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#I always have seen them as evil villains on most of the fan stories I have read
l-ii-zz · 2 years
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A Temporary Lie: Arch IV of my Space Junk AU!
These are just some doodles I made for the designs of the current characters (Urania, Zim, Red and Pur) and the picture for the new playlist. I still need to write about its plot on the main post but I will probably update it this weekend. For now I’ll just leave the playlist here.
I think I truly wanted to put this AU variation as part of the main one, but I was always like “Idk if everyone else would like this plot twist in the AU”. Now I’m just like “Fuck it. It’s MY AU and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with it”.
The story about this chapter is practically the same as the last time I wrote about it (link here). However, I will add more plot stuff once I make the new update on the main AU post.
I'm happy I made this decision for my AU and I hope I can bring content about it soon!
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assumptionprime · 2 months
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I need to rant about the Fallout show
Because this is the person I am. Full spoilers, so I’m putting it behind a Keep Reading:
I’m a huge sucker for Fallout (yes even 3&4). And I went into the Fallout show with some… trepidation. Amazon has been a mixed bag on adaptations, we could have been blessed with a Good Omens, or cursed by a Rings of Power. But early buzz and reviews seemed positive, so I slammed the whole thing in one night with my spouse (we were staying at my in-laws house and they have Prime. Time was a factor.)
And y’know? I was really enjoying it! The characters were fun, the plot was engaging enough, and the costumes and visual design were extremely on point. There were some minor lore quibbles to be had: Ghouls needing some kind of medicine to not go feral. Really, more Enclave holdouts? Timeline and date whoopsies. Wait are they in California? Where the hell is the NCR?
I made a face at Shady Sands being bombed and the NCR collapsing. But I wasn’t completely out of the story. Based on what I had seen so far, I thought it was building to a reveal that the Brotherhood had done it. That the more zealous turn they took in Fallout 4, which has clearly carried to how they are portrayed in the show, lead them to bombing the NCR. War never changes, as they say. Maximus even says when asked what happened to Shady Sands: “The same thing that always happens.” Yeah, it leans into Bethesda’s weird desire to keep the Fallout world in a state of perpetual wastelands full of raiders and no civilization, but it wasn’t so terrible that I couldn’t still enjoy the show.
But then.
BUT THEN.
Episode 8, and the reveal of Vault-Tec apparently being the ones who dropped the first bomb in the Great War.
I was surprised to hear that some fans have apparently been debating over who fired first? Some even asked Tim Cain about it?
That’s really odd to me because, in the games, there is already a pretty definitive answer to which side sparked the Great War:
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Who fucking cares?
The world ended. What does it matter who shot first?
There is no China, no United States, no communists or capitalists left to fight about it. 
It's a powerful little bit of lore.
For all the posturing, all the promises from each nation that their way is the true way, all the nationalism, the militarism, and blind loyalty to flags over humanity, they both lost. Everyone lost. All that remains of the ideologies and nations that were so important to the people of 2077 is faint echoes over vast expanses of radioactive ash.
Who started the end?
No one knows. No one cares.
It only matters that their conflict was so bitter, so all-consuming, that one of them dropped their bombs, and the other dropped theirs in return.
The truest legacy of the old world is the devastation left by their final, most horrific war.
Can we do better?
Then the show says "Nah, Vault-Tec did it. It's not a commentary on human nature and the futility of self-destructive conflict, it was actually these guys, these mustache twirling villains huddled in a darkened room literally plotting to end the whole world so they can rule what's left."
And I can see the attempt to make this a critique of capitalism. I actually paused the show to praise a bit of writing when Coop is talking with Charlie before the war, when Charlie tells him that the “cattle ranchers are in charge” to illustrate how capitalism and corporations hold too much sway over the government, it felt very in line with how in New Vegas one of the recurring critiques of the NCR is that all the real power is in the hands of the “brahmin barons.” Nice parallel, spot on!
But “we’ll set off total thermonuclear war so we can rule the ashes and have a True Monopoly” isn’t capitalism. It’s just dumb “we’re the baddies” writing.
And then Shady Sands was also Vault-Tec?! Forget any meaning in the NCR falling to the same corruption and/or factional fighting that consumed the old world, they were literally just bombed by the evil shadow conspiracy that apparently also killed the old world. Hank gives this speech about factions fighting and the futility of it all while we see the Brotherhood fighting Moldaver’s NCR remnant, and like, no! You can’t say that when you’ve made it so neither the old world or the NCR fell to war with another faction! It was you! You and your band of cryogenic supervillains!
I don't care that they changed it. Timelines and dates and little retcons don’t bother me all that much. I care that they changed it to something so much worse.
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zeynyukine3011 · 28 days
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Some Tim stans are acting like Damian fans are just mad Damian messed up and are insisting it is fine for a character to mess up. But Damian isn't messing up for his own character. This isn't for Damian to learn or grow. It doesn't even align with how Damian would reasonably mess up. This 'mess up' is most likely to sideline Damian for Tim. This is really obvious. Damian shouldn't have in character trusted Zur but he did so Tim can be the good Robin.
EXACTLY!!!!! I've seen several posts about how Damian wasn't OOC and he was "just a child who wanted his father's approval"
People who say this apparently didn't understand Damian's character.
Damian is the child who found his father's identity from a crowd without knowing anything about him. He understood that imposter Insomnia wasn't his father and immediately stabbed him with a sword.
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Damian is clever, smart and cunning. In Batman and Robin (2011) he tricked both Batman and Nobody. And neither of them suspected anything until Damian revealed it himself.
But in Zur arc, Damian is just there to look dumb so he can show how "smart" and "perfect" Tim is. Beacuse Chip Zdarsky is basically screaming about his fanboying Tim.
As you just said, this is not something Damian would do. This is not a "mistake" that Damian can have. This incident does not, under any circumstance, add anything to Damian's character development. We have seen, since 2016, that Damian's development he had over the years were thrown to trash. All DC wants to do with him is to be villain.
I was actually starting to gain hope with Batman and Robin (2023) since Damian is not a villainized there (But I don't like how Williamson writes Damian either but at least he is better than Zdarsky. But that's another story.). Unfortunately, however, Damian is still contiuned to be used as a villain, a demon child who always makes stupid mistakes and causes disasters in return.
Like I said in my previous post, Damian will have to apologise for "the things he have done". And, once again, he will be shown as a dumbass who doesn't understand obvious things, and doesn't think the consequences of his actions.
If Damian was written in character, Damian would've notice the moment he laid his eyes on Failsafe, that it wasn't his father. Damian would've become a double agent. He would've secretly make plans to defeat Zur from inside.
Yet, with this writer, we will have a heroic Tim while down grading Damian.
Damian is only there so that Zur can have an evil sidekick and thus, DC can have their "Good B&R vs Evil B&R" fight.
I used to like Tim, actually. I thought he was cool and had potential and could be good brothers with Damian. But in last years, writers always downgrade and badmouth other Robins (particularly Damian) to shine the spotlights to Tim. And while Tim has awesome moments with Bruce, while he saves him, Damian has a horrible relationship with his father. Bruce tells him that even though he loves him, he doesn't like Damian, or just how brash and cruel Damian is, or blaming Damian for Alfred's death etc.
Tim can be written as a good Robin, and for this, DC doesn't need to sweep the floor with the other Robins.
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evilbihan · 5 months
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It's interesting how the game never calls Bi-Han a "traitor". Sure, some of the characters do, but the game itself never refers to him that way.
One of his gear pieces is called "Wayward Son" and that is what he is, someone who strayed from the right path and lost himself in his own ambition. He made one wrong choice, one he regrets, if you listen closely to his intros with some characters, like Shang Tsung or Kitana, and it's ridiculous how certain people try and write him off as an evil turncoat who is lost beyond redemption. Liu Kang will try and (at least partially) succeed at bringing him back to the light. I don't get why people are trying to deny Bi-Han any character development and pin him to that one mistake he made or force the traitor role onto him when that's never who he was to begin with.
Bi-Han is the one getting betrayed, constantly, throughout his life. His father kept secrets from him, his brothers turn their backs on him when all he wanted was for them to be part of the future he envisioned for their clan. Even Frost wants to eclipse him and will undoubtedly betray him at some point. His own allies want to kill him after he helped them escape from captivity. Bi-Han has no one he can trust. He's entirely on his own. That may be his own fault to some extent, but I genuinely can't understand how people can be so blind to his suffering or worse, want to see him suffer even more? He's already bearing the consequences of his actions and it's painful to witness.
To get back to the point I made in the beginning, has anyone else noticed how the invasions mode nodes and encounters also never call Bi-Han a traitor or anything of the likes? I've seen Tanya's nodes and even some of her seasonal skins referencing her betrayal in previous timelines, even if nothing hints at her being a traitor this time around. In Bi-Han's encounters, the game only calls him "Ice Fighter", "Chill Initiate", "Snowfall Brother" or "Matchless Cryomancer", always refering to two things, Bi-Han's skills and his affiliation with the cold. That is who he is and always was. A cold, ruthless fighter. That hasn't changed in the current timeline and it makes no sense how some fans claim he was ruined because he made one bad decision.
