alexebeth - Tumblr blog

[alexebeth]

my favorite line in the whole movie had to be when Andrew replies to Strange “You were in the Grand Canyon? Why DIDN’T YOU HELP HIM?” as if Strange wasn’t fighting for his life and pride after being beaten

[alexebeth]

electro: “thought you were black.” andrew: “there’s gotta be a black spider-man somewhere.” MILES!! HIIII, MY LOVE HI!

[alexebeth]

no way home spoilers

That look in Tobey's eyes when he's holding Tom's Peter back from killing Norman. He didn't have to say a single word. They both just knew. That look is haunting me it won't leave my mind.

It was so, so important how they did that moment - how Tobey didn't just snatch the hoverboard out of Tom's hands with a web - but rather he could look him in the eyes, look his younger self in the eyes, and stop him from making the same choice that he did. Not just physically stop him but to make him understand, and let him make the choice to let go himself, instead of making it for him.

I love how they really framed Tobey's as the oldest and the wisest. He's had all this time to look back on that choice he made. All this time to think about the things he would have done differently. All this time thinking if he had just known, wishing he could just go back in time and talk to himself, to stop himself. He never thought that one day he would actually get that chance.

That look. That look that won't leave my mind. That look that said you know you shouldn't do this. You know May wouldn't want you to do this. I know the pain it will cause you. I've felt it. I feel it every day. I don't want you to go through what I did. I don't want you to make the same mistake I did. I don't want you to feel the pain that I do. Please. I love you. Please. It didn't help.

And Tom's Peter listens. He makes the choice Tobey's couldn't. His younger self didn't have him to offer him his strength and compassion and wisdom and perspective. Tobey's Peter can never go back in time and save himself, but at least he could save this version of himself. He can go on living, and the pain will fade more and more every day. Whenever he looks back on his younger self at least he'll know, without a doubt, that in another world, there's a version of him that he was able to help. Who didn't make that choice.

(And then Tom's Peter could then do something else that Tobey's couldn't, that being curing Norman, which he said he's been thinking about for years. Even though he was dead he still wished he could go back and help him, and now he was finally able to give him a second chance.)

(And the fact that Tobey says in the very next scene after May dies that ever since he got here he's been trying to find Peter because he feels he needs his help. I know he probably got there earlier but part of me thinks he got there right after or when May died, and he goes through the portal a few hours later. Yes Peter needed him because of the villains but the real reason he needed him was because of May's death and how he was grieving - and how this universe's Peter was going to make the same decision he did if he didn't find him and help him.)

And Andrew. I saw someone else say that he's still grieving Gwen, which is so true. From his conversation with Tobey it sounds like he really just sunk himself entirely into his work as Spiderman in order to, maybe not so much cope but just keep himself occupied to block out the grief.

He thinks about her every day. Sees her falling. Feels the weight of her in his arms again and again and again.

And when MJ fell, every fiber of his being was screaming not again. Not again. Not again.

In that moment, he just saw Gwen. Like he does every day. Only this time it was all too real.

And this time it was different. MJ's Peter couldn't get to her, just like he couldn't get to Gwen. This time he was here. This time he could do something about it. This time there was someone who could spare Peter the pain he lives with every moment of his life.

Maybe when he caught her, for just a split second, it felt like he caught Gwen. He had relived the most horrible moment of his life again. That moment that lived in his mind, that was always there underneath everything else, burning just a little but without end. Then somehow, this time, it ended differently.

The worst thing that happened to Andrew's Peter was a tragedy, but the worst thing that happened to Tobey's was a choice. They're both things that they can never change, but wish they could. They're both things they were able to spare this young version of themselves from. This boy who's full of so much potential and been through so much already. This boy who needed them. This boy who is them.

Obviously this whole movie was about second chances and compassion. You can always give second chances to people, no matter what they've done. You can always start over with them. Everyone except for yourself. You will always know what you've been through and what you've done. And you can be compassionate with yourself, but you can never truly start over. We can never get second chances in life - we can only have them in the eyes of others.

I wish I could go back in time and be there for my younger self. I wish I could help them and guide them. I wish I could protect them. I wish I could save them. I think about it all the time. I think a lot of us do. But in the real world we can't save our younger selves from pain.

Tobey and Andrew were able to fulfill the impossible dream of giving yourself a second chance. Of saving yourself.

I think what this movie was saying was that, as much as we wish we could, we can't start over. You can't give second chances to yourself so that's why it's all the more important that you give them to others - because if we could give ourselves even one moment of the past that could be changed, we would all do it in a heartbeat.

