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weebsinstash · 4 months

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I know the show isn't out yet but Stayed Gone is stuck in my head and I'm chugging my yandere Vox juice so hard right now. I think he has the capacity to be absolutely insufferable

---for starters THE SPYING POTENTIAL WITH THIS MAN. You're telling me he can directly plug himself in to the city power grid and see through all televisions, potentially even phones and computers too? Could he put himself on your phone and start going through your texts? Could he even just put himself on your phone real quick while you're sleeping to check in on you? You couldn't even have privacy in your own home because of whatever screens are around he could potentially shoot himself to or watch you through. Imagine just being in your apartment completely alone and he's suddenly on your tv. Like what if you had just been sitting there topless or with your dick out or something or 👀 I mean. He could see so much, really...

---God honestly like. You know I keep mentioning the Instagram without ever attaching pics or anything because I'm on mobile and I'd have to use the hazbin Instagram archive blogs here on tumblr to go find them back like, you know Val would openly post the meanest shit, would literally post Vox's face being busted up because he woke Val up from a nap or i think it was he literally just brought him the wrong soda (which to be fair was taken from Velvet and was half empty), and then you go over to Vox's account and his pic was taping his pieces back on while being really frustrated and kinda lowkey looking like he would cry

Like Val's out here "women are stupid also men are stupid too" and talking about how he adopted a dog and killed it within like 48 hours and here's Vox celebrating his pet's birthday with cake and a party like. Why are these men together. Why. Why. Don't get me wrong I love to be the involuntary third in a toxic codependency but--

look all I'm saying is... do any of you get really really upset when you see someone being mistreated, especially more so a friend of yours?

READER JUST LOSING THEIR SHIT GETTING FERAL ANGRY SHOUTING AND SCREAMING AT VAL BECAUSE HE PULLS SOME SHIT and like that's IT for you because 1. Valentino might like actually backhand you one as well, do you think he wears rings so it hurts, 2. Vox sees you defending him and like, it's based on your own preferences really but if he wasn't already gaga this CEMENTS it and 3. especially if he watches you have to take a blow for trying to stick up for him. Like what if you cry. I have a low pain threshold, I'd be sniveling and crying at the least. Valentino storms off and Vox is helping peel you off the floor cause you curled up into a ball or some shit and he's sitting there thinking "wow they suck at this but they still did it for me 🥺"

---during his song with Alastor, it's a little confusing because they show an actual camera crew when he's turning the TVs on, but i think it's pretty clear that he can control whatever the screens show visually, thus his little zany sketches and being able to talk to himself and at one point, showed the visual of himself blocking the radio Alastor was projecting on right next door. I can just see him using this to kind of.... fuck with you, really! Or do whatever he wants? He's trying to suck up to you and he's surrounded by roses, or you're his co-host/guest host and he thinks your joke was funny and gives a little audience laughter as a treat

Or you know... you're running from him down the street, passing all these different screens and displays as they power on and show things like, him "jumping in front of you" while demanding you stop or, trying to show some kind of blackmail publicly, or just, begging you to just ACCEPT HIM and showing you all the fun things he could do with you, "cmon, I said I was sorry, stop freaking the fuck out! We can- we can do that thing you've always wanted to do, what about that?!" as he tries to project you two doing something fun, but most importantly, doing it TOGETHER. You're running from him terrified and he's showing you images of like you two smiling and happy or, it becomes scarier as he's more desperate

"Don't-don't make me do something fucked up!! I'm serious, STOP RUNNING" and he's like freaking out, showing shit of trying to hold you down, tying you up, and/or shoving you into a locked room

Sudden thoughts of "what if the more emotional and unstable he becomes, the less he can control his intrusive thoughts and shows his more impulsive darker desires". He's tweeking and the screen glitches and you briefly think you see yourself completely restrained, blindfolded, gagged--

---he's just like OBVIOUSLY so prideful but also immature and whiny ("who gives a shit about alastor?" Well you, mr hes just quietly minding his own business and I'LL start beef because i feel threatened and STILL LOSE, like awww my poor little pogchamp got publicly humiliated in an argument HE started out of nowhere, he's my little sad wet baby lmaoooo) and we already know his relationship with Val can become physically abusive, so, you pair him staying in that kind of relationship, being codependent, with this personality of his, and I can just see.... ACTUALLY FUCKING TRIGGERED LIKE LITERALLY CRYING UPSET VOX BECAUSE YOU REJECTED HIM like he's pissed he's hurt he's lonely he's heartbroken and HELL NO IS HE GONNA ACCEPT THIS

Vox would be over here proudly claiming on his TV show that NO HE REJECTED Y O U, not the other way around! He's not upset! He's totally fine! Meanwhile everyone watching can tell this man is manic and visibly hotboxing copium, "I didn't even really like you anyways!!.... no, I mean, shit, fuck, COMMERCIAL BREAK--" *cut to technical difficulties screen because the man is CRYINGGG*

-- Valentino and Reader bonding over teasing Vox and making him flustered and of course, obviously, the inverse. I still kinda like the idea of "they both think you're cute but like nothing exciting until one night they bump into you unplanned and you're all dressed up". Like Val is from the 70s or 80s so they go to a roller rink disco whatever kinda place because I'm sure the coke game there is INSANE and you're just like, swaying your hips spinning around to Let It Whip or September or something dressed in some shorts that make your ass look just right 🤌

You're sneaking back into the studio after a night out and they're both lounging somewhere and Val's like "uhhhh who is THIS coming in without saying hi to Daddy?" and you pull your sunglasses down like "SIR??? 😳" And now HE'S flustered because he didn't know that was you and Vox is feeling some new kinda way because he's used to seeing you in like, your work uniform or casual wear

Val who then makes your work uniform really slutty and you have to serve him and Vox wearing it 😩❤️

---I have this thought of like lmao imagine walking down the sidewalk with Angel and seeing Vox on TV and Angel is like "ya know he can see everything outta dese things when he's plugged in" and you're like "bullshit, he couldn't possibly process that many screens at once, it'd overload his brain, he wouldnt be able to concentrate" and you're like "here I'll prove it, hey Vox, check it out you fucking dweeb" and flash him your bare titties or you MOON HIM

scenario A would be that he INSTANTLY barks out laughing, "hey Val, that dumb slut who brings you drinks just flashed me!" And he just totally shows it on the air, maybe partially censored, maybe not at all, your phone is ringing IMMEDIATELY, of COURSE it's Val, and Vox is broadcasting your mortified embarrassed expression, "our big story tonight: drunk bimbo fucks around and finds out! More updates after this word from our sponsor!" and the man will noooootttttttt stop bullying the fuck out of you afterwards, because he's got a crush on you and you're like someone weaker than him his insecure ass can punch down on

Scenario B is that he instantly turns pink and about 5 seconds later he blue screens and the entire city experiences a blackout and when he comes back on the air he's like stammering and, glancing at, it FEELS like he keeps glancing at you, but, is he really?

