#started out as my own analysis of the show but turned into a mini fanfic 😅

[karlyboyyy]

In all seriousness, I really do think it’s entirely plausible that Kazuki and Rei can (and/or will) fall in love with each other, but I don’t necessarily see them as suddenly looking at each other with attraction and having that “why am I having these thoughts about another man?!” panic moment that seems to be a common trope in anime whenever gay romance is involved. Their relationship isn’t that simple. No, I think it will happen over time in a more subtle way. And I feel like we’ve already begun to see this unfold.

In episode 7, we learn that Kazuki struggles with his grief of losing his wife and unborn child, all while feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated for all he does for Rei and Miri. He then tries to have a night of fun by gambling and surrounding himself with women, all things he would normally enjoy. But by the end of the night, he’s still miserable. Then he has the conversation with his sister-in-law, and we find out that he feels guilty about moving on and finding happiness for fear of forgetting his past love. But she reassures him that it’s okay to continue living his life. It’s what her sister, his wife, would want. And a small weight is lifted from his shoulders. And when he finally goes back home, and finds a sick Miri sleeping peacefully with a clearly-worried Rei sleeping at her bedside holding her hand, we see Kazuki gazing fondly at the two of them. The look on his face says “These two are my happiness.”

And I think that realization will continue over time. Now that Kazuki no longer feels as guilty about moving on, I think he’ll start to really see Rei as family. As someone he can build a life with. Someone he enjoys spending time with. Someone he truly loves and cares for. And a day will come when maybe he’s out running errands while Rei is at home with Miri, and a woman starts talking to him. Kazuki doesn’t think anything of it at first, but then he realizes she’s hitting on him… and surprisingly, he doesn’t feel any particular way about it. In fact, his mind instead wanders to “I wonder what Rei and Miri are doing. I better hurry back home.”

And Rei… he’ll start to open up more around Kazuki, and show his vulnerabilities. He’s already started doing this with Miri, but I think we’ll begin to see him telling Kazuki more about his past. Maybe not even in a dramatic reveal type of way, but more so in off-hand comments or random stories that he suddenly remembers. And without realizing that things have changed so much, he’ll find that he’s truly enjoying his life with Kazuki and Miri, that he can actually laugh about things and feel relaxed. And one night, as he’s trying to fall asleep in his bathtub, maybe he’ll struggle to get comfortable. So he instead finds himself going to Miri’s room and curling up on the floor next to her bed, and quickly falling asleep. Kazuki walks in to find him, laughs to himself, and without even thinking about it, picks Rei up and carries him to bed. Not Rei’s bed, though. No, Kazuki subconsciously realizes that Rei needed the comfort of having someone next to him while he slept, so without a second thought, he brought Rei to his own bed. And when he went to lie down next to Rei, he was careful not to get too close. He didn’t want to disturb him after all, and it’s not like he had any other intentions but to simply sleep near each other. But the next morning, Rei wakes up to find Kazuki’s arm around him. And it doesn’t even occur to him to move Kazuki’s arm. Instead, he just looks at Kazuki’s sleeping face, feels the warmth between them, and thinks “this… is nice actually.”

And eventually the both of them will realize that they would do anything to protect one another, do anything to make the other happy. And maybe one day they’ll start to see each other in a different light. Maybe Kazuki will begin to notice the way Rei’s eyes light up when he gets a new video game, or maybe he’ll see that one piece of Rei’s hair that refuses to stay in the ponytail and think “hah, that’s adorable.” And maybe Rei will start to compliment Kazuki on his cooking more because he knows it makes him happy, or maybe he’ll take Miri shopping to find the perfect birthday gift for Kazuki but ends up getting several things because this thing reminded him of Kazuki’s smile, and this thing is Kazuki’s favorite scent, and this thing reminded him of that inside joke they had, and this thing…

So instead of looking at each other one day and thinking “why am I having these thoughts and feelings about a man?!”, I think they’ll look at each other and think “this feels right. This makes sense. Of course I have these thoughts and feelings about him.” Because at that point, the love is already there.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I don’t get you, CJ. Why are you so quick to throw around the term “bad writing” when you don’t agree with something? Why not simply chalk it up to having different likes or dislikes than other people and move on?

Instead of deconstructing characters you don’t like, why not use your platform to empower other voices and highlight others with different tastes or opinions than you? Different people notice different things about the games. That’s one of the nice things about fandom.

You clearly love writing and analysis, but when you post answers to asks that hold different opinions than you’re own, you often go “you’re valid, but…” and launch into paragraphs upon paragraphs of your opposite opinion rather than truly exploring theirs.

I guess what I’m trying to say is I think your blog and analyses would be stronger if rather than dismissing plot points or characters as “bad writing” you step outside yourself and ask others what they see in that writing since it’s not connecting with you.

To be fair, anon, I don't get me either.

But I hear you, so if you'll allow me to do the thing where I launch into paragraphs upon paragraphs, let's talk about this.

I assume this might've come about because of the recent Violet talk here? Or maybe it's from older posts, I dunno, you didn't specify so I can only speculate and use the Violet posts as the main example here.

So here's the thing... deconstructing characters and storylines is something I enjoy doing. Hell, it's one of my favorite things to do. It doesn't matter if I like or dislike the character, or if I agree with plot directions, or if I think it's "good" or "bad" writing. That's how I work things out for myself, how I try to understand why I'm feeling the way I am about certain characters and story elements. I break apart the different aspects of these things and analyze them so that I can improve the content I create and try to avoid the same mistakes I've come across that I wanted to be better.

When it comes to me tossing around "bad writing", or just implying it, I'm not trying to say that "bad writing = trash, garbage, unenjoyable, anyone who likes this is a dingus, how could you?" it's more "I see flaws here and I want it to be better, I know it can be better and it frustrates me that I can't fix it," y'know?

And I'm fully aware that other people might not see it that way. With that basketball Violet post, I know that a lot of the Violet crowd are gonna read that and be like "no, I love the bell tower scene! It fits well with her character! What are you talking about?" and that's fine, I expect that. That post was me writing something that's been on my mind that I wanted to share, it wasn't me trying to scold anyone for liking it or trying to dismiss their feelings about it.

When it comes to differing opinions, especially on Violet, I've come to the conclusion that we just gotta agree to disagree. I've tried for years at this point to understand the appeal of Violet and gone looking for answers about her in hopes of being enlightened, and I have asked around.

In the past, I have made posts inquiring about what people see in Violet [Minerva, too] and why they prefer Violentine, and I got little to nothing in response. So I totally get where you're coming from when you say I should ask others what they see in the writing that I don't, but there's only so much I can do when no one is willing to answer me. So, I have to look around myself.

I've searched through several threads on reddit and none of them have been insightful, unsurprisingly.

That's what sparked my mini-rant about Louis before. On reddit, a lot of the answers on why people like Violet are either "she sided with Clementine, she's just really sweet deep down, she has more trauma, and lesbian," or "I like Violet more because Louis is a traitor," and what the hell am I supposed to get out of that, y'know? They're not really telling me anything, they're just looking to argue among themselves and I've had to throw in the towel on that one.

I've had better luck here, having read some truly insightful posts about Violet, her arc, and her relationship with Clementine. The conclusion I've reached it that the things people find appealing about her are things that I don't.

If you need an example, we'll use the aftermath of Marlon's murder when Violet turns on the group to defend AJ. Every post from the Violet crowd I've read that talks about that scene praises her for turning against her friends/family to defend AJ when they were gonna attack him, it shows what she's willing to do for them, that's something that drew them to her. Then there's me, who sees that as adding unnecessary aggression to the situation when none of them were going to attack AJ, they weren't looking at AJ, and none of this is helping. Neither of these interpretations are wrong.

Guess what I'm trying to get at is I'm one person, and having discussions takes more than one willing person.

Moving on, "when you post answers to asks that hold different opinions than you’re own, you often go “you’re valid, but…” and launch into paragraphs upon paragraphs of your opposite opinion rather than truly exploring theirs."

I've thought about this for a while, and maybe I do actually do this but don't realize it. I like to think that I'm engaging with the ideas that people send me, but I dunno, maybe I can be dismissive of things because I have a hard time being objective. That's something I've always struggled with, and I'm sorry if I ever came across as dismissive or didn't fully explore ideas, that's something I can definitely get better at.

As for "why not use your platform to empower other voices and highlight others with different tastes or opinions than you? Different people notice different things about the games. That’s one of the nice things about fandom."

I've done character nights, ship nights, season nights, etc. for about two years, give or take. That's what those nights were about. Usually, I'd put up a poll and we'd all vote on what we wanted to discuss, and then the floor was open for anyone to give their input, and we'd discuss.

I stopped doing them a little while ago because I was burnt out on themed nights. Remembering to make new polls, setting aside part of my weekends to spend hours answering asks the best I could, usually dealing with other projects on top of it all.... it may not seem like it, but god, those nights took a lot out of me. I loved doing it! Having those discussions were some of the best parts of running this blog, but now my new job has me working 40+ hours a week, four days with ten hour shifts and occasionally some overtime on the weekends, I just don't have it in me anymore to do it every single weekend. Not with how tired I am and with all the other projects I'm working on.

That's why I've started testing the waters with these shorter posts of me throwing out ideas or going on mini-rants. They're something simple I can do with no pressure, just me with an empty document getting whatever's on my mind out... and it helps that it feels like my last fuck has just flown away to the heavens to weave itself into the boat god's beard like as he sails among the clouds and stars..... so now I'm gonna talk about whatever I want and the fact that it's my opinion is implied.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a little defensive with this part, I tend to get that way whenever people tell me what I should or shouldn't do with my blog, even if they're just trying to be helpful and I don't believe you have any ill intent with your message. I've had this blog for three years now, and I've always had people telling me I shouldn't do character analyses, I should stay in my lane, just write fanfics and do character nights. I should answer more asks otherwise people will think I don't care. I shouldn't write headcanon posts, that's what other blogs do and I'll be taking content away from them. I shouldn't write that one au I've always wanted to because I should be working on [with you]. I shouldn't write anything but [with you.] I shouldn't talk about Violet because I'm a Louis blog.

And that's dumb. All of that is dumb! No one owns the concept of headcanon posts or character analyses! Just like how I don't own the concept of character nights!

Again, my last fuck is lost in Kenny's beard, I don't have it anymore. I'm going to write and analyze whatever I want, when I want, and the best I can do is promise to be better. My inbox is open, I'll try to answer and engage with you guys when I can, I'll keep doing these posts where I ramble about whatever topic is on my mind, and I shouldn't have to put a disclaimer of "This is all my opinion and it's okay if you disagree, I'm not trying to invalidate you" because that's implied.

Before I close out this long response, I do wanna add a thank you for the ask, I do appreciate the constructive criticism. Usually anons that have any problem with me after I talk about Violet will just call me a piece of shit and tell me to delete my blog. Maybe this helped you, maybe it didn't, either way thanks :)

[franklyshipping]

Day 9 ~ Christmas 2019 Ego Fanfics

Day number nine here we are! Now let's say hi to the sweetest, cutest tickler on the planet! LET'S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @googlee-green @ericleederekson and @erik-lee-derekson

Now, gift-giving is all well and good….but I think we can all agree that there’s a certain thrill and extra joy when it comes to secret gift-giving. You get the thrill of seeing someone open your gift and see their reaction without them having any pre-dispositions or inclinations to pretend to like it so you don’t feel bad….plus, seeing the joy on someone’s face when they get a surprise gift is so beautiful. Also, specifically for the egos, seeing Gooper in a little remote powered sleigh delivering all the presents around was just too adorable.

