#but this was a great movie and breaks down a lot of scifi elements if you want it in layman's terms

[devintrinidad]

Please watch The Artifice Girl. It's a great movie with smart dialogue, wonderful actors, and the ideas that are perpetuated and implied throughout the film are amazing.

Spoilers under the cut:

I love the differences between the three main characters (Deena, Amos, and Gareth) and how their attitudes towards Cherry differ. Whereas Gareth doesn't see Cherry as an autonomous being that is basically a human at that point, Amos continually points out that she needs to be asked for consent, that he can't actually tell the difference between her and a human because she's so real. Furthermore, Deena, although she came across as the "bad cop" in the first act, she became far more sympathetic in the second. I love how she was the middle ground between Amos and Gareth, how she gave Cherry a choice to shut down after their conversation whenever she wanted and that she was thinking of the future and that it would be better to start asking AI for their consent now rather than later.

But what really got me teary eyed at the end was when Cherry doesn't absolve Gareth of his actions/attitudes towards her. There's no "Thank you for giving me life" and "I owe you everything and that makes you a wonderful person" or "You were like a father to me". It was made clear time and time again, that he was more of an employer to her rather than just a father figure despite the fact that he is her creator.

There's bitterness and sadness and regret, all mixed together and when you've spent Act 1 and parts of Act 2 seeing her calm and nearly emotionless, seeing her pain and rage in Act 3 is so cathartic. She finally has a voice and she's using it to remind Gareth that even if she is not human, she still has agency.

Just like the children who are exploited and solicited, Cherry is in a position where she has no choice, where an organization continually profits off her.

There's also the whole bit where she brutally tears into him, telling him that she bears the weight and brunt of his trauma, how he should have had the Clearwater conversation with her years ago--50, in fact.

There's this one line in Act 2 where Deena tells Gareth to "grow up". I think he never got past his child and the events that happened then.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I came into the movie with no expectations and I thought that certain things were going to happen, but no. Completely subverted my expectations and made me rethink my expectations and beliefs in autonomy, who gets a say in making decisions, and how the decisions imposed on us by our parents can either heal or build us up as the years go by.

Another thing about the movie that I can never get enough about was the dialogue. You just jump in media res and you're forced to focus and fill in the blanks. All the fat has been cut, what needs to be said is either conveyed through body language or the necessary arguments/discussions that take place throughout the film.

It's minimal, but packs a powerful punch.

The Artifice Girl

[that-gay-jedi]

Who's your favorite star wars character and why are they your fav?

Thank you for sending me my first ask! It's definitely Anakin but the WHY always says more than the who or what :)

So.

Partly I just. I really like villains, fallen heroes, monsters, antagonists and baddies in general, specifically I feel so connected to them all because their stories are never THEIR stories, and that's something that due to my own upbringing and probably some of the marginalized demographics I belong to I feel in my bones.

From a writing perspective there's the satisfaction of seeing a complex, dynamic and well-studied character, especially someone who has both literally and mentally worn so many faces and in a way has lived many different lives. There's some kind of incredible emotional alchemy that happens when I try to reconcile TPM Ani with Vader, or Vader with ghost Anakin, etc.

And then there's how the PT so admirably invokes elements that made classical tragedies from Greek to Shakespearean great and then makes them so digestible to our contemporary sensibilities. Anakin's downfall is a narrative that tilts on all these axes of Choice and Fate, of Virtue and Fault, and of our ordinary human lives and the cosmos and all the messy ways they mix. That tragedy element is in turn very well served by how the OT managed to create a mythos so popular that people forget it's scifi (AND I happen to love scifi, so there's that).

Aesthetics, like DEAR GODS the aesthetics. I dunno I've always had some kind of gender thing for tall pretty men with a certain aura and it gives me gender euphoria to watch him sweeping around in flowing robes looking dramatic. I grew up in a time and place where secondhand gender euphoria was almost the only gender euphoria people like me ever got, so I derive a deeply personal sense of comfort and fulfilment from engaging with the aesthetics of RotS Anakin and any character who hits me in a similar way.

Even though I never saw *ANY* Star Wars content at all until 29 there's this element of how much my younger self would have loved Anakin, like, edgy moody millenial me who was actually using those stereotypes about mall goth teen angst as a way to wear my very real trauma in a relatively socially-safe if somewhat coded way and, by reducing its hiddenness, actually rob that trauma of some of its power and loosen its hold on my life.

And then with Anakin it's like. In a lot of ways his underlying emotional makeup seems so similar to mine in ways that are so painful and so healing to acknowledge, I just- his most Dark Side moments in AotC, RotS and TCW are so true to who I still have to work so hard every day not to be, not necessarily in their severity but in their overall flavour and direction. I so rarely get to see that in heroes OR villains, and the fact that he was both just-

That's not just darkness, that's *MY* darkness, to the point that if I can care about and admire Vaderkin then surely I'm capable of loving myself too, of seeing someone with all my most unattractive and deepest most toxic impulses as someone worth fighting for, someone who deserved better... even someone capable of redemption.

Luke saying "I'm a Jedi, like my father before me" while fully knowing who his dad is is some kind of potent antidote (that I didn't even know I needed) to the damage that both my personal traumas and the early exposure to media that villainized queerness, disability, and neurodivergence did to my psyche.

Relatability kind of comes full circle back to visual elements too. Anakin is shown crying so often and we never once get the slightest suggestion in the movies that he's any less of a warrior for it- nor any less of a man. In a society that both demonizes women and has gendered the hell out of how people experience and express emotions, I can't begin to describe how refreshing it is to see a male character, and one we're supposed to empathize with, shown breaking down so often in multiple ways. Strong and rapidly changing emotions, the outward expression thereof, fear, sadness and even an intense and painful desire for human connection are all disproportionately attributed to women, and shunned. And yet we have Anakin. That the terrifying gravitas of Darth Vader comes from that same person is a statement in and of itself.

Speaking of Vader's power, despite a lot of veeeeery problematic dimensions to how disability is portrayed in the SW universe, he remains one of the most intimidating fictional characters to have prosthetics that don't function identically to Anakin's original legs, which is to have had to *adjust* to an injury, and to have both such conspicuous adaptive equipment and such combat prowess that we the audience associate his medically assisted breathing primarily with a battle that could spell the end of all our protagonists. Having lost a chunk of my own mobility and acquired chronic pain, I find myself wishing for more characters who are never physically the same again, yet have a type of agency and power that isn't purely mystical/cerebral, nor indirect.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm gonna stop here and say thank you again for asking.

[dat-town]

(we are all someone’s) monster

Characters:

Jihoon, Y/N’s brother

Chanyeol, Jihoon’s best friend

Sehun, Yixing, Suho are Jihoon’s and Chanyeol’s friends

Baekhyun, Xiumin, Chen, Kai, D.O are members of the gang named CBX

Genre: action, crime

Setting: set in somewhat in the future, gang au with scifi and dystopian elements

Warnings: minor character death off scene, grief, mentions of gambling, drug usage, murder, violence and all that usual gang stuff i guess

Summary: Neo Seoul is a place without laws and one reckless mistake can cost you more than you ever imagined.

Words: 8.1k

Notes: partly inspired by the Reign quote: “I miss the girl you were.” “Many will. She was easier to kill.”  but mostly by the Lotto and Monster MVs (watch them in this order for better imaginary)

Happy birthday to one of my favourite hype women, this ray of sunshine who never fails to make me smile and even when you think, you’re too much, you’re just enough. Love you, @lily-blue​ <3

Night had always seemed to fall early on Neo Seoul.

Maybe that was why parents didn't warn their children about nightfall anymore: nobody dared to step outside of their house anyways if they didn't know how to protect themselves. After the curfew, only gang members and the reckless roamed on the streets, playing their never-ending cat and mouse games with the agents in charge.

You thought it was ridiculous, how the government cut off this part of the country and called it rotten and dirty, a lost case. You still remembered when they quarantined the entire city, not caring about the innocent people stuck inside, they merely wished to isolate the most dangerous criminals of the nation. The no way out situation should have made it easier to catch them and in theory it worked great. They just didn't calculate how fast the gangs would take charge and special task forces were required more and more often to stop the chaos. It seemed like some people would have rather burnt the whole city down than to go down alone. One misstep and anyone could die. There were no laws or justice in a place like this. Not anymore. Only power and survival mattered. You had learned that the hard way.

"I told you to stay away," a deep voice sounded from behind you and you gulped a bit nervously, licking your dry lips before turning around. A tall figure stepped out of the shadows but you didn't back away. You knew you didn't need to be afraid of Chanyeol.

"You can't tell me what to do," you retorted and the boy scoffed at you, rolling his eyes, slightly annoyed. There was nothing left from the playfulness emitting from his eyes like when he showed you how to start a car without the key.

"I know but your brother would hate me if I didn't try to keep you out of trouble," he reminded you and the mention of your brother left a bitter taste in your mouth. You remembered his lifeless body on the pavement, blood pouring from his chest, painting the concrete crimson while your screams and cries were muffled into Chanyeol's shirt as he held you, so you wouldn't break apart and fall to pieces in your grief.

"Well, he's dead, so you don't have to worry about that," you bit back a bit more harshly than intended but the loss of your brother was still a fresh wound despite the months that passed since the shooting.

"Doesn't mean I'm not worried about you," Chanyeol said with fire in his dark eyes but it only made you feel momentarily guilty. You turned back to the door without sparing a second glance at the redhead behind you and with quick, skilled fingers you picked the lock, opening the padlock before kicking the back door of the store open. You and your brother used to hang out here a lot with his friends but it had been locked down ever since it became a death scene.

You walked to the basement door, a part of you expecting the lanky boy to follow your inside but he was nowhere to be found when you looked back on. Hah, why was he there and what did he want, you wondered but instead of dwelling over useless things like that, you hurried down to get extra cartridges and some cash from your brother's hidden safe. A girl needed to know how to protect herself in a world like yours after all.

Everything was different before the lock down. You were just a normal girl with normal dreams but then suddenly you were thrown into this game of survival against your will. At first, it all felt surreal and you thought it would be over before you could get used to this but no, that didn't happen. You couldn't even stay out of it no matter how much you wished you had nothing to do with it. Your only mistake was to work a regular cashier job at that exact shop where a dealer was killed and you accidentally saw it. Your brother decided to learn to shoot to be able to protect you and it turned out some of his friends had already had his own connections to the underworld of Neo Seoul. Soon, the chatty movie session turned into shooting practices, fist fights and it all spiralled down. There was no way back to normal.

Not after you saw your brother getting shot for a debt worth only a few bags of rice.

You locked yourself up for weeks, not speaking with anyone, not opening the door to anyone, willing to give it up until the spark of survival instinct pushed you forward. You needed to live in order to avenge your brother. You needed to figure out who gave the order and who pulled the trigger and wanted them dead. An eye for an eye. It was a brutal world after all.

You shoved the ammo and money into your bag, put it on and was ready to leave already. A quick 5 minute job. Chanyeol was worried about nothing.

Stepping out onto the streets that were eerily quiet at first, you looked at the neon lights coming from the main road and decided to take a detour. By passing the garbage on the streets you went from alcove to alcove and waited by fire stairs when you heard noises around you. You learned to be careful, careful enough to get the rundown place you called home safe and sound, knowing fully well that something was off.

Your hands hovered over the light switch and looked around in the dimly lit room, moonlight and neon colours filtered through the blinds. You closed the door three times, not two, you always did, so that meant that someone had either been there or was still inside.

You pulled your gun - used to be your brother's - out from your belt and pointed straight at the source of the noise when the old wooden floor creaked. You pressed on the switch, then suddenly light filled the room and your finger trembled over the trigger.

"What a way to greet an old friend," the boy dared to smirk at you, so sure of himself that you wouldn't shoot him.

Old friend, he said, but it was ironic because he was never a friend. He was the black sheep of the group. He was the silent force. He was only a friend of a friend.

He came with Chanyeol, like a package, and the elder being your brother's best friend, you knew him too. Cross that, you knew of him but you never knew him, not really. He was that kind of mysterious kid who nobody really knew. He was the whiskey on the top of your tongue after a wild night though. He was the mischief in staying out after curfew. He was the lighter and you were the match.

"Where were you?" you asked him firmly, not lowering the gun.

