#because again i can only assume thats what vader

[kideternity]

If you aren’t stupid you go to hell is the message I'm getting from this episode of Digimon

[themadvigilantist]

is there any “unconventional” relationship you play, or you would like to?do you have a favorite memory when it comes to rping a ship?

Vanilla Sunday Meme

For muns who aren’t into explicit sexual content, but don’t mind approaching the topic.

Feel free to cross out any questions you aren’t comfortable with!

ooh, i would like to do a group rp (it doesn't have to be smut it can just be a group muse adventure) of essentially doing what sense8 did successfully (you YOU KNOW THE GIF YOU KNOW AND IF YOU WATCHED IT IT CAN WORK I BELIEVE IT CAN) or just a group rp of everyone travelling together but its a polygon. they get to pilot together and stuff (yes like in doctor who shh) or a slumber party. the only problem is that i don't know how to go about it so pffft. that being said i would love for my muses to shag monsters or entities that isnt a vampire and werewolf. like i dunno... lets shag the literal sentient sun like... people can get creative! i believe @thebadtimewolf courted mjolnir in like a regency thread and it was so fun so like you know.. thats assuming if that's what you mean by unconventional relationships.

a favorite memory? man most of the people 's muses they rp'd with is either deactivated or their account is just inactive. per blog? i would say v really likes rping with FICTITIOUS serial killers by meeting them at bars and restaurants. but also and i dont know why this is so damn funny but she came across a person roleplaying THE BEYONCÉ and i think all they did was say hello and what some flowers or something and then she gave her a sonic device and then IT NEVER WENT ANYWHERE. its so funny to me and so brief. because v really wanted it to go somewhere but then it just simply didn't. theres one over at @pennybraddock where penny met DARTH VADER because she fell asleep watching star wars while it was playing and (because of her uncontrollable power, more easily described over there) she woke up fast because it was not her couch and he was right behind her in the hallway. again didn't go anywhere but it was so funny. there's also this pre season 1 rose tyler being a ward to @thebadtimewolf plotline, that was fun to roleplay because it was like a serial killer saved this girl from her shitty guardian/madam/abusive bully from the orphanage and the serial killer teaches her how to defend herself but also to conquer her fear by killing their abusers together but cute. it was fun. never finished but it was sweet. i think over at @drbabygirl, there was a whole extra plot that i just made part of those canon muses canon for the blog based upon a k drama and a oc from said k drama about reincarnation but with doctor who elements. and then i just never let it go. its there but yeah. i have so many. i know v really misses that rp plotline with jackie estacado from the darkness game. lot of memories. lot of them unfinished really....

[nevertheless-moving]

Star Wars Time Travel AU #13: Broken Fight AU

At the end of Ben & Vader’s climactic death star duel, the robe drops, obi wan enters the force, and Vader is filled with crippling loneliness and regret that you can feel a galaxy away. That…interacts with Obi-Wan’s ascension. Vader grabs on to his master’s spirit, grabs on to his regret, and refuses to let anything go

Obi-Wan lets go of his mortal coil. He tries to shake off everything else, but regret is overpowering everything. Vader keeps a grip on Obi-Wan as they enter the force together with screeching disharmony. The universe writhes at the intrusion and ultimately ejects them both. In the pain and chaos, they cling to each other. 

The force spits them out 20 years in the past

They wake up in their younger bodies and not only do we get that sweet what the FUCK just happened time travel angst

but literally the last thing they were doing was fighting to the death

as much as i love the thought of some horrified bystanders, im going to say they’re alone because while this au is about angst, even more than that its about MAXIMIZING confusion so everyone has to try and uncluster this fuck with as little helpful info as possible

this is basically a star wars time travel fix-it with the angstiest possible candidates taken at the worst possible moment where they will still have the motivation, knowledge, and power to eventually figure out some common goals and successfully work together 

General’s Kenobi and Skywalker were out on some jedi side mission

they pass out

wake up and Skywalker IMMEDIATELY starts trying to murder Obi-Wan because that is his default stress response 

Obi-Wan is bewildered because didn’t he already die? is this force hell?

Vader chops his masters LEG off because see how you like it huh how how about your HAND too and then later how about i do the REST and then maybe I can set you on FIRE and leave you t- to- haa

and he collapses because i love loosingletters mtttau (go check it out!) and am lovingly borrowing the idea that Vader has just. forgotten how to breathe.

cody calls to check in at this point and Obi-Wan’ is in medical and emotional shock so picks up the comm like:

“Oh hey Cody! Wow its been ages how are you doing”

“We’re...fine here sir, just checking in on you and General Skywalker, we were expecting you back at camp 10 minutes ago”

“Ah give a moment. Anakin? Anakin its Cody, would you like to talk to him? Sorry Cody, he’s still not breathing. If he keeps this up I imagine he’ll be brain dead within the next, ohm 3 minutes or so. Got to say, none of this is going how i expected but thats the force for you, huh? Mysterious.”

“Sir! Are you under attack? I’m sending backup to your location, are there other hostiles we should be aware of? Are you injured?”

“Its just me and my padawan, no one else to worry about. I’m fine. Well, my right leg and my left hand are a bit less attached to my body than im used to but i’m pretty sure im already dead so im trying not to focus on that. Anyway Cody everything’s started to go black and i just want to say im not mad ok? im so sorry and i forgive you, ok? Tell the rest of the 212th for me please? Toodles!”

“General?!”

and then they realize they’re in the past and padme is still alive and the jedi are still alive and Anakin isn’t constant agony but his brain is still compensating so he gets a bit of a serotonin which helps smooth out his mood as we go forward

everyone else is just terrified because what sort of Sith could have so wounded Master Kenobi and messed with Knight Skywalker’s head enough that he temporarily forgot how to breathe?!?

And Vader already killed Obi-Wan once and really didn’t enjoy the feeling of a universe without him as much as he thought he would so he’s not really keen to let him vanish into thin air again so naturally just:

“If you even think about betraying me I will begin killing everyone you’ve ever known, starting with the youngest and ending with Yoda. If you leave my line of sight for over (1) one minute I will assume you are betraying me.”

Obi-Wan of course, can’t kill Vader, or bring himself to hurt him again. Honestly, the jedi are alive, the republic is standing, the clones are themselves, and Vader’s skin is thriving. Standing next to Anakin every single moment for the rest of their lives to discreetly remind him not to murder people? Less of a hardship, more of a recurring guilty fantasy.

[determinedowl23]

Mandolorian Season Finale Reaction? Mandolorian Season Finale Reaction.

Reaction/spoilers under the cut

Pew pew bitch

Wait is Fett's shop that big? Wow.

HAHAHA HE JUST SHOT THE OTHER

Oh you really though triggering Cara was a good idea, huh?

Oh, so is the theme officially changed? I liked the old one with more western vibes

Look it's the redhead and her friend! what's her name, Bo-Katan?

Jesus have some hope woman

"Didn't know sidekicks were allowed to talk." I'm pretty sure you're a sidekick lol

Wait she owned the Darksaber?? Woah

MANDADLORIAN MANDADLORIAN MANDADLOROAN MANDADLO-

haha bivouac is fun to say

...Uh, was that crash into the ship planned?

Ohhhh the Darktroopers were the things that looked like Blotty was cloning Darth Vader

Btw I just call Gideon Blotty because of the shared actor lol

Oh boy they're up and running

Pew pew bitch Pt. 2

Wait now that I think about it, wash Pershing (was that his name?) helping them?

Oh god the pew pew battalion is here

DONT DIE ON ME MANDO

isisosjsiqnsisz Cara's trouble with the rifle hahaha

Just remembered when I first started watching this, my mom explained that Beskar Is the star wars Vibranium

oh hey, the staff

GROGU

"Assume that I know everything" AOSYHAISHWIZA

Damn Blotty that's really well planned out.

Did he- say "Take him."???? Woah

Wait never mind- Damn Blotty that really was well planned out

Good thing he's wearing pure Beskar, otherwise he'd be dead

This can't go well. He's still alive.

Oh god Blotty are you bribing Din?

Fuck. He really knows his stuff.

Oh boy the Robot Vaders are back.

*white teen girl voice* Uh, actually, it's called a pew pew battalion, not a platoon. Get it right, Sherlock.

Ok, I love seeing Fennec on the good team. Actually, I don't care what team she's on. I just love seeing Fennec.

Why will Grogu still be alive after the pew pews get in, is his blood useless after he's dead?

GROGU WHAT ARE YOU SEEING YOUR EYES JUST GREW HUGER

Ok, what kind of previous Star Wars movie character are we getting now?

OH IS IT THE LADY WITH THE BLUE AND WHITE HAIR-ISH

No, this person has a green lightsaber. Unless she got a new one.