------

I dunno... like I'm sure Valentino is gonna wind up being unstable in his own way but I guess there's a certain, ALLURE to Vox being a little bratty and whiny while also having these very VERY handy, actually quite scary abilities and resources 👀 like boy show me what that screen do 😫💦

#yandere hazbin hotel #yandere x reader #vox x reader #yandere vox x reader #sinprompts #yandere stuff

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wisteriagoesvroom · 2 months

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what’s the most single most attractive thing about oscar? Then answer for landoscar too?

he’s by his own definition “calculated”, which i also read as cold and detached. that quality in a person, to be able to ignore the noise and channel everything towards winning, is like… really hot lmao idk how else to say it. he’s also very openly ambitious so that smashes my competency kink real bad ngl.

every driver responds differently to the circus of f1 and every driver has to have an element of “i can drop everything and focus” but oscar based on performance is one of the ones i truly believe is capable of tuning almost everything out. the higher the pressure seems to get, the calmer he seems to be. i think it takes an incredible amount of self control for someone so relatively young too.

i mean behaviour-wise if you squint, he’s basically a darcy-adjacent archetype in that way which might explain the appeal. yeah.

and by extension, the reason landoscar is so appealing to me is because it goes against the projection/image that oscar has intentionally set up for the world to see. like, that he’s focused on racing and racing only, and focused on obtaining the WDC. on paper and based on more conventional sports narrative cues lando could be an obstacle or rival for him, or someone oscar should keep his distance with. but he is not cool and detached with lando, he is not indifferent. in fact oscar is almost always the opposite of that — lando can be unpredictable and zany and annoying and super warm and funny and it makes oscar react in a way that’s like. not entirely on brand for a supposedly cool and detached racer boy.

yes his whole onscreen chemistry with lando is set up by mclaren marketing in a deliberate way to milk the teammate thing, show camaraderie, and get engagement. but the great thing about any good ship is that sometimes it can start that way and then go a little rogue beyond the marketing (see: oscar popping up recently in random sky interviews) and take on a weird life of its own. ‘cus lando and oscar seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s presence while helping each other and the team — like there’s many levels of coexistence or intimacy that you simply you would not get in a “normal” context of coworker because of the sheer stakes involved (hundreds of people basically working for you, the money and speed of f1, the travel, the sacrifices, the expectation, the pressure), and through it all it’s two people just kinda saying, “hey, i have come to enjoy your presence, i respect you, we can joke about this, we’re sharing this because you understand exactly what i’m going through right now”. that’s what makes it fun to play around with.

like, case in point. what is THIS???

and look big disclaimer that this is with the lens of the rpf glasses on and a huge element of this is projection, but also the reason we project and run rampant with our AUs and headcanons for the ship is because we have some breadcrumbs and see the potential. subtext!! imagination!! what a fun thing.

and wow. essay. i am papaya-pilled so bad y’all 😔✊

#oscar piastri #landoscar #op81 #papaya-pilled #thank u for the question #wiz.askbox #wiz.talks #Oscar is sexy agenda #the landoscar thesis

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zazzedcoffee · 1 year

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There are polls on 𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐫 dot com

Quite a few people have been asking how I have been making these polls. To make them I have been using the Tumblr API. While it is currently undocumented – there is a polls API route that allows you to post and get poll data. While the Tumblr UI puts quite a few restrictions on how many polls can be in a single post and when polls finish, the API currently has no restrictions on this*.

Poll Behaviour

Each poll and poll answer has a uuid tag (a "client_id") that should, ideally, uniquely identify each poll and poll answer. Silly things start to happen when you make a post with two polls with the same client_id, or one poll with several answers with the same client_id. This is how I made this monstrosity.

Polls also have an "expire_after" tag that allows you to set the deadline for the poll. While the UI restricts this to one day or one week, you can put in any time you like for this. This is how I made the 50-year horsie poll and whatever this is.

There are other fun things like being able to put newlines in polls which only display on mobile for some reason.

Can you make polls like this too?

Yes. In fact, from the beginning, I have had a python package that handles posting polls in a public GitHub repository. All you would need to do is register an app on the Tumblr API to get the various necessary authentication tokens and go ham**. Just be warned, I don't intend for this to be a fully-fledged implementation of the Tumblr API, but it gets the job done and will be useful for a few other projects I'm working on. I don't know when they are planning on adding polls to the API docs, or the official Tumblr clients – but I presume that by the time they do, these zany polls will sadly be no more. It seems like the polls API is still being worked on and I can imagine a lot of these issues (I call them features) being fixed. So let's have fun with it while it lasts.

Making your own fun poll

Let's try to recreate this post using my tumblr-dot-com package. Following the example on the readme to set up a tumblr object for your blog with the necessary auth tokens, the post can be constructed as:

# ... snip content = ( Content() .poll( "Wie cool ist das bitte?", [ "Jetzt zocke ich Fortnite", "und trinke Cola", "YIPPEE!" ], option_uuids=[uuid4()] * 3 ) )

res = tumblr.post( content=content, tags=["Yippee!!", "polls"], )

# ... snip

Here, the post content is being constructed with a single poll block – the option_uuids is an optional list parameter that allows you to pass custom uuids for the poll options. Here, the option_uuids is being set to the same uuid repeated three times – which causes votes to be counted for all three options at once.

I hope you enjoy this fun little tumblr client – again, it doesn't implement everything from the tumblr API but should be good enough a least to have a play around. Just a final note – since the polls API is not yet final, I am expecting some of the poll-specific behaviour of this client to break at some point – so be warned.

Notes:

* Beyond the other API post restrictions. And, this is probably going to be patched (see this comment).

** This may make your Tumblr account look suspiciously like one of the pretty lady spam bot accounts causing your account to get blasted like mine did.

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satoshi-mochida · 11 months

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‘Swashbuckler action game’ En Garde! announced for PC

Gematsu Source

Fireplace Games has announced “swashbuckler action game” En Garde! for PC. It will launch via Steam in August. A demo is available now.

En Garde! began as a student project back in 2018. The reception from the community led the team to establish itself as Fireplace Games and recreate En Garde! from the ground up as a full game experience.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

From the forgotten pages of history, comes Adalia de Volador! Legendary swashbuckler. Dashing adventurer. Hero of the people.

Play as Adalia in her daring escapades full of sword-fighting, satire and shenanigans. Challenge the cruel Count-Duke and oppose tyranny with panache!

Beautifully painted locations, charismatic characters, and an astounding amount of battle banter will transport you to the golden age of swashbuckling comedy!

So, sharpen your sword, grab your boots and hat, and embark on a hilarious, action-packed spectacle!

Key Features

Fencing With Flair – Parry, riposte and lunge your way to victory! Fight with style to fill your Panache Meter and unlock special skills! But you’ll need more than your sword to win the day…

Adapt and Improvise – Challenging, ever-changing fights push you to rely on your cunning and acrobatics to disturb your enemies. Learn their weaknesses to toy with them and express your fighting style.

Experiment with the Environment – Combat areas are playgrounds full of opportunities to create mischief and gain the upper hand. Surprise, stun, or evade enemies with a variety of objects – from rolling barrels to falling chandeliers.

Arena Mode – Unlock zany game-changing modifiers and new fight situations in the arena mode. Play and replay randomized scenarios to test your skill against waves of enemies!

Theatrical Characters – A flamboyant cast dazzles the screen! Adalia and her rivals react to each of your actions, exchanging witty one-liners during the flow of the fight.