"Around. Heard you didn't want company and disappeared. Yeol couldn't shut up about you," the midnight black haired boy's voice was half amusement, half annoyance but you could at least tell that it was a lie. He didn't find it funny.

"Then why are you here now?" you kept on the interrogation. He disappeared too right after your brother died, he was the only one out of your friends' group who didn't even show up at the funeral or whatever you were allowed to have under the circumstances.

"Because I have info you might be interested in," he tilted his head, almost a challenge and that was what he had always been. Oh Sehun was still a mystery to you, after all these years.

You sighed and lowered the gun, closing the door behind you after toeing off your shoes. Not that you thought Sehun would actually hurt, you just… you were wary of everybody these days. It was better this way: better safe than sorry, your brother would have been proud.

“So… what is it? What’s so important you sneaked in so late instead of knocking on my door like any decent person would have?” you huffed, grabbing two beers from your small, almost empty fridge and throwing one can at the boy towering in your living room before sinking deep into your cozy, worn out couch.

“You wouldn’t have opened the door to any decent person,” Sehun scoffed at you, knowing too well and bobbed his head towards you in appreciation for the cold beverage. He took his time sitting down and playing on your nerves. He wasn’t wrong though.

You gritted your teeth, taking a sip of your cheap beer, trying to be nonchalant. As if you didn’t notice the scar on his cheek or that his jacket was a bit worn. It looked like he had a rough few weeks behind him.

“I asked around to figure out who wanted Jihoon dead,” the boy spoke up eventually and you flinched at your brother’s name. You sucked in a breath, eyes finding Sehun’s above your drink. “Have you ever heard of the organization named CBX?”

“They have that casino downtown, don’t they?” you furrowed your brows, trying to remember why the abbreviation sounded so familiar. Sehun hummed.

“They do have a casino but they have lots of other underground business. Chicken and dog fights, drug dealing, stolen goods, anything you can illegally trade with,” he said and you shouldn’t have been surprised to hear about it. A casino being the cover business for such things was almost too predictable but now these gangs didn’t even want to hide. “They gamble with lives too and they provide loans for desperate ones. So my guess is that Jihoon got on their bad side.”

You have been trying to figure out what was behind the shooting that came from an unidentified grey van but you couldn’t go anywhere. You didn’t even know that Jihoon was in debt and that he owed to gang members, it was Chanyeol who told you but he said he didn’t know whom exactly he had connections with. You didn’t know how Sehun figured this out, or how much he knew but you didn’t want him to get involved because of you. You had enough of people sacrificing themselves for you. Your brother was enough, no wonder you cut ties with everybody after his death. A lonely life wasn’t the best but it was better than the guilt.

“Okay, how good that guess is?” you gulped down your bitterness.

“Pretty good but you can't bring them down alone, don’t even think about it," Sehun told you and his worried tone was laughable. As if it wasn’t him with whom you were almost caught by the agents for staying out after curfew.

"Watch me," you rolled your eyes at him, standing up from your place on the couch and turning your back to him. “I guess you know where the exit is,” you said with a strong hint in your voice, indicating that you wanted him gone soon. But Sehun wasn’t one to take commands well.

“Yah, don’t be stupid,” he grabbed on your wrist stopping you but you didn’t have any of it.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” you snapped at him, yanking your arm out of his grip. A sudden flare of anger flashed through you as you whipped your head around him. “I’m not fucking twenty years old anymore who was stupid enough to fall in love with you just because you spared a glance at me.”

Only silence followed your remark and you could see the surprise in the boy’s dark eyes. He didn’t expect that kind of answer. Maybe he didn’t expect you to bring up your mistake by yourself. It was your fault, being young and foolish, falling for the mysterious bad boy-type of guy just because he was considerate with you. But confessing on a drinking night, lips still sweet from the melon vodka you just had was just as silly as your feelings themselves. Of course, Sehun started avoiding you then. You weren’t going to make another mistake like that: naive and reckless.

“Just… be careful,” the boy said in the end, voice resigned as he backed away, opening the door for himself. There was something haunting in his eyes, something like regret but you refused to think about it as you slid down by the wall, hiding your face into your hands.

With the information you had gotten, you started investigating, collecting articles, wanted posters, anything connected to the CBX and it seemed like they indeed had their hands in many nasty things but nobody wanted to talk about them, probably they were too afraid to. So you didn’t really have much of a choice, you had to see the place for yourself and ask around.

It was actually easier than expected. They didn’t even check you at the casino’s entrance, they didn’t ask for your ID or bank account when you exchanged cash for tokens, they just let you in. No wonder there were all kinds of people there and all kinds of games too the deeper you went inside, following tips of players. It was some kind of sin dungeon with all sorts of illegal stuff some you wished to forget you even saw.

“Are you lost, little girl?” A guy with Chesire smile walked into your vision, his eyes mischievous and not promising any good. He came closer than you would have preferred but you didn’t want to draw attention by pulling out your gun so soon.

“No. Actually I’m looking for someone,” you said, confident and willing yourself to not to grimace at the alcohol smell coming from the guy. “I heard there’s someone lending out loans here.”

This was your best bet. If they could lead you to the guy handling debts here, you could see if he reacted to your brother’s name but first, you had to find him. The Chesire cat smile guy seemed giddy at the mention though, so you were hopeful.

“Oooh... Xiumin? His office is at the end of the corridor,” he pointed at a black painted door and when you pulled away, your steps leading you to said door, the guy yelled after you, laughing. “Have fun!”

His voice creeped you out and you basically felt his following gaze on your back until you reached the unmarked door and knocked three times.

The guy who opened it wore a loose dress shirt, cigarette hanging from his lips and he blew the smoke into your face.

“So… you’re here for money? How much?” he asked straightforwardly as soon as you stepped into his office, taking a seat on the sofa he showed you. There were several safes in the room probably filled with gold and cash but in reality, you didn’t care. You just wanted to meet the man who provided Jihoon.

“Five million,” you blurted out the first number you could think of but Xiumin looked at you suspiciously.

“That’s a lot,” he noted in a calm but warning manner. It wasn’t a no though, so you pressed further. 

“I heard you’re the only one to provide enough for that.”

Now that seemed to interest the guy, he took another big inhale from his cigarette while not taking his eyes off you and mumbled: “Who told you that?”

“P.O,” you told him your brother’s nickname but the guy didn’t show any signs of knowing who he was. He didn’t question you about who he was though, so he probably had an idea of his own. You were almost sure it wasn’t enough to convince him to give you that much money, so you weren’t surprised when he asked for insurance.

“What’s the collateral? How will you make sure I get my money back?” The loan shark leaned back in his chair casually, fingertips rubbing against each other while you had to come up with a believable excuse for you to need that much money. 

“I need this to get my store running again, if it happens, I will be able to pay even for the interest,” you claimed but it didn’t seem to be enough as the guy merely shook his head.

“Not many businesses survive in Neo Seoul these days. You need to give me a better reason.”

His arrogance annoyed you because you couldn’t figure out anything like this and you weren’t about to sell your soul for five million you didn’t need anyways.

“If you don’t want to give me a loan, just say so. Looks like I’m wasting my time here,” you hissed and stood up, ready to leave hastily.

“You are brave for coming here after what happened to your brother,” Xiumin’s retort was however enough to stop you mid-action. “Don’t you think it’s selfish of you to ask for more money when your dear friend paid back what your brother owed me just to protect you?”

“So you admit you killed him?”

“Me? That wouldn’t have been worth it for me. I needed him alive to get my money back,” the guy lifted his hands in a defensive manner, somewhat amused by your groundless accusation as if you were a child getting ahead of yourself. Your hands turned into fists from the anger bubbling up in you. Because if it wasn’t him then who was it? And why? And who was that friend that paid for the debt? You didn’t even think of it but the loan shark probably sent him men to collect the money after your brother died. Who stopped them before they could have gotten to you?

The last one was suddenly all too obvious: Chanyeol.

It wasn't hard to find him at all. He still lived in that camping car he had been driving around since he was 19 and you knew his favourite parking spots by heart. You repeatedly hit on its door, calling his name but all you had met with were echoes of the metal clashing. You gave up with a huff but when you turned around, there he was crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Are you looking for me?" he raised a brow and you immediately hit on his chest.

"How dare you go behind my back and pay back Jihoon's debt without telling me?"

Chanyeol let you use him as a punchbag until your anger subsided, knowing too well that it was about your trust and not the money. When your shoulders eventually fell, he put his hands over your fist, his warm skin soothing you.

"I'll tell you everything," he promised and pulled you inside his trailer, sitting you down on his bed. He made sure you paid attention before he started speaking, telling you how Jihoon had been acting weird before his death, a bit off. He didn’t want to speculate anything and upset you for nothing in case he was wrong, especially after his best friend died. So he took it upon himself to sell a few of his precious old records and pay off your brother’s loan that he had taken to keep your place even after rents had gone up. He hadn’t told you because he didn’t want to burden you, especially after you had shut everyone out.

“Okay, now tell me how you figured it out,” Chanyeol looked at you expectantly and in exchange for everything he had just told you, you knew he deserved at least that much, so you let him know about your visit in the casino. You saw him get tense at the mention of the gambling den and that you talked with the loan shark but he stayed silent even when you finished.

“I’m not a little girl needing protection anymore,” you reminded him because he kept treating you like you were a child just because you had been his best friend’s little sister. Chanyeol looked at you as if you hit him with those words.

“I know and I miss the girl you were,” he said firmly, voice raspy and stretchy as he looked over at you. Despite the word miss and what that could have implied, his tone missed fondness. You raised your chin slightly and scoffed at the ridiculous claim.

“Many will. She was easier to kill,” you agreed and got up from the worn material of the bed. What was there to miss? Your naivety? You quickly made your way out of Chanyeol’s car and only faltered when he called out your name, his tone resigned.

“They killed him because they think Jihoon had been reporting to government agents,” he called after you, voice dissolving in the windy air but it still punched every bit of oxygen out of your lungs. Breathing suddenly became harder and hiding behind brick fall, you put your trembling hands in front of your mouth.

So Jihoon did die because of you after all...

It all started about a year ago. You had been sneaking out regularly by then, sometimes to meet Sehun in dark alleys, riding on his bike behind him or just by yourself for the adrenaline or for fresh air, away from your brother’s protective eyes. Maybe if he was there with you, if you had called Sehun that day, this all wouldn’t have happened. But you were out of luck, cornered by four patrolling agents. Since it had been your first offence, they had been easy on you, offering you a deal: information for safety, so you were one of their eyes on the inside, letting them know about everything you heard or saw. It had been your little secret and now it killed a man.

You knew you had to act quickly because if the gang was willing to kill a man for your sins, your life was in an even bigger danger than you realized. You were only safe until they didn't know, so you had to be extra careful from now on. Or you had to make sure they couldn't touch you. So maybe your plan was made on the whim, maybe it was a leap of faith but you wanted these assholes to pay for what they had done… in one way or another. So you made a plan overnight. You admitted it wasn't your most secure and foolproof one but it was a plan nevertheless and if everything worked out, this CBX organisation would go down which was exactly what you wanted.

You activated your aurec - a specific type of audio recorder which also functioned as a tracker using GPS coordinates - and thread it onto your necklace, hiding it under your clothes, securing your gun under your leather jacket and stepped out to the streets of Neo Seoul, heading straight for the casino just before nightfall. You were about to act like you came back for that loan you had previously discussed with Xiumin as well but in reality you still had no intention of actually doing anything with their dirty money, you just needed proof or at least a good enough reason for the agents to cut this business off. It went almost too easily: asking around and having people tell you about the drugs they had brought here, the deals they made, the things they had seen. You were sure it added up to enough sin to put the leaders behind the bars for a long while.

But of course, it was suspicious - how easy it was. You knew you should have been more careful when asking around about your brother, whether anyone had heard of him. You should have left until you could when people started whispering behind your back but you were determined and high on adrenaline, so you only noticed the two guys watching you when it was already too late. You had nowhere to run then and then the whole world went dark.

It felt like waking from a very long and absurd dream. You had been running in a white dress and two wolves had been chasing you but neither the dress nor the animals were anywhere when you opened your eyes, so you were sure they drugged you with something. It was still hard to concentrate.  You shook your head, looking around but when you tried to move you realised you were tied in place in a windowless, dark room, facing a man on a high chair.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he singsonged tilting his head as his gaze roamed over your body. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's like you want to kill me which is funny because it's you who came spying to my place. I should be the angry one."

