03/12/2023: MCU

 Hello Internet,

I like Marvel movies.  For me, they are everything that I wanted comics to be.  They are fun, they are flashy, and when I started watching them I wasn't required to do hours of research to understand what the current plotline was.  The truth is that they are starting to get convoluted now that the first three phases are finished and Thanos has been snapped out of existance.  To that end, I am taking a break from Tower talk this week to announce a new project that I will or will not be working on: an MCU film review project!

The point of these reviews is to segment the MCU film catalogue into each individual, smaller franchise and create reviews of the myriad of trilogies and quadrilogies(is that a word?) that exist within the large supra-franchise.  So, for example, I am going to review Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Iron Man 3 as if they were a separate trilogy independent of the larger MCU narrative and see how they hold up.

Now, I will not be a petty animal about this.  I do have rules. Firstly, I will acknowledge the Avengers as a larger existing superhero team within the franchise, but I will not excuse poor character development or dangling plot threads on account of that.

Secondly, I will count any development that takes place in Endgame as if it were a part of each individual franchise due to the size and scope of that project.  Based on the number of, "My friend has never seen an MCU movie, so watch them react to Endgame" videos there are on Youtube, I feel it is safe to say that even non-fans saw that movie.

To that end, however, I will not be counting post credit sequences at all, even if they do improve the narrative and story of the series I am reviewing.  Furthermore, I will not be including any Disney+ offering, and neither will I include any team-up movie that is not a part of the main story (ie, Avengers will be their own series, and Civil War will not include them, nor will any other series).

The point of this exercise is to look at how well each individual series can support itself in terms of quality storytelling, distinct visual style, and characterization and development across the films.  Furthermore, I want to look at the current argument that the MCU is getting too bloated with content (which has been a longheld complaint about comic book series) and see if that is true.  

My prediction is that the earlier movies in the franchise will hold up better under this sort of scrutiny than the newer films will.  Furthermore, I also predict that a lot of my favorite movies (Civil War and Infinity War) will suffer greatly from having a lot of their unspoken assumptions stripped from them.

I will try to update these projects as I move along and intend to watch an MCU film every Friday until the projects are finished, though that will definitely be subject to change.

I hope you look forward to it and...

Thanks for reading,

RWS

P.S.

Next time, on RWS: "RWS Talks About Their Towers For the Coming Month!! What Did They Finish? What Was Unfinished?!  Find out next time on RWS' blog!"

-Short Rest-

Schedule

1. Fullmetal Alchemist/Free Play/Critical Role: Campaign 3

2. One-Punch Man/Short/Outlaw Star

3. My Hero Academia/DnD5e (Dragon Age: Origins)/The Legend of Vox Machina

4. The Emperor and I/Replay/Seven Deadly Sins Season 1

5. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes/Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm 2/X-Men

6. Boruto: The Next Generation/Movie (Fullmetal Alchemist)/Young Justice

7. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat/Persona 3 Portable/Dimension 20: Tiny Heist

Books

Tower: Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru

0. One Piece 100% New Chapters Every…

1. Sun: Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 5, Ch. 18: “The Value of Sincerity”—21 20% (2—5)

2. Mon: One-Punch Man Vol. 16, Punch 83: “Because I’m the Bald Cape?”—84 50% (4—6)

3. Tue: My Hero Academia Vol. 14, No. 123: “Unrivaled”—128 40% (5—10)

4. Wed: The Emperor and I Vol. 2, Ch. 13: “Emperor’s Achilles Heel”—18 38% (7—16)

5. Thu: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 8, Ep. 70: “Nomura”—72 60% (7—10)

6. Fri: Boruto: The Next Generation Vol.8, No. 32: “Owed Debts”—31 100% (5—4)

7. Sat: Books

-Fiction: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

-Library: Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by Stef M. Shuster

-YA: The Giver by Lois Lowry

-Fan Fiction: Final Fantasy: Fated to Ch. 50 by tinygaia Ch. 50—50, 100% 

-Nonfiction: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat 12% (54—440)

View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman 26% (130—502)

-DnD5e: Player’s Handbook by Wizards of the Coast 0% (?—??)

