alienfirst:

Rough color refs of Newt’s tattoos for cosplay purposes! Or drawing purposes really I suppose.

Left went fairly well, right… The right was a lot of guesswork. The scant few movie stills I collected of his right arm were quite different from the concept art in the sketchbook. I like how the on screen versions of his tattoos have more swirls and curly q’s.

Actually had some more guidelines set up in Photoshop as well, since I had measured the length of my husband’s forearm, as well as the width of his arm. So I’d think you can squash or stretch the design depending on the size of the arm (I think these are a bit squished from what’s on screen as my husband has skinny forearms).

First image from the art book, don’t mind me as I casually freak out about all the hidden signs and horrific sadness in Newt’s costume for PR2. 

Clearly Newt’s outfit is designed to be subtly off to tip us off about his hero/villain swap from the very beginning, even with the purple number where he still has a white shirt at least. But in general, Newt has been inverted and it’s not just his color schemes (white to black is the most simple transition, but he does actually have a white shirt in his first introduction with the purple suit). No, to me the biggest horror stories are in the accessories. 

In PR1 Newt has a skull ring on his left pinky, in PR2 that ring is replaced with a much bigger one on his left ring finger (traditional wedding band location) and it’s a much larger one, and a living face instead of a death’s head. Subtle inversion aside, let’s pump up the tragedy level by asking “Is this Newt subtly declaring himself married to Hermann despite their estrangement, or is this a symbol of his captivity and “union” to Alice?” It could also indicate that he is “claimed” in other ways, unable to put a wedding band there because this ring is in the way (perhaps even replacing the one he had with Hermann, if we want to go into fanon?).

Next there’s the bracelets. He still has his leather ones but they’ve moved to his right hand, where a watch would traditionally go if you’re left handed (or “sinister”) another mirror inversion of his old self. But now we’re at the part where I start screaming and crying because shackles have been added to his usual bracelets, on his dominant hand, another symbol of captivity. We have the chain but also what looks like an actual handcuff, locking up the right (“good”) side of Newt.

And we of course also have the sunglasses/glasses swap, with clear frames over dark lenses to replace the dark frames over clear lenses. Even his tie in the opening scene with the purple suit isn’t totally black, but has a white stain on it (that I originally mistook for a cocaine stain which, oops, still appropriate) but could, in theory, indicate that that’s about how much of “good” Newt is left in the mix of Precursor Newt. Like a yin-yang, and in fact, the yin-yang isn’t a bad way to conceptualize the mirror swap of color palette that Newt does between 1 and 2. 

Yes, Uprising left a great deal to be desired, but I truly believe that between the costume department and Charlie Day’s attention to detail with the character there are flashes of a lot of care going into Newt’s arc, most visible in these costume choices.

aaaaaargh, after 3 weeks of being on the road, i’m finally home and able to get back to editing chapter 14 of TOWOID which has some new additions I think y’all are REALLY gonna enjoy :3 …. and is also so complicated I had to spend an hour of my writing time on the plane last night just outlining ONE SECTION before I can re-write it because trying to write it in voice while also doing the mental heavy lifting of all the beats the section needs to hit was nearly impossible, anyway, ONWARD! I hope to get it to you in the next day or two, thanks for your patience!

pickle-plum:

bowlingforgerbils:

I just want to talk about Newt’s reaction here.

He is in the midst of recovering from a seizure brought on by drifting with an alien hive mind, his head is still buzzing with their plans to completely wipe out humanity, he’s trying to communicate those plans to the Marshall, and then Hermann says, “That’s impossible.”

And you can see the disbelief all over Newt’s face that Hermann would even say that, because what evidence is there at all that it would be impossible? And you can see that he’s hurt, too, because he just proved that he was right, that it was possible to drift with a kaiju brain (and not die), and rather than admit he was right, Hermann completely dismisses him.

And then the hurt switches to anger and he’s ready to get into it with Hermann right then and there, because Hermann’s opinion means something to him.

And you can see how much Hermann’s opinion matters throughout the movie. Watch how just about every time someone reacts negatively to something Newt says or when he’s proven right about something. The first thing he does is turn to Hermann for approval or backup.

This rejection had to sting like crazy.

