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sharb · 8 months

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Sharb's SAGE 2023 recommendation list

SAGE is over and I've taken a look through some really good games this week. Wanted to shout out some of the ones I thought were really cute in no particular order.

With over 200 games I can't play through and recomend all of them so please if you're interested in any of these I recomend going to https://sagexpo.org/games.html andlooking at some of the other games available.

These are just the games I've played, if you don't see your game here that's not a comment on the game's quality, just what I had time to check out.

Remember to click the thumbnails to get access to the game's pages

I was immediately interested in B.U.D.D. for it's art and references to games like wonder boy, what really surprised me about it was the humor as it's actually funny in a cute way.

If you like wonder boy or classic sega adventure games I can't recommenced B.U.D.D. enough.

@cyanroxanne pitched this to me as a SHMUP for people that have trouble getting into SHMUP games, after playing the demo and taking a minute to figure out how the game works I actually had a lot of fun with it. I could definitely recommend this to people who wanna get started with the genre, really amazing art too feels like it's a treat just seeing what the next area looks like.

RPG games can be really hard to push on SAGE because of how many games there are to go through and how long they can take to complete, a lot of streamers tend to pass over them for the sake of time so they can cover more games.

So here's my RPG recomendation, Cubenen Gardens is a game being made by @thegamedawg who actually got me to play test his game months ago, the game's still in development but what I've got to mess with so far the game's strongest aspect is it's characters and world building as you help Micheal (the saddest sopping wet creature on the planet) navigate a mall trying to find a rare monster but gets wrapped in more and more conflict.

David gets keen is really short but it has a really strong gameflow to it, my only gripes with it is that the ability HUD could be given more clear graphics as your moves are represented by circles which can make it hard to figure out what they belong to without pressing their corresponding buttons.

Beyond that the grass stage is amazing, playing the level normally gives you a pretty average platformign game but when you start building up speed using your spin move on slopes you can get to insane speeds and just fly through the level skipping puzzles and enemies and clearing the level in seconds, it's really fun when you get the hang of it.

@wootinaboot

Meander land is a really small game by @whiskerfjords game's really fun to play casually, I thought the story and characters were really cute and I'm actually really excited to see what Whisker makes next.

Out-class Hunter from @7hrone returns again with a brand new level to check out, it's a return to Doom style third persons games, specifically SRB2, it's been fun following the development of this game and watching it improve each demo.

Lemme know if you can find the cool cactus, you'll know which one I'm talking about if you follow my games ;)

Prototype N is just a really really solid action platformer game from @arriettylunaris each level has a lot of thought put into it's design and the weapon combinations can be a lot of fun to mess with, I really can't recomend Prototype N enough.

I can't get over how much character personality this game oozes, feels like around every door I'm going to run into something new I like either being a character or a game mechanic that's just fun to mess with, each character brings their own moves and their levels take advantage of a lot of their movements.

I'd compare this to those old 90's Disney game adaptations but this game easily out does them in terms of design as the designs look like they were ripped right out of an old 1940's cartoon shorts.

Peak meme aside, I actually had a lot of fun playing this, Super Freaks is a fun lil platformer game with references to a tonne of other works, you probably saw this game referenced countless times this Sage but it is just really goofy fun, tho I would really recommend playing this with friends if you can, game feels like it was designed around the kind of multiplayer chaos, if you saw the stream I was part of you can see why.

Sorry to all my friends who have heard me talking about this game all week non stop and seeing me reverse engineer SMBX 2 to [redacted] but this was easily my favorite game this SAGE if not the most replay-able, I keep booting this up just to try and make it thought the level as quick as I can.

So if you're like me you've probably been seeing @punkitt-is-here s pony comics or more specifically, the Susan Tax payer comic and the charm, humor and personalities of all of them absolutely coats this game.

It requires a bit of set up, you have to download SMBX2.0 separately in order to play this and SMBX has it's own set of issues that kinda bleed over into some of the issues in the game that need to be ironed out but beyond that this is a really fun demo to play and I absolutely can't wait to see where this goes.

Techpack currently is one Namco inspired arcade game, Tech has put a tonne of time and research into how to nail the old arcade style. The only thing holding it back right now is that the only game available is really simple and short, but man I'd be kicking myself if I didn't mention the presentation on it alone is enough for me to recommend checking this out, really reminds me of the old Namco collection games on playstation.

Now put my rabbit in as one of the cameos :gun_emoji:

Ok that's all the indies I could cover, some honerable mentions that I've been wanting to check out include

kid bubblegame JLFJ 2 Veggocalypse Mekanikko

As for the fangames I've played

Here's a game I wasn't expecting I'd be recommending, Mushroom Kingdom Fusion has been in development for over 15 years and always felt to me about quantity over quality but this new demo really impressed me.

The game is starting to take shape and there's actual structure to everything where as before it was just an open sand pit for them to figure out what to do with.

There's still a lot to be done but what's here is just a blast to mess around with. something really satisfying about struggling with a level, switching over to Samus and just blasting all the enemies and bosses away, tho I assume these characters will be unlocked in the final game as most of them are completely over powered.

This does bring me to one complaint though, Mario needs a buff. Mario is by far the hardest as he has few defense options and a lack of a health bar that almost everyone else have a huge advantage over him, and Mario having a health bar isn't too far removed from games like SMB2 and the modern 3D games.

But regardless I never thought I'd play this game and actually try to beat levels so I could see more, secret hunting is finally rewarding and expanding and finding more of the world is really fun. The game's length is absolutely HUGE, one world is about the size of an average Mario game which is insane.

And I'm really happy to see that loading has been optimized tho I don't know if that's because I'm running a machine that's not made 15 years ago.

@velacosmos has been working hard on creating a new Demo for SAGE and this one actually surprised me.

Taking influence from mario maker 2, Shang Mu Architect is a Freedom planet challenge level maker. which is quite impressive on it's own but has a tonne of extras.

Namely now there's actually a story mode to go along with the game, truth be told I'm not too big into freedom planet's cast to really know how well this game captures their personality but I still think it's really cool to actually have something that doubles as a proper freedom planet fangame since as far as I'm aware we're yet to see an actual game that actually follows the original games style.

Your mileage is definitely going to depend on how much you enjoyed the original freedom planet but I definitely think this is worth checking out.

Of the top of my head way back when stealth was pitching a mobile port of sonic 3, I swear I remember one of the ideas was expanding the match stages into full fledged level.

Sonic 3 Chronicles is an interesting "what if" scenerio where after angel island instead of falling into Hydrocity Sonic and co continue past the cutscene area and into the endless mine from match making.

I never really thought of those match stages as being connected to the main stages but this does a rpetty decent job of introducing new gimmicks and mechanics to go along with those stages.

The game is definitely rough around the edges and needs a lot of tightening up but what's here is a cute game that does it's best to follow sonic 3.

Also Mighty is here... I don't know why but thank you.

