#Btw Hero is holding a stack of books | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kinetic-elaboration · 2 years

Text

May 19: Best Kirk Episodes

Best Kirk episodes (to show to the Kirk haters in your life and prove to them that they are objectively wrong):

Where No Man Has Gone Before - the set up for the character; he’s charming, friendly, compassionate, moral, a little nerdy (stack of books with legs!), strong, and smart; the stereotypes you associate with Kirk are actually characteristics of Gary Mitchell

Charlie X - Kirk the father figure; his compassion for Charlie at the end shows his eternal optimism and hope

The Naked Time - one of those ‘Kirk has to run the whole ship all by himself’ eps; explains his devotion to the ship and its crew and the seriousness of his leadership role

The Corbomite Maneuver - the second Kirk episode, and already they’re showing off all his good qualities

The Conscience of the King - yes he seduces a woman for knowledge; the importance of this ep is as a reminder that he is, canonically, a survivor of genocide

Balance of Terror - Kirk wins a traditional submarine-style battle, again exemplifying ideal leadership qualities; also, he loves a good wedding

Shoreleave - he is canonically a “stick in the mud” and was bulled as a young man; Bones has 3 girlfriends in this ep, while Kirk fantasizes about wrestling with a man and sweetly holding hands with his college girlfriend

Tomorrow Is Yesterday - just a fun episode showing off his sense of humor

Court Martial - he’s a stickler for rules actually!!, and he maintains good relationships with his exes

The Devil in the Dark - just a good episode generally, but Kirk is decidedly the hero, the one to recognize the alien’s true nature when he finally sees his ‘enemy’ face to face

The Changeling - Kirk the father figure, again

Mirror Mirror - his crew looks up to him and relies on him in dangerous situations; he’s inspiring; he sees the best in everyone, even Literally Evil Alternate Universe People

Metamorphosis - the Love Speech (ignore some of the Gender Stuff going on)

A Piece of the Action - another humorous Kirk episode, but it also shows off his creativity and his ability to think on his feet

The Ultimate Computer - he’s self-reflective and accepting of criticism; a ship runs on loyalty, to one man...

Day of the Dove - when the alien tries to bring out the worst in him and his crew, he pulls them back

The Mark of Gideon - he’s a feminist btw

The Savage Curtain - a clear and straightforward explication of his and Spock’s slightly different moralities; he’s definitely not a pacifist, and yet he wins without taking any life; he’s literally paired up with Lincoln in this ep, too, contrasting with Spock, who appears (thematically) as a version of his hero, Surak

There are others that I happen to like a lot, which I did not include because I am imagining this as a real ‘if you learn how to read, you’ll like Kirk too’ list and I think there are some really good Kirk eps that could nevertheless be twisted by people with their Kirk hating blinders on. For example, in Arena, he shows off his quick wits and ultimately his compassion, but it’s still an ep in which he has to learn a lesson. He’s not showing off his best at the beginning. I think The Enemy Within is an important episode for Kirk characterization, but it’s also the ep in which his ‘evil’ side is portrayed as a rapist, and while I think that was intended as a commentary on what ‘evil’ is, that a person’s bad side is their selfish desire to take and take and take without regard for others, and that this would apply to anyone--still, obviously, it’s a complex case, because Kirk IS the example of the split person they use.

Overall, I think he’s pretty obviously a Bisexual Space Feminist Nerd (I did not include the Explicitly Bisexual episodes other than Where No Man, but I can’t also undo people’s biphobia here): he’s an ambitious career Starfleet officer; he cares about and does play by the rules but never at the expense of people’s lives or safety; he protects his crew above all else but also shows compassion and empathy for, and interest in, alien life (as long as it does not threaten the crew); he’s charming and has a sense of humor, but that humor is obviously honed on purpose as part of his suite of leadership skills, because he switches it off immediately in a crisis and admits to being very serious and focused in the past; he holds himself to incredibly high standards, and demands the same of those around him, sometimes to a fault; he strongly believes in the mission of Starfleet and the Federation, in exploration, discovery, alliance building, progress, innovation, science, self-determination, and autonomy; he’s optimistic and unceasingly hopeful, despite or maybe because of the extreme trauma he endured as a young adult; he’s extremely smart and a little nerdy, loves books, and had to actively learn to loosen up and relax as he grew older; he’s intensely romantic, loves love, and regrets that, among other things, he gave up the possibility of a long term romantic partner when he took on the responsibilities of his job; yet he thrives in this job and gets bored without it; he is self-reflective and thoughtful and he actively collects information from the experts around him while still taking ultimate responsibility for all decisions; he’s a workaholic who pushes himself too hard; his crew respects him and looks up to him; he is the Best Networker who knows literally everyone in the Federation; he’s imperfect but he’s always trying; he represents the value system of the show and embodies TOS’s vision of what an ideal hero and leader looks like in an ideal, utopian future.

But it’s weird he’s my favorite character idk.

#the year 2022 #2022: fandom thoughts #star trek tos #this skews so heavily to s1 #it's also really sad that even though i still have some eps left in the rewatch there are recent ones i don recall well

4 notes · View notes

kingsbridgelibraryteens · 9 months

Text

Libraries and Librarians on Film: You're a Big Boy Now (1966)

This film is notable, not just just because it prominently features a library, but because it features the central research library of OUR library system! It features such NYPL treasures and landmarks as our famous reading room, the Patience and Fortitude lion statues, the Gutenberg Bible, the stacks beneath the library where staff members wear roller skates to get back and forth through the stacks quickly (wait ... what?), and the giant walk-in safe where the library keeps its classic pornography collection (wait ... WHAT???)

Needless to say, there is SOME fictionalizing of our library in this film!

Now, if I was going to discuss this entire film, it would take a LOT of posts, because there are so many topics worth discussing. I could share all of the New York City locations that are frozen in time, like the Automat, the last of the old Penn Station as it was being demolished, the "OLD" Times Square (if you know what I mean), and the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. I could also discuss the intricacies of the plot, like how a young man named Bernard Chanticleer who works for the New York Public Library feels overwhelmed by many things in his life, including his relationship with his parents, his desire for two different women, and the challenge of living in the same building as an aggressive rooster. Or I could talk about how this film is populated by a very strange cast of characters, including, I kid you not, an albino hypnotherapist with a wooden leg!