When equipping Johnny as the announcer voice, the most negative thing he has to say about Bi-Han is that he's bossy, as opposed to how he speaks of actual villains like Shang Tsung ("Hate this guy" etc.). There are no references to his supposed "betrayal" which is why I believe it's only going to be a small part at the very beginning of his character arc that won't hold much relevance for the future, especially as the story develops more, except to serve as a reason for Kuai Liang and him to be enemies.
The way the game speaks of Bi-Han always sounds bittersweet to me and so do the names of his skins/gear pieces. It's almost like a parent talking to or about a stubborn kid that won't take their advice. One of my favorite examples is the kombat league skin that was added this season named "It's cold outside, Bi-Han". It reminded me of Liu Kang telling Bi-Han to "come in from the cold" and I think it's heart wrenchingly beautiful how even outside of the story mode and intros the tragedy that is Bi-Han's story is being acknowledged by the game through all those small subtle references.
One could argue that I'm reading too much into these details but I think some of you don't do that enough. There's 20+ characters on the main roster, the story would have to be dozens of hours long to give all of them in depth background stories and fully flesh them out so we can empathize with their motives. It's hard to understand Bi-Han's character unless you start looking at these small bits and pieces of lore and unfortunately, not enough people do that.
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victimsofyaoipoll · 11 months
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Round 1
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Propaganda Under Cut
Allura
Lots of people (myself included tbh) ship klance (Keith and Lance). In s8 the creators made Allura/Lance canon (but then they killed her off and left the ending ambiguous it was weird). Anyway the fandom treats her like she's the most terrible bitchy woman ever but all she wants to do is end the war and avenge her destroyed home planet. Yeah she wasn't always the nicest or always the best, but you could argue some other characters in the show aren't either and they aren't treated near as bad as allura. people really just hate her bc Lance liked her. I don't think allura/lance are good together, but I still liked her as a character and thought she was interesting and had a lot of growth during the show. she DEF is not evil like some people portray her as in fic or talk about her in captions on posts. I've seen people say that they HATE her and that she's the worst and I'm like ??? let her live (well sort of ig she is dead now). lots of fic writers use her as the villain which is so interesting to me bc the show literally has villains like use them. anyway allura so perfectly fits the bracket description she deserves better.
I hate to acknowledge my time in this fandom but I hate the way the fandom treated her more. Allura was treated like shit no matter what side of the Great Ship War you were on because she was always a threat to the biggest ships (klance and sheith). At best she got put into Background Lesbian or Consolation Prize Shallura (Space Mom-zoned) (She was not a motherly figure btw. She was just Black). At worst she was violently demonized for being ~racist~ (kinda not cool with the alien race that blew up her planet for a few episodes), complete with misogynistic language hurled at her (she got called a bitch sooo much). Allura was a good and cool character and the show did her dirty but the fandom was somehow worse.
i apologise for speaking the dark magicks, but amidst the voltron fandoms many, many transgressions, there were a particular subset of people who just hated this girl. the infamous klance wars of the 2010s kept this perfectly fine childrens cartoon character in the sights of shippers everywhere, and she (and her voice actress im sure) were subjected to years of petty squabble blown up to global perportions. ive seen hate, ive seen rants, ive seen fanfics that made her homophobic. girls been through the ringer, and even though voltron was never the show its fandom wanted it to be, i believe allura deserved better
Kayano Kaede
shes genuinely a really tragic character who had potential for a really compelling, effective arc concerning grief, identity, healing, and finding trust again all while going through the inherent ordeal of being 15 years old….if she werent a female character in a shonen anime 😭😭 instead she gets sidelined during the show up until her big plot twist reveal after which shes immediately sidelined again. whatever i still love her and know her to be a character of all time who has suffered more than jesus. in my experience shes perhaps the female character who like. ive seen most *obsessively* hated due to her “getting in the way” of the ship b/w the male protagonist + deuteragonist (bc of her proximity to the both of them) u woild think shes the devil incarnate and not just. 15 and traumatised 
She had a crush on Nagisa and they kissed and a lot of fans ship him with Karma so theyre mad that Kaede is there. She is super silly and nice but the fandom hates her for standing in the way of karmagisa.
she's a sweet person that was an actor and loves her sister. she is the main love interest of the main character but doesn't interact with him more than most of the other characters for a majority of the story. Often I have seen them removed from the story only to become some homophobic jerk that's desperate for the main characters love instead of letting her keep the good friendship that her and the main character had before the romance.
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fun-k-board · 8 months
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Got a cool idea for you my friend.
The insomniac spider-men, both Peter and miles. And how they’d go when y/n offers to do a horror movie night with the likes of classics like Halloween or modern stuff like talk to me
The Insomniac Spider-Men with a horror movie night
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Note(s) : I did Headcanons for how the Spider-Men are with horror movies and then a scenario at the end where the reader does the horror movie night.
I don't know anything about Talk To Me so I chose M3GAN instead, and I haven't seen Halloween in years so I'm sorry if I got something wrong.
Peter Parker / Spider-Man
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I don't think Peter would really watch movies or shows all that often, he probably hasn't even finished any piece of media since before the spider bite. Even then, he was probably that kid who watched those really bad ones to make fun of with Harry and MJ.
I imagine his tolerance is most likely high, because of his real life experiences, he can handle fake blood, he can handle the fake injuries, most of them can't compare to what he's gone through.
But what he really can't handle? Psychological thrillers, and really good kid actors.
That scene in the shining where the two twins are standing there? He had to hold MJ's hand, Harry made fun of him for an entire month.
He tends to humanise fictional characters, especially the victims in horror movies. Maybe for some slashers he can understand their motives, but most of them hurt people who can't defend themselves and it makes him a little sick.
To see movies where this is used so effectively is honestly a little uncomfortable, he appreciates the mastery of how it's crafted and how realistic the pain is, but he can never watch it all the way through.
Peter's always been terrified of Carrie because he was also bullied, she, in a way, reflected on him. Of course, she also experienced abuse from her mother, unlike Peter, but the scene of everybody screaming in that hall will probably haunt him forever.
In a way, it keeps him grounded, it makes him remember Uncle Ben's words, it makes him remember to use his powers for good, and not for evil.
Miles Morales / Spider-Man
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Miles and Ganke most likely sit down and watch some shows or movies every once and a while, he's never been a huge horror fan, and he's never watched any that really stuck with him.
He's mostly impressed with the art direction most of the time, the way they shot that scene in Carrie where it goes all around the prom in one, long, continuous shot?
It's beautiful, it gets him so engrossed he forgets it's supposed to be a scary movie.
Miles can't handle any that tackle and treat the loss of a parent as a main plot point, he could maybe handle it as a side plot, but it reminds him so much of how his dad's death affected him, his hands clam up, he feels sweaty, he just can't handle it.
It never really makes him connect with the story, it just makes me remember it as the 'oh God don't watch that' movie
The ones that get him truly terrified are honestly any that involve children and the elderly as the villains, that's not to say he'll be completely fine if he watches an adult brutally murder people.
Both
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Peter and Miles haven't had a day off in months, they've been so focused on saving the city, helping their friends and family, they just don't have time for themselves.
Until today.
You had finally convinced the two, after hours of subtle and not so subtle convincing, they relented, under the promise that if any serious crimes were reported, they would get Ganke to check if the police have it handled or not, if they don't? They're abandoning the movie night.
Which you agreed with, because one night having fun is better than no time to yourself at all.
Peter and Miles sit down on the couch, while you make the popcorn and drinks, carrying the bowls of food and bottles of coke to the table, the microwave hums, drowned out by the two men chatting.
"Can you believe that Electro got out again." Miles sounds exasperated, and he looks it too, he and Electro had fought for what felt like hours, in reality it was only a few minutes, shocking each other until they couldn't fight any more.
"You get used to it, he'll probably stay a month in prison at most." Peter shrugs, leaning back on the couch and wincing slightly, an aching pain in his back started up again, but he was honestly too tired to ask for someone to crack it.
"This job is crazy." Miles laughs, shaking his head with an amused smile. "I can't believe it, each day, fighting bad guys, swinging for hours and hours, it's just... I love it." You cut the conversation short by bringing in the last bowl of popcorn.
"Whooo! Movie time!" You happily say, placing the bowl on the table with the other snacks and drinks, making sure it's perfectly placed before sitting on the couch. You grab the remote next to you and smile at Miles and Peter.
"What should we watch?" Before either can respond, you suddenly gasp, your eyes snapping back to the TV. "Oh! Actually, there's this new horror movie called M3GAN, I bought it a few weeks back and forgot to watch it." You ramble, turning the television on and searching for the movie.
"I guess we go with that one then." Peter mumbles, raising an eyebrow in amusement, you all haven't hung out in a while, even then, you do wish that Harry and MJ could've made it. So, it's clear you're just excited to spend time with them for once.
"It's about this robot that this lady makes after her niece loses her parents in a car accident." You cheerfully say, pressing play on the movie and taking a swig of coke. "After this, we're so watching Halloween."
The movie was something different to the two, when they think horror, both Peter and Miles would typically think 'man with knife stabs people', so it was a refreshing change.
Both men went through a flurry of emotions, the movie was sad, then funny, than horrifying, then funny, then scary, and then funny, it was a constant switch.
The fact that the girl lost her parents and she's clinging to the first thing that shows her respect, the lady stepped up at the end and proved she's a capable mother figure, it broke their hearts, but the jokes made them forget that temporarily.
