,” a horror saga partially set in an internment camp. Four years ago, he starred in the Broadway musical “Allegiance,” inspired by his personal history.

“That experience in the camps gave me my identity,” he says in the apartment he shares with his husband, Brad, which is decorated with Japanese ink drawings and “Star Trek” bric-a-brac: a Starship Enterprise phone, a Sulu action figure in a Bonsai tree.

It’s possible those years in the camps subconsciously nudged Takei toward acting. “To me, the theater was life, its artists, the chroniclers of human history,” he writes in his 1994 autobiography, “To the Stars.” He would star as Hikaru Sulu in a short-lived sci-fi series that would, improbably, spawn more movie and television iterations than furry Tribbles.

In turn, that success created a springboard for social activism. He became “a social media mega-power” — his website’s phrasing, as he has 10 million followers each on two Facebook pages — fueled by a six-member influencer agency, which he calls “Team Takei.” That influence, to a doting and ever-expanding audience, might ensure his experience in the camps matters.

From left, “Star Trek” actors Leonard Nimoy, Takei, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan attend the first showing of the Space Shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, Calif., on Sept. 17, 1976. (AP)

The eternal frontier

Takei frequently refers to his life as “an American story.” It is also a singular, improbable one.

Who else enjoys continued success through the curious alchemy of “Star Trek,” coming out at age 68 and regular appearances on “The Howard Stern Show”?

“George is a little outrageous, and a little Mr. Rogers. He’s sort of where they meet in the middle,” says filmmaker Jennifer Kroot, who produced the 2014 documentary “To Be Takei.”

After enrolling as an architecture student at the University of California at Berkeley, Takei transferred to UCLA to pursue acting at a time when there was almost no work for Asian Americans except dubbing Japanese monster movies like “Rodan” into English and portraying crass caricatures in the Jerry Lewis vehicles “The Big Mouth” (1967) and “Which Way to the Front?” (1970).

Takei accepted the jobs, the Lewis ones to his everlasting chagrin: “I shouldn’t have done it.” But he learned. Never again.

Fortunately, he landed “Star Trek,” Gene Roddenberry’s utopian vision of space pioneers from varied backgrounds working together in harmony and oddly cropped slacks. Two decades after World War II, it showed an Asian American in a positive role.

Jay Kuo, who co-wrote “Allegiance,” grew up in a household where television was largely forbidden. Not “Star Trek.” Kuo’s Chinese American parents knew “we needed to see ourselves represented. We were invisible. George was the only Asian sex symbol. That shirtless sword scene was groundbreaking,” he says of the scene in which Sulu believes he’s an 18th-century swashbuckler after the crew is infected by a virus.

Mr. Spock (Nimoy), Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Hikaru Sulu (Takei) and Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Doohan) stand on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise in the 1968 Season 3 “Star Trek” premiere. (CBS/Getty Images)

The Starship Enterprise was tasked with a five-year mission. Five? The original “Star Trek,” the mother ship of Trekiana, didn’t make it past three, running for just 79 episodes. The final show aired a half-century ago this year.

Takei felt blessed to land the role of the master helmsman. When the show was canceled — “I knew it would be. Good shows were always getting canceled” — Takei was despondent that he would never work again.

Hah! Space became the eternal frontier: six movies with the original cast, an animated series.

[Alyssa Milano’s improbable journey from child star to A-list activist]

Those early TV contracts didn’t favor actors. Takei’s residuals stopped after the 10th rerun. Which happened, Takei says, “about 10,000 reruns ago.”

Fortunately, what the network taketh away, the Trekkies giveth.

Takei jumped on the convention train, across the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany and Japan, signing autographs and posing for photo ops for up to eight hours, his lustrous baritone growing hoarse.

“Star Trek has been enormously bountiful to us,” Takei says. “We had no idea that this phenomenon of Star Trek conventions would follow.”

Now, Takei is one of only four original cast members still alive, along with William Shatner (Capt. James T. Kirk), Nichelle Nichols (communications officer Lt. Uhura) and Walter Koenig (navigator Pavel Chekov).

Takei as Nobuhiro Yamato in AMC’s anthology series “The Terror: Infamy,” set within a World War II-era Japanese American internment camp. (Ed Araquel/AMC)

His professional life flourished, riding the wave of nostalgia and outsize fandom. His personal life, particularly for someone who has always been political and outspoken, was more complicated. Friends and associates long knew Takei was gay. He met Brad Altman, then a journalist, through a gay running club. They started dating in 1987. Brad took George’s last name in 2011.

Takei worried that coming out publicly would deep-six his acting career. So he waited and waited, an eternity, three and a half decades.

“The government imprisoned me for four years for my race. I imprisoned myself about my sexuality for decades,” Kuo recalls Takei telling him. “You can’t imagine what kind of sentry towers you can build around your heart.”

