#how is everyone so just weirdly fine w zombies ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[bolas-de-berlim]

All I'm gonna say is there's ALOT of potential for a sequel, the story was so fast paced it kept throwing stuff out there and I'd love to learn more about Hell Maiden lore and the freaky bear (that was let go btw so opening for a sequel there) and also sister Helley's past with Manberg!!!!! Is Kat going to be trained by them both????? I'd love another movie where Kat has been trained and has to kick ass and we get to learn more about the lore and powers of Hell Maidens...

[totallycorrectteentitansquotes]

Zombie AU: Where did everyone else go? Robin, Star, Cyborg, Raven, Doom Patrol? Did anyone get zombified? Are any superheroes immune?

@ teen titans where’s the zombie episode we DESERVE

bb is the first bit but also he’s immune. they discover this early on and he manages to get bit at least a dozen times after that . he’s not allowed too close to anyone not immune because he has zombie dna swirling around his veins for like half an hour to an hour after he’s bit before his body kills it 

cyborg has a bunker. he gets a chomper on his arm but since its metal he’s fine. he has to dispose of the arm though and that makes him Very Frustrated. he’s not immune otherwise, neither is raven or robin, since raven is still half human and unfortunately her demon dna does not counteract the zombification. if she became a zombie the world would 100% fall, though. 

starfire would get very, very sick but she would be okay with proper medical attention

^ this probably happens, like starfire saves robin from a zombie and is bit and since the titans are NO MAN LEFT BEHIND, they drag her to a safe house and tie her up in case she goes Full Zombie, but since she’s reacting weirdly to it anyway they have hope..??

the main five stick together in various safe houses robin finds until cyborg finishes his Top Security Bunker. then he makes three more just in case

for immunities: superman, martian man, other aliens are pretty much immune w different reactions. wonder woman is immune. im probably forgetting some notable ones but ye

jinx and kid flash become an oddball team. they are Constantly arguing with each other but manage to stay alive through a combination of both of their powers. they were with the hive 5 for awhile but got separated. (hive 5 basically split up anyway)

since in my canon kyd wykkyd and jericho are living together in the mountains um they are actually the most formidable against them. many traps. many defenses. jericho is angry at these zombies for interrupting his peace. there have been many close calls with jericho and kyd is So Worried, dear lord

doom patrol is probably vibin? robot man is immune. rita got scratched and her dna managed to snuff it out in time but if she got a big wound it would be Over. negative man and robot man tend to do most of the anti zombie work. mento too i guess. they all go hide away somewhere idk 

i dont like characters like Dying, which in an actual zombie scenario they would, but if this is like one of the zombie scenarios where they’ll turn back anyway then all of titans east would get zombi-ified. sorry bros. mas y menos would get split up and taken down, aqualad would find some aquatic zombies and be like aw damn, speedy would be yelling at aqualad for being a dumbass and get got. bumblebee would get a hit to the leg before zooming to titans west tower to warn them and then get locked up as per her request as she goes Zombie

yes, this means beast boy was got by bumblebee. his friends were very unamused. but he survived very well so its fine

i feel like kyd might get taken down and jericho would freak out and then the mountains would be Very Zombie Free except for the newly zombie kyd. then at the end when everything is fine again jericho would punch kyd because jericho Doesn’t Like Being Worried, how inconsiderate 

the justice league half of them would get taken down. green arrow. etc. the saddest loss was zatanna who was so busy laughing at green arrow and green lantern and the flash getting bitten that one snuck up on her. she managed to dispel most of it but not all. rip. 

maybe raven gets zombied and beast boy ends up chilling around her in various animal forms to keep her calm and distracted adkhflkshdfs

[renaer-is-allegedly-hot]

session 16 notes

We’re talking about mushrooms

And george michael

Why did dominic put us in number brackets

I’m [7, 8] because i couldn’t have 18

Jacob is 3,4

Lillian 5,6

Marguerite 9,10

Sylvia 1,2

Now we’re starting ig

Aerana is in a nice room

Soft light

Not too intense that it hurts your eyes

U don’t recognize the room ur in

Headache

Friends r there

Everyone sitting in nice chairs

Two others in the room u don’t know

Woman behind fine desk, hands folded

Human, middle-aged, red hair

Behind her another woman, less serene looking

Dark-skinned, black robes

Looks frustrated

It’s like we’re in an office ??

