#but dang this is the first time i actually analyzed DEEP into a character

[heal2ninjagogirl]

So I saw this one post about morro theorizing that he most likely died from starvation (well technically its not really a theory cause how else would he have died from when he was literally stuck in a cave with absolutely nothing to help him survive????) and I just want to say to that post WOAAAH because to me that is really dark cause in a sense, he was always hungry for something as in physically and metaphorically. Physically as in before Wu took him in we literally see morro having to resort to eating scraps from garbage in order to feed his hungerness and he doesn't even escape from it in the end as that causes his inevitable death as a human.

Metaphorically as in how much he desired and craved to be the green ninja so bad even when he's a ghost that hunger to be the green ninja before still plagues him and never leaves him which once again, causes his second(?? Idk what to call it...) death as a ghost.

Or maybe I'm just looking too deep into this let me calm myself down and remind myself this is a kids show....

(Btw kindaasrikal made the post I was talking about credit to them :33)

[kindestegg]

Deltarune: On tea, relationships, and why people probably need to stop exaggerating

Alright, so ever since the introduction of the “character flavored” teas in chapter 2, there has been a lot of discussion about them. If you haven’t heard of it yet, in Deltarune Chapter 2, there’s an item that’s a tea that you can buy from an NPC and choose the flavor of, giving you a flavor that is named after a party member. So, Kris tea, Noelle Tea, Susie Tea, and Ralsei Tea.

The fun thing about this item is that it can more or less be used to “track” the relationships between the characters, so to speak. For example, if Noelle has the Susie tea, even if she’s not supposed to drink it due to normally leaving the party, she’ll still have a reaction to it, wondering if they would sell this in gallons and recovering an absurd amount of HP, 400 to be precise.

(this is long as hell, so please continue reading under the cut)

These teas are also actually a reference to a book series Toby is a fan of, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, which does have a chapter about students having ice cream flavored after their classmates. This is most evident when the characters drink their own tea, which tastes like nothing to them and recovers the least amount of HP: 10. In the books, the students also could not perceive the taste of their own flavor of ice cream.

So, the fandom gets ahold of this information and starts testing out the teas and how characters react to them, right? The thing is, I’ve seen people kind of exaggerate the importance of these items and even the meanings of them, and while I think everyone’s entitled to harmless headcanons speculating on the relationship of characters, the problem is people are using these teas as immutable proof and part of their theories.

One of such exaggerations comes mostly in the form of the infamous Ralsei Tea, as to which Kris apparently does not show much reaction, though curiously Ralsei is still happy to see Kris drinking it, and it only recovers 60 HP. For reference, the teas usually cap at a good 120 HP, which is when a character loves the flavor, Noelle being the outlier because she really is just that in love with Susie. For the most part the Fun Gang has pretty positive reactions to each other’s flavor of teas, recovering 120 HP… with the exception of Kris’ reaction towards Ralsei tea.

And the problem starts now: Due to this, people started using this little tidbit in their theories, claiming this was proof that Kris actually dislikes or even hates Ralsei, that we should be ashamed of ourselves for making Kris hug Ralsei, that it is torture for them that we choose nice dialogue options towards Ralsei, some going as far as to claim this is somehow tied to the infamous “Ralsei is secretly evil” theories.

But does this speculation hold any actual weight when analyzed more deeply?

… No. I’m sorry, it just does not, I’m not going to entertain this. In this post, I’m going to deconstruct how the teas really work, and exactly why claiming that this is good enough proof that Kris would dislike Ralsei is an exaggeration at best and downright false at worse.

To truly make a precise conclusion, we must first look at the full picture. We know that 10 HP means “tastes like nothing”, and we know that 120 HP means “tastes amazing”, but are there any other reactions that aren’t either 10 or 120, aside from the 60 HP we already know from Ralsei tea?

Pictured: Noelle reacting to Kris tea.

Pictured: Kris reacting to Noelle tea.

Pictured: Ralsei reacting to Noelle tea.

Pictured: Noelle reacting to Ralsei tea.

I think what people forget here is that you don’t have to really adore someone or outright hate them. Sometimes you’re more neutral on people. And I think that’s what happens here. As you can see here, Ralsei recovers 10 less HP for Noelle than Kris does for him, and still calls her flavor “soft and sweet”. Meanwhile, Noelle claims his tea has “nothing in it”, even though she still recovers 50 hp.

Does this somehow mean Ralsei hates Noelle, or she hates him, for that matter? … No, that wouldn’t make sense, they just met, they know nothing about each other. We do learn here one important thing though, flavor is not tied to HP recovery, as in, the flavor of each character’s tea will taste different to a different person based on what they perceive of them.

As a comparative example, while Kris tea tastes like apple juice to Susie due to her always smelling the apple shampoo they use, Kris tea tastes like blueberries, which is a reference to Kris’ appearance in the Dark World. So while Ralsei tea tastes like nothing to Noelle as she can’t perceive him well enough yet, it still heals 50 HP due to it not being her own tea, and Ralsei heals for the same amount, but he seems to perceive others based on appearance and wants to find something good to say, so he ends up tasting it as something “soft and sweet” because that’s what Noelle appears like.

We can also gain a new “base” HP recovery that is accounted for when characters drink tea that is not their own: 50 HP. And we know 50 HP means “I was literally just made aware of your existence and can’t comment much on you yet”. Now, if you look at Kris and Noelle, they recover 70 HP from each other’s tea. In Noelle’s words, they have been neighbors their entire lives, yet they still find it hard to call each other friends, necessarily. Although you can choose the prompt “we’re friends”, the reasoning still stands: Kris and Noelle just don’t have that much to say about each other. If you remember, when you visit Rudy at the hospital in chapter 1, then Noelle afterwards, they’ll comment on how Kris usually isn’t as involved or interested in their neighbor’s business, suggesting they really don’t hang out as much as you’d think.

So, 50 HP, 70 HP. Where does that leave us for Ralsei’s 60 HP? Does it actually reveal evidence of hatred or at least dislike?

… The answer, if you’ve been paying any attention, is no, of course not. If 50 HP means “literally just learned the other exists” while 70 HP means “not exactly great friends but have known each other for a long time and shared memories”, then that puts Ralsei at a pretty advantageous spot all things considered. Even with him acting somewhat suspicious, even with him being a creature from an entirely new magical world Kris was made aware of literally a day ago, even with Ralsei’s clingy behavior, Kris considers him more than just some random person they just met, and almost a good acquaintance to the level of Noelle.

And sure, you could still bring up comparisons to the higher HP recoveries, like Susie recovering 120 HP from everyone despite also not really being exactly friends with any of these people for too long, and for that I will say…

That girl will eat anything and considering they are all flavors she enjoys she’ll obviously down it in a second, and

Susie is just… a more open person. Once you get her guard down and let her know you truly want to be her friend and think she is cool, she’ll immediately consider you a friend and part of her team. (It’s also kind of sad in a way because it shows she may be desperate for the feeling of belonging but let’s not get into that right now).