Gatoslip is a hack of Sonic the hedgehog created by @vadapega a very small demo with a tonne of personality put into it.

Yes, this is a hack, you're going to need an emulator in order to play it. Now which emulator do I recommend?

Probably the steam workshop if you still have your copy of sonic 1 before SEGA took it off the store page.

Vada's always been an inspiration for my art and it's great to see him finally go for something that really expresses his personality. The writing's great, the battles are really cute and I love the strategies for defeating enemies. Game's filled to the brim with visual gags with one gag in particular giving a lot of "replay value" (you'll know what I mean when you beat it)

can't wait to see where this ends up.

Again check out

https://sagexpo.org/games.html if you haven't yet, this just scratches the surface of what's available and there's a tonne of great games I looked over in this list.

#sagexpo #sage2023 #indie game #fangame #sonic

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sagittato · 5 months

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This is my first post and it’s gonna be low effort because I swear I can’t get this off my mind—

Do people from twisted wonderland realize how much Azul Ashengrotto could potentially look up at Vil Schoenhiet??? ONLY @jxnebuggy ACKNOWLEDGES THIS IN HER fem!twst FANFICS AND IT DRIVES ME INSANE!!!

Vil is a successful, confident, drop dead gorgeous fashion icon. He has a whole business for cosmetics because he’s so gorgeous. He’s very skilled in potion making, so much so bro makes his OWN makeup. He has a strict diet he follows and it’s clearly gving him the results he wants. Vil Schoenheit is everything Azul wants to be!! On top of that, Vil is Azul’s bloody UPPERCLASSMAN.

And does everyone forget how Azul literally info dumped about the man in Book 5 Chapter 2?? Nobody talks about it. They’re too busy headcannoning Sebek or Riddle or Floyd to be neurodivergent af (jkjk)!! Such a shame Vil told him to stfu but in his own pretty, 3w4-coded ways😔😔

Azul has shown before he will invest inhumane amounts of time into things he thinks are important. An example of this is in his birthday jackect card, he talked in a fair amount of detail about the quality of the pillow Ace gave him. He could do this because he researched ON pillow qualities.

It’s likely when he was trying to step up his game with success or diet, he stumbled upon Vil, researched the frick out of this guy, and lo and behold became a fan of his.

Some honourable mentions are when he made a deal with Vil in his ceremonial robes. I haven’t seen it because I wanna save the feeling of raw happiness with these two characters interacting once I get the card. If we didn’t see Azul show any sort of fan behaviour when Vil made that deal then I firmly believe he was kicking, giggling, twirling his hair off camera behind closed doors over it. Then I do hear in the second Camp Vargas event, Azul and Vil had some more interactions! I thiiiiiiink they were getting competitive with each other??? That changes nothing from my ignorant eye. It’s NRC. Everyone is really competitive and will turn on each other’s backs faster than Leona can fall asleep (bro’s actually depressed, I swear).

Anyway, I think it’s only right I list my headcanons now for them:

Azul gobbles up any dietary/beauty tips Vil has

Azul uses Vil’s makeup brand that’s probably vegan

He also collects Vil’s magazines and puts them all in a box hidden away in his closet or under his bed

Vil probably finds him annoying💀💀💀 (what can I say? he has a reputation for not stfu around higher class people)

Elaborating on that, Vil does respect his success but I bet he can see the unhealthy greed that lies under it all. Thus, that’s prolly a reason why he would try to distance himself away from Azul.

BADLY wants to collaborate with Vil because Mostro Lounge profits would soar if they did. Knowing his bold arse he probably made the request at least thrice and Vil shut him down each time. He’s obviously not gonna stop because we all know him. (never back down never what—)

Yes, I know he canonically looks up to Ursula, but I think he would like someone… yknow… alive to look up to.

Keep in mind I’m only on Book 5 Chapter 29 as of this moment so it’s totally possible I missed some things! Leave your opinions, headcanons, or anything else in the comments, I’d love to see them! Do leave spolier warnings though. That way I can decide whether I wanna spoil things first myself or not.

EDIT: I already fixed it but did I really just say book 6 😭😭😭 i meant book 5 i am so sry hdgdhjjjdhdjj

#azul ashengrotto #vil schoenheit #i’m procrastinating #the world needs to know how great the azul & vil duo is #first post #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland rant

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luna-rainbow · 2 years

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I think both critique and criticism of the MCU needs to occur in context of its genre.

What I mean is, the MCU is a superhero genre, which is distinct from plain action films or sci-fi films. It is meant to be a fairytale for adults, and comes with all the necessary conventions.

The story is meant to be short and by nature a simplified (rather than simplistic) version of the real world. It is okay that not all the complexities of the world is captured on screen (* as distinct from when it introduces complexity then fails to follow it up).

Its core components consist of a hero or heroine, a villain, and a journey of good overcoming evil. In this simplified framework, an entire concept (e.g. fascism) is usually represented by a single character or entity (e.g. Pierce or Hydra), whose defeat symbolises the defeat of his ideals. We know that in the real world the loss of a single man does not defeat an entire movement, but this is an acceptable genre convention. There is usually magic involved: even in the most "grounded" of MCU's franchises, e.g. the Cap series or Black Widow, there is still a magical component even if it is explained away as pseudoscience.

As part of this convention, superhero movies are inherently about exploring morality. It positions its heroes as inspirational, and their moral character as aspirational. Unlikely fanfiction, these Hollywood movies have incredible cultural reach and impact, which is why critical analysis of their themes are not only worthwhile, but necessary. You can choose to not think critically about the media you engage with (god knows I switch off my brain too), but you cannot fault other people for critically analysing a franchise that regularly rakes in billions for what sort of message it is projecting through its heroes.

It is why discussions of who MCU chooses to frame as villains are worthwhile. Why pre-Disney MCU villains consisted of profit-chasing warmongers, eugenics spouting Nazis, governments proposing to execute its citizens before they have committed a crime; and why post-Disney MCU villains consisted of disenfranchised workers, disenfranchised immigrants, disenfranchised racial minorities. Why pre-Disney villains represented the cogs in a broken system, and post-Disney villains were often those who were trying to buck the system.

It is why discussions of what MCU chooses to frame as "heroism" is important. Why pre-Disney MCU heroes demonstrated the many permutations of associating power with responsibility, and strength with protection; why post-Disney MCU heroes simply...just are. They are passably nice folks who passively allow the plot to push them along and they seem to do acceptably decent things when forced by circumstance, but they present no belief of their own.

It reminds me of that long meta about Harry Potter and a particular brand of essentialism that says you are a hero only if you are the chosen one, and if you are in that special cohort then you can do no wrong, because heroism is simply you. It is in direct contrast to early MCU where the heroes have to learn what heroism means to them, and then to earn it by choosing to make a sacrifice of some kind.

