#because in the loop is set in a parallel universe….? it’s not a great film

[afieldinengland]

trying to work out if the iraq war occurred in the mainline universe of the thick of it or if it was solely restricted to the later equivalent in in the loop

#because in the loop is set in a parallel universe….? it’s not a great film #<- on a hiding into nothing because it doesn’t matter but it’s interesting to think about #much like ‘education education education’ and granita popping up in offhand lines / deleted scenes #i mean— from one such offhand line— saddam hussein exists in the mainline world of the thick of it

[boonesfarmsangria]

Foals shot for NME. Credit: Andy Ford

Foals share new 'CCTV Sessions' and talk touring and new material

9th February 2021

Foals have shared a new edition of performances from their CCTV Sessions, as well as revealing to NME that they’re in the early stages of writing new material.

The band have been recording the CCTV Sessions of intimate and pared-back versions of their songs since their third album ‘Holy Fire’ in 2013. They’ve now shared new performances of tracks from their recent acclaimed albums ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part One‘ and ‘Part Two‘.

“In some ways we were at a loose end, and it’s a long-standing tradition to rework the songs in a stripped-down, slightly more electronic and lo-fi way using old drum machines and tape loops,” frontman Yannis Philippakis told NME. “It was fun because we didn’t really get to play songs like ‘Neptune’ and some of the ones of ‘Part Two’ more than once on the road. It felt good to do, and we had to do it now because ‘Part Two’ is more than a year old now.”

Philippakis explained that Foals fans have a close affinity to the sessions as it shows a different side to the band.

“It’s just about hearing the songs unadorned by production and seeing the band in a weird, parallel universe,” he said. “It’s cool how dusty and primitive-sounding some of them are when we flip the aesthetic of the songs on their head. Often they’re a more tender, laid-back, stoner-y version of the track. People have just connected with them.

“There’s also something in the fact that they’re captured by CCTV cameras. We forget that we’re being filmed which makes it all feel very rough, ready and unadorned.”

As well as recording the sessions, Philippakis told NME that the band were “definitely working on new material”.

“I wouldn’t say that the oven has reached its proper temperature yet, but the ingredients are being gathered in the kitchen,” he said. “We’ll start making a record this year, but I don’t know when it will be ready. We’re going to start putting our heads together and there are lots of exciting and promising starts.”

Asked if the new album could follow in the stripped-down direction of the CCTV Sessions, Philippakis replied: “I think we could, but what would be really fun would be to do a small tour of small, intimate venues, old chapels and factories and just do a CCTV live set.

“I’m not sure where we’re at with it informing the next record, but I could see us doing a record that’s more stripped-back and has more of these textures.”

The band are currently scheduled to play some huge UK shows in May through to July. With the possibility of touring in 2021 still uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic, Philippakis explained how the idea of playing live had taken on a new meaning. Rather than promoting their latest album, Philippakis explained that the shows would be more about “being thankful that we can make music, play it and connect with everyone”.

“We’re ready to play shows. We’re really missing it,” he told NME. “If we can, we will jump at the chance to play as soon as possible – I’m just not sure how realistic that would be. We want to be prudent about it and make sure that the shows can go ahead in the best way and be safe as well as raucous and fun.

“I don’t know how practical it would be for us to do a socially distanced show. A lot of what’s great about the Foals shows is people coming together en masse and it being something that feels unimaginable right now, which is just a big, sweaty congregation. We’ll just have to see how that goes. We’re really missing it and we can’t wait to hit the road, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

He added: “It’s going to be a celebration of the things that we once took for granted,” he said. “We’re really going to cherish those moments.”

The last time the Foals frontman spoke to NME he revealed a newfound desire to make his own soap during lockdown. Fans might be glad to hear that this is now available to buy in the band’s official store.

“We made a few bars,” he said. “I didn’t make them myself in the end, which I’m a bit embarrassed about, but we made some that were pretty good – very jasmine-y. I think you can some in our official store.

“We only did a ‘limited pressing’, but there are a few left so it’s not too late to get that Valentine’s Day gift in. I’ve heard that soap goes down really well as a Valentines’ gift.”

Link

#FOALS #yannis philippakis #interview #actual reading

[svynakee]

Promare thoughts/impressions

Watched Promare. Overall, enjoyed it very much and it was everything I expected it to be (extremely TRIGGER, basically). A visual feast that definitely satisfied my shonen action hunger. In summary though, I really wish it’d been a 12 ep anime.

Spoilers ahead.

LIKES

Visuals: Loved the stylisation. The vivid, pastel flames and the polygonal ice made a nice contrast and it looks so different not only from other anime films but also from other animations by the same studio? Brilliant.

TRIGGER being themselves: Illogical story with a grand scope, bombastic action hero, easily distinguishable character designs.

Hiroyuki Sawano: His music is just what you’d expect from someone of his calibre. Absolutely floored; also, quite a range in the soundtrack! I remember especially when Galo starts talking about the Japanese firefighters the music shifts to something more traditional.

Galo not being racist: Well, not being prejudiced. While its pretty par for the course to have a protagonist learn to overcome his prejudices in this sort of story, the fact that a person in the rescue ops doesn’t, you know, hate the victims who cause the disasters he’s meant to respond to is very logical.

Kiss follow-up: The no-homo fake out. Not gonna lie, they had me in the first half when Galo recoiled and seemed disgusted. But it would’ve made no sense because like he said, it was a medical procedure he’s been trained to do. Putting his mouth on anyone, regardless of gender, should not have grossed him out. And it didn’t! Being unhappy that he ‘started a fire’ makes more sense because his entire job (passion) is about stopping Burnish. There’s a real lack of hetero-signalling here actually. Promare’s not afraid to let its viewers decide how Galo swings.

Female gaze: Yeah sure there’s that shot where Aina’s butt is on display but the camera sure seems magnetised towards Lio’s crotch.

Lio’s refreshing morosexuality: Once they start working together in earnest, Lio is quick to just indulge in Galo’s quirks. He trusts the guy easily but not to the point that he stops calling him out for stupidity. Very movies end with me knowing that characters from opposing sides have a strong friendship ahead of them. Promare is one. I might talk more about Lio’s match with Galo more elsewhere, but for now, I do like how he isn’t shutting Galo down/constantly arguing which is what you usually see when a serious character has to work with a boisterous one.

DISLIKES

So most of my dislikes come from the fact that it’s a movie. There’s no way they could’ve done otherwise in a 1:51 timeframe, but knowing what the studio’s capable of, I can’t help but wish I saw their full potential.

Character development: Nobody really grew. Not every story needs it and not every character needs to change, but the lack of flaws addressed hurt Galo and Lio’s memorability I think. I kept expecting Galo’s impulsiveness to bite him in the ass. Didn’t see it much except for his confrontation with Kray. I even thought the ‘don’t pose and focus’ thing might come back, notably during the Lio de Galon fight when Kray keeps justifying his robot’s weaponry as terraforming equipment. Galo and Lio are just the type to shut him up and point out ‘If it’s being used to hurt people, it’s a weapon! If you hurt others, you’re a villain! Nothing can justify that!’ since it fits thematically into that fight as well.

Streamlined plot: TRIGGER has been shown to have a good grasp of story pacing. It can feed you one bit of ridiculousness at a time until they bring out something awesome but extremely stupid, knowing that they’ve tempered you enough it’ll just be epic. In this timeframe, that just didn’t happen. Not enough foreshadowing, too many crazy concepts introduced too late, and there was more than one Deus Ex Machina if you know what I mean. Instead of a proper build up that ended on a strong final note, it felt like a brief but sudden blaze that flickers out to leave darkness.

Less dynamic camera: Made it hard to follow the action sometimes. In a way it’s like the plot; too much momentum and not enough time to process it. A good spectacle is worth nothing if there’s no chance to digest it.

Flat supporting cast: Again, this is because TRIGGER’s animes have been strong in this aspect. The movie timeframe means limited screen time, but Mad Max Fury Road had only ten more minutes and managed to set up its supporting cast well. In Promare, they’re mostly reduced to archetypes. What are their relationships? Motivations? They feel more like talking props, like the NPCs you have milling about the map shouting flavour text. There might be more in the supplementary material but for the movie itself, I didn’t like most of the characters not named Lio or Galo. In fact-

Don’t like Galo: Or rather, don’t find him compelling. Unlike Ryuko or Simon, I don’t think he could carry a series. He lacks depth and drive beyond ‘I am a firefighter’. Sure, he’s stupid and loud, but those are personality traits, not a personality. Being nice, determined, having a love of pizza…these all feel so generic and TRIGGER is capable of so much more. Galo feels like an alright lead in a movie where a lot is happening, so he doesn’t have to carry anything in terms of emotion or drive, but he’d be boring in a full-length series. Or even a movie trilogy.

Don’t like Lio?: While I don’t agree that every conflict has two equal sides, I dislike how squeaky-clean Lio is. He feels more like the shonen protagonist than Galo sometimes. He’s caring, skilled, honourable, intelligent, determined. His flaws? If you shoot him then try to commit genocide he’ll knock on your door and ask to fight you. It’s unclear if there’s any casualties during his rampage, which makes sense because we know his flames can be harmless (by his choice) and he was specifically threatening to destroy Kray’s city unless Kray listened. On the other side you have Vulcan and Kray. He could’ve afforded a bit more ruthlessness and still come out clearly heroic. It would have given him more intensity to better contrast Galo.

WHAT I WANTED

In summary? Promare as an anime instead of a film. I’d give up smooth fights and shiny CGI any day for stronger writing and characters with impact.

Longer timeframe in-universe: The plot essentially takes place over a week, which limits how much development characters and relationships can undergo. Lio feels too ready to trust Galo. Galo can’t process Kray’s betrayal. The sisters’ story is just kind of shoved on you like unwanted vegetables spooned out by a health-conscious mother. Dr. Exposition suddenly comes in and starts tying up loose ends so abruptly I had to check my phone to see if the movie was almost over. The short timeframe means Promare feels like a marathon-length sprint.

More moral ambiguity: The Mad Burnish are still righteous and try to minimise damage. However, their plans don’t always work. They leave escape routes but fail to account for impaired mobility. Young Burnish lose control while they’re on the run, endangering ordinary humans. Lio is forced to make tough choices. He becomes more jaded, which leads up to the betrayal where he can truly break and begin rampaging. I’m not saying he needed a full Satsuki Kiryuuin thing, but damn do I miss her sheer badass aura. Lio lacks that dangerous feeling. You know he’s apologising inside if he steps on you.  

Galo’s popularity: Galo is shown to have great PR and love playing the crowd. Kray has good PR. The Burnish have bad PR. Instead of Prometh looping a vid with his hacking powers, Galo could’ve convinced the city of Kray’s evil the traditional way: a big speech about humanity and believing in yourself (and not Kray because Kray is evil).

Promare: Lio tells us the fire is alive. Interesting. Prometh says the fire is actually aliens from a parallel dimension whose prime directive is to burn also they feel pain if the Burnish are hurt. My reaction is like Galo’s: I sleep. The entire concept of the promare…I just don’t like it. Maybe I don’t like how they al disappear at the end and fix the Burnish.

In my ideal Promare, the things I love TRIGGER for would all be present. Strong supporting cast. Multifaceted characters. Build up that just gets more ridiculous and epic at a steady pace. Good fights but also quieter breather moments. More jokes.

More Promare, basically.

#promare #long essay

[bennguinfest]

Spring 2019 Fan Fest Prompt List

Hey fan-festers! 

We’re happy to say that we received 81 prompts this time around, and we spent the last few days distilling all those amazing and creative prompts down to a list of 63 prompts! (If you’re keeping count, that’s far more than last year’s 48!) 

As with last year, we had some repeat prompts and prompts that were similar enough that it made sense to condense them under one item. Additionally, most of the prompts we distilled down to a few words for the sake of having a concise list! Again, like last year’s fest, we’re providing the full text of the original prompts under the cut, in case you’re looking for more details to get started!