Kris, however, is a much more reserved person. Once again I must remind you how everyone in Hometown comments about Kris not usually being very outgoing or talkative. Hell, even when they drink Noelle tea, no one can tell whether they like it or not. Susie may be an exception to this rule, simply because they do have a lot in common, particularly to the fact she was also always an awkward quiet person that their classmates could never place and would often get in trouble. Even if she was mean to them and a downright bully in chapter 1, teens can still have some pretty weird appreciations, and you can tell they must have been wanting to befriend her from the start. It simply just is a better relationship to them. Otherwise, people they haven’t invested in knowing well will probably not cause the same reaction.

Bottom line is… why are we having this debate again? In the end, it feels rather silly. Yes, Kris doesn’t recover 120 HP from Ralsei tea. Big deal? That doesn’t mean they hate or even dislike him, that there’s a deep turmoil and conflict going on between the two already. Ralsei is just a new friend they are still getting used to, that’s it. Can’t blame the kid for having boundaries.

For further proof, if you learn more about the content that is being referenced here, you’ll learn that in the same chapter of the book, there is actually a way for one’s flavor to taste “horrible” due to a person being perceived that way, but at no point in these reactions it’s suggested anyone’s flavor tastes bad, that any of them are disgusted, so I doubt any of these reactions can be seen as dislike.

Dang… this got a little long… but I just felt like I had to make this post because, reiterating, I find myself a little irritated at the fact people will use the tea’s reactions as part of their theories, claiming it as actual proof, when it is far from proving anything.

And before someone brings it up, yes, Kris has been shown to prefer Susie over Ralsei, do I have to point out the flaw in that logic? Preferring someone doesn’t mean you outright dislike the other person.

Moral of the story is: Don’t take conclusions for your theories without good backing in canon, feel free to make your headcanons but don’t state it as proof, byeee.

[watchathon]

Halloween Special: Coraline

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I watch something and make a blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so.

Today, I’m celebrating Halloween with my favorite spooky movie: Coraline! 

I realize that it’s not actually a Halloween movie, and I’m hoping to do actually Halloween-themed movies in the future, but when I had the idea to do a Halloween special post, this was the movie that first came to mind.

It’s scary, funny, gorgeously animated, but I’m sure I’ll be getting more into that during the post proper. With that said, here are my thoughts on Coraline:

- Even the studio logos and opening credits for this movie have an unsettling vibe, with both the visuals and the background music.

- And that’s before we’ve even gotten into the scene of the doll being transformed slowly into a doll of Coraline by mysterious stick limbs.

- I know that when I move, I’d love to be greeted by the sight of a man doing yoga on the rooftop.

- Nice introduction to Coraline when we see her pull a stick off of a bush and use it like a dowsing rod. Really sets up her character as a kid who’s not averse to the weird. The kind of kid who might, say, make several trips through a mystical hole in her room that brings her to button-eyed “better” versions of her parents and neighbors.

- And here we see Wyborne “Wybie” Lovat, Coraline’s closest-thing-to-a-friend in her new town. He’s more logically-minded, able to tell that Coraline’s dowsing rod is poison oak, and even analyzing Coraline’s name (after he’s corrected that it’s not Caroline.)

- I like the transition from Coraline holding her ear to the well, to her washing her hands in the kitchen sink.

- And here we see that the Coraline doll from the beginning of the movie made its way to the trunk of Wybie’s grandma. Which is scary, as well as bizarre from Coraline’s perspective. You move into a new house, and it turns out your landlady (who doesn’t normally allow kids) owned a doll that looks suspiciously similar to you, including your outfit.

- I like the music during this scene of Coraline exploring her new house. It’s so serene and calm.

- Coraline just killed the bugs in the shower with her bare hands... Not much I can really say about that except: “Gross...”

- I know all too well the feeling Coraline’s dad has when his writing is erased. I said this is a scary movie, here’s the scariest dang thing. *shivers*

- The entrance into the Other World is the perfect blend of creepy, and beckoning, with the music and cool colors.

- As well as the first appearance of the Other Mother. There’s the buttons for eyes, and the very fact that she’s an identical copy of Coraline’s real mom in everything but the eyes, making her scary on simply the conceptual level. 

But she’s so much nicer to Coraline than her real-world counterpart, not to mention that she cooks much nicer-looking meals than Coraline’s dad, and resides in a nicer version of Coraline’s house.

- And then there’s the Other Father, introducing himself to Coraline with a nice peppy song about her. The lyrics are filled with foreshadowing, but it’s not like Coraline was going to dig that deep into it. Why would she? The Other World is giving her the family life she wishes she could have in the real world.

- I’d say that Coraline shouldn’t accept food from strangers, but I mean, it’s her parents. But not really her parents, it’s her Other Parents. But they seem to know her like they are her parents. But they don’t actually know her, because they’re not her parents. But they are alternate versions of her parents. But... Oh dear, I’ve gone cross-eyed...

- And the Other World is even complete with a way for her to talk to her old friends from Michigan! Granted, they’re not actually her friends, but they are exact copies of... Nope! Not jumping down that rabbit hole again.

- Coraline gets confirmation that the Other World was real when she wakes up to find that her poison oak has completely disappeared, without a trace. I remember when I first watched this movie, I was afraid it would turn out to be all just a dream, but this confirms right off the bat that the Other World isn’t just in Coraline’s head.

- I like that we’re getting introductions to Coraline’s neighbors, starting with the Amazing Bobinsky, who’s working on a mouse circus. And also misunderstands Coraline’s name to be Caroline.

- And Coraline gets her first warning about the dark secrets of the Other World from said mouse circus. Plus, as a bonus, the mice get her name right on the first try without needing to be corrected.

- Next up is Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, the former also getting Coraline’s name wrong.

- You’ve heard of crazy cat ladies, now get ready for crazy dog ladies who stuff all their dogs when they die!

- Second warning about the danger of the Other World, from Miss Spink reading Coraline’s tea leaves.

- One thing I never really noticed before: The cat’s already showing a personality of his own right now, even when he’s just Wybie’s cat friend who’s not technically owned by Wybie.

- Seems Coraline’s starting to grow fond of Wybie, thinking of him as a friend instead of the annoying kid who lives somewhere near her house.

- Looks like Other Mother is really trying to push the idea that the Other World is better than the real world, what with how she insists that the Other Father is the Better Father.

- The garden arranged into a picture of Coraline is so beautiful. And so impressive when you remember that this is a stop-motion movie, and that portrait had to be actually built for its few seconds of screen time.

- Another thing that the Other Mother offers to Coraline as a benefit of the Other World: A version of Wybie that’ll listen to her, that won’t change the subject to slugs or whatever.

- Plus a version of Bobinsky that not only gets Coraline’s name right, but trains his mouse circus to spell it out. It’s like the Other World is “fixing” all the things that bugged Coraline about her life in the real world.

