#no promises on my actual return but damn I was not expecting a resurrection 4 years later

[whiskered]

color me intrigued 👀

[robininthelabyrinth]

I need to know what u think of an AU where JC is the one who dies (sacrificing his life to save WWX) instead of JYL, he’s not as angry with WWX bc JYL is still alive so when he sees his brother about to get murdered he just steps in front of him while JYL and WWX see :) I don’t even know what I want u to do with this? Give me some headcanons? Is it a prompt? Idk I just want u to to see what u make of this (I promise JC is my fav but my mind likes to make me suffer :p)

1

It wasn’t a matter of conscious thought when Jiang Cheng threw himself between that cultivator’s sword and Wei Wuxian’s unguarded back, all his defenses down in the face of Jiang Yanli’s pleading, same as always; it was just instinct. Wei Wuxian was always the troublemaker, the crazy one, and Jiang Cheng always the one being dragged along; he’d long ago learned to spend all his time watching his shixiong’s back, keeping him away from dogs, away from angry shopkeepers, away from any harm. It was instinct, just as it had been the day he’d thrown himself out into the street to distract the Wens, and he’d always justified that instinct because he knew that Wei Wuxian would do the same for him.

Though – he didn’t know that anymore, not after everything that happened recently. Wei Wuxian had made him all the promises in the world, to stand by his side through wind and lightning, and he’d seemed to have no issue abandoning those promises, picking the remnants of the Wen sect over the remnants of the Jiang sect without a moment’s hesitation and not even the courtesy of an explanation.

The Yiling Patriarch was all but a stranger to him, and Jiang Cheng still didn’t understand why.

So it was probably stupid of him to react as if the person being stabbed at was Wei Wuxian, not the Yiling Patriarch – stupid of him to give up his life for someone who didn’t care about him nearly as much as Jiang Cheng cared for him.

But that’s why it wasn’t a thought. It was instinct.

He heard someone scream “Jiang Cheng!” as if their heart were breaking, and he thought for a moment that it was Wei Wuxian again, the one who loved him best. Wei Wuxian, not the Yiling Patriarch, who threw him to the dogs over and over again, put his sect at risk of utter destruction a second time over, just to indulge himself and his bizarre fixation on saving the Wens at the expense of everyone else. Who didn’t care about their duty to their sect, to their parents - who didn’t care about him at all.

Jiang Cheng’s heart hurt. It was probably just the sword that’d just been driven through it, though.

Hands grasped at his clothing, pulling him back; his sister’s face had lost all blood, and Wei Wuxian looked as if his world had ended – he wasn’t sure why. Jiang Yanli had her son to care for, a new life in Lanling that she refused to abandon even if Jin Zixuan was now gone; Wei Wuxian had his Wens, his new cultivation – perhaps it was some little regret, far too late, for the Jiang sect that would now come to grief, leaderless, the end of their family line and the disappointment of their ancestors. Jiang Cheng’s final and most absolute failure.

Jiang Cheng looked at them both, the ones he loved the most and who had left him without a single glance backwards, and found with his last breath that he had nothing to say to them.

He closed his eyes so they wouldn’t have to.

2

The battlefield was full of corpses, and Jiang Yanli didn’t care about a single one of them.

“Do you think he can be brought back, the way Wen Ning was?” she asked, holding the corpse in her arms as if it were still the baby brother she sang songs to as a child, the little crybaby who was so fierce on the outside and so soft on the inside. She had been able to lie to herself with Jin Zixuan’s body – he almost looked as though he were sleeping, head on the pillow beside her own – but Jiang Cheng had never slept well in his life, his brow always furrowed as if he was worrying about something even in his dreams, and the blank peace on his face was so wrong that she couldn’t bear to look at him.

She wasn’t asking Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian had only stopped the massacre when Lan Wangji, of all unlikely people, had bodily tackled him; everyone had always said that the Second Jade was like oil and water with her A-Xian, but he’d unexpectedly taken their side in this battle and was even now letting a barely-conscious Wei Wuxian sob Jiang Cheng’s name into his collar. He looked silently at her, his gaze a quiet reminder that her question was inappropriate – one Ghost General had already been enough to cause all of this tragedy, and certainly no one would ever accept another as a sect leader.

She looked steadily back at him, indicating in return that she didn’t give a damn about the standing of the Jiang sect if it meant she wouldn’t have to bury her baby brother.

Lan Wangji hesitated, looking down at Wei Wuxian. “You cannot stay at Yiling,” he finally said. “After this…”

They’d killed people from virtually every sect; no matter who had sympathized with Wei Wuxian before this or how much they felt he was wronged, they would have no choice but to raise up arms against him.

Jiang Yanli understood. They would be fugitives, condemned by all. She didn’t care. “Will you help us?”

He nodded and stood, Wei Wuxian cradled as gently in his arms as she held Jiang Cheng in hers.

“Will you come with us?” she asked. Anyone who loved her brother enough to defy his sect, to stain his untainted blade with the blood of his own kin, deserved a chance to court him properly, if she hadn’t misunderstood his intentions; she didn’t think she had, not with the expression so clear on his silent face.

“I will help you,” he said, and that wasn’t an answer, wasn’t the one she wanted, but it would have to do for now. “Let us go.”

3

It was Jin Zixuan who figured it out, oddly enough. Perhaps it was because he was an outsider, looking at the situation without affection to blur his eyes.

“You gave him your golden core,” he said, less than a week into his resurrection – Lan Wangji had been very efficient in his help, not only finding a new place to hide Jiang Yanli and the remaining Wens but also returning to Lanling to steal Jin Zixuan’s corpse and little Jin Ling before returning to his own sect at the first sign that Wei Wuxian would awaken from his coma. He hadn’t sent word since that time, whether from regret or other reasons; their only consolation was that there was no news of his death. “That’s why you couldn’t do anything other than demonic cultivation – is that right?”

Wei Wuxian looked at him through blood-red eyes. “Get lost,” he said; the phrase made up the majority of his vocabulary, these days, and because he refused to curse his shijie he mostly ended up not talking to her at all.

“Wen Qing was a famous doctor – she could have figured out a way to do it, and that would explain why you felt so indebted to them,” Jin Zixuan continued. “You never told him because you didn’t want to burden him. But instead you left him without any reason, any explanation: he must have felt that you abandoned him because you didn’t want him.”

“Get lost!”

“You broke his heart,” he said, and looked down at Jiang Cheng’s body – still perfectly preserved, but unmoving. The resurrection spell had already failed three times. “No wonder he doesn’t want to return.”

“I did it for him!” Wei Wuxian screamed, tears of blood dripping down his cheeks. “He didn’t – he wouldn’t – he has to come back!”

Jin Zixuan said nothing.

4

They ended up back in Yunmeng, rather unexpectedly; the new leadership of the Lotus Pier, a distant branch cousin who’d survived the massacre because he’d been night-hunting elsewhere, had all but begged Jiang Yanli to return. Against all odds her reputation had survived the massacre at the Nightless City; the loving wife, sister, and shijie that nearly sacrificed herself to save what lives she could and to banish the dreadful Yiling Patriarch who was never seen again from that day forth –  she was very nearly regarded as an incarnation of the goddess of mercy.

She had no idea where that ridiculous notion came from, but it did mean that she could live in Lotus Pier again, with Jin Ling by her side – she’d told Jin Guangshan to name someone else as his heir, or at minimum as regent; the Jiang sect needed her and her son more. It wouldn’t have worked if Jin Zixuan hadn’t snuck into his mother’s room to convince Madam Jin to throw her support behind it; officially he was still in his tomb, since Lan Wangji had been very subtle, but in fact he lived within shouting distance of the Lotus Pier, spending his days playing with his son.