The earlier MCU heroes dreamed of a better world, and their fairytale was one of activism. The current MCU heroes wait for trouble to chase them down before they make any stance. They are a fairytale in essentialism, in which heroism is an embedded, quintessential, eternal inner quality they are born with, and their choice - regardless of who they're fighting for or the context it is made - is always heroic.

#anti mcu #meta #anti disney

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tvmigraine · 3 months

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Disney (Almost) Made an Anniversary Kamen Rider

You remember during the 2000s where Disney owned Power Rangers? It wasn't a bad era in terms of what was put out, but maybe I'm bias because I grew up with it. Running from Ninja Storm to RPM, Disney had a troubling run with the show - the quality was good for a kid's show, but Disney did not like making it. It's not a secret that they were trying to bury Power Rangers, the show only continuing after RPM because it was bought back by Saban. It doesn't feel like a coincidence they sold back Power Rangers less than a year after buying Marvel Entertainment.

And ever since, Disney has had no interest in Tokusatsu as a genre. You could argue the closest they ever came was Mech-X4, a Disney XD show about a kid controlling a giant robot to save his town.

Then rolls around the 100th anniversary. Tokusatsu is still as popular as ever in Japan and, while Super Sentai isn't as popular as it used to be, Kamen Rider has been going strong ever since it's revival in the Heisei Era.

If Disney wanna make money in Tokusatsu, it makes sense to put it in Kamen Rider.

This is the Imagination Belt. It was released last month and, honestly, I'm glad I got back into Kamen Rider in time to see the strangest anniversary celebration yet. It was produced by Bandai and I won't pretend this is officially a Kamen Rider product - it's made by the same company, but that's not enough to call it that.

But it sure takes a lot of the beats!

As a person who has previously rambled about a non-existent canon surrounding a Sonic Screwdriver toy, I really appreciate that this gives me more to talk about inherently. Kamen Rider historically has been getting more and more Riders with every era of the show and this toy is no different - ten different Disney icons made into marketable... keys... how did they not do Sora-

Nevermind, I'm glad they didn't.

The designs aren't great, I won't pretend they are, if you're a fan of Kamen Rider. It's clear the character designs were leaning closer to Kingdom Hearts (or even Spectrobes, if you remember that), so it's hard to judge them in terms of your typical Tokusatsu outfit. That being said, the consistency of the goggles does imply something about this uniform - if it's as important as the belt to be included on everyone, that's notable.

There's also a notable detail with the Imagination Belt itself - the Keys. Half of them are Gold, half of them are Silver, inherently splitting the team of Riders (Imaginators? Imagineers? Disney Adults?) in half. It implies simply that the goals of all the Riders don't align, that perhaps they're in a battle.

The Character Selection is also brought to mind. I imagine it's based on multiple factors, like popularity in that area and inclusion of specific brands... but that doesn't stop them being weird. Including specific representatives for Marvel, Lucasfilms and Pixar absolutely make sense - the choice of Woody is textbook. Iron Man equally makes sense, but the design has him look (personally) more like Lightning McQueen, which may just be a flaw of similar colour schemes.

But Grogu? Ya coulda picked anyone from Star Wars and... I get that The Mandalorian is probably the best received in pop culture... but the implications that he's getting his powers from a space baby is quite funny.

NOTE: The specific split of teams is Gold Keys belong to Mickey, Minnie, Simba, Woody and Iron Man - Silver Keys belong to Snow White, Moana, Tiana, Elsa and Grogu.

youtube

They also have built in power-up modes, specifically "Full Max" which seems to grant a power boost based on related characters - Mickey's Full Max gets help from Donald, Goofy and Pluto, meanwhile Simba has Timon and Pumbaa for example. But in your typical Tokusatsu, if your power-up involves other iconography, that tends to involve beating monsters. Are the monsters for "Imagination Belt" other Disney characters? Were Donald and Goofy evil beasts that had to be defeated? Did Woody have to beat Buzz Lightyear and the other Toys-Turned-Monsters? Minnie's Full Max is her with a cat, did Minnie Mouse have to fight a CAT?!

But onto the Lore Implications...

There's easily enough here to build an insane fanfiction, as you're about to see, but this does continue a point that I really appreciate about toys - kids, collectibles, whatever you want. You can tell your own story and it's not even difficult. Everyone has inherent creativity and, given a small amount of time, you can make any story out of any objects.

Case in point...

"Imagination Belt", to me, feels like Ryuki or Geats - it is a Rider War (Disney Adult War) where these two factions of "heroes" are fighting. It's probably against each other, Gold vs Silver, but you can imagine there are other monsters in between as your usual plot hooks.

The "Riders" of this world likely have their powers from raw imagination - passion for something that manifests in the Keys, giving them power in return. If the imagination becomes twisted.

Based on appearances, the Iron Man and Grogu Riders probably are leading both teams, the conflict started by the both of them and spiraling from there. Mickey is the obvious protagonist, Grogu looks like he'd make a good rival to keep the protagonist moving forward.

And there may be only ten official keys but Disney is an all-consuming black hole of creativity. There could be a lot more and you know it.

#tokusatsu #disney #disney 100 #imagination belt #kamen rider #power rangers #Youtube

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checkoutmybookshelf · 8 months

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Past Artemis and Present Artemis Are Not Allowed in the Same Room

If Number 1 kind of nudged the door open to time travel and wibbly wobbly timey wimey shenanagins in Lost Colony, then Artemis full-on kicked it down and yeeted a grenade through it in this book. Let's talk Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox.

As per usual, SPOILERS ABOUND below the break.

There are a ton of things about this book that are amazing and in order to stay at least a little organized, we're gonna use HEADINGS this time around! That's not to say the headings are in any particular order, but life has been lifeing and I need a little help making sure I gush about everything I want to here. Because while Eoin Colfer introduced time travel in the last book, this one is a whole TIME PARADOX PLOT!

Opal Koboi, Empress of our Hearts

So, there are places for nuanced, complex, morally gray villains who have carefully throught-through ethoses and who are compelling because of their tragedy. Those kinds of villains are great.

Opal Koboi is not that kind of villain.

Opal Koboi is a villain in the classic Disney sense. She is absolutely unhinged, wants nothing more than to be Empress of the Goddamn World, and absolutely revels in setting things on fire just to watch them burn. She is rock-solid on her own worth, she is terrifyingly intelligent, and she is equally fun when she is strutting around in her own success as when she is pitching a dramatical cats tantrum because somebody said "ethics" in her presence. Our girl is sheer fun from start to finish, and honestly I love how consistent she is.

In this book, we see Opal before the events of The Arctic Incident, and it's great to know that she has ALWAYS been unhinged and glorious. If anything, this book shows us that the plan to use the B'wa Kell to take over Haven was weirdly vanilla for Opal. Sucking the bodily fluids out of endangered animals to basically Captain America super serum herself is...way more on brand.

