Just got back from seeing Quantumania

I have a few thoughts, but beware spoilers ahead!

I really quite enjoyed that.  A fun movie, even if previous MCU films have trained me into being surprised when a film is less than 2 hours long! XD

Scott Lang is still just such a ray of sunshine. :)  

I thought it was interesting how this story parallels the Loki series reasonably closely.  In that we’re meeting another version of Kang that is trying to stop other versions of Kang.  I’m assuming from the mid-credits scene that this Kang was speaking truthfully when warning about the other versions of himself, although I definitely get an unreliable narrator vibe from all of this.  Which version is telling the truth?  Does this version actually have the full picture? How does our hero judge who is telling the truth?  Loki was leaning more to at least giving consideration to the possibility that TVA Kang might be telling the truth, whereas Janet didn’t seem to have understood the context from the images she saw in Kang’s mind (assuming of course his story is the truth).  And by the time they met in this film she is not willing to trust him or listen to him at all. I thought Scott’s moment of ‘omg what have I done!’ nope, nope, don’t overthink it’ was nicely done.

And then the end credits scene.  I love that they treated Loki deadly seriously. Yes! *fist pump* In that tiny snippet it was Mobius who was playing the lighter notes. It carries over that intense feeling of fear and dread from the last moments of Season 1 where Loki sees the Kang sculptures in the other version of the TVA. Seeing Loki genuinely scared of Kang makes it hit home the threat they’re facing.  And for me it also puts Loki on a par with the events of this film. Like if that scene was a short humorous gag then it would reinforce the separation of the TV series Loki from the main films for me, so I really like that that wasn’t the case. I know, I know, let a girl dream. 

It also raises questions, although not particularly new ones I suppose, but which version of Mobius is this?  Did Loki manage to form a friendship with another Mobius? Is this actually a clip from season 2, or just something for this film? If it is from season 2 then... agh! Loki in Victorian clothes!!!!!!!!!! *sirens blaring* my period clothing lover is high fiving my Loki lover.  I am also absolutely up for some time spent watching a terrified Loki try and convince a blasé and oblivious Mobius about the threat Kang faces.  (Time travellers and people with dire foreknowledge of events trying desperately to convince others of the coming danger is definitely a favourite trope of mine.)

Also, Jonathan Majors was great.  I like this slightly sad version of Kang. Like he has just seen so much but it won’t stop him from doing what he needs to do.  Definitely much more engaging to me than Thanos. 

So, yeah, slightly more excited about Season 2 of the Loki series - resigned to the fact I’ll need to mine it for the bits I like, but feeling a little more confident that there will be at least some. And definitely liking how they’re building up Kang as a character.  

TFMR Daily Random Facts - Day 03

Random Worldbuilding/Character facts about Transformers: mobius run universe

What goes inside each TFMR Characters' processor when they think someone is being an unpleasant nuisance (aka an asshole)

Autobots

OP: I think you're a fucking asshole, but not enough to deter my firm belief that everyone has good side to them and can become a better person with sufficient guidance. I am currently restraining myself from providing that guidance though, because I'm not about to coddle a grown ass adult like a newspark at the cost of emotional stress on my end. 

Ratchet:  I think you're a fucking asshole, but that's not my business. All that matters is that a) you're are not dying or b) not making others die. 

In case of scenario a), I'll do everything in my power to drag your sorry ass back to the land of living. In case of scenario b), I'll do everything in my power to neutralize whatever threat you're pitching at us... even if it means I have to stab you in the spark.

Arcee: I think you're a fucking asshole, and I'll make sure to let you know. I won't do anything else and simply leave you be, but the moment you mess with any of my friends I'll pull all your bone struts out of your frame and feed the remains to the scraplets.

Whirl: I think you're a fucking asshole, but honestly we're all assholes in our own little ways so who am I to judge? - I'm just mildly surprised to find someone who is a bigger asshole than myself... hold on, so you're the more toxic kind who finds enjoyment in treating others like shit? Well, time to lob a barstool on yer head!

Raj:  I think you're a fucking asshole, and while you are preoccupied with acting like an asshole I'll silently remove my existence from your vicinity to spend my time on something less pathetic. Oh, and do try to tone down that holier-than-thou attitude a bit, will you? Or "someone" might set your garden gnomes on fire tonight...