They all did, actually, the whole lot of them resettled into a tiny adjacent water town populated largely by civilians that relied on the Jiang sect for their prosperity. As long as Wei Wuxian never did anything, which he didn’t, the illusion that he was gone for good in a cloud of self-destruction after his terrible massacre could be maintained; no one expected they could possibly be so daring as to simply go home after all of it.

Lan Wangji was in seclusion, they were eventually told; Wei Wuxian hadn’t believed it for one second, smuggling himself into Gusu to check – he’d come back unconscious, slung over Jin Zixuan’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Struck by the discipline whip,” her husband, the fierce corpse that wasn’t fierce at all, said, and didn’t comment when she instinctively reached out to touch Jiang Cheng’s body, to trace the scar he had; she often spent her days next to the bed that preserved his corpse. “Many times; his body is ruined. It will take years for him to heal – the Lan sect saying he was in seclusion was their way of saving face. Wei Wuxian wants to bring him back to the Lotus Pier to hide him.”

Jiang Yanli rubbed her face, thinking not for the first time that the world would be an easier place if only her two brothers weren’t so stubborn. One who wouldn’t wake up, his spiritual consciousness all in pieces; the other who wouldn’t give up – “The Lan sect wouldn’t accept that.”

“He wasn’t planning on asking. That’s why I knocked him out. Anyway, they’re distracted with the Xue Yang matter now – my father’s still insisting on protecting him, and the Nie sect gets angrier about it by the day; without the Jiang sect, there’s only the Lan to play peacemaker, stop there from being another war.”

Jiang Yanli, who was very nice but also very much not the goddess of mercy, tilted her head to the side; something of her mother was in her eyes. “A war would be a good cover, though, or at least the rumblings of one. If we were going to steal Lan Wangji away from his sect, that is.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll sneak into Lanling to talk to my mother, maybe see if I can follow Xue Yang and see what he’s up to. You go talk to the Nie.”

5

Jiang Yanli’s visit to the Unclean Realm turned out to be more fruitful than anyone had expected. The moment she walked into Nie Mingjue’s receiving room, her Jiang sect bell rang so hard that it shattered, which it definitely hadn’t done during the war – they both stared at it wordlessly for a while.

Eventually, he cleared his throat, averting his eyes. “You know my family history,” he offered as an explanation, embarrassment at the public revelation of his problem already turning to anger but suppressed by his strict adherence to etiquette.

“That’s no family history,” she said, bemused, as she crouched down to poke at the pieces. “The silver bell of the Jiang sect can steady focus and calm the mind, and the ones made for the family are the strongest by far; it would only shatter like this in the effort to resist a spiritual poison…how are you feeling now, Sect Leader Nie?”

He considered for a long moment, and his face grew black with rage. “Better. I feel – like my mind has been filled with fog, and a clear breeze has blown it clear.”

She smiled up at him. “Perhaps you should visit Yunmeng.”

He scowled, and she realized he must know about Wei Wuxian’s presence, though she wasn’t sure how; despite that, in the end, after a roaring argument with Nie Huaisang in another room, he agreed to go, even if the idea of staying willfully blind clearly pained him to the core.

Jiang Yanli quietly approved of his decision to put family over principle.

When they put their mind to it, the Nie sect  had an underrated talent for saying ‘I don’t know’ to just about everything. Neither brother blinked an eye at the Wen sect remnants that still teetered every time they went on a boat, very clearly not Yunmeng locals; they politely greeted Jin Zixuan as if he’d only been gone a while and not murdered; much to his older brother’s very evident irritation, Nie Huaisang even leapt over to give Wei Wuxian an enthusiastic hug while Nie Mingjue was still talking with Jin Zixuan about what it meant that Jin Guangshan had hidden away the still intact Wen Ning, who Jin Zixuan had found in a hidden part of Koi Tower during his most recent visit and immediately liberated.

“Definitely a case of spiritual poisoning,” Wei Wuxian said after a short examination, and the most reliable doctor they had left in the Jiang sect concurred. “The silver bell can help a little –” 

They’d already shattered seven of them, but Nie Mingjue had actually cracked a smile for the first time in months, to hear a sobbingly relieved Nie Huaisang tell it. 

“–but it can only help so much; that technique is really only meant for acute cases. And you really need to figure out what was doing the poisoning; there’s no point in curing you if you’re only going to get poisoned again.”

“A matter for a later time,” Nie Mingjue, who clearly had some suspicions that made him look as though he’d been stabbed in the back, said. “Now that we know it’s a poisoning, and my mind is clearer, I can take some action myself – the Nie have plenty of techniques to stabilize the spirit.”

Wei Wuxian’s smile was full of self-hatred, as it always was these days. “I don’t suppose any of those are designed to work on the dead.”

“Actually,” Nie Huaisang said. “Several are. Why do you ask?”

6

Jiang Cheng opened his eyes.

[deans-haunted-baby]

The Ones Left Behind

Alrighty time for some truth bombs. I’ve had almost a week to absorb the end of Supernatural and season 15 as a whole. And I think this is the moment where I need to throw in my two cents. For all intents and purposes I won’t go in-depth into 15x20 seeing as that conversation will just open up a whole other can of worms and I don’t need that headache. I have my reasons for being less than indifferent with how the Winchesters’ story concluded. So I won’t go there.

Instead I’ll be focusing all my energies on the unsatisfying conclusions of 4 particular characters. Two of which were main cast members (one that was on the show 12 years and one 4 years) while the other two (played by the same dude) were brought back after a decade long hiatus for a much-anticipated comeback only to be wasted and mangled unfairly by Dabb and his hack horde of a writing staff. Call this a follow up to my last post. If I sound bitter I am because these people don’t have a single clue on how to helm these characters, their relationships or their storylines 😠 Nor do they deserve them.

And yes I’m well aware of Kevin Tran, Rowena, Ketch and several others who got the shaft on this show. Those could be future posts for another time.

But I cannot stress this enough; ADAM MILLIGAN, JACK KLINE, MICHAEL AND CASTIEL ALL DESERVED FUCKING BETTER. There is no arguing these facts, none whatsoever. Not one of these characters deserved that exit to be the final chapter in their story. I won’t do an entire analysis of each character’s arc and role in the show as I’ve already done that in my rant about 15x19. But I will highlight how much season 15 royally screwed over these characters and tossed them aside like trash; as if none of them were ever part of/contributed anything to Sam and Dean’s history/world building of Supernatural’s universe.

*WARNING* This is going to get heated.

Before I dive into the heart of these issues I want to state this is not a “shipping post”. I don’t ship anyone on Supernatural, hopefully this blog has been pretty self-explanatory. So I have no arguments/opinions in those areas. I’ve been a fan of this series for 15 years because of the characters, the familial bonds and relationships formed between characters throughout its run. And I’m well-aware that the Winchesters are the lead protagonists of the show, no need to remind me. These are purely my own thoughts based what I’ve obtained from show canon. Let me just say I can’t get over just how much these writers contradicted and ignored what they put forth in the journeys of these four individuals. its a real headscratcher.

You mean to tell me that after TWELVE DAMN YEARS of Castiel being a rebellious warrior angel, searching for his own identity and meaning in life; making that promise to Kelly Kline about raising Jack as his own/risking his life for him. After sacrificing himself for his son a year ago, acknowledging he was satisfied with his role as a father which restored his faith; that it was all because of/for Dean Winchester? 

You mean to tell me that after Michael, THE PRINCE OF HEAVEN and PROTECTOR OF HUMANITY, was locked away in a cage with a human whom he emotionally bonded with for thousands of years (10 years our time); who was abandoned, betrayed and manipulated by his neglectful/abusive father. After choosing free will and aligning himself with TFW for humanity’s sake, just sided with the Earth’s destruction because his little brother called him names? 

You mean to tell me that Jack, A THREE YEAR OLD CHILD, who’s barely just beginning his life and spent his entire duration on the show wanting to be normal and not wanting to be special. Connecting and being integrated with humans; a child who’s biggest fear was outliving everyone he ever loved. Is suddenly ready to walk away from his family, his home and his teddy bear; to give up being a kid forever and run the universe?