The bit where she is too narcissistic and paranoid to stay in character as Angeline Fowl for more than like 60 seconds once Jay Jay is in the room is also AMAZING. Talk about getting in your own way...

Artemis vs. Artemis

So sometimes as a series gets increasingly lengthy, it's good to remind readers and character how much your protagonists have grown. Eoin Colfer decided that time travel was a great way to take advantage of this, and reveled in it by giving readers 10-year-old Artemis's opinion of 18-year-old Artemis and vice versa for the entire book, and it is SO FUN. They both hate each other, and understandably so. They both also have qualities that the other begrudgingly respects, and ultimately they need BOTH Artemises to resolve the plot.

We also get some really lovely instances of Artemis outsmarting and bamboozling himself. This conceit had every chance of coming off as cringe as hell, but Colfer handed it with enough humor and humanity to make it feel real rather than like a whole book devoted to a vanity plot centered on Artemis thinking he's the best thig since sliced bread.

Artemis...That was WILDLY Uncool to do to Holly

Ok, so Artemis has grown a lot over the course of five books. He's matured. He's learned how to be a reluctant antihero. He and Holly are legit friends. Which somehow manages to make it EVEN WORSE when Artemis full-on knowingly tricks Holly into thinking that she not only gave his mother a fatal illness but also started a plague that at one point killed 20% of the fairy population in three years. There's honestly no coming back from that kind of breach of trust.

And no, giving Holly a chance to say goodbye to Commander Root does NOT make Holly and Artemis square. It nicely ties up a loose emotional thread, but it does NOT square the emotional devastation of infecting a friend's mother and starting the plague 2.0. That is possibly the least believable relationship dynamic in a book where Artemis and Holly KISS (no, we're not gonna talk about it, they were both under the influence of the time stream and it doesn't count).

The truly wild thing about this is that Artemis before the fairies was a cold-hearted little bastard capable of incredible cruelty, but once Artemis understands feelings and emotional relationships, he's suddenly capable of hurting people WAY MORE than he could when he was a tiny robotic human. And of course the person he takes aim at is HOLLY SHORT. Like, FFS, Artemis. You did less damage when you had the emotional intelligence of a gold ingot...

Butler

Domovoi Butler is too good for this world and we do not deserve him. Artemis sure as hell does not deserve him, past OR present. Past Butler full on calls 10-year-old Artemis out on the act that he is *checks notes* handing over the last of a species to a group of fanatics to be horribly murdered in a kangaroo court, fully sells a sentient elf to those same fanatics, does not emotionally let Artemis off the hook when he is experiencing guilt and shame over being an accessory to murder and extinction, and TURNS THE PLANE AROUND to go save Holly and 18-year-old Artemis from the extinctionists. And thats just past Butler.

Present Butler is such a goddamn badass that he resists a juiced-up Opal Koboi's mesmer so hard that he gives himself a heart attack. Not even Opal Koboi can pull a 180 on Butler's moral compass, and even when he can't fully fight her off, he can resist in little ways, like sticking breathing tubes in barrels. Someone let this man retire happily, he has MORE THAN earned it at this point.

Baby's First Ecocritical Text

Environmentalism and ecocriticism have been very present as secondary themes in the Artemis Fowl series from the very first book, but this is, I believe, the first book where this theme gets really explicit and has real, concrete plot consequences and implications. The "hunting animals to extinction is bad for [list of reasons]" isn't the deepest or most nuanced version of the argument, but it doesn't have to be. The audience for these books are middle graders and YA readers. They get a concrete introduction to ecocriticism and some very comprehensible examples of the consequences of extinction and pollution, and that's going to be enough for more of them than you'd think to keep thinking and reading about the issue.

I highlight this because so few middle grade and YA books do ecocriticism at all, let alone this clearly and concisely. I suspect we will see more of this as climate change keep wreaking absolute havoc on quite literally everything, but these books did it before it was cool, and I really appreciate that about them.

Overall, this book is not my favorite of the series. Time travel can be a hard sell, even if you weave the complexities of time travel around a relatively simple fetch quest. As per usual though, the character work is never not entertaining, and I do enjoy rereading this one periodically.

#eoin colfer #artemis fowl #artemis fowl the time paradox #the time paradox #time travel #holly short #domovoi butler #opal koboi #middle grade sci fi #middle grade fantasy #middle grade books #middle grade fiction #books & libraries #books and reading #books and novels #books #book recommendations

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nitewrighter · 11 months

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So, what do you think of the latest Overwatch trailer? Do you think the love might be coming back?

I mean I don't think the fandom will ever really be the same. Like even with the three PvE missions, that doesn't change that the PvE itself has taken a significant departure from what was originally promised, and massive amounts of the fandom have moved on to other things--either due to their disgust with Blizzard, or simply becoming too tired with an imbalanced game and being forced to subsist on crumbs of story content for months at a time. I do know that the game and fandom got a decent amount of new blood with being free to play, and I have... a very tiny trickle of new followers with my fanteractions which I think indicates the new players have some interest in the lore... but it's also this question of... what is the lore going to look like, since we know Blizzard's just been a revolving door clusterfuck with the poor PvE being bounced around and half-aborted and repeatedly losing massive amounts of development progress as some devs leave and new devs come in? And what does this new lore mean to people who haven't been... the fan equivalent of those plants which live on rocks and live off of insects that die inside of them (AKA me)? I don't know! I honestly don't know!

I, as a fan, don't have this same sense of lovingly and desperately trying to piece everything together that I previously had for Overwatch, because this is basically the same disillusionment I went through after the clusterfuck that was the Star Wars sequel trilogy! When Disney bought Star Wars I was so excited that they were basically going to hit the reset button on the lore and (I thought) turn it into something more cohesive! (It was 11 years ago and I was naive about how bad this media monopoly would actually be--give me a break). I was like, "Finally! No more armies of authors all with stupidly conflicting ideas about Mandalorians with the only thing in common being said authors' machismo! No Yuuzhan Vong War! These guys have a standard! These guys have a brand! These guys are going to hold this story to a consistent tonal and quality standard! They are going to order the canon!" And I was a fool, a rube, and they swapped directors mid-trilogy! Because here's the thing! A corporation holds itself to a professional standard, yes, but the professional standard of a storyteller, vs the professional standard of someone trying to make money, are two very different things! So like... even if they maintain the bright and optimistic core which drew me to Overwatch in the first place, the original team is basically gone so it's like... "Who is making this game now and who are they making it for?" is the question I keep coming back to.

#overwatch #overwatch 2

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greatqueenanna · 10 months

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Have you heard about the new short in front of Wish and how they're using Hans as a punching bag again? I'm just so tired of Disney doing the same thing over and over again. It feels like they're personally attacking his fans. Like, we get it. Can you stop now?

I've read rumors and spoiler posts about it, yes.