Bee: I think you're a fucking asshole. I won't say that to your face outright, because unlike you I was taught not to be rude to people. I might share some 'honest personal opinions' on you with my friends when you're not looking, though.

Decepticons

Meg: You're a fucking asshole, therefore I punch you. And you'd better stay out of my way, because your face will receive something worse than a punch if you dare to!!!

Starscream:  I think you're a fucking asshole, and I've already hatched an entire plan to make your life a living hell the very moment the assesment was made. Of course, you wouldn't know any of that because you're a dumbass and I am still smiling at you like nothing ever happened. Once you let down your guard and turn around for a second, however...

Blitzwing: I think you're a fucking asshole, so I'll silently give you a judgemental stare until you understand the message and get the fuck out of my face. AND YOU BETTER GET IT FAST BEFORE MY MOOD SWINGS TOWARDS MORE IMPATIENT SIDE!

Soundwave:

Observation: Subject is a fucking asshole.

1. Pretend to agree whatever the subject is saying

2. Follow the subject around

3. Record every actions and words from the subject.

4. Repeat until enough fun is had.

Possible gain: 

• blackmailing material

• stories that will earn a gold medal in a human interweb forum

• entertainment

Pharma: I think you're a fucking asshole, which is good because assholes are usually quite dim on their processors. Normally I would mmediately tell you to fuck off before your idiocy worsens my chronic migraine, but since I'm in dire need of spare body parts I'd be nice enough to play along... until I take what I want, that is.

Knock Out: I think you're a fucking asshole, so I'll give you my most obvoius fake politeness just so that even a brickhead like you would get my message clear. Don't cross that line, or you'll soon learn how it feels to be slapped on the face with a rotary saw.

TL:DR: Don't be an asshole.

This past week, I finally got around to watching the Loki series.

It still bothers me how I could like WandaVision so much and enjoy Falcon and the Winter Soldier and What If, but I just couldn't connect with the Loki series, which everyone seems to be saying is a great series.

I think "connect" is the problem. After failing to enjoy the first Harry Potter movie, I realized that I can't enjoy the Mystery genre. I can't enjoy Mysteries because I am such an anxious person, that being mentally put into situations where everyone is suspect, is not enjoyable for me. I can't connect to characters when I'm too busy wondering if every attempt of theirs to be endearing, is a lie, a ruse meant to distract from them being the real culprit. And if I can't enjoy the company of fictional characters, then I can't enjoy a story (film, book, movie, fic, manga, comic, radio drama, etc.) at all. I can't enjoy the experience. I have to enjoy their company, enjoy the characters. It was back in the Ranma 1/2 fandom when I realized enjoying the company of characters was more important to me than plot. I will follow characters I like into any ridiculous plot and enjoy the experience. But a plot with characters I don't enjoy, is just a bunch of stuff happening. I was afraid this is why I couldn't enjoy Loki. Normally, failings in this were easy to recognize because some series just have jerk characters who I do not enjoy spending time with. But it's taken me from Harry Potter, all the way through today to realize that I can also fail to enjoy characters' company if the very structure of the genre disallows me from establishing a fun, endearing connection to them, through mental/emotional safety in their presence. I guess if characters aren't trustworthy, then I can't drop my guard enough to connect to them and find them endearing.

Which is so strange, because I thought I was able to do all that in other situations/series/fandoms. You should not trust Lelouch vi Britannia, but I love Code Geass. WandaVision is also a kind of mystery throughout most of the series, yet I loved WandaVision. Despite all that, I think it really does come down to those concepts of comfortability and connection again.

Lelouch may not be someone anyone from that world should trust, but we in the audience have seen most of his quiet, lone moments, and who his true self is when he's alone. He may be scheming and an increasingly less repentant murderer as the Code Geass series progresses, but we in the audience know that Lelouch is motivated by compassion, even behind his layer of indignant vengeance. I can drop my guard enough to connect to Lelouch and find him endearing, because the series has convinced me that he is worth trusting to be guided by compassion, at crucial moment(s). Plus also, all his schemes save everyone from the most dire, hopeless situations, so his presence literally provides safety. And he is enjoyable to be around in a straight-man type of humorous way. Even an "untrustworthy" character can be endearing to me.

