There's a lot of lines in Amongst Our Weapons that make me want to wave my arms around and yell incoherently about Peter and Nightingale and how far they've come and how much they mean to each other, but right now the one I want to yell about the most is this one from right at the end:

Image text: 'The wider the base, the greater the stability of the building,' said Nightingale. 'You taught me that.'

Because, like. Peter wanted to be an architect. The thing he always wanted to do was to build things. And look what he's built! He hasn't just rebuilt the Folly as it was, he's built something modern and completely new out of its constituent parts and he's done it by caring about people and being interested in how things work and by what Beverly jokingly calls 'compulsive networking'.

And everything he's done for the Folly, he's done for Nightingale on a personal level too.

Nightingale was So isolated when Peter first met him. His police colleagues didn't want much to do with him, his social circle seemed to consist of Molly and Dr Walid and not much more, he was completely out of touch with the modern world. And to his credit, he was the one who decided to take on an apprentice, but that was pretty much all he was planning to do. Train up a replacement for himself in case he got killed, pass on the Forms and Wisdoms properly, keep the status quo going.

But he chose Peter, and suddenly he's got an apprentice who wants to study the science behind magic and modernise the Folly's record keeping and work out better ways to liaise with other police and fundamentally Make Changes. Nightingale ends up with all these connections through Peter, to Beverley and the other Thames girls, to Lesley, to Abigail, eventually to the rest of Peter's family, to other police like Guleed and Stephanopoulos and unfortunately for him Seawoll... He has people he can rely on, and who choose to rely on him, and not just for magic -I especially love how Peter's mum eventually starts using him to babysit Peter's dad, and the fact that he helps Abigail's family with her brother. He's not alone anymore, and he goes from just living to genuinely thriving.

And it's all down to Peter, and what the two of them have built together. In fact, they've built something so significant that in a few years Nightingale isn't going to be necessary anymore. He's been Britain's Last Official Wizard for seventy years, all the weight of that tradition resting on his shoulders alone, and in a handful of years Peter has helped him to build something that'll be able to take the weight instead if he wants it to. There are people who can help do everything he's been doing alone and more, so finally he can think about what he actually wants for himself. (And don't even get me started on his arc re: teaching and discovering that it's what he wants to do for the rest of his life, I Will start yelling even more.)

And it's Peter who's taught him to let other people take the weight. That you can build something stable and lasting if you're willing to share the load. The wider the base, the greater the stability of the building.

Not bad for a wannabe architect who can't draw, huh?

Thoughts on twilight movies and cast? I only liked the books.

It's impossible to be a big fan of Carlisle and really enjoy the movies. The movies, between the scripts and Peter Facinelli's wooden portrayal, take a really interesting character and turn him into a one-dimensional do-gooder dad. At times you actually get exactly the opposite of the character in the book, such as the scene at the beginning of New Moon, when "by all accounts we should be damned regardless" is stated as just a fact instead of the opening gambit to an explanation of why he still has a very deep faith and why he is working toward salvation anyway. He gets stupid lines like "I hate hurting any living creature" because the whole section of Edward explaining Carlisle's philosophy was deemed unimportant but they still have to somehow shoehorn in why Edward doesn't eat people. As a result, he comes off as a fraction of the character he is in the books, and even there he isn't but a fraction of the character who is hinted at in the books. I also think the movies were a victim of their own success. The first movie is kind of adorable, really. It's this whole cast of bit actors who had never had a major role, the special effects are hilariously low-budget (Kellan and Jackson running on the bed of a truck, anyone?) and it's just kind of campy and sweet. In the later movies, they had bigger budgets but were still stuck with the cast and uninspired script writing, and so they could CGI a baby and wolves, but the story was too odd to support those choices. They tried to make big action scenes that weren't really in the books (especially Alice's vision in BD II) and they didn't make any sense grafted onto the existing narrative. So, I don't particularly care for them. I certainly never bothered to buy more than the first one, and I didn't even see Breaking Dawn II except once via a grainy bootleg until it came out on Netflix last year. I think they should've stayed safely in the realm of "just a teen movie" and not tried so hard, because it was so obvious they were trying so hard and it got secondhand embarrassing. And while I think the casting of the tribe was mostly great, I have issues with the casting of Taylor Lautner, and I think they did far too little to ensure they were casting Native actors and allowing them to be Native characters (for example, of all the things to keep faithful to the books about, it was cutting off their hair??? It wasn’t even mentioned! Let them keep their hair!), which could've been a justice the movies made to improve the books and just chose not to.

I also think all the cast was too old—I know that people are just like, "Well duh, a 23-year-old doesn't look like he could be the dad of a 17-year-old" but...that's the point? The actor has to be able to carry it. Peter Facinelli right now *is* the father of a teenager and two twenty-somethings and can barely manage to act that way. So while I kind of adore the fact that he seriously nerds out on the character of Carlisle the same way I do, I don't think he ever should have been cast. He’s better at silly roles like Nurse Jackie; this one called for someone with more acting gravitas. I'm characters and world first, book plot and explanation second, movies at a distant like, sixth. I could do without the movies. I do find it fascinating that much of Twilight tumblr seems to almost not even know the books; probably because it's so much easier to meme the movies. That causes some attendant problems to people's interpretations, where sometimes I say something and people jump on it forgetting that the thing they're quoting did not happen in the books or was even counter-indicated in the books. But that's part of what makes fandom fun.

I do love the CRAP out of the Hoke house, though. It, too, is totally the wrong interpretation of the books but god is it a gorgeous piece of architecture.

Fairy tale retellings! because I couldn’t help myself (under the cut because I got carried away and remembered my fairy tale retelling phase from middle school........ oh boy)

Cinderella 

Cinderella (2015 Disney live action): beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL (the music! the script!! the Hope! the costumes! the dress! the gentleness at its heart! the overall design and the colours!) (I still believe it’s the best live action re-adaptation they’ve come up with so far) (then again they DID have one of the Rogue One writers and Kenneth Branagh--both of whom understand story AND fairy tales--on the team, and possibly the best combination of actors and costume designers)

Cinderella (Disney animated movie): like a dream. Can’t remember it that well because I haven’t watched it in over ten years, but I remember that I loved it

Cinderella, the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical featuring Laura Osnes and Santino Fontana: Laura’s Cinderella is so lively and hopeful and bright and affectionate and I Love Her!!! The script is also surprisingly funny, and the little changes they made (like the fairy godmother being an old beggar woman in the village, the subplot with her stepsister, the scene at the ball where she suggests that they should all be kind to one another, the fact that the prince is called His Royal Highness Christopher Rupert Windemere Vladimir Karl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman (HERMAN!) Gregory James....... iconic) added rather than detracted from the themes they chose to emphasize

A Cinderella Story: possibly one of my favourite films. I loved the fact that they knew each other before the ‘ball’. Loved the way the fairy tale was ‘translated’ into the 2000s. The friendship was strong with this one. I had the best time watching this movie. (Dress-wise, Hilary Duff’s dress is my least favourite, but that’s a minor quibble, and is also due to the fact that it has Lily and Laura’s gorgeous fluffy ballgowns to contend with, and that’s not fair competition)

Persuasion, by Jane Austen: does it count?? The way I see it, Persuasion is like Cinderella gone wrong (we discussed this in class, and my prof called Lady Russell a fairy godmother who means well but fails her protege before the story even begins. We talked about Anne’s ‘Cinderella’/makeover moment taking place over a longer period of time, about the ‘evil’ stepsisters, etc. etc. I’m not entirely sure I agree with every single comparison he made, but he made some Very interesting points).... at least the first time :)

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer. Oh, the images!!!!! Marissa Meyer is WONDERFUL at them. You wouldn’t think they’d translate well into a futuristic sci-fi (almost steampunk) world, but she did it SO brilliantly (the slipper! the ‘dress’! the whole family situation!)

Rapunzel

Tangled (Disney animated movie): an absolute joy. Rapunzel is an Ariel-like character who has hopes and dreams of her own, and I love how warm and vivacious and endearingly transparent she is. The dance scene is so, so lovely. (I stand by my opinion that very few little went right with Disney’s fairy tale retellings after Tangled.)

Cress, by Marissa Meyer: once again. Images. I can’t believe she managed to pull Rapunzel-in-space off so well. (Plus she’s a hacker, and such a sweetheart!!)

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (Disney animated movie): Amazing. Gorgeous. Brilliant. The buildings and the music and Belle (Belle, my darling!!) and the darker, more Gothic feel to the art and the design...... Yes

Beauty, by Robin McKinley: knocked it right out of the ball park, right through the atmosphere, right into outer space... The language is so lush and atmospheric, and even though I knew roughly what was going to happen, I loved every moment of it. She puts a special emphasis on family and on human connection and I Loved that so much.

