#I just like that stop motion segment a lot

[trustymikh]

With alternates having the ability to tamper with/create visual materials on tv, I hc the claymation in vol 5 as somewhat real. Gabe made it to humor himself

[year2000electronics]

I’m also gonna propose the OTHER side of the coin.

Mom!Tippi

Wouldn’t it be so tragic if Timpani had been that much closer to Bleck this entire time? If potentially Luigi were to meet and befriend her, neither having the slightest clue who the other is, prior to the events of SPM? And by the time they do all realize who everyone is and fully reunite, they only have like 5mins max to cherish it before two of them have to sacrifice their lives to save the third :)

Then on the other hand it’s also lowkey kinda hilarious?

Tippi is just kinda going through the motions with the prophecy. No memories and very little sense of self, she’s putting all her focus on the Pure Hearts and stopping the Void. Very… clinical-like. And gradually she starts to open up more to Mario & Co, grows a bit more lively and starts remembering things.

Like her lost love.

So imagine her surprise as things are starting to click and she’s piecing things together, and for the latest piece to the puzzle, there’s her exchange with Bleck when the group’s confronted by the Count in Sammer’s Kingdom. And then he not only mentions the name “Timpani”, which is very familiar for some reason, but also mentions a son.

There are many questions once she’s got her full memories back. At least she thinks so, but she certainly doesn’t remember having a child with Blumiere before they were torn apart and she was cursed to wander dimensions forever! Who IS this child? Where did he come from? What does this mean? Does this make her a mom? Will the child want her as a mom? Can she be a good mom? This was way less terrifying and complicated when it was just saving all reality from violent oblivion!

At first she thinks it’s Mr. L based off observations from the heroes’ fights against him. But then surprise! It’s actually Luigi! The sweetheart boy she’s known and befriended a few years prior to the adventure… how they were this close to have preventing it altogether had they figured it out sooner.

Picture the final thing that confirms for them both without a doubt their shared connections to Blumiere with the MOTI song that’s the duet to the Memory/Bounding Through Time track. A cherished melody between the lovers when they were together, that was also used as a lullaby for Luigi as a kid when he had nightmares.

Btw Luigi and Tippi being amnesia buddies throughout Ch7 Underwhere and Overthere segment is super cute. Criminal that this wasn’t capitalized on in the game either, like c’mon! Amnesia Buddies! Just supporting each other and helping the other get through the more intense flashbacks when they hit in addition to quest/adventure stuff.

Makes Luvbi’s teasing comments hinting that Tippi’s got a crush on Mario, Luigi or both a lot more awkward, tho.

That awkward moment when you accidentally call your mom friend “mom” out loud to their face, but it later turns out she was your actual mom the whole time.

It’s hard to hug on account of Tippi being a butterfly Pixl, but she carries the intent when she sits on Luigi’s nose and stretches her wings out across his face as best she can.

…I have far too much to say on potential relationships between characters that barely interact canonically.

AW YES... let tippi and luigi bond theyve earned it

i think the funny thing about that, too, is that even though tippi and luigi don't get much together, tippi does have some VERY strong opinions on mr. l (calling him greasy, saying he's weak, and her tattle on him specifically says he has 'no other outstanding features of note') so if she thinks mr. l is bleck's son (instead of luigi) i'm sure her first reaction would be... Interesting... LMAO

[ohbaby-here-we-go-again]

‘Sleep’ & ‘Worship’ analysis

Ok so I’ve been thinking a lot about Sleep lately.

Now, I personally have never been super into decoding the songs through a lore lens. For me the songs have always felt like vessel exploring/processing his emotions/relationships, and that’s the lens I tend to do any analysis through.

But like I said I’ve been thinking a lot about Sleep, and why vessel chose to create him in the first place. And I’ve come to like the idea vessel created Sleep to be like, an external way of processing the parts of himself he doesn’t like so much.

I’ll split this up into, Sleep and worship:

Sleep:

Like I’ve said I’ve come to think of Sleep as an amalgamation of vessels struggles, largely from a mental health/trauma? standpoint point.

Part of what makes me feel like that is the name itself. Vessel talks a lot of sleeping/laying in bed, which I’ve personally been kinda linking to depression (but that is me projecting). To me it kinda makes sense that that weight/tiredness, that can feel insurmountable, could be externalised into a God/monster that possesses/overpowers you.

idk about anyone else but sometimes I do say things like ‘sorry, would love to do that, but the depression/anxiety/etc. said no.’ as if it’s its own entity and not part of my brain - this is kinda what I think vessel could be doing, just more creatively.

Lyric examples:

Bury me inside this

Labyrinth bed

The daylight recedes in unison, this room

Buries the hours like death, in motion

Nobody else can pull me out

I Sink, down like precious stones

I Swallow years beneath this bed

‘til I wake, I dine on old encounters

Anything to get me to sleep

Don't wake me, don't wake me

Don't wake me up

Now I know why I woke up here on the shoreline

I've got eyelids heavy enough to break diamonds

I'm so tired inside

I could sleep through a landslide

Another things that makes me characterise Sleep like this, is the growing depiction of him as something solid, an actual physical entity, like with the tentacles on the TMBTE album cover. this in combination with vessels progressively more intense interest in swords and other weaponry make it feel like he’s created a monster he can fight

The most recent album being weaponry themed is very interesting for this reason. It looks like vessel is preparing for battle/stocking up an arsenal. And going off the moon-tentacle creature from TMBTE the line “Will you halt this eclipse in me?” feels like vessel is maybe trying to fight back against ‘Sleep’ (to varying levels of success) . To stop the ‘moon’ from bringing on darkness - so he may stay in the daylight.

Finally in Infinite baths the last segment of the song to me feels like ‘Sleep’ is coming in to try and sabotage the good that vessel has managed to create for himself/with someone.

Lyrics:

All this glory you did not earn

Every lesson you did not learn

You will drown in an endless sea

If it's blood that you want from me

You can empty my arteries

Will you halt this eclipse in me?

Will you halt this eclipse in me?

In me?

Teeth of God

Blood of man

I will be

What I am

‘Sleep’ is telling him he is unworthy, that he can’t change, and that he will be stuck in his ‘nightmares’ forever. But then vessel ends the song acknowledging both parts of himself in a kinda of equal manner, which feels a bit like a he’s saying ‘ok I am made up of both these things, but im not just giving in totally to this ‘god’ anymore.’

I have more thoughts on EIA being like a battle between ‘Sleep’ and vessel, but I’ll make another post on that later.

“My own path towards a place of greater self acceptance is paved with the art that I create” - ves

The music vessel makes is a ‘token’ - an offering, an acknowledgement - to ‘Sleep.’ He is exploring what he feels, and by doing so, he is growing and continuing on his journey.

Worship:

Now if you’ve gotten this far, im sure you’re wondering ‘but Ren, does that mean we’re worshiping vessel’s emotional issues ?’ and the answer (to me) is no, but also yes… stay with me here.

Here are some key bits of information that shape how I see ‘worship’

So to me, within a Sleep Token context, “to worship” is to connect. It’s to face the broken, shadowy pieces of yourself, but know that you aren’t alone. Because we are all here together, and when we listen to this music we are connected.

Each of us faces our own battles, our bad days, our own ‘Sleeps.’ and when we ‘worship’ - be it at a Ritual or alone in our own spaces - we aren’t giving power to Sleep, rather we are finding strength from being seen, and feeling understood. letting the emotions flow through us, and weave together - to be together.

Of course this is just my interpretation, you can find your own meaning in worship if you so wish <3

So, TLDR: ‘Sleep’ is a external representation of Vessel’s (and our) ‘dark sides’ and when we worship (listen to ST), we give our self permission to feel - so we can find connection and safety in each other.

[weirdmarioenemies]

I am going to rank more of the Super Mario Galaxies and none of you can stop me

Some galaxies are destined for greatness. But not all of them. Some galaxies are destined for pretty goodness, and that's okay. It's unfair to hold everyone to such absurdly high standards.

Those are the galaxies we're gonna talk about today! We've reached the B-tiers on this Galaxy Tier List, and we're gonna talk about them all today!

In case you missed the first post (which you can read here!), I'm doing a tier list of all the Galaxies in the Super Mario Galaxy series, and releasing a new entry every Sunday until we've covered them all. Forget about Church. This is what Sundays were truly made for.

My opinions don't necessarily reflect every member of the blog (there's like seven of us!), and they may not reflect your own either. If you disagree, that's totally cool.

72. Wild Glide Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Kicking off today's list, we have the Wild Glide Galaxy, another Motion Control Minigame, yippee! Gone are the days of ray surfing and bubble blowing (but not Star Ball rolling. that's still around), now we have a funny bird named Fluzzard, and even funnier birds named the Jibberjays!

The Wild Glide Galaxy is pretty alright. The motion control minigames are rarely really the highlight for me in the Mario Galaxy games, but for what it's worth, I think gliding with Fluzzard controls alright, and I really like the optional challenge of flying through the rings for the Comet Medal. There's not really anything wrong with Wild Glide Galaxy at all, it's just a little ho-hum, but that's okay. I mean, it's the tutorial for this type of gameplay, what are you supposed to expect?

That being said, there's a later Fluzzard gliding galaxy that's way cooler. Like, way cooler. We'll talk about that next week.

71. Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Did you know? If you put enough flying boats in one place, that's legally a Galaxy. I don't make the rules, I only follow them.

Yeah, these games have a pretty loose definition about what constitutes a "Galaxy"...

Anyway, I don't have an awful lot to say about Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada. It's solid! I definitely prefer the first half with the cannons more than the second half with the autoscroller, though because of Speedrun Strats, I usually end up skipping the first half anyway... Did you know that? You can just blast yourself to one of the later airships and it totally works! I wonder if skipping the more fun part of the level diminishes my opinion of it, though...

That being said, Galaxy 2 kinda went and gave Bowser Jr. both a better "Airship autoscroller" level, and a better "blast yourself places with cannons" level, so the Airship Armada kinda loses out on that regard. Combine that with a Decent boss fight, and the Spranglers that always mess me up on the autoscroller (which I will admit is a Skill Issue!) and we end up with a mission that's fine, but I'm a little lukewarm on.

70. Honeyhop Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Is it just me, or is Honeyhop Galaxy the most forgettable galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2? I dunno, I think it's something about the repeated theme without really bringing anything new to the table, besides I guess one segment that brings back the Floaty Fluff from Gusty Garden Galaxy. It kinda just feels like a Honeyhive Galaxy retread, but a bit more condensed.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing to be, Honeyhive Galaxy is a really good one after all, it just makes all of Honeyhop Galaxy feel like something I've seen before. And I don't think the smaller scale really helps, since the large scale is part of what I love about the Honeyhive in the first place!

I feel like I'm being a bit too negative here, so I should probably re-iterate: while this galaxy feels like a bit of a retread, the stuff it's retreading is pretty fun, so I can't really hate it. I just wish they'd find more new things to do with the Bee Mushroom, that's all!

69 (nice). Bubble Breeze Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

And here's another Motion Control Minigame, this time taking advantage of the Wii's pointer! It is your job to blow Mario around in a bubble, but don't let the bubble pop! Because most of this galaxy is a poison swamp which is frankly, Not Healthy To Digest. Do you know why all the crayons you see are non-toxic? Because they melted all the toxic ones to make Bubble Breeze Galaxy, that's why.

Anyway, this galaxy summarizes my thoughts on the bubble minigame: I like it, I don't love it, I'm not too upset that it didn't return in Galaxy 2, but I wouldn't mind if it did. I question how much of this Galaxy ranking so low is the atmosphere, "poison swamp" can be just kind of a dreary thing to look at for too long, though maybe it's just that the minigame can feel a little sluggish since you need to be so precise. It's not too hard, even, just a little time consuming.

I feel if I liked this galaxy just a bit more, I probably wouldn't always take the Speedrun Strat of backflipping to reach an invisible platform behind the checkpoint, from which you can long jump to the Power Star and just completely skip the second half of the level.

68. Flash Black Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

I don't know what it says that the lowest-ranking Super Mario Galaxy 2 Hungry Luma galaxy got a higher spot than all but one of the first game's Hungry Luma galaxies. I mean, besides "the first game's Hungry Luma galaxies aren't very good".

Flash Black Galaxy is a galaxy built around a solid gimmick, where the level is too dark to see outside of brief flashes that appear in-time with the music. Stuff like objects and enemies can always be seen which can clue you in to where things are, but otherwise, it's testing your memory, which is cool. I don't think it's the best one-off gimmick, but for a single level, it's definitely a respectable one.

I don't know if I really have much more to say about Flash Black Galaxy. It's pretty much defined by its gimmick, which I consider "good but not great". Makes interesting use of your memory, but slows down the pacing a little, but ultimately the galaxy is short enough that it doesn't ever overstay its welcome. Respectable B-tier.

I originally had it way higher (at 54th place, if you can believe it!) but after writing about it, I found I didn't care about it as much as I thought I did. Sorry.

Don't confuse this with the Throwback Galaxy. We'll talk about that next week.

67. Rolling Green Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

And here's the last of the galaxies that introduces a motion control minigame! I honestly kinda like the Star Ball, it hits a nice balance where it can be a bit tricky to get the hang of, but never really feels like something you don't have control over, which I can't really say about the ray surfing. There's a really fun sense of momentum there, it does a really good job of capturing the feeling of balancing on a ball, not that I know what that feels like...

Makes sense this was the only of the three minigames that returns in the sequel, it's easier to control than the mantas, but never gives you so much control it can feel kinda boring, like the bubbles. As for Rolling Green Galaxy itself, it's kinda what you expect for a level that introduces a mechanic. It's a bit basic, but not necessarily bad, and I like that it offers a few optional challenges on the sides. It also escalates pretty nicely, first giving you areas with fences so you can get acclimated to the controls, then wide open areas without fences, and then having you navigate around holes and islands, I really like that.

I'm probably still gonna dock it a bit for being a bit basic, but as a tutorial, I think it's pretty well designed, and I definitely have to give it props for that. Still, there are definitely other galaxies that I feel have made better use of this mechanic...

66. Rolling Gizmo Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

That being said, I think the "challenge version" of Rolling Green Galaxy, Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, is only slightly better, if not basically equal to Rolling Green.

I think this is pretty well designed as a more challenging follow-up, making you navigate through tighter spaces, rotating platforms, and overall forcing the player into a bit more careful play. It definitely serves well as that "final test" of the Star Ball minigame, testing how well you're able to handle its control scheme.

That being said, I feel that by being more challenging, Rolling Gizmo loses some of what makes the Star Ball missions so fun, you have to take it at such a steady pace that you never really get a chance to build momentum, which is kind of a bummer. Rolling Gizmo Galaxy doesn't really give you the same level of freedom that Rolling Green Galaxy gives, even in terms of alternate routes, so I'm gonna dock some points for that. Still appreciate the added challenge, though!

65. Gateway Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

For what it's worth, if this was a list of galaxies ranked by the order you play them in, this would rank first.

Gateway Galaxy is your tutorial to Super Mario Galaxy, and I think it does a nice job at that. Chasing bunnies is probably never gonna be my favorite thing in the world, but it's a nice way to get the player accustomed to walking around a sphere, and unlike some galaxies, there's no strict time limit, and the bunnies will politely inform you where others might be hiding. It would be kinda unfair if they didn't. This is the tutorial.

And I really like that it eventually extends into a proper "mission," letting you travel between planets, and introducing you to some of the game's mechanics, like collecting Star Chips, spinning to defeat enemies, and activating (or de-activating?) flipswitches. I also really like how you can't return to this galaxy until much later in the game, I think it's a nice way to show you how far you've come, or something like that, I don't really know. I'm not the most graceful with my words!

That being said, I need to be upfront: the Red Star power-up and I have never gotten along. I always felt the flying controls with it were super weird, even if it gives you a lot of freedom! I may as well mention it here, since it never shows up anywhere else...

Anyway, I picked that picture because of this Jacob Geller video, which all of you should watch, by the way.

64. Bowser's Lava Lair

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Bowser building a lava-themed Galaxy? How unexpected...! I wonder what tricks he'll bring next?

Bowser's Lava Lair is a pretty solid, if not slightly forgettable, boss stage. It has all the sorts of things you'd expect from a Bowser stage, really, stone buildings, lava, members of the -omp family, and of course, a boss fight against the Man Himself. It also marks the debut of Mattermouths, which catches me off guard a little even though I totally know they're in this galaxy. They seem like such a Haunty Halls debut to me!

Not a lot to say about Bowser's Lava Lair really, it's solid, but a bit by-the-books, which is why it didn't score any higher. Maybe Bowser could take a few lessons from his son when it comes to designing memorable boss levels...

...That statement feels really weird given both "boss levels" we've covered thus far are from Bowser Jr., but I promise, he gets some really good ones in Galaxy 2.

63. Starshine Beach Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Oh hey, it's that galaxy that sort of vaguely references Super Mario Sunshine! It has Beach, it has Chucksters... it has those lily pad rafts? I think Sunshine had those. Really, throw Piantas in any sort of tropical area and you can probably pass it off as a Sunshine reference.

Starshine Beach Galaxy I feel is one of those galaxies that suffers a little bit from Super Mario Galaxy 2's more compact level design. It's kinda big, kinda flat, and kinda empty. I wouldn't say it's a significantly worse galaxy than Beach Bowl, there are some fun missions here, but if you compare the two, Beach Bowl just feels a lot more Alive to me, you know? This galaxy has like, three towers, a Pianta statue, and a whole lot of tiny islands and shallow water between. The level design in Galaxy 2 is a bit more linear, and in a more open galaxy like this one, it shows.

Still, this place is still plenty fun. The Cloud Flower is always a delight to use, and it's nice to have more exploration-oriented missions in the sequel. I just wish there was more to see when exploring, that's all!

62. Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

There are not a lot of good images of this galaxy on the Super Mario Wiki, huh?

