#think some of the characters got MAJORLY sidelined.

[roychewtoy]

watched a playthrough of the quarry. very this would be soooo good if it was good

[mikashisus]

PARTNERS IN CRIME!

SYNOPSIS: soul eater au with genshin characters part one!!

PAIRING: kinich, venti, yelan, nilou x gn!reader

warnings: slight angst, mentions of death

notes: yall one of my irls finally got me to watch soul eater and it gave me so many ideas. i literally started the show back in june but i got so busy that i just.. never continued watching it.. 😭 until my friend invited me over to watch some episodes LMAO. there’ll be a part two to this cause i have more ideas with more characters teehee. anyw enjoy!!

KINICH

• the two of you became partners on a whim. your last partner had been tragically killed in battle and you were in the market for a new one. though, you were pretty standoffish towards everyone because you were grieving

• kinich was also looking for a partner around the same time and happened upon you after a meeting with lord death. you looked pretty worse for wear and he offered his shoulder for you to cry on. without thinking, he offered to be your new partner, and you agreed

• training together for the first time was a shit show, and your best friend, mualani, sat there laughing her ass off the entire time. you kept yelling at her to go find her meister and leave you and kinich alone so you could focus

• you had even more trouble adapting because kinich’s weapon form was a greatsword and your last weapon had been a gun. it was a huge change that required you to workout and build up muscle in order to properly wield him

• after a month or so, the two of you were able to finally build up your teamwork and trust. you spent a lot of time together in and out of classes to get to know each other better and form a bond. you easily formed an attachment to him, but he was a bit more reluctant due to his introverted personality

• you were shocked at how close you became in such a short period of time. before you knew it, you were taking on missions again and working on your soul resonance

• due to losing your last partner, you now had an irrational fear of losing kinich, which caused a lot of problems in battle. instead of letting him do his duty and protect his meister, you put yourself between him and the enemy and sacrificed your life to protect him. this habit eventually caused a huge fight between the two of you, with kinich sputtering out a confession

• shocked, you were left to mull over everything until you couldn’t take being away from him any longer and went to apologize. he also apologized for raising his voice, and you had a heart to heart talk that left a confession of your own slipping out

• you asked if he could forgive you, and he said he would, but only if you stopped taking the heat and let him actually do his job. reluctantly, you did, because you couldn’t say no to him when you loved him so much

VENTI

• the two of you had been long time partners, or “partners in crime” as he liked to call it. you were childhood friends turned lovers. he was your loyal weapon, and to him, you were his trusted meister

• you got on like oil and water, but you also couldn’t be more similar. opposites attract, after all. everyone always told you that you two were the most compatible weapon and meister ever. also the strongest… literal power couple

• you were able to collect 99 souls and a witch soul in no time together. together, your strength rivaled gods. venti himself was on par with a god, even if his weapon form was only that of a musical instrument

• on weekends, you spent your time training and venti would watch you from the sidelines, simply admiring you. you’d tell him to join you, which would always result in him asking for kisses in return if he did. every time, you’d say yes, because you just couldn’t say no

• whenever someone asked how you two got together, venti would come up with something different on the spot. once, he said that he was majorly attracted to you while watching you fight with another weapon in battle, and afterwards, went up to you asking to be your weapon instead and you dramatically threw away your last partner to become partners with him

• another time, he said that he dropped his uncle’s glass of wine on you while he was drunk and you ended up taking care of him for the night, which led to him professing his undying love for you. safe to say, no one actually knows the true story

• the true story of how you two got together was actually a bit more tragic. he sacrificed himself for you when you were teenagers. during your battle to collect a witch's soul, venti heroically threw himself in front of you to protect you and he was almost killed. in a fit of rage, you completely obliterated the witch and rushed over to your injured best friend. he played the situation off by making a few jokes, though they did nothing to stop your crying. thinking he was going to die, he confessed to you before you fed him the witch’s soul

• when he came to and was all healed up, you returned his sentiments. from then on, your bond grew stronger and served as an example for younger generations

YELAN

• being yelan’s weapon was rough work. you complained that she overworked you during training and you always seemed to have a quip ready on your tongue during battle

• never a dull moment between the two of you, as you were always the reckless type, and she tried her best to reel you in. after years of working together, your bond was exceptionally strong

• she teaches at DWMA, you think it’s hot

• you have an odd job outside of being a weapon. you work part-time as a tailor’s assistant

• you like to make dresses for her and she absolutely adores them, though she never admits it because she hates (not really) seeing that smug look on your face. it’s okay though, she’ll get you back by kissing you and laugh at your stunned expression

• you spend more time arguing with her than actually helping her fight enemies. she hates it, as she just likes to get things over and done with— especially since she’s an assassin

• your personalities are wildly different, but it makes you two all the more compatible

• at the end of the day, you make a great team and you have a bond that could never be severed. you’d sacrifice your life for her no matter what, even though you had full faith and trust in her that she could handle herself

NILOU

• she was more on the timid side than you. when you first met, your explosive personality made her a bit scared of you. it took a bit of time for her to warm up to you and gain the courage to actually say something

• you were the one who took the first step and approached her first. when you did, you accidentally scared her off, which caused you to sulk for a while. you just thought she was pretty and wanted to say so..