They laughed, they went quiet in shock, and most of all? Peter cried, he couldn't help it, he isn't ashamed about it either, the girl losing her parents at such a young age reminds him of himself. Miles feels a similar way, he cried like a baby, he sobbed so much at that scene where the girl and the robot have that test and she breaks down.
Now it's time for the next movie.
"Halloween! You can't go wrong with the classics." You click on the movie. "Well, that's a lie, actually, plenty of classics suck." You mutter under your breath, pressing pause and turning to the two Spider-Men.
"Okay, first, bathroom breaks and refill time, you two ate all the popcorn so I'm making double." You get up from the couch and walk to the kitchen, both Peter and Miles go to the bathroom in that time, refilling their drinks with the bottle of coke on the floor, you return a few moments later with the multiple bowls of popcorn.
You all sit down, grab your bowls and drinks, and press play.
Overall, both men did enjoy the experience, they liked the costume of Micheal Myers, the mask and coveralls are iconic, they also both enjoyed the acting, if a bit subpar at times.
The plot was something they found to be interesting, the characters as well, they thought the therapist was a strange and weird character, who seemed a bit more unstable than Micheal.
Laurie Strode is a really inspiring character to the two, a survivor, someone who managed to take down one of the biggest threats her towns ever faced.
Just as the movie ends, you turn to the two men to see if they have any movie recommendations, but to your surprise, they've both fallen asleep.
Peter's mouth hangs open, his body pressed flat against the couch, his arms crossed and occasional light snores escapes his mouth. Miles is leaning his head on his arms, his body bent in an awkward position so he's sitting and leaning on the armrest.
For a few moments, you debate on whether or not you should wake them up, but decide against it. They need the rest. You gently move them into slightly more comfortable positions, placing blankets over the two, you stand up and reach for your phone.
You text MJ and Rio Morales, letting them know that the two would be staying at yours for the night.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Keane or any Planet Puto Character - Full Credit goes to HC - @ask-emilz-de-philz. Please check out their blog for amazing art and the wonderful world of Planet Puto. This might or might not be a self insert, please don't come for me.
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When Keane Macallister was first scouted into the showbiz industry by Milo, nobody liked him. He rose into fame a lot quicker than what the other veteran actors preferred. All the blood, sweat, and tears they shed for years and years, overshadowed by Keane in just months. He has the looks, the body, and definitely the skills for it but the others can't contain their bitterness and jealousy.
During his first ever project, he got to work with you. You've been an actress since you were 16 and you were known for being the antagonist/ villain for some blockbuster hits. Most of your roles include being some sort of an evil boss, a mistress of the male lead, a jealous and scheming step sister— all sorts of those hated characters and stuff, but you were also known for being aloof and cold even outside of your roles, being involved in scandals about your attitude was nothing new for you.
You were accused of treating fans poorly, most of the rumors were untrue and the shittiest thing you ever did to others was probably not allowing someone to take a picture with you while you were eating your first meal of the day after working for 17 hours straight until different stories just spawned in those tabloids, and of course those goody two shoes actors you work with didn't want to be involved with someone who had a bad reputation.
Keane heard of the rumors about you countless of times and even read some on the local newspapers but he knew better than to be choosy with his companions while he's just getting started on his career, especially since most of the other actors are very wary of him. You may have a bad reputation, but you are still someone who managed to stay afloat in this industry since you were 16, and he aims to be able to do the same.
It didn't take long before you and Keane were always seen together. It was nothing sort of romantic as you both tried to keep things casual and work related. Keane works hard and he definitely has some valuable foundation in acting, but he's also new and he loved getting feedback and tips from you. At first, you were very much annoyed by his presence, the way he tries to sneakily approach you during tapings, using small talk to somehow gauge you to teach him some techniques— it was something you weren't used to. It has always been you and your manager for so long that being followed around by another actor felt weird at this point but soon enough you grew accustomed to his antics.
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"What do you mean? Y/n is one of the sweetest people I know." Keane answered as he smiled at the camera when some of the reporters managed to get ahold of him and bombard him with questions regarding the rumors about you. "She can never do wrong." he added before giving them his signature toothy grin.
You jokingly rolled your eyes before turning the tv off and facing Keane who is currently sitting at the couch. He was hanging out in your place again after asking you for some help to practice his lines. "Really, now? I could never do wrong?" You mockingly tried to imitate his voice as he burst out laughing. Keane has always made an effort to ease up your image in front of the camera whenever he can. It was not something you asked for, but you truly appreciate it whenever he does it.
"Hey! I'm trying to get them to like you!" Keane laughed. He wouldn't admit it, but the moment you helped him with his lines for the very first time, he was ready to back you up for the rest of his life.
"You know I don't want them to like me at this point."
"Yeah? But why?"
"Because it's easier to not have people expect anything from you." You softly whispered as you stared back at Keane's purple eyes. "If people see me as some sweet and darling actress, won't I have to keep that image in and out of work? Look, I know how you wanted them to know that I'm not some mean monster, but it's just easier to not have them expect how I should act during my own time."
You sighed as you ruffled Keane's hair. "Always remember that negative publicity is still publicity. Plus, being mean suits me since all of my projects are just me acting as the bad guy after all."
"Aight, I understand. But please stop treating me like a child! I'm still older than you! By like, 5 years or something!" Keane softly chuckled as he tried fixing his hair.
"That's not counted. You've only been here for around 3 years. I've been doing this since I was a child so I'm technically your senior." You rolled your eyes as you settled at the opposite end of the couch, keeping a good distance between you two.
"Why are you sitting so far away?"
"Because I'm tired of your face. I see you everyday." You teased him.
Keane gave you his best impression of what seems to be some sort of puppy eyes. "You don't like seeing me anymore?" He exaggeratedly sniffled clasping at his chest as he tried acting overly hurt and offended.
"That won't work on me."
Keane softly chuckled. "I find it weird that we've been together for a couple of projects and you still seem unaffected by my charms. Those other actresses we work with waste no time trying to woo me. Am I not your type or do you not swing my way?"
"It's a lot of trouble to develop feelings with someone you work with." You plainly said, not bothering to explain yourself at all. Keane is smart and you know that he understands your words. He might be a total flirt but deep inside, he knows how troublesome it is to throw in some feelings in the mix.
"We don't have anything scheduled for tomorrow, wanna have a drink? I'll have food delivered to us." Keane said as he grabbed his phone and started ordering some food.
"And risk us being involved in a scandal when someone sees you hanging out in my place? The delivery guy will definitely recognize either one of us once we have to receive your order."
"Chill! I know this guy. I used to work with him when I was still a delivery rider, he knows to mind his own business. Besides, we're just gonna eat chicken and drink beer." Keane softly chuckled.
"Fine." You defeatedly sigh as you rummaged through your refrigerator for some beer, tossing a can to Keane and grabbing one for yourself. "Let's get it started then."
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You never enjoyed drinking with company. Whenever you get drunk, it's as if you were seeing a version of yourself you don't know. A carefree Y/n, a talkative Y/n, a Y/n who smiles at silly little things. It was scary for you. What if you enjoy this version of you so much that you start wishing that you're like this sober? Maybe people wouldn't be too harsh in criticizing you if you were this sweet, this nice, this...innocent.
You smiled as you took a sip of your beer while you listened to Keane talk about his childhood. You were resting your head on his shoulders ever since you started slurring your words— Keane didn't mind and he's actually amused of the gesture since you're never really a cuddly person. You don't know if it's the liquor but something about his voice is just so soothing that you were sure you could listen to him talk forever. Keane is still pretty much sober even though both of you were already on your 5th can of beer as you sat on the balcony, enjoying the cold breeze.
Keane is a really good person who deserved every good thing in life, you thought to yourself as you study his face while he talks about his family. How he smiles with the mention of his mom and sisters, as well as his stepdad. You hated how being drunk makes you feel things you usually don't when you're sober. Just like how your heart seems to be beating out of your chest right now.
Keane told you everything, without any reservations. In his mind, you are that one person he trusts in this industry. You are someone dear to him. You were too drunk to share stuff about yourself so Keane didn't push it. He knows that you'll tell him about your life once you're ready.
The night went by with you just listening to Keane talk and when he noticed that you were already having trouble keeping still, he asked if you were fine with him holding you for support. You can't help but melt at the thought of him making sure that he doesn't do anything you weren't comfortable with. Once you agreed, Keane gently seated you in his lap and let you rest your head on his chest, one arm wrapped around you to make sure you wouldn't be falling around.
"Say, what if the rumors are true and I'm actually a bad person? Would you still have my back just like now?" You drunkenly asked— something your sober self will never have the courage to do so.
"Of course I'll always have your back." Keane's gaze softened as he gently brushed some strands of your hair away from your face. "You don't even have to worry about that." He whispered as he gently ran his fingers along your hair affectionately. He can't help but feel protective as he sees this new vulnerable side to you. You were always so composed, all your moves were always so calculated, yet with just a few drinks, you were this girl he's never met before.
“You promise?” You softly asked Keane, your tone desperate, as if it meant the whole world for you to hear him swear on it.
“I promise, Y/n.” 
