#and I'm completely wrong

[bylightofdawn]

Dear Star Wars Fans

It's Hot Take time with El.

I am sooooooo fucking sick of seeing these "Weh, Star Wars sucks now posts" or "Disney keeps putting out the bad stuff and is RUINING MY CHILDHOOD" posts.

It's legitimately like I'm being transported back to the '90s/early 2000s forums where endless fanboys were whinging over Lucus ruining Star Wars with the prequels. And BTW, they have not stopped in the past 20 years. They will continue to be pedantic and toxic and generally pessimistic about everything.

So to come to Tumblr and see that same mentality being shoveled about like three pounds of horseshit that cross my dash at least once a day. And well, I'm grumpy enough this afternoon to go off.

Hot Take Point One: Just because YOU don't like a show or a series doesn't mean your opinion is the majority. There is someone out there who loves the season you're proclaiming is the worst thing ever. That character you detest is someone's special blorbo and the ship you despise is someone's OTP. And that is okay; their tastes are entirely valid, and your experience is not universal. You are not a peerless bastion of flawless good taste and the supreme authority on Star Wars. 

How do I know this? Cause you're on this hellsite and you like Star Wars. 

I'm not naive enough to expect people to not bitch about and complain about things they don't like, and honestly, you're allowed to do that. I encourage you to do it. I want people to keep in the back of their minds that it's their opinion and that it's not universal. And their opinion is no better than another person's. Even someone who you think has a shitty opinion or ships something 'problematic'. If you're going to proclaim someone else has dogshit taste, I would encourage you to look into the mirror and realize someone else thinks your tastes are dogshit as well. And fuck right off with canon is the only real and valid opinion. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES DISNEY HAS CHANGED CANON? They can't make up their fucking minds; nothing is set in stone, so just enjoy what you enjoy and let other people enjoy what they want. We're all here because we supposedly love this fandom, right? I feel like people have lost sight of that point. We're supposed to love Star Wars, and it should bring us together as a fandom, not tear us apart. But that's a rant for another day.

Hot Take Point Two: Have a little appreciation and respect for the people working on these shows. Unless you are in the industry or working on said show, you probably don't understand the amount of work, effort, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into making these things. Some of these people grew up dreaming about working on a Star Wars IP. This is probably a dream come true for a lot of people working on these shows, and you're pissing all over those dreams for popularity points on the internet like this is fucking Reddit, and you're farming for upvotes. No, it's not perfect; yes, there are going to be shitty VFX and cringe as fuck dialogue. 

It's not perfect, but they do their best with what they get handed. We had a saying in my old print shop, you can only shine up a turd so much. aka you take the shit you are given and you try and make it as polished and pretty as you can but at the end of the day you're working with the shit you were given. And I'm not saying these series are criticism proof or that you're not allowed to ridicule some of the terrible bad choices made.

I will go to my grave ranting about the ridiculous batshittery of fucking jetpack jousting in Mando S3. 

Hot Take Point Three: I will also argue that there are good elements in every new Star Wars IP released by House of Mouse. Yes, even the one you hate down the cockles of your black heart. I challenge you to shut out the noise from Tumblr, the bandwagon hating on something, and go in trying to find something you enjoy in a season or an episode. Find, say, 5 things you enjoy or a character (even a cringy one) or a set piece you visually find interesting. Maybe a funny joke or even a special effect so ridiculously stupid you can't help but laugh. (I'm looking at you Ahsoka fighting god damn fighters with a lightsaber while on top of the Ghost zooming around at full cruising speed. It's so utterly preposterous I can't help but laugh and shake my head all at the same time.)

You don't have to post about it or speak about it to anyone don't worry your friends don't need to know you might secretly enjoyed something you all 'hated'. Though I would also challenge you to actually speak about it as well because...hear me out here, you might find NEW PEOPLE who enjoyed those same things you might make more friends in the fandom, shocking I know. 

