#asking her out basically outs me as a criminal deserving of death in prison:3

[liliallowed]

I sometimes question if I'm really a lesbian or if I just aro/ace.

then I see this tall girl and internally simp as I walk past her as quick as a scared squirrel.

yep definitely a lesbian...

I mean I also simp for dust but he's a fictional character so uhhh i don't think that counts.

we'll see if I'm bi when I see a boy I consider attractive. I've been waiting for 20+ years. who knows. anyyyyy day now/j

[sam-t-a]

Okay. 

*Deep breath* 

I think I’m finally calm enough to put into words exactly why I hated the finale and why I wasn’t completely surprised that I hated it. 

(Heads-up: this is really long and pretty negative. If you disagree, I would of course appreciate your point of view and love to hear it, but just thought I’d let you know in case this is the kind of post you would like to avoid.)

To me, it felt like every character on the show got betrayed in some way or another, but the main ones are Han Seo (devastatingly), Chayoung (obviously) and Han Seok (bear with me). 

Cha Young: 

She started out as a solid FL who annoyed some people for sure, but who had so much promise as someone unconventional and bold. The way her mother’s death affected her and caused a clear shift in her personality was a super interesting plot point that really never got explored. We have no idea how she came to sacrifice her morality in joining Wusang, just that she wanted to spite her father, which is a very superficial exploration. She gets cute idiosyncrasies in lieu of an actual character and an actual character arc. 

We also, halfway through the show, seem to forget that her father's death was the initial trigger. Cha young does not suggest bold ideas or intricate plans, she doesn’t fill the gaps Vincenzo is incapable of filling (because that would require that Vincenzo have flaws, and that’s not something the writers can abide), and she’s literally victimized in episode 19 and bedridden in episode 20, and that is IT. 

Someone who started out supposedly as Vincenzo’s equal just became another piece in his chess set, no matter how important a piece she may be. 

So her role as a badass avenger is trashed. That leaves her role as a love interest. Now, as Vincenzo’s love interest, she was supposed to get kidnapped in like episode 5 or 6 at the most if the villain has any brains whatsoever (Han Seok may or may not, more on that later). We need a reason for that not to happen too early. Cue villain is somehow in love with her for all of 15 minutes or so throughout a 20-episode series because a love triangle is inconceivable with the show’s current structure and for its purposes. 

So, she spends 15 or so episodes making the first move on Vincenzo, every time, putting herself out there, creating cute moments, getting nothing in return, and then he leaves. No confession, nothing much, he wasn’t even going to say goodbye or give her the choice of coming with him. 

I’m sure more chayenzo-oriented fans have already expressed all the necessary outrage over this, so I’ll move on to the part that I’ve personally been way more emotionally invested in from the get go: the Jang brothers. 

Han Seo: 

I was among the minority that  hated the “Vinny hyung” angle from the get-go and I’ve ranted about it in another post, so I won’t get into it here in-depth, but basically it was because I felt like Vincenzo hadn’t earned it, so to have the last words Han Seo hears be “You deserve to be my brother” or whatever the fuck he was on about PISSED ME OFF. It’s VINCENZO who doesn’t deserve to be Han Seo’s brother and hasn’t done a single thing to earn it. He was a good ally. The situation he allowed Han Seo to be a part of was beneficial to him, but Han Seo’s attachment to him was neither healthy nor heartwarming, and it certainly wasn’t returned on the level he offered it.

Vincenzo’s disregard of his death didn’t strike me as odd because I never saw enough indications that this was a two-way street and Han Seo’s safety and well-being came second so often that I didn’t get the impression Vincenzo was doing much to keep him alive. This is what I meant when I said the show was glorifying a torture survivor’s trauma responses. Han Seo himself, as a torture survivor, meant nothing to them. He was just there to create one more contrived comparison between Vincenzo and Han Seok. Instead of recovering from the trauma, it’s simply employed to someone else’s favor. He doesn’t go to prison for Han Seok, he takes a bullet for Vincenzo, and we’re supposed to see that as so much better.

All of that might (JUST MIGHT) not have ruined the show for me if he’d died better. 1) It was narratively pointless and totally avoidable, 2) they could’ve framed it as heroic, but instead Han Seok’s hand patting his head is pushing it down, so he can’t even get shot with his chin up and his back straight, Taec’s already taller, so the angle’s fucked and the whole cinematography screamed “kicking an injured puppy” and most certainly NOT “survivor finally stands up to his abuser”. The final nail in the proverbial and literal coffin is that he is mourned by no one. They’re FLIRTING not 3 MINUTES LATER, it felt so tone deaf and left such a bad taste. As I said, I didn’t expect significant mourning from Vincenzo (gotta say, I didn’t expect no mourning, that was a shocker), and Cha young and the tenants had no real interactions with him and no reason to mourn him, which left only one person who could. 

Which brings me to Han Seok. 

Han Seok started out as a solid villain, clear goals, clear skills that help him achieve his goals and basically make him a villain worth defeating, and a very complex relationship with both his own psychopathy and his brother. 

Let me get it out of the way: I do not believe Han Seok is capable of killing Han Seo because he had every reason and every opportunity to do so in previous episodes and couldn’t do it (I say couldn’t because a certain degree of reluctance is in itself inability). Han Seo’s danger far outweighed his material value the minute he shot Han Seok and then completely lost any value once he came out to the world as the chairman and it became clear that the prosecution would be going after him if anything happened, and not his brother. But time and again, he’s proven he’s all bark and no bite when it comes to Han Seo (killing-wise, specifically). 

The scene where he asks him to beat Vincenzo to death could be interpreted as him wanting to give Vincenzo the “painful death” he would have given him, but honestly, I think he was way past that point. He just wanted him dead in the “You crazy? we have to kill him before he kills us” sense. To that end, killing off a key ally of Vincenzo’s, who betrayed you and almost got you killed a bunch of times, should take priority, but Han Seok’s priority is reclaiming Han Seo by forcing him back onto his side. Now, much like his “love for Cha young”, Han Seok’s keenness on not killing his brother was essential to the writers so that Han Seo can justifiably make it this far and still be useful to Vincenzo (he can’t help if Han Seok completely excludes him from all events, plans and management processes, so Han Seok needs to want to keep him on his side enough not to do that even when it’s more prudent). 

All of this isn’t to say it’s unbelievable that he would kill Han Seo, but it’s DEFINITELY unbelievable that he would stay the same man after killing him. Someone here (I’m sorry, I don’t rememebr who) once said that Han Seo had become, over time, far more of a foil to his brother than Vincenzo was. To me, this means that Post-Han Seo Han Seok would be out of balance (tilted screen), unhinged in a way he never was before. The Han Seok we see shrugs and “oh, well”-s and moves on in a flash, not really any different from the villain he was four minutes and a whole brother earlier. 

