#but for now I don't feel the need to rewatch 2 especially since I wanna start my G1 movie binge

[idleglowingpixels]

I finally got my schedule aligned with a friend of mine to watch Monster High 2 (the live action movie sequel) and I have some thoughts about it

(Keep reading only if you're okay with spoilers, I go into a lot of detail)

Monster High 2 was a solid experience altogether. The previous movie was in a similar vain, but I think the special effects budget got amped up, because everything looked stellar and just generally better than the first movie. It's still not cinema film level quality but these aren't meant to be compared to that. It's a TV movie, and for what it is I thought that (almost) everything rendered out beautifully (idk why they keep having Lagoona do the oAo thing but okay).

As per the previous film, there were lots of highs in the comedy (Frankie is always the highlight of these movies for me, Cleo taking her job as campaign manager so seriously was kinda funny to me, and a lot of the Heath shenanigans were so reminiscent of G1 to me ESPECIALLY the teasing about Clawdeen being Deuce's girlfriend and general himbo behavior), but it's also a kid's movie, so there's bound to be misses too. Comedy isn't personally my forte, but I got enough chuckles and laughs here and there that it didn't really matter to me.

The songs sounded pretty nice! I went into the movie this time without hearing any songs in advance like the first movie, and was pleasantly surprised. None of them were particularly bad to me, but I think my favorite one was the very-poorly-disguised friend breakup song with the main trio. It reminded me of a similar song in Descendants 2 ironically enough, but I don't mean that as an insult, I love the Descendants soundtracks too!

Okay, now the story of the movie…I don't really know where to begin, there's so much to talk about. I guess I can start at the beginning.

I've seen a few people complain about Clawdeen blowing up on social media and going viral when the characters would regularly go viral or get tons of views on their not-YouTube channels in G1. I know the Internet was different back in 2010, but it wasn't THAT much different going viral back then as it is now imo. I found it an odd complaint personally.

While I have no idea how a half-human ghost can exist in the first place, I ADORED the little bits where that new character was. Unfortunately I neglected to remember her name, usually I'm better with keeping up on this stuff. But she was so goofy, like yeah queen, walk through the door and immediately hit it on the way back out. 💖

The whole thing with the prefect is kind of irrelevant for the most part, so I don't mind it as much. I have an irrational love for the whole fire and water thing Heath and Lagoona got to do for it together, and I noticed characters like them actually have something to do in the movie instead of just awkwardly showing up at the end to record Komos and stand guard I guess??? And they had much more dialogue this time around (very few exceptions, I can only think of Ghoulia and Abbey but who knows, maybe they'll get to be main characters in the third movie I presume will release next year).

Torelai being a general nuisance was amazing, and here she really did feel like her G1 counterpart…if said counterpart was British lol. Her outfits were really nice, felt super edgy and it was a plus for me. I also liked the mention of her scarring from the witches in France, where she'd studied abroad, but I do think they repeated the point of her bringing it up against witches in the song was too quick after the initial mention, perhaps it could've been reserved to the song and have her sing-song her way through explaining the wraith silver.

Draculaura was the main focus in the film, and I really enjoyed her story. She's got every card stacked against her, even those she trusts, it feels like they turn on her in her point of view (Clawdeen and Ellis specifically). I've also seen characters like Ellis a billion times, but as generic as he is, he served the purpose he was in the film for (lowkey thought the name was a reference to Elphaba/Wicked Witch of the West).

Seeing Dracula as much as we did this movie was amazing, loved that, though Zamara kinda fell flat with me as an antagonist. Making a comparison here, but it felt like they were trying to replicate what they'd done with Komos in the previous film, just adjusting her to fit the new narrative, but Komos was much better executed imo (I promise this isn't my bias to Jekyll and Hyde characters showing, I just think his dynamics with the students flowed more organically). I found the whole thing about witches marketing herbal products as remedies with magical healing properties to exploit humanity's fears of appearing healthy to be funny with Z, but that's about it. I also could tell she'd be the villain a lot faster than I did with Komos haha. Seeing Apollo play a significant role here was nice too! I really like how the adult/parent characters can be just as important as the teens, as I find the lack of parent appearances in G1 to be too sparce for something so integral to the characters' stories.

As with pretty much anyone who's seen the film, it seems we were all shouting at Clawdeen towards the end to just turn human to avoid injury from the wraith silver bars (I was so confused lmao), but I think she was so desperate to save her friend that she was in too blind a panic to control that or think rationally. Frankie is in a similar vein; I thought their upgrades would've caused more pain than it'd be worth, and since we saw the electricity from their arm separating from the rest of their body earlier in the scene, it might've triggered a rush of pain to Frankie or their energy would've been zapped out like a light. Also, y’all, they thought their friend was going to forcefully commit genocide, I don’t think either of them were safe from having irrational/impulsive solutions to a situation in which their friend is literally gonna die if they take time to think critically. I do think there could’ve been better execution with the scene, especially how important it is for later, however. I may be explaining the thought process of my only other point of contention here, but it wasn’t thought out all too much imo — Deen could’ve tried to shift back and find it doesn’t work, Frankie could’ve tried to detach their hand/arm and found themselves getting hurt (but not scarred since that’s really the were-girls’ common thing).

But when Clawdeen died just from touching the bars for too long, I was so shocked it was happening from something so small, I figured the explanation was that it might drain a monster's life force or something. But I COULD NOT take the grim reaper thing seriously. Genuinely laughed my ass off cause WHAT WAS THAT??? It seemed so out of place for the pacing to me I guess. I felt like it could've been a perfect opportunity to have Komos reach out to her through his petrification, especially with how much she hangs around his statue during her troubles and looks to his statue for guidance, but I knew going in he was like 99% certain to be a one-off villain. 🥲

Anyway, Torelai and Clawdeen's little trauma bond moment with the scars at the end was very wholesome, a nice tie back to the "not afraid to show my secrets or my scars" line from Coming Out Of The Dark. And for once the franchise acknowledges were-animals as having kinship, like don't get me wrong, I know it's mainly for the cats vs dogs thing, but they're essentially the same monsters. I always found it odd that they were treated as completely different monster types entirely when all they are is just a human base with animal features and abilities (speed, agility, heightened senses, etc.).

A lot of people have a problem with Clawdeuce being a thing, but I don't mind it personally. It's a different gen, nothing has to stay the same as G1, so I’m just going along with the vibes. And I can tell Deuce leaving is going to be where we follow through in the next movie (unless he got tossed into the underworld in the end credits scene, I have no clue). To be honest I really like his prominent inclusion in the roster of characters, especially with how erased he’d get in the G1 movies (they literally cut his part of the rap out and it’s so apparent q-q).

But back to the point about the after credits, when I saw the grim reaper actually CAME BACK and just threw Deuce to the side (or maybe through the portal idk) I instantly freaked out, no laughter to be had, like "WAIT OH MY GOD WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THAT BIT FOR REAL—"

I know the third film is looking to be centered on Frankie (They 💖) but I do worry with how much elements they're taking from G1 movies to make up new/similar narratives (Drac's Sweet 1600, the previous gen's self acceptance narrative but specifically with a half human character, the emphasis on Jekyll and Hyde shenanigans, vampires vs werewolves but make it vampires vs witches instead, etc.). I just don't think another Freaky Fusion thing with Frankie sacrificing their life energy should be necessary. Especially considering the new antagonist is very clearly gonna be this Grim Reaper dude. And since the Underworld might be the main location for the third film, I wonder if the whole thing about Heath being Hades's son in the TV show will come up in the movie. Ik they're different canons from each other, but It'd be pretty interesting to see how they'd create a MH version of Hades. (I found his design from the cartoon after typing all this up and I mean, okay then I guess 🤷 Don’t love it but don’t hate it either, he just looks too nice to me haha. I love when Hades is actually a nice character, but his appearance and Resting Bitch Face make him out to be a huge dick.)

As of right now, that's basically everything I have to say on the movie. I personally prefer the first one, but I will not deny that it's because I liked Komos more as an antagonist than Zamara — antagonists are just as important as protagonists. He has the Jekyll and Hyde thing going for him too, which is just overall a favorite trope of mine (Though his change wasn’t as literal). I do think this movie had more going on and much higher stakes, what with characters almost committing mass genocide, suffering injuries and nearly outright DYING.

But I don't know, it was a solid 7/10 for me I think, on the higher end of 7 but Zamara keeps me from giving it a higher rating (sorry y'all I just REALLY didn't like her character, not even in a love to hate way, and villains’ likability matters too much for me personally). I guess my ranking for the first movie would be a low 8, but it’s based more on how much I enjoyed it than how objectively good or "perfect" it is.

[xeno828]

Okay, I'm an idiot!!! (Trollhunters Ending Revelation)

So, someone pointed this out to me recently and I just want to cry!! HERE ME OUT.............the ending to Rise of the Titans is actually better than you think cus there were some details I think were meant to be more obvious than they came across.