You mean to tell me that Adam, SUPERNATURAL’S MOST INNOCENT CHARACTER and FORGOTTEN THIRD-WINCHESTER BROTHER, after being eaten by ghouls; pulled away from his mother out of Heaven, manipulated by angels, trapped in Hell for thousands of years because Sam and Dean left him there to rot. After coming back and helping his neglectful siblings save the world only to be ripped away from his best friend and THE ONLY OTHER PERSON who gave a damn about him; is sentenced to a life of loneliness, homelessness and turmoil until he dies and ends up in Hell where he’ll mostly be tortured and turned into a demon?

NO. I DO NOT AND WILL NEVER ACCEPT THIS BULLSHIT! 

Season 15 not only manages to contradict itself where these characters are concerned (while assassinating them before the final curtain). But the writers deliberately discarded them before giving us that *sarcasm inserted* epic solo-Winchester conclusion. Regardless of how you feel about Adam, Castiel, Jack or Michael, ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS are connected Sam and Dean’s story and part of Supernatural. And when you throw them away like they mean nothing, you’re essentially throwing away a part of the show’s history. You’re ignoring 15 years worth of story building. 

As I said I’m not going to go into 15x20 for reasons, it doesn’t offend me as much as what was done before that finale. Because I think those other show exits really affect 15x20 even worse than people realize. You want to know why, I’ll explain.

Lets start off with Castiel and Jack, OH BOY! We know where they end up; running Heaven and the Earth together which is all fine and dandy. I love my Dadstiel father/son duo being an endgame family unit. But here in lies the problem, we never saw it. Not even a cameo. And technically their onscreen storyline ends at 15x18 and 15x19 which is an ugly, anti-climatic bookend to an incredibly deep relationship that had 4 years of development. First you have Castiel who completely forgets why he made that deal with the Empty to begin with. HIS FUCKING SON. Not to mention it wasn’t about true happiness it was about giving himself permission to be happy; there is a difference. And then you have Jack wandering around next episode, vacuuming up power cause suddenly he’s a machine now, acting like he doesn’t give a shit over losing his dad to an entity HE’S BEEN DREADING ABOUT FOR A FUCKING YEAR. 

Towards the end of season 15 I noticed neither of these characters were acting like themselves. Their motivations, their personalities and strong ties to one another had mysteriously dissolved. Castiel became less concerned about the danger his son was facing after 15x15 (what the hell was that in 15x17?) and more about speaking when spoken to by either Sam or Dean. Does he know how Dean truly feels about Jack; proclaiming the child is “not family”? I doubt the in-character version of him would let Jack leave with Dean after that insult. Castiel’s not even worried whether or not his son is alive or safe before he makes the big confession later. And for some reason Jack (who’d become heavily suicidal) was more concerned with clinging to the Winchesters, willing to die for them, instead focusing on himself and the one person who’s shown him nothing but unconditional love and given him strength since birth. Both of these characters are canonically depressed and suffer from low self-esteem that was never resolved which makes me furious. 

When Chuck killed Jack at the end of season 14, this devastated Castiel in the first half of season 15. He actually got to grieve that loss throughout the episodes and deal with his anger over it, allowing the audience to anticipate the day they’d be reunited one last time. This part of Castiel’s S15 arc also ironically mirrors Jack’s S13 arc of mourning Castiel’s death until resurrecting him. And when this son finally returned to his father, who got to rescue him, it was such a poignant moment between the two. It was a cathartic payoff after witnessing Castiel in so much pain over Jack. There was so much building up between that Dadstiel reunion in 15x11 and the Empty’s pact in 14x08; this was suppose to be a tragic yet pivotal plot-point in both Jack and Castiel’s stories. And with SPN wrapping up we all expected something BIG. Yet somehow the writers retconned the whole thing by making it all about Dean, which is such a gross disservice to these characters and 4 years of storytelling.

For instance, since 15x18 was Castiel’s exit episode, why wasn’t he allowed to hug his son or Sam goodbye one last time? Why didn’t he have more of a focal role instead of standing around majority of the episode with barely any dialogue as so much precious air time was wasted on frivolous things? Why didn’t he get one last badass fight scene with someone like Death instead of being choked out and tossed around like a powerless mortal? Why did the group need to be split up to begin with when it served no purpose either than that *ugh* moment? Why wasn’t Jack allowed to call Castiel “dad” once before the show ended? He deserved to hear his son address him as dad!

AND WHY THE HELL COULDN’T JACK FEEL CASTIEL’S DEATH THE MOMENT IT HAPPENED? 

The show already established to the audience the significant cosmic bond these two characters shared since before Jack was even born. It was so powerful it boosted Castiel’s grace. Jack could remember who Castiel was from the womb and that he’d protected his mother. Not to mention HE FUCKING RESURRECTED CASTIEL OUT OF THE EMPTY ONCE WITHOUT GOD’S POWER. You’re telling me Jack couldn’t feel his dad being taken away forever despite how far apart they were? No, he’d feel it in his heart. Had we’d been given a scene like that at the end of 15x18 (something of substance) with actual grief shown in 15x19 maybe the episode would’ve faired better for them. 

That said it wasn’t, because Jack was treated the exact same way in his final exit. Hardly any lines and just a bunch of scenes of him standing/walking around until that pathetic reveal at the lake. HE DOESN’T EVEN GET TO INTERACT WITH JAKE ABEL’S MICHAEL/ADAM which would’ve been a great follow-up to the AU!Michael storyline in seasons 13 and 14. I swear these directors didn’t give Alex and Misha any motivation during their last three episodes and it’s evident in their hollow performances. But why would they when the scripts are basically telling their characters to quickly fuck off so the brothers can have their final outing. Jack doesn’t even behave like himself after he becomes the new God. His personality is apathetic, cold, alien, stiff and way too mature for the 3 year old child so closely connected to his family/the human world. In that moment I saw Alex Calvert not Jack Kline. It’s bad enough he doesn’t get a meaningful farewell but again Castiel, HIS DAD, is a complete afterthought to this kid 🥶

And that’s what we’re left with. Forever. A frigid, hollow ending to one of Supernatural’s most healthy, touching, family dynamics. It makes you wonder what was even the point. I can’t even fully enjoy the fact that its canon Jack and Castiel are together fixing Heaven because of what the show presented onscreen as their last hurrah. It’s not sitting right and it makes 15x20 even less appealing to me.

Moving onto Michael and Adam. Get ready for this. I could rant forever about how dirty my boys were done by this show. How they were discarded in the SPN series finale recap etc. just as they were FOR THE LAST TEN FUCKING YEARS. Was there even a plan going on here or was this just everyone making things up as it went? Their ending is the most unsatisfying and cruel thing because its INCOMPLETE. There is no real closure or resolution with them thanks to the monstrosity that was 15x19. AND NO ONE CARES ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO GIVE A SHIT. 

Much as I’ve enjoyed this show for many years, it NEVER deserved Jake Abel, his talent or his time. I keep seeing so many anti posts about Dean Winchester’s final fate in Supernatural and all I can think about is “try being an Adam Milligan fan for the last decade”.  I’ve had to watch this boy go through hell with nothing to show for it either than years of memes. ridicule and the show’s mockery in forgetting him. Actually he’s the ONLY CHARACTER in this series you’re encouraged not to remember 😡 Also quick question: why give us this really interesting and healthy relationship between an archangel and its vessel if nothing was ever going to become of it? 

At this point I don’t know why Adam or the idea of him was even introduced way back in season 4 let alone revisited in season 5. Because the only thing I see when I look at this character now is SAD WASTED POTENTIAL. Storylines never explored. Relationships that never got off the ground. Backstory we never got to see (like for instance his past with John Winchester and his time in the cage). A character’s birthright (Men of Letters) that was never actualized. AND the unexplained factor that Adam could look directly at Michael’s true form without his eyes burning out (making him a special case). And the thing is he could’ve been a really great character, both him and Michael. They could’ve easily reached popular status just like Castiel given the chance since Jake is a freaking acting-powerhouse. We were given a taste in 15x08 just how awesome these characters could be and how they could’ve contributed so much to the story and its core group. But unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.

