#bit more experimental... this was fun to make :]

[rebeccathenaturalist]

So DC finally figured out how to make a *fun* Superman movie that holds up with the best of what the MCU created on their end.

No serious spoilers here, but I do have to say that I LOVE how much Gunn drew heavily from Morrison's All-Star Superman run, because Morrison did such an amazing job of making a relatable, human Superman. I'm not a fan of various attempts to make Supes gritty and edgy. I mean, I get why for example the Injustice alt-reality was a chance to explore what would happen if the world's most powerful metahuman went wholly totalitarian, asking the same questions as The Watchmen and Captain America: Civil War. And I know the reasons behind Supes' long hair and black suit post-resurrection in the 1990s. There are good reasons to explore his alienness, that he's from an entirely different planet and that will always set him apart a bit--so long as we remember he grew up on Earth, among humans, and that counts for at least as much.

But it feels like when the first Snyder/Cavill Superman movie came out a decade and change ago, the DC movies were already trying too hard to be the anti-MCU--dark and moody and titanic instead of colorful and full of comedy breaking up the tension. There's also the fact that they had to overcome the legacy of Reeve's Superman performances in the 1970s, which were fun and experimental and still hold up really well even almost half a century later. The small-screen Smallville, and the one-off Singer/Routh that followed, also hearkened more to a positive, heroic (if imperfect) character. So it's kind of inevitable that someone would eventually decide they needed to reboot Superman on the big screen in a way that was the opposite of what had been done before.

I just....that's not my Superman. To me, he's always going to be the guy the other characters call the Big Blue Boy Scout, and for good reason. Sure, it may seem hokey when he manages to save yet another school bus from plunging into a river, or catch a falling building about to squash an old lady walking her little dog. But that's the essence of who he is. Behind the red S is Clark Kent, the good-natured farm boy from Smallville, Kansas who was taught by Ma and Pa Kent to respect others and to make the world a better place, who understands the immense power he has and decides to save lives and improve the lot of others. In a world where most of us have very little power on a global scale, and those who do have power seem intent on only using it to gain more for themselves at the expense of everyone else, there's a real wish-fulfillment fantasy as we imagine having the power to stop the bad guys, save the day, and hopefully make the sun shine a little brighter at the end of it.

And I see that so much in the Gunn/Corenswet Superman movie. There are some great callbacks to Reeve, to All-Star Superman, and even a bit of the tone of Smallville. There are the epic battles, the great saves, the iconic poses, the classic suit and cape. There are angsty moments, and tension, and moral dilemmas, and some good questions about what impact a superhero would really have in our world. But there's also our hero just being a human being, imperfect and sometimes kind of awkward, and absolutely relatable. He's Clark Kent the reporter because he's gotta have a job to pay bills, not just to create an elaborate cover-up for Superman. Like Spider-Man (well, Spidey before Tony Stark decided to make Peter Parker his protege), he's not a billionaire with tons of resources at his beck and call. We can relate to him more easily than Stark or Bruce Wayne or even Oliver Queen.

Most importantly--this Superman comes across as written by someone who's read and loved the comics, and the core of who this character is. He's our reminder to always strive to be better, kinder, more compassionate, even to those who may be considered enemies. He stops the danger, but he tries to find reasonable, humane solutions--this is not a Superman who kills, even when other characters warrant that's the only thing to be done. He demonstrates very clearly where he is motivated by a deep desire to end suffering and save lives, no matter how humble, and even if we see him at a still young, naive stage of his adulthood, his heart is in the right place. But even an older, more experienced Superman in the comics doesn't fall prey to cynicism: that heart is still there, compelling him to always strive to make the world a better place for everyone.

And I think we need that hope, more than ever. We need to be able to imagine a world where war is averted, disasters curtailed, and the life of every person walking this planet valued equally. Even if we don't have superpowers to make that happen, and we have to deal with the real world as it is, our stories are what give our imaginations fuel. Imagination sparks creativity, and creativity gives rise to solutions. Around the world there are so, so many people working to try to create a better world for everyone, and I see this movie as not only an incredibly faithful adaptation of the comics, but a message of hope and resilience to everyone who chooses to act in kindness and compassion toward our fellow humans.

(P.S. On a totally different note, I am so glad Nathan Fillion finally got to play Guy Gardner. Anthony Carrigan absolutely nails the perfect Metamorpho. And this movie has my favorite versions of both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen EVER.)

[anonymous-dentist]

There’s such a large implied disconnect between how trLukey and trLucas are that a lot of people have forgotten that they are, in fact, the same exact person. Lukey is Lucas, and Lucas is Lukey.