WandaVision may have kept us on our toes, in our lack of knowledge about what is really going on here, but I never felt the type of tension that constantly needles at my anxiety. The tone was "happy go lucky sitcom" for 6 out of 9 episodes, for goodness sakes. Can I be surprised that a story which *might* qualify as a Mystery, was able to keep my anxiety feeling safe and able to enjoy the series as endearing, when the tone was mostly, old, cheesy sitcoms? What was happening may have always been a background question, but in the meantime, the experiences were nice, safe, and the characters we enjoyable to spend time with. WandaVision's mystery was never a question that disallowed connection to any characters for me. Even if I didn't know what was going on really, I liked spending time with these characters. ^_^ It didn't feel like a Mystery at all. It was just spending time with characters I liked, alongside a fun tone. ^_^

Knowing that Mysteries disallow me from connecting to characters, when the Loki series began to feel like "just a bunch of stuff happening" and I bemoaned trudging through to the series end, I defaulted to my usual explanations from Harry Potter: I must have not been able to connect to the characters. I didn't come to care about them. But why? I mean, was the series built specifically for people who were already big time Loki fans? I liked him fine as a character from the movies, but I was never the "squee at the top of my lungs" obsessed with him, the way the rest of the internet was. I could never explain why, but it didn't seem like an important question to answer anyway. But now, I MUST KNOW WHY. I mean, you can't tell me I dislike the Trickster archetype. My past 2 fandoms' favorite characters have been the Trickster archetype: Persona 5's Joker, FE3H's Claude. And you can't tell me I don't like an untrustworthy, even villainous schemer, because I love Lelouch. So is it because Loki's schemes often fail? If there's one thing I like about a scheming Trickster, it's when their plans come together in unforeseen, clever ways. Has Loki ever done that for me? Like on Lelouch levels? Hell, I will even take Claude and Joker levels! But has Loki...? I remember watching the Loki series and constantly thinking that maybe everything he was doing was part of some bigger plan that hadn't been revealed to the audience yet. I kept waiting for him to pull off something clever. But so many times, that was not the case. I felt like he was always scrambling to adapt and foolishly failing many times. Maybe people wanted to see him look foolish because they knew him as a villain. I know that was fun for me during Thor Ragnarok. But this was supposed to be a Loki series. Please convince me he's a cool protagonist. And yes, there were some scenes with nice acting and character-building bits, peppered throughout the series. Which is why I'm so confused why I wasn't enjoy it. Why wasn't I having a good time? I thought all I needed to do was enjoy spending time with a character? ...So if I wasn't enjoying spending time in this series, does that mean I wasn't enjoying this character? o_o???? I had to presume so. I mean, Harry Potter proved that very concretely to me. I mean, if a character is up to something, I can't trust them, I can't drop my guard enough to find them endearing, and then I can't connect with them, but that's apparently if their schemes are more dire or ominous, than clever. Or maybe "clever" schemes solve the story's point of conflict, resolve the tension, and/or turn disastrous stakes into safety. Whereas a villain's plotting schemes raise the tension by increasing the "disaster" (from the audience's point of view). Well, that explains a "clever scheme" versus a "villain's plot". But how does that explain why I couldn't enjoy Loki? Because Loki didn't have any clever schemes,--But also, he didn't feel threatening enough to have a "villain's plot" that would've prevented me from trusting/connecting with finding him endearing. I was fine with following him as a protagonist. I began to think that maybe my problem was being unable to trust any of the other characters. Even if I began to become willing to follow Loki as a protagonist, if he couldn't connect to anyone, he was just tossing around in the wind. But that doesn't sound right, because I've enjoyed series with "lone wolf" wandering protagonists before. Maybe it's because the supporting cast building around Loki in this series was meant to be endearing too. And I know I couldn't connect with them, because I couldn't trust any of them. I found Mobius endearing though. So endearing, that I gasped when he was Pruned. Heck, I even felt bad when old Classic Loki (as the subtitles named him) disappeared. ;~;! (Really, I needed time to grip with that sadness! ;o; ) So was the problem Sylvie? I couldn't trust her because she was the antagonist for the first half of the series, too dangerous and untrustworthy for Loki (and