Here he came now, zooming along and having the absolute time of his life, honestly I’m a little jealous. He was wrapped in cotton wool and had a mini knitted Santa hat on top of him as he zoomed into one of the living rooms, ringing a little bell on his sleigh as he squealed and yipped, so he could get the attention of the person he was delivering to next. Today, it was Eric Derekson. The timid man initially jumped at all the noise, but soon giggled and eagerly came over to sit cross-legged next to the sleigh.

‘H-Hey you, hard at work huh?’

Gooper let out a noise of affirmative, before hopping out of his sleigh and dragging over the gift that had been in the little trailer he’d been pulling about. Eric’s eyes suddenly widened when he saw that it said HIS name on the label.

‘F-For me? R-Really?’

Gooper bounced with a happy squeak, adoring how surprised and happy Eric looked. He bonked his hand softly, before squealing farewell and leaving the room, onto his next little quest. Meanwhile, Eric was left sat with the gift before him. It was a square shape, and frankly the way it had been wrapped was just absolutely pristine, it didn’t look like any sort of finesse a human could achieve! Eric took a breath….before unwrapping it; beneath the paper was a box….and inside the box was the most beautiful flower crown Eric had ever seen.

‘O-Oh my….w-wow….’

Eric gasped as he tenderly brought it out of the box, and he let out an excited squeak when he saw that a note came with it, a note written in perfect handwriting with a dark green biro pen.

“Dear Eric Derekson,

I am your Secret Santa, Merry Christmas. I hope that the gift is to your liking, since I am aware you have a love of nature. The willow base, pine garlanding, and snowdrop flowers that make up the crown are all synthetic, but have been infused with the realistic scents of the foliage they are based off of. This means that the crown will never diminish in vibrancy or scent, and you may keep it forever.

Yours affectionately,

Your Secret Santa.”

Eric very nearly had tears in his eyes….it was the most beautiful thing he had even seen, and it was the most beautiful gift he’d literally ever been given. He sniffled and smiled as he settled it on his head, letting out a happy gasp as he felt over it all; it all felt so real, and knowing it would last forever just made it all the more perfect. I’m sure you’re all wondering who the giver of this gift was, well, you’ll be please to know that he was actually watching Eric from a nearby doorway. Google Green was smiling happily as he watched how happy Eric became from receiving his gift; he was about to turn away…but then….the door creaked.

‘H-Hello? Someone there?’

Eric had heard the creak, and stood with furrowed eyebrows as he approached the doorway; Green didn’t move fast enough, and soon was faced with a crowned, smiling, and curious Eric Derekson.

‘Green? What are you d-doing hiding behind the door?’

Green blinked a few times, and cleared his throat as he decided that the most tactical approach was non-disclosure of information, as well as evasion.

‘Nothing. That is an interesting garment, where did you get it?’

He nodded to the flower crown Eric was wearing, which made Eric smile and light up; he was so eager to talk about it to anyone who would listen.

‘Oh, it’s from my Secret Santa! It’ll last forever and the scents and textures will never go away! I-I love it so much, b-but I really wish I knew who sent it to me so I could t-tell them….’

Eric pouted softly, he loved the whole concept of Secret Santa, but he also wanted nothing more than to thank the person who gifted him the flower crown, he wanted to show them how grateful he was and how much he loved it. Green cocked his head at Eric with a fond smile, he was such a sweet human, deserving of so many nice things.

‘I am sure that when they see you wear it with such joy, they will see how much you love it Eric. Particularly since they were already acutely aware of your love of nature.’

Eric smiled for a moment at Green’s sweet words….before furrowing his eyebrows at the android. ‘’Love of nature’’….that phrase was written in the note that had come with the gift, though it could have been a coincidence….but Eric’s curiosity got the better of him.

‘You uh….seem to know about this p-person’s thoughts….do you know who i-it was that gifted me this?’

Green’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second….he had certainly not expected Eric to be so incredibly perceptive. Green tensed a tad as he saw how Eric cocked his head at him curiously, very much like he was undertaking an analysis. Green knew that if he wanted to maintain the secrecy, he had to be careful.

‘I do not…I….I was simply theorising the gift giver’s mind-set aloud.’

Now, if Green had said that sentence without the pause in the middle, Eric would have believed him without a doubt. But that stutter, that little hint of hesitation, showed Eric that Green was not being as truthful as he was making out. Eric couldn’t help but grin up at the android playfully as he raised an eyebrow at him.

‘O-Oh? Y-You don’t sound very sure….’

Eric took a step towards Green, making him step back nervously since he was unsure of Eric’s intentions. Green knew that Eric had seen through his fakery, and now Green could see Eric’s grin getting wider and wider; the android replied very speedily though, he wasn’t going to give up on maintaining his secrecy.

‘I am absolutely, positively, irrevocably sure, I assure you Eric.’

That made Eric stop approaching the android, and Green furrowed his brows curiously as he watched Eric start to think to himself. The usually timid man was gaining a burst of determined confidence….he was going to find out from Green who had gifted him the flower crown, and he was going to do it via any means necessary. Eric then developed a soft, and incredibly cute, little smirk as he quietened his voice.

‘Well u-unfortunately….I-I don’t believe you!’

Before Green knew it…Eric had lunged at him, giggling his heart out as they tumbled to the floor, Eric ending up on top of the surprised android. Green’s cheeks flushed a soft lime colour, but before he could even inquire into Eric’s intentions….Eric showed him.

‘Eric-AHA! Nohohoho noho I-Ihihi dohohon’t knohow ahanythihing!’

Eric had wriggled his fingers into the android’s ribcage experimentally, since it was common knowledge that all the Googles were ticklish in their own ways; Eric was so glad Green had this attribute too. Green burst into hearty giggles as he tried to curl up into a foetal position, his hard-drive repeating the same thought: Just try and withstand it.

‘I think you’re fiiiibbing! Just tell the truth and I’ll stooop!’

Eric teased as he continued to tickle. Eric was the sort of tickler who giggled or laughed along with whoever he was tickling, he just couldn’t keep his happy giddiness to himself. It made it so much worse for Green, having Eric giggling and grinning down at him, it made the temperature of his cheeks rise as he squeezed his mossy eyes shut.

‘Ihihihi ahalreheady hahahave!’

Eric let out a little sigh, tutting down at Green as he rubbed his thumbs into the gaps between his ribs; he could tell he was going to have to spend a lot of time on the stubborn android’s sensitive spots…but Eric was more than happy with that.

‘Oh I don’t think so, I know you’re hiding something! Just tell me what you know, and this can aaaall be over….’

Eric dimmed his voice into a coo, which made Green feel particularly flustered indeed. He had his arms tucked tight into his sides to try and hinder Eric, but he was devilishly dextrous; thus, Green was trapped with tickles and teases. He looked up at Eric as he grinned cutely and whined pleadingly.

‘P-Plehehease! Thehere’s n-nohohothihing t-to tehell!’

Eric hummed as he looked down at Green….once again, it was the android’s stammers that meant Eric knew he was still being a little fibber. Eric lowered the tone of his voice playfully as he replied.

‘Huh, that’s funny….since you always seem to stammer more when you’re lying!’

As Eric finished speaking, he dug all of his fingers into Green’s ribcage, wriggling them and tickling deftly as Green burst into wide-eyed cackles. Plus, Green felt that he couldn’t fight back out of worry that he might accidentally hurt Eric with his higher-than-average human strength! All he could do was continue to project denial.

‘NOHOHO! I-I-IHI D-DOHON’T!’

Eric raised a teasy eyebrow down at Green as he giggled affectionately, he just thought Green was far too cute. Eric eagerly leaned over the android more, hoping to look intimidating as he purred with a dangerous, foreboding twinkle in his eyes.

‘If you lie one more time….then you’re REALLY gonna get it!’

Green gulped. He was absolutely very much feeling intimidated by Eric right now. He could sense that Eric was making some form of threat, but Green was so flustered that his words ended up coming out of him so frantically before he had a chance to consider them.

‘BUHUT IHI HAHAVEN’T BEHEEN LYING!’

At Green’s mirthful cry, Eric stopped the tickling. Green only gulped more, because he knew Eric wasn’t doing it out of mercy, he was doing it out of shock. Even Green was understanding that his little attempts at lies were weak and transparent, and the android’s eagerness to maintain them was only making Eric more eager to tickle the truth out of him. Green knew he’d “screwed up big time” in addition to “really landing himself in it” as he knew many of the Ipliers would say. Eric was amazed at how stubbornly Green was clinging to his little fibs….but he was actually kinda happy about it, because Eric found that he was enjoying tickling Green very, very much.

‘….now you’ve done it.’

Eric tutted as he smirked down at Green, making the android’s cheeks darken to a more forest green…before the android shrieked and his blush became a mossy green. Why? Because Eric Derekson had unleashed the wettest, tickliest raspberry at the side of Green’s neck EVER!

‘AAAHHHH! OHOHO GAHAD NAHAT THAHAHAT!!’

Eric concurred that Green was particularly susceptible to this tickling technique, due to his new laughter, and so just gave him more and more and more.

‘You don’t like raspberries?! But raspberries are so good for you Greeny!’

Green let out a crackly wail at the nickname, even though it was merely his name with an extra letter added, it still affected his emotions and sparked even more flusteredness. He also felt flustered at Eric’s insinuation that the tickle technique was ANYTHING like its fruity namesake.

‘NAHAHAHAT LIHIHIKE THIHIHIS AHAHAHA!!’

Green tossed his head about, squeaking through his laughter as he felt Eric giggle into his neck. Eric adored how susceptible Green was to the raspberries, they were Eric’s favourite tickle technique to do on others because it was so silly and goofy. Eric loved tickling people in general, making people laugh like that just made him feel so happy and confident; also, teasing people was something Eric took great pleasure in.

‘But it makes you laugh so much! Plus, I looove how wriggly you are underneath me, you’re such a sensitive cutie pie!’

Eric cooed as he raspberried behind Green’s ear, which only made the already squirmy android wriggle about even more, he just couldn’t keep himself still because of all the sensations coursing through his system. On top of the tickling, Eric’s teasing was really getting to Green. He had his eyes squeezed shut, his fists clenched, his toes curled, all his muscles tensed, and he had embarrassed shuttering noises coming from his throat as he cried.

‘SHUHUHUT IHIhihihit…ohohahaha….’

Green let out a gasping sigh of relief when he felt Eric lean up and away from his tender neck, which was now tingling beyond belief. Eric giggled as he looked at the panting man beneath him, amazed he’d resisted the tickles for so long…but Eric was determined; he just had too much love and gratitude to give.

‘So, are we ready to talk yet? Or do I really have to torture you?’

Green weakly opened his eyes as he glanced up a Eric, and to see the usually meek man smirking and practically nose to nose with him….it did things to Green. First off, Green suddenly found himself encapsulated by Eric’s features. He could see the soft dimples in his cheeks, the soft brown freckles on the bridge of his nose, the way his caramel eyes gleamed and glimmered. Green felt his mouth go dry as he was distracted….but amongst it all, he had an epiphany. He realised he was deriving enjoyment from spending time with Eric with all this playfulness, so Green decided that he wanted to be playful back. He smiled up at Eric, before pointedly pursing his lips and turning his head away. Needless to say, Eric was a) pleasantly surprised, and b) even more eager to coax out what Green was hiding.