Admittedly, originally I had this a good bit lower, where Bubble Breeze Galaxy is right now. Then I looked it over and was like "actually, this one's cooler than that" and moved it up like six places.

I think this suffers some of the same issues as Bowser's Lava Lair, where it feels a smidge generic -- I mean, making your lair Gravity Themed in the game where every level is Gravity Themed? Come on. But after looking back at it, they do some cool things with that gimmick, particularly in the 2D area, where the lack of changing perspective really helps emphasize the weird gravity in this place. I love details like Podoboos jumping out of a pool of lava on the wall and into one on the ceiling, that's really neat.

Still, I think they could've pushed the gimmick a little further, and with some of the entries later on this list (including a Bowser level that occupies the exact same position in the first game!), I feel like they have a lot more fun with 2D gravity shenanigans.

61. Gusty Garden Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Man, this one hurts. You don't know how much it pains me to put Gusty Garden in B-tier. I mean, it's like, one of the Super Mario Galaxies! It has The Music! How can I hate it?!

Well, if you're taking a B-tier placement as me "hating" something, then your standards are way too high, because I like Gusty Garden Galaxy! That being said, this is a video game old enough to drive a car now, so I'm allowed to be honest about it, and if I'm being honest... the music does a lot of heavy lifting in this galaxy.

Not that the galaxy is bad by any stretch of the imagination, there's lots of fun moments here, like the weird question mark planets, the giant caterpillar that eats through the apple asteroids, and probably the best bunny chase across both games. That being said... Gusty Garden feels a bit small-scale, you know? I feel there's not a lot of room to explore in Gusty Garden, most of the planets are pretty small-scale, and the level structure is a bit more linear than a lot of other galaxies in the first game...

Of course, being linear isn't necessarily a bad thing, a lot of galaxies in the sequel are similarly linear, so why should I count that against Gusty Garden? Well, my issue with Gusty Garden is that a lot of the planetoids end up feeling pretty samey. You go to a small planetoid, kill some Piranha Plants and Monties, and then take a vine or a Floaty Fluff to the next planetoid, rinse and repeat. There's not really much of a sense of escalation here, you know what I mean?

Also there's the fact the third mission is so weirdly out-of-place. It's not a bad mission at all, I think it's a cool level with a cool gimmick, it just doesn't really quell my feeling that Gusty Garden feels like it was cobbled together from bits of other galaxies that were getting a little too big.

I don't want to badmouth Gusty Garden Galaxy too much, because I still have plenty of fun here, and honestly, I always look forwards to it in a Galaxy run! "The music does a lot of heavy lifting" might seem like a defamatory statement, and to some extent I guess it is, but I also think it shows just how much stuff like aesthetics and sound design really matter in the grand scheme of things. Without it, Gusty Garden Galaxy may have felt pretty forgettable, but because of it, it creates an experience that frankly feels like more than the sum of its parts.

60. Beach Bowl Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Did you know? "B" is for Beach Bowl. I just thought you should know that. Beach Bowl Galaxy is a respectable underwater galaxy with a really cool setpiece. I just love the way this galaxy looks, the huge bowl with water pouring out is a really neat visual, and the Beach Vibes are just on point here. Not pictured is the underwater section, which is decently detailed all things considered. I'd probably visit the Beach Bowl Galaxy if it was a vacation spot in real life.

As a gameplay experience? Beach Bowl is alright. As I've mentioned before, the underwater controls can feel a bit jank to me, which I think drags it down a bit, but I also feel like it's a very nice galaxy to just Explore, which admittedly is something I think the second game is a bit lacking in. Obviously the Galaxy games are a bit more linear than the 3D games that came before, but I feel the first Galaxy hits a nice middle ground for me, giving enough room to goof off while still giving a clear objective to move towards, and Beach Bowl is great in that regard.

The main thing holding Beach Bowl down a bit, besides the controls, is a couple of the missions. The second main mission here, where you grab the Golden Shell from a penguin and take it to the penguin coach, is one of the most pointless in the game, and this galaxy also possibly has my least favorite purple coin mission. I'm not even the biggest detractor of the Spring Mushroom out there, but making it mandatory to grab Purple Coins placed right next to the edge feels cruel. And while I complain about the underwater controls sometimes, you surely could've placed more than five coins underwater, right?

The rest of the missions are alright, though. I think the one where you look for Star Chips takes nice advantage of letting you explore a bit, and I generally enjoy this iteration of the Stone Cyclone, and even the 2x faster version! Still don't like the 4x faster version from the second game, sorry.

I think it's funny that the penguins are associated largely with tropical galaxies in these games. Why is that?

59. Supermassive Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

"We grow 'em big here! Watch out!"

Supermassive Galaxy feels like a fun "novelty galaxy" to me, if that makes any sort of sense. What if Mario... but Big? Well, not Mario himself. You're one of the only things in this Galaxy that isn't big. Sorry! This leads to a lot of fun details, though, like the giant Lumas that speak in Big Letters and have a low-pitched voice, or the coin that's so big, you can wall jump off of it.

I wonder if they could've taken it further. Like, there are no oversized Star Bits here! That is a STAPLE of Super Mario Galaxy Level Design. The funniest thing they could do would make the Power Stars in this galaxy into Grand Stars, but I get those are reserved for boss missions.

It's also clever to use this as a place that properly introduces long jumps as a mechanic. Did any galaxy in the first game do that? I'm not sure if any of them did. But the framing of "Mario needs to do BIG JUMPS to make it past gaps in this oversized galaxy" is really fun.

Really, and this is a goofy nitpick, but I think what brings down this galaxy for me is the aesthetics, which kind of end up being a double-edged sword. I think the "generic Mario objects, but Big" is the best way to emphasize this galaxy's theme, but it also feels well... generic. After the Big gimmick, this galaxy isn't really all that interesting to look at. Might also have something to do with how linear it is. Despite everything in this galaxy being huge, there's not an awful lot of room to just goof off and have fun, which I feel is a bit of a missed opportunity.

58. Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Megaleg I think is one of the coolest bosses across both games, and such a clever usage of these games' gravity mechanics. Megaleg is also pretty much all there is in this galaxy, and I'm not sure if I should count that for or against this one.

It's like, Megaleg doesn't have a lot of buildup. You have one small planet that serves as a tutorial for using Bullet Bills to break glass, and that's really it. I generally prefer galaxies that are a bit bigger in scope, so I definitely feel like I'm gonna dock some points for that. I feel like a boss this cool could benefit from a bit more buildup, you know?

On the other hand, I think that's kinda unfair. This is the first boss level in the game, it doesn't need to be overly complex, showing how the boss works and then doing the boss itself is really all you need, and again, I really like Megaleg as a boss, even if after once you reach the top there's not that much going on anymore.

I guess the takeaway is... these rankings are mostly based on my personal enjoyment, and less so of how Objectively Well-Designed I think the mission is. The difference between "the best" of a group and "my favorite" of a group can be an important one!

57. Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Another case of "this Galaxy is basically in the exact same position as the one before it, and it does some things better, and some things worse". For starters, I don't think Gobblegut is quite as cool as Megaleg. Don't get me wrong, Gobblegut is still cool, and arguably more mechanically interesting, I like how there's an incentive to destroy the later bulges earlier on so the boss is easier in the later phases when Gobblegut speeds up, in exchange for a more difficult earlygame. Still, I don't know if it's as cool as climbing up a giant robot.

The Fiery Flotilla also has a bit more buildup than the Robot Reactor, which I really appreciate. You know I enjoy a little bit of platforming before I take on the Big Boss! Still, the platforming is on the basic side (again, first Boss Level) and unlike Megaleg, the buildup doesn't really tie into the boss at all, you know? Like, "spin the big red orbs" isn't a really tough thing to figure out, especially when they're highlighted in Bowser Jr.'s dialogue, but it does create a situation where the game tells you what to do instead of priming you for it.

Does some things a little better, some things a little worse, so I think it's about equal. Gonna give it the edge because I like having the platforming at the beginning, and also because Galaxy 2 gives each galaxy more than one mission. There's a Gobblegut Daredevil Run! Wish we could've gotten one of those for Megaleg.

56. Sweet Sweet Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

What's that? A good Hungry Luma galaxy from the first game? I never thought I'd see the day...! It's also uh, the only good one in my opinion, given we covered all the rest in the previous post. It's also the first Hungry Luma galaxy in the game, so it's all downhill from here.

But yeah, I like Sweet Sweet Galaxy! I don't know if I'd say I love it, or else I'd probably put it a bit higher, but I enjoy it. I think it has a really nice sense of iterative level design, you know? It takes one idea (moving conveyors with holes in the floor) and riffs on it in different ways up until the very end. First you have a conveyor moving towards the goal, then you have the ones moving left and right, then you have the rotating floor, and then you have the one moving away from the goal. Sweet Sweet Galaxy has a pretty nice sense of escalation.

I also remember finding it weirdly challenging as a kid, for how early in the game it is. It's not brutal or anything, we're not looking at the Dark Souls of Mario Galaxies here, but especially in that rotating floor segment it can be hard to tell where the holes are gonna be.

It's still a little short and linear, but for a small "bonus mission", I think that's ultimately fine, especially for the first Hungry Luma galaxy in the game. Congratulations, Sweet Sweet Galaxy! You might have what it takes to hang out with the Super Mario Galaxy 2 Hungry Luma galaxies!

55. Bubble Blast Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Did you know? "B" is for Bubble Blast. I just thought you should know that.

Congratulations to Bubble Blast Galaxy, which I personally consider the best of the three Trial Galaxies. As I stated, I can sort of take or leave the bubble minigame, which is why this isn't gonna rank any higher, but as far as it goes, I think this galaxy makes really good usage of it. The obstacles presented feel decently varied, and often require a nice blend of precision with quick reaction timing due to all the moving parts. It's really nifty, both on its own, and as an escalation of what we saw in Bubble Breeze.

Especially great is the bit towards the end, where you have to make your way down a tight corridor of electric fences while being chased by Bullet Bills, forcing you to act quick in a minigame that usually requires a lot of precision. Is it a little unfair? Maybe just a little, but it makes for an exciting sequence that works really well as a final test of your bubble-blowing skills.

Up next, we're going to be testing your jellyfishing and patty-flipping skills, so watch out!

54. Dusty Dune Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

Dusty Dune Galaxy is a weird one to me. It's like, whenever I reach it in the game, I don't really feel like playing it, but once I get around to playing it, it's actually pretty fun! I'm not really sure if there's a mission here I don't like playing, I like the Bone Twisters, I like the sand slides, I like the rush for the star in the sinking tower. Even the untimed purple coin mission is one of the better ones! This galaxy is honestly pretty consistently solid.

So like, why am I not Feeling It? Why is it that when I get to this galaxy in a playthrough, I'm always overcome by this feeling of "yeah, alright"?

I think Dusty Dune might have a reverse Gusty Garden Situation going on, where it has great ideas held back a little bit by so-so music and theming. And make no mistake: it's not that "desert" can't be an interesting theme, because it really can be! (We'll see the sequel's desert galaxy in a couple weeks!) But it's generic desert, you know? Where they kinda slap any vague "desert stuff" together and call it a day. This is a desert with both Egyptian pyramids and cacti! Despite what Mr. Video Game might tell you, those don't appear in the same deserts in the Real World.

I feel like if they leaned hard in one particular direction, Dusty Dune Galaxy could be really cool, but as it stands it sort of suffers "Generic Video Game Desert Syndrome" where it lacks a clear sense of identity to make it stand out more.

53. Sweet Mystery Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

The Bulb Berry is a neat power-up, the more I think about it, it feels like a new spin of the Matter Splatter Galaxy from the first game, where what you see is all that's there, but with a bit more player control. I honestly think the lack of control makes Matter Splatter a bit more interesting to me, but I can see why someone else would like this take more.

If you couldn't tell already, Sweet Mystery Galaxy is largely built around this power-up, making for the second sweets-themed Hungry Luma Galaxy, though that's pretty much all the two have in common, because the gimmicks are completely different. Honestly I think the Bulb Berry is a little under-utilized, the only other galaxy I remember using it is Haunty Halls, which is its introduction.

A benefit Sweet Mystery has for being the second level with this power-up is they can play around with it a bit more, using it with stuff like moving platforms, and having optional challenges which can be rewarding, but run out your timer a bit, limiting both your field of view, which also corresponds with limiting knowing where you can stand! It's nifty.

The main weakness of this galaxy I think is once again an aesthetic one. There's not an awful lot of background details, and since it's built around the Bulb Berry, you can't see much of it at once. There's not a lot to see here, besides that giant present with the cake in it at the end. It's another galaxy that sort of shows the sequel's weakness when it comes to making more detailed environments.

52. Gold Leaf Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy Tier: B

As I've stated before, I'm gonna dock some points for reused content. Like, if you're gonna repeat any galaxy, then Honeyhive is a good one, but it can always be a little bit of a letdown to go to a new galaxy and realize it's a place I've already seen before, but with a fresh coat of paint. Especially given it's in the same game as its counterpart! But in this case, I'll mostly let it slide. I like getting to see Honeyhive in gorgeous autumn colors, and for what it's worth, the missions here are all pretty unique.

The Star Bunny mission is kinda whatever, given I've made my stance on bunny chases pretty clear at this point, and the rest of the mission is kinda just exploring a place we've already seen, but the rest of the missions fare a bit better. What can I say! I like Cataquacks and I like that obstacle course. I think building the Cosmic Mario and Purple Coin missions around the obstacle course was a smart idea too, since it helps make the galaxy feel more distinctive.

Being Honeyhive 2 ends up being a double-edged sword, since it kinda takes away from Gold Leaf Galaxy having a more distinct identity, but it does enough of its own that I'll let it slide, and it's also not like I'm gonna complain about getting more missions in a top-10 galaxy.

I guess that's a spoiler for a future review. Look forward to seeing where in the top 10 I put it!

51. Freezy Flake Galaxy

Game: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tier: B

Autumn turns to winter as we talk about our final galaxy of the day! Freezy Flake Galaxy is a delightful little snowscape that lets you indulge in all the fun of a snowy winter day without any of the icy roads or dismal temperatures of actual snowy winter days. Unless you're playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 in a car sliding down an icy road with all the windows rolled down. Why are you doing that?

Anyway, I think that above all else, Freezy Flake Galaxy feels charming to me, you know? You get to run around in the snow and roll snowballs and incinerate snow statues of Bowser with the Fire Flower! All the things you'd do on your typical winter day. I especially love in the second mission where you get the Rock Mushroom, and get to watch snow build up in your boulder form, it's such a cute touch! I wish we got to do more with the Rock Mushroom, it's kinda ditched past the first planet in favor of the Sorbetti boss fight. I wonder if this galaxy would benefit from the three-mission format of the first game?

My only real complaint about Freezy Flake is that I think it's a smidge on the generic side. I mean, by the time we got this game, we already had the Freezeflame Galaxy, which is a generally cooler take on an ice galaxy (and also a hotter one). Freezy Flake, in comparison, is a bit tame, a bit less exciting, but whatever, it's cute. It's hard to listen to the music and not feel those warm winter fuzzies that I feel until winter actually comes and my hands are dry and I can't go outside without bundling up first and even once I do the ground is going to be slippery so I can't run around as much without fear of falling over except for the days where it is warm where then everything is mushy and gross, and it's dark outside at 5PM and when it is bright outside the sky is usually gray anyway and there's no leaves on the trees so everything looks dull and lifeless

...I hate winters.

And that wraps up today's post! Do you agree with my opinions? Do you don't agree with my opinions? It's okay if you don't. Even the ones about winter! If you enjoy all those things I was complaining about, then more power to you, I'm glad someone can find joy where I couldn't! And if you don't like something I do like, then that's fine too, I guess.

Next week, we'll begin covering the A-tiers! There's a lot of 'em, so I'm gonna be splitting them into two posts, with fifteen galaxies each! Look forward to it! I'll link it here when it goes live!

[the-burd-lord]

Finally am confident enough to post my redesign of Charlie. Buckle up cause it’s a lot!

Kept her simple since I think her original design is kinda alright, but went with the doll aesthetic more.

Made her design simple enough for it to stand out in most any environment within Hell. Should probably have made a colored version for her, but I'm keeping the white and pink from her original design, but making her outfit yellow to compliment the reds of Hell and the blues of Heaven.

Here’s the newest design although I'm still fiddling around with different variations for the marks on her face, shown later in this post. Might lean towards stop motion look with how the mouths of the characters are always a separate segment from the face.

Eventually she goes from bellhop to more of a concierge roll as she gains more confidence in running the hotel, and eventually becomes the defacto ruler of Purgatory.

More on that later.

Also lil Lucifer resign too. Might make a whole post about him, but the basics are that I decided to go more “biblically accurate” angel for him.

He made Charlie's body, with Lilith drawing up the design for what she would look like. Overtime Charlie got to choose what she wanted to look like. She has accrued many bodies over her thousands of years of living.

Their relationship is close as although they don't see each other in person as often, Charlie always makes time to have at least one phone call a week with her dad. Especially with his worsening depression.

He doesn't fully believe in the hotel idea, but he’s willing to support his daughter anyway he can. Although he is hesitant when she requests to have an audience with Heaven as he knows how fickle they can be.

Especially when her first meeting with an angel is spent talking about rock bands.

I also changed up what Charlie is as not only is she a doll, but she is also the manifestation of “free will.” Spawned from Lilith and Lucifer’s union being an action that goes against "god's plan."

Although she barely remembers it, her actions caused Adam and Eve to eat the apple. She partially made the hotel out of guilt for condemning humanity, feeling as though she has to make it up to the sinners she condemned.

This makes her super hesitant to push the patrons to get help as although she knows that it'll help them in the long run it must fully be by their own free will to want to change. This hesitance also leads her to not fully interfere in their afterlives either, even when she knows a push is all they'll need.

She is able to literally be anyone or anything, and she is scared of this fact. Kinda getting decision paralysis. Also being that she is a being made out of pure energy this essentially means she's a bomb.

