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lorewhoresam · 3 years

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Okay, so I suddenly got a surge of inspiration for a meta post about the finale of supernatural. I know it’s been like a whole month, I just cannot get over this steaming shitpile.

First, let’s talk about the finale, because that was embarrassingly bad for a million different reasons, the biggest one being character development.

Almost every single one of the characters got the same ending they would have gotten if the very first episode hadn’t happened.

Dean Winchester Dean daddy’s-blunt-instrument Winchester went out swinging, as he always wanted. Right? I personally think that Dean never really wanted that, that it was part of John Winchester A+ parenting, that because John said that’s what hunters do, hunt until they get killed, he thought that was the only way he was allowed to go out. But, over the years Dean learned that was not true, that hunters could get out if they wanted, like Jesse and Cesar, (who are important to Dean’s character in other ways (see also: dean is bi) and a lot of the ghostfacers. However, since the writers wanted to “go back to the roots of the show” by making it about Sam and Dean and their toxic co-dependency, even though that hasn’t been an issue in years, as shown by the meaningful connections they both made to others, like Castiel, Eileen, Charlie, Bobby, Jo, Claire, and so many others, they killed him off the way he wanted when the show was still solely about two brothers, saving people, hunting things, the family business. If supernatural is all about family, and family don’t end in blood, why did they erase everyone who wasn’t blood? Why was the only moment they mentioned Dean’s best friend, and his son an off-hand remark, flat and meaningless, directly followed, and diminished even further, by Sam pieing Dean in the face? Was that supposed to be funny? Practically the only reason spn was still so loved by so many people was because of the characters and their bonds, and the humor, and the only pathetic excuse for humor was that? It was a big fuck you to everyone who invested time in this show, beautifully in theme with the rest of the episode. A+ for consistency guys! Dean Winchester, who cried everytime Cas almost died? Dean Winchester, who was worried sick every time Castiel didn’t respond to his calls or prayers, knowing full well he can take care of himself? Dean Winchester, Castiel’s absolute best friend in the whole universe? That Dean Winchester didn’t talk, think, cried, mourned Castiel who confessed his love for him to save him? That fact alone is way worse than the bury your gays trope they pulled.

Castiel Controversial opinion time, because IF they had written in the grief (especially Dean’s, because knowing him, he would have survivor’s guilt, and blame himself) everyone would have gone through after his death, it would be kind of okay. Obviously, you need some explanation behind this batshit crazy statement. Understandable, really. He died in a very in-character way in my opinion. Think about it, Castiel, who has always shown his emotions, his love through self-sacrifice, and thus said “I could go with you” when Dean was a bomb to destroy the Darkness, offering to die for nothing, besides to bring Dean comfort, simply because he doesn’t know any other way to show his love, died, confessing his love so that Dean wouldn’t die at the hands of Billy, but instead favouring Superhell for all eternity. His death was character development, because he learned in that moment that he could say it out loud, but only due tot he fact that it would help Dean. But then they just didn’t mention him again in a way that had any real emotional impact on anyone, characters or fans. And worse, in heaven they, as they did with all the other characters, you guessed it, they erased all character development :D Cas was in heaven, doing his holy duty, the exact same way he would have ended up had he not met and fallen in love with Dean Winchester. (God I love being saying that knowing no one can say it isn’t true) It was obvious though that Bobby knew something about their ‘profound bond’, but that was not something we can credit the writers for, because it was due to Jensen Ackles’ and Jim Beaver’s fantastic acting.

Sam Winchester Sam Winchester got the apple pie life, had a son, who he raised to hunt and a faceless blond wife. The strangest thing to me was his son. Sam, who was raised into hunting and - rightfully - resented his father for it, so why would he do that to his own son? It does not make sense. My second point is very subjective, so you may disagree. I my opinion, Sam never really wanted the apple pie life. I think Dean was the one who wanted a family, and normalcy - as much as that is possible with Castiel obviously. I hear you say Sam went to college because he didn’t want to be a hunter. Well, I disagree. I think he went to college, because he knew he could, and he knew it would make John mad. I think he did it out of rebellion. Why, you ask? Sam was always the one who was better at hunting. He was always more like John than Dean has ever been. Dean is portrayed as more violent but that has another meaning, which is a story for another time. Sam like hunting more as well, but he didn’t like hunting with John, because he was an abusive asshole, and Sam had the chance to rebel, to be selfish, because of Dean. Dean dropped out of high school to work, because he needed to provide for Sam. Dean tried so hard to be he perfect soldier for his dad, so Sam wouldn’t have to be. Dean worked all his childhood to create an environment for Sam where he had the option to be selfish, but Sam returned to hunting anyway, but it wasn’t for his dad. It was for revenge. Now, let me ask you; if Sam truly disliked hunting, if he really wanted to go to law school, wouldn’t he just have returned later? He could have, but he didn’t, because he does love it, just as his father did. And when Dean was in purgatory, he had a girlfriend, a dog, a normal life, but he didn’t even hesitate to get back to hunting when Dean came back. Dean though, Dean wanted the house, the family, the kids. And he tried to get it. But he got pulled back into the life and left Lisa because he had no other choice. And, most importantly, if Dean never went to get Sam in college, and Jess was never killed, his life would look the exact same. He would one day stumble across a ghost and get back into the life, and die of old age, with a blonde wife we know nothing about and a kid.

I still have one tiny question.

Why the hell was John Winchester, abusive and absentee father, in heaven? Why?

#spn #supernatural #meta #spn meta #15x20 #15x20 meta #character development #what character development #fuck andrew dabb #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #dean is bi #tw: mention of abuse #tw: swearing

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 4 years

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Psycho Analysis: Dr. Ivo Robotnik

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Jim Carrey is a guy who has had a long and varied career, but he oh so rarely plays villains. I mean, sure, he played the Grinch that one time, but the Grinch he played was an over-the-top curmudgeon whose heart grew three sizes in the end. Jim’s never really gotten to play an out-and-out bad guy with all the wackiness Jim brings to the table but who is ultimately not redeemable in the slightest.

That all changed with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Dr. Robotnik is a return to form for Jim Carrey, emulating the wacky comedic roles of the 90s that made him a superstar while also letting him finally play an evil mastermind the likes of which we’ve never seen him play. To say Carrey fits the role like a glove is an understatement; the man steals every single scene he’s in. This review will hopefully show you why that’s the case.

Motivation/Goals: As is often the case with our old buddy Robotnik, he’s after Sonic. Here, he has been called in by the United States government because they feel he’s the only one who can bring in Sonic, because despite his ego he is undeniably skilled. It’s a relatively simple goal, but hey, that’s kind of Robotnik’s thing: just go after Sonic for whatever reason. Why fix what isn’t broken, right?

Performance: Jim Carrey apparently stated in an interview that Robotnik’s obsession with Sonic is him chasing after the innocence he wants, but can never possibly have. This was met with a resounding “He really gets the character!” from the fanbase, and it is almost certainly evident in the movie. This Robotnik is very much an egotistical manchild, an emotionally stunted narcissist who was bullied and orphaned and so decided that if anyone was going to be the bully, it was going to be him. He belittles and condescends everyone around him and clearly finds himself to be the intellectual superior to just about everyone, and for the most part, he’s actually able to back up his colossal ego, because he is undeniably brilliant. And most importantly, he literally cannot comprehend why Tom would help Sonic out, the mere concept of having empathy being utterly foreign to him. I haven’t really played much Sonic, so I can’t speak from experience to say whether the fans were right to say that Carrey truly gets the character, but he certainly plays him like he believes the character to be.

Final Fate: Sonic beats him much as he does in the games: by slamming into the machine he’s piloting so hard that Tom and Sonic are able to send him to the Mushroom Planet and trap him there. We get to see him in one of the scenes during the credits, with him having lost his last marble and turned into the Robotnik we all know and love, complete with an evil laugh:

He promises to be home by Christmas for his revenge.

Best Scene: I think the scene that really defines this iteration of Robotnik and ties the entire character together is the legendary dance sequence where he busts a move in his lab to the tune of “Where Evil Grows” by The Poppy Family (a song Carrey apparently picked himself, as he grew up listening to it a lot). He busts some pretty impressive moves, including some from a video you might well be familiar with. The whole scene just really highlights the wacky energy Carrey brings to the role as well as highlighting just how absolutely crazy the man is. The fact there’s also a couple of nods to the franchise (check out that Crush 40 playlist and the “Badnik” label!) is just icing on the cake, and really helps make the fact they cut out a “Mean Bean Machine” joke sting less.

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Best Quote: Sonic saving Tom and his wife by tossing them off a building leads to him dropping this gem from Robotnik: “I was not expecting that... But I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn't count.”

Final Thoughts & Score: Robotnik is one of the single most perfect villains ever conceived for a children’s film. He is just everything he needs to be, and more. For starters, he’s a goofy 90s-era Jim Carrey performance brought to life in 2020, with all the shouting, wacky movements, and heaping quantities of ham you’d expect from such a performance. He has the air of a goofy mustache-twirling one-dimensional cartoon villain with the hammy performance to match.

But he is also surprisingly dark and unrepentantly evil. The fact that before he even shows up he is confirmed to have taken part in coups in the Middle East is shockingly dark for a film like this, and it just never really stops. Robotnik outright threatens to kill Tom as often as he does Sonic, and he has no remorse for all of the property damage and mayhem he causes. If it weren’t for the goofiness Jim Carrey brings, he’d be pretty hard to swallow, but Carrey still manages to fully sell this iteration of Sonic’s most memorable foe as a serious, legitimate threat.

I know it’s a bit early to review the guy, what with it being pretty likely he’s gonna show up in a sequel that is bound to happen due to the positive audience reaction and big box office numbers, but as long as Carrey comes back to keep doing his thing, Robotnik is staying at a 10/10. He’s just a perfect, fun, and deliciously evil villain with great sense in fashion, tunes, and hot beverages. Here’s hoping they let him piss on the moon in the second film.

#Psycho Analysis #Dr. Robotnik #Jim Carrey #Sonic the Hedgehog

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revchainsaw · 3 years

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Sonic: The Hedgehog (2020)

Greeting my flock of film freaks and welcome again to the Cult of Cult. Todays offering is a bit more of the mainstream blockbuster variety, but as films based on Video Games are still actually quite niche and vastly underestimated I think we should open our hearts to Sonic: The Hedgehog and hope that we find it a pleasing tithe to the cult. I am your beloved minster, The Reverend Chainsaw, and welcome to today’s service.

The Message

I must confess to the congregation that I was drinking mighty heavily of the lord’s Tennessee sour mash when I was taking in this movie. That said, I think that this is a great movie to have a drink with and I mean that in the best possible way.

Sonic: The Hedgehog is of course based on the Sega video game franchise and stars Ben Schwartz as the titular blue rat. Schwartz brings his brand of high energy enthusiastic comedy to the voice role. While Schwartz is particularly on brand for Schwartz, is he on brand for Sonic? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m also not entirely sure I was ever in love with the old ways. I am not an avid fan or consumer of Sonic media and perhaps that means I am in a poor position to say. I am most familiar with the Sega games and Sonic cartoons from the 90s, and from what I have grasped the more recent entries with their more anime centric and high lore plots still owe quite a bit to the attitude era of the 90s. Sonic was a hero but he was also a bit of a cross between Mickey Mouse, the Flash, and Bart Simpson. As an angsty 90s boy I wanted to eat chili dogs and go very fast that was very appealing to me, but I’m not so sure it would be appealing to a vast audience of older millennials, or even todays kids. And though I think it would be a fair criticism to say that Ben Schwartz is playing sonic as basically the superhero version of his Dewey Duck from the VERY VERY good DuckTales reboot, I don’t think that it’s necessarily a bad thing.

Dewey Duck the Hedgehog is a small mammal (also not a rodent, I wanted to say rodent and apparently hedgehogs are not rodents, just googled it) from an alien planet where his adoptive mother, an owl named Long Claw, fears that he will be hunted for his special powers, which I think is just super speed but it might be other things. In line with these concerns after an attack by pursuers Longclaw gives Sonic the Moses treatment and floats the special blue boy down the metaphorical river. Unlike Moses, however, Sonic is not found by ultra rich ultra powerful extra special people but is instead alone. Sonic lives alone in exile outside a small American town as a sort of local cryptid.

Thus begins a charming adventure. Through a poor decision to use his powers while working out some personal issues, Sonic inadvertantly draws the attention of the U.S Government and their nasty big brain baddy Dr. Robotnik. Sonic recruits a small town police officer with big city dreams to assist him in finding his magic rings so that he might flee from earth to an uninhabited mushroom kingdom.

Now about these two human characters. Officer Everyman is played by cyclops from the X-men franchise. The actors name escapes me and so does the characters, and while, yes, I just looked up if hedgehogs were rodents, I will not be looking up this information. I like the review better this way. It makes me laugh. And while I don’t remember his name, I do remember that he used to live In Mt. Juliet, TN. Anyway, what you should know about Officer Goodguy is that he drives a Toyota Tacoma!

That Toyota Tacoma is also continuously abused by the mad machinations of our films biggest draw: Jim Carey as Dr. Robotnik. If we were to pitch a Sonic movie, I don’t think anyone would jump to Jim Carey as the must have for the role, but after seeing this film, boy was it the best choice. The way he chews the scenery and plays off the rest of the cast and situations is just so much fun to watch. It’s fantastic to see Jim Carey back in a larger than life role. The Decision to play Jim Carey as the kind of condescending nerd who has taken their lack of social skills and leaned in as opposed to working on themselves was a brilliant choice. We’ve all known that kind of guy who tries to play the misanthrope just because they are too egotistical to recognize their flaws. Here Dr. Robotnik has given up on human connection in favor of subordination. His intellect is his only value, and thus he demands everyone around him acknowledge intellect as the only quality that matters as he has. It was a great choice.

From the point the chase begins the film becomes a road trip flick, and despite the fact that Sonic could supposedly cover the distance required in the blink of an eye we watch the ins and outs of our heroes relationship as they learn what home, and being a hero mean to them. By the climax it is pretty by the numbers, Sonic has come to feel at home on Earth and now that he has friends who care for him they can begin to make a world from which neither will have to flee; and of course, they beat the bad guy. FOR NOW. we are treated to an even crazier Dr. Robotnik stranded in the Fungus Dimension bent on revenge.

The Benediction

Now for all things Holy and Profane in this film, please rise for the Benediction.

Best Scandal: Sonic the Cosmic Horror

The original look of this film was mired in dread when the early footage and trailers dropped revealing a hideously uncanny hedgehog monster in the form of sonic. The memes are amazing, the toys are unsettling, there’s still plenty of Quasimodo Sonic stuff out there floating on the web and I suggest that you search it out, the laughter is good for your heart. Also if anyone wants to send me any creepy sonic merch I’ll take it.

Thanks to the work of online fans and internet harassments, the studio felt it was going to lose money on the project and reeled back the release allowing for the design department to give us a more cartoony but less frightening alien monster. I mean he’s a cartoon, it’s okay for him to look like a cartoon.

Best Scene: Noodle Dance

It’s hard to choose, and it feels a bit biased, but there are a few scenes with Dr. Robotnik that are just what make the movie more than a forgettable IP adaptation. Not that Ben Schwartz wasn’t doing great as the character but I feel Sonic as a whole would be lost in the milieu of CG spectacles and Super Hero Origin stories that we are bombarded with every year if not for Jim Carey’s performances; and even with them Sonic: The Hedgehog is not completely out of those woods. That said, I think Dr. Robotnik’s Alone Time Dance Party has to be the stand out sequence in my memory. I can’t really speak to what makes it so enjoyable, but damn if it isn’t just the best scene in the movie.