• after talking with her friends, dehya and dunyarzad, she went on a mission to find you and apologize for the way she acted. when she did find you, you were overlooking the city and sat in complete silence. she didn’t want to interrupt, but you already knew she was there

• she apologized profusely (after gaining the courage to sit down beside you) and the two of you talked for a long while. right before she was about to go home, she told you she was looking for a partner and would love for you to be hers. that was what set everything in motion, and you pledged to protect her as best you could

• she was tough for someone who looked very shy. she moved with a grace and elegance that entranced you, and you found yourself wanting to learn how to dance as well as she could. she immediately offered to teach you, and most of the time you spent bonding together was through dance lessons

• in turn, you taught her how to wield a sword better. the close proximity was a bit of a distraction for you both (in both dancing and sword training). soon, you found yourself wishing to be by her side like that forever

notes: shoutout to the stellaronhvnters disc for suggesting the last two characters. baizhu was also suggested, but he gives me the ick, so i didn’t include him LOL 😭 i have a discord server! it’s nice and cozy there, feel free to join! <3

© 2024 mikashisus. do not plagiarize, copy, repost, feed to ai, or translate my works to any other platforms.

[the-owl-house-takes]

Watching and Dreaming was a fun finale with a lot of banger moments that made me whoop but looking back on it now I realise that it's actually saying very little thematically. TOH always built itself off of a fantasy subversion with the occasional horror elements, but it really got a lot of intrigue and character work in the middle with its mysteries and themes. Now I'm not saying it's wrong to enjoy WaD and I myself still look back on it fondly but we spent so long cleaning up the final battle that we didn't get to see any of the actual interesting character work.

Like, don't get me wrong, the characters all deserved the happy endings they got, but I'm upset that barely any of the character interactions that built this show got much focus. The Hexsquad and Camila were majorly sidelined, and I wish we could have spent more time with Eda, King, and Luz just talking and catching up :(

Not to mention, while I think the Collector is... decent, their redemption being so rushed (and retconning them knowing about death) means his character ends up representing very little to the overall themes, making him feel kind of pointless to the show overall.

Belos is probably one of the biggest examples of this emphasis on the grand show over the actual substance of the characters. Who once started off as a charismatic and charming villain who won people over through his words and had a whole complex backstory dedicated to him just became a literal big monster with nothing to say behind his roars.

Papa Titan as well, I truly love what we got to see with him and everything she said about the Collector gives us a great insight into her character, but I wish we could have just spent more time with him talking about seeing her son grow up and how his opinions on people like Belos and the Collector have changed over the years.

I get that the crew had limited time so there was very little they could do with so much to wrap up so this isn't exactly blaming them, but it's just expressing some grievances and wishes. I know it's a personal preference of mine that I prefer thematic conversations over big flashy fights, but I just kinda wanted to express this.

-

[violivs]

NMTDaily: Football Antics Part One

- I’m just cracking up at how nervous Beatrice is! The nervous babbling! And it is definitely because, since she hasn’t started school yet, this football game is the first time she’s seen Benedick since moving to Auckland- since they were 14, really. (I don’t think she was there when Ursula filmed his part of Vox Pops, or at least she was better able to avoid him then. No avoiding being seen here though!)

- Bea may be in denial, but her “holy shit my crush-that-got-away is Right Over There In Person” energy is radiating! Which is perfect adaptation work for Miss Starts The Play By Oh-So-Casually Asking About Benedick And Playing It Off With Insults.

- “We’re here to support Leo, we’re here to Support The Boys, we’re here to see Pedro, and Definitely No One Else, At All, Promise” 👀 I see you Beatrice

- “I’m sure he’ll be wonderful, and so will-“ *Extremely Long, Pointed Pause* “-everyone, really.” Hero knows what’s up!!! And Bea just assumes she’s talking about Claudio, which, yeah, but the way Hero looks really intently at Bea on this line and says it with such intention- she is teasing Bea about Ben here for sure.

- Bea and Hero are having a sass-off complete with impressions of each other and Ursula is all “just keep taking pictures, they’ll get tired eventually”. Ursula is a treasure.

- The sass-off is also great! I love that Hero, as nice as she is, can still hold her own against Beatrice here. It’s a good thing, because making fun of people is kind of a love language for Beatrice.

- Starting in on Meg again (poor Meg), as a way to seed some backstory that will matter later! (Robbie got kicked off the team, hmmmm.)

- And Bea immediately pivots to bring up Claudio. The fast forward through Hero’s gushing is so funny and cute. She was definitely trying to say Robert Pattinson reminds her of Claudio, which, I can see it. 2014 is calling again though, right at the end of the Twilight era. If this series were set much earlier we would definitely have heard Bea hating on Twilight, lol.

- “He’s nice!” being the only thing she can say, says a lot. And Ursula being the one who gets Hero to admit she thinks he’s cute, awww. The hiding behind the hair! The oohing over Hero’s crush is majorly bringing me back to what it was like to be a teenager, it’s adorable. Poor Hero lol

- Ah yes, “Leo says we can’t film the match” AKA the in-world explanation for not being able to make an actual football scene realistic. I say that with zero judgement. The workaround of Leo saying no is cleverly done, and makes sense since the only plot-relevant stuff goes on on the sidelines anyway.

- The little moment of Hero narrating the game! I love that. She’s so into it that she forgets she’s not supposed to mention Ben in front of Bea, and then she starts worrying about Claudio which is also very cute.

- (My brain instinctively: Ooh! Ben mention! First Ben mention by name in a Hero and Bea vlog!!!! Milestone!)

- Enter Meg! (and Robbie). “I’m going to be the real star, you just don’t know it yet!” An icon.

- Robbie throwing out a Game of Thrones reference, it’s like a signal that he’s sort of part of the group for now, but his energy is Off. Dark colors, never really looking at anyone but Meg. Bad vibes.

- And Meg and Robbie as a visual sign of Bea’s discomfort with relationships, her idea that they’re all PDA and no boundaries. That in Bea’s and to some degree Hero’s eyes, Meg chooses Robbie over their friendships, over homework, almost over her own self, and Bea does not want that imbalance for herself at all. But she doesn’t know how to express her discomfort and concern in any other way but scorn for Meg. So much character work for so many different characters in one episode at once, I love it.