You’re free to create any kind of fanwork based on the below prompts! There’s no minimum word count and no rules on what to create, or even how many - if you want to combine prompts, that’s cool! If you’re called to make more than one thing, that’s awesome too! The only limit is that this fest runs from now until April 15th - so if you’re creating something, make sure you post it and tag it with #bennguinfanfest so we can share it to this tumblr! If you’re posting to AO3, the collection is now open for submissions as well, so make sure to include your work there so everyone can find it!

One final thing: even if you didn’t submit prompts, feel free to participate and join us on the discord! We’ve set up a discord server here: bennguinfest on discord to stay connected, inspire each other, and have fun! It’s a great group and really active, so don’t be shy!

That’s it! On to the prompt list!

Matchmaking dogs

Space AU

Birthday gifts

Coming out/being together in the NHL

Acting like a couple (but they’re not actually a couple)

Tyler as a WAG

Transported to a parallel universe

Abducted by aliens

Superhero/Superpowers AU

Amnesia from an injury

Soulmate AUs: Color-based, name-on-wrist

Thirst follow/Met online

Drag AU

Time loops

Alternate histories

Cop AU

Reality show AU (Survivor, the Bachelor, Married At First Sight)

Jamie Poppins/Single dad AU

Supernatural races (vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc.)

Omegaverse: Courting

Delivery boy/Uber driver AU

Tyler gets traded back to Boston

Breaking up & making up

Omegaverse: Bonding drama

Boring office desk job

Road trips

Protective Jamie defending Tyler

College/University AU

Tyler tries to be Jamie’s wingman

Lites’s comments affecting the boys

Taking care of a sick hockey player

Cuddle pile/team bed fic

Harry Potter AU

Fire alarm meet-cute

DnD/Hockey Mashup

De-aged after a fight

Bakery/Tattoo Artist AU

Friends with benefits - and then with feelings

Zombie AU

Homeless AU

Nerds are hot/competency kink

Omegaverse: scents

YouTube channel AU

Bridal shop meet-cute

Beard appreciation

Tornado warning

Figure skater mpreg

Self-conscious Jamie

Wing!fic

Winning the cup and a kiss on the ice

Lifeguard AU

Haunted farm

Animal daemons

Surprise/sudden parenting

Jealousy from dating/flirting with someone else

Secret relationship and almost getting caught

Long-lost childhood friends

"Come here."

“Close the door.”

“I feel like I can’t breathe.”

“It’s three in the morning and you want me to do what?”

“You could’ve died.”

“I thought you were dead.

Full text of the prompts under the link! If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask - and as always, happy creating! 

1. Matchmaking dogs: Tyler’s dogs want to get their human with a certain cow-eyed captain

“well this is really awkward considering the last time we saw each other, i was screaming at you to never talk to me again, but like, my dog recognized you all the way across the park and literally dragged me over here because she misses you so hi” AU

2. Space AU (ex. Star Trek, Firefly, or something else entirely)

3. It's Tyler's birthday and at first Jamie gives off the feeling that he's forgotten and this hurts Tyler but it turns out that that Jamie wakes Tyler up at midnight on his birthday with two tickets to an offseason trip

4. I want a fic that REALLY captures what it would be like if two NHL players were to come out in 2019. I'm talking teammate reactions, press reactions, social media, family, the whole shebang. I wanna see the real raw reactions and the struggle the guys would have to go through. I would also loooove if you could fit Jamie proposing to Tyler in there somewhere but it isn't a necessity.

Jamie has a hard time dealing with how public Tyler’s life is, with the insta stories and with random people filming him all the time. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before their relationship is exposed because of how much Tyler is in the public eye. Jamie doesn’t want to break up but it seems like that’s the only choice he has. He doesn’t want to do this so much that he calls a press conference and comes out of the closet.

Jamie and Tyler have been dating since 2014 and he’s tired of hiding it. So with Jamie’s consent he posts a cute photo of them being a couple and writes a heartfelt monologue about their story. And the whole hockey community blows up about it. And it’s kinda about how they deal with being and out couple and Tyler posting obnoxiously cute couple photos on his Instagram. Sorry this prompted is a mess I just want Tyler to be a troll and post cute cliche couple photos on Instagram of him and Jamie and the world loading their minds about it.

Jamie and Tyler come out to the team about them dating. Management wants to keep their relationship secret so they make Jamie fake date someone. And him and Tyler struggle with the stress that puts on them.

realistic consequences of being together with the team

5. Tyler and Jamie are super close but super oblivious to the fact that they act like a literal couple. Jamie has a gf and she hates the fact that it seems like Jamie cares more about Tyler than he does her.

6. Fluffy fic where Jamie still plays hockey, he meets tyler and they fall in love and tyler becomes an nhl wife/husband/boyfriend.

7. Parallel universes -- somehow Tyler (or Jamie) finds himself in an alternate universe where his life is radically different (for better or for worse) which makes him realize how much his relationship to Jamie (or Tyler) means.

waking up in the future/alternate reality fic

8. Jamie and Tyler are abducted by aliens and taken to a faraway planet where they are prisoners in a bizarro planet. Is it real or is it a nightmare though?

9. jamie and tyler are in danger and major trouble when their identities as superheroes are revealed and bad guys are after them.

powers/mutant AU (as in pick one, not all at the same time) One hides their ability from the other, and when the other finds out, its...not good

Superhero AU! Are they superhero partners? Is one of them a superhero and can't date the other because he has to keep him safe? Are they both trying to keep their secret identities secret from each other while simultaneously dating in both iterations? Up to you, or anything else!

10. Amnesia angst for the win - Jamie gets a particularly hard hit, wakes up and can remember everyone except for tyler (maybe not explicitly, say they can *remember* them, but not remember that they've been dating for eight months now) cue tyler avoiding jamie because its too hard him to be around him

11. soulmate au! people are born with blackmarks - on their hands, their faces, their skin in general - the black marks is the first place their soulmate would touch them. Jamie was born without a mark. Tyler was born with two pitch black palms. Years after tylers been traded to the stars, Jamie falls asleep, and tyler can't help but run his fingers through Jamie's hair, just once, and then he looks down at his hand and the tips of his fingers are colored, and so are the few strands of Jamie's black hair.

Soulmate au- either abo or name on wrist. No drama, just fluff!

12. Tyler thirst follows Jamie on insta. This can be hockey or non-hockey, but Jamie follows back and they start talking.

13. Rupaul’s Drag Race au. Tyler and Jamie are competing against each other but are constantly talking about how much they like each other/are attracted to each other in the confessional. They’re both single, so why not go for it? Alternatively, one is a queen and the other is a member of the pit crew.

14. groundhog day au (aka, tylers/jamies day keeps getting reset, again and again until they get together finally and wake up the next day)

15. alternate history, tyler is never traded to dallas, but they still somehow meet and fall in love anyway

16. cop AU, where in tyler the rookie transfers and get stuck with Jamie the sorta senior to show him the ropes. Jamie gets attached. And that’s...a problem, in their line of work. Or at least it is for him.

17. Survivor au- same or different tribe, as long as they’re the “showmance”

"The Bachelor" AU

Married at first sight au- either within the parameters of the actual show, or they literally get married the day they meet

18. Jamie!Poppins - tyler is a single father with a new baby and no clue of what he's going to do. enter Jamie Poppins!

19. Minotaur Jamie

The Dallas Stars are a pack of werewolves, and Tyler is the vampire that’s been traded to their team.

Shifter verse!! and ive got nothing else for this other than wanting to see tyler as a tiny lab puppy pls and thanks

20. Alpha Tyler and omega Jamie: “usually when I meet an omega I wanna bone, but with Jamie I wanna fucking hold his hand and feed him bonbons all day, what the fuck”

21. Jamie the delivery boy. Kay hear me out. Like he keeps delivering huge quantities of food to this particular house and it always seems like there should be more than one person. But there’s not. And Tyler orders. All. The. Time. Hopeful it’s jamie. But they’re both too dumb to ask each other out. Lots of pining

Uber driver! Jamie picks up Tyler from a one night stand

22. Tyler gets traded back to Boston AU - Everything hurts and nothing is okay. (except that at least one of them is retiring at the end of the season so it's actually more okay than they think) (also a future fic)

23. breakup and makeup but spanning over seasons - no cheese plots

24. Bond drama (abo) either they bond too quickly, like at the all star game or something and dont know ehat to do because theyre on different teams, or they really want to bond and its not happening as fast as they think it should

25. Boring office desk job

26. road trip to Montreal to visit Jordie

27. while out chilling at a bar celebrating a win, jamie and tyler are having a couple of drinks and when jamie gets up to go the bathroom, a drunk stranger and a couple of his friends decide to harass Tyler, upsetting him. A furiously protective Jamie intervenes and despite holding his own, Jamie is beaten up and him and tyler end up in a dumpster.

28. A University fic where Tyler is out and proud and gay and Jamie is still trying to figure out his sexuality but he's having a hard time. No homophobic Jamie tho please, just a guy trying to figure himself out. Would love if he would rely on his family throughout the fic for advice.

I’m always a sucker for college au, or masters/PhD students etc

COLLEGE AU BECAUSE WE ALL NEED MORE OF THAT IN OUR LIVES

'the cops showed up to a party we were at and chased everyone away. You and I happened to run in the opposite direction of all our friends and got lost in some dark and creepy street.’ - College AU

29. Tyler finds out Jamie is gay (outed/comes out/whatever you prefer) and embarks on a wild but good-intentioned quest to find Jamie his perfect man.

30. Tyler is hurt by Lites' comments more than one thinks and Jamie is worried when he sees Tyler crying in private.

31. sickfic? jamie taking care of tyler is- like just how pathetic is a sick hockey player?

32. team bed au omg someone pls

33. Harry Potter au but not as high school student, just something in the magical world

34. "3am and the fire alarm in our apartment building went off and you look cold here is my jacket"

35. Hockey AU but they’re all dnd races. I would love to see half-orc Jamie, and goliath Bishop, and tiefling Tyler. Please be as creative as you want with this!

Hockey AU where instead of going out, a core group of guys plays dnd in their hotel rooms while on the road. Tyler and Jamie’s characters are getting flirty in game, and it’s starting to translate outside of it as well.

36. Tyler and jamie fight - a *big* fight, and the next day Jamie suddenly got a deaged tyler on his hands and no idea how to fix it

37. Jamie owns a bakery and tylers the new tat artist next door plsplspls gimme that slow burn bullshit with this one

38. ty/jam used to have a whole friends w benefits thing that went oh-so-wrong because one (or both of them) caught feelings—as one does—and the fic is kind of that aftermath and trying to repair the broken relationship.

39. ZOMBIES

40. Homeless AU w/tyler

41. Tyler is smarter than he leads people to believe, and Jamie is into privately nerdy Tyler

42. Abo verse surrounding scents. Tyler smells like the most delicious thing Jamie has ever smelled, but he thinks he shouldn’t bond with a teammate

43. Youtube channel

44. Designer and single friend of client at a bridal shop AU

45. Beard appreciation

46. a tornado warning hits dallas and everybody is ordered to seek shelter. jamie follows tyler back to his house and hide in the basement with the dogs, frantic and terrified.

47. Tyler is a figure skater, Jamie still plays hockey. They meet and fall inlove but whoops tyler ends up pregnant. The world still isn't 100% accepting of LGBTQIA+ people and even less accepting of men getting pregnant. Tyler feels down at some point cause he has to put his career on hold. but it all ends up great in the end.

48. Jamie feels self-conscious about his ass after some chirping from opposing players and it's up to Tyler to comfort him

49. Wing!fic

50. They win the Stanley cup and kiss at centre ice

51. Jamie's a lifeguard. They meet after Tyler basically drowns himself. (It's not an excuse to have Jamie kiss him. Its *not*.)

52. Haunted farm au- Tyler is a witch that lives on a farm where extremely weird things happen. He ends up rescuing Jamie and Jamie pledges his services for one year in exchange for his life. During that year, they fall for each other hard, but there are outside forces in the farm trying to keep them apart.