Theo notices lady behind holding staff looks weirdly familiar

Keeps looking at staff

Woman at desk looks at each of us; asked us a question

“What became of the stone?”

Cel thinks this is weird

Cel can’t remember who we were guarding, just remembers we were last in house

Adam reaches for uke

It’s there

Woman asks different question

“What do you remember from last night?”

Adam remembers looking over a dwarf

Then that he went outside

Adam asks her if she sent the big eye creature

As he says that we remember

Roll initiative

Adam 17

Cel 16

Theo 14

asyna/aerana 11

Adam remembers last night he came face to face w a creature

Shot off pyrotechnics

Blinded the thing

Adam instinctively rips a chord and fireworks start going off around eye thing

Creature grumbles

Eye without pupil; glassy

Almost like it’s rotting

Disengages and goes back into house

Creature snaps at adam

Cel sees adam walk back into the house

Grabs bow+sword

Too dark for cel to see thing; no darkvision

Adam just knows of it close to a zombie

Theo running down

Aerana shoots w shortbow

9 damage

Runs down and squints + launches arrow, strikes on jaw

Asyna tries casting spike growth ??

OH THE SPIKE THING

3 damage

No legs; lifts up above spikes

Creature rolls nat1

Adam rushes to window, looks like a floating head; flesh falling off its body

Bonus action cutting words

Opens window, “oh fuck… i don’t know you’re hideous . you’re ugly”

18 damage

Starts playing somewhere over the rainbow

Noise reverberates throughout creature’s body, starts crying, dies ??

As turn ends, eyeballs start blinking again realizing where they are, swivel to look at adam

Cel casts hunter’s mark ?

14 misses

Theo tries shooting

16 hits

9 damage

Rolls stealth to hide, 22

Aerana misses, 10 to hide

Asyna 17 to hit with ice knife

6 damage right in the face

Creature looks at adam

Con save

“I always make my con saves” - jacob, 2020

Rolls a 6

Adam takes 21 damage, creature takes 25 points of fire damage

Adam feels weird cold like life getting sucked out; tunnel vision

Adam uses cutting words

“That was weak” - adam, 2020, despite having 21 damage

Creature takes 8 damage

Adam ducks under window, goes back back into house

Cel rolls 18 to hit

10 damage

Theo rolls 18 to hit

12 damage

“How do you want to do this?”

Goes right through the eye

Cel uses cure wounds on adam, 11 hp back

Adam runs to basement to check on ot

Latch shut

Opens, goes in

Hard for adam to see in basement, casts message and whispers “are you there ot”

Aerana investigates body, 7 but was hovering, landed on spikes, oozing, tongue black

Con save 4 to cut off eyeball

Touches tentacle; gives too much

U throw up on it

Theo doesn’t see anyone outside

Cel asks asyna if she can see anything

Asyna rolls 4, cel rolls 6 for perception; can’t see anything

Adam casts message, nothing in that direction responds

Thaumaturgy to boom voice, calls everyone over

Reminds adam of darkness spell

Con save

“I always make my con saves” - jacob, 2020

15

Everyone starts moving back

Cel goes to adam

Theo goes to adam

Theo + cel also make con saves

Cel 6

Theo 10

Cel theo adam all hear each other enter, feel sense of relief; smells smth rlly sweet

Feel unsteady for a second

All three fall unconscious

Aerana stops throwing up

Rinse mouth, eat food

Looks in pit, dark

Aerana puts latch back on

Latch won’t close all the way

Dark purple hand

Aerana 15 to hit, misses

Hand flips latch open

“Don’t be so hasty”

Flamboyant purple hat w green feather holding box

Shirt cut open, pointed ears, sash w diff weapons

Aerana introduces to asyna, eating toast

Asyna asks who he is

Introduces self as nareel

In swoops another figure

Lieutenant of jb

Offers us employment opportunity

Pulls out sack

Aerana takes it

Tells asyna abt “merry little band”