Story Episodes – Discover the tales of Adalia, with unique challenges to complete and secrets to uncover. Fight through marketplaces, dungeons and palaces: the world’s a stage for your epic duels!

Award-Winning Passion Project – The game was first prototyped as an award-winning and much-loved student project. The original team has reformed and expanded as Fireplace Games to increase the scope, sweep and grandeur of En Garde!

Watch the reveal trailer below.

Reveal Trailer

youtube

#En Garde!#En Garde Game #En Garde #Fireplace Games #Action Game #Steam #Gematsu

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krissiefox · 1 month

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Wander Over Yonder (Series Review) (Contains Spoilers!)

Yup, I'm finally reviewing another cartoon! But I just don't have the energy to undertake a project like when I reviewed every single freaking Aosth episode one at a time, so this time around I'm going to look at the series as whole.

Warning: I will discuss spoilers throughout this review, so if you are interested, please go watch the cartoon first! Thanks to disney being stupid, it's still only available on disney plus - so you'll either have to pay for that or find another means to watch it. Yo ho ho!

Wander over Yonder is a delightful, colorful and energetic Disney cartoon than originally began airing back in 2013. Its stories mainly revolve around its two main characters, Wander and Sylvia. Wander is a an altruistic space hippie who resembles a muppet-like creature, and his best friend Sylvia is a very butch-coded and punchy Zbornak, a species that is somewhere between a dragon and horse.

Wander and Sylvia's lives seem to have consisted of traveling the universe in a magic space-safe bubble, having fun and helping folks. Things get a little more dangerous though, when one day they cross paths with one of the show's main villains - Lord Hater. Hater is a hilariously pitiful caricature of toxic masculinity - constantly needing reassurance that he's "the coolest guy ever" and seeking validation by destroying and bullying everyone and everything around him. Despite his very impolite behavior, the ever-affectionate and loving Wander is determined to see the good in Hater and help him find a healthier way of managing his feelings than "punching lame nerds in the face". Lord Hater's minions, the Watch Dogs, are also frequent targets of Hater's bullying but mostly maintain loyalty nonetheless. Chief among the Watch Dogs is Commander Peppers, who is far more professional about being a villain than Hater himself could ever hope to be.

After the introductory setup, we'll see that many episodes consist of Hater trying to do something nasty, and Wander managing to mess it up just by being kind and nice. Many times, the Watchdogs will neglect their job duties and get distracted by Wander, as he treats them much better than Hater does.

This sounds like it might be a repetitive theme, but the show does a great job of always throwing out variety in its stories. You'll see the "standard" Wander vs Hater stories but you'll see stories of Wander and Sylvia doing things on their own, and Hater and the watchdogs doing things on their own, and over time a whole slew of secondary villains and friends show up in the story as well! Given the setting of the show is an entire galaxy, this also gave the creators plenty of room to constantly change up the scenery with different worlds, different creatures, and even the occasional trip into alternate realities! Most episodes are comedy based, but every now and then the show comes out swinging with a very sweet or moving story as well, and these are done just as well as all the zany comedy.

In season 2, the show introduces a new villain - Lord Dominator - bringing with her some big "shit just got real" energy. Unlike Lord Hater, she is much, MUCH more powerful and competent as a villain. She becomes such a threat that even Lord Hater is occasionally willing to work with Wander in helping fight her, as her relentless destruction of every planet around is only making him feel even more like a failure of a villain. At the end of the season, she is finally defeated in the sense that her ship is destroyed along with all of her robots, but she has no remorse for her actions and vows revenge on everyone who stood up to her. Sadly, the show only got 2 seasons, as disney never gave the creators the green-light for anymore.

So that's my brief summary of the overall story-line, but how does the show look and sound? Well, just check out these screenshots for the visuals, they're fantastic! The art team put a whole lot of love into this show and it shows. With an entire galaxy for it's characters to run around, the background artists will treat you to countless beautiful, bright colorful worlds and environments. The characters are very well animated and extremely expressive, and the voice acting is great as well. There are many visual nods to old Hanna Barbera cartoon days and also seems to be love for the funky architecture, color schemes and aesthetics from classic scifi art, as well. The team behind the show has some familiar names attached to it such as main creator Craig McCracken (Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab), season one co-producer and story editor Lauren Faust (My Little Pony FIM), and the lovable Tom Kenny providing the voice of Commander Peepers (Spongebob, Adventure Time).

In terms of themes and messages, the show gets a lot of things right which is another reason I admire it. Wander's altruistic nature lends itself to many wholesome story-line moments, and the interactions between him and Sylvia can often symbolize many people's internal struggle with "wanting to always be kind and helpful while also not being a doormat for all the bullies out there who don't appreciate kindness".

The show also has a couple episodes that touch on the importance of consent, which I like a lot. In one episode, Lord Hater ends up in the care of Wander and Sylvia after getting heavily drugged up during a painful dentist visit, and he's so blitzed out of his mind that he doesn't remember anything about Wander or being a villain and just enjoys spending time with his "new friends." At the end of the episode, Hater starts to put his mind back together, and flees in disgust at the thought of being friendly with the two. Naturally, Wander feels hurt and dissapointed, but as Sylvia tries to comfort him he also points that it wouldn't be right to have Hater's "friendship" with him not be of his own conscious choice.

Similarly, in another episode, we meet a villain (who is voiced by Weird Al!) who is like a corrupted version of Wander - instead of wanting to help people be happy, he forces them to be "happy". This infuriates and disgusts wander as he believes people must experience joy of only their own free will.

Overall I love the series, but I did some have some criticisms. One of the more minor ones is that it felt like they might have had a limited sound effects budget, as I noticed the show reused the exact same "Wham!" and "crying baby" sound effect so many times that it started to get distracting to me. I know good audio recording equipment is expensive as hell and thus can understand folks using stock sound effects, but I feel the show might have benefited from maybe some extra foley sounds to add more variety.

Another thing I didn't care for sometimes, is that there's handful of episodes that just feel very mean-spirited towards Sylvia, and in some of them Wander himself is the one being hurtful or even downright creepy towards her in some way or another. The moral of these stories is often Wander realizing he was being terrible, but it feels like the subject gets taken too lightly sometimes. Similarly, the show does occasionally have the mean-spirited gag of "bad things keep happening to Sylvia and we're supposed to find it funny", an old cartoon trope that's always disturbed me. Slapstick is one thing, but when it feels the writers are just bullying a character it can get uncomfortable.

There was a subplot throughout much of season 2 that rubbed me the wrong way, too. When Dominator is first introduced, everyone initially assumes her to be a guy under her suit of armor, but when Wander later realizes she's a woman, he immediately jumps to the idea of trying to hook her and Hater up as a couple. Part of his reasoning is that he feels like if Hater and Dominator are busy with making the smoochy-smoochy, they'll both lose interest in destroying planets and bullying their inhabitants. But still, the hetero-normative trope of just assuming that every woman is interested in A - relationships period, and B - a relationship with a man, is the kind of attitude I'd expect from Lord Hater, but not from sweet little Wander. He goes on about this for much of season 2, and Hater is also on board once he sees Dominator without her helmet on, but I am glad that at-least both Sylvia AND Dominator find the notion ridiculous the entire time, and at the end of season two, we don't have the additional sexist trope of her caving to a relationship she was never interested in having, thus "the bad girl getting redeemed via hooking up with a dude" trope.