MANDADLOOORRRIIIIAAAANNNN

GROGU CAN FEEL THE JEDI'S FORCE

OOH CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS BATTLE PEW PEW BATTALION VS JEDI IN AN ELEVATOR

Woah, that's some cool telekenisis shit.

REVEAL YOURSELF, JEDI IN AN ELEVATOR WHO DEFEATED PEW PEW BATTALION

HOLY SHIIITTT IS THAT LUKE SKYWALKER

I THINK THATS MOTHERFUCKING LUKE SKYWALKER

but don't let me be the judge lol

"I'll see you again. I promise." BRB😭😭😭

HE TOOK OFF THE HELMETTTTT SO GROGU COULD TOUCH HIS FACE IM FUCKING SOBBING

OH MY GOD R2D2 SO IT IS LUKE

Again, I've only seen New Hope and Empire Strikes Back

UNCLE LUKES GOT YOU GROGU

WHY ISNT MANDO CRYING YET

OH NEVER MIND HE IS

WAIT I THINK GROGU IS TOO

OH MY GOOOODDDD THAT WAS AMAZING I NEED SEASON THREE

YEAH MARK HAMILL SO THAT WAS LUKE

[roxannepolice]

But yah rey as a character is just so frustrating you know? Cause like, yeah sure she could be complex with a powerful arc where shes forced to come to terms with the fact she wasted years of her life on self-imposed delusions in a cathartic way, or she could be a flat piece of marketing cardboard which Disney is banking on vagina+superpowers=profit without having to go through that persnicty character flaw overcoming or the like. Because like you said, hearing shes a nobody (which ngl, her assuming she was a somebody wasn’t really ever supported in tfa, just that her family was coming back and she desperately wanted them to) is apparently the worst thing but it changes absolutely nothing, not her approach, not her demeanor , if vaguely sad is the absolute worse a character is gonna experience in a goddamn space opera then yeah, full offense ill take the l on Mary sue discourse but her character will definitely be a boring ass wash. We all make fun of whiny new hope Luke but him being a kinda nuisance to both the audience and those around him is what made is transformation into full blown Jedi knight so powerful. With Rey so far what weve got is badass perfect cinnamon roll finally get her due as such, which is clearly working for some people, but I fail to see how that isn’t spectacularly tone deaf to make a protag in this genre such. Operas about drama, not patting you on the back. Rey (assuming she remains as is) would’ve been fine as a protag s the only piece of Star Wars media we ever got was a new hope. But rn she a chosen one architype (and I know that bunch of ppl are gonna go but the series ‘but shes not the chosen one, Anakin still is, the new series isn’t trying to make her one!’ but lets not beat around the burning bush, if u got a character that walks on water and the reason why is because god said so, ur dealing with a chosen one trope and if a character is star wars is made ultrapowerful in lore breaking ways because force said so? Yeah were dealing with a chosen one.) when we had both the deconstruction and the reconstruction done. Shes a straight hero when the success of the ot rest on hitting the formula near perfect the first time. What exactly is Rey, the individual character, bringing to the table? What makes her story supposedly so important the a perfectly good ending had to be made invalid to tell it? A bunch of ppl will say heroines’ journey! But if that’s the case I gotta say, wheres all the feminine shit? Im serious, if the heroines journey is reintegrating the feminine and realizing ‘oh shit mom had a point’ there where is both the feminine skills/coping mechanism and the mom? I mean I saw some ppl arguing for leia in a ‘reys Persephone!’ meta (she isn’t, you can make a much better case for ben himself as Persephone to be quite frank, yall are focusing so much on the trees ((girl gets abducted by guy)) that u forgot the forest existed, the actually story ((girl winds up queen on the underworld, well gee whiz which character just took control of that after leaving the world of living and a grieving divine mother behind, it’s a mystery apparently) behind, it’s a mystery apparently) ((but seriously though even if we hope for dark rey does anyone assume its gonna be taking control of a dark/dead coded org at least partially at this point, do you, do you really??). but given the fact she had what, one line of screen dialogue that’s breaking ur arm with that stretch. As far as skills go I guess you could make an argument for scavenging, but if that’s the case dlf did a shit job of conveying that as female-coded. Everything about rey in tfa seems deliberately androgynous, and yeah, she had her hair let down/mascara moment, but that’s tied to her ‘failure’ on the supremacy thus something nw.SPEAKIGN OF FAILURES ON THE SUPERAMCY AND LACK THERE OF. I find it kind funny that bunch of reylo bnfs (you know who they are) are all ‘hur dur fanboys/antis are dumb and don’t get story structure.’ And then going, ‘why are yall asking how/assuming rey fucked up in throne room/climax of her story in the second portion/darkest point of her character arc? Why do you hate women/ur own ovaries so much?’ because it like walking into a prefurnished house and being told by the relator ‘HERES THE LIVING ROOM’ and having no damn couch. It’s a living room, I expect a couch here. And in a movie where it’s the low point of a character arc and they drag puppet yoda out to tell me the movie is about failure, I expect a damn failure in whats clearly the climax of the characters arc for this movie. As it stands now there are three possibilities imo. 1st, rey had no failure, she is the pure badass maid o light ppl want and every inch the boring cardboard she is accused of by fanbros, remains static, and is relegated to an also ran to benlo taking the most compelling character trophy this trilogy in 10 yrs2nd possibility and the one im hoping for, failure speech wasn’t just thematic explanation but also foreshadowing, rey fucks up big and dramatic in a way that makes her manage to stand out as unique with both her contemporaries and her predecessors(last part, if its ever to much lemme know pls im sorry i just gotta get it out) 3rd and most likely possibility, rey isn’t the main character, benlo is and that’s why his failure both moral in the throne room and logistic on criat take center stage for the last third or so of the movie. Rey is merely a pov character to tell the dramatic villain protag story they wanted and have their very marketable unproblematic Disney heroine cake too.

Ok, so this discourse kinda died down by now, but thanks to that it’s possible to maybe have a calmer look at it I’m totally not trying to justify my late response.

Anyway, the good result is that quite recently my brother, who’s not overly taken with Rey - or the sequels in general, for that matter - said something which really stuck with me as a possible crux of the problem: 

She’s neither comical nor tragical. Just bland. 

This neither comical nor tragical really struck me. And the more I though about it, the more it was appearing to me that this qualm really applies to the sequels as a whole. The thing is that DLF are essentially telling a straightforward story that they’re trying to make captivatingly convoluted. And not just make, but keep this appearance over four years. And this is... a narrative teeth crasher. Like, when you’re honest about the endgame (in the context of the most structural meanings of comedy and tragedy), you can maintain a decorum, though you can also play with it, of course, whereas when you don’t want to be honest about the endgame, you end up mixing the styles somewhat messily. You can’t break or discuss with the rules without acknowledging them, so to speak. Because the originals were honest about the happy/hopeful endgame (the first episode is title A New Hope ffs), they could allow themselves deeply tragic moments like Larses’ deaths, Han getting frozen, destruction of Alderaan, etc. Because the prequels were open about being a tragedy, they could allow themselves lighthearted comic relief for the sake of lighthearted comic relief. 

The sequels... badly want us to consider the possibility of FO winning and Ben dying unredeemed while simultaneously insisting we root for those things not happening, while appearing conscious we’re definitely not buying the former and the latter only somewhat. And it’s tiresome. Dishonest. And indeed, bland. If the story is a tragedy it will be a bloodcurdlingly real one, if it’s a comedy it will be a borderline grotesque one. 

But yeah, returning to Rey, I guess as the main character she’s a lens which focuses the above problems. A very bitter tragedy of what her parents did t her prevents her from being comfortably comical whereas whoohooos I like thats and prancing like a husky on red bull over idols and visions because it’s for children so it must be hopeful prevents her from being intriguingly tragical. So I guess the intentioned effect was tragicomism but, from pov of an engaged casual fan that is my bro, it’s neither. 

As far as Rey’s heroine’s journey lacking some of the usual elements, I blame it on Disney being... a bit too ambitious, maybe. I think they tried to make a heroine’s journey that isn’t ostentaciously seeped in traditional feminine/masculine traits, maintains the structure without what could be called accidentals. On the one hand, I would point out that hero’s journey has pretty much desexualised itself over time, we are rather accustomed to “shero’s” journeys, but on the other... maybe Disney set out on a too novel a territory and may crack their teeth on it, alongside trying to out-Vader Vader at redemption. To elucidate, “toxic femininity” in which a heroine is supposed to find herself in the beginning of her journey, in Rey’s case is uprooted from any of our usual concepts of feminine-masculine social roles (it’s space, duh). My interpretation is that Rey’s version of toxic femininity kind of exists in contrast with Kylo Ben’s version of toxic masculinity - and since the apparent focus of the story is the attitude towards the past/parent figures, toxic femininity would mean her clutching onto the past. Which is why I predict that some act of IX will find Rey inebriated with apparent success in masculine world, meaning she’ll be the one rejecting the old gods this time - and I would point out that panel in Poe comic where she shows herself more sceptical towards idolisation of past don’t mind me, I’m just expressingmy trash dreams for a proper sith lady Rey.