53. Animal daemons

Goose daemons

54. Marshall, Cash and Gerry turn into human kids (temporarily or not), Bennguin handle being sudden parents

55. Tyler having a serious boyfriend for a while and Jamie is jealous because he wants to date Tyler but he’s not ready to come out. And he’s also upset because everyone is taking it so well and nothing has changed and he realizes he really missed out. But in the end they still get together.

56. secret relationship and how they almost get caught - many many times

57. Childhood pen pal / long distance childhood friends?

58. "Come here."

59. “Close the door.”

60. “I feel like I can’t breathe.”

61. “It’s three in the morning and you want me to do what?”

62. “You could’ve died.”

63. “I thought you were dead.”

#bennguin #bennguinfanfest #bennguin fan fest #hockey rpf

[blurhawaii]

Yuletide 2019

dear yuletide writer,

hello and happy yuletide! this is my fifth year taking part and my longest letter yet so i’m just going to jump right in. the suggestions are guidelines. if you’ve got a great idea, go for it. i only ask that you steer clear of my dislikes.

feel free to go through my tumblr for each of these fandoms. i should have tags for them, tho your mileage may vary. i might even have more stuff on my side blog: here. likes:

dysfunctional relationships eg. codependency, messed up father/son dynamics, enemies to lovers, power imbalances.

found family

big loyalty kink. love it when trust is earned and kept.

praise kink

vulnerability in men

open and honest communication between partners

i love ot3s. it’s the journey of them getting together and making it work that interests me the most. or how an established pair goes about bringing in a third person.

stories set in canon. or a divergence of canon.

dark/bleak fics. don’t be afraid to drag characters through the mud. happy endings are welcome but i like the struggle.

i’m fine with anything from gen to porn but would be happiest with something in the middle. i love first times.

canon typical violence is fine and to be expected from some of my choices of fandoms.

detective stories/film noir

magical realism/cosmic horror. weird hints of it in an otherwise normal universe

redemption arcs

characters and relationships are more important than plot for me

dislikes:

AUs that are completely disconnected from canon e.g. coffee shop AUs.

established relationships

crossovers

genderbending

feminisation of male characters

fics that are entirely fluff

A/B/O fics

PWP

mpreg 

scat/watersports

first person fics (i have no problem with second person fics tho if you think that could work. they really wow me when done well.)

The Departed (2006) *Billy Costigan             *Sean Dignam

one of my favourite films ever. i request it every year so you can't really go wrong with this as i am thirsty for anything. most of my love is for dignam and his tough love attitude towards his job and the undercovers he's responsible for. it's obvious he cares, i don't think you could do a job like that and not care, but those rare and few moments when he softens around billy --we need you, pal-- that's what i would like to see more of. i have written a couple of departed fics myself, centred around costigan/dignam, but in all honesty, i would be happy with anything involving them both. shipping is preferred but whatever you are comfortable with is fine. due to the nature of the film, i am perfectly comfortable with violence and the screwed up relationship they are bound to have. the friction born of the situation vs the fact that they need each other to get through this is what i am all about.

codependency, power imbalances and enemies to lovers tropes are abound here.

fics where billy lives are my usual go-to. the survivability of being shot in the head, that kind of stuff can be hand waved away in fic, and i'd love something that explores the angst of billy's ‘where the hell were you when i needed you’ reaction towards dignam following that ending.

or a canon divergence fic with their totally antagonistic relationship being front and centre. i just ask that there be an underlying level of affection, no matter how buried. when billy is undercover, there’s a special kind of relationship that comes with dignam and queenan being the only people he can talk to.

something i’ve never seen for this but would actually love: a time loop/groundhog day fic

Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)

*Sarah Harding                  *Ian Malcolm                  *Nick Van Owen

i originally wasn’t going to ask for this again this year (i was lucky enough to get treated with a fic a couple of years ago) but then someone other than myself nominated nick van owen which surprised and delighted me and i figured why the hell not.

my passion here is the ot3 potential. i view these three in the same way i view the trio in the first film, meaning i see them as three people who have bonded over a traumatic experience and come out of it forever linked in some way. they spend the entire film looking out for each other and keeping each other safe, and they all separately take care of ian’s daughter at one point and i am fascinated by this and how that could continue in the future. (in fact, i love stories where adults treat kids like adults, not talking down to them–see any shane black film.) i’m looking for an actual relationship between them but would be happy with anything that showcased a connection with every side of this triangle.

anything post-film with them dealing or not dealing with what happened would be amazing. there are quite a few fics based around this idea for the first film’s trio, i’d love to see something like that for these three. (i’ve always been kind of bitter about the way nick just disappears for the last act but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that’s what fics are for, i guess.)

i don’t like the jurassic world films but i’m fine with fics that take that future into account. a lot of the trauma for these characters comes from the idea that the parks still exist and continue to fuck people up.

Godless (TV 2017)

*Roy Goode                 *Bill McNue                 *Alice Fletcher

i’m a massive fan of westerns. the harsh way of life, the violence, the isolation, drawn out revenge plots, the murkiness of good vs evil or sheriff vs anti-hero, the importance of honour and heroism and how that differs for men and women, especially in this universe with its town full of widows. having said all that, i’m still very much a sucker for cool cowboys in a shallow female way.

as you’ve probably already gathered my favourite thing is turning every love triangle into an ot3. so i’d love a fic post canon where roy comes back after realising found family is just as important as real family despite frank’s influence. i imagine bill would try to do the gentlemanly/self depreciating thing of bowing out and letting roy and alice be together but i’d love for alice to actually get a say in this where she wasn’t allowed in the show. however you jigsaw them together my main thing is that bill doesn’t get left out.

i feel the roy/bill aspect in particular could be explored a lot more. i love that they don’t hate each on sight. they learn mutual respect and then smoothly move around each other during the gunfight at the end. (bill’s deteriorating eyesight side plot also fascinates me, how it goes with his loss of purpose -”losing his shadow”- and comes back when teaming up with roy to defend the town. maybe there’s a fic possibility where it flares up again due to his insecurity of roy coming between him and alice. either way, the hints of magical realism here and with frank’s repeated insistence that he’s seen his death and this ain’t it are great and i wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.)

the usual ideas of western masculinity get all twisted around when roy and bill are in the presence of alice and they both seem kind of subby towards her, which yes please. the way alice kisses the scar she gave roy and the fact that he simply lets her is *chef kiss* because i also love the parallel that bill got shot in the hip trying to get revenge for alice. they all have scars that tie them together.

i’m actually very okay with letting them be soft with each other after all of their tragedy.

honest communication between partners could work wonders here.

Barry (TV 2018)

*Barry Berkman                     *Monroe Fuches

i expected to like this show. dark comedy, depressed hitman, henry winkler, it’s a perfect combination of things. i didn’t expect to get obsessed with barry’s obvious fucked up father-figure hangups. but hey ho, i was pleasantly surprised.

pretty much every one of barry’s relationships in this show has an element of fucked-upness but the barry/fuches one is by far the worst. it’s codependent, it’s manipulative, it’s a little abusive, the power is constantly flip-flopping and most importantly there’s the father/son dynamic that could so easily tip over into something sexual. it’s everything i love. any time fuches calls barry “his boy” it kills me. and i am fascinated by the way barry can go from needy and touch starved to a rampaging killer hunting fuches down by the end and still have that dynamic going strong.

the parallels between them and the barry/gene cousineau relationship, which is fucked up too just in a very different way, are great. love the jealousy it brings and i would even be into a fic set post the season 2 ending, if you could find a way to swing that. though, while i like a little darkness, i would still rather see them fall back into old unhealthy habits than kill each other.

any kind of prequel fic would be amazing too.

and just to be clear i’m more than okay with a sexual relationship between these two but if you don’t want to write it that’s fine. I’d just like all the other aspects of their shitty relationship delved into.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

*Bud White                         *Ed Exley

pretty much all of my bullet pointed likes come into play here. i’ve nominated two characters but i’d be happy with almost any combination of the characters available in the tagset as long as exley is involved in some way.

ships i like: bud/exley,  exley/vincennes,  bud/exley/lynn

but if we matched purely on both bud and exley then:

i love the opposites attract partnership bud and exley have and i like that they both seem angry at their attraction to each other. hate-sex with reluctant feelings? always good. i'd love anything that deals with their perceived difference in intellect and/or education. bud being turned-on by exley's smarts, exley realizing how much he's underestimated bud, them being mutually impressed by each other.

if you choose to go down the ot3 route then:

i love fics where exley shows up in arizona and they fall into weird domesticity. i love seeing how three people--especially three people who aren't used to the idea of poly relationships--work their way towards realizing and accepting what they want.

and while i’m not sure what you could do with this knowledge, i’d just like to add that i’ve read the book and i’m somewhat obsessed with the existence of dream-a-dreamland in general. if you could incorporate that in any way i’d be hugely impressed.

POKEMON Detective Pikachu (2019)

*Harry Goodman                        *Hide Yoshida

this is totally a last minute request that i’ve edited in but is by no means less wanted than the others. i watched this film back when it came out and was honestly surprised by how much i enjoyed it. i’m a massive pokemon fan and have been since i got my pokemon red when i was seven years old and, let me tell you, getting to see all those growlithes waddling about the real world was like a childhood dream come true.

i had a good time and i moved on.

a few days ago i stumbled on a piece of art : here : and it was like the little goblin that is my brain just sat up straight. the very concept of these characters together had never crossed my mind before that but then suddenly the desire for this just casually strolled through my entire headspace, turning on every light as it went.

i love detective stories, i love cop partnerships, i love hot single dads who happen to be cops with cute little pokemon cop partners. i love that harry is kind of a shitty father but he’s now trying his best. i love that hide had nothing but praise and respect for harry when he meets with tim and that he knew things like tim wanting to be a pokemon trainer when he was younger (meaning he and harry had talked about stuff like this.) i love that hide inexplicably has a spare key to harry’s apartment in his desk drawer. i love how absolutely certain hide was in saying harry loved his son more than anything in the world.

there’s history there is what i’m saying, and i’d love to know more about it.

anything set pre-film would be cool. loose cannon harry throwing his whole being into his job to deal with the loss of his wife and his fractured relationship with his son. hide the tired lieutenant trying to rein him in, quietly talking about tim together, keeping him grounded and safe. all up until he can’t, that is. (great angst potential with hide genuinely believing harry is dead.)

anything set post-film would be even better. harry struggling to find balance between being a father and a cop. probably doing a shitty job at it in the beginning. hide trying to help. would love for tim to be an actual presence (outsider POV could be amazing here.)

may sound strange but my favourite thing that used to happen in digimon a lot is when characters would interact with each other digimon partner. i would be massively into a fic about the two of them growing closer through each other’s pokemon partner.

thank you writer and best of luck.

#yuletide #yuletide 2019

[aspiestvmusings]

ENDGAME: UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

SPOILERS BELOW: for both  “AVENGERS ENDGAME” & “SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME”  

SUPER LONG POST, BEWARE!  

This is the main post of the masterpost... which contains links to other posts that all make up this one posts content

LINKS TO CONNECTING POSTS WILL BE ADDED...SOON

The time travel in this film mostly makes sense if you follow the logic of the rules they establish. (This is why so many of the fan questions/comments I've seen online about how it should’ve gone, can’t apply...) They created the rules for this plot to make sense, and fit. And while it in most cases made sense to me, then some things still didn’t make sense... about the “movie storytelling magic” they used...

So... a few questions still remain that are linked to the “time travelling”, mostly:  

QUESTION #1: OLD! STEVE IN 2023   

QUESTION #2: OLD! CAP’S SHIELD IN 2023   

QUESTION #3: THANOS TIME TRAVEL   

QUESTION #4: CAPTAIN MARVEL SAVES TONY & NEBULA    

QUESTION #5: TONY SOLVES TIME TRAVEL + OTHER THINGS

QUESTION #6: NO MISTAKES IN THE PAST + PARALLEL TIMELINES

QUESTION #7: RETURNING THE STONES - TECHNICAL ASPECT

QUESTION #8: RETURNING THE STONES - CONDITION OF STONES

QUESTION #9: POWERFUL STONES IN PEOPLES HANDS

QUESTION #10: 2014! GAMORA AS 2023! GAMORA

QUESTION #11: TIME TRAVEL RULES & INCONSISTENCY 

QUESTION #12: QUESTION 12: CONNECTED NEBULAS

QUESTION #13: THE UNIMPORTANT BECOMES IMPORTANT?