This is very consistent with the way the show has been de-humanizing him from the start. I’m not saying this to defend Han Seok in any way, he’s a serial killer, an abuser and a total maniac. But you can be all those things and still a human being. In fact, you can ONLY be those things if you’re a human being. The show used its villain vs villain idea to justify a lot, but in the end, Vincenzo had to be a protagonist. He had to follow up every “I’m a villain” with a contrived “but at least I’m not (insert something worse)”. 

On the level of humans:

1) Vincenzo is supposedly different because he doesn’t hurt children or women (unless the women deserve it, and shooting a parent in front of their kid doesn’t count as hurting.) 

But we never see Han Seok hurting women or children either. In fact, if we proceed with the “chayoung is the myung hee of the good guys” comparison, he hasn’t hurt any women nearly as badly as Vincenzo did. 

2) Babel vs Mafia 

Babel’s corruption is compared a lot to the mafia, with Vincenzo commenting repeatedly that the people are WORSE than the mafia...which is bullshit. Babel is a set of companies that provide goods and services, but use illegal means to maximize their profit, so they hurt/kill people in the process because they want more money and care about money more than ethics. The Mafia is an inherently criminal organization that functions PURELY on the basis of its criminality. Every single dime Vincenzo spends is blood money. None of it is clean. And while we’re on the topic, I find the whole “taking Miri under his wing” thing pretty unreasonable too because he tried to have her killed you guys, I cannot believe we’re just glossing over that. He had everyone who worked on that vault killed, just random fucking construction workers. And he’s not sorry. And the show tells you he shouldn’t be. 

3) Repentance

Han Seok says outright he won’t atone, and while Vincenzo says no such thing out loud he just...doesn’t repent, I guess. He keeps the blood money, he goes back to being a full-time mafia dude doing mafia things. He leaves the same man he arrived. 

So, if on the level of harm inflicted upon humanity, Vincenzo and Han Seok are pretty much equal (and Vincenzo might actually be worse), then why should we root for Vincenzo? 

Well, my friend, that’s where the dehumanization comes in! 

I was initially very excited to see their portrayal of a psychopath because of the very interesting ways in which the informal moral code and official justice system surrounding a psychopath/sociopath/narcissist affect their behavior and their chances of not turning out rotten, and the show looked like it was looking at corruption in general. 

But as the show went on, the villain vs villain thing proved not to be enough, Vincenzo has to be better in some way (or if you’re as obsessed with him as the writers are, then ALL ways), so it became a villain vs monster narrative. Vincenzo isn’t ethical or fair or in any way interested in having a remotely positive impact on society, but at least he’s A HUMAN BEING unlike SOMEBODY. So, the characterization goes to shit, Han Seok becomes a cartoon card-board cut out of a villain and emphasis is put on how pointless his violence is, as opposed to how purposeful Vincenzo’s is. 

This is dangerous on multiple levels (and I promise this is the last point I’m making). 

1) For people in general, dehumanizing abusers/murderers/etc. makes us very liable to forget that you don’t have to be “a monster” to cause harm, and it makes people complacent in their belief that they are “not bad people” since they aren’t total monsters. The Banality of Evil is a thing, and in this series, it goes completely ignored. No one is inherently incapable of good or inherently undeserving of humanity. 

2) For victims of abuse in specific, it’s dangerous to portray abusers (including serial killer and non-serial killer ones) as entirely bad and unlovable, because it poses the dual risk of making victims less likely to acknowledge their abuse if it comes from someone who cares about or loves them on some level because the idea that someone cannot both love and hurt you is so stereotypical. Your abuser can genuinely want you in their lives and need you and, on some level, love you, and IT DOESN’T MATTER if that love doesn’t stop them from hurting you. 

On the other hand, portraying the victims of abuse as capable of flipping an off switch and hating the abuser with no hesitation or second thoughts to the point of unapologetically and cheerfully helping someone kill them and having no mixed feelings about it sends the message that if you CAN’T do that, then are you really abused? Are sure you’re not complicit in your own abuse? Do you even want to get rid of them? 

So this is basically why the way the show ended was so painfully disappointing for me. And the main reason it hit so hard was that it was initially so good and had so much promise. I really expected more.

[fullmetalscullyy]

Hello I don’t know if this is the right place for requests but can u do a royai angst where roy is the fuhrer and has diminished the power of miltary and has introduced democracy and the war criminals of ishvalan are being put to trial and basically some intimate royai moments leading up to their deaths . Thank youu and love your workkk

aaaah anon thank you so much 🥺 you’re far too kind <3 and yes, this is the right place! this was a gooood prompt, very angsty!! i’ve not written something here about leading up to their trial (the reason why is explained in the fic), however this is their “last night together” 👀 hope you enjoy!! and thank you for the ask <3

also, if you’re interested, i’ve already done something similar to this request if that’s more what you’re looking for! riza goes ahead and gets put on trial before roy after he’s part of a political marriage with drachma. it’s call “the last dance”

rated: m | words: 1679 | warnings: adult themes, discussions of death/execution

“So…”

The single word hung in the air of his home office, feeling like it signalled the end of another chapter in his life. Fuhrer Mustang sat back in his chair, sighing as the last piece of work he needed to complete was signed off and ready to be presented to parliament tomorrow. It would signify the end of his reign as Fuhrer and would put him on trial for his war crimes, along with all of those who participated in the Ishvalan Civil War as State Alchemists.

It was a marvel, how the single sheet of paper upon his desk would end his life. The document held such a power of him that it was almost terrifying. Although, that may have just been pure instinct talking. He didn’t want to die. A part of his mind was screaming at him to burn it however it was only a tiny part. It was quickly shoved aside and replaced by grim satisfaction. He’d achieved what he’d set out to do. His goals had been reached and there was nothing more for him to do now. Tomorrow, with this document, his power would be dissolved, and he’d be in prison.

“It’s done?”

Glancing up, he caught Hawkeye’s eye. Her expression was calm and collected like always as she patiently awaited his answer.

Roy nodded. “It is.”

Nothing more was said. There didn’t need to be anything else spoken. Not until she started to pack up her things, her movements slow and controlled.

Working from home had become the more preferable option as of late. His old wounds would ache so much from time to time that he would be left breathless, so remaining at his home office was better for him. Roy felt as though he had the body of a pensioner, but in truth it was only forty-five. Still, he’d lived too long and seen to much not to be in the mindset of the elderly. He was weary from his uphill battle to Fuhrer, but one of the hardest parts, the final part, was only just beginning.

Of course, being his adjutant, Hawkeye had come to work within his office at home as well. Where he went, she followed. Despite his insistence that he’d be fine and that she should go into HQ for the day, there was no arguing with her. As stubborn as ever, Roy noted fondly.

“Stay for dinner?”

It was a request he put forth every time, which she politely declined. He hoped… Well, if this was to be their last night of freedom, Roy wished she would say yes.