- And all that temptation looks like it’s working. When Coraline’s mom buys her the same grey uniforms the rest of her school will be wearing, Coraline only responds that the other mother would buy her a better uniform.

- Looks like the cat’s kind of suspicious of the Other World when he sees Coraline crawling inside.

- And the cat’s the only living thing from the real world other than Coraline to come into the Other World. Or, well, the only still-living thing...

- The third warning about the dangers of the Other World comes from the cat, also the first warning given directly to her instead of secondhand or via tea leaves.

- This movie can be creepy in a lot of ways even before Coraline’s life is in danger. For example, one of tne of the “good” things in the Other World is Other Miss Spink and Other Miss Forcible’s skin peeling away to reveal that underneath they’re actually young beautiful women.

- Not everything in the Other World is just the Other Mother’s puppet. She created Other Wybie, but he’s still clearly concerned for Coraline, and needs to be implicitly ordered to keep up the cheery facade.

- And here’s the big wham scene where it starts to get real spooky: The Other Parents saying that they’ll need to sew buttons into Coraline’s eyes if Coraline wants to stay in their world and keep all the things she likes better about it. Luckily, Coraline’s smart enough to refuse and immediately decide she never wants to return.

- The Other Mother might not have total control over everything in the Other World, but she clearly wants to make it so she does. Denying Other Father the ability to speak, and as we’ll see later she’s sewn Other Wybie’s face into a permanent smile that he can’t ever move.

- “Mothers don’t eat... daughters.” “I don’t know. How do you taste?” The cat might not be on the Other Mother’s side, but he can be creepy, even if it seems like he’s just messing with Coraline.

-  - I like that the cat’s here to serve as a companion from the real world to Coraline, consistently on her side even after the Other World shows its true colors. In this case, he kills a circus mouse that was sounding an alarm. Meanwhile that idea didn’t even occur to Coraline, who probably figured it was just circus practice.

- “Good kitty.” You’re darn right!

- Oh, dang, I thought that the Other Mother’s monster transformation came later than this.

- I heard somewhere that in the book, the Other Mother just looks like this monstrous form off the bat. I have to wonder, then, why Coraline was so trusting of her. Maybe it was just a really good dinner she cooked?

- Here we see that Coraline isn’t the first little kid that the Other Mother lured to her world so she could take their eyes and keep there forever. Their ghosts still reside in the Other World, unable to rest in peace or even remember their own names, but able to give Coraline her final warning so she doesn’t share their fates.

- It’s so creepy to see Other Wybie’s face with his mouth sewn into a permanent smile. But even with that, and with his eyes being only buttons, it’s easy to see that he’s desperate to save Coraline from this world.

- Other Wybie even sacrifices his life for Coraline.

- As I said before, Wybie is more logically minded than Coraline. So, really, it only makes sense that he’d hear Coraline talk about the Other World and arrive to the conclusion that she’s crazy.

- It always brings tears to my eyes, seeing Coraline sleeping in bed with pretend versions of her parents made from the pillows and sheets.

- At least the cat’s still there for Coraline.

- The charming colors of the tunnel to the Other World have even turned to a dull grey. It’s like a visual representation of how the Other Mother has given up on luring Coraline into staying, and has moved onto the idea of forcing her to stay, even eating the only key that allows travel between worlds.

- You can tell how much Coraline doesn’t want to say that she’ll let the Other Mother sew buttons in her eyes if she loses. But she has no choice; the Other Mother wouldn’t agree to the game unless there was something she could win.

- It’s both creepy and sad to see the Other Father, forced into attacking Coraline and keeping the eye from her.

- It’s cool how Coraline used Other Spink and Forcible’s bat-dogs against them. Also unsettling like everything in this part of the movie, but really cool and clever.

- Other Father and Other Spink/Forcible were transformed into corrupted versions of themselves. Other Bobinsky? Erased and replaced with a horde of rats that had his voice come out of them.

- Again, good kitty. Even when Coraline thinks she’s lost the game, the cat’s there to lend a hand.

- Coraline even thinks of the cat as a friend!

- But the cat’s not Coraline’s only ally. The ghost of one of the other children advises Coraline to be clever, all too aware that the Other Mother wouldn’t keep her word.

- You’ve heard of throwing your SO, now get ready for throwing your stray cat friend who became one of your only allies in the Other World where your parents are trapped as well as the ghosts of children who came before you! *gasps for breath*

- The Other Mother’s now given up on any pretense of being Coraline’s mother, having gone full monster. But given how she still has that hairdo? I’ve got to imagine that she’s still not quite displaying her true form.

- It’s so sweet to see Coraline interacting with the cat. Even outside of the Other World they’re still friends.

- I understand why people are upset why they changed the climax from Coraline’s clever gambit to a battle with the Other Mother’s hand (and Wybie helping), but I think this works well for a movie adaptation. I haven’t read the book, so I could be wrong, but just from seeing the movie, I think this climax is good.

- I love this ending with Coraline and her neighbors having a garden party, Bobinsky even helping plant some berries. It’s so cathartic after all the trouble Coraline’s been through.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

To reiterate: This is my absolute favorite spooky movie! And my first pick when it comes to movies fit for the season.

The first Laika movie I watched was Kubo and The Two Strings, in theaters. Then I went back and watched Paranorman to celebrate Halloween. Then I watched Missing Link when that came out in theaters.

Coraline came last out of all the Laika movies I’ve seen, but it may well be my favorite, with its lovable characters, amazing music, and gorgeous animation.

It has just the right amount of scare for me, as someone who’s not generally fond of horror. And as a PG movie, it leans more towards scary and unsettling aesthetic than jumpscares or blood/gore, another thing that makes this just right for me.

This is the perfect kinda movie for the season, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a spooky movie to watch tonight, on future Halloweens, or just whenever you’re in the mood for something creepy.

[universalpeonies]

Pillar Men Zodiacs

So I was driving around and I had a thought... the pillar men don’t have clear cut birthdays but have clear personalities, and the fan community has plenty of room to work with in developing their characters further. As one of my weird hobbies and latest interest in JJBA, its time to look at horoscopes!

So after leafing through my books, friends, and websites, I’ve got a few guesses as to who may be who in regards to zodiac signs:

!!!!MINOR SPOILER WARNING FOR JJBA PART 2!!!!!!

Wamuu:

Wamuu is most likely a Taurus: He is not a violent creature by nature, although it is stated and shown Wamuu does enjoy a good honorable fight any time of day he has standards (and the fact he’s technically a vampire so he is a violent creature in that sense). He is not a mindless killer, always thinking his way through battles and planning out the next moves, this can also be assumed that he analyzes everything rationally and quickly in high-pressure situations. Showing level-headedness as a staple of his character.

Emotions are not a personal weakness for him if anything it is his code of honor that dictates his actions. As such, he is reliable in his actions and will only do as much effort as necessary to carry it out. For him, there is no need for embellishment or grand spectacles. At the same time, this same code creates a sense of absolute loyalty to both Kars and Esidisi. He has shown to be largely obedient and even offers to punish himself after minoring transgressing either of the other two. The refusal to break his own code of honor shows stubbornness and consistency in addition to his aforementioned level-headedness.