QUESTION #14: LITTLE (OTHER) THINGS NOT INCLUDED BECAUSE OF 3 HOUR TIME LIMIT 

So... they just left the door wide open for themselves...to go as crazy with the story as they want to in  MCU Phase 4. Everything is possible now that they’ve introduced time travel under their rules. 

ETA on May 6th: Now that the new full trailer for “Spiderman: Far From Home” is out we know that THEY DID IT. They used the thing they set up... and are gonna play with it in future film(s)

TIME TRAVEL RULES ACCORDING TO ENDGAME

The one & only Endgame time travel rule is/was: You cannot change your own past. Nothing you do in the future (next 5 minutes), in the present (this very moment) or in the past (5 minutes ago) or by going back further in time...will change anything that has happened. 

No changes they make either intentionally (borrowing the infinity stones from the AU! pasts or unintentionally (messing up the 2012 heist of one of the stones...etc) will affect anything that happens next/happened in their main timeline. 

This is explained many times in the film... visually, and vocally (in images & in words)

 “THE RULES OF THE GAME”  

EITHER IT ALL MAKES PERFECT SENSE OR NONE OF IT DOES

This film might do some things well, and I like some of the things they do, but I also have some issues with how they do things. 

I appreciate that they went with brains instead/over brawns for the films plot.Using the smarts and tricks to defeat the enemy...and to pull off the heist..instead of using force/their muscles. 

I appreciate that they didn’t do the typical time travel stuff. And I appreciate they setup their own rules for the time travel. Though they kinda also didn’t do all that that well...at times... Though I do appreciate that they tried to highlight science and smarts, and that they kinda honoured the scientific method. But... it didn’t feel great despite all this. 

I appreciate that they didn’t give all the answers, and didn’t explain everything in detail. The time travel, and other concepts were explained well enough with the few words and visuals. But they did...IMO...leave more doors open than I'd preferred. So while I appreciate them letting everyone create their own REALITY of what everything actually meant... choosing what to believe (about what happened where;, how things/time travel and everything related to it works...) and hence creating their own “timeline” of events. 

If we assume 14 000 605 people watch it (let’s assume that’s possible), then there are this many possible interpretations (timelines, realities) of this film....

LINK  TBA 

MCU PARALLEL UNIVERSES...ACCORDING TO ENDGAME 

LINK  TBA 

THE END: 

Thanos thinks (his win)  he’s inevitable, but the truth is that (Avengers win) Tony is inevitable. Just like the möbius/moebius strip that helps Tony solve the time travel problem, and which is essentially an INFINITY symbol (going on & on...in a loop...) everything that happened in the MCU...from Tony’s captivity til the lake scene is...inevitable. It’s in the past, so it’s already happened, and they can’t change it. 

And now that Tony, the greatest mind in the Universe (I'm sorry Shuri, Bruce, and all the wizards of the 9 realms... but the man made a suit from box a scraps in a cave, figured out time travel in max 5 years, made a gauntlet that can take the power of 6 infinity stones in his home lab... etc etc) is gone... the world has lost not just the heart of the universe, but also the brainpower,,, a big part of it. The universe lost its strongest, smartest, and kindest person, and I honestly don’t know how they can exist without him - their leader and their heart. The MCU main timeline is now missing it’s most important “element” - its “center” (heart) & it’s protector and it’s guide (and builder of the future) - because Tony was all that...all in one. 

No one can replace him. Tony was and is Iron Man. And though there will be other geniuses, other superheroes, other protectors, other... people, who take over his roles... none of them will be like him. 

Nothing’s been the same since.... 

#SPOILER #endgamespoiler #endgamespoilers #endgame spoiler #endgame spoilers #Tony Stark #Pepper Potts #Pepperony #Iron Man #Ironman #MCU #Avengers 4 #Avengers: Endgame #Avengers Endgame #my thoughts #Avengers #endgame review

[cinaed]

Red vs Blue: S17:E2 - Everwhen

I’m a First member, but I’m going to be posting my reactions behind a cut to avoid spoiling anyone. So here are my thoughts on the second episode of the season!

I am so excited for a Donut-centric season, you guys. So excited!

Especially if we're getting to actually address Wash shooting Donut. Of course this would be one of his strongest memories. (Another one is probably having that grenade exploded on his head.) And I had remembered Simmons' distress, but this scene where Donut gets into a memory loop (hey, nice parallel to Wash watching Jax film the scene of him getting shot multiple times) and Simmons yelling in alarm and concern for him is a good moment of another Red actually showing their true feelings for Donut. They care about him!

Donut hopping into a memory from season 15 also begs the question of where's Doc, Kai, and Carolina??? Where are they???

Someone please do a parallel gif set of Donut being like "internal bleeding is no biggie" and Jake from B99 being like "blood's supposed to be on the inside!" because that's great.

You know things are bad when even Tucker is tired of innuendos. And the idea that Donut never realized what he was saying a la Tobias Funke, is HILARIOUS to me. And Donut's just "oh my god, I can hear myself talk."

Donut trying to be so careful with his words is great.

Man.... If the show wanted me to ship Sarge/Washington, they succeeded. Like I already shipped Sarge one-sidedly pining after a certain PSA, but Wash is so supportive of him here, and Sarge's flustered little "Aw, shucks!" killed me.

I am really hoping that this season will address the Wash shot Donut thing. Like I love Wash, but Donut definitely deserved an apology rather than Wash brushing it off as a joke.

I am so proud of Simmons and his character growth over the seasons, but also I love mid-series petty Simmons who's furious that Donut is stealing his lines.

I love that Grif is the one who's struggling with deja vu and halfway to believing Donut until Sarge convinces him otherwise. This stuff sounds familiar! Maybe because of his final conversation with Genkins? Also Grif pointing out that their entire goddamn life is so weird, why not believe Donut time-traveled from the future to talk to them?

"If you're from the future, what am I thinking about right now?" "I don't know!" "oh my gosh, I don't know either!!!!" I love Caboose so much.

Chrovos's speech rang true to me. How would you handle being locked up for eons, alone? Half-joking, half-serious, I think this whole problem could be solved by the Reds and Blues adopting Chrovos. Like, they adopted Carolina and Wash, Caboose adopted Freckles, why not befriend a lonely AI and convince Chrovos it'd be more fun to run around the universe.

Donut's so smart, figuring out that Wash is a man outside of time. And I want this potential Wash and Donut awkward time-travel road trip.

But also...where are Carolina, Kai, and Doc???

#Red vs Blue #Red vs Blue spoilers #RVB Season 17

[aion-rsa]

Candyman: How Bernard Rose and Clive Barker created the horror classic

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

In the winter of 1992, one word was enough to send a chill down the spine of horror fans far and wide: Candyman.

Released in October of that year, Candyman was a slasher movie with a killer hook – quite literally. A horror movie built around an urban legend claiming that if you say the word “Candyman” five times into a mirror, a murderous spirit with a hook for a hand would appear, with grave consequences for those who summoned him.

In a time before the internet and social media, the original Candyman’s lore was enough to spark discussion among curious moviegoers who asked each other: would you say the potentially deadly incantation?

It was a talking point the movie’s marketing leaned heavily into with taglines like “We dare you to say his name five times!” and “Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman… Don’t Say Again!”

Director Bernard Rose took inspiration for the idea from the urban legend of Bloody Mary, rather than the Clive Barker short story “The Forbidden,” which Candyman was adapted from. 

According to the legend, Bloody Mary’s spectre could be summoned by chanting her name repeatedly into a mirror. One of Rose’s masterstrokes was to assimilate this folklore into the Candyman mythology, although it was not without its teething problems.

“In the original script, they were supposed to say Candyman 13 times, not five times, because in the Bloody Mary legend they say it 13 times,” Rose tells Den of Geek. “During the first read through they started going ‘Candyman, Candyman…’ and I was falling asleep. You can’t do it 13 times. It goes on too long. Five is about the largest number you can hear. It did come from Bloody Mary but I had seen Beetlejuice, so I’d have to say Beetlejuice should probably get some credit.”

Rose first hit upon the idea of adapting “The Forbidden” after he was approached about making a film out of another story from Barker’s lauded Books of Blood anthology, “In the Flesh.” But that story wasn’t quite suited to a cinematic adaptation.

“I thought it was really well written, but impossible to make because it’s about two prisoners in complete darkness in a cell,” he says. “And of course, the one thing you can’t represent in a movie is darkness, because if you are in a movie theater there’s nothing to see. It would make a great radio play but wasn’t really a great idea for a movie.”

It was during his initial research into the Books of Blood that Rose read “The Forbidden,” Barker’s short story about a university student who, while studying and photographing graffiti at a local housing estate, learns from locals about a string of murders attributed to a mythical killer known as Candyman.

A rising star at the time, Rose had already collaborated with Jim Henson on The Muppet Show and The Dark Crystal, as well as directing iconic music videos like the S&M themed promo for Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax,” which ended up being banned by MTV. His debut feature, the dream-like dark fantasy horror Paperhouse, had been released to widespread acclaim opening up a wealth of possibilities when it came to his next film. 

Rose was immediately struck by Barker’s story and the way it played on “the idea of belief.”

“All of these people believe in the Candyman, which actually means the Candyman exists, whereas if they stop believing in him he disappears, like how the old deities, like the Roman gods, died because people stopped caring. The idea that if enough people believe something, they manifest it. That’s scary.”

By the time he read “The Forbidden,” Rose had already struck up a friendship with Barker, who he met at Pinewood Studios while the latter was working on Nightbreed, the follow-up to his wildly successful directorial debut Hellraiser.

It was a match made in heaven – or maybe that should be hell – and a bond that made securing the rights to the short story that would become Candyman “really easy” according to Rose, who simply called Barker up with the author agreeing to sign off on the deal and sign on as executive producer.

Rose credits Professor Jan Harold Brunvand’s book The Vanishing Hitchhiker as a major inspiration to his script. A folklore scholar, Brunvand’s book explored the origins of several notable urban legends and has been widely credited with igniting America’s obsession with the phenomenon. 

“The whole urban legends thing hadn’t actually been addressed in a movie at that point, which is kind of extraordinary when you think about it,” Rose says. “It helped give the film this intellectual aspect, the idea of having an intellectual elite character studying the myth not from a sociological point of view, but from a semiotics point of view. Somebody who was intellectual and therefore naturally skeptical about something supernatural.”

While some authors have been known to be especially protective of their source material when it comes to adaptation, Rose recalls Barker encouraging him to “run free with it.”

“He liked the script very much. He was very behind it and at certain key moments, as much as anything, he was an enthusiast. Clive is wonderful. A really nice, smart guy.”

One thing they agreed on was that the story would need to be relocated from its original setting in Liverpool, England, for a very specific reason.

“At the time within genre films, there was there was a real problem with people understanding regional accents, and Clive had that problem on Hellraiser where they ended up having to loop (ADR) the whole movie and change it into a sort of weird unspecific setting, when it’s clearly some market town outside London,” he says. “If we were starting the film now, unquestionably we would have done it in Liverpool. It’s funny, things change, but back then, we wanted it to be somewhere specific. So I said, let’s make it specifically American. That seemed like the easiest thing to do.”

Rose hit upon the idea of setting the film in Chicago after noting similarities in the public housing found there and in the story’s original Liverpool setting.

The Illinois Film Commission took Rose on a tour of the city’s most troubled neighborhoods, which included Cabrini Green. “It wasn’t the worst place they showed us by any means, the Robert Taylor Homes on the South Side but Cabrini Green was right by downtown Chicago and was just spectacular.”

Rose recalls first being taken there in the company of a “full police escort.” Eager to see the neighborhood from a different perspective, he returned later on his own and befriended somebody who lived there.

“That’s the woman who the character of Anne Marie [the single mother who helps Helen with her investigation and whose infant son Anthony ends up being abducted by the Candyman] is based on,” Rose says.