Her movements slowed and then she paused, staring down at her desk.

“Our final meal?” The corners of her mouth quirked up slightly but didn’t stay.

Roy nodded. “We can do that.”

“All right,” she agreed.

There was no fanfare to it. They didn’t particularly deserve to have one final night together, but now that their judgement day was here… Roy just wanted to spend time with her. If he had to watch her die, be executed, then he wanted this last night together.

Grimacing as he stood from his chair, Roy breathed out hard as his side continued to ache.

He cooked for her. They chatted, but it was subdued and remorseful. She never met his eyes for long, opting to stare down at her food. It killed him inside but would never fault her for it. He’d signed her death warrant that evening. How could she be happy with him? Roy knew Hawkeye was committed completely to this goal, but still… It didn’t sit well with him that he’d agreed to send her to her death.

“Is…”

He glanced at her. They’d had a brief moment of silence as they finished up their meal.

“Is it… wrong of me, to not want to leave?” Her head lifted, meeting his eyes. There was no sadness there, just curiosity and a slight frown on her features.

“I felt the same way looking over that document,” Roy revealed. He placed down his knife and fork, wiping at his mouth with a napkin. “But I don’t think it’s wrong,” he added gently. “As a species, we don’t typically want to jump headfirst into death every day.”

“No,” she shook her head. “Well, I suppose yes, that’s what I meant too but…” Her eyes were fixed on his, and Roy finally caught her meaning. “Is it wrong of me to not want to leave here tonight?”

Roy blinked at her. Again, her face was calm, her tone even. It betrayed none of her wants and desires.

“You can stay,” he replied slowly.

“I’d like that, Roy,” she whispered.

*          *          *

Roy held her close as they both swayed gently in time to the music in his bedroom. Riza’s head lay against his shoulder, his cheek resting against the top of it. One of her hands was gripped tightly within his, which he’d moved above his heart as they moved together. His other was wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her body close, while Riza’s free hand was on his lower back. Over time, her hand had fisted in his shirt, as if that would bring him closer to her. They’d been like this for a while, but she had no desire to leave his embrace. She would remain there until morning if she could.

“I know what we have to do,” Riza swallowed, “and I’m steadfast in my decision, however…” She gripped his hand tighter and Roy understood. It always amazed her how he could read her so easily.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered.

“I feel the same way.”

Roy pressed a kiss to the top of her head and Riza’s eyelids fluttered closed. She would cherish this moment and this night for the rest of her short life. It would get her through the trial to come.

“That’s what’s making me fight this internally in my mind,” he added. “Leaving you, signing your death warrant, and ensuring your execution.”

“We decided –”

“We did decide together,” he conceded, “I know. However, how can my heart and soul rest when I know I’ve sent the woman I love to her death?”

“How can I rest easy, knowing that decision resides solely on your shoulders? I can be open and agreeable to it, but it’s you who has to present it to parliament,” she countered. “It’s you who has to announce to the nation that you’re killing your friends… and me,” she whispered. “I can’t rest either, knowing that you’ll be gone.”

“We’re going together,” he replied firmly. “I can’t… I can’t let it happen, knowing that one of us went first, leaving the other behind.”

It didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but Riza appreciated that.

It was cathartic discussing this with him. They’d have no time once they were arrested. There would be no open shows of affection when they walked head-first towards the execution squad. They’d be back to Fuhrer and his Aide. This night was all they had. Selfishly, Riza wanted this night with him, and she wanted it not to end.

“I love you,” she whispered against the skin of his throat. She’d turned her head, angling it around the collar of his shirt so she could feel his skin against her cheek. It was warm, like it always was. A beacon of comfort for her.

“I’ll love you always, Riza,” he murmured into her hair. “Never forget that, please,” he pleaded.

“I won’t,” she reassured him. “I could never.” Her lips pressed a kiss against his throat, sealing her promise. It made his breath hitch.

“If anything happens… That will always be true.”

“I know.” If anything was mentioned about them being executed together, there would likely be rumours. They’d be denied, stating their friendship was purely platonic and professional.

He pulled back from her, bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks. His scarred palms weren’t rough against her skin, they were soft. His smile was sad when he looked at her. Riza’s hands gripped his wrists tightly, nodding at him, only barely, to grant his unspoken request.

Her lips were slowly brought up to his. It was agonising, the anticipation of the kiss. She needed him completely. She needed to commit herself to him just one last time before it all went to hell.

The grip on his wrists tightened, their mouths almost clashing together in their sudden desperation. Roy’s mouth opened and Riza’s quickly followed. Her hands left his wrists, dropping to his hips to jerk his body against hers, making him groan. One of Roy’s hands followed suit on her waist, his fingers digging into her skin, but the other got tangled in her hair. They’d been content to dance together to the music, but after they’d spoken, they couldn’t get close enough to one another. They needed this.

“I love you,” he whispered breathlessly against her lips. “I love you so much and –” he cut his rushed speech off, choking on what he was saying.

“Roy, please,” she pleaded. She could feel her tears building in her throat. She didn’t want to do this now. Right now, she just needed to feel… Needed to feel him. She needed his love. It may have been selfish of her, again, but he suddenly felt like a drug to her. However, she thought that may be the case because she had the knowledge this was going to be their last time together. She’d make it last right through until morning if need be. She wasn’t going to waste any more time with him.

“Later,” she promised. There would be more talking once they’d come down from their emotionally charged desires.

“I’m going to love you like you’ve always deserved, but I could never give,” he promised fiercely. She could see that he meant it in his tear-filled eyes.

She smiled sadly, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. “All I ever needed was you by my side.”

As their lips met, she walked them back towards his bed. 

[comradesummers]

Faith vs Kendra Anya or Oz Buffy + Tara

Hi, thanks for asking. Sorry for taking so long to answer, insert obligatory excuse about college kicking my ass.

Faith vs. Kendra

So this one’s really hard, and my answer got way too long and pretentious, but I hope you’ll bear with me. 

In order to understand Kendra’s fighting style, I think it’s important to talk a little about the fight she has with Buffy in What’s My Line (Part 2). That episode illustrates the differences in Buffy and Kendra’s fighting style when Buffy does “the chick fight thing” and Kendra doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Basically, this move is sort of a physical demonstration of their differences. Kendra is the traditionalist, therefore she is highly skilled in technique but less good at improvising and thinking outside the box. Buffy, meanwhile, is less traditional and less technically skilled, but she’s better at improvising and using her emotions to her benefit. These ideas are shown in the initial fight between Buffy and Kendra, and then verbalized by Buffy later in the episode. 