Okay, but since I'm NOT going to talk about all of that, let's focus on the vintage NYPL stuff, shall we?

No one will be seated during the gripping CARD CATALOG scene!

BTW, if you're wondering (like I was) what books she's looking up and requesting, WE NEVER FIND OUT!!!

Here's Francis Ford Coppola's credit, over a shot of the book elevator. Fun fact: you're only supposed to use this elevator for books, NOT staff members!

Here's our hero Bernard holding his roller skates, listening to his colleague Raef tell him why he shouldn't ride in the book elevator.

This is a cool shot of the interior of the library's main hall. If you come in through the main entrance on 5th Avenue, look up and you'll see these archways.

Ah, yes. THE VAULT. If the head of the library (I.H. Chanticleer, played by Rip Torn) wants you to go in THE VAULT with him, you should run in the other direction.

FYI, this plot point was one of the reasons that NYPL objected to having this movie filmed in this building. From IMDB trivia:

Francis Ford Coppola was desperate to film on location at the New York Public Library but the library refused because of the scene involving classic pornography locked up in a steel vault. However, Mayor John V. Lindsay was eager to promote the city and prevailed on the Library to change it's mind. This is why Lindsay gets a special thanks credit. The vault scene was eventually filmed on a sound stage.

Now, one of the movie's plot points that is technically true is that NYPL does own one of the famous Gutenberg Bibles. They don't leave it out in the open, though, which is probably a good thing ...

Because this makes it easy for Bernard to steal it ...

And run through the reading room ...

... and run outside with it down Fifth Avenue ...

... and this chase scene continues downtown, right through a department store where people apparently didn't realize that they were being filmed! From IMDB trivia:

The chase through the store occurred at the Mays department store on East 14th Street and Union Square. It happened during normal business hours and used hidden cameras.

I hope that you enjoyed this unusual tour through the yesteryear of the New York Public Library, where some ideas worked, but other ideas were sometimes a problem:

FYI, I can't find any evidence that NYPL staff ever used roller skates to get around the stacks. Mr. Coppola said in an interview on TCM that his older brother told him that "... below in the stacks, the young people who get the books are on roller skates. I don't think it was true." HOWEVER, it appears that this urban legend has some layer of truth, because it was reported in The New York Times that this technique was once employed at the NYU library!!!

If you would like to experience You're a Big Boy Now for yourself, you can check it out on DVD from the New York Public Library. It's available to watch through the Internet Archive, and you can also keep your eyes peeled in case TCM shows it again!

ETA: in case you’d like to get the vibe of this movie without watching the whole thing, TCM has a clip of the first several minutes of the movie on its website! Red-hot card catalog action! Walking through the reading room! PNEUMATIC TUBES!!!!! Plus, some amazing music!

#Libraries and Librarians on Film #You're a Big Boy Now #1960s #1966 #SASB #NYPL

1 note · View note

jellyfishdooter · 5 years

Note

I'm gonna send you a fluff prompt cause that Jackie prompt must have really hurt to write. It was really good btw!!! How about marvin waking up from a nightmare and Jackie comes to comfort him^^ I'm in soft mood as you can tell :3

Aww thanks bean!

