#there wasn't supposed to be an action sequence that just sort of happened

[iamnmbr3]

Severus calling Lily a slur in a fit of rage and humiliation while being bullied - obviously very bad. James publicly sexually assaulting Severus - obviously much worse?!!! That was some serious sadism on display. Yet for some bizarro reason the narrative wants me to judge the words said in this scene more harshly than the deeds done, because at this point Lily - an author self-insert and the Holy Mother of this saga - cuts one off for their crime and falls in love with the other. I do not like that Lily’s romantic choice is treated as some sort of absolution, but it’s what JKR implied. Despite paralleling James’ actions with the Death Eaters ‘sick’ ’torture’ of the Muggles at the Quidditch World Cup! Idk, I was never satisfied with the lack of follow through on the implications of that scene, nor with the textual idea that Snape’s fixation on the Marauders is petty childishness, rather than a quite understandable trauma response.

Yeah. I have a huge issue with the way James is framed by the narrative. It's also weird because in-universe everything works fine. The problem comes when we look at the jarring disconnect between what was written and the way the audience is cued to react. James's characterization - and the characterization of the Marauders - is well done and consistent. They all act and react realistically given who they are. The problem comes when we look at how we the audience are supposed to react. Because we are supposed to see their actions as bad, but not THAT big of a deal. And uh...yikes.

The Snape's Worst Memory sequence is one of the most horrifying and sadistic moments in the series. I find it particularly visceral and upsetting because it feels real in a way that some of the more fantastical scenes just don't. It's so horrifying and personal in a way that Voldemort punishing his minions or a snake coming out of a lady just isn't. The way James and the others so obviously delight in tormenting and humiliating Snape is just horrific. And the fact that they do this out in the open and face little pushback and no consequences makes it even more awful.

Even worse, everything we see in the narrative suggests that what they did wasn't even that unusual for them. The behavior and dialogue we see from Snape and from the Marauders makes it very clear that doing this sort of thing to Snape is a regular pastime. The reason this is Snape's worst memory is because of the effect this particular incident ended up having on his relationship with Lily, not because of the horrible treatment he endured which was horrifyingly routine.

JK Rowling seems to like Snape. But at the same time I think she tends to have a view (common among TERFs btw) that discounts men as victims of assault. Because that's what this was. And I know if a woman had been stripped and exposed by a group of boys JKR would not have treated it as lightly. Yes she thinks what happened was bad, but not THAT bad. And listen I don't have a problem with the story depicting this and I think the way it is viewed subsequently by the Marauders, wizarding society and Snape all work in the story. My problem is with the framing and the way JKR has talked about James in interviews where it makes clear that she doesn't view this with the gravity it deserves.

James shows more of a natural inclination towards sadism and obvious enjoyment of cruelty and violence than young Tom Riddle does. And this is never dealt with. A lot of the real evil people of the world are more like James - people who aren't the way they are because of some dramatic backstory or because of trauma or whatever. They just aren't kind. James wasn't raised without love or forced to suffer privation in an orphanage or anything like that. He comes from a loving home with parents who spoil him rotten. He has a lot of privilege due to both his wealth and his blood status. And he is cruel and delights in tormenting someone weaker than him for sport. Not because Snape did something to him. Not because they quarreled and James went too far in retaliation. But rather because, as James himself puts it, he exists. Which is so typical of the bullies of the world.

I actually like the fact that Harry's father turns out to be this kind of person. It think it adds depth and complexity to the narrative. But I don't think JKR fully understood or intended what she wrote. She meant to show James as flawed, but not to the extent that she ended up doing I think. And I agree that has always bothered me too.

[katatonicimpression]

Avengers (2023) Retrospective

ok technically the series isn't over but they've changed the lineup so it counts

I hadn't been following news on this so when I clicked on this week's I was genuinely surprised to see Steve... and then I was annoyed. So, I guess I'll sort this rant into sections so it looks like I am capable of logic and reason even though this is entirely vibes:

i. Jed's Style

So, McKay has this really noticeable tic in his writing where he structures an action sequence with a bunch of shit simultaneously, and then the panels flit between each tableau with a narration saying Something Meaningful about each moment which then builds to a climax.

This genuinely works really well to build to dramatic moments and to have the entire team feel present in the story. It does, perhaps, just a bit, get a little repetative and maybe didn't need to happen as many times as it did in 13 issues. 13 issues is long enough to devote longer to individual characters, and provide a more personalised story moment for everyone outside of the ensemble. So, yeah, effective at showcasing the team as a whole but not the most efficient use of time for more in depth storytelling.

That said, while I wasn't massively moved emotionally by what happened in this series, I did like it a lot. He's a good writer, his characterisation was mostly very good, and I had a good time.

ii. The SamChalla of it All

My absolute favourite thread in this series has been the relationship between Sam and T'Challa.

The pre-amble to this is that T'Challa made Sam's wings way back when, and he made his shield. He's just staggeringly down to help him and give him vibranium for nothing, just the sheer love of the game I guess. But then, in Symbol of Truth (SoT), Sam sneaks into Wakanda for superhero reasons and T'Challa is like "you're not supposed to be here" and Sam is like "can you not see the nazi I was chasing he is literally right there" and then they fight. They fight and Sam wins.

Sam wins, in jeans and a t-shirt. No wings, no shield. And to Sam, it's like whatever he just wanted to get out of that situation, but to T'Challa, that seems like a big deal. It shows that Sam doesn't need him, never did. It rocks his sense of superiority which, love the guy but he definitely has one.

It's important to remember that T'Challa is currently Going Through It when it comes to feeling rejected by his country (they want democracy) and having a bit of an identity crisis. This informs how he acts in Avengers (2023). How does he act? Pettily.

He nags Sam, condescends towards him, insists on calling him by his first name and not his code name. It's petty, it's mean spirited, but also oddly intimate. You can tell Sam bothers him, gets to him in some way.

For Sam's part, he doesn't sit back and take it, but he doesn't rise to the bait either. He pushes back a little, but avoids a real conflict. This is in character, and indicates that Sam does still respect T'Challa, despite his pettiness. I doubt Sam would have a huge amount of empathy for T'Challa's current angst (because lol) but he does want to be friends, he wants this weird phase to pass.

And then in Blood Hunt (which is ongoing and yes that means I should probably be saving this retrospective until after it ends but whatever) we see T'Challa sacrifice himself to save Sam. The other avengers too, but Sam first. Sam is his priority.

Now, isn't that just a fabulous moment. Everybody, please, write me some fanfics.

iii. Art (Comic Book go Brr)

It's fucking stunning let's be real.

The art is CF Villa, who knocks it out of the park. Everyone looks great, especially Wanda, and it's just fabulous to look at. Like, I don't have anything to say here because it's not like it's super stylised or there's anything unique about the art. It's just really solid in a really pleasing way.

I also like the way he drew Sam. I like it when Sam gets to be pretty and youthful, and not always so "big massive hulking monster of a dude" - Admittedly this is weird because obviously he is a big masculine guy, but adjusting for inflation (i.e. adjusting for the fact that all marvel dudes are massive), he's not supposed to be a mountain. He's a gymnast ffs. And yes, he's not technically that young in canon, he is approximately the same age as the o5 x-men, and younger than, like, Emma Frost, and yet he gets drawn like he's middle aged half the time and they all get to be fresh faced 20-somethings. So, yeah maybe my preferences are silly but they're not formed in a vaccuum - I like it when Sam gets the physical appearance that has been denied him in the past. And I don't think it's a coincidence that artists over the years have decided to make the black guy visually the biggest, most masc and oldest of the group time and time again even when it makes no sense.

That was a long way of saying that I preferred Sam's look in Avengers (2023) compared to SoT. And his writing tbh.

iv. Why am I so Mad?

I didn't love his writing though.

There were a few moments scattered here and there that felt really weird. I think McKay's choice to associate Sam with this abstract idea of being The Symbol could have worked, but he never really filled in the blanks there. A symbol of what? A symbol to whom? I think there are potentially really interesting and relevant answers to these questions with Sam, but I can't help but think they're what he had in mind when writing it.

No, rather I think he just had a vision of Sam as a Steve stand-in... but if #14 is anything to go by, a stand-in who he is considerably less interested in than he is in Steve.

Steve is a symbol of America, of patriotism and courage and valour, hope in desperate circumstances and punching nazis. He also symbolises american ideals of white masculinity, and functions as a kind of ubermensch much to his own annoyance. That's the irony of Steve - he represents things in many people's eyes that he doesn't stand for, and his grappling with that is a big theme for the character. In general, Steve is hyper aware of his own symbolic import - it comes up over and over again. Moreover, he deliberate evokes that power - his assumed status as a figurehead - in order to get people to do things.