others) for the middle part of the series, then the last part of the series required you to care about her connection to Loki for the emotional stakes/tension/drama to be effective. It was not effective on me. WHYYYYYYYYYYY??????????????????? I felt like I had no anchor throughout the series. Even though I say I became okay with Loki, I didn't exactly care about his character. He just wasn't annoying enough to make me drop the series. I don't even know if I continued watching the series out of any enjoyment. I just knew that I had to finish it, because everyone was talking about spoilers, references to the series, and I was a little curious about what the heck was going on. But unlike WandaVision, I didn't enjoy the time before finding those answers. I was in a waiting room with a bunch of people, plus Loki, who were just doing stuff. Whereas WandaVision had me in a waiting room with people I cared about and enjoyed the company of. I wasn't specifically a fan of Wanda or Vision before that series. Maybe I expected the Loki series to preform that same type of endearment for anyone who walked in. But it couldn't be that the Loki series wasn't trying to be endearing with it's characters... I think that maybe it's version of the "characters being endearing" revolved around a technique that didn't effect me? The audience's enjoyment of watching a character be silly, maybe unpredictable...and maybe show some occasional pathos? I don't know. But whatever it was, it obviously didn't work on me. Maybe for me, their attempts at endearment were overshadowed by my suspicions, my anxiety over who was going to double cross who, what was everyone's real goals, etc. o_o? Maybe I just couldn't get any footing. Maybe without a clear sense of characters' motives, I couldn't get a clear sense of who characters were, before even starting to decide if they were characters whom I enjoyed the company of. o_o? I remember feeling like the series was just a bunch of stuff happening. Maybe because I couldn't trust characters, couldn't get a sense of their goals (and thus stakes), and so I couldn't feel what new events really meant to them? Maybe? Like Ravonna Renslayer: Whose side is she on? What is she up to? Where did she go at the end? Who is she trying to help? What is she going to do from now on? Even during her courtroom fight scene with Sylvie, she went back and forth so much, I didn't know what side she was trying to land on. So how am I supposed to feel bad for her being pushed into corners? Is she being pushed into corners, or is this all working for her plans? Beyond Mobius and Classic Loki, it seems I couldn't find anyone else endearing. Maybe the others, I couldn't sympathize with, because I couldn't understand? But by the end, they pretty much explained the characters. Maybe I needed such explanations sooner? I feel like I couldn't grasp who characters really were, so whenever they did things, it didn't make sense to any understanding I had of them, it didn't contradict my images of them; I couldn't get a sense if they were getting closer or farther to their goals, because "who they are" could have all been a lie/act anyway---And now I'm back to the explanation of "I can't enjoy Mysteries because I'm too busy being suspicious of everyone (preforming an untruthful act) to be able to know who they are or find them endearing and enjoy their presence". But is that what happened with me and the Loki series?

Well, I've gone around too much in circles and I'm still unsure what happened. I just couldn't get into the Loki series and I'm not looking forward to trudging through a 2nd season, just so I could keep up with MCU worldbuilding spoilers. Is this how people sick of watching all the MCU movies, so they can understand 1 MCU movie, feel like? O_o???

Me being unable to enjoy the Loki series is especially crazy to me, because I've loved interdimensional themes since I was in grade school!!!!!!! ;o;!!!!!!!!!!!! This is nuts! I LOVE this stuff. Parallel universes? Altering timelines? Alternate universe versions of people? This has been my bread and butter since before I was 10 years old. ...But is it because I've already made my own decisions about "Determinism vs Free will" themes, that I'm easily tired of watching people run around, acting like such a discussion is going to make them lose their minds? Calm down people. All things exist everywhere, all the time. It's always been like that. No need to have an existential crisis freak out over it. Am I even unwilling to act like it's a thing of gravitas, at this point? Everyone spends all this time coming to grips with the enormity of Space and Time and the Astral Plane, giving lengthy speeches with grandiose pauses...And I'm the Rumiko Takahashi character with a deadpanned expression in the corner, waiting for them to finish. lol Maybe. ^.^;