OH MY GOD HOW DID THIS GET SO LONG JESUS CHRIST

Uhh- enjoy below the cut!

~~~

Marvin stood in the middle of a fast field of golden grass that seemed to stretch on forever. The sky was as blue as his eyes hidden behind the mask.

There was no mask, but his eyes remained closed. His face was bare along with his feet. He could feel small insects scurrying across his feet, the soft grain of the grass against his hands.

The wind shifted and began to gently nudge the human along, swaying the grass to match the waves of the ocean and making his loose hair dance. The smell of fall was crisp on his nose.

Marvin began to walk, blind. Trusting the wind to take him along as he sang along to the song of the earth under his breath. A soft melody of whistling winds and dancing plants, with a strong and deep bassline of heartbeats and thunder.

Thunder. Marvin stopped walking when the wind turned from late summer warmth to a bitter cold. A chill running up his spine with a promise of rain. And as he opened his eyes, bitterly bright lightning flashed across the sky and made him gasp when the promised thunder clapped out after it- like a hunter finally hitting it’s mark after the chase. Rain shot down like needles ripping through his clothes- his skin.

It hurt!

Desperate, he looked around for shelter; for salvation. But there was nothing.

Another crack of lightning struck the ground and suddenly there was fire. It ran quickly across the crisp, dry grass and did not seem to be affected by the rain that already burned Marvin’s skin.

Normally, the human didn’t fear something as trivial as fire. But here, in this place.. He ran. The fire morphed and changed, growing as if it had consumed a city already was chasing the man without fear of losing kindling. The flames laughed cruelly as they licked at Marvin’s heels, forcing him to beat the ground faster.

But it wasn’t enough. The man was surrounded by fire, and being pelted with knife-like rain that caused millions of tiny cuts to draw blood on his skin. He looked around quickly, turning around and around, desperate to find a way out as the earth beneath him began to char and crumble. The dancing flames deceived his eyes- painting pictures of those he loved to have cruel faces of pure hate and disgust. They got closer to him, the glint in their eyes promising pain.

Marvin cried out as the ground under him gave out, sending him into a freefall into darkness.

Where bright red strings caught him like razor wire, stopping him from hitting the ground like in the gallows-

Marvin woke up with a shout, bolting upright in his bed as he gripped at his shirt around his heart, willing for it to slow down. He breathed heavily as his eyes darted around the room, quickly taking in his surroundings.

He told himself he was home in his room- but his brain was still half in his dream world, yelling at him that there is still danger. Tears pricked at his eyes as his mind tore in two, leaving him stunned and unsure what to do other than clutch onto his blankets and try to remember how to breathe.

It wasn’t long until a knock on his door made him almost jump out of his skin. Marvin managed to croak out a meek “Yeah?” and his eyes widened when he saw that Jackie was on the other side of the door. The magician quickly tried to dry his eyes with his sheets but it was pointless, the hero had already seen.

“Can I come in?” Jackie asked in a gentle voice, waiting until Marvin nodded numbly until he entered the magical man’s room. “Nightmare again?” His words were not scolding or tired, but filled with true concern.

Another nod. Marvin carded his fingers through his own mess of hair, not able to meet Jackie’s eyes. Jackie cautiously sat on the bed keeping his movements slow. Marv couldn’t help but bitterly laugh in his mind. The eldest ego was acting like he would shatter any second. Which.. Might have been true in all honesty. Not like Marvin would ever admit that, though.

“You wanna talk about it, or be distracted from it?” Jackie asked. It was routine at this point. Jackie would ask whether or not Marvin would want to discuss what happened in the dream to get it out of his system. Or the option to take his mind off the dream by just letting Jackie fill his ears with random babble until he got back to sleep or until the sun rose through the window.

“Distraction.” Marvin mumbled, pulling his legs up to sit criss-cross and make room on the bed for Jackie to do the same across from him. Jackie did so, his socked feet poking out from under his legs and he sat up straight to match Marvin, showing off the litterment of scars from saving the day and from his own personal battles. “Can we..” Marv started slow. Jackie had his full attention. “Can we do the, ah.. five things.. Thing?” The magician made a vague gesture in the air with his hand, hoping to get the point across to the hero.

Jackie blinked, a bit surprised by the request, but wasn’t against it either. “The five senses technique? Yeah sure, Marv. If you think it’ll help.” Marvin nodded and looked across to Jackie, their matching eyes finally meeting. Jackie gave him a warm smile. “Alright.”

They started with a deep breath. Jackie demonstrating for Marvin to follow along to. Breathe in through your nose slowly and hold. Before just as slowly letting it out through your mouth. They repeated this three times before Jackie started to talk again. “Look around the room here. Name five things you can see. Try to be specific.”

The magician looked around his bedroom. He had a lot of things in here. Shelves crammed with dusty leather books and other magical artifacts (and of course things like snow globes, fanart, and a few toy magic kits that he liked to collect). His work desk littered with notes for spells and jars filled with herbs and other things he decided that might be useful later. From his ceiling hung several colorful tapestries and crystals on strings that caught the silver moonlight filtering through his window. His wardrobe stuffed with both expensive, elaborate clothes, and also a selection of simple shirts and jeans. He didn’t even want to think of everything he had crammed in the cupboards and under his bed-

Marvin stopped himself before his mind got too much further off track. He glanced at Jackie, who was sitting as patient as a saint, before taking another deep breath and clearing his throat. “Well.. I can see my.. My copy of the Player’s Handbook for DnD night.. Um..” He scanned the large dark wood bookshelf just over Jackie’s shoulder, “My magic 8 ball.. A jar of sage leaves I need to replace. The purple geode Chase got me for my birthday. And..” He looked around and his eyes landed on his bedside table- also cluttered with another stack of books and more trinkets. “My rune spoon?” Marvin said with an awkward chuckle, picking up the wooden spoon he got from a fair a few years back for shits and giggles. But came to be one of his favorite tools while working with spells. Gently running his thumb over it, he looks over to Jackie once again.

