#the way they had four separate characters to juggle in this scene and used the personality of each of them in a funny way it’s ART

[marauders-fanfilm]

Hi Everyone,

   I want to sincerely apologize for both the long delay between updates and the necessity for one at this point in general. When we set out to make this project, none of us ever anticipated we might still be working on it eight years later. And while a lot has happened in that time, I promise you, no one wants it to be completed and released more than we do.    2022 has been a difficult year for the project on a number of fronts, but we’re still standing. This year has seen an essentially unprecedented demand for the VFX industry, while they continue to fight for the sort of protections and working standards that the rest of the film industry and most industries in general have. Last year’s near IATSE strike was a wake up call for many of us that the film industry can very easily become incredibly dangerous and destructive to the lives of the people who work in it, and we’ve all tried to do our best to ensure we and the rest of our crew members take the time they need to take care of themselves and their loved ones. This, while absolutely critical and my top priority for the team I am responsible for, has meant that there have been some delays with our progress due to artists needing to take time to focus on themselves and their families, or simply because they’ve needed to prioritize their non-volunteer work, and haven’t been able to juggle both.

   As I’m sure just about all of you know, over the past few years, the original author of the franchise has dedicated her time and legacy to an anti-transgender campaign. I’ve talked about it previously, but it’s been an incredibly difficult situation for all of us. While our film doesn’t benefit her in any way, it’s complicated to dedicate months or years of work to a project that is still playing in her sandbox. For some of our artists, it simply wasn’t something they could come to terms with, and they had to step away from the project for their own well being, which all of us on the TGS Production Team absolutely understand and sympathize with. I’ve struggled with it a lot personally, I know most of us have. Speaking purely for myself, while I think the franchise and world will always be tainted by its author’s bigotry now, I love this film, I am incredibly proud of all of the hard work our cast and crew have poured into it, and I made a commitment to see it through. I intend to do so. But I will never harbor any resentment towards any member of our team who doesn’t feel the same way, and wish them nothing but the best of luck on their future endeavors.

   There’s not much we can do from our small platform to challenge her, unfortunately. Our film is long-since written and shot, and a time capsule of where we all were as fans and aspiring creators when that happened. What we can do is support our trans team members and supporters, and reject bigotry like Rowling’s. We will be adding a note on the situation and our rejection of her and her prejudice at the opening of the film, and I have elected to strike her card from the animated credits sequence. She created the world and most of these characters, I can’t change that. She’ll be credited for her part of course, as it would be wrong not to, but we don’t need to plaster her name across the screen either.

All that said, where is the project at?    The first two acts are just about picture-locked with finished VFX, barring a handful of shots that are currently in the works. Among the work done on this section:

An incredibly intricate steadicam shot of the Marauders fleeing Filch’s office after releasing a series of fireworks and dung bombs, as seen in our very first piece of concept art. This effect required the work of four separate artists to rotoscope the actors, 3D model and track the set and camera movement, and the actual effect work of the smoke and fireworks. Talented artist Porter Justus is hard at work on the scene between work on his Masters from SCAD and preparing for the birth of his second child. Congrats again, Porter!

Top to bottom creations of numerous Daily Prophet page graphics and layouts for a montage sequence by talented Malaysian 2D artist Kunal Chopra.

A Virtual CG version of the Marauder’s Map for various shots by American artist Alyssa Nicholas, for tight insert shots where tracking a physical prop became too difficult.

Artist Jorge Gúzman, who was only able to join us briefly before having to leave to focus on paid projects came on and helped with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots.

Artist Chris Shivers has been working on a spell effect for a series of shots of Lily Evans between his other paid work.

UK artist Nathan Collins has been hard at work on several potions class scenes, including the infamous Amortentia potion!

Nic Bahn, a German artist known as WizardingsFX online, has been hard at work helping us upgrade the opening scene of the film.

Talented Spanish artist Pablo Nadal, who goes by Pancatum in online fandom circles, has been busy for much of this year, but when he’s had time to join us, he’s worked on a great sequence between Regulus & Marlene.

And lastly, our VFX Supervisor, Martin Bayang, who between his demanding hours at his Los Angeles VFX day job and helping me manage our team, has still managed to carve out time to work on a number of shots from our Valentine’s Day sequence!

The Third Act is where most of the work is still being done, including a large fight sequence and where most of our focus is.

When VFX Artist Emma Matzke has time between professional VFX work and parental responsibilities, she is currently hard at work on Snape’s big final scene, which is looking absolutely amazing!

Our dynamic duo from Spain, Guillermo Valadez and Iván Rubio, both full-time professional VFX artists, are bouncing between a couple of segments, including that large fight scene, and another key moment of the finale I can’t talk about without spoiling the ending!

There is still work to be done on both Sound and Color, but the brunt of the workload has been on the VFX front.

There is still a decent bit left of both final action beats, along with a handful of Marauder’s Map shots, and one complicated VFX shot for the final sequence of the film that has proved more challenging than anticipated. But we’re hard at work trying to progress through them as quickly as possible.

  Our composer J. Paul Bourque has had a very busy year with his professional composing work in New York, but we’ve slowly been chipping away at the last of the score for the film. We are currently undergoing some revisions to the final sequence, after which Paul and Writer/Creative Producer Ben Wessels will be going back through all the tracks for final adjustments and filling in some final instrumentation, along with the recording of one track I won’t go into detail about that is being recorded live. We’re all really excited about and proud of how the score is sounding, and can’t wait to share it with all of you.   Lastly, while I had hoped to save this announcement until the trailer reveal, I am incredibly excited to announce that over the last couple years we have been working alongside the magically talented Tom Ya, also known as The_H_Project, a french architect who used his lockdown time over the pandemic to create an insanely detailed digital replica of Hogwarts Castle! All of the establishing shots in the film have been replaced with custom shots Tom crafted for the project, and I cannot overstate how much it adds to the final product. Tom is now working, again as he’s able to between his busy day job and time with his new bride (Congratulations again, my friend), on integrating elements of his model into some other shots and sequences, and the results so far have been truly fantastic.

   I want to apologize again to our incredibly patient friends, families, and fans that the project has taken so much longer than any of us have anticipated. We all want to see the project finished and released, and we are working as hard and as quickly as we can to make that happen. But I also just want to take a moment to say how proud I am of our team and everything they’ve accomplished, both on the film and in their personal, professional, and creative lives since the project began. We all really appreciate your years of patience, and we will continue to pour our hearts into this project, and try to get this film finally completed and out to you soon. Happy New Years, everyone. Aaron

[kyndaris]

The Beginning of the End

When I first finished the prologue, I cockily thought that the game would not be too terribly long. After all, it was only four chapters. Surely, it wouldn’t take that many hours to complete. Three weeks maximum, I told myself. 

Little did I know that Trails of Cold Steel 3 would take me a month and a bit to finish. Granted, there were numerous distractions along the way and a family trip to boot. But one thing I had forgotten about the series was how dense the lore and world-building could be. I had even forgot that with Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) that even narratives with a simple premise could still span countless hours. And that’s not counting the artificial inflation of simply chatting with every non-playable character (NPC) in order to not miss out on collectibles or on hidden sidequests.

I think on it now and simply see it as fair recompense for how long I’ve kept the game sitting on my shelf. Far too often, I’ve gone for the next shiny new game instead of completing those that I’ve bought a year and a half ago - waiting for a lull in game releases (that have caught my eye) before tackling the next lengthy JRPG in a series that has spanned multiple entries.

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3 starts in the middle of a battle. There’s not much explanation and the player is thrust into the roles of the new characters that featured in trailers and the box art. True, one of them is Altina - once an enemy to Class VII, but this time the homunculus was on our side. 

(And honestly, it was written better than my attempt in Divided We Fall. A narrative that begins mid-way through and with a battle is supposed to entice the player or reader or viewer - bringing out their natural curiosity. My attempt, however, might have been a bit too confusing. Live and learn, I suppose.) 

After holding out against the Stahlritter, several scenes flash by and the game takes us to Leeves. It is the start of a new school year and our favourite black-haired hero has returned to Thors Military Academy. Except, of course, it’s the BRANCH CAMPUS! And why is the Ashen Chevalier, Hero of Erebonia, now an instructor? Of all things?

To be perfectly frank, I feel as if Rean’s choice was to maintain the school setting. While I appreciate the downtime and the ability to run around chatting with members of the old and new Class VII, it felt a little forced when there were plots within plots being spun by all the secret societies out in the world.

In a way, though, I can see the genius behind it. Thors Military Academy was always a hub for the characters to return to and regroup after each harrowing encounter. I will say that it does take quite a bit of coincidence for each place that the Branch Campus goes to on their ‘field missions’ to always be somehow linked to whatever machinations Ouroboros might have in the works. Oft times, the scenarios felt a little contrived - ensuring that Rean and his team of allies were at the right place at the right time to do battle with the ne’er-do-wells that have been a thorn to main characters since the beginning of time itself.

One of the major things I dreaded coming into Trails of Cold Steel 3 was the prospect of meeting new characters and having to juggle an already impressive roster of playable characters. Yet it wasn’t too long before the likes of Juna Crawford and Kurt Vander had wormed their way into my heart. I didn’t even mind Musse and Ash (though I did find Musse’s flirtations - with her instructor, no less! - a little excessive).

While each of them fell neatly into anime stereotypes, I was also appreciative of how the game took the time to flesh out their backstories and still have it somewhat linked to the overall narrative of the world at large. Particularly Musse and her connections to Duke Cayenne.

Where I felt the story falter a little was how the last chapter was more focused on Calvardian spies in the capital city of Heimdallr. Whereas the three previous areas had focused on suspicious activity that was almost always about Ouroboros and their experiments with new technology, the battle with the Dark Dragon felt much more separate and standalone. 

Of course, the writers managed to exposition it all away, but it was the one part that I felt was not quite as synced with the others. In fact, it felt a lot like plate spinning (and give players a challenging boss battle) until events transpired that would thrust the main plot forward.

The combat still remains fairly similar to previous entries. Quartz management still proved paramount in creating the best team - whether that was equipping those with excellent stat boosters or a mixture of powerful arts. But while arts, particularly for healing, were important, I found myself leaning more on crafts and the occasional brave orders. Newly introduced to the series, brave orders were another piece of the puzzle to make combat more interesting. Almost all of them are buffs. Some increase the strength of all characters in combat, whereas others minimise damage. Still others gave the player characters unlimited turns to utterly decimate the competition. It was always fun to try them out and find the perfect combo to tackle many of the late-game bosses.

Another introduction to Cold Steel 3 was High-Speed Mode. Honestly, I should have played the entire game on High-Speed Mode. By speeding up all aspects of gameplay, it was probably the reason why I was able to finish the game within 110 hours rather than 130 hours. And yet, even with a guide to help me, I still decided to talk to almost every NPC after each major event to see how their lives had evolved. It might not give it a completely ‘lived-in’ feel of the world, but their vignettes were still amusing.

How else would I be able to enjoy Lord Quinn’s teasing of his young daughter? Or watch the burgeoning romance between Bennet and her fellow baker?

Despite how long the game took me, Trails of Cold Steel 3 was another solid entry. Though a lot of it felt like filler, the last few hours had me on the edge of my seat as disparate threads came together and many questions were answered. Of course, as the credits came to an end, I found myself with more questions that the game thought would entice me to play the sequel (which I will, because it, too, is sitting on my shelf ready to be played). 

Though it will be the end of a lengthy saga, I’m eager to see how it will all play out. What’s happened to Rean? Why did the developers leave us all with a cliffhanger? How many times will they attempt to echo the first Trails of Cold Steel in their third entry? Why is Alisa the supposed canon choice instead of Emma or Laura or Fie? The list goes on...

[fillingthescrapbook]

On Series Finales, Shenanigans, and Sabotage

In this post, I talk about the end of Superstore and WandaVision, the finale of Call Me Kat, the shenanigans of RuPaul's Drag Race, and what feels like sabotage to Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

Let's start with the good;

WandaVision delivered a great opening for Marvel's "Phase 4." While it was an amazing exploration of what it means to grieve, the series was also a great essay on what the medium of television means for so many of us who watch: an escape, and a way to process our real-life problems through characters who can have happy endings.

Of course, the show wasn't perfect. While the first half of the series took its time to set the milieu, the characters and their goals, and the tension of things not being what they seem--an impressive juggling act up until the fifth episode--the second half felt a little rushed with no room to let the supporting characters react and breathe. Which, sure, I get that the show called WandaVision would focus on characters named Wanda and Vision, but I felt like they could've given the others more to do?

Like when Wanda was fighting [redacted] and Vision tried to help out, [redacted] was just standing there. Watching. Like, [redacted] had powers too. And they didn't even attempt to do something? Really?

And that's not to mention set-ups for plots that were eventually dropped.

Although, according to interviews, the blame for some of this this falls on the pandemic. In their original timeline, the show would've finished filming and would have been editing the finale before the show premiered. In reality, by the time they started cutting the finale episode, they had already aired four episodes. Which meant they've already planted and aired a few scenes for a certain character to pay off in later episodes. Pay-off that they then decided to cut out because it ultimately felt like filler. Had the pandemic not happened, they might have had time to cut out the foreshadowing from the earlier episodes too.

But even with the faults, and the lack of accountability for certain actions done, WandaVision was ultimately a good show. One that was clearly made with love.

And speaking of shows made with love, let's talk about Superstore and its final act.

I've seen a lot of online feedback that Superstore wasn't as good with Amy gone. I don't agree. Amy (and actress America Ferrera) was the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae--or the sprinkles. She's a great part of a whole, but the product was still great without her. But I have to say: seeing her back in the last two episodes? It made the ending all the more bittersweet.

I will miss this show. I will miss its laughs, its hi-jinx, its resilience...and most of all, its heart. I've said before that if a show could survive without a proper wrap-up it would be Superstore; because it's such a perfect snapshot of real life for many of us. But I'm glad that the people behind the camera, the current show runners Jonathan Green and Gabe Miller, show creator Justin Spitzer, and returning director Ruben Fleischer, came together and gave the shows' fans a bow-tied finale that was full of hope and happiness.

I loved every single thing about the finale except the part that it was the last episode. Because even though I was satisfied with what they gave us? I still wanted more time with the staff of Cloud 9.

Now, let's move on to Call Me Kat.

I was a little iffy about the show when it started. It had some good bits, but it was also peppered with so many not-so-great ones. The pros: Mayim Bialik really made the character her own even in scenes lifted from the show it was based on; Kyla Pratt became a more and more engaging presence as the show went on; episodes that were original to Call Me Kat were both very fun and heartwarming; and it was a show that was unapologetically camp.

As the season went on, I started forgiving the show for things I didn't like (the closing goodbyes, and the imagined Brigitte) and even looked forward to new episodes. But then the season finale happened. And the show brought back one of the things I really didn't like in the first few episodes: the Kat-Max romance.

I do not have a problem with Cheyenne Jackson's acting nor his character. I think Max is great. But only as a friend. Because I just do not see any romantic chemistry between him and Mayim Bialik's Kat. I was happy that the show introduced a new love interest for Kat because I really didn't want her pining for Max the whole series. Sadly, the show switched gears and made Max pine for Kat instead.

It's still not working for me. And I really hate how it came back. Because the first time Max started to see Kat in a different way was when she started dating the new love interest, Oscar. It came off like he was threatened that his back-up plan is now desirable to someone else. And then he doubled down on his "love" for ex-girlfriend Brigitte. Which was initially played earnestly and then became a cover for Max fighting his feelings for Kat. And then the obvious deus-ex-machina in the finale where Kat had no choice but to entertain her crush on Max again.

If Call Me Kat gets a second season--which I hope it does--I hope the show runners realize that Kat and Max don't have to end up together. That they can remain friends and still have that fun dynamic with each other. Because not every friendship need to evolve into romance. (That goes for Kyla Pratt's Randi and Julian Gant's Carter too.)

Now, since we're already on the topic of plot lines being forced into being, let's talk about RuPaul's Drag Race. I started watching this show in its 8th season. It was a reality competition that was fun, funny, colorful, entertaining, and revolves around art. I got hooked. I then watched the two seasons that came after, lost interest in Season 11, and then came back for the twelfth season because of the pandemic and found it a little fun again. And then Season 13 happened. And I can't believe the show I started watching because I enjoyed the laughs became a show I now hate-watch.

I don't know what happened behind the scenes after Season 9, but there is something terribly off with how RuPaul's Drag Race has been produced since then. There's more emphasis on drama that isn't really dealt with properly, there's obvious favoritism, and there's a great disconnect between what the judges are seeing and what is being presented to television viewers. And yet I continue to watch.

Let's just say: I'm hoping either Symone or Rosé wins. But let's be honest: the producers of RuPaul's Drag Race is setting Gottmik up for the win as the first transman to compete. Which I feel is unfair. Because while Gottmik is great, Rosé has more nerve and talent while Symone has the charisma and uniqueness.

And finally: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and the sabotage, self-inflicted and otherwise, that's ringing the death knell for the show.

The first season was lightning in a bottle. While it was by no means perfect, it had so much heart that it didn't matter. We wanted to root for Zoey even when we knew that she couldn't realistically have it all. The core of the show was that Zoey cared. Too much as some characters would say. But because she cared, we cared. In comparison, Season two Zoey feels like a completely different person when her plot line has nothing to do with her father.

I can't help but feel that the show sabotaged itself by splitting the show into two: the one that's about Zoey, and the other one that's about Mo and Max's business venture. Zoey's plot lines, while not all stellar, still felt like it had the DNA of the first season. Mo and Max's feels like a completely different show that's airing simultaneously with Zoey's--with the occasional crossover when Zoey needs to talk with either one of them.