But just trying to FIND a positive thing in a show will give you a slightly more balanced relationship with how you consume it. Honestly, that's just general life advice you should try and take to heart. That's a freebie from your old Auntie El there. 

It's so easy to be a negative, pedantic fan who hates what we claim to love. But by making the conscious choice to find something good in this so-called pile of shit in front of you, maybe your relationship with the IP will be a happier one. If nothing else, you'll perhaps get sparked and remember what made you love Star Wars so much in the first place. 

So yeah, keep in mind your experience is not universal, even if you hate it, respect the time and effort it took to make it and try and find what sparked joy in you in the first place when interacting with the media. 

Oh, one other thing? 20 years from now? You're prolly going to look back on these shows you hate and find yourself nostalgic and maybe even a little apologetic for how much you dogged on this stuff because there will be a whole new cycle of brand new IP people are creating where people are proclaiming THAT is the worst shit ever made and they don't make Star Wars content like they used to. 

Cause that's just the human condition, and as someone who has been in this fandom for thirty years? I've seen that cycle replayed multiple times. We love the Prequels now, but twenty years ago, everyone hated them and thought they were ruining Star Wars. It doesn't get worse, it doesn't get better; we just grow older and learn to have a new perspective and learn to interact with the fandom in different ways. 

I'm just begging you, please stop being negative, toxicly pedantic fans who just sit there tearing down everything and learn to interact with the thing you claim to love with...actual love.

[egophiliac]

I'm still processing 7-13, in the meantime have this super quick thing! of all the things that happened that I didn't expect, one of 'em certainly was a not insignificant subplot revolving around Silver unintentionally committing international mail fraud.

[salarymanwaka]

[thevoidstaredback]

Part 1

Gotham City Airport was, for better or worse, on the outskirts of the mainland, basically not even in the city, meaning that it was almost a straight shot from there to Bristol. Another place that isn't technically part of the islands that make up Gotham City, but who is Danny to judge? A spiteful bitch, that's right.

The car parked and he rushed out to grab his bags before Alfred could. Then, he made it a point to drag his feet the entire way up the drive to the doors of the Manor itself.

"Talk about old money," he muttered.

As he already knew, the sky that covered what he was calling the Gotham Archipelago and all of it's sister-cities-that-are-actually-a-part-of-Gotham-City-for-some-reason and Bludhaven was murky and blocked out all chances of seeing the sun, let alone the stars. He'd be amazed if he even saw a single person with a natural tan in this place.

And the cloud cover, despite what Gothamites would have everyone believe, isn't even clouds! Most of it's left over shit from rogue attacks that've found their way into the condensation cycle! Fear gas is too heavy to evaporate properly, but too light to stick to the ground; whatever Mr. Freeze puts in his ice sticks to whatever clouds there are like glue, holding them together and keeping them in place; light pollution from both the actual lights and the fires that start every week; whatever toxins have made it into the harbor and river; et cetera.

And don't even get him started on the names on the Rogue Gallery Roster! It's great and all that they're explaining their whole gimmick, but can't they be at least a little creative?

"Danny?" Damian said, making him realize that he'd made it to the gilded front door that was way too tall for any human.

Alfred pushed the doors open. "Welcome to Wayne Manor, Danny," he turned with a smile, "You're home for as long as you'd like it to be."

Danny scoffed and hefted his bags up the stairs.

The entry hall was more befitting of the phrase 'Grand Lobby', somehow making the too-large doors seem normal. A grand staircase was carpeted red, leading up to the second floor. There was a gold and pearl chandelier, too, flanked by two smaller, identical chandeliers. Huge windows on wither side of the door were framed by red velvet curtains, open and letting whatever sun they could into the room.

He felt small. He hated it.

"If you'll follow me, Danny, I'll take you to your room." Alfred started to walk up the stairs, Damian following only a few steps behind him.

Danny didn't move. "I'm not sleeping in a room big enough to be an apartment."

Alfred turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It would be inappropriate to put you up in the servant's quarters."