- I love Ursula sticking up for Meg, even if it’s never particularly fun watching other people make out. This is an Ursula Appreciation Liveblog, and I’m also still loving her tumblr, btw.

- Part Two next and it’s time for the I Know You Of Old scene! Ahhh!

- BUT FIRST: another video I didn’t know was posted so early, and get ready, because I’m about to be insufferable in this next one. I will not be able to help myself. My boy is about to enter the scene! My beautiful cringe-y boy! How I’ve missed him!!! Next liveblog post coming soon, I hope. 😊

💖🦩🥭

[valenteal]

My opinion as a newbie in the mha fandom

Ok so I finally got into mha. I don’t actually like it but once I watched most of seasons 1-4 on Netflix and watched some YouTube videos summarizing shit I was able to get into fan content without being majorly confused. And I love the fandom?! Or at least the content that comes from it. Idk a lot of people seem really opinionated about it and kinda aggressive? Which I can’t really understand because canon isn’t even that good and the only way I can stand it is by changing some things in my head. As far as I can tell most people do this? But it ends in everyone having wildly conflicting views of all the characters and like… not going back to canon to remember where they got their version from and see how someone else may have gotten something different? Or people are getting pissed because other’s aren’t being true to canon, which is bullshit because that’s literally what fandom is for… anyway I am having a lot of fun actually. I tried to watch the anime a couple times but I just didn’t like it and wasn’t motivated enough to push through it but now I’m wishing I could watch more of it (stupid Netflix only has 4 seasons cmon man I wanna see more Hawks!!!!!!!).

Anyway I adore all the different variations on the characters, like no one characterizes anyone the same way and no matter how many times you read the same scenarios with the same characters it’s always wildly different and entertaining! I this the greatest thing about having a large fandom built around a not so great original piece is how creative everyone gets. Everyone builds off each other and create something entirely different from the original and everyone gets to run wild and have a blast. I especially love how so many people have taken the Todoroki family and told so many different stories with them, weather it’s about forgiveness or revenge or moving on. Dabi is objectively insane and totally unhinged in canon but I love when people make him a bit more rational and in touch with his feelings. I also love seeing him go nuts and burning shit to the ground. I love seeing all the interesting relationships we don’t see enough of in canon expanded upon.

So far Dabi, Hawks, Bakugo, and Shoto are my favorites which, that’s 4 characters why the hell are they all guys? Obviously because the female characters aren’t nearly as well developed and that does piss me off quite a bit. The whole show is horribly sexist to the point where I don’t understand how anyone ever got through it without fan content to motivate them. Like they put in a token effort with making the girls just as powerful but I cannot get over the objectification or the way none of the girls really get their own serious arcs or backstories. At the same time the fandom is full of really positive feminism?! Like the sexism drew to much attention to itself so everyone was like ‘nope we’re fixing this ourselves’ and then did?!

Although I do have to say that people may have gone a bit overboard with the lgbt representation in the fandom because there are like no popular straight ships which is a bit disappointing to be honest. I like queer representation but this is not just representation at this point because it’s left female characters seriously sidelined in any romance centered fics. Straight people do actually exist and queer people do actually have straight relationships sometimes and it’s really sad that all the most popular ships are made exclusively of men. I actually really like Shoto and Momo, partially because that was one of their feeble attempts at making themselves seem not sexist (though they failed through sheer sexualization) but also because I just think they’re cute.

[soconfusedwithmylife]

i love subnautica but dude is it buggy as shit lmao although! its one of its charms since its funky most of the time ESPECIALLY when its not happening to you. like i had a peeper stuck in the corner of my lifepod just rotating?? and it would close its eyes when i would come close or a shine light on it and open them back up when i go away or close the light. or like when a poor spadefish or boneshark gets yeeted across the ocean for no reason. is it funny to look back on a warper coming out of the sea to you like some fucked up little mermaid or a chelicerate busting through a ventgarden to attack you? sure. but is it fucked up in the moment? NO. the latter happened to my sister while i was there to emotionally support her on her way to get alan's whateverthefucks lmao. she loves and prefers below zero majorly over the og mostly because it was the first one she played and she grew attached to it over the beta,, she hates where they ended up with the finished product. i played like half an hour of it in the beta decided it wasnt for me. i get SUPER jealous of the seamonkeys and the mineral detector tho. ayoooo rip to you consolers but im different B) pc is superior in the way it literally lets you fuck around with however you want and you bet i Will Play God whenever applicable! what else do you play? also now that we are talking about games i have to tell you. i love you and and your writing. but the feelings ive felt when i read you put him in plat............. my boy should have been at least diamond from the start im still in tears from that chapter i still havent recovered to this day how could you do my boy like this. how could you doubt his epic gamer skills and gaming time management issues like this. please explain yourself before my entire life falls apart at your feet. also me, an adc main, reading "accidentally kill the large-"

my boy was holding it in by shEEr power of love. especially after they nerfed the fuck out of adc to the point mfs will be rolling up the lane with double ap or a fucking yasuo. why is there always a fucking yasuo on enemy bot lane. and why do they all share the same zombie braincell. yone did not die for this bullshit. and to answer your question it depends on where im sending the question from lol. like on mobile there is like a 300? i think? character limit while on mobile and something similar on pc if i go to your blog site and choose ask from your theme. but here is the thing. if i go to your blog from tumblr/user instead of user.tumblr, then click ask, it literally gives me the same box as if im making a post. so no text limit whatsoever and i can freely send pics and stuff, pretty neat B)

nah i think at the end of the day doing whatever makes you the most comfortable and happy regarding the uploads is the most important! i just liked having multiple days of something nice to me ya know? not necessarily the fact that it was split. and i love them both!! the reason i call it texas touya fic is because one, when i started reading tomura was still more like on the sidelines and it kinda stuck two, it rolls of the tongue easier than texas tomura i guess? but i love them both T-T both as texans and in general! oh and dont worry ill probably bore you till you tell me to go away or something and and and! have a nice day!