Band called bregan d’aerthe

Jb starts talking to asyna

Bregan d’aerthe born out of desire for drow men to be free

Wants to recruit drow to join band to enrich selves and others

Jb not supposed to be here

From luskin

Expected to take on missions

Invite to brunch

Jb will just pop in

Asyna and aerana join

Jarlaxle baenre

Asyna remembers smth

Society she ran away from

Lady who ran it last name is baenre

Mission

V interested in rumor abt open lord embezzling dragons

Conceited idiot

Location of treasure

Heard there’s a stone

Wants the location

If no treasure, would still receive normal compensation

Aerana wafts cupcakes

Asyna eats cupcake

Aerana eats cupcake

Drugged

Everyone wakes up

This is laeral silverhand

“This is the black staff”

Theo rolls history check, doesn’t remember what black staff as a title means

Staff reminds of blackstaff tower

We pin blame on xants

Adam rolls 21 persuasion for compensation

Black staff says “sure maybe we can arrange smth . avoiding a labor camp for disrespecting the open lady’s wishes”

Adam tells most irrelevant parts of conversation

Black staff bangs staff, ends conversation

23 deception for saying he doesn’t remember

Theo’s sister is in typ’s hole

Laeral says treasure may be beyond us

Adam walks out

We say we’ll come back if we have more to say

Theo has voice in head that says she shouldn’t chase false hope

Adam looks for exit ? as theo steps into center floor runes glow and go down

Walls shift to aerial shot of city

Stop in fortress

Leave castle waterdeep

Morning by the time we leave

[osakaso5]

DUSK TiLL DAWN Event Story

19.15-21.00

Chapter Index

19.15

Io: Huff, huff..!

Bang bang

Io: Damn, there's no end to them!

Bang bang

Rictor: ....! Io, watch out..!

Bang bang

Somas: Io!

Io: Somas..! I'm glad you're safe!

Io: I tried to contact you so many times!

Somas: Sorry, looks like I dropped my phone while running...

Somas: Ah, but I'm fine, since I got rescued by these people! And I've got a handgun!

Io: A handgun... I see, so it's the same gun you went nuts with during training.

Mick: Is this the friend you were talking about?

Somas: Yes! This is Io!

Nagistopher: And the other one?

Rictor: My name is Rictor!

Mick: ......! Wait, that white coat...

Rictor: Ah, I'm a researcher for World Reflective Unit.

Io: You have to be an elite to be affiliated with W.R.U!

Rictor: Huh? Do I?

Mick: Cap..!

Nagistopher: Yes...

Nagistopher: Rictor, where is the vaccine?

Rictor: Huh..?

Rictor: Vaccine..?

Rictor: W-who are you people!?

Rictor: I don't talk to strangers!

Mick: Huh?

Io: Sorry about him. It seems like he's been told not to talk to people he doesn't know.

Mick: How sheltered do you have to be?

Nagistopher: My name is Nagistopher. I'm the captain of the special forces unit I.DOL.

Nagistopher: This is Mick. He's in my squad.

Nagistopher: And these two are civilians.

Yamarson: ...I'm Yamarson. These guys saved me from being attacked.

Somas: I'm...

Rictor: You're Somas, right!?

Somas: Huh?

Rictor: Io told me he had a strange friend!

Io: Hey..! Don't say anything that might cause misunderstandings!

Rictor: Ah... I-I'm sorry..!

Somas: Ahaha, it's fine! Io says that about me all the time.

Nagistopher: Rictor, we're no longer strangers to you, so if you could please answer.

Rictor: Ah... Right. Thank you.

Rictor: U-um... Since you're looking for the vaccine...

Rictor: Does that mean that this was caused by the virus..?

Nagistopher: "The" virus?

Rictor: The D-X Virus...

Nagistopher: ........ I see...

Rictor: W-what?

Mick: So you know about the D-X Virus...

Rictor: Huh? No, you're the ones who said you were looking for the vaccine to this D-X Virus...

Mick: Cap never specified which vaccine we were looking for.

Rictor: Ah..!

Nagistopher: We have intel that it's in this hospital. Where can we find it?

Rictor: I-I don't know!

Rictor: I'm just an intern... So I won't be able to help you..!