‘Ohhh so you think you’re a tough android huh? Y-You think because I’m little ol’ Eric Derekson that I can’t get what I want out of you?’

Green didn’t know how, but even with his little stutters, Eric sounded more intimidating than even a displeased Darkiplier. Green nibbled his bottom lip and kept quiet, but trembled when Eric giggled and trailed his fingers down his torso slowly. Green knew he could grab his hands and make him stop….but he didn’t want to.

‘Last chance Greeny…last chance to talk….before I go in for the kill.’

Eric whispered, grinning so widely as he teasingly tapped his fingers over Green’s tummy and waist. He heard miniscule whines coming from the sweet android….but nothing else. Honestly, Eric felt like this experience with Green was a beautiful Christmas present in of itself.

‘Well….I tried to be nice.’

Eric said with a resigned sigh, before he took a leap of faith on his instinct, and dug into Green’s hips. His instinct was right too. Green let out a wild scream as he arched his back, before being consumed by deep, crackle-filled laughter. It was his death spot. Eric had found his death spot…and was tormenting it.

‘AAAAAHAHAHAHA NAHAT THERE NAHAT THEHEHEEERE!!!’

Eric giggled with delight as he massaged Green’s beautifully exposed hipbones evilly.

‘Oooh I hoped this was gonna be a bad spot! Come on now Greeny, you know you can’t hold out on me!’

Green, despite his hopes, knew that Eric was right, and that just flustered him all the more as he thrashed and bucked with a growing desperation.

‘PLEHEHEHEASE EHERIC AHAHAHA!!!’

Eric grinned his boyish grin as he leant down to Green’s ear, so he could purr in that teasingly innocent voice of his.

‘Tell me….just tell me what I want to know…’

Green had saline fluid building in the corners of his eyes as he laughed and whimpered.

‘OHOHOHO GAHAHAHAD!!!’

He was an absolute mess of mirth the poor guy, he knew he was reaching the end of what he could tolerate, so before Eric could tease once more….Green admitted all.

‘IHIHIT WAHAS MEHEHE! THE FLOHOHOWER CROHOWN IHIS FROHOM MEHEHEEEE!!!’

Eric’s eyes widened as he stopped the tickling immediately. His lips were parted in awe and shock…did he hear that right? Eric could feel his cheeks heating up as he whispered in a breathless voice.

‘Y-You? Y-You….m-made this for m-me?’

Eric slid off of Green as he posed his question so that the android could sit up, which he did. Green felt bashfulness creeping up on him as he straightened his spectacles and smoothed down his hair…he felt so nervous, but he replied nevertheless.

‘Aha….y-yes. I….I-I have observed you m-many times tending to th-the plants you own, and your intense joy was unmistakable. I wanted to emulate it for you, a-at the very least.’

Green bowed his head, oh goodness, this is why he’d wanted it to stay secret! He’d been so nervous as soon as he’d found out Eric was the person he was gifting for, Green had brainstormed for hour after hour on what someone so perfect and good like Eric would like as a gift. He was still nervous now, doubt creeping into his thoughts-

‘Y-You are the s-sweetest person i-i-in the whole w-wide world Greeny! Thank y-you so much….’

Those thoughts however, were pushed aside by Eric’s words….and his very sudden, loving hug. He’d launched himself at the android and wrapped his arms around him as tears built in his eyes….he’d never in his wildest dreams imagined someone putting so much effort and care and detail into something for him. Eric felt like it was the best day of his life, especially when Green hugged him back and buried his face in his shoulder. After a little while of relishing in Eric’s human warmth, Green softly whispered.

‘W-Would you perhaps…ah…like to c-come to my room for further cuddling?’

Eric giggled as they briefly parted, and nodded without hesitation.

‘I-I’d love that.’

That made Green smile and stand up, before offering Eric his hand, which he accepted. Once they were both stood….they didn’t let go of one another’s hands, instead, they interlaced their fingers together. Then they went off to partake in the sweetest, secret snuggle session that has ever existed.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOO LUV YOUS XX

[fangirlunderground-blog]

Meta Monday

I got involved in fandom in the mid-90s when I was around 14 years old. My cousin @lyndanaclerio sent me VHS recordings of the Sailor Moon dub, and I fell in love... I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before.

Since then, I’ve been in a lot of different fandoms: from manga to YA, Tolkien to Xena, Harry Potter to Teen Wolf, Star Wars to Marvel, and countless mini-fandoms along the way. And I’ve met a lot of cool people online over the years — older and younger alike, including my best friend of 15 years — on all sorts of platforms. I’ve built myself fandom homes on shitty GeoCities fansites and moderately less shitty sites I made from scratch; on Yahoo! Groups and LiveJournal; on AO3 and Tumblr... and that’s nothing compared to others!

But, last week, I turned 36, and according to some, I’ve already overstayed my welcome in fandom by at least a decade. I guess I’m supposed to put all my comics and collectibles on eBay, swap out my fanfiction with whatever the fuck a beach read is, and spend the rest of my life cloistered in my house where I won’t offend society. (I mean, I’m kind of a hermit, but that’s not why.) 

And let me be clear here: by some, I mean some. While there is indeed a frightening trend here on Tumblr, in which some young people have embraced bizarrely conservative views about women and sexuality, with the Trumpian rhetoric to match, I think the problem is bigger than that. I recently talked about the pressure I felt to abandon fandom when I was 25 when Tumblr was still brand new, and nothing like it is today. It’s clear there were (and are) more societal forces at work than just a toxic sub-culture on a struggling platform.

So, this post isn’t about the vast majority of young people in fandom, nor am I here to yell “get off my fandom, you pesky kids!” when no one ever said that to 14-year-old me. In fact, this post is as much for fangirls as it is for fanwomen because you deserve to know that getting older doesn’t mean giving up the things you love. But you don’t deserve to tell others to conform just because you’re uncomfortable that they exist. There are already enough toxic fanboys trying to keep women out of geek culture, so don’t help them hold the gates closed from the outside.

And if you are older, and already let that shit drive you out of taking a more active part in fandom, I’ve been there, and I get it. But you can still come back; not just on your private Tumblr, or your secret AO3 account, but for real and any time. One of the most freeing choices I’ve made is to stop pretending I think all of this is stupid. The world needs more quirky, eccentric women, anyways.

Sorry this one is so long, but apparently I have FEELINGS this month — especially after the Bog of Eternal Stench I had to trot through while researching this one — and there are a lot of people who’ve articulated them better than I did here (see the following meta recs). I promise we’ll move on next week! As always, let the authors know you appreciated their work by engaging however you can. And if you ever feel alienated on this site, please feel welcome to talk to me! 💛  

Fandom - Ageism

Adults in Fandom by @littlesystems, [...] There are a lot of different factors at play with the current fandom purity thing. It’s primarily being driven by minors, which is why I’ve used that as a stand-in, but there are older people who are obsessed with this and younger people who aren’t. Nuance! Exciting stuff. I think the two biggest drivers here are a genuine but misguided desire to make fandom a better place, paired with plain ol’ run-of-the-mill sexism. I’m not the first person to say this and I know others have said it better, but here are my two cents. (Mirror Link)

Age and Experience in Fandom by @tppfandomstats, This month’s @threepatchpodcast episode, When I’m 64, looks at fandom and aging. To go along with these discussions, here are some demographic stats from a few fandom surveys on the age distribution in our online fandom communities. (Mirror Link)

Age Appropriate Activities by @telesilla, So this post, another in a long series of “find a bridge club you embarrassing old ladies” posts, came around. And I adulted hard all day and it just really pissed me off and caught me at a bad time. (Mirror Link) 

Ageism in Fandom by @badtech-reblogs, Seeing yet another post about ageism in fandom and I’m trying to do some root cause analysis. That ageism in fandom is tied up with misogyny is a given. There is almost no age too young to start ridiculing a woman for her hobbies and interests, and even young girls are expected to have a maturity and patience beyond their years. The misogyny is coming in from the larger world outside of fandom like how misogyny, ableism, anti-blackness etc. seeps into all subcultures. (Mirror Link)

Ageism in Fandom: Too Old to Fangirl? by @ravenmorganleigh, @vulgarweed, et al. Most Fandoms are comprised mostly of women, young and old. It’s interesting to me when Young Women– who are the most likely to champion women’s rights can turn around and show their youth-bias when it comes to Older Women in Fandom. (Mirror Link) 

Fandom culture wouldn’t be where it is now if it wasn’t for Old Fandom by @thepalmtoptiger, I almost forgot that ageism in fandom is a thing. Apparently once you hit 25/30 years old you’re supposed to stop having interests in things. People need to freshen up on their fandom history and realize that fandom now wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for older fans. (Mirror Link)  

Getting older doesn’t actually feel like anything by @catchmewhispering, The hilarious thing about growing up, that all the ageist people here are gonna very harshly realise, is getting older doesn’t actually feel like anything. You don’t “turn into” an adult, it’s just another year that passes and, sure, it might become easier to make decisions or figure out how to fix a sticky situation but overall, you don’t suddenly Enter Adult World and never have a goofy thought or a messy moment ever again. (Mirror Link)    

The idea that you will someday be ‘too old’ for the stuff you find fun by @freedom-of-fanfic,  [...] The idea that you will someday be ‘too old’ for the stuff you find fun now is a long-standing cultural message that I’m sure many anti-shippers - many adolescents of all stripes - have absorbed. that message caused adolescent me to think I would outgrow fandom, and I don’t think that message has particularly changed. (Mirror Link) 

If other people in fandom are older than you, by definition, they have been your age by @codenamecesare, [...] If other people in fandom are older than you, by definition, they have been your age. When fans write about younger characters, we’re not peering through a keyhole at young people now and creeping on them. We are drawing on our own experiences, thoughts, feelings and memories of what it was like when we were that age. (Mirror Link)

I’m old as balls by @warlordenfilade, [...] Just realize that with 30+ year old franchises there will be 30+ year old people who grew up with the franchise and still love it.  Tumblr may be a relatively recent platform but fandom as an institution is waaaay older than I am and the Transformers fandom in particular has fans in their 40s and 50s whom I am personally acquainted with, fans who have adapted from photocopy fanzines and snail mail mailing lists to bulletin boards, newsgroups, forums, and, yeah, tumblr, in their many years of fandom. (Mirror Link)

I wish we’d stop telling each other - and ourselves - that there’s a point at which we’re too old for fandom by @vantasticmess​, I spent every year from 14 to 25 telling myself that eventually I’d grow out of fandom: I would get too old to cosplay and I would write my own original stories instead of ‘just’ fanfiction. After all, adults don’t write fanfic and adults don’t make costumes for themselves. Adults get married and have kids and make costumes for their kids and write real stories and get published. (Mirror Link) 

“like, i’m not saying that adults don’t have a place in fandom.” by @porcupine-girl​, @melifair​, et al. [...] Fandom is vast and encompasses a multitude of interests and age groups. We all fandom responsibly, and those who abuse that at the expense of someone vulnerable or impressionable are not tolerated. This does not mean that anyone specific group of fandom should be limited. Nor does it mean that the only entertainment media created ever should be accessible to all viewing audiences. Young fandom will grow to understand this, not only in fandom but in life. (Mirror Link)