[alexebeth]

Things I Loved About Eternals

*SPOILER WARNING*

wow that was an amazing movie and it fucked me up I have so many emotions

let’s go down the list of Immortal Family Angst

1. The Immortal Family Angst: First off, the 7000-year-old gods were gorgeous and powerful and petty and human, which is everything I could’ve asked for in a Mythological Deities movie. They’ve definitely got that Greek Mythology Olympians vibe with their differing fields of expertise (what they were made for + what they came to embody over the centuries), but I guess what makes them more or less fucked up than Greek gods is their unquestionable love for each other. Isn’t that such a curse and a blessing? 

2. The physical disability representation from Makkari: When she spoke, everyone automatically fell silent, and not once in the film was her disability a hindrance to her. Why? Because her 7000-year-old family members accommodated her needs, which isn’t that impossible to do. (Headcanon: her machine body might’ve been built with deaf ears because constantly breaking the sound barrier might be disastrous to the eardrums, maybe. Also I love her combat style, speed is deadly.)

3. The mental disability representation from Thena: This was done so well, with Ajak continuously reminding her, “You are loved,” with the others supporting her in not wanting to give up who she is, with Gilgamesh agreeing to keep her company through the years and constantly being there to remind her that just because she can’t fight the same way she used to doesn’t mean she is less loved. 

Mental illness can become more difficult to deal with when one experiences the loss of a loved one. Thena’s character arc showed that though Gilgamesh was gone, the progress she had made and the determination to stay with her recovery did not become null. Sometimes remembering the love that was given to you is the reminder you need to continue to accept yourself, illness and all. (That cave battle metaphor for mental illness was on point. The Deviant was doomed the moment he quoted Gilgamesh without truly understanding the humanity he’d stolen from him.)

4. Phastos’s loving family representation: How about this disillusioned god of inventions, who saw all the bad that humanity could do and also rediscovered the good that humanity could offer? He’s a gay black man who’s got a happy, loving relationship with his handsome husband and his beautiful son. Wow did I love seeing this on the big screen. (Also his combat scenes? What a badass.)

5. Ajak, Ikaris, Gilgamesh, and fate: Let’s talk about these three. In a way, Ajak and Ikaris’s endings were almost fated due to the choices they made. Ajak could’ve chosen to stand her ground sooner, or could’ve not burdened her favorite child with the heaviest weight she carried. Ikaris could’ve chosen to accept the change of plans and reassessed his faith earlier. But neither of them could shake off the responsibility they were indoctrinated into that easily. Ajak’s favor of Ikaris might’ve doomed them both, but how could a mother love her son and not give him a chance to prepare for the approaching end? Could she have truly avoided raising him in the spitting image of herself? The loneliness she must have felt, with her burden. A Shakespearean tragedy, in the flesh.

In contrast, Gilgamesh did nothing to deserve his fate. Where Ajak was the Mind, Gilgamesh was obviously the Heart. He’s the one who volunteers to dedicate his life to helping Thena live hers. Without Gilgamesh, Ikaris would’ve died in the Amazon forest. He’s the protector, readily sharing comforting words and good food, as well as a badass fist. You could say he’s the purest embodiment of who an Eternal is. It makes me feel some type of thing, knowing that the tale of Gilgamesh is the first human epic we have a remaining record of, and it’s the story of a man who grew into a good, compassionate king and met a very human death. (Interesting how the Deviant became so human-like after absorbing Gilgamesh’s essence.)

Ajak, Ikaris, and Gilgamesh, despite their godly power, are not named after gods. They are named after mortal heroes (Ajax and Icarus from Greek mythology, Gilgamesh from ancient Mesopotamian mythology). Like their namesakes, it was not their power that defined who they were, and for them were reserved the most human ends.

6. Ikaris, Sprite, and immortality: They really came for my throat with the Peter Pan and Tinkerbell reference. Eternal youth isn’t all that great, especially for Sprite or Ikaris. Peter Pan killed his mother because he couldn’t bear to break out of his old way of life. He was unwilling to grow up. In contrast, Sprite wants more than anything else to be able to grow up, but is held in stagnation against her will. But in the end, when Peter Pan is gone and Wendy Darling is the new immortal leader of Neverland, Tinkerbell chooses what Wendy Darling had and leaves her old self behind. She changes.

(In the beginning of the movie, the title Eternals sounds grand and impressive. But near the end of the movie, when Ikaris talks about eternity with Sersi, the name no longer sounds glorious. Eternity sounds like a curse.)