Sam's status as a public symbol is very, very different. He is not seen as the embodiment of America - in fact many people seethe and cope at the very idea of him being associated with it - he's not a universal symbol of anything really, given how controversial he is. And, again, that's the twist with Sam - he's politicised no matter what he does and his dilemmas and decisions are all in the context of having radically different expectations on him than Steve does. That said, Sam does care about his symbolism; he specifically cares about how young Black people understand him, how they respond to him. He wants to inspire. His priority is not symbolic - he's all about actually helping people on the ground - but it is still an important thing to him that could've been explored.

But it isn't.

The worst part of this is that moment when T'Challa sacrifices himself. The villains want to take Sam and vampire-ise him because they think it'll be symbolic. T'Challa saves Sam, but literally says it's for symbolism reasons (very "the people need captain america because he gives them hope") but like...? No, T'Challa doesn't believe that. No, Sam is not seen like that by the public tbh. No, the villain is not right actually. The scene would have been so much stronger if T'Challa's reasoning was because he likes Sam, because he cares about him. That way the villain's cold, strategic perspective is contrasted with something human and loving, and it's a more apt final beat to their relationship arc.

And, anyway, I don't think the rest of blood hunt is going to heavily feature Sam as a beloved symbol of hope the world over. Maybe I'll stand corrected, but I doubt it. Especially because #14 continues the event but with Steve and oh what's that? He's the world symbol of hope and courage and whatnot?

Yeah. The man wanted to write Steve the entire time you can tell.

The other way Sam felt less than present in this series is obviously his powers. I know I go on about this every time, but seriously. He uses his powers once in #2, never again. There are missed opportunities with this, especially when they're dealing with Nightmare/existing in a dream state. Worse, the very first episode shows Sam being recruited with Carol's argument being "I would take Steve because obviously he's better but Sam is a powerless everyman so he's more humbly relatable." I'm paraphrasing but it's literally that patronising.

No, Sam is literally superhuman. No, he would not find this convincing. No, your otherwise good writing doesn't make me any less mad at you, Jed.

McKay's obvious glee at finally having Steve in his lineup is incredibly off putting. It's clearly what he wanted all along. But there's this other thing. Namely, that while Sam is clearly playing a stand-in role for Steve in this series, he's not really getting the full Captain America treatment either.

vi. Did Carol Danvers ruin my life?

At some point in the mid 2010s, Marvel made Carol Captain Marvel (she'd been Ms Marvel for years) and decided to actually treat her with dignity and gravitas. To respect the character and make her important. To portray her as the heavy hitter and major player she should be. And to make her a team leader.

Now, this is great obviously. Lovely to see them give her the respect she'd been often denied over the years.

She's the team leader in this comic. And then there's Tony - the writer's pet to end all writer's pets - and the rest of the team. So, if Steve were on this team, he'd be the leader. Tony would still be there and in charge of a lot, but Steve would be the shot-caller in action scenes and the guy framed as the lead. If Carol was on the same team as Steve (in the modern era) maybe they'd split this role, but Steve would still be calling shots and, idk like, pointing at stuff.. telling the avengers to assemble, you know the drill.

Sam's not doing that, though, is he?

Sam's just another part of the team here. He's not in a leadership position, not even when they're out in the field. He's kinda just in the background half the time. He gets to be the horse whisperer to the impossible city - which I genuinely love as a character beat it suits him - but aside from that he's just kind of there. To be clear, this is way better than that godawful infinity comic that insults him at every opportunity (and physically beats the shit out of him) but it still feels odd, right? He's call "captain" sometimes in Avengers (2023), but he doesn't get even a whif of authority in the series.

I'm left wondering if there really is room for a Captain America, a Captain Marvel and Iron Man in an avengers series. Like, that's too many bosses, too many team leaders. And that sucks.

But of course, if Steve were here, they'd find a way to put him in charge wouldn't they? This also sucks.

Anyway, it's not like I massively, desperately need Sam to be giving orders all the time. Honestly, I think as a guy he's in his comfort zone when he's not in charge. But that's why it's important to push him into a leadership role sometimes - because it challenges him. That's the entire point of him being Cap ffs.

v. Conclusion

I don't want to sound like I hate this series. I'd recommend #1-#13 and I do genuinely think it's really solid.

I'm also aware that a lot of what it failed me on are things that really belong in a Sam solo. But we don't have a Sam solo right now. We did have one, and it was kinda meh. It had many of the same problems and some entirely different ones. Although, it had a bit more fun with his powers, I'll give SoT that at least.

I guess maybe my hopes were a little too high? I was so caught up in the high of Sam being in a good comic that I forgot that company wide failures to do Sam justice existed.

But overall I think it is genuinely very good. I'm not a big avengers series person at all, and I still read this every month and anticipated each new issue. I had fun. I'm just also full of bitterness and resentment.

[swaps55]

So, a little peek behind the curtain for anyone who might be wondering why the hell it's taking me so long to update Fugue.

I've got roughly 18,000 words drafted of what was supposed to be one chapter that is now two. Getting those words out has been an adventure.

I agonized for about a week on whether I had the right person in the right scene for a character moment, decided I didn't, then rewrote the scene with a different character. Which required giving a LOT of thought to How Does This Character Grieve.

And then I decided the scene was in the wrong place so I moved it. And now have to rewrite it again for reasons that I will elaborate on in #9 & #10

I spent a month trying to block out the right sequence of events for an action scene. I finally did it. And I hated it. It felt wrong, Kaidan was out of character, the tension wasn't high enough, and it missed the overall mark by a mile.

Had probably three rubber duck brainstorm sessions with Real Life Romance Option (RLRO) to solve this problem. Revised the scene. Better, but still didn't believe in it. Said fuck it and just moved on. Maybe the answer will become apparent as I move through the rest.

Revised the scene from #1 again now that I had written the scene mentioned in #3, because #1 theoretically resolves some of the tension in #3. But the tension is still fucked up so this scene still isn't right.

Started blocking out the next round of combat, realized that it was boring from Kaidan's POV (not his fault - the interesting action was just happening where he wasn't), and then decided I need to change it up. Wrestled with that for a few days, because writing from the POV of OCs is always a little bit of a risk and I don't do it lightly. Decided it was important and valuable enough to do it.

Problem is, I have not written this character's POV since Sam died, so I took several days to sit with THAT and figure out what the world looks like through her eyes after his death and how that would help me tell the story I needed to tell. Problem: I still didn't REALLY understand what story I was trying to tell. I knew what the basic sequence of events were, but the character growth hadn't clicked yet.

Wrote the POV, and now, some 13-14k into this part of the story, FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT ALL OF THIS IS TRYING TO BE ABOUT. Thank god, now at least I know what I'm trying to accomplish other than Plot.

Realize that I now need to rewrite scene #1 from a totally different POV to create the parallels I'm looking for to move Kaidan along on his grief arc.

This presents a problem, because it puts me in Kara's POV while she is solving an engineering problem, and Kara is much smarter than I am. This meant another brainstorm session with RLRO, who handed me the PERFECT solution to the problem that fixed my character problems, fixed my tension problem, would make it possible for her to be smart without me being smart, etc., BUT, it meant throwing out every single word I'd spent an entire month writing.

Because of this entirely new development, which utterly changes the dynamic I am working with, I have to rewrite #1 AGAIN (which I still have not gotten to because I just finished #10).

I also still have to do first round revisions on the rest of the damn thing, because the back end of these two chapters is really raw and needs some love.

SO THIS IS WHY IT IS TAKING SO LONG. Every time I crown a chapter of Fugue as the most complicated writing I have ever put together, another chapter says, "hold my beer."

Once these are sorted out, I have two more chapters to write plus an epilogue. I think I know what I'm doing for all of it, but because each of these chapters interlink in important ways, what I think I am going to do is just write them before I post anything new. That way, everything will line up right, and once I am ready to post again, I can do it consistently.

I am really hoping I can make some progress over my holiday break (hopefully, but no promises, because I am traveling for part of it).

I am committed to getting this story done, and regret how long it's taking, but trust me, you did not want to read what I had before I figured this out.

Boy this one has been HARD. But I'm almost there. Almost. I'm really happy with the rewrites I just finished. One more big scene to rewrite. Then it's just revisions. I can handle that.

[yeyinde]

⭐️

i am begging for some insight on sink or swim my luv. i have never gotten over that brilliant series

Thank you, babes!!! 🖤

Always down to talk about this series!

Originally, there was three parts when I first started the with the idea of riptide. It was supposed to be in undertow, riptide, and then adrift as sort of a sequence following being dragged out into the middle of the ocean. The third part was scrapped and just merged together in riptide since it felt concluded by the end (and I also couldn't find a place to end it without there being a cliffhanger 😅).

It's not really mentioned anywhere, but the "Ghost in MCs head" is actually just snippets of things they've been through, and stuff he said in the past.

One of my favourite moments was the idea of MC dragging Ghost through Freetown in Sierra Leone while he's wearing his partial mask. I can just imagine the looks they were getting, and I'm sure MC got more than a few "blink of you're in peril."