Faith is on the other end of the spectrum. She has little to no formal training (she’s called after Kendra’s death in Becoming; in the few months between that episode and her arrival in Faith, Hope & Trick, her watcher is murdered; neither Giles nor Wesley put much effort into her training in season 3; and then she goes to prison for like 3 seasons). However, she’s clearly a skilled fighter, as evidenced by the fact that she can hold her own against a slayer as experienced as Buffy. Though it is never stated outright, it is reasonable to assume that her strengths lie in her ability to improvise and her emotionally driven fighting style. Basically, she’s a person who will use every tool in her arsenal to win, even if that means, for instance, throwing herself off a building so that her opponent doesn’t get what she wants.

By presenting Faith and Kendra as two extremes of this ideological debate, and then also showing that neither one of them is as successful at slayerdom as Buffy is, the show implies that Buffy’s balanced approach to fighting (and to like life in general) is the best. However, the nature of tradition is complicated by the later seasons. For one thing, the Watcher’s Council—the representatives of the traditional approach that Kendra follows—get blown the fuck up before they can do anything useful. This strongly suggests that the Council, and by externsion their tradition, is irrelevant. This idea is further underlined by Buffy’s ultimate decision to reject the Council’s tradition wholesale, and to create a new, Slayer-based tradition. It’s also reflected in her fighting style in the later seasons. Starting in season 5, Buffy begins to explore her slayerness in the context of the slayer line, and her training with Giles builds on that. It could be suggested that the tradition she is drawing upon in these seasons is that of the Slayers that came before her, not the watchers who tried to control them. This also serves as an in-universe explanation for why the fighting style from season 5 onwards looks so different (and so much worse) than what came before it. (Yes, I know there were new stunt doubles, but it works with my convoluted argument, so I’m going to pretend there’s some deeper meaning behind it.)

Anyway, my point in all of this is that while earlier seasons present the thesis that one should find a middle ground between tradition and innovation, later seasons suggest that embracing oppressive traditions is harmful. So while we should still draw upon tradition, we should always be critical of the kinds of traditions we draw upon. And Kendra, having been raised by watchers, relies solely on harmful and oppressive traditions, and is therefore at a serious disadvantage. Faith, meanwhile, isn’t hampered by the Council’s bullshit. While she doesn’t draw power from slayer-line mysticism like Buffy does, she still has the advantage of freedom from the Council and would therefore win in a fight.

However, this is a solely thematic view of things, and maybe proves less who would win in a fight and more who would win in like a philosophical debate. Also, Kendra was killed off before she could be developed further (insert my usual Kendra deserved better comment here). Of the three, she was the most victimized by the Council (because of course those colonizers would fuck over the black girl most of all). If she had been developed, and been allowed to process the fact that a bunch white people stole her from her parents and brainwashed her for the purposes of their personal gain, and that this didn’t happen to any of her white counterparts, I think she could have had a much greater understanding of the insidious nature of the Council than either Buffy of Faith. I also think that her interest in the slayer tradition would have surpassed Buffy’s. She is, after all, the traditionalist of the three, so I think she would be the most interested in finding a way to connect to the traditions of the past while separating that past from the oppression of the Council.

In other words, a Kendra that had been allowed to live past season 2 is quite possibly the most powerful slayer. But if we’re accepting the canonical versions of these characters (and not the headcanon that I just pulled out of my ass) I guess Faith would be the winner.

Anya or Oz

Oz is a great character and I totally get why people like him but Anya is more in line with my personal preferences when it comes to characters who are intially introduced as love interests, which are as follows:

Hot lady (I’m shallow, sue me)

Very funny (Oz is funny but Anya is the funniest character on the show and no one can convince me otherwise)

Is more than just a love interest

Now I feel like people might object to no. 3 in Anya’s case, because there’s no denying that Anya is criminally underdeveloped and is often relegated to the unfortunate position of Xander’s girlfriend. However, Anya has a Selfless and she has that scene in The Body, and she has clearly defined relationships with the other Scoobies (best demonstrated in episodes like Triangle). Oz doesn’t really have any of that. Like, he and Willow break up for like half a second in season 3, and in that time he’s just not on screen. That’s how irrelevant he is to anyone and anything outside of Willow. Also, the werewolf suit looks dumb, which I have to assume is why the writers did almost nothing with him being a werewolf until they had to write him out.

The point is, while both of these characters deserved more development, Anya still got more of it so I like her better. Also she’s a pretty girl, so I was probably going to choose her regardless (I may be shallow, but at least I’m honest about it).

Buffy + Tara

I am the no. 1 Buffy/Tara shipper because I like it when nice people are nice to each other. And yes, I recognize that these are two flawed, complicated characters, but I think that together, they have the potential to be one of the healthiest couples in the Buffyverse. This is mainly because their interactions with each other are always supportive and free of judgement. Buffy defends Tara against her dad and welcomes her into her family even after Tara puts everyone at risk. Meanwhile, Tara is pretty much the only character (except for Dawn, maybe) to immediately react with empathy and understanding to the revelation that Buffy is sleeping with Spike. I’m not saying that either one of these characters is always understanding and non-judgemental (okay, maybe Tara is, but Buffy definitely isn’t), but they’ve proven that with each other, they’re very good at communicating and empathizing, and just being what the other person needs, and I think that’s very sexy of them.

Also, they’d be really hot together, so I’m here for it.

[princess--catherine]

Maybe y’all will hate me for this, I’m all for women’s rights and the Me Too movement but has it maybe taken a turn it shouldn’t have? I can already feel the hatred

Just in the past couple weeks I’ve seen at least 3 “predators/rapists exposed”, and after looking into it I saw no predatory behavior to expose that was given. And people are losing their shit over this “cancelation?” The evidence for this one? “Had a minor backstage”...you think that didn’t and doesn’t currently happen with idk, every Disney star EVER and boy band on the radio? I’m sure a portion of Billie Eilish fans who’s parents buy backstage passes are REAL young, is she cancelled too? Since when does having a minor in your presence = any type of sexual behavior? This allegation causally mentions “backstage minor” and quickly moves to “predator” with no cohesion there. Since when does an adult simply being around a minor automatically make you guilty of doing sick shit? The “evidence” shown was pretty pathetic: cropped and blocked out texts with no name as to who it’s from, no name but said star predator, no time stamp or date, no pics, no voice memos, no emails, no proof of any kind that there was any truth to the claims, no detail, no real allegation actually even made from what I saw. Unless the “so and so did this” part was in invisible ink. I could literally google the date of a ‘insert famous person here’ concert or general tour dates, and do the same with a texting app or with someone else’s phone. This is an Accusation on someone of a serious sex crime on the sole basis maybe 5 texts, some of which are hidden, and ALL of which are anonymous, detail no criminal activity, are never worth ending or attempting to make sure someone’s career over.