First off, I want to see the short for myself first before I pass any real judgment. I'm sure the short is fun and harmless, and one thing I'm excited about is seeing Hans again in (what I presume) updated animation since Frozen. He showed up in Frozen Fever, but it was from a distance so you couldn't really see him too well.

More thoughts on this below the cut. It's a bit long and I didn't want to crowd everyone's feeds.

Second, on the subject of Hans being treated as a joke, I agree to an extent.

I do think that Hans isn't being treated the same way as other villains. Disney Villains, even when they have done pretty gruesome things, are given fun merchandise, songs, or promotional opportunities for their films or the 'Disney Villain' brand - at the very least they get some toys or t-shirts. Hans, on the other hand, barely gets any merchandise and is usually not featured in villain-related promotions. I think the last time Hans was present in anything was his Villain/Hero doll set he had with Elsa and the A Frozen Heart novel that was retconned by Forest of Shadows.

I would really love it if they brought him back in a meaningful way, instead of just random cameos that joke about his douche-ness. We get it. He's a douche. Can we expand on this character a bit more now? Maybe give him an opportunity to prove himself as a villain?

However, even with all this being said, I think the reason for this treatment is because of the uniqueness of Hans' overall character. Not only was he a twist villain, but he was a romantic interest for Anna - making him a little too realistic for many people.

Yes, characters like Frollo and Gaston also share the qualities of men trying to take advantage of women, and Mother Gothel does indeed show signs of a realistic abusive parent. But they're shown since the beginning that they are villainous, which helps the audience know to emotionally disconnect from them. This is the same for most villains.

Hans was shown to be desirable and then changed, which is what realistically happens when people are trapped in abusive relationships. We form attachments to these types of people and it's hard to just disconnect. It's difficult to just place him as a 'deliciously fun' Disney villain with the others when he hits too close to home.

This is why we see less of a fun side to him, and why we are often just shown him being a punching bag. Hans didn't just betray Anna, he betrayed the audience as well.

"But there have been other twist villains, like Callaghan, Mayor Bellwether, and Turbo."

Yes, but did these characters really have the same emotional attachment as Hans did? Not really. Callaghan came close, but we barely saw him interact or have an emotional connection to Hiro. Bellwether and Turbo (as King Candy) were nice to their protagonists, but again, didn't have that emotional attachment to them. Hans was Anna's light of hope after we saw her suffer during her childhood, and then he turned on her when she needed him the most. Remember the plethora of reaction videos to his betrayal when Frozen first came out? Hans is a pretty big deal.

I don't agree with the conclusion that this is meant to be an attack on Hans' fans. Sorry, but the Hans fandom is, and was never, big enough to warrant such a response from Disney and we barely agree with each other on everything. If there were hundreds of fans bombarding Frozen and Disney posts, then maybe I would believe it. However, if you actually look at Twitter, it's literally the same three or four people just insulting Jennifer Lee and spreading the #FireJenLee and #RedeemHans tags. That's the only Hans Fandom presence on Twitter, unfortunately.

#Hans #Prince Hans #frozen #greatqueenanna/responses

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mdhwrites · 11 months

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The "toh is better than amphibia" cope is crazy because... what did toh do better? Amphibia had everything it set up pay off and had better main cast and main antagonists. Toh shot itself in the foot because it wanted to be "not like the other girls fantasy stories"

More blunt LGBTQIA+ representation, and theoretically better as it was the main character rather than side characters, a larger focus on pushing genuine shipping and an ending that was focused on audience satisfaction over thematics or the like. And... Well, because it focused on not being like other fantasy shows. It REALLY sucks to say but that is the appeal to many people of a show like The Owl House. You don't always feel like you're watching a show for kids. It's a lot easier to take pride in it that way or not feel as awkward as even a teenager that you're watching it. It's probably why TOH is so pointedly anti-Steven Universe in its finale. Its finale is VERY much so a kid's show's finale but at the same time just riddled with holes and wasted time because... Well, that's what TOH always was and its conclusion was going to suffer the same fate. As such, it needs to specifically go after another show in order to prop itself up as the 'mature' answer to finishing a villain, regardless of why SU finished the way it did.

And unfortunately, this sort of shit sells. Why do you think so much adult animation just... sucks? Sucks to look at, sucks to consume, sucks to try to enjoy genuinely, etc. like that? So much of it is mean spirited and only taking advantage of the animated medium because rather than threatening a person with violence, they can just blow their brains out instead. This is ESPECIALLY true of the animation. It can't be bright, colorful, whacky, etc. (pretty much EVERYTHING Molly McGee's animation is) because... Then it invokes being childish. Even the swap to 3D movies for Disney? That's money motivated. People see hand drawn cartoons and assume they're for babies. Something in 3D is blurring the line a bit more. Or at least at one point.

I've met people who are just anti-animation because they think it's childish. Because there's no real life person to drool over. It's infuriating, it's why we need to keep pushing for animation to be accepted as art but until that day comes...

Well, a show that says "Fuck the tropes of kids shows, even if it makes us unpleasant and unsatisfying to watch" technically has more mass appeal than something more genuine like Amphibia.

But popularity will never be the same as quality, just like how Michael Bae's Transformers will be forgotten long before even the... questionable quality of the 90s cartoon. Because one is genuine and genuinely enjoyable while the other is cashing in on a brand.

And despite being a new IP... TOH sometimes does feel that way. It's just the brand it's putting a new spin on is its own medium and genre. And that blows.

#toh critical #the owl house criticism

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themattress · 5 months

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Eras of a Franchise:

The Origins Era (1923 - 1942)

The studio is founded and creates theatrical shorts (series like Alice Comedies, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Mickey Mouse) until pioneering the fully-animated theatrical movie.

Movies released in this era: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Pinocchio Fantasia Dumbo Bambi

The Wartime Era (1943 - 1949)

Funds are diverted to aiding the country during World War II, so the movies created during this era are just normal animated shorts packaged together to fill at least an hour runtime.

Movies released in this era: Saludos Amigos The Three Caballeros Make Mine Music Fun and Fancy Free Melody Time The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Rebound Era (1950 - 1969)

Traditional animated movies make a comeback, to varying degrees of financial success but all to high degrees of quality. The era ends shortly after Walt Disney's death in 1966.

Movies released in this era: Cinderella Alice in Wonderland Peter Pan Lady and the Tramp Sleeping Beauty 101 Dalmatians The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book

The Declining Era (1970 - 1988)

Without Walt, the company's leadership becomes aimless, and Disney becomes pigeonholed as a frivolous studio that makes funny cartoon animal movies for children. After reaching a nadir in 1985, things gradually begin to shape up due to a skilled new leadership quadrate.

Movies released in this era: The Aristocats Robin Hood The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh The Rescuers The Fox and the Hound The Black Cauldron The Great Mouse Detective Oliver and Company

The Renaissance Era (1989 - 1999)

A decade in which Disney movies were arguably bigger than ever, being critical and/or box office smashes, and the majority of the movies being musicals. Tragically, the leadership quadrate was broken halfway through, which ultimately brought about the era's end.