“Lmao 30-year-old women don’t belong in fandoms. Go knit or have kids or something.” by @rainbowloliofjustice, @the-salt, et al. [...] It’s the fact I don’t get what these people think happens when you turn 18 it’s not like the second you turn 18 you just immediately lose interest in everything you were interested in at 17 and from then on only like strictly ‘adult™’ things. A lot of people who were in fandoms as teenagers stay in fandoms as adulthood. Fandoms aren’t minor-only spaces and never have been and there’s literally nothing wrong with adults in fandom environments. (Mirror Link)

Older fans are crucial to the survival of fandoms by @muchymozzarella, [...] Not ONLY because they’re literally the ones keeping fandom afloat (AO3 wasn’t created or maintained by kids, let’s just say), but because older fans generally don’t attack or bully or fuck up a fandom by being aggressive or volatile or overzealous, destroying any enjoyment of a medium. (Mirror Link)

PSA by @bugsieplusone​, I’ve been sitting on this post for a while because it probably reveals more about me on a platform that I’d rather not reveal but here goes. I’d like to talk about fandom and ageism. If you are older, you are: Allowed to like things, Allowed to create fan works, Allowed to discuss things with other like minded fans, Allowed to participate. (Mirror Link)

Reblog if Older Fans Are Welcome In Fandom by @cameoamalthea​, For many fandom is a life long passion that starts young, but being a geek isn’t something you have to grow out of and put away. I didn’t start cosplaying until my 20s (I couldn’t have, and probably won’t be financially secure enough to do all the things I want until my 30s). (Mirror Link)

tumblr’s disgust for older people in fandom by @bai-xue​, @awkward-smiley​; [...] I’m young now, but I was scared that I wouldn’t be over fandoms when I got older. I’m sick of it, how about we all just like what we like and not judge people? (Mirror Link)

you are never too old for fandom by @hils79​, [...] You are never too old for fandom and if you think that’s true I pity you when you reach whatever arbitrary age you think is the cutoff point. (Mirror Link)

You are reinforcing a stereotype by @asocialjusticeleague​, @olderthannetfic​, et al; [...] Whenever you question a woman’s right to this space because of her age or parental status, you are reinforcing a stereotype that has effects that reach beyond that one situation. The expectation, for example, that 40 year old men be catered to when writing comics, but that characters of interest to 40 year old women are obsolete or unprofitable. (Mirror Link)

[whenimgoodandready]

What is this? Who is that in that picture? And what is “Miraculous Ladybug”? (researches through my Tumblr blog archives) Well, apparently I’m a young woman who has a social media blog that writes these reviews (and rebloging interesting posts for other things) for a French children’s animated show and points things out along with expressing my opinion on each episode! Okay, I don’t remember watching this episode, but I’ll see it again and go through the rest of my reviews to help refresh my memories (rewatches “Oblivio” again, reads through the previous reviews and checks out the shows wiki), Okay, so here’s what I discovered:

*Oblivio-So I found the English dub of this episode and get this, this Ladybug and Cat Noir are costumed superheroes who wake up in an elevator with no memory of who one another is or what had happened before and they detransform as teenagers in front of each other! Ladybug is this clumsy French-Chinese baker girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Cat Noir is this sheltered rich male model guy named Adrien Agreste and not only do they have amnesia, but their Kwamies, which are these “bugmice/genies”, have amnesia too! I read that this wasn’t the first time they had a “reveal”, but the last one had their eyes closed for an owl villain named “Dark Owl” (and he was their principal?). Marinette looks really cute and Adrien looks adorable as well.

They get out of the elevator and after going through their bags and pockets discover their identities and realize they need to stay away from this supervillain (that person in the picture) named Oblivio who can erase people’s memories and is the one responsible for all this. Marinette and Adrien try to call their parents for help, but Adriens father, a fashion designer named Gabriel, isn’t answering and to my horror, it was cuz he’s the major supervillain, Hawk Moth, who creates these supervillains to get Ladybug and Cat Noirs miraculouses (those magic earrings/ring respectively) and give him God-like powers! And his son doesn’t know about it along with him not knowing he’s a superhero! Shocking! Marinette, however, gets in contact with her mom and she lets her know about Ladybug and Cat Noir which makes her realize they need to keep their alter egos a secret and fight Oblivio. Problem? They don’t know how to transform and use their powers! Womp! Womp! Womp! Despite that, they pretty much handle everything with quick thinking and analysis. Hmm, smart kids!

One of the Kwamies, the black cat looking one, Plagg, is a lazy and stinky camembert cheese obsessed fellow who was all, “Screw this I’m outta here” and leaves the kids and the other Kwamie, the cute ladybug looking one, Tikki, to fend for themselves. What a selfish little........thing. Oblivio almost catches the gang, but Marinette uses a skill that was almost like Ladybugs power, “Lady-vision”, and they send Oblivio away. Lol! What a dumb villain.

Marinette and Adrien believe they’re a couple from one another’s pictures on their phones and I read that there’s this “love square” where it’s just the two of them along with their alter egos and here’s how it goes: Adrienette:one sided secret crush on Marinettes side, Ladynoir:one sided open crush on Cat Noirs side, Marichat:strictly platonic and Ladrien:mutual secret crush. Oh God! This is so frustrating! Everyone’s stressing out about it from the comments I read! And the two don’t even know about their own secret identities out of safety reasons! This is Season 3 and they still haven’t figured it out yet! What!? How do they keep this show going!? Is this what’s keeping the ratings up!? I also found out I’m all for Adrienette cuz, they can’t be superheroes forever! It was cute however that they got to fall in love with each other all over again ღ. They’re such a cute couple. I see that they’re very parallel with each other too. Are these two written in stone!? “Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, Forever”!? Cuz they’re like, two halves of a whole fated couple!

Marinette researches through her phone (like how I’m trying to remember with all this) and finds a video depicting what occurred before the elevator incident and sees that as Ladybug, she drew a picture of a phone and a turtle next to it as a reminder, so she goes through her contacts and finds a turtle pic with the name Fu, Master Fu. He’s this hundred year old Chinese man who’s this “guardian” of the Miracule Box and is the one who gave Marinette and Adrien their miraculouses when Hawk Moth first showed up. He lets them know about who they are and how to use their powers, so Tikki transforms Marinette into Ladybug while sadly, Adrien is stuck without Plagg :(.

Later, Plagg comes back after a guilt trip of “psychological harassment” from seeing Adriens posters all over Paris (Lol! They’re literally signs) and transforms him as Cat Noir. As they battle Oblivio with their enhanced flexibilities and reflex’s that they forgot how to use, so they just do the dodge and shield moves. Ladybug reads through her instructional manual on her yo-yo weapon that pretty much does everything (like Cat Noirs baton) and finds out she has to destroy the weapon the supervillain has and purify the hakuna matata akuma that transformed them into a supervillain. Huh, who knew butterflies could be evil? Not to mention it’s Season 3 and Hawk Moth still hasn’t defeated them yet! He did come close, too close, but thanks to Ladybugs “good luck” power, they always come out victorious! However, he finds out that they’re “love” for each other could be their downfall! Don! Don! Don! You know, from what I saw in my research, they’re love is mostly what gets them in trouble, this is gonna be a toughie for young hormonal teenage superheroes.

Oblivio is defeated and it turns out, they were Marinette and Adriens best friends, Alya and Nino, respectively. Alya is an aspiring journalist who blogs more about Ladybug than I do and is a fox superhero named Rena Rouge and Nino is a hip hop cultured D.J who’s Alyas boyfriend and also a turtle superhero named Carapace (wait, there are two turtles?), except they know their identities compared to the other two heroes. They got akumatized cuz they snuck off during a field trip to play a babyish app game on their tablet and they got caught and humiliated and due to that negative emotion, Hawk Moth targeted them and turned them into Oblivio to make people forget their incident and spread villainy. Before the final clean up with the Miraculous Ladybug power that fixes up all the damages that have been done, Ladynoir shares a kiss and then, BOOM! Instant mind erase! They go back to their old feelings for each other. Marinette was embarrassed that she kissed Cat, but hey! It’s not like it was the first time from what I discovered *cough*”DarkCupid”*cough* whereas Adrien was thrilled, but sadly forgot about it again! Lol, sorry kid.

Looking back on my reviews, I changed it throughout the years. Starting 2015, I wrote these reviews by using those Ladybug emojis as the frames and by the second season, I used bigger ladybug pics as frames and then in this season, I used these prettier ladybugs and added in pictures! The more I researched this show, the more I grew to love it! It has all my favorite things:Paris, France, cats, cute characters, bright colors, nice music, comedy, adventure and interesting plot lines that gets darker the more I watch it! I even found out I collect their action dolls and play with them on my Eiffel Tower lamp. There’s even a web series and movie of this show and I wanna see all of it! I even wrote a mini fanfic about this episode plot and it was really funny. It was practically the first 30 seconds of this episode! Wow! I really am a writer! I also found out I met some new friends on here that love the show too and we discuss our thoughts and feelings of it like this one blogger @vulpineveritas whom I first show these reviews before the public as feedback. She’s real nice and you know what? I-(the Miraculous Ladybug power takes effect and restores my memories) Whoa! What happened!? (looks through my amnesiac written review) Aw man! Now I have to rewrite this whole review with my up-to-date mind set! :P.

[hereidinathoreauwrites]

A Balanced Review of the Magic School Bus Reboot

The good, the bad, and the genuinely surprising about the Magic School Bus Rides Again.

Here we go.

First off, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a huge fan of the original. Like genuinely huge. I have all the episodes, can quote most of them, and openly promote theories that Ms. Frizzle is a Time Lord (because honestly, it’s obvious).

Second off, I have a huge gay crush on the fabulous Kate McKinnon.

But who doesn’t?

So expect these to weigh into my analysis.

Let’s start off with the good.

The Good

Fiona

From the moment I heard Kate was onboard, I knew I was going to love this character. And she did not disappoint. Fiona is exactly what she needs to be. She is Ms. Frizzle without being...well, Lily Tomlin. She still has that zest for adventure and thrills at new discoveries.

And while there is a multitude of similarities between her and Valerie (old sayings, clever wordplay, impeccably questionable fashion sense, a flair for danger) she’s decidedly different. She’s more excitable than her sister and treats her students more like peers than children she is supervising. And while she’s never quite as all-knowing as her big sister seemed to be, she knows when to talk and when to let her students suss something out on their own.

And while her past is a bit of a mystery, just like her older sister, she seems just as accomplished and well-rounded. And just as eccentric.

I mean, she literally enters the classroom through a glass ceiling on a rope attached to nothing.

She is Kate McKinnon, who is genuinely thrilled to be here and loving every minute of it. 

Sometimes she does get to be a bit much, usually when she’s too excited about a clever pun or a new discovery. But she’s not Valerie Frizzle. She’s Fiona Frizzle. And Kate does a good job of keeping just enough of the original enigma while bringing a new character who is more approachable, vulnerable, and emotional than Valerie was. Honestly, the only emotions I remember Ms. Frizzle overtly displaying on PBS were excitement and happiness.

In PBS, the kids relied on Ms. Frizzle a lot and she seemed to improvise a lot of the destinations and lessons for the day. Here, Fiona seems to already know what they need for a given day or be flexible enough to figure out a solution as they go. And unlike Valerie, who always kept a strong cloud of mystery about her and what she knew and didn’t know, Fiona makes it very clear just what she is aware of and not aware of. During the final episode, when the bus is unable to take the pressure of the ocean and things look dire, she is clearly panicking because her kids are now in danger. But she keeps resolutely chipper, trying to reassure and excite them even as her voice breaks.