7. Kingo and his faith: Take notes, Ikaris, this is how not to wage a holy war in the name of your faith. Kingo did leave Sprite to loneliness to pursue his love of movies, but at his core, his first and foremost love is for his family. (Something about Fighter Classes and how they throw themselves into danger for the other robot deities does something to my heart.) Despite his love for humanity, he cannot compromise his beliefs. That does not mean he is willing to harm others for that faith, because that is not what faith should be for. (Looking at you, Ikaris.)

8. Druig and his burned-out love: What a way to deal with a morally gray mind-controlling god, whose only wish was for humans to stop fighting and live companionably together. Here’s this deeply tired, flawed person who was unable to lose his empathy, however hard he may have wanted to. He was willing to shoulder the blame for preventing a Celestial’s birth if it meant sparing Sersi the weight, and I think that might be the essence of his character.

9. Sersi and her destructive creation: Finally, we come to the sorceress of myth (named after Circe from Greek mythology). Sersi is the most loving, kind-hearted person, but the power of creation she wields is the most destructive force of all. She shares the same characteristic with Celestials. This movie seems to be saying, ‘look hard at miraculous acts of creation, and make sure you know what the price of that creation is’.

“It is the most natural thing in the world to want to protect the one you love,” said Gilgamesh. Sersi did so, and so did Ikaris. What a shame that it was such a struggle for Ikaris to do the most natural thing in the world. What a shame that Sersi’s heart made a choice that would weigh her down with enormous guilt and terrible repercussions. It should not be so terrible to want to protect, and yet.

(Maybe it’s the way these robot deities were programmed, but every one of these people seem to have an instinctive love for humans and their world. That includes Ikaris, who took one last look back at the beautiful planet he had loved for several millennia, before flying into his destruction. If he had listened to love more than duty, things might be different. But then he wouldn’t be Ikaris. Again, Shakespearean.)

10. Celestials and their birth: What if all Celestials who were brought forth into the world by Eternals are a little in love with them, from that first mind-meld at the beginning of their life? What if Tiamut, while connecting with these tiny implements of birth and creation, saw their sorrow for the destruction of a beloved planet and chose—with a newborn deity’s own free will—to make the sacrifice for these grieving, loving robots? (Why the continuous cycle of rebirth for this specific group of robots? Can this expression of sentiment be explained in any other way than love? Arishem may not be aware how much his tools are loved.) 

(Also I can’t believe the eventual death of the universe, which is highly likely considering the actual science of everything, can be explained mythologically as Star-Forgers who grew too compassionate for the products of their creations and chose a slow and certain death over a hard-reset cycle. What a story.)

(If you think of the planet as the mother and the Celestial as the child, the movie is a pro-abortion metaphor. Of course mothers have a right to abortion if the pregnancy is life-threatening. The potential for new life cannot outweigh the free choice of who is already here. It’s a question of seeing humans as mere implements of procreation or as actualized individuals with vibrant lives.)

11. Love can take many forms: Safe, sane, and consensual sex is a perfectly natural activity for humans in love. Cohabitation of platonic life partners is also a perfectly natural manifestation of love. Familial love is a wonderful thing when shared with the right people. Kissing is a beautiful affirmation of love, but it is not a requirement for two people to share a special connection together. The forehead touches in this movie made me scream internally. (Druig and Makkari own my soul, by the way. I don’t entirely understand how this happened. My heart I’ve given to Gilgamesh and Thena. Sersi can have my everything else.)

12. Found Family Dynamics: This actually wrecked me. The way Sersi and Ikaris acted in Phastos’s home, like they felt comfortable to be there, in that house and in that company. The way Ajak loved and cared for her children, and how she tried her hardest to do right by them despite knowing she was merely a tool. The way Druig, Makkari, and Phastos shared a couch. The way everyone laughed around Gilgamesh’s dinner table. The way Sprite told a story. The way Kingo said the word “family.” The way they waited for Thena to wake up. Just, so much about them. (I might need some AU fics to mend the hole they left in me.)

13. The Good Humans: Shout-out to Dane, Karun, Phastos’s family, and the other good humans I’m probably forgetting. Congratulations, your decency and kindness prompted a group of robot deities to fight for your continued survival. Keep being the good parts of humanity.

Conclusion: This is the best multi-character movie I have seen in my life. I became so intensely enamored with all of the individual characters, it was unreal. THIS is how you do a multi-character movie. What a masterpiece.

[alexebeth]

The Fear Street Trilogy is all about women's love and I think that's something very beautiful and unexpected about it. I'm not even talking about just romantic love. It's all over the three movies. Women loving and being loved.

1666: Sarah Fier sacrificed herself for the woman she loved. Her friends loved her so much they wanted something better for her and gave her a proper burial. Hannah's love for her, in the form of the red moss, grew for hundreds of years!