FIRST - We're all peeved that going back in time erased everyone's memories and therefore relationships and character development. However, when they go back Tobey is suddenly able to climb the rope in gym class and Claire seems to be paying attention more to Jim than last time. Especially when he is giving his speech at the audition, having a rewatch made me realize as soon as he starts speaking she has a look of recognition, almost like she thinks she's heard this speech somewhere before. Not only that but Barbara and Stickler got along incredibly quickly for 2 people who had only just met. These imply they have some sort of subconscious memory of the last timeline, WHICH considering Nari said time is NOT linear makes sense, cus if it was liner everything would be exactly the same as the first time without these subtle changes. Also, Nari said the ninth configuration is the key, the amulet would only work after they figured this out, if that's the case maybe Nari knew the amulet would to some degree protect them from complete amnesia, they just need to be 'woken up' so to speak. (Also since Merlin and Nari will be alive again they might actually be able to help with this too, especially Nari, she's the demi-god that gave them this advice for goodness sake!!!)

SECOND - The new amulet is 'For the good of all' which does tie directly into going back in time to save EVERYONE.

THIRD - Jim went back in time using the new Akiridion amulet, that means HE STILL HAS IT!!!! The message of the entire movie with Jim is that he now doesn't need the original amulet to be the Trollhunter, he always has been and always will be. Thats why the original amulet chose Toby instead of Jim the second time, it knows Jim doesn't need it anymore and can continue fighting as he is, he will ALWAYS be the Trollhunter with or without it. Jim also knows if he sticks to the original time things will end up the same and his friends that had died will still die, he's urging Toby to be the new Trollhunter to protect him in the coming fights.

There were a couple more points and details but honestly it's 3am and my ADHD brain has forgotten the rest and lost the TikTok I watched 😅

Overall tbh I'm still not happy with the ending, BUT having these pointed out has given me a different less hostile viewpoint on it. I certainly think it's plausible that this was intended but didn't come across very clearly to audiences (myself very much included). Either way, however you wanna interpret it I'm sticking with this as cannon cus if fills me with a lot more hope for the ending than how I originally felt and I don't know about you but I like feeling happy! 🤣

[wikiangela]

Weekend WIP Game

tagged by @jesuisici33 <3

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more)

1. WIP List:

alive shannon

sick eddie

buddie coffee shop

new buddie chris' school

roommates

bi eddie

buddie death cast fic

cheating fic

untitled natalia fic

buddie 2x01

5+1 nicknames

coffee buddie

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

alive shannon with 20k words so far

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

alive shannon, since it's kinda a canon rewrite and I still haven't decided to which point it's gonna go, we'll see when it'll feel right to end it haha

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

once again, alive shannon haha - it's just so fun to explore what all those dynamics could've been, and giving Eddie and Shannon some closure, and I love exploring Shannon's character, too, speculating on her thoughts and motivations, and diving into everyone's heads, and I'm so excited to see it all develop!!

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

I think it's either alive shannon or the cheating fic alive shannon bc I've never written s2/s3 buddie and I wanna get their characters semi-right, and I don't remember a lot of details so I need to get on with my rewatch lol - and also writing Shannon's and Eddie's feelings on their relationship and how it all ended is not easy haha and the cheating fic bc it's so not my thing but a song inspired it and it got stuck in my head and it's happening haha and I hope I'll make it make sense haha

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

tbh all of them - some more, some less, but there are moments, especially lately, when veeeery often I'm just like: everything I write sucks wtf

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

@giddyupbuck agreed to beta the alive shannon fic, and I spam them with snippets if I'm in doubt and it's sooo helpful fr ily <3 and I'll need alive shannon beta-read bc it's gonna be so long, and I keep changing my mind about things bc of how many ideas I have, so I just need someone else to look at it and tell me if everything makes sense haha - and Ro's helped me so much with some previous fics so they have my full trust with my baby that is the alive shannon fic haha

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

all of them at some point lol - a few of these are actually on hold bc of that - I will get back to them tho!

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

as of now there's no ocs in any of these, but we'll see haha

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

cheating fic and maaaaybe coffee buddie (if I'll ever get back to this one) - no actual smut in my wips yet atm

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

buddie death cast fic - if you've read 'they both die at the end' you know why lol this is not gonna have a happy ending

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

so far I'm loving everyone in alive shannon so I guess let's go with that haha

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

oh I am so bad this - but maybe let's say buddie coffee shop au bc i think it's the only one where I put even a little bit of focus on the setting lmao

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

alive shannon, been thinking about it and making notes for months before I started writing, and I don't think i've ever been this invested in a fic

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

alive shannon - - like I said, it's my most precious baby, and I'm so excited to not only write it but read it, and I hope it's gonna be as good as it is in my head, and I hope I'll make the story make sense with Shannon there, but also keeping some important buddie moments from canon hah

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

not sure if i've ever dreamt about a wip, but i do get new ideas in my sleep sometimes lol

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

alive shannon will have switching povs which i rarely do, so it's gonna be a challenge to write three distinct voices - and diving into Shannon's head and feelings and motivations will also definitely be hard

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

I think sick eddie - he's so ridiculously stubborn and difficult istg haha or buddie coffee shop with how fucking awkward buck's being

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

yep, once again, alive shannon - it's as much a buddie fic as it is a shannon fic, so it's not exactly outside pov, bc I'm just excited to focus on her equally as much, on how she's settling into their lives, becoming a better mom, being involved in Chris' life - she's gonna have as much focus as buddie sns it's not easy, bc it's alternating povs and once I get stuck in Eddie's head it's hard to leave, but so far it's been fun

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs

uhhh, I think I share like everything lol okay, so maybe: alive shannon will definitely go at least up until s4 and will include Eddie dating Ana 👀 purely bc I want a buddie-shipping Shannon to be like wtf eddie??? also, there will be more than one mcd in the death cast fic and coffee buddie was loosely inspired by a small thing from luke cage lol

no pressure tags: @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @diazblunt @911onabc @eddiediaztho @housewifebuck @lover-of-mine @gayhoediaz @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @hoodie-buck @monsterrae1 @ladydorian05 @forthewolves @honestlydarkprincess @wildlife4life @theotherbuckley @weewootruck @thewolvesof1998 @disasterbuckdiaz @loserdiaz @underwater-ninja-13 @giddyupbuck @hippolotamus @eowon @callaplums @spotsandsocks

[bobbydagen24]

Okay, this has honestly been in the back of my mind for years now, but I feel like I must ask. Did anyone else feel an immense feeling of anger/discomfort when Poppy brought the entire village into Branch's bunker? Because I did. When I first saw it, I felt uncomfortable. And to this day, I get the ick thinking about it. Like, I get why she did it, and I understand that it was the safest thing to do for the village, but like... I can't explain just how upsetting it was to me. Branch is a better person than I am, because if it were me, just... no. And she didn't even ask properly! And then had the audacity to say it was a solid burn returned like??? No? No it wasn't? That was a home invasion, not a snipe back at him, what? In what world is his comment on her life skills even remotely on the same level as her just letting the ENTIRE VILLAGE in his house? And they weren't even good houseguests either! They IMMEDIATELY started messing with his stuff, like, have these trolls never heard of proper guest etiquette? Look, I love Poppy, but she can seriously get on my nerves a lot. Especially since the movies made it so that in the end, she doesn't really learn much because her screw ups have a way of completely disappearing with little to no consequences.

To add to this, anyone else feel like when rewatching the first Trolls movie, that Branch was in the right, and that he was done so dirty by so many? Like, the ukulele scene. As a kid, I did think Branch was being rude, but now? Those 2 were literally out in the woods, with who knows what out there. Poppy literally got her friends kidnapped by a BERGEN literally the DAY BEFORE, and she's going back to singing loudly? Like, Poppy, babe, are you TRYING to die? Her whole song just shows how much plot armor Poppy has because, seriously? Not to mention, trolls are tiny, so her singing could genuinely put a target on them. I feel like the only reason Branch didn't up and say this is because it probably should be common knowledge, but apparently, pop trolls don't really have much common sense. I really wish they had Branch explain it though, because as a kid, I thought him to be a killjoy and unnecessarily bossy. But now? Yeah, I can see why singing in the forest when you're tiny might not be the best idea. Makes me wonder just how the pop trolls survived all this time?

I love Poppy, I really do. She's fun, nice, and is a complex protagonist (who is awesome and not a Mary Sue, though the same can't be said for TBGO/Trollstopia Poppy) whose character development is very visible. However, the writers really focus more on Branch's character development than hers and focus more on finding new ways to traumatize him than finding ways to make Poppy more mature, and that's what really bugs me about Poppy's character.

I really wanna start a petition for DreamWorks to lay off Branch for once and give Poppy more attention. I'm not asking to all out traumatize her (though the idea of DreamWorks giving her the Branch Treatment is funny in the mean way) but it would be nice if they gave her another journey where she has to learn and grow, and for there to be consequences that aren't easily waved away by a song and dance. TWT did a decent job at it (it could have been better, but it was a start), and I really need DreamWorks to do something like that (but better, obviously) again.