It didn't feel that way when it started though. But episode by episode, the business venture just started to separate more and more. And instead of drawing Mo and Max back to Zoey's show, the writers just kept pushing Zoey to visit their world instead.

The recent episode, where Zoey wanted to recapture the feeling she had when watching a celestial event with her dad, was the first time the show felt anything remotely like the one I watched last year. We see Zoey caring about other people, we see her struggling to balance her own needs with others--and we see her actually trying to process her emotions again. And it just had to happen in the first episode on a new time slot that's barely been promoted.

So after Zoey’s self-sabotaged, now it's their network's turn to sabotage the show by putting it in a time slot with stronger competition--while not bothering to promote the heck out of the move. This feels like the network has already made a decision not to renew the show for a third season, and the episodes left to air are the last ones we're getting. And that Zoey's not gonna get a second chance to go back to the show that it once was.

I can't even feel sad though. Because I feel like I already saw the show I loved last year slowly die right in front of my eyes.

[warbirdwrites]

Structuring my next project: part one

Hey everyone! So today, I’m breaking down the structure of my NaNoWriMo project – its working title is ‘Domesticity’ – and showing you how I’m approaching this. It’s not really a writing tip, per se, your mileage may vary, and we all plot and plan in different ways, but I hope this is helpful to some of you.

So, what is my project? Surprise surprise – it’s another spy one from me. The story started its life as half-baked TENET fanfiction (which you can read here). Neil really fascinated me in that film. None of the characters in the film have a lot of backstory, but, I loved dreaming up all the possibilities of what he did before TENET, so I’m exploring that, fleshing him out and actually, when it boils down to it, treating him as a totally separate character, inspired by the character from the film. He’s a blank canvas, and I’m just painting it in a way that I’d find interesting.

So, that’s the ‘what’ covered. Here’s how I’m working on structuring things. It’s a bit ‘paint by numbers,’ but I’m using the Hero’s Journey to sketch out all the beats in the story – the highs, the lows, where the action kicks off. And, if we’re using the three act structure, I want to divide my plan in three – the beginning (kind of short, when my characters are starting out on their journey), the middle (the bulk of the story and character development) and the end (the final showdown and tying up the loose ends). I want the drama happening in the middle bits between each act. Kind of like a nice triple-decker sandwich, with the drama being the filling to make people want to read more!

Keeping up? Good.

Here’s something that’ll help you with planning your structure: INDEX CARDS.

Now, when I was planning out my story rather than the structure I just used an index card for each little breadcrumb – or story beat – I wanted to include. And then, when I had roughly 12 or 13 of these with each one essentially being a chapter of my project – which is going to help towards keeping my NaNoWriMo writing goals achievable – I started figuring out the best order to keep the reader hooked all the way through.

The beauty of figuring out your structure this way is that you don’t have to commit to anything when you’re planning. You can juggle these around as often as you like (you can even see where I’ve crossed out numbers on mine). And even at this point, my set of cards probably will change. That might be tomorrow, or it might be in the edit. I might decide to start with an even more dramatic scene, or start at the end, and leave the real ending open to interpretation. The possibilities are endless!

I’ve even included little coloured tabs that indicate the state of my main characters’ relationships, individual character arcs and broader themes.

Now, I’m gonna take you through each of my index cards for act one.

Klaus Møller Must Die

So, this is part 0.1 – a prologue, if you will. I’ve already written this, but it needs so much work that I’m going to rewrite it. This part sets up what Margaret (this the name that’s given to her later on – I’m still spitballing what her real name is) is doing in Denmark, why she’s been sent to kill this businessman and a little bit about her as a character. She’s definitely my main protagonist in the first half of the story – before the focus shifts to my other character being more reactive in the second half – but she’s certainly always the driver of this story, all the way through.

Speaking of my other character, this is where she meets Neil, who thwarts her mission and essentially kidnaps her. He knows that her handlers will find her and kill her, so he offers her safety back in Britain in exchange for her ‘expertise’ in assassination. When she accepts the offer, Neil gives her the broad gist of their mission. They’re to go to London and pose as husband and wife – Neil and Margaret Harris, a lawyer and a teacher, with an Alsatian named Bruno (he bites) – and await further instruction.

Home

Neil and Margaret arrive at their house. It’s not that they don’t get along, they just don’t gel well as people in the beginning, and they butt heads a couple of times out of frustration for the situation. Finally, after two weeks, Neil arrives home with a brief. They’re to monitor two other agents in London. No contact. Just surveillance. Neil seems smug, constantly reminding Margaret that she’s alive because of him. Margaret knows those agents, though, she knows they’re dangerous, and begins to panic.

Meet the Neighbours (they’re weird!)

The evening before Neil and Margaret’s first outing as a top super spy duo, when Margaret comes home from work, she bumps into her neighbours for the first time – Jack and Sandy. Both American and hyper friendly, Margaret immediately dislikes them. But Neil, eager to ‘blend in’, invites them through for dinner.

Injuries

When Neil and Margaret are out monitoring their targets, Margaret’s rage gets the better of her. She goes in to try and kill them. In her absence, Neil gets stabbed in the side… by one of their targets. It’s now that Neil and Margaret realise that they’re much stronger when they listen to each other and work together.

So that’s my entire first act. Both of my main characters seem to hate each other at this point, but they’re also starting to realise what they need to do to succeed in their mission – stick together. I’ve included four characters that are going to become more important later on – the two other agents, plus Jack and Sandy. And I’ve managed to sow the seeds of suspicion in Margaret’s mind about the situation that she finds herself in.

What’s going to happen is anyone’s guess. Except mine, of course.

I’m going to walk through act two tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled!

[nightmarenoise]

Just comparing two cartoons I love

I understand that nobody asked in any capacity, but here I go anyway:

It feels fair to compare Ducktales 2017 to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018), not only because they're only about a year apart and truly, what is a year, but also because they

1. Both use this style that looks like it jumped straight out of a comic book. Okay, it's mostly the solidly inked shadows, but it gives me, personally, comic-y vibes.

2. They have taken what's arguably the main characters (the triplets for DT, the Turtles for TMNT) and shaken the formula up a good bit. Were the triplets formerly indistinguishable and all had the exact same personality, interests and voice actor, they are now three entirely separate entities with different traits and appearances. And while the turtles had about one defining personality trait and looked basically the same, save for the color of their masks, Rise made them different species of turtle to justify giving them radically different designs and three-dimensional personalities. Both shows faced criticism for this decision from people who cannot deal with change. Despite this, in both cases, it just works and does so incredibly well.

3. The oldest bros wear red.

4. We have two middle bros associated with the color blue who are both voiced by Ben Schwartz.

5. Both shows have a focus on family, with Ducktales especially focusing on found family and Rise on brotherhood.

6. Anime references!

Ducktales has a larger cast overall, with a lot of different characters all interacting with each other and they all have the most pleasant voices I've ever heard in my entire life. It's all solidly animated, the style is consistent and the animation is fluid, the characters are diverse and they're all lovely in their own right, except for those who aren't. The writing is top notch. Everyone feels consistent despite the large cast and it's delightful to watch all those interesting people interact with each other in their own way. The show also handles its mystery elements and occasional action scenes incredibly well, building suspense and delivering laughs and gut punches without hesitation. They juggle different tones like a professional clown, except the true clown was us, the audience, all along, for ever having doubted them.

The overarching plot of Ducktales, for its first two seasons, was mostly to uncover the mystery of what had happened to the mother of the triplets and all that would entail. Mystery and mythical elements will likely continue to be afoot for season 3.

Rise works with less focal characters, we have the Turtles, Splinter and April as well as various bad guys, but more than makes up for it with a lot of animation. A lot a lot of animation and it's all high quality. There's usually so much going on on-screen that a watching it once isn't enough to catch it all. Despite that, it doesn't feel crowded or rushed. Lots of dynamic shots and incredibly-choreographed action scenes, but nothing the thoroughly solid writing has to hide behind. Even when the baddies aren't the main concern, they're still well-rounded, interesting characters with unique abilities and motivations. Although, most of the mutants are just really feral. Still a delightfully diverse cast.

The turtles on the other hand spent their first season trying to foil their various foes, from a yokai trying to mutate all of humanity, to his mutants, to dealing with random mythical stuff, to the nefarious Foot Clan trying to reassemble the Dark Armor in the shadows. It's generally a more action-driven show, but they still find the time for some heartfelt moments.

The triplets 2.0

Despite their conventiently color-coded caps, they were really mostly the same character possessing three different bodies at a time. Well, the times of eerie The Shining like-twins, except extended to triplets, are over!

We have Huey, the oldest brother, voiced by Danny Pudi. He's a gentle, intellectual soul who values red hats, science, scout badges and checklists. Huey is arguably the closest in characterization to the original triplets, with some additional neat freak sprinkled in for flavor. He tries to be the responsible older sibling and keep his brothers under control and out of trouble. He also seems to have the most fiery temper of the bunch and should clearly not be pressed to the breaking point. He's my personal favorite and I heard season 3 will bring more focus to him, which makes me elated to hear. 888/10.

Middle child Dewey, the blue one, voiced by Ben Schwartz, who will inevitably come for all the iconic blue characters. He's very clearly the middle one, because he craves attention and validation and occasionally dreams of being an only child. Dewey is the one who started the investigation into their mom's disappearance and kept it from his brothers, partially to save them from hurt, but also because he wanted to feel special. He's the most interested in going on adventures with their uncle, but can get reckless when doing so. He's a bit of a spotlight hog, who has his own talk show that nobody watches and sings his own theme song when he needs to get hyped up, or just to fill this silence. This may sound kind of negative, but rest assured, he's a good, sweet boy. The focal triplet for the first season. 500/10.

Louie, the evil triplet, a schemer and a conman. Voiced by Bobby Moynihan.  The youngest of the bunch. While they call him evil, he's really far too lazy to cause serious harm, except for when it's his laziness that's causing him to take dangerous shortcuts, oops. He dreams of making a fortune, but without having to work for it and preferably without any responsibility either, thank you. He also occasionally dreams of being a spoiled fat cat. Despite his chill demeanor, he can be a bit of a crybaby and those tears are only fake 50% of the time. I feel like he likes getting babied, but mainly because that means there's less work for him to do. Season 2, which focuses more on him, reveals that he's actually quite brilliant, capable of seeing all the angles and giving him some chessmaster-like qualities. He needs to learn to use those abilities for good. 665/10.

Hi, she's Webbie! The honorary triplet, who also got a massive makeover, from annoying token girl tagalong to socially awkward, adorkable action girl. Be careful who you call ugly in middle school, indeed. Like a more ferocious  Mabel Pines, she has a grappling hook and years of martial arts training under her belt. Webbie can absolutely decimate you, but won't, because she's a sweet girl. Voiced by Kate Micucci. She continues to like unicorns and the color pink, but assuredly in the most badass of ways. She helped Dewey with his quest to uncover the mystery of his missing mom, but works well with all of the triplets, with Huey taking her under his wing a bit and Louie trying to get her to chill out more. Webbie is a sweetheart and I would die for her, were it not completely unnecessary, since she's more than capable of taking care of herself. ∞/10.

A lot of the supporting cast also saw updates and changes, for instance Gyro being a genius without social skills and Fenton being an adorkable scientist, but again, they work really well. They're interesting new takes on beloved characters. Even the new additions to the cast are great. In short, I love me some birds and am excited for season 3, Disney, get your scheduling together.

The Turtles 2.14.2 - I upgraded my upgrade in the middle of the upgrade

Also, these guys have seen so many different iterations in their, what, 30+ years of existence. As someone with no prior attachment to the turtle brand, I don't have a lot to say here. Leo's not the leader in this one and Raph has more personality than being angry at Leo for being the leader. Donnie is not just a random nerd spouting technobabble and Mikey has more depth than yelling the catchphrase every now and again. Apparently, this made people upset. I don't know how to help you with that.  The middle brothers exude some high chaotic energy and should not be left unsupervised, but the oldest and youngest seem fairly stable.

Raphael, the red-bandana'd alligator snapping turtle is an imposing figure. He's the oldest and therefore team leader by default. Raph has no reason to be upset at Leo, so he isn't. Despite his ferocious appearance, he's a soft guy, who likes teddies and doting on his brothers, but fears puppets. He's a bit of a knucklehead, most of his plans involve smashing things with his tonfa and he may refer to himself in the third person in the heat of the moment, but he possesses emotional intelligence, is open about his feelings and looks after his brothers. He is big and and strong, but his heart is bigger and stronger. He especially loves small animals animals, who don't usually return his feelings. RIP in F. This responsible guy is voiced by Omar Benson Miller. 300/10, very soft. Somehow both the heart and the big guy of the group.

Donatello has been upgraded from second-to-youngest to second-to-oldest, not that it makes much of a difference. His color of choice is purple and he continues in the character's tradition of being a nerd, although this time, with self-confidence. Donnie is very sure of himself and his abilities. As a spiny soft-shell turtle, he's less sure of his shell, but that's okay, he's made robotic battle shells to make up for it and his bō is the mother of all multitools. This guy can build you a tank out of a buggie and upgrade your animatronic into something to give the FNAF franchise a run for its money. He's the smartest of the four and when not focused on his phone, very focused on the mission. Due to having to deal with his bros, he can be exasperated a lot. Thinks of himself as an emotionally unavailable bad boy, even though he's just really sensitive and wants his dad or someone parent-aged to tell him they're proud of him. Theater kid. 999/10, give the middle child a hug and some coffee, you can't tell me he has a healthy sleep cycle. This sarcastic nerd is brought to you by Josh Brener.

Leonardo, Ben Schwartz's second blue character (Sonic (2020) being the third under his belt) and also his second ninja after Randy Cunningham. He's not the leader. He's still a good character. Leo has approximately 800 charisma and unwavering faith in both, his family and himself. Mostly himself though. Like Louie, season 2 revealed that he is a master of prediction and playing people like the cheap kazoo you can't tell me he doesn't have to play Darude's Sandstorm on. He dabs, he boards, he will pun you to death and back and he has an Odachi that can cut through space. Leo likes hogging the spotlight when given the chance and wants to be showered with attention and praise. Having four kids really only means twice the middle child nonsense. Leo is a red-eared slider, the original species of the TMNT, as I've been told. He's also the best at being a ninja, but usually too lazy to really apply himself. He's younger than Donnie, but tumblr suggested to read the two as twins, since they're approximately the same age, which sheds a whole new light on their dynamic and frankly, makes way too much sense. 420/10, for our memelord Leonardo.

Michelangelo, the eternally youngest of the bunch. An artiste, who puts stickers on himself, tags the lair, has a spiritual connection to his skateboard and the color orange. Mikey loves all things arts and craft, but he also tries his hands at cooking. He idolizes famous TV chefs and can do pretty much anything out of and into pizza. He's funny, without being annoying, like I feel a lot of other iterations of this character are. It's an easy pitfall for comic relief guys, but this one is more than that. If that's an issue, feel free to leave my house. Mikey is genuinely sweet and happy, optimistic and soft, but also the one brother who knows when it's time to take off the gloves and just get straight to the point. He's open about and in touch with his feelings. He's just baby. Don't treat him as one though. A lot of promo stuff says Leo has taken him under his wing, but he's had more episodes together with Donnie. Not that I'm complaining, they work very well together. Mikey and Raph are both the emotional centers of the group. Does not mind being yeeted after retracting into his shell, as box turtles may do. (Disclaimer, do not yeet actual box turtles!) His weapon of choice is a Kusari-Fundo that can turn into a fire-demon and is about as unpredictable as he is. Likes to jump and bounce around. Probably does parkour. Voiced by Brandon Mychal Smith who is audibly having a blast. 500/10, just an all around Kusari-fun guy.

For last, but certainly not least, April O'Neil, my girl, who saw an upgrade from flip-flopping love interest who was vaguely ninja-ing, but mostly damsel in distress-ing, to all-around spunky powerhouse and by God, she is glowing. Rise has her more as a big sister figure to the turtles, and I will not be told otherwise. She is independent and don't need no man, mutant or no. She has her teleporting pet, her faith in herself, her pinpoint baseball hitting skills and the a complete and utter lack of fear. Despite being a weirdness magnet, April is perfectly comfortable. She would like to be able to keep a job, maybe, but she has loving friends who respect and love her. Surprisingly good a ninja, fearless and fun. Occasionally thinks about being popular at school, but it's really not a big concern, she's not gonna throw a tantrum over it or anything. April is very chill. Not likely to be damseled. More likely to run after the turtles and clean up their messes or save them and everyone involved is fine with that.

The late 10's are really coming in to show us how dynamic and well-written female characters that aren't just "strong", but three-dimensional and relatable are done, huh?

An iconic performance by Kat Graham and ∞/10 for being the honorary better ninja non-mutant non-turtle and best big sister.

Here we have it, two older properties, having new life breathed into them to make them fresh and enjoyable. Have a new spin put on them, to better fit in with our current world. You can feel the love oozing out of every frame. At the end of the day, of course, it all boils down to taste and whether or not you like something. I gave Ducktales 2017 a go because a lot of the staff from Gravity Falls went to work on it and if you don't know me, I love me some Gravity Falls. It's a good show and I enjoy it. I recently got into Rise and while I don't know much about the people working on it, it is also a greatly enjoyable show, easily on the same level as Ducktales, if not above, yet with far less people speaking about it. Which is frankly saddening. I can only recommend the two of them wholeheartedly. If you love animation, yourself and occasionally feeling things, these are for you!

[mirkwoodshewolf]

The pipe player; John Deacon x reader

*Author’s note*

Okay so this one was a bit of a struggle cause when it comes to John I can't help but write a bit of fluff because c'mon LOOK AT HIM. HE'S A CINNAMON ROLL!!!! BUT THERE IS A DARK THEME STILL IN THIS STORY SUCH AS ABUSE AND A SCENE OF AN ALMOST ATTEMPT RAPE (Not with Deacy but another character) so IF THIS MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, DON'T. READ. IT!!! My feelings won't be hurt if you skip this part cause again I felt nervous writing it. So other than that, that's all I have to say, hope you all enjoy this part and I hope to have Brian's and the LAST HALLOWQUEEN fic up hopefully next weekend or before Halloween.

