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i dont think the sages are distinctly aware of everything their avatars are doing, but i imagine some things probably bleed through

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Rito-gust: Singing

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Oh no. The Koroks have come for link!! 🌿

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Superman and Top Gun

a hopefully objective comparative analysis but don’t count on it because i have beef

(doodle by meeeee)

1. The Dogs.

Military propaganda -> dog named Theo -> reasonable inference: dog is named after Theodore Roosevelt, father of the U.S. Navy. Theo is a good boy. He has one appearance.

Anti-war message -> dog named Krypto -> Krypton is an imperialist planet that faced extinction. Krypto is not a very good boy. He has lots of appearances.

Conclusions: give dogs more screen time. What did Top Gun lead to? Increased recruitment. Superman led to a spike in dog adoption.

Interestingly, the widely cited 500% increase in 1986 is not supported (less than ten percent of that) while search engines have tracked a 513% increase in adoption interest.

2. The Sun

Scenes filmed at “golden hour” are emotional and memorable. Movies that take this to the next level seem to insert The Sun as its own character. The Sun heals Superman. When The Sun breaks through the clouds, Maverick says “Talk to me, Goose” - The Sun is now Goose. So, this light source is very potent, almost spiritual, in what it elicits in the protagonist or the audience. Paired with a soundtrack assembled by the greats, from Hans Zimmer, to John Murphy, to Lady Gaga — there’s a lot of soul in the end product.

2022, I was 17 and a fresh survivor of the combined horrors of lockdown and standardized testing in a flawless meritocracy. Didn’t stand a chance when I sat down to see some boring reboot of an eighties movie I wasn’t aware would resurrect the theater experience itself. I wrote about how moved I was in my college essays. I wrote about how I wanted to become a filmmaker and lift someone else up out of darkness.

Conclusions slash rant: Superman doesn’t just achieve this through interpretation - it’s the point of the story. Where Top Gun: Maverick highlights relationships, using summery, almost hallucinogenic nostalgia to bridge a generational gap both in-story and in real life, Superman has always stood for hope. You get used to the California sun beating down on airbase runways, beaches, ranges and canyons, and it’s romantic, stealing you into a world where time stands still. Light in Superman differs, because it’s the kind of hope which shines brightest in darkness. You need adversity to feel it. Hope is reinforced when it is the most difficult choice to make. Where the character of Maverick is immune to rules and consequences, even to the occasional midair explosion (twice; that plot armor wasn’t off of Temu) - it differs from a Superman who has to brace for his limits, his finite impunity, over and over again. He faces prejudice, while Maverick fends off judgment for his reckless actions - the “pre” tells you exactly what is crucial in setting them apart, and therefore the stories structured around them. It’s a difference, that, amazingly, grounds the comic book adaptation in our political climate, while the other is escapist by design. It seems to call into question what it takes to be a good leader rather than a skilled one. The difference between a symbol, and a myth. It also seems to shine a light (ha, ha) on Hollywood’s role in our media diet.

Furthermore, I submit an observation that Top Gun highlights brotherhood. Superman, on the other hand, masculinity itself. Maybe those two don’t sound like enemies. So I’d like to demonstrate why the W goes to Clark, again:

3. The Love Interest

(Hey, does Penny ever pour her own cup?)

A lesbian, remain objective when discussing justice done to female characters… Maybe Past Zuzu should take the mic. Surely she’s much nicer.

Tension- Two directors, one divorced and the other thrice-divorced, walk into a bar. They are asked to write a relationship with tension, and the winner gets to order on the house. How the hell did Cruise eat shit?

Lois and Clark are equals in the workplace. That’s really interesting. They might talk over one another and act in ways that seem overly cynical to one and overly naive to the other, but they end up respecting one another’s boundaries, recognizing each other’s strengths - and the film lets those pan out side by side. In the soundtrack, “Lois & Clark”, combined, have their own theme. “Penny Returns” and “Hold My Hand” come the closest for Top Gun: Maverick’s romantic pairing… Past Zuzu talks about how Penny’s character mellows out from independent, fully healed, and firmly against a relationship that has led to disappointment for her again and again, to the fate of most Hollywood heroines. The snot-proof-shoulder-pad-wearing (she must look perfect!) prize.