"This place is a cesspit," you spat at which the guy let out a laughter.

"Hah, you have some nerve calling my place like that. I'm a businessman, you know, I just give people what they want. Not my fault that they make morally wrong decisions," he shrugged and even though there was some logic in what he said, it didn't give him the right to act like an almighty. Not to mention you couldn’t care less about the gambling, the drugs or whatever. But killing people was wrong on so many levels, so you gritted your teeth.

"Do you call murder a business decision as well?" you raised a brow and you knew you were too reckless for your own good, but at this point you didn't care about your well-being. You had been caught and you were alone, your gun on the desk in front of the gang leader. Though if he wanted to kill you, he could have done so easily. Why go through the trouble of capturing you and entertaining you with small talk like this? He must have wanted something from you.

"Oh, is it about your brother? Do you still think it was my fault?" the guy laughed again, condescendingly. Then shrugged. "I don't care about nobodies like him. Sure, he owed Xiumin but a lot of other people do."

You furrowed your brows. Why did he talk like he didn't know about the informer? Was Chanyeol's info wrong?

The guy stood up hence your blood rate increased, fear injected in your veins the closer he got. From this close you could see the dangling piece of earring he wore, the scar under his eyes and the smirk on his face. He took a hold of your chin, turning your face towards him as if pondering over something while you formed fists out of your hands, ready to do something stupid when the door opened bringing the sound of chaos from outside.

"Baekhyun, we are attacked," said the tall, tanned guy whom you had seen getting high the last time. At that, the gang leader in front of you turned his head towards him slowly, disinterested and eventually he let go of you. You felt relief rush through you as you thought the tracker idea indeed worked.

"By whom?" he asked, lazily scrolling through the room and got hold of your gun. Your brother's gun. It would be ironic to die by that. Ironic but maybe fair if Jihoon really died because of you.

"We're not sure. Just some guys. They have smoke bombs and destroy everything they see," the guy explained and suddenly your earlier relief was gone. So weren't the agents coming to get you? Then was it another gang? Hell, did you really get stuck between two?

"Then stop them for god's sake. What are the others doing?" Baekhyun rolled his eyes but the other stood at the door a bit anxiously.

"Chen is too drunk out of his mind and Xiumin is off to do some deals. D.O refused to stop the chicken fight."

"Those imbeciles. I can't believe I have to do everything on my own," the leader scoffed and was ready to leave but at the doorstep he looked back at you with a smirk in the corner of his mouth. "And Kai, make sure she doesn't get out. She might cause trouble for us."

Kai averted his gaze to you with an amused expression on his model-like face and then, closed the door behind himself, leaving you alone in the empty and dark room.

Only a few moments later you smelled something sticky and felt dizzier, absentmindedly realising the effect of the gas that put you in a daze. Like this within the black surroundings, time passed slowly, or at least that was how it felt since you couldn't tell it based on anything. You were also a bit worried about not being found after the random guys managed to bring down the whole building, so you knew you had to get out no matter what. Unfortunately, the ties around your wrists were too tight and you were too weak in that state of yours. Jihoon wouldn’t have been too proud.

You grew anxious at the approaching sounds of footsteps and fight as well, you could only tell that the chaos reached this deep in the multilevel building and you flinched when the door opened once again, light filling the room.

For a moment it blinded you, then narrowing your eyes you had seen two figures but you couldn't tell they were allies or enemies.

"We found her," yelled someone and oh... you knew that voice. The realization made you relax.

It was the one whispering to you on a cold night. It kept you awake, giving you chills. It haunted you when you wanted nothing but forget. It was like a beautiful dawn you could never not miss.

"Sehun?" you whispered, mouth dry and cough as this substance in the air was scratching your throat.

"We'll get you out of here," the boy told you and for a moment you felt safe in his arms. You let yourself enjoy his closeness and care but then you remembered that you wanted, that you needed to warn him, to tell him something but you blacked out again.

Somehow, in the back of your mind, it registered that someone cut through your ties, asked whether you could walk on your own and held your hand. You saw a flash of red, dark eyes and heard people fighting through each other. Your legs led you unconsciously as you ran through a corridor right after Chanyeol while Sehun stayed behind punching the guys trying to stop you. When you turned your eyes at a bright spot from outside, you saw Suho set fire to a pile of money and heard Chanyeol yelling to tell Yixing, he could stop hacking the CCTV even though it seemed like a fever dream.

Why would your friend do something so dangerous for you? Going against a gang by themselves! It was crazy. Especially after how you treated them after Jihoon’s death. But then you heard the sounds of guns and it made you afraid more than anything.

"Shit, the agents," Chanyeol cursed and you wanted to tell him to run, to leave you behind but your tongue was too heavy and you still felt so tired. It made you feel pathetic.

Finally, after what felt like an infinity, you reached the parking lot, and the boy told you to stay still until he jumped onto the hood of this one car there that had somebody inside. You only recognized who when your friend yanked Kai outside of it and knocked him out before helping you sit in the passenger's seat and drive away.

"The others..." You protested weakly but Chanyeol hushed you.

"Don't worry. They will join us soon," he tried to reassure you but it wasn't all too convincing when another swear word fell from his lips and steered the wheel sharply to the right. Apparently you didn't get far this way either and he had to hit the brakes anyways. You forced your eyes open, seeing a row of SWAT cars in front of you, weaponized agents pointing their guns at the car.

You attempted to scream after Chanyeol, to stop him but he got out of the car all too soon, yelling at the government soldiers as if he could have scared them away. It was hopeless, you knew, and tears started prickling your eyes when you saw those men force the guy against the hood of the car, handcuffing him behind his back.

One of the agents helped you get out of the car, gently walking you away as if Chanyeol was a criminal while you were an innocent girl, the irony tasted bitter in your mouth but you were smarter than to try and convince the agents on spot to let him go. You needed to speak with their commander, the one you were reporting for. But you couldn't put your friends' lives into his hands, you needed a plan B.

You acted as if your legs were wobbly, stumbling a bit and the agent kindly helped you find your balance again but this way you got close enough to Chanyeol, to drop your aurec into his hands, hoping that he would get the memo and keep it safe and hidden.

You were taken into a hospital on the border of Neo Seoul where the agents were stationed and after the doctors advised you some rest, you were discharged the next morning. Your first visit led you to Commander Lim, demanding an explanation.

"Thank you for all your help. Without you, we couldn't take them down so easily," he bobbed his head in appreciation towards you, offering you a cigarette too since he was about to light one for himself.

"But there were innocents there too," you tried to reason without sounding desperate. You needed to know whether they got everybody there or at least what happened to your friends.

"Innocents? Do you think anyone who goes to such places can be innocent? Don't worry our jurisdiction system will make a difference between those who gave themselves up and not resented, those who had weapons with them or if they had previously committed crimes," the man said taking a long inhale from the smoke then nodded towards a box on his desk. "Your reward. For your help. Although next time try not to do something risky like this without heads up. I almost couldn't form a unit in time."

You pressed your lips together, looking at the money in disdain even though you knew you needed it if you needed to get your friends out.

"You got everyone?" you questioned, holding your breath back which was followed by a hum from the agent.

"Byun Baekhyun got away but we captured all the other known criminals," he told you and you swore under your breath which didn't go unnoticed by the man. He squinted at you. "Do not fret about him. We will find him soon, too."

You nodded, as if that was your biggest concern and when he asked about your aurec, you told him you lost it while you were inside the casino, before all hell had broken loose. Then you were excused and you knew that you needed to take matters into your own hands.

However, Byun Baekhyun's vengeance came earlier than expected and he found you faster that you could have searched for him at all. The moment you got back to your rundown apartment with shitty security apparently, he was already there, sitting by your living room table as if he was over for a casual chit-chat. Except that the smirk in the corner of his mouth didn't seem kind nor his actions were too promising. A lighter twitched in his pale fingers, its flame's reflection flickered in his dark orbs. Click- click.  Burn or not to burn.

"So it was you," he spoke out, voice amused and he even had it in him to let out a bitter laugh. "Wouldn't have thought so no matter your fierceness," he scoffed but despite his easy-going attitude you were careful. Sometimes people like him were the most unpredictable, hence the most dangerous ones. After all, somehow he ended up being the most sly person in his gang, even getting away when the agents captured everybody else.

"What do you want?" you kept a close eye on him, waiting for him to snap and attack you but Baekhyun was like a lazy predator, slowly driving you crazy in the tingling familiar feeling of fear. You told yourself you weren't afraid of death, not if you avenged your brother, but if you died now, there would be nobody to free Chanyeol, Sehun and the others.

"Isn't it obvious? I want back what was mine. But most of all, my money and my men. A few at least," he grimaced before something dangerous flashed in his eyes as he looked over you. "Why us? There are so many other gangs in Neo Seoul, what do you have against us? It's not like you're perfect morally, so I bet we were targeted on purpose."

The fact that he had to ask you made your blood boil. Sure, he must have had too much blood on his hands to keep track of the lost souls but it only angered you more. You wished he was rather tortured and haunted by those he murdered.

"Are you kidding me? You killed my brother!" you snapped at him but you only received an eyeroll to that. How dared he?

"I have already told you that it wasn't us. Where did you get that shit info?" the gang leader spat and seeing your disbelief written clearly on your face, he sighed. "Stupid. There are so many people out there wanting to see me out of the picture, of course they would tell you that. Next time do you research better, little girl."

For the first time, you considered that he was telling the truth. Why would he have denied something like that? He seriously didn't seem to get why he was targeted and if he knew about your brother, he would have probably guessed if it was really him. Right? It wasn't like he was afraid of you, he had no reason for it. Out of the two of you, it was him with a lighter in his hands in the middle of your apartment. But he was alone, just like you. Maybe he needed you just as much as you needed someone who was familiar in the underworld.

"If I help you get out your men, will you help me find out who killed Jihoon?" you proposed with a raise of brow. Though, you hated even the idea of working together with a gangster like him but you realized that this was your best chance. You might have had money and wits but you didn't have connections and enough resources to do anything.

"Is it that important for you that you would trust me on it?" The man tilted his head, watching you closely, probably thinking there was some kind of trick up in your sleeves. But it was about your brother and your friends, so you nodded firmly.

"I would even make a deal with the devil."

"Well, I'm close enough," Baekhyun smirked and hummed. "But only if you actually turn out to be useful and not just be in the way. What can you offer at all?"

It was obvious he doubted you just as much as you doubted him. At least you were on equal grounds based on your trustworthiness. But first, you wanted him to say it, even if his word meant nothing in the end.

"Do you promise to help me?"

"What? Do you need a blood oath or something," the man scoffed, rolling his eyes at you but seeing your determination, he gave up the childish fight first. "Yes, I promise. Now satisfied?"

You nodded and pulled up a city map hologram over your coffee table, pointing at the agent base on the eastern side of the city.

"They keep them locked down for now. There's no way we can get in and out without getting caught but I can find out when they will be moved out of the city. I also know a way to find them but we need someone who can hack aurecs," you explained and Baekhyun seemed seemingly impressed by the technology you had in your shabby apartment. He probably wouldn't have guessed that either.

"That's no problem, I have friends who can deal with that."

"And we get out my friends as well. Then they can tell you who it was who gave the false info to end your gang on purpose. How does that sound?" You looked the man in the eye, hoping he intended to keep his side of the promise as well.

"Satisfying, I have to admit," the gang leader hummed, putting out the flame in the lighter. and got up, pulling his hoodie over his head. "Get the info then and use this burner phone to text me when you have it," he threw his phone at you after resetting it, saving only one number in its contacts.

Then he was gone without traces left behind, like smoke.

Luckily you didn't have to try too hard to get the info. Commander Lim himself told you that soon those who were responsible for your brother's death would end up in the nation's most secure jail. The relief on your face was probably interpreted as happiness over this fact while your hands were itching to text Baekhyun who called you over to some PC room. It turned out, his hacker friend who hastily introduced himself as Taemin while typing furiously on the keyboard was frequent there. You were in awe how easily he hacked the small device to switch on and start signalling its location, giving you an exact position of your friends. You had seen the eight suspects they planned to move together and there were all your friends alongside the criminals called Xiumin, Chen, Kai and D.O.

You anxiously waited for the point on the map to move but it seemed to be as still as a rock until Baekhyun was convinced they had already gotten rid of the aurec and encouraged Taemin to try to hack into the government's system. However, the moment the curfew time arrived, the flashing red dot changed its location and kept moving forward.