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"This is why you'll never be a lead actress ever! You don't listen to me!" Her voice was laced with poison just like how you remember it. You didn't answer as you were too busy applying concealer on your red cheeks from when she decided that maybe you'll listen better if her palms made contact to your skin just like how it always did when you were growing up. You have to attend a press con in an hour yet here you are, locked in the dressing room with your own mother.
"All I want is what's best for you, anak. You're not getting any younger. You haven't even peaked yet, you haven't even been offered a lead role yet...What if you run out of jobs at this point? Paano nalang ako—"
You shook your head upon hearing those words once again. Those words that you learned how to carry ever since you were a kid, no matter how much it broke your back from how much it weighed you down. Those words used to do the job when you were younger, oh how you'll bend over backwards just to comply to her whims and make her happy— because according to her, that's what you caused her. All her happiness, freedom, and dreams gone because you came into this world, so you owe it to her.
"You are an actress, why can't you just act sweet and kind around everyone so they'll like you? You're pretty, why don't you put that face and body to good use and try to convince your bosses to give you a lead role for once?! Why do I have to have a daughter who is so goddamn worthless?!"
You sighed as she started getting angry once again. You looked at your watch, wondering where your manager was, hoping she'll arrive soon to rescue you from this situation. This has happened a lot of times already and it always ends ugly.
"You are so not worth it! I can't believe I ended up raising someone as incompetent as you!"
All her words still cut you as deeply as the first time you heard it. It's been so long and you're just tired of holding it together. "That's enough Ma. Please go home." You were sure that she's gonna start crying at this point just like how she always does to make the situation shift into her favor.
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Keane was looking for you everywhere when he ran into your manager. She informed the actor that she's also on her way to pick you up in the dressing room where she left you and that he can tag along. They were still a couple of steps away but they can already hear yelling from the inside.
Keane hurriedly rushed towards the door to check on you only to be there on the worst timing possible.
"I wish I had a different mother..." Those words escaped your lips before you can even see that Keane is already standing there, looking at you with an expression you never saw from him before— was it shock? contempt? He gave you the same expression you know all too well from your mother— anger.
Your manager was quick on her feet as she escorted your mom out of the room, leaving you with Keane.
"Wait- Keane. Let me explain—"
"Explain why you were yelling at the woman who gave birth to you?!" Keane snapped as he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to contain his emotions. Being raised by a single mom, Keane has always had mad respect for every parent out there and was shocked to the core with what he just saw.
"Please let me explain first!"
"Y/n! That's your mom!"
"Keane...you're not listening. Please...Please...let me explain first." You can hear your own voice crack as you felt tears forming in your eyes. You just want to explain your side but he isn't even listening.
"Yeah, explain why you're 25 and acting like a brat!" He sarcastically said as he crossed his arms in his chest.
"Why are you so angry?! I— Keane, you promised! You promised that you'll always have my back. Why aren't you giving me a fair chance to explain! You promised..." You sobbed, feeling betrayed as you struggle to keep it together as Keane looks down on you with disdain.
"You promised.." You whispered and for the first time in years, you're back to being a child, crying and wondering why no one is ever at your side when you need them. You were alone once again.
Keane quickly realized his mistake once he saw how much you were crying. You were right. He promised you. Why was he acting like a complete ass towards you when he's never even heard the complete story yet.
Guilt washed over him as he realized how vulnerable and hurt you looked right now so he slowly closed the distance between you two, taking your hands into his and slowly rubbing his thumbs along your wrist. "Hey...hey...Y/n, look at me. Look at me, please."
Keane slowly brought your hands to his lips, pressing a brief kiss into your palms. You slowly raised your head to look into his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I am not angry at you, darling. I am so sorry." He whispered as he wraps you in his embrace, slowly rocking you back and forth to calm you down. "Shhh... I'm here... You have me, Y/n. I am so so sorry for being an ass." Keane whispers, holding you tighter to his chest. "I'm here."
To be continued..
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I'll be honest, this story took a turn A LOT OF TIMES while I was writing and it's already like 2.5k words. ( I am not big on longer fics coz my attention span sucks esp at proofreading.) Now, this fic right here has a part 2. (Or more like I have to do 2 parts now from how long this is getting, + it has been tough to write the last parts coz it's making me a bit emotional that I gotta physically get myself from my laptop at this point coz the extra emotions might make me lose vision of the plot. ;;)
Art and OC by Haimaaaaa Please follow and support them here: https://www.tumblr.com/ask-emilz-de-philz / @ask-emilz-de-philz.
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utilitycaster · 22 days
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Re: villain stans, I really do think you're conflating two groups of people and I feel the need to point it out because the art of haterism deserves pinpoint precision. The thing is that I would consider myself, broadly speaking, a villain stan and I also can't stand the people you're complaining about in that post because I think they've missed the point entirely. They've ruined the entire villain-loving ecosystem. I can't even facetiously say "they've never done anything wrong, ever, in their entire life" about characters that may as well be called Murders McWarCrimes, and whose death or comeuppance I am eagerly awaiting alongside everyone else in the fandom, because some of these idiots actually mean it when they say things like that -- and usually about some of the blandest, most disappointing villains I've seen in a long time. It's like passionately defending the storytelling equivalent of a slightly offensive shade of beige.
Look, some of us see the "time to boo and hiss" signs the narrative is putting up, but I'm not looking to experience every story like it's a children's pantomime. Maybe sometimes I want a wrestling match instead. I know the heel is going to lose. That's their job. It's what they're for. But if imagining that they might win is outside the realm of possibility... well, it's probably not a very good story. The stakes are not compelling. There's a reason that I would describe, say, c1 Briarwoods as delicious and c3 Delilah as overstaying her welcome. A good antagonist is a vital part of the story ecosystem and I enjoy seeing that role played well.
But I don't get to relish in characters being terrible people who do terrible things anymore, because now villain fandom is always overrun by people who read one Wikipedia article on moral relativism and want to have debates about what if Murder McWarCrimes is good actually? No! No, they are not! And if they were, that would be stupid and boring!
And so I reach across the metaphorical aisle to you that we may share in one of the hater's greatest delights: the knowledge that no one likes those idiots, and everyone wishes they would just shut up, even the people they think are on their side.
Hey anon,
I will admit usually when I get a long ask telling me I am conflating things I roll my eyes and wait for someone to say "i am feeling uncomfortable when we are not about me" but, the truth is, I very much was, and you are correct to the point that I think we are fully in agreement.
To be clear: I am pro people enjoying themselves in, as you say, the wrestling fan enjoying the heel way! I agree - a good story needs a villain who feels like a genuine threat. I can appreciate a villain for what they are and enjoy them very much as a character! I am personally unlikely in most cases to root for them but people who look at the story, analyze it, and say "this will be a fun guy to care about, even though I know the victory's probably going to the heroes, and I will be normal and not terribly resentful" are entirely valid and my post is not about them (except to say carry on as you were). It sounds like you're in this latter category and so: carry on as you were, you guys are great.
But I am definitely conflating two flavors of annoying villain stan:
the first is, as you very eloquently put it, the Person Who Read One Wikipedia Article About Moral Relativism and ooooooh what if Mr. Murder McWarcrimes was sufficiently sad about bad things in his life such that the murder and war crimes are correct actually.
The second is the person who does understand that they are looking at a villain who is a bad person but seems actively confused that like, a largely hopeful or heroic narrative will probably not end with Mr. Murder McWarcrimes stabbing everyone to death and then evil laughing against a red lightning-filled sky and seems mad that people are like "actually I like Kit the Heroic Hero". Actual Play D&D is not a place where you'll find these people because a TPK is technically possible regardless of the existing themes! But like...for example, I have to imagine theatergoers in 1983 who weren't idiots did not walk into Return of the Jedi like "oh man I think Darth Vader's gonna win the whole thing and he'll blow up everyone and institute more Space Fascism over the nuked out husk of Endor." Like, as you say, the villain needs to have some bite to be worth my time, but deep in my heart, there are stories where I know that victory is assured by the nature of the plot and it's much more about how it will be assured and what sacrifices will be made, and so it's weird when someone seems to be existing in a denial that that's the story and is like NO Mr. Murder McWarCrimes is NOT going to get a comeuppance and everyone is going to DIE at his hand.
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about-faces · 1 month
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I'm still loving Gotham Nocturne and I wish it was getting the love/respect/attention is deserves. I've spoken several people who haven't been reading the current Detective Comics run because they're Batmanned Out (good lord, do I get it) and they see it as just another attempt at some kind of "ultimate Batman story with Batman fighting the ultimate evil," which I strongly disagree with.
THAT SAID... as time has gone on, and the story seems to be reaching its finale, there are a few things that stand out of me as problems with this epic storyline.
1.) It's one of the most egregious examples of "writing for the trade paperback." This simply isn't a story that's meant to be read month-to-month. It's too slow, with too little "happening," at least on the superficial level. Paradoxically, it's NOT a story that should be binged! The best comparison that comes to mind is Better Call Saul, since that's the only other example of serialized media that's meticulously slow-paced yet INCREDIBLY RICH for those willing to engage with it on its level rather than expecting it to be Breaking Bad (or in Nocturne's case, a typical Batman story.) Ram V is capable of writing super-engaging monthly issues, as the fantastic Rare Flavours proves, but that brings us to...