Role- Wow, these come in a lot of colors.

Maybe Penny is a representation of eighties fashion. Since she was mentioned in 1986, she might have been experimenting with different looks as a tween, when she caught the eye of a 24-year old Maverick: Jennifer Connelly (54) and her co-star (63) ☺️

It’s interesting how knowing a couple will end up together, as genre convention or established comic book canon, plays a role in how they’re written. One solution is writing a “stable” love interest, passive, forgiving, a constant the other can depend on no matter how bad or numerous their screw-ups. In this respect, Penny and Maverick’s “stable” dynamic is one frozen in time, characterized by the kind of physical attraction, surface-level flirtations, and secret hook-ups expected of unruly teenagers. In contrast, Lois and Clark are intentionally mismatched, set up to work through differences in their worldview and sense of right or wrong. It’s not an arc of Lois surrendering her ability to gouge and prod for the truth, but instead redirecting it, placing her faith in the goodness of Clark when few others would. Their happy ending feels more than predictable. It feels organic and earned.

Conclusions: Clois? When Choice shapes a narrative? Our winner, even though TG:M passes the Bechdel Test by the narrowest of odds?

FTW! Pour one out! 🍺

4. Trailers and Opening

(My sense of humor is broken.)

A trailer with zero words spoken - I remember seeing 23 million views in under 24 hours. The goal of this movie, according to Warner Bros., was “winning back the trust of our DC fans”. X

I wanted to talk about how both these films treat the audience’s trust, how one feels exploitative to me and the other a sincere attempt at re-contextualization. Now, this invites bias, as a film will seem agreeable if it aligns with your personal and political beliefs. Top Gun is embraced by the right wing, and Superman has sparked intense criticism from the same group. According to them, one suppresses the woke agenda while the other flaunts it. Ben Shapiro praised the film’s classic feel in an age of forced representation, and also, water is wet. Again, this theme of returning to another time period, in Maverick’s own (paraphrased) words, when skill and not automation ruled the day. Because it’s anti-AI to mitigate the risk to human life. I don’t know, sounds more like a self-insert clinging to relevancy. Fuck you.

Conclusions: It’s interesting how both films, in their opening, try to establish a link to reality. This is real history, our history, says the patriotism jacking off the screen. Gunn kicks the invincible Man of Steel’s ass so hard he lands in another hemisphere (correction: same hemisphere, but come on). I guess they both align in a portrayal of human faults, whether they’re eventually course-corrected or the first, most unexpected quality for a superhero film to showcase. They differ in whether the message sustains itself. Sure, the non-Tom Cruise cast are the best fighter pilots in the world, but they forget, Tom Cruise is the OG and they’re shown repeatedly failing to emulate him. Or maybe they don’t forget, since the movie is subtitled (and pre-titled) with the same star as the first one.

Well that’s something. The singular title Superman versus the show-stopping Tom Cruise: Top Gun: Maverick. Should I have been abbreviating TC:TG:M the whole time?

5. Victory / Hope

I used to say, Top Gun: Maverick was a film that taught me to look up. At an age and state of mind where I felt heavy and shackled, there wasn’t a more inspiring feeling after walking out of the theater and noticing, as if the sight was brand new, how vast the sky was. The changing hues, the shapes of different clouds, the calming breeze. It represented limitless possibility, the bridge I was going to cross from high school to college, if I could just tough out one more year. I did, and Top Gun bore me through it.