Movies released in this era: The Little Mermaid The Rescuers Down Under Beauty and the Beast Aladdin The Nightmare Before Christmas* The Lion King Pocahontas The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hercules Mulan Tarzan

The Experimental Era (2000 - 2007/2008)

A time when Disney moved away from their musical formula and put out radically different films. Unfortunately, the studio was often undermined by corporate decisions, now almost exclusively managed by Michael Eisner, leading to the majority of these movies flopping.

Movies released in this era: Fantasia 2000 Dinosaur The Emperor's New Groove Atlantis the Lost Empire Lilo & Stitch Treasure Planet Brother Bear Home on the Range Chicken Little Meet the Robinsons

The Revival Era (2008/2009 - 2019)

With Eisner gone and his replacement Bob Iger bringing aboard Pixar's John Lasseter as the head of the studio, Disney begins putting out high-quality movies that are critically and/or financially successful at a regular pace, including its biggest hits ever Frozen and Frozen II.

Movies released in this era: Bolt** The Princess and the Frog Tangled Winnie the Pooh Wreck-It Ralph Frozen Big Hero 6 Zootopia Moana Ralph Breaks the Internet Frozen II

The Current Era (2020 - Present)

Disney is experiencing some....technical difficulties right now. Repair time unknown.

Movies released in this era: Raya and the Last Dragon Encanto Strange World Wish

*The Nightmare Before Christmas was put in development to be part of the Disney Animated Canon. However, studio leadership ultimately backed out of this plan and had it released via Touchstone Pictures instead since its stop-motion animation was deemed too different from the other movies' hand-drawn animation. Which is funny since otherwise it being a musical makes it fits more than The Rescuers Down Under, more of a Declining Era holdover, does.

**Debate persists whether Bolt should be considered the end of the Experimental Era or the start of the Revival Era, as while it was the first movie overseen by John Lasseter and was a critical and box office success, it also lacked the staying power within the company brand (sequels, spin-offs, merchandise, etc.) that The Princess and the Frog and onward did.

#Eras of a Franchise #Disney #Analysis

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mable-stitchpunk · 1 year

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Fnaf definitely needs a Scott Cawthon again.

And i dont mean pulling him out of retirement, but there needs to be someone who can take the reigns for him. A single, creative director who has a real vision, and is allowed to oversee all avenues of the franchise - games, books, comics, McDonalds Pogs with hidden lore scraps, whatever - and can properly coordinate everyone with that vision. I mean, maybe there is already someone for that, but if so they need to be replaced fast, cause they’re not working.

I know that’s sounds like a hard sell for what’s become a multi-media conglomerate, and it would not be easy for sure, but i think you need that driver at the helm who can chart the course for everyone else around them to work out the details.

You're absolutely right! And it's not a hard sell. Disney, Nintendo, Sega- plenty of huge companies who have big properties have that. They have something or someone, or someone(s), overheading and making sure quality doesn't slip and the brand sticks to its goals.

Fnaf is big enough now that it needs that, but I don't think Scott put anyone in charge when he retired from that portion of the community. I think he basically gave Steel Wool rights to the games, Scholastic rights to the books, and occasionally sends a suggestion here or there- but if the Steel Wool interview is any indication, not much at all.

And this can be a problem. Needn't I remind you of the Sonic comics and what happened when Sega didn't keep too close of an eye on what was going long. At least in that case Sega had the ability to step in and change what they wanted. If Scott sold some of the rights to these other companies, then he doesn't have any say in what they do.

And that's the issue here. Bendy, Oddworld, Mario- all of these game series' have a backing development team behind them. One that owns their rights and manages their property.

Fnaf does not. Fnaf has Scott, Steel Wool, Illumix, Scholastic, Funko, Youtooz, and none of them seem to be over-heading the operation since Scott retired/moved to focus on the movie.

#fnaf #management #we need a lorne lanning

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hologramcowboy · 10 months

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Since a certain blog continues to spread misinformation without providing valid proof, here's reasons why an actor's social media presence matters towards the casting decision:

They check to see if your actor package is coherent on all social media platforms

They evaluate the each you have because it leads to potential audience for a project

They evaluate how you interact with people (rude online? Say goodbye to being booked)

They evaluate whether or not the image you pitched them matches your online persona and if it is authentic.

They looks to see if you could be a potential production risk ( if your sm is full of pictures of you drunk that might mean you are unreliable on set and might cause issues)

They check to see if you are a professional( you'd be surprised how many supposed actor treat their sm accounts as if they were personal accounts instead of employing them as a marketing tool)

They check to see if you stay informed when it comes to your own craft

They check to see if there are any potential PR issues that might rise from choosing you

They check to see if the image they need you for is in any big way contradicted by what you post and do. (If you want to get hired by Disney but your profile is all edgy and dark then the casting director loses credibility if they are to propose you so they just avoid doing that due to the image conflict - your essence does not match the role, clearly)

They check to see if you promote others and if so how you do that ( if you respect NDAs, etc)

In some cases, they might even do some social listening or market research to determine what the fan reaction is to you.

They look to confirm who you are and what you are about so if your tagline is about telling deep stories but your online presence is vapid and self centered then you will go into the No pile fast because you are not delivering your brand promise.

They looks for pictures or video evidence of the skills you stated on your resume (karate? Horseback riding? Where's the evidence you actually are good at that?)

Goes without saying but first thing they look for is more evidence of your acting skills, do you have character clips posted and named appropriately? Are they easy to find?

I am going to stop here but my point is it is all done to ensure you can be entrusted with the project/role and that your image lines up with their goals for said project.

Feel free to research these, by the way, don't just take them for granted. A lot of misconceptions in fandom stem from people refusing to do research. Like it or not, an actor's package determines whether or not they end up in the Yes pile and SM is very much a part of that package. An online presence for an actor should be their perfect elevator pitch, it's a chance to show all the skills and qualities that make them a bullseye for certain roles and actor who are all over the place and fail to do that have far less chances to be considered professional. If you are not professional and lack industry know how and craft why would someone hire you over a candidate that is your exact opposite?