Then again, Rian Johnson said she already found perfect balance between Luke’s clinginess and Kylo’s rejection of the past, so... idk, maybe I’m giving DLF too much credit again.

As for the Persephone thing, I guess the rub is that this reylo reading focuses less on the traditional reading of the myth (where Demeter is the actual main character and Kore is a Princess Peach MacGuffin) and more of an interpretation of it as one of the eldest (at least in Europe) versions of story depicting a transition of a girl into a woman, making Persephone more of a protagonist. 

Like, y’know, this Persephone (D. G. Rosetti, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proserpine_(Rossetti_painting))

I’m no expert, but myths can lose their original meanings because of power relations (anyone still remember about Dionysus, the god associated with excessive drinking, going through a very Christ-like death and resurrection?) and I think it’s possible that this is the case with the story of Persephone becoming a pre-scientific explanation of seasons changing over the year. So teah, that’s how I always understood the Persephone theme regarding Rey.

But yes, I must agree that I’m confused about Disney’s handling of the mother figure, which... Look, SW became a legend of a modern myth because of how epically Lucas handled the hero dealing with his very explicit father. So yes, I don’t understand what exactly is their game with Rey Nobody from Nowhere in this regard. It’s one thing that they had a cool idea with giving her no lineage, another that parent figures are an essential element of archetypal journeys and from symbolic viewpoint the case of a female character the biological relationship is even more crucial than in male’s. And I swear to all the ewoks and porgs in the galaxy, I do hope Disney’s idea of Rey healing the mother/daughter divide isn’t through her healing the divide between Leia and Ben. Again, this isn’t the idealistic sphere. Just... no. 

Anyway, I still maintain hope (this whole meta blog is built on hope) that Rey will indeed turn out to have a proper personal mistake which will make her stand out in the saga. I do have to admit, though, that I find your last theory very likely. I mean, even when I read all the reylo metas going oh, Rey is going to have such an exciting arc in IX, she has so much to deal with though of course it’s not going to compromise her morally, it will be sooo exciting, I just... f*ck’s sake, what you’re describing isn’t a dramatic character only a dramatised role model. It’s great if that’s your thing, but don’t claim it is space opera-worthy, in operas people drown themselves because of cursed sailors, kill over a break up, decapitate over a bad dream and get dragged to hell over a dinner, not persuade their fallen lovers to change their ways, let alone patienly wait for them the understand the error of their ways (and if they do it’s doomed to end in someone dying).

[spiftynifty]

TeeVee Podcast’s Voltron s8 review

I’ve been waiting eagerly for TeeVee’s review of s8. If you recall, their s7 review was what gave us the man getting choked up about Shiro’s relationship. 

The link to the podcast is here but if you’d prefer a sort of transcript, here are some of the highlights for me. I didn’t always catch who was speaking but I wrote down initials where I could. S=Shanon, A=Antony, M=Moises, C=Chip D=Dan. The panel is divided on their feelings on the season. 2 of them seem to have hated it, one liked it, one thought it was fine, and one feels mixed about it. Anyway here we go, some great quotes ahead. 

Under the readmore cuz it’s long. 

S: "After 7 seasons of a show that was going to be one of the animated series of the decade, they not only did not stick the landing, they fell on their butts, rolled off the mat, off the lines, into the judge's table and their leotard popped open"

"A lot of the plot was callbacks to things from seasons ago that we really probably didn't need to see again." "I wasn't entirely sure that they weren't gaslighting me."

Man Shannon is calling out some great points. She's calling out the dropped druid plot thread, and wondering what the point was of showing Lotor's past when he's dead, and nothing can change in his present and his redemption can't really happen.

A: "endings are hard. I was disappointed with this season [...] it was let down by poor plotting and that final battle made me throw my hands up in despair most of the time. But I have enormous sympathy for the EPs. Maintaining a longform episodic story is hard. And to pull off an ending that satisfies even MOST of the audience is harder yet. and let's not forget they were always upfront that vt always had 'editorial interference' from up top. Toys, the fact that it's aimed at children, corp resistance to some of the more modern social issues that they've tried to tackle. THAT SAID, we don't know what happened on this production, who had the final say, what they argued over. and I say this cuz a lot of the fandom drama over it assumes a LOT over how media and entertainment like this is made that simple ARE. NOT. TRUE. Some of the stuff I've read has been ABSURDLY offbase, like that there were different writers rather than just 1 the whole way through which ignores how TV is made. And if you think these writers just go off and write a script without talking to anyone first and then they come back with something that must be filmed without any changes, THAT'S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS. [..]we don't know who made these decisions. The studio isn't always the bad guy. Sometimes they rescue things that would otherwise have been a horrible mess. And unless you were IN THE ROOM, you don't know, and neither do any of us. So let's all bear that in mind. [...]You can't lay the blame OR credit on any one person. For any of this." 

They're laughing & making so much fun of the final 3 episodes and how baffling they were. 

"Don't even get me started on Voltron merging with Atlas [and the crew disappearing] that was a bad, bad idea." 

"But that was the ONE time Shiro was back with the team!"

a couple dudes are relatively ok with the Allura death because we've never seen a WOC heroically sacrifice herself for the universe and usually it's the Shiro hero character D: They also point out that technically she wasn't fridged so.. yay?

Antony and Shannon vehemently disagree. 

A: "My problem with that ending was more just that it was... not. good." he makes a comparison to RotJ where Vader still dies and it's his SON, who lives, who 'redeems' him. "This was none of those things. It felt like a terrible lesson. You can be so evil that you kill literally billions of people for 10k yrs but if you say sorry just before you're about to be executed it's alright, dw about it, we'll put the universe back to rights. NO, that's a terrible lesson!!"

S:"They had the LIONS. That's my problem. Throughout this series we've had stakes going up but there has always been a trading of ideas, what can we do, what can we figure out, up to the point where they wind up sacrificing the castle, but they go through steps before that 'is there anything else we can do’. And here, there's not even... she didn't even get to say goodbye to Coran! This is the one character, WOC, and she has sacrificed throughout this entire series. She lost her planet. She lost the last connection she had to her father in the AI. She kept LOSING things over and over to the point where she sacrifices her crown to help Shiro. and the thanks she gets is that she has to turn around and say nope I've got to away and fix all of this and apparently never see you all again. It really, REALLY REALLY bothered me. All of my friends who have CHILDREN who watch this show, universally the kids were upset and angry and tearful and HATED that outcome. This did not feel like a triumph. Having to lose Allura like that robbed any kind of triumph in the success of saving all the universes. And I think that's one of the reasons that this last part of the season sits so poorly with me. I feel like it should have ended in a triumphant way. even if it meant losing a couple of the team members or the lions. Of course that takes away the toy aspect which is why that's not an option. We already had several tragedy arcs in this series. Zarkon, Honerva, and Lotor had tragedy arcs. Why does Allura have to have one too? We've had enough." 

Antony & Shanon KILLIN IT on this podcast y'all.

C: "This series relies so much on 'oh wait, there's a new upgrade', 'oh wait, there's this new thing'" A: "Well that was the entire final battle." C: "So there's this handwavy Allura has to sacrifice herself. The heavy lifting wasn't done to make this an earned moment."

S: "I do think, whether it was at the direction of DW or WEP (Vld IP), without those little epilogue cards, there is the potential opening that Allura might be able to return.[..]It was open to interpretation."

One guy likes the Shiro ending for the surprising progress aspect, even though he's not thrilled about how it was put together. also he isn't convinced the epilogue wasn't planned. He likes a lot of s8 but all the stuff he likes is tied to stuff that he really didn't like.

S:"The shiro card is the other reason that I think those things were shoved in. For me, that turns Shiro's entire character into a token when he wasn't before. When they introduced his sexuality, it was done BEAUTIFULLY. There was this conversation with his significant other a mature relationship that ran into its problems and therefore couldn't happen anymore. Adam could've been Adele, and nothing would have changed about that conversation. It was not the defining characteristic of Shiro. It was just something else about him."

S: "And then s8 happens and Shiro is divided from everybody on the team. There are so few interactions of any kind that aren't just barking orders. or making plans. Keith is the prime example. Their friendship had been a backbone of this series and suddenly they can't even stand more than feet 5ft from each other. 

A: “It’s barely evident, yeah.”