I would argue that Wamuu is the ‘kindest’ of the pillar men due to his code. Again, killing is not something he enjoys as victory is what matters to him most and his pride is largely based on the victories he’s gained through abiding by the said code of honor. This is because to him, victories do not always have to result in death, and those he knows he could easily defeat are spared without a second thought. His practicality comes into play here as well in the sense of ‘Only take what you need to get the job done’, this is most apparent to me when he battles Joseph for the first time.

Santana:

Santana is most likely a Gemini: We didn't get to see much of this boi during the anime or much in the manga, on top of that he doesn't really talk that much. All we can discern from background commentary is that he is a man of few words, has the ability to analyze like his adopted brother, but has a very different approach to battle. Kars compares Santana to a dog when talking about his own fighting power, so it's fair to assume that perhaps Santana did not develop himself as much as he could in fighting and have and spent his time honing other skills. 

Perhaps his analytical skills specialized in observation. Living for thousands of years and seeing the world with three people who are focused on a single goal is a good environment to create a deviant personality within the group. Maybe while his family was off looking for the red stone, he decided to/ended up staying behind. In doing so he watched the world around him and had a silent but deep interest in what things were and how they worked. In addition to his ability to grasp complex concepts both literal (the physical composition of a machine gun) and the conceptual (a whole new language), I feel his own powers of contortion and body entering contribute to this theory. These powers literally involve the desire to learn deeply (contort himself into other creatures or environments) and his willingness/expertise of being able to adapt to a new environment and master it (new bodies that he takes control of). 

Personality wise from what I can gather, being a man of and the willingness to learn involves a sense of passivity and gentleness. Not every situation involves needing to charge mindlessly, however, once Santana understands something he wastes no time in putting his full energy into mastering it to make it his own. The active nature, the hasty nature of his actions, combined with his passive nature, the assumed background of his ability to learn and observe in silence, are the most obvious traits I've noticed that make me conclude he is a Gemini. 

Esidisi:

Esidisi is either a Cancer or a Libra: Esidisi is the only pillar man I had a difficult time assigning in the zodiac. We do not see nearly as much of him as Wamuu or Kars, but we see more of him than we see Santana. It goes without saying that he is the most emotional and expressive of the group, but beyond that, the only other things we see from him are his abilities to play mind games on a near equal level that Joseph displays (maybe that’s why his brain was something that was able to survive after the fight between the two?). His ability to have a wild mind on par with a Joestar shows creativity and an ability to be persuasive. These are points for him being a Cancer. However, these factors go hand in hand with diplomacy and show a sense of emotional intelligence, which are points for him possibly being a Libra.

In truth, half of the reasons I placed Esidisi where he is is because of two specific lines in the anime: when the anime recounts the history of the pillar men and Kars’ place in creating the stone mask Esidisi is referred to as “His sole ally.” When we look at what kind of person Kars is we see that it takes someone who is able to have not only a sense of passion that is equal to his towards either Kars’ ideals or Kars’ himself but also a sense of sympathy and understanding, points for being a Cancer and a Libra respectively. We also hear Kars speak “I am no warrior, nor am I a romantic.” when Wamuu was killed, it is safe to assume that the word ‘romantic’ referred to Esidisi yet again. This word is used far more often to describe Libras than Cancers, but romance could also refer to his tendency to be more in touch with his emotions and have them play an active role in his battle methods and overall behavior.  

Being a Libra myself, I can vouch for being indecisive. This is one of the most common traits that I do not see in Esidisi, considering he’s been with the same man for thousands of years and having his eyes focused only on one goal. But you could argue that this could be because of a passion he has for Kars or his ambitions, which makes it a toss-up between the two signs. When it comes to the weakness of these two zodiac signs, Esidisi fits both the Cancer and Libra profile. As the emotional one who has no doubt had a few bad days and from his outburst shows evidence of moodiness and pessimism (cancer traits). But self-pity, the literal root of the whole arm tantrum, is more than apparent. While Libras often tend to avoid confrontation, Esidisi is the one who goes out of his way to confront Joseph and get the stone. Overall due to his character being steeped in emotion and his own powers, fire literally symbolizing passion and emotion, he could go either way. I had the most fun analyzing him because he has the most to unpack. 

Kars:

Kars is a Virgo: This is the only one that I am truly decisive on because.... if you've seen the show, Kars’ nature is one of the most Virgo moods I have ever seen in my ding dang life. 

Where do I even start? Of course his obvious physical appearance, look I know all the pillar men have this attribute but holy fuck does it really shine when Kars takes the stage when he fights Lisa-Lisa and he lets his hair down. Luxurious and meticulously dressed to appear simple while delivering a message of his own personal view; that at the end of the day he is a god among those that walk on earth. That he was the one who chose to take those first steps towards achieving greatness for himself and those who followed him. His appearance is very much in line with the symbol of the Virgo itself, with his own beauty being on par with his zodiac. 

Throughout the entire series, we see him have tunnel vision towards a single goal, to obtain the red stone of Aja. He even had to remind his companions of their main goal more than a few times when either Wamuu or Esidisi got distracted. He stays grounded in the world and environment that surrounds them at that moment, appealing to the practical nature of Virgo. In addition, when it is time to act his analytical skills and intelligence are on full display. Able to use people, objects, and tools for his own accord under high-pressure situations to ensure victory is achieved. Taking account for every little detail to ensure perfection is a trademark of Kars’ sign. Plus at times when I was watching him, I couldn’t help but think of a few of Jenna Marbles’ moments that would fit him perfectly. 

A competent Virgo as an antagonist for any series spells trouble, but even meticulous Aztec vampires have their shortcomings. When I think about Kars in the series, as well as Esidisi, I almost always think about the fact he was a parent for thousands of years to two children who (assumedly) have never really left his side. So parenting methods and the outcome of both Wamuu and Santana are where I see the negative traits of the Virgo sign are most apparent. For example, a few of the negative traits of this sign are that they are overly-critical, fussy, harsh, and conservative in their methods. If you look at how Wamuu turned out as a fully grown developed adult, you will notice that he is extremely critical of his own behavior and carries a conservative nature when it comes to interacting with humans, I feel this sort of behavior had to be taught in a child. Maybe these tactics did not work that well on Santana, but whos to say what the actual psychology is of pillar men? Either way, in my opinion, I think harsh and strict methods must have been used at first to keep his family together and in line over the course of their thousand-year journey. That takes dedication, careful planning, and intensive organizational skills.

And that's it!! That's the train of thought I had in the past week. This was only for fun and none of this is canon, as far as I know, I hope you got some amusement from this!

[brittanybutler]

My thoughts on the novelization of the Kim Possible movie! Minor spoilers.