On the subject of character relationships, I personally think if Dominator isn't just an asexual/aromantic killing machine she would most likely go for Sylvia if anyone, since she's the only one who actually came close to becoming friends with Dominator in one episode. Also, I got the impression that Commander Peppers really had a thing for Hater, as well. If Hater ever grows up, he and Peepers could make a cute couple, I'm sure. :)

Despite some of these things that bothered me, I still think the show is pretty great over all. While it could definitely use some more gay and less heteronormativity , it does still have a lot of wholesomeness and positive messages, lovely art, great humor, lovable characters, and even some very moving episodes. Now I just really wish the greedy putzes at disney would give this show a DVD set already! Hell, they never even made any plush toys. I want a little plushie of Sylvia, dammnit!

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nothingenoughao3 · 24 days

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favorite horror film you just recently discovered

(From this meme)

Uuuuuuuh yeah that's Re-Animator.

Writing tons of porn fic for it, watched it probably fifteen times in the last month, built a whole deck of Arkham Horror cards for it... the obsession is real

It hits a very specific, great spot for horror. It's zany and campy. The effects are bonkers in some places, but really goddamn good in others. The stuff that should be awful instead comes across as camp, because it watches as though everybody in this film really seriously believed in the projected and wanted it to succeed.

I know Combs gets a lot of deserved credit for how he refuses to turn in a lackluster performance, but I think everybody here does a great job. I love that David Gale had almost quit acting and then did this one "last" film that turned into a mini-career with people who loved him to the end of his life and beyond. I love Bruce Abbot's protagonist accent and utter sincerity. I love the rightfully-crowned scream queen of Barbara Crampton. And can I get a shoutout for Robert Sampson? He basically plays three characters throughout the whole fucking movie and nails every single one of them.

Most importantly, though, it does the Shaun of the Dead trick of balancing comedy and horror throughout the film--then, at the exact right moment, shifts all its gears towards horror. I unironically believe that everything that happens after Dr. Hill hisses "So... do... I..." in the morgue is some of the greatest horror action I've ever seen.

The makeup jobs on the reanimates? Amazing. The acting? Also amazing. There's maybe one or two tension-relieving jokes, but broadly, the silliness is traded for horror in a way that's astoundingly effective. The blocking, the fights, Dean Halsey trying to save his daughter, Dan trying to save Herbert, how every single element was subtly pre-established in earlier scenes so nothing feels like a cheat, that droning music that plays over the chaos in the emergency ward...

I'll make jokes about how gay Dan and Herbert are for each other along with everybody else, but I don't think we'd all feel this strongly about the movie unless there was there there. And there is. What a fun movie.

#asked and answered #ask box meme #horror movie meme #reanimator #re animator #reanimator 1985 #jeffrey combs #barbara crampton #bruce abbott #david gale #robert sampson

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elijahs-dumps · 1 month

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What Happened to Gonzo's Queerness?

Gonzo is, undeniably, the Muppet that Disney has struggled to keep consistent and in character the most. But why is that? If we take a look at any recent Muppets projects, from Muppets Haunted Mansion, to The Muppets (2015), or even Muppets Most Wanted, Gonzo is simply a shell of his former self. An entertaining shell at that, but a shell nonetheless. Before we can get into the how and why though, I’ll explain a little bit of who Gonzo really was when featured in the Muppets of the past.

A Brief History of Past Gonzo

Gonzo’s key traits have always been that he is zany, immature, unpredictable, and often takes things far too literally. While “Modern Muppets” keeps these core traits in the Gonzo of today, he still lacks his usual depth. Often people overlook the fact that any of the Muppets have depth at all, but they’re all given their own moments, especially film to film.

I think a perfect example of what I’m talking about is his song, “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday”, from the original Muppet movie. Within The Muppet Show no characters ever struggled that much with overarching plots or even real negative emotions that carried from episode to episode. But in film where an episodic format won’t work, you need these small subtle layers. Your characters all have to have more obvious wants and needs to move the story along, or else it’ll all fall flat. This song is just a testament to the Muppets seamless transition from television to film. The number humanizes and grounds a character that is often perceived as ignorant or carefree by giving him a single wish, a wish to return to the sky like he did previously in the movie. Gonzo wants to be free from the world and view it simply as a spectator, completely at peace. It’s a childish wish, but a real and relatable one. The layers of this song can go deeper when you take into account the fact that Gonzo is the only one of his species, and probably spent most of his life alone or without a true home before the Muppets. Combine this with the fact we’re at the lowest point in the movie where all hope seems lost in the middle of nowhere, and then have all the other Muppets in the scene do backing vocals, it becomes a really somber and special moment for the movie as a whole. It connects well with Gonzo, the other Muppets, the film’s story, and audiences around the world.

Other moments that showcase this level of subtle emotional complexity can be found in The Muppets Take Manhattan during the song “It’s Time for Saying Goodbye”, or throughout the entire Muppets from Space movie where Gonzo discovers and comes to terms with his own identity and place within the world.

Muppets Haunted Mansion tried to recreate some form of a plotline for Gonzo, but because there was such little set up the pay off felt out of place. The idea was to have Gonzo briefly struggle with the idea of being alone and losing the attention of his friends, but it didn’t even really connect to any past storylines with Gonzo or even past moments within the movie, and just felt forced. Especially since he never truly grew at all from this experience either.

But depth wasn’t the only thing we lost from Gonzo in the “Modern Muppets”, we also lost so much of his queer-coding. In the past, Gonzo has always been shown as unidentifiable in both gender, gender expression, and sexuality. Some of my favorite pieces of evidence towards this include the Gene Kelly episode of The Muppet Show where Gonzo distracts Miss Piggy so he can be serenaded by Gene Kelly. Gene briefly acknowledges how strange this is, but Gonzo seems unconcerned and so the two sing a love song together and all is well. Gonzo often does this, flirting with both male and female guests on the original show, as well as cross dressing throughout all five seasons of the show. Gonzo also cross dresses on the original Muppet Babies show from the 1980s, and there is even a Muppet Babies picture book from 1986 titled “What’s a Gonzo?” in which Gonzo and the other Muppets try to figure out what Gonzo is, only for Gonzo to be confronted by other versions of himself and told that he doesn’t need to know what he is because he knows who he is. Then, of course, there is also the iconic washroom comic strip from the officially licensed “Jim Henson’s Muppets” comics from 1981-1986, which I will be inserting below!

Flanderization

Flanderization is the process through which a complex fictional character’s essential traits are oversimplified to the point where they constitute their entire personality. The term’s name is a reference to Ned Flanders from The Simpsons.

While the Muppets aren’t exactly “complex”, they do have a certain level of depth like I’ve previously explained. Watering them all down to their most well known traits is what causes most problems with the “Modern Muppets”. Obviously, all new versions of the Muppets have been put through unfortunate amounts of flanderization. However, even though all the Muppets have suffered through a similar treatment, I still feel like Gonzo takes the brunt of it. This is also because Gonzo is one of the only core Muppets who has become less of a main character than before. Meaning he doesn’t actually get a lot of screen time, especially when compared to the movies from before Disney bought the Muppets.