Another one I saw was an explanation that another social media person made a somewhat crude comment/gusture towards a woman he knew but wasn’t super familiar with. One time, no actual touching. He was later told by a friend “not cool, other lady friend did not like”, he did as he should have and apologized, and it didn’t happen again- admittedly on both sides. The two girls told him everything was cool and okay, no harm no foul, don’t worry about it. It didn’t happen again and the friendship continued. Days later, “evidence” comes out from one of them citing him as a sexual predator for this situation. This incident. Yeah, it’s not cool to get in peoples space or compliment them in certain ways if your friendship is not on that level and it hasn’t been established. That I agree with, that it simply wasn’t very polite, but a) no one was actually touched physically in anyway and b) the “crude” comment from my understanding was about an outfit fitting her well or being firm fitting. Yeah, that might make ya feel a lil icky, but there was no sexual suggestion or threat. There’s a huge difference between unwanted attention and sexual harassment. Someone else later gets involved but says she’s “not comfortable/willing to discuss” but still insists he’s a predator but doesn’t show a single shred of any involvement or information. If I was these people being falsely accused, getting death treats and doxxed, and ultimately, “cancelled”/therefore loss of income possibly long term , with basically no evidence or someone saying shit like “yes, that’s a predator. Nobody gets to know why I’m saying that though. I don’t want to relive it, my bad. You horrible people need to stop supporting this sex offender!” I’d be sueing the shit out of someone and everyone for slander. Like this is unreal to me. It really blows my mind.

Before you message me hateful shit, hear me out. I’m not saying these guys are stand up, amazing, perfectly well behaved dudes. I’m not saying they’ve never done anything predatory or wrong before in their lives or careers. Lord knows narcissistic and higher than thou types run entertainment. I’m sure they all got their attitude and behavioral problems. I’m just saying the info I just read and described is almost nothing being real generous, no rational person sees that and labels someone a sex offender. You’re accusing someone of a very serious crime, in a lot of cases a fat ole felony, being a RSO list sometimes for a lifetime. Bill Cosby? Deserve it. Weinstien? Deserve it. Epstein? Deserved to be under the jail. I understand there’s not always physical evidence, or maybe there’s not enough to build a case/a case is unwanted by victim. Some say they want people to know and be warned. If that’s what you truly want, you truly truly are trying to protect others, go in 150%. Everything you got. But when this person publicly and openly calling someone out by name for being a “rapist/sexual predator”, absolutely dragging them thru the mud, and the reasoning, the justification for this is that he was dating other women? nah sis. That’s not how this works, getting played, while scummy, is NOT RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT/etc. (*this is excluding things that don’t apply to this particular story like recanting consent or knowingly passing on an STI) So sure, he’s a probably a POS, clearly unloyal, he’s maybe learned the art of sweet talkin his way into this one way monogamous relationship, and I frankly wouldnt feel bad if one of those girls who got played popped 3 of his tires, bought a fuck ton of spiders and sneak them into his bedroom or something. But not jail or prison. What he did (unless other info comes out) isn’t something to be uplifted or encouraged, it’s poor, unfair behavior. But what he did is not CRIMINAL. It’s just shitty and inconsiderate. And I know y’all are reading this thinkin “fuck this bitch”, making assumptions before you read a fraction of what I’m saying.

So let me explain a situation I was accidentally involved in a few years ago with someone who was “famous” around those parts and had lots of fans and groupies. Let’s call him “Lee”. Long story short, a friend and I were with him and different other people basically from like 8-9 pm to around 4 am. He was alone (out of my sight) only 3 times: once to use the bathroom at my friends before leaving, once in the men’s bathroom at a club, and for maybe 5 minutes when I had to change at my friends place before going back over. They lived in the same complex and stuff so it was basically throwing on some sweats and taking an elevator down. We hangout, drink, smoke, talk. Lowkey, chill.

I wake up the next day, someone texted me this link about “Lee” raping a girl. I’m thinking “holy shit, that’s scary and insane, we were just with him last night drinking and shit.” Keep reading...it says it was the night before. Same date we were with him. And the time the assault supposedly took place was when we had come back to his place, where other people were already there, we were sitting there forever talking/whatever, this girl who pointed the finger was not even in the room and left before we did. She poked her head in once and asked where Lee’s roommate was. He told her cookout, it’s late so it’ll be a minute. Asked her if she wanted to hang out with us. She declined. So I figured maybe this info was wrong somehow and at the time I wasn’t making the connection between that girl and this story. I was like, no way a girl would lie about that of all things and especially knowing it’d likely get picked up by the local media, or at least local gossip. Her life here would be over. My friend and I decided to go talk to the police even though I avoid the damn police at all costs. The first thing I asked this officer was: “are you POSITIVE this is the date, place, and time, and are you POSITIVE “Lee” is who she is accusing?” And I asked that mostly because I was not about to defend or vouch for someone about a situation I wasn’t present for. Also, I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Lee”, so I sure as shit I wasn’t getting myself involved and going to bat for him without knowing it’s right. The Officer was very adamant that all that info was correct, victim was very sure. I explained to him everything I explained above, but I’m sure in better detail and included texts, pics, videos all with times, plus receipts showing how this isn’t adding up. He wasn’t alone the entire night and early morning. Officer ask me if she (the victim) was visiting a roommate of Lee’s, if they were sleeping together during her visit, I told him the truth which was that I didn’t really know for sure but it was a possibility. He told me somebody else had claimed she was no longer welcome for unknown reasons and believed this to be be related. I explain to the officer that I won’t speak on her time with the roommate because I saw her only long enough for her to ask a question and respond to another. Before she peeped out the door, I had no clue anyone was in there. I said I think she told me her name but I’m awful with names even sober so. He started getting kinda hostile and cutting me short. I repeated exactly what I told him the first time: I’m only speaking on what I witnessed and what I know to be true. So, if you and she are correctly reciting the time, place, person being accused, this accusation is untrue. He first makes a bitchy threat like “you know these girls who lie for these athlete boys can really get in trouble? They all end up broke after the NFL anyway if they even make it. Lying for a friend is illegal, that’s breaking the law and will get YOU in jail.” I lost all my fear of speaking to a police officer at this point because they KNOW this man did not just call me a liar to my face despite my 1:2 of the evidence already fucking up this accusation. I told him that I honestly wasn’t a fan either professionally or personally of “Lee” and I would lie for no one regardless of friendship or status about this, I’d turn in my own flesh and bloood brother and sing like a bird if I caught him doing any sex offender shit. So again, I told this slow man with 2 braincelle this was the reason I asked about how sure he was and he believed the victim was, on the time, place, person, etc. Officer says something along the lines of “well, something happened to this girl and this boy’s gonna be hurtin for it. Someone’s getting charged here.” Which I dunno bout y’all, maybe I’m reading it wrong. But What I gathered from that is: “I’ve decided to be judge and jury in this situation and moreorless declare this young man guilty despite evidence in front of my own eyeballs that shows that there is a good chance the accused is innocent.