Meta Monday

fangirlunderground:

I’ve done a Tony Stark meta rec before, as well a few as part of my Infinity War / Phase 4 recs, but guess what? Tony is the fuckin best and he deserves another one. Also, I deserve another one, because this is more work than it probably seems and right now I just feel like rolling around in pro-Tony posts.

Tony’s is my favorite phoenix rising from the ashes story, and not because of what he can do with a box of scraps in an active war zone. He falls frequently and with tremendous force, both literally and figuratively, as a hero and as a human being. And yet, despite the heavy weight of canonical depression, self-loathing, PTSD, and alcoholism (depending on your universe), he always gets up again. 

Tony, I think more than any other Marvel hero, understands the repercussions of every choice he makes, good and bad. It was a lesson he learned all the way back in Iron Man thanks to Obadiah Stane, and one we see him pass on to Peter in Spider-Man: Homecoming when he tells him to “be better.” Yes, he makes mistakes — though not nearly as many as he’s blamed for — but he always faces them, even when it’s hard. He’s not the guy to run away or claim righteous perfection. He’s the guy to roll up his sleeves and fix the problem, no matter the personal cost. I’m not even joking when I say I’m proud of him. And a little teary-eyed. (Is that weird? It’s at least 12% weird.) 

The TL;DR of it all is this: I love Tony Stark, and here are a few excellent meta posts by people who love him, too. Also, because

Marvel – In Defense of Tony Stark

From “You Know Who I Am” to “How Do You Know My Name” by @tonylovebot and @nightswatchrebel, Tony stark went from a “you know who I am” to “how do you know my name” and that’s fucking heartbreaking because he’s come to a point of realization that the universe is hecking big and he shouldn’t expect every being to know his name (but they’re going to). (Mirror Link)

Hey Marvel… (Tony Stark deserves a break) by @tony-stark-is-the-universe, Hey Marvel…You and I need to have a chat for a moment about the MCU’s godfather, Anthony Edward Stark. (Mirror Link)

“I am Iron Man” by @avelera, I know it’s in my tags for the Iron Man post but man, do you guys remember the “I am Iron Man” moment at the end of Iron Man 1? Do you guys remember what that represented? (Mirror Link)

“I think I would just cut the wire” by @ihamtmus, Let’s talk about this line. In Avengers, Steve tells Tony he wouldn’t “lay down on a wire” to let somebody else crawl over him. In other words, he accuses him of not being able to sacrifice himself (btw what kind of insult is that, Steve?? It’s not something to accuse somebody of?? But that’s a different subject). We all know it’s not true, as Tony himself proved many times. (Mirror Link)

[GIFSET] The Gentle, Reassuring, Attentive Soft Dad™ by @van-dyne, Tony Stark in Avengers: Infinity War. (Mirror Link)

Thanos has one fear… and it’s Tony Stark by @starkravinghazelnuts, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: “Because the Soul Stone” is not a good enough reason why Thanos knew Stark. I think we, the audience, are supposed to be asking ourselves, “Why does Thanos know him? How?” Because it was a dramatized moment. The narrative deliberately pulled our attention to this scene. Thanos says, “Stark,” like it’s significant somehow–and clearly Tony feels the same way because he stops to ask Thanos, “You know me?” It’s very much a “did I hear that right?” beat. Thanos then says, “I do. You’re not the only one cursed with knowledge.” (Mirror Link)

Tony Stark gets criticism for things the other Avengers don’t by @anthonyofyork, Note: Anti-Wanda Maximoff; Everyone else: gets to do shit, Tony Stark: is a villain for doing similar shit while also being the only one who fucking cares. (Mirror Link)

Tony Stark listens to others by @starkravinghazelnuts, After making that Harley gifset, I am just struck by how much Tony Stark listens to others and asks for input. (Mirror Link)

tony stark loves peter parker and just want to protect him by @protect-anthony-edward-stark, […] How can people say things like “protect Peter from Tony”?? Tony is the best thing that could happen to Peter. He’s the best mentor he could have had. He loves Peter so much and does everything to protect him. (Mirror Link)

Tony without his suit by @kayytx, Tony: *designs and creates a suit of armor under duress, in captivity, while recovering from unmedicated chest surgery, and escapes from his kidnappers* (Mirror Link)