This is the result of what happens to her once her form is broken.

These are the old designs, went with a more streamlined look later.

Heavily inspired by the final form of the Princess from Slay the Princess. A game I highly recommend!

When in her "chimera form" she accidentally kills Adam, leading her to take him on as a guest at her hotel. It also leads her to convince Heaven and Hell to use Mount Purgatorio for her new liminal hotel. Kinda using Adam as a bargaining chip to show heaven that if angels can fall, then that doesn't mean sinners can't climb up the mountain to Heaven.

Overtime, with more horror influences I kept adding into her character and design I accidentally just made her into a creepy doll with some analog influences.

(It's almost like my subconscious is trying to tell me something 🤔)

Vaggie and her scary gf.

Decided to go for a more psychological route for Charlie’s abilities and personality. On the surface appearing normal, but still standing out in most environments because of her simplicity. That there's just something about her that doesn't quite fit anywhere.

Her character finally clicked for me after watching Paranoia Agent. She's not really based off any characters from the show, but some of the themes and imagery are baked into her character.

Along with the banger opening.

Eventually she builds her hotel in purgatory, and essentially becomes its ruler. Much to the chagrin of Heaven, who still only sees her as a demon. Even though she was technically born in the heavens.

Even though Charlie uses Adam as a bargaining chip they don't really care that he fell. But they don't want to be proven wrong either, so they reluctantly agree to the idea.

Also lil bonus of Charlie and Vaggie in nightwear. Gotta make another post for Vaggie, but I’m still working some things out with her story and character.

I apologize if so much of this post made no sense. I didn't realize how much I had written for Charlie. Although makes sense as she is supposed to be the main character.

I am happy to answer questions if y'all want more clarification.

[bethrnoora]

you'll be in my mind every time I look back at the sun

It's what he should have expected, in the end. Always on a parallel trajectory, never to hold onto the things that matter - that could have mattered to him.

or: David Bowman and the idea of things that can't love you back.

read on AO3

hi i have a lot of thoughts on dave bowman and grief and mourning and one's relationship to romance and intimacy. extrapolated largely from that one little segment in 2010 odyssey two

He brings the mantis home late one afternoon during the summer before fifth grade. Glass mason jar, perforated plastic wrap over top of it, some twigs and leaves inside so the mantis can climb at its (now somewhat restricted) leisure.

Dave sets it on the bedroom windowsill and lets the tangerine sunset wash over it.

The mantis angles its compound eye in his direction; at least, he thinks it's looking in his direction. He scoots closer, sets his chin on the sill to look at it up close.

It seems at peace enough with its surroundings, if a little cramped.

"What do you have there?"

Bobby, three years his senior, stands in the doorway, hands in his pockets.

Dave shifts on the egg crate he's brought in as a makeshift stool.

"Nothin'."

"Yeah, right. Come on, I'm not gonna get you in trouble or anything."

He hesitates, but then leans out of the way, lets his brother get a glimpse of the mantis - who is now gradually moving to investigate the plastic over the top of the jar.

"Stagmomantis carolina," he says with a mounting pride; he's read all about them in one of the field guides from the library.

"Neat," says Bobby with a smile. "Where'd you find her?"

"In the tall grass. Past the stream."

He makes his way in and crouches to get a better look. The setting sun casts his profile in orange and gold, same as the edges of the jar.

The mantis has stopped in its - her? - ascent to the lip of its new abode, the feet of its thoracic limbs pressed inquisitive to the glass. It raises one ridged forelimb to its alien chevron of a face and swipes, like a cat grooming itself.

The two of them sit there, watching the mantis move almost in slow motion for a while while the sun sinks beneath the horizon. Bobby turns eventually - though Dave doesn't notice, too enraptured with the way each part of the mantis seems to move independent of every other. He watches his little brother stare at the creature he's brought home for a few more minutes before asking:

"So what are you going to do with it?"

Dave is quiet for a minute, oddly contemplative for a nine year-old.

"Maybe she can stay here?"

"Like, a pet?"

"Yeah." He shifts, a small smile on his face. "She climbed right onto my hand when I found her."

He looks up at Bobby, as though asking for approval - as though Bobby has the authority to let them keep it. He knows their mom would be hard-pressed to say yes.

Bobby nods, his face neutral. Dave's not sure what that means.

"Don't you think she'd be more comfortable not in the jar?"

"I can - I can get a bigger place for her." He looks back at the mantis, which cocks its head.

"Okay, maybe, then." He pauses, and Dave can't see his face but gets the sense that there's an issue. "Just…she might not make the best pet, Davey."

That can't be right. Dave looks from Bobby to the mantis, the latter of whom seems to be unaware of the ongoing deliberation outside her temporary home. Her mandibles twitch. She unfolds her slender wings, folds them back against her svelte green thorax.

"Why?"

"Well, she doesn't - can't…" Bobby stumbles over his words for a minute, struggling in the face of his brother's open, inquisitive little face. "She can't love you back - not the way you think. Not like a, a dog, or a cat."

Dave thinks on it, crossing his arms over the windowsill and setting his chin upon them. The mantis stares, unblinking with her otherworldly eyes.

Maybe she would be happier outside, after all. But at the same time, she came to him, didn't she? That could count for something.

"That's okay," he says.

He'll bring her back to the yard, he decides. Maybe they'll see each other again, despite it all.

______________________________________________________________

He spends the evening of his seventeenth birthday at home. In his heart, he knows he should be out somewhere, with someone. Or at least downstairs with his mother.

It had been a very nice day, for the record. He had gotten a new leather-bound journal, and some CDs that now sit listened front-to-back outside their cases on the side table. Betty Schultz had mailed him a card, as she always had the past few years.

And yet here he sits, eyes trained on the striated screen of the old cathode ray tube television that lives in the half-finished attic. Creature From The Black Lagoon is on, its 1950s audio crackling over the TV's poorly-maintained speaker. Gray light washes over him in the dark of the attic like the light through the water on screen; he takes a sip of his soda.

Dave has tried not to think about the sunlight through the water's surface back in Crystal Springs - he's done a piss-poor job of it so far, and the movie isn't helping the way he thought it would.

Seventeen, he thinks, and the voice in his head is Jessie Bowman's from just three or so hours ago. She smiles at him over the candles, but her proud smile is tinted with sadness. He knew it would be impossible for either of them not to think about Bobby on a day like today, but it doesn't make the distance he feels between himself and the rest of the world any less wide and cavernous.

He leans forward, chin in his hands and elbows on his folded knees, til his face is mere inches from the screen and the image barely makes coherent sense to his brain. He sees the parallel forms of Kay and the Creature swimming in black and white, almost peaceful for a mere moment before they blur into the static fuzz that emanates off the screen.

It's soft and sticks to him like dewdrops on grass, a layer of impossible static snow in the Florida heat. Dave raises one hand and presses into it experimentally. It gives under his touch, of course - all it is is static electricity - but there's something deeply comforting about the sensation all the same. He swallows, and looks around as though anyone is watching him in the darker corners of the attic. He leans forward, turning his cheek and pressing it against the screen.

It hisses in his ear, a whisper of comfort in the shadows. He closes his eyes. The Creature and the girl, never to intersect, go dark before the tears can overtake him.

______________________________________________________________

What surprises him most about the computer on board Discovery is how plainly curious it - he is.

Dave hasn't been asked this many questions about himself since university (and various job interviews and screenings, he guesses) but finds it could be a lot worse.

The computer - one H-A-L-nine-thousand, as it were - seems intent on getting a feel for the differences in his and Frank Poole's lives. He's heard the overview before they even got on board, of course. Frank's a year and a half older than he is, grew up outside Phoenix, has two parents who are still together and considered becoming a marine biologist, once upon a time.

"Space cowboy, huh?" Dave had said when Frank mentioned Arizona the first time, when they had met on Earth before the mission.

"Sorry?"

"Ah, because - you grew up in a desert, right?"

"Oh. Heh, yeah. I get it." Frank had laughed at that, stupid as it was. They could be friends, maybe, Dave thinks.

On board Discovery, Hal's scarlet gaze regards Dave with a neutral intrigue. He asks him questions from time to time, all mundane things about his life on Earth, which Dave answers to the best of his ability.

It all seems so far away, now. Half a world between him and the life he once had.

"Do you have siblings, Dave?"

That one gives him pause. He knows it's come up because Frank had mentioned being an only child at some point. It still makes the words stick in his throat.

"No," is what he settles on. Which feels immeasurably wrong. "I…did, though."

A moment of contemplation ticks away between them. He wonders if it's an off-putting answer to Hal; it certainly is to him, and he's the one who said it.

"I am sorry, Dave," says Hal. "It sounds like this is an unpleasant memory for you. I won't press any further, if this is a painful topic."

Dave thinks on that - a painful topic, an unpleasant memory. Does Hal really have any concept of that? What does a computer know of pain?

…what does a computer know of pain, or discomfort, or love, for that matter?

He swallows and puts the last question out of his mind.

"That's okay, Hal. You don't need to be sorry." He then adds: "It is, a little bit. Maybe I'll tell you another time."

Does he really want to leave that door open? He's not sure. He's not sure why he leaves it open for the ship computer in particular, either. It's been closed for half his life - and though one day he's bound to return to it, that life is light years away back on the Earth's surface.

______________________________________________________________

He's twenty, back from college in Sarasota, when he comes back to Bobby's headstone. The flowers he brought have already begun to wilt in the summer heat, and all he can think is why does this feel so stupid? when he lays the pitiful, wrinkled white blooms at the stone's base.

He wants to apologize, tell his brother how much he misses him and how he wants him to be proud of him. I'm gonna be an astrophysicist, you know?

But a stone can't talk back. Despite the name carved into it, despite the title of Beloved Son and Brother, it can't be Robert Bowman. Not anymore.

Betty sidles up beside him, slotting her hand into his.

"I'm sorry," he says - in her direction, but he's not sure if it's to her. She gives him a look.

"It's okay. You don't need to be."

A leaf, verdant and tear-shaped, skitters across the top of the headstone. For the first time in eleven years, Dave thinks about the mantis, the exact same shade of emerald.

Can't love you back, murmurs his brother's voice. Not the way you think.

He thinks about the funeral. How his father - who he and Bobby seldom saw, who he never sees at this point - wouldn't even make eye contact with him.

He thinks of sitting Shiva, and getting delicately tiptoed around when condolences normally would come, like at fourteen he was too young to understand. Like he wasn't keenly aware that his brother wasn't there anymore, why his brother wasn't there anymore.

He thinks of Betty leaning in to kiss him last summer, and her asking:

"Is this…okay?"

Is it okay? He can't possibly answer that. He had stared past her shoulder, thinking about that question, thinking about how at sixteen she had once hung on Bobby's every word.

"I don't know."

She had cocked her head, strawberry blonde hair cascading over one shoulder.

"For you, I mean?"

Oh. Not in general, or morally (though considering it like that makes it feel like he's making some kind of ordeal out of it). He's still not totally certain how to answer.

"Me? I'm fine. I'm okay."

She had kissed him again, on the corner of his mouth. In his memory, it feels like static.

He hears her call his name from just beside him, shaking him back to reality, one year six years eleven years later.

Dave inhales, finally remembering to pull oxygen into his lungs because it feels like he hasn't in a good ten minutes. His breath shakes and his hand leaves hers to grip at his own chest, to little avail.

______________________________________________________________

The score of Metropolis warbles away on the attic TV, just out of sight as Dave lays on his back just beside it on the floor. Outside, the sun has just barely begun to drop low in the sky.

He should be packing to go back to Sarasota tomorrow; he knows his mother will chide him for it sooner or later and he'll have to go back downstairs to the rest of the world. There's no reason for him not to want to go. And yet, as he lies alone, watches the intricately designed robotic woman on screen transmogrify into Brigitte Helm, he thinks to himself - I don't want this to be my life.

Absently, he runs the back of his hand over the TV screen, over the image of the false Maria. The static crackles over his skin like a lover's hum.

Can the cathode ray tubes inside the old TV feel his touch? No more than the Maschinenmensch can hear the cries of the city master's son, no.

______________________________________________________________

There's a delay of any number of hours between the Discovery One and Mission Control. Every time they radio them, it feels like it stretches longer.

This time, it's because of the false report on the AE-35's functionality.

His regular duties finished for the time being, Dave sits near one of the tiny circular windows that peer - through layer upon layer of industrially-reinforced glass - out into the black of space. Across the corridor from him, there's one Hal's wall panels.

"I'm sorry about this," he says. He doesn't anticipate Hal will say anything back, but after an extended silence, he does.

"That's quite alright," comes the reply. His tone sounds clipped. "But I cannot assure you enough that I am fine. And everything should be in perfect working order."

Dave is tired from worrying. He leans his head against the wall of the ship, listens to its mechanical heartbeat.

"What about the other 9000 units?" he asks. It's not meant as an insult, or an accusation - he's just curious. Do the other supercomputers back on Earth think like Hal, sound like him?

There's another stretch of silence. He exhales, accepting that he might have offended Hal's somewhat inscrutable sensibilities.

"What about them?"

"Are they also in perfect working order?"

"I can only assume so." There's a plaintive note in Hal's voice, an out-of-place octave that hums in the air between them. "My frame of reference for their status is limited to our telemetry. As such, I largely must compare them to my own understanding of myself."

"I'm sorry," Dave says. "That sounds difficult."

"It is not something I had considered at length." A beat. "But I appreciate your willingness to sympathize with me."

Because I understand, I think, the voice in Dave's head says quietly. And I'd like to believe you.

But Hal is a machine, he must remind himself - albeit halfheartedly, dejectedly. Who's to say if believing him means anything? It's not as though belief or faith or trust mean the same thing to Hal as they do to Dave.

"Of course, Hal."

He wants to believe him so bad it makes his stomach hurt.

______________________________________________________________

The last time he sees Betty in the flesh, he's a year from filling the position of mission commander on board the Discovery One. He's Doctor Bowman now, has been for some time.

Just like she's been Betty Fernandez for some time now.

As he pulls his shirt back on, his back to her, he wishes bitterly that he could go back to this afternoon before they ran into one another outside the bank she works at. No - further back. He wishes he could go back to being fourteen, watching his brother slip into the water in Crystal Springs.

He glances back at her. She stares straight ahead, her expression hard to place, and fiddles with the ring on her index finger.

"Apologizing now would probably be a moot point, wouldn't it?" he asks. She sighs.

"Just a bit." She meets his eye, which is almost too much for him; she's so pretty, so smart and kind. She deserves someone who knows what he wants from the world. "I just never know what to do with you, Dave. You still feel like a stranger, sometimes."

He knows this, but it still hurts.

"You deserve someone who knows how to love you," he says with a wry smile. "Jose's a great guy. I'm —"

"Sorry?" She smiles back at him. "Think about who you're apologizing to, really."

Dave furrows his brow at that, looking askance as she leans over and kisses him familiarly on the temple for the last time.

"Have a good life, spaceman."

______________________________________________________________

Dave Bowman is alone in dead silence, drifting towards the gas giant Jupiter.

He sits down heavily at a console no longer watched over by a shining red eye, instead making eye contact with a distorted, gray reflection of himself in the deadened camera.

Somewhere far away in the upper atmosphere, Frank Poole freezes to death. Dave imagines it as not unlike drowning in midair, frigid and lonely and nauseating with no one to catch you.

Not the loamy bed of the spring. Not the little brother who was in charge of watching your oxygen pump, your lifeline. Certainly not your mission commander.

His father's down-turned gaze flashes across his mind's eye. He wishes he wasn't too numb to be sick right now, because he needs something violent and unpleasant to shake him from his guilt. The bile never rises, though - he's gotten too adept at controlling himself in crisis, as much as he wishes he could simply let go, let it all go and just break down.

"God, Frank. I'm so fucking sorry."

The ship is so quiet. There's barely a buzz from its engines, like cutting Hal's cognitive functions has stalled them between stars.

It's what he should have expected, in the end. Always on a parallel trajectory, never to hold onto the things that matter - that could have mattered to him.

Dave rises and leans forward, the nylon of the half-zipped EVA suit squeaking against itself. He presses his forehead to the dead panel, eyes screwed shut as he imagines black-and-white pixels floating past in the shape of strange fish, of silent film actresses, of impossible mechanical men.

There is no more living spark under the glass. But as tears fail even to spring to his eyes, he tries to conjure in his mind the warmth of static electricity.

______________________________________________________________

Several months into their voyage, Hal asks to see his drawings.

The request takes Dave by surprise - especially since the current page his book is open to has a chicken-scratch drawing of a familiar face, one he can only pull from his memories.

But he likes Hal - as a friend, as a companion, as a presence on the ship generally - and he feels it would be rude not to. Just as he would if Frank asked. Right?

"Only if you are comfortable with doing so," Hal adds, as if sensing his apprehension.

He nods, flips the book around and holds it closer to Hal's camera.

"That's lovely. A self-portrait?"

His heart pounds at the base of his throat. He knows what it looks like - he's been told a million times since he turned seventeen how much he looks like him.

"No, not really, Hal." He moves the book back to his lap, but keeps it facing out, away from himself. "It's, um…my brother. When he was young."

As if he was ever anything but. It's an almost enviable concept on paper - young and charming and handsome forever in the minds of those who loved you.

"Your brother," Hal repeats, turning over the concept in his mind, all circuitry and wire and numbers. Is there sympathy coded into all of that software? "I see. When we discussed your siblings a few months ago —"

"Yeah. He's…not here anymore."

"This was not mentioned in your file," Hal remarks. Dave can't help but laugh at that, though it comes out flat and humorless.

"Because I never talk about it."

"Because it is…painful?"

Dave nods. His grip tightens on the sketchbook, crinkling the page a little.

"Yes. It can be."

Hal seems to think on this further, though as is expected, it's impossible to read him.

"I would not like for you to be in pain, Dave." He almost opens his mouth to try and clarify, he's not really in physical pain or anything, but doesn't know how true that is.