Intro to series

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural​

@plethora-of-things​

@ixchel-9275​

@waddles03​

@geek-and-proud​

@mexifangorl​

@queendeakyy​

@coolcxt​

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As you are walking around you suddenly come across one of the kids you recognized from the show during the pipe player’s routine. She was a little girl around 4-5 years old with blonde hair and green eyes holding a brown rabbit plushie in a blue trench coat.  You notice how she’s frantically looking around and her face is in absolute fear. Feeling heartbroken seeing a little girl so scared in a pretty scary place like this, you walk up to her.

“Hey sweetie.” She turns to look at you and she greets you shyly.

“Hello.”

“My name’s (y/n), what’s yours?”

“Laura.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Laura. Are you lost sweetie?”

“I was trying to look for my daddy, but I think I lost him in the crowd. He told me to head back but I forgot my bunny Mr. Wiggles here. I just found him and now I can’t find my daddy!” She begins to tear up so you comfort her.

“Hey, hey it’s okay. It’s okay. We can look for him together, okay?” she sniffled and said.

“R-really?”

“Of course. Here take my hand so we don’t get separated okay. I’d hate to lose you to a place like this.” She wiped her nose on her sleeve and takes your hand.  As you walk around, you ask her what she can remember that her dad looked like.

But she can only remember that he had dark brown hair.  So that ruled out some of the people that were in the audience and left with what over 1000 more to go.  Soon you both hear a voice.

“Laura? Laura! Laura lovie where are you!?”

“Daddy!” Laura lets go of your hand and immediately takes off.  You panic and race after her calling out her name.  But then you soon see her being picked up by the pipe player, the two of them hugging each other.  So—the one girl in the act was actually his daughter.

“Oh Laura my sweetheart, my darling. Why didn’t you go immediately backstage after the act like I told you?” he asked sternly.

“If I may interject, it wasn’t her fault. She lost her rabbit and she was trying to find him.” You explain to him.  He looked towards you before looking back down at Laura.

“Mr. Wiggles’ is scared of the dark. But it took me forever to find him, when the lights came on I founded him.”

“Well, I do know how Mr. Wiggles feels about the dark so I’m happy you found him. But next time come tell me if you lost him, I thought someone had taken you away from me.”

“I sowwy daddy.”

“It’s alright poppet. You’re safe now, and that’s all I can ask for.” He kissed her forehead and hugged her close.  You couldn’t help but feel your heart skip a beat at the warm family reunion.  “Now go on, join your brothers and sisters in the trailer.”

He sets Laura down but before she leaves she runs up to you and hugs your legs.

“Thank you (y/n).”

“You’re very welcome Laura. Keep Mr. Wiggles close so that he doesn’t get lost again.” She nodded before finally taking off running.

“How can I ever thank you for finding her?” the pipe player said.

“No thanks are necessary. It’s heartbreaking to see a child separated from their parents.”

“Believe me, it’s heartbreaking on the opposite side. I don’t know what I would’ve done had she been kidnapped by some of the freaks that come see our shows.” You nod in agreement because some of them did look rather shady to you.  “Oh where are my manners, I’m John Deacon.” He introduced himself.

“And as your daughter has said, my name is (y/n).” the two of you shake hands with each other.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything that I can do as thanks for finding my daughter? Can I make you some hot chocolate or a warm cuppa?”

“Well…I wouldn’t mind some tea.”

“Right this way.” He guided you towards the back to a four-train like trailer and he guides you towards the main one and inside you see a kitchen as well as three boys roughhousing it up with each other.

“Robert! Luke! DeAngelo how many times have I told you to stop roughhousing in the living room!” John proclaimed in that father-voice.

“But dad Robert and DeAngelo stole my Nintendo switch!” Luke proclaimed.

“Robert. DeAngelo is this true?”

“Well he was game hogging!”

“He wouldn’t let us play a game!”

“I don’t wanna hear it now. You have embarrassed me in front of a guest!”

“John it’s okay….” You try to say but he gently interrupts you by saying.

“No it’s not. Alright boys, as punishment all three of you are not allowed Nintendo for a week.”

“What!?!” all three of them exclaimed.

“Okay two weeks.”

“But dad….” Robert started off but John interrupted.

“Three weeks, wanna go for four?” he raised a brow at his three sons and they remained quiet. “Okay now the three of you go to your rooms and I don’t wanna hear another pipe or rattle out of you.” The boys all chanted out in a mantra-like state.

“Yes father.” Then as they walked out DeAngelo hit Robert over the head while Robert pushed Luke against the back, the three of them muttering angry hisses at each other.

“I am so sorry you had to see that (y/n).” he apologizes to you.

“No, no trust me I’ve seen worse. My cousins Derek and Cody used to go full on out MMA fighting style all over an X-box. My uncle literally took the thing and threw it out the second story window just to get them to stop.”

“Wow, maybe I should take a page out of your uncle’s book and try that.” Said John as he got out the mugs and prepared the tea.

“Please take a seat anywhere.” You opted for the velvet chair since it was the only thing that hadn’t been tipped over in the three boys squabble.

“Hey John.”

“Hmm?”

“If—if you don’t mind me asking. DeAngelo is—is he…..adopted?” The reason you asked that was because unlike Robert and Luke, DeAngelo was a black kid around 10 years old.

“A runaway actually.”

“Runaway?” you question.

“Yes. You know how when you’re a kid and when you’ve always claimed that if you were going to run away, you’d run and join the circus.”

“Yeah.”

“Well that was the case with DeAngelo. We found him about 4 years ago in Chicago. He was—difficult to deal with at first, but that was until I found out the reason why he ran away.” He comes in with two mugs of tea and hands you one as he says grimly, “His father was an abuser.”

“No.” you gasp.

“Yeah. I noticed a few cigar burns on his hip one night and confronted him about it. And ever since then I’ve been looking after him.” Ohh what a saint.

“If—you don’t mind me asking John….”

“I think in the light of the matter you can call me Deacy. All my friends do.”

“So—we’re friends now?”

“Anyone who saves one of my kids I would consider a friend. I hardly ever let the other three I work along with near them. All except Brian.”

“He’s the—underwater act?”

“No that’s Roger. Brian’s the sorcerer.”

“Ohh yeah. Sorry.”

“No, no, no need to apologize. I tend to remember him because only a sorcerer like him could have hair like that. I’ll bet he’d keep the same hairstyle even when he’s old and grey.” You couldn’t help but giggle. “Anyways what were you going to ask?”

“Well, again if this isn’t crossing any lines but I was wondering….how many children do you have?”

“Well I consider all the children who came up on stage mine. But by blood I’ve got six.”

You choke on your tea at the number.  Six kids?! But he couldn’t be older than his early or mid-20’s.

“Does that come as a surprise to you?”

“Well I mean—you don’t look like someone who would have six kids.” He chuckled. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that I was—”

“No, no it’s fine. Roger always calls me a prolific for having so many kids at such a young age. But I can’t help it. My wife and I always wanted a hundred kids.” At that statement you felt your heart secretly break a little.

Of course he was married.  I mean he was cute and all so how could a girl not fall for him.  He just—had this warmness to him that makes you feel like he’d not only be the perfect husband, but the perfect father.

“But sadly though I could only give her six.”

“Whys that?”

“She passed away about nine months ago. Breast cancer.”

“Oh Deacy I’m…..I’m so sorry. How—long were you both married?”

“It feels like a lifetime. An eternity. There was no one else like my Veronica.” His eyes held such sadness and heartbreak at the mention of his wife. “But—I promised her that any kid I would find from here on out, it would be ours. And I guess she keeps delivering to me more kids. All thanks to this.” He then took out his pipe from his undercoat pocket.

“Did she make it?”

“Yeah. It was on our first anniversary together. She said that any lost child that could hear the real tune of this pipe, can feel like they can do anything they wish.” So that’s why some of this boys were able to flip over the 20 volunteers all in a line, or were able to juggle things while balancing on a ball, or jump over 30ft into a pool of water.

“I wondered about some of those stuff the kids were doing. If that had been me, I would’ve chickened out.”

“Now I doubt that. Belief is more stronger than fear, if you can believe it, anyone can do it. Now since you’ve seem to know my life story, I think it’s only fair I get to know yours.”

“Oh no I—don’t wanna bore you to death with my tale.” You say trying to get out from sharing your life story.

“Oh no, no, no, no. I always teach my kids equal trade. If they argue about something, I tell them both to share their sides of the situation. So c’mon out with it.”

“Well…..” you trail off and take another sip of the warm tea before setting the mug down on the table that Deacy had put right side up just as he had sat down on the couch.  “My childhood was—a bit on the…..iffy side.”

“How do you mean?” he questions with a puppy-like head tilt.

“Well,” and you can’t explain how or why you suddenly started telling Deacy your life story.  Maybe it was his aura that made it feel like you can just tell him anything. “When I was six, my mom died of bladder cancer. So I know how hard it is to lose someone to cancer.”

“Oh (y/n). I’m so sorry to hear that. I—kinda know how it feels like to lose a parent at such a young age. My father died suddenly out of nowhere. I was lost for years till I met Veronica. Had it not been for her, I would’ve been kept in my shell.”

“It’s a good thing she did find you then.” You say with a smile.

“Did—anyone take care of you after your mum passed away?”

“Well both grandparents on each of my parent’s side were dead. My mum was an only child and my dad’s brother couldn’t afford to take care of me since he was dealing with my cousins who were teenagers at the time.”

“So your dad was the only one to take care of you?” at the mention of your father, you shift in your seat uncomfortably and nervously pick at your nails.  Unconsciously your shoes start to rub against each other and you can feel yourself getting a little clammy. “(Y/n)? (Y/n).”  You snap out of your daze.

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?” his eyes look at you with the utmost concern, like he’s approaching a frightened child.

“I—I’m sorry Deacy I-I-I was just….it’s…..” you start to ramble over your words and he gets down in front of you and says.

“Hey, look at me.” His takes your sweaty palms and squeezes them comfortingly. “Your cry-talking love, take a few deep breaths with me before you talk again.” He guides you through some breathing exercises to help you calm down.

You follow his guidance and he helps bring you back down to earth and calms the hysteria you were about to go under whenever it came towards your father.

“Better?” you sniffle and nod.

“Let’s just say…..I know exactly what DeAngelo went through growing up. But worse.” John’s eyes widen in horror as he couldn’t believe it.

“You mean……”

“Please John I…..I don’t wanna talk about it anymore.” You shudder in fear as you begin to close yourself up.  John immediately agrees and apologizes profusely in a gentle voice as he pulls you close to him.

You struggle to get out of his embrace because the only time your father ever hugged you, was to teach you a lesson. The more you struggled, the tighter he would hold you until you almost couldn’t breathe.

“(Y/n), (y/n) (y/n) relax. Shhh. No one’s going to hurt you. Shhh, relax. Shhh.” He tried to soothe you but you were still frantically thrashing about.  He hold you close with one arm and with the other reaches for his pipe and begins playing a soft tune.

Almost like magic, you stop thrashing and begin to calm down as you allow John to hold you close in his arms.  It was then you realized this wasn’t a punishment at all. It was a hug. A real, actual, comforting hug.

You’ve always wanted one but due to your father’s favored ‘lesson’ you feared that anytime someone was going to hug you, they were giving you a punishment which left you a bit touch-starved if you were honest.

But now being in Deacy’s strong but gentle arms, the music soothing you in one ear and in the other one his heartbeat assuring you everything would be okay.

Slowly but surely you lift your arms up and cling onto Deacy and bury your face into his chest.  He continues to play his flute and it further relaxes you.  Once the muscles in your body go completely relaxed and you finally stop fighting and just cling onto him like a child, John sets his flute down and places his free hand on top of your head, stroking through your hair.

“I’m so sorry (y/n). Had I known what—I should never have asked you to share such a personal story about your father.”

“It’s okay Deacy. That’s—actually the first time I ever spoke up about it to anyone.”

“Really?” You nod. “Well—I thank you for your trust. I know it couldn’t have been easy to tell me that. Even if you don’t include the graphic details, it’s still brave of you to tell me.”

“I would hardly call myself brave.” You state grimly towards yourself.

“Now don’t go putting yourself down like that. You are strong, just like DeAngelo, just like all the other abused children I find and take in.” he cups your face and stares right in your eyes. “Repeat after me. I. Am. Strong.” You at first don’t say it but with the same look he gave his boys earlier but in a more gentler way, you finally say.

“I am strong.”

“Louder.”

“I am strong.”

“C’mon from the gut. I am strong!”

“I am strong!” you proclaim loudly, he grins at you and he says.

“You damn well are.” You smile and thank him but he tells you there’s nothing to be thankful for.

“DeAngelo’s fortunate. You gave him a second chance. He deserves to be loved and protected by someone like you.”

“But don’t you think you deserve a second chance?”

“It’s too late for me.” You both remain silent before you say after a sigh. “I should get home now, it’s getting late.”

“At least me walk you to your car.”

“Ohh no thanks, I don’t want to keep you away from your kids, besides it’s probably their bedtime soon right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But are you sure you wouldn’t like some company to see that you get home safely?”

“I’m sure.” You stand up but before you leave, you shyly ask permission for one last hug.  John laughs softly but gives you a warm hug.

“You never have to ask me permission for a hug (y/n). Maybe next time I’m around we can spend a little more time together.”

“I’d like that.” You bid John a goodnight and finally leave the circus.

As you arrive home, you hang the keys up along the key ring beside your door when you suddenly hear movement in the house. You freeze because your roommate said that she was gonna be out of town till after Halloween.

And when she makes a confirmed date on when she knows she’ll be out, she sticks to it.  You slowly close the door and immediately turn on the lights but you see no one.  You try to calm yourself down thinking it was just your mind playing tricks on you again.

After showering and brushing your teeth, you walk towards your room only to see a horrifying sight.  Sitting right there on your bed was your father.  He stared soullessly right at you, his eyes cold and hardened.

“About damn time you showed up.” You are frozen right at your spot trembling in fear. “Took me for fucking ever to try and find this place. But when I finally did, boy did I have a field day.”

“H-ho-how…..”

“You should know that I’ve got eyes and ears everywhere. Now I’m gonna teach you a lessons for leaving me you ungrateful bitch.” Your adrenaline kicked in and you fled down the stairs trying to get out the door but to your horror it was blocked shut with the coffee table, kitchen chairs, stools, and a couple of small tables that were used as placements for photos.

You try to hide in the kitchen in the pantry closet but you can hear your father’s voice call out.

“Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide little brat. You’re caught by the cat, and he’s gonna have fun with you. Especially now that you’re older.” Oh god he—he was really going to…..

To your horror the pantry door opened and in his hand you even more terrified because he now held a gun in his hands. He cocked it and forcefully pulled you out of the closet and tossed you down to the ground.

“Take your clothes off.”

“Please don’t do this.” You begged as tears streamed down your face. Without warning he fires a shot close to you, the ringing in your ears making it clear that the next shot he wasn’t going to miss.

“I said strip!” his voice muffled.  Now you had no choice.

You slowly begin taking off your shirt first then your pants until you’re in nothing but bra and underwear.  You father looks down at you lustfully but just before anything can happen, a suddenly burst of wind came blowing in as the windows suddenly were pulled up.

A green bolt of lightning struck and there standing between you and your father was John.  

“D-D-Deacy?” you softly whisper.  He turns towards you and takes off his jacket and covers you up with it, to give yourself your decency back.  He cups your cheek and tells you while making direct eye contact with you.

“Sleep.” You don’t know why, but almost immediately you begin to feel tired as you feel yourself collapse towards the floor.  But John catches you and gently sets you down.

*3rd Person POV*

Once John sees (y/n) fall asleep, he quickly directs his attention to her father.

“Who the fuck are you!” demanded her father.

“I am known throughout folklore in in almost every culture. I have been described in many ways, it is not who I am. But what I am.” As John spoke, a green aura of magic surrounded him.  His greenish-blue eyes changed to a haunting gold, his skin changed to a dark greyish tone, horns sprout from his head, his face grew grimmer and his canines grew into fangs and his nails grew sharper till they reached a point.

But what began to intimidate (y/n)’s father the most were the giant 7-9ft black feathery wings that shot out from his back. He held out his hand and almost by magic, her father was flung across the room towards the barricade he had built to keep his daughter in.  He groaned but then was forced up and felt himself being choked.

John stood before him and just glared at him with soulless yellow eyes.

“You’re…..a monster.”

“Takes one to know one.” John then shoved his hand into (y/n)’s father’s chest taking a hold of his heart.  He groaned in agony before Deacy pulled it out.  Surprisingly he didn’t die. “Ho—how am I?”

“Still alive? Because I’m allowing it. For now.” John took a couple steps back and continued, “Whenever it comes to human manipulation, faes need a power source from the individual they want to control. And there’s no better control than the heart. I’m surprised you even have one.”

Then with a firm squeeze, her father lunged forward crying out.  John continued to squeeze his heart in his hands making him feel every ounce of pain he’s caused (y/n) in the past.

“So literally, your life is in my hands.” He squeezed even tighter and just stared as her father continued to groan and cry out in agony.

“ENOUGH! STOP IT!!”

“Stop it? Did you stop? Did you stop when you forced your daughter to take off her clothes? When she begged you to not beat her? Or when you used a form of affection as a punishment method by constricting her like a snake!? Did you stop then? So why should I?” Finally the heart began to crack and soon a crunch sound was heard and the screaming and crying ceased.