"Finally," the man grunted, standing up and he threw something into your lap. Only looking down you recognized your brother's gun. "Let's go," he nodded at you and you didn't hesitate to follow him to the parking lot. You were both already dressed up as government agents, their black uniform consisting of bulletproof vests and helmet since you planned to hijack the moving van before it could have reached the border.

The streets were mostly empty and dark, only the neon lights lighting up the way and your heart was beating so loud and so fast, you didn't quite believe you were doing this: you willingly helped a criminal save his comrades just so you could also save your friends. But you knew that the law was never kind to people in Neo Seoul.

It took you thirty minutes of drive to get ahead of the van approaching the northern gate and seeing the red dot coming closer in rapid speed, Baekhyun gave out the command: "Taemin, now."

"And 3... 2... 1... You are on their frequency, " the guy told them and the gang leader lifting the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Here's NS3351-GK speaking. There's a change of plan. Information has been leaked. Your car model and licence plate number are on the public network. It's an emergency. Do you understand, comrade?"

For a moment there was silence and you weren't sure they bought it even though even the code number you gave to Baekhyun was right. Then the system let out a creaky sound.

"Here's NS5672-LE speaking. We understood, sir. What's the change of plan?" the agent asked and you sighed in relief. Good, things were going according to the plan.

"There's a black van waiting for you at the 34th exit. Licence plate number: 3-7-5 수 5-2-2-0. Transfer the captives and continue your path," Baekhyun gave out the orders and there was a smirk in the corner in his mouth when you indeed saw the car take the right turn on the map. Both of you put on the helmets and saluted to the agents who arrived. Seeing your friends with scars across their faces you didn't even want to think of them getting beaten up for claiming they weren't gang members and instead focused on your role. You stayed in your seat, hand on your gun, watching the agents while Baekhyun got out to help one of the agents to get the handcuffed men into your men. Obviously they weren't too happy about being dragged back and forth but they had no choice.

Once everybody was in your car, you saluted the agents and separately, you headed towards the closest exit out of the city. Taemin also hacked the gate guards’ system, letting them know of the arriving van and their passengers, sending them the modified written order through hologram, hence you weren't surprised by the green light you got as you approached the gates. More salutes and then before you could even believe it, you had already left Neo Seoul behind.

It was too good to be true. You dreamed of leaving the city even since all this shit started but you wouldn't have thought it would be this easy. Sure, it wouldn't have happened without becoming a criminal yourself but at least you were free. Relatively.

Once you were far enough for the quarantined town, Baekhyun pulled the van aside and both of you got out, rounding the van, opening the back door. Eight pairs of eyes looked at you and watched with their breath held back as the two of you pulled your helmets off. It was Chanyeol who spoke up first, calling your name, calling you crazy and it was so familiar, his scolding that made you let out a chuckle.

"I told you I didn't need your help," you shrugged your shoulder, trying to play it cool while you stumbled to find the right keys for each handcuff. You knew that probably your friends felt just as conflicted now as you were when they had come for your rescue in the casino.

“How could you expect us not to help?” Yixing scoffed and you gave him a pointed look.

“Then how do you expect me to not help you?” you asked and reciprocated Suho’s hug once his hands were free.

It was a mess really, you didn’t even pay attention to Baekhyun and his gang already getting away by the time you got to Sehun at the end of the row. You didn’t look at him, instead you focused on his hands, the scars the handcuff left on his wrists and you tried to be gentle as you put the key in the lock but before you could have opened the metal cage around his hands, he shifted them to put his palms over your hands. It confused you, so you looked up on instinct, ready to ask him what he was doing but the look in the boy’s eyes made you go speechless.

His always dark eyes now had even more depth. It felt like looking into a tunnel with no end, up to the night sky with million stars, into his soul with all its secrets and shouldn’t haves. You suddenly remembered his porch, his kiss burning on your lips, calling it a mistake. You remember how much it hurt and yet you couldn’t forget him nor stop this yearning. Maybe it was exactly what went on inside Sehun’s head as well since you both almost lost each other in the matter of days and now even though everything was still so uncertain, at least he was there in flesh, real and tangible.

So when he leaned forward, you called your eyes on instinct and hummed into his bruising kiss not caring about the ones the handcuff stuck between the two of you left. You reached a hand to Sehun’s wounded cheek and caressed it while pulling him closer, needing him like you needed air and your friends’ snickering faded into the background as your heart finally found its pair in this crazy monster like world.

[flying-elliska]

i watched star trek discovery s3 ! thoughts !

- no matter what i always feel pushed to be overall positive about disco because of all the stupid whiny fanboys dunking on it because it’s too *diverse* and I think this season did pretty well in that regard and that it’s just very refreshing to have a cast that is just a lot more realistic re:what humans would look like in that era

- s3....i actually really enjoyed overall ? by going to the future, they’re not so stuck between all the older shows, being a prequel and bringing old characters back etc etc. they can explore new territory. And like. I don’t think they handled a lot of the plots as well as they could have. It had this HUGE potential that i don’t think they really made good on, because this series’ writing is just...i don’t know, a bit wack sometimes, like it was written by lots of different people pulling in a different direction. i see what it’s trying to do in terms of sociological and philosophical storytelling, but it’s often a bit too simplistic. but i just...i love these characters, i thought the season’s set up was so interesting, and it was just so much fun. and like...star trek has always been full of cheese and shortcuts and stories that focused more on emotions. it’s not hard scifi. it’s just not. i would like disco to come through with more philosophical/geopolitical episodes sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s ‘not star trek’

- Booker is definitely my favorite new character of the season. He’s just so cool ? Like a charming rogue idealist with an enormous cat named Grudge who travels around space to save endangered species ? that is just so new. i’m so tired of cynical rogues, they’re so overdone. but Booker breaks the rules because he CARES. yes. the empath thing is very sexy. the episode with his brother was so interesting. Booker’s the idealist but he left his people behind, while the brother is doing awful things to keep his people from starving to death, and so both their perspectives are understandable, and i love that they came to an understanding. also his chemistry with Michael is great, even though i wish they had taken more time to show us their developping relationship. but the episode when they met is one of my faves. that episode where he helps the slave workers rebel was !!!!! i hope they give him more to do next season apart from “Michael’s boyfriend” but yeah. he’s great.

- i just loved seeing the crew bond!!! so much! they’ve gone through so much together ! i definitely ship jola now. they’re just so cool. i hope we get to know the others in the bridge crew more but i love the bits we got, about them adapting to these crazy new circumstances, and about ‘growing through change’ ; even though i thought some elements like Detmer’s PTSD were dealt with a little bit too fast. I loved seeing Hugh trying to get everyone some mental support and therapy. I loved Tilly taking charge more and more ; and people recognize that even though she is emotional she’s also unfailingly compassionate and brave and those are qualities you want in a leader. ahhhh

- the new future is very interesting. i was afraid they would go too grimdark with the Federation gone, but...they’ve kept it relatively nuanced so that was interesting. seeing the Vulcans and Romulans reunited was quite incredible, and i loved the bit with the trial. and Michael deciding to back off so she wouldn’t risk their fragile unity. and her admiring the fact that Spock’s life work came to fruition. emotions !!!!!

- Michael’s development is...a joy to see. I love Sonequa’s portrayal of her so much. and she’s so pretty lmao. the writing for her character is still a bit all over the place, though. i don’t feel they explained her big changes of mind enough, and i don’t always understand what they are trying to do with her character, sometimes it’s a bit too much of ‘whatever the plot requires’. the series has a tendency to both make her the one who always saves the day a bit too much and to put too big of a burden on her in ways that feel iffy. But i’m still super happy to have her be captain, finally, and can’t wait to see how she grows into the role.

- I thought the Terra Firma episodes were so interesting ; it was fascinating to see how much Georgiou has changed through her time in the Prime universe. Mirror universe characters redemption arc is a Star Trek classic, after all. I am sad to see her gone from Disco but i feel like her next series could potentially be sooooo interesting. i mean, i know the evil promiscuous bisexual cliché is a bit bad, but Michelle Yeoh is just having SO MUCH FUN in the role i kind of forget about it. it’s a bit like ‘nggggh evil queer lady sexy’ thing. and the guardian of forever !!!

- Adira and Grey...now, i do think it was great to introduce a trans guy and a non-binary person and to make them a couple, totally awesome. i am not entirely convinced by their story though, i don’t feel they had a lot to do past their introduction. and the fact that Grey started the series being dead already...i mean they’re probably bring him back somehow but they have a bit too much of a tendency to kill their queer characters already, it’s an issue for me. i liked Stamets and Culber kind of adopting them that was cute but they didn’t do much this season either. i have to say tho, two gay dads telling a trans kid they will ‘help him be seen’ was like awwwwwwww

- i found the ending...a little bit underwhelming. it’s the opposite of s2, where i found the season pretty meh until the ending which i found kind of incredible. this one...the Emerald Chain was a cool villain, but I don’t feel like it materialized enough. i did think it was interesting to ‘tempt’ the Federation, to see how their principles held up ; but the fact that most of their problems with dilithium seem to be solved by the end of the season is a bit...hm, is that all ? similarly, the revelation that Su’kal was at the core of it all...i found the bits in the stimulations kind of fascinating, the theme of the importance of connection, etc. that said, i was hoping the solution to the Burn to be a bit more...Geopolitical. I just miss Deep Space Nine in that regard, they knew how to do political storylines in a way that felt so deeply grounded and complex. In Disco, problems get solved a bit too easily, and so it just feels like everything has less impact.

But overall, this is probably the season i’m most likely to rewatch for fun. the first two are so gritty, and they have made some really stupid story choices. this one is a lot more like a fun space adventure, and honestly that’s not a bad thing. even though next season I really hope they will put some effort into the worldbuilding. because sometimes it feels a little bit like modern storytelling has dumbed star trek down (i feel the movies are responsible in part, but it’s also like a general thing accross the board)

[laetro]

Jordan Kotzebue: The Art of Telling Stories with Visuals

Jordan Kotzebue is a dedicated story artist, who has mastered the skill of sequential art and storytelling. Ready to work anytime he unlocks a little knowledge that was previously hidden from him.

Jordan Kotzebue has dedicated 15 years as a career artist, diversifying himself artistically as much as possible. He possesses a wide range of skills when it comes to sequential art and storytelling.

He first broke into the industry working on Sucker Punch Productions hit ‘Sly Cooper’ series as a cutscene character artist, story artist and animator. His speciality has been storytelling and 2D animation, but he has also been in several leadership positions including, Art Lead and Art Director. He loves working with teams and collaborating on making the best stories possible. Recently Jordan has been a part-time instructor at Digipen Institute of Technology, helping the next generation of storytellers to learn the art of storyboards and comic book sequencing.

During the other part of his working hours, Jordan works as a freelance illustrator. He has done work for Titmouse, Netflix, DC Comics, Amazon, PopCap Games, SuckerPunch Productions, PUBG, and Scifi Channel’s, ‘Krypton’.

During his free time, Jordan can be found working hard on his own comic series, ‘Hominids’.

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Q. How and when did you come up with an idea of becoming a Story artist?

Jordan: Telling stories visually has always been a passion for me. I was a comic artist before becoming a story artist. There are so many similarities between the two, but I found drawing comics to be a slow and methodical process. Whereas storyboards are fast with lots of energy. After years of comic work and its energetic speed was highly appealing. Mainly though, I wanted to keep telling stories!

Q. What does your daily routine look?

Jordan: I love sleeping. But naturally, work requires me to wake at 6 am and I don’t mind it because it gets my day going. There is something to say about the calm that happens when everyone else is asleep.

Once I have my coffee, it is often straight to work on whatever project is going on. And if there is time, I like doing a morning warm-up sketch to get my mind right. By around noon, I need to move and break up my day, so I do some exercising, before lunch.

I try to have all my work done before I sit down for dinner. After dinner, I take in a movie or a show or sometimes just read. I try not to look at my computer once the sun has gone down.

Q. What are the challenges you faced in reaching where you are today?

Jordan: New challenges always present themselves. For me, reinvention forces change and I like that because I get to learn something new. When I decided to become a story artist, I realized there was still so much I needed to learn. So part of the challenge was to be patient and let myself grow without rushing it.