I almost wish my game was as buggy as yours sounds. It sounds hilarious and game enriching. Mine doesn't like to glitch up but that probably because I played on PS4 and 5. Right after original launch of plain Subnautica, I got to the lava castle but the containment area wouldn't load so I had to start a new save. Hours down the drain.

^legit me after going through the entirety of the game again. Reapers, warpers, ghosts, and sea dragons biting chunks out of my ass all over again. But it was soooooo fun. It's one of my fave games.

OMG the backseat support gamer!!! I had one of those too for my second play through of oh Subnautica! Good on you to emotionally and psychologically hype your sister for the spookiness. I really liked below zero the first time I played it since I was just super hyped to have more Subnautica period but playing them again, you can definitely feel a substantial difference in atmosphere and replayability. Below zero just felt cramped and not as scary while Subnautica was open to terror from any direction. I totally understand your first experience being your favorite though. Whoa! You played it in the beta??? That's awesome! I'm but a lowly console peasant (until I get my PC fixed 😈) so I had to wait for console release.

OMFG DUDE. I was literally going to make him diamond II or even master BUT I didn't want a mega mind gamer in the comments to be like "erm, tomura wouldn't be diamond. It's hard to get to diamond!!11!" So I lowered his stats and you know what's CRAZY?! Me and a friend were talking about this exact issue and she brought up how he should have been at least diamond and I said the exact same story lmao. So I will go back and edit him into diamond 💀 he deserves it. The CS steal is so real 😔 so uncalled for. So unsophisticated. Okay but playing yasuo is fun, going against a yasuo is cancer. The wind shield is op. (When I'm playing against a yasuo) but sucks balls and blocks nada when I play him. (It's a zombie braincell hivemind that we all take turns with)

You're a Tumblr pro dude. 💀 I hadn't used it since 2015 so I'm still getting the hang of it (it doesn't tell me when I get notifs btw so I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for TWO WEEKS)

It legit means so much to me that you find so much joy in my writing and have stuck with it even with the long periods between updates. I appreciate you and the time you put into talking to me. It means a lot to me and you're the coolest anon I know.

Oh! And other games I play are pretty much anything 💀 I try to not get into competitive games like overwatch, Apex, or CSGO because I get EXTREMELY competitive and start screeching like a wounded animal. I used to play league religiously until my PC broke and my laptops can't run it (it can but it's like I'm either crashing or playing on PowerPoint) so I'm saving to get a new processor so I can play again! I mained ADC (jinx and Ashe, sometimes Tristana) or Annie on mid (LOL) BUT other than those, I prettyuch like anything. My fave games are Horizon Zero Dawn, Fable 2, Binding of Isaac, Assassin's Creed 2, and Minecraft! I play lots of survival games like ark, the forest, 7 days to die, and so on. I like simulation games Sims (obviously), house flipper, power wash simulator or even farming simulator 💀. You name a game, I've either played it or know about it.

They are my loves. They are my special boys and I care deeply for their fictional existence. As Texans, futuristic jerkwads, and in general.

No way will you ever bore me. If anything, I'll bore you

ANYWAY I will literally talk forever if given a chance 😬 thank you for talking to me! I'm always so excited to hear from you! I consider you a good friend at this point. How long has it been? Like 3 months? Maybe more???

[fivekrystalpetals]

What is happening to our villains? Toga is randomly back because whatever. Shigaraki’s friends don’t seem to care that he’s not in control and he seems done with everything. Only Dabi seems to have a personality left. Spinner is the face of a whole movement but he’s excluded? RIP to Compress’ relevancy tbh he probably should have died ;~;

ah, anon, I totally get your frustration but let's not jump to criticizing this chapter so quickly XD It is the Big Traitor Reveal chapter after all so the focus is gonna be on AFO and the Traitor rather than on the LoV.

Having said that (plus my answer is based on what I gather from the leaks and I need the official translation to be out before I can really understand what's going on in the chapter), I get why it seems like Toga is randomly back with the gang. You see, we didn't have a LoV focused chapter since the war arc. All we got are some 20 to 30 chapters from the Top Hero Trio's, Deku's or AFO's POV so we don't really know what is going on with the League. AFO doesn't care about the League at all. He merely sees them as useful pawns Tomura collected and now at his disposal. They aren't gonna feature in his self-centered perspective. (Although iirc we did see Toga a few chapters back where AFO was talking to a very exasperated Spinner so I guess she returned to them soon after the war arc.)

I still have hopes we get a chapter or two from Spinner's PoV (just like MVA arc) where we get all the flashbacks as to how they found Toga, what was their reaction to the Dabi reveal, whether they discussed about Twice's death and Mister Compress's capture, what they think of AFO's possession of their leader's body etc. etc. At least a throwback to this touching found-family scene:

Okay, now, about Shigaraki's friends not caring about him not being in control? Um, I don't think so? Spinner did challenge AFO taking over Tomura's body in Ch 298, remember?

Plus, you see, they can't exactly openly challenge AFO's authority. AFO is super powerful, powerful enough to kill them with the swipe of a hand. Especially, Spinner or Toga who don't have powerful quirks to faceoff AFO directly. Also, he has Tomura's body in his possession so I guess they are sticking around, waiting for their real leader to take control of his body again. idk but there is nothing that suggests that they have stopped caring about Tomura or that they are happy with AFO being in charge. Even in the leaks for this week, there is the little panel of Toga looking on worriedly as Tomura writhes in pain?