Rose Daughter, by Robin McKinley: also gorgeous!!!!! Beauty is still my favourite of the two, but this one was also a gem. (Again: the emphasis on family and sisterhood!!!)

Beauty and the Beast (the Broadway musical): Susan Egan’s voice is SO lovely. And Home deserved more than just an instrumental reference in the 2017 version.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George: the Best. The sisters are easier to distinguish, the changes/things she added (the war, the queen’s past, etc.) make the story even more interesting, and Galen is fantastic (courteous, kind, brave, AND likes to knit?? NICE)

The Barbie movie: I loved it when I was a little girl (it is also Muffin-approved!)

The Princess and the Pea

@fictionadventurer​‘s Wodehousian one :) which is an absolute delight. Every once in a while I remember it and then can’t stop smiling

The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale: the Best. And by the Best, I mean the absolute Best. Her writing is so beautiful and her characters are so real and distinctive. The worldbuilding is fascinating. It’s so simple and so beautiful, and is near-perfect as a retelling and as a novel. The rest of the Bayern series is also wonderful!!

The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (Disney movie): can’t remember it very well, except for the chef who wanted to cook Sebastian and also Ariel’s very cool sisters.... the music and Ariel’s character are lovely :)

The Little Android, by Marissa Meyer: genius. The first time I read it, I cried furiously. What does it mean to be human?? Marissa Meyer loves to talk about this in her other books (through malfunctioning robots, androids, werewolves, etc.). And the conclusion she comes to is always the same (and always done so beautifully): it’s about love and sacrifice (and tbh even though she’s talking about this through robots and werewolves, she’s got a point!!! When you act with love and self-sacrifice, you reflect the character of the Maker and His love and self-sacrifice, which is what makes us in that moment the most human--or at least human in the sense that that’s what we were made to be and to do towards our neighbours and enemies)

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli movie): this counts, doesn’t it?? A film that is an absolute joy through and through. It doesn’t completely stick to the original fairy tale but it also talks about compassion, kindness, and love as a choice

The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog (Disney animated movie): can’t remember it very well, but Anika Noni Rose has a fantastic voice, and I loved Tiana’s practicality, optimism, and kindness

The Prince of the Pond, by Donna Jo Napoli: can’t remember it either (read it in third grade) but basically it’s about how the prince turns into a frog and starts a family with another frog (the story is told from her perspective). I do remember that the ending made me so sad, though

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (Disney movie): can’t remember it at all either, except for: 1) Once Upon a Dream (a brilliant song) and 2) forget pink or blue. I liked her grey dress the most

Spindle’s End, by Robin McKinley: the story was told in such an interesting way (the animals! the way she wrote about love and protecting the people you love and self-sacrifice in familial and platonic relationships!) with Robin McKinley’s beautiful style

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

East, by Edith Pattou: I was obsessed with this book in elementary school. Obsessed. I kept rereading it over and over again because I just loved it so much. It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, but I can remember certain scenes (Rose entering the ballroom for the first time, the white bear’s hulking figure in the doorway, the architecture of the hall where she washes the shirt, her fingers running over the wax, the reunion scene) so vividly as if it had been a movie instead of a book, or if I’d actually been there, experiencing what Rose was experiencing

Orpheus and Eurydice (which kind of counts)

Hadestown (the Broadway musical, the original cast, AND Anais Mitchell’s original concept album): I’ve talked about it so much I probably shouldn’t even start slkfjsdl;kfjlk; I just wanted an excuse to mention it again

Tam Lin

Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones: I loved it when I first read it but I was so confused and so fascinated by it.

The Snow Queen

Frozen (Disney animated movie): no (insert heart emoji)

And contemporary(?) books that are considered modern classics, if not modern fairy tales (depends on how you look at it, really):

Peter Pan

Peter Pan (Disney animated movie): a childhood favourite!!!

Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry: the whole series is so much fun (and they’re among some of the funniest books I’ve read). This one serves as a sort of prequel to Peter Pan, but it’s safer to say that Dave Barry reimagined the whole story.

Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway play adaptation of the book, which is a reimagining of the original Peter Pan..... yeah): the source material is incredibly funny, so naturally the play adaptation makes you laugh until your sides feel ready to split (I mean!! You have Christian Borle as Black Stache, Adam Chanler Berat as Peter, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Molly..... they’re all brilliant) The script, the way the cast makes use of the set and props, the perfect comic delivery....... love it

Finding Neverland, a musical adaptation of the movie (the A.R.T. production with Jeremy Jordan as James Barrie): the music is so good, and the way they write about the value of looking at the world through the eyes of a child?? of seeing the beauty in everything?? of hope and imagination and wonder?? If it weren’t for the way it handles adultery (even emotionally cheating!) and divorce :( but Laura Michelle Kelly is absolutely enchanting, and the script is also incredibly funny and heartwarming

Tiger Lily, by Jodi Lynn Anderson: a twisted fairy tale... it was quite disturbing at times, but it was also beautiful and heartbreaking. It’s a darker take on the story, which I tend not to like (at all), but the way it explored Tiger Lily and Peter was quite interestng

The Wizard of Oz

WIcked, the Stephen Schwartz musical--I haven’t read the book: as far as retellings-about-the-villain-of-the-original-story goes this one is my favourite. It is another twisted fairy tale, though, and there’s a constant undercurrent of doom and dread, even in the motifs Stephen Schwartz uses... the ending is not completely happy, but the music is FANTASTIC (Mr. Schwartz also did The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Prince of Egypt!!)

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland (Disney movie): another childhood favourite... I also haven’t seen this one in over ten years, but I can still remember specific scenes very clearly in my head

Alice by Heart: a musical about a girl called Alice Spencer whose coping mechanism (quite literally) is Alice in Wonderland. She knows it by heart (again. Literally) and she dives into the world as a form of escapism (LITERALLY. There’s even a song at the end where the characters acknowledge how unhealthy this is). There’s a lot about growing up, losing a loved one, learning to let go... about self-deception and grief and the control one has over one’s life (unfortunately it IS subtly antagonistic towards Christianity at times)..... i do wish that writers didn’t have to treat sexual maturity as the most prominent/interesting part of coming-of-age stories, though. The characters, the set and lighting and costume design (BRILLIANT, by the way!!!!)... all wonderful. But the strangely sexual references can be a bit uncomfortable. (Really!! You can tell a coming-of-age story WITHOUT that stuff, you know!!!!!)

That Disney Movie directed by Tim Burton: wouldn’t recommend. Alice doesn’t need to be a warrior. (At ALL.)

Would also like to mention: Princess Tutu :)