2.) The story is sprawling. Maybe even TOO sprawling. When it comes to people who are sick of Batman, I try to sell them on the fact that this story is about GOTHAM AS A WHOLE, right down to the villains who call it home, and how everyone there is as intrinsically a part of Gotham as Batman is. But ensemble stories like that are tricky, and it makes the focus feel all over the place at times, with alternately too much and too little attention being paid to the main players, Batman included. It's a balance that was handled beautifully with Batman: The Audio Adventures, but it seems a bit more awkward here. Again, it's hard to pull off!
Like, we have characters pop up and then vanishing without explanation. We got Azrael back in the AzBats armor for the first time in decades, like, holy shit! That should be a HUGE development! And then, poof, he vanished! There's simply no time to explore Jean-Paul's character because there's so many other things the narrative needs to explore.
This feels like it would have really benefited from a companion series, something to focus on the characters the way the backup stories have done, but just more so. I think about how Peter Tomasi would write companion books to the main big storylines written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Scott Snyder, and how he'd focus on character, which always enriched the greater "big important storyline." Which, in turn, also brings me to...
3.) The backup stories have really lost a lot of their punch since they stopped being written by Si Spurrier and were taken over by Dan Watters. Watters is incredibly capable, make no mistake, and his Cheshire/Lian Harper story is one of my favorite parts of this entire saga. But by and large, his tales focus more on the spooky and weird sides of what's happening with Nocturne, whereas Spurrier's stories were more focused on characters navigating the weirdness of the events. As a result, Spurrier gave us what I consider to be some of the very best stories about Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Victor Fries ever written. I really miss those, and how they enriched Ram V's (possibly overly-ambitious) narrative.
Ultimately, Gotham Nocturne feels like the Batman equivalent to an arthouse film, which means it's going to be appreciated by a handful of nerds while leaving most other fans cold, and I can't really blame them. If anything makes me sad about all this, it's how all this incredible character work with Bruce, Harvey, Victor, Talia, and others is going to be ignored. Hell, it already is, given the complete lack of acknowledgement we've seen in other Bat-books for what's going on in Nocturne.
At this point, I just hope it sticks the landing in the finale, because I want to be able to have a complete, satisfying epic to recommend to people who want something a bit richer than the typical "guy in Bat costume punches clown" stories we usually get.
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ms-scarletwings · 8 months
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A Messy, Sedulous Necropsy of Zib Membrane
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That’s what we call him right? Not Invader Zib? Hell if I know, we’ll let the tags decide.
Whatever he is christened by his author, enemies, or fans, this titular villain of the Zimvoid is such a mind blaster to me. I wish we had more time with him within the comics. I wish he had been a concept explored in the show. I wish he had a movie. I am having fun with a little hyperbole here, but I truly do find him just as interesting and potentially pivotal of an antagonist as Tak was, if not even more.
Both, of course, were so badly underutilized for sake of the series status quo. To that, Zib was a much bigger threat than Tak, and especially to that of the comics’ own. He potentially changes everything, and somehow absolutely nothing by the end. The TV show always had a more overt tone of cruelty and the macabre floating about its themes. These print issues? I don’t dislike them. It’s still recognizably invader Zim, and the more the merrier, content-wise, but longtime fans can feel that there was this change of essence in the transition. More obviously, in the art, but more subtly, there was an audible softening of that bluntly darker, cynical tone the show was made iconic for. To put it very generally, they lean a little more into the whackiness of this world, there’s a lot more dark comedy to be found in what I’ve seen so far rather than in your face darkness, and in the absence of the ost and voice acting the show accustomed us to, the comics leave a lot more room to be read as you wile. To me, they’re goofier and more episodic in spirit.
This all is not a critique or rating on the comics.. It’s purely, I feel, why Zib stuck out to me all the more jarringly in his context. His reveal was a genuine twist that brought forth stakes higher than arguably any other threat in the entire franchise. He represents a plausible while horrifying prophecy of our main characters if only they made worse decisions. The most interesting of all, for every piece of amazing information he fed to us, he bred dozens more questions about everything than he answered, from Irken machinations, to his ambivalent backstory, to the secrets hidden by the sum of his parts.
Though he was left evidently alive at the end of his story, I don’t see any chance for him making a return, so he is memorialized as another defeated one-off the writers have brisked past and left behind for good. Therefore, I’m here today to take what we got and present it on the metaphorical autopsy table. I want to really pull apart why this character alone pulled me back into the TV series, really just flay open the bits I can’t get out of my own head and dig harder until we find something or we run out of threads to tug at. Starting with the one already hanging out of my mouth, but
• B.E.F
“Bad End Friend” is a term I learned the meaning of within the last 12 hours or so of writing this, and I’m exuberant over that discovery. It’s a niche trope i didn’t know ive been a giant fan of since I was a child. Summed up, fictional characters from beloved media, typically, animated child protagonists… given the worst case scenario treatment. Their “bad ending”, whether that means a corruption arc, demonic possession, a lovecraftIan tragedy… usually something that’s anywhere along the lines of a fate worse than death to a full villainous turnover. As a treat. The concept is strongly associated with fanworks and AUs of popular media, but just as often this is something that becomes explored in the source material as well. A couple great examples I know would probably be Ice Prince Finn from Adventure Time or what happens in Undertale when you decide you want to run the most depraved playthrough possible. From a more mature story, “Evil” Morty is another validly arguable sample.
Besides a bit of a fondness I got going for certain dark or spooky themes in general, what I REALLY love about canonical BEFs the most is their utility as characterization tools. They’re the “having your cake and eating it too” option! The perfect way for an author to explore certain things about any character without actually committing to well… a bad ending.
Almost always, they are necessarily hypothetical or reversible. If they’re not reversible, they go often hand-in-hand with a little universe tampering to make happen. Sometimes, this means the story goes the way of time travel and branching off butterfly effects. Sometimes it means confirming multiverse theory, which can be the same thing depending on your semantical position.
And Zib crossed off the BEF qualifications by far and away. His implications are extremely dark given any pause think about them, and he’s a living, disturbing tragedy in aftermath. If you want to view a rigamarole about that aspect of his characterization as he appeared in the comics, someone else long beat me to that and I’m enthusiastically recommending a peek at their own work. I’m thrilled to do so and build a little upon that with those extended what-if-wonders.
• Lessons From a Lost Episode
Elephant in the room I haven’t seen someone ask yet, uh..
By show rules, isn’t Zib supposed to be a clear case of the writers committing the sin of retcon? By show I’m including the unaired scripts, including “10 Minutes to Doom”. In that one we had what looked like the potential setup for a Zib case, and it was deconstructed across the whole episode.
In short recap, Dib learned the hard and reckless way about the true nature of what Irken PAKs actually are. This is not an inventory bag, it is not “gear”. It’s the actual Irken entity- at least, the primary component.
Detaching it from the organic shell essentially caused a temporary split into two instances of Zim, desperately trying to connect back together under threat of obliteration.
Like let me be very clear about this,
The PAK is an autonomous instance of Zim’s consciousness, and it’s the main one. We’ve seen it act to save his life when his body has been out cold or flatlined, and he doesn’t appear the least bit disoriented or confused once “he” wakes and jumps back into the action. There’s no known separate computer assistant AI or security autopilot in there. That code, that program, IS Zim. As Long as the PAK is active, he is capable of staying fully conscious and able to react to what’s happening around him, and that’s what we’ve been seeing, his own actions.
Zim proved me right when Virooz tried to replace him and detached the PAK. Take note of his phrasing after the chair event™.
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“I” activated the protocol. Immediately after Virooz ran off with my shell.
“I” Voluntarily chose to do so.
I don’t remember it playing out like that in “10 Minutes to Doom”.
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Attaching to a new host wasn’t the first reflex. Dib was not the least bit aware that that he has literally holding the actual Zim captive in sense, and the latter was fighting like a cornered animal to escape him. Failing that, alongside the distance between him and his original body growing fast, he made a last desperate gambit, and he willingly connected himself into Dib’s body.
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I can see why he thought this was better than nothing, no matter how repulsive the notion might have been. If he couldn’t fend Dib off physically, he could incapacitate him in some fashion by trying to overtake his will. Maybe give the shell a better chance to catch up, maybe in the longshot hope of being able to pilot dib in order to become whole with the correct host again. And you can say he succeeded, at least in dominating bodily control away from Dib, but at the cost of his already tenuously held sanity. This could be because of the interference of Dib’s own mind still resisting to fully submit, or malfunctions because of the biological incompatibility; however, the thing that Dib mentally becomes is only the basic idea of what “Zim” is. Instead of remembering it needs to reunite with its shell ASAP, the PAK mistakes Dib’s body for its own and goes through the manic motions of following the Invader mission. And it does this, weirdly enough, with almost no regard for blowing its cover.
When things are set right again, Zim’s later words near the episode ending revealed that he knew that was an unsustainable state.
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Such a risk was not just accounted for, he was actually banking on it if that clock had hit zero. If Zim had truly lost, if he was really doomed to meet his end on this nasty rock in the middle of Nowhere, Space, then by every damned circuit in his being, he was going to take down this insolent fool boy and as many other humans possible with him. A dying act of vengeful rage.
• The Exceptional… Exception
Now, wouldn’t all of this be the definitive reason for Zib’s existence to be an aberrant impossibility? Yes, but actually no. Fun thing about multiverses is if something doesn’t work in one setting, you can just tweak a few dials and suddenly you have a world where the impossible becomes possible. But that’s a pretty cheap answer, isn’t it? So, what exactly was that crucial difference?