Damian was looking at Danny like a kicked puppy. Well, as much like a kicked puppy as his training allowed him to look. Danny didn't particularly care.

"Then stick me in a shed. I'd rather not spend the summer feeling agoraphobic, thanks."

"I can assure you that the others in the house-"

Danny interrupted Alfred by shaking his head. "I don't want anyone to know I'm here."

"But, then how will you patrol with us?" Damian asked.

"Go without me," he answered.

"Now, now, Danny," Alfred said as he walked back down the stairs, "I will not allow you to spend the whole summer cooped up in a garden shed."

"Great!" Danny smiled falsely, "Then I will take my things and go back-"

Alfred grabbed a hold of his bags and swiftly started his way back up the stairs. "Then you will simply have to go without your stuff. What will your mother think-"

"I don't have a mother." Danny spat, making the two others pause. He took a deep breath. "Fine. If that's how you want to play, then fine." He glared up at the two. "Game fucking on."

Part 3

[hrtzbeat]

oh my, this is a grave situation~

[tubbytarchia]

[horrendoushag]

are they goth are they punk are they anything at all

[walking-existential-crisis]

Thank you Peter Bishop for having the only normal reactions to Walter's weird ass experiments he did in the 70s

[heavyheavycream]

food festival 2!

FIRST PART

part 3 one day maybe?

[the-barefoot-hatter]

I've seen a few Billford fics where Dipper is onto/extremely suspicious that Bill isn't exactly "human", but I think the reverse concept is much much funnier... where Dipper's convinced Ford is the cryptid and Bill is 100% the normal guy

Dipper "Paranoia" Pines: "Mabel, don't you think there's something WEIRD about Great-Uncle Ford??? He barely sleeps, he wears a turtleneck AND coat in the middle of summer, he has a ranked blood 'flavor profile' list, he always sneaking around at night, he always smells like brunt hair... which is... also weird but not really a sign of anything I guess... but I still think he's vampire? Maybe?? -chewing pen, frantically searching The Monster Book of Monsters for more clues- Mabel: "What, Dipper, you're crazy! Right Grunkle Bill?" Bill Cipher -clearly doing something supernatural, up to and including still being a floating triangle in a top hat- "Gee, I dunno Shooting Star, personally I've always suspected my hubbie's a shaved Bigfoot... how else do you explain Stan?" Dipper -oblivious to the real cryptid in the shack-: SEE, yes, thank you, good to know we have one voice of reason in this house!

[non-un-topo]

POV: You're a tavern owner who just turned away a raccoon and an owl

[jewishcissiekj]

nice (star wars) clone art. however. I don't think you know how Temuera Morrison looks

[chuppy-fail]

started reading through path of life

[thevoidstaredback]

Part 2

Danny had counted himself lucky that no one had been in the Manor when he'd arrived. It gave him time to stew in the silence about his unwilling occupation of the apartment sized room he'd be staying in. As soon as Alfred and Damian had left earlier with a threat to come and get him for dinner, he'd locked the door and pushed the dresser and bed in front of it.

Just because he was stuck there for the next three months didn't mean he had to interact with anyone. He'd live up to his half status as a ghost and be nothing more than a passing thought for the whole summer.

Now if only everyone else had gotten the memo to stay away.

Apparently, at some point between his arrival and where he now finds himself, Damian and/or Alfred had announced to the rest of the household - former and current - who Danny was and that he'd be staying with them. Luckily, they'd been so kind as to give him a room far away from the others. Unfortunately, that meant that he was only a floor above them all.

Someone had tried to open his door barely and hour ago, calling to be let in so he could introduce himself. Danny ignored him, not saying a word. Eventually, the guy left. About ten minutes later, someone else tried to get in through one of the windows. Danny hadn't been able to do much more than lock those and close the blinds. Though, he had to admit that Bruce Wayne spared nothing on his home security.