I have no idea why this happened. But after we spoke to that dickhead cop it was dropped relatively quickly. I don’t remember now if she pulled the charges herself or the state denied to prosecute. And even still, this followed him. The internet is forever. When his great grandkids google his college career, that will show up. Please keep in mind this was a black athlete, playing ball for a big college in the south, with a white girl accuser, all the cops I saw at that station were white in the short time I was there and at least the one I spoke to had his mind made up. He was loud and clear about that. He said basically the same to my friend who was interviewed separately, that he was determined to convict him, he was “the one”. This city I’m speaking of has been sued for police brutality against BPOC and I’ve heard my friends/classmates getting called the N word (hard ER) in the broad, open day light. So yeah add that info in with the rest and come to your own conclusion.

Before anyone comes for my throat again: idk exactly what DID happen but I know what DID NOT. Which to be clear, is pretty specifically: this rape with this person, did not happen here and at this time. So I’m not saying something didn’t happen but under different circumstances. I know trauma can mess with memories and if something did happen under different circumstances, I am so sorry that happened to her, I wouldn’t wish sexual assault on my worst enemy. I’m also not saying she necessarily had ill intentions or knew it would proceed and go viral as it did. The point is I just don’t know, no clue. Not throwing any blame or shade her way, all blame and shade on that cop though. ACABs, no excuse for his ass.

Anyway, y’all don’t gotta believe this since it’s been a few years and I highly doubt that stuff is anywhere in my phone like 4 iPhones and two laptops later. No reason to front, I don’t gain anything by lying but a guilty conscience. But this scenario that I btw, very much did not wish to be a part of, showed me another side of things. Can we agree to yes of course, trust and support women but also trust evidence and testimony? While, yes, stats show few women lie about this, can we at the same time understand questioning and thoroughly investigating such a heinous crime? Can we also recognize the system is literally built to “serve & protect” some by severely and systematically oppressing others? There are people, too many damn people, who have lost absolutely everything, served major time in big boy maximum security 23-1s, and have been put to death, based on biases and little to no evidence.

Next time you see an accusation, regardless of what it is, please do a little research. Make your own conclusion. Put yourself in their shoes, would you want to be “convicted” (either legally or through SM bullshit) on a snip it of convo with almost no information/context? Called a rapist cause you led someone on? No. You wouldn’t. Actually for any crime for that matter. You would reasonably ask and expect for it to be fair, two sided, and with as much evidence or info as possible. So let’s treat musicians, athletes, influencers, celebs the same way. Let’s not condemn before gathering as much information as possible. If not, I am so afraid we will drive an innocent person to suicide. We would all feel so guilty if someone was driven to suicide over false or misleading statements. Let’s avoid this, please.

[gwynne-fics]

wei50-blog replied to your post “Pictures – Rachel & Hyo-Shin not ready Choi Young-Do bent down and...”

Wow, so much in this chapter!! Rachel gave Young-Do 3 files but there were 4 deaths? Was he involved in the 4th death at all? Wouldn’t make sense to kill the 4th because it wasn’t contracted and he would not be able to get the energy. Young-Do didn’t get life force from 3rd deal so he is still not full strength, and not enough for the aura to produce a gun for him? Hope that won’t be a problem before another deal can be contracted!

I am so happy you caught that! There were four deaths, three of them obviously completed death deals, and then the one with the knife to the throat. Rachel only sent Young-Do after those three. So there is an extra dead body out there that Rachel did not make a deal for. It is unconnected to her, Young-Do, or Hyo-Shin >.>

Young-Do still isn’t at full strength but he is no longer in danger of dying which should keep him safe until he can make another deal with Rachel.

More death dealer specific things to note! Hmmm… no blood on his person after 3 bloody deaths using a knife? Darkness that is part of his presence? Cool! :) Young-Do told Hyo-Shin it was not a death deal? But then it was classified as a death deal (at the end of chapter)? So Young-Do contacted Rachel to ask what to do. What did he mean he didn’t want to tax his wife? Because he wasn’t in danger from the guy at all! And what could Eun-Sang have done?

I’m sorry if that last line was a little confusing. It was deliberately supposed to be at odds with what happened in the previous chapters. Young-Do didn’t complete the deal on Kwan Do-Woo because Hyo-Shin interrupted. It’s just a dead body.

Young-Do didn’t want Eun-Sang to have to heal him from a gunshot wound if his aura couldn’t handle it. That’s one of the reasons he didn’t do more than stick the knife in his throat. He intended to complete the deal but Hyo-Shin was there and that messed up what he thought was Rachel’s plan. 

But Hyo-Shin appearing, made him call Rachel, because he knows his sister, and he suspected she did this on purpose.

Wow, so Rachel pulled two people at the same time? But just one burn mark? She is not playing nice with her plans centered on getting Hyo-Shin to come to her! Gauntlet thrown in Hyun-Joos face! Hyo-Shin does seem to be trying to do a good thing by setting things up to catch this guy. He and Rachel actually do both want justice, which is a different place from where Hyo-Shin was before.

Hyo-Shin wants Rachel to stop for her own safety, and the baby? Also because his sense of morality won’t allow for the killings Rachel and Young-Do are doing with the death deals? Hyo-Shin wants to protect Rachel. Does he really think she needs it and that what he is doing is helping? Especially as he realizes more and more how powerful she is?

Hyo-Shin could only see one burn mark. Rachel’s ability comes through manipulating emotional connections. You’re going to see Esther do something with connections that aren’t hers in a few chapters. But Rachel’s strength of love is what allows her to pull people through space and time. She has a great deal of love for Young-Do and Hyo-Shin. Their burn marks melded into each other ^^;;

Hyo-Shin’s point of view has been slowly changing over time due to Rachel’s influence but her influence can’t work unless his fundamental belief allows for it. Hyo-Shin is trying to stop crimes before there is a need for the Death Dealer of Seoul. He believes if he can create a world where criminals are aptly punished and victims relieved of their pain, Rachel won’t have any deals to make, and he can protect her from prosecution. He does not want her to have her baby in prison.

Hyo-Shin has absolutely no concept of what Rachel can do. He has no experience with demigods past what is considered illegal--like death dealing. But even then, they still don’t know a lot about their abilities or how they work. He is starting to get a sense of how powerful Rachel is but doesn’t really know how to trust it.

So Hyo-Shin can’t be with Rachel because he feels the need to be punished, he wants to protect Rachel and the baby, and because he can’t be with someone who contracts kills with a death dealer? Guess he hates himself so much for what he did that he can’t let himself move past it and be forgiven. In a way, glad to see him suffering but also feel sorry for him? (just a very tiny little bit)

He’s very uncomfortable being in love with a person who thinks it is morally acceptable to kill people through a death dealer but he is slowly getting over it. Eun-Sang’s frustration with him is valid--he can see himself as a father but he can’t see himself as a husband yet.