-Reread

Games

Tower: Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster

1. Stardew Valley

Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition+

Kingdom Hearts Trophy Run

Persona 5 Royal+

2. Short/Crisis Core—Final Fantasy VII—Reunion 126% ((24/19hrs)10-11 Chapters 100%)

.hack//OUTBREAK 0% ((0/22hrs)56/78hrs)*

3. DnD5e/Dragon Age: Origins Kallian Tabris 60% (44/73)

Mass Effect 2 Jean Shepard Replay ??% (?/52hrs)

4. Replay/ Persona 5 Royal+

5. Long/Persona 3 Portable 27% (22/83hrs)

*Will begin in Spring.

Shows

Tower: Dimension 20: Unsleeping City

1. Critical Role: Campaign 3 Part I Ep. 2 “Trial by Firelight”—11 (Level Up to 5) 9% (2—11)

2. Anime: Outlaw Star 15% (5—26)

3. Online/Owned: The Legend of Vox Machina Season 1 25% (4—12)

Fulletal Alchemist 8% (3—26)

4. Netflix: Seven Deadly Sins Season 1 83% (21—24)

5. Disney+: Gargoyles Season 1 39% (6—13)

6. HBO: Young Justice Season 1 35% (10—26)

7. Dimension 20: Tiny Heist Ep. 4: “Breaking and Entering”—6 50% (4—6)

8. Movies: Fullmetal Alchemist 4% (3—51)

Firefly 29% Disc 2 (5—14)

MCU Series/Movie: Ms. Marvel 1—6

Disney/Bambi

HBOMax/My Neighbor Totoro

Star Wars/Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Owned/Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Marvel/X2: X-Men United

Anime/.hack//LIMINALITY: “The Case of Yuki Aihara”

DCAU/Batman: Mask of the Phantasm*Started with Noodle

03/05/2023: Towers

Hello Internet,

At the beginning of each new season, I choose a number of towers to focus on.  Towers are seasonal goals meant to help create a mental and emotional buffer between myself and the world around me.  This came from my time working at a difficult elementary school where administrative support was minimal and aggressive and violent behavior was high.  I was feeling overwhelmed and, after a near suicide attempt (I called a the helpline instead (800-273-8255)), this was one of my ways of trying to protect myself and shore up my defenses by gamifying my mental health.

At the time, I had not been diagnosed with ADHD.  Gamifying tasks is a great way to maintain interest in them for people with ADHD, though, so my mind was naturally pulling me toward something that felt rewarding to me.  I have limited success with towers; I've never completed a full set.  They do help me to be more mindful of how I use my time, and they also allow me a chance to go back and try something again if I didn't do it right the first time.  They reduce pressure on me to keep track of everything, and they're fun to plan for in the weeks leading up to the next season.

Another way that these towers help me with my ADHD is that they help break down larger, long-term goals into smaller steps.  Sometimes, the scale of a task is the problem.  These can take long-term goals and break them down for me so that I don't feel overwhelmed.

I organize my towers into four groups, and those four groups are further separated into three distinct tasks.  The four towers are Work/Career, Hobbies, Health & Wellness, and Home & Hearth/Family.  Further divided, you have a job goal, a primary writing goal, and a secondary writing goal for Work; books, games, and shows for Hobbies; mental, physical, and social goals for Health & Wellness; and chores, finances, and family for Home & Hearth.

As we get closer to the next season, I will try to remember and post my Towers up on here for anyone who might be interested.  Spoiler: it will involve Camp NaNo because who are you talking about? I mean, come on...

Sincerely,

RWS

P.S.

This might be the best post I've done in a long time.

-Short Rest-

Schedule

1. Fullmetal Alchemist/Free Play/Critical Role: Campaign 3

2. One-Punch Man/Short/Outlaw Star

3. My Hero Academia/DnD5e (Dragon Age: Origins)/The Legend of Vox Machina

4. The Emperor and I/Replay/Seven Deadly Sins Season 1

5. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes/Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Storm 2/X-Men

6. Boruto: The Next Generation/Movie (Fullmetal Alchemist)/Young Justice

7. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat/Persona 3 Portable/Dimension 20: Tiny Heist