People tend to analyze Disneyland as a thematic treatment of America and American mythology - which is definitely an accurate reading - and the optimistic point of view is often characterized more as like a tone or even a flaw. But sitting here this morning listening to Put on your Sunday clothes (a song that plays on Main Street and about relentless aspiration) it’s occurring to me that perhaps even more than American mythology optimism itself IS the theme of Disneyland. It runs through every land and every attraction and is reflected back at us through various lenses (namely American, white, upper middle class lenses). In fact I think the general critique so often heard might be exactly backward: that the theme of Disneyland isn't about America with an overly optimistic lens it's about optimism with an overly American lens. And that its flaws (if they are to be considered flaws) come from that. Each land in the park reflects a distinct period of either history or culture where optimism and hope for a better tomorrow are at its zenith, at least from that lens. That IS the common thread. We enter Main Street USA right at the turn of the century - a period before the depression and before the World Wars where the marvels of technology are making life better on what seems a daily basis. Where steam trains carry us off onto exciting destinies, where everything is colorful and rosy, architecture is over the top, and people wear their Sunday best every day. People in this sleepy town coming into its own dream of the people they’ll be one day, the things they will achieve, the wondrous things that await them, and whadaya know at the far end of the street a shimmering castle beckons them forward towards their dreams - a symbol of things to come. At the hub a series of adventures await us - each a microcosm of the same story. In Adventureland a “untamed” jungle is awaiting man to conquer it, unveil it’s riches and/or unveil itself as the tropical paradise it was always meant to be. A similar story awaits in Frontierland where the promise of manifest destiny is new, gold awaits, and the horizon is limitless. In New Orleans Square it’s a party all the time and a reflection of the promise of the west, both a realization and one of the last stepping off points before the frontier. In Walt Disney World this theme is even better reflected as Liberty Square and revolutionary America is swapped in - another era in which fears and darkness are cast off in favor of a new vision of what a better tomorrow could look like. On the other side of the hub, a literal vision of tomorrow, Tomorrowland reflects what Main Street might look like in hundreds of years: technology has fulfilled it’s promise, no one wants for anything, the world and universe are at peace, convenience and leisure are everywhere, and all sorts of transportation are waiting to whisk you off to literally anywhere you please. And finally Fantasyland, usually the hardest land to fit into the “americana” interpretation, fits perhaps most with the optimistic and hopeful theme and is fittingly at the heart of the park. Here we see a land inhabited by characters with often terrible pasts, overcome them and achieve their dreams. Snow White and Dumbo overcome abuse and trauma. Peter Pan teaches children to fly, an archetypal metaphor, and hold onto their childhood.  Mr. Toad has crazy fun with friends, Pinocchio and Geppetto get their wish and overcome heartache and fear and loneliness. Alice escapes the doldrums of victorian life, etc, etc. And off in the back corner of the park, which I’m sure if it had been designed from day one, would have laid straight back from the castle: the end of the yellow brick road as it were,  lies a monument towards optimism, cooperation, and a better tomorrow again in the form of “it’s a small world.” It’s telling us that to achieve the dreams of the future it will take all of us uniting together. Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom therefore are really embodiments  of the Disney ethos of their time: a strong conviction that the world is an exciting amazing place and no matter how bad things might have been or look to you now, a great big beautiful tomorrow lies just a dream away. And notably, that it’s up to us as a whole to take us there. The lands not only celebrate optimism but human achievements in realizing that optimism  - whether it’s man conquering the jungle or frontier, the creation of a modern democracy, or characters escaping their haunting pasts. The park even tells us that death isn’t to be feared but enjoyed! (The haunted mansion). Perhaps it’s no surprise that these parks are more popular than ever before, given the world we find ourselves living in at the moment. The flaws in the park’s treatment then, aren’t the optimism itself, but rather the somewhat outdated, very white, very American, very classed stories it chooses to tell - particularly on the western side of the park (and perhaps with its historic coziness with monopolistic corporations as well) that were only optimistic and pleasant for the people who wrote the history. For the time they might have been appropriate given the audience they were designed for, but today some of the implications can make you a bit uneasy. I’d still hold that the bones are good, that those settings can still reflect themes of optimism while becoming more aware and inclusive, and indeed over time we’ve seen very slow changes to that affect. For example, Thunder Mountain - while initially perhaps a glorification of gold mining has over time with various story changes become more and more of a morality play about what happens to those who are reckless in their pursuit of profit - something a certain company might take a lesson from. I for one, as perhaps one of the more obvious examples,  would love to see what a Disneyland would look like with stories of the immigrant experience of the same time period paralleling those on Main Street. At any rate, like America, Disneyland is flawed, but it’s themes are solid. Optimism, hope for the future, and the responsibility to foster that future, are the themes that lie at the heart of the stories it tells and why people keep coming back.

P.S. This again reinforces the idea that I think Joe Rohde first articulated: that theme parks NEED themes in the literary sense to achieve their full potential and be effective: that that is what separates the good from the bad park executions, and Disneyland in particularly is a great example of what occurs when nearly every element of the experience serves to reinforce and drive home a particular message.

OMG your head-canons absolutely make my day like there's so much fun too read and i love any insight into mjs character she was totally underused lol. um do you by any chance have anymore my/peter +avenger head-canons? I like the idea of Michelle just kinda showing up one day and slowly but surely just becoming a part of all the chaos.

okay, fam, you’ve been hella patient as i work through my extravagant writer’s block. here is a new headcanon. just for you.

the Avengers are a top-secret government aligned organization. and Michelle Jones is a teenager with access to google maps. so, like, basically, it isn’t hard for her to figure out where their facility upstate is. she just, literally, googles it. its so blatantly obvious to her that she cannot believe reporter’s have been struggling to track down its location. like, dummies, any asshole with a phone could google it. 

but it isn’t her job to enlighten people. besides, she doesn’t google the avenger’s compound for some great journalistic venture. nope. she has a physics project with Peter Parker and he’s been off the grid for three days. and just because he’s a superhero (which he hasn’t exactly TOLD her but she has ears and Peter is not good at keeping secrets) doesn’t mean that she is gonna fail physics. 

so she gets an uber upstate. and has them drop her off in a field about a mile out from the facility. because she’s not gonna have Daniel (her DJ/barista/alien enthusiast uber driver) bring her up to the fucking front door. nope. 

she trudges in the field beyond the facility and, well, walks in the front door when she arrives. nobody stops her. the soldiers posted outside must assume that she’s some sort of important personnel. the worst thing that happens is they check her backpack. and then, she’s waved through. 

Michelle thinks that the compound is a little too flashy for her taste, but, like whatever. she doesn’t give a flying fuck about the architecture. she just needs a table and her lab partner. everything else is immaterial. 

she stops some guy with a metal arm that seems surprised to see her and asks, “Peter Parker?” the metal arm guy blinks and points in the direction of a double set of doors. Michelle grins and pats his metal shoulder, “thanks, man.” he opens his mouth to speak but, um, she doesn’t stick around to hear his question. she doesn’t care. physics, remember?

when she walks through the two doors, she sees Peter in work-out gear sparring with Black Widow (pause for internal squeeing). Black Widow squints at the door where Michelle is standing casually. Peter turns his head to check what Nat is looking at and she takes this distraction to knock his feet out from underneath him.

Michelle rolls her eyes as Peter falls on his back. he coughs and then Black Widow addresses her, “who are you?” Michelle gestures lamely at Peter, “his lab partner.” 

Peter pulls himself off of the ground, clutching his ribs, “jesus, MJ, what are you doing here?” and then, she sees the moment he realizes that she is at the AVENGERS COMPOUND. and all that THAT implies. he starts to fumble, “i, um, had internship stuff…..mr. stark said i could…work out if i wanted and Nat was just here…and-” Michelle cuts him off by tossing her backpack at his chest, “save it, Parker. i know you’re Spider-Man. more importantly, we have a physics lab due tomorrow.” 

his jaw drops and Natasha BLURTS out laughter. “oh man,” she heaves, “i like her.” MJ tries not to look like she is floating on cloud nine. its hard. peter blinks again, “you..you KNOW?” MJ nods, “yes. focus, Peter. physics. now.” 

once she explains, five more times, that yes she does know he is Spider-man, Michelle and Peter go back to his room to work on their project. he asks her a hundred questions as they try to work. the chief concern being how the hell he found the compound. she shrugs and replies google. its concerning. 

about an hour into working on their project, Sam comes barreling through the door, a wild grin on his face, “HOLY SHIT IT IS A GIRL!” peter goes bright red and tries to usher Sam out of his bedroom. which doesn’t work because Sam is barreled over in laughter. 

this laughter draws a crowd. first doctor banner, who fumbles to shake MJ’s hand and politely welcomes her. then, the man with the metal arm who introduces himself as bucky barnes. it sounds familiar. but she doesn’t care enough to place it. something to do with sokovia, she’s almost positive. next, Captain America wanders in. and, fuck, he’s beautiful. Michelle tells him that when he walks in. its not flirting. its fact. “god, you’re so pretty. did you know that?” Captain America looks alarmed. Michelle could give a shit. Peter grumbles beside her.

finally, Tony Stark knocks everyone out of the way to see why people are gathering outside of Peter’s room. he meets eyes with michelle and she raises an eyebrow. challenging him to say anything. he settles on, “uh, who are you?” “Michelle,” she supplies, sitting back on the bed to return to her work. Tony’s jaw clicks and he turns to Peter, “explain.” so Peter tries. he gets out “girl from school” “google maps” and “physics project” before Tony waves his hand, not wanting to hear anymore. 

“you can’t have girls in your room,” he says. Michelle quips, “that’s very hetero-normative of you.” Tony groans, “fine. no boys or girls. no people. none.” “you’re in here,” Michelle observes. and she can see Tony’s blood pressure spiking. 

“OKAY,” Peter practically shouts, stepping between them, “we just have to finish our project. then, she’ll go.” that seems to satisfy tony and disappoint the crowd at large. 

once they’re done with the project, peter helps her pack up her bag. “okay,” he starts, “i’ll have Happy drive you back.” “cool,” she agrees. as he gets her into the back of the black sudan she informs him, “be back next week.” 

HE TRIES TO ARGUE. but, like, Michelle Jones does what she wants. and if its gonna piss Tony Stark off….she’s gonna come back and raise some hell. besides, she wants to talk more to Natasha. and Peter, too. 

New Post has been published on https://bestfungames.com/control-review-paranormal-portal/

Control Review - Paranormal Portal

A return to form for Remedy Games.