M:”And the same with the rest of the main cast. And if they had set that up at the end of s7, that he’s going to go into the background a bit, it wouldn’t have felt as weird.

S: “And they didn’t! S7 was miraculous in the fact that even though he’s no longer in a lion, he’s still got a vital part to play in the series. And s8 erased that. It pretty much neutered him! And the kind of message is once you've revealed this character to be gay, we've gotta keep him out of the way. And if they had not put those end cards in, again the fact that he's a gay man is just the fact that he's a gay man and it's not any bigger or smaller aspect of his character, but they did not EARN him marrying random bridge crew member #3."

A: "and RETIRING! A man who LEFT adam because he felt he had to go and fight."

A: "He left the guy he loved before because of his devotion to"

S:"To fighting to making things right"

A:”To being a soldier and doing the right thing.”

C:”Isn’t the whole point then that he achieves that?”

M:”The fighting’s over and he can leave that behind and he can actually be happy.”

S: “He wouldn’t’ve. I don’t see it.”

M: “I violently disagree.”

C: “I think it was a nice endcap for his character."

Moises also likes this because it’s not a BYG scenario and he gets retired. Shannon is extremely exasperated by these takes. 

S:”For me, it’s like Tangled. You go through Rapunzel and Flynn, going through their adventures, getting closer, getting to know each other, they save each other, things like that. And then she’s reunited with her parents and then we get and endcap that says ‘for political reasons her parents decided they needed to marry her off to the prince in the next county, sorry’. That would’ve had people RIOTING. Thats not how you do a story with characters that people care about. And to shove shiro off onto this random character that we--his name is never spoken!”

A:”No he had like 3 lines in the entire season.”

S:”He had 3 line sin the season, you don’t know his name unless you watched the subtitles, and in the audio narration for the visually impaired, they called him Adam in the endcap. They called him Adam! They fixed that now. It feels like a hugely clumsy attempt to grab the woke points for a character that didn’t need them.”

Moises then talks a little about Shiro and Keith and how he and Shannon both thought there was something there, and still do, but they can’t know what happened behind the scenes and to theorize on the intent of that relationship is “conspiracy theory land” and trying to decide what the writers were prevented from doing is like “reading tea leaves and chicken bones”. He references people extracting things from his own writing. 

M: “As much as I wanted to see that relationship flower and flourish, the fact that it didn’t, look, it’s one of a million times that’s happened for me, with fiction, where things didnt turn out the way I wanted to see them.”

S:”I’m talking about 2 different things, as far as Shiro’s character, vs shipping  issues. I feel Shiro’s character was done a disservice that if they were going to end him in a relationship with another man, they didn’t earn it by throwing that little endcap on.”

M:”Yeah, they could have brought back one less robeast or something.”

S:”The other thing is, I think there is enough out there as far as interviews with JDS and LM to show that at the very least I think they meant to leave it openended. Again  if you take out that endcap, the last shot includes a shot of just Shiro and Keith, together, same screen, looking up as the lions go away, without saying anything further. I know I pie in the sky hoped that they were gonna kiss this season when we did our s7 recap and yes that was the shipper in me talking. I truly did not expect that they would be able to go that far. What I did not expect was for them to tear it down. And I feel like that’s what they did. Between the complete absence of interactions in s8, and then throwing that epilogue in there.”

Dan doesn’t understand how that could be because he sees no reason for them to do that. Shannon patiently explains about DW’s history with LGBT characters but Dan insists that the creators told the story the way they wanted to and he’s fine with Shiro getting a marriage even if it’s a character they don’t know. 

Overall the panelists love the show still, and in most cases prefer to consider it in the realm of s1-6 with a weak final double season (7&8) or that the show ends after s7. They would all love to know how long the NDAs last, a making of perhaps, to know what the heck happened and what changed along the way. Big mood my dudes. Big mood.

[redtutel]

Rewatching Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Now I am watching Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I’m not as nostalgically attached to this movie as I am to the other two prequels, and I only saw it on TV once many years ago. I thought it was brilliant back then, but will I still feel that way now? The other two prequels don’t have the best track record, so I’m hoping this will be different. I’m writing this as I watch, so this might be a bit disorganized with some tangents.

The CGI is a LOT better, and the acting is a bit better too. It can still be a little awkward, but it’s at least up there with the original movie. The chemistry between the characters is good too.

The opening action scene is fantastic. It’s fun and exciting. There’s some silly moments, but I think it helps balance out a very serious movie. Although it makes me further dislike the claim that Last Jedi had too much comedy. People who hate Last Jedi’s comedy often love this movie, which has some pretty silly scenes too, and even some slapstick from the mascot droids.

General Grievous looks awesome, although he’s sillier then I remember him. Although the same’s true in Dave Filoni’s Clone Wars. I guess Genndy Tartakovsky’s version is the only one that’s truly cool.

Paulpatine’s sitting the same way he did in Return of the Jedi. Nice call forward. Also, this time around, the hero actualy does murder the villain. Although Dooku’s no Vader, at least not in the movies. I guess that’s kind of the point, since the only real villain in the prequels is Paulaptine. And since I watched quit of Clone Wars before I saw this movie for the first time, I actually did have an attachment to Dooku as a villain, so to see him killed did leave an emotional impact on me back then.

It’s pretty cool that the beginning of III is a reference to the climax of VI. Star Wars movies to have an obsession with referencing older Star Wars movies, so I do like shaking things up by having the references occur in an abnormal order.

Anakin and Padme’s romantic chemistry is a lot better too. Although some of the dialogue is still a bit awkward. Especially in terms of physical acting. The announcement that Padme’s pregnant is a fantastic mix of joy and concern (both for the challenge of parenthood and the scandal of a Jedi in love).

In general, I am fascinated with the concept that trying to run from destiny will lead you to run toward it. Then again, last time Anakin ignored his visions, he was too late to have his mother. 

The Jedi are beginning to put two and two together about Palpatine, but then Palpatine makes sure to butter Anakin up so that he’ll take his side. I love Palpatine, he’s such a great manipulator.

Anakin really needs to be more expressive in the “we do not grant you the title of master” scene. Maybe I spoke a bit too soon about the improved acting

I find it interesting that both Anakin and Padme notice that the government, but they have very different ideas on how to fix it. Anakin wants to create a strong centralized government to fix things, and Padme wants to prevent facism and promote compromise.

I assumed preventing death was just something Paulpatine made up to manipulate Anakin, but what if it was true, and he used that method to come back in Rise of Skywalker? There are rumors of Force horcruxes, which I honestly think is a solid idea for a perversion of the Light Side’s Force Ghosts. 

The subplots wrapping up the Clone Wars (like killing Grievous and helping the Wookies) are a bit pointless, and this is coming from a defender of Finn’s subplot in Last Jedi. I guess it’s because the experiences don’t grow Obi-Wan or Yoda as characters. Then again, it does add some fun space opera action to this movie, which is mostly dialogue and character driven. And it does get Obi Wan and Yoda out of the way when they need to be out of the way

Cody was in the movies? I had no idea

Anakin is a character is motivated by the refusal to lose his family. When he did love family, he got incredibly violent. And to save his wife, he’ll even turn to the darkside.

Despite that, he still draws his weapon when Paulpatine explicitly mentions being Sith. It shows that he did fall down the slippery slope TOO fast.

Palpatine’s idea that learning both the dark and the light side of the force is an interesting concept. I wonder if they’ll look into it in the future.

Lucas did the shot reverse shot Last Jedi thing first. Good for him. Although I do like where Last Jedi goes with it, but I’ll get into that later

I remember being so shocked when Anakin got Master Windu killed. He was always such a cool character, and I was shocked to see him go. It's definitely one of Anakin’s biggest steps into the Dark Side. Although the acting in that scene is not as good as I remember (although Paulpatine’s great)

Seeing Palpatine go full Emperor for the first time is fantastic.

Order 66 is so devastating to watch. Especially if you watched Clone Wars beforehand

I will admit that going from being guilty over Windu’s death to murdering children is a very abrupt leap. Although that could be the Dark Side messing with his brain

I really wish Owen, Buru and General Organa got more screen time in this trilogy

I have a lot of Episode I and II nostalgia, so seeing the Trade Federation murdered was also very shocking the first time. They weren’t amazing villains, but it was a huge sign of an end of an era.

“This is how liberty ends, with thunderous applause.” A powerful line thats relevant to this day.

3CPO likes flying in this movie, and hates it later on. That’s a cute joke.

Even back then, Anakin was thinking about overthrowing Palpatine and ruling with his family.

Seeing how he attacked Padme for siding with Obi Wan, maybe I’m right in thinking that the Dark Side is corrupting his mind and making him fall down the slippery slope faster then you’d expect. Plus his first thoughts after the fight is if Padme is okay. And he’s devastated to find out that he killed her

“Only a Sith deals in absolutes” Awkward Writing or proof of hypocrisy. Who knows?