Mick: Ugh. ...Rictor, right? Look, we don't wanna get violent with you.

Rictor: W-wait, please! It's highly classified information!

Mick: Highly classified, eh...

Mick: Then why does an intern like you know about something that's supposedly all classified?

Rictor: W-well... I was raised in the lab...

Yamarson: Hey! There's a vaccine? If we find it, can we stop this epidemic..!?

Mick: Yeah. Or so we've heard.

Mick: The city's already in ruins, and the infection's spreading.

Mick: We need this vaccine to control the situation.

Nagistopher: Rictor, tell us what you know.

Rictor: But...

Io: Rictor...

Rictor: .......

Rictor: The vaccine... Is not here...

Yamarson: ......! Then where is it!?

Somas: Yamarson! Please, calm down..!

Yamarson: ........ My bad.

Rictor: The W.R.U lab... It's in there.

Rictor: It's being held in a very secure place, even within the lab.

Mick: ...Got it. So it's in the lab?

Nagistopher: Handsome reporting. Sugar, can you hear us?

Nagistopher: The vaccine is in a W.R.U laboratory.

Bzzt

Voice from Transceiver: <I hear ya. I just sent you the coordinates.>

Bzzt

Nagistopher: Coordinates confirmed.

Rictor: U-um! Wait! It's not on the surface level!

Mick: Huh? What do you mean?

Rictor: There's another lab underground. It's in there...

Somas: There's a laboratory under the streets of this city!? Cool..!!!

Nagistopher: Sugar. Get us a map of the underground.

Bzzt

Voice from Transceiver: <Just a sec. Underground, underground.>

Voice from Transceiver: <Cap, I'm not finding any info for an underground lab.>

Voice from Transceiver: <Hmm, but there's an area that's weirdly blurry.>

Voice from Transceiver: <Almost like someone's been messing with the data...>

Bzzt

Nagistopher: Understood.

Nagistopher: Rictor, you'll have to guide us there.

Rictor: Huh!? Me?

Nagistopher: Only you know where we're headed.

Rictor: ...Alright.

Rictor: It's this way.

- - - -

Uooorgh

Yamarson: Hey, the exit..!

Somas: Oh my gosh..! So many Gathered!

Somas: It's just like a movie, Io!

Io: What are you saying!? This is real life!

Mick: We're at a disadvantage... What do we do, Cap?

Nagistopher: Mick, prepare a grenade.

Bzzt

Voice from Transceiver: <A grenade can't take down them all.>

Voice from Transceiver: <Get everyone to cover, I got this.>

Wrrrrr

Mick: Sugar? Wait, don't tell me..!

Nagistopher: Get down!

Io, Yamarson, Somas, & Rictor: .......!

Voice from Transceiver: <Safety off, and... Alright, here I come!!!>

20.00

Uooorgh

Ratatatatata!!!

Wrrrrrrrrr

???: Ta-dah! The cavalry's here!

Mick: Don't you "ta-dah" me. Were you trying to kill us!?

???: Nah! I figured you and Cap would be fine.

???: You're alive, aintcha?

Mick: We've got civilians here!

Io, Yamarson, Somas, & Rictor: Uuh...

Io: What happened..?

???: They look fine to me.

Mick: Why you...

Mick: Ah! And why would you jump down like that!? What about the chopper?

???: The Pudding models are self-flying, so no worries.

???: It'll come if I call!

Mick: If you call...

Mick: Ugh... You don't even like being on land!

???: Yeah. I hate it, but I hate things I can't analyze even more.

???: So I'm gonna see it with my own eyes!

???: Don't sweat it! I had a pudding drink up there, so I'm full of energy!

???: Look. Hmph! Hmph, hmph!

Mick: Sigh...

Mick: It's nice that some soft drinks are all we need to get you into high gear...

Somas: Um... This is..?

Mick: Right, sorry for getting you guys involved.

Mick: This is Tamathony. He's with us.

Mick: He can be pretty weird, but he's smart and a good fighter.

Tamathony: You didn't need to tell 'em that I'm weird.

Somas: I'm Somas. That's my friend, Io. It's nice to meet you!

Tamathony: Yup.