Ever since, he'd had several people come to his door, calling for him to open it, that they just wanted to say 'hi'. He studiously ignored all of them, even going so far as to lock himself in the walk-in closet. It wasn't too big a space, thank god, but it was just enough for him to comfortably curl into the fetal position in the back corner of the top shelf.

Being a clone gave him the advantage of having the same memories as whoever he'd been cloned from. While that didn't extend to muscle memory, that had been easy to rectify, Deathstroke and Talia had both made sure of that.

Being half dead gave him the extra advantage of powers to hide better.

Ever wonder why, in the stories and myths, people are almost never able to see a ghost by looking head on? It's because ghosts don't like to be seen. They use a mix of intangibility and partial invisibility to redirect attention from themselves. Rattling chains, opening and closing doors, pushing things off shelves, that's all just to get attention away from them so they can hide.

So, Danny's hidden himself in the farthest corner on the top shelf in a medium sized closet with the lights off and the door closed. The room proper has the windows locked and covered, the door locked and blocked.

He doesn't need to eat, so long as he stays a ghost. And if he doesn't consume anything, then there's no waste for his body to get rid of. And, because he's comfortable, he could totally just sleep the entire summer away.

That is, if he can get himself to relax enough to actually close his eyes for more than a blink.

One of the windows shattered, likely spreading glass all over the floor.

"Danny?" While all the others had been male voices, this one was female. A smooth alto. "I broke your window."

He almost snorted. How very observant of this person.

They, because he wasn't going to assume based solely off of how their voice sounds, were getting close to the closet. "That's a good hiding place you have there. Though, blocking the door was a bit much. Why'd you stick around if you so obviously don't want to be here?"

Because he'd rather not have the League of Assassins on his trail for leaving his 'vacation' early, thank you very much. He didn't say that, though.

The door cracked open. "Y'know, I used to hide in the closet in my room all the time. From what Dick tells me, so did the others." They giggled. "It's kinda like a rite of passage."

Danny cringed, though he didn't move. This was nice spot, no matter what Alto over there was implying.

The door opened fully, revealing the person who'd broken in. They had black hair cropped to their chin, a blue tank-top and black leggings. "My name's Cassandra, but you can call me 'Cass'," they said, "Can I come in?"

They weren't looking at him, but he shook his head anyway. They'd found him, so they could probably see through walls or some shit.

They closed the door, sitting on the floor with their back to it. "Damian told us that you're his brother-"

"He is not my brother," he hissed, "Not in the way they want us to be."

Cassandra leaned her head against the door, looking up but not at him. "Hm. Want to explain?"

He didn't speak.

"Okay. You don't have to." A pause. "Do you want something to eat?"

"Piss off," he growled.

"Okay, okay," their tone aggravated him. Why weren't they getting angry? They didn't leave.

Danny settled deeper into the corner. He'd spent way to long waiting to be beaten at a contest in stall tactics.

Though, even he knew when to recognize a good competition. This was going to be a long night.

Part 4

[vegaseatsass]

Revenged Love Episode 6

Truly obsessed with how when Chi Cheng and Guo Chengyu notice they're being scammed or manipulated it just makes them want Wu Suowei and Jiang Xiaoshuai more.