Another crucial step in the development of Candyman came when the filmmaker began researching the history of Cabrini Green.

“I discovered old articles in the Chicago Reader about a series of murders that happened in Cabrini Green, including one where the killer came into the apartment through the medicine cabinet through a breeze block.”

One such article, by Steve Bogira, detailed the killing of 52-year-old Ruthie McCoy, whose pleas to a 911 caller explaining that intruders were breaking in through her bathroom cabinet went ignored. 

“There was a weak spot that you could actually get into people’s medicine cabinets, which is basically inserting holes in the breeze block and you can just literally punch them out and get into somebody’s apartment.”

These articles ended up featuring in the film for real, during the scene where Helen (Virginia Madsen) began researching the Candyman myth. Another element that rang true to life was the fact that the nearby Sandburg Village was “architecturally identical” to Cabrini Green with the only difference being that the former was turned into condos while the latter became public housing. These elements all combined to inform Candyman’s biggest departure from the original short story: Candyman would be Black.

“I wanted to make the film grounded in reality and the whole racial subtext of the film came out of that,” he says. “It wasn’t part of the original story. That was about politics and class differences. The racial element was added to it by the specificity of the location.”

Rose also incorporated his own experience discovering much of this material into Helen’s narrative. “I think that’s why it still feels relevant and powerful now because it came out of something real.”

The filmmaker credits the architecture of Cabrini Green with adding a layer of dread to proceedings.

“The early 80s was the point where we were seeing how modernist architecture could really decay in the most frightening ways and be more scary than the old Gothic spaces that were always designed to be plain and simple.”

Rose felt the film offered an opportunity to draw parallels between the Candyman myth and the myths attached to life in Cabrini Green.

“There was always this kind of exaggerated fear of the place like you might get shot, which is ultimately a very powerful form of racism,” he says. “The real danger is probably very, very small unless you happen to be very unlucky.”

While the stories of murderers emerging through mirrored medicine cabinets tied into the Candyman mythology, mirrors played a wider thematic role in Rose’s film.

“The film has got a lot of mirroring in it, from the imagery to the mirrored apartment. The idea that Helen’s apartment is the same as the ones in Cabrini green. It’s just about what side of the road you are on.”

Even so, Rose refutes any suggestion of Candyman having any kind of deep agenda. 

“The film was not done with a thesis in mind that I then went out to prove. It was more like I was interested in the setting we had and the story which is unchanged from the short story.”

Madsen ended up landing the role of Helen, the protagonist after Rose’s then-wife Alexandra Pigg, who had been cast in the role, was forced to drop out after discovering she was pregnant.

When it came to the Candyman himself, one rumor Rose immediately squashes is the notion that Eddie Murphy was ever considered or even interested in the part.

“If Eddie Murphy had wanted to do it in 1991, it wouldn’t have even been a discussion, it would have just happened,” he says. “Yeah, that’s not even a tiny bit true.”

Instead, Rose and the film’s producers only ever had eyes for Tony Todd. 

“He pretty much just came in and was fabulous and that was that. He just had it in every sense of the word and it was pretty obvious. There wasn’t even a discussion about it.”

Securing the rights, finding a great location and landing a stellar cast had all  proven relatively straightforward for Rose. One thing that definitely wasn’t straightforward, however, would be the film’s use of bees.

The film called for scenes in which Madsen would be covered in bees, while in one particularly memorable shot, the insects would be seen emerging from Todd’s mouth, as per Barker’s story, which took its inspiration from the Bible and the story of how Samson killed a young lion only to find bees and honey in its corpse. The imagery struck a chord with the author, who weaved it into the ever-expanding Candyman mythology.

Coming at a time before filmmakers could fall back on CGI, Rose was in need of an expert bee wrangler. He found one in apiarist Norman Gary.

“I saw him, he was on the Johnny Carson show playing the clarinet, covered in bees. He was quite a character,” Rose says. “He had synthesized queen bee pheromones and had hives of bees on the top of the studio and he was hatching them for the first 48 hours of their lives. Their stingers aren’t fully developed at that point so they’re not really that dangerous.”

Gary would supply the immature bees for the crucial scenes, using pheromones to have them cluster in the areas Rose required before gently vacuuming them up into a pouch when filming was complete.

Rose speaks in glowing terms about the bees themselves, describing them as “intelligent but also very predictable” which made filming the scenes somewhat pain free. Except in the most obvious sense of the word. 

“Everybody got stung quite a bit and certainly when we were doing those scenes, there were quite a lot of crew members who just stopped turning up to work,” he says. “I think people didn’t want to go into a studio that was literally buzzing with bees all the time because you would get stung. I remember asking Norman ‘How do you prevent yourself from getting stung?’ and he said  ‘You don’t. You just decide it doesn’t bother you.’”

Away from the sound of bees, Rose credits composer Philip Glass with delivering a pitch perfect score, that imbued the film with a sense of both the Gothic and the academically-minded analytical. 

“I gave him a brief to just score it for organ, voices, and piano,” Rose says. “He loved that idea of it being very kind of minimal orchestration. So he wrote the suite basically of the music that’s in the film. I think he’s hands down the best living American composer. Very original.”

For all the praise the film and its score received, Candyman was not without its detractors including several notable Black film directors at the time.

Reginald Hudlin, who had directed Boomerang and House Party and would go on to serve as a producer on Django Unchained called it “worrisome” while fellow filmmaker Carl Franklin said the decision to made Candyman Black and move the story to Cabrini Green was “irresponsible and racist” for casting a Black man in the role of a killer.

“People were nervous before we made the film because of his ethnicity, but I always said I understand how horror villains work,” Rose says. “The bogeyman is the hero. That’s it. That’s how they function. And it’s certainly true in the case of Candyman in that Tony’s character becomes larger than the film’s other characters.”

Much of that was down to timing. “The most disappointing thing you can do in a movie is bring out the monster,” he says. “This is why The Exorcist is a masterpiece. You never see a monster. What you see is its effect on the little girl.”

In the case of the Candyman, Rose used the first half of the film to build a sense of dread tinged with a sense of tragedy with the character’s backstory which explained how he was killed in the late 19th century over his relationship with a white woman. Even as audiences catch their first glimpse of Todd in that striking leather, fur-lined coat, they are being told a story.

“The idea of the costume was to show that he was quite bourgeois, like he was on his way to the opera when he was killed. It was a reminder that he was successful and affluent yet none of that protected him.”

Rose took his cues from the Orson Welles classic The Third Man in holding back on the introduction of his titular killer. 

“Every single conversation in the first half of The Third Man is about Harry Lime.” he says. “So when Orson Welles finally appears It’s one of the great entrances in film history because you’re just dying to hear what he’s got to say,”

The Candyman writer also points to an alternative reading of the film that adds a fascinating subtext to the role of race in the movie.

“It’s an entirely subjective movie told from the perspective of Helen,” Rose says. “So whatever happens in the film, it’s what she thought happened and isn’t necessarily objective. There is definitely an interpretation of the film where she committed the murders.”

The film, he says, offers up an extension of one of the original themes of Barker’s book which was the fear of poverty.

“Inequality and oppression creates fear among the oppressors, because they’re afraid of one day being called to account,” he says. “The film is about that in some ways, and that’s why it is still powerful. But I did not have any sort of agenda except to try to represent what I’d seen in Chicago as realistically as possible.”

Rose would not return for any of the sequels, with 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh helmed by future Twilight Saga director Bill Condon. In his absence and despite the best efforts of Todd in the titular role, the franchise died out after a third film, 1999’s lamentable Candyman: Day of the Dead. 

Rose puts these failures down to a mismanagement of the properties and a rush to get a follow-up out after the surprise runaway success of his film, which made $25 million from a modest $8 million budget.

“The temptation when making sequels is to just basically do the same thing again which actually doesn’t satisfy anyone,” he says. “You have to develop it and you have to make it more complex and make the story actually have a grander arc. I had ideas, but they wanted to make damn sure that they got them out of me as quickly as possible so they could get on with the serious business of fucking it up. But that’s fairly normal, unfortunately.”

However, he says he submitted a proposal for a sequel which was “pretty extreme.”

“One of the producers read it and said it was the most disgusting thing he’s ever read. All I can say about it is that it involved cannibalism and royalty.”

Though he remains coy on the finer details, he insists it would have made a “great movie” though it wouldn’t have been a straightforward sequel by any means.

“It was an expansion of the ideas in Candyman and also involved another short story of Clive’s that was actually made later by somebody else, ‘The Midnight Meat Train,’ which was set on the London Underground.”

That said, Rose remains fully supportive of Nia DaCosta’s new film, which has breathed life back into Candyman once again.

“Honestly, I think that sequel is probably better than anything I could have come up with,” he says. “It needed to be taken over by someone African-American, so it’s better that way because if I make the film again, it’s just going to be about the same thing as the first one.”

Ultimately, he feels “immense pride” at the idea that Candyman has earned a place as a horror icon to rival the likes of Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger though he sees that as “something separate to the movie in a weird way.”

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“It was intended as a horror film, as a subjective, visceral experience. Obviously, if you write something and direct it, whatever you make is a reflection of your views on a myriad number of subjects. That’s one of the things that’s good about the film, the story is open to exploration.”

The post Candyman: How Bernard Rose and Clive Barker created the horror classic appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/39UfRdV

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[violetbeachpod]

TRANSCRIPT: 6 - Memories

backstreets back alright

Okay. Here we go. Gotta knock this one out, and then it’ll be done. It’ll be over, and it’ll be done, and, and, and.

Elaine here. My turn.

Look, I’m not--

I don’t know if I can give anything productive to this conversation, just. I’m--I don’t want to be a part of this, I don’t feel like I’m a part of this. I don’t feel like I’m a part of anything, necessarily, I’m.

I’m a background player. That’s all. And I don’t mind it! I’m--I like it. Prefer it, honestly, to this, to this--sci-fi bullshit, AJ called it, when he dropped by yesterday. He--he needed a vent session. He called it a salt sesh, which--no. I won’t do that. Maybe it was ironic? But he wanted a vent sesh. And his family doesn’t really “do” “those.” And he’s a sweet kid. He deserves a vent sesh.

Can I pull off sesh?

But anyway. I prefer not doing anything to sci-fi bullshit. And I haven’t--It was never really my thing, I was more of a sitcom girl. Like, good ones, obviously, but.

And then, I’m--I’m living in this, which is ridiculous, and--

Teresa’s back. That’s important to say. Just cuz--it happened an hour ago, I’m not sure if all of you know. Well. You’ll know by the time I put this in the folder, but. It’s important that I share what we know now, right? That’s--that’s how storytelling works.

Teresa woke up in her bed this morning. I was on my way back from work, and she called me, just cuz--we saw this stuff first, we kinda. We bonded over that, in the beginning.

And she asked me if I noticed that the sky was blue, rather than the normal olor.

I said, Teresa, you’ve been gone for two weeks, no one’s been able to find you, the sky is always blue, y’know, I went through the motions. Told her everything that’s happened since she went away. Angie had a class this morning, so she doesn’t know yet.

And Teresa is just--she’s insistent that I’m lying to her, that Angie or someone is just playing a joke, and she says that, no, she--that’s how the town got its name, Elaine, our sky is weird. Because of the circle.

I know you’re new here, she says, but come on. This is, like, pre-moving here stuff.

And I--I didn’t know how to react, so I just repeated, I said, she’s been gone for two weeks, and that we’re all so worried. That we’ve all been losing our minds looking for her, that--

[Sigh]

And Douglas is sitting on my lap right now and he’s my only hope for some sense of grounding in this life. Yes you are. Yes you are the only thing holding me back from going into panic.

He’s a sweet boy. The sweetest boy. If Teresa weren’t allergic, I’d bring him over, but--no.

I’m concerned, is the thing. I know--I don’t know these people as well as Rob might, but I’m still concerned.

I’ve been doing some digging, on--on the town’s history, this morning. Wikipediaing, and what have you.