Tamathony: Then I'm guessing the four-eyes is Yamarson, and you're Rictor.

Yamarson: Huh..?

Tamathony: I heard you guys on the radio.

Nagistopher: We should be on our way. ...I'll miss my anime otherwise.

Mick: Ugh... Cap, now's not the time to worry about that...

Nagistopher: Rictor, show us the way.

Rictor: Very well.

Rictor: We must get to the lab through the subway.

Io: The subway?

Rictor: There's a hidden passage on the side of the tracks that leads there.

Somas: A hidden passage to a secret research facility underground..! How exciting!

Io: Somas, how many times do I need to remind you that this isn't a movie?

Somas: Yeah, I know, but my body can't help itching...

Io: Sigh...

Yamarson: In any case, let's hurry. If we stay here, more of them will come for us.

Rictor: Right. I just hope the lab is safe...

Yamarson: ........! Haah...

Somas: Yamarson, are you alright? You look pale...

Yamarson: It's nothing. I'm just a little tired.

Rictor: ...Yamarson..?

Yamarson: What?

Rictor: I was just wondering... Have we met somewhere before?

Yamarson: ...I don't know you.

Rictor: I see...

Io: Are you really alright? You do look a bit sick...

Tamathony: Hey, we're not gonna wait on you.

Tamathony: Oh I know, you should give him that stuff that makes your eyes go all weird, Mick!

Mick: Don't describe it like that. It's just a health drink!

Mick: Here, this isn't much but it should help a little.

Yamarson: ...Thanks.

Io: Are you alright..?

Yamarson: ...Yeah, that helped.

Tamathony: Let's get a move on.

20.30

Tamathony: The subway's right at the end of this road!

Io: Aagh..! There are monsters behind us..!

Mick: Don't look back!

Mick: Just keep running!

- - - -

Yamarson: Haah, haah...

Somas: Those monsters really are fast.

Io: Huh?

Somas: It's great that they're so zombie-like!

Io: How are you enjoying this!?

Uooorgh

Yamarson: Hey, we're surrounded..! What do we do!?

Mick: Yeah, hold on! I'm gonna use my secret weapon!

Mick: Cover your ears..!

Crackle

Uooorgh

Mick: Alright!

Nagistopher: Mick, there's more over here.

Mick: Gotcha, Cap!

Mick: Crap, I slipped..!

....!

Somas: Wow! So cool..!

Rictor: I-incredible... They got all the Gathered...

Mick: That's Cap for ya!

Nagistopher: Mick, that was the seventh time so far.

Mick: Ugh, have I been doing it that much..?

Yamarson: Whoa, what's that!? A siren head!?

Uoorgh

Io: They just keep coming..! Just how many are there!?

Io: Somas, look out for that monster!

Somas: Whoa..!

Yamarson: Shit, we were so close to the subway, and now I've got to fight these things off with a knife..! 

21.00

Io: Haah, haah... We made it to the subway somehow.

Mick: It's awfully quiet here...

Io: It feels so eerie without people...

Somas: There's a weird fog here, and lots of dead rats.

Yamarson: Sigh... Is the entrance really here?

Rictor: I'm sorry. This is the closest and safest route.

Rictor: We're near a hidden passage that not even most people at the lab knew about.

Io: How do you know about the passage? You said you were an intern.

Rictor: ...The doctors told me.

Rictor: Since I was born in the lab, I rarely went outside. They told me to use it in case anything happened...

Rictor: The doctors were always kind to me, so I wouldn't get lonely.

Mick: If you were born in the lab, does that mean those doctors were your parents?

Rictor: No, they're just doctors. I don't know my parents...

Rictor: Whoa!

Rictor: Ow ow ow.

Io: A-are you alright?

Rictor: Ah, yes... It's so dark that I can't see properly...

Io: I think it's more because of that mask...

Rictor: Huh?

Io: Come on, stand up.

Io: You should take off that mask.

Somas: Huh!? He's going to take it off, even though it looks so cool and strong?

Mick: Io's right. A decreased field of view is life threatening in here! If you don't wanna turn into one of those monsters, take it off.

Rictor: ........

Rictor: But... Is the air here safe, I wonder?

Mick: The air?