That being said, I do like how they handled Broppy. They went from rival/strangers to friends to lovers. It didn't happen instantly, and the progression of the relationship didn't feel rushed or forced. They both have an equal standing in the relationship and are supportive of each other. It's cute, and I'm glad DreamWorks at least got that right.

This should have probably been separate asks, but oh well. YOLO or whatever. I just really wanna know your thoughts.

I'm mostly of the same mind it angers me but I get why she did it I feel at the very least she should have told everyone to behave themselves and not act like they were teenagers throwing a house party while their parents were away for the night.

some people have said that maybe she did in on purpose to pressure Branch into going with her but I prefer to think that wasn't the case because in my opinion that would be straight up villainous.

a Royal abusing their power to put pressure on a civilian to Risk their life to rescue a group of your friends who are in danger due to your incompetent leadership.

not to mention a civilian who she knows is more terrified of the Bergens than anyone else in the village.

yeah that would make her an out and out villain imo so I prefer to think that wasn't her intention.

I don't feel its so bad it needs to be changed in the story overall but I would have liked it had Branch actually called her out on it.

basically just have him angrily point out to her after she acts like it wasn't a big deal because it was just a bunch of old Junk. that it wasn't just a place to him it was his home and that wasn't just a load of old Junk it was stuff he worked hard for years to make and it made him feel safer it was the only place he actually felt safe and like he could relax.

maybe prompting Poppy to actually give a more genuine apology as before she just thought of his home as him being over the top for the sake of it.

since she and the village just viewed him as a Drama queen and she didn't really realise his fears were actually so genuine that the Bunker actually mattered to him that deeply.

part of me thinks the intent by the writers was for her consequences in the first film to be being betrayed by Creek who she cared about but yeah that whole thing could have been handled better.

her and her dads leadership put him in danger and he literally said what he had to say in order to avoid being eaten alive he didn't really have any agency in the betrayal.

so Poppy's somber pleas for him to not go through with it kinda make me mad tbh like this whole situation is your fault yet my guy Creek is expected to die because of it.

so your incompetent dad can live? yeah no.

also if you made that Petition for Branch I'd totally sign it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

and I agree Poppy deserves some more focus and development tho a touch of angst for her I think could maybe be a good thing in making her character stronger.

like I've said before maybe having Peppy die in a future film and her at first trying to ignore her grief by focusing on her queen duties and slapping on her usual smile worrying both Branch and Viva.

or having her mother turn up in the future like some fans have suggested only for her to be a selfish villain who couldn't care less about Poppy and Viva.

and this is the proper shock to Poppy's "" family is always great "" mentality as even with Bro zone they worked things out in the end making her think no family could be entirely broken.

but her mother literally doesn't give a shit if her children live or die and she maybe abandoned them both when Poppy was a baby.

drawing a little contrast with Branch only for the mother to have zero remorse since she didn't want children and maybe she was only with Peppy for status as royalty.

and Bro zone could be shown as being more remorseful over the past even a while after the events of TBT which contrasts with Poppy's mom kinda nicely.

anyway I'm getting off topic a bit lol but yeah I agree Poppy needs more focus and Branch's needs to be picked on less by the writers.

but I feel a touch of angst directed Poppy's way could give her some good development and make her a stronger character overall.

edit. also as someone who doesn't like Hugs Poppy's smug stunt with the Hug time Bracelets does make me a little mad like tell the Trolls to Respect people's Boundaries Girl.

[fluffypotatey]

I dunno if you talked about this yet, but very few ppl are talking about s5 since the dub hasn't come out yet so I'll just put a thought I had here (and again, if you've already talked about this, sorry!!)

This isn't really a theory, bc the "evidence" is flimsy, more like a gut feeling, but like:

You know how 9 (I think that's his name) asked Macaque "who did you make a deal with to get these powers?" and Macaque seemed genuinely confused?

I think Wukong might have been the one who made some sort of deal.

Again, this is mostly speculation, I'll honestly have to rewatch the LBD storyline just to ensure that it doesn't contradict this, but idk, for me this would explain certain things fans were pointing out before- I'll just get to the point tbh:

1) It would explain Wukong's lack of confusion at Macaque's first appearance.

Macaque died, plain and simple, and as far as we're aware, this was the first time they had seen eachother. Wukong is definitely not happy to see him, but he certainly doesn't look confused. He never questioned it, actually.

I don't remember if he was surprised with him working with LBD, but I do remember that despite everything, he still affirmed to MK that Liu Er was not a bad guy. And coming from Wukong, especially at that point in the series, that's not something small.

2) Wukong clearly regrets Macaque's murder.

It's difficult to tell what happened when Macaque died, since we only have some vague screenshots and (now) a small audio that might have or might have not have actually happened (since Wukong's memory might have been very biased). But what matters is that we now know with 100% certainty that the murder HAPPENED. It wasn't mind control (or at least doesn't seem like it), it wasn't an illusion by a third party that tricked Macaque, and Wukong certainly KNEW that Macaque was dead.

This is important bc the main conclusion lots of fans got from the whole "Wukong didn't seem confused about Macaque being alive" thing was those theories. Which now seem pretty much impossible.

For a character to do something in a story, 2 things need to be true: they need to have a reason AND they need to actually be able to do it.

Considering desire alone, it seems like a Wukong thing to do. He clearly didn't wanna have anything to do with Macaque (seeming at least annoyed and at worst angry with his presence at the beginningof the story), but he also just didn't want him dead. It wouldn't be out of character for him to revive Macaque if given the chance, but also simply not look for him.

If he can do it? I don't know. He has alot of artifacts, and he's known for breaking rules to get his way, both in JTTW and in lmk. Whatever it was, it probably had to do with chaos magic, but (although not the the lmk's team fault, it's clear that this was mostly bc of complications in production) the season's plot was kinda rushed, they had litte time to tell their story, so I can't be sure.

3) Wukong's conversation with Macaque at the start of the season.

Okay, so this is the main one (bc it can make or break my entire point, which I'll explain real soon), since this WHOLE season had alot of references to past events AND alot of the first episodes' scenes were brought back in some way by the end.

And their conversation felt a little... idk, out of place. Kinda Chekhov's Gun-y.

Bc this wasn't a season focused on how their old enemies came back. Heck, it wasn't focused on Wukong at all! Sure, the poor guy was the season's punching bag (or in this case, more like a squishy stress toy lmao), but the vast majority of his scenes were focused on his bond with MK (be it with the fact both of them came from the same stone, or just his general love and care for the kid, to the point where he was willing to die in his place if it meant keping MK and the world safe.)- and those that weren't were glimpses with Macaque.

Okay, so why can it make or break my point? Because it's gonna entirely depend on weather or not Wukong is being honest in that conversation.

Now, Wukong is a big, fat liar. We all know this. The Samhadi Fire thing happened ENTIRELY bc of his lies. This man is not honest, and he loooves passing the blame to someone else when he can, especially to Macaque.

And I think he's lying in that conversation. I genuinely think he's lying. Why? Because he said he didn't know what MK was before he chose him as his sucessor.

And, okay, he might not have known the full story, but that man knew SOMETHING. We see in flashbacks that he had been observing MK far before he found the staff. He might not have known that MK came from the same stone as him, but c'mon. He is not that stupid. Also, the body language might be a bit harder to read bc of the budget cuts, but he did not seem honest at all. His first instinct as he said it was to avert his eyes and then TURN THE OTHER WAY, angry.

"Okay, anon, but your whole argument was about Macaque's revival, not MK's birth-" I'm getting to it.

What I'm trying to say is that we should take Wukong's words here with a massive grain of salt. Him and Macaque seem to be working together to discover more about MK, but that does not mean that Wukong is gonna be 100% honest with him.

Which comes the juicy part of this conversation: when the topic switches to Wukong's old friends with grudges returning. More specifically, Macaque mentions Azure Lion.

M: We still don't know who released Azure Lion. All of your old friends are back at once. You don't-

W: What about you?! You came back all of a sudden too!

Wukong's body language was really weird here. Like he was angry that Macaque was questioning things. Maybe it's just him being nervous about it too and letting his fear show off as anger, but it's still weird. This could be him just immediately throwing this at Macaque, because it's easier, with something along the lines of "What about you huh?? You came back too!" as a response for having his methods questioned, but again, it feels really weird.

Especially since this is not the thing you do when you're willing to be honest. Even when you're not willing to be criticized.

This might be a language barrier thing, since the subs I watched with weren't the best, but it was unclear to me wether Wukong was trying to lump Macaque together with everyone else that returned OR wether he was trying to differentiate him from the rest. With the eng dub it'll probably be clearer, but I genuinely couldn't be sure wether this was a "You came back too, just like the rest of them." or a "It wasn't JUST them, you came back too" meaning. This could also be attributed to him possibly being the only one who might have actually died before his return, instead of just "imprisoned", but idk.

And then Wukong looks down, with this weird conflicted look, until he mentions that someone might be manipulating MK, which makes him blink up and immediately pin it all on Macaque again, despite him definitely knowing by this point that Macaque would not do this.