“Good job!” Jackie cheers softly, keeping his voice low as to not wake up the rest of the house. The walls here were pretty thin unless Marvin put a charm up to deafen the noise during the day. The older ego takes another deep breath, prompting Marvin to do the same before carrying on. “Okay, tell me about four things you can touch around you. Really try to describe how they feel if you can. Heh, seems like you’re already ahead of the game.” He nods to the wooden spoon in the magicians hand and smiles. Not to mock him, gods no. But to show that he really did care and was here for him.

Marv had to take another breath when memories of the burning fire and sharp rain from the dream filled his mind and whispered phantom pains across his arms and feet. “The wood of the spoon is smooth.” He interrupted his own mind from spirling back to the nightmare. “Polished but not sticky with gloss. Uhh,” He set the spoon aside and laid his hands flat on his PJ pants, “Smooth again. But.. more silky and soft.” He moved one hand to the blanket covering his lap and rubbed it between two fingers, “Fluffy. Not really like a cat’s fur but.. Softer. Warm.” Running out of ideas in the moment, Marvin reached up and touched his own dark wavy hair. He grimaced. “Soft but.. Oily. Gross. I need a shower.” He stuck out his tongue in disgust at himself, causing Jackie to chuckle softly.

Another deep breath together. “Halfway there. This one is a bit harder.” Jackie warned gently, “Name three things you can hear.”

The magician paused before letting his eyes slip close so he could focus on the quiet sounds of the sleeping house. “I can.. Hear the traffic outside. Those poor saps who have to get to work at an ungodly hour making the commute.” He chuckled to himself, tilting his head to listen through the walls the best he could. “Chase is snoring in his room.. Or maybe he passed out in the living room? Not sure.” A faint smile played on his lips as he focused once again to listen to the sounds of the room itself. There wasn’t a lot of sound in here… “Your breathing. I can hear your breathing from here.” He opened his eyes again, “And no, that’s not an insult.”

Jackie couldn’t help but laugh, beaming brightly as Marvin came back into himself again, slowly forgetting his nightmare. “Apology accepted?” He quipped, scooting closer to Marv before taking another breath with him. “I’m here to help with this one. Name two things you can smell.”

Marvin laughed at the hero, shaking his head but sniffing the air anyway. “Yep. You’re a stinky bastard alright.” He joked, gaining a light-hearted shove from Jackie. “Hah. And..” He looked around a bit before raising his blanket to his nose and taking another long sniff, “My blankets got washed yesterday so they smell.. I dunno, clean?”

“Works for me.” Jackie encouraged, reaching over Marvin to open up his bedside table’s drawer and pull out the other man’s small jar of stashed chocolate drops. “Last one. I’m gonna make it really easy for you.”

Marvin mocked a scoff, “Excuse me, Sir. But I don’t believe I gave you permission to get your grubby hands on my stash.”

“Well if you don’t want a fuckin’ chocolate then I’ll just put ‘em back-”

“Now I never said that. Gimme.” Marv snatched the candy from Jackie’s hand as he held it up and popped it in his mouth with a low hum. “Chocolate. With a peanut center.” He said with his mouth still full, taking the jar back from the other ego and handing him a candy before putting the whole thing away. Jackie gladly took it and popped it in his own mouth with a cheeky grin.

“Feelin’ better, Marv?” Jackie asked once they both finished their sweet treats.

The magical man nodded lazily, his eyes starting to have trouble staying open once again. “Thank you. For.. putting up with…” He makes another vague gesture towards himself and sighs. “All this.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Jackie said, getting up from his spot on the bed and stretching- making a few bones pop in his back and knees. “I love being able to help you, man. It’s what I’m here for. And you know I’m just next door if you need anything else, right?”

“I-” Marvin was about to argue. Saying that he didn’t want to be a bother to Jackie or to disturb his sleep. But.. they’ve had this little argument before many times by now… “Thanks.” He simply replied instead as Jackie stopped at the door.

The hero turned back and gave him another smile, “Of course. Anything for you guys.” And with that, Jackie quietly closed the door behind himself. Marvin stayed sitting up, listening to Jackie return to his own room before settling back into the blankets himself. With a soft smile on his face and the nightmare mostly forgotten, the man slowly closed his eyes and allowed himself to sleep until the morning sun gently woke him up with a warm kiss.

#my writing #shut up jelly #fanfic #jackieboy man #marvin the magnificent #angst #fluff #nightmares #fire #comfort

24 notes · View notes

hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

Text

Spider-Man: Far From Home Thoughts Part 1 a.k.a. MCU Chapter 23

As I did for Homecoming I’m going to split my thoughts on the film up based on looking at it as a film unto itself/part of the MCU and then separately looking at it in terms of being an adaptation.

However in trying to write the former section I soon realized it was more practical to further partition coverage of the film.

Because MCU films can be looked at not merely as part of a film trilogy/quadrilogy (or as the latest chapter in a specific character’s arc) but as installments in the wider MCU story. Spider-Man: Far From Home is in essence simultaneously ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man 2′ and ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe Part 23′. And those two lenses do affect how you evaluate the film.

So as such I’m going to have three sections across...however many parts it takes. These posts are something of a stream of consciousness so I’m aiming for 3 parts but we’ll see what happens.

Let’s start with how this stacks up as the latest installment in the MCU Saga.

On a scale of Iron Man 3/The Dark World/Captain Marvel to Winter Soldier/Civil War/Endgame, Far From Home sits comfortably in a middling position, much like its predecessor.

Like Homecoming it’s a mostly entertaining time killer, decent popcorn fun...just not quite as high quality popcorn fun as say Avengers 2012 or Iron Man 2008.

Speaking of Iron Man his post-humorous presence in the film illustrative of a strength and weakness of the MCU’s narrative style, hence I’m going to talk a lot about it here.

Whilst the MCU is often touted (even by Disney themselves) as replicating the comic books’ shared cross continuity nature, in truth it doesn’t.

In Marvel comics one can mostly follow Iron Man or Spider-Man or Avengers runs on their own. The shared universe is there and comes into play at times, but really you don’t need to follow everything.

With the MCU, whilst a lot of the films are accessible you really couldn’t just watch the Iron Man Trilogy and call it a day because Tony’s arc plays out across other films too, it climaxes 5+ years after his last solo film. In essence the MCU is like a TV show wherein you get 2-3 episodes per year and the season finales are the Avengers movies.

This is relevant to Far From Home because, despite what anyone tells you, this is the start of Phase/Season 4 and it feels that way (it more or less states that to you at the start of the movie). As such the film acts as MCU Spider-Man 2 but also MCU Chapter 23/MCU Book 4 Chapter 1 and HAS to address the fallout of the last episode/chapter/season finale.