I had a section that was in Ghost's POV but I wasn't confident enough with it, so I cut it down. It was just the events from the Shadow Company betrayal to Laswell letting them know she was fine.

A piece from Ghost's POV actually ended up in Body Electric (Alejandro's don't get lost was meant to serve as the driving force to Ghost sort of acquiescing to this Thing™️ with MC).

I also needed the events in MW2022 to happen because I needed the Soap/Ghost arc to open him up a bit. Which is why MC is so shocked when he says "we." MC was taken out during this time as she's supposed to be really good at sussing information out, so sidelining her was necessary for the story (and to satiate my need for angst).

I wrote the phone call between Ghost and MC first. It set the precedent for their relationship to come.

(and the moment MC said they didn't want to be alone, Ghost was looking up ways to Porthmadog lmao).

Porthmadog in the winter is hauntingly beautiful. I love Porth, but I had to use it as a place to show her vulnerability without just stating "she's feeling vulnerable" and so it became a crutch. On the opposite side, Sierra Leone (specifically, Freetown) shows her longing, yearning.

I expended more on Porth and Freetown but ended up cutting it down since I thought it got in the way of keeping them as these abstract concepts instead of real places. I don't know if that makes sense!

My favourite scene to write was when they were both standing on the curved road near the park (right at the centre of Lombard Street, very close to Oxfam). I enjoyed the freedom of just writing what MC was feeling and the actions of Simon. I had this image in my head of him standing against the light spilling out with thick clumps of snow falling. It would have been around 9-10ish at night and so the street would have been somewhat empty, so it would have felt quite small and almost claustrophobic. Especially to MC who only has bad memories of this particular park.

Gaz never did take that pic for her. Price knows more than he's letting on. So does Soap but he'd prefer Not to Know. I still can't read the smut without blushing despite the fact that I wrote it.

[biblioflyer]

Housekeeping & Mandalorian

It was never my intent that this blog would talk exclusively about Star Trek, indeed my one mildly viral essay is actually about Captain Marvel, but wow I am having a really tough time with The Mandalorian. I see some stuff in it worth talking about, those with an eye for the symbolic would note a lot of heavy religious and messianic symbolism in the early episodes: sacraments, baptism etc.

Which is really neat. It always thrills me to see a very thoughtful approach to cinematography in pulp. Its why I have a weird soft spot for Zack Snyder. His movies are very silly in terms of plot, but they're visually interesting from an art history point of view. I needed a little bit of emotional distance from the high water mark of the Global War on Terror, but even the aggressive patriotism and military fetishism of Michael Bay's Transformers has its moments.

But in most other respects, I'm just not feeling The Mandalorian. The metaplot and the implications of what I think is going to turn into a trinitarian power struggle between Bo, Din, and the Armorer is kind of neat. The world building that is happening on the New Republic side is....something. I'm highly supportive of trying to "do a Clone Wars" on the sequel trilogy. That is to say, remodel the trilogy by creating meaningful links to other pieces of the franchise and reframe a lot of the story and emotional beats by virtue of these connections. Its what Lucasarts did with the prequels.

Yet, I recognize that there was some intentional cognitive dissonance intended in the way that Tim Meadows' scene was filmed. The way it has all of the beats of an office comedy without the laugh track. We are probably supposed to be horrified at how callous this bureaucrat is. Intellectually that's the case, but emotionally? I just didn't feel anything. I figured out that it was going to come down to a beleaguered New Republic lacking the resources or will to help Navarro.

I wasn't quite prepared for there to not be any whiff of sentimentality on the part of the requisitions officer. I'm not really a fan of this "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" kind of approach to the New Republic. I know in both continuities, this is more or less how it turned out, but I'd still rather see some sentimentality, some despair that the New Republic has too many fires and not enough fire trucks. As it is, it just seems to be reaffirming the overall gloomy mood of the sequels that everything the heroes did had turned to ashes long before the First Order opened fire with Starkiller Base.

Then there's the set piece action sequence in "The Pirate." The liberation of Navarro should feel triumphant. But it didn't. From the moment the Mandalorians embarked on Bo's transport, I had a sense that this was going to be a turkey shoot. The Mandos were going to waltz in there and be about as menaced as Chuck Norris assaulting a preschool at nap time. And I was right. Paz Vizla aka the Heavy, even tanks a direct hit from an E-Web, goes down, but gets back to his feet again in no time. After the battle he's walking and talking without even a limp to suggest cracked ribs or anything of the sort.

This isn't even Star Wars action movie logic at this point, Luke, Leia, Han were always on the backfoot and experiencing one or more reversals per fight which is what made their triumphs more interesting. They avoid major injury for the most part, but they also are frequently stymied from achieving their goals and have to find clever ways to persevere.

I get it, these are Mandalorians. The most feared warriors in the galaxy this side of the Jedi, and they were up against a bunch of drunk and disorderly pirates. Narratively speaking, of course it should be incredibly one sided. And that's a boring narrative! If you really wanted to establish how badass these guys are when they're working together in large numbers, sure, an establishing scene would be great for that. But this was kind of silly. Every last one of them is a Captain America right down to the bad guys pouring on a hail of gunfire that never hits anywhere but his shield.

Beskar is plot armor, okay sure. But like Captain America's shield, it shouldn't be abused. It should be used to permit the heroes to do things that nobody else could, up to a point. Yet, like Captain America's shield, there has to be limits. Those limits are clearly visible on every Mandalorian's body. Its the seams in their armor, the places where they don't even wear armor.

Also the capital ship nerd in me is so despondent. This series is leaning into the same beats as Rogue One and The Last Jedi where capital ships are functionally helpless against fighters to a degree that just makes it all the more questionable why anyone would arm them and send them directly into harm's way, let alone build some that are the size of major metropolitan areas.

Am I missing something here? I can see the mold of the emotions that I think I'm supposed to be feeling, but the liquid beskar just hasn't been poured in.

Do I just need to finish Clone Wars or at least watch that Mandalorian saga playlist on Disney+?

Anyway, more Star Trek content is coming. I'm going to watch the latest episode of Picard after I post this. I'm working on some essays pertaining to S1E4 but its getting down into the weeds on some of my thinking on how the show explores different ethical perspectives and uses challenging subject matter to do so and why I think its uncomfortable for OG TNG fans, but I'm trying to exercise the right amount of care and precision when exploring tricky territory while not getting too verbose, and its not going well. What I have isn't lending itself well to chopping it up into smaller, more topical essays. I probably need to be my own harsh editor and make some tough choices about where to cut and just link out to essays that are already saying a lot of the same stuff, just a little differently.

[thousandyearphantombunker]

(this is a vent and I get nasty so possibly don't read)I've got no idea as to why this has become a thing recently or how to properly articulate myself rn but here I go: When I analyze characters I don't just look at how their actions are framed, i take off the frame. I take off the edgy and dramatic lighting and the very emotionally charged/biased language, the edgy outfit they got put in and I look at what they actually did what actually happened, i look at their actions alone (well not alone I still need context) and that has me being labelled media illiterate. 'the story said they where a bad guy! Look at how they are being framed! Look at what language they used to describe them! The story is telling you they are bad' and like I know that, I know im supposed hate them but when I look at there actual actions and what they've done without the frame they aren't that evil to me, i know what im being told but i dont buy it because once you get past very loaded word choices and the unflattering picture the creator used... They aren't doing anything bad in the photo, it's just at a bad angle. when you replace the emotional language and make it more neutral language (without changing the story) and you can see plain as day that.

King magnifico wasn't a villain, he's just an asshole with emotional issues, Ironwood while a villain was being demonized for the wrong reasons, he was facing an ethical dilemma alongside team rwby no matter what the show did neither side was 'right' nobody was gonna come out of that shit smelling like roses no matter if you were pro ironwood or pro rwby (maybe the writers could've learned something from ever after high about these sorts of situations you know the show for little girls handled shit like this better) and belos and the collector feel very contradictory? Like very different people each time we got some development from them. The fans who got excited over the idea these two where more complex than story states weren't being stupid, they saw the compelling ideas and interesting contradictions and got excited, and if I like a character that's supposed to a hate sink maybe I'm not stupid maybe the show didn't do its job right, maybe I don't want the writer to hold my hand maybe I want them to explain the story better and maybe I don't wanna do wikipedia homework to understand the show.