As if he felt like it was a personal attack over something he did.

Which makes me feel like he was involved in some way with at least SOME of these returns, and not just in a "the ppl I messed with came back with a grudge" way. Since the topic of a deal was specifically mentioned by this season's villain, (which Macaque, again, didn't really seem to know about) it might have been that.

4) Lady Bone Demon.

So, I'm really gonna have to rewatch her entire story to be sure about the details, but this woman is the definition of opportunistic. She knows quite alot about destiny, and at some points, even the future.

She was sealed and became a whole lot stronger, sure, but the power to bring others back from the dead? Lmk is not very accurate to JTTW, but she was legit just a skeleton demon with the power of illusion from what I've managed to find. Heck, before she tricked MK into releasing more of her power, she was pretty much stuck with the Spider Queen.

And this was AFTER she supposedly brought Macaque back from the dead.

This woman is powerful, but not THAT powerful. Not at that point! Wukong supposedly defeated her with ease before according to the show, and even he had troubles with the underworld. Also, out of all of Wukong's past foes, it feels weird that she'd willingly choose Macaque to be the one to be revived- the guy with a conflicted past with Wukong that, considering everyone else he's faced, is pretty avarage in terms of power. Also, again, this man has a huge grudge, but he also has a really big past with Wukong. Even IF she could just bring someone back from the dead like this, she'd be smart enough not to choose Macaque. The risk of disobedience was far too great (since he's pretty smart + would likely not want to put up with her bs for long) and his strength is simply not great enough to justify that decision. She had to constantly check on him, threaten him, and even THEN he still found a way out of it.

Sure, maybe Wukong could go easier on him compared to other foes, but that's still not a good bet. Wukong killed him, after all, likely bc he was a danger to his JTTW friends based on previous scenes- so who's to say he wouldn't do it again?

So all of this: the flawed logic of choosing to revive macaque; the likelihood of her being able to just bring someone back from the dead WHILE weakened; the fact that she clearly didn't trust Macaque like she did the totally not a mayor guy; how her biggest strategy has always been to wait for an opportunity instead of doing the work herself... It makes me question wether she brought Macaque back at all.

Because maybe she just saw an opportunity and took it, maybe she just tricked him into thinking that she was behind his revival- as to make him obey at least somewhat- so she could lock him in a deal. Maybe it wasn't Wukong, maybe it was someone else, but the fact that the chaos magic thing along with the word "deal" wasn't immediately attributed with LBD (the only one we know to have made a deal with Macaque at some point till now) was just really weird to me.

Anyway, wow this was long! Sorry about that! Again, I don't truly believe this is the show's intention, I might just be overthinking/misinterpreting things, but idk. I thought it was at least an interesting enough hypothesis to bring it up fhdhdhhdhd

gawddam anon 👀 that’s quite a theory

also here’s a link of what Nines said to Macky (also there seems to be a new ship between the two and i, for one, suggest that their ship name should be called SixNine :D )

idk i agree with Wukong being the one who struck the deal but you do bring up a lot of hood points 👀✍️ Wukong lying about only having a “feeling” when he met MK (even i could smell the bs), Wukong’s “and what about you!” being more of a misdirect from what Macky wanted to talk about -> like these things i def thought were fishy but you bring up a new perspective 🧐

time will only tell!

[long-suffering-little-spoon]

I JUST REALIZED THAT YOU WATCHED THE OFMD FINALE

H-

How are you feeling 🥲🥲🥲

Pahaha not swimmingly, I'll just say. First I have been doing a bit of the ol' menstruating which means everything is immediately more extreme lol. I've been very conflicted and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about *THE THING* especially, but this is where I stand right here right now at like 11PM lmao

Under the cut cos this ended up being exponentially longer than I thought it could ever be sorry

Overall I've loved season 2!! It has been so much fun to interact with the community and convert everyone to the Izzy hands cult engage with the fandom week by week. We've had some incredibly beautiful high moments and some lovely refreshing queer joy. I adore the new characters and the developments of our existing ones. I know my negative thoughts here are much more substantial than my positives but this doesn't mean I didn't like it!! I just don't feel the need to describe the positives because I feel like they're pretty obvious and universally recognised, agreed upon and beloved, y'know? (if you want a purely positive thoughts autistic happy flappy hands rant™, i can oblige dw)

Izzy's death is not the only reason I have mixed feelings on the finale. Obviously the episode cuts were a result of HBO'S meddling and isn't the fault of the crew, but the pacing still felt off and everything that happened just kinda washed over me like white noise (haha will wo-). The loose ends were tied up in wholesome ways and if we don't get a season 3 this would be a mostly decent way to end our characters' journeys, if a bit rushed. But then...

Izzy's death. A lot of people feel very very betrayed and hurt by Izzy being killed off, some people don't feel the comfort they used to from this show because of it and no longer want to engage. I don't wanna discount these people's views, more power to them; I cannot stop them from feeling what they feel and doing what they choose. I haven't given up hope on this show but Izzy's death just felt pretty unsatisfying to me?? Putting my bias towards him aside, I get the "killing off mentor at end of second act" trope but I just feel and wish way more could've been done with Izzy. I wanted to see more of him being happy and secure in himself and his found family and his queerness and his disability!! But now I don't get that and it very much stings. I think I could've come to terms more with his death if there had been more time to dwell on it all and get to see the individual characters mourn, but again episode cuts, thanks HBO!! /s. And I know they had the funeral but it still feels like we didn't really get a chance to mourn or treat Izzy's death with the weight it warranted. And I am far too tired especially right now to engage in "is this/is this not bury your gays/disabled character" but I will say I've seen pretty compelling arguments on both sides. As an able-bodied disabled person I don't feel it's fully my place to dictate, but I am upset Izzy was killed right after some big moments in his healing process and being a disabled person and in general just enjoying his life.

Personally I'm not giving up on the show as a whole because the finale left a sour taste in my mouth. I still very much like this show and I'm willing to stick around for a potential season 3 and on future rewatches I'll be able to see the stuff I loved separate from the stuff I didn't. But since looking back now, the latter is most recent, it kind of casts an unpleasant shadow on a very enjoyable season of television.

RIP Izzy Hands you deserved better sweetie, you would've loved Drag Race. And also shoutout to Con O'Neill for a fucking phenomenal performance last season, but especially this one. Izzy was absolutely iconic and a fan favourite for a very good reason, even if imo the writers did him dirty. He was hilarious and a petty little bitch man but then deeply broken and compelling and a genuinely beautiful character with a beautiful journey despite an unfortunate and unjust end?? He slayed.

Wow this was a lot!! Sorry if you were expecting silly goofiness lmfao I got very analysi-ish and a bit melancholic. Thank you so much for the ask JJ, it was a good opportunity to try and express all my thoughts and squish them into something cohesive for both you and me. (And thanks to my friend who I was discussing this with earlier; they helped me get a new perspective by sharing some of his thoughts. Dude, if you're reading this you know who you are, thanks a bunch!!!!)

[soundsofastar]

👀 character thoughts?? i am listening..

OK. OH MY GOD. OK.OK highly unexpected from me but i really wanna get into KATSUKI BAKUGOU FROM BNHA OF PEOPLE. but PLEASE just fucking hear me out i've held these thoughts with me since i was like 12 or something. Long ramble about Angry characters and their fandomification under the cut. Part 2 on netzach lobcorp if people want it enough

Big sigh. Ho boy. I have. A lot to say about thus little idiot highschooler /lovingly

Bakugou is a very interestingly written character especially of the angry/extreme ones i see, and a pretty realistic one at that. I say this as someone who can see myself in him a LOT.

Keep in mind I'm an anime only and only rewatched it about half a year ago and quit near the school festival arc!!! So this might be a bit off if you also wanna add in recent facts.

Now that the disclaimer's over, let's get started, shall we?

Bakugou is ab a highschooler's age. A bully towards the protagonist of the series (izuku), who I also have a lot of feelings about but this isn't about him sorry. Highschooler who bullies Izuku, indirectly motivating izuku to be better as he aspires to be like bakugou — who .. in the start of the series, is only really shown to be the worst to izuku but I'm inclined to say that that's kind of just standard high-schooler behavior from my experience. Sure he's a bit rough with his friends, but, he's 16. He's also what one might call an academic weapon, probably also not naturally. Not to mention, he's got a sick ass and powerful quirk. TL,DR; he won out on the genetics lottery — good for him, right?

He's what I say is one of if not the perfect cocktail which makes up a gifted kid. I feel like people forget about this a lot. Gifted kids are okay with school and all until they're suddenly surrounded by people with their same levels, if not higher — they begin to feel threatened, and no longer like the exception. This happens to bakuogu due to him entering U.A high, quite literally the most prestigious one in Japan (no big../s). He quite literally yells out at izuku about how insignificant he's begun feeling ever since izuku seemed to "beat him", or more so, get on his shared level.