About Dabi, yeah, he is still going strong in his plans to completely bring down his dad. I don't know if he is okay with the current situation of AFO being in charge instead of Tomura. Perhaps, under his impassive face, he is concerned about AFO's possession of their leader? I am not sure. I need to see something from his perspective about the League since whenever we get Dabi's pov, we mostly only get to see Endeavor and his real family, so yeah. No idea. I believe he does care otherwise he won't have stuck around for so long and that too from the beginning.

Also, sorry anon but I don't get what you are saying about Spinner. He has been featuring majorly in these arcs, so why is he...excluded? (Perhaps, I am missing something from the leaks?)

Mister Compress is still in hospital, right? He was a minor character to begin with, never featured much in any of the arcs, got a small spotlight in the war arc and was sidelined again on the pretext of major injury. As disappointed as I'd be, I don't have much hopes of seeing him in the finale. Maybe, he will show up again in the post-time-skip where he is seen happily doing his thing alongside the rest of the League.

[bumackerman]

DEAR ADULT READERS/CREATORS,

18+ (MINORS DO NOT INTERACT)

^ see that? there is absolutely no way you missed that disclaimer if you understand the proper way to read english. but, let’s say you did miss it... here’s this message;

if you are under the age of 18, do not interact with 18+ adult accounts, or content.

there. hopefully you got the memo. if not, then i guess, one day, you’ll have the great opportunity to be featured in this brand new series of exposing, purging, and reporting minors! i mean... yay you?

disclaimer!; do not send any unnecessary hate to any of these people! it does not solve anything, and it could get you in trouble. just report, and block. thanks.

featured today, we have (drumroll please)... @/matching-with-my-demons!

warning: this post is very long!

alright, so i don’t actually know for sure if he’s necessarily a minor, but i do know that he’s been lying his age, and many, many other details about his life, leading to him getting caught by yours truly.

from this point forward, i will be reciting a briefed account of what exactly happened from a collective point of view of all of the victims involved.

I. beginning.

so, (and i think all of the people involved can agree,) this person is a flirt. automatically. just giving everyone pet names, talking about doing stuff with us, role playing with us, you know. nothing too extreme. i wasn’t suspicious of him at this point. i mean, i was sure he was 18+. to be fair, he did mention that he was 21 turning 22. why wouldn’t we believe him? he was speaking like an adult.

II. little lies & suspicion.

now, i’m not saying that this is impossible, but at multiple times during our conversations, he’d mentioned that he was was fluent in seven languages. seven. it’s not entirely impossible, but you’d think that if english wasn’t someone’s first (of many) languages, they’d have some sort of accent, right?

not only that, but he stated that he was six years old when he moved to america from japan, and he hasn’t moved since. i know, i know, yeah, cool he knows a lot of languages, and he’s a foreigner. yadda, yadda. get to the point.

he said that he was of asian descent, and that his parents were both japanese, and they lived in japan their whole lives. where the hell is he learning all of these extra languages at the young age of 21?

if japanese is his first language, we can cut out the time needed to become fluent in it. next, i’m ignoring english, as he would’ve had from the age of 6 to 21 to become fluent in it, but somehow he claimed he wasn’t? (let’s not mention the obvious fake misspellings and misunderstandings of simple words.) how on earth would he have become fluent in (at least) five other languages in middle school-high school?

OTHER LITTLE LIES N DETAILS

- he claimed that he was a 6’7, 21 year old (cis) male.

- said he was a stripper, bartender, and a sex worker (we’ll come back to that later).

- sent a picture of “his” chest, but it was 100% from google or some shit.

- (not judging anyone who does) he said that his body count was 74, but literally no one asked?

- he texted us when he “got another body” tf? we don’t care. carry on, i guess. (said he went on for like 7 rounds but... what?)

- talked about getting a vibrator stuck in his ass n his roommate had to get it out for him, but once again, nobody asked. °-°

- said he could bench 200 lbs. not impressive, just thought it was worth mentioning.

- said he had the same birthday as bakugou, which, okay.. (4/20)

- he made multiple channels in the server where he could roleplay with certain people, which, i, and a couple other people never used.

III. the voice chat.

after a while of all of us messing around, the conversation started to get heated, and some of us were teasing him, including me. we decided to get on voice chat (his idea), and he started talking into the mic. all of us were very confused, as he did not at all sound like a giant of a grown man.

but, despite this, we all warily continued, until he left the call. when he left, everyone who was participating voiced their current concerns, and laughed out our nervousness. that is, until he re-joined and everyone muted. he continued doing what he was doing until he “broke character”, stating he was a voice actor and it was hard to keep up that voice because it hurt his throat. i would’ve believed him if he didn’t sound the exact same as he did when he was “in character”.

after that, we were a lot more concerned and on edge about his identity, and i started to focus more on the shit he was telling us, hoping to find out who the fuck this person really was. i stopped interacting with him in a nsfw way, and mostly observed what he was saying, just watching from the sidelines.

II. the pictures.

captions:

not only do the skin colors just not match up, the hands in each picture are totally different people. even if you take into account the lighting differences, the undertones should still be the same. these pictures are fake.

if you look at the fingers, you can see that the ones on the right are flatter, and shorter. if the hand on the left were to hold that phone, it would wrap all the way around the device.

from a common sense standpoint, we know that our palms are always lighter than our skin tone. the fact that the hand on the left is still darker, proves that these are different people. (not that we needed proof.)

also, if this guy is so muscular, why can he only bench 200lbs? and why is his wrist so skinny?

+ to me, the phone, (right image) and the quality of the picture, looks like a black iphone 4s. from what i can see, at least. meaning, if i’m correct, that picture is majorly outdated.

for both pictures, he flipped the image so that we wouldn’t be able to find it by just by reverse image searching. luckily, one of the people involved was able to figure that out, and told me immediately.