Thus Peter’s arc in FFH gets hijacked as a kind of Endgame/Tony Stark post-mortem...sorta. We’ll talk more about that in another post, but understand that in so far as Tony’s post-mortem does hijack the movie it undermines Peter’s personal narrative.

However, in regards to the post-Endgame state of affairs it is rather unsatisfying, almost disrespectful.

And by disrespectful I mean that as the Marvel Studios logo opens up we have a rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You’ (the Whitney Houston version I believe) over poorly picked out, low res stills of all Avengers who died or didn’t come back in Endgame; to the film’s credit it does look like something a high schooler would make. That is followed by the first of two clunky exposition drops played for laughs and repeating the unrequited romance joke between Betty and Jason from Homecoming, complete with a focus upon Jason’s bewilderment over now being older than his little brother. Oh and let’s not forget the gag about the high school band turning to dust and then reappearing in the middle of a basketball game to wacky effect. The film even makes a point of not addressing if the Avengers are even around as a team anymore, which is likely a meta commentary as well.

I’ll give the movie this, it made it’s intentions clear. It was not going to really treat the aftermath of the biggest MCU movie with much weight, it was going to be a superfluous, light, fluffy funfest. That’s a stupid direction to adopt after Endgame but at least it didn’t try to trick the viewers that it would be anything else.

Now in spite of that tone and approach the film could still explore how the post-Endgame world has changed. Maybe we won’t get anything dark or dramatic per se, but at least we’ll get some information right?

In fact, as much as I had disdain for this film going in, seeing the post-Endgame MCU was what I was really interested in. And the film delivered on that...initially...in the very same clunky exposition drop played for laughs.

We don’t talk about the blip again apart from 3 or 4 quick references, one of which explained who Mysterio was and why he could’ve duped Fury.

As for how this affected Peter, it didn’t. Many speculated Aunt May might’ve survived the blip but no, we’re told very explicitly she disappeared too.

This is very much a mixed bag for FFH as an MCU film and as a Spider-Man movie (yes I know I said I was separating those two things but it’s more efficient for this next part).

On the one hand for those who want to follow the broader MCU story FFH gives them answers but brief ones. It’s the equivalent to simply googling the answer to a murder mystery rather than experiencing the story unfold towards that answer. We had a huge opportunity to examine the ramifications of such a globally changing phenomenon but we simply acknowledge it happened and then press on as though it didn’t. The same opening exposition makes that clear too when it says that they’re moving on.

On the other hand were the film to properly explore the ramifications of the blip it would hijack the whole movie, even more than the Iron Man post-mortem already was.

On the other other hand having everyone of relevance to Peter’s life (sans Happy and Tony) die and come back, keeping them all ‘synched’ with him basically, is extremely convenient.

On the other other other hand it’d derail his narrative in a huge way if MJ or Ned or May (who’s still not ‘Aunt May’ btw because fuck this movie) were suddenly in their 20s.

On the other x4 hand the presence of such a massively fantastical event like death and resurrection (along with aliens and space technology) has already derailed the verisimilitude of his solo films which began by painting themselves as comparatively more down to Earth and ‘friendly neighbourhood’ even in spite of alien tech being repurposed. The same applies to having him go on international adventures; yet another inconsistency between this and the last Spidey movie.

So it’s very much a case of pick your poison.

Getting back to this film as a Tony Stark tribute, when viewed as part of the ongoing MCU saga it’s presence and handling succeeds more than it fails.

As I said Tony began the MCU and along with Cap was one of the twin pillars holding it up, so his death demands examination. On a metatextual level we need a film grieving Tony Stark before we can move on to the next step.

So in this regard the film giving so much attention to the hole left behind by him and how that’s really the impetus for the entire primary plot of the film is incredibly fitting.*

This applies to Mysterio in a sense.

I’ll talk more about his place when compared to certain other villains in a future instalment, but in the context of this movie his role as a kind of evil Iron Man/pretender to Iron Man’s throne works well. In fact he’s an exceptionally great villain...for Iron Man.** You see where I’m going with this, but that’s for another post.

Lets switch gears a little and discuss another wider MCU element, Nick Fury. At certain points of the film I felt Fury was out of character and a huge jerk. But twist at the end that it was actual Talos mitigated all that, it made sense. It also addressed another huge problem I was having with the movie up until that point, the absence of other heroes.

Like in the trailers the movie takes strides to address why Thor, Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange can’t help out against the Elementals. But of course this leaves the huge problem of literally everyone else. You could make a case for Falcon and Winter Soldier being of little use against such seemingly powerful foes like the Elementals, but what about Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Valkyrie, etc? Thankfully the Talos reveal addresses this as Talos is ultimately not Nick Fury so wouldn’t have access to all those heroes.

It also sets up for future films, implying the Kree/Skrull War is far from over and that we will soon be seeing S.W.O.R.D.

Really that’s all there is to say about the movie moving forward into the MCU.

We get answers but they’re underwhelming and unsatisfying whilst getting a movie grieving Tony Stark and making the audience feel his loss.

If only Spider-Man himself seemed to feel as upset...

*Too bad all the comedy and light teen drama crap undermines it.

**In fact the entire villainous crew and villain scheme revolves around Iron Man’s legacy. I guess that makes this film also a.k.a. Iron Man in Memoriam

39 notes · View notes

sceptilemasterr · 5 years

Text

Endless Summer: The (un)Official Screenplay - “End Credits”

Yes, you read that right: this movie script does include an “End Credits” of sorts! Though since there are very few people who actually worked on this script (aka: just me), I’m also going to be including my final thoughts on how the script turned out, where the story’s going from here, what the hell is up with that “CIU Project” tag I keep adding to these, and... in true MCU-style fashion, even an end-credits scene! Or two?

Masterlist: Link

CREDITS:

Written by: SceptileMasterr (obviously)

Based On: Endless Summer, Book 1 by Pixelberry Studios (with some additional elements taken from Hero, Vol 1)