Now, I'm not here to excuse him or anything he did for izuku, but I feel that this specific theme caused... way more discourse than it should've. For fucks sake first of all, being 16 is HARD, because you don't know how to feel and everything is changing — and not to mention you already feel so insignificant. Seeing someone who used to be so far below you suddenly be on the same level as you, it not higher, is an IMMENSE punch to the ol' self worth. Even though one might be staying on top of everything — todoroki still surpasses Bakugou, and he stays number 2, but for bakugou that's just not enough, because his whole life He's been number 1 to everyone and anyone. Losing a status as large as that at an age so fragile can be incredibly crushing and it does VILE things to people. You feel all your self worth slip from you. Everything becomes more hard to do. And you just can't help but want to give up.

TL;DR — people forget bakugou is still a TEENAGER. They are Emotional and that's NORMAL and bakugou was especially ESPEEECIALLY realistically written by making him angry. And I think people really need to take a step back and remember that yeah sure his behavior towards izuku isn't justified but his anger should very much be understood

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

SEASON 2 CONCLUSION POST

Season 2 is such a wild wild WILD season and !!!!!!!

When you watch the last 5 episodes it's almost unbelievable the first 5 episodes happened. It was so long ago.

So much happens it's almost like you watched 2 seasons in one.

Can't wait for Jim and Yam to start dating but they're getting there <3 I think Jim has finally realized she's not into boys

My Lumon analyses will never end <3 I am viewing it from so many perspectives and I will stand that they make SO MUCH more sense than Lutteo. SO MUCH more.

But it doesn't mean Simbar doesn't make sense - I am just saying, if I didn't know at all what would have happened in season 3 I'd probably assume Lumon was endgame and Simbar was a "short cute thing but Ámbar needed to work on herself before having a relationship". Of course I would have loved them as endgame regardless (and their scenes in s3 are one fire) and I do also think that if Lumon was endgame people would complain that Simbar wasn't... it's always a discussion how it could have been.

Something I gotta say. The first time I watched the show I was afraid I wouldn't like Simbar, simply because I had fell so hard for Lumon. But then when I got to them, I absolutely 100% fell. I got it immediately. And I am happy I did, cause I'd probably have a harder time in the fandom if I didn't lmao.

But conclusion to this: Simbar and Lumon both makes sense, Lutteo does not. That is my personal opinion and not what others think.

Now, this really was the season of finding your identity, for Ámbar and Luna especially.

It's so FUN to see Ámbar's part of it, how she thinks, how she feels. I also find her relationship with Sharon much more interesting than in season 1. Because there's so many layers. Sometimes she wants to break free, away from her. Then she relapses and once again wants to be her godmother's perfect little girl. She wants affection and she wants approval, but she also wants to be herself, but if she is herself then she gets to face consequences for it.

My sexuality headcanons have really changed since last year, especially for Nina.

When I watched SL for the first time, it really felt like people were trying to convince me what I was supposed to like and what I was supposed to dislike. And people REALLY wanted me to care for the three biggest ships. I think I disliked Lutteo even more out of spite simply because people wanted me to like them. Simbar I really DID like, I could not deny them. And Gastina? I... like them, but I care less about them than people want me to.

Like, yes, they should have been endgame in s3 and yes, they were very cute in season 2, but now when I am doing my rewatch and I have ~asserted myself~ in the SL fandom, I need to say that I don't feel much of anything watching them in season 2. I am happy for them but I just shrug.

It's also that, in many scenes there in, something funny happens and I'd rather want to focus on the funny thing and people want me to focus on them, like no I want to focus on this funny thing I don't care right now that they had some "important" conversation HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT A FUNNY FACE THIS CHARACTER MADE, HAVE YOU SEEN THE BACKGROUND, HAVE YOU HEARD THE MUSIC CHOICE HAHA WHAT A WEIRD MUSIC CHOICE FOR A DRAMATIC SCENE-

Honestly this is why I sometimes have to put a disclaimer like "hey I know y'all like to discuss whatever gastina was doing but right now in this post I want to focus on the fact that the character in the background was dancing". It sounds like I find it super annoying - I don't, but sometimes I wanna keep the focus on what the post is about - and if it is about the background dance, then the topic will be about it. If I wanna talk about what they did in the scene, I would make a post talking about them. It's not just gastina ofc, this applies to all of them, I just used them as an example cause I know I did write this about them in a post.

This is when I can compare the SL fandom and the Violetta fandom - cause in the Violetta fandom we focus even more on the background stuff than anything. And so for example, if a ship is having a scene, we may have one post talking about the ship and then another post about the funny background thing. But in SL, it's like if you talk about the background thing people STILL wanna talk about the ship talking in the scene.

Sorry - I always sound passive aggressive. Happens every time I make a conclusion post with SL. I mean no harm <3 I am just comparing how I experienced things, how things used to be and how it is now. I feel like, now, the SL fandom has chilled down a little. But it doesn't mean I can't reflect on stuff that I feel has happened in my experience in my time in the fandom.

Amanda was robbed. I despise what they did to her character.

Honestly this show has a terrible treatment of characters with a disability. I don't like it.

Sharon going into madness <3 Love to see the development of her losing it more and more

Unpopular opinion but I LIKE Eva and Ada. Yes, they weren't good with roller band, but also ?? they remind me of Cami and I LOVE Cami and Cami would def come up with something like this and I think she's related to them

The songs in s2 were real bangers <3 At least 70% of them

To think, last year I bought a VPN so I could watch s3. Now s3 is out in my country and I can just go watch it <3

Now my friends, I have reblogged some underrated S2 liveblog posts that I have put in queue, as well as some S1 liveblogs, and they'll come up when you least expect it. In a moment, I'll start on S3! Which is funnily enough the THIRD time I am liveblogging that, one more than the other two.

[makarovni]

Personal shit I'm posting here instead of main bc irls follow me there. Mention of suicide, SA, ED, and drugs

So I got my fiance to watch Veep with me. At first it was exciting, bc 1. Rewatch!!! 2. Get him to see something I enjoy!!! But today has made me kinda upset and not wanna watch it with him.

In real life, I am extremely touch averse. I barely tolerate being held romantically by him- there are some moods where I enjoy it but for the most part I prefer just to sit beside him. I especially hate any other kind of "gentle, romantic" touches and kisses, though I only just now told him that. But I allow him some time to hold me and be physically affectionate bc his love language is physical affection, and I don't want to be unfair to him.

Anyways, I gave him some of this time while we were watching Veep, and at first it was okay, he just had his arms around me and we were fine. But then an episode with Sidney came on, and when the scenes with Sidney were on, he became much more affectionate, kissing my shoulder and touching my tits and back and stuff. I noticed he also did this when Kent would show up.

He knows damn well I'm attracted to both men, so I feel like he was doing this out of some weird jealousy. Like hey, don't pay attention to them, pay attention to me!! And it just made me feel absolutely sick to my stomach. After like two episodes of enduring it I finally told him (POLITELY) I'd like him to stop touching me and please just sit beside me. He did as I asked and while he didn't complain, I could tell he felt rejected or annoyed.

But it's like, he claims he's never been jealous of anyone with me, no crushes on celebrities or characters, he says he doesn't care. He doesn't understand, bc he says the only attractive people in the world to him are me, Keanu Reeves, and Bruce Campbell apparently, but he says he doesn't mind that I have harmless crushes.

Yet it seems like he's trying to subtly be jealous and get my attention away from A FUCKING TV SHOW by touching me in ways I don't like. It's too obvious to be a coincidence, bc he would stop and then start up again when Kent shows up in the next scene. And he really played it up with Sidney scenes. So yeah even if he's not "jealous" in particular, I noticed he did it especially with Kent and Sidney scenes.

I don't know if I should bring that up. I already told him earlier about our boundaries- he gives me minimum affection to satisfy that need, and if I want more I can ask, if I want him to stop I ask and he will. I should probably just get over it and forget he did this today but I just can't.

I felt violated and like I was being molested. Even if we are engaged and I love him more than anything, I still felt that way. I felt the way i felt being molested by my sexual abusers. I've been crying about it since I went home and thought about killing myself (I won't tho dw). We were having such a good day up until that happened. I don't know if I want to go to his house tomorrow because even tho he won't do it again bc we set the boundary, it still really bothers me.

I don't know what to do. I keep crying. I want to go take painkillers even if I'm not in pain and I know that's bad but it just feels like the only thing that can make me happy right now. I'm very upset at this and I don't know what to do.

I want to wrap my body in clothes that no one will be able to see it through or touch me. I want to start starving again. I want to take more painkillers. All because of this.

Sorry. If you read this, thanks. No ones under obligation to read it or care. I just had to get it out of my system.

[flightfoot]

Just rewatched the New York Special and I must say I was surprised by how different Marinette's reaction to Cat leaving in there and Kuro Neko. How having an established team change her mindset. She goes from "I need him" to "I don't always need him". Although both times has Marinette not understanding the reason why he left, Kuro Neko left me speechless by her assumption that the reason why he left was because he was in love with her despite Cat already agreed to not make any move after Glaciator 2. It's as if she couldn't think of any other reason beside his feelings toward her instead of thinking that it probably has something with their dynamic or outside factor. Sure that seeing the sentimonster make her realize that something is wrong, not by how she treat him but rather by her guardian skill and I'm not sure I understand how she come to that conclusion?