Takei came out in 2005 as a statement, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in California. Quickly, he moved from the closet to the front of the pride parade.

“I was prepared that I wasn’t going to have an acting career,” he says.

Uh, no.

“The opposite happened, and I was more in demand,” Takei says, almost in song. “They love gay George Takei!

It was as though gay was an honorific — and Gay George Takei was a reboot. Gay + “Star Trek” — the latter listing toward camp with its community theater props, too-tight tops and Shatner’s Hamlet-like readings — was a fitting combination.

Takei was hired as much for his droll persona — his catch phrase, “Oh Myyy!” — as his talent. Work was constant: He had appearances on the sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” and “Will and Grace,” and in Archie Comics (as hero to gay character Kevin Keller), plus that surprising gig on Stern’s show.

Takei and Brad Altman after their wedding on June 17, 2008, in West Hollywood, Calif. The couple started dating in 1987, and Brad took Takei’s last name in 2011. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)

“That was a strategy after I came out,” he says of Stern. “We had reached decent, fair-minded people, the LGBT audience. Howard had a huge national audience.”

On Stern’s show, hired technically as “the official announcer” but also as a routinely pranked foil, Takei surprised listeners by inverting his elegant persona — a man who rarely swears or raises his voice — by being as raunchy as the regular crew.

Takei revealed more about his sex life than perhaps anyone anticipated. Mentions of Brad became a constant. Takei’s once-closeted life was broadcast by the master of all media all over Sirius XM.

In 2017, former model Scott R. Brunton alleged that Takei drugged and sexually assaulted him in 1981. No charges were ever filed. Takei denies the incident, which was never substantiated. The actor says, “It’s a fabrication of somebody who wanted to have a story to regale people with.”

Takei moved past it. “It was a very upsetting experience, but it’s never come up again.”

His optimism buoyed him. And he had important causes to serve.

Takei came out in 2005, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in California. “I was prepared that I wasn’t going to have an acting career,” he says. “The opposite happened, and I was more in demand.” (Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post)

A witness to change

The first time I met George and Brad, at a party in Los Angeles last year, they were bickering.

When we meet in Manhattan, they bicker again over lunch, over the smallest details. Brad worries about almost everything. George does not. It was somewhat refreshing. A cult icon and his spouse being themselves in front of a reporter. Takei’s openness contributes to the continuing embrace by fans five decades after “Star Trek” was canceled and why he’s a natural for Stern. He presents authentically as himself, a man who extols life’s fortunes. Why isn’t he angry with the country that imprisoned his family?

“Because it would be another barbed-wire fence around my heart,” he says.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 formally apologized to former Japanese American internees. Takei received a reparation check for $20,000. He donated it to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, which he helped found and for which he serves as a trustee.

Takei, far right, with his sister Nancy Reiko Takei, brother Henry Takei, mother Fumiko Emily Takei and father Takekuma Norman Takei, around 1947 to 1948. (George Takei)

Takei has witnessed his country change, often for the better. “When I was growing up, I couldn’t marry a white woman” he has said, due to anti-miscegenation laws. “And now I’m married to a white dude!”

In 2012, when he was on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” he invited host Donald Trump to lunch at “any of Trump’s properties” — smart move — with the intention of discussing marriage equality. Trump accepted the offer. Takei recalls that Trump told him “he believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. This from a man who has been married three times!”

Takei was in New York recently for Pride Month, attending the Stonewall anniversary concert and City Hall ceremony. The events are as vital to his identity as acting.

“I was active in almost every other social justice cause as well as political candidates,” he says. “But I was silent about the issue that was most personal to me, most organic to who I am, because I wanted my career.”

Time was generous. He began life in internment camps and came out in his late 60s. At 82, he’s flourishing in a field that had little use for him when he started.

Takei’s graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” recounts his experience as a child in Japanese American internment camps during World War II.

The actor says he wants to ensure all generations know the story of what happened to his family. (Top Shelf Productions)

LEFT: Takei’s graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” recounts his experience as a child in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. RIGHT: The actor says he wants to ensure all generations know the story of what happened to his family. (Top Shelf Productions)

But time can punish memory. Takei wants to ensure we know the story of what happened to his family, in his country.

The worst day of internment was the first one, he recalls. Soldiers marched up the driveway with bayonets on their rifles, pounded on the door and took the family away to who knew where and for how long. Says Takei, “It was a terrifying morning.”

Bayonets and a 5-year-old boy. It is, as Takei says, an American story — a frightening and lamentable one.

All we can do is learn.

At 82, Takei is thriving in an industry that once had little use for him. His graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” was released this month, and AMC’s “The Terror: Infamy” premieres in August. (Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post)

Story by Karen Heller. Portraits by Jesse Dittmar. Photo editing by Mark Gail. Video by Erin Patrick O’Connor. Copy editing by Whitney Juckno. Design by Eddie Alvarez.

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