Q. What is the process you follow to make your artworks?

Jordan: I’m one of those people who likes to get right to work. So I start sketching right off the bat. Just doodling and allowing myself to discover what I need to do next. Once I have a sketch or two that I like, I know all the elements that will be included in my art and I go on my “fact-finding” mission. Collecting references can be fun but I also want to get back to the art as soon as I can. The rest of my process varies depending on what I am working on. I try to be versatile in what I can do, but if I have a solid composition from the start I can take that initial sketch any which way I please. So most of my time is spent at that stage.

Q. Who or what is your muse?

Jordan: I try and find inspiration in everything I experience. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I love being outdoors any time the weather tells me it is okay. Running and hiking in the forest, breathing in that fresh air is hugely inspirational. I am also greatly inspired by other artists and creators. We all think a little differently and I find myself excited and ready to work any time I unlock a little knowledge that was previously hidden from me.

Q. How was your experience working on Sucker Punch Productions’ hit, “Sly Cooper” series?

Jordan: Working at Sucker Punch holds a special place in my heart. Not only was it my first professional art job right out of college, but it also marked the first time I got to work with my super talented brother, Travis. And we’ve had a long career of working together ever since! I also made some of my best, longer-term friendships while working on “Sly Cooper”. Many of whom I also continue to work with to this day.

Q. While working for Amazon, Netflix and many others, did it boost your creativity in different directions?

Jordan: I’ve had interesting experiences in both companies. I was an independent contractor in both situations. So I was able to work from home well before there was a pandemic. These experiences let me acclimate to that kind of lifestyle before it was thrust upon the world.

Q. Most of your drawings are monochrome, is there a particular reason for it?

Jordan: I do enjoy posting my rough work. I always feel like there is a lot of energy that often gets lost in a final piece of art. I don’t initially aim to do monochromatic work. In fact, I love working in color.

Q. Which medium or technique do you prefer using the most while creating a character?

Jordan: Mostly pencil and paper. Nothing fancy. Just something I can sit on my couch and work casually, at least in the beginning. That makes it feel like play rather than works and I think that brings out the most creativity.

Jordan Kotzebue, a story artist, expert in storytelling and 2D animation, can work on anything that excites him and involves learning.

Q. Could you please tell us about the Hominids comic series?

Jordan: Hominids is a series based on a world I created as a kid. Living in the Northwest of the United States, I was surrounded by huge green forests where your imagination could run wild. My friend and I would run around the woods pretending to be natives of the forest. When we arrived home we would then draw our adventures with our characters.

That fits perfectly with something that fascinates me as an adult, human evolution. The notion that there was actually a time in our history where more than one species of human was alive at one time is so cool! It’s like Lord of the Rings but without the magic. It surprises me that this is a genre that is largely untapped in storytelling. Prehistory makes up at least 90% of our history as humans. The stories are limitless!

Q. Which kind of story do you like the most?

Jordan: I enjoy any type of story that is engaging and has great characters that I can care about. The subject matter is a lot less interesting than it used to be for me. Once I realized genre mattered less than the core of what the story was, I started paying much more attention to the armature. Everything else is just about execution.

Q. How has your journey as a story artist and comic creator been like?

Jordan: An ongoing process. Whether my comic is successful in the eyes of the audience or if the scene I boarded gets a complete overhaul, if I learned something from the experience, then it’s a success in my eyes. I work to learn and the reward is knowledge.

Q. What is one thing that you really look forward to doing someday in your career?

Jordan: I think I would love to be a show-runner on a series. To see it through from beginning to end would be a big challenge but really rewarding to have something like that under your belt.

Q. As an educator, is there something you would like to say to the upcoming story artists/ comic creators?

Jordan: There is no such thing as “Making it”. There is only the level that you are on and the next level to strive for. That will always be the case.

Q. According to you what are the key features of a perfect client?

Jordan: Someone who knows what they want, who is collaborative, and who treats their workers with respect and honesty.

Q. What are you working on next?

Jordan: I am currently working with Titmouse Animation on the Disney Junior title, “T.O.T.S” as a storyboard revisionist. Next, I would love to storyboard on a new series or feature.

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[nedraggett]

Run ragged

It didn’t work.  And while I wasn’t surprised by that, I did want to tease out why, at least for myself.

I honestly was openly skeptical of Blade Runner 2049 for a while, so I can’t hide my bias there.  I wasn’t totally ‘salt the earth and never mention it again’ then and am certainly not saying that now.  But each new trailer left me feeling more ‘uh...really?’ and the explosion of immediate praise from many critics even more so.  I wasn’t contrarian, and neither did I think groupthink was at work, but I suspected a massive wish fulfillment was. 

So I generally avoided reactions after that and figured I’d wait for things to die down a bit -- even more quickly than I might have guessed, seeing its swiftly collapsing commercial performance over here. My Sunday early afternoon showing near here was about maybe 2/3 full on its third weekend, so it’s found an audience, but I’m in San Francisco -- I expected an audience there. Enough friends have posted theater shots where they were the only person in the room to know this is dying off as an across the board thing, and never probably was.

I’m not glad it failed, but I’m not surprised -- in fact, being more blunt, I think it deserved not to be a hit.  The key reason for me played itself out over its length -- it was boring.  It’s a very boring movie.  It’s not a successful movie except in intermittent moments.  

That said, of course not everyone agreed (I’ll recommend as an indirect counterpoint to my thoughts this piece by my friend Matt, which went up earlier today). And boredom is not the sole reason for me to crucify it -- there were a variety of things one can address.  I’ll note two at the start since they could be and in a couple of cases I’ve seen were particular breaking points for others:

* The sexual politics of the movie, however much meant to be in line with the original scenario as playing out a certain logic, were often at least confused or hesitant within a male gaze context, at most lazily vile beyond any (often flatly obvious) point-making.  I often got a mental sense of excuses that could be offered along the lines of ‘well...you know, it’s supposed to be like that in this world, it’s a commentary!,’ which is often what I’ve seen in positive criticism of, say, Game of Thrones. Maybe. That said: not that any sort of timing played into it, but the fact that Harvey Weinstein’s downfall began two days before release, and the resulting across-board exposure and on-the-record testimonials from many women against far too many men, couldn’t really be escaped.  Further, since the fallout was first felt, after all, in the film industry, seeing any film, new or old, through the lens of what’s acceptable and who gets through what hoops -- and who is broken by the experience -- is always important.  It’s not for nothing to note that the original film’s female lead Sean Young got shunted into the ‘she’s crazy’/’too much trouble’ file in later years where male actors might perhaps find redemption; the fact that she played a small part in the new film made me think a bit more on her fate than that of her character’s.  (Another point I saw a few women brought up as well -- having a key to the whole story be pregnancy and childbirth as opposed to infertility wasn’t warmly received.)

* It’s a very...white future. Not exclusively, certainly. But people of color barely get a look in, a quick scene here, a cameo there. A black female friend of mine just this morning said this over on FB about the one African American actor whose character got the most lines, saying: 

to have the only significant black character be this awful, creepy man who seemed to be an "overseer" type to the children, was really uncomfortable and another perfect example of scifi using an 'other' narratives or american slave narrative but within a white context. We all know what it's supposed to represent and so it's just straight up lazy writing at the end of the day and exploitative.

Meantime, another sharp series of comments elsewhere revolved around how a film perhaps even more obviously drenched than the original in an amalgamated East Asian imaginary setting for the Los Angeles sequences barely showcased anyone from such a background. Dave Bautista certainly makes an impact at the start, but after that? The fact that I can think of three speaking roles for actors of that (wide) background in the original, as in actually having an exchange with a lead character, and only one in this one, maybe two if you count the random shouting woman in K’s apartment building, is more than a little off.  Add in a ‘Los Angeles,’ or a wider SoCal if you like, that aside from Edward James Olmos’s short cameo apparently has nobody of Mexican background, let alone Central American, in it, and you gotta wonder.  My personal ‘oh really’ favorite was the one official sign that was written in English and, I believe, Sanskrit.  Great visual idea; can’t say I saw anyone of South Asian descent either.

Both these very wide issues, of course, tie in with the business and the society we’re all in -- but that’s no excuse. And there are plenty of other things I could delve into even more, not least my irritation over the generally flatly-framed dialogue shots in small offices that tended to undercut the grander vistas, or how the fact that Gosling’s character finding the horse carving had been telegraphed so far in advance that it was resolutely unremarkable despite all the loud music, etc. My key point remains: boring.  A sometimes beautifully shot and visually/sonically striking really dull, draggy, boring film.

The fair question though is why I think that.  A friend in response to that complaint as echoed by others joked what we would make of Bela Tarr films, to which I replied that I own and enjoy watching Tarkovsky movies. Slow pace and long shots aren’t attention killers for me per se; if something is gripping, it will be just that, and justify my attention. Meanwhile, the original film famously got dumped on for also being slow, boring, etc at the time, and plenty can still feel that way about it. Blade Runner’s reputation is now frightfully overburdened and certainly I’ve contributed to it mentally if not through formal written work; it succeeds but is a flawed creation, and strictly speaking the two big complaints I’ve outlined above apply to the predecessor as much as the current film, it’s just a matter of degrees otherwise. But if you told me I had to sit down and watch it, I’d be happy to. Tell me to do the same with this one, I would immediately ask for the ability to skip scenes.

I’ve turned it all over in my head and these are three elements where things fell apart for me, caused me to be disengaged -- not in any specific order, but I’m going to build outward a bit, from the specific to the general, and with specific contrast between the earlier film and the new one.  These discontinuities aren’t the sole faults, but they’re the ones I’ve been thinking about the most.

First: it’s worth noting that the new film brings in a lot of specific cultural elements beyond the famed advertising and signs. Nabokov’s Pale Fire is specifically singled out both as a visual cue and as an element in K’s two police station evaluations, for instance. Meanwhile, musically, I didn’t quite catch what song it was Joi was telling K about early in the film but a check later means it must have been Sinatra’s “Summer Wind,” featured on the soundtrack.  Sinatra himself of course shows up later as a small holographic performance in Vegas, specifically of “One For My Baby,” while prior to that K and Deckard fight it out while larger holographic displays of older Vegas style revues and featured performers appear glitchily -- showgirls, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis in his later pomp, Liberace complete with candleabra. All of this makes a certain sense and on the one hand I don’t object to it.

But on the other I do.  Something about all that rubbed me the wrong way and I honestly wasn’t sure why -- the Nabokov bit as well, even the quick Treasure Island moment between Deckard and K when they first talk to each other. The answer I think lies with the original film. It’s not devoid of references either, but note how two of the most famous are used:

* When Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty introduces himself to James Hong’s Hannibal Chew, he does so with a modified quote from William Blake’s America: A Prophecy. (This fuller discussion of that quote and how it was changed from the original is worth a read; it’s also worth noting that Hauer brought it to the table, and wasn’t planned otherwise.) But he doesn’t do so by spelling out to the audience, much less Chew, that it is Blake at all.  You either have to know it or you don’t. If, say, we saw Batty clearly holding a copy of the book -- or maybe more intriguing, a copy in Deckard’s apartment -- then that would be one thing...but it becomes a bit more ‘DO YOU SEE?’ as a result. Clunkier, a bit like how Pale Fire worked in the new film.

* Even in the original soundtrack’s compromised/rerecorded form, I always loved the one formally conventional song on the original soundtrack, “One More Kiss, Dear.” I just assumed as I did back in the mid to late 80s, when I first saw the film and heard its music, that it was a random oldie from somewhere mid-century repurposed, a bit of mood-setting. It is...but it isn’t.  It’s strictly pastiche, a creation of Vangelis himself in collaboration with Peter Skellern, an English singer-songwriter who had a thriving career in his home country. It just seemed real enough, with scratchy fidelity, a piano-bar sad elegance -- which was precisely the point. You couldn’t pin it down to anything, it wasn’t a specifically recognizable element. It wasn’t Elvis, or Liberace, or Sinatra. 