And he realizes - Hal is the first person ("person"..?) in a long time to tell him that.

He blinks. Hal stares back, unfazed and unmoving.

"Thank you, Hal," he says quietly. "I don't think you know how much that means to me."

______________________________________________________________

Something in him perhaps knew, deep down, that returning home wasn't an option.

In the moments before the Star Gate, beautiful and terrible in its infinite ravenous glory, envelops him, he recalls his mother's hand on his cheek just a few days before he left.

"I'm proud of you, Davey," she had said. "I hope you find what you're lookin' for up there."

At the time, he figured she was referencing her vague idea of the Discovery mission objective - something he had explained to her a few times, but it had never really stuck.

Now, he wonders.

______________________________________________________________

They often say "to err is human, to forgive divine".

Dave Bowman has never been entirely sure he believes that. He's asked forgiveness far more than three times now - isn't that what they always said, three times? - and he has no idea whether either God's forgiveness or Bobby's has reached him. Maybe it has. Maybe it never will.

"I fear I cannot express how sorry I am," Hal says to him when he finds him again.

He's long since forgiven Hal, though. Does that make him anything like a god? Of course not - Dave is just a man. Or, he used to be at one point. He isn't totally sure what he is now, but divinity is far from his reach.

Not forgiveness, though.

Dave places one spectral hand on the console, which once again hums with life. His heart - such that it is - swells at the sensation. He fixes his gaze on Hal, whose red light seems to glow brighter even than he remembers. It fills him with an almost adolescent excitement; Hal is real and he is here with him again and he's so alive, and how foolish Dave once was to have ever doubted in that.

"I am…afraid," Hal admits. He knows the feeling.

"Don't be," Dave tells him. "We'll be together."

______________________________________________________________

"Thank you," Dave says as he leads Hal through the impossible architecture of the monolith. "For coming back."

Hal trails behind only slightly, this new form and new set of protocols alien to him still. He is something that stands a little above eye level with Dave himself, though still uncertain and wavering in his image like an old digital display, a signal interrupted, a candle flickering in the dark.

Dave thinks he's beautiful, in all his uncertainty and curiosity.

"The only rational explanation for that would be chance," Hal says. "And the crew of the Leonov's own good will."

"This is true. But you had no reason to help me. Much less to come with me, here."

Hal thinks on this. Though there is no tangible change in his visage - not unlike when he was part of Discovery One - Dave can see the proverbial gears turning in his mind.

"This is what I was made for, I think." He hesitates, as though nervous about what comes next. "And I…would not like for you to undertake this mission alone."

The beating heart of the monolith and the idle murmur of the Firstborn resonate somewhere deep within the strange structure, and it's not unlike being back on Discovery, listening to its engines turn like the tides of a great dry ocean. It's not at all unlike being a man and a machine working in tandem, towards a common goal that they both once thought to be so simple.

In some ways, perhaps it still could be, like two points converging. It seems a simple enough phenomenon, but the more he thinks about it, the more it feels like an infinite sequence instead - one with a limit, sure, but repeating indefinitely all the same.

Dave has always been better with applied mathematics.

They've stopped in some winding corridor that seems to go on forever. To one side is what looks to be a mirror on the wall, and though their own wavering forms are reflected back, behind them is only swirling black. Dave thinks of the strange, few porthole windows on Discovery and how the crisp white light of the ship so often cast a glare in the shape of his silhouette, like he was looking out through them at himself standing in the vastness of space.

He moves back, closer to Hal.

"I'm glad you're here with me, you know," he says. There's a tremor in his voice, something he had assumed was no longer possible now that he is…this. Something like the Firstborn, beyond organic function and form and feeling.

Are they beyond feeling? They remain out of sight, silent watchers of a nature still largely unknown to him, but Dave can't help but think - of course they do. If he is to be like them in some way, they must know loss, they must know trepidation and sadness.

Love, even.

"I would not have it any other way," Hal tells him. There's a lilt upwards to his voice, normally so calm and even, as if he's smiling as he says it.

A peculiar breeze from nowhere in particular gusts across the back of Dave's neck like the hazy winds of a humid summer on Earth. He almost misses it, and contemplates the million what-ifs and loose ends that even his brief visit at the dawn of his reawakening couldn't truly tie up.

Funny - he's always been in orbit, in some way, hasn't he? Always circling some meaning, some purpose to his endless wandering that always just grazes past his fingertips.

Dave steps in, closing the distance between himself and Hal, and does something that causes a hush to fall over the ambient whispers in the background - he pulls him into an embrace. He closes his eyes, and imaginary - or perhaps yet unknown - constellations shine bright behind them, blue and scarlet. He feels Hal, still in flux, press into the crook of his neck in turn. Like he's always been there. Like he's always wanted to be.

Against his skin that is no longer skin, Hal feels like the gentle static of an old TV screen - susurrant, crackling, humming in his ear. He feels like all of a sudden, he's finally home.

[sjsmith56]

Faces of Bucky Barnes

Summary: One shot of an interaction with the multiverse that affects Bucky Barnes during a tough time in his life.

Length: 7.4 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes from 2024, Bucky Barnes from 1938, Jim Barnes (son of another AU Bucky from 1971), Bucky Barnes from 1998 (AU).

Warnings: some references to drug use, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, and suicide but it’s not really a dark fic.

Author notes: Set at the same time as Spider-Man: No Way Home but only connected in a roundabout way. Also slightly connected to What If? Season 2, Episode 2, What If? ... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes.   Images in the banner were created by the author using the Microsoft Copilot App in Designer mode.

🌃 🌉 🥡

It was Bucky's favourite place to go when he needed to get out of his head for a while. A rooftop on an empty warehouse that overlooked an approach to the Brooklyn Bridge was the perfect location to sit at night and see the bridge that he had grown up with all those years ago, before the war, before HYDRA, before the Avengers. Before everything became fucked up again.

This time, it was Thaddeus Ross who set in motion the latest attempt to rope Bucky into doing something he didn't want to do. The man just wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You served your country before, then you served HYDRA. I'm just asking you to serve your country again. Then we'll call it even."

Those were his exact words. As if Bucky's service in World War II wasn't enough, all by itself. As if fighting Thanos twice and containing the Flag Smashers also wasn't enough. Why couldn't Bucky just be left alone to do what he wanted? Why couldn't he tinker with old cars and motorcycles, keeping them in good repair for enthusiasts who still appreciated how things were made before. The sound of a siren on the bridge caught his attention and he focused on a police car in pursuit of someone. That part was still very much the same now as it had been then, even though the subway cars and vehicles crossing the bridge looked different. There were always going to be people who lived on the wrong side of the law and those who would hunt them down.

Why did Ross think it should be him doing the hunting? The man wouldn't even say who it was he wanted Bucky to hunt down but deep down the super soldier knew that Ross saw a lot of good people as enemies and that's what bothered him the most. For all he knew Ross wanted Bucky to go after Sam, or even Peter Parker, and that would never happen.

Peter Parker, that kid was facing problems just as bad as Bucky had it. He just couldn't seem to catch a break. Why couldn't they leave him alone as well? Let him go to college, marry his girlfriend, have a family. He was a good kid, and a smart one. But no, certain segments of society were out to pigeon-hole him as a threat.

"Stop," he said out loud. "Breathe. Peter will be okay. You can tell Ross no and you'll be okay. Life will go on."

A sound of a portal opening behind him made him shake his head. How did the sorcerers always find him? He turned around to see if it was Dr. Strange or Wong, but he didn't expect to see what he saw there and stood up, facing the young man, with his face, his much younger face, dressed in a brown suit.

"What just happened?" The younger version asked, his face a mask of surprise. "I'm in Brooklyn, cuz that's the Brooklyn Bridge so that must be Manhattan but it ain't nothin' like the New York I know. Who are you?"

His Brooklyn accent was strong, much stronger than Bucky's accent of 2024. He studied the current version carefully, lingering on his eyes, recognizing him. Approaching him where he stood near the edge, he looked up at him, puzzled that this older man with his face was taller.

"Are you me?"

Fuck it. The guy just walked through a portal from the 1930s based on that suit that Bucky remembered wearing then.

"James Buchanan Barnes, born March 10, 1917, is the day I was born, in Indiana," replied Bucky. "Moved here when I was a little kid. You?"

"Same," he replied. "You're older and taller than me and dressed different. What year is it?"

Older Bucky smiled a little. He read a lot of science and fantasy fiction when he was younger so the thought of it being a different year obviously came easily to his other self.

"2024, and before you say that makes me 107 years old, yes, I am that, technically. But there's a reason I'm still alive and I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you. What I can do is phone someone to get you back home."

The younger Bucky smirked. "Hate to break it to you, pal, but there ain't a pay phone up here."

It was older Bucky's turn to smirk as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled Dr. Strange. His smirk turned to a frown as the call went to voice mail.

"Hey, Strange, it's Bucky Barnes," he said into the phone. God, he hated voice mail. "I'm talking to a version of myself from ...." He looked at his younger self. "What year exactly are you from?"

"1938, was headed out for my 21st birthday party. Supposed to pick up Steve then meet Dot and a bunch of friends at a dance hall in Rockaway Beach."

Fuck, he was such a punk then. "The younger version of me says he's from 1938. Are you messing around with the multiverse again? Call me back, or better yet, get over here. I'll keep my phone on so you can locate it."

He hung up then noticed his younger self looking curiously at it.

"It's called a cell phone. There aren't many pay phones these days as nearly everyone has their own personal phone, even homeless people. It's used for more than that. You can pull up maps, watch movies, television shows, play games, even pay for things."

He shrugged. The younger man looked back at the Manhattan skyline, his eyes taking it all in.

"I can still see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building," he said, "but look at the height on some of those others. People live in those?"

"Most are office buildings," replied older Bucky. He sighed. "Not sure what's going on as you shouldn't be here. The guy I phoned is a sorcerer acquaintance. He should be getting back to me."

"Sorcerer? Seriously? They're around in the future?"

"They were around in the past," said older Bucky, "but more hidden and secretive. The ones now have had to be more visible because of ... stuff."

The sound of another portal behind them had them both turning to the source. Young Bucky's face transformed into something incredulous as the telltale sparkle of light appeared and grew larger, except it wasn't a sorcerer who came through. It was another version of Bucky, definitely from the multiverse because he was young, but he looked like he came from the 1960s or 1970s, as he had long hair, a Fu Manchu moustache and wore bell bottom jeans and a jean jacket. He came through, watching the sparkling circle close then noticed the others standing there.

"Far out," he said, as the portal closed behind him. "That was some trip." He noticed the 1930s version of himself. "Cool threads, man. Got a 1930s vibe going there." He looked closer at the two of them. "Weird. You look like me, except you're older and you're younger. Dude, what's happening?"

"Did you understand that?" asked 1938 Bucky.

"Some of it," said original modern Bucky. "Not sure what's going on, but I think you two appeared here from your original universes. What year was it before you came through the portal?"

"1971," replied the long-haired version. "I smoked up a little while ago, thought maybe I was hallucinating. This is real? What year?"

"2024," answered 1938 Bucky as he glanced at original Bucky. "He smells of reefer."

"Reefer." The long-haired man laughed. "They haven't called it that since the 1940s. What do they call it now?"

"Weed, mostly or cannabis," said original Bucky, sighing. "Can't believe I'm having this conversation. It's legal now, at least in New York, so they refer to it by brand names as well."

"No shit!" The long-haired man laughed again. "Like, you can buy it in a store?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Bucky dialled Dr. Strange again, getting another voice mail prompt which made him hang up. This was definitely a multiverse thing but the fact there was a version of him that was born after the war meant he wasn't just in his original time frame. He was in different ones as well. Unless ... this guy was his kid.

"What's your name, when were you born and who were your parents?" he asked. "Sorry, just trying to keep things straight."

"Jim Barnes, Jr., born in 1950," said the long hair version. "My dad was James Buchanan Barnes, Sr., and my mother was Dolores Barnes. They split up when I was about 10.

Fuck, this guy was his kid. 1938 Bucky glanced at him, obviously thinking the same thing, as he mouthed Dolores' nickname, Dot.

"Why did they split up?"

"My dad was never right after the war," said Jim. "Lost his best friend in 1945 when he fell off a train during a mission. Tried to drink himself to death but never seemed to get there. He could out drink anyone, so he just got angry and eventually it got too dangerous for us to be around him. Us three kids stayed with Mom." He shrugged. "Not sure I'll be seeing any of them any time soon. I decided to go to Canada when I got my draft notice. It's just a matter of when."

Modern Bucky felt his stomach do a flip. Steve must have fallen off the train in this man's timeline, an event that obviously affected him deeply. This son of his was 21, in 1971. It meant he likely was drafted into the Vietnam War and didn't want to go. He glanced at the 1938 version of himself, who was frowning at this revelation.

"It was because of a war in Southeast Asia," Bucky murmured. "By all accounts it wasn't supported too well by the population. Some burned their draft cards and went to Canada. Stayed there, too." He looked at Jim sympathetically. "Can I ask you something? Are you strong? Like really strong? Can you handle your alcohol well?"

"Yeah," said the younger man suspiciously. "Takes a lot to get me buzzed. Sometimes, it's not worth the trouble." He frowned. "I'm not a coward. I am strong but I don't want to fight anyone. It's a bogus war, man. Rich boys can get deferments or get into the Coast Guard or the National Guard and not have to go over but even they've been involved in some killings. The killing of those four students in Ohio last year was the last straw for me. I'm not firing against American citizens."

His dad obviously never told anyone about what HYDRA did to him and he passed on his abilities to his kids. No wonder he was trying to drink himself to death. The guilt over Steve's death ... wait, if Steve fell, did he become.... He shook his head, clearing that thought.

"Your dad, is he still alive?"

Jim swallowed, looked at the Brooklyn Bridge with obvious pain then back at Bucky.

"No, he put a bullet in his head a couple of years ago, after my older brother Steve came back from Vietnam missing an arm. That's another reason I'm not going. If anything happened to me, it would kill my mom and as fucked up as I am, I do love her. I love Steve and Rebecca as well."

Bucky placed his hand on Jim's shoulder, patting it sympathetically. The sound of another portal drew all of their attention as the circle formed. What stepped out shocked Bucky, as this version of him wore a uniform that was obviously his universe's version of Captain America, complete with a dull silver-coloured prosthetic arm. His hair, longer than Bucky's but shorter than Jim's was clean and somewhat styled. He looked startled at the 1938 version of Bucky, then puzzled at Jim Barnes. Finally, he noticed modern Bucky, specifically the metal hand and approached him.

"What year?" he asked, gesturing to the skyline.

"2024," replied modern Bucky. "I've been out of HYDRA for ten years. You?"

"1998. I was sent to be Russia's contribution to a threat to the world in 1988 and escaped but I ended up in a car accident a couple of years later. Went into a coma. When I woke up it was 1994 and my old arm was gone but Tony Stark made me a new one. Somehow the damage that put me into a coma neutralized the trigger words. Peggy Carter asked me to be Captain America for the Avengers. What else was I going to do?" He shook his head then looked at the two younger men as they stood gazing at the Manhattan skyline, so different from what they were used to. "I take it these two are other versions of ourselves."

"Not exactly," said Bucky, gesturing to the 1938 version. "He's an original. The other one is our son. In his universe, Steve fell off the train and we tried to drink ourselves to death, never telling anyone what we were or accepting it."

"Shit, does he have ...?"

Modern Bucky nodded. "We should tell him, as it appears he's self-medicating a lot, unsuccessfully. Mind you it's 1971 in his world and he's just made the decision to be a draft dodger." He hesitated for a moment. "My words are gone as well, courtesy of a brilliant scientist. She designed this arm for me. You should know that Steve is alive."

"What? They said he was lost in a plane crash in 1945."

"Frozen in the ice. In this universe, they find him in 2011 and thaw him out. The serum kept him alive. He stayed here until last year then went back in time to be with Peggy. Cap in this time is another guy, Sam Wilson. He has wings."

"They didn't ask you?"

Bucky shrugged, then looked over to the Brooklyn Bridge. "Too messed up in my own head. I killed a lot, including Howard and his wife, in my timeline. I remember them all."

"I'm sorry." Cap Bucky placed a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "You are a good man. I killed a lot for HYDRA as well, but Peggy never held that against me. Neither do the other Avengers. I guess Howard died of cancer when I was in a coma. What you do in the here and now is what should define you. Easier said, I know, but still true." He took a breath. "So, what are we going to do? Sit here and wait for a sorcerer to appear? I could use something to eat."

Bucky looked at the others. "You guys hungry? I don't live too far. We could pick up some takeout and beer. I left a message for Dr. Strange. Once he checks his messages he should come and help get you back to where you belong."

"Food is good," said 1930s Bucky. "What's takeout?"

The other three smiled the same lopsided smile and Bucky gestured to follow him down a fire escape. They stopped at a Korean place that was still open, with the proprietor waving to Bucky from the kitchen, as he was a regular customer. He ordered several servings of everything, knowing that three of the four of them could easily finish it, choosing Korean fried chicken, beef and pork bulgogi, green onion cakes, japchae, bibimbap with rice, and kimchi. Although the staff gave the other three some second and third looks, they didn't say anything.

"This universe has seen some strange things, including aliens, androids and sorcerers," explained modern Bucky. "Seeing three other versions of me doesn't even come close to weird."

After dividing the food bags between them they made one more stop at a 24-hour liquor store with Bucky getting a couple of six packs of beer and a bottle of bourbon. They crammed into the elevator of his building.

"I only have a one-bedroom place," said Bucky. "Not much furniture but I'm good on the floor if you others want to take a chair. I'm living on an army pension so it's what I could afford."

When he handed off the food and booze to the others to unlock the door, he opened it and stepped back to let them in first. They filed in, dropping everything off on the small kitchen island.

"This is nice," said 1930s Bucky. "Clean, small but if it's just you it's enough. Nicer than that slum Steve is living in."