Why is This Happening?

This answer as to why any of this is happening at all is actually quite simple; it’s not marketable! In order to rebrand the Muppets, Disney has had to take the safe approach when it comes to reminding people why they liked the Muppets to begin with. However, in trying to keep things simple as far as character work goes, we then lose that character integrity which is what makes these “Modern Muppets” feel so hollow. Obviously this did not work at all, because Disney had stripped these characters so thoroughly, they thought they could do whatever they wanted with them and no one would notice. Cough cough - The Muppets (2015) - cough cough.

So yes, while Gonzo does keep some basic sense of his personality through taking things too literally, participating in crazy stunts, and just acting pretty random, it’s such a toned down version compared to the Gonzo so many grew up with. Especially when it comes to all his queer coding, Disney is often too afraid of backlash to even put things like that into their kids or family orientated media. This could potentially be a reason why they sort of shoved Gonzo out of the main cast in everything but promo. The only time they attempted this was around 2021 with the reboot of the Muppet Babies and an episode titled “Gonzorella”. The episode was actually quite charming, and follows young Gonzo as he decides how to tell his friends he wants to wear a princess dress to their costume party. It’s a nice concept, completely in character for Gonzo, and a good message for children about how you don’t have to look how people will expect you to look all the time. It also helps to break the stigma around “boys clothes” and “girls clothes”. Still, lots of parents were very angry about this episode and claimed it was Disney’s “new woke agenda” that was turning the Muppets into something they’re not. As if the Muppets haven’t always inherently been queer-coded and a part of queer culture!

Conclusions

So, if the Muppets are being washed out to their most basic selves more and more with each new project, what does this mean for the future of the Muppets?

Honestly? Nothing good, in my opinion. The franchise has been going downhill for quite some time, but I don’t think I’ll ever come to dislike it. If you don’t like these “Modern Muppet” adaptations, then that’s more than fine. I just personally don’t see it improving anytime soon, especially since Disney so rarely puts out any Muppets content that doesn’t get canceled. If they do put anything new out, I’ll obviously be the first to watch and praise it, because I really do enjoy the Muppets a lot.

I think the saddest thing here, and the reason I made this little essay, is that Gonzo’s queer-coding will only be lost in translation the more that time goes on. At least, that’s how I see it. The backlash Disney got for that episode of the Muppet Babies is exactly the kind of thing the company is always trying to avoid, especially with the media they make for young kids on Disney Junior. I doubt they’ll ever try something like that again in Muppets media aimed for small kids. And in the family targeted content Gonzo has only become a less and less prominent character.

That being said, this is all just my opinion based on what I have seen and studied. I will always be holding out a small sense of hope though, and I will still continue to see Gonzo as a queer icon in my eyes regardless of what he does in future projects!

UPDATE: If you made it to the end of this essay YAYY!! TYSM<33 In case anyone was wondering, my next piece is gonna be about Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows and morally grey characters in general. It will not be a critique of the character or his fan base though! I don’t always hate on everything lol. However I will probably be talking about online book communities, like Booktok, so prepare yourselves for that if you plan on sticking around :3

#the muppets #gonzo #gonzo the great #kermit the frog #disney #lgbtq #nonbinary #queer #queer community #miss piggy #analysis

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rebelsofshield · 3 months

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Updated Canon Star Wars Shows Ranking

The Bad Batch's third and final season begins tomorrow! What better time to take stock of how the series is currently stacking up against the nine other canon series' in the Star Wars sag.

(As always, please feel free to sound off in the replies or reblogs with how wrong I am. I love hearing your thoughts.)

10. Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Oscillating between dull and distracted, the original iconic bucket headed bounty hunter’s show displays Star Wars at its most shallow and routine. Despite claiming to be a Godfather-esque crime saga, The Book of Boba Fett feels oddly toothless and impersonal. In the process, the series does the ultimate disservice of making its title character less interesting at its conclusion than its outset. A great leading duo in Temuera Morrison and Ming-na Wen can’t really save a series that rarely if ever rises above being passable.

9. Star Wars Resistance

A fun, atypical series that aims for a younger audience with a lighter, more comedic tone. Some fans may not gel with its sometimes zany energy, but it boasts some impressively nuanced character arcs and standout aerial combat set pieces. It ends though on an awkward rushed note that may be as much a fault of the shambling structure of the sequel trilogy as the show itself.

8. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Ewan McGregor’s big return to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi somehow feels like less than the sum of its parts. McGregor is wonderful as the title character and there are some truly emotional moments to be found in watching this old Jedi Master find his purpose and make peace with the trauma that came with the end of the Clone Wars, but overall Kenobi rarely manages to hit the highs it should. Messy production design and some clunky mid-season narrative choices end up cutting the series down in moments when the drama should be at its highest. For a series that may have been the most demanded Star Wars project of the last decade, Obi-Wan Kenobi never manages to fully reach the hype of its fanbase or the potential of its character.

7. Star Wars The Mandalorian

After an uneven but mostly promising first season, The Mandalorian has had trouble finding its footing. Despite being the flagship series for not only Star Wars live action television but also the Disney+ streaming platform, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s space western has seemed unsure of itself after two seasons that pushed back its main characters in favor of a parade of cameos and clunky franchise focused world building. Luckily, it still has an eye for spectacle and flash. The Mandalorian looks like a blockbuster action-adventure movie and even when the story fails to live up to its potential, you can still count on the series’ consistently strong directing talent to deliver on some fantastic moments of Star Wars spectacle and creatively designed characters and locales.

6. Star Wars Ahsoka

One of the most ambitious and complicated offerings from Star Wars’ live action television offerings, Ahsoka is the culmination of not only fifteen years of storytelling but an important evolution of both its central character and her creator, Dave Filoni. Unfortunately, it does frequently buckle under the weight of its own mythology and continuity. Trying to create a coherent identity out of a show that functionally serves as a spin off to three separate series, two of which are animated, often proves difficult and clunky. There are, however, moments of wonder and grandeur when Ahsoka really does shine. Whether its in the phenomenal performance of Ray Stevenson as the series’ enigmatic villain, Baylan Skoll, or how enthusiastically Ahsoka embraces the franchise’s more fantastical and weird story elements, Dave Filoni demonstrates that he does still have a sense for how to tell worthy stories in this galaxy.

5. Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi

Recently confirmed to be more than a one-time special set of animated short films, Tales of the Jedi now looks to be a regular animated anthology that fleshes out the unexplored angles of some of the most famous members of the Order. While the three installments focusing on Ahsoka offer little more than a reunion for fans of The Clone Wars, the miniature trilogy that Tales of the Jedi tells about the fall of Count Dooku to the Dark Side are masterfully written and directed editions to the animated Star Wars canon. Not only do they finally add emotional and philosophical clarity to one of the most famous villains from the Prequel Trilogy, but they provide a murky exploration into some of the Jedi Order’s failings and why exactly members of its ranks would be tempted to leave it behind.