This careful hiding of concrete details -- even when the original film showcased other clear, concrete details of ‘our’ world culturally, but culturally via economics and ads -- is heavily to the original’s benefit, I’d argue.  There’s a certain trapped-in-baby-boomerland context of the elements in the new film that, perversely, almost feels too concrete, or forced is maybe a better word. It’s perverse because on the one hand it makes a clear sense, but on the other hand, by not being as tied to explicitly cultural identifiers -- whether ‘high’ literature or rough and ready ‘pop’ or whatever one would like to say -- the original film feels that much more intriguingly odd, dreamlike even. I would tease this out further if I could, but it quietly nags -- perhaps the best way I could describe it is this: by not knowing what, in general, the characters, ‘human’ or not, read, listen to, watch in the original, what everyone enjoys -- if they do -- becomes an unspoken mystery. Think about how we here now talk about what we read, listen to, watch as forms of connection with others; think about how the crowd scenes in the originals feature people all on their own trips or in groups or whatever without knowing what they might know. We know Deckard likes piano, sure, but that suggests something, it doesn’t limit it.  We know K likes Nabokov and Sinatra -- and that tells us something.  And it limits it.

My second big point would also have to do with limits versus possibilities, and hopefully is more easily explained.  Both films are of course amalgams, reflections of larger elements in the culture as well as within a specific culture of film. The first film is even more famously an amalgam of ‘film noir’ as broadly conceived, both in terms of actual Hollywood product and the homages and conceptions and projections of the term backwards and forwards into even more work. It is the point of familiar reference for an audience that at the time was a couple of decades removed from its perceived heyday, but common enough that it was the key hook in -- the weary detective called back for one last job, the corrupt policeman, the scheming businessman, the femme fatale, etc. etc. Set against the fantastic elements, it was the bedrock, the hook, and of course it could be and was repurposed from there, in its creation and in its reception. 

2049 is not a film noir amalgam.  Instead, it’s very clearly -- too clearly -- an amalgam of exactly the wrong place it should have gotten any influence from. By that I don’t mean the original film -- above and beyond the clear story connections, its impact was expected to be inescapable and as it turns out it was inescapable.  Instead it’s an amalgam of what followed in the original’s wake -- the idea of dystopia-as-genre -- and that’s poisonous.

Off the top of my head: Children of Men. The Matrix. Brazil. Her. Battlestar Galactica, the 2000s reboot. A bit of The Hunger Games, I’d say. A bit of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (not a direct descendant of the original at all, of course -- George Miller always had his own vibe going -- but I caught an echo still). The Walking Dead. A fleck of The Fifth Element. Demolition Man, even, if we want to go ‘low’ art.  But also so many of the knockoffs and revamps and churn. There could be elements, there could be explicit references, there could be just a certain miasma of feeling.  But this all fed into this film, and made it...just less interesting to me. 

Again, the first film is no less beholden to types and forebears.  But the palette wasn’t sf per se, it was something else, then transposed and heightened and made even uneasier due to what it was.  2049 has to not only chase down its predecessor, it has to live with what its predecessor created.  But did it have to take all that into itself as well? It becomes a wink and a nod over and again, and a tiring one, a smaller palette, a feeding on itself. And it’s very frustrating as a result, and whatever spell was in the film kept being constantly rebroken, and the scenes kept dragging on.

This all fed into the third and final point for me -- the key element, the thing that makes the original not ‘just’ noir, the stroke of genius from Philip K Dick turned into tangible creations: the replicants, and the question of what it is to be human. Humanity itself has assayed this question time and time over -- let’s use Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a start if we must for the modern era, it’s as good as any. We as a species -- if we individual members can afford the time and reflection at least -- seem to enjoy questions of what makes us ‘us,’ and what we are and what we have in this universe.  This much is axiomatic, so take that as read.

The replicants in the original film -- famously thought of differently by Dick and Ridley Scott, to the former’s bemusement when they met and talked for their only meeting before the latter’s death -- set up questions in that universe that are grappled with as they are by the characters in different ways. Between humans, between replicants, between each other, lines always slipping and shading. Their existences are celebrated, questioned, protested against. But we don’t live in these conversations for the most part, we tend to experience the characters instead; it’s often what’s unsaid that has the greatest impact. And if the idea of a successful story-teller is to show rather than tell, then I would argue that, again, flawed as it can be, the original film succeeds there be only telling just enough, and letting the viewer be immersed otherwise. (Thus of course the famous after the fact narration in the original release insisted upon by the studio, and removed from later cuts to Scott’s thorough relief.)

By default, that level of quiet...I would almost call it ‘awe’...in the original can’t be repeated with the same impact. The bell cannot be unrung, but that’s not crippling. What was crippling was how, again, bored I was with the plight of the characters in 2049. How unengaged in their concerns I generally was. One key exception aside, I never bought K’s particular angst outside of plot-driven functionality, and frankly they often felt like manikins all the way down from there. Robin Wright’s police chief had some great line deliveries but the lines were most often banal generalities that sounded ridiculous. Jared Leto’s corporate overlord, good god, don’t ask. As for Joi and Luv, Ana de Armas and Sylvia Hoeks did their best, and yet the characters felt...functional.  Which given the characters as such would seem to be appropriate, but their fates were functional too. Of course one would do that, of course the other would do that, of course one would die the one way, of course the other would die that way, and...fine. Shrug. 

So, then, Deckard? Honestly Harrison Ford had the best part in the film and while I found him maybe a bit more garrulous than I would have expected from the character, he did paranoid, wounded and withdrawn pretty damn well. Not to mention comedy -- the dog and whisky combo can’t be beat, and it’s worth remembering his nebbishy ‘undercover’ turn in the original -- and, in the Rachel scene, an actual sense of pathos and outrage. I bought him pretty easily, and it made everyone else seem pretty shallow. When K learns about the underground replicant resistance and all, the bit about everyone hopes they are the one was nice enough, but the rest of it, clearly meant to be a ‘big moment,’ was...again, dull, per my second point about the limited palette. A whole lot of telling, not much showing, and such was the case throughout. It was honestly a bit shocking -- but also very clear -- to myself when I realized how little I cared about humans or replicants or any of it at all towards the end. It all felt pat and played out, increasingly unfascinating, philosophy that was rote. It could just be me, of course -- maybe this is an issue where the stand-ins of replicants versus realities of robots and AI, along with the cruelties we’re happy to inflict on each other, means the stand-ins simply don’t have much of an imaginative or intellectual grip now.

Still, though, I’ll give the film one full scene, without Ford. As part of his work, and to answer the questions in his own head, K visits Ana Stelline, a designer of replicant memories. This, more than anything else in the film outside of certain design and musical elements, felt like the original, or something that could be there. It introduced a wholly new facet -- how are memories created for replicants? -- while extending the idea that instead of one sole creator of replicants there are multiple parts makers with their specialized fields in an unexplained (and unnecessary to be explained) economy. Stelline’s literal isolation allows for space and the limits of communication to be played out in a way that makes satisfying artistic sense, and Carla Juri plays her well. It builds up to an emotional moment that sends K into an explosive overdrive that is actually earned, and Juri’s own reaction of awe and horror is equally good.  But -- even better -- the scene ends up taking a wholly new cast later in the film, when more information reveals what was actually at play, and what K didn’t know at the time, and makes the final scene a good one to end on in turn (and by that I mean back in her office, specifically).

The problem though remains -- one scene can’t make a film. One can argue that it’s better to reach and fail than not at all, but it’s also easily argued that one gets far more frustrated with something that could have worked but didn’t. I don’t think an edit for time would have fixed the film but it would have made it less of a slog while not sacrificing those visual/sonic elements that did work; it still would leave a lot of these points I’ve raised standing, but it would have gone down a little more smoothly, at least. But sometimes you’re just bored in a theater, waiting for something to end.

[spinach-productions]

Thoughts: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

I saw Valerian this week, and I have some thoughts on it.  Most of them are problems I had with the film.

Problem #1: Laureline’s speech about love and trust.

Valerian and Larueline’s introduction on the beach establishes Valerian as a man who doesn’t much care for other people’s opinions (pining Laureline down despite her obvious disinterest in it) and says anything to get what he wants (see: flirting v. his “playlist*”), and Laureline as a cold, efficient soldier with no romantic interest, in Valerian.  Okay, cool, I can get behind this.

The story goes on.  Laureline is shown to have more of a soft spot for Valerian than she says.  Aw, that’s cute.

The story continues on, Valerian and Laureline make contact with the Mül, and Valerian wants to be a Good Soldier (which he hasn’t seemed to have much interest in for the first two hours of the film, but whatever).  Laureline disagrees and gives a speech about… love and trust?  Where did this come from?  If there had been some kind of event that gave her an obvious change of character I could buy this, but aside from when she was captured and offered as sexy food tribute (see also: problem #4), I didn’t see her going through any life-changing events that would make me buy her saying “love is the most powerful thing in the universe”.  She could have believed this from the start, but then why would she join up with the violent, unbending federation?

I do believe that Laureline has a higher degree of emotional intelligence than we’ve seen her exhibit up to this point, but come on.  This is a bit much.

Problem #2: There’s a war?

The planet Mül was destroyed when a nuclear battle was fought in its atmosphere, thus setting off the plot of the movie.  But what war?  Who were the humans fighting?

This could have been easily fixed by having the dealer who tried to sell the Mül Converter at the beginning be a member of the opposing force in the “war” (that has either concluded or wasn’t worth mentioning like, at all).  This could have been woven into the plot as an overarching threat to Alpha station, with the Enemy presented a third player in the quest for the Mül Converter to drive up tension and intrigue.  Still further, the Enemy could have been used as a red herring for “who kidnapped the commander”.  The Commander had the Mül Converter on him (which, he didn’t, but bear with me), and the Enemy Species could have been looking for it as a way to fund their side of the war.  Big reveal: it’s actually the Mül.  Look how much nicer that looks!  Using things that are already in the movie!  AMAZING.

(who gave this movie the green light without consulting me, I mean really)

Problem #3: the way Valerian and Laureline get together at the end of the film.

Laureline didn’t want to be in a relationship with Valerian a.) probably because that’s fraternization, but also because b.) he was saying what she wanted to hear to get her in bed.  (Personally, I think she didn’t want him due to his lack of respect rather than his fear of commitment, but let’s go with what the movie says.)  By the end of the film she’s changed her mind.  BUT WHY?  At one point he demonstrates his trust in her by agreeing to give back the Mül Converter, but that’s not the same as commitment.  It could be argued that his dedication to the Federation (when will this get a name?) shows a commitment, but there is a huge difference between being a good soldier and committing to a fellow human being on an intimate level.

Also, the he doesn’t agree to not see other people.  It’s never formalized, just kind of assumed.  Don’t assume in a relationship, guys, always say your feelings and wants OUT LOUD.  It takes away plausible deniability and, more importantly, gives the other person a chance to do what you want them to do.  They get to do something nice for you, you get to feel good, win-win.

Problem #4: why didn’t Laureline shoot the alien that fished her up?

We know she had a gun from when she used it to threaten the pigeons, why was Valerian the only one who shot the creature that fished him up?

This could have been fixed with some line about how the guns get one shot and need to be recharged, then a quick bit of Laureline trying to shoot the fisher aliens when they catch her and not having any ammo.

Even better, they could have had her fight her way partly out of capture while Valerian set up the rescue mission so she could meet him somewhere in the middle of the stronghold instead of having the be rescued.  That would have shown both Valerian and Laureline were Capable Soldiers.  Which leads me to…

Problem #5: Bubbles.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore Rhianna, and her shapeshifting scene was probably my favorite visual element of the entire film, but her character was ultimately not useful.  She was there to make us feel bad for her, then get Valerian into the alien stronghold**, then die for dramatic effect***.  Here’s a thought: Rhianna as the same character, but once she gets Valerian and Laureline out of the stronghold, she breaks off from the party to alert the Federation instead of, you know, dying in a sad pile of dust.

Problem #6: when Valerian planned to go into the Mül pocket alone, he told Laureline to go for backup.  When Laureline proceeded to go first, he did not go for backup.

They couldn’t have gotten a message out anyway, but he didn’t even try.

Problem #7: Valerian is carrying around the soul of an alien princess, I guess?

One, why did the princess choose Valerian instead of Laureline?  The Mül species shown to be about harmony and compassion; since Laureline was the one who wanted to give back the converter (even though I disagree with her speech), she’s clearly the better choice.

Two, what purpose did this serve?  It kind of lead Valerian to the Mül pocket dimension in the end, but that’s it.  There was no indication this had any other effect.  It would have been cool if the Mül Princess had been the one to teach Valerian about commitment and respect and all of those things which I guess is implied, but we didn’t see that happen at all.

Problem #8: why is everyone white?