Mustafar is such a cool planet, and a great set up for Obi Wan vs Anakin. Obi Wan vs Anakin is such an awesome fight, and an awesome birthplace for Darth Vader

Yoda vs Palpatine is pretty awesome too. I aways loved the Senate setting, so to see it used in an action scene, with the floating seats being moved around with the force is pretty awesome

Jedi deal with failure pretty poorly, namely by going into exile. I’m glad Yoda figured out the proper way to deal with failure in the Last Jedi

Obi Wan has a history of ending things with one last strike, like he would do to Darth Maul in Rebels

Seeing Anakin gain Darth Vader’s burns for the first time, and Obi Wan’s speech is such an intense scene. 

Padme’s death is kind of poorly handled. It seems kind of weak for her to lose the will to live when there’s twins to raise and a rebellion to found. Maybe if it was as simple as: her wounds would make childbirth fatal, but she insisted on given birth anyway. But I don’t like the idea of backseat script doctoring, so I’ll stop this train of thought.

I don’t remember Luke and Leia being born at the same time Darth Vader’s armor and life support are being attached. It’s a nice touch. That first Darth Vader breath is awesome. 

I like the idea behind the big “NO!” but I admit the execution is a bit off.

For some reason, I remembered the movie ending with the “NO!” Maybe that’s where the TV version ended or something. S

So R2-D2 Remembers the events of the prequls, but 3-CPO doesn’t. I never knew that.

Ending the Prequel trilogy on the twin sunsets, and a sign of hope. Fantastic.

Overall, I consider this a legitimately good (but not flawless) movie, and I’m honestly not sure where it ranks in comparison to the remaining 5 movies. Looks like I’ll find out in the next few weeks

[mothmage]

watching spn 15x18 after not watching the show in years:

-I only vaguely know who half of these people are

-have sam and dean’s voices always been this deep?? they sound fucking ridiculous lmao no one talks like that irl

-who is billie? ive never heard of her and like bad guy?? but she can like, get it

-so is jack like a kid or an adult? i can’t tell and got mixed messages from what i absorbed via tumblr over the years

-CHARLIE’S BACK????????????????? why did no one tell me i wouldve started watching again earlier. last i remember, she was in oz with dorothy lmaoooo when even was that??

-so sam and dean havent been in touch with charlie this whole time? damn

-this show can only write gay relationships that end horribly jfc

-”it’s spreading” “no one’s safe” covid but make it vanishing into thin air

-wow the texts that just stop.....why am i about to cry in the club rn

-sam tricking jack “ive only driven once” into driving is such a dad move omfg

-who is this blonde woman and why did her and jack look at each other like that? im assuming shes an important character but who??? they havent even said her name yet

-im glad that charlie’s outfits are as gay as ever but wow i feel so bad for her rn

-IS THAT BOBBY????? why does he look so different?????? i thought he was dead???? everyone in this show has died at least once lmao

-is jack like. okay? wtf happened with the plant? bad vibes

-im loving the reaper scythe, very sexy. is billie rowena or is she just saying “hello boys” bc thats what all the villains say now

-DARTH VADER CHOKE HOLD OK OK MA’AM OK

-”youre in the wrong place, dean” FUCK im a lil confused but FUCK

-HOLY FUCK WHAT THE FUCK EVERYONE?????? avengers infinity war has nothing on this

-loving miss billie’s villain monologue tho it just keeps getting better

-dean really needs some therapy if he lives through the end of the show

-thats such a stupid deal cas, you die when you feel true happiness? what the fuck?

-cas bout to make me cry ok.....brb sobbing

-this is so dramatic oh my god gay rights but this is so dramatic sorry

-”why does this sound like a goodbye?” “because it is.” fuck OFF

-THE HANDPRINT STOP you have to be joking this cannot be real

-SO HE JUST DIES?????? everyone dies in this show but come ON

-holy shit the whole like. world?????? everyone?????????

-dean letting the phone ring out......kill me 

-fuck me cannot believe im back on my clown shit with this show........2010 me would be proud

[conderkyl]

So here are my thought on TLJ:

I really really didnt like it for many different reasons and im not going to go into all of the details of what i didnt like but heres a few of the reasons:

Poe...like wtf happened to poe..who was that in the movie cause it definitely wasnt him. no way in hell does he disrespect Leia and go against orders..like just because hes an ace pilot it doesnt mean hes automatically a hotshot asshole and thats not the vibe we get in the comics or TFA

Rey...again wtf happened to Rey cause that was not the Rey from TFA in this movie...she seemed so out of character and every interaction she had with kyle ron made me literally want to throw up...

Luke.....yet again wtf happened....its like rian never watched rotj like everything about his characterization in the movie was so off putting and awful..he would never have been like that and its so upsetting...

Also its really fucking annoying that they killed snoke and made reys parents no one like it just seems like a huge fuck you to all the dedicated fans who have spent so much time speculating on who it could be.

THE TIME LINE!!! like based on the fact that they were just evacuating the base they were in at the end of TFA (im assuming this based on the topography of the base) which they knew the first order knew about im guessing it didnt take place that long after the end of TFA so can someone explain to me how the first order became so powerful so fast...like yeah they took out hosnian prime but I sincerely doubt all the leaders of the Republic were there given how many senators there are so the collapse of the republic would not be that rapid. like im sure they had backup plans and shit...so how tf did the first order become so powerful...

BACK TO LUKE cause im REALLY bitter about this...like the point of ROTJ is to show that Luke is a new kind of Jedi one who uses his attachments and feelings to make his force abilities better so why is it insinuated that he was keeping to the old traditions of the jedi...like that is not something Luke does...and also this is the kid who saw Darth Vader (the epitome of evil) and was like yeah im gonna save him do not tell me that the reason Ben fully shifted to the dark side was because Luke thought about killling him...like no, he would not have done that even for a second...family is way to important to him, he is someone who would talk things through before jumping into action there is no way he wouldnt have been able to help Ben stay in the light...like fuck you rian for ruining his character..

THE KISS okay that was soooooo fucking forced like honestly im pretty sure the only reason rose and finn were pushed together like that was because a lot of the fans wanted finnpoe or finnrey...i was pissed

NOT HAVING FINN AND REY TALK AT ALL WTF DO NOT TELL ME THAT THEY WOULDNT HAVE HUGGED FOR HOURS AND HAD IN DEPTH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED I MEAN COME TF ON

Literally the only parts of the movie I actually liked was like in the last half hour, right when Finn goes to take down Phasma, and when poe and bb8 reunite..and like the volptexes and when luke shows up in those snazzy Jedi robes and says goodbye to Leia (which made me cry) I also loved every bit of Carrie Fishers acting she was wonderful, (that was like the only moment I was like THERE HE IS THERES THE LUKE I KNOW) Overall the movie was a huge dissapointment and I have many other thoughts and feelings about it but it would literally take a book to get them all out...So im gonna go delve further into EU Luke because I love him...

[justifiedthehomicide]

SOME THINGS I NOTICED IN SEASON 4

I’ve just watched season four and wOW I am SHOOK BEYOND BELIEF I AM SCREAMING I AM DEAD

ok now that that’s been said

Some sTUFF I nOTicED and some quESTIONS I hAD and the like

SPOIIIIILLLLLEEEERRRRRRSSSSSSS

THAT ISNT SHIRO I think the black lion only took him back because she realized how much Voltron was needed and he was the best she could get without Keith The way he acted was just so not-Shiro-like it just doesnt seem rIGHT

Matt is amazing My goodness He’s so amazing Also he’s just like the fanon version everyone came up with before we ever knew what he was like and that is epic to me

Matt/Allura is real???????

Allura and Coran’s reactions to Kaltenecker were amazing Assuming they didn’t have some sort of Altean version of cows, though, and assuming Altean bones are made of calcium like human bones, how did they get the calcium they needed? Also Kaltenecker’s marking on his behind whAT iS IT

Remember from the vlog Keith pushes people away, right? Before they reject him? THATS WHAT HE DID HE WAS SO TERRIFIED OF NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH FOR VOLTRON THAT HE LEFT VOLTRON LIKE LANCE WANTED TO DO AS WELL AJDJDKSJDHD GIVE THEM HUGS PLZ

Pidge is a nICKNAME FROM MATT here’s the question- how did that become a nickname??????? Is it short for Pigeon????? Also she hated it at first and then because it was associated with him she loved it and that just makes me feel complete

PIDGE SAID SHE’D COME UP TO SPACE AND FIND MATT IF HE DIDNT COME BACK WELL WHADDAYA KNOW

Do Galra civilians exist?