Marinette thinking that Chat left because of her rejecting his romantic feelings isn't entirely crazy, given what she knows and has been told. Keep in mind that this is what Plagg told her, about why he gave up the Ring:

Plagg: Of course not, Cat Noir is the camembert! For a while now, you've been neglecting this camembert— I mean Cat Noir, and going on adventures with the all other cheeses!

Ladybug: But he should be happy about it, it gives him more time off.

Plagg: Cat Noir doesn't wanna have time off, Ladybug! He is in love with you! And your persistent calling on other heroes has broken his heart.

Between Plagg tying Chat feeling neglected to him being in love with her, and the only persistent emotional problem that Ladybug KNOWS Chat has, being his unrequited love for her, it's pretty reasonable for her to come to the conclusion in Kuro Neko that his issues come down to feeling bad about her rejecting him and calling on the other heroes instead, even though that's not actually the main cause.

You also have to keep in mind that, when MARINETTE has some emotional problem that she can't divulge to Chat without hinting at her identity, she can't really suppress those negative emotions. It's still obvious that something's wrong, even if she refuses to say what - we even saw her attempt to pretend everything was fine back in Gang of Secrets. It failed miserably.

She probably assumes that since Chat doesn't display those same emotional issues as obviously as she does, then he must not have any that are all that serious. She has no idea of how adept he is at compartmentalizing his emotions, or why he would've had to get so good at it.

I think she's going to need to learn more about Chat's problems outside of him just feeling bad about his love being unrequited (or so he thinks), and she's going to need to think more deeply about how easily Chat can be hurt, but I see why she came to the conclusions that she did. And once she DOES discover just how bad his circumstances are, and just why his abandonment issues are so bad, she'll do everything in her power to help him.

Marinette doesn't always read people well, and sometimes is oblivious when others do give signs of being in emotional distress, but once it gets through to her that someone's hurt, especially by her own actions, she will do everything in her power to help them. The course of action she chooses in those circumstances still may not be the best one, but she gives it a damn SHOT.

[professorxsmokesweed]

What’s your opinion on the movie now that you’ve seen it?

oh boy.... what is my opinion! it's a terrible movie no one watch it is the short answer the long answer, which i am putting under a cut:

it's still a terrible movie! the plot.. the plot makes no sense! it is never explained! there's fucking ALIENS??? and i know. i know aliens exist and are involved in the comics. i know comics charles has an alien girlfriend at some point. they should not have been introduced this way!

i don't think we ever even got names for them? unless i missed them? i was just calling the main blonde one "alien bitch" the whole movie like what is going on..... moot found the answer thru google but i will be honest i forgot it like immediately and i know it was dumb as shit like verk or something

anyways. so right off the bat we got space shit and i was clearly supposed to be cool it just... wasnt to me probs cause the budget was $2 and they divided those $2 among paying the cast (having no budget it not a bad thing!!!! ive seen many good movies with no budgets!!! but here its like. they didnt care. also they gave the worst wig in the world to james.) im gonna move into characters now cause thats where my biggest grievances lie like even a movie about dumbass aliens would be bearable if the characters were good and thats often whats carried me through other xmen movies like apocalypse

i don't even know where to start this is such a fucking mess so im gonna start with charles!

uhhh charles was. fucking awful this movie. like genuinely awful i wanted to beat his ass at the beginning i do think charles can be manipulative and put a big goal ahead of the wellbeing of a person in the moment! i love charles having negative traits i love those traits being explored! this.... wasn't it and it felt very abrupt in comparison to the previous movies, which did not really touch on his more dickish traits besides the god complex & how he made raven feel + his awful coping mechanisms. it wasn't movie charles! idk who it was but it wasn't him! if they wanted to show him as a dick they needed to develop more they cant just Do That! raven! ohohoho my beloved raven... ive pointed this out before but the alt timeline is awful to female characters which is especially pathetic considering the og's came out 10+ years before them i cant believe movies from the very earliest of the 2000s did better but they did.. how are you worse than the movies you based yourselves on. back to raven my babygirl. i am so so so sorry you never had any real development or plotline besides the first class "accepting yourself" thing and then nothing actually solidly fleshed out since. the raven that lives in my head does. but thats not the raven in the movies and she got thrown back into her "i wanna leave and do something meaningful!!!" role which i found extremely tired. her and charles can have an extremely meaningful and nuanced relationship but the movies never actually go there and im miserable about it and in this one they just argue about shit they argued over in first class then she got fridged goodbye my sweet angel... sorry they made you say that stupid x-women thing as a throwaway #girlpower! moment at least you didnt live to see the aliens

(on that note i do appreciate the way they showed charles having a relapse with alcohol over her death. that was a small good detail)

hank was like. im glad he developed a spine this movie but also he was forgettable to me personally after the scene where he yelled at charles. him siding with erik was hilarious as fuck but im ???? idk i need to rewatch his scenes to develop strong opinions on him in this movie but im also never gonna do that lmao

erik my other babygirl im very glad the movie had you take a backseat i cant imagine what they wouldve done if he had a bigger role.... the scene where jean showed up was good until he valued the military's opinion more. my king would never. he was hot also in most of his scenes so good for him!!! the entire "im gonna kill jean over raven!!" thing... eh. if they showed us an actual strong relationship be that platonic or romantic between erik & raven it probably would've hit more but they didn't! and so it was just! i mean okay i guess! also very funny how he was sitting on his little gay socialist island like "i've found peace finally" but then they immediately had him go out to kill jean!

regarding the kids in general. i liked scott the most this movie but they were all very! idk the alt ones pale in comparison to the og's for me personally i dont think thats their fault i think its the writing.. it wouldve helped if they all got more than 10 minutes of screen time besides jean but they did not. there was just too much going on it needed Less

they almost had flavor with the entire jean & her little kiddy repressed trauma + her adopted father relationship with charles but it fell super flat probably because of the fucking aliens they also had to work in i think that plot line had the most potential out of all of them tbh

moving on from that the stair scene. that is the most ableist thing i have every fucking seen and i didn't even actually watch it the chat was going crazy about how awful it was so i luckily realized what was gonna happen and paused + skipped over it like im sick thinking of it even now and im abled so i cant imagine how disabled fans feel. whoever came up with that plague on your house burn in hell etc that sounds like a joke but its not i legit want to smash a car with a bat over it (for those that don't know, jean makes charles walk up stairs/drags him up stairs with her powers. she tells him to walk to her before doing this.)

the train fight was good as hell. and the proposal!!!! erik proposed!!! but im gonna say something unpopular: this movie was not worth that one minute of cherik. its like they stabbed me and instead of proper care they gave me a band-aid. anyways,

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

It's been many minutes or so since my first rewatch of Hilda And The Mountain King. I'm not gonna spoil anything huge. Yet I will make hints about some stuff.

I just wanna say I still love this movie. I love it so very much. Watching during the New Years time was a perfect idea. But I wanna clarify some things that bothered me. Somewhat criticisms or nitpicks. Because I love so much stuff about this film.

-

1. Trylla.....Baba's mother...let me explain. I don't mind her as a character. She's pretty fine as one. But as my dear friend @cinnamon-sparrow-scout explained it perfectly...

What she did...and I was thinking about this during my first rewatch of the movie. Even though yeah, what happens because of Hilda...

But Trylla and her actions are the catalyst for what happens. Her actions are what drives the story in the first place. And some of her moments...

I'm sorry, there needed to be a scene where she straight up gets chewed out. Even though I appreciate her efforts to help out during the final act. She has some good moments. But there needed to be a scene with her and Johanna after everything had settled. I wanted that.

I think Luke should've developed on that more. Because it feels VERY WEIRD that her actions afterwards are not a big focus or something.

-

2. I wished this movie was longer. Okay, not like 2 hours or anything. I understand making Hilda is maybe difficult. But the reasons why I'm asking this because Trylla and Erik could've used some extra scenes, along with other things. And maybe whatever else.

Also, I just love this movie. And this is gonna be the last Hilda related thing we might get until season 3. I don't mind the hiatuses at times. Especially with the movie feeling like an ending.

I just love this world and it's characters.

I also feel like maybe to make the movie feel like it's own thing. Maybe a recap of, "The Stone Forest" for any newcomers. I know that sounds strange. I was mainly imagining if this was a theatrical film. But it's overall fine or whatever.

I'm maybe wording it wrong. I still love how the movie plays out. Now I want to get to the final thing.

-

3. Erik.....I talked to Cinnamon about this. I totally understand the criticism. But to be honest...I strangely appreciate that they did that in the ending. It lines up a bit more with his original counterpart. But it also just...makes him more human in a sense.

Yeah, it goes really quick. I liked that they had the courage to straight up do that. Yet the ending...makes me sad a little. Even though it's a good thing concerning him.