I can’t find anything. I just—I can’t. It’s. All I can find is Facebook groups for, like, yard sales and swap meets and support groups—and I’m gonna go to the swap meets, don’t get me wrong, but they’re just—they’re not important to the cause at hand.

When I was at boarding school, my sophomore year roommate would always go on these deep mystery-solving dives—there was a still unsolved murder that took place on campus thirty-something years ago, and she dedicated herself to ending it. And—

And we’re not friends, or anything, so I can’t, like, reach out, say, hey, girl, it’s me, from high school, uh, I’m being haunted by a ghost maybe, and there’s also time travel, no big, so—how’s med school? Y’know? Can’t do that, that’ll—that’ll make me seem crazy. I’m not in contact with anyone, from back then. It wasn’t, like—not for a lack of trying, I just. Everyone else was closer, I sorta fell out.

But that’s not relevant to the point at hand, which is that Teresa, who is a friend of mine, who’s a smart kid, who’s back, is convinced that the world is wrong.

And I don’t think that the world is wrong. I think—well, maybe I’m the crazy one, maybe I’m the one who’s misremembering the sky, maybe I’m the one who’s gone, but. Look. Listen. I—I don’t know what’s going on. I really, honestly, never have. Like, for my whole life. I’m smart, sure, but I—not in the way where I know other people’s experiences. In the way where I know my own. Where I know how to navigate my life. Not the kind of smart where I can handle weird sci-fi bullshit. Y’know? I’ve secondhand watched a lot of sci-fi, and I. Do not care for it. In the slightest. At all.

Which is, like, sacrilege, in this group. I like fantasy, usually, it’s just—never been huge on sci-fi, ‘cept for the big stuff. Star Wars, etcetera. It’s just not my thing. Is it a crime? No. It isn’t. Please stop trying.

So, here’s the thing about boarding school murders—cuz that’s where my brain keeps going, with this, because that’s the closest thing I have to mystery hunting in the past. Because I did help, yeah. I—I didn’t have many friends, okay, I was new, I was shy, I didn’t do sports or anything, like—I needed friends, and I had this opportunity, so. I stole a video camera from my film class and I helped make a documentary. Look. They can’t get me for it now, I have a masters. So.

We would sneak out into the woods out by the dorms and we’d just—we’d film recreations of the murder. A student killed her—well, we figured out that it was just her friend, but my roommate thought it might have been either an athletic rival or a romantic partner--which I shut down fast, like, look, I am all about gay people doing things, unless they are murder.

And we’d do this every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night, around three AM. I didn’t sleep much at age sixteen. I don’t sleep much at age twenty-five, even, but, like—I get more, now. So that’s really good. But irrelevant. And my roommate, whose name was Janice Potter, she was from Georgia and she hated that about herself, and—like, sure, cool, whatever, one Tuesday night, when I was busy building sets for the musical, she went out by herself, with the camera, and—I was walking back to the dorm, and I saw her lying in the woods with a broken leg. And I—I brought her to the infirmary, said she fell while taking pictures of the set build for the newspaper. She wasn’t even in newspaper, we—we barely had a newspaper. But the nurses didn’t care, they just needed to tell her mother something.

And the next morning, she didn’t remember going out. I think it was trauma, or something, but I had to go to the hospital with her, because I could recall events and nobody else could. It wasn’t great, and I had to lie a bunch to doctors, which I think is a crime, maybe, which—like, the amount of time that it took me to get that social energy back was—maybe eighty seven years. I’m still getting that back.

But that’s what I keep coming back to, that night in the hospital, when I just stopped giving a shit about the murder, about the mystery, and I just started caring about the people. That’s where I’m at, with this.

I don’t care about some government conspiracy, or alien invasion, or—parallel universe, or—

Wait, yeah, that’s it. there’s some parallel universe shit happening. There we go, proof that you find things as soon as you stop looking. I am basically unstoppable, and, guess what? I’m never gonna die.

But that’s not the point. Whichever one of you all wants to figure out the semantics, feel free, but. I’m not caught up on that.

Here’s the point: Teresa is alive, and she’s back, and we need to take care of that first. We can focus on the parallel universe, which--look, I’m too excited about this not to share. But you guys have to prove it. Cuz I’m not doing that.

Look, so, we’re talking--

[there’s just static. there are syllables, sure, things close to words, but there aren’t words like there were before. there’s just this static.]

I’m assuming that got cut out, like--like Benji got cut off, like AJ got interrupted. But, hey, I--I got it. I’ll email you.

I’m gonna head over to the dorms, bring Rob with me—she’s asleep right now, but I’m—I’ll wake you up in a sec. You’ll hear the in retrospect, like, oh, that’s why my beautiful future-wife who I love was so happy even though a friend of ours may or may not be an amnesiac. God, you’ll think, I love her. I’ll make you coffee so you don’t hate me when you wake up, but—you’ll get it in the future.

I know it’s scary, right now. But we got this, I feel like it for the first time, like there’s relief, rather than dread or worry or aliens in my brain on loop, it’s—

We’ve got this.

Here’s my wrap up. Because we all do these, I guess. Some words.

There’s something terrible in trying to solve a mystery, there’s something—I don’t know. It feels wrong, to be solving a mystery you’re not supposed to. For example, Janice Potter isn’t on Facebook. I’m not going to try and figure out why. I don’t want to know what I don’t need to know, I want to know that people are safe and good and—and not being abducted into parallel universes or whatever we’re calling it.

There’s something perfect in actually solving a mystery, there’s something—

You know how it is. I’m not gonna get all literary. That’s Rob’s job.

Just got a text from Angie with “SHE’S BACK” in all caps, with seventeen heart emojis. It’s very sweet, very nice, very good. It’s cute. That’s what this is worth, that’s—that’s what’s worth celebrating. Benji’s already responded, so’s Charlotte, and—

This is the light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s get out of it.

Okay, that’s bad, that’s clichéd. I can do a better closer than that. We need a better one-liner than that. I can’t come up with a good one, but--I want you all to know that I can do better and I will do better in the future with any and all one liners. I’ll probably come up with twenty as I drive to the dorms, so, uh, venmo me if you want one. Please. I do need payment for my non-sequitirs.

Cool.

Love you, bye.

#transcripts #elaine #season 1 #violet beach #violet beach podcast

[tabletopontap]

Top 30 to Look Forward to at GenCon 2019 (#21-30)

Here’s the continuation of the Top 30 with a look at #21-30, the end of the list.

Dungeon Academy - Have I mentioned lately how much I like games that play under an hour? This looks like a roll & write game published by Matagot and created by Julian Allain. It’s for 1-6 players and takes 20 min. to play. In the game, you roll dice and draw lines to chart your path from start to the dungeon, defeating monsters along the way. It looks like a fun implementation of a dungeon crawl.

City of the Big Shoulders - Published by Parallel Games and designed by Raymond Chandler III, this is a heavier game that supports 2-4 players and takes 2-3 hours to play. In this game, players work to build up the city of Chicago. It’s apparently a marriage of an 18xx style (ie. HEAVY) game of stock manipulation with the easy rules of a Euro-style game. Throughout the course of the game, players will run companies, trade stock shares, and produce/sell goods in order to become rich capitalists of industry.

Black Angel - Designed by Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges, and Alain Orban and published by Pearl Games, this game for 1-4 players takes 1-2 hours to play. This is probably one of the biggest games to watch at the convention. This game is apparently a reimplementation of the popular board game, Troyes, but with a space theme. Honestly, that description should be reason enough for me to NOT be interested. However, I can’t help but be drawn into the theme. The game is described as existing in a post-apocalyptic world. Like in the Disney animated film, Wall-E, Earth’s resources have been depleted and humanity’s only hope is to board the ship, Black Angel, and seek life elsewhere. Different factions fight over who gets to control the ship and dictate the use of resources. The game has an interesting premise--exciting enough to pull me in, despite my hesitancy about gameplay mechanisms. I’ve played Troyes before, and I didn’t like the gameplay.

Undo: Blood in the Gutter - Designed by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach and published by Pegasus Spiele, this game supports 2-6 players in 45-90 min. I’m very excited about this one! It’s a cooperative game that involves storytelling and a murder mystery! Jump back in time to stop someone’s death, Quantum Leap style. From reading about this game, I get the impression that it’s a cross between Unlock! (escape room in a box) and Time Stories (escape room in a box before the Unlock! and Exit series came out, but with a sort of clunky time-loop, replay the same scenario over and over game mechanism instead of pure exploration). If the story is strong, then I think this game will be successful in adding a new twist to the popular escape-room-in-a-box genre.

Quirky Circuits- Designed by Nikki Valens and published by Plaid Hat Games, this quick playing game takes 15-30 min. for 2-4 players. The art on the box cover is irresistibly cute! Hats off to the artist, Danalyn Reyes. I should really be giving more kudos to board game artists, but this one in particular caught my eye because of the cute animals and robots. This is a cooperative game, my favorite type! Players simultaneously select programmable actions to set the course of their quirky robot in hopes it will complete its task before its battery runs out. I guess they should’ve invested in some Energizer batteries for that robot. The designer, Nikki Valens, is known for formerly working at Fantasy Flight Games on big projects like Mansions of Madness 2nd ed, Arkham Horror, Eldritch Horror, and Legacy of Dragonholt. While I would love to see another storytelling game from Nikki, this game piques my interest. Plaid Hat Games is well known for publishing games set in the zombie apocalypse, Dead of Winter, as well as the Evolution series of games. Considering the pedigree of both the designer and publisher, I expect great things.

Century Golem: Eastern Mountains- I didn’t think Plan B Games would actually create and publish this golem-themed sequel to Century: Golem edition (aka the golem version of Emerson Matsuuchi’s smash hit, Century: Spice Road). I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!! They said they weren’t going to do it, and I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. The artists for this one are Atha Kanaani and Chris Quilliams; Chris was also one of the artists of the original Century: Golem game. The art makes all the difference of this easy to play, easy to like goods conversion game. I might have to shell out extra money for the playmat, too. I just can’t get over how great the art is in this game! It’s also an easy game to teach to people who are new to boardgaming.

Wingspan - New designer Elizabeth Hargrave has created one of the most talked about games this year, which is surprising to me, given that this is a game about birds. Yes, you heard that right, this game is for the birds! Wingspan supports 1-5 players and takes 40-70 min. to play. Published by Stonemaier games, the game probably had some built-in trust that the game would be good. Stonemaier has been known to publish fun games with quality components. I can’t decide if it’s the tiny eggs that look like candy or the birdhouse that dispenses the dice that makes this game eye-catching. I like that this game has card drafting. I’m eager to play this one, myself!

Colors of Paris - Another newbie designer, Nicolas De Oliveira, has created this game about creating great works of art. The publisher is Super Meeple, and the game supports 2-4 players in 45-60 min. This game appears to feature a rondel mechanism. I think I’m generally pulled in by games about art, even though I fear Fresco might just be the best of them all. We’ll have to see what Colors of Paris brings to the table.

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done - Created by Seth Jaffee and published by Tasty Minstrel Games, this game supports 2-4 players and plays in 40-60 min. This game uses both rondel and mancala mechanisms. As is to be expected from Tasty Minstrel, the wooden tokens are custom shaped pieces that look like knights, castles, and other buildings. There are also variable player powers in this game, which I’m not always a fan of because I think some player powers are more intuitive to employ than others, making gameplay feel uneven. At least, that has been my experience with variable powers in other games; it’s THE reason my gaming partner doesn’t like The Voyages of Marco Polo, and to this day I regret playing with the suggested player powers for a first game (she got whatever power is prescribed for third place, and the first player’s power was overwhelmingly strong). I’m intrigued to find out how the mancala and rondel interact with each other in this game.

Cartographers: A Roll Player Tale - Produced by Thunderworks and designed by Jordy Adan, this is yet another roll & write game that takes 30-45 min. and supports 1+ players. Like any good roll & write, the player count is really only limited by the number of papers/pencils you have. This game takes place in the Roll Player universe. Instead of rolling up the stats of a player character, this time you’re a map maker charting out distant lands for the queen.