Best Character: Silicon Valley Dr. Robotnik

Do I even need to say it? It’s Dr. Robotnik. I’m not a fan of this villain from any other media. I always found Dr. Robotniks look unappealing, I’m not a huge fan of his powers, or using robot henchman. it always struck me as pretty boring how Sonic didn’t have a cool rogues gallery (i’m talking about 90s sonic) the way Mario did. However, they did something with the design, characterization, and performance that just made him such a fun villain. Also, my friend Jacksons mom said I looked like him and it didn’t hurt my feelings so.

Best Actor: Jim Carey

Jim Carey. It really seems like he’s all I’m talking about in this movie. Once again, I think Ben Schwartz did great and Sonic IS basically Dewey Duck in this movie. Dewey Duck is my favorite part of the rebooted DuckTales series, BUT he is just outmaneuvered by Jim Carey in this role. I think it’s a compliment enough to say that Ben Schwartz was even able to keep up with his energy, let alone play his quicker perkier foil.

Worst Scene: Toyota Tacoma Commercial

Sonic: the Hedgehog’s worst scene would probably have to be the forced friend fight between Sonic and Officer Wachowski during the car chase. It’s an overproduced weightless car chase scene with a contrived buddy cop controversy meant to force apart our heroes so that they can ultimately grow a little and come back together later in the movie. Not that I mind a movie like this to be so by the numbers, but it just felt like two of the blandest things on this movies plate being forced into one scene. I do like the idea of giving me the crap part of the dish in one flavorless generic bite, but that still doesn’t save it from being the worst scene in the movie.

That Toyota Tacoma took a beating though.

Worst Feature: Nothing Ventured/ Nothing Earned

I’m sure many fans would feel that the worst feature of the film is that it isn’t loyal to any previous lore laden version of the character, (probably the one they like the most). In the portrayals of both Sonic and Dr. Robotnik there were decisions made that drastically differed from the ways they have been portrayed before. Sonic is naïve and idealistic, a bit childish, Dr. Robotnik is driven by a lot of insecurity. Where are the Chaos Crystals and my original character Grindy the Wolf Cub?

But I think that these are over all positive choices in a film that otherwise chose to play it incredibly safe. In their cautious approach to appeal to the widest possible audience the film makers gave us a pleasant and appealing cartoon romp but we are left with little to hold on to. The worst feature of Sonic: The Hedgehog is it’s safety.

Summary:

Sonic: The Hedgehog is often touted as “the first good video game movie”. A label that I disagree with wholeheartedly. It is certainly a good video game movie, but it’s not the first, and it is not by leaps and bounds better than other video game movies as a whole. It’s a sub genre that gets a ton of disrespect, and in a world where the biggest criticism levied against the Super Mario Bros is that it’s not a faithful adaptation, I don’t understand how Sonic the Buddy Cop/ Road Trip comedy is escaping that attitude.

All that said, I had a good time with this movie. But it felt like playing on the playground as a toddler. You have fun and then you leave and you don’t really remember what you played or who with. I’ll think about Jim Carey and Dewey Duck, but I had a hard time hating or loving anything this movie did in any strong way. I usually feel that a movie that is “bad” or “corny” or “shlocky” is always better than a movie that is generic, or pointless, or boring. Sonics pleasantness and cheerful energy just barely save it from being another Transformers franchise. I get that origin stories are hard, so I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment, and hopefully it’s going to do something that sets it apart. Probably not.

Overall Grade: C

James Marsden! I just remembered!

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

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We'll Turn This City Upside Down (Sriracha, Part 19.)

Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could let you far away from all the trouble.

Part Summary: Since your family knew about Hopper and you were back in Hawkins again, there was no worry about denying it. You were his girl just as he was your man. And a fool for you.

A/N: Welcome to the Jim Hopper flexin’ on everyone with his girlfriend. You know he's a sweet goofball normally, but... You know... Jealousy’s a fucking bitch. (And Jim is one fucking bitch in this one as well, sksksk.) Inspired by The First Lie and The First I Love You by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein.

Word count: 3.2 K

Tagging: @nemodoren @creedslove

Master list: H E R E

"Are you ready?" - Hopper asked when you sat into his police Blazer. It was the morning of the sixteenth of November and you finally took only a short break from making love in the trail. He took two days lasting holidays so he could spend the whole two days by your side. It started snowing one night and you were just tiptoeing to steal a kiss from his lips when the first snowflake fell on the tip of your nose. You both ran back inside, giggling like little kids and nothing on the whole world could make happier as you watched the snowflakes falling snuggled in the bed, drinking cocoa. As it turned out later, Hopper loved the snow and building snowmen, occasionally throwing a snowball at you.

"Can you even get ready for something like this?" - You asked back and finally felt as the Blazer under your ass moved forward. Hopper chuckled and looked away, making sure that there's not another car on the road. He had his blue coat on and Jesus, as soon as you spotted that thing on his shoulders you wanted to either steal it or make Hopper fuck you again. He was handsome as hell with his hat on, looking almost like an Alaskan cowboy.

It was here. The first time of showing the public that the Chief is, in fact, dating a college student. The funniest bit was that you were the nervous one. You were sweating and swearing under your breath since the time you woke up, unable to even eat something. Hopper had a shift on the station and he told you that he'll drive you to your university and picks you up from the job assignment you had later that day.

Jim repeated you many times that you don't have to find a job since you're doing just fine with his payment, but you insisted on finding one as soon as you could - and there was a free spot in a bistro in the downtown. You also had another dinner at your house planned later that week and Hopper, needless to say, was pretty nervous about it.

"Come on. We'll do just fine." - He rolled down the window, palming your whole knee at once. This felt somehow kinky, hot and extremely embarrassing at the same time. You let the hand there and watched the welcoming sign with horror. Well, there you go.

"Tell me the plan again?" - He asked you as the first houses started appearing. You slid further down on the seat, covering your reddening face.

"You'll drive me to school and kiss me so everyone knows what are we on." - You mumbled and watched his palm on your knee.

"That's right. And..?" - That motherfucker continued with a bigger grin than before, waving old Mrs. Smith who was just watering her garden. She almost fainted at the sight of you two together.

"And if I duck out of it, I'm folding all of your fuckin’ clothes for the entire week." - You mumbled and watched your former classmates turning after the Blazer. Jesus, this was a fucking dumb idea.

The first strange people were watching the police Blazer with unbelieving faces - Hopper was casually greeting every citizen you met and you just sat there and smiled with spasm in your face. You looked at Hopper with panic when he stopped the car in front of a bistro.

"Jim, what the fuck you think you're doing right now?" - You hissed when he started undoing the seatbelt. He pointed at a sign reading 'Serving breakfasts from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.'.

"I'm takin' my lady to have somethin' to eat since she hasn't eaten at home?" - He guessed with a shit-eating grin. Why were you dating that jackass again? Oh, you loved him. That's right.

"Jim, this is highly uncomfortable and embarrassing. Will you, please, drive me to school?" - You mumbled, but it was too late. That jackass took his hat off and kissed you in front of a crowded bistro. And if it was only a normal kiss, just a peck, maybe it would cause everyone to turn at you - it was a full make-out session which ended by Hopper quietly humming into your lips. You just tasted even better than ever before in front of that many people. When he pulled back, you were furrowing and heavy breathing but decided not to duck out, forming the perfect plan to embarrass him as well the other day.

When you got out of the car, he was there to catch your hand, looking like a ray of fucking sunshine. No-one and nothing could ruin his mood at that moment. It was making you more happy than embarrassed, but you still felt the uneasy feeling in your chest. He was even humming You Don't Mess Around With Jim.

And Jesus, this man was just straightaway touchy-feely with you in the public. He ordered both of you some sandwiches, with bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee and just as he was looking at the waitress, his foot started to caress your leg under the table. He was unstoppable at that point.

To be honest, you were a hot topic in the whole of Hawkins. Every old lady spread the news immediately and each one of them knew when the evening came by. When you stopped in front of the university, you leaned him to give him a smooch before he drove off to the office. That meant you're safe and that you don't have to fold a single piece of his damn clothes - but your classmates stopped for a minute and watched you as you got off the car.

Julia, who was waiting for you with her notebooks in her arms, just opened up her mouth unbelievably as you walked to her.

“That guy was your summer hook-up? Because it surely must be more than that.” - She mouthed to you while you walked to the class. You felt the stares of each person you met on the way, but really, no-one was looking at you. You might have been a hot rumor to the old ladies and mothers of Hawkins, but you weren't such a hot topic for the younger people living in there. - “I thought you were making a case study out of him! When did you plan to tell me?”

“Things got a little out of hand and me and Jim,” - “You're calling Hopper Jim now? Shit, that's serious.” - She pushed you playfully and you finally smiled before continuing. - “We clicked after a while and a few bottles of Brandy. He was drunk as fuck that night.” - You said honestly, sitting down in the room.

“Is he good in bed?” - She asked immediately. You shook your head unbelievably and she just giggled. You smirk was more than straightaway telling her yes. - “Now it makes sense why he wrapped you around his finger. In every meaning of that phrase.”

“You nasty beast. He hasn't wrapped me around his finger.” - You shot a look back, watching one of the professors walking in. As the class proceeded, Julia told you about Steve from Biology in detail. You could perfectly imagine that guy's body and penis and you haven't even seen him in person at that point.

Your day was flying by you, since you were happy to sit in the class between people, feeling like a normal human being once again. Julia told you about the whole Will Byers incident from an outsider perspective and boy, didn't that sound crazy? She also gave you a ride to Melvald’s general store in the downtown where you needed to shop some things for your revenge plan.

You almost forgot about Joyce working there until she appeared right next to you, as you were comparing two cans of strawberries.

“I would take these bad boys.” - She pointed her finger at cans on the left. You gave her a short look and nodding. - “They're sweeter and more hardened than these canned ones.”

“Thanks for your help, Mrs. Byers. It's amazing how well do clerks know their groceries.” - You giggled and walked to the whipped cream, telling Joyce to follow you with a short look.

“I didn't know you stayed here, your mom told me you're leaving for Indianapolis.” - She said unbelievably while you took the whipped cream with the highest percentage. You nodded and your lips curled up into a smile.

“Yeah. Sometimes you change your plans for a man, you know?” - You tested the waters. Jim and Joyce talked a lot in the last days, they spent quite a lot of time together. Did she know about you? You weren't jealous at all, Joyce went through a lot and she needed someone to talk to just as Will needed a manly figure in his life at the moment.

“Really? I always thought that you'll leave Hawkins for some rich businessman. You always seemed to be ambitious.” - She said excitedly and walked with you to sugar. While making small talk, you walked her back to the cash register. And you noticed that painting still being hung up there. It was old and the colors weren't as bright as they used to be, but it was Wills spaceship. Somehow, you managed to dodge everything that could remember her about the incident and you haven't even told her about Jim.

But that changed with one last order.

“And two packs of unfiltered Camels, please.” - You smiled shyly, and she shot a look at you from packing your groceries. - “I can show you my ID if you want.” - You took out your purse, opening it up.

“You said you stayed here because of a man?” - She asked with wonder, handing you the cigarettes. You nodded, looking her in the eyes. - “Because the only one who buys unfiltered Camels in Melvald...” - “Is Jim.” - You finished for her.

She was surprised, giggling excitedly. You adored that woman as mother and as a human being - she was the one person always smiling and her arms were always opened for the people in need.

“Call me Joyce, then. Jim hasn't told me that he’s seeing someone and... Wow, he still has hir charm.” - She said proudly, offering you a handshake. You laughed as well, accepting it. - “Call me Y/N. Jim is talking to you and about you a lot. It seems that you're great friends.”

“Yeah, we were classmates back in the day. He is that one friend who stayed and never left. He's helping us a lot now. You found yourself a great man, sweetie.” - She held your arm and took the money from you.

“Keep the exchange. Take Will something sweet and tell him I say hi. He probably doesn't even know that I exist, but whatever. I hope he gets better soon.” - You smiled at her and she exhaled slowly, closing her eyes a bit.

“You're a sweetheart, you know that?” - She smiled and you could really tell that she means it and that your wish made her happy and soft. - “Come back soon. Or come to have dinner at our place with Jim, how does that sound?”

“I'll try to talk him down, but you know what Jim’s like. See you!” - You waved at her with a big smile on your lips. You made a new friend that day and nothing felt better than that. Your new job interview went just great - to say that old Mr. Davison was thrilled about you taking a job at his bistro was an understatement. In his opinion, you were a great candidate to get the position of the waitress - you were nice, sweet, nice to look that and overall a pleasant person to be around in his opinion.

You knew that Jim will be bitching about you being half a day at the job and half a day at college, but he could honestly go fuck himself with that kind of bullshit. You needed to make some money as well. Jim really was already waiting for you outside the door, his ass leaned into the trunk of his Blazer, and as soon as you rose up your palm holding the signed up contract, Hopper almost gulped his cigarette down.

“I got the job.” - You rose your eyebrows, looking around the dark street you were sanding at, making yourself sure that its empty before you put your arms around his sides to snuggle a bit closer. It was freezing, again, and it sure as hell was about to snow. - “I'm afraid that I will freeze to death today. You might have to warm me up.”

“Great. Now you'll be comin’ home late and tired. Can't wait for that.” - He mumbled as a response and smoothed your back.

“What's your deal? You should be happy that I am such a responsible adult.” - You let him go and sat on your seat in the Blazer, preparing for your great revenge plan.

“A long day in the office, what should I tell you? We finally found some of Mr. Henderson’s gnomes he was missin’ since summer.” - Hopper climbed there as well, taking a long breath in.

“Another reason to celebrate. Today is such a good day!” - You said excitedly, feeling the Blazer under you moving.

“Really, a great one. Where’s my date with Bo Derek?” - He asked back, looking at you. Your Jim was finally back after three weeks of putting it to ice. - “You think she's hot? Are you serious?” - You asked unbelievably, laughing as you imagined him on the date.

“She definitely is.” - Jim nodded and turned on the radio, letting the Romantics playing in the car as you both got quiet. That man was out of the world. And he also was really excited about the cake you baked in the evening. Your first shift at Marty’s was supposed to start on Saturday, so you had a whole Friday to execute the plan.

What was the plan again? Oh, yeah - visit him on the station tomorrow, since the only ones who brought cakes there were Callhan’s hookups, Powell's wife and Florence herself. You were about to burn Hopper where it could hurt him the most.

“Who’s that for? You haven't baked in weeks.” - Jim mumbled, trying to get his nose somewhere it wasn't supposed to at all. You smacked his fingers when he tried to mess up the whipped cream on your master-piece angrily watching him.

“You know, this is for my other lover David. We haven't seen each other in days.” - You muttered out ironically and started to finish your masterpiece with chocolate topping and strawberries. Joyce was right - these ones were nicely sweet, but still hard when you took a bite. Hopper rose his eyebrows while holding your waist.

“Oh, David. He's a great guy.” - He nodded nonchalantly. - “Tell him I say hi when you'll be meetin’ him again, will you?” - Jim kissed the back of your head and you nodded, humming a song stuck in your head.

On Friday, you both left in your cars, since your classes started way after the time Hopper had to leave for office. You left the cake home, first going to college and then coming back for it, so you could visit Hopper at the station. Everyone was surprised to see you walk in a tight black coat and reddened cheeks, as you held the sweet treat in front of your face.

Powell let you at least put it down before he went for a hug. - “Jesus, you're cold as ice!” - The man cried out as soon as you pressed onto him. Callahan held you a bit longer before he let Florence gave you a small hug as well.

“I just wanted to see how you're holding, guys, we haven't seen each other in months.” - You told the boys before cutting the first piece of the cake and giving it to Powell. He always got the cake first here.