As John slowly opened his hand, all that came pouring out was dust.  Her father’s corpse collapsed to the ground and lay there motionless.  He nonchalantly blew the dust off his palm and said as he glared down at her father.

“She’ll no longer be in fear of you anymore. And she’ll get the second chance she deserves.” He then looks over towards (y/n) and gently picks her up bridal style, making sure that she’s still covered up in his jacket before flying out the window.

He flies back towards the location of the circus and walks towards

the left wing.  There some kind of ritual was set up.  Candles were lit up and essence were burning a calming lavender scent.  At the center of the circle of candles and essence, there was a Celtic design drawn all around the inner circle.

He placed (y/n) on top of the design and prepared some sort of powder.  He mixed some liquids together before pouring it into a small bowl of sand.  Using some chopsticks he stirred it up till the sand turned blue.

He poured some of the sand into his palm and poured it around (y/n)’s body.  Then he took some of that sand and gently brushed it across her forehead and down her nose.  He took out his pipe and began playing a tune that he’s played before one a few occasions.

The powder around (y/n) suddenly sparked into blue fire and her body began to glow in blue magic dust.  The light grew brighter and brighter until the flames suddenly diminished and the light faded away.

Now instead of the normal aged (y/n), she had now been turned back to how she was at five years old.  John soft smiled at her and stroked her cheek before picking her back up in his arms, his jacket now burying her small body as he carried her into the girl’s bedroom trailer where Laura and his 4 other adopted daughters slept.

He changed her into one of Laura’s clothes since they were now the same age.  Allowing his magic to bring back the human disguise he kept he stayed and kept watch over her because he knew what the spell would also do to her once she woke up.

*2nd Person POV*

You wake up to find yourself in a strange room that you don’t recognize.  In fact you can’t even remember how you got here, or who you were in fact.

“Hello poppet.” You quickly turn your head to see a man with short brown hair and warm, gentle eyes.  You couldn’t put your finger on it but something about him felt—right.

“Hi.” You said shyly.

“Do you know your name?” he asked you.  You think about it but nothing came to mind.

“No. Is—is that bad?” you asked nervously.

“No, no not at all.” He said assuringly as he strokes your hair gingerly.  “How do you feel about (y/n)?” you think about it and you nod with a soft smile. “That’s what I was hoping for.” He says gently smiling back at you.

“Is—is daddy coming home?” you ask fearfully. He looks at you confused and asks you.

“Why would you think that?”

“He—he always gets mad when I try to run away. What if he finds me? Please don’t let him find me!”

“Hey, hey, hey shhh shshshsh it’s okay poppet. It’s okay. Your daddy won’t ever find you.” He says as he takes your tiny hands into his large ones.

“Promise?”

“I promise.” He says as he gently lifts his hand to gingerly stroke your cheek.  You slightly flinch thinking you’d eventually get hit but as you kept feeling that gently stroke of his thumb on your cheek, you slowly began to realize that he wasn’t like your real daddy.

You don’t know why but you find yourself getting up and you slide off the bed you’re on and sit down on John’s lap and cuddle into his chest and cling onto him like a koala.  

He smiles down at you lovingly and slowly wraps his arm around you.  Still feeling a bit afraid since this was the common punishment your old dad used to give you, you tense up but John assures you.

“Shhh, shh. It’s okay poppet. It’s okay. This isn’t a punishment.”

“What is it then?” you ask.

“It’s called a hug. It’s something people do to show affection to one another.” You take in his words and said.

“I like hugs.”

“I like them too. And so do your brothers and sisters. That is if you want to get to know them.”

“So—I can stay?”

“Only if you wish to love.”

“I wanna stay. I don’t wanna go home!”

“And you never have to. I can take care of you love. I’m gonna give you the second chance that you deserved.”  You cling onto his tighter and bury yourself deeper into his chest, listening to his gentle heartbeat.

Meanwhile outside the magician Brian along with the cat tamer Freddie stood outside and Freddie asked.

“He did it again?”

“Yep.” Answered Brian.  “What is this—the fifth one this month? He’s been going overboard. Soon enough he could get us caught.”

“Oh let him have his kiddies, after all he and I are in the same boat when it comes to our children. He has his kids, I’ve got my cats.”

“You’re a psycho Fred.” Freddie chuckled sinisterly.

“A lovely psycho darling. But Deacy uses his powers for good and he gets rid of the arsehole parents around the world. Plus it might be good having another little Deacy child around. They at least make Roger a softie.”

“Don’t go there kitty cat!” Roger’s voice called out from his tank.

“And don’t call me kitty cat blondie!” Freddie hisses.

“Alright you two break it up!” Brian comes to stop the two entities.

[magicpotionniveous]

Pre-Lawsuit Ghost’s Tour Rider

On June 12, 2017  John Jurgensen of the Wall Street Journal posted a surreal outsider’s report on the Ghost lawsuit, for once not based on joppe’s translations. 

The WSJ is behind a pay wall and requires some juggling to access so here’s the highlight followed by the remainder of the article:

“Don’t put any fast food under our noses,” the band tells venues. 

...a list of requests sent to concert venues, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, included Ghost’s demands for cold cuts, beer and room-temperature bottled water. The band stipulated that bananas remain bagged in the catering area due to “a very severe banana allergy” among the traveling crew.

At each tour stop, they asked for six local postcards plus stamps (“YES WE REALLY WANT THESE”), along with good chocolate (“NOT HERSHEY!”) and quality food. “You are what you eat and in this regard we want to stay healthy,” Ghost noted in a dossier sent to venues.

When band members weren’t on stage or discussing evolutions in Ghost’s devilish mythology, they grappled with the earthly concerns of road life. In the cramped confines of the tour bus, sleeping schedules conflicted, recalls Mr. Persner. Debates about which restaurants to eat at were common.

From the beginning:

Ghost, a Swedish heavy-metal band, built a cult following over a decade using demonic pageantry and rhyming lyrics like “hypnotizing horns of ram” and “paralyzing pentagram.”

Band members perform in eerie masks and keep their identities secret, adding to the group’s mystique.

It all worked like a charm—until a recent lawsuit unmasked the satanic musicians as a bunch of earthly beings. In court papers and other documents, band members discuss such pedestrian matters as salaries, tour buses, laundry arrangements and how concert venues should prepare the bananas in their backstage spread.

“Don’t put any fast food under our noses,” the band tells venues.

In a realm where celebrities market their personal lives as much as their music, Ghost’s anonymity was an anomaly that fans flocked to. The band’s lead singer, Papa Emeritus, pairs skeletal face makeup with a pope hat bearing an inverted cross.

He performs while flanked by musicians known as Nameless Ghouls who wear silver-horned, mouth-less masks. Without revealing their faces, the band walked the red carpet at last year’s Grammys and accepted an award with Papa proclaiming that “a nightmare has turned into a dream.”

Four Nameless Ghouls are now suing Papa—a 36-year-old whose real name is Tobias Forge —in a Swedish court. They have accused him of financially shortchanging them and reneging on an agreement to make them partners and distribute the band’s profits equally.

The suit identified all the band’s members and has divided fans world-wide. Some have pored over the court documents and soaked up the behind-the-scenes details, while others resent the revelations for ruining Ghost’s spooky image. The dispute “really messed up the whole mythos of the band,” one fan complained online. “The lawsuit reduces them all to boring, flawed people.”

Kathleen Higgins of Halifax, Canada, a pet-store manager whose husband plays in a Ghost tribute band, avoided news of the lawsuit online and said she was bummed out by the band’s money squabbles and mundane affairs. “It’s like watching a Broadway show. When I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ as a child I wasn’t interested in who the actors were or what they ate for breakfast,” she said.

In character, Papa is a sort of occult sect leader who leads audiences in chants of “Belial, Behemoth, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Satanas, Lucifer,” incantations in the song “Year Zero.” But ahead of the band’s 2013 American tour, the front man was especially excited about Ghost’s transportation upgrade.

“It will be a real tour bus on the U.S. bit!” Mr. Forge wrote to the band in an email included in the suit. “Had we taken the van we would [have] gotten a minimal profit, but not sufficiently large for us to endure a month in the van.”

During concerts around that time, the band churned through songs such as “Death Knell” and “Satan Prayer.” At one point, Papa handed out unconsecrated communion wafers and sang about the stench of “dead human sacrifices.”

Afterwards, one of the Nameless Ghouls was tasked with cleaning the band’s gamey vestments in his apartment building’s communal washing machine in Sweden.

“It was like getting the whole football team’s dirty wash,” Martin Persner, the former Ghoul, said in an interview. Minutes from a band meeting included with court documents noted him raising concerns about the dank wardrobe situation and asking if it was possible to do laundry at the concert venues. Mr. Persner, a longtime Ghost guitarist who left the band last year, didn’t join the other Ghouls in filing suit.

As Ghost ascended in popularity in recent years, its concerts—known to fans as “rituals”—became more elaborate, featuring faux stained glass and burning incense. A confetti cannon shot fake money with Papa’s scowling face printed next to the number 666. Friends and audience members recruited as “sisters of sin” dressed up as nuns to administer the ersatz communion.

Backstage protocol was more basic. A list of requests sent to concert venues, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, included Ghost’s demands for cold cuts, beer and room-temperature bottled water. The band stipulated that bananas remain bagged in the catering area due to “a very severe banana allergy” among the traveling crew.

At each tour stop, they asked for six local postcards plus stamps (“YES WE REALLY WANT THESE”), along with good chocolate (“NOT HERSHEY!”) and quality food. “You are what you eat and in this regard we want to stay healthy,” Ghost noted in a dossier sent to venues.

When band members weren’t on stage or discussing evolutions in Ghost’s devilish mythology, they grappled with the earthly concerns of road life. In the cramped confines of the tour bus, sleeping schedules conflicted, recalls Mr. Persner. Debates about which restaurants to eat at were common.

The ultimate behind-the-scenes clashes, however, were about money. Mr. Forge’s legal response to the Ghouls’ suit, filed last week, describes showdowns over the band’s salaries, and claims the Ghouls were never more than musicians for hire. Their lawsuit “destroyed the mystery” of Ghost, Mr. Forge said, and their anonymity made them replaceable. He didn’t respond to requests for comment for this article.

Papa Emeritus recently debuted a new set of Nameless Ghouls, with no announcement to fans. The band launched a U.S. tour earlier this month.

The former Ghouls who filed suit declined interview requests. In a statement released in April, they accused Mr. Forge of “unabashed dishonesty, greed, and darkness. Not the darkness of which Ghost sings, but a darkness that pushes a person to betray his best friends when fame and fortune appear within reach.”

Martin Persner reveals himself as a former Ghoul.

Ghost’s anonymity is a throwback to the 1970s, when groups like Kiss shrouded themselves in sinister mystery. Pre-Wikipedia, fans had to piece together group lore by poring over music magazines, album liner notes and urban legends.

To be sure, some inquisitive and savvy Ghost fans were able to ferret out details about the musicians before they were exposed in the suit. But for the band, concealing their everyday identities was just a way to amp up the theater. The goal was to fuel rumors and “to create something larger than five dudes. Like comic book characters,” said Mr. Persner, who went public separately in a YouTube reveal meant to promote his own band, Magna Carta Cartel.

Being shrouded in a cloak and mask had practical advantages, too. “There was never a bad hair day,” said Mr. Persner.

-- Neanda Salvaterra contributed to this article.

Write to John Jurgensen at john.jurgensen@wsj.com

Appeared in the June 13, 2017, print edition as 'This Satanic Band Demands Better Work Conditions.'

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hell-on-earth-satanic-band-files-suit-citing-dreary-work-conditions-1497282380

The comments are a riot as well.

[oldtvandcomics]

MY OPINION ABOUT ENDGAME

I’ve written this nice long YouTube comment about Endgame, and it contains pretty much everything that I think about that movie, so I’m just going to copypaste it here. Because of the subject of the video, a lot is about Steve/Bucky not becoming canon and what happened instead.

Spoilers after the break.

Ok, I don't care, I have OPINIONS and need to share them somewhere.

1) Stucky was never going to be canon and I think most of us are adult enough to admit that. HOWEVER what the movie did in general felt as if it would ignore everything we know about Steve, Bucky and Peggy.

- Did they keep Steve and Bucky apart? Totally.

- Steve ending up with Peggy. Would have been nice, IF that was where they had been going since 2011. It is not. They had a movie together where they have some flirting going on (a lot less than other superhero love stories, if you ask me, but shipping googles, don't ask me). After that, Peggy got an entire season about mourning Steve and slowly accepting his death, and a second where she started dating again, and Steve two plus movies where his motivation was mostly "OMG, Bucky is alive" and "I need to protect Bucky". THEY BOTH MOVED ON. This felt like a last minute "let's do something that gets Steve out of the way and will count as a happy ending".

- Steve living in the past. Ok, ok, ok, this is a BIG one for me. As many others have pointed out, he is now in a time where he full well knows Bucky is being held prisoner and tortured, and it's either letting it happen or key points in history will change. He is also watching SHIELD being founded and recruiting former HYDRA agents, as consequence of which PEOPLE WILL DIE, and Steve knows that, because HE'S BEEN THERE. Is he just going to sit there and let it happen??

Also, if we are already at it: Imagine the following scenario. It is the early 50s and Steve Rogers has just returned from the future (2023, right?) to spend the rest of his days with the love of his life, Peggy. Segregation is still a thing. Residential schools are still a thing. Women don't have the same rights as men. Queer people don't have any rights, period. Disabled and mentally ill people are being constantly mistreated, part out of ableism and part out of genuine ignorance in the medical field. The US is in cold war with the Soviet Union, and both sides do stuff that are not ok, and also highly classified. Steve, having lived in the future knows about them because it's history. Should I continue?

We normal people would maybe play the well-behaved time traveller and sit around waiting for history to happen, BUT NOT STEVE ROGERS. He is famous, and very influential because of his status as Captain America, and he has got a significantly smaller tolerance for bullsh*t than the other people in his time, because he has seen a world that is more accepting. He is going to try to fight everything at once. This is going to be chaos.

- Finally, and I haven't seen this pointed out yet, but HOWARD. Steve just returned to a time when Howard Stark was still the Howard Stark we know from The First Avenger and Agent Carter. A little weird and egocentric and visibly ND, but all in all a nice guy. I don't even know where to start with how much chaos this is going to cause. The memory of Steve Rogers has been a driving force behind Howard's entire life. Having him actually BE there will 1) prevent him from idolising him, and 2) Steve will be able to say little things to him like "Howard, you really have got a nice son there, maybe you could spend some more time with him?". Will Tony without his abusive childhood still become Iron Man? I think so, yes. Will it still completely change who he is as a person? Also yes...? Don't even mention that Steve perfectly knows how Howard and his wife are going to die, namely assassinated by Bucky, because...

(Also, remember Agent Carter season 1 when Howard openly told Peggy tat he'd been in love with Steve? Yeah, that is going to be a fun discussion when they announce their engagement. Seriously, someone should write it.)

Conclusion: While I understand how the idea of Steve returning to Peggy might have sounded good on paper, the writers just didn't think it through and as a consequence, it feels rushed and as if they'd just butchered not only one, but at least three or four of our beloved characters and their story arcs.

2) My opinion about Endgame was that it was nice. But definitely not good or something I'd want to rewatch anytime soon.

- It bit off more than it can chew. One movie to close off six character arcs is not enough by far. They should have made at least three. One for Steve and Tony, one for Clint and Natasha, and one for Bruce and Thor.

  -> Tony's character arc was the one I was almost completely happy with. Minus the Pepper wearing the suit bit, which I feel should have been a big emotional moment but instead was just kind of there and came a little out of nowhere. Steve, see above, would have needed either a different ending or a whole lot more thought in it.

  -> Clint becoming a pretty terrible serial killer was just somehow never dealt with?? Because THAT? That would have needed a complete movie to make sense and to give him time to actually redeem himself. Natasha... Redemption equals death. I'm not a fan of that trope, especially because she already seemed to have redeemed herself at that point? She didn't need to die? Also, fine, I get why it could make sense, but killing off the one female protagonist these movies had for quite some time feels really, really... It makes me feel cheated. Given more time, they could have developed the whole arc better.

  ->Bruce making peace with the Hulk IS exactly what should have happened to him. HOWEVER, it all happened in that short moment when the screen was black and read "five years later". That is... Not what I'd call good character development. Again, this would have needed TIME. Give him a movie. Combine his story with that of Thor. Could have been great.

  -> Thor. This is the one that makes me just ANGRY, so I'm giving it it's own bullet point. Look, what happened to him completely makes sense. It also feels as if the movie hadn't taken him and his pain seriously. Like that scene in his cabin, that was totally played for laughs, and after that, they just didn't give him enough time. And I get it, there WAS NO TIME. There was just too much going on.

But people, alcoholism and PTSD are SERIOUS subjects, and if you want them there, you need to commit to write them properly. Marvel can do that, as they have proven with their Demon In A Bottle storyline, Iron Man 3 or The Incredible Hulk episode Alice In Discoland. But these are all separate stories that revolve around these themes. There is no way someone could manage a nuanced and sensitive representation in an ensemble movie that also juggles at least eight other characters and aims to close off eleven years worth of movies. There is just not enough time.

So what they should have done instead: Either make Endgame three movies, and give Thor and Bruce one where they can support each other while dealing with his trauma and the Hulk, or just leave out the entire arc. Thor's arc was finished in Thor: Ragnarok. He became king, learned to accept that his father had done many bad things and made peace with Loki. They should have left it there and only used him to drive the action forward instead of trying to have him evolve in any direction.

(In this version, the massacre at the beginning of Infinity War shouldn't have happened. Give them some more time to arrive on Earth, and than call Thor and Bruce away to fight Thanos while Loki is benched because the Asgardians need an acting king. Thor behaves more or less the way he did in Ragnarok, goes on his quest to get the axe, and Endgame is just plain different.)