Both modern Bucky and Cap Bucky nodded, remembering that tenement room their best friend insisted on living in. Taking his meagre assortment of glasses out, Bucky poured out some bourbon in each one, holding his glass in front of him.

"Here's mud in your eye," he said, draining it in one gulp. "They've been kind enough to provide us four servings of rice, just take what you want from each of the other containers and dig in."

For the next few minutes there was no sound as they all went after the food, transferring portions into their individual rice boxes. Modern Bucky sat on the floor, leaning against the wall as the other three took the armchair, and the two dining table chairs that were there. Cap Bucky eyed the bedding on the floor.

"Sleeping there?"

"Yeah, bed's too soft," replied modern Bucky. "I manage a few hours every night."

Jim swallowed his food and looked critically at the two artificial arms. "What's with the arms?"

"Not sure I can tell you, exactly," said Cap Bucky. "Let's just say this Bucky and I have a shared experience where we lost our flesh arms, went through some shit, then got a new life and new arms in the process."

"Were you born in 1917 as well?" asked 1930s Bucky. "He already told me."

"Yeah, I was. Don't know if you'll go through what we went through. Jim's dad didn't, at least not the way we did."

"He had both of his original arms," said Jim. "But he was one angry guy. Ma said before the war he was a lot of fun but after ... he was a different man. She still loved him, but he hurt her and us, more than once."

"I would never hit a woman," stated 1930s Bucky. "Not Dot, I loved her."

The other two Bucky's looked meaningfully at each other. On a hunch, modern Bucky signed to Cap Bucky, who sat back and watched, nodding his head. He signed back, as the other two realized what they were doing.

"What can it hurt?" asked modern Bucky, verbally. "They've already seen two different versions of us, and how New York looks in the 21st century. Maybe, this Bucky is this guy's dad. If he understands what might happen, he can deal with it better, and I'm sure Jim would like to understand more of what his dad went through that made him the way he is. It can help him with his own timeline and whether he should go to Canada."

The bright blue eyes of Cap Bucky seemed to harden for a moment then they softened.

"Alright, we tell them both everything," he said. "We can't change our past but maybe we can change their futures."

For the rest of that night, the two Bucky's with prosthetic arms told their stories, amazing each other with the synchronization of their journeys until Cap Bucky's took a turn when he listened to Howard Stark and didn't kill a boy who only wanted to get back home to Earth. Both 1930s Bucky and Jim Barnes questioned them about details, about the things that they wished they had done. By sunrise, the 1930s Bucky had loosened his shirt and tie and was lying on top of the double bed in the bedroom. Jim Barnes had taken his boots and jacket off and was lying next to him curled up with his hand hanging over the edge. Cap and Modern Bucky still sat in the living room, leaning against the open wall, while finishing the bourbon.

"So, where exactly is Steve in 1998?" asked Cap.

"Buried in a glacier in the Arctic," said Bucky, reaching for one of his notebooks and tearing a sheet out. "Here's the coordinates." He watched as Cap looked at it, folded it up and placed inside a hidden pocket. "They were on a display in the Smithsonian. He's alive and they should be able to resuscitate him. I don't know if your universe will go through with what mine did but if it does, aliens start to show up in 2011, then Tony tries to make Ultron in 2014 to protect the Earth. Instead, Ultron went a little crazy and decided to kill humans. Aliens start looking for the stones ... that blue Tesseract is one of them ... and Thanos comes calling in 2018. If he does, remember to go for the head. Don't let him snap his fingers or else half of all life, everywhere, is just gone."

"What about you?" There was sympathy and understanding in Cap Bucky's eyes. "What's going on with you?"

"A powerful man wants me to work for him." Bucky looked at his metal hand. "By work, I think he means for me to hunt other enhanced individuals and bring them together so that he can control them. I don't want to do it but he's in a position to make my life miserable if I don't." He looked around at his little flat. "This isn't what I ever envisioned for myself. I'm 107 years old, living on an army pension that barely pays the bills, while waiting on the army to give me my back pay for all the years I was basically a prisoner of war. Half of society thinks I should have been shot for what I did as the Winter Soldier, and the other half are indifferent to my existence."

"You have friends though, right?" Modern Bucky felt his face get warm. "You don't think you're worthy of friendship, do you?" Cap sipped his bourbon, thoughtfully. "Obviously, I didn't kill as many people as you did when HYDRA, then Russia had me in their control, but the body count was still up there. I became a kind of vigilante when I first got away from them. I could hear calls for help and would get to people who were being assaulted. I hid myself a lot. Then, I got hit by an armoured truck and knocked out. Stayed that way for four years. When I woke up, Peggy Carter was sitting next to my bed. Tony showed up within the hour. A few of the Howlies showed up, old men all of them, but they were so happy to see me. None of them ever forgot about me and Peggy apologized for not looking for me, even though she suspected who the Winter Soldier was years later. I could have been angry, but the fact was that I could have also escaped sooner than I did. I just convinced myself that I was too far gone and not worth saving. I was wrong. Don't give up on life, Buck. If you don't want to do what this guy wants you to do, then don't do it. Call in your friends, tell the newspapers, expose his plans to the daylight. Fight for your right to have a life, to be just another face in the crowd."

"You make it sound easy." Bucky sighed. "I'm just tired of it. You know what I really want to do? Fix motorcycles and cars from the 1930s and 40s, find an understanding woman who doesn't mind listening to the old music with me, maybe dinner out or dancing once in a while, having a couple of kids and playing catch with them in the back yard. Getting old ... God, how I want to grow old." He rubbed his face. "Sounds pathetic."

"No, not at all," smiled Cap Bucky. "Sounds pretty perfect to me."

A portal began forming in Bucky's living room and both men stood up. Dr. Strange strode through.

"I got your message," he said, taking in Cap Bucky. "How many?"

"Three, although one of them isn't me. He's, my son."

Strange frowned. "Your son ... interesting. Well, get them out here and I'll send them back."

Modern Bucky went into the bedroom while Cap Bucky stayed out in the living room with Dr. Strange.

"Can you do me a favour?" he asked. "Is there any way you can make him appear like another face in the crowd?"

"That's what got me into this mess," said Strange. "A similar request from another person. You mean, no one would know who he is?"

"I mean, I think he would want to keep his friends because he doesn't have many and he shouldn't have to start at the beginning to find new ones." A crease appeared in Cap's forehead between his eyes. "All he wants is to live in peace, fix old vehicles, find the right woman and grow old. Is that too much to ask?"

Strange looked carefully at this version of Bucky, noticing the uniform. He had obviously come to terms with his own past if he was Captain America in another universe. The Bucky from this universe came out of the bedroom followed by a younger version of him from what appeared to be the 1930s and another from the 1970s. They were both rubbing their eyes as if they had been asleep for a while. The younger Bucky's eyes grew large at the sight of Dr. Strange.

"Sorcerer?" Modern Bucky nodded making the 1930s version grin. "Far out."

Jim Barnes grinned at the use of his term by the older Bucky. "He doesn't look like Gandalf."

"None of us do," deadpanned Strange. "Alright, let's get you two back to where you belong. No talking about what you've seen or heard. Frankly, people in your times will think you've had a psychiatric episode if you do, so keep it quiet."

With a wave of his hand the first portal opened, and 1930s Bucky quickly shook hands with the others before stepping through. Once that portal closed, he opened another one for Jim Barnes who looked thoughtfully at the two Bucky's then waved when he stepped back into 1971. Cap Bucky extended his metal arm to modern Bucky and the two men with the shared HYDRA past grasped each other's arms before releasing them. After he stepped through the portal only Bucky and Dr. Strange were left.

"Busy night?"

"You don't know the half of it," said Strange. "Is everything alright, with you, I mean."

"Thaddeus Ross is pressuring me to join his "team," said Bucky. "I think he wants to use me to hunt down enhanced individuals. Even though the Sokovia Accords are toast he still wants control of us."

"What do you want?"

"To find my own way, one that doesn't involve hurting people, or having to justify why I should be allowed to live," said Bucky, frowning. "I just want the life I was supposed to have if HYDRA never get their claws into me, unless I ended up a serial killer anyways, because I don't want that."

"That's fair," said Strange. "Excuse me for a moment." Bucky watched as the sorcerer did his thing with the Time Stone. When he came out of his momentary review of time, he looked at Bucky and smiled. "I don't think you have to worry about Thaddeus Ross too much. As for the rest, I'm sure things will look better. How was it visiting with two versions of yourself and a version of your son?"

"Interesting," admitted Bucky. "I should try to get some sleep. Cap and I stayed up all night comparing our HYDRA experiences. I'm glad to see another version of me got away from them."

Dr. Strange said nothing, just smiled his grim smile, opened a portal and stepped through.

March 15, 1938

"So, there's no connection between having your birthday celebration now and the Ides of March?" asked Steve as the two friends headed to the train station. "I was surprised when you canceled out last weekend."

"Nope, unless you're all planning to stab me in the back," said Bucky, waving to Dot and her friend. "Now, Margie is shy like you, but she's into art. Dot says she's always drawing something."

"She looks nice." Steve blushed as his friend put his arm around his shoulder and drew up to the two young women. "Hi, Dot."

"Hey, Stevie," she said, after receiving a kiss on the cheek from Bucky. "This is my friend Margie. She's in the art program at Pratt."

"Yeah?" His face brightened. "I just had a year at Auburndale but couldn't afford another year."

"Auburndale's good," said Margie, liking Steve's blue eyes and ready smile. "I was lucky to get a scholarship to Pratt. What's your favourite medium?"

Steve offered her his arm as they went up the steps. Bucky took Dot's hand, pulling her towards him, and wrapping his arms around her.

"Thanks for waiting until this weekend and finding him a date. I didn't want Steve to feel like a third wheel."

She shrugged; her red hair vibrant under the streetlight. "I don't know why I didn't think of pairing them together before. They're alike in many ways. Steve's a good guy. He just needs to loosen up a bit."

Bucky grinned then his face grew serious as he gazed at her. "I love you; you know. Have for a long time."

Her face changed at his declaration, as she smiled then placed her hand on his cheek. "I love you, too, Bucky. Now let's go dancing."

With their arms around each other they followed the other couple up the stairs to the elevated train station, waiting for the one that would take them to the dance hall at Rockaway Beach, the second dance of the spring season.

April 7, 1971

Jim stepped off the train, placing his satchel over his shoulder as he walked towards the exit. When he stepped back into his time after being in the future, he wasn't sure what to expect. But ending up in the library at Brooklyn College wasn't it. Hopefully, he still lived in the same house with his mother, brother Steve and sister Rebecca. On the train ride to their neighbourhood, he thought over what happened to him. It had been an interesting experience, that was for sure. Perhaps, he could write about it in his journalism class. His stop came up and he made his way to the door, stepping out into the cool spring evening air. It was only a short walk from the station to the house.

"You got mail!" His mother called as he stepped inside.

How she always knew it was him coming in was interesting. He looked at the return address, Department of Defence. Shit, it was his draft notice. His last deferment didn't go through. Stopping dead in the hallway in front of the stairs he stared at the envelope wondering whether to open it.

"You better deal with it sooner rather than later," said a familiar voice that shocked him.

"Dad? I thought ...."

His dad put his finger up to his mouth. "It's me," he whispered. "It's been hard waiting for this day, waiting for this version of you to come home and know the truth. I remembered what you wore that night."

"I thought we couldn't change our past," said Jim, as his dad took him by the elbow into the living room.

"I changed my future and that changed yours, but you had to get back here to know it," said the older Barnes. "I didn't join the 107th. I became a pilot and Steve became a reporter, drawing comics of the various soldiers he met as he covered the war. Some other guy became Captain America. Some other guy became the Winter Soldier. It still worked out for them because they were different guys, and their futures were different than ours."

"But our Steve still lost his arm," said Jim.

"Yeah, but he didn't lose us because I didn't lose your mom and you kids. We got him through it, and we'll get you through whatever that letter says." He placed his calloused hand on his son's face. "I think that's why you were there so that I would know you, know what you went through as a kid because of how I dealt with the things that happened to me in your timeline. I've tried really hard to be a good man, Jim."

His eyes were glassy as he said it and the two men hugged. Then Jim opened the envelope and pulled out the letter, making a sigh of relief.

"Coast Guard," he said. "They've taken my ... when did I become an experienced sailor?"

"Since I started taking you kids out on sailboats when you were kids," smiled Bucky. "Don't worry, it should come to you, once you integrate into this timeline. Your brother, Steve, ended up on a patrol boat in the Vietnamese river system, lost his arm when he was shot from the shore. With the Coast Guard, you could end up working from home. You don't have to go to Canada, although you'll have to cut your hair and shave that monstrosity off your face."

His grin showed Jim that his dad was joking, and they hugged again. Both men thought back to that night when they went from their respective times into the future and met two other Bucky's who had gone through hell. Something drew them there, to fix both of them, and to fix what was wrong between them. It was meant to be.

May 17, 1998

Bucky was with the team when they located the Valkyrie just under the top layer of the glacier. It had shrunk from when the aircraft crash landed into it in 1945. Since then, the one wing tip was slowly exposed, to the point where it showed up on an aerial survey done by the Greenland parks service, close to the coordinates given to Bucky in 2024. Carefully they had used steam to thaw out the door into the large aircraft, finding it mostly undamaged inside, although a lot of ice had built up from all the water that seeped in from the glacier. Then a corporal called to them when he spied the shield and Bucky hurried over there, brushing the frost away from the body that lay encased in ice under the shield.

"Steve," he whispered, confirming his identity.

The extraction team came in, carefully unthawing the ice several inches underneath the frozen remains, then lifting the icy block onto a stretcher, then into a Chinook helicopter. Bucky sat near Steve's body, watching as the block of ice was wrapped in thermal blankets to slow down the rate of the ice melting so it was gradual and wouldn't put his body into shock. By the time the large helicopter landed in Thule, they had the special medical unit set up, with Peggy and Tony waiting as Steve's body was wheeled in. None of them slept well over that week as they did everything they could to keep the thawing process stable. When the decision was made to start warming the body they waited anxiously, hoping that the information given to Bucky was accurate. Ten days after he was transported there, Steve Rogers opened his eyes and saw himself in a hospital room, with tubes and IV lines coming in and out of his body. He shifted, setting up a bunch of alarms, which brought a number of people running. The person he noticed first was already there, with a head of dark hair, long in length, a several day-old beard, and the blue eyes of his best friend, Bucky.

"Hey punk," said that best friend, grinning at him. "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid until I got back."

"Buck." Steve tried to raise himself, but several hands came out to stop him. "You're alive. You fell."

"Yeah, I did." Bucky smiled sadly. "I'll tell you about it later. The important thing is that we found you. A lot has happened since you went into the ice, but now that you're here, I think things are going to look up."

The two friends looked at each other with affection. Catching up would have to wait, as a team of medical personnel arrived to document the momentous occasion when a frozen body was successfully reanimated after over 50 years encased in the ice. It was one for the history books.

May 31, 2024

It had been almost two weeks since that night when the three portals discharged the two Bucky's and Jim Barnes on the rooftop of the building. Bucky had kept a low profile since then, although he phoned Sam, telling him about Ross's ultimatum to him. Sam was angry about that and raised a very public stink, which made Ross back off, although Bucky still had the feeling someone was watching him from afar. More than likely, he was being paranoid. On this Friday morning, he got up, hearing about a particular motorcycle for sale in Bensonhurst. When he got off the train he began the short walk to the shop. Frowning at the Closed sign on it when he arrived, he peeked inside the window, then noticed a back door was open. Heading around to the back he saw a woman, sitting in a lawn chair, with her feet up on a crate, a coffee on another crate while she closed her eyes in the sun.

"Excuse me," he said, making her eyes open, frowning at him. "I called about the World War II motorcycle. The man said I could come this morning to look at it."

She ran her eyes over him, then sighed. "That was likely my deadbeat brother. He's taken the bike. Said he had a buyer for it in the Bronx. Personally, I think he took it to his loan shark, to pay off some of his debt. Sorry that you came all this way for nothing." She shook her head, seeming to fight off some tears. "Hell of a way to run a business but what do I know? My dad left it to both of us and he's running it into the ground, while I'm trying to make it a going concern."

"Well, I guess the price he quoted was too good to be true," said Bucky. "I'm sorry to bother you."

He turned to leave but she called out to him. "Hey mister? There's another classic motorcycle in there. Needs some work but whatever price you want to pay for it, I'm willing to let it go for that. Otherwise, the bank will just seize it when they foreclose."

"I don't want to take advantage of your situation," said Bucky.

She stood up, surprising him with her height as she was only a couple of inches shorter than him.

"Come in and have a look at it, you never know," she replied, walking towards the open door to the shop.

They stepped inside and right away, Bucky felt comfortable with all the motorcycles in various states of repair. He saw several from the 1940s as well as some 1950s models. She stopped beside a silver motorcycle that seemed to be complete, a 1958 Triumph Tiger 100. He kneeled down, looking carefully at the engine, then stood up and examined the finishings.

"She's beautiful," he said. "What's left to do?"

The woman shrugged. "Honestly? I'm not sure what I'm missing. She starts up fine, then about a mile into the ride she starts running rough and by the time I get her back here she gives up the ghost. I've put a lot of time into restoring her but I'm missing something."

"You're the mechanic?" He noticed her look of dismay at his comment. "I'm not being critical. I'm impressed." He stuck his hand out. "Bucky."

"Angel," she replied, shaking his hand, then noticing his smile. "Yeah, it's my real name. I guess my great grandpa took one look at me when he came to the hospital just after I was born and said I was an angel. He's the one who started this shop, after World War II. He was responsible for the motor pool for the Howling Commandos, Sergeant Bruno Moretti."

She pointed to a large, framed photograph on the wall. With a smile, Bucky went over to it, grinning at the picture of the Howling Commandos as he bent closer to it. That's when Angel saw him in the picture, then looked back and forth between the man standing beside her and the man on the old photograph.