Fellas is it a sign of media iliteracy to not take the story at face value and eat what we are being fed without looking to see the ingredients or if its properly cooked? I genuinely got convinced by the owl house fandom that I was stupid for having complaints that I was clearly incapable of the higher thinking required to understand the story and if I didn't like it I clearly wasn't analyzing things deeply enough but when I did analyze the story deeper I found even more issues, my problems originally where with the coven system, coven heads, Darius and Eberwolf turning out to be secret rebels and the fact luz and hexside broke a major law with zero repressions and that Belos's plan was weak, analyzing deeper made me realize the magic system was weak and while i had massive issues with the finale already (fuck the dream sequence light glyph nonsense, and i hated the titan reveal because of the chosen one nonsense especially the titan saying he did make philip's life harder on purpose- which made the fact that he. Still discovered the glyphs impressive) i said I could still watch the show pre finale but after looking deeper I noticed the 'us vs them' mentality was through out the show - not just the finale i didn't like that philip's complexity got erased or that Luz was a chosen one and again i fucking hated the dream sequence, the light glyph nonsense was confusing, (that also helped me realize if the magic system got developed more maybe they could've introduced a mechanic that explained that shit) i also hated that the principal at luz's school was framed so badly- I'm autistic im latina i am a lesbian- im not an ableist racist homophobe- i would've demanded Luz get in school expulsion, and if she got into another incident that she go to summer school, and do community service or i would press charges- still a pretty light punishment but God he was not a bad guy I only saw that problem in the finale when I was told I was dumb I decided to try and reanalyze the show again and came out with an even more negative opinion

Maybe instead of insulting people's intelligence and acting condescending you can just say 'well if you look at the story from my perspective' and share why you think what you think because I do see the appeal of belos's ending and death I do see the appeal of this show- or another here's another idea just agree to disagree and not act high and mighty calling everyone who disagrees a nitpicker a 'stupid Steven universe fan' or lily orchard simp but no Doug walker having a mostly positive opinion of this show while still sharing his minor critics was a sin! I can't believe this is the fandom that made it so I defend nostalgia critics opinions- i genuinely don't like that guy but some of his critique aimed at the show is valid. I feel like this post is pretty meanspirited and I'm sorry for anyone who decides to read this tagless mess but I can't stand smugness or the idea that looking a story deeper makes you stupid. Im just salty and this is a dumb vent over old shit but God I'm pissy still.

[getmemymicroscope]

Of all the 'recent' boom in masala films, I think Dabangg not only took me the longest to get around to watching (and even then, I'd initially seen a bit and hadn't found it great, so I'd just kinda dropped it ... for a long while) but was also probably one of my least favorite of that genre (in no specific order, I preferred Wanted, Rowdy Rathore, R... Rajkumar, Singham, and so on; maybe I preferred Dabangg to like, Tevar or something, but that's about it). But I did finally watch it, and it did have its moments (and sorta helped really kick-start the genre again, so can't complain about that). Then I tried Dabangg 2 - and I still haven't finished it, because I got to a point that was obviously going to end with some sort of injury to Sonakshi Sinha's character that leads to a miscarriage (if you've seen enough Bollywood, you know it is coming), and I just am not in the mood for that. So that remains unfinished.

But hey, I was bored so I figured, why not - might as well turn on Dabangg 3. Apparently it continues on from the end of Dabangg 2, but I don't feel like I missed much in the story (other than that they now have a kid). There's also obviously the replacement of Vinod Khanna (RIP) by his brother as Chulbul's step-dad, but like, that's one of those "don't say anything" things in the movie, so we're just all pretending he's the same. Fair enough.

Sudeep I've now seen a couple of times - as the villain in Makkhi and here, and as the hero in Vikrant Rona and Bachchan (Kannada movie). He's pretty solid no matter what is asked of him, and while his villain here might not be as memorable as Prakash Raj in Singham or Sonu Sood in Simmba, he's still pretty good. While he's clearly the villain and should in no terms be accepted or celebrated for his actions, I do like that his villain was smart enough to realize "even if I kill the guy this girl loves, she'll never love me." Again, that doesn't excuse what he did to poor Saiee Manjrekar (small but impactful-ish role), but so many villains are just like "oh, I'll force her to marry me" as if that will suddenly make the girl love them. It won't. This villain was so close! - he realized that wouldn't happen; if he had just admitted defeat and walked away, he could've been a real person. Instead he turned full-on villain and, after somehow surviving his jeep falling off a cliff and down a deep ravine and crashing into the rocks below (how he survived goes conveniently unexplained, because I'm pretty sure the only explanation is "he's the villain and he can't be dead yet"), he returns to face his old nemesis. No, seriously - how did he survive that fall/crash, and without any sort of bodily injury either? Sure, it's been a few years, but like, that wouldn't just cause a minor scratch.

The background story with Chulbul and Khushi - it was brief (and yet, in a flashback sense, too long?) and mostly just featured a song or two and a couple of interactions, but it wasn't bad. The overlap with her and Sonakshi's character yet again gets us to the Bollywood trope of "everyone you see knows everyone else you see," but I think it sorta works out here - if you can imagine that she had never previously seen a picture of the guy her friend was supposed to marry. Which, hey - maybe.

Sohail Khan has a very brief guest appearance, which really had a moment to be pretty funny - and while they did play the 'Hello Brother' title song in the background, it was a bit of a missed opportunity. He's got some pretty damn good comedic timing of his own.

The songs aren't anything to write home about, but then, you don't go watch Dabangg 3 for the songs.

The action - it isn't bad, all-in-all. Maybe a bit overkill for the final showdown - as in most of these movies, I'm pretty sure the villain (at least, if not the hero as well) would probably be dead much before they actually end up dead in the movie. But hey, I guess people are here for the physics-defying action sequences, so you got to make it last for at least a bit.

Overall - it's not bad. Not great, sure, but not bad. Entertaining, at least.

[tyrantofthefirmament]

The Gift

Ice cold spring air whipped across Starscream’s fuselage as he banked into the wind. This was the most perfect flying weather they’d had in some time - dry air, steady, low winds, and only a few thin cirrus clouds well out of the way overhead, splashing a striated iridescence across an otherwise crystal clear sky.

Below, Starscream kept a watchful optic on his own Cirrus, as the younger Seeker went through his 8 point hesitation roll practice. Weather this fine made Starscream want to fly wild and free, but it was good to take advantage of the calm winds for precision training. 

Cirrus was getting good at this. His telemetry fed live to Starscream as he practiced, and everything - his roll, his control of his ailerons on the pauses, the level of his nose - was so well regulated it was almost soothing. They would go over it later, but it would only be fine tuning at this point. Pride and contentment filled his Spark as he sent Cirrus a ping to take a break and transition back to 4 point rolls for a while.

But contentment never sat right with Starscream. He couldn’t trust it. 

As he circled wider, over the growing construction site and radar tower, worry crept in. The foundation of a new spire was underway, but he’d halted construction on the earlier ones. They would continue to build, but outwards, not upwards. Not yet. Save for the necessary radar tower, he didn’t dare build higher than the crater wall. It would draw attention. 

His thoughts turned automatically to the tally that ran always in a corner of his mind, pushing Cirrus’s telemetry to the background. Assets versus liabilities. Progress versus setbacks. Where did he stand? Where could he afford to extend himself? Was he spread too thin?

His recent overtures with Ultra Magnus stood out. That was progress. But it was also a risk. He’d offered Energon Seekers in a bid to stabilize the alliance and demonstrate that he had trained soldiers to spare, but the truth was he could barely spare them. Still, it would be worth it. And he needed the bluff. Ultra Magnus had already guessed where he was building. Vos couldn’t stay hidden much longer...

Even now, Ultra Magnus couldn’t be the only one who knew.

What would your followers think if they saw you now?

Megatron’s words came back to him, as chilling now as they had been when the warlord had him cornered. More so. Every day that passed was a day Megatron’s whim could turn from warning to action. He had to know where to strike by now.

I know you, Seeker! Are you really going to ask me how I knew?

Megatron did know him, better than anyone alive. How many times had his former master rubbed his predictability in his face? How many times had he, Starscream, so cunning and sharp, been the one outmaneuvered and taken by surprise? How many times since-

A flash of sunlight from somewhere - a ruined spire, the melted ground, or maybe a memory - hit Starscream’s optics and he was back. Back on Trypticon amid cheering Seekers in the moments before the reports began to come in and that terrible silence fell. In the clear air around him his mind supplied raining metal and flaming Seekers all thrown together and falling.

Falling!

An altimeter alert jerked Starscream back to the here and now, but he only had to correct slightly for some disorientation. The alert was from Cirrus’s feed!

He located the purple silhouette in an instant, far below, seeming in control but heading nearly straight down.

::Cirrus!:: he commed, already speeding down to intercept him. ::What’s your status?::

The reply was a burst of static but he could make out the word “landing”.

::Your approach is too steep! And you’re headed for rough ground. Level off and make another attempt!::

::I can’t! Um, I’ll try.:: Cirrus rocked dangerously as he tried to pull out of his dive, and he didn’t have much room left. To make matters worse, he reduced thrust and lost more altitude, then overcorrected with a jerk that froze Starscream’s Spark.