- While I do enjoy a good "everything is bad AU", Endgame didn't make it work. Probably because they messed up the characters part.

- Nice call backs, though. Especially the one when they redid the Star Lord dancing in the cave scene, and than cut to Rhodey and Nebula watching him looking like a complete idiot. :D I really liked that one.

- Good action scenes. The end fight when all the dusted heroes came out of the portal and they were these dark silhouettes with a bright light behind their backs! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Conclusion: Nice movie. Not a fan. Only half achieved what it set out to do.

[televisor-reviews]

Everything Of Note I Have To Say About “Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil” Season 4!

As I’m sure you’re aware, the great animated series Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil has recently concluded and I have a ton to say about it... So I made a list!

1. Spoilers...

2. Duh...

3. Before anything, I absolutely loved it! This was the finale this great show really deserved.

4. Let’s start from the beginning: I’ve been watching Star Vs. for a few years now when a good friend of mine recommended it to me. At first I was resistant because the advertising for it at the time was god awful, but luckily I was convinced otherwise and been loving it ever since.

5. The show premiered when I was a teenager, going through all the cliche teen shit. So seeing a show that portrayed the overly dramatic life of a teenager without being one of those stock teen dramas was a good change of pace.

6. In particular, I remember being amazed that it could be so relatable while still being able to have it’s upbeat and fast-paced fantasy/sci-fi action sequences and world while also having a good mixture of mature and juvenile humor. I mean, all of that would seem to work against each other and yet this show made it work in spades.

7. Actually, the way Star Vs. uses it’s fictitious setting to complement its down-to-earth characters while juggling great humor reminds me a lot of a different Disney property: Guardians Of The Galaxy. GOTG, I think, is the perfect film to study if you want to ever write for sci-fi or fantasy because director James Gunn understood that you can have as wild and crazy of a world as you want but you still need to write your characters as genuine as possible. If you don’t, you’ll get something like Avatar (the movie); a film that everyone remembers liking because of the incredible world and even better effects, but no one can name a single character or plot-point. The universe still needs to be grounded by the characters or else it’ll become forgettable and un-relatable. Star Vs., thankfully, does not have this problem. I love the characters, their trials, their tribulations, all because they feel real despite the world in which it takes place.

8. That isn’t to say there isn’t a reason to set a story in a fantastical world or that there isn’t an issue with being too relatable. If anything, the world of the show helps to make it more entertaining, less monotonous, and more unique. Without it, Star Vs. would be another Pretty Little Liars or Zoey 101 or Dawson’s Creek or any other boring teen drama out there. They’re practically identical because they start off too similarly! They all follow around relatively normal teenagers in a relatively normal world with their relatively normal life and god do none of them stand out. So Star Vs. separates itself by still keeping its characters pretty wacky and the universe as crazy as Daron Nefcy’s imagination!

9. Even by a storytelling perspective, this makes more sense because there is objectively more that can be done! By the end of Zoey 101, Zoey and her lame crew basically did everything they could do without jumping the shark too much. In comparison, there are countless adventures Marco and Star could go on even past the series finale.

10. And because the number of future adventures are countless, part of the tragedy of the show ending is that we (the audience) don’t get to experience them alongside these characters we’ve learned to love so much. Keeping that door open leaves a much longer lasting impression on the audience, as apposed to the ending of Zoey 101 in which... wait, what happened again? I don’t remember. Anyways!

11. I love the comedy in this show! From the very beginning, the humor was very lighthearted and yet mature because it had to be. It had to have a tinge of maturity to it because the target audience isn’t little kids like it would be for a show like My Little Pony or SpongeBob. Star Vs., with it’s doomsday atmosphere and constant teen drama, was definitely geared more towards older children/preteens. The ones more likely to watch a show like Gravity Falls or Rick And Morty and this audience will not tolerate childish humor. They can appreciate it sprinkled in here and there but if used too much, they’re taste will sour. This is because as they are maturing to to start maturing into adulthood, there is the natural need to separate from childish things with the added childishness of wanting to totally separate from it. That’s why on The Loud House, a punchline could literally be poop and why that is not something you’d see very often on Star Vs.

12. With that said, the show still needed the humor to be incredibly lighthearted because otherwise this show would be so depressing! The worlds in which these characters live in and know are constantly changing, evolving, and almost blowing up. For Christ sake, many important characters die in this finale! The only one who died in Gravity Falls was the villain and in this, the villain isn’t even one of them! Seeing Marco and Star still be able to crack jokes to one another and making each other laugh keeps spirits high. God knows Hekapoo can’t do that now!

13. Speaking of Marco and Star, I have been a hardcore Starco defender from the very beginning despite the show constantly trying to convince me otherwise! There are so many perfect pairings in this cast that any one of them could’ve worked if Nefcy were top change her mind. If it ended with Star x Tom or Marco x Janna or Star x Janna or Marco x Hekapoo or Marco x Tom or Marco x Kelly it would’ve worked perfectly well.

14. But lets not kid ourselves, it was always going to end with Marco x Star. Their relationship and chemistry is unmatched, they might be the only couple in existence to say a joint line like “With or without magic, we were always meant to be together,” work and come off as not only sincere but true. I don’t even believe in the whole “soul mate” mumbo-jumbo, but I’d be damned if they are not that!

15. I audibly squealed in delight when they finally got together. It was like the build-up of four season culminated in one scene.

16. Though it wouldn’t really surprise me if I was alone in this assessment because I am a sucker for a good romantic movie. I saw La La Land in theaters, I cried at Love, Simon, I actually really love Love Actually. And though I do think Star Vs. pulled off relationships better than most, take my opinion with a grain of salt because the build-up itself was a little grating.

17. I have a huge issue with “will-they, won’t-they” stories! It’s the same issue I had with The Office and Friends and The Big Bang Theory and Sailor Moon and That ‘70s Show and every other show that has this dumb trope! Of course they’ll get together because otherwise I wasted several hours of my life wondering about it! Star Vs. isn’t as bad about this as most others but it’s still there and it’s still annoying.

18. It does this better than most because of three main components: it’s relatively short, we get plenty of Star and Marco being all lovey-dovey with each other once they do get together, and they do have genuine chemistry together. They have so much chemistry that Star’s ex literally told Marco that they were clearly into each other. If only they could’ve avoided the trope.

19. Okay, this next point is a little personal but it did effect my feelings towards this show’s finale so I think it’s kind of important that I mention it. Around the time the Star Vs. was ending, I was just entering my first real relationship and around the time I watched this finale, we lasted long enough that we could start taking the relationship a little bit more seriously. Now before anyone says anything: everything’s going great (she actually made me my header) and I am absolutely still in a honeymoon phase with her. But I think you could imagine how a lovesick teen just entering a serious relationship would be effected by this show that ended with lovesick teens so in love that they’d happily sacrifice themselves for the other.

20. I may or may not have also been high while watching this and that may or may not have effected my viewing experience. Don’t be a narc!

21. I love what this last season did with Ludo. Push away the fact that they somehow keep talking Alan Tudyk into these rolls he clearly does need to do and yet still does a great job at it (did you know he was King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph? Why? Why did he do that? Why is he so good in it? This guy’s casting decisions are so weird). The character of Ludo was a generic comic relief villain (see Doofenshmirtz) but was usually fine if only because he made for a good contrast and was way more interesting compared to Toffee (played by Michael C. Hall, another actor who does not need this job). But season four made Ludo a million times more interesting by showing his obsession with the wand exactly what it is: and unhealthy obsession that he needs to get over. And I like where he’s left by the end, clearly still not doing too great but is making strides to get better. As someone who has known many addicts in my life, this hit home a little.

22. Actually, I think a large part of season four was specifically meant to fix the first two mediocre seasons. Just look at my new favorite episode of the series: Britta’s Tacos. In this episode, Star and Marco find themselves back on Earth after a year of being on Mewni and catching up with all of their friends and seeing what’s changed. Watching this episode, I was reminded that as good as the first couple of seasons were, the latter half of the series was a ton better! The characters, character arcs, stories, everything, everything was better once they went up to Mewni. So seeing them go back to Earth and challenging the writers with rewriting their past characters to be more interesting showed just how much the series has improved. Could you imagine characters as uninteresting as those nerds I don’t even remember the names of being introduced in the much more interesting latter seasons? I couldn’t! So I appreciate that they went back and made sure every character in this show was interesting... except for Toffee, he still sucks.

23. And of course, the character that improved the most, hands down was absolutely Jackie Lynn Thomas! She was as bland and boring as a love interest got and that bothered me from the very beginning. How is it that in a show this imaginative and unique they still felt it necessary to use this tired cliche. So bringing her back, the writers had to do something to make her more interesting and it was apparently really easy. All they had to do was keep the character herself basically the same but now she’s a lesbian. And somehow, just adding that one extra layer made her feel so different, so interesting, so complete. I think that’s what it was, she just felt like an incomplete plot point and giving her a girlfriend completely separates herself from being important to the plot and adds that extra layer to make her seem more finished as a character.

24. I’m actually really surprised by this recent trend of LGBTQ+ characters in kids cartoons. You’d think that of all mediums, kids cartoons would be the last to fully integrate a controversial minority but they’ve been some of the first. Steven Universe really started this trend but I feel like The Loud House was the first to show and say it outright. Star Vs. doesn’t do it that well (and I’m willing to bet that was because of higher-ups over at Disney) but I appreciate the sentiment anyways. They never call Jackie and her girlfriend a couple or show them kissing, the most they do is have them hold hands and though I guess that’s enough, I wish they were able to go further. Whatever, I already wrote about why this representation in kids media is important, go read that.

25. For a while, Star was my favorite character in this show. I just have a real soft-spot for upbeat female badasses (and I am very happy this has become more of a trope recently), I think Janna might’ve taken the throne. It’s not that Star stopped being interesting or anything like that, I just really love Janna and her “Jannanigans”. Plus, I do really like the “cute girl who’s into weird shit” trope too. She’s not my favorite version of this trope (see Raven from 2003′s Teen Titans), but she was always a delight whenever she was on screen.

26. Tom is probably the most obvious example of “boring character was made interesting” that the show has. In the beginning, he was the standard bad boy archetype but, over time, was given more personality and started working off the other characters much better. Sure, he and Star worked great with each other as to be expected, but I think the real standout relationship he had was with Marco. I have never seen bromance as strong as what those two have. Their little musical number at Queen Moon’s cornonation turned talent contest might have been the greatest piece of animation ever made (change my mind). And this I know people agree with me, I cannot exaggerate just how much literally everyone I have ever spoken to loves Marco and Tom. It just works so strangely, it has to come off as genuine.

27. I think the series was supposed to go on for another season. I say this because Kelly was too good of a character to waste like they did! She was a great character with tons of personality and amazing chemistry with Marco that was seemingly building up to something... only to drop the ball at the end. She isn’t given much to do, she doesn’t have a final scene with Marco, she isn’t even given a good ending. The most we got was Ponyhead theorizing what her life would be like just to cheer up Star. If that was all they were going to do with Kelly, that’s just a waste of perfectly good build-up.

28. It’s very strange how on the nose these metaphors in the show got at times while still seeming perfect. I guess it had to be on the nose so that the younger audience could catch on to them but I’m not sure what the’ll do with the knowledge that magic=nuclear power. Also, the monsters kind of changed metaphors, originally they were clearly meant to be Native American stand-ins but later on they kind of changed into African American stand-ins. Not that they’re histories (in America) are all that different but it was a noticeable switch. It’s not like Zootopia where any given animal could represent any number of races depending on the scene in question, this was definitely what Star Vs. was going for and I’m not sure if it totally worked. It didn’t NOT work, I guess.

29. I actually don’t like the whole “blowing up the magic” thing. It was something Star made up in a temper tantrum and goes totally against the theme. The whole time, the show was going on about how important integration is and how “separate but equal” doesn’t work and whatnot. So destroying the only way they know how to travel through different dimensions seems contrary to that point. I get that drastic times need drastic measures but I get the feeling that in a theoretical season five, Star and Marco would work to bring back the magic. Or maybe find a more scientific way to travel through dimensions... like some kind of portal gun. We already know this takes place in the same multiverse as Rick And Morty, it’s not that crazy an idea.

30. Another reason I think there was originally going to be another season is because the whole “Mewmans are humans” thing that came right out of nowhere! I mean, it makes total sense and I’m totally down with this plot point but it seems like that would be a much bigger deal than the characters make it out to be. My god, they don’t even let Marco finish explaining this. How the hell did that cave painting get to Earth if they didn’t run into Glossaryck until they got to Mewni! Explanation please!

31. I wish destroying the magic didn’t also mean killing off Glossaryck and Hekapoo. I don’t really care about any of the other characters literally made out of magic, but those two are just so likable and such fan favorites, it’s just a shame to see them go. Though I do really like that they’re reaction to the whole thing seems to just be a mild shrug. I get the idea that since they’ve lived for millennia which would make them more okay with dying. It’s easier to live a full life if you can’t die.

32. I like how Mina’s story ends: defeated and yet still refusing it. Her whole speech about having good ideas really says something, like these issues will never be fully defeated because everyone thinks that they’re right. It’s a bit more of a bittersweet moral than “bad always loses because they’re bad” but is an important lesson that I think kids need to learn. Especially in this political climate. Good god, just end me!

33. Holy shit, I’m up to 33! My Wakfu one only made it up to 25 and I am nowhere close to done yet!

34. A psychotic part of me really wishes the finale had Star and Marco die in each other’s arms in the Magic Dimension. It’d be the ultimate show of love as they’re sacrificing each other for one another and be the ultimate ending. I mean, what more is there to care about after the main two characters are dead? It’d be very bittersweet and much more emotionally taxing on the audience but it’d also be more classic. Like Romeo and Juliet or Bonnie and Clyde, they’re love was just too strong for this world.

35. With that said, that part of me is absolutely wrong! Having their dimensions merge was clearly what the series was building up to with it’s hopeful tone, the power of love being a big theme, the message of integration, and (of course) the promise they made to Meteora and Hispanic Meteora. It seems so obvious in hindsight and yet I still didn’t see it coming, I guess that’s a sign of a really good plot twist.

36. My god, everyone is such a dick to Queen Moon. Like let her be in love you jackasses. I had such a hard time liking anyone who worked against her (which is why I really like that Hekapoo had reservations on both sides the whole time) and this includes Ex-Queen Moon. I really can’t grasp my mind as to why she thought this was a good idea, it clearly wasn’t from the very beginning. Maybe if the show gave her time to explain herself I’d be singing a different tune but she never really does and I have a hard time forgiving her even after her apology.

37. This is just a reminder that Starco is best ship. Repeat, Starco is still best ship.

38. The ending reminds me of Titanic. I mean, two young lovebirds meeting each other, growing closer, and falling in love all the while a looming threat of destruction and death is above them. The epic scale of their problem being brought down to earth by the almost normal love story happening in the midst of it all. Their ever ready willingness to sacrifice everything for each other. Their world forcing them to cling to each other for protection. The grand scale of everything around them making their love seem grander than it would be without it. Yeah, there are more and probably better examples I could turn to for comparison (Romeo And Juliet, Les Miserables, Spartacus) but Titanic was the first one to come to mind and I’m sure my subconsciousness has a good reason for that.

39. I continue to have problems with this finale but I get the sense that I’m nitpicking because this was still an amazing end to a great show. When I think about this ending, the first word that comes to mind is deserves. This is the ending that the story deserves, that the characters (minus Kelly) deserves, that the show itself deserves. It really is a fantastic finale and I’m so grateful that I got to experience it.

40.

[i-am-the-entertainer]

RevieWBY: Volume 6

This has been stated so many times, but Volume 5 was bad. Okay, it wasn’t terrible, like I don’t feel offended by it being bad (unlike certain folks), but looking back on it I don’t have anything to say to really defend it as something Rooster Teeth should have talked up as much as they did at the time. It had some good things going for it, but the amount of problems it had in terms of animation and writing really put a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. So for Volume 6 to deal with all that fallout, it was going to have to do a lot. And to their credit, CRWBY accepted the criticism in stride, and actively worked to make Volume 6 something that people who despised Volume 5 might enjoy.

Still, one had to go into this season with the understanding that some people were never going to be completely satisfied with whatever CRWBY did. Because at the end of the day, the RWBY that Rooster Teeth currently makes is not Monty Oum’s show anymore. No, this isn’t saying CRWBY is in any way disrespecting his legacy, it’s just Monty Oum had a certain method to running the show that only he could really get away with: epic fight scenes, suddenly throwing giant curveballs into the series’ mythology, taking vital time away from storytelling so the fights looked cool. I mean, there are people who criticize the show for doing that now when they didn’t give two shits when Monty did it, because Monty did it in a manner that somehow worked. I don’t know how he did it, but he did, and, well, he’s not here to do it, and there’s no way even a huge animation team can collectively do things like him. And they shouldn’t: if they can use a better industry standard animation engine than Poser, than the fact that Monty Oum didn’t like animating with Maya shouldn’t stop them.

Blah blah blah...this is all about FNDM reception. What did I think of Volume 6?

Well...

Focus

In my mid-volume review I cited this as Volume 6′s strongest aspect, and as far as I can tell this remains the case. By focusing our hero storyline on one group and for the most part the villain storylines on only a few characters who were paired off, Volume 6 effectively told a story that didn’t force the viewers to juggle multiple things and find some semblance of a continuing story. Everything happened linearly and the whole thing made for a more enjoyable watch overall.