That's a wrap on my Top 30 from GenCon. Stay tuned for my upcoming list on Essen Spiel, the biggest boardgaming convention in the world! This year’s Essen Spiel is from Oct. 24th-27th, so I need to get my preview list together quickly.

#boardgames #GenCon

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: OOO

2011:

Kamen Rider turns 40 and reaches its 1,000th episode! 

Hiroshi Fujioka, Takeshi Sasaki and Hiroshi Miyauchi return to voice Kamen Riders 1, 2 and V3 in Let’s Go Kamen Riders, a 40th anniversary film.

Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Great Battle sees the Goseigers try to take back their powers from the Gokaigers and later try to defeat a revived old foe of the Super Sentai: the Black Cross King from Gorenger! We also get a bit more on the events of the Legend War at the start of the film.

Tensou Sentai Goseiger vs. Shinkenger: Epic on Ginmaku has the Goseigers team up with the Shinkengers and the Gokaigers get in on the fun in one showy scene. (Which is made canon to the Gokaiger TV show later in a brilliant way.)

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie War Mega Max puts Koichi Sakamoto back in the director’s chair for a Kamen Rider movie.

All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation starts the All Kamen Rider series of handheld Nintendo arcade beat em’up games.

See Fourze for the rest.

Kamen Rider OOO! Three Events happened in the tenure of the show!

First: Naomi Takabe became head producer and Yasuko Kobayashi became head writer for the season!

Second: Preparations were being made for the 40th anniversary of Kamen Rider.

Third: Bandai made record-breaking toy sales on Kamen Rider this year!

(I just noticed this...this commercial is the only time they got the whole Black/Black RX thing right as Black isn’t there and RX is.)

(April 3, 2017: Kamen Rider is now 46 years old!)

OOO was the proud first representative of a celebration of the legacy of a group of superheroes who had endured for 40 years.

OOO first appeared on the scene in Double’s Summer Movie: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate. 

Double was trying to get to Kamen Rider Eternal to stop his plans, but the Luna Dopant interfered. While on a rooftop, a clumsy man wearing a belt had dropped an odd looking red coin and went chasing it onto the battlefield. Double gives it back to him and tells him to run, but the young man refuses and offers to help. 

He then puts the red coin in the belt and slides two more coins into it and uses a scanner to activate the belt and coins. Much to Double’s surprise, the man he just helped was a Kamen Rider!

He introduces himself as Kamen Rider OOO and tells Double he will handle the Luna Dopant and more or less to go stop Eternal. Double thanks him as he leaves, but OOO says no thanks are needed as Riders should help each other out. He then destroys the Luna Dopant with his sword.

Kamen Rider OOO is another Fan Favorite, as it has many elements that gel together well. Great characters, a good theme in how desires can motivate us as a species for good or ill and great music as Avex chose to mix ska with a variety of music styles such as big brass horn instrumentals, rock and the vocals of a tokusatsu anison legend.....

AH! Kussy-San! Akira Kushida of Super Sentai and Metal Heroes fame, who previously sang the opening theme to ZX; Dragon Road. He also voiced the belt and weapons! TAKA! TORA! BATTA! TaToBa! TaToBa ~TaToBa!

This series is where the belts started to vocally sing their activation. Which was a divisive decision at the time among fans, some thought it removed dramatic tension while others started making files to make those earworm tunes their ringtones or put them on their music players. 

Since Toei was a client of digital and telecommunications company Softbank, they insisted they plug thier phones and showcase their latest partnership: Softbank had teamed up with Apple to sell iPhones and iPads in Japan as a carrier. Thus Ankh or someone in the supporting cast is sometimes seen carrying or using an Apple product. (ex. Miss Satonaka relaying video communications from her boss on not-Skype via an iPad.) 

The Rider himself utilizes form changing to a whole new level of insane as OOO has over 129 possible forms he can attain in terms of medal combinations! This plus the two forms of the second Rider in the series make the series the record holder for most form changes, a record previously held by Kuuga!

The concept of OOO was the chimera fusing of animal powers (real or fictitious) into a mix of three powers or a certain set would be all one color and have extra powers to go with the matching set. This is where the “Belt number gimmick” would be recognized as fans noticed Decade had one card, Double had two slots for Memories and OOO had three slots for medals. 

This was intentional for a bit by Toei, but they dropped the gimmick after Fourze and went back to a Rider who used one trinket device at a time, but could multitask by having the belt, gadgets or weapons quickly read the other trinkets for combination attacks. Mostly because Fourze went a bit overkill and having a belt with 5 toy insertion slots would be absurd and extremely bulky. There, the number gimmick existed but does not anymore, PLEASE STOP WITH THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

Bandai wanted to go all out with the medal gimmick by showcasing as many animals as possible, but sadly they had a budget to keep (which was reminiscent of Gaoranger as it shared the same problem of great ambition but lack of a big enough budget to make all the animal toy concepts they designed real to fulfill it). Among the medals not used were:

An arctic set with a walrus, a penguin and a polar bear

A bovine set with a bull, deer and a gazelle

A bee medal (My God!)

A centipede Medal

A hermit crab Medal

But this hasn’t stopped fans from utilizing almost the entire animal kingdom in fanart to create new forms! There were also medals only seen in the Expanded Universe based on the evil organizations of the Showa Era, as the SIC story was sequel of sorts to Let’s Go Kamen Rider. 

There was also an in canon novel that explains the origins of the show’s monsters, Date getting bored and writing a silly short story and last how Eiji is doing after Mega Max and how he became the tragic but loveable traveling rainbow underwear hobo we all know. In an epilogue, he uses his powers as OOO to help Africa. 

In Kamen Rider Decade: World of OOO, Tsukasa meets an alternate Eiji Hino who can utilize the powers of Kamen Riders Habataki, Tiger and 1 with his Legend Core Medals.

The 45th Anniversary may be over, but let’s meet our tomorrows with a fresh pair of underpants and one last file!

Let’s count the medals one, two and three! Life goes on! Anything Goes! Comin’ up OOO!

The first OOO

A painting of the King.

In 1211 A.D., there was a corrupt and powerful king in Germany who desired to rule the world by becoming a god. He commissioned his Alchemists to create powerful mystic medallions called Core Medals that imbued the natural and mystical abilities of animals of the world into a human. His alchemists created the OOO Driver, a belt that could utilize any of the three medals to make their King an invincible warrior who had a power that was Over Infinity, also known as OOO (a lemniscate with a third loop on it).

This experiment resulted in the Greeed, beings born from a desire to be completed as their sets of medals were taken away for the King to use. To ensure his own desires would go unchallenged, the King killed his Alchemists. He went on a reign of terror around Europe using OOO’s various powers and conquered most of the land. To ensure the Greeed would not defy him after they rebelled to try and stop him, he tried to absorb their power in an effort to attain godhood. But it backfired as the power overwhelmed him, turning his body into a stone coffin and his Driver into a seal for the Greeed and the medals. 

Despite being dead, his soul tried one more time to gain god-like power by sealing and absorbing the power of multiple OOOs from parallel times and universes..only to be bested and destroyed by the Prime OOO from the main universe and the 7 OOOs of the alternate realities. 

(Mr. Hino circa 2012)

The Second OOO

Real Name: Eiji Hino

Eiji Hino was the son of a politician who traveled around the world with him along with his grandfather. During his time in Africa on the political trail, he befriended a young girl and tries to use his family’s money to help her village and she taught him about her home and a little about world culture. However, during a bloody civil war conflict that erupted, the little girl died in an explosion and Eiji could do nothing to save her. He was taken captive by the hostiles until his family paid ransom. This combined with the little girl’s violent death right in front of him left Eiji broken and suffering from PTSD. His father on the other hand saw it as a means to get more votes, caring little about what went on. 

Eiji left his family and their ties to him and traveled the world, taking odd jobs and raising enough money to move onto the next town or country. All the while, Eiji selflessly tries to help others in need as he had lost all impulse for selfish desires. 

During a return home to Japan to seemingly fund more of his travels, he took a job as an art museum security guard for the Kougami Foundation. Eiji is drugged by robbers posing as guards and they find the coffin of the King. A mass of coins near the coffin forms into a hand and undoes the seal, waking up the Greeed and they wreck the museum and go on a rampage. (A nice anniversary hat tip to Kuuga minus the bloody mess)

Eiji wakes up and finds a red coin on the floor, thinking its his pay for the day. After a chain of events and Eiji being terrorized by a floating hand, one of the Greeeds then creates a monster to find a Greeed named “Ankh” and the monster attacks and kills a police officer with Eiji witnessing it. Realizing that “the others” are after him, Ankh (the hand that opened the coffin) gives the stone seal to Eiji and it turns into a belt. Ankh then gives him medals and Eiji becomes Kamen Rider OOO! 

After the fight ends, Ankh possesses the police officer’s body and after an encounter with the officer’s sister named Hina and a bit of tension, the duo decide to work together, with Ankh the reluctant party, to try to achieve their own goals. While Eiji still has no desire of his own, he uses this opportunity to help others using his new powers at the risk of his own life.

They are later supported by the Kougami Foundation’s eccentric cake loving chairman Kousei Kogami and Eiji and Hina get jobs at the Cous Coussier, a cosplay restaurant run by Chiyoko (It is revealed later to seemingly be located where the Snack Amigo once stood, Kamen Rider 1′s original hangout).

Eiji, Ankh, Hina, the Kougami Foundation and later a second Kamen Rider work to fight the Greeed while protecting the desires of humans from becoming twisted by the evil minions of the Greeed!

Powers:

Being a world traveler, Eiji has picked up a lot of things during his journey such as understanding various languages and culture as well as various skills such as how to spot a pick pocket. Later after the series, he seems to have had training in various styles of combat as his ability to fight gets a serious upgrade.

As OOO:

Super Strength of varying degrees, agility, speed and senses. Flight, energy blast projectiles, Rocket Punch (Gorilla), Elemental powers, healing Factor (BurKaWani only), time stopping (Super TaToBa), cloning (GataKiriBa)....way too many to list! (See O Medals and Eiji’s wiki profile)

OOO main power though can be summed up in a phrase: a one man army and an army of one. 

OOO is capable of using his various animal powers in different combinations to maximize his near limitless combat potential . OOO also has GataKiriBa’s Cloning ability which allows him to use all his Medals at once in different combos as an army of Kamen Rider OOO to destroy anything in his path. The medals, when placed in a set of three of the same color, give OOO extra powers and in some cases new weapons.

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/OOO_Driver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Medals - O Medals are divided into two classes: Cell which are expendable in use and Core, which give OOO his powers.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Scanner

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Ridevendor - Unlike other Rider Machines, the Ridevendor is a mass production vehicle, so if OOO trashes one, he can get a replacement somewhere in Tokyo disguised as a vending machine.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Medajalibur

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Candroids

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/O_Medal_Holder

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Taja_Spinner - Time Judged ALL!

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Medagabryu - POWER TO TEARER!

Weaknesses:

Eiji at the start was not the best fighter, often relying on his powers and weapons to do the work for him. But he steadily improved, so this isn't a big deal.

The Medals give different parts to OOO’s armor, each section of the body seems to operate on some kind of “hit points” system. Taking too much damage to one section will cause that part of the armor’s color to “flicker” indicating weakening power fluctuations caused by heavy damage. Any further damage to that area will result in the medal ejecting and the risk of either losing that medal or having it stolen for keeps by enemies. (In other fandom words...Function ceased! The winner is... the Greeed! )  Heavy damage on all sides will knock Eiji out of transformation.

Eiji is vulnerable to mind altering effects, as seen when a woman’s desire to become beautiful comes true thanks to the Greeed. That makes Eiji fall madly in love and briefly talk about a “Love Combo”. He was also brainwashed by Shocker in an alternate timeline, but we don’t talk about that, it is a safe place here. 

Combos, the forms that utilize a matching color and animal set, cause tremendous strain to Eiji’s body. In some cases, using them leaves him exhausted and in the case of GataKiriBa, it was hard for the split hive consciousness among his clones to will themselves back into a single Eiji. However, Eiji is improving as he is able to handle the strain of using multiple combos in rapid succession.