Okay, so I caved and bought a digital copy of the live action Kim Possible movie novelization and, uh... I have some thoughts. Continue reading for some general information and my opinion on the overall vibe. Nothing toooo spoiler-y or deep. Well, I get deep with my analysis... but I’m not analyzing anything too big. Just minor things and lines that aren’t important to the storyline but can give you a pretty good idea of what the movie will be like. There are no details that I would consider major or huge plot points in this post. If you’ve seen all of the trailers/sneak peeks and are familiar with the film’s summary, you should be alright. Basically, keep reading if you want to know what to mentally prepare yourself for lol.

Right off the bat, all I’m gonna say is that judging from the dialogue alone -- it’s definitely geared towards kids. Young kids. I don’t think teenagers will think this is cool. Just as I feared, there’s cheesy use of social media (selfies, live-streaming, youtube) and annoying 2010s slang (“shook” “fam” “kthanksbye,” etc.) I don’t understand why they feel the need to throw in stuff like that to make it ~current~??? It just makes it feel awkward and trying too hard to be relatable. I think keeping it relatively timeless and omitting slang and selfies would’ve been the better option for a live action adaptation of something as iconic as Kim Possible. There’s already enough technology with her freaking holographic Kimmunicator and gadgets! haha. It’s 2019. We all know that smartphones are a thing. They’re normalized now. You don’t need to shove it in our face, haha. I mean, Kim said some dated slang in the cartoon and flip phones were prominent... but it’s a cartoon. It works. With live action, it gets a little dicey. You want these characters to feel like people who talk like real people, ya know?!

Something that made me cringe beyond belief is the first scene at Bueno Nacho. Athena named her dog “Ron Stop-pit-bull” (I kid you not) so Ron says something about wanting to be a freaking dog when he grows up??? So Athena and Ron literally proceed to woof like dogs and break into laughter about it......??? I have no idea how that’s not gonna be cringeworthy on screen. I wanted to die just from reading it. Some people assumed this photo from J-14 magazine was behind the scenes, but it does in fact happen in the movie: 

One thing that sorta rubbed me the wrong way is that they talk about Kim and Ron being famous heroes on the news and everything a liiiiittle too much. Athena being a superfan of Kim and Ron kinda goes along with that and could potentially feel a little overkill. The morons who think that Kim had a secret identity are gonna have a field day with that lol. Ugh.

The holographic Kimmunicator is a really cool update for this generation since the original one was essentially a smartphone with FaceTime and wouldn’t be nearly has forward thinking as it was in 2002. Towards the end of the KP series it was updated to a wristwatch, among a few other different designs (but a wristwatch also wouldn’t be forward thinking today thanks to Apple Watches) and now it’s a necklace. I like that! 

The only issue is that it’s not very discreet. Wade pops up a lot throughout the movie and as we saw in the sneak peek, the hologram is pretty huge. I hope the size can vary or something? Because that could be weird when Wade beeps Kim at school and stuff. It was handy when cartoon Kim could casually whip out the handheld, open her locker and talk to Wade on the computer, or glance at her wrist. Not sure how this is gonna fly in other situations:

Also, this sneak peek makes more sense in context. I figured it would. People are seriously overreacting. They portray Kim as a perfectionist and she desperately wants to be on time for her first day of high school. It’s not “WHY is Kim using her gadgets and Wade’s help for an every day situation?!?! UGHH” like people are complaining about. It makes sense to me. It’s cute! That barrel roll is still completely unnecessary though, hahahahaha. But, I’m embracing the random stunts like that. I think it’s hysterical. 

I know a lot of people (myself included) were upset about Kim not being a cheerleader, but she actually is! Or at least, she was...? And is still interested in cheer at the beginning of the movie. So that’s nice! Kim being a cheerleader was necessary on the show because it helped us make sense of all her flips and kicks and such during missions. It’s a really important part of her character so I was sooo happy to see that it wasn’t completely erased!

I still want to be surprised by the movie, so I just skimmed it and skipped a lot of pages. But yeaaaah. That’s the general gist of it. I feel like I’ve read enough to know that I should keep my expectations lower than I originally planned. This doesn’t mean the movie is going to be terrible or anything. The junior novelizations usually leave out a lot of things (the book felt extremely short? Granted, I skipped a lot.. but yeah) and the whole story is written in a way that’s cheesy and simple for little kids to read. Like, I’m not gonna lie. I was pretty much cringing non-stop. I have a junior novelization of The Even Stevens Movie and it’s cringy as HECK. They even changed some of the dialogue for whatever reason! But the movie isn’t nearly as cringy and is clearly a campy self-aware flick once you watch it. I’m hoping KP will be the same way.

I can’t help but worry that it’ll translate to screen as suuuuper lame though. Let’s hope the actors can pull it off convincingly. I want to love Ron (I stand by my word that Sean Giambrone is the perfect choice) but he’s seeming a little too dumb at points, overly kid friendly and hunky dory! Like a literal human cartoon. He trips over his shoelaces and falls victim to other clichés like that. Some of the lines he has are... oh boy. [i.e. *sees a giant statue of a brain* “WOW! I didn’t know brains were so big! How do they fit in our heads?!” -- An actual Ron Stoppable quote.] In a cartoon, a line like that works. But live action? Ehhh. It all depends on Sean’s delivery though, and I have faith in him but... dang, he has some awkward dialogue to work with.

I’m a huge fan of The Goldbergs, so Ron is the main thing I’m excited about if I’m being totally honest. I will say, the first two chapters are the only parts I read fully (since they were the free sample) and I liked it. It’s action packed and fun. We’ve actually seen a lot of it in the trailers already so if you wanna read it, it doesn’t spoil too much at all. Ron’s grand entrance is cute and wacky and I actually smiled really hard while reading and picturing it. :)

I’m not a big fan of how Rufus is introduced. They made a major change and it kinda genuinely upset me. But, I will say.. they at least give us an explanation for why Rufus is so smart and aware. That’s kinda cool, since in a 2d cartoon you don’t need to question why a naked mole rat can talk and point and help Kim and Ron lol. I’m horrified of how the CGI will look in action though. From the one photo we’ve seen, he looks kinda terrifying imo: 

I’ve said before that instead of attempting to go for a ~realistic~ feel, they might’ve been better off keeping 2d animated Rufus and having a vibe similar to Space Jam lol. I mean, Kim Possible is a cartoon that makes no logical since in real life so I don’t think that would’ve hurt. Or maybe I’m just sad because 2d Rufus is sooo adorable. I’m gonna miss him so much. 

EDIT: They’ve officially released some footage of Rufus in action and he looks waaaaaay better than I expected! Yay!

As everyone has predicted, from the few parts I read.. Drakken and Shego seem awesome and on point! Pretty funny as well. I don’t have any complaints about them. Rest assured, Shego delivers her sarcastic remarks a ton. I actually laughed out loud at one of them omg. From what we’ve seen, Todd is doing a fantastic Drakken and Taylor has great deadpan delivery. I have a feeling they might steal the show tbh!

So, yeah. Make of this what you will!