::Keep your speed up! Steady on your elevators. Don’t spin.:: Starscream passed him, and couldn’t see anything wrong. Something was clearly wrong though. Crunching relative velocities in his head as sped downward, he positioned his wing just below Cirrus’s nose.

::Listen - this is going to be a bad landing, but trust me. We’re low enough for this to work.:: He didn’t tell Cirrus they were so low this might be the only thing that would work. ::When I say go, you extend all flaps! Then I’m going to push you from below. As soon as you’re heading up, you transform and land. Understood?::

More static. 

::CIRRUS! I NEED YOU TO CONFIRM!:: The window Starscream had calculated was closing rapidly, but if Cirrus didn’t do his part they could both be killed.

::U-understood!::

::Get ready.:: Starscream reduced speed, dropping directly underneath Cirrus. 

::GO!:: Starscream spent the next instants doing several things. He transformed, getting enough of a glimpse of Cirrus as his plating whirled around to see him extend flaps as planned. Before his body fully rebuilt itself he transformed again, jet mode pointing upwards now, with Cirrus’s nose just passing above him. His turbines hadn’t even had time to spin down, and now he fired his full afterburner, slamming against the bottom of the other jet.

The collision shattered his cockpit and brought a cascade of system alerts, but Starscream ignored them. He stalled himself and transformed yet again, dropping heavily to the ground on one knee, already frantically searching for Cirrus along their trajectory. A moment later Cirrus landed hard, too fast to keep his footing, and rolled several times before coming to a stop.

When Starscream got to him he wasn’t moving, but he was alive and in one piece save for some missing control surfaces. His wings looked ragged as a result, and he was leaking where his knees and elbows had hit the ground. Overall he appeared to be in shock, trembling and holding his head in his hands.

“Cirrus!” Starscream checked his head and neck cables, then helped him sit up. That snapped Cirrus out of his numb panic, and he collapsed forward onto Starscream and began to cry. In that state he seemed even bigger, with all his plating bristled open to dump heat. Some of the heat was from flying, but Starscream knew the ammonia he was giving off wasn’t from damaged coolant lines. All of Cirrus’s vents were weeping as his cooling system boiled off heat from the terror that gripped him.

Adjusting his balance so he could bear Cirrus’s weight while kneeling, Starscream let his own plating open up. Once they were both cooled down, he would bridge them to the medbay. For now he just rubbed the back of Cirrus’s neck and his shoulder, and accepted the talons digging into his own wing roots, and the boiling tears against his neck cables where Cirrus’s face was buried.

“Starscream I- I’m sorry!” Cirrus choked through a burst of static. “I forgot all your lessons! I-”

“Shh.” Starscream patted his shoulder. “You recovered. You focused.” He tried to force the fear out of his own voice, without much success. Truly another second longer would have been fatal. He let Cirrus get out another bout of trembling sobs before slowly leaning back to look at him. “Tell me what happened. Did something go wrong?”

Cirrus sat up and shook his head. “I don’t know. I don��t think so. Everything was fine, but then- I got really scared. It felt like... like something terrible was going to happen, and I didn’t want to be there. Like I would die if I stayed. That’s why I tried to land.” He looked at Starscream and drew his knees up, curling up and hiding his face as he began to cry again. “I didn’t mean to go too steep. I was so scared! The sky-”

Starscream wiped the look of bewildered horror off his face too late, so all he could do was shift so he was sitting beside Cirrus, and talk. “We’ll figure it out. Once you’re repaired and rested, we’ll figure it out.”

How they would do that was beyond him. He was never able to fix his own panic attacks, let alone anyone else’s. But there was more. Cirrus’s words described exactly what Starscream had felt leading up to and during his flashback. 

Just as Shockwave had predicted.

[phoenixdnasty]

The Problem with Season Five

this is already going to have a lot of you in the replies yelling at me. obviously, massive SPOILERS for s5 of she ra and the princesses of power if you haven't already seen it.

okay, so She Ra is definitely a kids' show, but it has a lot of themes aimed towards an older audience: abuse, war, found family, destiny and knowing who you are. I loved She Ra because it made me feel empowered, made me feel seen. after this last season, however, I don't feel the same. I will, however, talk about what it did well.

What She-Ra s5 did RIGHT

I very much enjoyed seeing the character development for most characters come to the forefront here. For example, SW returned to her original motivations. When she lived in Mystacor with the other sorcerers, her thirst for power was borne of a desire to fight the Horde. When she was rejected, then she chose to do what she did. We see a return to that in s5, where she takes a stand against Prime by enlisting Castaspella to stop her if she tries to take any power for herself. She ends up just wanting to help, to do what she can, which was excellent. Glimmer, Bow and a bunch of other characters are given some love here as well. I especially enjoyed seeing Bow and Mermista take on leadership positions in the absence of Adora; it was an excellent look into another facet of their personalities.

Character interactions in non-serious moments were, for the most part, good. Swift Wind and Scorpia being bros was not something I knew I needed but something I want more of. Netossa basically being Batman and knowing the weaknesses of everyone around her was great and an iconic scene. Bow thinking Catra was super adorable was also an excellent moment in the season and I could watch 9 more seasons worth of that. Something that surprised me was Entrapta's "not good with people"-ness being talked about and addressed by the other characters and explained by her; I wasn't sure if that was ever gonna be talked about in the show.

Side note: thank you Crew-Ra for giving Scorpia her own musical number, it was great.

Prime was also a fascinating enemy. He's this sort of religious figure, this world destroyer who's been around for seemingly centuries, maybe much longer. He's cold, calm and calculated. I've seen it pointed out that he's everything Hordak is not. He's manipulative, knows body language and facial expressions, and has a perfect grasp on how to get exactly what we wants. My favorite aspect of this season was the hive mind control. This was a very interesting plotline to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed HiveMind!Catra as well as Wrong Hordak. I loved the idea of pitting allies against each other and the angst and emotional weight that carried.

Going to use that point to segue into one of this season's strengths: Netossa and Spinnerella. Wow! We get a chance to see what a healthy queer/wlw relationship looks like, and two background characters get major upgrades in relevance. Two diversity points for one being a big girl and for the couple being interracial (in our world anyway), but diversity is the norm is SPOP and we might have to stan forever. It was extremely heartwarming and resulted in one of my favorite scenes to ever show up in animated media (one which I'll be stealing to add to my vows if I ever get married):

It was beautiful and I will absolutely never shut up about it.

There were some beautiful moments this season!! Absolutely gorgeous. A highlight for me cinematically was episode 5, which will probably bother some people when I say what I will below. I will be honest, the new transformation sequence and the scene of Adora holding Catra as She-Ra was powerful and had my heart pounding with excitement. It was awesome.

On the other hand...

What She-Ra s5 did WRONG

I'm going to break my issues with the final season down one by one, starting with the narrative of abuse.

From the very beginning, abuse is the most prevalent theme in the show. Prime (HP) abuses Hordak, Hordak abuses SW, SW abuses both Adora and Catra, and Catra abuses Adora. I liked the Crew-Ra tackling this issue. Abused people abuse people, right?

Why was everyone redeemed in s5? (Well, except for Prime, he was blasted away by She-Ra.) Hordak was given a blank slate to start over, even though he was the reason Etheria was war torn for at least a few decades; SW was given a hero's sacrifice, where at the end of her life she finally decides to do some good; and Catra is immediately forgiven for doing one good thing and all trust in placed in her simultaneously.

Hordak and H. Prime as abusers are pretty cut and dry; at no point are they ever remorseful for their actions, except for Hordak in the case of being abusive to Entrapta. SW is much more of an interesting character to analyze, because her motivations are geared directly towards herself. This seems to change in the final season, when she returns to her original motivations from back when she was in Mystacor. Defending her home. In her pursuit of the power needed to defend Etheria from the Horde, she fell into darkness. She began to abuse Adora and Catra.

One could argue that the hero's sacrifice she was given for redemption was unneeded. SW was an individual addicted to power. She was manipulative, using fake affection as a means to control. She didn't deserve a redemption. The only evidence we have of this supposed change of heart is a line to Castaspella: "...and stop me if I try to take the power for myself." Okay... so, SW, um... what changed your mind? Was it Micah? Because at no point has he forgiven you. In fact, there should've been much more hostility between the two of you (which is a point I'll address in a moment). In all honesty, the relationship between SW and Micah reminds me of what should've happened between Catra and Glimmer, or Catra and Scorpia.