Lotor is 100% planning something. That smile was too evil. He’s probably going to get the Paladins to trust him, and then destroy them from the inside. Maybe this is what will bring Keith back?

Speaking of which I’m very glad keith didn’t die That was a truly terrifying moment

sO Keith showed hE WAS A GOOD LEADER WHEN VOLTRON WAS INCAPACITATED WHO TOOK CHARGE? IT WASNT KOLIVAN IT WAS KEITH WHO LED THE REBELS INTO BATTLE AGAIN? KEEEITTHHHHHHHHH HE JUST NEEDS TO GET OVER HIS STUPID SELF-SACRIFICIAL CRAP

The memorial on the abandoned planet really reminded me of the Vietnam memorial and Arlington National Cemetery

Allura’s magic fiNALLY came back!!!!! Will this be a huge help in the future? Probably If she actually uSES it It’s like the Force An all powerful thing you can control and you prefer to use a weapon that if you’re untrained can cut your hand off by activating it

Hunk was so happy to see Shay and I just

the geek trio has been made matt, hunk, and pidge it is now official

Lance has better inspirational speeches than Shiro *le gasp* I know what you’re thinking “his speeches are his thing!” But hear me out: My theory? Lance’s are much more personal and heartfelt, and they reach the audience better, whoever that audience is Shiro’s are general and practiced, rehearsed in quality. They’re very good, and definitely better than Keith’s, but they’ve got this distant element to them that Lance is able to break past.

LOTOR ARE YOUR ARMS OK?????

The brainworm situation was… interesting, to say the least. What do you wanna bet they’re gonna be important later?

Don’t kill me for this, but I kind of think the Holt Father Sam might be dead 0_0 *hides from hoarde of angry holt family fangirls*

So does Keith have some sort of quintessence sensing or nOT He said he wasn’t sure how, but he knew they had to attack the ship that Haggar was on hMMMMMM????? Couple that with the rest of the instances we know of like sensing the blue lion wHAT dOES iT mEAN I nEED aNSWERS

Lance was really into the “shows of arms” I think they reminded him of Earth, and they were also a great distraction from the real fight, where people were going to get hurt

I’m still waiting for Keith backstory Just sayin

Lance and Hunk got the character development everyone wanteeeddddd Right? Right??????? Who am I kidding The fandom will never be satisfied STOP PLAYING THE HAMILTON SONG I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE ALL THINKING

Why do I have the sinking feeling that Coran/Beeboboop or whatever is going to be a ship Siiigghhhhhhhhhhh

Pidge’s room looks exactly like mine An utter diSASTER It’s a sign of creativity *hmph*

Coran has a photo of Alfor in his room and if you listen you can hear my heart shatter

Are the Galra girls going to meet up with Voltron too??? Like Lotor???? Cuz that’ll be awkward

I still think Axca’s related to Keith somehow

I also feel like Voltron is weaker without Keith Like None of them are the weak link But Keith was their push He kept them from being too cautious, because if you’re too cautious you end up like the Blade of Marmora was Now they don’t have him

The cat is gonna find her way back to Haggar/Honerva

Also

NARTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Lotor just… killed her No hesitation That’s the Galra way, the way he’s always been taught. Victory or death. But the generals were like a family, and Lotor killed their sister.

Lotor knows who his mother was But maybe not who she is now He called her Honerva, not Haggar

It also shows that Lotor was born near Allura’s time of birth, give or take a few years

What happens when Zarkon runs out of quintessence? Also he’s darth vader now

Anyone else get the impression Lotor is slowly going insane?

I’m still waiting for the Paladins to visit Earth *slides dreamworks a $10 bill*

What about everyone else’s vlogs????

Do any outside Galra even kNOW about Kuron??? Haggar and Lotor aren’t acting like it but ya never know

Why didn’t the rift give Lotor the quintessence he wanted, in some way shape or form, like how it did for Voltron? And what reality did he and Zethrid end up in? Did they alter that reality at all by arriving in it?

What is Voltron going to dO now???? Like the really big question: Where do they go from here?

That’s all folks, thanks for listening to my rant Happy existential crises and Friday the Thirteenth in the month of October! *thunder crashes*

…when do we get the next season

[jwgammuto]

Fantasy Booking for WrestleMania 35.

It’s time! It’s time! No it’s not Vader time, sadly. It’s time for a very special edition of One Chance In Hell, my fantasy booking for the Showcase of the Immortals. Unlike the WWE, I will apologize in advance for how brutally long this is likely to be but I’m all about consistency and I enjoy sharing my booking brilliance that will never happen with my fellow wrestling fans. Here we go!

The Women’s Battle Royal: In a true fantasy this match doesn’t exist. Not because these women don’t deserve a spot on the card, but because this is a cheap way to get everyone on the roster some face time and a pay day on the biggest show of the year. Winning it hasn’t meant anything so far and I don’t expect that to change in 2019. Since we are going to be subjected to this, I offer this solution. All 15 or so of these women start in the ring and it’s a cluster from the start. About 2-5 minutes in, a late entrant, Lacey Evans. She comes out and everyone at Met Life just assumes she’s going to cat walk around and leave without doing or saying anything. She struts about the ring, allowing a few of the women to be eliminated and looks at them with her patented disgust. Finally, when it’s down to a final elimination spot, between Asuka and whomever, she enters the ring, dumps them over the rope, and stands tall. No matter what the company plans to do following WM, whether ending brand split, draft, etc. Evans, finally, appears to be a player in a women’s division that needs a serious reboot following this Charlotte/Ronda/Becky obsessed last six months.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal: Argh. As if one of these isn’t enough but we will persevere. It appears obvious that Braun will pointlessly win this after hopefully severing the spines of Jost and Che so WWE never dares put celebrities in this event again. I have a different idea though. Since there is no rub for winning this damn thing, why not have the most entertainingly hilarious person win it and that, my friends, is Otis Dozovic. It doesn’t really matter to me how this has to happen, but logically Heavy Machinery hang in for a while and after Tucker gets eliminated, Otis rages and cleans the ring. This would probably require Braun to go out with the classic “everybody in the ring gang up” bit, but I’m ok with that. Otis carrying around that trophy and worshipping it for a couple months would be absolutely hilarious. I don’t see any other way to make this matter.

Buddy Murphy vs Tony Neiss’ abs for the Cruiserweight Title: Welcome to my first true pipe dream. This match will probably be good but not quite to the level that previous Murphy PPV matches have been because Tony Neiss. However, after Murphy disposes of Mr Abs, because he must, and an exhausted Murphy is collecting his belt, he is viciously attacked from behind by....Johnny Gargano. 205 Live lacks star power and a true test for Murphy these days outside of Cedric Alexander and that’s been done. Johnny TakeOver gives us our true first shock of the night and gives the crowd what will be a much needed energy spike for the next 6 hours to come. This of course would be predicated on Johnny losing to Cole tomorrow night. But how great would this be?

The USOs vs BlackOChet vs BulgarianKnee2Face vs Da Barrrrr for the Smackdown Tag Titles: It seems terribly likely that Ricochet and Black finally get their statement win here. I feel like it could be better. No one wants to see Da Barrrr win the titles for a seventh time and NakaRusev makes zero sense so for arguments sake, let’s say they can’t win. The end of what could be a great match will come with the USOs and BlackOChet in a melee with the other two teams distracted or down. Amidst the confusion, Black goes to hit Jimmy with Black Mass at the same Ricochet looks to do something insane from the ropes. Jimmy moves and Black destroys Ricochet, mid air, in what may end up being the spot of the night, by accident. Jey superkicks a distraught Black out of the ring and Jimmy pins an unconscious Ricochet to retain. Black and Ricochet have laid the foundation for an amazing feud built directly into Backlash. Everyone is happy.

AJ Styles vs Randy Orton: This one feels pretty easy to me and it obviously has the potential to either be an amazing match or a snooze fest of restholds. Ideally, I’d love to see some real action that ends abruptly with an RKO outta nowhere in an insane spot. Then Orton proceeds to destroy Styles further, picks up the mic, and launches into a tirade about how he is declaring war on all the “indie darlings” invading his house. Much like the legend killer bit he did early in his career, this could make him interesting for the foreseeable future.

Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre: Seems obvious that the guy who beat cancer gets to have a Wrestlemania moment right? Wrong. McIntyre winning is the only play here as far as I can see, particularly if the plan is to make Seth Rollins the champion later that night. Now, I’m not sure thats going to happen but let’s just assume it for now. These two guys should be able to put on a decent match with some pretty viscous hard hitting stuff. Roman hasn’t wrestled much since his return and is likely a bit rusty, even for him. This gives an opportunity for Drew to really shine here and just wear down Reigns and brutalize him while thwarting every effort to Oooaahh Up or throw ridiculous flying punches. McIntyre should be booked very strong here and should be the unquestionable winner. We won’t kid ourselves and assume Reigns isn’t going to get into this title picture sooner than later but this plants potential seeds for a big match later in the year where Roman will get his nauseating revenge.