What happened in Zib’s timeline that went down so, so divergently from the events of 10 Minutes to Doom?
Because the only one who was in any position to explain it for us was Zib himself, and he’s proven to be one of the most unreliable of narrators. It’s as @dana-chan-the-control-brain already spared no effort to demonstrate, when he does tell us something about his past, his story is pocked with contradicting half-truths or outright lies. Ergo it helps to break down each recount of events to pick out the real facts.
Version 1: This is an alternate version of dib who defeated his complementing Zim (logically sensible) and went on to achieve all of the success and respect he sought after in his timeline (absolute bullshit). He kind of gestures and only implies about what has happened to his body while explaining that he came to his current understanding of Irken technology by studying it through Zim’s lab (a partial truth). He lets slip in passing that he has in fact fused with the PAK in order to learn how to alter and reprogram its coding, lessons he has applied to Number 2 in order to have a brainwashed pawn (also apparently true).
Version 2, when cornered and red handed: This is an alternate version of Dib who managed to specifically stop Zim's mission (Again, makes sense) but somehow could not convince the world of his findings or his warnings about the Irken Armada (*VERY eyebrow raising). Frustrated with the people’s lack of cooperation, he decides he has no choice but to physically merge with Zim’s PAK post-mortem (concerning and evidently mostly accurate), dominate the Earth himself, and enslave humans to help him in his efforts (highly troubling and probably true). The construction of his EMP super-weapon is successful, but ultimately led to the creation of the Zimvoid when the device was field tested (self evident, absolutely horrifying).
You know what I noticed was missing from both of these accounts? Exactly how his Zim was defeated. Which honestly could have been some beyond useful wisdom to pass along to the main Dib??? More than anything else? I’m not going to fault our boy for not pressing that matter better under the awing circumstance; however, there’s an implication I’ve been reading between lines. 
When Zib mentions “defeating” his own Zim, he’s talking about something different than ours.
When our Dib has always talked about “defeating” Zim, he’s meant incapacitation and capture. Throughout the show he explicitly wants to present Zim before an audience alive and whole. Yeah, he fantasizes about other people torturing or disassembling him for study, but HIS role was supposed to be reaping the fame for an undeniable, ground-breaking discovery. Conspiracies and cryptids are all this kid breathes and lives by! And as long as pop culture has always been fascinated with the paranormal, and he has to know this full well, people keep bringing forward hoax after hoax after scam. I mean there’s a freaking current one or few still going IRL about this exact topic. Dib would want no room left for being dismissed as another one of those con artists. 
Nonetheless, I actually doubt this is the reason Zib couldn’t get through to the scientific community. A genuine alien lifeform, even a dead one, could still be confirmed by any basic medical examination. The world thinks Dib is too crazy to listen to, but his father is still Professor Membrane. In "10 Minutes to Doom" OUR Dib got as close as having Membrane literally analyzing a PAK, or at worst, preparing to. “Ultimate Dib” gets his hands on the same thing and pulls a move I’d expect from an HP Lovecraft Protagonist instead.
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We’re assuming way too much to what these two Dibs have in common, because this ^^^ is really what made the Zimvoid an outlier in the multiverse. That world didn’t only have a very different, more threatening Zim from the main timeline, it had the Dib who proved even more formidable, cunning, and ruthless, even before the fusion. 
He didn’t obtain that PAK ala the “10 minutes to Doom” accident, it’s a personal trophy. This is extra strange remembering that capturing an Irken is realistically more easy than killing one. They’re seriously more tenacious than kudzu and will even fight back in PAK form alone. I’m convinced that whatever sort of final showdown made the Ultimate Dib the victor, there are two optional endings on the table.
Option 1: There was not a body even left intact enough to bring in to research. Maybe Dib’s fault, maybe an accident, maybe even Zim’s own luck running out and his incompetent antics finally swallowed him (and possibly GIR). This theory assumes that the PAK was the only sort of remains to come into Dib’s recovery/possession.
Option 2: Curiosity Killed the cat,
but satisfaction brought it back.
Or, the one I personally headcanon. Dib… all Dibs, I assume, don’t just hate the Irken species. They are mesmerized by them, and all that they represent from his perspective. Firstly, the epic villain he gets to roleplay nemesis to in order to feel his own worth and importance. Secondly, an unknown wonder from beyond the boundaries of the cosmos. He’s not really a ghost buster or a Men In Black agent at heart, but a scientist, like his father. Underneath his contempt for Zim’s plans to destroy the world is a genuine and appropriately childish awe for alien presence, especially for Zim’s technology. His silent, dopey smile when Tak’s ship ended up in his backyard said more than words ever will.. 
Earlier in the show, a great deal of Dib’s time and effort was spent on trying to infiltrate the lower levels of Zim’s base. Sneaking into the house was hard enough, but the computer security can’t be bypassed like the gnomes. Not even by Zim himself unless he really is all himself. Perhaps you’re starting to sniff where I’m going with this one when I refer back to “Bolognius Maximus”. I’ve another reference that’s a little more on the nose, and a lot more… dark.
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Were an expired Irken husk before you, you too might take your victory and cash in then. Still, who knows what sudden impulse may run through the head of a less humble version of yourself, one some could call greedier, obsessive to a fault, a screw or two loose, yet, a hell of a smart cookie. Smart enough to see it for what it actually was, the keys to a whole world of discovery that went so many layers deeper than they could ever imagine. It’s possible the Ultimate Dib already learned beforehand the same hard lessons about the PAKs that our own did, and took that understanding toward not repeating the same mistake this time. What happened to Zim? I think he was murdered in cold blood, body, and entity. “10 Minutes to Doom” showed us a fight between 2 brains clinging to one body, struggling until one overpowered another, but that’s not what this is. Through whatever means of science were available to him, this Dib has probably tried to ���disarm” the technology by either erasing Zim’s consciousness out of it altogether, or by forcing the autonomous code into a kind of dormancy. His intentions were to render it back to its basic hardware without losing its precious knowledge and usefulness, something like the brain-filled tank that was wired into Skrang’s head. Zim’s PAK doesn’t cling onto his body like a parasitic teratoma this time; it’s merged in a literal sense with his nervous and circulatory system. As well, he has fooled the device’s ability to detect and reject a foreign host shell, the exact same way he deceived the the base’s security AI. If an Irken biology is what these measures authorize to command them and their secrets, then he had the tools on hand to give them just that- in an atrocity I like to call
the darker harvest.
Within this theory, there is not as much room to wonder exactly what became of Zim’s organic remains. 
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But where Dib fucked up was, for the second time, in his ignorance to the true nature of what he was even playing with. That was a mistake that even the mighty Elder Brains of Judgementia lost themselves to; How much more vulnerable was the weak, human mind? Though Zim can be devoured, he can never be digested. In that fact was born this aberration against nature, sanity, and humanity alike.
"Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I. Insects… don't have politics. They're very… brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect. I'd like to become the first… insect politician. Y'see, I'd like to, but… I'm afraid, uh… I'm saying… I'm saying I - I'm an insect who dreamt he was a man and loved it. But now the dream is over… and the insect is awake." - Seth Brundle, The Fly, 1986
By fusing what is half-mad and what is utterly mad, neither being was cured, only assimilated into the birth of a new madness. The madness of the creature that snickers behind the curtain in the Zimvoid. I rightfully fear that lonesome thing, but not I think as much as I pity him.
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• Dejavu, or Re:Plagarism
One more thing about the Zimvoid arc I find curious is the way it makes you question more and more just how much of the aberration is actually still Dib, and how much of it is Zim's infection haunting him. He does nothing with all of his intellect, his resources, and his time in the void doing anything but surrounding himself in everything he claims he despises. He decries alien tyranny in one breath while lording over a homemade, cruel dictatorship in another. He calls for eradication of the very race who's technology and physiology he has thoroughly appropriated. He laments feeling unable to protect the Earth from the Armada alone, yet sneers literally through Irken teeth to insult humans as inferior and of no value to him any longer. Our Dib spent the whole damn show longing for the support of other people, but Zib pushes away potential allies in his arrogance. His broken timeline never became a Dibvoid instead because while only half of his mind can't stand Irkens, both of the souls inside him remember that they loathe and look down upon a Dib, deep inside.
The corruption goes as far as even subverting his own creativity. None of Zib's plans are wholly original. His anti-Irken weapon was already a concept blueprinted inside of that PAK before the merge. Our Dib has several times shown a propensity for some DIY ingenuity, sometimes dipping a toe into the supernatural. Zib entirely calls upon, scavenges and regurgitates Irken designs with a few modifications or upgrades. The Dib Virus, I think is his most uninspired creation yet, for it's original form was always something inside of Zim, even if the latter himself was not aware of the fact. Like all else, it is a weapon he has plundered, customized, and turned around on everyone else for his own selfish ends. This brief point I will end on one  more reflection. The one kind of help Zim ever allowed at his side were the likes of GIR and his own creations. Unable to connect and cooperate with his peers and own kind, his ego preferred to be around those defective machines he related to- drones to be owned by him and always loyally at his beck and call. A slave to admire him unconditionally is the only companionship he's ever been willing to admit to desiring.