Copyright Info: All names, places, and concepts from Endless Summer and Hero are copyright Pixelberry Studios. The only things I own here are Ian and Alyssa, my various Vaanti OCs, as well as the majority of the Vaanti language except the words taken from canon (conlangs are hard!)

Inspirations:

The MC Twins: @blightarts (go read his Pokemon Summer Version crossover fic where I got that idea from, btw, it’s awesome)

Movie Concept in General: @mysteli and her amazing ES Fan Trailers (both of them!)

Estela and Ian’s First Kiss: Borrowed from another one of my fics, “Sunset”

Screenwriting Software: Final Draft 11

Special Thanks:

@brightpinkpeppercorn: My fandom twin and “beta reader” of sorts; thanks for all the great and fun discussions we had about the twins, their loves, the story, and concepts and future plans; they’ve been great! I love and appreciate your feedback!

@mysteli: You’re the entire reason I started this project! Ever since your first ES trailer I have envisioned what an ES movie would be like. And then my imagination spiraled out of control from there... Appreciate your feedback as well!

@edgydepressedchoicesthot: A fellow Estela stan! I met you even before I had a Tumblr, back on AO3. I read and fell in love with your ES rewrite series there... then school blocked AO3 (grr) but I eventually caught up! I hope you enjoyed this rewrite as much as I liked yours!

@bbaba-yagaa: A more recent fandom friend, but I’m so glad I met you and your blog! I adore your Estela fics so much!

@endlesshero1122: I’m still amazed at how we had such similar ideas with our respective ES and Hero rewrites. Dual MCs and everything, with one of them even being named Alyssa, what are the odds?! Glad you’ve enjoyed this script!

...And of course, everyone not on the tag list who’ve liked, read, and/or commented on this script! Every time I get a new like or comment, it makes me so happy to know that I made someone’s day a little better with this screenplay-rewrite of a visual novel we all know and love. I love writing; I really have a passion for it, and I hope I can continue entertaining people with my future stories to come!

And SPEAKING of future stories...

FADE IN:

INT. THE CELESTIAL LOBBY - DAY

Estela is standing at the concierge desk, gazing at several sheets of paper stacked atop it. The elevator doors open, and Ian emerges, the folders he’d found previously now clutched in his hands. She turns at his approach.

ESTELA: Ian! There you are! Listen, you should see this-

IAN: Look, I... I’ve got something I need to show you. To show everyone, really. Where are they?

ESTELA: I think most of them are still sleeping. Can’t say I blame them, after last... night? Morning? Day? Anyway, look.

Ian crosses over to the desk and looks at the papers. On them, in a messy scrawl, are written several seemingly non-sequitur messages. Ian picks one up and reads it, confused.

IAN: “The Hostiles know.” “McKenzie equals Lupus.” “The STARS are key!!” “He’s here he’s here he’s here he’s here...”

He looks up at Estela.

IAN: What is this? Looks like nonsense.

ESTELA: I’m not sure. But more to the point, this wasn’t here before we “time traveled.” Someone was here during the 204 days we skipped. Is this Diego’s handwriting?

IAN: Nah. I’d know his scribbles anywhere. Doubt it’s the Hostiles, either, since they don’t speak English.

ESTELA: So that means... what?

Before Ian can respond, the elevators open again, and Alyssa and Jake emerge. They stop short when they see the folders in Ian’s hand.

ALYSSA: Wait, are those-?

JAKE (simultaneously): You found some too?!

Estela and Ian turn to face them. Ian shrugs and holds up the folders.

IAN: I... I didn’t mean to keep these from you guys, I just didn’t really get the chance-

He stops when he realizes what Alyssa and Jake had said.

IAN: Wait... “found some too?” You both-

Alyssa shrugs sheepishly.

ALYSSA: At that emergency shelter. One of ‘em was about you, Estela.

ESTELA: Me?

IAN: You should’ve shown her!

ESTELA: To be fair, we all had our reasons for not trusting one another, especially at first.

She pulls out her own set of folders. The top one is Jake’s, and she hands it to him.

ESTELA: This is yours, I believe.

JAKE: Goddamn...

He flips through it, saying nothing, but his eyes go wide in surprise.

JAKE: Hang on. Be right back.

He sprints out of the lobby, toward the entrance to the basement. Alyssa hangs her head and sighs.

ALYSSA: Sorry, Estela. Really. We’re long past the point where we should’ve stopped keeping secrets from each other-

ESTELA: It’s fine. Apparently we all did the same thing.

IAN: I was hoping to find everyone so I could show them all at once. I’ve got Craig’s, Zahra’s, and Quinn’s.

ALYSSA: But how do they know this much stuff about us? Birthdates, locations, history... except yours, Estela; a lot of it’s blacked out for some reason.

She hands the folder to Estela, who reads through it.

ESTELA: What is here is worryingly accurate. How could Rourke possibly know all of this? Down to the last detail?!

Alyssa shivers involuntarily.

ALYSSA: I dunno, but it’s freaking me out-

Jake bounds back up the stairs, a pair of folders clutched in his hands.

JAKE: Found these right before all that Aleister business started, and then I forgot all about it, given... uh, what happened that night.

He looks awkwardly at Ian. Alyssa coughs and glares at Jake.

IAN: What happened that night?

ALYSSA: None of your business! Actually, hang on: what were you two doing that night? I seem to remember you rushing in together-

IAN: “None of your business!”

ALYSSA: I really should’ve seen that coming.

JAKE: None of that matters right now. You two are gonna wanna see these.

He passes the twins’ folders to each of them. They stand side by side as they open the folders, staring openmouthed at the “Birth” sections.

IAN: “December 31, 1995 - 11:59 PM” ... “Location... La Huerta?!”

ALYSSA: Mine says “January 1, 1996 - 12:00 AM.” Also La Huerta.

JAKE: There’s no way in hell you two were born here. You’d have known that, right?

Alyssa and Ian shake their heads.

ALYSSA: Jake... we were adopted together when we were babies. We never knew our birth parents or anything.

IAN: Our birth certificates said “January 1st, ‘96,” so that’s just when we celebrated, but... Alyssa...

ALYSSA: If Jake and Estela’s birthday info is all true, and if the others’ are true as well, then...

IAN: ...We were born here. On La Huerta.

ALYSSA: Ian... who are we?!

FADE TO BLACK.

TO BE CONTINUED IN... ENDLESS WINTER

FINAL THOUGHTS AND FUTURE PLANS:

How do you actually write one of these things? Well, I start out by playing through the canon chapter(s) that a given scene is based on and transcribing the script into Word for reference. The canon ES chapters are L-O-N-G, by the way. Then, I decide what to keep, what to alter, what to get rid of, and which lines to include unchanged, and then I write the actual script! After that, I run through it once to edit, then I’ll read the lines aloud and make more changes to make them sound natural. Post it to Tumblr, fix the formatting (and edit once again), then voila! A scene is born!