Rictor: It's so filthy here...

Io: It seems like he's been told to keep the mask on when he goes outside...

Tamathony: Seriously? Does this mean we're in trouble, since we don't have masks?

Mick: No. ...Geez, how did they train you?

Mick: Rictor, you'll be fine. If it was dangerous here, the rest of us would already be dead.

Rictor: R-right... Very well.

Rictor: Phew... That was suffocating.

Mick: Wait, you're just a kid! Are you really a researcher?

Rictor: How rude! I'm a grown adult..!

Tamathony: I woudn't wanna hear that from Mick, either.

Mick: Huh? What was that?

Tamathony: Nothin'.

Tamathony: Ah... Hey, should we get going?

Uoorgh

Rictor: Aaagh!

Yamarson: Wait, how many of them are there..!?

Tamathony: A lot. It's like rush hour.

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2020 - April

Far Cry Primal dev. Ubisoft Montreal (2016)

I wanted to wander around an environment alongside mammoths and this game provided that in spades. I spent so much time just contemplating in big meadows full of gentle, giant mammoths. On the flip side, it's a survival horror game? But saber-tooth cats instead of zombies. Now it's one of my favorite video games. It’s an entry in a long-running series of first-person shooters I otherwise don’t care about. And this game definitely gives me 'standard AAA bland shooter' vibes in its structure and narrative. They just created a fascinating world around that. One of the interesting bits of the game is everyone speaks in recreated primal languages. The one bit of English is lyrics in a song that appears toward the end of the game and it's so jarring to hear in contrast to the rest. I was impressed that Ubisoft invested in that level of authenticity but really got into it. It always bugs me when a game or movie uses weird accented English in place of the native language. I found this article series from the historical linguist they worked with to craft the languages and dialogue. Pretty fascinating deep dive.

Star Wars: Republic Commando dev. LucasArts (2005)

LucasArts released many Star Wars video games in the period around the prequel movies. 2005 saw the release of this game and Battlefront II, the latter of which is perhaps more popular for its online multiplayer component. I tried the single player of that game and it doesn’t compare to Republic Commando. This game’s focus on working together with a squad of surprisingly smart A.I.-controlled comrades makes it feel more intentional where many shooters seem to want to throw enemies for the sake of providing bullet sponges. Make no mistake, this is still a shooter and the player is still mowing down hordes of aliens. It’s just smarter about how it sets up those combat encounters. The player can only progress by successfully guiding squad mates around the battlefield. I enjoyed the game and was surprised to see it that it was rather short, starting at the Battle of Geonosis and ending just before the tragic Order 66 moment that so many heroes of the prequel era have to contend with. The game never received a sequel so I have to assume the squad sadly goes on to fulfill their mission. This is also compelling for providing an early look at the inner lives of the literal carbon copy clone army, something that Clone Wars would fully expound upon just a few years later.

Cabin Boy dir. Adam Resnick (1994)

All the movies I watched this month were through communal viewings on an app called Kast. It’s been fun to have no say in the movies that are selected, trusting someone else to make interesting choices. This first one was a strange, weirdly referential movie. It builds upon old timey sailor epics and Harryhausen stop-motion adventures to deliver a screwball comedy more in line with Pee Wee Herman than any of its inspirations. It stars Chris Elliott and I know of his work and have seen a few of his roles, but I can see why he was never quite popular in his heyday. His comedic style is almost daring you to like his work. I still can’t say I liked it, but it was certainly interesting to see a comedy like this and with this level of practical effects in 1994.

Manos: The Hands of Fate dir. Harold P. Warren (1966)

This felt similarly interesting as Cabin Boy in that ‘what the fuck am I watching’ kind of way, but at least with Manos I knew to expect some kind of schlock. I haven’t watched the MST3K version but knew full well that it’s hoisted up on the same lofty heights as Plan 9 from Outer Space in the Worst Movie Ever rankings. The big surprise for me was that it didn’t feel like the worst movie ever made. The viewer can follow along perfectly fine, and it’s clear what they’re going for. It’s also clear the filmmaker wasn’t a filmmaker. I can’t say I enjoyed it as a horror movie as much as I enjoyed examining it while I watched. I can imagine being disappointed if this movie was taken seriously, but hindsight really makes it a fascinating artifact. We watched the restored version on blu ray and perhaps that extra visual quality helped make it just a little better than old grainy copies would have.