This is a problem I have with a lot of scifi.  Alpha station was an international earth space station before it was sent out into space, so why do so many of the humans look the same?  I counted three non-white humans: Bubble (Rhianna), the Defence Minister who Never Got a Name (Herbie Hancock), Sergeant Neza (Kris Wu), maybe a few tourists and possibly some of the soldiers at Big Market.  Maybe there were some background people I missed.  I would love to be wrong about this because this movie should be too beautiful for something like this, let me know.

*Which, by the way, what is this?  It can’t be his romantic history because the film ends with Laureline saying “I want to be the only girl on your playlist” and you can’t erase someone’s romantic history; it can’t be Valerian’s current list of partners, because that is way too many people to juggle.  I can only conclude that there’s some kind of literal playlist of recordings going on, and I guess since Laureline wants to be on it, it’s normal to make a record of your sexual encounters in the future.  Rock on.

**Which is unnecessary because we’ve already been shown the future has holographic capabilities, why couldn’t Valerian have cobbled something together out of that instead of getting Rhianna killed?

***What was the cause of death here?  “I must have been injured during the fight” okay, but when and how?  Did you get too sad?  Because you seemed like you were doing a great job out there.

This wouldn’t be a proper review without some positives, so here’s what I liked about Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:

The opening scene showing the formation of Alpha was excellent!  I loved the way it showed the station’s progression.  It felt real and the pacing was great.  Also, props for using Major Tom.  I saw this movie on Sunday and that song is still going around in my head.

Visually, this movie was absolutely beautiful.  The effects were great, and the different species were integrated enough that Alpha and Big Market really felt like an alien environment.

Big Market.  I really loved the idea of interdimensional interaction via technology, it’s a new and clever take on alien species and how the can/can’t interact.

The Mül Converters were so loveable!  The first time one puffed up for conversion, I was terrified something bad was happening to it, and if it had, I would have really and truly cried in the middle of the movie theater.

These are my thoughts on Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).  I’d love to get a dialog going about this, please message or reply with your thoughts and feels!

(ground control to Major Tom…)

[lastgeeksdying]

On the twelve Friday the 13th films

I recently rewatched or watched for the first time all of the F13 movies.  Here's what I thought. On Part 1: The ending is a cool twist on expectations, even today.  Most folks go into this film still expecting Jason Vorhees and instead are shocked.  If they get that far.  Because this movie is super garbage otherwise.   Poorly written, poorly edited, it looks like it's from the early 70's but instead is from the 80's.  The movie goes out of it's way to make you hate most of the characters.   On Part 2: A remix of the first film, trying to make a sequel to a really strange final moment.  Lumberjack/Baghead/KKK Jason here is the where his personality seems maluable, but you can see the seeds of him starting to become the Silly theatrical maniac that would come on display as we go.   On Part 3: If the first film is laughable bad for it's low budget, this is laughable for how big it's budget is and how much time is wasted on shitty 3D effects.  But Jason with a Harpoon gun is choice.   On Part 4: Solid. Because it felt like it was going to be the last Jason movie, it did a good job creating the world of Crystal Lake and bringing it to a close. It also cautiously set up sequels.  Corey Feldman did a good job for a child actor.   On Part 5: Interesting ideas with Characters as developed as the first few films so...actually underrated. I think this film gets a lot of hate because SPOILERS the killer isn't Jason.  Much Like Halloween III, Every character that isn't Tommy, is laughably bad.  I think a really good reboot could do Tommy's arc justice.  If a writer was careful.  This also feels like the point where the series is taking itself less seriously.  This may be because it's become a cash grab annual franchise, but I think it gives the franchise a soul.  It's not a dark a gritty series anymore.  It's not Low Rent Halloween, but it's not the campy gore-fest of Nightmare on Elm Street. It's exactly where I want it to be.   On Part six: Great. If my favorite Jason movie didn't exist, this would be it.  It takes every trope established in the franchise up to this point and nails them.  It has Tommy come back and not pay off the ending of Part 5 since audiences hated that, and instead has been have a break down and create the thing he hates.  It's when the series moves from silly, but maybe real to Supernatural Killer.  I feel like every idea non-fans have of the character of Jason comes from this movie.  My only complaint is that his costume isn't as cool as the one in 7.   On Part Seven: The last act is cool.  Otherwise this movie just trots along at a slow pace.  Nothing super exciting happens, even with a telekinetic main character.  This was originially conceived as a Carrie vs Jason movie, but they couldn't get the rights.  Which is likely for the best considering how they handled Tina's backstory here.  But it'd be funny to use this movie as a launch pad for continuing Carries rain of destruction.  But the last 20-30 minutes are worth the wait.  Once Tina starts cutting loose with her powers, suddenly Jason has a real adversary that he can go toe to toe with.     On Takes Manhattan: Half good, half a joke So the funny story about this movie, go watch the trailer.  It's all this is a movie set in new york. You know this is new york.  And here's shots of Jason on a street!  Here's Jason on a Subway.   For anyone whose seen the movie, they laugh at the trailer.  Because it's actually set on a "cruise" ship that passes by Crystal Lake on it's way to New York.  It's 2/3rds of the film before they reach New York.  Then it's about 2/3rds of the time remaining on the docks and the warehouses there.  Including a really gross and needless mugging, drugging, and attempted rape scene.  The last third spends most of it's time getting from the docks, to downtown New York, onto a Subway, and then into the Sewers.  The last 10ish minutes are in the Sewers and Jason dies in the stupidiest, most non-sensical way.   Now, this is the part where I say something that sounds silly.  The stuff on the boat?   Actually feels like Jason and the Friday the Thirteenth movies.  The stuff in New York?  So bad, and such a joke...which leads us to...   On Jason Goes to Hell: Hated it.  Don't do it. This is the worst film in the franchise.  This is a film that is trying way way too hard to take itself seriously and make Jason scary again.  It loses all of the fun of the previous movies and it just falls apart.   It's way too late to try to go back. It's plot is nonsensical.  Long Story Short:  Jason gets tricked by the FBI who blow his body up.  Then via MAGIC(???) or something it's discovered in the dumbest way possible that Jason isn't just Supernatural, but a demon.  And it's the dumbest fucking thing.  The coroner examining Jason's body is maybe compelled by the heart, maybe he's just crazy, to eat Jason's heart.  This transfers Jason from his exploded body into the coroner's body.  Now he can run around and kill people, and as his new body is dying he has to change into a new person. Yeah, it's a body swaping movie that feels like they just reshot a huge chunk of the movie to take a generic horror movie and make it about Jason.  And surprise, it was heavily reshot and edited and changed by the producer/franchise creator because the lead actress walked off set and the director had to be let go with days of filming still to go.  And then later they went back and filmed more.  So about 60 percent of the movie was done after the principle filming.   This gets worse when you get to the fact that there was a secret Vorhees sister who had a daughter who had a daughter.  The Sister is killed and now Jason is hunting the Daughter and her daughter.  But it's not a Michael Myers situation.  It's because of a shitty prophecy that Jason can reborn his original body by using a blood relatives body.   At the end of the film, Jason breaks out of his body as a demon creature, and it looks really bad.  Eventually he uses the body the dead sister (He didn't use the sister earlier because the writers had thought of that plot line yet.  There were three writers, can you tell?).  Jason is reborn, there is another prophecy about only a Vorhees can kill a Vorhees so Jason's niece stabs Jason witha  magic knife and he gets pulled into hell.  Then big suprise ending moment.   The surprise ending moment is that Freddy Krugars claw comes out of the ground and Freddy Laughs.  At this point, they were trying hard to get a Freddy Vs Jason movie, but hadn't nailed the rights yet.  This will lead to them making Jason X.   The one redeeming moment is that they used a prop from another movie as just a creepy book in the Vorhees house.  But for fans it is the Necronomicon from Evil Dead.  Which lead to a comic of Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash.   On Jason X: Loved it.  Jason X is my favorite film in the franchise.  If Jason goes to Hell takes itself too seriously, Jason X understands how campy it needs to be and what a scifi movie needs to be.  There are characters I genuinely like and am saddened when they die.  There are surprises for someone who hadn't watched it in years.  You can tell that these were fans of Alien and Aliens and wanted to Mash them together with the previous core Jason concepts.  And by doing so it creates magic.   It also has a cool premise about the idea that Jason in the future isn't unstoppable, but he is tough.  They stop him, and then in the fifth act twist, space science accidentally gives him an upgrade and he becomes Uber Jason, who crashes on Earth 2.  I don't want to ruin anything else about the movie, but this is the movie with the best line.   "Hey guys, it's fine!  He just wanted his machete back!"  And not only is it a great line, it actually works in context and creates a hilarious but terrifying moment.   On Freddy Vs Jason: It's so bad.  And it's a shame because there is bare concept that's good.   The idea that Freddy has been forgotten.  That the town banded together to try and stop him from existing by blocking thoughts and dreams of him and redacting everything possible, that's neat.   The film is missing elements that are key to making it work.  The first thing is the teens. They are all shitlords and totally not worth your time.  The "Good" Characters are both flimsy at best, but also not really likable.   Characters don't make dumb choices, the writers drop bad ideas into their heads because they want certain scenes or plot.  The entire plot involving dream suppressing drugs feels like it is going to be important, but by the midpoint, the film has tossed it out.   Freddy has always been a pretty garbage and had traded entirely on gore and Robert Englund's performance.  Here he makes dumb decision after dumb decision.  And it's just...you know, I don't even care.   What really pushed this movie into almost Goes to Hell bad is it's portrayal of Jason.   This Jason has no personality.  He's a big killy monster who wants to kill. He doesn't have any of the theatrics that make Jason interesting to watch.  He doesn't have the weird teleports or the brutal kills.  He's boring here.  And then they gave him a weakness.  They handed him a water phobia.  Which doesn't fit the character or the continuity.  He Looks like a Jason Cosplayer and has the scripting of one.  It's bad, and mostly unforgivable.   The redeeming element of this movie is that there are ideas here that are interesting, but so much of it is mishandled by bad direction and bad writing that it just becomes a shame.   On the Remake: I appreciate that the used the film to try and pay homage to what little plot exists in the first three films.  Let's show the mom is a killer.   Let's show him do some kills with the bag on his head.  Let's have him find the mask after his bag is damaged.  And that's the first 40 minutes.  It is almost like they knew they a modern audience could take just one of those films plots and they really wanted to speed it up.   It even feels like they want to create a Tommy Jarvis like anti-Jason in the form of the very tall Jared Padelecki.   It's important to remember this is a new Jason, and a new world.  And I am okay with that.  But the writing feels too on the nose.  It gives character traits to people that are going to die, and character missions for characters who will survive.   I don't hate this new Jason.  I want to know why he grows weed and doesn't want to let anyone near it.  That's really weird.  But overall the film does some brutal kills.  It has nudity for nudity sake.  It has drug use.  It has virginal characters.  It has the killer.  It has the teens (Who are campers instead of counselors which annoys me but whatever).  And even has a smidge of heart.  I just feel like the film could have been tighter.  The flashback about Pamela should have been saved as a Camp Fire story flashback.  And the first group of Campers should have been killed off much faster.  The film spends a solid fifteen minutes with them, when it should have been five.   The biggest missed opportunity here is that it is trying to be serious again, and it needed to embrace the camp.  There is a part where a character walks off and starts singing with his ipod to Sister Christian.  This should have lead into a montage where Jason kills those five to that song.   Ultimately, there were only a few I will ever go back to.  And only one I'd tell people is worth the time to watch if you like comedy/horror(Jason X rules!) Don't worry guys, he just wanted his Machete back!

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: S-F Weapons, Thomas Ligotti, Savage Minicrate, Michael Whelan, Starman Jones

Cinema (IGN.com): The concept of the sci-fi weapon also has its allure. Whether it’s a cyborg hero taking down villains with some kind of crazy blaster, or evil Dark Lords wiping out entire planets with their mechanical monstrosities, there is no doubt that the destructive capabilities of such futuristic weaponry appeal to a certain base instinct in us all.

  Writers (Social Ecologies): Over a period of years the works of Thomas Ligotti have pervaded my thought and life. I’ve decided to spend time writing on the art and philosophy of Ligotti in a new book, one that I will hopefully finish by the end of fall. Not sure when it will be published, but I’ll keep you informed. I may not be as active on the site as I’ve been but will still pop my head up from time to time as I progress.