What was up with the changes? You skipped a ton of scenes! I thought the script turned out well, and (based on people’s reactions and comments) reasonably easy to follow even with all the changes. Most of the changes were made with the aim of streamlining and shortening the story; even with all the scenes cut from canon, the script still ended up being an estimated 3 hours long! Yikes! The other major changes were mostly made with the aim of setting up threads for weaving a greater story, which leads us to...

What the hell is “CIU Project?” Okay, okay, if anyone’s looked in the tags, you’ve probably noticed the recurring tag “ciu project” as well as tagging my Vaanti OC names with (CIU) at the end of it. CIU stands for “Choices Interconnected Universe” and is what I’m calling any- and everything that takes place in the same universe as this ES rewrite. There will be a more detailed post about the CIU and a general idea of my plans for it later on, but I wanted to wait to announce it until this first script was finished!

Have you written anything else in your CIU universe? “Choices Interconnected Universe Universe?” Okay, but seriously, this is the first official, “canon” work set in the CIU. I have written my Vaanu “Post-Credits Scene” during ESAPW, but consider that more of a loose “teaser” for the project than anything. Once I get to the script that scene’s meant to appear in, I will rewrite it and it may have a few tiny details different. Anything else I write in the CIU will be tagged with “ciu project” (no quotes) so you can find it easily there!

What other Choices books besides Endless Summer are going to be involved? I’ll be explaining that in the separate CIU post I plan to make soon, but in the meantime...

FADE IN:

INT. L.A.P.D. STATION - OFFICE - NIGHT (FIVE MONTHS AGO)

A man in a crisp suit, his back to the camera, scrolls through data about Rourke International on his computer screen; images of Jake, Lila, and Aleister appear beside a satellite view of the Caribbean Sea. Scattered on his desk are copies of the various dossier pages that Ian, Alyssa, Jake, and Estela had all found across La Huerta. The man sighs and rubs his forehead in frustration.

The door swings open, and a young auburn-haired policewoman rushes into the office, slightly out of breath. This is Jake’s sister, REBECCA MCKENZIE. The man looks up as she enters.

MAN: ...Officer McKenzie? I told you I’d let you know when I found something-

REBECCA: They’re pulling you off the case. You’re getting reassigned. I asked her not to, but-

MAN: Listen, Officer, I told you before: technically this case is well outside my jurisdiction. It’s not even in this country, let alone the city. I figured it was only a matter of time ‘til they wanted me working on something a bit closer to home.

REBECCA: But... what the hell am I supposed to...

MAN: Whatever I’m being reassigned to, I promise I’ll keep digging up leads on my own time. An entire island can’t just go missing with no one noticing; there’s definitely something fishy going on.

REBECCA: Yeah, and my brother was on that island. You’re a detective! Solving mysteries is your job!

MAN: Well, this mystery is tougher than most. But I promise we’ll figure it out eventually. He’s not the only person who’s gone missing in that area last month, besides.

He indicates the scattered pages on his desk.

MAN: Fifteen missing, including your brother. Don’t worry. You know I’ve got plenty of friends in high places.

Rebecca smiles, reassured by his words.

MAN: So what’s this new case I’m being reassigned to? I swear, if it’s another celebrity feud over nothing-

REBECCA: Nothing like that. You heard about the Tower Murders the other night?

MAN: Yeah, I thought Barton and Sanchez were handling that one-

Rebecca shakes her head.

REBECCA: Nobody can figure it out. Captain wants you. Specifically. There’s even rumors that... y’know... Li might be behind it.

MAN: Heh. Of course they think she’s behind it. If Li was behind everything everyone claimed she was, there’d have to be at least a dozen of her running around. 'Sides, murder isn’t her style.

He stands up from his desk, adjusting his suit and tie.

MAN: Tell the Captain I’ll do it.

REBECCA: You will? Just like that? But what about my brother?

MAN: I’m at a dead end for now anyway. I’ll find this murderer, get ‘em locked up, and be back on the La Huerta disappearances faster than you can say “Case closed.”

Rebecca laughs in spite of herself, then recovers and nods professionally.

REBECCA: Thank you, Detective. I’ll let the Captain know, and she’ll fill you in on the details. And... I appreciate what you’re doing for me. For my brother.

MAN: Of course. After all, there’s never been a case I couldn’t crack, and I’m not about to let that change!

Rebecca leaves the office. The man turns and faces the camera, adjusting his badge, which reveals his name: DETECTIVE DAVE REYES. He shakes his head, glancing back at the images on his computer once more.

DAVE: What the hell are you up to, Rourke?

FADE TO BLACK.

TO BE CONTINUED IN... MOST WANTED: THE HOLLYWOOD KILLER

It’s all connected...

9 notes · View notes

dorotheian · 6 years

Text

So finally I can put my own two cents in on what I saw in Last of the Jedi.

I understand why people would be put out by it. IMO, it’s between a rock and a hard place: multiple perspectives, not enough time—barely enough to round it all out at the end (I kept wondering when the endpoint was going to be), and relying on a thematic/mythic approach that slides over certain cause-and-effect holes. But since when has a Star Wars movie not relied on all the dominoes being lined up just so? And is simultaneously trying to show what happens when the dominoes aren’t stacked neatly? It’s taken almost too far. I’m just gonna accept that the timescales were VERY generously stretched.

Poe’s and Finn’s sides of the conflict were comparatively—perhaps equally—weak. Rey carries the movie; but she’s not even doing that much until the end. Poe and Finn are much more active. Rey has the luxury of time and contemplation which they do not have: they, like the Resistance, are moving in “real time,” getting messy, making mistakes, living on a wind and a prayer and the conviction that if they follow their inner compass, it will all turn out right.

The heroes are contrasted with their leadership. Rey/Luke, Kylo/Snoke, Finn & Poe vs. Leia and Harlo; and right up at the end, it’s Hux/Kylo (Hux is doing his best to knock out Kylo—to be continued). ALL of these leaders are deeply flawed, and I think the movie was attempting to explore those flaws. The flaws of too much experience, and too little; of long service, and temporary roles; of not recognizing one’s place, and struggling to impose an unnatural chain of leadership and command (Harlo and Hux).