4. Star Wars: The Bad Batch

While it suffers from some of the same pacing issues that abound in almost all Star Wars television, The Bad Batch has evolved into a fun ensemble action series with some truly stellar character moments scattered throughout. In particular, this Clone Wars spinoff excels in diving into the uncertain fate of the Grand Army of the Republic. At its core is the question of what happens to a people bred for wartime when that wartime ends? The results are often tragic and occasionally disturbing, but almost always make for standout television. Throw in some gripping action set pieces and you have a more than worthy follow up to one of the most beloved pieces of Star Wars canon.

3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

A very rough start and scattered snooze worthy story arcs aside, The Clone Wars is an ambitious as hell show that pretty much launched Star Wars as we currently know it. Its anthology style format allowed for its creators to tell a wide variety of stories that not only deepened a previously maligned era of the series but also played tribute to many of George Lucas’s creative influences. Great swing for the fences storytelling risks and gorgeous animation elevate this series into blockbuster level entertainment that balances incredible spectacle with powerful moments of character development and franchise redefining mythology.

2. Star Wars Rebels

A wonderful achievement in character and inventive storytelling, Star Wars Rebels reaches heights that are among the best moments the franchise has ever produced. Through its endearing and refreshingly complex ensemble cast and a tight four-season arc, Rebels feels like a complete, unique package that isn’t afraid to take risks and knows when and how to challenge its audience. Even occasional filler episodes aren’t enough to detract from what is overall a charming, suspenseful, and ultimately moving series of family and the fight against tyranny.

1. Star Wars Andor

Star Wars at its most human and political, Andor is thoughtful and meticulously crafted drama about the early days of a rebellion. Taking its title character from the ashes of Rogue One and spinning off into the story of a complicated man living in the shadow of fascism, Andor offers up intrigue, emotion, and a stirring critique of systems of oppression whether they be from the galaxy far, far away or own humble little world. Even outside of its heady political allegory, Andor is simply fantastically directed and acted television scattering a marathon of all-time-classic Star Wars moments throughout its first season. It’s that rare gem that only seems to come around only once or twice a decade: Star Wars that is not only great within the context of its universe but a truly essential work of pop cultural art.

#Star Wars #review #reviews #The Book of Boba Fett #Star Wars Resistance #Star Wars Rebels #Andor #Star Wars: Andor #Ahsoka #Star Wars: Ahsoka #The Clone Wars #Star Wars: The Clone Wars #The Bad Batch #Star Wars: The Bad Batch #Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi #The Mandalorian #Star Wars The Mandalorian #Tales of the Jedi

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zanysketch · 2 years

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Day 66/100 • 21.05.22

Drawing my cats! Sheldon's popular song featuring Jim Jam.

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writingquestionsanswered · 10 months

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Hi there, I hope you're doing well. I am having a problem with my current project and I was hoping you could give me some advice. Whenever I am trying to come up with new character names, I get stuck because I go through a few, decide on one that I like and then I google it to make sure that no one has that name already. My question is, how can I make sure that I don't accidentally create a character name that is the same as another character's name? Or a real person?

Thank you :)

Worried About Original Character Names

Names, including character names, can't be copyrighted, so you don't need to worry about using a name that's never been used before. In fact, if you try to give all your characters names like "Flumperduff Florkenfarber" and "Snorplar Inslorg" in an attempt to have a completely original name, your story won't be readable. It's just silly. No one wants to read that unless there's a good reason why your characters have zany names.

To use Twilight as an example, those are all real names. The main character is named Isabella Swan. There are plenty of other characters and real people named Isabella and plenty of other characters and real people with the last name "Swan." Edward, Jacob, Carlisle, Rosalie, Alice, Charlie... these are all real names and character names in other books. In fact, the only "original" name in the series is "Renesmee" which was a portmanteau of "Renee" and "Esme" and readers hated that name. The only place you have to be careful is when a character's name and surname combination might fall under trademark protection. The name "Bella Swan" and "Edward Cullen" are pretty recognizable as being from Twilight, and both Swan and Cullen are somewhat unusual surnames. So, you probably wouldn't want to name your character "Isabella Swan" or "Edward Cullen." However, you could certainly have a character named Isabella Madsen or Edward Dacey, or Kay Swan or Bill Cullen.

The odds of you coming up with a character name and surname combination that belongs to a super popular character you don't know about is really, really slim. But, if you're worried about it, you can Google the name along with "character" and see if anything comes up. Even if it does, unless it appears to be a well known character from a well known franchise, you don't have to worry too much.

Here are my other posts on naming characters:

Guide: Naming Characters Choosing the Right Name for Your Character

Happy writing! ♥

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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#writing #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

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pileontheyears · 30 days

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hi jeanie!! i was wondering if u had any thoughts on what the quarry counselors' favorite nintendo franchises might me?

-cas @chrashley :)

Hi Cas! 🥰 Ooh I love this question! I tried to stick with games I’m familiar with but there's a couple I've never played myself. That being said I'd be interested to hear what other's think in case I missed anything 👀

Abi - Animal Crossing, she enjoys more cozy games and it would bring out her artistic side, creating her own clothes and decorating her house/town/island. She doesn’t do anything extravagant but she plays a fair amount, she enjoys bug catching and visiting her favorite neighbors with gifts.

Dylan - The Legend of Zelda, nice mix of puzzles, action, and music depending on the game. He gets really into the new mechanics in BOTW and TOTK, going from creating really intricate mechanics to designing dick shaped machines. Perhaps projecting but I’d say he’d have a soft spot for Twilight Princess (you can hold and talk to cats!)

Kaitlyn - Splatoon, the shooter of the Nintendo franchises. She meticulously goes through all the weapons in order to pick the best one depending on specials and sub weapons (she strikes me as a sniper). She also loves the idols and music and designing her squid with all the fresh fashion choices. She definitely makes it to ruler rank whenever she participates in Splatfests (and claims bullshit if her team loses).

Ryan - Pokemon, perhaps inspired by Justice being in Detective Pikachu, but as an aspiring animator he’d be interested in all the different Pokemon designs. When Ryan builds his team he gets really attached to them. He’d never attempt a nuzlocke, he’s sticking with his whole team til the end. He of course loves the ghost types, but I think he’d also have something like Loudred or Golbat, something audio/sound related. He definitely plays a lot with Sarah.

Emma - Metroid, Emma is resourceful, working well under pressure and able to adapt to situations quickly, so when she takes the controller for Metroid she effortlessly switches from platforming to shooting, completely tearing the alien enemies to shreds. She loves Samus and probably got into the series for the leading lady. One of her favorite elements is the morph ball, but the arm canon might have it beat.

Jacob - WarioWare, while a more competitive game may seem like Jacob’s first choice I think if he had to choose a favorite he’d prefer the quick micro games that WarioWare has to offer. It’s fun, fast, no time to think just DO. He also really enjoys the zany humor and eccentric characters. It’s also a plus to play with others and can somehow still turn competitive, especially when playing with Nick.

Nick - Pikmin, Nick likes to go with the flow so he'd like something less fast paced but still something with some strategy. I think he'd find assigning Pikmin with their different abilities to various tasks satisfying. Since he also loves nature he'd enjoy the exploration element, as well. And really he just thinks the Pikmin are cute.