By Peter Brown on February 2, 2021 at 12:03AM PST

Control Review – An Action-Packed Paranormal Portal

Editor’s note: Following the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, developer Remedy Entertainment has released Control: Ultimate Edition. This new version of Control includes all of its previously released DLC, including its story expansions The Foundation and AWE, and comes with new improvements over the last-gen version. Below are our impressions of how Control: Ultimate Edition runs on PS5, written by Phil Hornshaw. You can also read our full PlayStation 5 review for an in-depth breakdown of the console. Continue after the break for the original Control review.

Control is gorgeous and intense on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the Ultimate Edition on the current generation of consoles is Remedy Entertainment’s excellent 2019 game at its best. Control Ultimate Edition is a prettier, more stable way to enjoy Remedy’s strange paranormal world, and on PlayStation 5, it works in the great features of the DualSense to elevate the experience even more.

Playing: Control Video Review

The primary difference between the original edition of Control and the Ultimate Edition is the latter’s enhanced graphics. The Ultimate Edition offers two different modes: Performance, which prioritizes frame rate, and Graphics, which leverages the hardware for better textures, lighting, and ray tracing. In both modes, though, the difference between the Ultimate Edition and the standard version of Control is stark. These are drastic improvements over Control on the PS4 and make an already beautiful game look and play even better.

The graphics-heavy mode is something to behold. Control is full of reflective surfaces, whether they’re glass office walls or puddles of water or blood in its dark, brutalist halls. With ray tracing enabled, the game becomes full of gorgeous, real-world reflections, with protagonist Jesse’s face appearing on the screens of TVs as she watches films created by Dr. Casper Darling, and Control’s stark lighting and cinematography finding mirrors in wet concrete floors. Control’s art direction was already impressive, but it achieves even more on the newer hardware to create endless beautiful frames.

Gallery

Graphics mode sacrifices frame rate for those pretty images, but it never chugs or runs poorly (unlike the base game on PS4 Pro)–its frame rate looks to be on par with the last generation of hardware, but with more stability. Flipping to the performance mode sacrifices those beautiful reflections in favor of a silky 60fps, but Control looks great in both modes. The smoothness afforded by the higher frame rate definitely works to make combat feel a little more intense and responsive, but both modes work extremely well, so choosing one comes down to personal preference.

On PS5, Control Ultimate Edition benefits from the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback. The intensity of Jesse’s footsteps when she’s running or walking are translated to the controller, as are the different firing modes of the Service Weapon as you let loose with the automatic Spin or charge up a big blast with Pierce. Best, though, are Jesse’s powers, with the controller adding oomph to the massive blast of a melee attack and capturing the whistling catch as you use telekinesis to grab hold of a piece of concrete. The haptics add just a little something extra to Control, helping to make Jesse’s powers and weapons feel distinct and impactful.

With its graphical add-ons, the stability and performance enhancements, and the inclusion of all of Control’s DLC, the Ultimate Edition really is the best way to experience Control–and the PS5’s haptics really add an extra layer of intensity to a game that already feels great to play. If you haven’t experienced Control yet, this is the best way to do so. If you have, this is a good excuse to jump back into its beautiful, strange, inventive world once again. — Phil Hornshaw, 2 February 2021. Our original Control review by Peter Brown, first published in August 2019, continues below.

When you’re so used to games that ease you in, the confronting nature of Control is immediately compelling. There’s plenty of time to get to know characters, study the environment, and gradually pick up new mechanics and skills, but Control’s sinister atmosphere is impactful, sending a rush of questions through your head from the moment you press start.

Who is Jesse Faden? Why does she seem both lost and found on her first day as director at the Federal Bureau of Control? How can she possibly maintain her composure in the face of the haunting ethereal and material distortions that have overtaken the bureau? You may only have some answers to these questions by the time the credits roll. While being vague or opaque could be viewed as a flaw in other games, obfuscation is part of what makes Control so spellbinding. Impressively, the mysteries grip ever tighter as you navigate the bureau’s headquarters in search of answers. Knowledge is power, but it frequently opens doors to possibilities you never knew existed–doors that are better left shut, so far as Jesse and surviving FBC members are concerned.

If you’ve played past works from Remedy Games, you will instantly recognize the studio’s footprint. Control’s story plays with grim truths and strange themes. Everything is a serious matter, except when it isn’t and a dark sense of humor creeps in to offer a momentary respite–which, yes, includes plenty of FMV shorts. The combat system is designed for you to be equal parts agile and destructive, bearing a notable resemblance to the studio’s Microsoft-exclusive, Quantum Break. Combat aside, that game felt like a step removed from what Remedy does best. Control feels like Remedy has found its footing again.

There is one major aspect that is decidedly new for Remedy: Control is non-linear, built in the vein of a metroidvania and filled with reasons to retrace your steps over time. This approach is largely handled well, though if there’s any aspect of Control that feels lacking it’s the handling of the map. It’s an unreliable tool presented in a top-down fashion that often feels like more trouble than it’s worth. Multi-level areas overlap with one another (you can’t isolate them, or zoom in for a closer look) and it’s practically impossible to track specific locations you have or have not visited. Broad areas can be tracked, sure, but not, say, a single meeting room in the executive branch.

This would be a major issue if not for two things: The signage in the world is surprisingly helpful, and ultimately, Control makes wandering the halls of “The Oldest House” a consistent pleasure. If you aren’t in awe of the architecture, you’re probably getting your kicks from a battle that pops up when you least expected it.

Referring to the FBC headquarters as a house is a bit misleading, though you’ll grow to understand how in time. In practical terms, it is a massive multi-story facility that screams government, with angular interiors formed in stone and metal, with minimal flourish. It has the outward appearance of an orderly place of process, which, while true, undersells the reality therein, or the lack thereof.

The dance between fact and fiction is at the heart of Control’s setting and a fascinating narrative that unravels in Jesse’s mind through a series of inner monologues and psychic projections. There are exchanges between characters that move certain elements forward, but so much of Control hinges on Jesse’s discoveries and her interpretations of their meaning. Even though you’re clued into her thoughts, there’s an underlying element that Jesse fails to explain because, to her, it’s matter-of-fact. Whatever it is has always been a part of her, creating a gap of understanding that you, for the most part, can only hope to fill in with your own inferences. There’s a constant desire to know more, yet to also maintain distance from the truth in order to preserve the mystery. It’s to Control’s credit that it effortlessly facilitates this exchange.

If it’s otherworldly, if it seems to defy explanation, odds are the FBC is running tests to discover the underlying cause and contain the consequences from the outside world. Deep within the guts of the house lie experiments and studies that dig into paranormal disturbances, the collective subconscious, and alternate dimensions. The FBC posits that entities from beyond our realm have used objects of power–archetypical things that we know and take for granted–as gateways into our world. After years of the FBC gathering these strange objects for study, the house has become an amplified conduit for a force known as The Hiss, which can reshape and move matter. The source of this power, a dimension known as the Astral Plane, has crept into the bureau, and some far-off corridors bear its telltale monochromatic, geometric motif. Occasionally, you will get pulled into this strange world to undergo skill trials, but your visits are always short, which helps preserve the mystique in the long run.

Back in the “real” world, lowly agents and high-ranking FBC enforcers have been corrupted en masse. Many float harmlessly in mid-air, chanting strange mantras in boardrooms, hallways, and research facilities. Generally, if there’s headroom, there are floaters. The more aggressive of the bunch pop into existence before your eyes as you explore the bureau. They, like Jesse, fight with a mix of guns and telekinetic powers. They are generally fun adversaries, and battles are punctuated by some incredible special effects. Furniture and small props are whipped into a frenzy when you hurl a desk from a cubicle and into a group of enemies. Sparks and colorful plumes of energy fill the air when a nearby explosion cuts through the incandescent trails left behind by the hiss.

There are only a few unique enemies or bosses to speak of, but by and large the AI, in conjunction with a great variety of architectural layouts, makes every fight feel engaging. Whether a simple encounter or a complex assault, you have to approach combat with a juggling act in mind, shifting between expending ammunition and psychic energy when one or the other is depleted. You also have to learn how to defend against and recover from harm. The only way to heal in combat is to pick up essence dropped by fallen enemies, which often requires you to throw yourself into the fray while also protecting yourself from further damage.

New powers come with story milestones, but weapon forms are crafted from collectible materials. Their stats, and Jesse’s, increase with the application of randomized ranked mods dropped by enemies and found in hidden containment chests. You will likely come across hundreds of mods, but because you can only hold and use a limited amount, you will end up dismantling most of them to make space in your inventory. Mods can make a tangible difference, especially once you start to find high-ranking ones, but they can’t make up for a lack of skill or understanding of Jesse’s tools during the game’s greatest tests.