Tone

Building off of that renewed focus, this volume felt like it had more of a consistent tone that lasted from beginning to end. RWBY markets itself as an anime show and uses a lot of that anime-style of humor (slapstick and comedically exaggerated emotions), but honestly it’s always played fast and loose with using that humor in a way that doesn’t feel out of place. In this volume it was more consistently used, and that’s largely thanks to the nailed down focus that allowed character interactions to utilize the humor in a natural way. Ruby and Maria Calavera were especially good sources for humor.

Now, things did get a little more screwball when Cordovin came into the mix, but it was interesting seeing CRWBY take that humor to a logical extreme for the first time in a while (not since the Beacon years). It interrupted the tone for a bit, but not in a manner that overall changed the genre this show is going for.

Animation

Beautiful. The improved production pipeline that we’ve heard about really came through. These episodes were the best they’ve ever looked, minus a few errors here and there, showing just how amazing RWBY can look when you give the animators time to add their own touches. There was some really great fight animation to boot: none of the fights this volume felt awkward, and you could tell the animators had a lot of fun.

Worldbuilding/Storytelling

It feels weird saying that Volume 6 did a better job with worldbuilding than Volume 4, which took place on four different continents and traveled across one, and Volume 5, which took place on two different continents and featured the second major skirmish between the villains and the heroes. I think this has to do with just how well it was integrated into the story: insight into the world came at points where the story needed it and when the viewers wanted it. Nothing ever felt like a massive info dump better suited World of Remnant; where there was just too much information delivered that wasn’t relevant to what was happening in the show. Volumes 4 and 5 had this same problem with establishing the world, often telling us too much in a way that just didn’t feel natural to the story. With Volume 6, almost every chapter up until the final Argus arc included some form of that insight:

Chapter 1 showed us how ordinary civilians deal with traveling through Grimm territory––the steps they take to protect themselves

Chapter 2 showed us some aspects of the Mistral criminal underground, not telling us too much about it but suggesting it was much larger than what Cinder encountered.

Chapter 3 showed us...so many things.

Chapter 4 offered a sense of the stakes RWBY faced in relation to all of Remnant.

Chapter 5 and 6 gave us a glimpse at another form of non-city life in Remnant.

Chapter 7 introduced us to Argus, my favorite of all the Remnant cities we’ve seen; plus a glimpse into the life of the silver-eyed warriors; and a more representative depiction of what domestic life is like in Remnant

Chapter 8 told us what Atlas personnel who aren’t Ironwood or Winter are like, plus the long-awaited insight into how the silver eyes work.

Chapter 9 shows something of the effect the Battle of Beacon, and by extension Pyrrha’s death, had outside of our core group.

Things kind of teeter off with the finale arc, but that’s because worldbuilding became a little less important to what was going on. This is kind of a stretch, but the mech fight and the arrival of the Grimm in Argus give us an idea of how large non-capital cities defend themselves without just spelling everything out.

All in all, this volume delivered on some impressive worldbuilding, probably the best the series has had in a while. It wasn’t massive info dumps unless it needed to be (e.g. Chapter 3), and it offered just enough for other important things like the storytelling and the action to still be in the forefront.

Characters

Volume 5, despite the fact it involved the major reunion of Team RWBY after two volumes, felt like it was simply putting the main characters through situations without those situations really doing anything to develop them or define them as anything beyond what we already knew. Some characters fared better on the development front, namely Yang, but others, especially Ruby, just seemed to be along for the ride without us getting any insight into them. This is where the writing issue that came from separating everyone starting with Volume 4 really came to a head: too many different characters with their own story to cover, and sometimes those stories just didn’t do much for the character beyond existing as a situation they were in.

Volume 6 feels like the refutal of that, and that mostly has to do with the fact that we’re not juggling so many storylines anymore. When a major event happens to the heroes, everyone gets affected at the same time. The train crashes? DEVELOPMENT! Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT AND INSIGHT! Snowstorm? INSIGHT! The Apathy? DEVELOPMENT! Telling team JNR about Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT! Adam ambushes Blake and Yang for the first time since Volume 3? DEVELOPMENT! WITH A HEALTHY DOSAGE OF ANGST!

Surprisingly, the same thing is happening to two of our favorite villains, Mercury and Emerald: even though they only really appeared in three chapters this Volume, we actually got a surprising chance to see how their defeat at the Battle of Haven affected them, and their increasingly strong misgivings about working for Salem. We get more of an idea of them as people rather than Cinder’s blind followers, understanding why they stuck with such an evil person for so long. It’s the most we’ve learned about them since Volume 3, and we didn’t even need lengthy flashbacks.

Even Adam got some more insight. RWBY has been following the path that Adam was an abusive ex-boyfriend for quite a while now, but there was always this underlying thought that he got into the White Fang business for a seemingly noble cause. The problem was the show hadn’t depicted how he got from Point A to Point B. The Adam Character Short offered us some of that much needed insight, putting some of his actions up to this point in a new context, even if it was set-up for clearing up some things so they could get rid of him.

Of course, there are still exceptions to characters getting character development, and honestly they’re kind of glaring ones. Oscar’s development arc, where he came to accept he was his own person, completely happened offscreen (for reasons that I’ve brought up before and will reiterate in the final section), robbing us of really witnessing his growth as a person. I enjoyed some of the stuff Cinder did this volume, especially her escape from the vault and her fight with Neo. But honestly she continues to be a pretty bland villain with little hints at her motivations for being such a terrible person: the Battle of Haven was such an utter defeat for her there needed to be some form of consequence that would’ve affected her character while also telling us more about her. Maybe it would’ve been her strategizing her revenge, which would’ve gotten more insight into how she thinks as a master planner. Instead, we get her leaving the vault, more or less going back to what she used to do but in a more low-key setting, fighting with Neo, plotting with Neo, and leaving with Neo. It felt more like “Hey, she’s alive, and here’s what she’s doing,” which while I appreciate it feels kind of a waste of time if you’re not doing anything with her beyond that. Honestly, a post-credits reveal that she was alive and then a pre-Volume 7 character short detailing how she made it to Atlas that covered her and Neo’s entire storyline this volume would’ve been more helpful.

Before I go on to my most major critique of this volume, I need to address the two Goliaths in the room.

Adam

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they needed to get rid of Adam. The way things have been going, there was only so much more you could do with his character before he became a nuisance that was overstaying his welcome. I understand people wanted some deeper insight into him, but the fact was he was never introduced to be a major villain to anyone beyond Blake and later Yang. They could’ve had him have a thing against Weiss, but they didn’t, they focused the time that would’ve made him a major villain for everyone else on making people like Roman and Cinder and Salem the big villains. They decided on the path of abusive ex-boyfriend a very long time ago, and if you hadn’t figured that out after the Adam Character Short I honestly think you were being willfully ignorant to what’s been building up.

The best I can say is that Adam and his history is a missed opportunity for some pretty interesting storytelling and worldbuilding, but the fact remains: it is not his story that they want to tell, it is not his show. It may make something interesting to think about, but Adam’s story is supplementary, and works better in supplementary material, a la character shorts and maybe mangas.

Jaune

Y’all need to quit it with the “Hrrr drr Jaune took up time again moan moan Miles Luna is self indulgent” talk, he barely did anything this volume beyond Chapter 9 and having a sister that the whole fandom loved.

Pacing

This...this is where Volume 6 ran into trouble.

Overall, from the season premiere to the finale arc, this was probably the best-paced season of RWBY we’ve ever had. Major story events happened right when we needed them, and for the most part they didn’t drag out story arcs for any longer than they needed to be.

Well...until they reached Argus, that is.

At face value, a lot happened in the final couple of chapters. Chapter 8 gave us Maria explaining the silver eyes, Chapter 9 had the scene with Pyrrha’s statue and the mysterious Red-Haired Woman (I’ll headcanon whatever I want about who she is, Jen Brown) Chapter 10 started the Cordovin fight, Chapter 11 reinforced Blake and Yang’s partnership, Chapter 12 killed Adam, and Chapter 13 had Ruby finally use her silver eye powers to defeat a Grimm and they made it to Atlas. Yeah, it was a pretty eventful set of episodes.

So then why did it feel like it dragged? Here are a couple reasons that I’ve identified.

1. The Cordovin Battle sidelined story arcs for too long

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: the finale arc should not have been split up like that over so many episodes. It afforded us some pretty well-animated fights, some of the best the series has ever had, but the volume hadn’t been relying on that action to keep up the forward momentum, but on actually telling the stories of these characters. I get the need for CRWBY to prove that they can do well-animated fights, but as I’ve come to accept action should never take precedence over storytelling (I know, that’s hard to swallow when parts of the fndm spends hours complaining about how Monty’s not animating the fights anymore). And it’s clear to me in this final arc put emphasis on the action over the momentum of the story, bringing the actually pretty good storytelling the volume had had up to that point to a grinding halt.

Now, historically RWBY fights have delayed telling stories, but it’s never been for too long, at most maybe two chapters? But if you spend three chapters on a single fight, thereby devoting three weeks of your viewers’ time to high-octane action, people are gonna notice that the story is basically going nowhere.

What could’ve made this less of a problem? Well, perhaps establishing Cordovin earlier and making her less of a buffoon would’ve eased my hatred of this arc. Volume 6 lacks a clear antagonist for the story, but the way Cordovin was treated as a big deal in this final battle made it seem like she was taking up that role, except we didn’t even see her until the final half of the volume, and in her debut we couldn’t take her seriously as a villain, much less an antagonist, because of the pure comedy they used in her intro. There needed to be something about her at least a few episodes early––take this with a grain of salt because I think following JNR in Argus would’ve killed the balanced pacing of the first half of the volume (and just made the Jaune haters apoplectic), but maybe a few quick scenes of JNR arriving in Argus and getting rejected by her would’ve been helpful. Or honestly easing off on the comedy of her intro. Such a one-note character who we are primed to not take seriously isn’t interesting as a major force, so identifying her as a more threatening roadblock for the heroes would’ve made the stakes of the final fight a little more...present.

2. Important storylines got trimmed for time’s sake and weren’t addressed properly.

@hypeathon (whose excellent production analyses for this Volume are well worth a read) identified a tweet Miles made back in October, prior to the premiere and most likely when they were finishing storyboards, about “killing your darlings.” For those unaware and who may have severely misinterpreted that comment, “killing your darlings” is when writers have to sacrifice something they love or want to do so that the story works better. The timeliness of this tweet (after they would’ve finished the script but before they’d wrapped on storyboards and voice acting for the final episodes) suggests the writers’ room had to cut a lot of material from Volume 6 (what Miles called a massacre of darlings), most likely due to production limits or not having enough time to cover them.

Think about it: the story from Chapters 1-7 was really good: everything was properly spaced out, the scripts felt polished, there was a balance of action and comedy and legit storytelling, the good pacing lasted longer than it ever has within a single volume.

Then we hit Chapter 8 and suddenly it all changes: storylines don’t get the proper time devoted to them, arcs come to a screeching halt due to the big fight. Unlike previous volumes, where the imbalance was pretty much the entire volume, there’s actually a clear point right in the middle of this volume where things suddenly took a turn for the worse. And the fact is, some of the problems with the story in the final arc suddenly make more sense if you accept that time that would’ve been devoted to it got sidelined in this “purge”: Qrow’s alcoholism suddenly getting brushed aside after Chapter 9 hopefully to be addressed next volume, Oscar disappearing and all his development happening offscreen, Adam’s completely unsubtle return after only a vague hint in Chapter 1 that would’ve been stronger if he’d kept popping up in Argus. I’d even go so far to say the odd pacing of the final few chapters could easily have been the result of the writing team not being able to devote a single chapter to such a grand fight, so they needed to stretch it out so CRWBY could actually animate it within reasonable deadlines, which meant sacrificing time for those arcs that so desperately needed development.

So what overall is gonna fix RWBY’s pacing in the future? Well, I think at the moment the show is too ambitious. If it wants to keep to a reasonable production schedule, they need to control the scale of their finales so that it can be completed without needing to sacrifice other storylines. If it wants to hold onto that ambition and make the finales as grand as they want it to be to do their boy Monty proud, then they absolutely need to delay the actual release of the volume so they can put in the proper amount of time to both the story and animation. And I don’t think anyone would mind waiting a little longer for Volume 7 if it meant this show got the care and attention it needs to tell the story it clearly wants to tell.

Conclusions

Evaluating Volume 6 is impossible without evaluating what came before it. RWBY was never a perfect show, but when you lose someone who was responsible for the show’s popularity in the first place and have to change how it’s made to make up for his absence, there’s going to be backlash. Backlash from the fans, and, uh, backlash from inside the company. The fact is, people are never going to be satisfied with the RWBY that Rooster Teeth makes today, and Rooster Teeth is never going to push out a RWBY that will make everyone happy. All they can really do is keep moving forward.

And move forward they did. Despite my problems with the finale, Volume 6 was good. I’ve always been sort of ambivalent about the show (I was drawn to it by my brother shortly before Monty’s death and have been watching it out of respect for him and the company as creative artists), and even if I thought some of RWBY’s critics were being too harsh (or seriously needed to find something better to do), I didn’t find Volumes 4 and 5 enjoyable enough that I felt like defending them. But guys, Volume 6 did something amazing: it made RWBY fun to watch again. Focused, consistent, and compelling storytelling plus gradually eased-in worldbuilding made for a story that I could follow along without having to juggle so many different plots. Improvements in the overall animation made things nice to look at and when fights happened they were always entertaining, never making me cringe or grimace, always making me think “Hell yeah, beat the shit out of them!” Just like I felt back in the old days of the show.

I feel as though what’s holding RWBY back at this point, however, is adhering to the production schedule that its old vision called for in making its current vision. And it honestly cannot keep doing that. RWBY is a show trying to reach grand heights, and its rushed production timelines and lost story arcs are keeping it tethered to the ground. Yet I can’t help but say: Volume 6 is RWBY at its finest so far. It can’t fix the problems that previous volumes have had, but it builds on the void those problems left to build a story that makes this show feel like something worth following once more.

So, I can safely say I’ll be following along when RWBY returns for Volume 7...hopefully later rather than sooner (again, it needs a better production schedule).

[offbrandgizmo]

Honestly, I feel really stuck with Endeavor at the moment. And I just wanna talk about it for a bit because talking is the #1 way to sort out my thoughts most of the time.

My position, for clarity, is that I’m someone who’s dealt with (and still deals with) emotional abuse from a parent, and I’m not yet in a position to forgive that parent because the abuse is still ongoing and I haven’t had the benefit of distance.

At first, the redemption arc left a really bad taste in my mouth, but it also left me feeling a similar kind of torn. Because on the one hand, seeing Shouto’s reaction, that visible relief when he realised Endeavor was okay, made me feel sick. But after giving it a bit of thought (very little, actually), I couldn’t look at that and claim that I wouldn’t be the exact same in his position. Because familial relationships are so complicated and convuluted and the reason abuse from someone you care about is so difficult to handle is because they’re someone you care about, and that’s why it takes such a hold on you. If my parent were in a similar situation, I wouldn’t actively hope for their death. Obviously. The vast majority of people wouldn’t.

The most recent chapter, 192, has still left me feeling slightly hecked about all of this, because I can’t relate to Shouto’s displayed willingness to possibly forgive Enji in the future, but I also understand it. He’s separated Endeavor and Enji, and possibly in doing so, has separated the parts of his father he still admires and cares for from the parts that hurt him. I haven’t been able to do that, not yet. Shouto’s distance, being that he isn’t living under that roof anymore, is probably a factor playing into his ability to have done that.

But honestly I relate more to Natsuo’s reaction. Shouto’s also the youngest sibling and that definitely plays a part, but I’m a middle child of four and that probably has a hand in connecting me more to Natsuo, as well. I’d like to see more of him because I felt some difficult catharsis from that scene.

But, and after that serious note, this sounds totally stupid as I write it down instead of keeping it in my head, I really really like the Hawks/Endeavor dynamic. It’s entertaining, plain and simple, and I like the way that it acts as a means of revealing Hawks’ character. I really want to delve into the way the fandom is going to portray that in fanworks, because I’m a sucker for good characterisation. But it was just now, as I saw someone talking about a potential EndHawks AU, and I thought, oh, that would be fun to write, that I caught myself and honestly, I can taste bile in the back of my throat. Because I know I couldn’t separate Endeavor from Enji in order to do that, and the more the Hawks/Endeavor dynamic is explored in canon, the more that divide is going to be tested.

Because I think for me to ever truly feel safe to delve into EndHawks stuff without it being to my emotional detriment, it’d have to be established in canon that Hawks finds out about Enji’s history and that he reacts to that, that he gets the chance to know the bad of the person he admires and has this rapport with. Or it’d take an incredibly talented and thorough writer to provide that in fanfic. Because in its current state, that is a major, gaping hole in EndHawks being something I can sincerely enjoy, fun dynamic or no.

It’s so much fun to watch it play out but it just reminds me of the comedown as an abuse victim, after you have some genuinely good moment with your abuser, until your rational brain turns back on and reminds you that the person in front of you is the same person who’s hurt you so much. Who’s left you with lasting character flaws that you have to grapple with every day.

But the way the manga has laid it out, I just don’t know where Horikoshi is going to take it. Because over on one side, you have Shouto, splitting Endeavor from Enji seemingly entirely. Then you have Natsuo, with blatant refusal to acknowledge that his father is both a hero and an abuser, separate from one another--because a parent is supposed to be a child’s hero, according to convention. And then you have Hawks, who’s obviously grown up admiring Endeavor to his core, but who doesn’t even know there’s a persona to separate from the hero he holds up.

I don’t know if Horikoshi can juggle such a complex narrative. I think it’s more likely that Hawks never finds out, because that would require having three major opposing emotional views, and juggling those in the context of a shounen manga seems unlikely. Because this isn’t an abuse story. This is Midoriya’s story. There’s only so much time he can spend diverting from that main focus.