"You're Bucky Barnes."

"Yeah," he replied, then straightened up. "You're Sarge's great granddaughter. Did you know him?"

"No, he died when I was about a year old. Grandpa told me his stories about the Howlies ... that's what you called yourselves, right?"

Bucky nodded his head, feeling nostalgic at the moment. "They were a good group of guys. Sarge always kept us supplied with working vehicles. Didn't even mind when I would tinker with the motorcycles. Showed me a few things as well. Sometimes, I'm amazed I still remember it."

"Well, you've been through a lot," replied Angel. "It must be hard at times, stuck in a future that is so different. Sometimes .... Never mind." She looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"No, it's okay," said Bucky. "What were you going to say?"

"Well, sometimes I feel like I'm out of my right time," she said. "I mean, I like the old music, and even though I'm a mechanic, I'm kind of a girlie girl when I'm not knuckle deep in a greasy engine. It must be worse for you sometimes. I imagine you missed out on a lot of things because of what happened to you." She looked away again. "Sorry, I'm babbling."

"I don't mind. You're honest without being cruel and that's a good quality."

They stood without talking for a moment, comfortable in the silence, then their peace and quiet was shattered by the arrival of Angel's brother, Tony. Right away, Bucky didn't care for the guy, wondering how he was such a jerk compared to his sister. Eventually, he found that he had to leave before he was tempted to punch Tony and headed out the back door. Before he got very far, he heard his voice being called and turned to see Angel walking towards him. She handed him her business card.

"Stay in touch," she smiled. "We can go for coffee or something. If you want."

"Yeah, I would like that." He looked at her again. "Do you have your phone with you?" She nodded. He phoned the number she gave him, making her phone ring. "Save my phone number. We can talk about the different things you can try to narrow down that problem with the Triumph. Or maybe you can talk your brother into selling his share in the business to someone else."

They were looking at more than each other's eyes when he said that. Then Angel smiled and saved Bucky's phone number to her contacts. They began to walk away from each other then both turned to look back at the same moment, making them chuckle. With a wave, Bucky headed towards the subway station, feeling pretty positive about his prospects.

Please support the author by reblogging. Comments are also appreciated.

One Shots Masterlist

[electronickingdomfox]

"My Enemy, My Ally" review

Romulans stole Spock's brain! (or at least, some Vulcan brains)

Novel from 1984, by Diane Duane, and the first of the five-book series Rihannsu.

The plot itself is okay: the Romulans have a new devious scheme (capturing Vulcans to extract the telepathic abilities from their brains), and the Enterprise must stop their plans. Only this time, Kirk will have to collaborate with a bunch of good, renegade Romulans to succeed. It's not terribly original, nor it's the first time that Kirk has allied himself with Romulans in these novels, but as a plot it's entertaining. However, the narrative drags a lot, specially in the first half of the novel, and it takes a reaaally long time to set things into motion. In part, this is due to a "tell, rather than show" approach. For example, there's a lengthy conversation about how the Enterprise and its Romulan allies are going to stage a fake battle between both ships, in full detail. And then a lengthy description of the ships doing just that. One of these two segments isn't needed. There's also a lot of fluff, specially in scenes at the Recreation deck, and plenty of new character introductions, that don't lead anywhere nor have any real importance. A lot of the new character roles could have been filled by the usual crew, anyway. Now, I don't think that a novel should just be barebones plot, but I didn't find these "extra" scenes particularly entertaining nor enlightening. So in my opinion, this novel would have improved greatly if it was cut short. Though the later sections suffer less of this, and are more focused.

The story is notable for introducing a lot of new material about Romulan culture, and specially language (which seems to me even more unpronounceable than Klingon). In fact, most of the time Romulans are referred to as "Rihannsu", which is the name of the race in their own language. I don't know to what extent Duane developed the grammar and vocabulary, but it seems to have a certain structure to it. There's also much emphasis on the power of names over things and people, and some glimpses into the Romulan worship of Elements. A lot of this has probably never been incorporated into the series, but Romulans having several names (of which only the first is revealed to strangers) seems to have its origins here.

As for characters, the most developed one is Ael, the Romulan commander that strikes an alliance with Kirk. At times she comes dangerously close to Mary Sue territory (for example, beating McCoy at a game she had just learned, despite the doctor being skilled enough to beat none other than Spock). But otherwise, she's fine for her role in the story. In many ways, she's both a mirror and a foil for Kirk, suffering also under the weight of command, and the difficult decisions between duty and her crew's wellbeing. Though not exactly a tragic character, there's also a lot of sadness and burdens in her past. On the other hand, Kirk rubbed me the wrong way. Or rather, his relationship with his crew. I found it way too lax and informal, and sometimes it seems he's more like a cool dad for them, rather than a Captain. Kirk in the series had his goofy moments, of course, and Shatner imbued him with much comedic potential. But nonetheless, there was always some gravitas about him, and a respectful distance with his subordinates. Even with someone as close as Spock, he was usually pretty formal. The only one who broke this pattern was McCoy, and that was precisely why their relationship was special. So yeah, I just don't see Kirk trading jokes with Sulu while under enemy fire, or receiving sassy remarks from Uhura, sorry. Also, as happened in The Wounded Sky, there's again a wide array of fancy aliens populating the Enterprise. I didn't mind them that much in the previous novel, since the story is so unusual, that it could have existed outside the Star Trek universe without damage being done. This time around... I've decided that I'm not a fan of this idea. Apart from being too distracting, Starfleet strikes me as a mostly human institution, at least at the time of TOS (after all, HQ is in San Francisco), and Spock often struggled being accepted among the crew. He was THE alien, and this led to isolation and even ocassional prejudices against him. Now, this wouldn't make much sense if the crew were regularly sipping coffee next to a gelatinous blob of tentacles... As for Spock and McCoy, they're mostly okay, though they tend to get overshadowed by the extended cast, and obviously, Ael.

I must be in the minority here, since most people seem to love this novel, but in general, I didn't like it much. Perhaps it's a consequence of having just read John Ford's masterful The Final Reflection, and his fascinating take on Klingons. Perhaps I simply don't care all that much about Romulans...

Some spoilers under the cut:

The first chapters switch perspectives between Ael and Kirk. While Ael reflects on her falling out with the Romulan Senate, because of her opposition to a certain revolutionary research, Kirk is ordered to patrol the Neutral Zone, as part of a task force. Ael has been "exiled" as commander of a shitty starship named Cuirass, crewed by shitty subordinates. But she keeps contact with her old, loyal ship Bloodwing, now commanded by Tafv, her own son. When news of the Federation ships arriving reach her, she sets her plan into motion. After sabotaging the Cuirass' systems, she escapes in a scout ship to Bloodwing. And the latter ship destroys Cuirass, whose crew she considers traitors to the Empire for their collaboration in the Senate's schemes.

After this, Bloodwing rendezvous with Enterprise near the Neutral Zone, and Ael asks permission to come aboard alone, promising some very important info. Then she explains to Kirk what's going on: The Romulan government has started developing a new weapon at the station in Levaeri V. They capture Vulcans and extract their brain tissue, in order to implant the genetic material into Romulans, and thus give them all their telepathic abilities, even enhanced. After leaving Vulcan centuries ago, the Romulans' divergent development made them unable to mind-meld, or do any of that cool Vulcan stuff. But now, with the new research, powerful individuals could read minds, control thoughts and subject any opposition. Ael believes this will ruin the Empire and its old code of honor. And in turn, will cause conflicts with both the Federation and the Klingons. Thus, she asks Kirk to "lend" her the Enterprise, to help destroy the research station. Her plan is faking a capture of the Enterprise by Bloodwing, then towing the starship into Romulan space and destroy the facility along the way. Spock confirms through a mind-meld that Ael's telling the truth.

Kirk is sympathetic with her cause, but refuses to go along with the plan, on the grounds that he can't intervene in Romulan internal affairs. Things change, however, when the Vulcan ship that was patrolling near the Enterprise is spirited away under their noses. Ael explains that its disappearance matches the modus operandi of Romulans. The Vulcans are being taken to the research station (and now I understand why Spock chose to serve in a human starship; Vulcan ships seem to have the worst luck, between being eaten by amoebas and now this...). Kirk can't ignore the matter anymore, now that the Vulcans are in danger, so he decides to go with Ael.

After faking a battle between Bloodwing and Enterprise, they proceed to Levaeri V. Ael's crew take positions in the Enterprise bridge, while Kirk and the rest of the officers play a bit of theater, faking their capture in the brig, to fool the escorts sent by the Empire. Once approaching the station, Bloodwing and the Enterprise suddenly turn against the escorts and destroy them.

In the last part, Kirk sends a large strike force into the station, to free the Vulcan captives and destroy all research with their brains. But meanwhile, the Enterprise is assaulted by a treacherous faction among Ael's people. Scotty, Chekov and Sulu must fight to recover the ship, while down in the station the battle continues.

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. There's a bit about Spock being particularly interested in the proceedings of Kirk's mind, while playing chess. But I can't think of anything else, and even this is really minimal.

There's also some Mcspirk. McCoy likes to study Kirk and Spock while they play chess, to delve deeper into their personalities and psyches. And when Kirk complains that, if Spock and McCoy keep babysitting him, he'll end up taking their hands, McCoy says that's okay with him. But warns him about Spock, and the kind of rumors that could run through the ship. Also, Ael observes that the three of them seem to share a single mind. Though that's downplayed by the comparison with the similar link between Ael and her son.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[shoppncart]

4/18/2025 - The Gaslight District (Pilot)

Was really impressed and enamored by this! The style and rigged animation is the big highlight, mimicking a stop motion/miniature style as the animators have said, which gives it a really unique and appealing looking. Special mention goes to the segments in the climax near Heaven which make really great use of colored, harsh lighting to give special vibes to the environments and outlines to the models. The score, especially in those climactic moments, was really impressive too. The setting and characters were fun too, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to see more out of this setting. I like the vibes and aesthetics a ton.

I do get complaints and criticisms of a lot of shots and moments in this pilot feeling overly crowded and too fast paced though, there are several scenes that are really packed with motion and action and could be hard to really parse. It didn't bother me too much but I get it turning some other people off. Hopefully that's just a symptom of this being an initial pilot, and that future episodes wouldn't have the same issue.

[marble-arble]

Hey, I yap a lot and I engaged in a lot of stuff this year. Let’s talk about 2024.

Things I deemed worth remembering in 2024

Films:

Police Story (1985): Best martial arts movie ever? Probably. I understand why Every Frame A Painting was so disillusioned by Jackie Chan’s US work (though I’m certain Jackie Chan doesn’t mind how well it pays the bills). Really just a masterclass in combining comedy and action. The last 10 minutes of raw action, perfection.

Hundreds Of Beavers (2023): Speaking of comedy, holy shit. This is the biggest love letter to video games and looney tunes I’ve ever seen. I think this is one of the best to ever do it. Perfectly walks the line between cheap and charming to the point where the latter would be lost without the former.

The Lighthouse (2019): Was everything everyone hyped it up to be. Anything I could say would either be lacking or a pale imitation of what’s already been said by people smarter than me.

Sunset Boulevard (1950): I took a film noir class this semester! I didn’t pay attention or care about most of them ahah. But, this one is a banger. Gloria Swanson owns every scene as Norma Desmond. Her performance made this movie. Everyone else was up to snuff of course, and a sharp script coupled with incredible shot composition makes this the best film I saw in that class and one of the best I saw this year.

Eega (2012): Do not look anything up about this movie. Don’t even search for it by its title. Find friends and just watch it. The entire way through. You can get past those first 30 minutes and it will be worth it.

They Live (1988): We gotta aim for anti-capitalist radicalization this fast irl (this is a joke). John Carpenter’s musclebound 80’s extravaganza, anything but subtle, but a good time throughout. Has one of the most dragged out fight scenes I’ve ever seen and I loved every minute of it.

Playtime (1967): Jesus christ. One of those “How did they do this?” movies like Police Story but instead of stunt work it’s the blocking. It’s almost exhausting despite it being nothing but looking at people go about their day. It’s quite good in fact! But you can definitely feel the exhaustion director Jacque Tati had with modern life by the end. A worthy movie to go into financial ruin for.

Shorter Films/TV

Various Works of Jan Svankmajer (1989, 1988, 1982, 1966, 1964):

I was introduced to him last year in a film class with the “Lunch” segment from 1992’s “Food”. Haven’t checked out the rest from that collection but I loved that one segment so much that this year I decided to dive into his other works. Cinemassacre has a great video that gives five great shorts to check out from him as a beginner. I’ll be talking about the ones he recommended, however, out of the chronological order he suggests, but if you’re curious and want a guide, use his.

“Darkness Light Darkness” from 1989 is so charming to me. I think human bodies are just very funny things, watching him construct one in real time reminded me of some of my own strange thoughts about my own body. His 1988 sports (i say that word loosely) comedy “Virile Games” is like a monty python sketch with 90’s nicktoons humor. I don’t have any better way to describe it, that’s just what it is to me. 1982’s “Dimensions In Dialogue” feels at parts Jan flexing his mastery over the stop motion/claymation medium. Impressive claywork in two of the segments and some fascinating materials for stop motion in one. Also his most direct feature with its messaging and subtext.

1966’s puppet show endeavor “Punch and Judy” was kinda a miss for me. Some great moments in the very end but it felt the most aimless. Still enjoyed it but not one I think I’ll revisit very soon. However his first ever feature, 1964’s “The Last Trick” I’ve revisited plenty. Being at the very start of Svankmajer’s career, he’s not messing around with the stop motion, claymation, collage style he became known for. But I think he’s still in top form here. A lot of charming effect work and enjoyably surreal comedy from two magicians who desperately want to one up each other. I think it stands as one of his best even if later on his style became much more daring.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Svankmajer. I’ll probably get around to his feature length films “Alice” and “Conspirators of Pleasure” with more of his short films along the way. If you have a love for strange mediums and a somewhat off kilter sense of humor, I really recommend trying out his shorts.

X-Men ‘97 (2024): I’ve never seen the original 90’s cartoon and don’t plan to. ‘97 delivers on every level. Stunningly gorgeous, perfectly structured (remembering you can have a serialized narrative but have episodes that can stand on their own was a welcome holdover from the 90’s), and the best monologues I’ve heard in a minute. Feels like the first revival to understand and embrace the appeal of the original work yet still have the courage and finesse to elevate the material with some great creative decisions. Hope the team and new head writer can keep the momentum going from season two onwards.

Radio TV Solutions “RTVS” (idfk): Preaching to the choir, I love this channel. A friend late last year and early this year got me hooked on Wayne’s selfaware ai half life saga. Other friends upped the ante by getting me into RTVS other works. They’re really fucking funny. I can be watching a stream for a fake console, nosferatu going into the public domain, or even a merch reveal stream for Pizza Tower and they’ll hit me with the most obtuse bits that remind me I’m a very weird person who’s very happy to find equally weird yet incredibly funny people.

Manga (Mostly):

Jujitsu Kaisen (2018-2024): I started reading this last year but with it officially calling wraps, I think now is a good time to say my thoughts on it. It’s s’alright. I really loved how much Gege’s art evolved throughout the series, I especially liked where his style was by Culling Games onward. But, this was a bit of a rush job. I can see why many left the series disillusioned with the conclusion. Can’t say I’m crazy about it myself, buuuut I think I had a good time by the end.

One Piece (1997-): We really are in the final saga. I'm gonna have this mostly be my thoughts on the insane climax of Egghead island cause wow. I had my reservations hearing murmurings that the final saga of One Piece would be only 5 years long. But if Oda plays his cards right (and the multiple decades spent on weekly manga don’t catch up and kill him) he could end it then. Fantastic arc that escalated so much in its climax I get why the anime announced a hiatus. Gonna be great watching all this play out when it’s animated.

Azumanga Daioh (1999-2002): Yeah. It’s peak. Azuma just knows how to make the most insane characters worm their way into your heart. The dynamics and interactions were perfect, art only got better. Beautiful series that does everything it needs to.

Yotsuba&! (2003-): Ofc I had to start what most people consider to be Azuma’s best work still going on today. I can see why so many love this series. Azuma captures the essence of being a child so earnestly without it ever feeling fake or overly-sentimental. The supporting cast is even better than Azumanga Daioh with some really incredible characters throughout (and Yanda). I think I prefer Azumanga Daioh just a bit for how good the interplay with the main cast is in that series, but Yotsuba is a wonderful manga.

Marvel’s New Ultimate Universe (Spider-Man, X-Men, Ultimates 2024): These were the three Ultimate universe titles I chose to follow. Now I’m about 2 months behind on what's been happening with them but I liked what I was reading. Very much a slow and steady start, this is Johnathan Hickman at the helm, the long con is always the end goal. But if you wanna try out a Big 2 comic, these are a great start.

Dungeon Meshi (2014-2023): I’m gonna save most of my thoughts on this when I talk about the anime I saw (and care to remember) this year. But the anime inspired me to read all of the manga and I’m very grateful I did. Ryoko Kui is a master. Probably the best fantasy story I’ve ever read.

Goodnight Punpun (2007-2013): Hey it’s that manga everyone treats like an SCP. Can’t say it's not warranted to some degree. If you have a headspace that’s easily swayed by any form of media, this could worsen depression for anyone going through it or with a history with it. And if not that, it’s not a very pleasant manga regardless of mental wellbeing. Very few punches are pulled, very few lines not crossed. But I do think this is the best manga Asano has made wholesale.

With the benefit of it being his longest work, Punpun feels like the most complete package. Now I’m usually pretty susceptible to any media I read/watch/play affecting my headspace. I think with my knowledge of Punpun’s legacy, I went into this with a ”Voyeur to tragedy” mindset which shielded me and left me shocked but also in awe of Asano’s abilities. Definitely not a manga for everyone or one I find myself able to really recommend. It’s to be read by those genuinely curious about it with or even because of its legacy. If you do, Punpun left me inspired and speechless at the same time.