Like Chi Cheng is starting to hit his horny limit, and it's very funny that he antagonizes Wu Suowei and then pikachu surprise faces every time Suowei consequently distrusts him way too much to surrender. They really have the weirdest battle of the wills going where because Chi Cheng cannot let himself fully give in to how much he craves Suowei, his deliberately fuckboyish behavior is making it impossible for Suowei to let down his guard for him either. NONETHELESS, at the base of things is still Chi Cheng's appreciation for Suowei as the best scammer he's ever met who mutters in his sleep about how he's getting too good at pretending. It's this unhinged thing where Chi Cheng can't let down his guard because of his own Wang Shuo baggage, not because of Suowei's obvious agenda - in fact, Suowei having an obvious agenda is both part of the attraction for Mr. Snake Appreciator, and a justification for Chi Cheng to continue treating him in his usual dehumanizing entitled sex pest way, "your ass is practically in the air for me", instead of really letting himself be vulnerable. Meanwhile, the glimpses of vulnerability, tenderness, real care he shows are both what Suowei is looking to "exploit" for his revenge, but paradoxically they're also the main things actually hooking him and making him want Chi Cheng in earnest, despite his own plans. Anytime Chi Cheng decides to try to force a reaction out of Suowei, whether that's by oversharing about all the girlfriend sex he's swears he's totally having, or by shoving him up against various surfaces, Chi Cheng absolutely gets the instant gratification legible reaction he wants, but he also shuts down the burgeoning genuine interest Suowei starts feeling for him when he behaves like a human being. But! That interest is notttt something Suowei is remotely comfortable with either, so it also makes him pull away if he notices it in himself, which means Chi Cheng can't just act like a gentleman or patiently wait for Suowei if he wants him to thaw, he can only get unmistakable confirmation that Suowei feels ANYTHING for him by forcing situations where Suowei has to give him a momentarily honest reaction. That lose/lose nature of the approach only deepens his simultaneous frustration AND interest in Suowei as an inscrutable snakey puzzle... and keeps him from the character growth Suowei would need to want to not keep exploiting him back... Just such a crazyyyyyy dynamic I swear.

AND THEN Guo Chengyu, the reason I actually made this post!!!, getting more excited and into the game in episode 6 when he confirms that yes, the only reason he is making any progress with Jiang Xiaoshuai is because Xiaoshuai wants information on Chi Cheng for his emotional support revenge scheme. That's terrific, so hot and sexy of Xiaoshuai, and so totally in Guo Chengyu's wheelhouse as something he can use. He's 100% acclimated from his break with Chi Cheng in the past to approaching human relationships as a four dimensional chess game that he can never win, but the playing of it is itself the most emotionally fulfilling thing he can get out of life. Following Chi Cheng around all these years has just honed him into someone who can not just stick with Jiang Xiaoshuai's rejections but enjoy every minute of them, want him more every time he puts another obstacle up or lets Guo Chengyu in for duplicitous rather than sincere reasons. It's fascinating to me that Chengyu chose to fuck Chi Cheng's boyfriend (I would speculate for Chi Cheng-obsessed reasons), and instead of accepting that things would never be okay between them again, simply completely remade himself in Grimdark Chi Cheng's image, following him around embracing their new dynamic wholeheartedly. They're both so warped by this choice Chengyu made, and Chi Cheng is very obviously fucked up by it, but Chengyu is in perpetual "this is fine" mode over it despite definitely having become just as much of a completely different person than he was before to match his worstie.

Anyway I meant to make this a short little post but I got carried away, but the main point I wanted to articulate is that all four characters don't believe that people can be good or that relationships can be sincere or easy, and all four of them are approaching each other within that paradigm. But the difference between the two friend/frenemy duos, and the thing I am obsessed with, is how much Chengyu and Chi Cheng have turned themselves into people who enjoy the insincerity and fuckery. Suowei and Xiaoshuai actively pursue ingenuine relationships, they make their own beds and lie in it, to protect their own hearts, but they also pretty clearly just want someone to treat them right beneath it all. Chengyu and Chi Cheng probably want that deep deep deep deep DEEP down, but it is buried beneath so many layers of turning mind games and manipulation and exploitation and lies into a kink. Tl;dr we just have all the ingredients for the world's largest and most perfect four-way trainwreck <3

[egophiliac]

I'm trying to avoid getting spoiled so I haven't looked up what's happening in the Jp server's main story, but for my own sanity I need to ask; is the story at a point where we know whether Lilia will get better/survive his almost-empty magic reserves..? Was it a true death flag from the start or only a plot device for malleus' overblot....?

not yet! I do think they're going to get back to it eventually, but -- keeping it as low spoilers as possible -- there's been...let's just say a LOT going on in the meantime.

enjoy 7-6!!! :)