And Catra... My problem with her story is that she was kinda just... forgiven? instantly. no repercussions, no long talks about feelings, no... consequences. Catra got the girl and that was it. A small list of things she did over 4 seasons, in no certain order:

Scratched what was implied were scarring marks down Adora's back

Was the cause of Angella's "death" #angelladeservedbetter

Kidnapped both Glimmer and Bow

Opened a world-ending portal all to ensure Adora failed

Also pushed Adora into what looked like an abyss

Verbally abused Scorpia into leaving

Wanted to pit Corrupted!She-Ra against her friends (dehumanization)

Got Entrapta sent to Beast Island, a deadly place no one ever returns from

And this is just the stuff off the top of my head. We all knew Catra was going to get a redemption, but this one was completely undeserved. She apologized to Adora and Entrapta. Two very short apologies for what canonly was at minimum, months of abuse, manipulation, intent to kill (which is literally mentioned by Adora) and general disregard for anyone or anything but revenge for something that didn't even deserve it. The entire cast should've been outraged. Glimmer in particular had a very big reason not to ever forgive Catra ("I'm not losing another parent!"), but it was all glossed over.

The biggest issue with season 5 was the abuse plotline completely dropped. You can't spend 4 seasons explaining how the cycle of abuse affects you and everyone around you... and shelve it. And we know the reason why it was shelved.

Let me first preface this with the fact that I am super happy we got representation. As a queer nblw who grew up feeling alone, it's so good to see things changing in media. An onscreen wlw kiss on a kids' show is groundbreaking and I'm very happy that She-Ra broke this barrier.

But all representation is not good representation. Catra and Adora is not a good representation of a healthy relationship.

Catra is shown throughout the series to be very unstable. This is even prevalent in season 5, when Adora "chooses SW" over Catra, she runs away. This breaks Adora's heart. The last thing that Catra needs is a relationship when she hasn't even confronted the issues that she has. There's no healing done in season 5, no therapy as the fandom loved to meme about, no long talks about forgiveness and the hurt caused. There's no callback to any of the pain and anguish that Catra put Adora through. Catra may love Adora, but if there is no healing done for the both of them, their relationship will fail. They will fall into the same cycle again. Adora will do something Catra doesn't like, Catra will do what she's done for all of the show, and it will repeat until something breaks.

I'm going to talk about the implications of the ending we have now, and feel free to argue with me.

She-Ra is a kids' show. Abuse is one of the main themes. Catra is shown to be an abuser. Here's what we are teaching younger audiences:

a. if you love someone enough, maybe they'll change

b. everyone deserves a second chance

c. your abuser will change as long as you're loyal and never stop trying to love them

d. things someone does to hurt you mean nothing in the wake of forgiveness

e. if someone who hurt you changes suddenly and wants to be back in your life, you should let them back in

Character interactions for the things that mattered (plot threads from previous seasons, general personality clashes, etc) were absent this season, in the moments where they mattered the most. (The best three in my opinion were Scorpia and Perfuma, the BFS inviting Catra in, and Mermista and Entrapta.) Glimmer and Adora should've had their time to talk. Scorpia should've gotten to say her piece to Catra. SW and Micah should've interacted more. Micah and Glimmer should've gotten more than an introduction!

I'm not going to get into how the entire final season was wrapped around making Catra and Adora get together (a fundamental writing no-no; it never ends up working), or how it was bad writing. I just want everyone to think critically for one moment. There are so many other glaring issues in what was, overall, a stellar show. If there was another season, or some mini episodes where the characters talk out their problems and past transgressions against each other, then I could excuse She-Ra. But I doubt we're going to get any of that. So I won't.

[revchainsaw]

The Crow (1994)

Alright Cult of Cult. Do I really need to introduce this one? Let's get all 90s and gothy and maybe brace ourselves for a bit of cringe, but like in a fun way. It's the Holy Grail of Hot Topic, 1994's the Crow Starring Brandon Lee.

Sermon

Apparently before the auto industry totally crashed Detroit was already a total fucked to death pile of burning shit, or at least that's what the crow would have you believe. Sorry Bruce Campbell, and other people from Detroit, but mostly Bruce Campbell. According to the Crow the city of Detroit is the kind of place where gangs of warlock anarchist arsonists will bomb buildings, and murder and rape whoever they feel like and then walk around bragging about it the next day with absolutely zero consequences. Funny then that if Detroit was so bad they had to go to film this movie in Wilmington North Carolina which is definitely a fucked to death pile of burning shit. I can say that, I'm from there and I got the fuck out. My brother is going to kill me if he ever reads this. (It's okay, these are all jokes people). Did you know they also filmed the Super Mario Bros movie there ... also cuz they needed a really shitty looking distopia. Moving on ...

The ludicrous criminality of the Crow's Detroit is particularly on display on Halloween. In Detroit (apparently) Halloween is known as Devils Night and it's legitimately just a night of pure lawlessness and chaos and kids aren't even safe to get candy, except later when we do see trick or treaters. Eric Draven, hunky goth rocker who sort of looks like he could be Bruce Lee's Kid and his fiance are murdered by a gang of vicious criminals. One year hence, Eric is resurrected by a mystical crow (that is actually a Raven), to exact his revenge on the gang that murdered him.

He paints his face like sad Alice Cooper and refuses to listen to Joy Division, just covers. He murders Tin Tin (a knife guy) just for his long gothy duster, he murders Fun Boy and forcibly ejects heroine from her arms and tells her "Go be a good mom now" which actually works. (have I told you about our Lord and Savior Sting? He gave me the strength to get off drugs), he blows T Bird up dick first, and then comes for Skab? Scraap? Scooby? in a meeting of all of Detroits villains and just about kills them all.

He is supported by the most 90s little girl to have ever graced the screen, and I am here for it, and Officer Albrecht, who's played by Ernie Hudson but I like to call him Zeddemore: The Most Underrated Ghostbuster. The leader of the bad guys, who I cannot beleive wasn't played by Brad Dourif or Tom Waits, is pretty interested in the occult. He keeps his witchy girlfriend around and she makes him fun dishes like smoked eyeballs, and her main use is that she knows that the Crow is the Crows weakness. They set Tony Fucking Todd on the bird, and I guess you just have to hurt the bird and not kill it, and Eric loses his healing factor and other macabre undead powers.

The Crow, Jimmy the Raven, pecks out Dr. Girlfriends eyeballs, I honestly forget how Tony Todd gets offed, and Top Dollar gets Gargoyled (that is impaled on a gargoyle). Funnily enough that is more Gargoyle related impaling on screen then in the actual movie Gargoyle: Wings of Darkness where a Gargoyle is supposed to have impaled a guy.

The Benediction

Best Feature: Injustice League

In the Crow we have not only a set of super memorable villains but they are played by the bad guy all stars. John Polito as the most lowly of the bad guys as a kind of sleazy pawn shop owner who buys ill gotten gains. Tony Todd, who's size is really on display here, the freaking Candy Man is in this movie. T Bird is the head of Top Dollars goons and is played by David Patrick Kelly, you might know as the "Warriors Come Out and Play!!" bottle guy from the Warriors, or as Jimmy Horne from Twin Peaks, and of course Top Dollar himself is played by Michael Wincott. Wincott is not a particularly celebrated actor but has played villains effectively in Robin Hood, the Three Musketeers, and Dead Man.

Best Set Piece: Detroit Style Hot Dogs

The Set design of the Crow is perhaps one of it's most fantastic features. It's very moody and ethereal. It's just real enough to not take you out of the film, but fantastic enough to set mood and theme above realism. From Eric Draven's apartment, to the church where the final battle occurs they are all fantastic. I think that's why I really wanted to shine the spot light on a very minor set piece that would get nary a mention but just as effectively represents the qualities I was just talking about and that is the Maxi Doggs Hot Dog Stand, where a lot of the films exposition for audience surrogates takes place.

Worst Effect: Freeze Frame

At a few points in the movie the film makers made a strange decision to do these freeze frame transitions. I only noticed it twice in the movie where it was particularly stupid. I'm sure the film makers at the time thought it was a moody and atmospheric choice that highlighted the suffering that Eric Draven was going through, but it didn't age well. If you don't have the sensibilities of a goth girl from 1994 then it's very very hard not to laugh at just how self involved the movie is about it's super sadness.

Worst Feature: Tragic Accident

Solely based on the film itself, it is that very gothic and dated sensibility that hurts the Crow. The little sarcastic dance he does when he flees the police, quoting Edgar Allen Poe, and bowing to Albrecht. These affected behaviors that I'm sure seemed snarky and right on to the target audience only serve to make Eric Draven seem like an unbearable neck beard edgelord and not the troubled dark soul he's supposed to be. I'm sure at the time it seemed unique and gothy but that shit went out of style for good reason, people could see through it. It's a shame that the Crow himself was some of the cringiest parts of this movie now that I'm seeing it as an adult and not a 13 year old middle class boy with no real problems.

This however is not the low point of the movie. It's not news now and if you're reading some dudes review of The Crow on Tumblr then you probably already know the story. The worst thing about The Crow is that Brandon Lee was horrifically killed on set while filming this movie due to some negligible prop malfunctions. A series of unfortunate events that lead to the actor spending 6 hours in surgery fighting for his life before eventually passing. It was not a quick or painless death and it's really impossible to watch the movie without an appreciation for the fact that this kind of fun dark adventure was going to be a vehicle for Brandon Lee's career wound up taking his life. He was 28. I really wish I could have just bitched about the goofy goth stuff and moved on, but that's not the world we live in.