III. ID check.

like i said before, a lot of us were starting to get really suspicious, but at this point, i thought i was the only one that was sketched out, so i issued another ID check.

(be sure to click on the pictures. one of them is really long. also, when reading, read the date and times that messages are sent. i was trying to lighten the mood and be nice, but it was honestly so offensive that he thought i was legitimately dumb.)

so, obviously, these ID’s are fake. not only are the pictures the exact same, but the backgrounds are the same, the outfits are the same, the names are totally fake, and just, wow. i don’t really know how he thought that was gonna slip past me.

after i called both him, and @/yourmajesty-theking out, he went into his own discord and started ranting to some of the other people involved that he was freaking out because he didn’t have his ID.

remember how i said that he mentioned he was a stripper/bartender/sex worker? why the fuck don’t you have your ID on you if you claimed you were at work that day? you can��t get in without it. °-° just- everything he was saying didn’t come together cleanly. the timeline is all sorts of fucked up.

you can’t drive without an ID, how are you getting to work? you can’t get into a strip club without an ID, how are you getting in? you can’t serve alcohol without and ID, how are you a bartender? you can’t get an apartment without an ID, how are you living with a roommate?

he told us that he moved to america with his PARENTS, and somehow his grandmother is in america now? when did that happen? if you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable.

IV. conclusion.

anyway, do what you want with this information. the people in the discord all agreed that based off his voice and the evidence, that he couldn’t have been older than 15, and at most, 16.

though he hasn’t deactivated his account, the last time he was active was april 7, 2021 at 12:39am (EST) he claims he lives in cali, so i don’t know what time that is there.

thanks for reading. i’m sure i missed a lot of stuff, but for now, this is all i could put together. also, lmk if there are any spelling errors. i’m too tired to check.

like i said, if i get any hate for calling out a minor, you will be blocked/reported, and i will not hesitate to turn anons off for the time being. besides, saying dumb shit doesn’t affect me. just makes me laugh.

- bum <3

[onlydeadcells]

How do you feel about each character’s ending? (Tommy, Arthur, Ada, Finn & Michael)

ada: i don't think we really got much ada this season. although she had the odd scenes here and there, I feel like her character was majorly left to the sidelines this final season although that isn't necessarily anything new. I do feel for her though, as you could tell during the final 'family scene' that she realized something was definitely up with tommy, he just wouldn't tell her what it was.

finn: finn was absent for the most part of this final season however I am glad they included him in the finale. his ending (although confusing for some) has me interested as to how he will fit into the movie. I wasn't originally a fan of duke shelby as he just seemed randomly shoved into the story, however seeing his face-off with finn made me realize that he possesses a higher purpose. finn goes on and on about how 'he is a shelby' but I think his final scenes showed how although he is a shelby by name; he doesn't possess the true attributes that make one a shelby. I look forward to what they will do with this 'rivalry' in the movie to come at some point in the future.

arthur: I am so grateful they gave us back the good ol' unhinged arthur in the final episode as he seemed to be nothing but a drunk throughout the majority of the season. the shootout scene was so full of tense (for me) and seeing arthur with a machine gun honestly reminded me of his chaotic scene w the chinese in s5. I think we got to see all the different side of arthur in this finale. the emotional side of him in his scene w tommy, his usual peaky blinder side in the shootout scene w laura mckee and her crew and his haunted side once it was all over as he sat w jeremiah bc as he said "we're still in france charlie". also his monologue before he killed laura mckee about polly had me getting emotional bc SHE WAS elizabeth gray, SHE WAS their aunty polly. I am bummed he wasn't properly included in the final family scene but I am interested for what his character will bring to the movie.

michael: oh mickey. although I used to love michael's character at one point, I always knew he would be one of those characters who becomes too big for their own boots. one of his biggest errors (of both this season and overall) was how he continually underestimated the power and intelligence of tommy when it came to going against him. we know his main goal especially after polly died was to take down tommy yet he lacked the true intelligence and brains to outsmart the man. in the finale, he chooses to try and use a bomb to kill tommy rather than doing it himself which basically speaks for his character doesn't it? it was kind of funny to watch him say "mum's it's done" showing he genuinely believed his plan worked, only for him to step outside and realize that tommy is alive + well whilst his buddies are dead, blown to smithereens. I do think his ending was somewhat 'anticlimactic' in the sense where the rivalry between tommy and him was downplayed so much this season for the sake of the nazi storyline which i'll vent about in a different post. I guess overall his ending was satisfying yet still somewhat disappointing at the same time.

tommy: I am left w so many thoughts and uncertainties involving tommy's final 'ending' in the show. although I'm grateful for the twist they gave us, I feel like there is still so much left that remains unanswered and unknown on all counts. although I found tommy's ending to be bittersweet, I find it hard to truly calling it an 'ending' as it feels as though there is so much left in the open that will remain hanging until the movie. I'm glad he's not necessarily 'dying' as we thought he was and that he is somewhat free from all his burdens, I feel like this 'ending' leaves so many questions regarding not just tommy but all characters involved in the show.

I'm going to do a proper vent about the finale as a whole later on but yes, I hope this wasn't too jumbly and messy.

[sacred-algae]

In celebration of The Great Gatsby entering public domian, I would like to publish an essay I wrote a few years back. Because I hate The Great Gatsby with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

A Character Analysis of The Great Gatsby:

Gatsby, Nick and Daisy

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is often revered as one of the greatest American novels of all time. It makes us take off our rose-colored glasses and look at the rich whom we idolize so much. But are our perspectives of this book also tinted by its title of the great American novel? We are often misdirected in this book to forget many important quotes that change the way we look at the main characters completely. Authors make sure that everything in the book has a purpose. If it was included, it’s important and shouldn't be ignored. Readers often place certain expectations on the characters due to its high status, however, this paper will show that the characters in question are not as they are commonly perceived, whether good or bad, and explore the complex writing behind the characters, Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy.