Michael will never redeem himself after years of scrutiny and being made out to be some kind of unhinged monster. This show constantly enjoyed pounding into our brains how fearsome Michael was. Warned us via Lucifer (LUCIFER, PEOPLE!) that he wasn’t rational, compassionate and didn’t care about anything except war, death and destruction. And that he was incapable of feelings and emotions. This is how Supernatural saw Heaven’s Prince and guardian of the Earth. Christ, they actually did a two-year storyline about an evil Michael from the AU world who enjoyed torturing and killing while trying to destroy the universe. I want to know WHAT THE HELL THIS SHOW’S WRITERS HAD AGINST THESE CHARACTERS? Why they felt the need to bring back Jake Abel, AFTER A DECADE OF FANS WANTING THIS, if it was simply to piss all over his characters one last time before the show wrapped. This is absolutely unprofessional and childish; the fact that Jake is taking this bullshit in stride makes it all the more shameful 😡

We could’ve learned so much more about Michael’s past and his present relationship with Adam. These characters didn’t need to sit in the cage for a decade they could’ve easily been incorporated back into the show as far as season 8 or 10! And been an asset to the Darkness storyline in season 11.There were characters and storylines introduced that served no purpose. Why did we need to keep seeing characters like Charlie Bradbury or (as much as I like him) Crowley or Garth (love him too) or Lucifer or Abaddon or the Wayward sisters? I would’ve much preferred having Adam and Michael around and got to know them instead; especially after 15x08. I would’ve wanted to see what their dynamic with TFW could’ve become had they been long-time allies. Did John ever tell Mary about Adam’s existence? I’d like to see what her reaction would’ve been like had the Winchesters remembered him during that damn 300th episode. I guess that’s another loose end untied.

But because of what Supernatural did to these two characters, it forever taints Sam and Dean. I don’t think Dabb or purist fans realize this. But when new viewers come into this show about two brothers preaching important things like “saving people”, “family first” or “family don’t end in blood” they’re going to see how badly the main protagonists treated their innocent half brother. How Castiel and Jack were treated. They’re going to see the heroes of the story abandoning this kid in Hell forever with no intention of EVER rescuing him. And that’s why their final appearance leaves such a bad taste going into 15x20. Cause as much as Dabb and co didn’t give a shit about Adam and Michael they also didn’t give a rat’s ass about protecting Sam and Dean’s integrity. That’ll be a stain they can’t undo. 

So through all of it, we’re stuck with the abomination that is 15x19 aka the eye-soar to an unfinished/unpolished story of two horribly disregarded characters. Michael gets the pleasure of being character assassinated right before he’s stupidly killed off instead of going out a hero or becoming the next God (as it was his birthright and the setup was there in the narrative). And Adam gets killed off-screen, OUT OF HIS OWN DAMN BODY, then brought back by Jack only to live a miserable, isolated existence since his brothers have nothing to do with him (the dog and car are more important); his best friend is dead, he has no job or money or a fucking home and he’s legally dead! Really what is there left for him besides the brutal fate awaiting in Hell when he dies?  

SERIOUSLY THEY COULDN’T GIVE US ONE SCENE WHERE THE WINCHESTERS CHECKED IN ON ADAM TO MAKE SURE HE WAS SAFE?! 🤬 His last scene pretty much sums up this shit for what it is. Tragic. I feel like crying for this poor sweet boy.

Congratulations Dabb, BL and co for giving us these much deserved broken story arcs of characters you destroyed and made OOC before leaving the airways. You did your show’s protagonists justice by doing this *sarcasm inserted* after 15 years of being onscreen. I doubt these idiotic decisions are going to age well in the long run. They certainly don’t look good on the Winchesters. Anyway that’s my hot take for the day. 

ALL THESE ACTORS AND THEIR CHARACTERS DESERVED BETTER.

[formerlyrunephoenix6769]

Catra: Journey to Redemption.

(Long post and spoilers for Season 1 SPOP)

In the run up to the release of ‘She-Ra: Princesses of Power.’ season 2 on April 26th 2019, I have been seeing lots of posts about our resident, ‘misguided; villain and all around badass who knows damn well how to rock a suit. 

Yes, of course, I am talking about Catra!

The nature of the posts I have been seeing have all had a similar vein or sentiment. 

“Give Catra her redemption arc.”  or  “Start Catra’s redemption arc.” 

I am just as hopeful as the the next person for Catra to have a redemption arc, if that is in fact what Noelle Stevenson and the rest of the team have planned for the character. But one thing I will say, is ‘patience’ and a small warning to be prepared,  

Catra is going to get much worse before she can even begin to get better! 

Catra could not possibly even begin to start on a path of redemption by the end of S2 because at the end of S1, she hasnt even begun to explore the full depths of her villainy.  (Being we dont know exactly how many seasons are planned, or what the overall narrative end goal is when it comes to the final conflict and Good triumphing over Evil, much of this is speculative. 

We can however use Avatar Last Airbender and the industry standard of best Redemption Arc ever, in all mediums, Zuko, and their timeline, which I think Noelle Stevenson said in an interview that if a redemption arc was to occur, that they would like to do something that could stand next to Zuko’s redemption arc. 

I will also be using Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces, and his hero’s journey map as a resource but try implement it for villains)  

If you would like to take a look at my thoughts on redemption arcs in general the feel free to check out the link below. 

https://formerlyrunephoenix6769.tumblr.com/post/182640410231/are-all-villains-redeemable

I’ll be covering similar sentiments here. 

Ok first. 

TIMELINE:. 

ATLAB is only 3 BOOKs long, however the number of episodes, 61 over all, containing 20 minimum in each Book is far more than SPOP’s standard 13, meaning that technically Zuko’s redemption arc played out over just under 6 SPOP seasons, meaning that Zuko’s penultimate episodes, detrimental to his redemption arc, ‘Blue Spirit’ episode 13 in Book 1 and ‘Zuko Alone’  Episode 7 of Book 2, didnt technically take place until till the end of season 1 and half way through season 3 ... going off an SPOP standard time. 

Meaning there was over a season and a half between Zuko doing something right for the wrong reasons and also then moving off to really begin the start of his redemption arc in earnest, which he continues to struggle with right the way into Book 3 ( season 5/6)  

The difference here, I would also like to point out is that Zuko at the very beginning of ATLAB is already technically way ahead of Catra due to him being physically away from his ‘abuser’ and direct control of the life long indoctrination. He also has one up on Catra at this point as he has a ‘Mentor/Guide’ helping to facilitate the transition and help him see the error of his ways.

Technically, this puts Zuko’s character development on the road to redemption (OTRTR)  at least ONE season ahead of Catra. Meaning that his moment of ‘doing something right for the wrong reasons’ in ‘Zuko Alone.’ does not take place until at least the end of season 2, SPOP standard time! 

In other words... 

It's going to take some time for a pussy riot to manifest.

Taking this into account. 

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES. 

We can not continue without addressing the fact that there are many similarities and differences between the supposed ‘villains’. 

Both were the Scape Goat to a favoured Golden Child yet their interactions with the ‘Gold Child’ are vastly different. 

For Zuko, Azula was an antagonist. For Catra, Adora was an ally. 

Both suffered abuse from their primary caregiver, both were belittled and chastised for supposedly being ‘lesser’. However the fundamental difference is their reactions, Zuko continued to attempt to receive his Father’s favour, whilst Catra, on the surface didn't care, resulting in acting rebelliously. 

Both have issues surrounding self worth and how they express it is vastly different. 