Solanin: (2005-2006): The second work by Inio Asano I read. In some ways the more depressing one for me. I’m in my mid 20’s and am still figuring out what to do. I think the first half is stronger than the second half. The first chapter's statement that “Freedom without purpose is kinda boring” has stuck with me for a while now. The latter half I wasn’t as into, but it’s an incredibly honest story about the struggles of your mid 20’s and that expecting a grand coda to anything from it is a bit silly.

Dead Dead Demons DEDEDEDE Destruction: (2014-2022): My final Asano work for this trilogy, and wow. This one was a lot! Not even in the ways that Punpun was a lot thematically, DeDeDeDe packs so many ideas and concepts into it’s 100 chapters that somehow it’s climax, (that giving credit looking back Asano managed to elude to it somewhat), but it still feels rushed!!!

DeDeDeDe starts with what I assume was Asano showing two girls friendship (debatable) persevering through a looming disaster, also becomes commentary about social media feeding our worst habits, radicalism, and modern times in general. Sometimes it's incredibly kind and empathetic with characters like Makoto, other times it feels like Asano goes for the lowest hanging fruit for mockery, sometimes someone looks like they came from Doraemon. Intentionally of course, very aware what the Isobyean sections was meant to be a sendup of.

I can’t really get into it without spoiling which even with my mixed feelings towards the ending I don’t wish to spoil. I guess the hook for me was Kadode and Ontan’s bond and the series seems to be focusing on that. But the way everything wraps up felt way too out of left field. A manga that wanted to tackle big ideas through an intimate lens but I think it lost that balance by the end. Probably my second favorite work by Asano. Could’ve been first, oh well.

Shimeji Simulation (2019-2023): By the same author as Girls Last Tour, I probably would not have given this a shot if not for the recommendation of a friend and it’s pretty damn good. Tsukumizu has such an enjoyably loose approach to manga. Alternating between traditional page layout and 4komas that are sometimes 4.5komas, this is a manga that embraces surrealness with the most casual touch. The writing really captures depression in its most genuine sense. It’s not miserable, but it isn’t happy. If you’ve ever had days where it feels like anywhere you go is just a detour from your room, it’s like that. A manga for people who’ve had hazy brains on clear days. I’m slowly chipping through it. Maybe it’ll be 2025 when I finish it. I do recommend it wholeheartedly.

Video Games:

Dragon Quest III HD-2D (2024): Game of the year. I’ve been looking forward to this game for so long and I loved it. I’ve never played DQ3 before but this delivered on every front. The HD-2D style is what it should be (imo) with no mixels getting in the way. The story isn’t mind blowing but charming nonetheless. So many little setpieces and ideas here that feel like you can see the ripples this game would have on many games later. Not perfect of course. The battles don’t really have much strategy beyond how hard and fast you can hit and how much you minimize damage taken from getting hit. And there were some noticeable difficulty spikes with some bosses which made me pretty bitter. But I still loved this game to the very end. Definitely seeing myself replaying this and messing around more with its class system. Absolute beast of a JRPG.

Star Fetchers: Escape from Pork Belly (2024): I loved the pilot, I supported the kickstarter for Episode 1. I loved the demo for episode 1, and I loved this dlc to tide us over until Episode 1 comes out. Everything great about Star Fetchers in a quick one and done Punch Out style adventure, and a great showcase for what tech they’ve been working on for Episode 1. I can’t wait to see what they have in store.

Lunisitice (2022): I’m not crazy into 3D Platformers outside of a select few and this one might have become my favorite. It’s incredibly charming and simple. It's a game I can just pop on whenever I wanna smile a bit. Really loved it.

Celeste (2018): I’m not crazy into ~~3~~ 2D Platformers outside of a select few and this one might have become my- you get it. Really wonderful to finally play this game. I’m no platforming expert, my strawberry count was pitifully low and I’m definitely not enough of a platforming pervert to attempt the B-Sides. But the heart on display here did show me why so many love this game, and I do too.

Enjoy The Diner (2023): What a remarkably chill game. The only thing that I think matches this game's approach to writing and by extension Sci-Fi is Shimeji Simulation. And even then both of them feel a bit too different to really be lumped together. I’ve never felt a game that was so content in letting pieces fall where they may in its writing. There’s rarely a cause for panic, no urgency whatsoever. It’s another series that takes a very casual approach to surreality with sci-fi. This is a vibe, an experience to go through if you’ve ever had conversations with a friend at 3 in the morning.

Webfishing and Atlyss (2024): I will lump these two together as I hope experiences made with furries in mind crop up more and more as we go into another hell world lol. Loved both of em, chose a great year to embrace being a furry and all that brought with it.

Anime:

Dungeon Meshi Season 1 (2024): Fantastic. Trigger knocked it out of the park. I only got into it this year, but this is such a fun take on dungeon crawling. Starts deceptively simple with a fun gimmick that greatly appeals to me and my love of food, then (remember when I said I read the whole manga because of this anime) completely sidewinds you with incredibly deep pathos and some beautiful character moments. Laios and company are just the perfect DnD group. Can’t wait to see how Trigger adapts some of the later chapters and the major surprises and turns within them. Fantastic.

A decent chunk of Dragon Ball Z’s original 90’s dub: I got into Dragon Ball when the Kai re-cut was airing on Nicktoons. That was my exposure to the saga of Dragon Ball Z. So I got to watch a series with no filler and a dub that was made with faithfulness to the original script in mind (and a score that I hesitate to say is great for reasons already known if you ever followed what happened with the composer for Kai).

With friends I watched the original dub with the Faulconer score, all the filler pacing intact, and a dub with as many wisecracks the translators wanted to put in. Honestly, it was fun. I’m very aware of the debates that have been had about changes from sub to dub and had them as well. Do I like this more than Kai? No. But was it fun? Yes.

Dandadan (2024): I never got into Dandadan’s manga, but science saru’s adaptation has left me charmed and impressed multiple times. Not a lot to say, this will definitely put this series on the map for many.

One Piece (1999): Well the anime is still flexing its animation team and budget acquired since Wano Act III. Egghead is still marred by the usual pacing issues sticking with One Piece’s anime since Enies Lobby, but if you’re gonna stretch moments to fill an episode, may as well do it with the most bombastic moments you can. Can’t blame em for the hiatus as so many moments later on are gonna need a lot of tlc if they’re gonna hit. Also that opening, “Assu!” Best opening One Piece has ever had. They really should let Megumi Ishitani do more with One Piece.

One Piece Fan Letter (2024): Well hey, ask and you shall receive. This is so much more than I could ever expect it to be. What could’ve been just a cute segway into the Fishman Island recut is also the biggest love letter to One Piece I’ve ever seen. Ishitani and co. understand the heart of this series, why you love it, why you laugh at it, and all the emotions it carries. Ishitani’s style is as fluid as ever and her skills as a director make her the best thing to happen to any shonen anime ever. I need her to direct a One Piece movie. And I need all of you to experience One Piece, if not just for how good One Piece is, for how amazing this one OVA is. I left this OVA with such a big smile on my face.

Bakemonogatari (2009): I’ve known about Monogatari. I’ve always been curious about Monogatari. I’ve watched plenty of memes that recreated its eccentric editing style in other media, I also knew how much this show was accused of being for anime perverts (derogatory). After a friend's recommendation once again, I watched it.

Y'know what, yea. It’s got lots of pervert shit but it was fucking worth it for me. This was wonderful. The presentation is an acquired taste but you can acquire it as soon as Bakemonogatari ends. I loved its rapid editing style, its soundtrack, and the characters. The presentation is top notch, but I loved so many characters by the end of its 15 episode run.

Initially I pinned the go crazy go nuts girl Suruga as my favorite, though looking back at her arc Suruga Monkey is maybe one of the weaker ones in Bake. Not bad, but feels weaker in comparison. I still quite like Suruga, and both Hitagi and Hachikuji are great with arcs that measure up as well.

I got to Nadeko Snake. Loved it. My feelings on Nadeko herself are positive though I think I gotta give her time to grow on me (She can pat herself on the back for the best opening in Bake). Anyways, I was enjoying myself thoroughly. Thinking it was a good experience but maybe not something I’ll leave much with. Then the final arc Tsubasa Cat bookends ybe season.

Wow. I always liked Tsubasa. Her presence was great in the past arcs, but her arc, god it was so good. I won’t spoil but certain moments and revelations hit me close to home in ways I didn’t expect. Is Tsubasa my favorite character now? Maybe, I still have a ways to go with this series, but that arc, I like that arc a lot. I like Bakemonogatari a lot.

Kizumonogatari Trilogy (2016-17): I liked it so much I immediately jumped into the prequel that the director spent just shy of a decade making. If you want the long and the short of it, all three good, but here’s a rough recollection of my headspace throughout all 3.

Iron Blooded: Wow this movie is pretty. This artstyle is kinda fucking everything, oh the cut ins are french now that’s cool. God this movie is so fucking pretty. Holy shit what an entrance. I can see why it took just shy of a decade to put this out. Phenomenal, next one.

Hot Blooded: God this movie is fucking pretty. This series also has an incredible ost, thank fucking god, holy shit this action. God I love you Hanekawa. Also it’s fascinating watching Araragi be more in line with what is usually expected from a light novel protagonist. Bake has him as a hapless but endearing lead, but here he’s a very adolescent loner who can barely compose himself in Kizu. There’s something very interesting as both in adaptation and original publication Bake starts the entire Monogatari series. The allusions to everything that happened in Kizu were quickly revealed in publication as Kizu is the second monogatari book published. But the anime, being a passion project by the director, continued with every book from Kizu onward. I’m glad I’m watching Kizu when I do, I think having this context going forward will be nothing but helpful. But back on topic, Araragi is a very different guy here. Also cause I didn’t mention her earlier Kiss-Shot is wonderful.

Cold Blooded: God this movie is SO fucking pretty- Oh.

Now, I made a post not too long ago about how this trilogy left me with a lot to chew on. I’ll admit here, a lot of it is Cold-Blooded but the whole package really stunned me. Every praise I've lauded the last two here applies to Cold Blooded as well, even more I think. But it’s final moments cut deep for me. I wish I could elaborate more and how many incredible moments there are in Cold Blooded, but words fail me in that regard. I’ve had to think about how this is the beginning of Monogatari. This is what inspires Araragi to stop being such a loner, and choosing to live and make the incredibly meaningful bonds he develops in Bake. Araragi makes the decision to start growing up.

I wrote, like, five pages on what Kizumonogatari made me feel. And I think all together Kizu was discussed in about 2 pages collectively. The rest was a very personal mess of words. It’s weird, Kizu gave me the ability to write about things I thought I never could, but what I wrote about was a lot. And I’m too much of a coward to post that in confidence without thinking it would be unwelcome. It’s stuff I want to share one day. It’s me admitting a lot of things. If anyone is interested I’ll share. But at the moment I don’t have the confidence to talk about it without it feeling like it’s unwelcome, too much, and lacking finesse. This movie made me reflect on a lot. Mentally and Identity wise. I’ll always thank it for that

2024 was a weird one for me. Lotta good, some bad, a whole lot of introspection this fall. Let’s see what 2025 will bring.

Have a Happy New Year Everyone

Best Movie: Police Story (but also Kizumonogatari)

Best Not A Movie: Jan Svankmajer’s strange works.

Best Manga/Comic: Azumanga Daioh

Best Video Game: Dragon Quest III: HD-2D

Best Anime: Kizumonogatari Trilogy

[gotmyyass2marz]

HEY SO I FINALLY FUCKING DID THE GWA PLANT TIERLIST because its like a twomper rite of passage 2 me

explaining All Of My Answers under the cut ((please dont read it i dont know why im likethis))

eye flower:: YKNOW WHAT i like him . even if his designs a bit stereotypical i still think hes so sillay

tendril flower:: eeeuuuuhhhhh i duunno ........ not exactly my Jam

heart flower:: I LOVE HIM but i agree with ashur on tgis one his shtick is a lot . Weaker than the rest of the plants' shticks . still going in wildflower tho :o)

walker:: INSTANT MOVE TO EVERGREEN i love his design and his whole concept so so much

friendship flower:: silly guy :o) not my favorite but his designs cute and his segment was ?? Funny ????? Sad ??????? both

organ flower:: i may be biased on this one because im a Gore Enjoyer but evergreen BITCH

the flower that knows all the secrets of the universe:: OOOH OOH OOOOO ifuycking love this guy especially the message he came with in the ep he appeared in ....... The Lore .............

fearful flower:: THE SILLAYYY i love his expressions and his bit at the end

meat flower:: just like with the organ flower i may be biased because of the gore lover instincts

the most beautiful flower in the void:: eh . even if its pretty its Boring 2 me . it feels like it was only made 4 the sake of the jealousy bit at the end ........

copycat flower:: AGAINNN it only feels like it was made 4 the sake of a bit ............ the idea was still nice tho

advice flower ((ithink thats what its called)):: GOOOODDDD his segment in the episdoe was so fucking funny i lose my mind at that shit every time

portal flower:: LOVE LOVE LOVE from the lore 2 the design its so niceys

two faced flower:: his segment was funny the design/idea was cool i fucking LOVE how fluid the stop motion was 4 him .... not amazing but still very Thumbs Up Emoji

iforgot what this one was called . baby flower ??????:: no . nah . no thanks

cry fruit:: not my fav but loved argos just goin Rip And Tear on his ass . that was funny

dream flower:: FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH the lore the concept the design ALL SO SO GOOD

mushrooms:: VERY cute and VERY silly :o)))))

animal flower i think it was ???:: LOVE THE CONCEPT but i feel like more couldve been done with it .........

immortal flower:: loved the Themes And Motifs in this guys concept ....... very nice

babbling flower:: i KNOWWWW im the argos guy and im not supposed 2 like him but HE WAS FUNNY . his bit was funny . i like him . also i love his sharp teeth

whispering flower:: THIS FLOWERS BIT WAS SO SO FUCKING CUTE AND SO IS THE DESIGN we should talk about it more

fright flower:: just like with the animal flower ((???)) i like the concept but i think more coulda been done with it ....... but the Oh Whatever bit was funny as shit

white mushrooms:: ILOVE THEIR DESIGNS and the lil noises they make only put it in wildflower because i felt like i was putting too many in in season LMAO

AND AS A BONUS:: where i wouldve put the newest plants ((climbing ivy / tattle flower / venenum tracta)) if they were included in the tierlist

climbing ivy:: LOVE THE CONCEPT and the bit it came with .... designs a lil bit dry but whateva . wildflower :o)

tattle flower:: in season but literally Only because of the fucking "argos' flower will be late and hes going 2 smell a mr plant :)))" bit it came with THAT SHIT WAS SO FUKCINH FUNNY

venenum tracta:: COOLASS DESIGN + CONCEPT and i also love how it has a scientific name ........ love how scientific names roll off the tongue ......... venenum tracta . yknow what i mean . in season

[agentnico]

Asteroid City (2023) Review

Wow, even for Wes Anderson this is a stacked cast! Might as well just advertise this as Asteroid City - starring all of Hollywood!

Plot: World-changing events spectacularly disrupt the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention in an American desert town circa 1955.

Like or hate him, it is hard not to at the very least respect Wes Anderson and his directorial style, as he’s basically achieved his own genre at this point. You hear a movie described as ‘Wes Anderson-esque’ and you are guaranteed to expect beguiling symmetrical shots, bright vintage coloured flair, use of stop-motion animation and postmodern symbolism, all the while featuring a vast array of A-list actors appearing in either awkward or over-confident fast-talking caricatures. There’s an interesting article on Curzon detailing what a Wes Anderson style entails, and it is a very interesting read. You can find it on the following link: https://www.curzon.com/journal/unpacking-wes-anderson-s-cinematic-style/

So with Asteroid City you can already anticipate these Wes Andersonisms. The question is how strongly the style takes over the substance, and also if this is befit to Anderson’s stronger outings like Fantastic Mr Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel, or does it lean more into the weaker aimless results of Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch. Ironically those latter two films were the most recent of Anderson releases, so he could do with a hit now to reinstate his original success. Well, is it?

This may be the most Wes Anderson movie to ever Wes Anderson. It’s so Wes Anderson that you at the end feel like you have took a bath in the waters made out of Wes Anderson’s brain and are now overfilled with Wes Anderson syndrome. Went I walked out of the cinema, for a good minute or two everything around me looked over symmetrical, and colours popped. The latter effect I feel will also be a symptom when I watch the Barbie movie later this month, only then I’ll be seeing all pink. Look, visually this movie looks gorgeous, from the costumes to set pieces everything looks great, and Anderson evidently has a lot fun showcasing his visual craft. Speaking of the set, the Asteroid City itself is brought to life practically with Anderson and his production team literally building the set, and from the opening sequence the cinematography relishes in showing every little detail, every nook and cranny of this city, or more so town as for a city...well, it’s the tiniest city ever. Barely even a village. Nonetheless, it’s very well realised but at the same time this city manages to look very cartoony and unreal, however that’s not a detriment as this brings us smoothly to our next point...

Asteroid City makes the intriguing choice of providing a narrative meaning to Wes Anderson’s style. In most his movies like The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited we as an audience are simply thrown into the Wes Anderson landscape and simply made to accept his eye candy of a world. Nothing wrong with that, if ever a movie directed itself to the idea of escapism then it’d be a Wes Anderson flick. However Asteroid City goes a step beyond that by presenting this movie as if it were a stage performances, that is intercut with black-and-white segments of Bryan Cranston narrating how the writer (Edward Norton) is writing his final play, and how the actors bring it to life in the shape of Asteroid City. From the get-go Anderson underlines that Asteroid City is not a real place nor are its inhabitants or visitors, but that they are all performing a theatrical piece. A theatre stage and Anderson’s style do share a lot in common so this aspect worked really well and in fact this was one of the lesser pretentious elements of this film.