#actors and social media

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heat--end · 11 months

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pokemon is a series that discussion around it is always somewhat weird because youve got the people who will defend every aspect of this series with their dying breath, like some people are disney-adult tier with this shit, and then youve got people who act like everything related to pokemon is just dogshit awful and there is no redeeming quality to the series whatsoever, and you're actively scamming yourself by playing these games, you're actively just blinded by nostalgia and refuse to let go

like every time there's a new game the discourse around it fucking Sucks because people either severely underplay or make a way bigger deal than necessary out of certain things. obviously modern day pokemon has a lot of flaws (a lot of them likely not being the exact fault of the devs and more the fault of pokemon as a brand wanting to constantly push toys and shit onto store shelves so they need to have new games like every year or so) and it does directly affect the quality of those games a lot. but idk, pokemon's still got some charm to it.

theyve got fun characters and a fun world. i think that's a thing theyve always been solid at, but like, yeah the games themselves could be a Lot Better. they need more time to develop. scarlet/violet alone was like 3 years dev time because SWSH came out in 2019, and 3 years to create a JRPG with like 700+ unique creatures and everything else they did is. probably not enough time, id imagine. let alone the fact that teams were potentially getting split up to work on legends arceus/ SWSH DLC / other projects

pokemon discourse is just weird dude i dunno. i feel like i should say "people take it way too seriously" but its the single best performing video game franchise in the world so i feel like there's SOME merit to these discussions, it just kinda devolves into two sides having big fights to prove who's More Right

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the-lunar-library · 11 months

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Beauty and the Beast Novel Master List

I like Beauty and the Beast, I bet you do too, here's all the retellings I've read.

I'm not selecting for quality, I'm just listing them.

Art by anonymous. Beast has put on his nicest pompom shoes to win Beauty's heart.

Some of these are retellings (girl swaps places with father, is isolated with a beastly love interest of some type, leaves for some reason, returns to find the beast dying, confesses her love and saves the day), others are only inspired by BatB, but I'm including them as long as there's a clear reference. So Rose Daughter goes, but things like The Phantom of the Opera, Shrek, or Jane Eyre, despite their many overlaps, don't.

Art by Horace Elisha Scudder. Beauty has found Beast, here played by a distant cousin of the Berenstain Bears family.

Also for your consideration: What do you call your heroine when canonically she has a painfully literal name?

Hmmm...

E: explicit

NF: not fantasy or any adjacent genre

YA: young adult

BOOKS:

Beauty's names: Beauty, Lucy, Eider

A Rose for Beauty – Irene B Brand

NF. Novella length. I don't remember much about this one despite reading it just last year, but it's modern day and I think it's Christian. Featured in the Once Upon a Time collection. (No connection to the Once Upon a Time book series.)

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast – Nancy Campbell Allen (Steampunk Proper Romance)

Despite the title, I don't think this one follows the fairy tale quite faithfully enough to really be a retelling. It's more of an original steampunk gothic-mystery-romance. But the BatB inspiration is there.

The Price and Prey of Magic – Rachel Day

I wrote this one. It riffs on both the classic BatB and an alternate version called “The Green Serpent” where the beast is a snake and the Beauty character is thought to be hideous. Other fairy tales are incorporated.

Beauty's names: Belle, Violaine, Lindy

Belle – Cameron Dokey (Once Upon a Time)

YA. The Once Upon a Time series did novella retellings of the classic Disney fairy tales (as well as some outliers) in the 2000s. Some of them are fairly original, some of them play it more safe. There were multiple authors, but I always felt the Dokey entries were the strongest. Belle doesn't try to reinvent the fairy tale that much (see Spirited farther down the list), though it does make the magical rose a more central element in the story.

The Prisoner of the Castle of Enlightenment – Therese Doucet

E. Not a close retelling, but definitely inspired by BatB. Even set in 1700s France for good measure with a strong focus on the Enlightenment. Nods to the fairy tale early on, then heads off into unexpected original territory and gets magical and folkloric.

Beastly – Alex Flinn (Kendra Chronicles)

YA. Probably the best-known modern retelling. The author makes the risky choice of telling it from the beast's point of view, in this case a conceited rich prep boy, and I think a lot of the reader's enjoyment depends on how much they like being in his head. There's a companion novella from the Beauty character's perspective, but I haven't read it.

Beauty's names: Isabella, Caitrin, Beauty

Spirited – Nancy Holder (Once Upon a Time)

YA. The other Once Upon a Time retelling. This one is more original, less by-the-book, setting it in colonial America. But it makes the questionable decision to cast the beast character as an American Indian who takes a beautiful white colonist captive. I suspect this is why the series' creators revisited BatB with the Dokey version, with the hopes this one would quietly vanish.

Heart's Blood – Juliet Marillier

A historical fantasy set in medieval Ireland. This one decides to cast the beast as disabled, but if you can put that aside, he's an interesting and well-rounded character. Another book that deviates pretty substantially from the original and goes off and does its own thing. There are ghosts, not talking knickknacks. Even so, it feels like a legitimate retelling, not merely inspired by BatB.

Beauty and the Beast, The Only One Who Didn't Run Away – Wendy Mass (Twice Upon a Time)

YA. What I remember most about this one is reading it while waiting to see if I'd be impaneled for a jury. It doesn't stand out much in my memory, but as I recall it was lighthearted and aiming for humor.

Beauty's names: Beauty, Beauty, Beauty

Beauty – Robin McKinley

YA. Robin McKinley's first foray into BatB retellings. It's one of my favorite novels, period, with a thoughtful bookish Beauty (way before Disney did it) and a brooding but gracious beast. It's an intelligent slow burn with loads of introspection, but still has many sweet, warm, and funny moments.

Rose Daughter – Robin McKinley

YA. McKinley's better known BatB retelling. This one is a lot more original, expanding on the fairy tale, incorporating Beauty's siblings a lot, and overall giving you a longer, richer read. I still prefer Beauty, but this one has a lot going for it and includes an unusual twist. Also, while I won't list it as its own entry, Chalice is an original McKinley fantasy novel with a strong BatB vibe.

Beast – Donna Jo Napoli

YA. Another book from the beast's p.o.v. Also casts him as a person of color (Persian) with a white Beauty, and in this case turns him into a lion rather than a fantastical monster. Yes, him being a literal animal rather than a slightly humanoid beast does introduce some specific elements to the story. Probably part of why the cover touts it as sophisticated.

Beauty's names: Belle (Annabelle), Shelley

Belle – Sarah Price

NF. The Amish one. Modern setting. It has a YA feel (the heroine is very young), but given that it deals with marriage, and to a significantly older man, I'm not exactly sure which audience it's ultimately for. This Beauty takes a Disney-inspired approach, being bookish and spirited. But the beast is a crotchety Amish guy, so that's new.

The Gentle Prisoner – Sara Seale

NF. 1940s Cornwall. A gothic-tinged romance novel with an otherworldly, innocent, sensitive heroine, who's also very young and marries a significantly older man with a troubling scar and no end of brooding. Not exactly a retelling, but leans heavily on the fairy tale and isn't afraid to draw attention to it.

SHORT STORIES:

"The Rose and the Beast" – Francesca Lia Block

YA. Modern day. I did read this one, a hundred years ago. I don't remember much except for a general impression of the whole collection – dark, urban, sensuous. Can be found in the collection of the same name.

"The Courtship of Mr Lyon" – Angela Carter

Modern (to the 1970s, when it was published). A feminist retelling. Been forever since I read it, so I don't remember specifics, but I have a clear memory of enjoying it.

"The Tiger's Bride" – Angela Carter

As you can guess from the title, also sophisticated.