The Castle of Cagliostro dir. Hayao Miyazaki (1979)

So let me get this straight. Lupin III--the star of this animated movie and countless other series both in manga and animated form--is usually an unlikeable pile of garbage? And this one movie where Miyazaki wisely makes him a hero is a source of complaints by fans who want the garbage version? That’s my understanding. It makes me want to not watch anything else with Lupin III in it. Castle of Cagliostro is still a product of its time and the whole ordeal is about the hero saving the damsel and taking down the villain (who, by the way, is a real pile of garbage). However, it’s still charming and Lupin’s intentions kind of clear up as the movie goes on. He’s more akin to Han Solo, rogue with a heart of gold. The movie’s notoriety is clearly driven by the high watermark set in the art and animation. It is an astounding movie to just watch in motion. Miyazaki and co. undoubtedly near killed themselves to make this, much as they did for many of the movies to later come out of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli work. There’s a fascinating interview with Yasuo Otsuka, animator on the film, that is included on the blu ray and available online.

Star Trek: Discovery - Seasons 1 & 2 (2017-2019)

Spoiler-filled rant.

Discovery is... something. It outta be called Star Trek: Burnham. Sadly now it feels, like Picard, that they had to squeeze their arcs into seasons that needed more episodes. There's an odd bottle episode or two where I felt like "more of this!" But I can count them on one hand. The stakes are constantly at 11. And with Discovery, the characters are good! There are so many of them who get so few lines but like, I wanna know who they are and care about them before the shit hits the fan and they upend the status quo. For example, how do you include a cool-looking cyborg to the bridge crew for two seasons and give her almost no screen time, then make a major episode about her and expect us to believe everyone's sad when she sacrifices herself? I got real annoyed over Airiam's fate. She should've gotten her own non-critical episode before that. Like the stuff with Saru and his home planet. I suppose my key problem with Discovery is that they don't seem to understand that TNG, DS9, etc were about ALL the bridge crew, not just a couple of people. Discovery also spends a lot of time on the villains and external characters. There's some cool characters there but it definitely pulls time from the bridge crew dynamics and camaraderie.

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Rebels was a nice series to pair in the same month as Discovery because it does exactly what I’d hoped from that series. You spend all your time getting to know the key members of the Ghost’s crew. This show skews toward a younger crowd so its motivations are simpler, but they still squeeze in some significant character-building and growth into their relatively short episodes and seasons. They also raise the stakes, but the stakes are so personal and small in the grand scheme of the Star Wars galaxy’s problems that it’s always about what’s important to this group of people there and now. There are also plenty of fan service moments and returning characters to make this a satisfying continuation of the stories and themes in Clone Wars.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny (2017-2018)

I was surprised to find these bite-sized, kid-oriented shorts even existed. I’ve lost touch with Disney’s many efforts to expand the brand and while this series certainly fits into that type of marketing-driven creative effort, it’s still a nice bit of fun with familiar characters. I’d watch these with my five year-old niece. The focus on women as the leads of these shorts sadly highlights how they need to continue to expand the scope of their lead roles beyond men (and, I think, beyond humans).

[obarion]