Although Nick Carraway is seen by many for who he is, arrogant and judgemental, they still miss out on the bigger picture. He glorifies violence and he is a cheater. The problem with Nick and the book is that rather than the book being written by Fitzgerald, it is written by Nick. Because of this, we see him in a glorified manner. The first few lines of the book show this. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.” (pg. 3) Using the words “younger”, “vulnerable” and even “father” he immediately ensures that we have his sympathy. He does the same thing again later, and more directly, at the very end of chapter three. “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” (pg. 65) This is where most people begin to see his true self shine through. However, it should be seen much earlier. In chapter one he mentions something very sinister. “I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War. I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless. Instead of being the warm center of the world the middle-west now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe” (pg. 5) Nick says directly to the reader that he enjoyed WWI. Only second to WWII (85,000,000 or 3% of the entire world’s population), WWI is the bloodiest war in world history with a death toll of 16,000,000. 40,000,000 if you include deaths resulting from the Spanish Flu. (statistics from Wikipedia) For someone to enjoy being at war there has to be something majorly wrong with them. Not only that but it can be said with near certainty that Nick was cheating on a girl out west when he had his fling with Jordan. In chapter one after dinner with the Buchanans this conversation tasks place. “As I started my motor Daisy peremptorily called ‘Wait! ‘I forgot to ask you something, and it’s important. We heard you were engaged to a girl out West.’ ‘That’s right,’ corroborated Tom kindly. ‘We heard that you were engaged.’ ‘It’s libel. I’m too poor.’ ‘But we heard it,’ insisted Daisy, surprising me by opening up again in a flower-like way. ‘We heard it from three people so it must be true.’” (pg. 23) For there to be rumors that someone is engaged with someone else it has to be commonly known that they are in a relationship. Nick is a severely flawed, if not evil, character.

Many people strive to be like Jay Gatsby, with his charm and “extraordinary gift for hope.” Even then, the biggest argument of the book is whether or not he truly loves Daisy. Most clues point to no. Gatsby even remarks that “‘Her voice is full of money,’” (pg. 128). He sees her as a prize to be won. He chases her, she’s the final thing he needs to have his perfect life. And during a flashback to his first kiss with her, right before the iconic passage where “she blossomed for him like a flower,” Fitzgerald describes his desire for her like this: “The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.” Possibly the most frightening passage in the book. It sounds like some bestial craving. But that is just his relationship with Daisy. Tom accuses him of bootlegging. “‘I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. ‘He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong.’” (pg.143) We never are told explicitly that this is true but it is left to the reader to decide this. And there is plenty of evidence. When Gatsby is giving Daisy a tour of the mansion we hear him on his side of a phone call. “...the phone rang and Gatsby took up the receiver. ‘Yes…. Well, I can’t talk now…. I can’t talk now, old sport…. I said a SMALL town…. He must know what a small town is…. Well, he’s no use to us if Detroit is his idea of a small town….’” (pg. 100-101) This again isn't explicit but why would the person in question be of no use to him if they think that Detroit is a small town? They need a small town. If it is a big one it is easier for the police to track his business. And after Gatsby dies Nick answers another business call. “...said Chicago was calling...‘This is Slagle speaking....’ ‘Yes?’ The name was unfamiliar. ‘Hell of a note, isn’t it? Get my wire?’ ‘There haven’t been any wires.’ ‘Young Parke’s in trouble,’ he said rapidly. ‘They picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter. They got a circular from New York giving ‘em the numbers just five minutes before. What d’you know about that, hey? You never can tell in these hick towns——‘ ‘Hello!’ I interrupted breathlessly. ‘Look here—this isn’t Mr. Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby’s dead.’” This is a hint towards Gatsby making money selling counterfeit bonds. A business that he tried to recruit Nick too. “‘Why, I thought—why, look here, old sport, you don’t make much money, do you?’ ‘Not very much.’ This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently. ‘I thought you didn’t, if you’ll pardon my—you see, I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of sideline, you understand. And I thought that if you don’t make very much—You’re selling bonds, aren’t you, old sport?’ ‘Trying to.’ ‘Well, this would interest you. It wouldn’t take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money. It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing.’” (pg. 88-89) Why is it confidential? Because it’s illegal. Not only is Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy toxic, but he is a mobster. This in itself isn’t problematic, but people may have died because of him, and the book shies past this point.

Daisy Buchanan is hated by most people who read the book. It is said that she is shallow and arrogant. This is a look to the surface. First, it is important to understand Daisy and Tom’s ages. When the book takes place Daisy is 23, Tom is 30. Making Daisy 18 and Tom 25 at the time they were married. While she is legal this marriage is incredibly creepy. She is stuck in a marriage with a racist, cheating, borderline abusive husband. And she knows this. Even then she is brave enough to call him out (and mock him) on his racism in chapter one at dinner. “‘Tom’s getting very profound,’ said Daisy with an expression of unthoughtful sadness. ‘He reads deep books with long words in them. What was that word we——‘ ‘Well, these books are all scientific,’ insisted Tom…” (pg. 16) She’s trapped in a situation where she has no control. She tries to reclaim her life through Gatsby but she quickly learns that he isn’t different. “‘Please don’t.’ Her voice was cold, but the rancour was gone from it. She looked at Gatsby. ‘There, Jay,’ she said— but her hand as she tried to light a cigarette was trembling. Suddenly she threw the cigarette and the burning match on the carpet. ‘Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’ She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once—but I loved you too.’” (pg. 141-142). Daisy lives in a society where women are seen and not heard. She knows this but still does what she can to speak for herself. She is incredibly smart. People don’t give her enough credit. Take the iconic line, “Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. ‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’” (pg. 20)

She is smart enough to see what is happening around her and it breaks her, that's why she wants her daughter to be a fool. She’ll never have to question it, she’ll never know it, she’ll always be happy.