“We? Were good, as always. You know us, Y/N, we never do anything too exciting because that old fool is terrified for his dear ass.” - He said nodding at Hopper who just got out. You could see that Jim had a sassy answer on his tongue, but his gaze got stuck at you. - “But we've heard that you were up to something really exciting in the last two months.” - Powell rose his eyebrows, taking a fair piece of the cake.

“What are... You doin’ here?” - Jim asked and tried to seem normal, pouring himself some coffee.

“David wasn't home, so I told myself that you can have a piece of it as well.” - You said innocently, looking at him from Powell’s crosswords which you stole from the man. You were a Devil and Hopper was sure of that. So that was why you were so calm when he came to pick you up after the interview.

“Oh, poor David doesn't know what he's missin’.” - He mumbled and took a sip, looking at the trio of police employees watching you. Weren't you claimed to be missing two months in a row? Why were both of you acting so casually? Florence could immediately say that something between the two of you is off. The energy was different. - “I told you she was found just three weeks ago, boys. She was fine the whole time.” - Hopper pointed the knife at you as he cut a piece of the cake for himself.

“Why did you disappeared?” - Callahan asked and moved himself a bit closer. That lover boy still obviously wanted to date you. That thing was publically known since he thirsted after you a lot during the summer.

“Actually, fuck David, I'm here to tell you something.” - You got up, running away from Callahan, earning a chuckle from Powell. Callahan was completely confused about why you basically jumped off the chair as soon as he smoothly leaned in. It was as if you could caught rabies from him.

Jim's gaze was asking you not to do it. People neither of you knew were something way different than colleagues he was supposed to see every fucking day. But you held his uniform in your palm anyway, leaning him down for a kiss. You could hear the exact moment when the whole office stopped and watched the two of you making out. Before you finished the kiss, people stopped staring at you, except Callahan, who couldn't look away.

“Buy some pasta on the way home, I'll be cooking tomato sauce today.” - You mumbled, seeing him smirking down on you. You both were crazy and that was the best thing on that whole relationship.

#jim hopper #jim hopper imagine #jim hopper x reader #james jim hopper #stranger things #jim hopper stranger things #stranger things hopper #stranger things netflix

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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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December 29: The Wrath of Khan

Today’s movie watching was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

My overall impression versus TMP is that this is clearly a smoother and more consistently entertaining film. It has a definite story with very little filler, good pacing, a lot of great little dialogue and character moments, and a strong conflict at its center.

But its sci fi bona fides are much weaker. Like by a lot.

Mom and I are talking a bit about Genesis and the more we talk, the weaker it appears to me. First, it’s not really as believable, imo, as a lot of Star Trek. Maybe it’s because it’s not alien based, but I just have a harder time suspending disbelief to think this is possible. Second, it’s not clear why anyone thought this was a good idea. I mean, as McCoy immediately pointed out, it just seems so CLEARLY dangerous: an object meant to foster creation that could so easily be the worst weapon the universe has ever known--nothing could go awry there! Third, the reason for creating such a device isn’t obvious at all. Carol mentions the “growing population” and “food scarcity” but nothing we’ve ever seen of the Federation implies they’re running out of space. Or, frankly (Tarsus IV aside), food. And fourth, there really isn’t any point to Genesis in all its particulars in this film. Like, obviously, its actual purpose is a plot device to resurrect Spock. Within just this film, it doesn’t do anything. Khan wants it, for some reason I’ve already forgotten even though I just saw the film, and he gets it, but I didn’t even notice that happening, because it was so unimportant. His REAL mission is his single minded revenge fantasy on Kirk. Genesis is just a McGuffin/space filler/plot device for the next film.

And honestly that’s not such a big deal, except that when you compare it to TMP, ,and its central idea of a human made probe that gained so much knowledge, doing what we taught it to do, that it became sentient and then started searching for the meaning of life, and how this relates to the search for meaning experienced by the main alien lead, and how his search, in that film and throughout the series, is a mirror for humans and OUR need for purpose... well it just seems really weak. “We made this really dangerous and unrealistic thing for no reason whoops!”

Mom is now criticizing Kirk for being too slow on the uptake when he first encounters the Reliant, which is fair. That’s pretty OOC of him. The idea that he’s too old for space is both one that I must personally disregard, and one that the film would have you discard, since we’ve already heard from TWO characters, the people who know him best, that his best destiny is as a starship captain, and command is his proper role. And that he might be a little rusty is also not a great explanation imo, because the rust was supposed to have come off in TMP. So, plot hole probably.

We were trying to do some math--TMP is at least 2 years post 5YM and TWOK is at least 10 years post TMP, so at least 8 years post TMP. I can understand more rust growing but like... he was already an Admiral in TMP and the idea that he was out of practice with actual command was a big part of his arc there. So it doesn’t seem warranted to do that again.

Also, the way he was commanding poorly in TMP was very IC: he was pushing too hard, trying too much, caring too much about the mission and not enough about...the laws of physics. That’s very Kirk. Being slow on the uptake, caught with his britches down--that’s not Kirk. Plus, with no one to call him out on it, like Decker did in TMP, his poor command doesn’t seem like a big character obstacle to overcome but just like...sloppiness all around.

I thought Khan was over all... just not that interesting. I guess I’m just not into the obsession/revenge plot. Also...idk man he didn’t seem that super to me. He outsmarted Kirk, like, once, and Kirk outsmarted him like 4 times. He tortured some people--but regular humans can do that. He used those sandworm thingies, which is also something humans could do. Overall, he didn’t seem to have any particularly special skills. The only time he really seemed like a worthy adversary for Kirk was when Kirk wasn’t really being IC himself.

I’m also not into the fridging of his wife. Think how much cooler it would have been if she’d still been alive! The only non-super human in the bunch and she’s still there! Ex-Starfleet and bitter!

The K/S in this film is very soothing. Imo they are clearly together here, and the whole film is better if you assume they’re boyfriends and everyone knows. That Vulcan convo that Spock and Saavik have? Waaaaay funnier if you think she’s talking about his boyfriend (”not what I expected....very human” “Well no one’s perfect”). Every time they call each other ‘friend’ like ““friend”“? All the Looks? The birthday gift?

Also the “I have been and always shall be your [friend]” scene is a wedding I will not be taking criticism on this opinion. Could it have been written more like a vow? I think not. It’s not quite This Simple Feeling but it’s the best this film has in that regard.

I liked Saavik and I do think she’s one of the better later-movie additions (though I only like her, as far as I can remember, when played by Kirstie Alley). She didn’t necessarily strike me as super alien, though, at least not at first... But I appreciated how persistent she was about the stupid test, and her regulation quoting. I enjoyed her. I also liked how she was obviously Spock’s protege, which makes her Kirk’s step-protege, and they had just a little bit of that awkward dynamic going on. (”Did you change your hair?”)

The Bones and Kirk relationship was great in this film. You can really feel their friendship and their history with each other. Bones knows him so well and can be honest with him, just when Kirk needs it most.

I also love how Kirk has the SAME conversation with both Bones and Spock (re: being a captain again) but with Spock it’s sooooo much flirtier. In case you weren’t sure what the difference in these two relationships is.

Bonus: this bit of dialogue: Spock: “Be careful, Jim.” / Bones: “WE will.” Lol Spock people who aren’t your boyfriend do exist.

Obviously, I cried during THAT scene. Honestly AOS should have taken note about how to do emotional scenes like that: they come after the main action is over and the villain is defeated. Then they hit at the right time and to the right degree. Kirk just slumping down after Spock dies....like he’s boneless...like he doesn’t know what to do... I CANNOT.

I feel so bad for him that I’ll even forgive him that awful eulogy. Spock died for Genesis? Uh, no, he died for the Enterprise, and for YOU. Spock is the “most human”? You shut your whoreson mouth

I remember hating both Carol and David but I actually hated them less this time, Carol especially. My mom is being really harsh about her, though, which makes me feel less confident in my assessment. I mean first off, she’s the inventor of Genesis, which is a pretty big strike against her. Second...pretty lame to keep Kirk from David. Although I did some vague math and Kirk would only have been about 21, still in the Academy, when David was born, so you can see how that would work out. Also, she distinctly says “Were we together?” which means they were not--this was a fuck buddy arrangement for sure. More complicated. But it still feels weird to retcon that, like, he’s known THIS WHOLE TIME that he’s a dad and we’re only learning about it now, as an audience.

Anyway I’m getting off track. Carol. What to make of her? Is she unstable? Is she still mad at Kirk? My mom points out that she just decided on her own that David would want to join Starfleet if he knew Kirk was his father--whereas what seems to have happened instead is he didn’t just become a civilian scientist like his mom but became her specific protege--working on a project where everyone was probably handpicked by her? I would assume? Also..he hates Starfleet. Not to put everything on the mom, but how did that happen?

Also...going down the rabbit hole of this and feeling awkward about it... but David KNEW Kirk. As “that guy you hung around with.” That means Kirk was in his life for quite a while, long enough for him to have memories, and long enough for those memories to still be with him even into his 20s. But he was never allowed to know who Kirk was. That means Carol’s rule must have been “You can see your son but you can’t tell him who you are” which in some way seems meaner to me than just “please don’t contact us again.” If he was already on his way into space, that could even make sense--”I know you’re not going to be able to be a family with us, so let’s not pretend, let’s make a clean break now.” But that wasn’t what happened!

Anyway whatever not to be HAICG!Kirk about this or anything lol

David is mostly annoying because he’s so anti-Kirk lol. I found him least annoying when he came around to Kirk at the end. Another big strike against him: he wore his sweater tied over his shoulders in such a Preppy manner. I honestly don’t see what about him is supposed to be reminiscent of Kirk.

David/Saavik was definitely happening lol. I wish I could have heard that conversation. It sounds like she told him a lot!!! Not sure why she attached herself to this particular annoying human so fast but I guess she did.

....I think that might be all. The uniforms and general styling were much better than TMP (though less funny/entertaining), and it was certainly an enjoyable overall yarn. A lot to pick apart and critique but in a fun way. Will probably watch The Search for Spock soon.

#the year 2020 #2020: star trek #2020: fandom thoughts #star trek tos

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nerianasims · 3 years

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Billboard #1s 1973

Under the cut.

Carly Simon – “You’re So Vain” -- January 6, 1973

Knowing who this song is about -- if there even is someone -- would make it a lot less fun. "You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht" is one of the greatest lines of all time. The subject of this song is a grade-A douchebag, and yet his life's kinda enviable, isn't it? He can fly his plane to see the total eclipse of the sun, he hangs out with spies, he seduces his close friends' wives, his horse wins races. But he "gave away the things he loved." He chose to be a movie character instead of having love, which is rather sad. It's a more complex song than it seems at first. And it's a lot of fun.

Stevie Wonder – “Superstition” -- January 27, 1973

Can't write too busy jamming. Okay so this song is great. The sentiment is one we need a hell of a lot more of. The music has my favorite funk beat. It's my favorite Stevie Wonder song, and one of my favorite songs period. Actually this is three in a row of my favorite songs now.

Elton John – “Crocodile Rock” -- February 3, 1973

Well that ends that streak. I don't like Elton John's music. I find it dull and irritating. I can't even pinpoint why entirely, because I can't listen to enough of his music all the way through. I have had to listen to this one all the way through at every wedding reception I've ever been to, though. It's a boring dance song, and boring dance songs are very bad things.

Roberta Flack – “Killing Me Softly With His Song” -- February 25, 1973

Roberta Flack is great, but I prefer the Fugee's version of this song. Flack's version is a little too color-within-the-lines for me.

The O’Jays – “Love Train” -- March 24, 1973

An optimistic, happy song about everyone loving each other and getting along. It's also a good dance song, which makes it easy to get on board.

Vicki Lawrence – “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” -- April 7, 1973

She killed her sister-in-law for cheating on her brother? Really? Really? Well this is where revenge leads -- now her brother's dead too. This song doesn't get at anything interesting and the story is simply unpleasant. The music in this song's not spectacular or anything, but it deserves a better story.

Tony Orlando & Dawn – “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” -- April 21, 1973

This lounge lizard singing a twangy country-ish song doesn't work. He doesn't know how to do it. Also, it sounds like they were trying to make it into a novelty song. Someone coming home from prison and hoping his wife will still want him is in very poor taste for a novelty song. This song somehow became about soldiers returning home. It's a really bad song for such a poignant and complex topic. It's a really bad song for anything.

Stevie Wonder – “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” -- May 19, 1973

Stevie Wonder and his wife Syreeta Wright were in the process of breaking up when they recorded this love song together. They stayed in each other's lives until Syreeta passed away, though. Knowing that makes this song even more moving.

The Edgar Winter Group – “Frankenstein” -- May 26, 1973

How did a hard rock instrumental reach the top of the charts? The riff is pretty great, and some cool things are going on with the electric guitar. Hard rock instrumentals aren't my thing, though. But I think it's good, even if I don't want to listen to it.

Paul McCartney & Wings – “My Love” -- June 2, 1973

John and Paul both started producing lighter, slower songs after The Beatles broke up. I feel like George was keeping them grounded. Or I guess maybe Ringo -- who knows? This is tolerable, which is more than I normally say about too-light 70s love songs. Actually I think this is also a sex song. For the most soporific sex imaginable. Paul McCartney's bass playing was awesome when he was in The Beatles. I don't get why he didn't build songs around that after they broke up.

George Harrison – “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” -- June 30, 1973

Another spiritual song from George Harrison, but it's better than "My Sweet Lord" in multiple ways. First, the melody's not plagiarized. Second, it has forward motion. You can actually dance a little to it if you want. Third, there's a bit of anguish there. Spiritual songs are always better when they have the tang of pain to them. And Harrison's guitar is on point. Pretty good.

Billy Preston – “Will It Go Round In Circles” -- July 7, 1973

The last two #1s were by ex-Beatles, and this one is by the man often called "the fifth Beatle." It's the best of these three by quite a ways. It sounds to me like it's about the creative process. A song with no melody, a dance with no steps. And the one I like the best: "I've got a story, ain't got no moral/ Let the bad guy win every once in a while." Sounds like his story's a lot farther along than the song and the dance. The music is funky and soulful with a lot of different things going on, but without feeling overly crowded. Excellent.

Jim Croce – “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” -- July 21, 1973

Leroy Brown is a big, mean man, and everyone's scared of him. Until he goes after the wrong woman and her husband kicks the everloving crap out of him. Being big and mean doesn't count for much if you're a dumbass. It's sort of a country/funk blend, and I like it.

Maureen McGovern – “The Morning After” -- August 4, 1973

Mneh. I know why this one became a big hit; it was the ballad attached to a hit disaster movie. The Poseidon Adventure, one of the biggest disaster movies. I don't get disaster movies either. This song is schmaltz.

Diana Ross – “Touch Me In The Morning” -- August 18, 1973

Diana Ross sure sang a lot of songs in which she was desperate for a man who didn't want her. This time, she promises to be content with having sex just one more time in the morning with a one-night stand. How low maintenance of her. It's slow. It's boring. It gives me the icks.

Stories – “Brother Louie” -- August 25, 1973

Louie is white. He falls in love with a black woman. When he takes her home to his parents, they explode. I think he probably chooses to stay with her, but the song isn't clear. There's the fetishizing "Danger, danger when you taste brown sugar" line. Interracial relationships were really dangerous then still, so that's something. But I don't like the music, I don't like the singing, that one line is really bad and so I can't like the song at all.

Marvin Gaye – “Let’s Get It On” -- September 8, 1973

After learning about Marvin Gaye's life, I am extremely torn about this song. Marvin Gaye's father was a horrible right-wing preacher who made him think sex was a wicked thing. This song is Gaye's celebration of shedding the guilt instilled in him, and finding how wonderful making love was. But I still can't like this song. It's too light for me. (Marvin Gaye's father ended up murdering him -- he was truly a horrific excuse for a human being -- but at least Gaye was mentally free before that.)