1978: Nurse Lane never accepted the story the police told about her daughter, never gave up on her and finding the truth, never stopped loving her. Cindy and Alice's dynamic based on the certainty that they still knew each other, who they really were, the friend they used to know but would never stop loving. Then, obviously, the love between the sisters, Cindy and Ziggy, that fought until the end for each other.

1994: Josh fighting anything and everything for his sister. Kate and Simon supporting their loved friend too. Ziggy's love for her lost sister being present in everything she did, inspiring her to fight. Back with the romance, everything about Deena and Sam. Sam ready to sacrifice herself for Deena again and again, trusting her enough to let her kill her. Deena fighting a hundred years old curse with nothing but a desperate need to save the girl she loves. Sarah and Hannah's love always there in the background. So. Much. Love.

[alexebeth]

Complete and utter crack!theory but here goes

What if Sylvie is Loki's daughter?

Hear me out:

Loki: "I would never treat me like this"

Sylvie: "I'm not you"

Sylvie: "Don't call me that"

Sylvie: Love is hate

Loki: *sings Asgardian sad song/lullaby?*

Why would Sylvie be so pissed at Loki that she would beat him up? We can deduce that she had a shitty childhood without a mother.

We don't know about her Thor or her Odin. Maybe she was abandoned/her father left her and never taught her magic, and this has left her angry and feeling abandoned. Maybe she took her grandfather's last name instead.

We know she was adopted and told this from a young age. Loki, if he was ever a father, wouldn't make the same mistake as Odin by keeping it from her.

Maybe she wants free will/to change the timeline so she can get her family back, if they were taken from her, or killed/forced to leave her.

The song's lyrics also says "the sweet maiden sings, when are you coming home?"

[alexebeth]

LOKI (2021)

It is adorable, that you think you could possibly manipulate me.

[alexebeth]

LOKI (2021)

“The Time-Keepers have built quite the circus. And I see the clowns are playing their parts to perfection.” 

[alexebeth]

if my best friend doesn’t realize my husband murdered me after i don’t show up for our tuesday night date at olive garden, so then she kills him to avenge me with the help of my sister, then i don’t want it.

[alexebeth]

willow + folklore songs

[alexebeth]

taylor swift really wrote two albums for the hopeful romantics, the dark academics, the yearning lovers and the quiet souls of the world

[alexebeth]

#THIS IS ANOTHER UNDERRATED MOMENT #GROGU SENSES LUKE THROUGH THE FORCE #HE FEELS LUKE BOARDING THAT SHIP AND COMING TO SEE HIM #HIS LITTLE HAND REACHING OUT TO THE MONITOR #BECAUSE HE’S REACHING OUT TO LUKE IN THE FORCE TOO #THEY SENSE EACH OTHER #GROGU HAS BEEN SO ALONE IN THE FORCE #ONLY BRIEF MOMENTS OF CONNECTION LIKE WITH AHSOKA #AND NOW HERE’S THIS TREMENDOUS PRESENCE #QUITE POSSIBLY EVEN MORE BRILLIANT IN THE FORCE THAN GROGU #WHO IS TELLING HIM ‘I’M HERE.  I’M COMING TO SEE YOU.  I’LL PROTECT YOU.’ #ALL THROUGH THE FORCE #WHO UNDERSTANDS WHEN GROGU REACHES BACK #NOT ONLY DOES GROGU SENSE LUKE #BUT LUKE SENSES GROGU #AND THEY FEEL EACH OTHER REACHING OUT #NOBODY TOUCH ME I’M CRYING ABOUT FORCE-SENSITIVES #AND HOW HARD IT HAD TO BE FOR GROGU TO CHOOSE BETWEEN DIN AND LUKE #AND HOW MUCH HE WANTED TO GO BUT WOULDN’T UNTIL DIN GAVE HIM PERMISSION #I’M JUST WEEPING AT HOW BEAUTIFUL THE WHOLE THING IS EVEN AS IT BREAKS MY HEART #THE WAY HIS LITTLE EARS PERK UP WHEN HE SENSES LUKE #I CAN’T HANDLE THIS

[alexebeth]

DARTH VADER in ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016) LUKE SKYWALKER in THE MANDALORIAN (2020)

[alexebeth]

#alright bye #to the shiny droid i go

[alexebeth]

Friendly reminder that Din removed his helmet because he knew that it was the last time he would see grogu, and he wanted his son to know what he looked like before he left.

He wanted his son to remember his face.

[alexebeth]

“Alright, pal. It’s time to go.”

[alexebeth]

Ahsoka: i cant train him... he's attached to you. im not just going to rip him away

Luke: my child now