And what was Number 2's purpose again? What role exactly were the arena combatants auditioning for, when you think about it?
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coffee-deer · 2 years
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A lot of words about the Master
TW: suicide ideation, suicide attempt - please scroll by if these topics are triggering to you!
when I see people dismiss Dhawan!Master as simply a wicked villain doing evil things for the sake of villainy, I want to scream. because the way the Master’s unravelling reaches its culmination in TPOTD is honestly one of the most painful things I’ve ever seen in Doctor Who.
for a character whose defining trait used to be clinging to life by any means possible, the way he acted in The Timeless Children was alarming enough.
I mean, when Simm!Master was baiting Ten to pull the trigger in The End of Time, he stopped the second he thought the Doctor might actually do that and gave that little head jerk as if to say - no, please, don’t. because, as we remember, he didn’t want to die. then Missy pleaded with Twelve for her life agreeing to become his prisoner essentially - the very fate Simm!Master used to be appalled by. she wanted to become the Doctor’s friend again, true, but she wasn’t a fan of dying either.
and then we have Dhawan!Master. when he urges the Doctor to activate the Death Particle and kill both of them, he means it. how do we know that? because he literally gambles his life earlier when he shrinks Ashad and, for no one to hear him or lie to, confesses that he thought the process of shrinking would activate the Particle and everything would finally be over and he would be okay with that. and now that it’s not over, he sounds tired and, if anything, disappointed. 
but when the Doctor escaped in TTC, he wasn’t ready to let go yet. his objective was to die with the Doctor, not alone at the hands of some random dude - so he flees. he was already cheated out of their mutual past - it turned out to be his origin story but not the Doctor’s so he destroyed it - and to miss out on exiting together was simply out of the question.
however what we see in TPOTD is a much more deteriorated version of the Master. he can’t stand being in his own skin any more. he says his goal is to destroy the Doctor and defile their name but what we see when the Doctor prevails? he begs her not to let him go back to being him again. and the way it’s worded is basically “I tried to destroy you, don’t let me get away with it.” he doesn’t want to return to his own self so much he asks the Doctor to prevent it even if it means she erases him in turn. and only when she doesn’t give him even that much and leaves him to his own devices does he follow her to ensure their mutual destruction. 
this is one of the most painful character arcs I had ever witnessed and I can’t believe that people just... miss it and I’m so so afraid that RTD might want a clean slate and forget all about it, too. because no, Dhawan’t Master doesn’t do the same with Missy’s arc - honestly, I think, it’s the opposite. his is the regeneration literally born out of self-destruction. Missy gave her life for the Doctor and yet he left her to die, never to return, only for the Master to then find out that he was always supposed to be inferior to that one person who had ever meant anything to them - for whom they tried to rebuilt their very nature, spent decades in confinement, and eventually, killed themselves and died. so what was the point?
I love this fucking tragedy of a character so much and I hope RTD does too and won’t swipe our spiralling self-hating loser under the carpet. maybe acknowledges his problems and either builds on that or gives him some kind of purpose instead? but in the meantime, I just hope more people rewatch his episodes and see the character depth that is all there because it’s honestly staggering.
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bohemian-nights · 6 months
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I've been in both TB and TG fandoms and in my experience TG fans are more sane and have a better sense of humor, Targ nation and their crazy takes almost ruined HOTD fandom for me. A lot of TG fans treat most TB characters normally and like some of them, and TB fans seem to hate everything green and prefer a very one sided story where their characters are the heroes and another side is full of cartoonish villains. Also I don't remember seeing TG fans hating Rhaena and Baela for the fight or calling them bullies, usually, they get sympathy and their emotions are understandable. Although some may get carried away in their defense because TB fans love treating little Aemond as the satan incarnate who deserved everything that happened to him.
To be fair, it isn’t exactly hard to look more sane than Team Black.
From the “legally biracial” fiasco, calling characters half-breeds, comparing Black people to animals, the racial slurs, thinking Black-ish people are interchangeable, straight up admitting they don't want Daemon with a Black woman, labeling anybody who doesn’t support a tyrannical racist white woman a hater of women, calling other women c*nts but still labeling themselves feminists, making up bullcrap and trying to badger people into believing it's true, and upholding eugentic ideals about race and blood purity then getting mad when they are called out about it, at least half of them are certifiably deranged.
By default, Team Green does win because for the most part, people are at least smart enough to not take it to that level, and give the appearance that they are willing to have a dialogue without trying to beat you into submission, but they do have their moments.
I have seen people put down Baela and Rhaena for no good reason(they were well within their rights to be upset with Aemond’s actions and more importantly they did not even know the Weak Boys had a knife). Daenaera is attacked constantly(she doesn’t do anything to deserve the hate).
And TG is almost always trying to label Daemon and Nettles’ relationship as problematic. This would be fine if the ones doing this labeling were not also cheering on a teenage prince getting with a 40-something-year-old bastard servant without a penny to her name after killing nearly every man in said woman’s family.
If you want to protect Nettles’ from the evil pedo you should also want to protect Alys from the murderous psycho who made her into his concubine ☺️
I’ll keep it cute and leave it there because every time I open my mouth people don’t seem to like it, but both teams honestly suck which is why I'm team individual characters.
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damnation-if · 11 months
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on today's episode of Hashing Out Concepts Theatre, i spent a while today while waiting for my new fridge/freezer to be installed after my previous one died and i lost all my food hashing out a bunch of concepts for another game idea i have. (rest assured i'm not actually working on it as a game yet i just like to bash out a framework for things every now and then to make my brain do happy chemicals lmao)
putting all of this stuff under a cut since it's a bunch of images and also in case people aren't interested XD
i am regrettably a huge fan of comic books (mostly DC) and i've seen a couple of comic book inspired IFs popping up lately, though when it comes to my own interest, i'm definitely more into a straight interpretation of a comic book universe than a more. the boys-style universe - i'm into the camp lol, not so much the grim and gritty stuff. (though that's just my own personal preference)
anyway the idea behind That's Just Super is something that i really like about certain comics - giving the villains more of a purpose and rounded existence than just existing to be in somebody's rogue's gallery. the joker's angry defence of the batfamily from various other DC evil forces, lex luthor's furious resistance against brainiac alongside superman because it's His planet, damn it, DOOM throwing in with the heroes in every second marvel event comic... i really like stories where villains and evil characters don't always make the Most Evil choice just Because, but have clear and explainable motivations that sometimes bring them into what we'd consider a 'good' alignment because unlike in d&d, there's no real such thing as a concrete moral alignment.
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(this is my banner design for it)
the basic idea is that an inexplicable cosmic event removes all of the superheroes from the planet, leaving it vulnerable to attack by evil mindflayer style aliens - unless the supervillains who remain are able to band together despite their more unpredictable, less cooperative natures and save the planet in the heroes' absence. after all... if aliens take over the earth, the villains can't take it over themselves.
here's my fun little UI design idea lmao...
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the other major thing about That's Just Super that i've been hashing out is the pc. the basic idea is that you pick your villain identity from a list but you get to customise their like. birth name and secret identity, while the villain identity comes with its own name, costume, and set history (including occasionally past romantic encounters). i like playing around with the way that IF works with the idea of mcs and customisable mcs so i just thought it'd be a fun twist... it also allows me to create nice drama by having set occurrences in the past lol.
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so i did some profiles for the nine villain options - three each of the DC triad of tech/metahuman/magic origin. they're all based on a specific kind of villain archetype, and i really tried to limit myself to ones where i could definitely pin down more than one specific influence so it didn't end up like me just making too many analogues haha... even if some of the influences are probably pretty obvious.
weirdly i haven't even Thought about ROs yet since i've been so focussed on the pc... maybe i'll play around with the partially set background idea even more and only have 1 possible RO for each villain choice or something. maybe a couple that you can romance as anybody... not sure. (talionis could definitely have a messy broken romance with his superhero for example)
apologies that readability isn't great but these are mostly just made for me lmao
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beyond-far-horizons · 2 years
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What the literal HELL happened in Rings of Power?!
I’ve just seen spoilers and I....
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.
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Sauron is masquerading as some cheap Northern Aragon wannabe and he has some Dark Proposal with Galadriel??!!! I literally cannot take this guy seriously, I could see him down in my local pub circa 1999. Not to diss his acting but he’s nothing on Annatar and all Sauron could be.,
Tell me where is Celeborn? For I much desire to have him back in the timeline...
Okay I admit in a completely different story/scenario, I’m almost always down for enemies to lovers/villain shipping/dark proposal but really? Galadriel and Sauron? I....And to riff on the iconic scene from Fellowship...It’s meant to be about her temptation by power - by wanting to rule a realm of her own away from the Valar (valid to be honest, esp after their f*ckups in the Silmarillion) not about hooking up with the second most evil being in Ea, esp when she is already married! 
I know, I know people just want to enjoy this and I want to say fair play and you do you, but this is such an awful mangling of the lore and characters, it isn’t even worthy of Morgoth (although props where it’s due for them mentioning Sauron feeling the light of the One again - almost had me, not gonna lie), and it’s the potential that hurts all the more. The Second Age and the ability to shed some light on the literal Lord of the Rings - the OG Dark Lord and one of the most mysterious figures in popular fiction - is such a missed opportunity. 