"Beast and Beauty" – Vivian Vande Velde

YA. A lighthearted, cute take on the story from the beast's perspective. VVV's writing is often very funny, and this is one of my favorites of her retellings. It can be found in Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird.

That was tiring. I think I'll just lie here and stick my tongue out and die.

I would love to find more retellings, so please feel free to add to this list.

#beauty and the beast #book recommendation #book recommendations #fairy tale #book list

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zylice · 5 months

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The ‘Loki’ series as a metaphor for the state of Hollywood and the movie industry.

I was watching the ‘Loki’ series in a way that I saw it clearly as a metaphor for how Hollywood is currently. Mainly Marvel. The entire plot of its’ second season is *LITERALLY* about ‘destroying Marvel and putting it back together.’ You see Marvel ‘exploding multiple times’ and Loki ‘grasping at straws’ to hold it together. The ending scene is him ripping Marvel apart and putting back together as something ‘better’ as he carries on his back (*LITERALLY!*) Another character Sylvie says that it’s okay to ‘destroy some things and that there is no justice.’

In the beginning of season 1, he is forced to sign a contract and is held a ‘prisoner’ who is stripped of all his rights similar to how Disney makes its’ actors sign a contract that they can’t get out of.

*“What if I was a robot and didn’t know it?”* AI is a HUGE issue in the industry (Nicholas Cage in the Flash) and he wasn’t happy with how it was used.

“I’m going to write a little script of my own.” “I can rewrite the story.” Are also quotes that Loki says. The script writers for the show used a *BLACKLISTED* script from 2018 for the show. The main producer said that he was relying on Tom (Hiddleston) & Owen (Wilson) to improvise in order to ‘engage the audience.’ The script writer for the show Michael Waldron is a p*d*phile and a and such a bad writer that most of his ideas were scrapped and Benedict Cumberbatch of Doctor Strange 2 had to take it into his own hands and rewrite some of the script. Michael’s blacklisted script ‘The Worst Guy of All Time and the Girl Who Came to Kill Him’ promotes physical and sexual abuse. Things like kicking corpses and ‘jerking off’ over seeing certain characters being abused. Elizabeth Olsen who was also in the film clearly doesn’t like this creep and either does Benedict not Tom Hiddleston from the ‘Loki’ show. Yet the likes of Bob Iger rehired him after firing him (similar to the James Gunn situation) to write the next two ‘Avengers’ movies. He is a *CRIMINAL* and Jonathan Majors who plays a large role in those movies as the main villain is currently under trial for abuse. *HE* was cast in the ‘Loki’ series and the show was about him more so than the character of ‘Loki.’ The show was just to set him up and the organisation that he created in order to further Marvel’s plot for the next few phases of their movies while using ‘Loki’ and ‘Tom Hiddleston’ as their brand in order to get people to watch. *THAT’S* not even getting start on all the work ‘M-She-U’ woke BS and blatant misandry and abuse against male characters.

I recently finished season 2and found is *ASTOUNDING* that something with such poor production quality can possibly be the *THIRD* most expensive tv show of *ALL TIME!* It just boggles my mind! 🤯

In the behind the scenes ‘Making of’ video, the crew were only focused on how the show ‘looked.’ There was *NO* mention of the writing. That just goes to show that the ‘VISUALS’ are their main priority and casting big name actors to be in these shows. The acting is compromised due to them having little or no choose/power as to whether or not they actually *WANT* to be in these projects and it’s quite exploitative and abuse to be honest and leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Even the posters for the show are hideous AI abominations that look *NOTHING* like their lead actor. It’s *DISGRACEFUL* to their image & legacy! I saw a video earlier of AI generated voices of said actors saying things that they had never (or rarely) said. It’s uncharacteristic and could *EASILY* be used in a wrong manner. It’s quite disturbing actually. CGI dead actors and using AI to generate their voices to say things that they wouldn’t say is just *WRONG* without their consent! 🤢🤮

I love the movie industry dearly and am utterly *DEVASTATED* at what it has become. It means a lot so *SO* many people but greedy corporations such as Disney just don’t care and exploit it’s staff in order to continually keep the money-making machine moving with sub-par products which are made with exploited actors/crew.

Please Hollywood, get rid of these corrupt behemoths that are the puppeteers of this shit Storm who are exploring actors as their puppets! This goes beyond money! 🤑💵💰🫤😓😐

“Around and around we go again.” — He Who Remains

Keep the wheels turning.

“We have to say that we’re having the ‘times of of lives’ because the cameras are running.” — Tom Hiddleston

(The Industry) “It’s broken. It’s ROTTEN!”— Sylvie

“Never fear truth.”— Johnny Depp

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thediktatortot · 2 years

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There's something bugging me about some of the responses to the first and second fandom vent posts I made that I just want to elaborate on.

Just because I say fandom moves faster now, or that people jump ship quickly, doesn't mean you're not allowed to switch fandoms or move on.

What I mean is there is a locust effect going on right now with the majority of fandom, not the individual experience.

This environment has been created by corporations like Netflix and Disney, Tiktok and Vine... It's not an accident, it's on purpose.

They want you to move onto the next thing the second something new comes out. They want you to forget about S1 of some show because they didn't get the binge factor out of it the first month it released and now it's a dud to them.

They PURPOSEFULLY do not count re-watches or watches outside of the first month or two of a seasons existence. It's a feature, not a flaw for them. They don't care if S2 has inconsistencies from S1 because they don't care. They get writers to make something catchy, make it eye drawing and interesting. They make a pretty convincing S1 and then let the ball drop with the rest because there's already 3 more S1 shows coming out next month.

You can like multiple things at once.

You can leave and come back years later from a fandom or a favorite piece of media.

You can stay in one thing for the rest of your life because it tickles your brain in a way that's good.

You can have health issues and have to leave fandom and never come back.

But the point I'm trying to (very badly because i'm not good at putting my thoughts to concise words) is that the normal life of fandom is an ebb and flow thing, key word, normal life.

Modern media has ruined it because the second you no longer have time or find something else interesting, the modern world of media wants you to forget about it like it never happened. They want you to pay another shiny gold coin to them for their next little story that you'll enjoy but never get that final season for. They don't want you to stick to things because that doesn't make them money.

There are fandoms I've stopped actively participating in, but never left.

I LOVE Final Fantasy 7. I've loved it since it came out and I was just a 6 year old watching my mom play her brand new shiny PS1. There are times I still go back and read favorite fics of mine from that fandom, or art I still have printed out from highschool in binders I'll never be able to find again.

It's not about how long you stay here, but the choices, the friends, the community you make out of it while you're here.

Capitalism does not like quality.

Capitalism likes quantity and indispensability because it's what makes them the most money.

#Fandom Wank #Vent #You don't have to stick to fandom forever #But make it fun for yourself and everyone else while you're here #What's the point otherwise?

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