Helen Reddy – “Delta Dawn” -- September 15, 1973

Helen Reddy manages a lot more emotion in this song than she did in "I Am Woman." I get it; I prefer stories to polemics too. That doesn't mean I like this song. A story song should have more than two verses and a repetitive chorus. Also, I don't like stories where women go mad because men promise to marry them and then split. I'm looking at you, Charles Dickens. Everyone's got tropes that make them itch, and this is one of mine.

Grand Funk – “We’re An American Band” -- September 29, 1973

My family moved a lot, but I always spent summers with my Grandmother in her cottage near Flint. So Flint is more my hometown than anywhere else. I'm definitely cool with a band from Flint laying claim to the "American Band" label. That doesn't mean I like the song. It's about touring and drinking and groupies, and then it's about repeating the chorus about a hundred and twelve times. Yeah, the music rocks, but it's repetitive and bores me as much as any soft rock ballad ever could.

Cher – “Half-Breed” -- October 6, 1973

I have a lot to say about this song. Way too much. Therefore I'm going to say nothing, except that nothing changes overnight, and this song is a massive improvement over the previous decade's songs about Native Americans.

The Rolling Stones – “Angie” -- October 20, 1973

I liked when the Stones were nice in "Ruby Tuesday." I don't like it so much in this one. It's a step too far. He's singing about how he still loves "you", Angie, but it's time to break up, and I just can't hear it as anything but insincere, fair or not. I feel like he's got someone else waiting. I do like how Mick Jagger makes "Angie" sound like "Angel" when he sings though.

Gladys Knight & The Pips – “Midnight Train To Georgia” -- October 27, 1973

Diana Ross was jealous of Gladys Knight and the Pips, and undermined them at least once. I am not surprised. Gladys Knight is a better singer than Diana Ross, and who wouldn't want the Pips singing and dancing behind them? This song is about how the singer's boyfriend is leaving on a midnight train to Georgia because he couldn't make it as a star in L.A., and she's going with him. Good for them. I love this song.

Eddie Kendricks – “Keep On Truckin'” -- November 10, 1973

Right into falsetto from the start. Sigh. This is a disco song, and it's not technically about trucking, but there are a lot of truck metaphors in it. I find a lot of disco weirdly hard to dance to -- I can't locate the beat somehow. I can dance to The Alan Parsons Project but not the Bee Gees. This is one of those disco songs I have trouble with. So it doesn't work for me to listen to or to dance to, and it's falsetto. Not bad falsetto, but still falsetto the whole way through. I don't hate it but I don't want to hear it again either.

Ringo Starr – “Photograph” -- November 24, 1973

This song is about looking at photographs of someone and missing them. It sounds a bit like an early Beatles song. George Harrison helped Ringo write it, and some of Phil Spector's collaborators gave it the "wall of sound" treatment. The former is likely why it's got a good melody and some interesting musical touches; the latter is why it gives me a headache.

The Carpenters – “Top Of The World” -- December 1, 1973

The singer is newly in love with someone who loves her, and it makes her feel wonderful. Very straightforward, honest, and unembarrassed, and Karen Carpenter's voice is gorgeous as always. The hook is dangerous; this song is likely to be in my head for a few days. That's okay though, because I like it.

Charlie Rich – “The Most Beautiful Girl” -- December 15, 1973

This is a country song in which the singer realizes he just destroyed his life, and is desperate to salvage it. He's asking if you've seen "the most beautiful girl in the world," because he needs to find her to apologize for the things he said that drove her away. It's sad and sweet, but it doesn't make me feel an awful lot.

Jim Croce – “Time In A Bottle” -- December 29, 1973

When this song would come on the oldies station, my mother would yell "Gah!" and change the channel to anything else. Her graduating class, very much to her chagrin, had decided it would be their song. (I don't remember what my graduating class's song was, but I remember some of us trying to get "I'm Too Sexy" to win and failing. I think we ended up being saddled with "I've Got Friends in Low Places.") In any case, I was prejudiced against this song before I heard it the whole way through. Jim Croce died young in a plane crash, so that is very sad. My reaction to this song is still the same as my mother's. It's glop.

BEST OF 1973 -- "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder WORST OF 1973 -- "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence

#billboard number ones

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sunlitroom · 4 years

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Hi! For the ship chart - Gobblepot, Wayleska, BatCat, Nygmakins

Thanks for asking, anon :)

Well, I like all of these :D But to elaborate. And by elaborate, I mean - write a massive essay, because I’ve been in lockdown for over a month now.

Gobblepot - The best OTP of all OTPs

I’ve written a ton of meta (how unfashionable of me) and had conversations with very clever people about Gotham’s writing. It has its flaws - as does everything - but when it does things well, it does them well. Jim and Oswald are paralleled from beginning to end. Even when they’re not technically sharing a story - it’s made clear that these people are connected. Prisoners offered a good example of that, which I recapped here

Jim and Oswald’s connection is made clear right at the beginning - we start off with their story. Jim’s freshly arrived in town, full of big ideas and hopes. He has a shiny new job and a beautiful fiance. Oswald doesn’t seem to have the same external trappings of growth and success - but he’s planted several seeds in the hope they’ll come to fruition later.

It’s interesting to see how reckless and brazen they both are in season one, too. They both stare down the barrel of a gun at points, and practically swagger up to certain people and dare them to kill them. They both retain their impulse to thumb their noses at authority, and do downright dangerous things - but they become increasingly less blithe about it over the seasons as their respective trauma accumulates. There’s a joy in it at the outset, more of a desperate grimness as we go on.

We also get to see their vulnerabilities. There’s little hints early on that there’s more underneath. Jim might look like the invulnerable golden boy but - to quote a line from Silence of the Lambs - his face is all scars, if you know how to look. Look at his immediate bond with the bereaved Bruce, because Jim saw his father die at the same age. Look at Jim’s reaction when Loeb comments about not following in his father’s footsteps. Look how quickly his relationship with Barbara falls apart - in fact, just look at it in the first place.

Oswald’s vulnerabilites are more and less obvious. He’s the Other to Jim’s all-American hero. He’s flung about all over the place in season one - tiny-looking in comparison to the likes of Falcone and Maroni. He’s left with a permanent limp after Fish’s beating. Less obviously, we see that he’s strongly motivated by his need to make his mother happy, and that the notion of causing her shame hurts him to the point of tears.

All that kind of stuff, all the careful details, built slowly, really make it for me. They’re built on later - in many ways they’re very different, but in others, very similar.

This difference/similarity plays out in their encounters, too. They’re oddly fascinated by each other. Oswald’s attraction is made very apparent from the outset . Yes - Jim might be another piece on the chessboard (albeit one he won’t sacrifice) - but he blushes and stares and lights up when Jim appears. Even later, when all the hurts and wrongs between them have mounted up, he still can’t quite resist gazing.

Jim’s a combination of uneasy but fascinated in Oswald’s company. The early scene in the alley pinpoints it so well - the moment right after this one:

Oswald - who is adept at reading people (in season one, anyway) grins - because Jim is rapt. He has his whole attention. To steal a line from Hannibal this time. he watched the red sparks pinwheel deep in his eyes and felt the excitement of a child approaching a distant fair. Although, in this case - it’s all more illicit and scary. Jim knows he shouldn’t go to this fair, and this fair is a dangerous place.

And that odd fascination never really goes away. Even at points when Jim is angered or revolted by Oswald’s actions - he’s never repulsed. He’s more likely to shake him than turn his back on him.

This dynamic might morph a bit, depending on circumstance - but Jim always stands too close, stares too long, likes to tease, and is quick to head in Oswald’s direction when the chips are down.

A last point. Something else I enjoy is that they know the best and worst of each other, and seem to have an endless capacity for forgiveness.

Wayleska - sort of an OTP? I do find it a heartbreaker of a ship.

Pre-gas Jeremiah is so instantly smitten with Bruce. That first interaction and he’s completely gone. I’m posting the gifs again because they’re glorious. I know they’re all different sizes, but meh.

What makes it all so painful is that you can see - post-gas - this is still there. He’s still head-over-heels, and there’s slivers of awareness there. But the gas has twisted everything, and you can see part of him is mortified and pained at how this is all playing out.

Especially here, in these next gifs. Even the big showy gesture is laced with pain, and afterwards just seals it

Given his secretive and hidden-away past, you could probably hazard a guess that this is the first time Jeremiah has been in love. On top of that, he seems reserved and restrained by nature. And here he is - being forced to reveal his feelings like this.

On saying all that, I loved what I saw in show - but maybe prefer it as a pairing in fics. Bruce - for me, anyway - doesn’t seem mature enough to deal with the intensity of Jeremiah’s feeling - pre and post-gas. Maybe when he’s a little older, it’s something he could at least take in and process, but it seems a little one-sided in show just because Bruce doesn’t really seem to recognise what’s happening, let alone parry it.

The only point where you could argue that he was aware, and that there’s feelings there, I think, is the fact that he’s so angry at Jeremiah. With Jerome, Bruce almost felt responsible for his actions, and does what he can to mitigate them. But with Jeremiah, Bruce refuses to even tell him that they have a connection in order to save people’s lives. His anger and obstinacy feels more visceral and - if I prod it - looks like hurt and betrayal. Bruce saw Jeremiah, at least, as a friend. His reaction to the loss of that seems a bit disproportionate - so maybe there are nascent feelings there?

But generally. yes, better in fic where the writer can take more license and time with Bruce.

BatCat - It’s not an OTP - but it’s sweet and I like it? I’m not so mad keen about how forgetful Alfred and Bruce can sometimes be of Selina in earlier seasons, and sometime tone-deaf at points later - but yes, it’s nice.

Nygmakins - I like this. It’s maybe not an OTP - but I ship it. The foundations aren’t quite as extensive as with Gobblepot - but they’re there. They’re both seemingly sweet-natured, sciencey and fascinated with the darker side of life. Very early on, we know they have interactions that we don’t see. Lee apparently allows Ed to use the lab and exam room when he wants, and he dreamily remarks that she smells nice.

Later, we see more similarity as their duality becomes more apparent, and their shared taste for violence, darkness and power. Lee enjoys the applause of the crowds in the Narrows just as much as Ed enjoys the audience adulation for his ‘gameshow’. Lee’s revenge on Sofia is as protracted and merciless as Ed’s on Oswald.

Last up - they both have a desire to be entirely seen, which is something they seem to find in each other.

Thanks for the ask, anon. I fire the same pairings back at you, if you feel like answering :)

#Anonymous #ask #shipping

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thecomicsnexus · 4 years

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BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY BATMAN #426-429 DECEMBER 1988 - JANUARY 1989 BY JIM STARLIN, JIM APARO, MIKE DECARLO, ADRIENNE ROY, MIKE MIGNOLA, ANTHONY TOLLIN AND OVER 10,000 PHONE CALLS.

Jason Todd finds out his biological mother may still be alive and he discovers there are three possible women that could be his mother. He then decides to meet each other to find out which one is the one. But at the same time, the Joker escapes Arkham and decides to make some quick money by dealing with terrorists. Both missions will collide into each other and change Batman’s life forever.

SCORE: 8

This story was a big deal when it came out, and for Batman fans, it still is. But it has been cheapened by DC’s decision to bring the character back from the dead. I assume this is not spoiler, as it is in the covers.

I will talk more about the plot in the spoiler section. I feel like in general there is a lot of lazy writing in this story. I think the idea was good, but there are many things in the story that didn’t need to be this way. I would have just removed everything about the middle east, and I would also tried to find an alternative to yet another “diplomatic immunity” plot.

Jim Aparo did his usual iconic style here, but that also means that many characters look too much alike, which is a shame. Especially when Jason doesn’t really look like a teenager.

So, something I can discuss outside of the spoiler section, is the whole gimmick of this story. The phone number vote.

From Wikipedia:

Jason Todd, the second character to take the Robin persona, was introduced in Batman #357 (March 1983). He was initially depicted with a personality and origin identical to that of predecessor Dick Grayson. However, the history-altering events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Batman: Year One allowed editor Dennis O'Neil, writer Max Allan Collins, and artist Chris Warner to revise his backstory and personality. The changes caused Todd to grow increasingly unpopular with fans during this period; unlike the cheery and optimistic Grayson, this new characterization of Todd was depicted as foul-mouthed, impulsive, and bad-tempered.

Aware of Todd's unpopularity, O'Neil and writer Jim Starlin began discussing ways to retire the character, and before long, began to consider killing him altogether. During an editorial retreat, O'Neil recalled the success of a 1982 segment of Saturday Night Live, in which Eddie Murphy encouraged viewers to call the show if they wanted him to boil Larry the Lobster on air. O'Neil proposed a similar idea involving Todd to publisher Jenette Kahn, who liked the idea. O'Neil would later state:

We didn't want to waste it on anything minor. Whether Firestorm's boots should be red or yellow ... This had to be important. Life or death stuff.

— Dennis O'Neil

On the back of Batman #427, an advertisement was run featuring Batman carrying a severely wounded Robin. In the ad, readers were warned that Robin would die of his injuries "because the Joker wants revenge", but that they could "prevent it with a telephone call". Two 900 numbers were given: one (1-(900) 720-2660) which would let Robin live, and another (1-(900) 720-2666) which would cause him to die. The numbers were active for 36 hours, beginning on September 15, 1988, at 8 A.M. EST and ending on September 16, 1988, at 8 P.M. EST. Readers were charged 50 cents per call. Approximately 10,614 votes were cast during this period. When tallied, the final results were extremely narrow, with 5,343 votes in favor of Jason's death over 5,271 for his survival—a margin of just 72 votes. O'Neil would later admit to having voted in Todd's favor, as he felt that Batman was incomplete without Robin and feared killing Todd would lead to backlash.

"A Death in the Family" was written by Starlin. The artwork was illustrated by Jim Aparo, inked by Mike DeCarlo, and colored by Adrienne Roy. John Costanza handled the lettering, and Mike Mignola designed each issue's cover. The four-part story line began in Batman #426 (December 1988), and concluded in Batman #429 (January 1989). Two versions of issue #428 were prepared: one that would be used if readers voted in favor of Todd's survival, and another to be used if he was to be killed; the latter version ended up being used. The story line was later collected in trade paperback and hardcover form as Batman: A Death in the Family after its conclusion.

When it was first released, "A Death in the Family" generated massive media coverage and backlash over the decision to kill Robin, a beloved comic book character and pop icon. Newspapers such as USA Today and Reuters published articles about it, the latter of which would state that "a group of comic book artists and writers has succeeded in doing what the most fiendish minds of the century... have failed to accomplish". Frank Miller, author of The Dark Knight Returns (1986), was highly critical of the story, describing the "toll-free" number voting as "the most cynical thing [DC] has ever done". O'Neil and his team were caught off-guard by the amount of attention the story drew; according to him, it lasted four straight days, and was unlike anything the team had previously experienced. The story line was a bestseller in both the standard single-issue and trade paperback format.

In retrospect, Hilary Goldstein of IGN called "A Death in the Family" one of the best Batman graphic novels ever written. He described the story as "worth the price of admission", and considered letting readers vote on Todd's fate to be one of DC's strongest decisions. Both Goldstein and NPR contributor Glen Weldon agreed with the choice of killing Todd, as both felt the character was poorly developed and inferior to Grayson. Screen Rant praised Aparo's cover for the collected version, describing it as "iconic" and perfect for showing such a grim, sad moment.

From DC in the 80s:

For Batman, we did Death in the Family -- which was their best-selling book that year -- but it turns out they had all these licensing (pajamas, lunch boxes, and stuff like that) and the licensing department was very mad, everybody got mad, and they needed somebody to blame -- so I got blamed. And within 3 months all of my work dried up - Jim Starlin

Spoilers after the break...