Laura - Animal Crossing, since she’s interested in veterinary science she’d probably enjoy the animal characters, Max most likely introduces her to the game for that reason. However, unlike Abi she plays it more seriously. She has to complete every task, pop every balloon, and fill the entire museum with every collectible. She has to stop playing when it cuts time into her personal productivity. She has a 5 star island.

Max - Yoshi, Max is definitely not a competitive player, he plays games that are more chill. He enjoys the straightforward mechanics of swallow enemies, throw eggs/yarn, with nothing too punishable or frustrating like with other tenser games. The vibrant, colorful world definitely doesn’t hurt with all the cute smiling flowers, shy guys on stilts, and most importantly: Poochy.

All the counselors love Mario Party and Mario Kart, some less so than others as the game progresses and they continue to lose (Jacob).

#the quarry #abigail blyg #dylan lenivy #kaitlyn ka #ryan erzahler #emma mountebank #jacob custos #nick furcillo #laura kearney #max brinly #almost gave nick star fox or donkey kong #emma was gonna be princess peach showtime but metroid kept calling to me #abi also gives me kirby vibes

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centrally-unplanned · 2 years

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Episode 3 of Bocchi The Rock! is like buying a TCG expansion pack for creative animation and having every card be a rare, its amazing. If you are fan you have definitely seen the screenshots; Bocchi’s panic over peer judgements done with paper cut-outs on puppet sticks:

Her sanity hitting a breaking point being a live action exploding balloon:

And her improv-folk-ditty about her failed friendship attempt being set to a 2000′s-era indie music video backing of scanning landscape shots

The production team released some adorable behind-the-scenes footage of some of these, btw:

Those shots really emphasize the necessity-as-mother-of-invention dynamic - if your team is *already* creative and has multimedia approaches down, filming a balloon pop is way less work than animating it and is more importantly working *different* staff members, so your animators can focus on making the other scenes look good. Bocchi is a small production and they are stretching their resources to the limit, with great results.

(The budget-saving facts reminded me of the much-more-troubled but equally creative production of Kare Kano, whose Episode 19 is famously paper cut-outs filmed live:)

(This episode is also Studio Trigger founder Hiroyuki Imaishi’s episode directorial debut, fun fact)

Now these scenes do not need a ‘reason’ to be animated in such creative ways; you can just have fun, Bocchi is a light comedy, art for arts sake is great actually. But I am impressed by how much thought has gone into aligning the aesthetic choices with the narrative & character. To go in order:

Paper cut-outs: Bocchi is entertaining an elaborately ridiculous fantasy that joining a conversation her peers were having would result in complete social castration; how unrealistic such a response would be is emphasized by the unrealism of their bobbing stick movements and how they clash with the ‘real’ Bocchi (who is drawn traditionally)

Balloon Pop: A simple one, her ‘reality break’ is extremely sudden and its really hard for animation to approximate the sharp speed of an actual balloon explosion, combined with (not observable in a still) an extremely silly, non-explosive spoken sound effect to emphasize the triviality of the stakes.

Landscape Music Video: My personal favourite, the ‘depressed romantic indie musician’ is such a specific vibe, a style we often laugh at today for its pretentiousness, and the way Bocchi is romanticizing and catastrophizing the extremely mundane struggles she is going through is exactly that energy, the joke just doesn’t work without this reference.

Almost every time they stretch the scope of the definition of ‘animation’ they also enhance the characterization & story, which imbues a lot more life into scenes that could otherwise come off as simply zany.

The team is really nailing it - and its led by first-time director Keiichirou Saito at Cloverworks. He can’t take all the credit for the ideas; Episode 3 was directed by series assistant director Yusuke Yamamoto, and we know he was directly responsible for the landscape photography music video sequence. But Saito’s credits put him working as an animator on Wonder Egg Priority, Heiki Monogatari, Sonny Boy, Flip Flappers...never as a huge role, just a key animator, but still I think it demonstrates an interest in pushing the envelope on style and direction. I hope these productions continue to beget new creatives who take the spirit on to new projects.

#bocchi the rock!#mini-essay

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chernobog13 · 3 months

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The villainous Arnim Zola by Steve Rude.

I don't know about anyone else, but I much prefer this version of Zola than the one we got in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014 - good lawd, was that really ten years ago?). These outrageous characters are part of the charm of superhero comics that keep me reading them.

One of my problems with most of the Marvel films, and all superhero films lately, is the filmmakers eschewing the zany and goofy concepts from the original comics, all for the sake of making the project more "realistic" and "believable."

Hello!!??? You're making a movie about people who can fly or shoot lasers out various body parts! How realistic is that?

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for "serious" superhero films, where the source material is treated respectfully (i.e. Superman the Movie, The Dark Knight Trilogy). I understand that the restraints of filmmaking may require some changes. And I do not want a campfest, where the filmmakers are winking at the audience every minute as if to say "look at how silly this is" (i.e. the Batman TV series and its film spin-off).

Nor do I want the grim, gritty, dark, color drained out of everything, let's not have any fun at all, depressing type of films like we got with the Snyderverse. Dark, grim and gritty is okay for a solo Batman film (or similar character), however superhero stories at their core should be fun and entertaining.

I will always hold up Richard Donner's Superman the Movie (1978) as the example other filmmakers should follow. I admit it's not perfect, with the sudden tonal shift after Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis, and the campy performances of the three villains. Still, Donner had respect for the source material, treated it respectfully, and he - and more importantly, the audience - had fun with it along the way.

Anyway, ain't that a great drawing by Steve Rude?

#Arnim Zola #Marvel Comics #Steve Rude

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thenationaltreasuregazette · 9 months

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Really?? Nicolas Cage and the Art of Weirdness

It’s kind of strange that Nicolas Cage is the star of National Treasure, right? Tame, family-friendly Disney flicks aren’t exactly his brand.

While the casting still strikes me as an odd choice sometimes, I am eternally, supremely, primordially grateful that he took the role of Ben Gates.

As I touched on while discussing Abigail’s Accent, National Treasure isn’t a film with a lot of subtly or nuance. At least, it wasn’t going to be until it slowly morphed throughout production, as giant collaborative projects tend to do.

Just like Diane Kruger brought nuance and depth to the role of Abigail Chase through both her acting choices and the presence of her accent, Nicolas Cage transformed Ben Gates from a generic action-adventure hero into something far superior: an awkward, obsessive forty year old man.

To fully appreciate the Nic Cage of it all, let’s begin with what the role looked like before he signed on.

More ↓

For those unfamiliar, there’s a version of the National Treasure script available online that’s dated from the month before Cage signed on as the lead. It’s hugely fascinating in the ways it’s the same as, and also wildly different from, the finished film. You can read more about it here.

Age

The first major effect casting had was changing Ben’s age. In the 2003 script he’s introduced as

…intrepid explorer BEN GATES(late 20s, strong family resemblance)

Obviously Nic Cage was not in his late 20s in 2004. Born in 1964, he was 39/40 when the film shot and 40 by the time it came out.

We know from Ben Gates’ drivers license that his character is supposed to be 39 in the first film, as his birthday is shown as May 1965. Why the one year difference? Hollywood is allergic to people over 40. Next question.

So, Ben went from a 20-something to a (basically) 40 year old man. And that changed the story in a few subtle but important ways.