Miz vs Shane O. Falls Count Anywhere: All signs point to Miz here. Nobody really wants to have this borderline terrible feud continue but bear with me. Shane and Miz almost never need to be in the ring for this. Have it get to outside or backstage where Shane can get his assistance in the form of Sanity. Miz, like this last week on Smackdown, manages to fight off Young, Wolfe, and Dain temporarily and as he gives chase to a shocked Shane, he meets the newest member of Sanity, Luke Harper. Harper proceeds to destroy the Miz with various objects and slamming him into everything available and then the foursome drags Miz back to the ring where they clear the Turkish announce table and hold Miz so Shane can hit the elbow from the ring and finish the job. Shane has his “corporate thug” faction, Sanity has a spot on the card, and the Miz remains our underdog babyface hero for now.

HugBoss vs The IIconics vs GlamaKitty vs Samoan SuckFest for the Women’s Tag Titles: It feels unlikely that Bayley and Banks lose here but let’s try for the hell of it. Much as I think it’s admirable that Beth Phoenix can still keep up and looks to be in great shape, I can’t see the point in her and Nattie winning the titles either. Nobody may be meaner than Taminer, but absolutely nobody wants her to be a tag champion either. This leaves us with the obvious choice and the only true tag team here. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. The IIconics won’t lend a ton of credibility to the tag titles but have HugBoss really done that? At least if the IIconics have the titles, coming out and talking about it while avoiding defending them makes perfect sense as they are complete chicken shit heels. The best way for this match to go is to have Beth and Nia most definitely in the ring together which culminates in Phoenix having an incredible show of power over the Irresistable Force. This creates a melee outside the ring with Nattie and Taminer too, opening a window for a blind tag or some kind of confusion to give the IIconics a chance to steal a cheap roll up win from Banks or Bayley. Every time I do one of these, I’m certain I talk about Bayley and Sasha breaking up and feuding and this will not be the exception to that rule. Losing the tag titles is yet another perfect opportunity to plant seeds for Banks to go full bitch heel as she is meant to be and they can feud until what will be a fan dream matchup at SummerSlam. Meanwhile, the tag titles are.....ICONIC!

Bobby Lashley vs The Demon King for the IC championship: SSSSQQQQUUUUAAAAAASSSSSSHHHHHH! There is no other way to book this. We’ve seen it a dozen times already. Balor wins in less than 60 seconds and afterwards they both sign a contract stating that they promise to never fight ever again.

Samoa Joe vs Rey Mysterio for the US Title: Let’s assume Rey is actually too hurt to compete. It’s a shame but it plays to my advantage. Joe comes out and cuts a vicious promo about his path of destruction and how the title has never meant more to any champion. He is cut off by R-Truth’s music. Truth comes out and says he wants his title back so he can give the United States all the dance breaks they desire. As he is face to face with Joe, Cena’s music hits and he hits the ring. Truth’s facial expression will be worth the price of admission here. A triple threat for the title it is. Truth and Cena end up doing a couple of team spots with Cena’s moves of doom on Joe but he eventually finds an opening (perhaps a dance break) where he can knock Big Match John out of the ring and lock in the Coquina Clutch for the win. Joe retains but we get our overdue laugh out loud moment with Cena and Truth.

Kirk Angel vs Banker Corbin: Since I already blew the wad on Cena for the US title fun, I have a better idea here. Angle comes out first to a huge ovation and is overcome with emotion as he talks briefly to the live crowd about how honored he’s been on this retirement road by his opponents and such. Corbin’s music hits. He yaps for a few seconds disrespecting as many people as possible and then he is attacked from behind by Gable, Apollo, Mysterio, and potentially a couple others. They drag him to the ring and beat him down, hitting respective finishers before feeding him to Angle, who hits one more Angle Slam and taps out Baron for his finale in a WWE ring. Corbin gets to cry going forward that it was unfair and keeps his heat, we don’t have to watch the sadness that is Kurt in the ring still, and Angle gets to win and stand tall and proud like the legend he is on the biggest stage.

Triple H vs Batista. No Holds Barred: By the end of this we are going to wish rest holds were barred. The build up was always going to be better than the execution. Dave freakin Batista is not going to be the guy who closes the door on Triple H’s career. Let’s be honest with ourselves. This is just a way for HHH to say there was nobody he didn’t beat. I really don’t know how you can possibly make this terribly interesting unless somehow Flair gets involved and helps Trips win. Obviously WWE nor I want a 70 year old guy out there doing too much but the dirtiest player in the game doesn’t need a large window to make an impact. Eye poke, dick shot. Whatever it takes. Wooooooooooo!

Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston for the WWE Title: Yeah. KofiMania. Blah blah blah. It is arguably necessary after all this build to give Kofi the title. I have made it clear I don’t think he’s a feasible long term champion. So, in the interest of going against the grain as I do, here we go. Before the match, Kofi expressly tells Woods and E that he wants to do this on his own. Kofi and Bryan put on a hell of a contest. Tons of back and forth stuff with neat falls and all. Kofi fights off the occasional interference from Recyclable Rowan as well. Eventually the outside stuff begins to mount and the New Day comes down to even the odds. While the ref is distracted by Rowan, Bryan hits the Ric Flair Memorial move on Kofi and sets up in the corner to finish him with the knee. E and Woods get up on the apron, Rowan comes over to them, and the ref takes a bump while they fight with Rowan. Meanwhile Bryan attempts to end it but Kofi springs up and hits Trouble in Paradise out of nowhere and covers the champ. The ref is out while the crowd counts to 3. Kofi gets up and comes over to the corner to get an explanation as to why his tag partners are even out there, he turns around to meet the Vegan Knee of Doom. 1-2-3. Bryan continues his reign of Green Tyranny, the seeds are planted for a long overdue New Day spilt, and Kofi can become a much more interesting character on the road to SummerSlam where he will get his rematch with Bryan and finally win.

Brrrrroooocckkk Lesnar vs Seth Rollins for the Universal Title: In the interest of keeping the title picture clear of Roman for the time being, let’s have ol Seth burn Suplex City to the ground. The problem lies with Vince’s very probable need to make Lesnar look strong for an eventual return. For that to happen Rollins probably won’t be able to win clean. Insert Reigns and Ambrose helping in various ways for Seth to climb the mountain and win the strap. Also provides those people who have a fan boner for the Shield to go full Farmer Fran from The Waterboy one last time before Dean leaves the company. Rollins must win the title for the Drew McIntyre push to make any sense and this keeps Roman a reasonable distance from the Universal Title until at least later this year.

The Queen vs The Man vs the Mayor of Armbar City to inexplicably unify the Women’s titles: This ends the show. Wrestlemania always ends with a hero getting an absurd amount of confetti dropped on them. This narrative screams Becky Lynch. Let’s assume the rumors about Ronda Rousey leaving are just that. This is an absolutely perfect opportunity to start the Four Horsewomen feud. The classic action packed contest we are all expecting will happen. Lots of back and forth between the three. Near falls and submission escapes a plenty. As things slow down a bit, Charlotte takes a nasty cheap shot from Ronda and is down on the outside, Rousey then appears to be in serious trouble with Lynch taking her to ArmBar Village, and we get a visit from an angry ex champion, Shayna Bayzler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir. The ref is tending to Flair, who appears hurt, while Bayzler and Co decimate The Man, allowing Rousey to slap on the arm bar. Becky resists more than anyone else ever has to the devastation of ArmBar City and passes out from the pain. Rousey pins her for the 1-2-3 and her new heel faction continues to destroy Charlotte to send a message. Ronda’s heel turn feels more natural now. She has a brutal faction of likeminded bad bitches. And we don’t get another year of Becky/Charlotte mortal enemies. They now have a common enemy.

Will any of this happen? Probably not. Certainly not most of it. But it’s fun to dream right? Enjoy a big weekend for us fans, everybody! Top Guy...OUT.

[roxannepolice]

Long asks anon again, here to offer my opinion on the current wank. Rey as a character is rather blatantly breaking sw story rules and nothing is going to get SFF fans hackles up like rule breakage. This is root of both the MarySue accusations and current wank. Rey has a tragic backstory thats doubling as the only failure she can call her own. But its a) damn near entirely offscreen and b) serves as convenient justification for why shes competent at near everything that comes up.