Zuko is hugely unaware of his ‘Empire’s’ indoctrination and the imperialistic rule, believing the propaganda he was raised with. 

Whilst Catra is fully aware of the Horde and its intentions. 

And I think this is worthy of note!

Their ‘villainy’ and motivations are seated in entirely different places. 

Zuko starts out  wishing to ‘reclaim his honour’, prove his worth in his father’s eyes, and reclaim his birthright as the heir to the Fire Nation throne, in the words of his sister,

  It is only as he travels over the next SPOP SDT, 4 seasons that he realises his true purpose. 

Catra, is aware the Horde is evil, is given an opportunity to leave, but chooses not to, instead she willingly sets herself on a dark path to gain power and prove her self worth to everyone around her, esp her abuser, step mom of the year, Shadow Weaver,

Thus setting up the whole shenanigans of SPOP season 1.  

CONFLICT. 

As I covered in my previous post in the link above, a redemption arc cannot occur without showing that the ‘villain’ is conflicted. 

A redemption should be a slow burn, from starting point of why/how they are villains,  also showing the seeds of discontent, inner conflict, conflict of their actions, conflict of their ideals,  whether indoctrinated/learned/or their own misguided musings, then later a larger amount of focus should be placed on how they have overcome that villainy and change of perspective culminating with coming full circle.

What makes Zuko’s particular redemption arc so good is the work that goes into showing this. The time, the attention to detail, not being shied away from by the writers, that  intentionally trickles down and infuses with the character’s essence of being. 

Yes, Catra is conflicted about her relationship with Adora and what Adora means to her. 

This conflict about her and Adora’s relationship was partially resolved with Catra taking Adora’s motivations the wrong way, due to her own issues surrounding her self worth. 

This ‘resolution’ only serves to push Catra further down the a dark path.

But we have yet to see Catra conflicted about her actions and dont expect to see that happen until after we see her fully embrace her villainy, which by the end of S1, she was nowhere near close to doing. (See Triggers and Turning points)

Meaning that “Catra Alone”  might not even occur until midway S3  and actual beginnings of feeling conflicted about her actions, until S4.  

TRIGGER A TURNING POINT.

So we have discussed conflict. Conflict about ones actions can come about in many different forms, but it must be triggered by something that is enough to shake the core foundations of a villains motivations. 

In order for it to be believable and carry weight, a villain cannot  suddenly overnight go, 

 And the protagonists accept it at face value, as the audience wont.  

 A redemption should be a slow burn, from starting point of why/how they are villains and most importantly,  focus on how they have struggled to overcome that villainy and change their perspective. 

The link below is to a previous post, with an avenue of thought of what could trigger Catra on ONRTR.

https://formerlyrunephoenix6769.tumblr.com/post/182601000156/catra-could-she-be-a-lost-princess-and-if-so

Another avenue of thought is that Adora is gravely injured. I am not normally one for such an easy and over done trope but in this instance it is highly possible, because as it stands now, Catra has never nastily physically injured Adora, only She-Ra! 

(When she raked her darn claws down She-Ra’s back. Showing that Catra see’s a difference between to two personalities and isn't as of yet willing to cross that line... Maybe crossing that line will be a stepping stone to embracing her chosen darker path?) 

In fact, Catra has gone out of her way to avoid just that, much preferring to go after Adora emotionally.  

FALLING INTO OLD PATTERNS:

Even after ‘Zuko Alone’ and the Ba Sing Say arc, Zuko begins on a false start redemption by bonding with Katara but by the next episode falls back into old patterns by choosing to side with Azula as the ties that bind and the potential to reclaim his birthright is too hard to ignore. 

Which is totally normal for a teenager. 

This adds so much depth to his inner conflict, a catalyst that later cements his realisation at his true purpose, ushering him through the gates of his redemption arc, towards trying to make amends with the protagonists before they can accept him.   

Catra strikes me as someone who will never be wholly ‘good’, in the sense of the word when it is applied to Bow, Glimmer or Adora, but rather someone who will make super dark comments and morally grey suggestions of how to deal with an issue, which is what we have been shown of her from the very beginning. 

It is hard to say is Catra will ever have this step in a redemption arc due to her already morally grey nature, this could very well be skipped over entirely. 

Narratively speaking and characterization wise, this particular part of an arc could present itself not as a ‘false start’ but could come from ‘Subterfuge and infiltration’ , whereby Catra pretends to come to their side only for her to betray them later, for her own ends. 

OR, 

We could very well have a ‘false start’, where she is trapped with any of the protagonists and they need to work together to escape, similar to the aptly named  ATLAB ep 40 ‘The Crossroads of Destiny’ and SPOPS s1e9 ‘Promise’, which would be a nice mirror, from a narrative standpoint, only for her to run off and return to the Horde once free. 

Again note, that this false start occured for Zuko the very end of S3 SPOP SDT. 

CONCLUSIONS.

Before Catra’s Redemption arc can come to fruition , we need her to go on her journey. Something akin to this, but for villains. 

On this map, if Resurrection is Catra being genuinely accepted by the protagonists as being changed and truly on their side.  I would see Catra as in between Meeting of Mentor (Hordak) and Crossing the Threshold into full blown villany 

So, we need to see her, 

1) Become a true villain. 

2) 1st Trigger.

3) baby Conflict

4)False start, falling into old patterns

5) 2nd Trigger

6)Conflict and Realisation/ (Seizing the Treasure) 

7) Through the Gates 

8) Trial of Proof.

9) Acceptance/Resurrection. 

We could be waiting for some time for a Catra redemption arc to kick in, and please dont be disappointed or frothing at the mouth if we dont see it starting in Season 2... No matter how much you want it out of the way so that ‘other’ things can occur.. 

Please keep in mind.. 

A good Redemption Arc has to be earned! And doing it well takes time!

MEANWHILE  ...

There is ALL OF THIS.... 

I dont even know where to begin starting to unwrap all this tension and awkwardness., 

Think I’m going to leave that for a an entirely different post.

[christianmenatwork]

Pray, Forgive, Fear Not-Selah36-CMAW115

S

From Justin Camp, Wire Devotional

[ 1 min read ★ ]

The Lord is my helper; I will not fear—Hebrews 13:6

We have an enemy, brother, and he is a liar. He “fills the world with lies” (John 8:44 MSG). He doesn’t tire of his work . . . and he is clever. He reserves certain lies, holding them, waiting for the right time and for the right men. For he knows that some of his lies are more persuasive at certain times and under specific circumstances. 

  As we stand now, looking out at the expanse of a new year, he knows it’s time to whisper fear into the minds of men. He’s whispering, to those who’ll listen, to be afraid of what trouble might be coming. He’s whispering this lie now because he understands our nature. He knows we like control. He knows we like to know what’s next. He knows it’s difficult to feel “in control” when facing the uncertainty . . . when anything, really, might happen. And so, he knows it’s time to take advantage.

  We confront a choice, therefore. We can accept his lie, shoulder the fear, shrink back and focus on survival by returning to things that offer us just a little comfort—work, food, alcohol, pornography, distraction, withdrawal. Or, we can reject his lie, spurn his fearmongering, hold tight to the promises of God, and move forward—trusting that no trouble will surpass God’s ability to protect us and care for us.

  “This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’” (Romans 8:15-17 MSG)

  First Light the bait of Satan- 12/16

The Bait of Satan 

  Lest satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his baits.