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Control is a great-looking game in general, from the overall art design to the technical execution, but combat is a notable standout in that regard. While the experience on PC can be tuned to run at a consistently smooth frame rate, the PS4 version (playing on a PS4 Pro with supersampling enabled) can exhibit stuttering when fights are at their most chaotic–no issues were spotted with the Xbox One version. This, thankfully, is an uncommon occurrence, but it definitely clues you in to how taxing the special effects and real-time physics are.

With a fair amount of extracurricular exploration, it took me about 15 hours to get to the end of Control’s campaign. Though I watched the credits roll, there are still plenty of side quests for me to tackle. Jesse isn’t the only sane person in the bureau after all, and the handful of key NPCs that populate each sector have co-workers gone missing or projects left abandoned that might put the bureau at future risk. They not only give you more reason to spend time in Jesse’s shoes, but the supporting cast is great across the board, brought to life with excellent voice acting and top-notch character design. They aren’t deep characters and your conversations never go very far, but I’m more than willing to help them in their time of need, if only to see what quirky or oddball thing they say when I return.

One of my favorite aspects of Control, now that I’ve got room to breathe, is spending quality time with its collectible texts and videos. I’ve managed to read most of the in-game materials while pushing through main missions and tackling optional pursuits, but there are so many fascinating threads to pull on that it’s easy to imagine new possibilities lying in wait; if only I studied the evidence a little closer, or considered a new angle, maybe the missing pieces of Jesse’s story would come into view. These tidbits can be educational, disturbing, and at times wildly entertaining, and they have inspired me to look deeper into topics like Jungian psychology.

It’s not often that a game invades my thoughts the way Control has. I’m at the point where I want to consume every last thing it has to offer. And if I’m honest, it also makes me want to go back and replay Remedy’s past games, too. Sure, it’s a faulty metroidvania in some respects, but there are so many exceptional qualities afoot that Control handily deflects any momentary ire. I can’t wait to take part in discussions about the game, to see what others have figured out, and to better understand where it all fits into Jesse’s story.

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

“JENNIFER WALTERS has survived the Civil War…barely…and having risen from the rubble, she re-enters the world a different kind of hero. Fueled by a quiet rage, she is determined to move forward, to go on with her life, but the pain of the past and all she’s lost is always there – an undercurrent, a pulse, waiting to quicken and trigger Jen’s transformation into the one thing she doesn’t have control over…”

–From the Marvel Comics website

Ah, Hulk. I’ve been waiting for this one. Strange to say since my general attitude toward Marvel and DC comics is mostly derision. Can you blame me? One company protects a serial sexual harasser while firing women who dare speak out. The other is run by a Trump lover, making Hydra something of an all too poignant allegory for the company. I don’t care for the majority of their comics, especially their world events that operate as a way to temporarily spike sales, ultimately crashing and burning while receiving the hissing, clawing displeasure of both fans and critics. With Marvel, the recent blunder is Civil War II, a gimmicky cash grab for an enjoyable movie based on terrible source material that got delayed so many times that the books taking place after the event came out before it even concluded.

Just like the original Civil War, the sequel is guilty of character assassination, unnecessary conflict, unnecessary death, and ruining a whole bunch of comics people were enjoying. NEVER FORGIVE THEM FOR WHAT THEY DID TO CAROL DANVER! I mean, I don’t care about her, but turning her into a fascist ruined her relationship with Ms. Marvel, by far the best, most relatable Marvel character to come out since the Runaways. She was my generation’s Peter Parker, and now she’s lost both her idol and her friends as a result. Marvel ruined her. RUINED HER, I SAY!

Also, why was Tony Stark against Danver’s Minority Report shtick? I mean, this was a man who in the original series OK’d a metahuman registration program that probably made Trump cream his pants. Tony is practically a fascist himself. God, even Captain America is a Nazi now! I mean, so many of the heroes have turned into villains themselves and…

Aw, forget it. I could go all day long about everything wrong with Civil War II, but naw. I avoided that garbage and I don’t want to waste time talking about it either.

So, why in the world would I be reviewing Hulk, a comic that happened as a direct result of this nonsense? I should be angry given Bruce Banner, one of my favorite Marvel characters, died. I should be with the Marvel Zombies grabbing their axes and lead pipes smashing windows and burning cars over it. However, after reading about the series from Mariko Tamaki and Nico Leon, I had to check it out.

Oh, I know. There are those that don’t want Jennifer Walters to be angry, traumatized Hulk. They love her as She-Hulk! Big green lawyer lady that breaks the fourth wall, cracks jokes, and goes on crazed hijinks with Patsy Walker. Now, I haven’t been a lifelong fan of She-Hulk. The first thing I read starring her was the short-lived series by Charles Soule and Javier Pulido. That comic was fun! Like watching your favorite Saturday morning cartoon show while listening to your favorite indie rock band. I can see why people are so attached to happy Jen. She’s a blast.

However, I must defend this new, darker approach to her. As much as I love ladies having fun, I prefer when they’re angry monsters. In fact, it seems recently that a new breed of female lead comics that center on women being some kind of monstrosity has risen: Monstress, Insexts, She Wolf, Cry Havoc, and even the mass murderer Gertrude from I Hate Fairyland. These women are angry, broken by whatever is afflicting them, and they’re ready to let it out in a wave of unprecedented carnage. The best part about this trend is how subversive these monstrous women are. Their monstrosities might at first seem like afflictions, but they slowly develop into a form of empowerment.

Happy is good, but monstrous is better.

So, how does this route go for Jennifer Walters? Well, I’m happy to say that Hulk is a bold new take on the character that will draw readers in not with endless action, but atmospheric art, character-focused drama, and a unique horror tone tackling trauma head on.

The covers of Jeff Dekal take a unique approach in conveying monstrous rage. Instead of showing actual destruction, as was Banner Hulk’s trademark, Cover #1 shows Jen grasping the logo tightly, seemingly on the cusp of crumbling it to pieces. Yes, it’s a violent image, but not in the sense of catastrophic physical violence, but poignant emotional violence. Jen is trying to hold back her rage, resisting the urge to destroy. After all, that’s what Bruce did, a man who couldn’t control the beast within. Jen is supposed to be different, supposed to be healthy and balanced. However, given the trauma she suffered in Civil War II, Jen’s on the breaking point. This is what Dekal masterfully conveys. Also, have to give huge props for coloring Jen gray. I suspect it’s a callback to Gray Hulk, a version of the character that I sometimes prefer over the Emerald Giant.

Cover #2 also takes a unique approach to violence in showing its aftermath. The punch-cracked window, Jen’s hands clawing upward, indicates how she momentarily lost control and there was a negative consequence. She’s trying to hold it back again. Slip-ups happen, right? However, when you’re a gamma-radiant monster, slip-ups tend to end up sucking for everyone around you. The coloring of Jen is quite interesting. I don’t understand why her skin is pink (call back to the Red Hulks, maybe?), but I love how there is a creeping network of gray veins slowly covering her body. To me, this symbolizes the Hulk inside of Jen, the one she’s trying to hold back. It’s also symbolic of the negative emotions she feels: anger, depression, and helplessness.

I think it is important to note how green has more prominence than Cover #1. The glow is notably on the walls. It seems to mean Jen’s control is slipping. Again, so much about the conflict of the comic, the overriding theme of struggling with anger and trauma is masterfully conveyed on the covers. I’ve recently talked about the importance of covers conveying a story’s theme and hooking a reader at the same time. For the covers of Hulk, Jeff Dekal hits a bullseye twice.

So, how does the interior art hold up in comparison? Nico Leon’s style creates a deceptively quiet atmosphere that aches with tension. Matt Milla’s coloring adds to this with a soft color palette. In issue #1’s opening scene, Jen’s apartment has a gray tone to it. It’s a huge space, some objects built to accommodate She-Hulk’s size. However, now that Jen is in human mode, the objects are hilariously oversized. In this empty apartment, with its many objects, Jen seems tiny and isolated. It’s strange because it is both calm and tense at the same time. It has to do with how Jen’s inner monologue, full of polarizing emotion, turns the plainness of the apartment into a mask. Leon’s depiction of Jen’s mute expression further pushes this idea of plainness as a mask for turmoil. Reading the comic is the same as visiting the hospital for an urgent report. You’re sitting in the waiting room, made as nice and homely as possible, but you’re still tapping your foot because once the doctor enters, it could be life or death. This is the atmosphere of the comic. Sometimes, it’s suffocating, but always poignant.