I’m still really excited for the movie, but I’m relieved to have my expectations in check now. 

[alittlebookdust]

Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic

Author: V.E. Schwab Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC Publishing Date: 2015 Pages: 398

I know I’m a little late reading this book, but nonetheless here we go:

This book is essentially about an angsty magician and a cross-dressing pirate forming an unlikely friendship to battle evil and save the world. And it’s pretty dang good.

First off, I want to commend Schwab for introducing a cast of delightfully complex characters. It’s always refreshing to see YA novels come to life in this way, where the characters are unique and sympathetic in their strengths and weaknesses, and riddled by pellicles of visceral imperfections. No character was completely “bad” nor completely “good”—except perhaps our two main antagonists—but even the absolute corruptness of the Dane twins was believable due to Schwab’s excellent world-building. The novel takes place somewhere within the early 19th century across multiple Londons: Grey London, which is considered the normal world in which magic is dormant and scarce; Red London, where is revered and the streets are drenched with the red hue it; White London, “a city drained through a magical war” and home of the treacherous Dane twins; and Black London, a London lost to chaos and ruin.

So Kell is our magician from Red London, with the rare ability to cross the parallel worlds. This makes him an ambassador between the Londons by day, and a smuggling collector by night. This hobby, Schwab cleverly uses to get the plot rolling.

Kell smuggles something quite complicated from White London in to Grey, which is where Delilah Bard, our cross-dressing pirate wannabe, steals from him. Again, we have an excellent manipulation of plot by Schwab, who uses the personalities of her characters to bring the storyline in to full swing through a series of believable choices that they make. It’s a classic and technical move on her part, one that is just flat out wonderful to see in a YA novel nowadays.

Similar to her methodical plot development, Schwab uses some pretty intelligent decisions regarding story structure as well. [Wannabe writers, pay attention] The book is written in a 3rd person limited POV, going back and forth predominantly between Lila and Kell with a few exceptions. However, this decision not only made the pacing of her chapters more fast-paced and enjoyable, but it also gave a nice tonal balance to the book as a whole due to the way Lila and Kell’s personalities complimented each other.

[I’m going to spend sometime on character analysis, so if you haven’t read the book yet of aren’t interest, just skip down until you see the ** for the rest of the review]

Let’s analyze Kell:

At the beginning of the book, our introverted magician came off as an insecure and anxious youth with a sort of inferiority complex with which he always made himself to be less than what he actually was. Despite his familial connection to Red London royalty, his deep bromance with Prince Rhy, and the profound reverence Kell generates from the citizens in Red London, Kell still manages to convince himself that he is just a pawn and a possession of the crown, no more. It’s sort of fascinating, however, the way he hides all of this behind a serene composure built upon his abilities. Kell knows he’s rare, he knows he’s powerful, and he’s always trying to act like he knows this, but also comes off short. Here’s a quote I actually found really interesting regarding this:

The people here believe that magic chooses its path…but by that logic, the magic had chosen Kell, and he did not believe that. Someone else could just have easily woken or been born with the Antari mark, and been brought into the lush red folds of the palace in his stead. (pg 256)

Kell can’t even bring himself to believe that he’s worthy of being chosen in any regards. Even though he puts all of his identity in his abilities, he can’t even manage to believe his abilities chose him. In effect, Kell is so insecure and sometimes even pathetic that Schwab needed to bring in just the right companion to refine our magician, teaching him to be a bold and confident person. So, essentially, Schwab carves out Kell’s opposite.

Enter Delilah Bard.

At first, I have to be honest, I didn’t entirely like Lila. I thought she was reckless, stupid, naively arrogant, and a fake. She’s this cutthroat who thinks she’s a pirate, but has no ship or crew or people skills, and despite all this she one-hundred percent believes she’s capable of such a lifestyle. Impossible.

However, the more Schwab unveiled her character, especially during in interactions with Barron, the owner of Grey London’s Stone’s Throw, I began to sympathize with her on a much deeper level than I had even with Kell. Here’s why: Lila Bard is the kind of person who could never form an emotional attachment to anything or anyone due to this profound fear she has towards settling.

…staying would have meant settling. In the end it’s been easier to hand the place and run. Not away, Lila had told herself. No, Lila had been running towards something. Something better. And even if she hadn’t reached it yet, she would… (pg 139)

Lila has, by far, some of the best quotes in the book:

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.” (pg 199) “A life worth having is a life worth taking.” (pg 139)

So here we have quite the determined little thief just trying to make something better out of what she has. It was here that I realized, these dreams of being a pirate and an adventurer, were really all she had to ignite a fire that was so often dulled by the harsh realities of a life full of abandonment and neglect. This made her significantly more believable to me, and I honestly came to realize that Delilah Bard would truly die just for the chance to reach out and seize any beauty from life, because—unlike so many of us—she really had nothing to lose.

Now, put a courageously reckless cutthroat with a powerful and insecure magician, you get the brilliant chemistry found within Kell and Lila’s friendship. I loved them more together than I did each of them apart. It was a fantastic duo, one which Schwab used to teach Kell bravery, to be confident in himself and his power, and to be grateful for the love he possesses. On the opposite end, Lila learns loyalty and friendship. She recognizes that there are things she could never do alone, and places she could never get to without some help. Her development, however, was a bit more subtle. At first, she used Kell to get her adventure, and slowly she began to actually care for him. At the same time, Kell began to care for her. Schwab brings about these affections through snippets of brilliant moments where we see our seemingly opposite protagonists connect with each other upon some very subtle similarities:

A wry smile cut across Lila’s mouth. ‘You’re a smuggler…If you live with royals and you dine with them and you belong to them…Why risk it?’ Kell clenched his jaw…’You wouldn’t understand.’ ‘Crime isn’t that complicated,’ she said…‘If they’re not in it for the money, they’re in it for the control. The act of breaking the rules, makes them feel powerful…Some people steal to stay alive, and some steal to feel alive…’ ‘And which are you?’ asked Kell. ‘I steal for freedom,’ (pg 266)

Kell feels as though he’s a possession being used. He steals in order to feel in control of a life that he feels is not his own. Lila steals not only for money, but for the hope that is constantly inside her; the hope that tells her “I have to be more.”

There are other moments, such as the one were Lila snaps at Kell for pitying himself in regards to his life with the king and queen—for having a family in which he feels more useful than loved. Lila goes on a memorable rant, raging:

‘…I’d wager you have everything you could ever need, and you have the audacity to claim it all forfeit because it is not love...Love doesn’t keep us from freezing to death…Love doesn’t buy us anything, so be glad for what you have and who you have because you may want for things but you need for nothing…’ (pg 235)

And in this moment, Kell saw Lila “not as she wanted to be, but as she was.”