2 Corinthians 2:11 

  The bait of satan is the title of a popular book written a few years ago. It is also a revelation of great truth found in God's Word. We learn from the Word that the enemy of our soul that is hell bent on our destruction uses "bait" to capture us in order to steal, kill and destroy us. Being a fisherman, I am well aware of how effective the right bait can be in capturing a fish! The bait that is spoken of here in Second Corinthians is no doubt his favorite and most effective weapon used to wound and damage people, families and churches. It is the bait of bitterness, or as it is called in the Bible; unforgiveness. Personally, in thirty-five years of ministry I can testify that this is the satanic tool that has done the most harm to people where I have pastored. It is the tool that is currently dividing our nation. No doubt it is the evil ones "go to" weapon. The Bible admonishes us not to "be ignorant" of his diabolical working in this area within our personal lives and to reject every attempt of his to inject thoughts of bitterness into our thinking. Most of his schemes would never trip up the average believer. Being tempted to steal, murder, lie, abuse drugs or steal someone's mate would be so repulsive to saints that they are useless against them. However, the bait of bitterness is justified by many believers and ensnares them. That is why we are warned to live with a constant vigilance against any attempt of the enemy to bait us into a hard heart against anyone. I have seen so much damage done with this one tool. Let’s determine we will not become prisoners of satan by receiving accusations from hell against others. Let’s refuse to justify our bitterness by calling it "hurt" or anything else that allows it to remain. Let’s call it what God calls it and be free from the bondage that it guarantees. Often, I am asked "how can I forgive them after what they did"? That's a great question. The Bible has a great answer! The living God will never ask me to forgive anyone more that He has forgiven me. I was damned in my sin against God. Guilty without excuse. But, in the greatest act of forgiveness in history He not only forgave me, but He made His Son stand in for me at my cross and accept my punishment. I can forgive because I have been forgiven!

  Thank you, Father, for the power of forgiveness to keep me free from the bondage of bitterness and torment that is afflicting so many today. I praise you that a forgiven man can afford to forgive!

  First Light 11/26/20

        Why Pray?

  "Don't ever stop praying with great earnestness, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving."

Colossians 4:2 

Does anyone struggle with prayer? Do you ever struggle with finding time to pray? Do you ever wonder if your prayers make a difference? Let’s be bold and ask the question here. Why even bother to pray? Should I pray simply because I'm expected to? Do I pray to keep God happy? The truth is that most believers give very little to prayer. Heck, the average preacher in America prays very little. What difference does it make anyway? Let me bring out a great truth from scripture regarding our praying. We are called by our Father to pray many times in the Bible. Today's scripture calls us to pray earnestly and never give up. Me praying doesn't make me a "good Christian". Its not a question of my goodness. Its a question of His goodness. In what I fear may be an oversimplification let me pose this thought; why would a good Father call me to pray of He wasn't going to do something? Would He require me to spend time in prayer knowing He was not going answer? That prayer was just some form of Christian discipline He puts me through for some unknown purpose? A thousand times no. If He is as good as His Word says He is, anything He calls me to do will certainly have a purpose and great benefit. I cannot imagine telling my children to ask me for something knowing my answer was no. That would be warped. Truth is that He says He will give you what you ask for quicker than you will feed your children when they ask for dinner. "If you being evil compared to me will give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him"? I am convinced by His Word and His Spirit that He greatly desires to answer our prayers when prayed boldly in faith. I simply cannot imagine Him commanding me to do something just so He can ignore me. He will do what He says He will do. It’s that simple. "Call on me, I will answer you, and show you great things you have never seen before". I have a feeling (actually a revelation from scripture) that our great struggle to pray comes from an unholy devil that knows what happens when God's people pray in faith and humility. He knows how good our God is. That's why he does everything in his evil power to hinder us from praying to God. Do what he may, he won't stop me from calling on the Most High. I know how Good God is.

  Father, knowing how you are, I declare as David did, "in the morning I will lift up soul to you in prayer". Thank you that you will hear me and answer

  From Pastor Richard Geiger, Torah Teaching on 11/21/20

  Witchcraft tries to conjure events with our words, not including God

Prayer is a relationship, meditating and relating, communing with your Lord

We press in to know Him better

Luke 18 - unjust judge 

We survive in this world of deception in His presence

PUSH - pray until something happens 

Prayer needs to flow from a life of obedience

  E

Rita, wife of Joe Albright, who wrote book “Liberating the Bruised”. In the Preface of his book Joe talked about how he was an alcoholic in the early part of their marriage and said this about his wife Rita

“When I was drinking Rita

L

So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”

Genesis 45:24 - NKJV

  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Luke 3:12-14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Luke%203:12-14&version=NKJV

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Check out this episode!

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #173 - X-Men: Days of Future Past

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #294

Format: Blu-ray

1) The film marks Bryan Singer’s return to the franchise he helped to start, making it his first X-Men film since X2. He was a producer on X-Men: First Class and originally Matthew Vaughn was slated to direct this film. But Vaughn dropped out to speak with Lucasfilm about Star Wars: Episode VII before focusing his efforts on Kingsman: The Secret Service allowing Singer to step back into the director’s chair.

2) Magneto, Xavier, every mutant in the X-Men films (especially the original trilogy) had fears about war. The X-Men tried to avoid it while Magneto was preparing to win it. Well now everyone’s worst fears have come to past in a dark and desolate future were Magneto was right and the X-Men are forced to band together.

3) John Ottman’s theme from X2 plays in the opening credits, making this film feel like a triumphant return to form from the get go. It fills the audience with an energy, hope, and even nostalgia that helps make the film as great as it is. While I absolutely adore Henry Jackman’s score for First Class, Ottman’s theme has now become the (unofficial?) theme for the franchise in a lot of ways.

4) We’re off to a strong start with the movie’s opening action sequence.

This film features - by far - the best action sequences in the entire franchise. It embraces the powers of its mutant characters in a way no film has before it. This leads to incredible visuals and extended action scenes which never lose the audiences interest. It does what some films (The Last Stand) have failed to do before: show off the X-Men’s powers in incredible and memorable ways. The opening action sequence alone feels like something out of a comic book or (dare I say?) the 90s animated series. Characters like Iceman and Colossus have finally reached the full potential of their mutant powers, making good on a promise any X-Men film makes. New characters too have small roles but are wildly memorable. Blink, Sunspot, Warpath, and Bishop come across as unique with not a lot of lines and not a lot of screen time. But they have an impact because of the visuals of their powers/fighting styles.

From a storytelling standpoint the opening scene also works to set the stakes of the film. We understand immediately how much of a threat these sentinels are, they are able to massacre an entire squad of mutants with relative ease. If it weren’t for Kitty’s ability to send people back in time this war would be over very quickly. The dark tone and sense of dread this future has is established immediately through the action sequence, making the rest of the film carry that weight in a conflict driven/interesting way.

5) I am so impressed and so grateful that this film was able to get all the original cast back they wanted. Kelsey Grammer couldn’t participate because of scheduling conflicts with Transformers: Age of Extinction (ew), but most of these actors have gained a higher price tag since X-Men: The Last Stand. Ellen Page in particular is a critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated actress who comes back for what is essentially a supporting role, but she (like the rest of the returning cast) commits to it all the same. It provides a nice amount of fan service which also feeds into the story and I love it.

6) It is so weird for me to hear Patrick Stewart Xavier talk about this.

Professor X: “I knew [Mystique] as Raven...she was like a sister to me.”

He never talked about her like that in the original trilogy, it first came up in the First Class prequel. But it adds something to Professor X’s character: he walls parts of himself and his past off for the sake of the future.

Note: In this post Patrick Stewart will be referred to as Professor X and James McAvoy will be referred to as Charles.

7) The decision to send Logan back instead of Kitty might upset Kitty Pryde fans and comic book purists (as Kitty was the one to go back in the original storyline), but I think it makes the most amount of sense. The original story was published in the 80s or 90s and Kitty came back from 2013 into her younger body. Movie Kitty has no younger body in 1973 but Logan does. So that’s why it makes sense from an in world decision, but also from a filmmaking standpoint it makes sense too. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is the face of the X-Men films primarily, with only one film up to this point not having him in a prominent role. So it makes sense to put stock in his character as you have in the past. My biggest regret though is that I do LOVE Kitty Pryde and so it would’ve been nice to see her do more, but she still serves a more important role in this film than she does in The Last Stand.