Leon and Milla also shine in their portrayal of New York City. Instead of trying to recreate it as the grim concrete jungle it no longer is, they showcase the city in its present decorum of bright colors, modernized architecture, and streets full of yuppies in designer clothing. These are also the scenes where letterer Cory Petit gets creative. A scene in a subway has big letters crowded with the sea of bodies, demonstrating the overpopulated, noisy experience of living in New York. Just like with the apartment, Jen’s isolation is noticeable and just as emotionally complex, simultaneously calm and tumultuous.

Although the art team certainly excels in environmental atmosphere, they fall a little short with character design. They’re not bad, but not memorable either. It might have to do with the lack of detail. Leon’s faces are simplistic, most of them eerily similar. I noticed this when contrasted with the art of Dalibor Talajic in issue #2, pages 4-6. Talajic adds more details that make faces distinguishable. Also, ages are recognizable. I couldn’t nail Jen’s age with Leon, but Talajic easily places her from late 20s to 30s. Another thing that I don’t like about Leon’s characters are the eyes. When closed, they look like a cutesy style anime character. Leon might be influenced by anime and manga to a certain extent, but this element of the art clashes with the tone of the comic.

However, there are exceptions, most notably the amazing designs of metahumans. They are creative, unique, and diverse. Already, one of these metahumans, Miss Brewn, has become an important side character. In fact, just like Soule and Pulido’s run, I hope Jen ends up representing a number of crazy characters and exploring their back-stories.

The hallmark of Hulk is Mariko Tamaki’s writing. I was interested to see how a writer well known for her indie drama work like This One Summer and Skim would do with a mainstream cape comic. Can she bring the same complex, emotional drama? The answer is almost. There is still the limitation of a 20-21 page-count that prevents extensive development, not to mention some campy elements, such as a sketchy landlord character that acts like a Sopranos extra.

The rest of Tamaki’s writing pulls off an astonishing feat of taking the concept of Hulk and bringing it down to reality. Now, this isn’t impossible and has been done before as evidence by Bruce Jones’ amazing run. Here, however, it is even more so because instead of starting off with a tale of espionage, it’s one of recovery. I will admit to having been trepidatious about trauma as a central theme, not because I doubted in Tamaki’s writing abilities, but worried that funneling it through a cape comic would make depictions over the top or offensive. Thankfully, that’s not the case. There are no gross scenes of Jen crying in a shower naked while chugging bottles of whiskey, and moaning about how she can’t go on without Bruce! Oh Woe is a world so cruel and unfair! HAWTHRONE HEIGHTS RULEZ!!!

That nonsense is absent. Instead, trauma is depicted accurately. Jen gets up each day and tries to live a normal life. She goes to work, eat bagels at a café, and have a coffee while watching children ice-skating in the park. She doesn’t interact much with people. Currently, Jen feels the need to be alone. This will probably be disappointing to folks that love Jen as a snappy joker with lots of friends, but it’s relatable to some people that have experienced trauma. It is important to reach out and let people aid you, but it’s also helps to be alone sometimes. Being alone is a time to be at peace, to clear your mind and experience life instead of over-thinking it.

The few interactions Jen has with people are still supportive. There is Patsy who sends positive text messages, and Bradley, Jen’s gay secretary, who keeps her busy and provides her a packet of nuts after a bad spell of rage. There is also Miss Brewn, Jen’s client, who brings out the best part of the character: her heroism. Even if Jen’s no longer fighting along with super folks, she still dedicates herself as a lawyer, protecting clients from harm and making sure their justice. This is important again in approaching trauma from a mature, complex angle. Tamaki shows that there is room for positivity, to be able to function and be happy, even while in the midst of coping. There is even humor, both laughs and heroism balance out the darker parts of the comic.

As for trauma, the core of the story, Tamaki & Co. explores it in a unique way. Jen’s trauma is triggered when mentions of Bruce and the Hulk are made. It reminds her of the pain she has been through, of the fact her own Hulk form is now uncontrollable, something welling up and ready to burst. In these scenes, green becomes a dominant color. At their worst, Jen’s eyes turn green, the veins around them glow, and she glares and grits her teeth. The Hulk is trying to claw out, but unlike Bruce who always lost control automatically, Jen is able to force it back down. Unfortunately, this resistance clearly causes her pain. This pain symbolizes the agony of trauma itself, how it takes it toll on both the mind and body. Also, how long can Jen’s efforts last? It seems to be only a matter of time before her control slips completely.

The way these scenes are depicted is best described as atmospheric horror. The darkness, the intensity of glowing green, Jen’s contorting face of anger, are images that make the reader feel uneasy, ready to jump out of their seat as they prepare for the worst. This is how the best horror scares its audience, not through jump scares or extreme violence, but the dread of anticipation. It’s the feeling of walking alone in a street at night and there are either footsteps or strange noises trailing behind. You keep walking. You don’t dare turn around out of fear that it will be the moment the stalker strikes, yet at the same time its agonizing not knowing who or what it is. The creative team nails this type of horror down, with the added emotional resonance of knowing these scenes symbolize Jen’s trauma. It agonizes the reader into caring for Jen, if that makes sense. They know how much pain she is, and now want to see her persevere and survive. It’s similar to the final girl trope from slasher films.

The comic manages to balance out both the light and dark parts of Jen’s story. Seeing her both in pain and triumphant when the time comes is a satisfying emotional wheel for those that like protagonists to go through a personal trial before getting a happy ending. Sometimes, it can feel a little over the top, but never exploitative. Best of all, the story is told without the overuse of action that’s prevalent in modern superhero comics. Each issue unfolds like the chapter of a book, focusing on character development and dialogue. This approach reminds me of the masterful Vision series by Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Both series read more like literary horror than superhero adventure. This style is not for everyone, and there will still be people that don’t enjoy this type of story, especially those who don’t want it happening to Jen. However, I have to take a stand and say it is executed expertly. Tamaki, Leon, and everyone else involved obviously understand people’s concerns for the character, and from what I have seen so far are giving her the respect she deserves.

One last thing I want to comment on is both the title of the series and that of the current story arc. It’s called “Deconstruction.” Why? My theory based on the content is that this arc, and the series as a whole, is attempting to deconstruct the character. Hulk, in relation to Bruce Banner, has always been associated with pain, destruction, and mental illness. His death can be seen as the finality of those negative attributes. It is something seen in stories time and time again. The monster, symbolic of the things that bother humanity, must die. Jen was different. Yes, she started off just as savage, but eventually attained control of her other self, even going so far as live daily as She-Hulk. That gift was taken away from her with the death of Bruce, and now her Hulk form afflicts her just as much as it did him.

Perhaps this is necessary. Now that Hulk is dead, and Jen claims the name, it’s almost saying that she has to be stuck with the original meaning of the name, not empowerment but destruction. It should be noted how the events that caused the scenario were mandated by a mostly male creative team. So, while it is easy to give praise for titling the series Hulk instead of She-Hulk to erase gender labels, it could also be said that the old male meaning behind Hulk is now inflicted upon a woman. As I mentioned before, monsters are often symbolic of everything that is wrong with the world, and anyone or anything labeled as such tends to be set up for elimination. After all, society can’t have an ugly manifestation of its dark side stalking about.

However, there is an opportunity for the monstrosity to become a form of empowerment. In the female monster titles I mentioned, monstrous women are immediately put in the box of wrong and afflicted by (mostly male) society’s perceptions of monsters. Jen is similarly afflicted, dealing with her cousin’s legacy, one of contempt from the world at large. But she’s not letting this legacy hold her down. Jen is still being Jen. Furthermore, the series would be smart in showing a transition of Jen reclaiming control of her hulk form and, on a larger scale, breaking down the old concept of Hulk and reconstructing it as something positive. Being a monster can become empowering rather than afflicting.

Only two issues in, Hulk is full of potential. If it lasts long enough and the creative team grows Jen in the right path, it may become an engaging tale of trauma, monstrosity, and reclaiming one’s identity. With atmospheric art, an emotionally complex story, and unique horror tone, I would recommend this title to anyone that loves the character. She might not be the She-Hulk of old, but she is no less fun to read.

Story: Mariko Tamaki Art: Nico Leon, Matt Milla, Cory Petit, Dalibor Talajic Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Make Me Angry: Hulk #1-2 Review #comics #marvel #hulk WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD “JENNIFER WALTERS has survived the Civil War…barely…and having risen from the rubble, she re-enters the world a different kind of hero.

Meet Halt and Catch Fire composer & former member of Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger.

I caught up with Emmy-nominated composer,  and former member of the classic German electronic band Tangerine Dream, Paul Haslinger, for a chat on composing challenges, his career, what makes a great score, what it was like composing for Netflix's much-lauded Mötley Crüe movie The Dirt,  and more, as it relates to his latest project, "Halt and Catch Fire Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack", which can be ordered here courtesy of Lakeshore Records.