And this makes sense. The kids are older in this version. At some point, there’s no reason for her to hide her knowledge and planning from them or the true scope of the danger they’re in. It isn’t going to teach them anything new, just reinforce how much more she knows. They aren’t going to freak out like they used to, instead, they will search for a solution because they’ve been in danger before and engineered their way out. She’s no longer their guide (like Valerie was), now she’s their colleague.

There is one thing I find a little off about her and that is her tendency to make sassy comments or judgments that are funny in the moment but really distinguish her from what one typically expects from a teacher. In the very first episode, she makes a comment about how dirty the boots they are examining for invasive species are and gets very high-and-mighty about it. I wouldn’t mind so much (the boots were pretty nasty) but she does this with the kids occasionally as well (she makes it obvious that she knows Arnold stole her plant in the first episode but still puts him through a lot of guilt-tripping and even some legit trauma before he finally fesses up). And while it’s good for a laugh, it seems a little harsh for an elementary school teacher. The kids dont seem to mind though so I’ll let it go.

The Class

The same class is back, which I found surprising. But smart. It would be too much work to establish an entirely new class and then introducing a new Ms. Frizzle would feel off. It would just be a remake, not a reboot.

We have 7 of the original kids here: Arnold, Ralphie, Carlos, Tim, Wanda, Dorothy Ann, and Keesha. In this reboot, Phoebe has been replaced with Jyoti, an Indian girl who is very into engineering and technology. I was originally very upset when Phoebe was replaced (she was the one I related to most in the original series) but Jyoti has earned a special place in my heart. She has her own section below.

In this version, the class is in 5th grade, which is supposed to be one year after the events of the PBS cartoon. I’ll have more thoughts on this later but for know, just know that all the kids are now 10 instead of 9 and it actually sort of works.

The kids are all really charming. Especially Ralphie (who may have eclipsed Carlos for the most laughs). Even Arnold, who I found incredibly annoying in the PBS version, was exceedingly likable here. And this was the series where he actively disrupts his new teacher’s first lesson! In the first episode, there is a great effort to make Arnold both reprehensible but also sympathetic as he resists the change Fiona brings to his life.

While their personalities seem less distinguishable at times, they still retain their characterizations. Ralphie is the lovable jock, DA the nerd (although she has swapped out her beloved pink bookbag for a Frizz-tab), Tim is the artist, Carlos the jokester, etc. Even though they retain these personalities from PBS, all of them have changed slightly, the same way you’d expect a child to change over the course of one year. Some of their traits have been updated as well for the new era this class is getting educated in (for example, DA’s tablet and their outfit changes).

The only one I have a problem with is Wanda.

We’ll get to her in the bad.

The kids are still the focus of the show: having conflicts, solving problems, making mistakes, and getting excited about science. Fiona remains as simply their guardian and enabler of their adventures. And while Kate’s performance is attention-grabbing, she doesn’t steal the spotlight from the kids. Their VAs are all pretty good and seem to have taken their own stylistic choices when bringing back these beloved characters. They keep some core similarities but give unique performances.

Jyoti Kaur

I was so excited to learn another POC had joined the kids. I was even more excited to learn that she was a southern Indian POC [for context: I myself am not of Indian heritage but I spent a semester in southern India and I admire the culture very much and made some good friends there]. She seems to have taken on both the mantle of wide-eyed newcomer (that Phoebe used to carry) and fearless adventurer in the class (that used to be Wanda’s thing...). And she fills the important role of being the gear-head for the class in this new era of technology.

She even gets one of my favorite moments in the reboot: when she’s alone with Ms. Frizzle discussing an engineering competition and we learn that the Frizzle sisters built the bus.

It’s such a powerful moment for me because Jyoti is the new kid and Fiona is the new teacher and they use this moment to bond and expand the canon of the series.

Watching her watch the bus in action is genuinely endearing. She always seems like she’s both in awe of the magic and trying to figure out how everything works. There’s a moment in the first episode where she watches Ms. Frizzle turn Carlos and Wanda into animals and gets very disappointed when she doesn’t get a turn.

This may make it seem like I have no problems with Jyoti, but unfortunately, that’s not entirely true. She has a section in “the bad” as well.

The Adventure

The series certainly didn’t pull punches when throwing people into peril.

In this reboot, we see the kids fall down two different rivers, raft a volcano, get attacked by T-cells, jump out of a plane onto a glacier, get attacked by a plant, get stalked by sharks (twice!), lose the bus (also twice!), get lost while they’re the size of atoms, almost get torn apart by a barracuda, go flying around the Earth at maximum zoom, and get stuck at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

One thing that is different is that they don't dwell on the suspense as much as PBS did. PBS milked its commercial breaks for all they were worth, drawing out intense situations to make them feel more perilous. The reboot...doesn’t. When there is a threat, the resolution is less than 30 seconds away. There are a couple of awkward fade-outs in the middle of some episodes at tense moments but it’s not consistent and there’s not much point when there’s no ad break in the middle of a Netflix video.

This could turn into a whole critique of streaming services ruining suspense in tv writing but I’ll just make a note of it here.

The bus has also picked up some new abilities, which are utilized for these adventures. Shrinking down to the size of an atom genuinely thrilled me. I got so excited during “The Magnetic Mambo” when they just kept shrinking...and shrinking...and shrinking...!

A lot of the “new abilities” seem to include the bus’ infinite creative potential. It spits out new technology every other second, from personal vehicles to backpacks that are actually time machines, to a remote that is like a mini-bus that they only use once. I’ll discuss the bus more in the bad but it’s abilities fall solidly into the good category for me. It means new adventures and deeper dives into older adventures.

The Writing

I don’t know if the series writers are affiliated with the PBS cartoon in any way but they definitely know their stuff. The problem I have with most reboots is that they end up feeling and sounding like fanfics instead of continuations. This reboot does not. It carries just enough of the tone of the original through clever wordplay, puns, and wacky adventures while having a distinctly different look and feel.

They know where they came from but they’re not trying to return to that place.

Some of the episodes are very creative and well composed. These include Ep 1: “Frizzle of the Future” (which ingeniously uses the concept of invasive species to integrate Fiona into the MSB canon), Ep 4: “The Battle for Rock Mountain” (which uses superhero culture to teach kids about the rock cycle), and Ep 10: “The Tales Glaciers Tell” (which finally teaches kids about climate change in a way that is straightforward and as “uncontroversial” as it can be).

There are some “less good” episodes but overall, none of them were terrible. They were all funny and clever and presented their lessons well.

Nods to the original

It’s never overtly obvious or direct but the references to PBS are there. But in some ways, I think that’s better than flat-out insisting that the two are back-to-back canon.

They don't slap you in the face with call-backs but if you are a fan of the original, you catch them.

Here’s a few I noticed:

The perfect joke to explain Phoebe’s absence

Mr. Rhule (the principle from the original) is referenced by name

Wanda’s mom and little brother (William) have a cameo (with Wanda’s original VA as Mrs. Li, I’m pretty sure)

Ralphie’s face when the class travels inside Carlos’ nose (because in PBS, the whole class ended up in his nose)

Arnold freaking out when they end up in Ralphie’s stomach (because that episode from PBS was legitimately traumatizing for him)

The bus being attacked by white blood cells while in the bloodstream

Weatherman! (”sheika, sheika kaboom!” was sorely missed though...)

Keesha directing (with a megaphone of course)

Ralphie building a robot (again, for seemingly no valid reason and with a questionable amount of resources)

Arnold loving rocks and geology

Ms. Frizzle asks them if they’ve ever been eaten (there were several times in PBS but not in the reboot)

JANET! (dammit)

several VAs from the original make cameos

It’s refreshing in a way, to know that these things were done with fans like me in mind.

The Bad

I may love a lot about this reboot but it is not without a few glaring problems in my mind.

Here goes:

The BUS

I’m just going to say it: the original bus was better. It had more of a personality and felt more real than this cube.

In my opinion, where this went wrong was that technology played too much of a role. Maybe this was unavoidable due to the major changes in technology in the past 20 years. But it doesn’t even look like a bus anymore. It has a freakin’ tablet screen right on the control panel...do buses have those now? What was magical about PBS’s bus was that it looked like a bus but could change and mold itself into whatever was necessary with the push of a button. Now Fiona has to scroll through a screen of apps to find the “mode” she needs.

There is less magical about the bus this time; it more just seems like an incredible feat of engineering. There is even a joke about how the Frizzle sisters built the bus. Instead of turning kids into things, most of the time now, they just have their own personal vehicles to drive around the ocean or fly through space. That’s not magical, it’s just really well-funded.

Also, apparently now the bus can sustain damage? And then magically repair that damage? I guess the T-Rex did bite through the roof on PBS...

Also, the bus doesn't actually have to drive places anymore. Instead it just kind of...teleports. There’s an episode where the kids go inside the nervous systems of two of their classmates and both times, they just kind of vanish and reappear where they need to be.

(Also, the kids are oddly comfortable with the idea of the bus entering their bodies? Like I get it, if they’ve been through an entire previous year of a Frizzle using their body for science, maybe they’re okay with a bus shooting up their nose and their class spending half the day in their bloodstream. But a lot of the human biology episodes of the original were not consensual? Is this change really a bad thing? Is this tangent getting too long?)

On the plus side, the bus is solar-powered now.

So :D

The Timeline?

They kept a lot from the original, so much so that I think the intention was to make it seem like only one summer had passed between the two series. It makes sense on paper: this way fans of the original aren’t too put off and kids watching both series back to back for the first time won't be too confused by the switch.

But the problem with this is that it’s too unbelievable.

Technology really advanced this much in a few months? Wanda changed that much over the summer (see below)? Ms. Frizzle got her PhD in two months? Well, actually if anybody could do that, it would be Valerie Frizzle...

So the intention is good and logical but all the details don't really work out. I’ve coped with it by considering this an “alternate universe”, where the kids stayed together for another year (with some changes) after a year of similar adventures to PBS but with all the advanced tech present. So instead of being from the 90′s, this class was born in the late 2000′s.

If you’re not insane (like me), it probably won’t bother you. And it does make for a pretty funny opening scene.

Race Depictions

Not really sure if I should be bringing this up but I did want to address it. Whatever animation they used for the show does make certain characters appear...whiter...than they did on PBS.

But the whole color palette is different so I’m not sure if this was an intentional artistic choice or just unlucky circumstance. I really don’t know enough about animation to comment. But white-washing of any kind falls into the bad category for me (even if unintentional).

Wanda

*sighs dramatically* And here we are at last...

Wanda was such a titan of a character in PBS. She probably had the most character development apart from Arnold throughout all 52 episodes.

So I really don't know what happened here.  

With most of the others, where they are at now makes sense given that it’s supposed to be “one year later” in their lives. But Wanda seems like she had a total personality change in just a few short months. She’s no longer adventurous and instead, she’s...really compassionate? I mean, she wasn’t outright mean in PBS but she was callous and occasionally unintentionally hurtful. Now she’s suddenly a bleeding-heart animal activist? I mean, in PBS she was definitely changing towards being more considerate and open but she still kept that adventurous edge and wild streak. Now she has mellowed out considerably. So much so in fact that she resembles Phoebe more than she does Wanda.