Everything is literally beautiful. The way this movie ends is beautiful. I may have not cried like the first time I watched it. But I still love the ending.

I'm just gonna really miss Erik...so much that I made a silly, but stupid meme before I made this post. I'm not gonna share it yet...I'm worried of how people would respond to it. But it's stupid, yet funny.

-

Overall, everything else was great. I will say this. I wished the Bellkeeper showed up somehow. Especially with how some of the movie plays out.

But I still love this movie so much. This movie, along with the first two seasons are why I love the creator, writers, and so many other things about this show.

If this was showing in a theater (And I read in a tweet there were select theaters during the day it released that it must've possible), I would damn well go to the theater to see it.

Honestly, add "The Stone Forest" to make it more complete like a double feature. That would be legendary.

Edit update and took out s behind add. But I forgot to say this. And forgot to mention this in my first reaction to the movie. Where I straight rewinded it to hear it again during my first time watching it.

Trylla straight up has the Godzilla 1998 roar. XD I'm not kidding! The roar is in this video. It's so amusing to hear.

[geek-gem]

I've rewatched Godzilla 2014

It's been a long time since I've seen the film. At one point it was tv but it wasn't at the start and I just didn't wanna watch it. It was in the first half where Ford and Joe are finally at Joe's apartment or something.

Yet yeah I just watched the film after a long time basically.

I watched the DVD version that was included with this package. To be honest weird the Warner Bros DVD menus all look the same in a way. First Rampage, San Andreas, now Godzilla 2014.

But back to the main point. Now that I'm older and what are my thoughts.

I liked it.

But I wanna share something that Gareth Edwards said about this movie. Okay I looked in Wikipedia and Google. I am not sure if Gareth Edwards said it. But it was something about making The Dark Knight of Godzilla.

Gonna tell you that saying....is something.

Yet I feel compared to The Dark Knight, a film I haven't seen fully for a long time. I appreciate the direction the film was going for. Especially because of that 1998 mess of a film from TriStar.

But also...compared to The Dark Knight....which is when I look at it a awesome film. Godzilla 2014 could be a lot more better. But also I wanna make a joke where King Ghidorah starts saying shit, "Wanna know how I got these scars?" I was gonna say Kevin should say it but let Ichi say that shit instead. Or it would most likely be like, "Wanna know how we got these scars?"

Let me tell you I don't mind and I do love more serious Godzilla stories. The original 1954 film and it's 1956 American version are classics that hold up to this day.

I weirdly wanna call Godzilla 2014 a more serious version of Godzilla 2000. But there are no aliens in this.

Let's get some positives out of the way. Godzilla and the Muto's are pretty damn cool when they are on screen.

Including the score is good while it's at it. Especially my favorite characters were Serizawa, Vivianne Graham, and even Ford Brody. Everyone does do a good performance in there own right.

But I should just get to the point. Especially what the problem I have with this film now. I understand build up and what the film is trying to do. I remember now, here's the problem I have with this film.

The characters aren't the most interesting. I'll be honest the film gets better once the Titans start coming out. But again the characters and while I did like Joe Brody and what was going on with his character. Despite even if it was for a short time.

But the characters don't pull me in that much. I understand as a fan of Kaiju and other stuff like that. We are here for the monsters. Yet while they are gone the humans are around and they can be good characters. Really there is nothing wrong with many of the characters.

Yet they don't pull me in. The film doesn't feel that exciting. Basically I need more of a reason to care for certain characters.

Including to be honest as I watched the film. I don't mind Ford as a character. Who's our main protagonist. He isn't a bad character, and I like certain moments with him. Also I know the whole shit that soldiers need to control their emotions and stuff.

Also towards the end I loved the little moments where he and Godzilla there are parallels with them. Such as them looking at each other, and when they fall.

Yet the point is Ford isn't a character that isn't the most exciting.

I'm gonna be a hypocrite and say something like I think this film was being a bit too serious. Which is absolute bullshit considering we have the original film. That's the idea it's the human characters.

Including I'm bothered by stuff like the lighting when it's nighttime on the monsters. Where they blend in with the buildings.

Also I'll say this I know the comparisons to Jaws and Alien. But the problem with that is those two are especially Jaws are some of the greatest films of all time. With characters that you gain interest in and you like them.

Godzilla 2014 tries that and I understand the direction they went with. But when you have characters that don't interest you as much. I just felt like I was watching the film.

Including watching the film now I understand why many people were displeased with this film. To the point they liked that 1998 film much more. Which I'll mention again later.

Along with the fact no wonder why I think with each installment of the Monsterverse gets better. Because of the different takes but also showing the monsters more. Including more entertaining characters.

I'm sorry I sound like an action junkie. Especially as someone who understands the seriousness of what Godzilla is as a symbol of quite some things.

In fact I wanna say this and almost forgot. I wanna be honest and I want to talk about this with some folks.

Is it possible everyone's bitching about Ford Brody as a character is the reason why we don't get more soldiers as main protagonists? It depends on the story the person is talking about. But it just makes me think. Mainly that Sonic movie but whatever else.

It can be about any film especially Transformers and whatever big franchise that has action or whatever. It's just me theorizing that I feel is the reason there isn't more soldier protagonists in films like these. Yet I could be wrong.

But I wanna say this. This is a alright start to the Monsterverse. I'll be honest too, I feel this year's Godzilla King Of The Monsters is truly what I wanted from an American Godzilla film. Such as the characters, story, score, monsters, and other things. Hopefully Godzilla Vs Kong continues that trend of being better each time. Especially the fact KOTM 2019 did actually make me cry which I've mentioned before.

Along with the important fact, despite my problems with this film. This is a Godzilla film, Gareth Edwards and everyone who worked on this film treated the character with dignity and respect. Even though I had problems with the film in my mind I feel like a good comparison might be the 1970's King Kong remake. But I think that's stupid considering we have Kong Skull Island.

The point being everyone who worked on this film made a Godzilla film, and again treated the character with dignity. Especially compared to the 1998 meme of a film that is TriStar's Godzilla. Where it was made by two guys Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin who actually said there were no good Godzilla films. Despite how iconic and important the original 1954 film was.

I know it's repetitive to mention Godzilla 1998 and the way I see it, it's basically the Sonic 06 of the Godzilla franchise.

But I wanted to get my point across. The 2014 film did it's job to redeem itself what happened with the first American remake. Now we have the Monsterverse, a worthy sequel fans and audiences love, and an upcoming crossover with Godzilla and King Kong himself.

I will mention the reason I haven't watched this film earlier during vacation because was worried it would bore people. My brother and his friend watched it with me, but my brother went to bed soon, and the last 15 minutes his friend went to the bathroom.

For a lot of the movie it was just me experiencing it. Even told them I was worried it would of bored them, before that heard someone said because it was too scary or whatever.

During the movie my brother asked if I liked Godzilla 2 which he means KOTM, or the 2014 film. I told him I liked the 2nd one more. This was again during the movie. Basically was realizing why I liked that film more.

It was fun seeing his friends reaction to how huge Godzilla was. Strange he thought the male Muto was Godzilla, had to correct him. But yeah the size thing was fun and my brother thought he didn't look that huge. Despite his friend literally searched up Godzilla's height in the 2014 film after I mentioned his height in the 2019 film, and what he possibly was in the 2014 film.

I got the tags dealt with, it's 1:24 am, I'm not going to bed now. But this is my thoughts on the film after rewatching it after a long time now. 1:25 am

Edit 2:39 am I'll mention this when Godzilla finally showed up, my brother's friend said Godzilla's legs were thick or something or that he was thick, whatever just wanna share that. 2:40

[yinnezha]

Hi! I wanna start this by saying that I don't really have an opinion on the karedevil relationship, as in I'm fine with it going canon or not as long as it's well written. So this is a genuine question: where do you see the writing that hints towards them having an actual relationship? Because to me personally it always seems like Karen is super into Matt, while he comes across as not that interested. Especially in S2, it felt more like he thought 'okay whatever, I guess we can go out.'

I also kinda feel like Karen deserves better? I love Matt dearly, but I mean, he basically dropped Karen the instant Elektra was back and acted like a douche, then decided to die with Elektra in Defenders, and then in S3 he seemed totally bitter he had to save her instead of going after Fisk. Maybe I’m just not seeing the writing you’re seeing, but that could totally be me since I’m not invested in any ship on the show. (2)

hey, I wanna start by apologizing for how long this answer is. I will address the points you raised and keep it as objective as I can, talking about the writing of the show and my understanding of it. All bias towards or against particular ships will be kept to myself.

“where do you see the writing that hints towards them having an actual relationship?”

The writing of the first season is filled with hints and foreshadowings, and while Matt and Karen spend the first season without a romantic involvement, it is underlined that they will. But is under lines, it is subtle, less in your face than Matt’s involvement with Claire (and for a reason but I’ll get to that). It is lines like Karen explaining how she promised to her grandmother to only serve her recipe to her future husband and then proceeds to serve it to Matt first, then Foggy. It is lines like Matt telling Foggy back in college that he’s looking for someone that he really likes listening to and a couple of episodes before that, he mention to Karen very matter of factly that he likes listening to her voice. It is lines like Karen’s acceptance of and trust in the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. If you rewatch the first season looking for signs like these, you’ll find them (there are more).