First, it makes Ben’s quest take on a different flavor. To be in your late 20s and still chasing a pipe dream is not that unusual or socially unacceptable. People in their 20s do stupid, impulsive, risky things. They are socially ‘allowed’ to be a mess. At 40, not so much. Ben’s peers have houses and families and kids who need to be taken to soccer practice.

This makes a difference to me because it emphasizes the desperation of Ben’s quest, and his absolutely unwavering belief in the treasure. It also paints a starker contrast between Ben and his father, because when Patrick was 29 he was still gallivanting around treasure hunting too. By the time Patrick was the age Ben is now, he had disavowed treasure hunting and “grown up” into a normal life. But Ben just won’t let go. The older Ben gets, the less hope Patrick has that he will eventually grow out of it. At 29 that kind of hope would still feel possible for his son. At 39, it probably doesn’t.

Hotness

I’m so sorry that we have to talk about this, but we do.

Ben Gates was clearly written to be played by a hot young actor. That’s hot as in popular, and also as in sexy.* A typically implausibly fit and handsome leading man. This is evidenced not only by his age, but by the two (2) shirtless scenes written for Ben in the 2003 script.

Ben Gates is supposed to be hot.

And Nicolas Cage is...I'm not going to say "not hot," lord knows I'm on the being-normal-about-that-old-man webbed site but sex appeal not the primary reason you cast him.

What Nic Cage is know for is being weird.

*I’m aroace and vaguely sapphic, help me I don’t know what I’m doing here.

Weirdness

Weird. Eccentric. Zany. Over-the-top. Melodramatic.

These are the qualities Nicolas Cage is famous for, but they aren’t qualities the role of Ben Gates necessarily calls for. In fact, too far in any of these directions, and the performance could push an already implausible movie over the edge into farce. We wouldn’t take Ben or his quest seriously enough to get invested in the story.

But Nicolas Cage knew that. For as absurd as the iconic “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence” line is, it's the premise that's ridiculous, not the performance. This isn’t the place to find one of Cage's signature zany performances. Search any number of "Craziest Nicolas Cage performances" lists and National Treasure won't rank. He tones it down enough that Ben feels like a rather grounded person in an over-the-top story.

However, he doesn’t tone it down completely, and that is so important.

The little places where Cage lets a hint of his signature weirdness flicker through round out Ben as a character, and give him more (or at least a different flavor of) nuance than he might have had in other hands, particularly if he were cast and played as a typically suave and macho leading man.

Case Study (Cage Study?)

Let’s look at this line from the 2003 script. This is what the FBI has to say when they’re searching Ben’s apartment.

AGENT JOHNSON Profilers say we're looking at an adult male, a loner, has a high IQ but has never been able to hold down a job, is socially inept, has probably written numerous letters to the White House expressing antigovernment sentiments. We're expecting him to contact us shortly with ransom demands.

This line is supposed to show us how off the mark the FBI is in their theory. The joke is that they’re all wrong about Ben.

Except, are they?

In this version of the script, every one of these items after “adult male” is incorrect.

Ben’s not a loner; he’s been working with Riley for 7 years.

He hasn’t not been able to hold down a job, he’s been salvage diving and treasure hunting consistently.

He’s not socially inept; he’s a ladies man. We hear multiple references to past girlfriends, and of course there’s Patrick’s assumption that Abigail's pregnant.

And obviously he hasn’t expressed anti-government sentiment and has no plans to ransom the Declaration, even in exchange for his own freedom.

What I want to argue here is that with the casting of Nicolas Cage, most of these false assumptions about Ben became true, at least a little bit. Of course there were many forces at work shaping the final tone and content of the film, but all of them—writing, directing, acting, costume design, etc—became oriented around fitting this character to the man playing him.

Loner

In the final film, Ben is a bit of a loner. He doesn’t seem to have known Riley for that long, and he immediately gets betrayed by the only other person he’s close to. His status as an outsider is emphasized by the fact that he and his family have been ostracized from the historical community.

In the 2003 script, this element isn’t present and Ben gives a fake name for other reasons. We also meet his landlady, whom he’s very kind to, and hear about at least one former girlfriend. In short, we get a sense of the web of people in Ben’s life outside of the treasure hunt. In the final film, Ben is seemingly much more isolated.

Job

We also get no evidence about Ben’s job. The 2003 script makes multiple references to Ben working as a salvage diver, which might not be what he hopes for, but it is a clear profession. In the final movie we only get reference to Ben being trained at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, which implies that he’s qualified to work at a salvage diver, but gives no indication that this is what he regularly does for work.

We also have Patrick saying:

PATRICK I have a job, a house, health insurance. What do you have?

The contrast makes it clear that Ben doesn’t have any kind of consistent job. Now, my guess is he does still work salvage jobs in this version, and that’s how he affords his apartment and the other things he needs to keep treasure hunting, but it’s never directly mentioned.

As to why he doesn’t hold down a job, the obvious answer is that it would interfere with his relentless pursuit of the Charlotte and the Templar Treasure. It makes sense that he simply chooses not to keep a consistent job because that’s not compatible with his goals. However, I want to raise the possibility that Ben would struggle to hold down a job even if he tried. If, say, he needed some expensive new diving equipment and took a several months long “normal” job in order to afford it, I think he’d be constantly distracted by the treasure and might quit and/or get fired the next time he needed to dash off on a lead.

Socially inept

Likewise, in the final movie, Ben is charming and clever and all the things a leading man is supposed to be, and also awkward and fairly socially clueless.

On the Charlotte he seems surprised that Ian and his guys turn out to be armed criminals, so either he was so desperate for resources and support to continue the hunt that he’s in denial or he’s very bad at reading people. Or at least, very bad at reading Ian. Maybe both. (There’s also the matter of his very poor attempt at bluffing in this scene.)

He’s awkward with Abigail in their meeting in her office, and even more awkward giving the toast. She even points out to him that he says the poetic things that are on his mind even though most people know they're not supposed to do that.

Then of course we have the “cavalier in my personal life” exchange, which I plan to dig into in depth at a later time, but for now let’s leave it at: Ben is not always on the same page as the people he’s in relationships with.

And there’s the very strange reading of the line “really?” after Ben and Abigail survive the collapsing staircase sequence. He’s amazed that he’s met someone who would also prioritize a historical artifact over personal safety, and he delivers the line just…weirdly.

Conclusion

He’s weird! (affectionate)

Ben Gates is a weird guy!

By the final film, Ben Gates had become a hybrid of the thing he was always supposed to be—a suave, swashbuckling hero—and the thing he was not supposed to be—a weirdo outcast on the fringes of society.

To draw a comparison to another popular Disney adventure flick that came out the year before: Ben was supposed to be the Will Turner of National Treasure, the hunky young underdog who always gets the girl. By casting Nicolas Cage and letting him bring a little history and a little weirdness to the role, Ben Gates ended up edging just a liiiiiiittle bit into Jack Sparrow territory as well.

He occupies both spaces, and I think that duality serves to deepen his character and make him far more interesting than if he was a straight-forward action-adventure hero.

Hooray for weird middle-aged men.

#the national treasure gazette #national treasure #ben gates #nicolas cage #national treasure meta #articles

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