The PuToTyra combo was a danger unto itself, as it fed on Eiji’s lack of desires to slowly turn him into a Greeed (though he managed to be cured of it at the end). The purple Combo also regressed his mind to a savage state when first used, as he attacked his friends and foes. Considering he had to deal not only with the strain of using the combo but also trying to keep his mental state stable, this combo was more trouble than it was worth.

However, a new set of Purple Cores were seemingly made post-series that have no visible negative side effects.

Eiji’s PTSD and impulsiveness to help others is also somewhat of a weakness, as he will put himself in harm’s way just to help someone and does not seem to care for his life and hurts himself constantly. His trauma is something he still had a bit of difficulty getting over until he found purpose in his life by gaining a desire of his own: protect the world and bring back a friend he had lost along the way. However, he seems to be a little better by Movie War Ultimatum, maybe time will heal the wounds. 

Enemies:

The Greeed and Yummies

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Category%3AGreeed

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Yummy

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/White_Yummy

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Waste_Yummies

The Greeed (no that’s not a typo) are a race of coin homunculi who are a chimera mishmash of specific species or type of animals. They were sealed 800 years ago and now wish to continue their plan to “complete” themselves by gaining back all of their lost medals (aside from the 10th of each set which were destroyed) and want to feel the desires of humans that so many take for granted.

Their methods of doing so however are harmful to humans. Each Greeed can spawn a Yummy based off of the type of species they are based on (Ex. Uva makes insect Yummies). Each Greeed’s Yummy is spawned from a human in different ways:

Uva’s emerge from the host and then “molt” into stronger forms

Kazari’s parasitically feed on the desires of the host until that desire literally consumes them into the Yummy 

Mezool’s indirectly influence the human and grow from Roe-like eggs until they hatch.

Gamel’s are born from himself.

When Yummies die, they rain cell medal coins down that were part of their bodies (ala Scott Pilgrim).  When a Greeed dies for good, their medal bodies break apart and are scattered about and the core that hold the consciousness shatters.

Dr. Maki

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kiyoto_Maki

Dr. Maki was the creator of the Birth System, a Kamen Rider who acted as a support unit. But he is also a man who sees only the value of “Endings” to determine the worth of something. As such, Dr. Maki sought to end the world and joined with the Greeed, even becoming one himself. 

He meets his end in a way I won’t spoil, but he does come back in Ghost to briefly fight Kamen Rider Specter and dies again.

SEIYA!

Well, that was fun wasn’t it? 45 years of Riders showcased! 

Sure there were some stumbles and hiccups by me writing this along the way, but now you have been fully aquatinted with this franchise with this last file of the preceding anniversary show. And to think, there is still more to talk about in the future, like in Kamen Rider’s 50th anniversary on April 3, 2021! (If humans haven’t blown the world up by then.)

But now let’s combine the two anniversary seasons in a farewell mashup!

GASHAT! Kimewaza! Megane Musical Finish!

#kamen rider #45th anniversary #kamen rider ooo #superhero #eiji hino #core medals #ankh #happy birthday #subarashii #candroids #akira kushida #anything goes #count the medals #desire #2011 #40th anniversary

[evakfanficsrecs]

EVAK FANFICS RECS / PART 4

ONESHOTS:

I’ll take you as you are by Behindthecities Summary: Even can’t sleep so Isak draw’s him a bath.

One More Second by kosekardemomme Summary: Isak invites the boys over to hang out with Even, for the first time with just them, just after Christmas. “Evak” can’t keep their hands off each other, though.

isak x even | dance so good by BloonStuff Summary: When Isak happens upon Even out of bed in the first time in a few days, he decides to make the most of the moment. 

MORE UNDER THE CUT

Steal Your Heart by alijan ★ Summary: An AU story of how Isak and Even met through Isak’s friends. Or, more specifically, a AU story of how Even chases after Isak and he lets himself be caught.

Strange Encounters by midnightsurge Summary: Standing at his sink is what looks to be an angel; with soft blond hair glowing under the bathroom lights and eyes as blue as the sky, Isak wonders if he actually fell back asleep and is still dreaming. “Hi,” the angel smiles at him, laughter lines crinkling his face. “Sorry about that, I thought everyone was still sleeping.” “Um,” Isak repeats intelligently. “You’re…” he trails off, not sure what his question should actually be. Pretty? Gorgeous? A stranger? A stranger standing in his bathroom very early in the morning and shouldn’t Isak maybe be reaching for his phone right about now? “Even,” the blond stranger now named Even greets him with a grin, moving forward to shake his hand. Or, Isak and Even are students at the University of Oslo. They meet under strange circumstances and it’s all Eskild’s fault.

The Hot Muffin Thief by Bellakitse ★ Summary: There is a magical muffin at the café where Isak’s buddy Jonas works. It’s Isak’s lifeline, he has it every day and then one day some hot art hipster steals his muffin.

carry my love to you by retts Summary: Even grasped the top of the duvet and dragged it over his shoulders, snuggling into the pillow. His eyes were closed as he let out a soft sigh. Isak brushed back the fringe falling across his forehead, ran his fingers through the hair behind his ear. He wanted to erase the bruises under Even’s eyes, kiss away the inexplicable sadness lingering on the corners of his mouth. If only it were that easy. Set directly after ep 9, Fredag.

flickered in my mind for only you by DarkBeauty_890 Summary: soulmates!au; But even the lonely nights hearing his mom cry for his dad couldn’t stop Isak from tracing the words (looped, like maybe his soul mate was an artist or a writer) etched permanently onto his skin. He sat huddled under the covers for hours, flashlight illuminating the darkened space, allowing Isak to wonder who they would be. His soulmate.

where you can be reborn by tomlinsoln Summary: Even makes Isak feel like himself, and Isak doesn’t care about the rest.

True or False by iriswests ★ Summary: childhood best friends!au; Seven moments between Isak and Even (+1 with Sonja), ranging from the ages of four and six to the ages of seventeen and nineteen, respectively.

Afternoon Kisses by DickAnderton ★ Summary: What could have happened during the cuddle scene if Isak and Even had been ready for more.

And If In That Moment by allyasavedtheday ★ Summary: Isak rolls his eyes and reaches for his beer again. Even’s teasing always feels different to his friends teasing him. Even’s teasing feels a lot like flirting. “Anyway back to Emma.” Fuck. “Why isn’t she your type?” Isak considers his options, considers a single conceivable reason why a straight seventeen-year-old boy wouldn’t like a girl like Emma. He can’t fucking think of a reason and it makes him panic but he’s also just- tired. So fucking tired of having to constantly lie about why he feels the way he does. So he settles on as close to the truth as he can get. “She just- I guess it’s never felt right.” *Or, what would’ve happened if Isak and Even had had the Halloween pregame alone like they had originally planned.

your eyes hold oceans by prettyboylou Summary: isak is everything even can think about. in every little corner of his brain, every single thought is isak and while that is partly crazy, even does not mind at all.

won’t you be my livewire by itjustkindahappened ★ Summary: It’s 1:54 in the afternoon on a gloomy Tuesday when an angel enters Even’s classroom. (alternatively, “i’ve been tryin to grab your attention in class for over half an hour by poking you and throwing things onto your desk and you’re refusing to acknowledge me and gdi all i wanted to do was tell you that you look cute and now it’s gone too far and i can’t go back”)

Now, Panic and Freak Out by dropdeadfox Summary: The thing is, Isak Valtersen is absolutely not gay. Like, really, really, really not gay. Okay, he may or may not feel butterflies in his stomach whenever he sees a certain third year across the school yard. A handsome and certainly very male third year. And he may or may not wish that said third year will sit beside him at the cafeteria, holding his hand under the table or pushing his hair back with those adorably long fingers, because he is certainly, absolutely, 100% sure that he is Not Gay.

And then our time will come. Over and over again. by UniversalParadox_13 Summary: “In my opinion, all the Isaks and Evens don’t gyrate in their universes under the same terms. While some Isaks and Evens have already met, others are in the process of doing so right now or are still waiting for it to happen, for them to meet.” “But, they do eventually meet?” He knew what it meant, when Even squeezed his hand a bit tighter. “Always.” Isak believed it with every fibre of his body and soul. “They always meet.” (Parallel Universes AU or 5 times Isak and Even meet each other by coincidence and know it is meant to be.)

Who Wants That Perfect Love Story Anyway? by mccolfer Summary: Six times someone from the girl group was maybe a little too involved in Isak and Even’s relationship and one time someone had no idea what was going on.

CHAPTERED:

The Nanny by allisonbucky Summary: Or, Even is a hot stressed dad of two little girls, and Isak becomes his nanny. Rom Com shenanigans ensue.

My Heart is Strong by photographer_of_thoughts ✓ Summary: His bipolar disorder made him want everything to be a great tragedy, a Baz Luhrmann film; because how else did things have meaning? His brain told him that time and time again. He’d lost track of how many people he’d let go because he wanted to “lose them forever” and subsequently keep them forever; tucked away into the memory palace in his brain… But he didn’t want that anymore. As soon as he’d kissed Isak he knew he wanted to be better this time. Or, Isak and Even meet in a therapist’s waiting room.

Shut your whore mouth, Even. This is not the Fault in Our Stars by Masterless ★ ✓ Summary: Even can remember the flare of pain in his chest and his head, the tightness in his throat, and the taste of pennies on his tongue. He remembers Sonja’s hands grasping his arm tightly as he leaned against the wall of lockers in the school hallway. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t feel the tips of his fingers. Black dots swam in front of his eyes, the world tilted, and everything went dark. Just Sonja’s frightened voice rang out in that darkness, repeating his name, calling for help. Then, there was nothing.

The Comments Below by DickAnderton ★ ✓ Summary: youtubers!au; Isak is a notoriously lazy gamer living with lgbt icon Eskild. When they invite youtube sensation Even Bech Naesheim over for a collaboration, #Evak is born. But it is not only their viewers who are falling in love.

That’s Not My Name by cuteandtwisted ★ ✓ Summary: one-night stand!au; “Isak.” Even smiled, then licked his lips. “Wanna go back to my place?” - aka: Isak is an exchange student in new york city where he meets a very forward and bewitching Even. 

juste la fin du monde by loglady95  Summary: Sana blackmailed Isak into hosting a party at his place and gave his number to a stranger.

You say good morning when it’s midnight by Aceteroid ✓ Summary: It sucks, when your best friend is on a student exchange at the other end of the world for three months. It sucks even more, when you fall in love with the step-brother of his exchange student.

Masters of Communication by rumpelsnorcack ✓ Summary: Even was such a goddam dork, Isak thought fondly. But he was his dork, and Isak couldn’t imagine anyone better to have a scary adult conversation with. Or, a 5+1 in which Isak and Even find it hard to communicate, but then manage to do it really well.

44 Days by NovemberRose ✓ Summary: How Even and Isak spent 42 days apart and a weekend in the mountains brings them back together.

How In My Silence I Adored You by dahlstrom ★ ✓ Summary: In a parallel universe, the rest of the boy squad actually shows up at the first kosegruppa meeting and Isak stays for the love games. Thus, his first interaction with Even is quite different (no paper towels were harmed in this scenario). Also heavily hints at Vilde/Eva.

all of me, you take now by xxLeviBech Summary: Strings of oneshots featuring two boys that are obsessed with each other.

cold hands by salmonpanties Summary: monday 11.40: Isak lifted his gaze, and he saw an angel in front of him. Blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin, a stunning smile; quite the description of an angel - except, he was in the cafeteria of Nissen Gymnasium, sitting with his friends, eating buns. - Isak knew he liked boys a little bit more than he probably should, but it’s nothing he flaunts. Just because he’s not that interested in girls it doesn’t mean that he’s a homo, right? But then he meets Even, who’s beautiful, mysterious and exciting. And maybe Even is just the boy Isak has been waiting for? But it doesn’t mean that he’s a homo.

(★ - personal favorites | ✓ - completed fics)

#even bech næsheim #isak valtersen #evak #even x isak #isak x even #evak fanfiction #evak fanfics #evak fanfics recommendation #skam #skam fanfiction #masterposts