Best Effect: The Gargoyling

Maybe I should have called this best kill. But I'm not sure which it is. The slaying of Top Dollar at the Climax of the film was just super effective. The pointed wings impaling his chest and that horn coming out of his mouth, it was morbid and excellent and just fit the tone of the movie perfectly. I mean how many other movies can you say Cause of Death: Impaled on a Gargoyle.

Best Bird: The Raven

I tried very hard to look up the name of the bird that primarily performed in this movie and could not find anything. There was a Raven once upon a time called Jimmy the Raven, but that was in the 50s and I don't think birds live that long. There was a team of Ravens performing as the crow, they were chosen over crows for their larger size, and more imposing silhouettes. I just think it's so wonderful to see these often maligned birds get a chance to show off their talents. Corvids of all kinds are incredibly intelligent creatures. Im a sucker for animals, if you haven't already figured that out. I really liked seeing the ravens hit their marks, particularly the one whos job it was to drop the wedding ring into Sarah's hand at the end of the film. You can see that greedy little bastard do his trick and then look of camera at his trainer like "treat please!". It's very cute.

Best Actor: Top Dollar Performance

I'd love to take this opportunity to just put praise upon Brandon Lee, he truly gave everything for this role, but unfortunately with what was put to film we actually have very few character moments with Eric Draven. Stuff happens to him, and he does killings and fights. There's definitely some personality, but I felt like I walked away knowing almost nothing about who Eric Draven was. He was clearly a good dude but that and a few hobbies and a relationship and you don't really have a character yet. He's unfortunately not given a lot of acting to do, instead just relegated to stunts and action sequences. That were notably cool.

The bad guys in the Crow have a lot more character and among this who's who of character actors, Michael Wincott takes the cake. Hell he was standing next to Candyman himself, Tony Todd and still stealing the scenes.

Best Character: A Few Good Apples

Is the best character in The Crow really going to be the cop? The commissioner Gordon stand in? yeah, it is. Not to be political, but I don't like cops, but I guess in a world with magical birds and eyeball smoking I can suspend my disbelief and let Ernie Hudson be #1 cop dad. His character is really the heart of the film, since all Eric can do is brood and fight, we have to care about someone in this movie.

Best Sequence: Halloween Party

The best sequence of the movie is of course the scene where Eric Draven busts in on the Devil's Night party planning commission. I think Top Dollar brought Scrappy Doo there just so he could lure out the crow, knowing the baddest assholes in all of Detroit would be gathered it was likely that somebody was going to kill the beast, or if they couldn't at least Top Dollar could get a feel for his enemy. It's a bullet flying action sequence with a ton of weight. I can't put my finger on this all to common weightless third act problem that big budget super hero and action flicks have nowadays, but whatever that issue is, the Crow does not have that issue. From this point on the Climax feels earned and I am invested. For that reason, The Crow is honestly better in spite of its awkwardness, than many of the super hero movies out today.

Worst Sequence: My Guitar Gently Weeps

Speaking of brooding or fighting. The best sequence was fighting, the worst is brooding. I get that Eric was in a band or something, but didn't he have shit to do. It seemed like it was a cool idea for a shot, but for like a whole seen, watching somebody play an 80s guitar solo, that stood out so brazenly from the choices of music in the rest of the movie was extra corny. It felt like someone's( dad trying to relate to their kid. Oh you like Music. The Dresden Dolls eh? Oh man, then you're going to love Slash's Snake Pit!

Summary

The Crow is dated. It is iconic but I wonder how many of the people that hang that poster on the wall have watched that movie since they were kids. It's interesting how what i've liked and disliked about this film have changed so much sense I was a kid. It's a cheeseball fiesta. If you have matured at all beyond thinking that being sad is the same as being deep then you're going to like it a little less than you did when you were younger, but it is still solid. There's not much to hate on. I'd watch it over and over again. I was really afraid it would not hold up at all, but returning to The Crow was a completely positive experience.

Overall Grade: B

[userpoe]

ever since my first watch of the sequel trilogy, i've been a whore for commander dameron as we know. and i've searched a shit ton of videos on youtube with his scenes and shit, and there was this video that never sat well with me. i never watched it but the title had poe and holdo and misogyny. and don't get me wrong, misogynists can fuck off, but poe wasn't being one of them when he want against holdo. and the way they made her a martyr at the end like she's some sort of hero pisses me off — ✨

buddy i know we’ve already agreed we’re soulmates, but man. we are soulmates. i agree with everything you just said. i’m gonna put this in a read more, because...well i’m me and this is gonna be long, and i don’t want to clog up anyone’s dashboard if they happen to be fans of you know whomst.

you know that “did x effectively utilize girl power” meme that’s been going around? that’s fucking holdo in my opinion, like oh my gosh. I have never understood the idea that Poe was misogynistic, and it annoys me to no end that THREE WHOPPING YEARS LATER it’s still apparently a popular opinion????? fellas [wild hand motions] how??????? 

(I’ve also seen people call Poe an example of ‘toxic masculinity’ and I’m just. Yes, the man who sews up the jacket in between an evacuation to give to his crush friend and politely introduces himself to Rey and also, yknow, flips his shit when his droid is damaged is a fantastic example of toxic masculinity, I have to laugh /s).

Poe’s actions are not the ones of a “sexist who doesn’t respect women”, they are the actions of someone who is highly and recently traumatized, faced with the VERY REAL threat of losing everything he has left, and the possibility that the person put in charge might actively be trying to tear down everything Leia has fought to build. The Resistance is not the Rebellion, the Resistance is 400 people and a handful of squadrons - that’s it. They didn’t have any support, they’re now actively fleeing for their lives, and now there’s someone in charge who seems plenty happy sacrificing most of their fleet, isn’t offering any hope to anyone, and refuses to trust people with her plan - yeah, I can see how Poe would be thrown and upset, yknow? 

I just cannot narratively read tlj in a way that paints Holdo in a good light, or paints her in the “right”, believe me, I have tried. I have tried to like her, but I just can’t. I’ve tried to understand her, and I can’t. Not really. And honestly, the more I explore the film, the more I inspect, the more I think I’m not supposed to?

I already shared an snippet from the tlj novelization, but like. if you thought the film was bad, she is horrible in the novelization. it seems like her favorite past-time is belittling Poe at any chance she can get, even when he hasn’t done anything. He follows her orders and aides in the evacuation of the medical frigate, doesn’t so much put a toe out of line, and she still grounds him inexplicably from aiding in any other evacuations and also bans him from the bridge? The book constantly shows us what the film doesn’t really get a chance to explore: how dire things are on the Raddus. The Resistance is losing hope, more and more people are giving up, and Poe spends most of his scenes trying to boost morale until, finally, when the last support ship goes up, he finally confronts Holdo.

I know some people have said Holdo is “warm and maternal” but I just. cannot see her in that way? I’ve seen Laura Dern play warm and maternal before, but Holdo does not come across that way at all to me. She makes me extremely uncomfortable, the way she’s constantly encroaching on people’s personal space (particularly Poe’s, in their first scene together? It makes my stomach churn). Especially the sequence when Poe’s unconscious and she cups his cheek?? like?? no get away from him do NOT touch him that’s creepy as all hell to me, I feel like hissing like a cat every time it happens like. no??????

I’ve genuinely started calling her “Purple Haired Tarkin” because she reminds me so much of him (and also because he’s the only other character in sw I dislike this much). I’ve actually made a parallel gif of them before, because I noticed how similar the framing is between Poe and her’s conversation with Leia and Tarkin’s on the Death Star.

And honestly, I’m gonna rag on her leadership abilities here for a second. I would like to point something out for a second: in tfa, when the Resistance is working out a strategy against Starkiller, everyone is present including Kaydel, who hasn’t even been made a lieutenant yet. Leia welcomes everyone in, trusts the people who work under her, which inspires trust in her.

Holdo doesn’t do that. You could make an argument that she didn’t trust Poe because of his recent demotion, however, Holdo doesn’t trust anyone except maybe one?? person??? with her plan??? out of the whole Resistance staff? Not to mention the fact that she seems to dismiss almost everyone? The way she calls Poe flyboy drives me up a goshdang wall, but also the way she reacts to Poe telling her about what Finn and Rose are up to “an ex-stormtrooper and a who now?” according to the wookieepedia, she brought...Rose...aboard the Raddus. and can’t be bothered to remember her name? And she doesn’t even consider Finn anything beyond “ex-stormtrooper” despite the fact that he, yknow, helped topple Starkiller and almost died fighting Kylo Ren.