So one of the reason I say there was too much lazy writing in this story, has to do with all the coincidences. The Joker just happens to be in the same places as two of the possible mothers. And not only that, Joker even knew Sheila when she lost her license for doing abortions. I understand why Sheila betrays Jason (she was also taking money from the poor in Ethiopia and didn’t want any problems with the law), but it was never explained how the Joker and Sheila knew each other.

There goes mother of the year!

To be honest, while Jason’s death was brutal, I always felt it was the right thing. Being Robin was child endangerment, Starlin was right in that. But it also seems like Jason magically became Robin, without much thought to it. I tolerate the pre-crisis version more than this one, but the people to blame for how he ended up being... are Max Allan Collins and Jim Starlin.

There were two versions of issue #428, and the material ended up being used for Batman Annual #25 (Infinite Crisis tie-in... more lazy writing, by the way).

But to me the idea of using diplomatic immunity once again was ridiculous, and just the idea that the Joker would become ambassador and kill everyone in the council... while representing Iran... is also quite stupid, because it would be considered an act of war on all other countries.

There is also another idea happening in the last issue. That the Joker knows who Batman is. This would make sense as it was too much of a coincidence that Jason died in that same explosion (Batman even mentions Jason to the Joker). The issue may have been edited to remove all references from the Joker that he knows who Batman is, you can read more about it here.

Both Joker and Robin would drop off the radar for an entire year, a year that was quite important for the Joker, as the Batman Motion Picture created bat-mania around the world. In fact, I am lying, the Robin concept wouldn’t take long to start resurfacing (in just a few months we would have Batman: Year Three). But the consequences of this story were felt for years, until people at DC started basically publishing fan fiction, with reality-punching Superboy prime.

If I had to vote, I would vote for Jason to die. Mostly because I know now, how much potential him dying gave to the batman and robin mythos. Having that dead Robin there is a reminder that what they do is dangerous and has no place for amateurs. I wouldn’t vote for Jason to die again now, as it wouldn’t mean a thing. Like death in comics.

#mike mignola #jason todd #robin #batman #joker #superman #dc comics #comics #review #1988 #1989 #modern age #a death in the family #jim aparo

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samclownchester · 4 years

Text

Supernatural Rewatch 02x03

Bloodlust

(Next Episode | Masterlist | Previous Episode)

Hooray more vampires

FRICK IS THAT BENNY

OH MY GOSH

*quick google later*

So, it is the same actor but this character is named Eli. I think it would’ve actually been cooler if they just kept it the same character, but this works too.

Alright, lets talk about what we learn about the boys in this episode. Firstly, it’s really weird to me that Sam and Dean are so ignorant to the Hunter community

DEAN You seem to know a lot about our family.

GORDON Word travels fast. You know how hunters talk.

DEAN No, we don't, actually.

GORDON I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?

Why did John keep Sam and Dean so removed from other hunters? We know that they knew Bobby, and we also hear about other people like Pastor Jim and Deacon (although Deacon’s not a hunter) so we know that Sam and Dean grew up knowing their dad’s friends, but they never really interacted with the larger world of hunters. Maybe it’s because this wasn’t the life John wanted for his sons, maybe he felt that he should keep them away from the influence of people like Gordon, that maybe they would have a better shot at a normal life if they didn’t get too connected to the world of Hunters. Either way, it makes me feel like they must have felt very isolated growing up. We learn in season 15 that Dean did have a hunting buddy while Sam was in college (Lee) but I guess they still didn’t know much about the hunting community.

Whatever John’s reasons, during the conversation it’s clear that Dean is struggling with the memory of his father. He is aware that there is a lot their dad never told them, not only about the hunting community, but also about Sam, and Azazel’s plans for him. Dean tells this little anecdote from his teenage years to Gordon:

DEAN ... So. I pick up this crossbow. And I hit that ugly sucker with a silver-tipped arrow right in his heart. Sammy's waiting in the car, and uh, me and my dad take the thing into the woods, burn it to a crisp. I'm sitting there and looking into the fire, and I'm thinking to myself, I'm sixteen years old. Most kids my age are worried about pimples, prom dates. I'm seeing things that they'll never even know. Never even dream of. So right then, I just sort of -

GORDON Embraced the life?

When Sam was 12 he was still being told to wait in the car instead of participating in hunts. How old was Dean when he was expected to hunt? Dean was 6 or 7 when his dad took him shooting for the first time (we find out in a later episode). Just another example of how Dean was expected to grow up much faster than his brother.

When Dean tells this story, it’s evident in his face and tone that it’s not a happy memory. It seems like “embraced the life” is not the phrase Dean would have used, but something more like “accepted my fate.” This isn’t the story of 16 year old realizing he’s special, it’s one of a kid realizing he will never be normal.

This episode is another that really highlights the difference between the brothers and their approach to hunting:

DEAN What part of 'vampires' don't you understand, Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That's our job.

SAM No, Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil!

In fact, Sam’s differences are highlighted often throughout this episode; he says that “decapitations aren’t exactly [his] idea of a good time,” Gordon says it “doesn’t seem like you’re brothers much like us.” We are repeatedly being told that Sam is not what a hunter is supposed to be. Gordon comments on how Sam is different, implying that he and Dean are the same, and with this interaction there’s this idea that Gordon understands Dean, possibly more than Sam does.

DEAN …I can't talk about this to Sammy. You know, I gotta keep my game face on. But, uh, the truth is I'm not handling it very well. Feel like I have this -

GORDON Hole inside you? And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker? Good. You can use it. Keeps you hungry. Trust me. There's plenty out there needs killing, and this'll help you do it. Dean, it's not a crime to need your job.

He knows what it’s like to have that hole inside you. But later, when Sam and Dean are arguing, Sam says

SAM You know, you slap on this big fake smile but I can see right through it. Because I know how you feel, Dean. Dad's dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it, but you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to. It's an insult to his memory.

As much as Dean tries to hide it from Sam, Sam understands him. He sees the hole. It also shows that Gordon fundamentally misunderstands Dean. He advises that he use that grief to fuel his hunting, but we know that Dean has never really cared for revenge. Revenge is John and Sam’s game, but Dean is only in this for family. So where Gordon thinks the hole in Dean’s life could be filled with killing monsters, Sam knows that Dean is looking to fill that hole with family. (He says earlier that he knows Dean is trying to make Gordon a replacement for their dad). Dean wants someone older and more experienced to tell him what to do, to tell him what’s right and wrong, because that’s what he’s always had, and Sam knows that’s the hole that needs filling, not some drive for vengeance or violence or whatever Gordon thinks.

But, there are ways that Dean sees himself in Gordon, and it scares him. We had a quote from him in Season 1 about how he scares himself sometimes, with the things he’s wiling to do, and we return to that idea in this episode; except this time he’s starting to question the whole world view he grew up with

DEAN I wish we never took this job. It's jacked everything up.

SAM What do you mean?

DEAN Think about all the hunts we went on, Sammy, our whole lives.

SAM Okay.

DEAN What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way Dad raised us...

SAM Dean, after what happened to Mom, Dad did the best he could.

DEAN I know he did. But the man wasn't perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things; and man, I hate 'em. I do. When I killed that vampire at the mill I didn't even think about it; hell, I even enjoyed it.

SAM You didn't kill Lenore.

DEAN No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill 'em all.

SAM Yeah, Dean, but you didn't. And that's what matters.

This little interaction gives us a few interesting insights; first of all, we see Sam defending their dad, saying he “did the best he could” (just like one of the last things John said to Sam before he died, as I mentioned in a previous episode). We know that Sam is struggling with guilt over not having been a good enough son while his dad was alive.

Dean, on the other hand, is finally breaking out of the box John built for him. It’s interesting to me because the two brothers are in very different places. Sam has known for a long time that he disagrees with John, so it doesn’t bother him too much to realize that John could have been wrong, and that he could have had them kill things that didn’t deserve it. Dean, on the other hand, has always taken his dad’s word as gospel. He always trusted that John knew best, come whatever. So, realizing, and having proof in this episode, that not every supernatural being is inherently evil, is really throwing him. It’s a hard thing, to realize that something you have believed and acted on your whole life might not be true.

The other important thing we learn from this interaction is that Sam’s opinion matters to Dean. He trusts him. Dean admits here that he wanted to kill the vampires, but he didn’t. He set aside what he felt was right for what his brother asked him to do, placing Sam’s opinion over his own. Now we all know this isn’t always going to be the case, but in this episode at least, Dean trusted Sam’s judgement.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Gordon killing his sister when she turned into a vampire is foreshadowing for the idea of needing to kill a loved one when they become a monster which is a very relevant theme throughout all 15 seasons of the show.

#Supernatural #rewatch #supernatural rewatch #02x03 #2x03 #2x3 #bloodlust #sam winchester #dean winchester #gordon walker #vampires #John Winchester's memory

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 5 years

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Hi, I've decided to make Mowgli's wolf parents their own characters, named Nisha and Vihaan, with Akela as the leader and grandfatherly mentor to Mowgli. Are their any sequels you think are better than the first movie? For me, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is much better that the original. Are their any relationships in Trollhunters that you feel could've been explored, ie, Claire and Draal? And how would you have done Troll!Jim and the final battle with Gunmar?-The Sapphire One.

I’m happy for you, making so much progress on your fanfic.

I would prefer if, in the future, you directed any further requests for advice on your Jungle Book fic to someone who is actually in the Jungle Book fandom, though? I’ve been trying to be courteous and supportive, but it’s getting exhausting to devote so much mental and emotional energy to determining, “what can I say that is helpful but also gently conveys I am not interested in discussing this topic further?”, especially since I don’t seem to be successfully conveying the ‘polite disinterest’ part.

When I have said, repeatedly, that I am not invested in The Jungle Book, what I mean is that it’s an okay story and I have nothing in particular against it, but it is not a fandom that I am in, and therefore fanfiction for it is not fanfiction I am inclined to read or discuss. I would rather devote my time and energy to stories and fandoms in which I do have an emotional investment.

I wish you good fortune in continuing this project and hope it finds the audience it deserves on whichever platform you choose to share it.

+=+

The All Dogs Go To Heaven duo is a neat one because each movie appeals to me in different ways.

The sequel had stronger music. “Let Me Be Surprised”and “It’s Too Heavenly Here” convey the same ideas, but “It’s Too Heavenly Here” has a lot more energy, possibly because Charlie’s had more time to go stir-crazy.

I respect the first one for not shoehorning in a romantic subplot with all the other plot lines they were already working with, but I respect the second one for introducing new elements a bit more cohesively - I mean, the alligator in the first one basically showed up out of nowhere. He did eat Carface in the end, so he was plot-significant, but he was still really jarring - so jarring a whole trope got named after the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment.

The timeline between movies is a bit confusing? I think the first one is set in the 1920s, or maybe the 50s. I’m basing this on partially car designs but cutting out the 10s, 30s, and 40s due to lack of mention of the Great Depression or either World War. But the second one, based on the humans’ clothing, looks like it’s in the 1980s, maybe 90s? So, unless dogs have a natural lifespan similar to a human one in this universe, it’s weird that the second movie starts when Itchy dies. (He’s be thirty, or seventy, depending on which of my time period guesses are right.) I guess there could also be a long time-skip between “It’s Too Heavenly Here” and Carface stealing Gabriel’s horn.

Overall I’ve found movie sequels tend to be lesser than or equal to the original movie. Shrek 2, for example, was really good, but I wouldn’t say it was better than Shrek.

Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time was exceptional, with how the writer’s took advantage of the opportunity to expand on the prince’s character - although he still doesn’t get a name - and Cinderella’s character as well, along with the different specific reasons her stepfamily was jealous and vengeful. (Lady Tremaine wanted the social status, Drizella wanted wealth, and Anastasia wanted emotional security.)

TV series, on the other hand, are often a bit stronger in their second season than the first, because they don’t have to introduce how the setting’s culture or magic/high tech system works unless something new is happening, and likewise they don’t have to introduce new characters every episode or two in order to build the initial main cast, and the main themes and conflicts of the series have been set up.

+=+

Draal’s relationships with everybody could have been expanded on. We don’t really see relationship development between him and anyone else other than Jim and Kanjigar’s ghost. There are some minor scenes showing him getting closer with AAARRRGGHH and Blinky, too, but that got cut off by Draal getting brainwashed before the audience got to see much of it.

You know who else didn’t get many relationships developed? Barbara.

There is exactly one scene, a one-sided phone conversation in Season 3, which implies she has a social life. Also, what is the relationship between her and Nana Domzalski? Jim and Toby are close, and their families live across the street, and Barbara addresses her as Nana, so clearly they’ve met, and yet Barbara never spoke to Nana on-camera in Season 1 about her concerns after Jim and Toby got arrested together and Jim started ‘acting different’?

And furthermore [insert rant about how Stricklake was fumbled in Season 3].

… Not to mention Blinky! She’s friendly with him when he gets turned human and Jim passes him off as a guidance counselor, but their very limited interactions do not explain why she was willing to let Jim go off to New Jersey with the trolls and didn’t even suggest she come along, basically temporarily turning custody of Jim over to Blinky when Barbara and Blinky have had all of one on-screen conversation since she got her memories back.

+=+

Okay, final battle redo, gotta keep Jim a troll …

First of all, Troll!Jim is a klutz. He just went through a massive growth spurt and hasn’t had time to adjust yet. It is acknowledged by him and others (though probably not Merlin), “Wow, this was a really bad idea to do right before getting into a fight, Jim is nearly back to beginner skill-level. At least he’s fast and therefore better at dodging, and can take a hit better.”

Alternately, shuffle everything around so that Jim turns into a troll by S3E6, so the audience has half the season to get used to him, because I think having Jim get trolled right before the final battle is one of the reasons Troll!Jim ended up being such a controversial character.

Either way, the Trollhunters fight Gunmar as a group.

Gunmar is facing Jim. Toby, using the Warhammer to fly, sneaks up behind Gunmar and hits him over the head. Gunmar reaches for Toby, but Blinky throws a dwarkstone in Gunmar’s face, and AAARRRGGHH charges in (possibly via portal so Gunmar won’t see him coming) and punches Gunmar in the gut. The combination of explosion and punch forces Gunmar to drop his sword, and Jim grabs it.

Jim, wearing the Eclipse armour, discovers he is able to hold the Decimaar Blade. (It is implied by how Gunmar conjures it that Decimaar is magically bound to the Gumm-Gumm warlord in a similar way to how Daylight is tied to the Trollhunter, so this might surprise Jim. At the very least, AAARRRGGHH should look surprised.)

Gunmar is distracted by Claire, who portals Blinky out of the way of an attack. Gunmar has seen Claire before, when Morgana agreed to help bring about the Eternal Night. “Morgana’s child …” He is confused and suspicious to see her on the Trollhunters’ side.

Toby swoops Jim above Gunmar and Jim drops down, doing that diagonal swiping attack but with the Decimaar Blade instead of Eclipse, and striking from behind. Gunmar doesn’t turn to stone right away - he turns and starts charging at Jim, who conjures the Eclipse sword stabbed into Gunmar’s chest, like how Jim stabbed Gladys and Bular with Daylight in Season 1.

Gunmar turns to stone and crumbles. Decimaar is still there. The blade’s highlights are blue again instead of gold. Jim picks it up and his eyes glow blue. The other Trollhunters exchange worried looks.

“Jimbo?”

“Master Jim?”

Jim sends out a blast of blue lightning-looking energy from the sword, like the red stuff that happened in the show when Gunmar died, except instead of exploding the Gumm-Gumms it un-brainwashes them. He then drops the sword and collapses. His friends rush to him. (He’s fine, just exhausted. Jim isn’t used to doing magic.)