I’m glad your feelings for him are complicated as I try to rip him into as many pieces as possible >.>

Do agree with Hyo-Shin that he doesn’t deserve Rachel’s forgiveness. But Rachel is offering it and he refuses to see how much his refusal to accept is continuing to hurt her. Hyo-Shin is so underestimating Rachel’s power and determination. She is backing him into exactly where she wants him to be and he doesn’t see it. Hyo-Shin better be careful…. doesn’t know that his life literally hangs in the balance, that Young-Do will kill him if he makes any move against Rachel.

Oof, kills me when Rachel asks Hyo-Shin to stay (multiple times) and he refuses (multiple times)!!! She hopes so much to make a home with him! Wow, see more of what Rachel is doing. By making death deals only on criminals related to Hyo-Shin, she is basically making it seem like he is involved? And simultaneously punishing him? Basically making it impossible to stay where he is.

And now it is clear why Eun-Sang is so worked up, yes? Rachel may have shed some of the danger to their connection but it is building back up with every refusal because Rachel can see how much Hyo-Shin wants to give into her and the forgiveness she’s offering but his pride, the thing that brought them both to here in the first place, is still getting in the way.

I’m glad it is clear to see what Rachel is trying to do to both punish him and. Hyo-Shin is in a very precarious position, even if he doesn’t completely understand it >.>

If R already knew where HS was, why didn’t she tell YD? YD is just dripping with contempt towards HS. ES too! I do think that ES and YD can’t see that HS does love R. What did ES mean about R’s ability as it relates to the baby’s connection to H? Because the baby has the same power as R, and knows that her father is not with her mother? But HS wouldn’t know that? Wait, the baby is not healthy? physically?

Because Rachel likes these kinds of conflicts to be organic >.>

Young-Do and Eun-Sang do not have anything but contempt for Hyo-Shin. They think he is the absolute wrong choice for her, they think he is damaging her and her pregnancy. They hate him with every fiber of their beings. And that’s a huge hurdle, isn’t it? Hyo-Shin knows he doesn’t have the right to make a home with Rachel and he can’t escape a home that contains Eun-Sang and Young-Do >.>

Eun-Sang’s healing abilities allow her to read the health of Rachel’s daughter’s abilities too. When she says the baby cannot feel him loving Rachel to all of his ability, what she means is that the baby is aware, on some level, that her father isn’t around and it is putting her distress.

Hyo-Shin, a man of science, believes it is impossible, but Eun-Sang points how that he has seen what Rachel can do. Rachel is almost at eight months. Her due date is a month away and Eun-Sang is scared about having a safe delivery because of Hyo-Shin.

Seeing R stop ES! Healer’s powers seem so formidable and R’s more nebulous? Although sure ES would have pulled back as soon as she felt R and R is probably not using her full power against ES. Not sure how it would go if they would go all out! Well probably not these two, but it would be so interesting to see HN and E battle!!! :D Is R aware that she could die? Thought she freed enough of herself from HS a month ago so that she was not in danger anymore?

So, it is important remember, that Rachel has a mentor who is not holding back on how to access, use, and grow her abilities. Esther is teaching her everything she knows. Unlike Young-Do and Eun-Sang who don’t have mentors. Eun-Sang, while still an amazing healer through force of will alone, is lacking in education. 

One of the reasons Rachel is so confident about her safety is that she believes that Hyo-Shin will ultimately fix his mistake and come home to her. This, of course, drives Eun-Sang and Young-Do up a wall, because they have no such faith in Hyo-Shin.

And a fight between the moms would be spectacular >.>

[renzywenzy]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Review

*Spoiler Warning*

Holy shit. That was a damn good movie and a fine addition to Lucas Arts Disney’s Star Wars film series. Allow me to preface my review by saying that I have started writing this just a few short hours after watching the film but who knows when I’ll finish? I’ve digested it as much as I can and I’ve taken down notes of all the important things I wanted to talk about and now I believe I’m ready to start this review. That out of the way, here is my review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

So to start with this movie, I’d actually like to point out all the stuff that I did not enjoy first and then go to the positives. I don’t have much criticism so I wanted to get that out of my plate first. So here are the negatives.

Cons:

1.) The lack of compelling characters. This is probably my biggest gripe with the film. I was never able to fully invest in these characters emotionally. That’s not to say that these people have bad characterizations or that their dull. It’s just that they lack the emotional depth of other main characters before them. This is most likely because the movie itself doesn’t give them enough time to fully develop. Let’s take a look at some of these characters.

Felicity Jones plays the main protagonist, Jyn Erso. Jyn is the daughter of the former Imperial scientist and now kidnapped farmer Galen Erso (the mastermind of the Death Star) and her initial actions are motivated by the chance to meet her father again. Problem is I didn’t really care and that’s because the plot didn’t give enough time (or any time at all) to strengthen that father-daughter bond. That’s why when they finally meet each other again and Galen is killed, it unfortunately doesn’t evoke any emotion and it actually felt a bit flat. I really really wanted to care about her journey on being with her father again but I realized if I had to try so hard then the movie isn’t executing that aspect right. One of the main issues with Jyn is that her problems with the Rebellion aren’t explored enough. It’s just one of those aspects about her that’s mentioned in one or 2 scenes but not expanded upon in any sort of meaningful way. She reminded me a lot of Han Solo. Like Han in his initial scenes in A New Hope, Jyn is someone with a criminal background who does not side with anybody and only does things for her own benefit. That is until she becomes part of much bigger cause. This was an awesome aspect of her. However, even though she is bad ass (really bad ass by the way), she just lacks the charm of Han Solo and she doesn’t go through the same carefully handled character progression that Han goes through which is a huge shame. 

And then there’s Cassian Andor played by Diego Luna. Now with Cassian, I liked his inner struggle a bit more. His problem was that he kept doing bad things for the Rebellion and that he felt as if these actions are not justified. This could have made for some really good character progression but it’s just that his inner problems were solved just as quickly as they were introduced. Again, if the film had highlighted this aspect of him more than it did then Cassian would be a better character overall. 

Honestly, I would’ve given these issues a pass IF we would see more of these 2 in future films but seeing as how they died in the end (like I said, spoilers) then their characters’ potential growth is pretty much over and done with. 

2.) The story is nothing to talk about. Or at least nothing really exciting to talk about. After watching this film, all I could really say about it was that it was about finding the plans to the Death Star. That particular aspect of the narrative is strong but nearly (key word) everything around it feels pretty flat. There was just not enough life or any of that “wow” moment in the story. Any scene where I’m supposed to show emotion just does not work. It’s never given any weight so sadly it’s never earned. For example:

In that scene where Jyn is listening to a holocommunicator message from her father and she starts breaking down. Yeah that scene. I didn’t really care, it didn’t emotionally affect me in any sort of way, it didn’t make me want to see her reunite with her father and I found that scene pretty manipulative. Before you say I’m some sort of insensitive asshole, I have genuinely cried in films before but for those emotional scenes that had a lot of build-up and where the emotional payoff was earned. Same can not be said for most of the “sad” scenes in this film. Yes, there were characters here who I did like (and even love) but I still didn’t care for their deaths and we’ll get to those characters in a little while.