I guess, looking back, it never addressed the root cause. Never challenged the very system that I depended on for success and happiness, a grueling one that privileged expensive test-taking and perfect AP scores over who I was outside of it all. It actually tried answering the wrong question, and I nearly fell for it: I thought, for a brief window of time, joining the Naval Academy would give me a real purpose, teach me true strength. It was affordable, and recruiters make a point of that, for some strange unknown reason. I am the farthest thing from a person raised in a God-fearing, Amuricaaa eagle screech household, and it got to me. Another sequel has been confirmed.

I would describe the TG:M Anthem as the feeling of victory. Hope is more unique - I touched on that earlier. Hope precedes and succeeds both victory and defeat. It’s intrinsic, rather than dependent on an outcome. Most of all, it’s an act of rebellion. Superman’s identity challenges the moral trajectory of those in power. The story shines an unflattering light on the dominant ideology, the sort of language used to other-fy human beings and shape our media, from news outlets to an ad for jeans. It’s what ultimately equates the “S” on his chest with the punkrocker mentality. It might be what separates entertainment, which sanitizes life, from art - which imitates.

Nowadays, I tell people lots of movies got me into filmmaking - but TG:M is the reason I stay. And that…

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Zelda tried baking and it unfortunately didn’t go too well! 😣

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Trying to figure out how to draw Teba!

Genuinely such a cool guy. I’ve been thinking for over two years now about making an appreciation post for him but have never gotten around to it. Maybe I will at some point.

Coolest Guy in the World <3

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Trying to figure out how to draw Teba!

Genuinely such a cool guy. I’ve been thinking for over two years now about making an appreciation post for him but have never gotten around to it. Maybe I will at some point.

Coolest Guy in the World <3

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I miss being a little kid. Why can't I go back to just being a regular kid

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On my not-often-seen-but-always-there Queenbosa bullshit

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Cloth flinging world champion.

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It's a shame we never got this cutscene, so here's Revali napping on Vah Medoh's crest to make up for it.

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imagine reality TV

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oh and also the fact that one of the first things revali asks teba is if the flight range is still being used 100 years later :(

read screenshot from bottom to top

translation

Revali: You come from 100 years in the future, right? Is my training zone (Flight Range) still in tact?

Teba: The warriors who follow in your footsteps still use it. Even my son who is indebted to you.

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Shoutout to the yumeshippers who are CONSTANTLY BOMBARDED by their f/o’s popular ship !! (+ Bonus points if it’s not even canon!)

Shoutout to the yumeshippers who’s f/o’s are constantly mischaracterised by the fandom to the point where you don’t think your f/o’s fans really like your f/o for who they really are !!!

Shoutout to the yumeshippers who’s f/o’s popular ship has more content than the fandom’s actual canon ships !!

Shoutout to the yumeshippers who’s fandom’s majority of artists ship their f/o’s popular ship !!

Shoutout to the yumeshippers who can’t find artists who draw their f/o WITHOUT SHIPPING THEIR F/O’s POPULAR SHIP !!

SHOUTOUT TO THE YUMESHIPPERS WHO HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THEIR F/O’S POPULAR SHIP AND FUCKING HATE IT!!!

I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS AND RELATE AND FEEL FOR ALL OF YOU BECAUSE PLEASE 🙏🙏🙏🙏

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RACER PHOE 🔥🦅🔥🦅🔥

pics that are giving

pre or post-race interview + biker jacket (bonus if it smells like her gf) (2x bonus if she painted her nails)

CAR. giving photoshoot after she became the one to watch

beau (her mentor) told her he’s so proud of her i mean what 🥹

since she’s a hell of an athlete and needs to fuel up, her gf treats her to carb loading. pretend it’s a huge meal. they catch up on stuff <3

it’s givinggg ✨ her in the pitstop (blue n gold would be such a pretty combo…. honors her mentor/sponsor 🌀 and adds her own flair. gold as the flames of the phoenix, as her place on the podium, as the standard she sets and smashes )

her in the garage 💛🔥 makeout sesh imminent, she missed gf

🏆❕❕

@rito-luvr NAH IM INVESTED IN THIS VERSION OF VEN/NAT NOW