Not to get on my rogue one bullshit, but trust has to go both ways!! rebellions are built on HOPE, Holdo wasn’t nurturing either of those things. In fact she was making things worse: in the novelization, Rose notes there’s rumors going around that Leia has died or that they’re planning a surrender to the First Order, which heavily implies Holdo didn’t even inform people that Leia had survived - Leia, who is constantly heralded as the Resistance’s main source of hope. And she’d ordered the techs to...tase and restrain people who tried to escape?????????????

And I also noticed the last time that I was skimming through TLJ that when Poe confronts her on the bridge finally, Kaydel is nowhere to be found, despite being there the last scene we had on it, where she questions Holdo on what her plan is, which makes me think that she might have banned Kaydel too??? from the bridge??? since Kaydel should be there working as a comms officer???

I’m cutting myself off here but this....isn’t even half of the reasons I dislike her so much. I go into more (coherent) detail in it, in that Kaydel fic I teased earlier but I’m still afraid to post it jatoajtoajtaota

[sally-mun]

I know it's been said but I'd love to know how the story would have gone for you if there wasn't any limits like following the canon sequence of events for all of the stuff Mortori did. Do you think writing everything out like this has sparked new concepts for stories and AUs you'd like to write?

I suppose one could argue that I actually didn’t have any limits as it is, since I have the authority to cut things out whenever I want. My goal when I initially put together “The Brotherhood Rundown” was partly to get an idea of what sort of person each member of the BH was like (since the comic gave us nothing) and partly to use those personalities to bring some logic to what I considered the core events of the backstory (since the comic honestly doesn’t make much sense).

If I really wanted to, could’ve changed the BH background even more just to suit my own tastes – which I am prone to doing, since RPing is my happy fun sandbox time – but at the same time I recognize that not everything can be happy at all times. Horrible things need to happen to legitimize Moritori Rex as a threat. BH members need to have flaws in order to grow as people. Conflicts need to occur in order for characters and groups to struggle and overcome adversity.

Having said that, I think it’s important to emphasize that each member of the BH has developed over a long period of time even for me. I didn’t suss out a lot of detail for each character when I started this, so back in the beginning it was easy to say things like “and then Janelle-Li dies” without thinking much about. It’s not until years down the line, when I understand just how much of a family man Thunderhawk is, and when I understand just how strong and confident Janelle is, and when I grasp the sort of symbol she was to her people, that having kept that event really upsets me. As you get to know the characters more and more, it’s impossible not to feel more for them as well. When I began weeding out the BH lore, I wanted to find a way for Locke’s actions to seem reasonable from his point of view even if we as readers still disagree with him. I never anticipated that I’d come to be SO incredibly fond of the person he started as, which in turn has made his fall so much more heart-wrenching than it ever used to be.

Could I have re-edited “The Brotherhood Rundown” to reduce the elements that I hate having to read/write about? Of course. But if I had, would it still be anywhere near as compelling of a story? I highly doubt it. You need peaks to appreciate the valleys, but you also need valleys to appreciate the peaks. The only thing that limits the way I constructed my retelling of the Brotherhood is an interest in making sure that the story makes sense, that the characters are compelling, and that the narrative is soundly constructed. The canon events don’t really limit me because, in this context, I decide for myself what is and isn’t canon in order to serve those goals.

As far as having been inspired for AUs goes, I don’t know that I necessarily have plot ideas so much as I wish I could just explore each member of the BH in greater detail DURING the events of the Rundown. To reiterate, none of the events of The Brotherhood were actually RP’d at any point; this is all purely backstory that was agreed upon, in very general discussions, between myself and my partner. Neither one of us have ever RP’d our BH characters during any of the times covered by this series. It’s part of the reason I occasionally attempt to add them as characters in other AUs, but even then none of them have ever been protagonists. They’re always supporting characters at best.

I suppose it’s possible that stuff like this might get explored sometime if my partner is up for it (since he does read this blog and will inevitably see this post) or if I ever take up the mad practice of doing writing commissions again (tho at this point I don’t know how I’ll get people to pay me anymore now that I’ve written over 100 pages for free). I never rule anything out, but as of this moment it’s not something I have plans or brainstorms for.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put on Your Raincoats #29 | Carter Stevens Double Feature

House of Sin opens with a woman's car having broken down. Who shows up and offers to help but our old friend Robert Kerman? (He plays a character named "Marvis", which not only sounds like a typo, but happens to be the name of a toothpaste brand. He dodges the question when asked if it's his first name or last name.) Lucky for her he gladly helps her put her things into his trunk and drives her over to his place where she can stay until her car situation gets sorted out. But given the title, things are not what they seem, as we soon find out. It turns out the Kerman is some sort of evil satanic figure, and the house is full of his disciples who practice some kind of devil worship through fornication. That's about all there is to the plot, and we have to sit through a number of basic variations of sex scenes, most of which end with the participants pledging their loyalty to Kerman (who watches most of the action approvingly alongside the heroine). There's little energy in the execution of most of these, although the loud squealing of the bedsprings had me a little worried about the structural integrity of the beds being used and the potential for injury for the performers. I must note that the scene with Tigr (who was my primary point of interest for this movie; judge not that ye not be judged) has her temporarily upside down. (What's she doing upside down? Because I am a gentleman, I'll let you figure it out.) There's also a BDSM scene at the end involving Phil Prince regulars Mistress Candice and David Christopher, which the heroine watches while making disgusted faces. This is therefore the most interesting sequence. A lame attempt at a mindfuck ending caps off the affair.

I've reached some kind of a shameful low point when I watch a porno and my primary criticism is that it isn't sleazy enough. Let me explain. Director Carter Stevens made this for the Avon theatre chain, which distinguished itself with cheaply made, unpleasant roughies (full of rough sex, BDSM and rape). This is supposed to be evil, satanic sex we're talking about here, but most of what follows is pretty routine stuff, and filmed in the most perfunctory way possible. I contrast this to the films Phil Prince also made for Avon, which aren't necessary more artful, but seem more committed to their depravity. (I do think those movies have an interesting, if crude, aesthetic that results from their meager production values. The ones I watched had a surprising stylistic and tonal consistency given that they were made for purely cynical reasons. They're also intentionally funnier, if usually in a more rancid way.) While I normally like Robert Kerman, he's a little too nice to play the villain here (going back to Prince's work, I think of the demonic energy George Payne brings to his roles there), and the qualities I find most intriguing about Tigr as a performer are absent here. If I can say some nice things about the movie, it's that the soundtrack (mostly punk or hard rock, some atmospheric rumbling, but with some wildly out of place twangs of sitar early on) makes this sound a lot more exciting than it is, and that the extensive print damage on the transfer I watched helped make this feel grimier than the actual direction. There's also some comedic value from the hairdo of Kerman's right hand lady, who sports an unbraided rattail. With the caveat that I actually like lady mullets, who thought this was a good hairdo? Did her stylist play a practical joke on her? These are answers House of Sin refuses to provide.

Much more fun than House of Sin, if still not especially well made, is Punk Rock, which is an attempt to mix punk, noir and porno. The story involves a private detective played by Wade Nichols as he tries to rescue a girl from a sex slavery ring run by an evil punk musician played by Elda Gentile of Elda and the Stilettos. The most notable thing about this movie is that Debbie Harry was at one point a member of the Stilettos and that Stevens originally wanted her for the role. (This seems like wishful thinking to me, as Harry was already conquering the charts with Blondie by the time this movie was made, but one can still dream.) I naturally assumed that the musicians would be nowhere near the porn elements, but nope, a late scene has Elda and her friends hanging around and offering colour commentary during a lesbian scene. Joining the fun are Robert Kerman as a police detective also investigating the case and Bobby Astyr as a low level pimp who runs an establishment called the Polynesian Pleasure Palace. It even has a pinball machine, and at one point we get a pinball montage, which I'm sure the raincoat brigade must have been thrilled to see.

To be honest, this isn't the best made movie, but the mix of elements gives it enough novelty to make it worth checking out. The sex scenes are done in a pretty perfunctory manner, but the movie comes alive during the noir elements, taking relish in the touch guy banter between Nichols and his foils. Nichols, with his chiseled jaw, immaculate mustache and steely gaze, is almost a primal image of a male pornstar, but his streetwise charisma and sarcastic delivery make him a pretty fun noir hero, and has in Kerman and Astyr two sturdy character actors to bounce off of. It helps that the movie has a decent sense of humour, like when he promises Kerman "no rough stuff" and mercilessly beats Astyr in the next scene ("That was for general principles") or when he explains the presence of a spinning dummy ("Just a routine precaution, I happen to be very popular with murderers this season"). Apparently there's a version where the hardcore footage is replaced by musical performances, and while I wouldn't say the Stilettos are all that good (oddly enough for a punk band, they have a saxophonist and two nude dancers, but I guess Blondie wasn't a typical punk band either), I suspect that version plays somewhat better given that the sex scenes are the least interesting thing about this.