Lukey may not be as physically strong as he used to be, but he’s just as calculating and, really, just as cold as Lucas was. He makes a game out of manipulating people, including those he’s closest to. He’s unafraid to do his science with a dash of No Morals- look at him saying he’d force the cure on anyone who didn’t want it, ignoring patient consent in the name of what he considers the greater good. When he’s found something he wants to play with, be it the Skulk in the past or the Creakings in the present, all ethics go out the window. And when he’s presented with a big old pile of Corruption, he refuses to get rid of it because he can use it: experimentation, faction quests, fun.

In a sense, Lukey is Lucas but with a good month and a half of ignorant bliss. He didn’t concern himself with scientific experimentation until it was too late, and that mistake cost him trPangi. He bowed his head and spoke softly to avoid being singled out any more than he already had, and it worked so well that every single person on the server save Pangi and Pili underestimate him.

But that new persona, the sweet hamster-like Lukey, is just that: a persona. It’s personal growth, yes, but it’s also an extension of Lucas that maybe he’s tired of having around; he’s been itching to go on a villain arc and make people fear him for months, and now he has his chance with the Fog. He’s kind at his core and sweet when it counts, but maybe Lukey is done playing nice. Maybe he wants to go apeshit.

Lukey’s death by arrow was a suicide, that much was clear. He has terrible self esteem despite his massive ego, and the one person he’s dedicated his very life for is leaving him. He wanted to die, to feel the sweet abyss for just a little bit before he had to come back and get back to work.

Maybe that was a symbolic death as well. No more Hamster Lukey. He’s going to lock the fuck in on what he does best: scientific inquiry. And so what if the Creakings are in obvious pain as he bashes them over and over and over and over again from his side of the glass? It’s not like anyone actually cares about them. Who cares if the Corruption tree continues to grow the more he chips away at it? He has it under control.

Lukey is in control.

So what if he’s going to be left alone on a desolate, empty server once the world is done burning? That’s an entire world for him to play with.

[revolvor]

How I think the Batfam takes their coffee

These are HEADCANONS. It takes canon into consideration but very, very lightly. Not sure how accurate these are, but this is them to me.

BRUCE WAYNE

Drinks it black. No fuss, except for the beans involved. He doesn't mind drinking cheaper coffee, but he will notice. He won't make a fuss about it, but if he's in a private event and/or at home and served cheap coffee, he'll make a face. He won't comment if he's out in an actual coffee shop though, mostly because he has decorum and because, well, time and place. It's not his preference, but he's also big on supporting local businesses—even if he doesn't do it as often as he actually says he does because, billionaire—and he doesn't mind it as long as it's not in his own fucking house.

DICK GRAYSON

Another black coffee drinker, but he drinks the cheap shit instead of the multi-billionaire coffee stuff. As a kid, he used to make fun of Bruce for drinking the 'boring bean sludge' but then he grew up and after so many all-nighters, he falls into the trap of said boring bean sludge. The first time he drinks black coffee in front of Bruce, he was half delirious and barely awake. Bruce smiles at him and when Dick asks, he just says, "Nothing, chum." It'll take Dick a week to realize that Bruce noticed what Dick did a few months ago, and it's that Dick is growing up. Privately hates coffee.

BARBARA GORDON

Genuinely enjoys coffee, but she can't tell if it's because she actively needs them to function or if she just—genuinely enjoys it. She drinks her coffee hot most of the time, but she doesn't mind it cold. She privately hates the decorative and festive coffees that coffee shops tend to sale around the holiday season, but she's never audible about it because she doesn't care that much (and Dick can be so annoying about it). She likes a bit of sugar in her coffee, but not so much that it turns sweet. Prefers milk and/or cream in them for the richer flavour. Associates the smell of coffee with her father.

JASON TODD

He hates black coffee, but he exclusively drinks black coffee. It's an act of self-punishment in a way. He prefers a flat white but claims he likes lattes best. He always drinks them hot, never cold, and is a casual sipper when it comes to coffee. He pisses everyone off around him with how long it takes him to drink a cup of coffee. He does it primarily to piss them off, but also because again, he hates black coffee. When he has a flat white and/or a latte, he does genuinely sip to enjoy it though. This guy supports local businesses, and he sticks to it. Steals Bruce's fancy beans.

TIM DRAKE

Coffee hater. Is terribly annoying about it, too. Prefers to get his caffeine from energy drinks, and he'll advocate about the presence of caffeine in tea (he doesn't even drink it). Everyone thinks he drinks coffee black, but he doesn't. If he drinks coffee, it's always sprinkled with all that crazy sugary shit, making it taste less like coffee and more like pure sugar incarnate. He claims he gets the energy boost from the glucose, everyone thinks he's insane. He would rather chug down coffee like a shot of vodka than actually sip on it. Becomes all sugar-rushed after he drinks coffee. Caramel macchiato guy. Iced coffee drinker who slurps it down in a blink of an eye.