Who looked at the original cartoon and logically thought that she was the character who needed to be changed the most? If they were that desperate to include a character who cared for animals that much, why not make it Carlos?

They already have an episode where he adopts a pet rat. And on PBS, he was skeptical of Phoebe’s concern for the animals she tried to save but never dismissive. He even comes to care for natural ecosystems like swamps in the PBS episode “Get’s Swamped”. With this characterization, it would give this show something new and interesting: a compassionate male character. One who is defined by his gentleness and concern. Isn’t it good for boys to have a role model like that?

Also, no offense to Carlos but apart from being the jokester, he really doesn’t have that much of a character. Someone like Arnold has several defining traits: worrier, rock expert, cynical. For Carlos, I have trouble coming up with anything other than funny. This change to a passionate animal activist would have added a whole new layer to him.

So that was a real missed opportunity in my eyes.

The only change in Wanda I genuinely liked was her seemingly much closer friendship with DA compared to PBS.

I always liked how they became better friends in the final PBS episode (”Takes a Dive”) and wanted to see that expanded. Seeing that the writers kept it, it feels like a small nod to that adventure and an indication of how well they wanted to keep the series continuity intact.

Jyoti

So here she is again. And while I do love Jyoti as a character, as a writer I have some problems with her. First and foremost, she’s too good at what she does. The Mary Sue trope is strong with this one.

This kid has a literal invisibility cloak. And creates an AI. And she’s only supposed to be ten years old. While her high-tech gear certainly adds an element of intrigue to the show, I find I cant always suspend my disbelief when she does something too outlandish. Like make a functional 3-D printed model of a T-cell in under half an hour.

She doesn’t really have character flaws either. Granted, she’s only really the “main kid” in one episode (”Three-in-One”) but the most development she has is when she snaps at Ralphie and feels bad about it. She also gets mad when DA loses her locket in “DA and the Deep Blue Sea” (so much so that everyone reacts with fear, even Ms. Frizzle) but she gets over it very quickly. The only “mistake” she makes is not specifying to her AI which pot of water she wants to be boiled (resulting in the water her class is exploring turning to steam). So really the only flaw is possibly that she’s impatient?

She’s not too ambitious or too proud or too inconsiderate, all of which could fit with her character that we’ve seen so far. Instead, she’s just useful. Whenever she needs to be. My hope is that next season she has an episode where she genuinely grows and we see some character flaws.

Another thing about her that is confusing (but this may just be my lack of knowledge showing) is exactly what her Indian roots are. In the episode “The Magnetic Mambo” she insists upon dancing a “kathakali” which is a type of Hindu dance art unique to the Kerala region of India.

But in a later episode, “Three-in-one” we meet a robot she has invented that she calls “Naniben” which (she explains) means “little sister” in Gujarati, a language spoken by only one community in Kerala (to my knowledge). So I either take this to mean that the writers got very specific with her place of origin, or that her parents come from two different states of India (one from Kerala and one from Gujarat?). But I’m sure no one else is giving it this much thought...

The Plugs for Future Episodes

While Lily Tomlin is always a blessing, I have to admit her segments weren’t always handled as well as they could have been.

This is obviously the reboot’s way of doing the producer segments from PBS. It’s a clever way to address scientific shortcomings or tell kids “dont try this at home!”. This really shouldn’t bug me. But it did. While it was nice to see Professor Frizzle having her own adventures and seeing a glimpse of what was coming, having her explicitly say things like: “stick around” or “wait and find out” felt like overkill.

And I know this is for kids but they’re going to watch anyway! You don't have to have a hook for bingeing. Bingeing these episodes is worse because then the lessons don’t stick as well! If the kids are excited by it, they are going to come back the next day or week and watch more. Don’t encourage them to rush through their education.

Episodes I question

Not sure if these count as “bad” but there were some episodes that had me scratching my head. These fall under the “less good” episodes I mentioned before.

E5: The Magnetic Mambo - When I think atoms, I definitely think dancing! There seemed to be a bit of a leap here between the conflict and the lesson (being about magnetism and how atoms align in a magnetic field). Also, I had to watch the “lesson” part of this episode twice before I understood it. Not sure if that reflects more on my education quality than the writing but...

E9: Space Mission: Selfie - I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to have learned from this one. That satellites are a thing? That objects orbiting the Earth orbit at different heights? The lesson wasn’t really clear. Maybe if I watch it again, I’ll get a better idea...also, the Frizzle family has some kind of internet empire?

E11: Ralphie Strikes a Nerve - When your team sucks at volleyball, what’s the logical thing to do? Certainly not spend an immoral amount of time and resources building a giant Pacific Rim - inspired robot! But somehow that’s the logical conclusion here? Don’t get me wrong, it works for the lesson (learning about the nervous system) but not so much for the plot?

The Surprising

The Animation

I know this is an unpopular opinion but..the animation really isn’t that bad.

Sure it’s jarring at first but the more I watched it, the less it bothered me. The movements were still fluid, the characters were still expressive. And this is 2017. Hand-drawn animation is not as popular as it once was.

And this is honestly not that bad. There were even all the little details that were accounted for. Like how Fiona’s and DA’s hair float when they’re in orbit. And when they descend into Carlos’ bloodstream, they have to illuminate the scene. As you watch it, you get bothered by the style less. And the PBS cartoon had its animation errors that were laughably bad. My favorite was in “For Lunch” when Arnold is somehow inside the bus currently going down his esophagus. Watch it again and you’ll see what I mean.

The New Theme Song

I had somehow forgotten that the fabulous Lin-Manuel Miranda had signed on to do the theme. And he did not disappoint. I rock out to this version just as hard as I did to Little Richard’s version.

The Framing

In the PBS episodes, each episode usually only focused on 1 kid, the “main kid” who had a lesson to learn that episode. Occasionally, they had episodes focused on two kids but it was usually just Wanda and Arnold or whoever was fighting.

This time around, they really make an effort to include more kids in the lessons. A lot of episodes still have a “main kid” but they are less the center of attention. It makes the show feel less formulaic, which was refreshing to see.

The Original Ms. Frizzle Leaving

As well as it worked for a send-off, Valerie Frizzle leaving doesn’t make a lot of sense when you look at the two series together. During her tenure as the teacher on PBS, we saw Ms. Frizzle grow to love her kids and start to treat them more like colleagues than a class she was supervising. She genuinely loved her job and looked like she was going to be doing it forever.

So the fact that she switched gears to become a research professor is odd to me. Don’t get me wrong, the more women with Ph.Ds on tv the better but she had always seemed so content to be just a teacher. So maybe she’s just stepping down for Fiona’s sake? Maybe I’m just reading into this far too much for a cartoon?

Still, it seemed a little on the nose to have the original Ms. Frizzle essentially “graduate” from this series now that she’s too busy pursuing her own projects to be a voice actor on a kids show. But if they had to give a reason for her to leave that wasn’t her dying, this was a great one.

Still don't get why Liz didn’t go with her through...Goldie is fine but wouldn’t it make more sense for the new teacher to have a new sidekick?

Keesha’s moms!

Okay, this is unconfirmed but I’m pretty sure these two:

Are intended to be Keesha’s parents.

If so then :D

I’m always for more LGBTQ representation in cartoons and Keesha did seem to be the logical choice. Her parents were never introduced in the original, just her grandmother. So I’d love for these two to come back and actually have a line or two next season that confirms their relationship.

The Battle for Rock Mountain Episode

I have a whole post on this here. Just go read that for why I was genuinely surprised by this concept and its execution.

The permission slips?

I’m sorry but no. This is too much, even for a joke. How does Ms. Frizzle even go about writing these things with a straight face? Maybe it was more just a ploy to get one or two funny lines out of the cast. I think that was a common critique of the original as well; that Ms. Frizzle couldn’t possibly be sending her kids home with permission slips that said things like: we’re going inside an active volcano to study island formation.

Well, apparently she did...and still does...

Well played reboot...well played...

In Conclusion

If you’re still undecided about the reboot, I hope this review helped put it in perspective a little. It has its ups and downs and, like any reboot, necessary changes and unnecessary changes.

Based on what I’ve consolidated here though, I think I would put this in the “good” reboot category. It’s certainly no “Death Note” movie but there are some things that people hate on. But the showrunners clearly know that they’ve got 20 years worth of fans watching them and they make efforts to let those people know that they know the source material (see my list of references to PBS above). I enjoyed watching it. I am probably going to watch several episodes again, even a few years from now. I am genuinely interested in what concepts they decide to show next and if they are going to develop their characters as well as PBS did.

In my opinion, you cant really hate a show like this for being a reboot. Because it’s meant only to do good for kids by teaching them about science and nature. I would show this to my kids or students alongside the original and not feel like it was jeopardizing their education at all. The original cartoon was instrumental in sparking my love of science and I can totally see this version inspiring some young student to delve deeper into topics they learn in school.

[redtutel]

Rewatching Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Red is this movies color...that’s why people get so aggravate about it! It makes so much sense!

I’m glad I’m a nobody, people people get bullied and shamed for their opinions on this movie. People treat their opinions as facts when discussing this movie. I admit I might get aggrieve with my opinions too.

Last time I saw it, I loved it and disagreed with every complaint I read about it online. It might’ve help that I found spoilers, so certain twists didn’t throw me as off gaurd as it did other people Will I feel the same way? And even if I do, how will I rank this film? Time to find out.

I should really watch the commentary someday. I’d love to know what was in Rian Johnson’s head. Until then, this is my own, personal analysis

It’s very unique to have a Star Wars movie take place right after the previous one. Although given the nature of Force Awaken’s cliffhanger, it was necessary.

This movie definitely borrows for Empire Strikes Back, but not to the same extent. I’d argue it’s Empire backwards. The deuteragonist is out of commission and hope is bleak at the beginning, and we end on a siege  in a white planet with walkers. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I’m sticking to that mindset.

I love Poe’s sass. Anyone who says otherwise has no joy. It’s definitely in character (remember “so who talks first?”) And it shows he’s someone cocky who will mock his enemies to their faces. Plus its not like Star Wars hasn’t had humor like this before.

I like how the opening action sequence starts as a typical feel good action, but then casualties occur which are taken very seriously. And Poe gets chewed out for it too. 

Poe stars out the movie as scrappy, and will disobey orders in order to defeat the enemy. And then he ends it wiser, knowing that sometimes, it’s important to retreat and live to fight another day.

Much like Revenge of the Sith, this is a very dialogue and character driven movie, with not much action. And both movies make the action sequences they do have count.

The scene with Rose’s sister is fantastic. Like any good action sequence, it's all about reverals. She has a squad, but they all died and she’s by herself. She has to bomb the ship, but she crashes and falls, and can’t get up. The remotes to high to reach, so she kicks it down. But the remote lands too far away from her. But at the last second she manages to catch it, and scarifies herself to bomb the ship. It’s a fantastic mini showcase of this one of this movie’s biggest motifs: That no matter how bleak things get, there is still hope, and you have to fight in order to reach that hope.

The juxtaposition of the Resistance cheering and Leia sitting down in relief, only to get a look at the casualties is very clever. It shows that victory bought with lives is no true victory.

Snoke can drag Hux though the floor from a large distance. Classic sequel escalation. How clever.

Finn awakens after two years, yay! And his first words are “Rey!” How sweet. He doesn’t even care he’s still naked covered in medical equipment. All he care about is “Where’s Rey?” And for good reason. Last time he saw her, she was knocked out by Kylo Ren.