worst but fuckin most vivid and terrifying dream i ever had so im on this beach on a boat and im picturing this woman and shes just floating on a platform chilling a huge wave comes by and knocks the platform straight through her and shes dead but you cant see her shes swept away immediately im on a house boat with my mom she hated that visual we are on a beach and i have a bag with my ds in it and a few other things i set it down, a brown bag, and immediately it was swept away by waves while the waves were trying to drown me i struggle to find it, give up, and go back in the house boat. i wake up. reach for my ds. need to know its safe. why isnt it there? i get up and its all fuzzy. i know i was just dreaming. why am i across the room? i see a person who looks just like me, talking to me, who was clearly meant to be me. but the more i looked at her the less she felt like me, so i yelled "youre not me." and i shot up and pinned her on the ground "WHO ARE YOU YOU ARENT ME." she turns into tess. future tess. and this tess was dead. several figurines, packaged, hung on my door of decaying and shriveled tesses. she tells me to save myself, that im going to die. she tells me to get an appointment with a doctor immediately to check for breast lumps, because im going to die of cancer. and i wake up from that dream. and i run to my mother, who is on the phone, pleading her to get my a doctor or im going to die. she says she will and that she understands. i had this weird premonition that day that this girl was going to take me and tess in and tell me that im going to lose my eyesight and we would be isolated from the world, it was just weird. and i went to school that day. *a* school? not my school. but i thought it was my school. it was more like a big blue office building and it was inescapable and there was many different things like filing cabinets and a jewelry shop?? anyway i noticed that that day, sometimes everyone around me would change. all their heads would get bigger, their skin would wrinkle, their eyes would bug out, they basically looked like human caricatures, but their heads were weirdly only slightly bigger than their regular ones. and they would chase me at mid speed and i would have to run from them before they turned me into one of them. i was terrified. there was always people who noticed too, who were like me and trying to run. i didnt know how they would turn me into one of them, but i did know that they could. everything was out of control one day when i was at a school game up in the bleachers and all of a sudden everyone switched. everyone. i looked across the stadium and everyone was fucking switched. i had to fucking run. when i started to run they were pouring out into the hallways like the ocean in my other dream, fucking drowning me. i couldnt find my way out. i passed through the jewelry shop room and the shopkeeper tried to overtake me, i had to bash her head in her own bead container thing and run. everyone was these weird caricatures. it seemed like i was fucking going through hallways that i had already gone through, and i found tess in one of the hallways with me, completely fine. and while going through a hallway, a slender passageway with the thinnest door showed up motioning us to come in with her. it was the girl who told me i was going to lose my eyesight. she was latina and had a beautiful face and long black hair, but wasnt terribly hot and sexy. she looked like katie molina who i miss SO much she was great god bless. and she takes us in this purple hallway with stairs upstairs and downstairs. the upstairs ones dont seem to lead anywhere in particular. and shes like "haha you guys were in a pinch back there. youre staying with us from now on" lets call her claudia, i dont remember her actual name but when i woke up claudia immediately comes to mind i had barely talked to her before i asked her "am i going to lose my eyesight??" and she looks at me and she raises an eyebrow like she knows something and just goes "maybe" in a teasing way and its at this point i fucking know that she knows my entire fucking future. she takes me into this stadium under the stadium where im p sure there is an ice skating rink?? and A WHOLE BIG LOT of these caricature people are sliding around in circles, very calm. they basically tamed them. me and tess sit on a bench on the side and this girl with a bandanna and some cornrows (who may or may not be claudia?) comes up to us with a clipboard asking us about ourselves. shes really nice and everyone here is basically acting like this is normal life. they explain to me that this isnt an epidemic like its the zombie apocalypse or anything. it has the capacity to become that, but its been taking over high schools (my brain keeps fucking putting me in hs) and schools all over the place. they had a map of schools affected. a bunch of them close to each other or scattered about, like... it was a lot but not a shocking lot. but basically all these people who are in the state now arent coming out and theyre basically dead. this guy comes over to us. hes blonde, hes tall, he looks like a fuckin shoujo manga love interest. the best part is he dresses and looks like nolan, which prompted me to worry like hell. he has a shirt w the loch ness monster on it and it just says NECCY on the front. i knew it was supposed to be "nessie" misspelled but i didnt know why. so i decides to pronounce it as "necky" so im like, "why does it say "necky" on your shirt" and hes like "oh its a band. and its pronounced neçé" but he didnt sound rude when he said it, he sounded joking. this other guy comes over with slightly more guy fieri hair (think........ think shoujo tall, code geass clamp ass pretty boy... frosted tips.) and hes wearing the same exact shirt. and hes like "actually, HIS shirt is pronounced neçé and mine is pronounced necky." i think they were some weird variety of twin brothers. so from that point on, they were known as the neckys. and at that point i had it nagging in my mind nolan is probably dead everyone is dead except me and tess im going to go blind everyone knows whats gonna happen to me and wont tell me but im like, laughing with my new friends and its just weird and thats all i remember