Reys instantly good at the force because of a convenient force download that to the best of my knowledge only occured in the noncanon KOTOR II and quite frankly cant blame most of the general audience for not getting because without prior knowledge or the novelizations why would they? She has darkness in her but as so far used and touched it consequence free and its almost entirely symbolically externalized on the Kylo (and in SW symbolism is Real in a way it isnt in other narratives) Shes strong in the force because Light rises to meet Dark but to quote the current crop of movies ‘thats not how the force works) or at least thats never how it worked before. Shes the first SW protagonist to go behind enemy lines and come out with both hands in the second movie. For ppl wondering how come Luke and Ani never get labeled MarySues, this is why, they got thier asses handed to them, Rey hasnt. There /is/ something /off/ in Reys story, and ppl pick up on it. if you can make a post (w/ over 1k notes!) about how great it is that a character meant to prop up 7hrs worth of movies has little to no character development to go through, somethings off. If multiple ppl can make posts about how its neat Rey can tap into the darkside (still characterized as evil in ST) consequence free (with some quite frankly stupid justifications, 'shes disciplined’ really? jedi lacked a lot of things thats not one of them) somethings off and again, if the only failure your main heroine has is /entirely retroactive something’s off/. If the story were getting with the is the story most ppl think we are, a 'female empowerment’ (i dont feel particularly empowered by being told I have an equal chance at being a deus ex machina but ok) than well, her story is over and theres no need for IX (hell it could have been over in TFA, most ppl assumed she had accepted her place as the future jedi in that one) and no need for reylo The ST was always gonna deconstruct all that came before it purely by virtue of being a sequel. The tragedy of anakin skywalker is now a farce, the happy ot ending now a tragedy, and the mythopoetic structure shot to shit in the name of serialization and perpetual warfare. this stand true for all the sequel characters including rey and ben. the only question is are we going to get anything out of it? I compare it to home renovation. You can knock out a wall and the walls gone, but new opportunities arise. With Benlo, I’m reasonably confident that there will be at least some attempt to take advantage of the new space. With rey and the resistance kids? not so much. it just feels like they knocked down a blue wall to rebuild it as pink one and at the point it just feels like a waste of time because ive seen this before. Ive seen pure cinnamon roll desert orphan reform jedi order If this was all youre going to do that the fuck was the point? which circles around to my problem with team good guy this go around and That Scene. JJ twisted the story into a pretzel to justify the winners of the last round being the underdogs again and then rian twisted so much further the storys head may as well be up its own ass. And then at the very end he shoots it all to shit and rushes to reassure us its all gonna be okay. He removes the entire point of the underdog trope /the tension that comes from the fact that they might lose/. I mean there wasnt a whole lot of that to begin with already but really? So theres no tension that Reys gonna win so her journey feels frictionless, and theres no question where shes gonna end up so full offense why give a shit? Thats where the whole 'can rey lose a fight?’ thing comes from. Ppl want conflict in her arc to justify its existence and give us a reason why this her story to begin with. if the only character going through growth for all three movies is ben, if the only characters whos fate is up in the air is ben, and if all the tension in the reylo relationship comes from ben, then why is this /reys story/? why not just make it about the character actually driving all the drama and thus, the story?   As a final thought, im going to add that having Kylo be aware and insecure that hes never gonna be as Iconic as Vader was a great story choice, regardless of where ends up. Current Rebels, on the other hand, seems to have not gotten the memo that they are never gonna be as iconic as Original Rebels, and the story itself seems to being trying to sell them to me as being better. Rey is Luke but better, Poe/Finn are Han wo the smuggler grit, and id be lying if i said it didnt piss me off.

&

Long asks anon to kick down ur door again, AND ANOTHER THING. SW is a lotta things. Subtle aint one of them, and St hasnt changed in that regard. If you have to debate it chances are either a) ur arguing counter to the text in which case mor power to you but not really helpful for predictions or intended meaning or b) /it aint there. A bunch of ppl didnt like anidala, but nobody doubted we were supposed to think they were in love by the end of AOTC, bunch of ppl didnt like poes arc, but no one doubts he fucked up by not listening to holdo was the intended take away. Which brings to rey and flaws or lack there of. Were told rey has flaws but she has yet to suffer any real consequences from them with the exception of The Damn Parentage Wank, which again, pulls the double duty of making her hyper competent at everything. Because rey has no consequences for her flaws, from a story function pov there aren’t any. If rey did have a flaw to overcome, we would all agree what it was

Now won’t you all just look at this beautiful, spot on rant which has been lagging in my askbox since the last time Rey’s flaws or lack thereof were the discourse’s focus (November, I believe?) and suddenly became a thing again, courtesy of Tweetgate. I think you really summed up the crux of this debate wonderfully, anon.

I particularly agree with the part about Rey not getting narratively punished for whatever flaws we’d like her to have (great point about returning from behind the enemy lines with both arms still in place), when SW don’t stay away from allowing characters to get “punished” even for otherwise applaudable features - vide Padmé, whose idealism is what Palps manipulates into gaining more power (this is why Padmé will never come off as a Mary Sue or too perfect, btw). But I’ll say even more - Rey doesn’t even get called out on her flaws, except for by Ben, who’s mostly dismissed as a baddie like Palpatine saying Luke was foolish to rely on his friends. Let’s just consider one thing - both Anakin and Luke get called out on their flaws by Yoda (Anakin repeatedly and by lots of other people for that matter) whereas with Rey, the same grumpy-yet-jolly senex pops up from the afterlife to further inform us what a great jedi material she is.

TBH, I have a very cynical theory as to why Rey is being pushed as the main character while it’s difficult to deny that it’s Kylo Ben who does all the plot heavy lifting. I’m pretty sure Ben’s arc was the first one DLF thought out (and the big question is, was it the only one they thought out) and only later on decided to make Rey the main character, which also involved much less spontaneous writing. Mind you, it’s not as if benepemption didn’t have a manufactured subtaste to it, but with Rey’s heroine’s journey stiff structure occasionally substitutes any in-world explanations of her actions (this is why I have to hope renperor has some narrative purpose rather than happening because lovers need to be separated and anti-hero needs to achieve what he wanted in 2nd act). I feel as if whatever potential her character had (and hopefully still has, pending IX) got smothered by layer upon layer of making her likable by everyone, which largely relied on negative characterization: she’s not helpless, she’s not too naive, not cynical, not too emotional, not too emotionless, not morally corruptible, not anything you’ve ever complained about regarding any SW character, not falling for the bad boy, not not not - and in the end it’s kinda difficult to say what Rey is like and while the goal of making her widely likable was achieved, it also made it almost impossible to view her as loveably flawed/annoying like the classic characters. And on top of all this is the matter of making her a nobody just like you!, as DLF appears to say with uncle Sam’s gesture (which also kinda assumes the existence of a Star Wars fan as some uniform entity? because if you identify with her, good for you, I just don’t understand why the franchise assumes I’ll identify with her by the grace of being a SW fan alone), because, as you excellently put it, the message here is that everyone can be chosen by God - which again, it’s not as if the saga ever contradicted this, so why the hell make a case of it? I can’t agree that it’s made into Rey’s flaw, though, imo her low birth only serves to further frame her as an oppressed virtue. And I definitely agree regarding too much of her growth being left off-screen, or before the story ever begins. The problem here isn’t even that it is left off-screen (it’s not as if we had huge insight into any of the pt or ot characters) but rather that her characterizations is left off-screen while being depicted as at least untypical (unique to put it bluntly) for her situation (same goes for Finn). A hopeful, kind person growing up on her on her own in slavery under a nicer name is a rarity and DLF makes a case for it being a rarity - and this sparks up curiosity in her past, as if market pandering to Re/sky wasn’t enough. So from this pov her un-reveal being frustrating isn’t just a case of not wanting to love her or her self only a potentially deeper psychological question getting answered with well, light.

I should add, Ben’s arc feels like the most spontaneous one (though Finn’s may yet be a masterpiece) and he’s the one to admit his fear of not living up to Vader’s legacy, because I think he’s the character serving as the creators’ vessel, more or less like Luke was Lucas’ avatar in ot. In his fear regarding Vader’s legacy one can feel Disney’s fear due to having bought popculture’s holy grail and not being entirely sure what to do with it. On this background, Rey (a literal scavenger of OT’s pieces) and rebels 2.0 repeatedly blessed by Leia come off as what DLF would want to be. And the result is that the character which was supposed to be Vader 2.0 proves the most original and surprising one, whereas “breaths of fresh air” come off as room aromatizers with “fresh” written on them.

And as far as the plot being bended into a pretzel and then disappearing up it’s own ass, well, a part of me is still hoping that taking virtually the same villains as before is a mythological-psychoanalitical metaphor of a nigredo repeating itself until the unconscious gets accepted by the conscious…. but, tbh, as the leaks flow this hope is withering.