And we get the resolution of one of the greatest Star Wars cliffhangers of all time. Fans spent two years imagining what Luke would do next What he would say next. And he tosses the Lightsaber aside and walks away, creating a mystery as to how this once noble hero ended up a jaded old man milking disgusting manatee alien things.

Mark Hamill is a fantastic actor, and this is no exeaption. He’s equal parts funny and aggravating as a bitter old man, but there are moments where the classic Luke comes out, like when he sees R2-D2 and Yoda, or when he asks about Han.

I love how creative the creatures are in this movie. The Porgs are the merchandising stand-out sure, but there’s that ugly milk creature, those beasts of burden in Canto Bight and the Ice foxes. They’re all such creative designs.

“Where’s Han?” Oh how heartbreaking. Apparently there was a brief shot of him mourning that got cut, which is a major shame. I feel like the movie did a good enough job without it, but keeping it back in would’ve added so much. Ah, well.

Snoke really is the main villain of this movie. I think he has about as much screentime as the Emperor did in Return of the Jedi. So I’d say he fufilled his role well enough. He has nothing on Palpatine though, and in my eyes he’s the only character who I like less then their inspiration.

Kylo is maskless the whole movie. I feel like this symbolizes how we spend this movie getting to know the real him. The man behind the Vader impersonator. Kylo killed his father thinking it would fully turn him to the dark side, but he’s more regretful then every before.  And Snoke has lost his faith in him. Snoke’s lack of faith in Klyo is a nice way to differenciate him from Paltapinte by the way. 

...Wait, was the feelings of regret one of the reasons he lost the dual to Rey? I think Snoke is implying that. I also like how this is treated as an abnormality in-universe. Rey was unusually strong, and Kylo was unusually weak in that moment, and everybody acknowledges that fact and questions why.

Snoke sees Luke as the First Order’s greatest enemy, and Rey as “just a girl with a lightsaber.”

Luke on the other hand, no longer sees himself as a hero. “You think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all.” That is a good point, and something both Rey and the audience didn’t think though. 

Luke takes an interest in Rey after learning she’s force sensitive. Luke may have a hatred of the Jedi, but he still respects the Force.

“Where are you from?” “Nowhere” “Nobody’s from nowhere” “Jakku” “That is pretty much nowhere. Why are you here Rey from nowhere?” I love mentors that mix humor with wisdom. And Luke fills that role very well. Rey’s arc is about self discovery and introspection, and I love how Luke furthers it.

Rey is still a bit afraid of the Force, and doesn’t know what to make of it.

Is Leia reacting to the aftermath of the battle? Or can she see and Luke and Rey’s meeting isn’t going well. Probably both.

The First Order has a way to track the resistance no matter where they go, even at lightspeed. And they don’t have the fuel to make another jump. I think that’s a good new take on Star Wars space chases.

Although Leia wants to show Poe true military wisdom, she still has a soft spot for him, and for rouge tactics. I wonder if there’s any kind of work out there that depicts Leia seeing Poe as a replacement son. At least a fanfic would be nice.

Leia and Kylo sense each other. And although Kylo killed his father, he can’t bring himself to do the same to his mother. Another fantastic scene.

I used the word siege too soon. The Poe plot is one big medieval siege in space. The First Order is on the offensive, but can’t actually destroy the ship, and the Resistance is stuck in the defensive, with the crew having no choice but to stay inside and wait it out until the reach the new base. Again, a very creative concept.

After years and year of waiting, and subtly hinting at it with certain shots, Leia finally, finally, uses the Force. And she does so in a logical way, to push herself though the vacuum of space to safely get to a ship. And we even get her theme playing as she does that. Sure she looks like Mary Poppins, but a couple of months before the movie came out another science fantasy movie did that too, and we all agree Mary Poppins was cool. So I say, “She’s Mary Poppins Ya’ll!” And again, IT’S LEIA USING THE FORCE AFTER YEARS OF THAT DETAIL BEING POINTLESS! AND SHE USES IT TO SAVE HER LIFE! And after the death of Carrie Fisher, we need to savor what few awesome Leia moments we have left.

I love the scene of Chewbaca trying to eat a Porg but not being able to because they’ll looking at him. It’s hilarious.

Luke seeing R2 again is so adorable. And him using the classic Leia recording is such an effective use of nostalgia. Luke is in the same position Obi Wan all those years ago. And that finally convinces him to at least give the mentor thing a try, it not to convince Rey that the Jedi religion isn’t worth it.

Poor Ackbar was killed for the sake of Poe’s character development. Hondo serves her role as a hatable leader very well. She’s a stranger to both the audience and Poe, so we sympathies with Poe’s disobedience. And she’s an aggrieve purple haired woman, which would put any man on the defensive. But alas, she put too many real life men on the defensive, so they have a hard time accepting the fact she was right all along. I personally think it’s very clever to have the naysaying military leader actually be in the right. It’s a good way to teach Poe wisdom.

She said “We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic” first. I didn’t remember that. That’s so cool!

Once again, Finn is a deserter, albit a regretful one. But he still doesn’t believe the First Order can be stopped, and to be fair, not much happened in the fist movie to convince him otherwise.

Rose is an endearing character. She’s a maintenance person and not a fighter, so she looks up to heros like Finn. Finn doesn’t see himself as a hero, but to Rose, he’s someone who stood up to the first order, and without his information, they would’ve never been able to destroy Star Killer base. So the fact he wasn’t being a hero greatly upsets her, especially since this is a cause her sister died believing in.

Rose’s maintenance person background and Finn’s low ranking Stormtrooper background makes them the perfect team for their plan to stop the tracker. But Poe’s too proud to get Hondo’s input, so it’s a secret plan.

...Why do people call this plan a sidequest? Sure it fails, but it’s still a logical plan (considering the fact they don’t know the real plan). On the subject, why did Hodo not tell them the real plan? Because she doesn’t trust Poe to follow though with it. Was that a mistake? Seeing how she dies, it might have been. Plus knowing Poe, he probably would’ve preferred Finn’s plan anyway. And we the audience actually did know that the plan was to get to a new base and contact help earlier in the movie

I wish Maz had more screentime in this movie. Although given its set-up, there isn’t really a reason for her to do so. I hope she appears more in Rise of Skywalker

I LOVE the Force connection scene. It starts as a simple look at our hero and villain in the morning, cutting back and forth between them. Simple movie magic. But then...they both notice something at the same time...wait, they notice EACHOTHER! They’re seeing the cuts like we’re seeing the cuts, and then it’s cut as if they’re facing each other directly, even though they’ve obviously not, again playing with the medium of film and ah, it’s so awesome and clever!

I didn’t notice until the second time around (this is my third time watching this movie), Luke never gives the third lesson. Although to be fair, Star Wars protagonists have a history of leaving before their lessons are finished. Will Rise of Skywalker provide that third lesson.

I’m too lazy to quantify this, but I think Force Awakens had more jokes per minute. I don’t get why people act like it has Marvel movie comedy.

Out of all the Star Wars movies, this is the one I feel has the best Force lessons. Probably some of the best Force lessons in the series. We start off with way Rey (and the layman) know: It’s a power Jedi have that lets them control people and makes things float. And after little goofiness (which serve a purpose: Don’t physically reach out, emotionally and spiritually reach out), Luke shows how the Force isn’t a power people have, it’s the energy that binds the universe together. And I love how shots of nature from the island are used to depict the Force, and the nature of Life and Death and the Circle of Life and balance and darkness and light. And how the temptation of the Dark Side is showed as a pit, but a pit that has...something that draws you to it, even though you may never escape if you do.

The Force does not belong to the Jedi. The Jedi kind of sucked in the prequels, so Luke’s new philosophy is actually pretty awesome. 

“It offered you somthing you needed, and you didn’t even try and stop yourself” Did Rey use the Dark Side to win the fight? Does the Dark Side provide an attack buff? It make sense. The Dark Side does get all the good force powers, after all.

Both Rey and Ben Solo were naturally very gifted in the Force. And Luke fears Rey could be the next Kylo Ren if he trains her. How rational is that fear....to this day people aren’t sure. Maybe Rise of Skywalker will finally settle things

Oh, that how Finn and Rose made it. Poe convinced a look out to pull a “no signs of organic life,” but on purpose. And the Resistance does like Poe more then they do Hondo.

Ah, Rey’s curious about Finn too. Maybe I do ship it. But Finn and Rose and Rey might have Ben. Well, strong male/female friendships are rare, so the more the merrier.

Kylo wants to be a monster, and although Rey thinks so, seeing him call himself that makes her realize there’s more to him than he lets on.

Canto Bight. Although I agree the set design could use more Star Wars, there’s still a ton of great alien designs, and it is creative to show a “Hive of Scum and Villainy” for the Galaxy’s 1%. And I love how the music reflects that. Plus the rest of the movie has plenty of creativity to spare.

I forgot how long it took get to Canto Bight.

People also find the tone of the scene off putting, but I don’t mind. Probably because I’ve seen quit a bit of Clone Wars, which is found of mixing Star Wars with...whatever genre it feels like. Political Drama, Film Noir, Kaiju movies. This subplot is Star Wars meets heist movie.

The alien putting coins in BB-8 is voiced by Mark Hamill by the way. Once again proving himself to be a great voice actor.

Behind the glim and glammer of the rich, there’s cruelty and oppression. Finn was already aware of what Stormtroopers are capable of, but here he sees firsthand how even a beautiful part of the galaxy is tainted by it, even in a moment of peace. Rose believes in the cause and wants to fight for it, and seeing her determination makes Finn think that maybe he can too.

I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without talking about expectation subversion. I honestly think the movie does it right. Luke being old and bitter creates a mystery which leads to a fantastic character arc, for example. Finn and Rose find the codebreaker, but then they get arrested for parking violations (which yeah, is a bit silly, but so were the Ewoks)

Although Finn’s subplot is a bit weaker, it still provides some good thematic consistency, and provides a very good arc for Finn.

Since Luke is unhelpful, Rey uses the time to train herself in Lightsaber combat. And as always, she’s a fast learner when it comes to weaponry. 

Lesson two is Luke’s video essay on the prequels. And it’s a pretty good one. Luke followed the way of the Jedi and trained Ben from an early age, and like the Jedi he didn’t notice Ben’s fall to the dark side and Snoke’s corrupting influence until it was too late, and that lead to the creation of the next great darkside user.

Despite this, Rey still needs a mentor, and still believes in Luke, although that’s because Luke didn’t tell the whole truth.

The Resistance is loosing sip after ship, and tensions are rising. Why do people not like the Poe subplot? It’s also a great way to bring the stakes back to the Finn subplot, which admittedly got a bit silly

Once again, when things are bleak, Hope arrives in the form of a new master thief, in the form of DJ. Although DJ proves to be a false hope.

I love with mascot droids get to actually fight.

I admit my opinions aren’t entirely my own anymore, as I remember a video essay pointed out that the main trio all have characters pulling them to the light and to the dark this movie. Rey has Luke and Kylo, Finn and Rose and DJ. I don’t remember what they said about Poe, but I’d say he’s pulled to the light by Leia and Hondo, and pulled to the dark by his pride.

Rose and Finn’s interaction with the slave children help show how the Resistance is a spark, rather then just telling us like most Star Wars movies do.