“to me personally it always seems like Karen is super into Matt, while he comes across as not that interested”

Of course Karen’s interest in Matt was obvious from the start; she admires his idealism, his will to fight for justice, how he’s a person who wants to do good. But to understand why Matt wasn’t immediately interested in Karen we have to see things from his perspective. She’s a stranger, involved in some messy things, who is good but lies to him (for whatever reason that she has) and we cannot forget this, that Matt knows Karen lies to him. So with Matt’s “understanding” of people we can assume he is wary of having a relationship. See, Matt’s relationship with Claire was surface and it was meant to be that way. It happened fast, it developed fast and it ended fast. Because Claire was not the one who would accept him and understand him. And so in parallel with that, because Claire cannot accept Matt’s fighting crime, we have Karen’s undying support for the Man in the mask. You see what I mean? But back to Matt’s “disinterest” in Karen… He knows she is a good person, but that’s as far as it goes. They needed time to adjust, to get to know each other beyond the circunstances of their meeting. They needed to build a foundation, and that was happening slowly throughout the first season. The strangers become friends. Enters the second season where some time has passed and they are more confortable with the idea of exploring their mutual interest. 

“it felt more like he thought ‘okay whatever, I guess we can go out’.”

Again, let’s take into consideration that they work together, they see each other all the time, they go out together. In the first episode we see a shift in Matt in which he is more playful with her, more lingering looks… Foggy says “I leave you two alone for one minute” which kind of implies that this is a common ocurrence now, that Matt and Karen are on the flirting banter for a while. And then later on the episode in which Matt kiss Karen for the first time, Foggy says “careful Matt keep going like this you might just end up happy and for a catholic boy that’s a pretty dangerous thing” interesting that he could’ve just teased Matt about being happy but he mentioned Matt’s religion as a subtle reminder to the audience of Matt’s inner struggles, how he beats himself up over what he deserves. You see when is something serious, meaningful is harder for him, his beliefs, his doubts gets on the way. Matt probably wanted to be with Karen for a while but didn’t know how, didn’t know if he deserves her (because of how he sees her, because in reality we the audience knows that she would understand and accept him). So you see, I disagree with your point on Matt “settling” for going out with Karen.

“I also kinda feel like Karen deserves better? I love Matt dearly, but I mean, he basically dropped Karen the instant Elektra was back and acted like a douche, then decided to die with Elektra in Defenders”

Remember my point on Claire not accepting Matt’s Daredevil identity? Well, Elektra is the opposite. She accepts Daredevil, but she does not accept Matt. See? This is good writing! We have different ends of the issue of Matt’s double life in both seasons. And both relationships were wrong for him because something was missing, and in both seasons we have Karen being underlined again as the one that would accept him as a whole. This is very important and it is in the storytelling. There is a reason why Elektra’s relationship with Matt was a parallel to Karen’s in episode 5, it was to show to the audience which relationship is the right one. A lot of people has issues with how Matt handled things but we’re here to talk about the writing and the second season was about Matt’s struggle with his double life and what he really wants. He spends the whole season losing control of his life, and it reflects on his choices.

Now on Karen deserving better, don’t you think Matt deserves better as well? Elektra was a toxic relationship that destroyed Matt’s life as he knew and drove away the two people that matters the most to him. And I’m not erasing Matt’s responsibility here, but no matter how we feel about his actions Matt is the hero of this story, it’s his show and so the writing is telling us to root for what is right for him and that is not Elektra. And he does deserve better. Matt is a complicated man, a tortured man (I mean he is a devoted catholic for crying out loud) he is messy so of course things won’t be easy for him. And that is what makes him interesting. And he did not just fucked up his relationship with Karen but with Foggy as well to whom he was also a bit of a douche. So it’s not about the romance here, but more about Matt’s choices and development and what he needs to fix it. And he does in the third season, he is heading in that direction.

In Defenders Matt was holding onto Matt Murdock and then in season 3 he was holding onto Daredevil. Matt never had a season in which he was not struggling with this. And part of the reason why his relationships don’t work is because of that. But now at the end of the third season we will finally see Matt being fully himself and the people that matter the most to him accepting and understanding because that’s the natural progression of the writing. We had to go through all of this, we needed him to reach this point. And not only Matt but Karen needed some development too. And the third season stripped them of their lies and made them face the truth and when that happened we had one of the best scenes of the season (a little biased sorry) and that is the start of a new chapter for them.

Both Karen and Matt deserve better and the better is themselves, a better version of themselves. Honesty and truth and trust. And that’s what we have been watching since the first season, that’s the story. That’s what the writers are telling us. They are the right, just not right now. They need to learn, they need to deserve, they need to reach that point where they’ll have the understanding and trust that we know they can have, and we know because it’s underlined, it’s being shown to us since the start. It’s a slow burn, beautiful and difficult and complicated and messy… just like Matt’s life. Just like Karen’s life. Just like all the good love stories are.

Many people has issues with Matt and Karen’s relationship, but from the writing and storytelling perspective is great. And is the direction the show will keep taking. They have been developing this romance since the very first episode of the show. Charlie Cox absolutely loves and understand the relationship because he knows Matt Murdock better than anyone, and he is right. Karen is Matt’s soulmate. It’s more deep and slow. And now to finish, something he said that sums up everything I said in a less annoying way:

What we never tried to do, and I think I’m speaking for the writers of the series as well, was to make the beautiful story with Karen – Deborah Ann Woll - look like a rebound relationship. Ultimately it’s a much deeper bond, which lasts fifty years and ironically is more important exactly because it doesn’t draw from roof-jumping, but from everyday life. I think if Karen and Matt could find a way to match their respective darknesses, they would find an excellent balance.

[luciana-galvez]

*cue the shook'd anon soundtrack* (I needs to make that a thing) PLEASE let me know if my fangirling starts to annoy you lol you see, I'm very passionate when it comes to television lmao! I just finished s1 and *spoiler* im shook. To answer ur questions, Im not far into shipping on this show yet but I don't hate the idea of Bellarke?? I liked Finn and Clarke until I found out Clarke was just his side hoe. My crack!ship is Monty&Jasper lol! I can kinda picture Raven and Bellamy but idk! 1/2

2/2 But I think I need to see more scenes of them together ye know? I also really do like Lincoln&Octavia! They’re pretty much the main ship I like. As for characters I can’t stand, I wanna say Bellamy but I can’t hate him?? (Especially after what he did for Jasper) There’s something about him and he’s getting a lot of redemption and I love that rn! At this moment tho I DO NOT like Murphy. He’s a party pooper. I used to not like Kane but now I love him?? Im RLY not a fan of Finn tho. He’s a jerk

3/3 (FML I didn’t think I’d type this much I’m sorry) Finn is a jerk for lying to Clarke about Raven (I felt so bad for both of those gals like damn Finn wyd) OK now i feel bad for sending all of these messages 😅 what was the saddest moment for you in s1? (For me i think it was when those people on the ship sacrificed themselves) what is also your fav s1 episode? (Thank you so much for hearing me babble ❤ you’re so sweet and that’s why ur my favorite blog)

No problem anon, I really do like talking about it, since not a lot of my friends watch it! you’re so sweet for asking though! :) 

aah yes the season finale is amazing!! season 2 is also gonna be really good! hahah i do love monty and jasper as well, the handclap thing they do is so cute, you know which one i mean? 

As for characters I can’t stand, I wanna say Bellamy but I can’t hate him??

lmao this is so true. i think it’s those deer-eyes of his and how protective he is of his sister that makes it impossible to truly hate him, even if he’s as horrible as he is begging of season 1 hahah. you’ll love him by end of season 2 the latest, i promise. :D

yeah as i’m rewatching season 1 i’m not particularly fond of murphy either. i just watched the episode where he hangs bellamy. thankfully he’ll get a bit of redemption as well (i don’t think that’s a spoiler if i already said i like him??), i’m a sucker for a good redemption ark. and yes! kane! i love how they turn they’re characters around. (btw did you watch lost? the first time i watched season 1 i would yell ‘desmond hume!!!’ at my tv every time he popped up hahah). I agree with the finn thing. he is charming and all but i was always sort of indifferent to him. and that clarke raven triangle didn’t really help hahah.

the culling was also the saddest moment for me in season 1! seeing the dad again with his daughters headband, or hairclip, i don’t remember what it was but that was heartbreaking. especially if you simultaneously see that the people on the ground try everything to show them that earth is survivable. 

favorite episode is hard, there were so many good ones! i really really love the day trip episode, where everyone is high lmao. I also like the one where murphy gets back and everybody gets sick, aaand the finale! how about you? what’s your favorite episode/moment? 

also keep me posted about your season 2 opinions haha!