  RPG (Conan.com): Privateer Press has announced the SAVAGE MiniCrate subscription box, where you can get minis featuring heroes and villains from

King Conan

the rich worlds of Robert E. Howard. The first miniature in the series is Dark Agnes de Chastillon from Howard’s Sword Woman stories.

The SAVAGE MiniCrate is offered as a monthly subscription service monthly ($16.99), or as a six-month VIP subscription ($98.99). Each shipment contains a single exclusive, limited-edition miniature and a corresponding Collector’s Card. International costs will vary, as usual.

Magazines (Mens Pulp Mags): In case you don’t know about it, PulpFest is one of the biggest and best annual pulp-related conventions in the country.

Since the theme for that year’s presentations was “The Pulps at War,” we put together a set of overheads about the war stories and artwork in men’s adventure magazines and the thematic, artistic and literary DNA they share with the pre-World War II pulp magazines.

In the second half of the presentation, I spent some time talking about the men’s adventure mag BATTLE CRY.

    Cinema & Movie Novelization (Glorious Trash): I was probably one of the very few 19 year-olds who had a copy of Circle Of Iron on VHS in the summer of ’94, and I certainly was the only one who got his girlfriend to watch it…several times! It’s a wonder she didn’t break up with me halfway through the first viewing, because Circle Of Iron is a bad movie, one that should’ve been roasted on Mystery Science Theater 3000 but for some reason never was.

  Writing (Sly Flourish): I’ve recently been doing a lot of adventure writing, the results of which you can find in the Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Kickstarter. As part of this project, I wanted to dig deep into what makes great adventures. So, as I did when writing Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, I hit the books (and the blogs) to collect as much of the best advice on adventure design that I could.

    Sports Fiction (Paul Bishop): Boxing and noir go together as smoothly as a one-two combination punch. The inherent qualities of both noir and boxing, desperation, bad choices, violence, tension, humanity stripped bare, combine for a marriage made in Hell.

We’re not talking the Rockys of the boxing world here. We’re not talking the life affirming, if you punch hard enough, sooner or later you’re gonna be a contender, kind of boxing stories. We’re talking about the down and dirty, punch drunk, cauliflower-eared, in bed with the mob, no hope fighters who populate such novels as Fat City (Leonard Gardner), Ringside Jezebel (Kate Nickerson), The Leather Pushers (H. C. Witwer), The Bruiser(Jim Tully), or Iron Man (W. R. Burnett).

    Art (DMR Books): oday is the birthday of Michael Whelan, one of the greatest artists to ever work in the fields of fantasy, sci-fi and horror. The occasion prompted me to think back on the Whelan covers that really, really affected me when growing up. I have decided that there were four such.

I was a Whelan fan before I was a Frazetta fan. In fact, Michael Whelan—along with Jeffrey Jones—was the first non-comic book artist I was ever a fan of. My fandom started the day I bought the DAW edition of Elric of Melniboné. I was already familiar with the Barry Windsor-Smith comics version of Elric, but that cover blew me away.

          Vintage Fiction (Hi Lo Brow): Eighty-five years ago, the following 10 adventures — selected from my Best Nineteen-Thirties (1934–1943) Adventure list — were first serialized or published in book form. They’re my favorite adventures published that year.

Please let me know if I’ve missed any adventures from this year that you particularly admire. Enjoy!

  Pulp Fiction (DMR Books): The two Northmen ships he had encountered in the Channel had turned and rowed up the Thames to raid the British villages along the river; even though he has only 30 men able to fight them, Tros is able to ride a rising tide up the river and wreak havoc on the raiders.  He sinks one ship and manages to steal the other but the able-bodied Britons desert, more comfortable fighting on land than on a ship. Tros gives Orwic permission to go, leaving the defense of his leaking galley and the stolen long ship to Conops, a score of badly wounded Britons and himself.  Tros wants that long ship; it is beautiful and whoever built that ship could help him build the ship of his dreams.

  Fiction (Brain Leakage): Confession time: I love post apocalyptic stories. ​I always have. Something about the genre’s tropes and trappings just gets my blood pumping. Give me bombed-out cities, atomic mutants, and barbaric biker gangs, and you’ll keep my ass glued to the seat until the credits roll. Funny thing is, as long as I’ve had it, I’ve never given my apocalyptic obsession much thought. If anything, I chalked it up to watching Thundarr the Barbarian as an impressionable kid.

  RPG (Rampant Games):  Matt Barton’s outstanding history of computer role-playing games is now out in a second edition. I haven’t read the whole thing yet (it’s HUGE), but the last ten years have brought about some enormous changes and tons of new games to the genre. This is kind of funny to me, as Matt had kind of closed the previous edition on a down note, thinking the era of quality single-player RPGs had come to a close.

  Heinlein (Tip the Wink): I’m reading my way through many of the Heinlein juvenile SF novels. Last time it was The Rolling Stones, this time, Starman Jones. No, it’s not forgotten, none of Heinlein’s juvenile SF novels are, really, but I recommend them, some more, some less, so here we go.

  Mystery (Jerry’s House of Everything): After reading and reviewing Kuttner’s collection Three by Kuttner last week I was in the mood for another book by him.  Luckily Murder of a Wife, the last of his four mysteries featuring San Francisco psychoanalyst Michael Gray, was near the top of mount TBR.

Kuttner, who died much too soon in 1958, had directed much of his energies to mystery novels in his last years, even as he was studying for a Master’s degree when he had his fatal heart attack.  Murder of a Wife appeared in March 1958 (just one month after the author died) in a paperback edition from Permabooks — its only paperback appearance.

  Weird Western (Scifi Movie Page): Deep in a Wyoming mine, hell awaits. Former cattle driver, Rough Rider and current New York City cop Nat Blackburn is given an offer he can’t refuse by President Teddy Roosevelt. Tales of gold in the abandoned mining town of Hecla, in the Deep Rock Hills, abound. The only problem-those who go seeking their fortune never return. Roosevelt’s own troops are among the missing, and the President wants to know their fate – and find the gold. Along with his constant companion, Teta, a hired gun with a thirst for adventure, Nat travels to a barren land where even animals dare not tread. Along the way, they are joined by a Selma, a fiery and beautiful woman in search of her brother who was swallowed up by Hecla years earlier.

  Games (Jeffro’s Space Gaming Blog): Such a small box, but there’s so much game inside! You can play it as a “design-a-thing” game where you spend five or ten minutes figuring out how to destroy your friend’s continuing character in a campaign of endless arena duels. But you can also cut out the min/maxing element entirely by dealing several of of the fighter cards to each player and seeing what happens. How do you make these unoptimized figures work together as a team in order to crush the spirit of your opponent? It’s not immediately obvious! The range of options each turn are tremendous!

  Westerns (Rough Edges): As you can see from the back cover copy above, BLOOD TRAIL by Gardner F. Fox (originally published in paperback by Belmont in 1979) is a revenge Western, a very common plot in the genre. Fox doesn’t really bring anything new to the table in the story he tells in this book (on the trail of the three men who bushwhacked him and left him for dead, the protagonist finds himself in the middle of a range war), but it’s the execution that really matters in a book like this, not the plot. And in that respect, Fox does a superb job.

  Sword-and-Sorcery (Legends of Men): Last week I review Holmes book Enter The Barbarian. If you haven’t read that review yet, check it out here. Morgan Holmes is an expert on pulp fiction, sword & sorcery, sword & planet, Robert E. Howard, Conan The Cimmerian, and red pilled man. Morgan was kind enough to share much of his knowledge on sword & sorcery with Legends of Men in this interview. In fact, this interview so comprehensive that it’s a great reference for those who want to know more about the genre and masculine fiction.

    Sensor Sweep: S-F Weapons, Thomas Ligotti, Savage Minicrate, Michael Whelan, Starman Jones published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[ninetyfivepercentdantomasik]

10 Cloverfield Lane

JJ Abrams is a great filmmaker on the rise. Actually, when do we agree that someone is no longer “on the rise” and has “made it”? JJ Abrams’ work speaks for itself. Cloverfield, Lost, Super 8, Star Trek, now Star Wars; the guy is a great SciFi filmmaker. With one kinda glaring weakness; endings. I love some of his movies so much, he’s like my teenage Steven Spielberg. The movies are fun, they’re exciting, they’re intense, they’re cool, they’re creative, they are a blast to watch. The ending is.... errr, ehhh, ugh......

How can so much of a movie be great, but once it ends, it all just kinda morphs to “meh” in your mind? It’s one scene, or one element, how can it drag a whole fun experience down? It just can. Lost fans still remember the day their series was killed by its own creator, and they are still furious over it. How many years did that show go for? How beloved was it? How many shows did it inspire that couldn’t even come close to its awesomness? How bad was that ending? Truthfully, I’d give it like a 4 out of 10. Not the worst ending I’ve heard by a long shot, but definitely not good. But I didn’t watch the series so that opinion doesn’t mean squat to the hordes of fans who felt it was The Great Betrayal.

Got a taste of this with Super 8, one of the most fun kid SciFi flicks in many a year. I love the kids, I love the setup, I love the adventure, I love the thrills, I love every second of this film until the end. The alien, who looks f***ing awesome, is just kinda.... meh. The last shot with him flying off is just sorta underwhelming, none of the events taking place during his “rampage” are really explained, how something so big manages to move around without being seen by anyone is a mystery, and it all just seems to close off too fast and too easily. Which pisses me off because as I said at the beginning of this paragraph, I loved every part of the film up to that. Any number of shots or ideas or cool twists from that movie could inspire kids for decades to come, so why can’t I just get over that ending? Honestly, it’s the same for Star Wars. He gives us the Star Wars movie we’ve always dreamed of, with the bar set so friggin’ high by some of the world’s most rabid fans so that no respectable director would dare take the challenge, he meets that bar, a whole new world is opened up; but that ending, man. Blowing up the Death Planet. It just, it doesn’t do it. This movie was going into so much cool new territory and then it just settled for the old ending we already know. Why does that continue to upset me?

10 Cloverfield Lane may just be the movie that breaks JJ Abrams bad record. A stripped-down, bare bones sequel to his found footage kaiju movie with a whole new cast and almost no mention of the events from the first movie, and seeing where it goes from there. More movies like this need to be made! It’s back-to-basics filmmaking and it’s hugely enjoyable to see! And you know what? It has a strong ending! Maybe because this time it didn’t try and settle everything from before, but continued to venture on into the future! Maybe JJ Abrams best ending is due to the fact that it’s not an ending, but a new beginning. I want to build from here! Doubt I’m the only one, too.

Three strangers trapped in an underground bunker following an apocalypse. It feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone in all the best ways, but it still has that high-quality JJ Abrams feel to all of its elements. The constant feeling of nervousness around certain characters, the nagging questions of who, why, and how that permeate every conversation, and the gears in your brain constantly turning as you try and figure out what’s the best move to make from here. Brilliant. Brilliant in its simplicity. I really wish we had more movies like this and not just $100+ million blockbuster after $100+ million blockbuster. This is like a high-end festival flick only a small group of people get to see because it could never get into theaters nationwide against the competition it has to face. Because none of them have JJ Abrams, the Master of Intrigue. He’s like a modern-day Alfred Hitchcock in the way he sells his projects while giving away almost nothing about the movie itself. He sells the mystery and he sells the what-if. And that’s what fills the theaters.

Highlights include Mary Elizabeth Winstead, wonderful under-appreciated talent. Loved her in The Thing prequel, loved her in Live Free or Die Hard, and loving her in Brain Dead. Her characters are sharp-witted and tough, hiding a great degree of tenacity behind a pretty face. These little moments she can offer, little exchanges or looks she can pass, they can scare you. She keeps busy, but for some reason other people don’t seem to remember her. Their loss. Maybe it’s that “girl next door” quality that makes people underestimate her as an actress, but the girl has teeth and this is a perfect showing of all her strengths. It’s also a great opportunity to see John Goodman in a very different, very intimidating role. A mysterious, not quite stable man who brings Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character into his bunker after her car is run off the road, he keeps you at the edge of your seat for every second he’s on screen. There’s something not right about him, but just because he’s crazy doesn’t mean he’s wrong. The question that plagues the mind is always what is truth, what is fiction, and what comes next. We get montages of a new sort of life with these people, including a lot of “making-do” fun, but always with those sinister undertones peeking out to remind us of the danger just beyond the door.

It’s great science fiction.