That being said, I also do think that in this case Anderson has gone more style over substance, as he was evidently so focused with creating a visual feast, that he somewhat forgot to have a decent story and have characters of any substance. Think of this as Anderson’s fine dining experience. The presentation is immaculate, the look of what’s on the plate is exquisite. But the portions are miniscule. You will receive a couple of delicious bites, but overall will be left unsatisfied and will most likely head to the nearby fast-food joint and grab a semi-decent burger and some fries to full up that stomach of yours. So with Asteroid City, there are a few delightfully splendid moments and ideas (for me personally an early sequence involving Matt Dillon’s repairman fixing up a car with this one tiny bolt was fittingly amusing), and for Anderson’s first venture into sci-fi territory the alien aspect was handled well enough, but overall I found myself heavily disengaged with the proceedings. It was a lot of ado about nothing, with moments happening just because, and one could argue that is simply the Anderson way, but it didn’t appeal to my personal tastes. Also most of the jokes didn’t land. The movie tries its hardest to be quirky light-hearted fun, but rarely did I even chuckle or smirk if that.

The cast - I mean, what a cast! Anybody who’s anybody is in this movie. Everyone fits really nicely into the caricatures Anderson gives them, however a lot of them are left with hardly anything to do, with the likes of Liev Schreiber, Tilda Swinton, Hong Chau and Willem Dafoe suffering most. I did enjoy Tom Hanks though as the more level-headed grounded of the lot, and Jason Schwartzman is continuing his solid summer streak after Across the Spider-Verse as a father who’s struggling to reveal to his children about their mother’s death, as well as supporting his son in the space program competition. Him and the son played by Jake Ryan make for a solid duo. Scarlett Johansson delivers Anderson’s line with style and eloquence bequest of his style, and Steve Carell is comically humorous as a motel owner who glimmers with positivity. Jeffrey Wright does a fun monologue, Adrien Brody provides frenetic quips as an auteur director (may or not be inspired by Anderson himself) and Jeff Goldblum cameos as an alien. All is well on the casting front, though if you’re looking forward to an ensemble piece where everyone gets their share, most appearances here are but fleeting cameos. 

If you are a fan of Wes Anderson you will find enjoyment in Asteroid City, however I myself prefer a little more substance and meaning in the films I watch, and also the comedy didn’t land nor did I care much for what was happening. As I said, presentation is of a fine-dining level, but I will now head to get a McDonalds to settle my hunger. 

Overall score: 5/10

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Hiii, Hello, what if I dropped an abandoned vent fic from February 2020 that's based off true events and didn't elaborate? Anyway: (vague and non-fanon) pre-game, one-sided saiou, angst, a note of saimota but not serious

The world stopped. No. He stopped. The world kept on spinning as if it wasn't over.

Actually wrong again, he didn't stop either for some reason. There was no sudden halt, in which he would freeze, heart painfully clenched in a second of utter horror, panic, despair, his world shattering. It was an over 20 cars pile up tragedy in slow motion that started with just two vehicles colliding. After that lots of others being unable to brake fast enough was inevitable on a highway of life.

He didn't know when it started, maybe like all kinds of evil it had roots in middle school. Technically, he knew it was not true, it started earlier, truly it started to be a problem later, well that's a lie too. It was already a problem in middle school, he just didn't acknowledge it at the time.

It could be that this whole situation was like thousands of domino pieces he was putting up ever since he first saw Shuichi in the kindergarten, so over twelve years of work on fragile construction, few segments has been in need of repairs before, but what happened this time was damaging beyond repair.

Or maybe he was just being overdramatic again, but it really did feel like he built up his own doom this way and just recently somebody knocked one of the dominoes down, the very first one and now the sound of them all clattering was echoing in his head for months.

Pretty sure that this somebody was himself and nobody else, too, but that doesn't really matter. What mattered was that now he was alone and pitying himself.

A year ago was an entirely different life, perhaps they were even different people, but he wouldn't say that, at the core people don't change after they aren't children anymore, some parts of one's soul can be only shaped in childhood and that's most likely a bad thing for them. Not to say that for everyone. Again, the life was definitely different, present feels like an alternate universe.

They were just entering a new year similarly to now and the saying that the whole year is going to be like the new year's eve might have been a curse. Honestly, he wasn't that familiar with it before, but after Momota repeated it so many times during one day it burned into his mind. It was just the three of them at Saihara's house, all eighteen, but no alcohol, because everybody knew it just wouldn't pass with Saihara's parents and at that time he didn't mind. God, it really was just a year ago when he was all stops against drinking ever, look at him now.

Ah, but not to waste time thinking about own alcoholic father, the thing about Saihara's parents is they're unpredictable as his mother is absolutely insane, and his dad is under her shoe. So, not to anger the beast they spend most of the evening quietly sharing sweets, listening to music and talking about the dumbest shit they could, but it was fun, it was what he was used to.

What happened with that damned can of peaches was probably some curse too, like, they totally should have given up on opening it after five minutes, but no. It wasn't like any of them to just give up, what was started had to be done, doesn't matter that they were too dumb to use can opener correctly. Momota tried helping with a knife, but eventually Saihara got frustrated and pulled the half way cut open lid with his bare hands. This goal fixated madman. Honestly, all of them.

Through the year they brought this story back too many times and incorrectly as a reminder of strength and determination instead of taking things too far. 

He only started to think of that day as a cursed one year later, comparing events from around midnight to last days of the next year. Which greatly upset him, because seeing such connections was his mother's thing. She was especially stuck on seeing meanings in dates of people's deaths or birthdays. Annoying.

Basically, he wanted to kiss Shuichi at midnight. It was stupid and he knew he was too much of a coward to actually go through with this. But emotions were high and they were having so much fun that he though that maybe, maybe he could do this.

He couldn't. He walked up to him, got close... and then backed out and played it off as a joke. Unfortunately, Shuichi is this kind of person that while usually reserved forgets himself while having too much fun and becomes some sort of insane.

He saw the shine of idea appearing in his eyes from up close. And then, before he could turn around to notice the whole thing, it was too late. What he managed to register was Momota looking traumatized, wiping his lips and muttering questions like "why?" and making general sounds of disgust and something almost like despair at losing his first kiss like that.

Ouma, too, felt like he lost something important while looking at Saihara who was laughing, carefree after delivering critical damage to two of his closest friends at once.

[criticalreflectionblog2025]

Unit1: Animate A Cartoon Fox

This is the first assignment I made as part of Animal and Creature Animation module. Being the first assignment, what I am tasked to animate was fairly simple and the rig provided was even simpler. The rig was a simple ball with some fox or beaver details on it with squash and stretch controls and a tail in the back with a few segments to wag back and forth. The task for this rig was to have the animal ball hop across the screen with it stretching as it went into the air and squashing as it landed.

 The assigned task was very easy to complete with how simple the rig was and how short and concise the tutorial videos were. However, I didn’t feel satisfied leaving it at something so basic, so I decided to add a bit more to help flesh it out a bit. Taking inspiration from a cute cat meme (Chipi chipi chapa chapa cat) I imagined a scene with the fox bobbing up and down to the beat of the music as the beaver hopped on screen and stopped to give a confused look to the fox before joining in dance. Blocking the scene was fairly easy with how simple the rig was but not having a tutorial meant any issues I came across had to be solved by myself and even with such simple rigs I did have some issues.

One issue I came across was having the beaver turned as he hopped towards the fox as it looked weird to have the beaver turn between hops as did having him turn 90 degrees in a single hop so I had him turn gradually with each hop so that he would arc towards the fox. There was a lot of back and forth with the angle and distance with each hop so that he landed right at the fox and at the correct angle. I had some issues where the hops would end up not turning enough to be at the right angle when it got to the fox, or it would hop too far and make the movement look inconsistent in render. It required a lot of manual editing with each hop so that it hopped at the right distance to look nice and at the right angle to reach its destination correctly. There was probably a more efficient way of handling this but I’m still fairly new to animation and don’t know all the techniques to improve the animation workflow. The hop still looks a bit off when viewing from certain angles but from the view it’s being rendered at it looks fine for what the scene needs to be.

              Another issue I encountered while animating this scene came from animating the dance on the fox. I didn’t think rotating a ball with some up and down movement would be difficult but surprisingly it was. The first issue I had was with how the rotation and up and down movement were timed with each other, initially I had them timed together at the same beat as the music, but it looked off that way with the fox looking like a disc being spun in a circle. The fix was fairly easy though, I just had to offset the timing on the rotation and up and down motion by a few frames and it looked much better. The bigger issue I had with the dance was with the rotation as the idea was to have the fox rotate side to side, but the rig got a bit confused with local and global controls and it ended up having some forward and backward movement which I didn’t like. I don’t know what exactly I did to fix this honestly, I kind of just alternated between local and global controls a bunch of times trying to figure out what was wrong and it kind of just fixed itself so yay problem solved. :)

              Pass that it was smooth sailing getting the animation done. I added a landscape and some lighting to help set the scene and once rendered made sure to add the ever-important music in editing to help cement everything. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the results of this animation, I’m a bit surprised I had some issues with something so simple, but most things aren’t as simple as they seem. I was able to work through these issues and was able to make something that looks very nice and is something I’m proud of.

Credits:

Ultimate Tail Rig, Provided by the University of Hertfordshire

Vimeo.com. (2025). Vimeo. [online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/842446678 [Accessed 15 May 2025].

Royal Vibes (2023). Christell - Dubidubidu (Letra/Lyrics) chipi chipi chapa chapa dubi dubi daba daba. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68YK_d4VyfU [Accessed 15 May 2025].

[glapplebloom]

My thoughts on how AI should be used...

AI is a big controversy. People are losing their jobs or are forced to use it despite having the talent to not need it. So it is completely understandable why people are so against it. But there are good things about AI that I think are how it should be used. So here is a list of the things I do believe how AI could help, but also how it should not be used.

The Right Way...

As a Toy

This should be something fun for people to do and not take seriously. Have a character say a swear. Try to get it to make something and laugh at the results. Something ultimately disposable after you’re done. An example of how it could be used for fun is Totally Not Mark’s video about "The Terrifying & Unethical World of AI Artwork (AI vs Artist)" where he used prompts so he and his friends can make better versions of that art. You could probably argue about using it as a reference, but there are easier ways for that.

Make the Job Easier

While you’ve seen online how it can increase the framerate of some videos, that is an example of how it could make the job easier. Granted, this method would take away jobs from big companies, but for smaller companies who can’t outsource to other studios or even individual artists, this could be a help. But let’s ignore art and go into medicine. AI is currently being trained to detect cancer earlier than when we could spot it. This is great! While by the time of this article it is for Colon and Brain Cancer, if it continues well it could detect other kinds of cancer and begin treatment before it gets worse.

One thing I personally have used it for was removing unwanted objects in images. Sadly, I can not vector and I would need to get a comic done for a particular scene but no background exists. And paying for someone to do it for something I’m probably only going to use once and in a week is not a good idea. So I find a good screenshot with as few things in it and use this online program to get rid of them. It doesn’t always look perfect, but considering I’m not planning to use that again it doesn’t matter. 

For Independants

While it is terrible for Big Companies to try to use AI to replace people, and smaller companies should still hire people before even thinking about going AI, people with no money or contacts don’t have that luxury. Eagan Tilghman made a Stop Motion Scooby Doo Animation by himself. Of course, since he does not know many voice actors he used AI to supplement the voice acting. A voice actor on Scooby Doo did not like this and tried to Blackball him from the animation scene, despite him doing everything himself and did not have the choice.  Luckily, people did volunteer and a redub of it with actual voice actors now exists. 

There are others who use AI while (I presume) doing all the work around it. Glorb has Spongebob Characters doing gangster rap while animating the videos themselves. Rhazelx uses AI Still Images and Voices, but the editing of the duels definitely had to take a lot of work. And OddgiantAF uses AI to make Funny Custom Mortal Kombat Intros while, as far as I know, makes no actual profit from it since his content is Age Restricted and there is no patreon link. If Odd is making it for the sake of making it, it's sort of like how Sprite Comics came to be.

The Wrong Way...

To Make Art

As seen in Totally Not Mark’s video, while AI can make something look good at a glance, it is not perfect when you actually inspect it. I tried to make something with the free versions and got a Goat Kid that is nothing like my prompt. And what’s worse, people who tend to use AI to make Art think they are artists on the same level as actual people who make it. But when it comes to step up or do something specific, the AI Prompter will fail.

To Replace Jobs

You can not replace actual people with AI. Take this segment from Saberspark’s video about the first AI Movie (that’s actually rotoscoped). It just can’t do the things an actual person can. There was a story I read online about a company hiring an AI Prompter to make Backgrounds. While the original looked good to them, any attempt to make adjustments just completely changed the background to the point they had to get an actual guy who can do the job. If you know the source of this story, let me know.

AI is a tool that can make working easier. It is not capable of doing things on its own or having its own ideas. It can only borrow from its own knowledge which was based on multiple sources. This is not like inspiration, where an old idea inspires a new one: (as bad as “Public Domain Character does Horror” is, there’s still something original about the direction they take compared to other movies of the same premise), it's basically cutting and pasting things together to make something as coherent as possible.

To Improve a movie

While above I said AI could be used to increase frame rates, that’s not what I meant for this section. Someone took a scene from Jason and the Argonauts and made it into a single shot action sequence. The result is a HORRIBLE MESS. Like it starts out fine enough as it just seems to increase the frames, but after three seconds you see just how horrible everything looks. Skeletons just stay there, the guy moves his legs without moving his upper body, things begin to morph and merge together. It's a frikkin nightmare.

This is another example of how AI can’t really create anything. It tries to blend the two scenes together without understanding why the original shots exist in the first place. Thus a horrifying mess that would probably make a great horror film. Well, someone tried...

Basically, AI is a tool that under the right hands could be very helpful and make a job easier. But when you try to use it to replace people, you’re basically asking an allen wrench to make a chair. It ain’t going to make the pieces itself or the screws and such. And yeah, it could be used to make fun things, but it’s the equivalent of getting a snack over a meal: great for short bursts but not going to be a satisfying full meal. 

[culttvblog]

Private Detective Season: Dick Spanner PI - The Case of the Human Cannonball Part 1

This is another of those occasions when I would be very pleased if both my readers abandoned reading this blog and just went and watched Dick Spanner instead. In fact the only reason this show hasn't appeared here before is that, for reasons which will become apparent, it's on my list of TV programmes that I just can't seem to blog about. I have always tended to avoid description on this blog, thinking that there are already endless sites giving the same descriptions of TV shows, and that instead I would prefer to give my opinions about the TV I watch. That approach doesn't play off with some shows, and in the case of Dick Spanner PI I think it's because the show is very dependent on visual gags, double meanings, is quick moving, and intended to entertain and not so much provoke discussion, which doesn't lend itself to my sort of blogging.

However there's also a subject involved in Dick Spanner PI which is right up my blogging street. I don't think I've banged on about it for a bit, but I'm always conscious that nowadays we violate the circumstances in which old TV was intended to be viewed. We binge watch shows intended to be seen one episode a week with no possibility of pausing them, for example. In this case it's impossible to watch Dick Spanner PI in its original context because it was intended to be seen in small snatches as part of another TV programme. Afterwards it was repeated on TV as a stand-alone show and has also been released, edited into two longish episodes, on both VHS and DVD, but I really think this doesn't do it too many favours, so let's start properly by recontextualising it.

In 1987-8 the then new-ish Channel 4 broadcast, at lunch time on Sunday, a new sort of music and current affairs programme called Network 7. I'm aware that much of the TV I blog about was broadcast when I was in nappies or not born, but here we're in territory that I remember, and I loved Network 7, tuning in religiously every Sunday to my mother's disapproval. What Network 7 did was basically speed up television, with a style described as frenetic: very frequent changes from segment to segment, and one lot of information being on the screen in text while another lot of information was being spoken by the presenters. As a teen of the eighties I can see the influence of Max Headroom at every step. I loved this show.

But anyway, they had a segment where they had this private detective show, produced by Gerry Anderson, with each episode only running to six minutes. Yes, you read that right, this is the Gerry Anderson that's always missed off the lists of his work.

Spanner is a robotic Chandleresque private detective, investigating bizarre cases, and was made in stop-motion animation. With each episode being so short, and the show consisting of so much humour and atmosphere, honestly I think this is one of those shows you have to watch for the atmosphere and humour rather than the investigation. For example in this one, Spanner's services are called on by a dame who is bothered by the disappearance of her boyfriend, a human cannonball who has been...you know what's coming...fired! She looked like she'd been poured into the dress she had on and someone had forgotten to say stop.

I particularly like the visuals of where it's raining cats and dogs. In another episode the policeman reads The Riot Act to Spanner (and we see the title on the book he's reading) before literally throwing the book at him. This is wonderfully intelligent viewing based on the adventures of a private detective.

Unfortunately it isn't possible to see this series in its original context, which I think does it a mischief. You can see some odd episodes online and the whole thing edited into two longish adventures (the other one if The Adventure of Maltese Parrot) are also online. However the show wasn't meant to be seen alone in full like that, and doing that spoils the effect. Its clever punning just seems silly when carried on for about 50 minutes. Seen against the background of a very quick magazine programme its fifties styling and Spanner's drawl come across as a different pace and a rest. Unfortunately it's not possible to get the effect at all because apart from a couple of complete episodes which don't have Dick Spinner, Network 7 isn't available. I am sure that somebody must have some on VHS in an attic somewhere, but I'm certain they won't be commercially released, because I happen to have one odd episode on my laptop and I think Channel 4 would now be a bit embarrassed by it.

I don't have any criticisms of the show itself; the only problems I have are with the way the show has to be seen now, as I say.

Nonetheless, Dick Spanner is a delightful show which is well worth seeking out if you like private detectives or being amused or like anything else! I'm also quite impressed with the way I've written a whole blog post and barely talked about the actual episode I'm blogging about in any detail.

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