**

I know this review ran long, but to sum up, buy the book. For aspiring writers, it’s a great way to look at the way a plot and chapters are structured, how the narrative moves from Kell’s more angst-driven tone to Lila’s sarcastic and witty one, and of course it’s a lovely example of wonderful character development. Especially take note of the way Schwab uses character decisions to carry her plot forward, and how she uses dialogue and circumstance to do most of the character revealing as opposed to straight-on just telling the reader. It’s most important to recognize that Schwab’s characters change. This is the key to satisfying any reader, and is the backbone to any good story.

Of course, A Darker Shade of Magic is not perfect. I actually think Rhy was not as present as he should’ve been—most of his character development was second hand from Kell and thus felt impersonal—and I think Holland was so close to being an complex antagonist, though it was clear he was written to garner more empathy.

Another issue was the plot resolution. I thought it was sort of a cop-out that conflict was resolved due to a fault (pride) on the antagonists’ end as opposed to a display of some epiphany of Kell’s part regarding his strength or character. It all came about too quickly, and I actually think Schwab could have spared another fifty pages or so, drawing out the complexity of the conflict.

Nonetheless, the book was absolutely solid with moments of flittering brilliance. I completely recommend it, and am excited to move on to the sequel. 

[sebayard]

My Final Thoughts on The Final Problem

This (extremely long) post contains spoilers. 

Continue reading under the cut if you want to process along with me.

Okay, well. 

I went into this episode thinking it was terrible, since that was the predominant feeling I saw on this site. So, my viewing of it was a bit more critical than it probably would have been if I didn’t have that context.

But even then, I was surprised at how much I didn’t hate it. How much I enjoyed watching it, even.

Of course, that’s not to say this episode didn’t have its problems. Because it definitely did. I’ll get to them in a minute.

But first, here’s what I liked about this episode.

The Sherlock and Mycroft growth.

So much happened with the brothers’ relationship in this episode, and it made my heart that loves familial love so, so very happy. Even in the beginning when Sherlock said Mycroft was good at acting. Wow. I mean, I know they thought they were going to die, but still. Leaps and bounds from episode one when Sherlock called him his arch nemesis. And then when we saw Mycroft reacting to the death of the governor(?). Mycroft purposely puts on a callous exterior and that was shattered this episode. So beautiful. AND THEN WHEN HE TRIED GETTING SHERLOCK TO SHOOT HIM. JUST. AH. AND THEN. AND THEN. SHERLOCK NOT BEING ABLE TO DO IT. HIM PREFERRING DEATH THAN SHOOTING HIS BRO AND JOHN. 

I think that this aspect of the episode was honestly just so beautiful and lovely. And I’m sure there are people who disagree with me, and that’s okay, but I thought that this aspect was the best part of the whole episode.

The Sherlock/Molly Scene

Okay, I actually have a lot of problems with this scene, and I’ll probably rant when I get to my problems with the episode, but for now, I’m gonna look at what I liked about this scene. 

To me, it showed how much Sherlock actually cared for her. Not in a romantic way (I know people will argue, but to me, there wasn’t enough growth in that area for it to be realistic), but in a real, valid way. A platonic way. A platonic love that is just as valuable and just as precious. Because Sherlock? Sherlock doesn’t have friends. That’s what we are lead to believe at the beginning of the series. But now, now he does, and each one is so, so precious to him (and now that we know about his best friend, we know why he cares so much). It showed that Sherlock did not want to take advantage of her, which is essentially all he has done in the past. He is forced to confront the fact that yes, yes he does love her. Just not in the way she wants.

And he is broken that he has to lie to her, that he has to manipulate her. Break her. His one friendship (besides John). Destroyed, in his eyes, because of Euros. I know a lot of people hate the coffin smashing scene, but it shows so much emotion, so much pain he had in having to manipulate her, even if the statement “I love you” wasn’t really a lie. It just wasn’t the way Molly wanted.

The Victor plot

*queue all the swear words*

Guys.

My word.

I must say, I did predict that something happened in Sherlock’s past that affected him. I just had no idea what it was.

Well, I guess we know now. And so does Sherlock. 

I will admit that I started crying when Sherlock was figuring it out. It was emotional, and it explained his compartmentalization so much. It added layers to his character. And who remembers when Mary shot Sherlock and he used Redbeard as a comfort for him in his mind palace? Because I do, and I will literally never be able to see that scene the same ever again. I’ll cry. 

The acting was freaking superb

Need I say more? They were all amazing.

MORIARTY.

I have never wanted a character to not be dead during an episode than I did when he showed up. His character brings so much life to the screen (ironic, since, you know, his character also brings death). And I also low-key wish we got more Euros and Moriarty scenes because dang their interactions were captivating. They seemed like very similar characters to me, and I would have loved to see how that relationship/partnership would have played out over a span of several episodes.

Man, I just really wish he wasn’t dead.

The wrap up

I liked the end of the episode for a very basic, simple reason. It was resolved. At the very least, we know that Sherlock and John are still together. Still solving crimes. Still kicking butts. Being doting parents to Rosie. Nothing jolting. Nothing randomly out of the blue to put us all on edge. They will continue on as characters who have gone through hell and come back stronger, and I think that’s beautiful. Do I want a fifth season? Absolutely, for multiple reasons. But for a series finale, I think it worked out okay.

The ‘rents

I just need to see Mr. and Mrs. Cumberbatch on screen more often.

Mrs. Hudson

She was the real MVP for the entire season, honestly. (I do wish she got more screen time in this episode though).

Sherlock and Euros at the end

I like that Sherlock is reaching for a relationship with the sister he never knew. I have a lot of issues with Euros, but this bit shows that she isn’t being as neglected and that, in spite of everything, Sherlock still cares. That’s...amazing to me. Like, this woman killed his best friend. Yet there he is, playing the violin with her. Wow.

“Greg.”

He got his name right. ;-;

“He’s a good man.”

Excuse me as I cry.

And that’s what I liked about the episode. 

*takes a deep breath* Now it’s time for the cons

The beginning

That was the strangest opening I’ve ever seen. How exactly did Sherlock make the eyes bleed on the paintings? Was a creepy clown really necessary? Was this scene necessary at all, actually? I mean, I guess it was supposed to fun and goofy, put it was more strange and off putting to me than anything.

Euros

Specifically, how the frick did Euros get people to do things for her. Okay, I understand manipulation, but they wrote her character and made it seem like everyone lost their minds when they talked to her. It reminded me of the X-Men, and it felt like we were being introduced to a new super villain rather than a person. And okay, getting the man to kill himself and his family, while far fetched, still seems at least a little plausible, but taking over an entire facility? No. Not without some sort of help, and help with better motivation than “she convinced me to.”

The plot reminded me of a fanfic

But honestly, that’s happened with this series before, so I’m not really surprised. But it felt like a fanfic in a way that others haven’t, and that is it had a very linear, very non layered plot. Sure, there were surprising elements. Deeper aspects to the characters. But it essentially left no deducing for the audience. No layers for us to analyze. And while I’ve always had the impression that the fandom has always picked apart things that Moftiss never actually put much thought into, there was still at least stuff to pick apart, a new theory to think about, and aspect about a character that wasn’t blatantly pointed out to us. 