Anyway, I think these rambles did help me expel some of the pent-up helpless confusion I was feeling.

As always, I’m just going to hope that Horikoshi can tie up the loose ends he’s creating. He hasn’t fully disappointed me yet, and I have faith in him as a storyteller. Benefit of the doubt is my preference for these things.

(And even if he does something I dislike, what the fuck is the use of a death threat, or even taking it up with him at all? Fandoms are stupid sometimes.)

[florrickandassociates]

Don’t really have much to say about Sharp Objects (it’s good but that’s all I‘ve got lol) but I’ve been moving on through my tgw rewatch and I want to talk about tgw with someone! So I was wondering what are your favorite relationships (romantic and otherwise) on the show? What’s your favorite season? What’s your biggest praise for the show and your biggest criticism?

Don’treally have much to say about Sharp Objects (it’s good but that’s all I‘ve gotlol) but I’ve been moving on through my tgw rewatch and I want to talk abouttgw with someone! So I was wondering what are your favorite relationships(romantic and otherwise) on the show? What’s your favorite season? What’s yourbiggest praise for the show and your biggest criticism?

So before I get in to my (very delayed) reply, just want tomake sure that all my followers are aware of @hermione-mak-gilmore‘s awesome TGW rewatch posts,which you can find here.

My thoughts, rambling and not proofread as ever, are under the cut. 

FavoriteRelationships:

Romantic: Diane and Kurt and no others. Okay, that’s a lie.I think TGW had a lot of compelling and well-developed romantic relationships,even if Diane/Kurt is the only pairing I would say I ship. If I expand my thinking to include romantic relationshipsthat were written well enough to elicit strong feelings and many, manythoughts, I have to mention both Alicia/Will and Alicia/Peter. Just look at thelayers in Will’s Decision Treesequence, or the subtle shifts in their relationship over the years, or theconflicting feelings of season three, or (oh my goodness) any of Alicia’sthoughts after Will’s death (excluding season 7 because season 7 doesn’t dothem justice lol). And for Alicia/Peter, every time the two of them discusstheir family or politics, I see why they’re drawn to each other, and every timethey fight, I see just how much history and baggage they have.

Not romantic: Alicia and Cary’s always underdevelopedpartnership, Alicia and Diane’s complicated friendship (and the power dynamics!And the paranoia!), Alicia and Eli’s mutual respect that turned into afriendship, Alicia and Kalinda (don’t get me started), Cary and Clarke’sfriendship, Diane and Cary (they’re so alike but never seem to be able to workwell together!), DIANE AND WILL’S PARTNERSHIP (that one gets to be in allcaps), Diane and Kalinda (I don’t think we ever got enough of them together),Eli and Peter, Kalinda and Will, Kalinda and Robyn, and probably every othercombination of characters.

Favorite Season:

My personal favorite season is probably season six but I’llbe the first to admit it’s not the best season (and that it is in factinfuriatingly terrible at many points). Instead of ranking the seasons I’mgoing to make a pro/con list for each of them…

Season 1:

Pros: Everythingis so simple yet effective! I love, love, love the structure and pacing of theseason (Alicia/Cary’s competition). The small moments are priceless, and everycharacter’s personality (especially Alicia’s) is well-established. And when Ilook back at season one, I can see all of the groundwork being laid for thetone/humor/style that’s become TGW’s signature.

Cons: It feelslike a first season. If this aired today and not in 2009, I’m not sure I would’vecut some weak early episodes as much slack as I did when I first watched. ThePilot is great (clichéd at times, but great) but it’s not until, what, episode14? That the show finds its footing. That’s a lot of time to invest in a showthat’s a mixed bag. There are lots of weak episodes (Unorthodox, I’m looking at you) and storylines (Peter’s retrial andall the conspiracy surrounding it).

Season 2:

Pros: Season 2contains Nine Hours, which is stillone of the best hours of TGW, as well as HamSandwich and that run of episodes from InSickness to Closing Arguments. Ifseason 2 were just its best episodes, it would easily be one of my favoriteseasons. But…

Cons: It alsocontains a bunch of filler episodes I can barely remember, a few too manypolitical plots about viral videos, and the nonsense that was Blake Calamar(and that never-ending hotel scene in NetWorth). Oh, and I’m here for the drama but Peter never slept with Kalindalol nope I don’t buy it.

Season 3:

Pros: It has somereally great standalone episodes.

Cons: It has somereally terrible episodes and subplots. Alicia’s wig. A general lack ofdirection that makes even enjoyable subplots seem meaningless and distracting.

Season 4:

Pros: Everythingfrom The Seven Day Rule to What’s in the Box? is some of thestrongest material ever on the show. The introduction of memory pops!

Cons: Beginning ofKalicia ban, NICK SAVARESE’S EXISTENCE, Mandy Post Idiot Reporter (yes she getsa mention), deeply boring cases and plots in the first half of the season, someweird stuff for the Florrick kids.

Season 5:

Pros: HITTING THEFAN. THE DECISION TREE. A FEW WORDS. DRAMATICS, YOUR HONOR. THE LAST CALL. Idon’t think any other season has as many pivotal, perfect episodes. And seasonfive has the strongest structure of any season (season one is a close second)with its five episode arcs that make you forget the bad, slow episodes becausethere’s always a great, dramatic episode in the near future. Season five makesthe most of four seasons of worldbuilding. It’s smart and exciting and dramaticand it still feels like almost everything is motivated by character developmentrather than a need for plot (see: office politics in the later seasons, or howclumsily Bond is introduced at the beginning of season two). Also thescore!!!!! Season five is the year the score becomes truly incredible.

Cons: Some of theseason five episodes are weak, y’all.We, The Juries is terrible, and thatepisode and Goliath and David were acomplete waste of time (but we got Thicky Trick out of the latter so it canstay). Most of the episodes that aren’t the big ones are similarly weak. TheKalicia ban continues, and unlike in season four, Kalinda’s material reallysuffers as a result. It feels like she has a nude scene in most episodes. Andthen the last run of episodes in the season has its moments, but most of it isjust… directionless and not very good. You can tell the writers were building to 5x15 and then had to scramble tofind new directions in its aftermath.

Season 6:

Pros: The writers’dedication to exploring Alicia’s journey and how she’s changed over the years.The beginnings of the Cary arc. Some good material for Kalinda (and some badmaterial but I’ll get to that). Prady is a perfect opponent for Alicia. Johnnyis a great addition to the cast. Some really great Alicia/Peter moments andfights.

Cons: The Debate. The separation of the leads,which probably happened because of (ugh) the Kalicia ban (UGH). Not only arethe leads separate from each other, they’re separate in glaring ways. It’s notsimply that Alicia’s off running a campaign (a very good reason she might notbe interacting with Kalinda day to day)… it’s that Alicia’s running a campaignbut her law partners have no opinions about it, until they suddenly do, butthen they suddenly don’t again. How am I supposed to be invested in interpersonaldrama when they aren’t laying groundwork? Season five used up so much of thegroundwork laid previously that the show needed to take a minute to reset andplay out its new conflicts before rushing into more dramatic storylines.Instead… Diane’s at the firm now, Alicia’s running for SA, Cary’s in jail, and thefirm’s somehow back at LG (and somehow hasbecome LG by the end of the season). I don’t think season six contains manybad ideas, it just doesn’t juggle its ideas well. A better version of seasonsix wouldn’t just give us great Alicia episodes, it would use conflicts at theoffice and the way the other characters view Alicia’s campaign to add another layer.I personally didn’t have any trouble figuring out why Alicia was running for SAbut I know that’s been a top objection to s6, and I understand where it comesfrom. A better arc—one that forced Alicia to explain her motivations to othersand devoted more time to Alicia developing policies and meeting voters andvolunteers—would’ve given me more of the character development I love and helped to make the arc succeed forothers.

Season 7:

Pros: Lucca Quinn.

Cons: Everythingthat is not Lucca Quinn. But seriously: there are a few things other than LuccaI like (the first few episodes where it seems like the writers are slowing downand re-establishing a status quo, Driven,Alicia’s breakdown in Judged, Party, the idea of ending the show witha slap, and the song “Better”), but mostly, I don’t like season 7 at all. Peterrunning for President is flat-out stupid, and an unforced error. Alicia’s wigSUCKS. Diane and Cary are off in silly plots until Alicia and Lucca(illogically, because of an uncharacteristically stupid thing Alicia does!)somehow wind up back at LG (or LAL, whatever, it’s LG). Ghost Will in thefinale is… not good (use Josh Charles, I don’t care, but bringing back Will inthat particular way is just fanservice). Peter’s trial at the end of the showis convoluted and I’m pretty sure the story changes from episode to episode.There are also some unnecessarily ridiculous reveals, like Peter sleeping withGeneva (no) and Kurt sleeping with Holly (very no). But my biggest problem withthe Peter-trial-arc is that it’s a repeat of the emotional beats from the endof season six. Season seven should not undo all of season six just so it can (poorly)attempt to do it over again. After seven seasons, it comes down to… Aliciabeing devastated over the voicemail (UGH) and Peter doing something sketchythat forces Alicia to play Good Wife again? Really? It’s like the writers chosethe easiest paths for creating drama (voicemail) and demonstrating growth (then/nowcontrasts). I don’t blame the writers, though, for how bad season seven is. It’sbecome increasingly apparent to me that CBS was fucking around with the show inseason seven: they rushed BrainDead to air like a month after TGW ended, whichmeant the Kings were probably spending most of their time staffing/writingBrainDead while they were working on s7 (they only wrote two episodes—the premiereand the finale). And as if that wasn’t enough, I didn’t believe it at the time,but I truly think CBS was hoping to renew the show for a Kings-less seasoneight. If that’s the case, then it makes sense that season 7 couldn’t take manyrisks and would have to get back to being a fun, simple workplace proceduralwhere all the characters worked at the same firm. So by the time the writerslearned the show was actually in its final season—despite the fact they’d beenplanning on seven seasons for years!!—it was too late to do anything other thantack on a rushed and repetitive arc to close out the show.

Biggest Praise(s):

·        ALICIA FLORRICK. I love Alicia more than I’veever loved any fictional character. That’s partially because of what she’s likeand largely because of how well, and consistently, she’s written.

·        A commitment to being realistic. I’m not sayingeverything the show’s ever done is realistic, but the writers were clearlyalways interested in creating realistic characters who lived in a realisticworld. I appreciated that the show acknowledged systemic, structural problems(within politics, criminal justice, workplaces, etc) and that it was alwaysaware of prevalent stereotypes and the importance of appearances. I think thatwhen people look back on TGW, it’ll be seen as one of the most accuraterepresentations of what the world was like in 2009-2016.

·        Casting, costuming, set decoration, and scoring.

·        Memory pops!

Biggest Criticisms:

When I rewatched season three (between seasons five and six)I said there were three main problems with the show that were especiallyapparent in season three. I’ll say them again here, and add one more.

·        Sprawl: Sometimes the show tries to do too much andit simply doesn’t have the bandwidth.

·        Bad pacing: 22 episodes is a lot. Oftentimes itfeels like the writers write BIG EPISODES and filler episodes, with no middleground. If the filler episodes were instead build-up episodes, the big episodeswould be even better and there’d be less filler.

·        Loss of focus on Alicia: When the show focuseson its central character, it’s less likely to turn into a sprawling,poorly-paced mess. My thinking is that if the writers focused more on Alicia,they’d have to be more deliberate about how they write the characters aroundher (to make the most of their screentime and establish their wants and beliefsso their interactions with Alicia are as meaningful as possible).

·        Since I came up with the criticisms above, theshow’s aired two full seasons since my original post (and I think I came upwith these criticisms before I even made that post), plus two full seasons of aspin-off, AND I STILL HAVE THE SAME DAMN PROBLEMS.  

[onestowatch]

Get to Know Groove-Pop Duo Balu Brigada [Live Performance + Q&A]

Inspired by musical heavyweights like Frank Ocean and Gorillaz, Balu Brigada is all about experimentation. Their discography provides the perfect backdrop to any setting—from coastal road trips, summer BBQs, flirty dancefloor moments, and everywhere in between. The band is no stranger to performing, having toured around New Zealand numerous times, including treating an exclusive audience to an electric performance at Live Nation and Vodafone’s recent Ones to Watch showcase. 

In addition to delivering a standout show at our recent showcase, the duo has just released their latest single, “How It Would End,” the first song off their upcoming EP. The single is their debut release as a two-piece, with its bouncy synth hooks and groove-worthy melodies sure to get you up on your feet. 

On the eve of their first release as a two-piece, Henry and Pierre Beasley Zoom in from their parents’ rumpus room—the scene of many family jam sessions, which spawned their self-described “groove-pop” band Balu Brigada—to discuss archival footage, guilty pleasures, and which brother is the better mover. 

Pierre: We’re actually at our parents house right now, because our houses are both equally too small to do anything in, but actually right behind us is a grand piano that used to be our grandfather’s. He was an orchestral conductor, so it’s a bit of a family heirloom.

If that piano could talk, what do you think it would’ve said to you during your piano lessons back in the day?

P: Try harder [laughs].

Henry: It would probably say, “Slow down!” as well, ‘cause I remember just getting frustrated. You know, you play something 100 times, badly, and you just wanna get it done so you play it faster but then that sounds even worse!

P: It was a classic case of your parents make you do piano lessons and you miserably endure them, and then I think we picked up our own instruments, that we did actually enjoy playing, from there.

When would have been your first-ever public performance? Did you put on shows for Mum and Dad when you were little?

P: Probably some church Christmas event or something, to be honest. We were brought up in the church, so I think my earliest memory of performing was being a little Elvis in a Christmas production, which, yeah, I wouldn’t like to see that footage back...

Could there potentially be footage out there somewhere?

P: Yeah [laughs] Some granny with VHS footage of me with my hair in some big, slicked-back mop or something.

H: Pierre and I have got a bit of an acting background as well, so there’s some horrendous clips that you can pull up of us on shows that I won’t name [laughs]. But you can’t take yourself too seriously; you’ve just got to be able to laugh at it.

Performing is in your blood though, isn’t it?

P: Yeah, Dad was a ballet dancer in his prime and he actually met our mother, who was an actress, in a musical. They spent the majority of their twenties performing and then Mum pursued a TV career until she started having us boys so, yeah! Performance is very much in the construct of our family, which has been really cool because we’ve got that support from our parents who also understand the life of a performer and understand the passion.

H: We just actually saw some archival footage of Dad in his Royal New Zealand Ballet days—it was quite a trip! That’s literally some of the first footage we’ve seen of him as a ballet dancer, which is wild because it was such a big part of his life. Obviously no one had a bloody iPhone back then to just record clips, but it’s a shame. I would love to see more footage of him dancing, because it was such an integral part of fostering our creativity as well.

Did you boys take ballet lessons when you were kids?

PIERRE: I did it for a few years and Dad’s always said, “Ooh, you would make a good dancer!” And still to this day he’s like, “You know, it’s not too late to become a professional dancer...” You didn’t though, hey?

H: Nah, I didn’t. Pierre’s definitely more the mover, which you’ll see in a few videos of ours. I’m kind of skulking in the background doing something minimal and then Pierre’s managing to find a dance move out of thin air, which I can’t quite fathom myself.

You both studied music at Auckland University [Pierre majored in jazz, Henry, pop]. Did you ever take ideas that you were working on for Balu Brigada into uni?

H: It’s kind of like the informal way we started the band. I was playing guitar randomly for other bands and didn’t really have a project of my own, but I was writing all these songs during uni, so I was like, “Okay, why don’t we try a song where I’m leading?” Previously, I’d just written for another project that someone [else] would front, so that’s when I enlisted Pierre and my other brother at the time…

P: Brother at the time [laughs].

H: [Laughs] He’s still my brother—he’s just not in the [Balu Brigada] project at this point—but that’s how we all got together and took our background of jamming in our parents’ rumpus room to playing my original songs, and then making it more collaborative along the way.

Did Balu Brigada originate as a four-piece?

H: Yes, there were a few versions. Sometimes we’d go with a three-piece because Pierre was underage, and couldn’t play the show, or sometimes we’d get someone to replace him for the shows that he couldn’t make. It was a four-piece for probably four years or so and then that transition [to two-piece plus live drummer] was in maybe 2019. That was a lot to do with the fact that the other two band members—they were invested in it, but also had lots of other plates to juggle, and Pierre and I have always been the core and the nucleus of the band, and so it was like, “Okay, this is our whole world, so let’s kinda scale this back. You guys can invest more into your lives outside of the band and we can just really home in on this thing.”

So it’s kind of like you two are Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, with extra band members brought in for touring purposes.

H: We’d love to draw that comparison! [laughs]

P: [Laughs] Absolutely! Yeah, the role that our drummer fills is less an actual band member and more a session musician, I suppose.

How would you describe your music to people who are yet to hear it?

H: I think our favourite description, or at least mine, is groove-pop at this current point in time. Would that be your choice of description?

P: I just go with the easy one: alt-pop. Groove-pop is also cool, but I dunno if you just made that up, or…

H: I definitely made that up.

P: [Laughs]

What was the last Balu Brigada single release and what’s your next scheduled single release?

P: So the last one we released was in October last year, it was called “Moon Man”, and our next single is called “How It Would End”. This is the first time that we are choosing to release a single when we already have [a new, as-yet-untitled EP] ready, so we can actually get some momentum with the project rolling out, as opposed to how we’ve done it in the past where we released a song and then we were like, “Oh cool, that went well, now we need to finish the next one,” which is a silly way to go about it if you want to get that momentum. So this time we’ve got a few things in the bank.

H: This is the first instance where we’ve been able to play songs live before they’ve been released, which has been quite exciting for us.

Which songs off this upcoming EP have you performed live so far?