I do wonder why they freed the horses and not the kids. I guess it’s because horses can actually run fast. Plus they need to create chaos to escape. The kids are cheering them on, though, so I guess its fine.

But more importantly, Finn gets a taste of what its like to save rescue something that’s not a close friend, and to tear down an oppressive system. He has his first inspiration to be a true selfless hero hero, rather than just someone trying to protect his friend. And Rose reminds him that the freedom gained in more important than the havok wreaked. It’s not worth it until people are actually saved, no matter how much damage the enemy sustained.

Luke is called to help by his sister, and ones to reach out to her.

Ah Ben Swolo. Equality after Slave Leia. And also a good showcase in how Rey and Kylo can’t control when they force bond, and it can even happen in awkward situations. And its funny.

Rey wishes she had a father like Han, and Ben just threw him away. Meanwhile Kylo remakes how Rey is always looking for her parents, even surrogate parents. I’ve noticed Kylo dodged the question about killing Han

And we get the shocking twist: Luke tired to kill his nephew to prevent the dark side.

“Let the past die, it’s the only way to become who you’re meant to be.” This is not the main theme of the movie, but Kylo is half right. Rey shouldn’t kill the past, but she should let it go, move on from her parents, and embrace the new family she has in the Resistance. Meanwhile Kylo keeps saying he’ll killing the past, but he’s working with people trying to bring it back, and he just gets more and more caught up in it, even after killing his father and trying to distance himself from his Vader aesthetic. 

I love the force case scene. As a kid I was in love with the endless mirror effect, and seeing it messed with, by having Rey’s reflection be out of synch, is such a cool moment. She’s trying to self reflect, but she hasn’t come to terms with herself. It also shows the vastness and confusing okay the Force. She tryes to find her parents, and sees...nothing. They’re truly gone, and all that’s left is herself. Which is her worst fear. She doesn’t want to be alone anymore. She wants a family.

And after Luke’s uncorperation and description, Chewbacca busy trying to contact the resistance, and Finn being far away, the only person she has to share her troubles with is Kylo. 

During all this time Force bonding, the two of them have gotten to know eachother’s struggles and insecurities. They truly sympathize and care about each other now. The are now friends and confidants. And with this newfound relationship, they truly believe that can turn the other to their side. This is one of my favorite Hero/Villain relationships ever. Dare I say, I like it even more the Luke and Darth Vader. Being father is son is fantastic of course, but the fact that Rey and Kylo formed this sort of bound without blood ties makes it also the more fascinating. Sure it was a part of Snoke’s plan, but it the relationship they built because of it was still genuine. 

They’re force bound has gotten so powerful, they can literally touch each other now. Seeing Kylo’s hand in Rey’s hut is such a strange and powerful image. And then Luke sees them together, which is even more shocking. And Luke is afraid Rey’s turn is inevitable.

And now we know the full story. Luke feared the darkness in Ben. And in a brief moment, he saw Kylo the same way he once saw Vader and Palpatine, and drew his blade. He realizes his mistake just as quickly, but it was still too late. Ben saw his master trying to kill him, and his turn to the darkside was complete. And it was all Luke’s fault. History repeated himself, and Luke was too full of shame to do anything about it. Sure he saved Vader’s soul, but he didn’t create Vader like he did Kylo. So it’s not like seeing his Uncle would stir conflict in Ben or anything. 

And Rey has now lost hope in Luke, for failed to even try to do what he did with his father. Although again, given the circumstances, I don’t like Luke can be the one to save Kylo. But neither is Rey. Maybe in the future?

I LOVE Yoda’s scene It’s probably the greatest Yoda moment of all time. Yoda actually agrees with Luke that the Jedi made mistakes, but he’s here to provide the true takeaway. Don’t run from failure, or try to kill the past. Instead, you should learn from the past failure, and with the knowledge, move on with your life. Remember both the glory of the past and the shame, and use them both as you move to the future. And I love how grumpy old Luke is 19 all over again when Yoda shows up. 

DJ provides a very fascinating perspective of the Star Wars universe. History repeats itself, so why bother carry which way the pendulum swings? After all, the people who financially succeeds are the ones you play both sides. He gives Finn the temptation to be apathetic to the fight against good and evil. “Live Free, don’t join.” That’s what Finn wanted at the beginning of the movie

I love Finn is defensive of Rose having to give up her sister’s keepsake. He’s a good person.

“Hope is like the Sun, if you only believe in it when you can see it, you’ll never make it though the night.” Another great message of this movie is the importance of having Faith.

And turns out, Poe actually does hate Hondo’s plan, and since he talked smack, she’s not inclined to listen to him either.

“If you see Finn before I do tell him...” I love their friendship.

And finally, Kylo and Rey meet in the flesh. But as Luke says, things don’t go the way they think.

It’s pretty clever and Finn and Rey spend the climax in the same place, 

And when Poe does tell Hondo the plan, she hates it.

The iron gag is a pretty silly fake out, as well as an homage to the modelwork of the old films.

The evil BB-8 was in a lot of merch. But he’s barely in the movie.

Kylo and Rey are both right about what they’re about to do. But they did it a lot sooner than expected, and didn’t realize that their team up would be short lived.

DJ is a snake, but I love that he gives Rose her trinket back. It shows that he’s not heartless

After do so well, the plan suddenly all falls apart. It’s Reversal, which as fall as I know, is an element of good storytelling. The plan goes awry, and the characters have to deal with what to do now.

Leia is here to set Poe straight. 

After losses should be avoided, Hondo’s sacrifice shows that  sometimes they’re necessary. The import thing is having the discretion to tell.

Maybe Rey’s strong in the Force because the Force needed a champion of Light to combat the rising darkness.

Snoke was behind the mind meld the whole time. His plan is kind of sexist come to think of it. He doesn’t think it’ll work because of human empathy, but because Kylo is a handsome, tortured bad boy. Seems fitting given his appearance and a disgusting old man. Or maybe I’m overthinking it. Anyway, he’s swinging Rey like a ragdoll using the force, showing that she’s not all powerful like the haters think

And unlike most rouges, DJ is selfish ‘till the end. Things are bleaker and bleaker. The plan not only failed, it cost more lives that it would’ve otherwise if Poe had just had faith in his commanders.

I love how Rey trying to get her lightsaber, only for Snoke to just bring it back and humiliate her. 

Snoke’s plan is pretty okay, but he’s not nothing on Palpatine’s chessmasterness, even ignoring the prequels. For one thing, no matter who one Luke vs Vader, Palpatine still wins.

“He ignites to and kills his true enemy.” How very true. I got spoiled that Snoke would die in this movie, and my first thought was “Woah, that’s cool.”

Seeing Kylo and Rey fight side by side is just awesome.

Finn sees DJ’s  desire for self preservation (and in turn his old desire for such), and disgusting, and shows just how much he’s grown.

I think Snoke dying is a good example of subverting expectations. Darth Vader always said “I’m going to overthrow the empire and rule with my family.” But Kylo Ren actually does it. But he still doesn’t turn to the light side. He’s now the man in charge, Kylo Ren, the villain we truly care about is now the main villain (well, until Palpatine pulled a Ganon), and I am excited to see where that goes

Rey’s parents were nobodies who sold her off. Rewatching Force Awakening, that makes perfect sense. It’s a great reveal of “I am your father.” It’s equally as devastating while being something different

Seeing Kylo and Rey fighting over the Skywalker lightsaber and then it breaking is such a cool moment. It shows that the Star Wars legacy is breaking, but the future is all the more exciting for it.

Destroying a ship with a smaller hyperspace ship. Awesome. Why don’t they do it more often? Because no writer thought to. Not to mention suicide bombing is wrong so good guys won’t do it, and it’s expensive so bad guys won’t do that.

Finn vs Phasma is short but a very satisfying moment for Finn. He stood up to his old boss, he’s using the TR-8R weapon, and has one of my favorite Star Wars lines “You were always scum.” “Rebel scum.”

Hux definitely doesn’t approve of Kylo the same way he does of Snoke. The’s bound to be tension in the First Order’s chain of command, and I’m excited to see that unfold.

The climax at the Star Wars Fanbase (Salt) Plant is so fantastic. Hope leaves are constantly rising and falling, but the Heroes maintain faith despite that. The Resistance is corned, and they have no choice but to fight with outdate equipment. The Red and white is so lovely, it’s no wonder it was in the source material.

The Resistance are completely overwhelmed, but the Millennium Falcon is here! With Rey, Chewbacca and a Porg

The canon scene is a great showcase of character development. Poe now has the wisdom to know when the pull back and live to fight another day. And Finn now has the selflessness to try and sacrifice his life for the sack of the Resistance. But at the same time, Finn still needs to know that it’s not all about killing the bad guys no matter the cost. It’s about trying you best to save what you love as well.

Finn and Rose have a good friendship, but the kiss kind of comes out of nowhere. They not exactly Han and Leia, but hey, at least they’re not Anakin and Padme

Hope is diminished. The battle is lost (but thankfully not every life). And there’s not getting rescued. But then out of nowhere, comes the New Hope himself.

I can’t help but hear My Hero Academia music when Luke appears in this scene. He’s is the Galaxy’s Symbol of Peace!

“No one’s every really gone.” I forgot that line was in this movie. It’s so sweet to see Luke and Leia reunited after so long.

Seeing Luke fills the heros with awe, the villains with dread, and Kylo with irrational fury.

Comparing Kylo’s reaction to Han vs Luke, and you can see why Luke can’t be the one to save him.

Luke just brushing it off. Awesome.

Luke holds back the entire First Order without striking even once. A Jedi uses the Force for defence after all.

When back into the cave, Poe noticed that some foxes are getting in or out. When all hope seems lost, have faith and keep looking and sometimes you can find it.

Hope is found with the exist, but its lost when the opening’s too small. But then Rey uses the force and create an exist. She created hope. She has become the Galaxy’s New Hope (or the Awakening of the Force)

“Every word you just said was wrong.” I love that line, and how it took on a brand new meaning.

Finn and Rey’s reunion is so touching. The duo’s back together again after all this time.

“Strike me down in angry and I’ll always be with you, just like your father.” An amazing twist on a classic Star Wars moment. Luke’s death will just make Kylo less and less stable in his conviction to the darkness.

And Luke has committed his final act of heroism, and his final sacrifice. Protecting what he loved instead of fighting what he hated. Making sure that hope and rebellion remained in the galaxy. But astral projection comes at a great cost. And Leia and Rey can sense it.

Ending Luke’s life with the moment that introduced him. With him looking toward twin suns, dreaming about the future. But as a Force Ghost, I doubt this is the end of his story.

Rey and Kylo having one last Force bound moment before going their separate ways. Kylo is the Suprime Leader, and Rey is off to be the galaxy’s New Hope (or Awakening of the Force).

It’s nice for Poe and Rey to finally meet

All that’s left of the Resistance fits on just one ship. The Star Wars ship. Rey has lightsaber parts and the sacred texts. All she needs to be the next force using hero.

Although Luke is dead, his legend lives on, continuing to spread hope throughout the galaxy. And the Force is still very much alive, for there will always be dreamers connected to it. And we get shown proof that the Resistance is a spark.

Overall, I still love this movie. I disagree with every complaint people have about it. And while not every joke lands, it’s far from the first movie to make that mistake. Plus the ones that do land really land. I love the character development and philosophy, and although it’s slower, every action sequence is amazing and entertaining.