Angor Rot wasn’t there when Jim and Gunmar started fighting. He saw Strickler and went off to kill him, as revenge for the magical enslavement in the second half of Season 1. Angor changes his mind when he sees Strickler get injured fighting a Gumm-Gumm to protect some humans who haven’t gotten to shelter yet, which prompts a flashback to Angor’s time as a hero. Angor goes off again, this time to hunt down Morgana, nonchalantly killing any Gumm-Gumms who cross his path on the way. (At this point, Angor may still want Strickler dead, but he’s willing to wait to kill him until after the Gumm-Gumms are defeated.)

The thing with Morgana happens like it did in canon except Angor gets thrown back instead of exploded.

Draal is with Nomura and Strickler protecting the civilians from the Gumm-Gumms, or possibly he did die because Draal would have smashed down that bathroom door in negative five seconds and stopped Jim using the potion. If he did die, they revive him later with the Creeper’s Sun antidote.

#ask me anything #Trollhunters #Tales of Arcadia #Troll Jim #Gunmar #fight scenes #what might have been #movies #Sequel #television #commentary #relationships #Draal #Dr Barbara Lake #Nana Nancy Domzalski #Blinkous Galadrigal #also #jungle book #fanfiction

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where-theres-smoak-2 · 5 years

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Handmaid’s Tale 3x08 Aunt Lydia Analysis

So I am finally caught up with THT yay! I’ve had a few thoughts on Aunt Lydia’s backstory this last episode so decided to do an analysis post (my very first for THT). So we finally got an Aunt Lydia backstory. Now I have been wanting to get more info on Aunt Lydia pretty much from season 1. I have always found her to be one of the more intriguing characters. She one of those ones I love to hate. I mean it is credit to Ann Dowd’s acting that her portrayal of Aunt Lydia can have me hating her with a fiery vengence one scene and then in the next actually feeling sorry for her and vice versa. I do think this flashback gives us alot to think about and so I think we should get into it. The rest is under the tag because you know spoilers also its a bit long which will be a pain to scroll past if you don’t want to read it lol. But for those of you who do read on.

Ok so at first I’ll admit I was a bit confused at her backstory because I just didn’t buy the whole she reported Noelle because a guy rejected her on the first date. That just didn’t seem like a good enough reason for me. But then I realised after watching the ep again that I had read that scene all wrong. She didn’t report Noelle because she was upset about the rejection she reported her because Lydia was ashamed of herself for making advances on the principal and believed that Noelle was a corrupting influence.

If we look at Aunt Lydia’s story progression through those flashbacks we first meet her and we learn she’s a teacher and seems to have a lot of care and love for her work. She stayed behind with the little boy and was keeping him occupied and happy she was even prepared to take the boy home to make sure he had food. We also learn right off the bat that she is a very religious woman.

When she invites the woman and her son back home with her she starts to learn more about this woman’s struggles and this makes Lydia more concerned. She clearly disapproves of the way Noelle lives particularly with her relationships with men. But I do think she also recognises that this woman is trying to survive but to Lydia she seems a bit lost. She needs help. So when Noelle says her son deserves better and Lydia answers ‘you could be better’ she really does mean it. She wants to help this woman get into a better situation not just for her but for her son too. This is very similar to how she looks at the Handmaid’s as women who are lost and who with her help could become better and have better lives. What I do think is interesting is at this moment she wants to help this woman keep her child, its kind of ironic that this desire to help a woman keep her child is what leads her down the path to becoming the woman who takes children away from their mothers.

The next flashback we see is when Lydia, Noelle and her son are spending Christmas together. We can see that these two women have built a friendship and it seems like at least a few months have gone by. It also seems like the son, Ryan, has formed a bond with Lydia as he now calls her Aunt Lydia. We also learn during the time that’s past that Noelle has gotten a new job and now works at the store that she brought the makeup for Aunt Lydia from. We also learn that she has dumped one guy which Lydia seemed happy about and has met another. At first Lydia seems ok about this when Noelle was saying he’s in IT and yes he likes kids, so Lydia is sitting there thinking finally Noelle has found herself a nice respectable man with a repectable job. But then Noelle drops the knowledge that he’s married and you literally see Lydia’s face fall. What again is interesting is that Noelle in response says ‘I know, I’m not as far along as we’d like but I’m trying.’ This tells us two things one is that it seems like Lydia and Noelle came up with some kind of plan on how they were going to improve things for Noelle, from the conversations we can assume one was get a new better job that won’t involve Noelle having her rear grabbed by drunk men. The other was to help Noelle stop serial dating and find herself a repectable gentlemen. She’s succeeded in the first but is still working on the second. It also tells us that Noelle recognises her own flaws and knows that sleeping with a married man is wrong. But as Lydia says she’s trying and that’s what matters. So at this point we know that Noelle and Lydia are good friends, that Noelle has been trying to improve herself and that Lydia has been supporting and helping her. It also seems like Noelle might be good for Lydia as she and her son provide companionship for Lydia. It seems to me that she may have been a bit isolated since her marriage broke up so its nice for her to have that human connection. I also think this is why Noelle encourages her to ‘get out there’ because she sees that Lydia is lonely. So what goes wrong between this scene where they are shown to have a strong bond and the scene where she reports Noelle to child protection? Well Lydia goes on a date.

The date she has with the principal, Jim, was so sweet and its a side of Lydia we’ve never seen before. She is happy and smitten and she even sings Karoke and the date goes so well that it leads her and her fella back to her place and onto her couch where things get a little heated before he finally stops it. This is where we see the switch happen for Lydia. She goes from being this happy, warm person to completely shutting down and putting up a wall. You can see right after Jim stops it and she moves away from him, the shame is written all over her face. As a woman with strong religious believes her making sexual advances on a man that she isn’t married to is a sin and immoral. I think what makes it worse for her is that Jim is also religious and so now she may feel like he is judging her. He has witnessed her sin, also while she got carried away and knows that if he had not put a stop to it she would have completely given into her desire for him, he was able to stop so now she feels like she is less than him and less derserving of him, she’s not as pure of sin as he is. Which makes her actions all the more shameful and embarrassing to her which is why she turns away from him and puts up a wall between them despite him saying he still wants to persue something with her. But now she isn’t looking at him as a repectable church going man who has potential to be her lifelong partner, now she sees him as a temptation that will lead her to sin.

So what has this got to do with Lydia’s decision to report Noelle? Well the clue is in the scene. When the Jim asks Aunt Lydia if this was enough to trigger an emergency removal Aunt Lydia replies ‘the child is vulnerable to a corrupting influence we are required by law to report moral weakness.’ This one line tells us everything we need to know about Aunt Lydia’s current state of mind. She set out to try and help Noelle but instead not only did she fail in helping Noelle onto the right path Noelle led Aunt Lydia astray, she corrupted her and brought out her moral weaknesses. It was Noelle who set bad examples for her by dating several men within close timing of each other, it was Noelle who gave her the make up, it was Noelle who encouraged her to go out with Jim and put temptation in her path. Aunt Lydia blames Noelle for her own moral weakness, as Aunt Lydia can’t tolerate moral weakness in herself so she can’t tolerate moral weakness in others. I know some viewers interpreted Lydia’s actions to be out of spite or revenge but I myself didn’t see it that way. While I do think Lydia has some resentment towards Noelle I think her main motivation was the child. I think Aunt Lydia really believes that she is protecting this child. As much as she has affection for Noelle and as much as she wishes she could’ve helped her Lydia has now turned her focus onto Ryan and keeping him safe. In her mind if Noelle can corrupt her, an adult, then Ryan is particularly vulnerable to being corrupted as well. Aunt Lydia fears Noelle will lead her child down the wrong path and so she must put aside her affection and feelings and do the right thing. You can see that the decision isn’t easy for her. Like even at the moment when she is reporting Noelle I didn’t look at Aunt Lydia and go that’s a cold woman, she was crying and it was obvious she was struggling with this choice, there were all kinds of emotions running over her face throughout that scene, but she saw no other way of making sure the child would be ok. The child is her priority.

So how does this tie in with Aunt Lydia’s character now in present day Gilead and with her relationship with the Handmaids. Well I do think that Aunt Lydia sees Noelle in alot of these Handmaids, as she did with Noelle she sees women who have walked down the wrong path but who have the potential to better themselves with some help. Only this time around she has learnt from her experience from Noelle and has decided that if she keeps herself emotinally cut off from these women then she will be better able to help them. She also won’t be vulnerable to being corrupted by them as she was by Noelle. So she stays involved enough to help them but not so much that she will form too deep a bond with them. I do think part of that is to protect herself, she cared for Noelle and so it hurt her when Noelle was still (in Lydia’s mind) living a sinful life and making the same mistakes as she always did. It hurt her and made her feel like a failure when she couldn’t help Noelle and so instead she focusses on helping the children. If she keeps herself closed off from these woman then when they inevitably do something that’ll lead to them being punished by the government it’ll hurt less. However as we’ve seen in small glimpses Aunt Lydia hasn’t been completely successful in disconnecting from these women, she has a bond with Janine and with June and I do think in a weird kind of way she has a certain kind of love and affection for all of these women. But she chooses to stay focussed on the children. I think in her mind she figured if I can’t help these women then at least I can help the children. So she makes protecting as many children as possible her life mission. That being said I do think that Aunt Lydia carries alot of guilt about what she did, I think deep down she knows what she did to Noelle was wrong and she knows what she’s doing to the Handmaid’s is wrong but if she admits that to herself then the guilt will consume her and so she tells herself that she is doing God’s work and that she is protecting the children, its all about the children they mean everything to her.

Another choice that I think was interesting is the decision to have Lydia’s last name be Clemence. The meaning of that name is merciful and gentle. Not really something that comes to mind when you think of Aunt Lydia right. But the thing is it fit her in the flashbacks. When we first meet her she does come across as a gentle woman. She is also shown as merciful, The definition of mercy is ‘to show compassion or forgiveness to someone who you have the potential to punish or cause harm to.’ Lydia could have punished Noelle right off the bat by calling child protection when she didn’t show up to pick Ryan up. She would have had plenty of reasons to not just her showing up late but the fact that she didn’t pack a proper lunch for him and it does seem like it was going on a while all of these things brings enough concern to call it in. But instead Lydia shows mercy and decides to try and help this young woman. We know that it all goes wrong and in the end Lydia ends up as far from a person described by her name as she can be. But I do wonder if this meaning behind her name will come into play again later in the season, maybe Aunt Lydia will be in a position where she has to decide between punishing and causing one of the Handmaid’s harm or showing them mercy. And maybe she lives up to her name and does show them mercy which could be a redemption arc for her. The choices of the other names are also significant. Lydia was a woman from the bible who is considered to be the first convert in Europe and who showed hospitality to the apostle Paul and Silas. Again this has links to Lydia’s own journey how she converts to the beliefs of Gilead but also within this episode when she shows hospitality to the mother and son. The name Noelle means Christmas. Again another biblical tie in. Christmas is also a time of giving and of family which is again closely linked with that character. She is a mother and so symbolic of family. Also her growing relationship with Lydia and the fact that her son comes to call her Aunt shows how there can be different forms of family. The son’s name Ryan means ‘little king’ or ‘descendant of the king’ again this fits in as it hints at his fate of becoming a commander’s son the ‘kings’ of Gilead and even how he himself may become a commander. It is also a nod at how the males have the power in Gilead;. The other character in the flashbacks is the principle whose name is Jim Thorne. His first name is a shortened version of the name James which again is another biblical name and means ‘one who follows’ which again really ties into this characters motives. He is a devout follower of his religion. The Throne part also has many links to the bible. Within the bible thorns symbolise sin. Thorns were first brought into the world right after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. As punishment they weren’t just cast out but God cursed their land so that thorns would grow, Genesis 3:18-20 – “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.” So right from the beginning there was a link between thorns and sin. Later on in the bible Mark 4:3-9 ‘ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.’ This is from the parable of the seeds. The seed represents those who hear the gospel, the thorns represent the sinners. Its talking about how a person can fall amongst sinners and how that can lead to them being lead astray. All of this has some significance within the episode as Mr Thorne represents Lydia’s sin and temptation. However the name Thorne can also represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross which represents the abolishment of sin and of Jesus’s love and his conquering of sin and death. The sad part is that Lydia looks at Mr Thorne and believes he is the thorns that are choking the seed (she’s the seed) but actually I think he symbolises the thorns of the crown which symbolise love and the destruction of sin. I think if she had followed him it would have led her down a path of love and with less sin.

Ok so next I want to talk about the way they used colours and the positioning of the characters in these flashbacks and what I think they could signify. The exciting part is that this section has pictures!! However they are very poor quality pictures and I would recommend you go back and watch the scenes in question again to get a good picture of what I mean, these pics are more like guidance to what scenes I’m talking about.

But anyway starting with this shot...

Here we can see that Ryan is sitting on top of a red circle which is the colour associated with Handmaid’s in the show, what’s also interesting is that the circle next to him is greenish blue the colour associated with the wives. Then inside the green circle is a red circle. This is obviously symbolic of the relationship between the Handmaid’s and the Wives and the symbolism Gilead uses for the ceremony. This idea that the Wives and Handmaid’s are linked together and that they create the children of Gilead together. The Handmaid bears the child for them and then the Wife raises the child. Also you can’t see it very well in the picture but Ryan is wearing clothes in shades of green signifying how these children born from the Handmaids are then dressed as the children of the Wives. Something else that is interesting is the positioning of Aunt Lydia. She is literally standing on top of the red circle. Again this is a pretty obvious message its to signify the power Aunt Lydia has over the Handmaid’s. But next we see Aunt Lydia step off the red circle and walk across the green circle to get to the child.

I do actually think this has some significance given other scenes in this episode and could be a clue for what is to come. In this episode we saw Aunt Lydia question two household’s, The Waterford’s and The Lawrence’s and whether they are a healthy enviroment for the Handmaid’s and more importantly the children. She even talks about removing June from the Lawrence’s in case June does get pregnant as she doesn’t think they have a safe home for a child. We also saw earlier in the season Lydia make the suggestion that Emily was effected by the enviroment at the Lawerence’s and that’s why she attcked Aunt Lydia and ‘stole’ Nichole. I think this is all going to lead to the Aunts investigating these households and others and maybe even appealing to other commanders to bring in new laws that will hold commanders and their wives responsible for how they treat Handmaids and to give the Aunts more powers to investigate households they suspect of wrongdoing or that couples must pass some kind of test and a series of checks before they are allowed to be issued a Handmaid.. Almost like the Aunts are going to go to war against the commanders and their wives led by Aunt Lydia all the name of protecting the children.

The next thing I want to touch on in this particular scene is Noelle.

This is the first shot we get of her and as you can see she has red accents in her clothes with the red scarf and bag. Again I think the costume designers did this deliberately to makes us connect Noelle with the Handmaids. This colouring is used more throguhout the flashbacks this shot for example.

Here we see Ryan sitting at table and the table cloth has shades of green in it yet the wall behind him is red again showing how the children are born and raised by the Handmaids and the Wives. I also think that it signifies that although the Wives say these are their children the Handmaid’s will always have a connection with their children that will never be erased no matter how hard Gilead tries. The Handmaid’s will always be lurking in the background watching over their children from a distance.

And the next time we see Noelle again we see them connecting her with the colour red. The wall behind her is red and the cushion she is leaning against has red in it. They really do want us to connect this character with this colour everytime we see her they position her so that she is surrounded by red accents. Another really interesting shot is this one...

Again you have the colours coming into play. Noelle is surrounded with a red background, Ryan has those green tones in front of him and the red behind. Also we are looking at Ryan through the chair and it gives this ilusion of Ryan being enclosed is a fence or cage much as the children of Gilead have a high level of protection around them. Of course while they consider it protection the Handmaid’s see it as a cage keeping them from their children. What else is noteworthy about the set up of this scene is that they have positioned Aunt Lydia between the child and his mother almost like a barrier, obviously to sybolise how Aunt Lydia will keep other mothers from their children in the future.