Books

Tower: Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru

0. One Piece 100% New Chapters Every…

1. Sun: Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 5, Ch. 17: “The Boomtown of the Broken Down”—21 0% (1—5)

2. Mon: One-Punch Man Vol. 16, Punch 82: “Escalation”—84 0% (3—6)

3. Tue: My Hero Academia Vol. 14, No. 12-: “The Three”—128 10% (2—10)

4. Wed: The Emperor and I Vol. 2, Ch. 11.5: “Father and the Secret”—18 19% (4—16)

5. Thu: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol. 8, Ep. 63: “Decisive”—72 0% (1—10)

6. Fri: Boruto: The Next Generation Vol.8, No. 31: “Monsters!!”—31 75% (4—4)

7. Sat: Books

-Fiction: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

-Library: Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by Stef M. Shuster

-YA: The Giver by Lois Lowry

-Fan Fiction: Final Fantasy: Fated to Ch. 50 by tinygaia Ch. 50—50, 100% 

-Nonfiction: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat 12% (54—440)

View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman 26% (130—502)

-DnD5e: Player’s Handbook by Wizards of the Coast 0% (?—??)

-Reread

Games

Tower: Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster

1. Stardew Valley

Persona 5 Royal+

.hack//OUTBREAK 0% ((0/22hrs)56/78hrs)

2. Short/Crisis Core—Final Fantasy VII—Reunion 126% ((24/19hrs)10-11 Chapters 100%)

3. DnD5e/Dragon Age: Origins Kallian Tabris 60% (44/73)

Mass Effect 2 Jean Shepard Replay ??% (?/52hrs)

4. Replay/ Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition+

5. Long/Persona 3 Portable 27% (22/83hrs)

Shows

Tower: Dimension 20: Unsleeping City

1. Critical Role: Campaign 3 Part I Ep. 2 “Trial by Firelight”—11 (Level Up to 5) 9% (2—11)

2. Anime: Outlaw Star 15% (5—26)

3. Online/Owned: The Legend of Vox Machina Season 1 25% (4—12)

Fulletal Alchemist 8% (3—26)

4. Netflix: Seven Deadly Sins Season 1 79% (20—24)

5. Disney+: Gargoyles Season 1 39% (6—13)

6. HBO: Young Justice Season 1 35% (10—26)

7. Dimension 20: Tiny Heist Ep. 4: “Breaking and Entering”—6 50% (4—6)

8. Movies: Fullmetal Alchemist 4% (3—51)

Firefly 29% Disc 2 (5—14)

MCU Series/Movie: Ms. Marvel 1—6

Disney/Bambi

HBOMax/My Neighbor Totoro

Star Wars/Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Owned/Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Marvel/X2: X-Men United

Anime/.hack//LIMINALITY: “The Case of Yuki Aihara”

I have not been watching movies. Movies are hard for me. Sad face. : (

Stargazers Codex #12: "The One Battle War"

::: The One Battle War ::: 

            Tensions between the Republic and Federation exploded into a full-scale military operation in what many came to call, “The One Battle War.”  After finding Guide ruins buried beneath a privately owned but military funded research facility on Canaan—a planet well within Republic space—Federation forces engaged Republic forces in the planet’s atmosphere.  The battle lasted only a few hours, but this short-lived engagement was enough to ignite fears that continued conflict was likely moving forward.

            Republic representatives came forward afterward saying that the Guide ruins were privately held and funded by unknown backers.  They blamed the private companies for their work and for their secrets and denied all responsibility for the battle, arguing that they were merely protecting Republic soil.  The companies, in turn, began pointing fingers at each other.

            The Federation refused Republic outcry and ignorance, arguing that the companies found on Canaan are frequent government collaborators or are owned and support by government representatives.  Meanwhile, the Alliance have expressed that regardless of fault, the mistake was a beach of the Three-Party Accord and suggested that something be done by the Republic parliament to rectify the error.  There is also a call for the immediate de-armament of the area and an opening of the planet to outside research.

            Losses on both sides of the battle were minimal but important.  Many are called for a release of names which could have led either to condemnation or mourning, but names never followed.  They argued that anonymity is important to maintain in situations like this, while people on both sides demanded information.

            Rumors that the battle began on Athens were found to be false, as were rumors of the existence of a living Guide found in the Canaan ruins.  No news reports were able to corroborate such stories either way.