STEPHANIE BROWN

An avid festive coffee enjoyer, mostly because it earns her looks of disgust from everyone around her. She doesn't actually particularly care about the taste of coffee—unlike Tim—so she's mostly getting the weird drinks for the fun of it. A big experimenter when it comes to her coffee, and it always looks monstrous to everyone else. She's the type of person to get a frappe, but it'll be a cotton candy frappe stacked with a shit ton of whip cream on top of it. Doesn't really care about the cotton candy flavour or the whip cream itself, but takes huge slurps of it like she does. She's the one you send when you want someone to try out a new menu for you. Iced coffee advocate.

CASSANDRA CAIN

Rarely drinks coffee but when she does, she sticks to the classics. She keeps her orders short and simple, with a dash of sugar and a bit of milk inside of her coffee. Her coffee order is a blend of Bruce's usual coffee and Barbara's preference. She likes coffee for the smell and warmth of it, as well as the memories associated to it, rather than for the flavor itself. She doesn't need a caffeine boost most of the time but when she does, she usually has other means to acquire it. She loves coffee shops and coffee shop outings and/or dates, though, and she's the person you go to when you want to go out and grab coffee with someone.

DUKE THOMAS

He drinks coffee when he craves and/or needs it, but he's not inherently a caffeine fiend. Unfortunately, he needs a shit ton of caffeine in his system if he wants to hold up being both Duke Thomas and the Signal. He makes the best coffee, and no one understands how—his mama taught him how to … or, well, he grew up watching her—and he can make even the cheapest blend taste heavenly. Personally isn't all that fussy about his coffee when he goes out, he cycles between three options at three of his favourite coffee houses, but he's got a specific way to do it when he makes it himself.

DAMIAN WAYNE

He laughs in the face of coffee and caffeine addiction, but he finds himself secretly craving it, if only so that he would be seen as more 'grown up' and so that he has something to link himself to his family. Unfortunately, his experience with coffee begins and ends with the taste of bitter black coffee from the mugs he'd stolen (from Bruce, Dick, Talia, and Jason), so his experience has been very … lackluster, especially since he's only ever tasted black coffee. Eventually grows up to become a caffeine addict, and he'll look back at his youthful innocence with much weary fondness. Prefers lattes—he was won over by the cat latte art—but drinks it black with rich beans at home.

[centaurianthropology]

Yes! Preservation creates a space in which these three folks, with all their emotional and past baggage, can engage in a workplace threesome on a job, and they can know that they aren’t going to be part of the problem. They have the tools to come together and the tools to dissolve with minimal drama. For all their antics, they are very emotionally mature about this! And why not? Our society makes a massive deal about workplace relationships largely because of power imbalances and the frankly ridiculous import we give sex. But if you’re in a culture without those power dynamics, and where sex can be casual and fun, where the promise of free love was actualized rather than failing, then why not?

It allows for so much more experimentation, because sexual and relational mistakes are just normal mistakes and nothing earth-shattering. When the relationship fails, the friendship does not.

(i also wonder if there is strict committed monogamy as a relationship form on presaux. like, is it a variance of norm, or is it an accepted or niche kink? did they arrive at those big poly combos as from the feelings side, values side or economics/inheritance side? INTERESTING.)

Great question! From the book implications, I think that strict monogamy is probably accepted, because Preservation is an accepting society. I don’t think it would be considered a niche kink, per se, but more a quaint quirk for a couple. Totally fun and acceptable! But a bit quirky.

the thrill of the throuple (on sanctuary moon)

@centaurianthropology what i love about The Throuple is that

a) Pin-Lee and Arada's previous Throuple ended up messily

b) Ratthi is clearly not the king of subtle tact

с) Pin-Lee has Concerns

_ and yet they blithely go ahead with it, because it's clear it just does not seem possible to them that even a messiest relationship fallout can affect their overall wellbeing and working relationship in a months long isolated planetfall mission. and they're right! it's all weird and cringe and messy, and meanwhile there's the whole murderbot and gray cris drama, which everybody is utterly unprepared for - and yet the throuple is notably Not A Problem. there's this ingrained - and paid-off! - expectation that everybody, even at their bounciest, is expected to handle such things. it's so good.

(and if we ever get presaux again on screen, i'm super interested if they'll bring up the thread of arada taking pin-lee juuuuuuuuuuust a bit for granted, and ratthi becoming the catalyst for that conversation. i wanna see!)

(i also wonder if there is strict committed monogamy as a relationship form on presaux. like, is it a variance of norm, or is it an accepted or niche kink? did they arrive at those big poly combos as from the feelings side, values side or economics/inheritance side? INTERESTING.)