In Leia’s and Harlo’s cases... *sigh* Yup, they held onto that idiot ball. Leia’s displeasure should have focused more on taking away Poe’s command (if that plot point had to be there to begin with) than a stupid face-slap. If it is in character, a face-slap reveals Leia’s weakness as a commander in using such a crude and despotic crutch. Then Harlo was abrupt, condescending, and overly secretive. There was no need for her to hide her own plans except for extra drama in the late reveal. Admitting in private that she likes that hot-shot pilot in no way makes up for unnecessarily abrading him in public. Whether Poe is ranked as a soldier or not, Harlo made the mistake of treating Poe like a soldier when he is a fully actualized, free-thinking leader. It cost valuable time. It was a rookie mistake; she stepped in to an interim temporary role and held the reins too tightly. I sympathize, because temporary authority is a deuce to handle, but it in no way excuses her. Nor do I think Poe did right in undermining her; but he was making decisions in real time to save the Resistance. (Interesting parallel in Star Trek Discovery, btw.) I don’t like Harlo’s interpretation of Leia’s favorite saying: there’s no need to manufacture ignorance to spur creativity and faith. Creativity thrives on the facts. Faith does not rise on command. It can be encouraged as a culture but not manipulated or demanded in a battle. Leia, meanwhile, seems to have mellowed in her wisdom: she has grown cautious and withdraws her support too early. Nevertheless (in private) she trusts in and relies upon her fully grown, free-thinking pilots to make their own decisions. (Leia. Leia. Come on now. Show some class. You can’t have it both ways.)

Finn’s arc is plain messy. A cantina, again? OK, it’s a high-class one, we’ll call it a casino. WHATEVERRRRRR. How easy it is to hate decadent rich people; they’re dismissible stock villains. It was too convenient, too chancy. Why couldn’t we have gone to the Star Wars equivalent of Wall Street?!! That’s my main huff. I think Finn and Rose as characters were okay. I don’t like that Finn gets pre-emptively attacked so early in both TFA and TLJ. I wish Rose and Finn could have met a different way. Given in-universe reasons, I do understand Rose’s attack because Finn was acting twitchy and evasive, she’s apparently found other deserters, she’s a good soldier, etc.: she’s no dummy and she did the genre-savvy thing. It’s just genre-savvy to the wrong story. Finn, meanwhile, is canonically terrible at explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing—his first instinct is to make excuses and hide his real intentions (he probably learned that for survival on the Death Star, let’s be real) even if those intentions are good and sympathetic. He just assumes that nobody will listen to him right off. So I don’t blame Rose; I blame the writer who put Rose and Finn in that awkward situation. Rose doesn’t taser Finn because he’s black per se, but she is a bit quick to the punch, and that’s the problematic part. Real black people do get killed because they aren’t afforded the benefit of the doubt. In-universe, if she didn’t taser him right quick, she’s obviously a slacker at her job; if she does, she’s a racist bitch. There’s no good outcome to that situation. Oh, another thing I noticed: Finn doesn’t have time to enjoy himself at the cantina, but Rose can take all the time she wants rescuing the alien steeds? *rolls eyes* Yeah, knock that off. Spare me. It wasn’t funny. It looks bad. I will be disappointed if Finn/Rose is chosen as endgame over Finn/Rey. Fandom is of course free to do and enjoy almost whatever it likes, but I think that making that choice in canon would be cowardly.

Poe bought time. He didn’t have a mission to complete. Finn bought time, and did complete his mission. In terms of story impact, Finn has more. Both are equally mixed up in enjoyment and sensibility of plot. Are their plots racist? *takes a deep breath* Yes, kind of. In a “white women wield power recklessly” sort of way, and in a “white woman author wrote some insensitive situations” kind of way.

Now, onto Rey and Kylo. Despite my wishes, they got center stage. To my surprise...I’m okay with what they did with it. I think the directers put enough bait for Kylo and Rey to exist as a dark ship... perhaps unfortunately... buuuuuuut! I still think Kylo/Rey isn’t romantic. Rey is way more fond of Poe or Finn than she is of Kylo. (Personally, I like Kylo’s face, but I did not really need to see him topless? Not a sexy torso? It was plainly framed and barely romantically coded. Methinks it was restrained for a reason.) I like the argument that this movie is about Rey willingly becoming the bridge for Kylo to get out of the abusive hole he’s stuck in: not immediately, but someday. She sticks with her boundaries, and she respects the shaky place where Kylo stands. Rey will not throw herself or the galaxy away for Kylo. Rey will not give Kylo a free pass for his beliefs and choices. The ball is in Kylo’s park. He must see that empire is not the answer to peace for himself before there is any more cooperation. They have reached détente.

Luke carried on in his way like a grand old grizzled idiot. Kylo’s backstory reminds me more of Jason from the Jedi Academy books than anything. Be that as it may... I grasp in concept why Luke fell to the extent he did: he had a serious crisis of temptation and intent. But emotionally speaking, it’s a lot harder to accept. Why was he of all people susceptible to that temptation? I have only two plausible explanations. 1) Time, age, and possibly an inappropriate station for him—teaching seemed right, but it probably wasn’t really his thing for one reason or another; 2) he trusted the Jedi way and its biases too much, and misunderstood Force presentiments, partially incurring his own tragedy. (Kylo was set up, but he still made his own choices.) He trusted the Force more than he did his own knowledge of the people around him. And even acknowledging that on some level, Luke’s still susceptible to those prejudices! Look, if the Dark and Light are part of the same continuum like you say, why’d you freak out about Rey’s and Kylo’s being naturally drawn to the dark? Plain hypocrisy and superstition make Luke unable to keep a level head. Between them both, Rey and Kylo have a better grasp of the proper place of presentiments than either Luke or the Jedi Council ever did. Rey and Kylo both saw a future biased by their own perspectives. But, knowing the possibilities, they carefully acted on a new present independent of both their visions on a foundation of trust in one another. Both were right, but not completely so—and as it should be.

But I am glad Luke died the way he did; letting Kylo make his choice and rage and do his worst, but by also taking the consequences out of his hands. He made sure Kylo grasped the depths of his own brokennness, and kept Kylo from sullying his hands again. Luke chose to die like Obi-wan chose to die—in confrontation with their past, and falling not on their apprentices’ lightsabers, but at peace with themselves and the Force. It is not precisely self-sacrifice. They purposely make death their last lesson, their last gift of peace and hope, to their wayward pupils. Their life and their death are two things their apprentices could not spoil because Luke and Obi-wan chose in the end not to let them. In doing this, they reclaim ownership of their own choices and their actions, of their own burden of responsibility for the path that their lives took, and assert that these hold more power than their apprentices’ mistakes. It is not only acceptance and forgiveness, and a hope that their legacy lives on even after their death, but a confrontation and a refusal to let their apprentices continue to fall down the path of murder. They deny them this step of depravity.

Rey’s parents? Meh.

#star wars spoilers #probably the one and only essay I'll write on the subject

0 notes