So the next flashback scene we get is the christmas and again right away they are flooding it with these same colour schemes. Here we have Ryan and you can see that he is surrounded by mostly red presents. But there in the background is that green tree looming. Again I think the positioning in this scene is important. Ryan is sat amongst the red which I think is symbolic of his current situation in that he is with his birth mother. But in front of him not too far away and looming is that green tree which I think symbolises what is to come for Ryan. It does make me wonder where Ryan and Noelle are now. It’s possible that one or both of them could have escaped to Canada or they sadly could have been killed. But there’s also a chance that Noelle ended up as a handmaid and Ryan as a child of a commander and wife. It would be interesting if they popped back up again at some point this season. The other thing that I think is significant in this scene is that the present Aunt Lydia is handing to Ryan is green. Again showing that connection between these Aunts who are aiding the wives in essentially stealing these children. Also once again Ryan is dressed in a green top.

This shot is very similar to the previous one with Ryan at the table in the positioning. Once again it puts Aunt Lydia between the mother and child and again right behind Noelle its pretty much all red. I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that Lydia is sat above them both again showing the power of the Aunts. Both the children and the Handmaid’s are helpless against them. They are the prisoners and the Aunts are the wardens.

I really think this shot shows that connection between each of the characters and the colours like if any shot emphasises what I’m trying to say about colours connected to figures of Gilead then its this one. Noelle has that red wall behind her but also slightly to the right is a green wall. Again this links Noelle to the Handmaid’s but also the connection between the Wives and the Handmaids how they are ever present in each others lives. Aunt Lydia is once again positioned between mother and child but also behind her is a brown unit which is the colour of the Aunts. Ryan is directly in front of the tree which is green but again there are some red elements again showing that link to how children are brought into the world in Gilead, as far as Gilead is concerned both Handmaid and Wife contribute to the birthing of that child.

Again when we see Noelle doing Aunt Lydia’s makeup she has that red wall behind she is also wearing a reddish lipstick. But here we also see her wearing a yellow top which again is significant as the colour yellow is a predominant colour on the Gilead flag. We also saw the colour earlier in the first pic of Ryan with the coloured circles there are two yellow ones. One of the yellow ones (just like the green one) has a smaller red circle inside it. I think this is suppose to symbolise how the Handmaid’s are trapped within Gilead.

When the focus in the scene shifts to Lydia we see that the background for her is very different from Noelle’s despite them being in the same space as each other. Aunt Lydia’s background has tones of brown and grey again thats in reference to the colours worn by the Aunts. It is also blurry and out of focus. I do think this was a concious choice and is suppose to signify Lydia’s feelings in this moment. It represents Lydia’s uncertainty. She is unsure of Noelle and how she feels about Noelle’s lifestyle, she is also unsure of whether she is doing the right thing in trying to help Noelle or whether she should have called child protection already. She’s unsure of her feelings for the principal and whether she should persue a relationship with him after her failed marriage. The other element that I think is significant is the coloured circles. Again there is a specific colour scheme being followed here. The red for handmaids, green for the wives, yellow for Gilead. The white could possibly also represent the handmaid’s like the wings they wear. But I think it may represent the children, white is a colour of innocence and purity and what’s more innocent or pure than a child. I do think these circles could be foreshadowing. It could signify that Lydia is going to be put into a scenario where she will be unsure of where her loyalties should lie, Should she stand by Gilead and their beliefs? Should she stand with the Wives these woman who are respectable God-fearing women? Or should she stand with the Handmaid’s the lost ones but who have so much potential and who have been granted that great gift of being able to bring children into the world? One thing she is sure of is that she will always stand up for the children and this too is represented in the circles. While the circles of the three other colours are blurred and not as bright, the white circles are in sharp focus and are radiant.

The last flashback is of the one where Lydia puts in the report. Here we see that Lydia has had a drastic makeover. Whereas before she was wearing a white top and had her hair flowing down she now has it tied up in that typical Aunt Lydia look. She is also wearing a brown cardigan, she looks much more like the Aunt Lydia we know now. Also when it shows us a shot of her hands and feet we see that she is once again standing on a red circle. What’s interesting is that all the other coloured circles are gone and only that one red one remains. I do think this shows the solidfying of Lydia’s journey to becoming this warden for the Handmaid’s at this point there was no chance of her turning back. She had made up her mind and now her focus would be on ‘helping’ women like Noelle onto the right path and protecting their children by removing them from them.

The last time we see Noelle she again has on that red scarf and has the red bag. What I do find interesting is that whereas the last time we saw her in the scarf she had on a beige ish coloured coat this time it looks more like a dark green. I don’t think its an accident that the item of clothing that is red is the one that is round her neck, I think this is suppose to be reminiscent of a noose or of a slave collar its this idea of the handmaid’s having their freedom and even their lives taken from them. They live in a world that is slowly choking any fight or rebellion or life out of them. Even the bag being red could signify the burden they have to carry, it could also symbolise this idea of ‘carrying’ a child. It is unimaginable what these women have to go through, being raped once a month and then having to carry their rapists child for nine months before going through labour and then straight away having their baby taken from them. The green coat around her as with all the other instances where the two colours have appeared side by side is to show the connection between these two groups of women. I think its also serving the purpose in this scene where this woman has just had her child taken away from her of making sure that not just the Handmaids are in the viewer’s minds but also the Wives. This group of women who are benefitting from the mothers’ suffering.

So yeah I think the storyline with Noelle was suppose to act as a narrative for what is currently happening to the Handmaid’s in Gilead. She is a mother who had her child taken by a woman who had acted as a caregiver type figure in her life and given to a couple who was ‘desperate to adopt.’ I do think that’s why they used the colours in this way. To bring to mind the groups of people each of the characters represent.

Any way thast’s all for now to all of you who have read to the end thank you very much for taking the time. Feel free to let me know what you thought of Lydia’s backstory. DId you hate it? Was it everything you ever wanted from her backstory? What else would you like to know about Aunt Lydia’s past? I personally wouldn’t mind learning more about her marriage. She said he was a mistake but I would like some details on what happened that caused the marriage to break down. I have my own personal theory. We’ve seen Aunt Lydia interact with and shame two women now who have slept with married men, Noelle and June. She did look quite hurt when Noelle mentioned the new guy had a wife. It does make me wonder if Lydia was a victim of that scenario and that her husband cheated on her. But I don’t know what do you guys think?

#the handmaid's tale #tht spoilers #the handmaids tale spoilers #aunt lydia

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aion-rsa · 5 years

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The Riddler: DC Redefines Famous Batman Villain

https://ift.tt/2NTTThd

Does Year of the Villain mean a big change for Batman’s puzzling nemesis?

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Event comics usually come with a passel of one-off tie ins. Sometimes they’re very good. Sometimes they’re a way of giving someone a try out. Sometimes they’re a way of getting somebody work. These are all good things! But very rarely are they ever impactful on a character or the direction of a line. That may change this week, as Mark Russell and Scott Godlewski bring the Riddler into Year of the Villain with one of the most introspective superhero comics in a while, one that potentially foreshadows a big status quo change for one of Batman’s oldest villains.

The premise of the entire Year of the Villain arc has Apex Lex, a powered-up Lex Luthor, gone full evil again after years spent straddling the line of “dick” and “dick but helping the good guys”, running around the DC Universe offering power ups to the bad guys from every rogue’s gallery. In the pages of Justice League, he cranked up folks like Sinestro, while he’s been popping into other books for help like closing Gotham to the outside world and giving free rein to Bane (Batman), or a substantially boosted cold suit for Captain Cold (The Flash). In The Riddler: Year of the Villain, he gives Edward Nygma something completely different: perspective.

The story is framed by the Riddler’s friendship with King Tut. They start the issue kvetching about their persistent failures to top Batman in any meaningful way. They move to complaining that they haven’t been approached by Luthor yet, then head their separate ways. When Riddler gets home, he finds Luthor in his living room, and Luthor is pretty merciless in his criticism. The next morning, Tut calls Riddler to loop him in on his own profound realization: that they persistently fail because they never work with each other, and the true solution to both their problems is to do a half-baked death trap together.

The Luthor conversation is the crux of the issue. Luthor hands the Riddler nothing - no hyper-powered question staff, no bowler hat that will increase his cleverness tenfold, no giant question mark-shaped bomb planted under Wayne Manor. He just talks to him about Nygma’s own rigidity. The inflexibility of his mind, being lashed to his schtick, is what Luthor hints has been holding the Riddler back. And that inflexibility is preventing the Riddler from growing as a person. It’s kept him from accepting any changes since he was a child fixated on revenge against the bullies tormenting him. He ends the story by telling Nygma “Life is the process of saying goodbye to ourselves.” And the Riddler ends the issue by walking out on King Tut’s death trap.

read more: Justice League, Crisis, and the Future of the DC Universe

This is...not what I think anyone expected from a Year of the Villain book. The best you can usually hope for is a thoughtful one-off. Something akin to what Russell already gave us in Year of the Villain: Sinestro - a clever character piece that leaves the character exactly where he started when the issue picked up. Here, we get smart character work, but we also get more character development than the Riddler has had since...what, Paul Dini on Detective Comics back around Infinite Crisis? The Riddler is iconic, but the character owes almost everything to Frank Gorshin’s portrayal of him on the old television show. He hasn’t had more than a handful of deep dives or status quo shifts in an age.

A literal age - I can count four stories since the Bronze Age ended that really matter, that made a big impact on the Riddler as a character, and that’s a stretch a little bit - one of them came out on the cusp between the Bronze Age and the modern age of comics and could be argued into either category. But for almost every one of them, the impact on other characters was greater.

“Dark Night, Dark City” was Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer’s 1990 tale in Batman that had a suddenly very bloodthirsty Riddler pulling jobs around Gotham. It’s a really good Riddler story, but overshadowed by the fact that it’s also where Barbatos, the dark Bat-god who dominated Grant Morrison’s Batman mythology and later spawned Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s dark multiverse, first appeared. Snyder and Capullo also featured the Riddler as the main villain of "Zero Year," their big, 13 issue story about Batman’s first run in with Nygma. It is also the first time we really got to look at the way Batman managed his own mental health, and ends with him almost getting shock therapy. And the War of Jokes and Riddles was a long story that wrapped up Tom King’s first year on Batman by giving Kite Man a heartbreaking origin story and having the Joker (of all people) stop Bruce from killing the Riddler.

read more - Batman: Damned is a Trip Through the Darkest Corners of the DC Universe

The unifying force in all of these stories is that they’re not about Edward Nygma. They’re about someone else reacting to Nygma. And, in the case of “Zero Year” and the “War of Jokes and Riddles,” they both happen in the distant-by-comic-book-time past of Batman.

Really, the only story in the last 30 years worth of comics that really changed what we know about the Riddler was Paul Dini turning him into Sherlock Holmes in Detective Comics. In the wake of the wretched “Hush” and the not-great Infinite Crisis, Dini has Nygma go straight and begin selling his services as a consulting detective to Gotham’s wealthy. It takes the Riddler, keeps his main schtick (proving that he’s smarter and more clever than Batman), but points it in a different direction so we can see it work from another angle and take a little bit more out of it. Edward Nygma, Consulting Detective is the one time before this Year of the Villain issue that anybody really tried to twist the Riddler’s core concept around and peer at it from a different angle in modern comics. For perspective, in those same 30 years that it took to get four meaningful Riddler stories, Gotham City has been destroyed or quarantined from the rest of the country in four stories.

read more: The Secrets of DC's New Superman/Batman Team

Gorshin’s portrayal and the Riddler’s iconic look have been enough to keep him top tier in the popular consciousness, though. That a character can largely survive Jim Carrey and the Question Mark Guy who wanted to give us all free government money sullying his rep and look, respectively, is a testament to his fundamental appeal. The beauty of this issue is that even if it were a fluffy one-off with no potential wider impact, it would still be terrific. How many times do you get to open a comic and yell “OH MY GOD IS THAT KING TUT?” It’s not like he’s the Fluoronic Man or something. A King Tut sighting is a rare blessing, friends! Also, Tom King Batman aside, there’s been a subtle creep of a lighter Batman into comics lately that continues here. We’ve got a Batman happy to toss riddles back at Nygma along with his boots. Batman gets noticeably exasperated by King Tut’s incompetence and even almost jokes with the Gotham PD about how long it’ll take him to beat Tut. “Lair” Magazine is something I hope DC one day manages to publish, even if it’s just a joke. Profound character development aside, this issue was just really fun.

The brilliance of this issue is how it directly interacts with one of the fundamental tenets of modern superhero comics: the illusion of change. Stan Lee said the secret to Marvel storytelling (a theory that has come to apply to the superhero industry as a whole) is “the illusion of change.” The idea that comic book superheroes change over time is actually far truer than it seems on first glance, it’s just the under the radar ones, the characters keeping one arm out of limbo, who are capable of doing the most changing.

It’s possible that this issue is setting the Riddler up for a big change. It shows a willingness to strip Edward Nygma back to his bare, raw, core concept, and it’s one that makes him stand out as a Batman rogue. For years now, we’ve been watching Batman matched against the inexplicable chaos of the Joker, or match power and forethought with Bane, or have really bad anxiety attacks and bone Catwoman. What we’ve seen far less often is Batman be the best detective in comics. We get plenty of Batman pounding the shit out of a parade of bad guys. We don’t see him sussing out motive or means as much. All of the good writers have found a way to make that happen here and there over the last few years, but it always takes a backseat to saving hypertime by throwing three pearls at Rip Hunter. The Riddler gives them an excuse to lead with the detective work.

read more: The Batman Who Laughs and the Culmination of 10 Years of DC Stories

Maybe the Riddler has fallen far enough for this to stick. We know from tweets hoping for an ongoing that Russell thinks so. The Riddler: Year of the Villain works because it forces Nygma to think his way out of his rut and choose to do something different. Hopefully we get to see more of that change play out on the page.

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Feature Jim Dandy

Sep 11, 2019

DC Entertainment

Mark Russell

Batman

from Books https://ift.tt/2Lp4Kyc

#aion-rsa #Books

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thegreenfairy13 · 5 years

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Mr. Van Dahl’s Double Life - Part 8

Jim and Oz have been secretly married for years, fooling all of Gotham. One day Jim decides to come out of the closet. Oswald isn’t thrilled and Jim suffers the consequences. Read it on Ao3.

Jim isn’t quite sure whether he should continue glaring furiously at his husband, strangle him, or wrap him into his arms while telling him everything is going to be alright.

At last, he settles for anger. It’s anyway his most common reaction to literally everything since coming to Gotham. He’s angry at his job, at the criminals, at his colleagues, at the politicians, at his ex-fiancées, and in a more general sense: at the entire world.

“How the hell could you keep that from me?!” the detective explodes, already knowing the answer. It might have something to do with his reaction.

“I,” Oswald licks his lips nervously while getting up into a sitting position. Having an argument is never pleasant. Having an argument while lying on your back with your belly bared is even less favorable.

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d approve,” the gangster answers honestly.

“Damn right you are,” Jim growls in response. “You and your God complex. First, you think you are entitled to control all the crime in Gotham by handing out licenses and now you are the lord of life and death as well.”

“Oh, stop it with the licenses,” the mobster sighs, exasperated. “You love them and they got me re-elected as mayor.”

That’s quite true but that doesn’t mean he’s going to cave in. As Oswald insists on keeping up pretenses, he’s forced to arrest gangsters with a license. Well, at least those who don’t play by the Penguin’s rules. Ironically, Gotham became a better place by establishing a system of maximum corruption.

“You still have a God complex,” Jim huffs while folding his arms across his chest.

“So you actually would have preferred for Nygma to kill me?” Oswald inquires, fixing his husband with a severe stare.