Paul Haslinger.

Tangerine Dream in Minneapolis, MN in 1986. Paul Haslinger is pictured in the middle with Edgar Froese. Source: welt.de

Haslinger is an LA-based, Austrian composer and electronic musician known for his involvement with legendary German group Tangerine Dream from 1986 till 1990, as well as his extensive work for film, television, and video game scores. During the 1990s, he also released a few solo albums (three under his own name and one as Coma Virus) that explored various ethnic influences as well as industrial, dark ambient, and triphop. He has collaborated with Nona Hendryx, Jon Hassell, Lustmord, Fennesz, and many others. 

Haslinger began scoring short films in the late '90s, in addition to programming and arranging film scores by Graeme Revell, including The Siege, Pitch Black, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Starting with 2000 HBO film Cheaters, Haslinger scored several films by director John Stockwell, including Crazy/Beautiful and Blue Crush.

He began scoring video games with 2005's Far Cry Instincts for Ubisoft Entertainment. Haslinger's music for the Showtime series Sleeper Cell was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007. Other notable soundtracks Haslinger has composed include Shoot 'Em Up (2007), Death Race (2008), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), The Three Musketeers (2011), Underworld: Awakening (2012), Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), The Dirt (2019) and Halt and Catch Fire.

Halt and Catch Fire—the AMC Studios series that ran for four seasons – captures the rise of the PC era in the early 1980s, focused on four main characters attempting to innovate against the changing backdrop of technology and Texas’ Silicon Prairie. The series was created and is executive produced by showrunners Christopher Cantwell and Christopher C. Rogers.

Catch "Halt and Catch Fire Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack" out now, courtesy of those most-excellent purveyors of always spectacular film music, Lakeshore Records; also enjoy the exclusive track – titled "Dreamers and Misfits" – that The 405 premiered from it embedded below the interview here. 

HALT AND CATCH FIRE Season 1 trailer.

Hello Paul and welcome to The 405! To start things off, I was hoping we could get an idea of what your creative process as a composer looks like when you start a project.

I usually start by looking for creative sparks - could be a new sound, a conceptual idea, a script, some footage I see… or a combination thereof. Once there is a spark, there is usually fire and then you just need to make sure the wind does't blow it out.

Very true. On a somewhat related question, your approach. What are the main things that a great score needs to do?

Functionally speaking, score supports story. And a big part of that is to not get in the way of story. I find most projects over-scored. Music should have its moments to shine, but it should be content at other times to stay extremely simple and understated if that's what supports the picture the best.

I agree. The best is not distracting. It does not snap you out of suspending your disbelief with the movie itself. You still forget you're watching a movie – if it's a good one.

Pivoting just a bit, you have quite the variety of film genres under your "composed by" belt too. Do you consider one genre easier to score than another? Why or why not?

Not really. So far, I've found ways under any circumstances to have some musical fun – it doesn't really matter to me which particular country we're in, or where we're driving. One of the absolute perks of writing for film and TV is specifically the fact that you are not beholden to a particular style. You can try as many different things as you like. For someone who gets bored quickly, this is quite a gift. It also bears the risk of getting lost on occasion, a price I'm happy to pay.

That seems to be the consensus among many of the composers I've put that question to. I admire your adaptability there too Paul, I'd imagine it's key in helping keep things interesting.

Does your time in Tangerine Dream influence your approach as a composer? Why or why not?

 It certainly was my start in film scoring and it laid the foundation for many things that came after.

Tangerine Dream at the time was understood as an alternative to traditional film scoring and it's a principle I kept applying in my work after leaving the band. On the other hand, Tangerine Dream was asked for the same type of alternate score over and over again. Leaving the band allowed me to cast my net wider, to keep exploring and discovering.

Interesting. Did your time in Tangerine Dream color your approach to Halt and Catch Fire with it being an '80s period series? What else initially attracted you to it?

At the start, it was obviously just a project that seemed like a good fit, a great chance to have some fun. Once I began working on the show, it became clear very quickly that this was not just an opportunity to revisit some '80s music, but that the writing, the cast, the whole crew, was one of those lucky coincidences where the right elements come together at the right time. One of the best teamwork experiences I ever had, it really fuelled everybody to work extra-hard and come up with something special.

That's fantastic. I remember really enjoying the series when it first came out. That kind of atmosphere really bleeds over into the final cut. What were the challenges like on scoring it?

There was great mutual respect between all creatives on the show, and the biggest challenges were typically the ones I set for myself, wanting my work to match the quality of the material I was scoring. The show's creators, Christ Cantwell and Chris Rogers, are both huge music fans, so we would regularly geek out on all aspects of sound, mix and general sonic architecture of the show. We definitely kept challenging each other, in the best and most creative ways.

Cool! A twist on a question I usually ask, what films, scores, composers and musicians would you say most molded you as a composer and musician?

If you're asking who inspired me, that's a ridiculously long list…

Yeah, it's a big question.

I am not sure if anybody "molded" me –

Substitute "influenced."

I see myself in a long chain of musicians and music history, where certain composers and events always influenced and inspired the next generation – it's a fluid structure with no hard delineations.

Absolutely.

Picking a few favorite composers of recent times (and with a spotlight on film), I would mention Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone, Georges Delerue, Jerry Fielding, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Warren Ellis, Arvo Pärt, Edgard Varése.

Cast of HALT AND CATCH FIRE. Source:AMC

One title you scored that jumped out at me because I consider the film a bit of a guilty pleasure is 2007's Shoot ‘Em Up. The film is pretty brilliant, high-octane, action movie satire and the "bullet ballet" moniker for it was very fitting. I'm curious, what were the unique challenges with that as a project?

It was a tricky project, for sure. They had tried a variety of music approaches and found that they wanted a more modern approach than the usual Hollywood orchestral score. The film had some edge and they wanted the music to reflect that.

Absolutely. That scene with Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” absolutely embodied that edge, musically-speaking, as an example.

My approach was to go into a studio here in LA and to form a band for the project (Justin Meldal-Johnson of Beck and NIN fame was musical director).

Nice.

We recorded a lot of material, some of it to picture, other parts just as free track developments. I then pre-mixed and went on writing the score based on these recordings, adding new parts. It was the first time I worked in this open, modular style (cycles of writing - recording - arranging) and have stuck with it ever since. It combines my knowledge of working in studios producing records, with writing for the specific purposes of film.

Monica Bellucci and Clive Owen in 2007’s SHOOT ‘EM UP. Source:YouTube

Fascinating how a movie like Shoot 'Em Up would help you find and refine that new way of working.

You've also scored great movies like The Dirt. What were the challenges like on that when much of the main music is Mötley Crüe level legendary? Does that put an interesting kind of pressure on a composer?

The Dirt was a lot of fun, in part, again, because we had a great team working on it. Knowing there would be a lot of featured and on-camera MC music, it was clear the score would function as a supplement, or glue, if you will, tying the story together and keeping the energy going in moments that did not feature any songs. It was a lot of fun, despite some of the gory details.

Interesting. Yeah, it's getting a lot of very justified praise. Our last question Paul, what's next for you?

I am finishing a new album project with Peter Baumann (ex-Tangerine Dream, like myself) which we hope to release later this year.

Wonderful.

I am also starting to work on the film Monster Hunter, which will reunite me with [director and writer] Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich. Monster Hunter is based on the computer game of the same name. Set for release in early 2020, it will be larger than life and a great opportunity to come up with more musical monster madness.

  Follow Paul on Twitter and Instagram. Like his page on Facebook too!

”Dreamers and Misfits” from “HALT AND CATCH FIRE, Volume 2 – Original Television Series Soundtrack.

THE DIRT (2019) trailer.

SHOOT ‘EM UP (2007) trailer.

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A Bewitching Visit to Salem, MA

Hello everyone, Peter here.

As a part of our internship here at the museum, we are encouraged to go and explore different aspects of American culture. 

I have an MA in English, with a strong interest in women’s history, Gothic tales and some of the more obscure parts of history. And one particular part of American history has always been incredibly fascinating to me: The Salem witch trials!

As a European, I recognize the stories about the paranoia, persecution, and terrible trials and ordeals that surround the Salem witch trials, as Europe has its own dark history of persecuting supposed “witches”. Nevertheless, I have always been fascinated by the historical aspects of Salem, and how it seems to have become a very real point of attraction for real witches today.

So off I went to Boston MA (more on that in another blog post), to go and explore New England.

Arriving in Salem:

Going to Salem was surprisingly easy. Taking the train took less than an hour, and I got to see the beautiful New England landscape - coming from Iowa, all the trees were a welcome sight! As I got to Salem, I was surprised by how authentic and very un-tourist-y it all felt. Yes, there is the witch trials memorial, Witch Museums, but it was very, very little compared to what I had expected.