3.) The first act of the film is choppy. This is more or less piggy-backing off of what I just said about the characters not being given enough time to develop. 30 minutes into the film and I felt like it was all over the place. Introduce a character, skip, introduce another character, skip, sprinkles of exposition here, skip, introduce another character, and skip. There was a lack of focus that hurts the pacing. With issues #1 and #2 mixing together, I found myself asking “Are we supposed to give a shit?” a bunch of times at least in the preceding half. Thankfully, the focus is finally set and established by the latter part of the 2nd act and nearly, if not all of the 3rd act. Which bring us to the positives.

Pros:

1.) Now, going into a Star Wars film means that I had certain expectations. After watching the great Force Awakens, there was a certain magic that I was looking for that’s very hard to explain. What I will say is this: Rogue One offers the same kind of magic but presented differently. What I mean by that it has a darker and rougher tone than previous films. Probably the darkest that it has ever been. There was an image in the beginning that I’ll never forget that I wish I could show. I hope my description can suffice. The main character, Jyn, was being escorted (to prison, most likely) and the Stormtroopers escorting her had dirty armor. If memory serves me correctly, I don’t remember any Clone trooper or Stormtrooper from the originals, prequels, and even Force Awakens look so untidy. They’re usually in mint condition even during battle. But in here, they look like they’ve been through a lot of shit and are just tired. This was an image that showed me that this is going to be a Star Wars film with a dash of grit and for this film, it worked overall. The best part of the story is how the Rebellion/Republic aren’t presented as the heroic bunch of do-gooders that have an unwavering sense of morality. No no no in here they are willing to get their hands dirty and kill people who may not even deserve it. The character of Forest Whitaker, Saw Gerrera (Nice job in tying in this story with Rebels), represents what a radical extremist in the side of the Republic looks like. He’s not necessarily a good person. In fact, the people Jyn associates with aren’t clean cut themselves. They just happen to be a side that’s the lesser of two evils. 

2.) Speaking of the other evil, the Empire subplot that focused on the tension between main villain the Orson Krennic (who is a solid bad guy) and the CGI-laden Moff Tarkin (we’ll get to the CGI eventually) was pretty cool. The confrontations between the two men of the Empire were honestly some of the best scenes and it made me care about the villain a bit more. Yeah, Orson is an asshole who throws hissy fits and unfairly kills scientists who did nothing wrong and but seeing him be bullied and taken out by an even bigger asshole - who also takes Krennic’s credit - made me root for him a little bit (at least against Tarkin). Oh and that final scene where Krennic looked at the Death Star as it was about to obliterate the planet along with him was marvelous.

3.) That brings me to my next positive point: The action-packed and thrilling third act of the film. There really is not much to say here except that it’s where shit hits the fan and the glorious blasting and dogfighting begins. The action sequences in these final minutes are so well-done. The rebel wings taking out the 2 Star Destroyers was a thing of beauty and the Darth Vader fight scene (if you can even call it a fight because it was extremely one-sided) was just plain bad-ass. One tiny negative I can point out is the continuity issue with the AT-T walkers. I thought Empire Strikes Back has taught us that tying them up was the only way of taking them down. I first thought that maybe the Empire upgraded their AT-T walkers because of how they were taken out in this battle BUT I remembered since everyone was destroyed by the Death Star, who’d be alive to tell them about the walker weakness? Just a small gripe in an otherwise massive positive.

4.) Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe and Aland Tudyk as the voice of K2SO. These two were the highlights of the supporting cast. Yen provides his usual martial-arts badassery as the blind but force-sensitive monk. In fact, his character adds more to the idea of the “Force”. It’s honestly refreshing to see (no pun intended) that this intangible power is present even with someone without the ability to see. This means that there is much more to learn and hopefully, Chirrut Imwe marks the beginning of more characters like him to appear in future movies. Maybe we’ll get a character with no arms at all and yet, still can kick ass just with his/her mastery of the Force. That would be a little silly at first but I believe it will work. 

Tudyk delivers a sarcastic brand of comedy that adds layers to droid characters. Although his jokes can sometimes be unnecessary, when they do hit, they hit hard. What I loved most about his character is that he really didn’t have that much character development. Now, I know development is important but the reason I didn’t need it from K2SO is that he is basically an expendable, comedy-relief character. Besides, because Jyn didn’t go through much character progression herself, I’d find it improbable for K2SO to become completely open and warm to her so his ongoing mild surliness was appropriate and consistently entertaining. 

5.) The fan service. Now there’s not a whole lot of fan service here like in the Force Awakens but there are just enough to put a smile on anyone’s face if they get the references. Some of them may have felt more forced than others (*cough* R2-D2 and C-3PO *cough*) but at the end of the day, I’d rather have them in than not at all. My personal favorite reference was seeing Cornelius Evazan and his buddy again. For those who don’t remember him, he’s the dude who has the death sentence in 12 systems. It was just awesome seeing him and his deformed face again and with his arm still intact. The biggest fan service here is arguably seeing Darth Vader and his daughter, Princess Leia, again. Speaking of which. 

5.)  I was a bit iffy about the CGI in this film. Particularly Moff and Leia but after thinking about it and after looking at their digitized selves again, I honestly didn’t mind it. It’s nowhere near as bad as the work done on Han’s head when Greedo shot first and it’s much better than I had initially expected. I honestly didn’t care if it was CGI, it was nice seeing Princess Leia again.

Ok, this part’s gonna get a bit serious. There was something a bit poetic about all this. About me watching this film on the precise day that I did. I had seen Rogue One just a few days after Carrie Fisher’s death (God rest her soul) and seeing Princess Leia at the time of watching meant much more than ever. When I saw her, it hit me and it really dawned on me that she was gone. She was a huge part of my childhood because I had the biggest crush on her when I first watched her in “A New Hope”. There was just an air of magnetism in her eyes and in her voice that attracted me. Not only that, she was really the first badass heroine that I had ever seen in movies. She was a strong woman who spoke to and for generations and for that, I’ll miss her badly. Damn, can you imagine how people will feel watching her in Episode 8? 

Overall, Rogue One is a strong entry in the Star Wars mythos. Solid performance from the cast even if the film doesn’t have the engaging characters like a Luke, Han, Leia, Rey, or Finn. It falters somewhat in the beginning but quickly picks itself up and goes all out in most of the 2nd act and in the entirety of the 3rd. While it may lack some of the personality and magic of previous films, it has its own unique depth by adding some grit to its more grounded tone.