P: We’ve been playing “Number 1” and another song called “Favourite Clothes” in our most recent shows, and they’ve been going down well. Because we don’t have too many of those up-tempo, four-on-the-floor, driving songs, “Number 1” is a good one to just slot in there to hype-up the energy a bit.  

The entire EP is killer, but I reckon “Number 1” is my favourite song on there at the moment. It reminds me of N.E.R.D!

H: For sure! N.E.R.D is a massive influence and when I started that one off I was definitely conscious of, “Oh, is this too Neptunes or too Pharrell?” And then I was just like, “Nah.” We love that you’ve drawn that connection, that’s great.

Also, something about the overall vibe and the sparkling melodies throughout “I Should Be Home,” another standout track from the EP, called to mind The Strokes...

P: Yeah, I’ve been listening to a lot of The Strokes—especially their latest album—so that would make sense. I just think all of the melodies that Julian [Casablancas] hits are real nice.

H: I think because Pierre was listening to The Strokes so much that always bleeds into my listening habits, because we spend so much time together. I think that would have definitely been a subconscious influence, because it was definitely in line with what we were taking in at that moment.

Your previous way of working, drip-feeding one song at a time, reminds me of the Gorillaz’s Song Machine project, where songs were recorded and released separately before they were collated and released as a collection.

H: Yeah, for sure. I really liked that roll-out. It was cool, and obviously the featured artists on it are world-class, interesting, eccentric creatives in their own right. Gorillaz’ second [Song Machine release], “Désolé” [featuring Fatoumata Diawara] is my strongest memory of when I was living in Melbourne. I lived there for a few months and that song came out around that time, and I was like, “Woah!” I listened to it this morning, actually; it just rocks my world. Gorillaz are a massive inspiration in terms of how we like to think about music, eclecticism, and genre-mashing.

Given that part of your band name pays homage to the character Baloo (but with different spelling), talk me through your love for The Jungle Book.

H: That movie is a very nostalgic kick for us brothers…

P: Not the movie that was out a couple of years ago, the Disney one…

H: I couldn’t believe it when I found out it was from the ‘60s, hey! When you’re a kid and you’re watching that shit, there’s no differentiation that you can make between The Jungle Book and, say, Aladdin [released in 1995]. You’re just like, “The Jungle Book, man, it’s such a jam!”

Have any Balu Brigada songs been synced to a TV series or film?

H: Only in one very informal instance. I was actually on a show about six years ago called 800 Words and I think we had just released our third release and then I had a shoot day. The actor I was working with, Milena Vidler, was like, “Oh, I’ve gotta be listening to music in this scene, what shall I play?” And I told her, “We just released a song today!” And she said, “Well why don’t I play that!?” So that is literally the only sync we’ve got so far, but it was quite a serendipitous moment. To see myself on screen and then hear our band play as well was quite meta, a little in-joke or Easter egg.

Do you each remember what made you fall in love with music in the first place?

P: Abbey Road on vinyl. It was Mum’s. I would’ve been, like, 11. It blew my mind. It was the first time I got to know an album in full, and didn’t just know a single that was on the radio or whatever, and I just loved the way that album flowed and the musicality of it, and how it’s pop music but they were also experimenting. There’s just something about that album, which probably—when I think about it—is my favourite album of all time and made me want to do music.

H: Mum will definitely want the credit for that one; Dad’s got the Bowie records, Mum’s got The Beatles ones. This one is way less cool, but my answer is probably “I Miss You” by blink-182. Combined with “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard—that was my favourite song. I was like, “Yep, I’m a rock guy now. I’m a band guy. Take me as I am.”

P: [Laughs]

H: I couldn’t say that it’s my favourite song now, but I remember that distinction pretty clearly, being like, “Yeah, this is me now”.

Did you have any Yellowcard posters on your walls?

H: [Rotates webcam] I’ve got some nice Gorillaz ones over there, but no Yellowcard ones.

If you could choose any band to go out on tour with, who would it be?

P: I’d probably say Tame Impala, just ‘cause I’m a diehard KP [Kevin Parker] fan. But I don’t know if we’d be the right fit, though…

I can totally see you guys opening for Tame Impala – Balu Brigada would be the perfect fit!

H: I mean, my pinnacle artist is Frank Ocean and I love the idea of getting to tour with him, but, no [laughs]. I don’t think. So that makes Kevin Parker feel a little bit more attainable. I don’t think it would be too far-fetched, hey? I reckon we should link it up.

[wazafam]

In the same year that Titanic headed out to the open sea, a modest little horror movie called Event Horizon cruised through outer space, a sci-fi horror action amalgam that seemed to have something for everyone and yet appealed to almost no one. It bombed in the summer of 1997, but in the decades since has gotten some love for being a cult classic.

RELATED: 10 Best 90s Sci-Fi Horror Movies That Still Hold Up Today

Far from being the movie that killed genre auteur Paul W.S. Anderson's career, it didn't resonate with audiences who couldn't quite decide if it was too original or too derivative of other plots. It featured sophisticated camera work and a top-notch cast, but was lampooned as a rip-off of Ridley Scott's Alien with too much blood and guts, putting it into a niche category of box office bombs that are actually underrated.

10 Underrated: Amazing Cast

Event Horizon features a bevy of top tier talent prior to appearing in some of their most iconic roles. With the exception of Sam Neill as Dr. Weir, hot off his success as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, Laurence Fishburne appears as Captain Miller before he was Morpheus in The Matrix, and Jason Isaacs appears as D.J. before he was Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter.

With a supporting cast that includes Sean Pertwee (Alfred Pennyworth in Gotham), Joely Richardson (prior to The Tudors), Kathleen Quinlan (Apollo 13), and Richard T. Jones (the Why Did I Get Married? franchise), their acting quality ensures that viewers always take the material seriously.

9 Bombed: Unoriginal Idea

If Event Horizon feels like a couple of different movies rolled into one, that's because it is; its plot takes its inspiration directly from some of the most iconic horror movies of all time. Its Frankenstein-ed narrative is one of the reasons it's persevered, but also one of the reasons why it was persecuted at the box office at the time of its release.

RELATED: 10 Crazy Production & Development Facts About The Shining

According to The Making of Event Horizon, a haunted ship gripped by spirits after a passage to a hell dimension takes its cues from The Shining (but in space), and The Haunting. Towards the end of the movie, the obvious Hellraiser homages can't be ignored either (especially Weir's savage imagery).

8 Underrated: Sympathetic Characters

One of the key components in a horror movie is developing characters audiences can sympathize with. It's what separates a truly great horror experience from a typical slasher fest with nameless teens at a summer camp getting killed one after another.

As with Ridley Scott's Alien, the movie takes its time in setting up the plot, letting viewers get to know the characters, and making their plight sympathetic enough so that their fates are cared about. As bizarre events start happening around the ship, they're targeted to the fears and anxieties of each person, making them more visceral and profoundly jarring.

7 Bombed: Too Much Competition

1997 was a year for big genre blockbusters, including The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Men In Black. All of these movies were critical and commercial successes, utilizing elements like extraterrestrials, monsters, and suspenseful firefights, which were all similar to Event Horizon.

 Not only did it face stiff competition in science fiction, it also had to be careful around one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Titanic. Event Horizon was forced to change its release schedule around James Cameron's historical epic, placing it in an undesirable spot in the dog days of summer.

6 Underrated: Great Special Effects

With a combination of practical effects and the latest CGI the movie managed to marry time-tested special effects with the most cutting-edge technology. It may not have been as good as other '90s classics like Jurassic Park in that regard, but it's managed to look pretty timeless since it debuted.

RELATED: 10 Things In 90s Sci-Fi Movies You Didn't Know Were CGI

Looking through a modern lens some of its effects might be dismissed, but because it used them effectively and efficiently, saving its coup-de-gras for the momentous finale, it doesn't seem as dated as its more CGI-heavy peers of the era like Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

5 Bombed: Rushed Editing

Elsewhere in The Making of Event Horizon documentary, director Paul W.S. Anderson explains that while most of the time the Directors Guild of America verifies that movies get a standard 10-week period in which to be edited, this movie only received six. The short production schedule and its release date necessitated the first cut before principal photography had even finished.

Promising an August release date so as not to compete with Titanic's supposed September premiere (it ended up getting delayed), Anderson maintained a six-week editing schedule despite also needing to juggle the second unit shooting schedule. This invariably meant that he needed to edit within four weeks, which made the first cut rough, weak, and unfinished.

4 Underrated: Genuinely Terrifying

The late  '90s launched several semi-scary franchises like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream, but those movies capitalized on scream queen tropes and the bank-ability of their hot young stars.  Besides a few jump scares, they're more entertaining than terrifying, and aren't considered the sort of movies that will keep a viewer up at night.

Event Horizon on the other hand has a pervasive feeling of dread that only gets worse the further into madness Weir goes. Not only does it have several horror hallmarks, but it also pushes the boundaries of the genre in new and unexpected ways.

3 Bombed: Too Gory

With glimpses of a blood-covered orgy, fantasies involving severed limbs, and Weir's descent into madness, the movie is a gorefest of the highest caliber. Ironically, the first cut had even more gore, including a longer cut of the Hell Scene, and more emphatic horror imagery for the orgy and the death scenes.

RELATED: The 10 Goriest Italian Horror Movies Ever Made, Ranked

According to a Q&A with Anderson on Youtube, adult movie stars were hired to make the orgy more realistic. Critics' reviews on Rotten Tomatoes reveal it was considered too gory and shocking for its own sake to be taken seriously.

2 Underrated: Iconic Horror Villain

There's Pinhead and Freddy Krueger, and then there's Dr. Weir, an amalgamation of both horror icons and yet something else entirely. Unlike the other two, who were played by relatively unknown actors, Weir is played by Sam Neill, who had been America's hero saving young children from rampaging dinosaurs just a few years before.

Neill plays Weir as profoundly curious, whose interest in science begins to strain his compassion for his fellow humans, but he remains charitable, soft-spoken, and kindly. It's what makes his transformation towards the middle of the movie so effective, and his complete unraveling at the end of it so impressive. Weir is a horror figure that deserves to be counted among the great titans of terror.

1 Bombed: Unbelievable Science

While it's unlikely viewers and critics would consider Event Horizon hard sci-fi, the fact that it focused on black holes positioned it to be criticized for its lack of tangible science. Those looking for any actual information about the effects of black holes will be disappointed.

Unlike Jurassic Park, where real science was blended with pseudo-science to make a nominally convincing plot by MD turned author Michael Crichton, Event Horizon makes no such attempts at being plausible or realistic.

NEXT: 10 90s Sci-Fi Masterpieces You’ve Probably Never Seen

Why Event Horizon Is Underrated (& Why It Bombed At The Box Office) from https://ift.tt/3dumczs

[justin-chapmanswers]

how exactly do you write the show? what techniques do you use to write certain scenes?

Storytelling a character-work matters to me above anything else. As a result, I’m always taking notes on ideas. In my spare time, with another writer, there is constantly action. I wouldn’t spend so much time on a project that didn’t engage me in critical thought and analysis in and of itself.

Everything is 100% of the time thoroughly outlined. The remainder of the series is loosely outlined, and we know where we want each and every character to end up. Granted, some more specifically than others, but we are constantly working out the fine details. I feel that in storytelling you need to be able to maintain a balance at all times of having a close-to-vivid picture of the end-goal while leaving that mental wiggle-room to readjust ideas as new ones come up. If you lock yourself down entirely, you block off the better potential routes. If you don’t know the end goal, you’re bound to meander and not build up to something meaningful unless you get lucky. If you put all of your time into something, you CANNOT leave it to chance.

I love to live in the broader conceptual zone. Theming. Thinking through the purpose of characters and the world they live in. How do pieces connect? What matters? How would the actions of the characters reflect on the viewer and the world of the show? Why X? Why Z? Nothing makes sense, life is an illusion, how do characters make sense of that?

But also I am fascinated by character. I love to dig into a characters’ moral code and force them to question. I need to find purpose in every little quirk, whether in origin or in result over time. What pairs make sparks? How do different characters change one another? Who has a story to tell, and in the case of II, when is the best time to tell it? How does that story affect everyone else, does it create a new story? Repeat. 

There is so much to say here in regards to episode 12 alone. But, sticking to released episodes, my go-to scene is Suitcase and Knife at the dock, which you better bet started way longer. We take everything that Knife and Suitcase have been through come this point, contrast it with their brief conversation in S2E7, and force a character to question the moral values while shedding light on another. It helps helps that I think they are perfectly-suited to bounce well off of each other. And that I’m a sucker for quiet, contemplative scenes. A dynamic is constructed, we re-establish our characters’ purposes (especially in the eyes of one-another), and it leads to an intense decision- one that triggers strong effects down the line. Repeat.

To start moving into your question more specifically, like I noted earlier we have a ton of concepts going forward, and as one episode nears its end we really dig into the next one and make sure everything is set and understood (I hecking love episode 13). Before Brian and I jump into more thorough outlining, we need to have every general idea sorted out, which if I had to choose one step of the process, I’d call my strong-suit (despite loving every little detail that goes into -pre-production). We need to review:

-What is each characters’ arc (important or not) in the episode, and what events accomplish it? Who needs more focus than others? Who can sit out?

-Who is getting eliminated, and how (which is well-sorted out for the series already, but with wiggle-room)? 

-What do we need the characters to be able to do, physically, in the episode- and what are three challenges that can allow that to happen most-properly? 

-What themes and messages matter most to us in the episode? 

-What are key moments and visuals that we would like to highlight?

-What scenes NEED to happen in order to complete each arc? What scenes would we LIKE to have to strengthen those arcs and the episode?

-How does the world of the show play into the episode? What can we explore? What hints can we leave?

Then we’re onto outlining. This takes all the concepts that we initially had and breaks it down into a general beat-sheet, talking about every single important point we need to hit on, in order, for the episode to be complete- in a lot more detail. This is used as a pitch to show off the workability of the concept and how it, and likely will, play out in structure. Granted, more-so in episode 12 than in episode 11, the story that we pitch through the outline can go through many readjustments between that point and script-completion. That’s a mix between reworking concepts based on Adam and Taylor’s pitch-input and then the natural progression of the four of us (and often plus Ben) coming up with strong concepts over the scripting process that take some details in different directions.

Once we are settled on that story, scripting is on the way! By this point in pre-production I am incredibly comfortable with the characters’ mindsets and feel pretty free to go about writing out what’s in their heads. We work within the general guidelines presented by the outline, and complete scenes often as individual pieces- knowing already how they fit in and need to flow. There is so much to talk about just in terms of writing strategies, I might make separate posts about more specific types of scenes going forward. A lot of it comes down to balancing the puzzle pieces that are constantly juggled throughout my mind and the comedy that comes from the characters and their situation. It’s important to know what is necessary and when, and obviously there’s no one-way about it, but it’s a skill you can certainly build up with enough practice. A tone can sell an emotion, and emotion can sell a beat, a beat can sell an arc, and arcs are everything. Nothing is meaningless, even things about meaningless. If a story is told and a writer is purposefully avoiding making or alluding to a statement, it’s a wasted opportunity… so I see it.

A great deal of writing is rewriting. That’s a good sign. A first draft CAN be the best draft, but chances are it isn’t. Even when I have a good plan for a scene, I’ll keep the major beats at the back of mind and just let characters talk. I’ll see if they naturally hit on the beats I need them to hit on. If it goes on for long enough without meaning, the convo is scrapped, but good ideas from the scene can be retained for the next try. Retry and redirect it. A scene cannot be written so procedurally that it ruins any natural characterization that a character deserves. Again, it’s that dang balance back at-it. In writing it can be tough in the moment to entirely scrap a scene that you just worked hard on, but trust me- when you muster the strength to let go, you won’t miss it. You can always do even better.

Find a piece of yourself in every character you write. If you have trouble with writing a character, there’s a decent chance that it is because you’re connecting to them. Find qualities in the character that you can understand and empathize with, or relate it to something you’re familiar with in your day-to-day life, and focus in on that. Any character could be a good character if you use them properly and focus on what’s drawing about them.

If a scene accomplishes nothing, it shouldn’t be there. Every scene must establish a motivation, progress the action, or explain something in some manner. Understand what’s necessary, and feed into what makes a scene good.

Write what you like. Thinking about what the audience will get out of things is good when conceptualizing, but your vision should never rely on that. If you find something interesting or funny, others will too. Write what you would enjoy seeing. Occasionally when I come up with something I’ll think “this is amazing, people are gonna hate it” and go with it anyway. This goes more-so for the pre-writing stages, such as deciding character-focus degrees or eliminations, for instance, but it is still important in any step of the process.

When working with a team on a script, chances are there will be arguments. No good ways around that. That-said, embrace discussions and arguments! Every argued idea and concept deserves attention. If you are spending a lot of time on a project and are not willing to dig into what works and what doesn’t thematically, character-wise, or within the rules of the world- there is something wrong there. Be passionate about what you’re writing. Don’t shut down input until it is thoroughly discussed. Fighting does not mean something is wrong. (Although, fighting to the death is a problem).

A lot of the editing in II writing is shortening. We have a budget, we want episodes to come out as quick as possible, there’s no room to meander. Even scenes that we had deemed “perfect” at a point may still have a flaw of being too long for our own good. Although it seemed like a major limit back in the day, it quite honestly is important to learn how and when to keep writing concise. Bring everything down to the essentials. Brevity will allow your work to flow better and come across as neater. An annoyingly tedious two hour movie might be an hour long masterpiece wearing a scary costume. As someone who definitely writes extremely long on every first-go, having more than one pass to check for conciseness is wonderful.

I hope the overview of this process at least shed a little light. There are so many more details to go into, and I’ll gladly dive into them per request. Writing and constructing story for this show is what keeps me going, so I’m glad it has intrigued many of you, as well. :)