“I would have preferred you being honest with me,” the cop snaps back. Getting up, Jim snatches his clothes from the floor and walks to the bathroom. He really needs a moment to himself else this will only become a screaming match neither of them is willing to lose.

Standing under the spray, Jim tries to pin down what exactly he is upset about. It’s not like he’s ungrateful not to be dead. That’s not the issue. The part in which he’s practically immortal - well, Jim can’t quite wrap his head around that just yet.

Also, he isn’t mad about Ozzie still being alive. Quite the contrary. Even imagining his husband, this snarky, cheeky, violent, bigheaded creature, not breathing anymore, takes the breath from his lungs.

The underlying problem with him and Oswald was and always is the same: their lack of trust. The kingpin of Gotham doesn’t let him in on his plans, hardly ever discusses his vision for the city with Jim, or even admits openly being with him.

Maybe it’s because Jim is still, at his core, a just man. He considers most of the Penguin’s methods excessive. Not only once did he try stopping his husband from completing his revenge or committing murder - often much to Oswald’s dismay. And admitted, letting some of their enemies walk away would often turn out to be a bad decision in the future.

Like this whole Nygma debacle. When finding out about Ed’s machinations considering the Red Hood Gang Ozzie wanted to deal with him in his own fashion. Jim convinced him to let the mentally ill man walk away and what happened? Right, his husband got shot in the guts.

Oswald loves Jim’s ethics but at the same time, he mistrusts him for being who he is. Yet by now, he should understand how the Penguin always would be the exception to any of Jim’s rules.

He should trust him by now. Loving someone or feeling the urge to protect your partner isn’t enough. Jim needs his psycho murder birdie to trust him but instead, he keeps enormous secrets from him.

Inconsiderately, he talked about divorce when all he wants is a functioning relationship and not this train-wreck. Of course, it’s his fault too. He never called Ozzie out on how he treated their marriage, never told him he would always find a way to ignore his violent outbursts. Jim always thought his actions would speak for themselves.

Turns out, the crime-lord doesn’t even trust him enough to tell him about the precautions he took in case one of them would die. It’s disheartening, to say the least.

Jim almost expects Oswald to be gone when returning from his shower. Yet the mobster is still there, lying naked under the covers, waiting for Jim to come back.

Sometimes Jim wonders how their life would have turned out if they had stayed at odds. Would the city be as quiet as it is? Would they both have found another love? Would they even be alive or would they have at one point gunned each other down? Would he have arrested Oswald one day and put him behind bars for good? Could he?

He doesn’t want to think about it, honestly. The city blossoms under the Penguin’s reign and the price for that had only been for Jim to sacrifice a chunk of his morality while gaining this. It’s not a bad deal, everything considered.

“What else are you keeping from me?” Jim demands to know, tilting his chin slightly.

Oswald’s eyes are closed, he isn’t even looking at Jim. “Too much,” he admits with a heavy sigh, breaking Jim’s heart a bit further.

But here goes nothing. If he wants to save their marriage, he needs to press Oswald for answers or they truly might end up being enemies again. Not that he can even imagine how going up against his husband would turn out. The city would probably suffer considerably with the balance they had established gone.

“Why?” he asks, keeping his voice soft. Jim can be gentle when he wants. He’s anyway sick of being this rough, tough soldier.

Rolling onto the side, Oswald finally faces Jim. He shrugs. “I always loved you for being what you are. That idealistic, naive young man who came to Gotham to clean it up. I guess I only ever wanted to protect you.”

The detective can’t help but snort. That’s just so Oswald. He has a habit of ruining what he cares about the most. When it comes to what he loves, he’s seemingly unable to make good decisions.

“I haven’t been this young boy in a very long time. Maybe you just like the memory of who I was on the day we met,” Jim suggests.

“Maybe,” Oswald admits with a sad smile.

“I married you,” the cop reminds him. “Knowing full well you are a murderous, cunning, little weasel. I loved you anyway,” he adds when Oswald’s mouth hardens. “I thought that would be proof enough for you to trust me.”

“I never wanted you to be anyone else than who you had been,” the criminal tells Jim. “Who you are,” he corrects himself.

“Yeah, but you always wanted you to be my exception, right?” the cop urges. “And tell you what, you are. So stop keeping secrets, stop protecting me from truths you think I can’t handle.”

Oswald stays silent.

“I know who you are,” Jim carries on. “We never talk about it, but I have a very good idea about what you do. And I turn a blind eye to it. Constantly. I’m not a that bad cop I wouldn’t know about most of your machinations. I thought you would trust me by now.”

“If you knew everything you’d get a divorce and throw me into Blackgate,” Oswald replies, seemingly nonchalant. The way he tenses gives him away though. He’s anything but relaxed.

“Maybe for once you should try me,” Jim suggests. “You married me too,” he whispers.

“I remember,” he answers dryly. He’s driving Jim insane with his attitude. It’s the reason he fell for him. “Would you have ever considered immortality if I hadn’t made this decision for both of us?” Oswald asks.

“No,” Jim answers honestly. “But I guess I would have moved heaven, earth, and hell to bring you back from the dead if our roles had been reversed.”

Oswald’s pupils widen in surprise at this revelation. “What?” Jim snaps. “Did you ever doubt I love you? I might be not alright with what you do and how you do it but I’d die for you. I live for you. I get beaten up by Zsasz every week to keep up appearances.”

The cop snorts. “I tried telling you the entire week. I want us to be together. But I can’t trust you if you go behind my back. And you don’t trust me enough to be open with me.”

The mobster on the bed nods. “Jim, I’m a murderer who runs a criminal empire. And you are a cop who is alright with that because I brought stability to this city that is so very precious to the both of us. But what I do, is exactly what you swore to stop when coming here.”

“And you think I’m not aware of that?”

“I still wait for the day you are not only aware but truly realize that,” Oswald whispers back. “That will be the day our relationship ends,” he continues, unaware of the tears streaming down his face. “It might not be today - or tomorrow. But the day will come. And when this day comes, you will be grateful our marriage had been kept a secret.”

Jim’s mouth drops open. He knew Oswald had been trying to protect him by keeping their marriage a secret. Now, he has to learn he’s thinking years ahead. He’s not only protecting him from their enemies - with decidedly questionable methods, but also from himself. If they should really go separate ways, his integrity would still be intact. The very integrity Jim is dead set on destroying.

The anger slowly drains from him. Maybe they do have a true chance after all that mess.

Clearing his throat, Jim walks over to the man he agreed to spend his life with. A life that is going to be a pretty long one now.

“Oz, look at me,” he demands, gently tilting the criminal’s chin up. “I am very aware. But I, we, can’t continue like that. I am not ashamed of us being together. I might not like everything you do but I accept it. You are my exception to all of my rules and I think it’s not me who’s got a problem with realizations but you.”

Oswald’s awe-stricken expression speaks volumes. The gangster’s eyes fill with tears as he wraps his bony arms around Jim’s middle. Head pillowed in Jim’s lap, they stay like that for a while as the cop keeps rubbing circles up and down his husband’s spine.

It’s not ideal, it’s not alright, but they have all of eternity to sort their problems out and Jim is willing to roll with it.

“Can we leave the basement now, please ?” he grumbles when Oswald finally relaxes entirely under his touch.

Between the tears, he hears a muffled laugh. “Of course, darling.”

Jim sighs in relief. Talking about his feelings has never been his forte and he truly hopes such a lengthy conversation won’t be necessary for the next fifty years or more.

#gobblepot #fanfiction

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rubyleeray · 6 years

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Hanzo and His Double Black Diamond Route

Aka the Yandere route we have all been waiting for! Here is my take on Hanzo’s route and why I believe it is the best writing we have seen in SLBP so far. I’m gonna ramble a lot, mention spoilers, and include some screenshots so be warned!

Firstly, what do I mean by Double Black Diamond Route? It’s a term used in skiing for trail that is more intense/difficult and should only be attempted by advanced skiers. Now please don’t get me wrong, I am not questioning anyone’s intelligence or reading comprehension if they dislike Hanzo’s route, so don’t come for me. I just want to offer my take and insights on this route which features the most complicated writing and complex character we have seen to date in SLBP. The previous route/lord that held that title was Ieyasu and what do you know? He’s a major part in Hanzo’s route!

Also I should mention that I have only played the Light Ending Arc so far but I will be playing the Shadow end after I finish Genya.

Now that all that is out of the way -

HOLY SHIT I LOVED THIS ROUTE SO MUCH! It’s the best Yandere route I have ever played and for those of you that have seen the games I have on rotation, you know I love and know my yanderes. My favourite thing about this route is actually the MC. I found her insufferable in the joint prologue and throughout Sakuya’s entire route to be frank, but WOW did she impress me in Hanzo’s route! Her growth and development are all I ask of a good story and not only did she change and grow but EVERYONE else does too - including Hanzo, Ieyasu, and Tadatsugu who conquers his fear of snakes with Haku (cutest gd scene).

I also really like that she is mature and while she is inexperienced, she doesn’t kink shame herself like most MCs would(more on that later).

Another thing I loved about this route were the blurred lines between reality and lies. I firmly believe and will go to my grave believing that almost nothing out of Hanzo’s mouth was a lie and that he only said it was because that was easier/what he was used to believing up until that point. The way the writers perfectly executed these intricacies just makes me so envious. I’m going to discuss THAT CHAPTER below but I just want to say - the biggest proof that Hanzo isn’t lying about everything/all the time/possibly anything?! comes in the form of almost every one of his actions. A few examples off the top of my head:

-He is a doctor to Ieyasu, the maids, and the townspeople. Sure he could gain something from being close to Ieyasu (but what exactly?) but the Townspeople and Maids? “Information” and/or “Boredom” are not enough motive to be so giving for so long in my opinion. Plus we have nothing concrete saying he was ever planning to betray Ieyasu ever before MC came along.

-Stopping MC from murdering Nobunaga proves he cared about at least ONE of if not all the following: The entire country, Ieyasu, MC, Nobunaga.

-Offering to teach MC everything she needs to know be a better ninja, person, and healer. If his only motive really was boredom(?), pot-stirring(?), deception(?) he wouldn’t have to teach her anything but being a better ninja. The dots just don’t connect!

Hanzo’s Second Crossroads I’m telling you this as your friend - YOU NEED TO BUY AT LEAST THE CG - My heart STOPPED! OH. MY. GOD. I swear I did a Jim from The Office look around the room because I couldn’t believe how hot and wild and kinky and dangerous it all felt.

This is a scene I will never forget so long as I goddamn live! MC is about to leave for her mission and Hanzo is wishing her well and then suddenly he gets really emotional and cuddles her. Then he covers her eyes and puts a knife to her throat!?!?!?! AND SHE LOVES IT!

In Yandere routes moments like this (not that any other scene I can think of come close tbh) can come off Stockholm Syndrome-y but not this; it felt so right and so good! MC acknowledges the absurdity of the situation but what is most important in that moment to her is that Hanzo is actually expressing genuine feelings and they are of the same love MC feels for him. He’s just being his Extra AF self about it. I really just want to give the writers a standing ovation for this. It was the perfect mix of angst and beauty and sensuality. Also further proof he ain’t lyin If he really was the shady lying bitch he claimed to be - he would not be wearing a “soft” smile here when she can’t see - there are 8000 other adjectives that could have been used here but soft was the choice (Because he LOVES HER). The same can also be said of his choice of thinking of her as “small but mighty.” A shady bitch just tricking MC would’t think of her this way.

Hanzo Locking MC Up

This is the first scene I have scene where a Yandere’s actions were completely justified. MC was essentially about to light Japan on fire with war for the sake of her idea of revenge. Her clan doesn’t even care about revenge, they care about survival and rebirth. MC was so blinded by her anger and couldn’t see the bigger picture. Hanzo stopping her helped, but she really needed the time to cool off and unpack her feelings in order to be able to see the bigger picture. Now Hanzo was a bit of a bitch letting her go so far but I firmly believe he didnt think she would be able to when push came to murder and when she DID, this was one of the first times he realized she wasn’t his puppet.

Chapter 12 - The Betrayal

I know a lot of people are going to be the most confused by this chapter - initially I was too but I screenshotted basically the whole thing and have read it over and over again so here is my interpretation.

“The” Betrayal is misleading from the start because there are several depending on which POV you choose to look at. Ieyasu’s trust is betrayed by MC and Hanzo by association when MC fails her mission, Ieyasu is then again betrayed by Hanzo when Hanzo attacks/poisons him, MC is betrayed by Hotaru her little flower giving friend, MC is betrayed by Hanzo when he poisons Ieyasu, Hanzo is betrayed by Ieyasu for giving up on the battle, Hanzo is betrayed by MC for not agreeing to run away with him after she said she would, and finally Hanzo is betrayed again by both of them for not doing what he said/thought they would do after he betrayed them (Ieyasu covering for him, and MC loving him despite everything). It’s a LOT to process and makes me think of the party scene from the movie The Room.

Now obviously the key betrayal comes from Hanzo attacking Ieyasu but why did Hanzo do it? Honestly - I don’t know if there is any one solid reason, but my theory is that he feels like MC’s failed mission would result in both Hanzo and MC’s deaths so he attacks Ieyasu KNOWING MC will step up and prove not only her value as a healer but her loyalty to Ieyasu and the entire clan. I firmly believe he was presenting her with options - 1) To run away with him after (which he said before and says after) or 2) Stay in Mikawa safely. The writers don’t really provide any definitive answers but one thing you know by the end of the route is that Hanzo feels in extremes. He loves big and he hurts big so that alone is enough to make me feel like my theory is the answer. Hanzo & Ieyasu

I LOVED IEYASU IN THIS ROUTE SO MUCH! This is my second favourite Ieyasu now (first being Ieyasu in Yukimura Act 2). The dynamic between Hanzo and Ieyasu is an absolute TREAT. What a unique relationship! They’re my new favourite duo! RANDOM FAVOURITE MOMENTS - The scene where he’s rubbing the bandaged wounds he inflicted and MC moans...like - THERE ARE NO WORDS! I feel like with this and what was essentially knife play in the crossroads, this is as kinky as the writers have gone and I am 100% here for it.

(Also shady bitch liars aren’t capable of feeling regret so this scene is ALSO proof that Hanzo isn’t just a manipulative liar!)

-The entire epilogue scene where he’s dangling you in front of Ieyasu and complaining about the attention you show Ieyasu.

-When he gets jealous over you calling Kiyohiro by name.

-When Ieyasu wishes MC well! -When he asks you to “Live for him and only him” and it’s actually romantic!? Like sure this was during his self-proclaimed “living a lie” phase but you can TELL it’s a genuine ask. -When he gets jealous of the moon lmao idiot

-Drunk Tadatsugu being shamed by Hanzo after he asks where you are headed off to and Hanzo implies you are going to the toilet. -THIS

- and THIS

So that’s the long and short of it!

I went in expecting Hanzo to be a one note shady bitch that has an unrealistic and unbelievable change of heart but he was the exact opposite of that! He is really sweet and caring especially for a ninja and there are so many layers to him I’ll never get bored! This is one of my new favourite routes and I look forward to playing his bad end and writing with him as my new muse!

Reminders: You are totally welcome to disagree with me and feel how you want to feel about Hanzo, I just really wanted to put my observations as a writer out there. Also at the end of the day, this is just a game. I see people forgetting this or taking it too seriously calling characters abusers or rapists etc and trying to make people feel bad for enjoying them or their stories. You can like what you want to like and have the right to not feel shamed for it and any actions you take in a game do NOT reflect choices or actions you would make in real life. It’s all just fun and fantasy.

Don’t listen to people like that and don’t be one of those people. If you’ve made it this far, thank you and I love you!

#slbp #samurai love ballad party #slbp hanzo #slbp masanari

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