The Second Age is Sauron’s time where you see him ‘in person’ in Eregion and Numenor and the opportunities to reveal facets of his character are so enticing. His relationship for decades with Celebrimbor - the master smith and sole remainder of Feanor’s line (the mortal enemy and rival of his master), how they could reflect on the nature and marring of Middle Earth and whether Sauron’s motivations were truly evil or whether he really wanted to redeem himself at first before ‘Morgoth’s bonds’ (ie his hatred and sadism) became too strong. It would be so fascinating to explore Sauron/Mairon’s nature as a Maia of Order and his tuition under Aule and Melkor and what that could reveal to us about the mechanics of Tolkien’s world and his magic. It would be so emotional to see how the fallout happened, the betrayal both Celebrimbor and Sauron felt about each other, the sheer brutality of what happened and the decadence and fall of Numenor after.
I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment, but it beggars belief to me that the showrunners had the audacity to adapt the Second Age when they obviously do not have the rights to it and despite the cast and crew trying and a few gems, it simply does not compare with what Tolkien wrote or what the show could have become as an adaptation if it had the skill, vision and rights to become what it sets itself up as. And that is a heartbreaking shame, not least because a whole host of new fans may be misled or put off the Second Age because of this. 
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davekat-sucks · 6 months
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Hey thanks for your perspective! I like seeing what other people think of a piece of media I engage with, and I can take in what another person’s perspective can be compared to mine. I always thought it was tough to keep up with HS^2, and before Yiffy it was boring. I read the prologue for HS^2 and it was nice, but ultimately pointless.
You make a good point about Jane, and I gotta describe the surreal decision for how they builded up to Jane’s villain arc.
So there is a series of snapchats from 11/11/2016 to 12/31/16 (I think) showing conversations between Jane and Roxy (calliope is there) discussing the celebration of the return of the gods on Earth C by blowing up the moon. Jane has her transportalizer hijacked by the felt, run by Jack Noir and Jane’s account now gets post updates from felt members. Roxy and Calliope attempt to get help but Jane successfully defends herself against the felt and enslaves Jack Noir with a tiaratop, and then puts Clover in charge of her snapchat account. She escapes before the moon explodes.
So the buildup to Jane being racist was her being kidnapped and then giving her social media to a leprechaun, who worked for the main bad guy of Homestuck who is last seen on his knees with the evil red Betty Crocker thing around his neck.
Yeah I can see why Jane became evil, she was the CEO of a corporation, and running corporations just make you literally irredeemably cruel to everyone. (If you can’t tell I’m being sarcastic)
To give credit to epilogues/postcanon apologists when they argue that the story’s character’s are not acting out of character, just rather changed over time or were always like this, but just didn’t have the unrestricted worship and authority Earth C gave them, they are in a sense, correct.
What postcanon apologists forget to argue is if the execution of this change in character works within the media it is produced under, and I gotta say, an obscure set of snapchat posts released after the credits that were only dug up by fans following the Homestuck Pinterest account which preluded a character’s villain arc by having her kidnapped and unkidnap herself was a poorly executed start to a vaillain arc, maybe they should have done more with the whole Jack possessed by the tiaratop thing and Jane running the most powerful corporation on Earth C, but I don’t write Homestuck.
The tiaratop thing only gets elaborated on in Homestuck^2 later on when in panels you can see tiaratops on Crockercorp soldiers in the April 2020 updates, nearly a whole year after the epilogues dropped. Before that I’d just assumed all the people decided in unity to be racist because Jane said so and most people can’t think for themselves actually, and just believe what a nice looking authority figure says. That last part might be true considering how well James Roach has gotten along with the Homestuck fandom.
So what is the moral of the story to all this? Well being a CEO of a corporation makes you a fascist because being in a position of power makes you think you’re better than everyone else and that they should be sorted into categories you consider lesser and better by your standards.
Sure there is actual human history to the rise of fascism and why some aristocrats and corporate businessmen supported the cause but I ain’t reading all that, my hypothesis is simple to understand and affirms all the premonitions I have about the world around me, so it must be correct!
So basically the Homestuck snapchats predicted Elon Musk buying Twitter and retweeting conspiracy theorist tweets because Elon Musk is the CEO of 5 companies now.
And look out for Disney CEO Bob Iger, he’s making bad and boring Disney movies with minority lead actors ON PURPOSE to radicalize fans of old, better cinematic franchises to bring about the 4th reich!!!
Funny enough, the aim for Jane Crocker being the villain in Homestuck 2 was also to make her an allegory for DONALD TRUMP. Even the bonus story for these random nothingbuger OCs made by WhatPumpkin, were suppose to be people getting BERNIE SANDERS to become President. They even advertise support for Bernie Sanders on the official HOMESTUCK TWITTER ACCOUNT. Of course, Bernie Sanders dropped out of presidential election. HS Twitter had to delete it and WhatPumpkin had to cancel that side story. Needless to say, the force of politics in Homestuck 2 was that bad.
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haemosexuality · 7 months
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FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT DONT READ IF YOU HAVENT SEEN IT YET I MEAN IT!!!!!!!
my thoughts on the movie UwU
ok first of i LOVED what they did with mike's character???? its different from the games canon (or different from the most popular theories??? i can never remember what is actually canon and whats accepted fanon) but its sooooo interesting. making him the brother of one of the victims was SO unexpected but it worked really really well. tho going into the movie with preconceived notions ab the story fucked me up somewhat bc i took so long to accept he wasnt michael afton 😣 tho i feel the movie mightve been setting fans up that way lol
on that note his brother confused me somewhat? cuz he was one of the missing children but he wasnt one of the 5 spirits was he??? maybe he was and i just didnt notice KSBSKDBSKD ill look out for it on my second watch
WILLIAM. MOTHER FUCKING AFTON. OH MY GODDDDDDD THAT WAS FUCKING INSANE and honestly seeing everyones reaction to it was SO cool. when springtrap appeared everyone screamed and clapped. when he started dying everyone screamed and clapped even louder. and when he said "I ALWAYS COME BACK" everyone LOST THEIR FUCKING MIND SCREAMING CRYING YELLING CLAPPING WHOOPING IT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD
AND THE VANESSA REVEAL????? i think thats completely different from game vanessa lore mostly bc william aftons daughter in the game was elizabeth/baby and shes fucking dead but idk vanessa lore so who knows. all i know is that it WORKED MAN i did NOT see that coming but i HONESTLY REALLY LIKED IT AND AGAIN EVERYONE IN THE THEATER LOST THEIR MINDS WE WERE ALL LIKE "WHAT?????" (edit: i saw an youtuber point out that this cant be the same vanessa from sb bc this is set in like the 90s and sb's in the future. maybe this is something like, they put two vanessas so we know that sometimes different characters just have the same name and dont get too hang up on mike smith vs michael afton lol)
i also like how they did williams character. i usually dont like purely evil 2d villains but i feel that fits afton way more than "sad scientist goes insane cuz he lost his kid oh no :(". like it just fits fnaf!!!!!!!
another thing that was completely different from the game was the animatronics. like in the game theyre "like animals" but in the movie they all seemed very, aware??? msking decisions? they def had a mind and it was cheesy sure but i also liked it. i just loved this movie. and everything about it. i went into it knowing it was absolutely not going to be 1:1 with the game so i dont mind im just so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT IMMEDIATELY STARTING WITH A JOKE ON DREAM THEORY LMFAOOOOOOOO. "SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE IT"
MATPAT? MOTHERFUCKING MATPAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME
THE EASTER EGGS!!! THE REFERENCES!!!!!! THERE WERE SO MANY AND THEY MADE ME WANT TO SCREAM AND CRY EVERY TIME OH MY GOD
im not gonna remember all of them but I WANT THE MIDNIGHT MOTORIST HOODIE
max did NOT deserve to die that upset me. she was fine!!!!!!!
also the violence wasnt anything super crazy but it was def more than i expected. also they swore
THE ANIMATRONICS ARE SO FUCKING COOL DUDE OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE THEYRE REAL
also golden freddy wasnt a girl in the movie. F cassidy
i like mikes character sooooo much ive said so before and im saying it again. vanessa too
THE SONG THE FUCKING SONG THE LIVING TOMBSTONE PLAYING IN THE FUCKINF CREDITS OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE IT OH MY GOD DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE DUDE
this one is only for the brazilians in here but i actually liked the dub? this sentiment might change after i watch the og version but it wasnt terrible. williams voice was 10/10
balloon boy was funny every single time. fuck this bitch. also the cupcake
THE ITS MEEEEEEEEEEE i wish they did more its mes BUT I SAW THAT!!!
the scene were mike calls abby to the kitchen so they could 'talk' and the aunt was there.... actually broke my heart how dare you
i missed phone guy 😭
OH IM PRETTY SURE I SAW THE FAKE DOG ANIMATRONIC PEOPLE THOUGHT EXISTED YEARS AGO???? I DONT REMEMBER HIS NAME BUT I THINK HE WAS THERE IN THE LIKE STORAGE PLACE i might be crazy tho dont quote me
i thought i wouldnt like it but i love how expressive freddy is its so funny. chica bonnie n foxy too but him especially
ok i those were all my immediate thoughts!!! i wrote this a few hours ago when id JUST gotten back from the theater and now im gonna go watch it again so bye <3
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