8) I absolutely love this.

Professor X: “Logan, you’re going to have to do for me what I once did for you.”

I am a sucker for character development and having watched now seven X-Men films in a row seeing Wolverine in this role is incredible to me. This was the guy who originally wanted to ditch the X-Men, who was a loner and who primarily looked out for Rogue. Even with that he was mostly out for himself? Now. He’s invested. He’s older, a bit wiser (if not perfect), and gets to repay the kindness Professor X showed him by helping Charles along his way. It puts him in a new role, a role he’s not all too comfortable with, but it is just so damn interesting and I love everything about it.

9) The extended prologue in 2023 as well as the fact that this film will cut back to that time occasionally helps make this film a worthy ending to the cast and characters first introduced in X-Men. It could’ve ended that series entirely, a farewell tour for all the actors we came to love in their respective parts. Despite this, at its core this film - more than anything else - is a sequel/continuation of the story set in place by X-Men: First Class. Doing both of these things is no easy feat but the film is able to pul it off beautifully.

10) Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask.

Dinklage is one of the finest American actors around right now, notable for his work in “Game of Thrones”. And his performance as the villainous Trask gives us the best X-Men villain since William Stryker in X2. While I do LOVE Sebastian Shaw in First Class, there is something fundamentally more unsettling in Dinklage’s performance. He is chilling, focused, intimidating. You know this is not a guy you want to mess with. And Dinklage himself has a unique look on the character. This according to IMDb.

According to Peter Dinklage, Bryan Singer picked him to play Bolivar Trask because of his height, stating, "With my dwarfism, I'm a bit of a mutant. I can't move metal or anything, but I thought of it as self-loathing. Deep down, Trask is quite sensitive about that aspect of himself."

11) Mystique in Saigon.

The scene of Mystique saving a group of mutants in Saigon from being shipped off to Trask (including Lucas Till’s return as Havok) works really well for a number of reasons. First of all: it helps not only re-introduce her character but also her motivations for this film. She has gone through a lot between First Class and now so this scene helps to establish just exactly this NEW Mystique is. She’s one with a lot of pain, working towards avenging the loss of her friends. Mystique is also much more of a fighter in this film than in First Class, with her choreography and skills leaning much closer to what we would expect from Rebecca Romijn. She has been pushed up to the point of no return but hasn’t crossed that line yet and that’s what this film is about. If she’s going to become the Mystique she does in the original timeline or if this is her second chance. The writing for her character is conflict filled and amazing, I absolutely love it.

12) Logan really needs to give people a spoiler warning about their futures.

Logan [before punching out Beast]: “You and I are going to be good friends.”

13) And because he’s Wolverine, it doesn’t take long for Logan to cause shit.

(GIFs originally posted by @ofsagitta)

14) James McAvoy’s return as Charles Xavier.

So First Class was really about Erik becoming Magneto, this is about Charles becoming Professor X. We have never seen the character so low, he has never been so low. He is a broken man with the events of First Class changing him more than he - or the audience - even expected. He tried soldiering on but the war in Vietnam led to his school being shut down. Charles is wallowing in pain, in self pity, he is exactly what Professor X said he was: as lost as Logan used to be. Hell, he’s a drug addict! The serum to give him his legs is a not-so-subtle parallel for drug use. There is a great conflict there, a great pain, and it leads to an incredible story.

15) This is kind of a perfect representation of how continuity works in the X-Men films. The movie tries to remember something from the past, tries to have continuity track, only to get something about it wrong and make everything more confusing.

(GIFs originally posted by @mcavoying)

In fairness the original line in the First Class script WAS, “Fuck off!” but First Class was released three years before Days of Future Past meaning they knew that wasn’t the actual line for a while. Granted I’m probably just nitpicking.

16) In this film we learn that Emma Frost, Zoe-Kravitz-Angel (as opposed to the Angel from The Last Stand and Apocalypse), Azazel & Banshee are all dead by the hands of Bolivar Trask. Which is sickening and heartbreaking but left a unique opportunity which Apocalypse never took with the characters. I’ll talk about it briefly now but go in depth during my Apocalypse post but in the comics Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen are resurrected dead characters. Using this to bring back the four mutants I just listed would have been a smart move I think.

17) Let’s share what IMDb has to say about the rights to Quicksilver:

The addition of Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver to the cast sparked wide discussion over the direction of the character who is also slated to appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Quicksilver had been discussed previously as a potential character in both X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and The Avengers (2012), but legal complexities over the license to the character resulted in his omission from both films. However, in May 2013 both Marvel and Fox Studios announced a resolution to the previous legal issues, and that Quicksilver would appear in this film as well as an Avengers sequel, though under certain parameters: no reference to Quicksilver's membership in the Avengers can be made in an "X-Men" film, and no allusion to his relations to the X-Men or Magneto (the character's father) can be made in an "Avengers" film; the rights agreement between Fox and Marvel even goes so far as to stipulate the character cannot be referred to as a "mutant" in any Marvel film. Additionally, the day after the announcement of Peters's casting, Marvel and Fox entered into a legal standoff over provisions of the rights agreement for the character, including the issue of whether Peters would be allowed to portray Quicksilver in any other film outside the "X-Men" franchise, possibly necessitating a second actor to play Quicksilver in any Marvel film, resulting in two different versions of the same character appearing in two competing film series. Ultimately, Fox and Marvel decided to cast different actors in the part for the "X-Men" and "Avengers" films, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson taking on the role in the latter sequel, thus preventing any connection between the two franchises and keeping the X-Men confined to a separate universe from those of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

18) Evan Peters as Quicksilver.

No, I said EVAN PETERS as Quicksilver!

That’s better. Anyways: Evan Peters’ performance as the speedster is the definite scene stealer in the film. His screen time doesn’t amount to much - with a more significant role in 2016′s X-Men Apocalypse - but every time he’s on screen you are drawn to him. The character is wonderfully fun, with his smart assery amusing to us as the audience without being totally annoying. There’s a unique and vibrant energy that Peters brings to the character which is 100% captivating. By far one of the best new elements of this film.

19) Peter Parker could learn something from this.

Quicksilver [to Erik]: “I’m holding your neck so you don’t get whiplash.”

Erik: “What?”

Quicksilver: “Whiiiiiiplasssssshhhh!”

20) Okay, so Logan knocks out a bunch of Pentagon guards with a frying pan. Is it wrong that this is the only thing I could think of?

21) Oh boy....

(Screenshot taken from a GIF set originally posted by @barrel--rider)

22) It is unique and conflict filled to see Charles filled with such intense hate/loathing towards Erik when Professor X always has hope for his, “old friend,” Magneto.

Charles [upon first meeting Erik]: “I’m never getting inside that head again.”

Note: In this recap Michael Fassbender’s character shall be referred to as Erik while Ian McKellen’s shall be referred to as Magneto.

23) THE QUICKSILVER SCENE!!!!!

This is without a doubt the best scene in the entire film and it is absolutely brilliant across the board. Like the earlier fight scenes it takes the concept of mutant powers and is able to translate it into absolutely phenomenal visuals. From a technical standpoint the scene is a masterpiece, as the seams are practically invisible. It’s hard to make, but you don’t want the audience to know that. Which makes it all the more impressive that it seems so relaxed. The scene pulls your interest and never lets go, using music and point of view in absolutely stellar ways. How boring would this scene have been if it were from Erik’s point of view? Or Charles’? The most interesting way to do this moment is through Quicksilver and that’s what we get. It is intelligent, organic, full of small surprises, and despite its short length is strong as hell. If they were to teach this class in film schools some day, I would not be surprised.

Although it does raise the question: why don’t they just bring Quicksilver to Paris? It seems like he’d be really helpful.

24)

Erik [looking at Wolverine’s bone claws]: “Imagine if they were metal.”