I think it boils down to this: older Sherlock episodes make us think. This one did not. 

There was no case we were trying to solve, no situation we were trying to figure out. Just basic stuff thrown at us. So while it was something I enjoyed watching, it didn’t bring the complexity and depth that I’d come to love about the show. It reminded me of a Criminal Minds episode. (And I love CM, don’t get me wrong, but they are different shows, and I love them for different reasons, and therefore expect different things from them).

The plane situation

I get what they were trying to do with it. They wanted to show how Euros fragmented, how she felt alone, neglected. That was heartbreaking. But, the way they carried it out...well, I think it could have been executed better. Like, how was she able to switch between being the girl on the plane and being Euros controlling everything? I suppose that would be a sign of mental illness (if I had to guess, I’d say DID but I am by no means an expert and therefore don’t have any authority on the subject), in which case I sincerely hope that they provide her with the care she needs rather than just leaving her alone in the facility. But, how exactly was she able to pull it off, getting everyone where they needed to be. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot that makes sense, like some things just don’t add up. Perhaps it will make more sense with a second viewing, but we’ll see. All in all, I don’t have a huge problem with how this situation played out, but it does leave me wondering.

The Molly/Sherlock scene

Okay guys, here we go. This might get long.

The scene, if taken alone, without any other context, is fine. Quite enjoyable, actually. If I knew nothing about the show, I’d be intrigued by the dynamic between these two characters. As mentioned, I also love how Sherlock’s love for her (in my opinion, platonic love) is shown. It was painful because it obviously hurt Molly, and I was heartbroken over the manipulation, but that was why Euros has him do it. It was supposed to hurt. So, yeah, I’d call the scene, in and of itself, a success.

But dang it, she deserved better.

The entire series, we have her adoration of Sherlock pushed at us. Somehow, someway, it has to come up. She can’t even date other men without Sherlock being the central theme. And I’ve had enough. The writers have shown who she is, however briefly. What she’s capable of doing. She’s smart. She’s talented. She takes her job seriously. She’s caring. Kind. Diligent. For the love of women everywhere, give her more scenes showcasing this instead of her crush. Show her bonds with other characters. Please. She is more than her crush on Sherlock. She is more than a convenient plot device. Writers, respect the female characters you create. Please. There are already not many female characters in the show. Let them shine without the men being the center. So, honestly, if you gave me that, if you gave me more Molly. More of her solving crime. More of her realizing her worth. More of her without Sherlock. I would have been fine with the scene you did give us. You don’t have to completely ignore her crush. But with the way you wrote her this episode, that’s all she was, in this episode and in episodes prior. And it’s frustrating to watch. Let her move on, for pete’s sake.

With this in mind, I realize that the writers need to fit everything in, and more Molly in a different context just might not have worked. But they’re creative. I believe they are capable of doing better.

(Also can Adler please be more than a plot device please and thank you)

Sherlock and John

Honestly, I know we got a ton of it in the last episode, but I do wish we got more John and Sherlock being vulnerable with each other. It felt like they opened up the floodgates for something wonderful last episode, but then this episode just...there was no follow through? I mean, it was there in the obvious things. The parallel between John and Victor, Mycroft acknowledging that John is vital in Sherlock’s life (plus, he lost a bff already, I doubt Mycroft wants to be the cause of that happening again). Sherlock basically calling John family. Sherlock and John essentially raising Rosie together and continuing as friends/lovers/not really sure what they were by the end. It was there. But at the same time, there was a dynamic that just...seemed to be missing to me. Perhaps it was all the hype that TJLC would be confirmed this episode and it wasn’t, at least not blatantly. Perhaps it was that John, honestly, was not really a main focus in the episode. Perhaps it was the fact that there are still so many things that needed to be said between them that were left unsaid. Perhaps it was a lot of things. 

To me, this show will always be about the two of them. About their love. At this point, I don’t know if it’s romantic, platonic, or even familial, but it’s there. And if they are going to end the show, I think they should end it with that being shown. They gave us a tiny slice of it at the end, but because this relationship is so, so important, if this was in fact the last episode, I personally believe there should have been more. Something. I don’t know what, but I definitely don’t think it should’ve been Mary talking about it. If there’s another season, I’ll be fine with it. But if not? I’m gonna be left feeling at least a little jilted. 

Also, let them hug more. Let them hug all the time.

The advertising for the episode

This isn’t really a problem with the episode itself and more with BBC and the producers. I just think they handled this poorly, and I think that the advertising for the episode, the expectation the writers built up for it, holds a lot of the blame for the accusations that the show is baiting. It’s caused a lot of hurt for a lot of people. For example, they surely knew that people were hoping for TJLC this season. I saw a lot of evidence in posts about it, and while some of it was reaching, in my opinion, I also found some of it valid. By the time TLD aired, I was almost sure that it would be canon. And with the way they advertised? Sherlock saying “I love you,” calling it “ground breaking” and all kinds of other stuff, well, I understand why people got their hopes up really high. I think a lot of pain could have been avoided if some things were addressed, (I dunno, maybe they were. I’ve seen some people claim that Moftiss said TJLC wouldn’t be canon. No idea how true these claims are. I’ll have to investigate) or even advertised differently. There was no need to emphasize and push the “I love you” scene in advertising. There were plenty of other aspects of the episode to choose from.

For those of you who were needing/longing/hoping for something more, I am truly sorry. I hope you get the media representation you deserve some day. Keep fighting for it.

The ambiguity

Just tell me if season 5 is real or not, okay? Don’t lie to me, Moftiss. I know you said you wanted one...

Once again, the beginning

How exactly did they escape 221B unscathed? I literally have no idea. 

Moriarty

Turns out he’s still dead. Not cool.

And thus, we have the cons.

Now take some general comments:

- everyone is like “Oh, John was chained but he got out with a rope. INCONSISTENCY.” I kept seeing this before the episode and with all the flack it was getting, I expected more of a blatant plot hole, but honestly, it’s not really... They show them throwing a rope down, not John actually getting out. For all you know, the rope was so someone could come down and unchain him.

- I’m still thinking about every time Sherlock’s mentioned Redbeard and how everything is changed.

- How exactly did Sherlock’s memories change? Mycroft talked about it in the beginning but I didn’t really follow along (surprise surprise). I just need to rewatch that little segment again I guess.

- I need to see Mycroft as Lady Bracknell

- I’m actually quite sad that Sherlock has never owned a dog

- Sherlock is the adult one in the family. Amazing.

- ...Victor...</3

- the clown was terrifying and unnecessary

- I think Mycroft’s attempt to get Sherlock to shoot him parallels Sherlock’s attempt to get Vivian(?) in The Six Thatchers to point the gun at him instead of Mary. 

And that’s it. That’s Sherlock Season 4. It’s been a wild ride, my friends. I hope we meet again for a (well done) season 5, but if not, keep making that amazing fan content, keep on shipping those ships, and keep on being great.