The Salem Witch Trials Memorial

The first thing I saw was the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. The weather was incredibly hot, and the sun was very bright that day, so some shade under trees was very welcome. 

The benches has names on them to honor the victims of the trials. As you can see, there were flowers on some of them, which I thought was a nice gesture.

Old Burying Point Cemetery

The next stop was the Old Burying Point Cemetery. Whenever I travel, I always like to see cemeteries and graveyards. They just so look different in every country! 

Salem Witch History Museum

Okay. Not gonna lie. This was cheesy as cheesy can be. Old, plastic-y animatronics in a poorly lit hallway with no airconditioning. And it was AWESOME. I came for the culture and the history, but also for the weird, spooky stuff. And this was worth every penny!

The House of the Seven Gables

Next up, I saw the House of the Seven Gables. This was, perhaps, one of the best things I saw. I really liked how the town managed to keep the local history of Salem as an important place for trade separate from the trials. And having read Hawthorne’s novel, I just HAD to see the actual house. They had managed to make the house really interesting, and kept the historical facts short and precise, while allowing the visitors to look around the rooms and take it all in. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Salem.

Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery

This was a fun surprise! A wax museum filled with characters from cult classic horror movies.

And so much more....

I, of course, managed to see so much more in Salem. I visited several witchy shops, spoke to the locals (who were friendly, interested, and chatty), and enjoyed the architecture.

Art F City: The Shape of Indoor Space: An Interview with GIPHY Artist Peter Burr

Detail from “The Shape of Indoor Space”

Since visiting Peter Burr’s “Pattern Language” last September, flashes of imagery from his installation will occasionally come back to me. There’s a sticky quality to the work, so memories appear in the same way they might for a character in a sci-fi movie—suddenly and without warning.

Burr’s art conjures the future—projection screens picturing high density structures that resemble malls populated by people who move in slow motion; text by Porpentine that describes opinionless cultures; undulating black and white patterns designed to mesmerize the viewer. Unlike movies, though, which tend to center around heros and villains, there’s no morality attached to this environment. It’s not good, or bad. It just is.

Now, thanks to a commission by GIPHY, a section of that installation has been further developed for the online environment. “The Shape of Indoor Space” is a browser-sized 12 GIF maze depicting a near-infinite interior made for humans. While the grid structure of the building doesn’t move—the floors stay put—pretty much everything else does. Backgrounds made up of blinking lines, pulsating squiggles, and flowing wave forms create a complex patchwork of patterns. Figures congregate in groups and walking alone navigate the building—some even sprint through it. There are no children.

I spend far more time looking at this maze than I do most other art. Part of it has to do with the virtuosity of Burr’s craft. When Burr talks about the technical specs of his work, it’s with the precision of a painter who grinds their own pigments and stretches their own canvas. His hard-edged animations don’t look native to any one software, but evoke a retrofuturist sense of “computer art” that predates Photoshop or 3D rendering.

But mostly, it’s the meditative aspect of “The Shape of Indoor Space” that keeps viewers engaged for long stretches at a time. For an environment in which nearly every element is in constant motion, that’s a bit strange—like a puzzle without solution.  

It’s this quality that compels me to reach out to Burr to discuss the commission with him. We touch on everything from crispy pixels to Arcosanti and building utopias.  

Detail from “The Shape of Indoor Space”.

Tell me about The Shape of Indoor Space. What are its origins?

I’d describe the GIPHY project as a generous version of what I did with Electric Objects back in 2014. I reached out to Electric Objects when my project was in development—I was interested in turning my work into an object without compromising the formal continuity. Their hardware seemed like one way to do that. I was their first artist in residence and was given $500 to develop an artwork for their screen. Ultimately, though, this body of  work is beholden to the crispy pixels found in the GIF compression format, so I wasn’t able to fully develop the art until this commission came along.

What is a crispy pixel?

The short version is that a crispy pixel describes an aesthetic that privileges a visual delineation of each pixel. The screen of any computer is a matrix—a grid. When you are using a modern day Apple and you go into system preferences they don’t give you screen sizes by pixels any more—they give you a simple choice between small, medium and large now and that’s part of a cultural trend that privileges “invisible” resolution. (ie, The fact that Apple calls its screen “retina display”, a metaphor of our own optical mechanisms with a system of cones and rods we can’t detect ourselves.) My work pushes against that because it reads as low res. If you look at the history of GIF technology, it was developed with the understanding that the file would be small – friendly to a 56k modem. The strategy it employs to shrink the file size acknowledges the screen matrix as a consequence of its limited color pallette. While more contemporary display technology allows for much finer resolutions and higher framerates, I’m attracted to the speed and coarseness of this older format in its ability to simplify very complex pictorial spaces to point towards a more legible emotional focalpoint. There’s some real power to yoke from the infinite fill patterns found in old computer graphics applications like MacPaint. As the Artist Ben Russell once said about my work with this technology, “you find yourself learning not what looking feels like (as Bridget Riley painted) but what feeling looks like”.

Popular video compression techniques today tend to use a different strategy – one that employs heavy reliance on blurring and smearing between bits of information.The reason my work looks so different, is because a GIF is never going to smear between bits to interpret a black and white pixel as grey because I’m telling it not to create grey.

GIPHY saw this and I think it motivated them to work with me. They are interested in the way I am working with my formal purity and I was commissioned to make these GIF loops.

Ideally how do they get viewed?

Well, GIPHY’s main website lays out a grid of images, so that’s how they get seen on their site. I thought about how I wanted my GIFs to be seen in that environment, and I thought ideally the layout would resemble an infinite scroll so the GIFs look like a small section of an infinite plan of an infinite living space. It can function like a desktop background or, as GIPHY is thinking about it, a wallpaper.

One way I think about it, is that these GIFs give you a window into a larger picture plane—a little like Nicolas Sassoon’s “The Studio Visit” – a sprawling portrait of an artist’s studio that extends beyond the confines of a computer display. In a way, this work functions as a proposal to get people thinking outside the presets of technology (like the common 1920×1080 display formats of most consumer-grade monitors, for example) into new display shapes with different technical impingements.

How so?

The ideal display settings for my work don’t exist yet. THE SHAPE OF INDOOR SPACE, for example, doesn’t work as a background because it’s not practical – it is too busy to be a functional wallpaper since your desktop icons would get lost in the background noise. It talks too much. It’s not meant to be in a browser either, as I made this space to be looked at slowly and passively. Because most of the internet is used as a space for active ‘information-gathering’ it becomes a strange context for meditative contemplation. I know GIPHY just released a big set of stickers that are fun to use when texting. This work isn’t going to do well that way either.

When GIPHY proposed this commission, they reached out a week before Pattern Language opened. I had generated a ton of material from that show. The installation and subsequent film illustrates the philosophy of an imagined community living in a sprawling labyrinth., When GIPHY reached out it seemed a perfect avenue to explore the formal architectural aspect of Pattern Language. The commission allowed me to focus on this one section for three weeks. So it gave me the ability to get make the GIFs super dense.

Detail from “The Shape of Indoor Space”.

When you add visual layers to GIFs like yours how do you know they are done?

It’s never going to be done. It’s a modern day labyrinth. Last month I went to Arcosanti, an urban laboratory in the middle of the Arizona desert – the only living arcology that Paolo Soleri ever started to build. The place exists primarily to demonstrate the principles laid out in Paulo Soleri’s “Arcology: In the Image of Man”. An Arcology, as Soleri defines it, should be a super dense, lean, self-supporting architectural structure built in the image of a living organism. The book is beautiful and describes the human body as simply as an organism that self regulates. Of course, thinking about that concept in its totality—it’s untenable. But I do like how he thinks of the current trend towards urban sprawl and suburban expansion as a body spread out into a veneer of guts, gooey and inefficient.

Anyway, when I visited, Arcosanti was by definition flawed in the trappings of any utopic ideal. Construction has slowed down and only 4 percent complete. But it occurred to me that maybe this is a really important metaphor. If you have this thing that’s hanging out around 4 percent of its total completion, it will always be charged with the potential of its flowering. In a way, this GIF project embodies the same charge towards building an infinite labyrinth.

How does this relate to the game you and Porpentine are working on or does it? I know that’s still in the works.

Haha! Well, we are going to finish the game. And people do live at Arcosanti. The difference between a home and a video game, though is that we’re not being quite as ambitious in scope. There are different stakes and that makes the game easier to bring to fruition in its idealized form. It’s something I can just do with a small team and release on a screen with a finite set of variables. Building a utopia to inhabit off screen is just so much more feral.

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