25) Erik and Charles having it outis very key to the film. Right now the audience sees Erik as the one who messed up. Taking away Charles’ legs, getting arrested for killing the president, etc. But Charles needs to know he’s made some pretty crucial mistakes.

Charles [to Erik]: “You abandoned me!”

Erik [after bringing up the dead mutants]: “We were supposed to protect them!...You abandoned us all!”

26) A part of me gets why Raven seduces the Vietnamese general in order to take his place at the pace conference. Another part of me lives in a post Wonder Woman world and A) never sees male characters doing this and B) thinks there was probably a different way she could’ve gotten into the peace conference. And this isn’t a comment on a woman using her sexuality in a way she is comfortable with, this is a comment on men trying to shoehorn scenes were a woman’s defining feature is her sexuality.

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

27) I love the added conspiracy theory that JFK was a mutant. I remember reading a promotional material at the time that Bobby Kennedy was a mutant too and that’s why he was assassinated. I’m a nut for conspiracy theories though.

28) Okay, I just need to take a minute to geek out about HOW HAPPY RAVEN IS TO SEE CHARLES!!!!

29) And this is the turning point of the film.

Wolverine gets rocky and weak when he sees Stryker, injuring Kitty in 2023

Erik tries to kill Mystique

The world can’t deny the existence of mutants anymore and reacts with fear

Charles & Erik are now against each other again

Trask gets Raven’s blood

The tone of that is not lost. There’s a sense of darkness and dread which falls upon the film as it moves forward. It has an impact on the audience and helps to raise the stakes.

30) Okay, this is funny as hell to me. In an effort to calm Logan down:

(GIFs originally posted by @marvelheroesdaily)

31) Hey look, a Bryan Singer cameo!

So now in the X-Men universe, Bryan Singer is someone who first introduces mutants to the larger world through his movies. How meta.

32)

Erik [after Mystique pulls him into a phone booth and holds a knife to his throat]: “It’s been a long time since we were this close.”

(GIF originally posted by @rocktheholygrail)

I don’t know why, but I don’t like the idea of an Erik/Mystique relationship. Maybe it’s just a hold over from how I felt about their seduction scene in First Class.

33) And this right here is Mystique’s motivation, clearer than before.

Mystique: “I’ve seen too many friends die, Erik. I don’t want a war. I only want the man who murdered them.”

Mystique is no longer an idealist. She does not subscribe to Charles’ or Erik’s way of thinking. She is on her own now, which she said in the very beginning of the film. It makes her character and the conflict she has all the more interesting.

34) The first step in Charles accepting who he is comes from accepting his powers. He tries Cerebro, but it’s too much at first. All he has is pain and suffering. But then - and I can’t understate how much I love this - Logan helps guide him.

Logan: “I was your most helpless student.”

Logan is able to guide him, showing off not only his own growth but also the strength in his relationship with Charles/Professor X. We are reminded of all of Logan’s pain as Charles sees it, but we see now that he has moved past it. It is absolutely incredible for me and leads to an amazing scene.

34) Charles (McAvoy) and Professor X (Stewart) meet.

This scene has much more of an impact now than I was expecting. Charles is at his most broken in life, it will never get worse for him than this. Or so he thinks. He looks into the future and sees just how awful things have gotten and he sees his older self in Professor X. Except when Professor X speaks of the future...he still has faith that it can turn out well. He still has HOPE. Professor X’s endless search for hope has always been his defining feature and it is something he has even in a dark future. It is something Charles has lost and which his older self helps him find again. It is an absolutely beautiful and moving scene, perfect in so many ways. Developing Charles, giving us a peek into the mindset of Professor X, we even get an incredible new theme from composer John Ottman. “Hope (Xavier’s Theme)” I think might be the most moving piece of music in the entire X-Men franchise and I absolutely love it.

35) If you’re a writing student, I suggest you analyze Raven’s character in this film. Particularly the scene where she and Charles are talking about Trask in an airport. It’s an excellent example of how important stakes are to a story and its characters. If a character can leave the scene without what they want and not be devastated, the stakes are too low. Raven’s personal stakes are high as are Charles’. And the fact that Raven doesn’t is still set on this path leaves Charles - in some shape or form - devastated.

36)

Hank [about where his device monitors news]: “Over all three networks. And PBS.”

Wolverine: “All three? Wow.”

Hank: Yeah. And PBS.”

37) The effect of Charles’ discussion with Professor X has an immediate effect and shows that he IS now that man. He is the man who has hope when all is lost, when everything looks grim. He still has faith in people and hope for the best.

38) How powerful do you think this is to hear?

Logan: “Storm, Scott, Jean. Remember those names.”

Charles [after a moment]: “I’ll do my best.”

Logan: “You’re best is enough.”

Can you imagine what that would feel like? This guy from the future telling you that you’re best is enough. Because that’s all we can ever do is our best. And to know that that is enough is just...I cannot tell you how happy I would be in life to hear those words.

39) Thanks to @orsonkrehnnic for this amazing GIF set that perfectly captures this scene:

40) The dual climaxes are edited between wonderful, carrying pacing between the two wonderfully and interesting throughout. Cutting between 2023 and 1973 could have been a mess but John Ottman’s editing helps bring the scenes together spectacularly. When one breathes, so does the other, and that’s what works.

41) Logan...

Hank: “In the future, do I make it?”

Logan: “No.”

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

42) Of course Wolverine still gets his ass kicked by Magneto, even without the metal bones. But I will say that removing him from the final conflict is a strong story choice. Because at this point what’s going on between Erik, Mystique, and Charles isn’t about him. It’s about them. The future is about him but it is much more impactful if it results from a choice by everyday people as opposed to the guy who knows what is about to happen. It’s very smart.

43) If this isn’t a beautiful final line for Ian McKellen’s Magneto I don’t know what is.

(GIF originally posted by @hughxjackman)

44) I love this.

Charles [when he can control Raven’s mind]: “I’ve been trying to control you since the day we meet. Look at where that’s got us.”

Charles TRUSTS Mystique. He trusts Raven. He lets her make her own choice and she choses life. She choses to be better. She choses not to become the murderer that Mystique is in the future. But her journey isn’t over yet. That won’t come until Apocalypse.

45) Did I mention I love that Charles embraces the Professor X philosophy?

Hank [about Mystique and Erik]: “Are you sure you should let them go?”

Charles: “Yes. I have hope for them.”

46) I cannot begin to express how satisfying this ending is.

I wish I could find a video clip of the ending so I can perfectly illustrate just how amazing it is, but everything about it feels EARNED. Everything about it breathes HOPE. And not just for this movies. It may be most effective while watching these back to back, but I geeked out at seeing everything. Seeing Rogue and Bobby back together, Kitty and Colossus teaching a class together, Kelsey Grammer’s brief cameo as Beast, Storm as a teacher. THEY EVEN GOT JEAN AND SCOTT BACK! Everything about it just feels SO GOOD! The characters we’ve cared for and loved for 14 years now are happy and at peace. And so what if Logan fucks up their lives again? Right now, everything is just good.

Note: I also own The Rogue Cut version of this film, which reintroduced a subplot featuring Anna Paquin’s return as Rogue that was deleted from the theatrical release for pacing issues. I WILL be doing a post about that sometime in the future. I’ve never seen it before so whatever that post looks like it’ll be a first time viewing. That’ll be labeled as 173.1.

There is a chance that X-Men: Days of Future Past is the best X-Men film yet (as in has X-Men in the title, so discounting films like Deadpool and Logan). It seamlessly blends together a large cast of characters from both the original trilogy and the First Class cast in a story which does the same. With strong performances throughout and incredible character drama (ESPECIALLY for Charles), it marks a triumphant return for director Bryan Singer. The action is better than ever, featuring that amazing Quicksilver scene, and it is practically perfectly paced. X-Men: Days of Future Past is an incredible entertaining and emotionally satisfying film all fans of the series - old and new - should watch.