“The Great Gatsby” indeed is a great book. One with deeply complex characters. But we need to take a second look at them, not just accept what others tell us. Because of its high status, the characters of “The Great Gatsby” are often subject to preconceived notions, through discussing and analyzing quotes in the book you can begin to see both sides of Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy. When we see someone say something about them, or any person, or anything, question it. As the great Albert Einstein once said-“The important thing is to never stop questioning.”

We need to stop idolizing Nick and Gatsby, and stop victim blaming Daisy. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

[less--beans]

lihn asks: 2, 9, 14, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 39, 40, 47

2. Fav scenes?

can i just say the whole musical? i really want to just say the whole musical. i’ll not mention any scenes with songs, bc that’s a whole other thing, but i’ll pick a few (i said a few but it’s a lot more than that, i’m very sorry) top scenes. i’m pretty sure most ppl answer this with like 3 scenes but i’ve never been very good at picking so here, have 10. i’m going to make a list bc if i just put it all in a paragraph it would be way too long. 

-i love sheila and susannah’s first actual conversation. it’s funny how nervous and awkward susannah is, and how many questions she asks and weird things she says. i love how sheila just rolls with it, answering her questions and ignoring the weirdness. francis’ little interludes are funny and it makes my heart melt when sheila goes ‘but in the good way,’ especially after seeing that susannah believes francis and everyone else when they tell her she’s weird in the bad way, and i can’t help but die when i remember that sheila is probably the first person who saw how weird susannah was and didn’t insult her or act like it was a bad thing but instead just rolled with it. 

-it’s a short scene but i love when they’re teaching susannah how to smoke and she visualizes francis being torn apart. it’s the funniest thing. so short and yet so good. 

-another short yet awesome scene is right before the other one, when sheila spends a solid 20-30 seconds just staring at susannah and listening to her write songs. very gay. also, in the same scene, sheila listing what she likes and then adding that susannah’s interests weren’t too bad either. her acting like she usually does and just kind of putting down the other person’s interests a little before letting her walls drop and acknowledging susannah as a person was amazing. again with the walls dropped thing is her respecting susannah’s boundaries and not demanding to know who the letter was from. we love character growth. 

-yet another short scene is right before oh well when sheila’s kind of teasing her about the morse code thing and being like ‘you’re obsessed.’ it was hilarious. and then it kind of clicked in their heads with the nonsense syllables and the secret code and it was like they were finally on the same wave length. it was very very sweet. 

- i loved the scene where sheila got taken to solitary. phenomenal acting. my heart broke. i’ve watched it so many times and i love looking at various reactions of the girls (judith being victorious, sheila being hurt and scared and angry, dorothy in shock and still trying to comfort others, ya-ya collasping, kitty being angry and disappointed, rat just watching concerned and scared from the sidelines) as it all goes down. it’s painful and it was such a different ending to act 1 than i thought would happen just two minutes prior, and it’s a majorly emotional scene. 

-in the beginning of act 2, she’s like ‘no, this is my fault!’ and all the girls just agree with her, and then judith tells the history of harriet. i did not see her backstory coming at all. that part made me physically sick and very horrified. i didn’t necessarily like that scene, but i respect it bc of the acting, and the effect it had on me is proof that it was good. also, when kitty comes from judith and reveals that sheila took out her eye? that was the second huge revelation in the same scene and i had to pause it to process. plus, that was a sick burn. go kitty.

-the scene with kitty and susannah before masochist!! powerful, emotional, had me in tears. I adore kitty so much. some real stuff was said there, and i, as someone who is part of the lgbtq+ community, was really affected by that scene. also masochist, but again, we’re not going into songs right now. that’s a whole other thing. 

-i died when the music was building up and susannah was on the steps and she was giving her whole rousing speech and she finally admitted that she loved sheila. the music stopped, susannah stopped, my heart stopped, and the girls gave a wonderfully funny fake gasp. the girls’ reactions in that scene were impeccable and so hilarious to me, and there’s of course the fact that susannah, after stumbling over her words and feelings the entire show, finally admitted out loud that she loved sheila. not only that, but she did it in front of everyone. very big character growth, plus the growth of my heart as it swelled and burst in my chest. i loved it. 

-the transition of judith being like ‘there’s no way she just thinks the plumbing sucks’ to sheila loudly complaining about her hatred of the sucky plumbing was perfect. also, i can’t watch sheila’s slow realization of what’s happening without laughing. she’s such an idiot and i love her. her slamming her head into the pillow and slowly raising it up again as it sinks in? comedic genius. just the parallels of susannah being like ‘she’ll figure it out soon’ at the exact same moment sheila figures it out is amazing. judith going ‘i will happily eat my own sh-’ and then being cut off by sheila knocking back was hilarious, and kitty’s ‘do you want fries with that judith?’ was so iconic. 

-them being like ‘how are we going to do this??’ in the middle of the song and everything going dark and quiet for a few seconds other than that sign of ‘four minutes and 38 seconds later’ before going ‘that’s a great plan’ was so freaking funny. we’re going to skip the moment where sheila and susannah reunite for now bc i’m probably going to make another post about it and this post is already so long. also, i love how they outlined the plan as they put it into action. it was poetic cinema. perfect execution of one of my fav tropes and i really enjoyed it. 

9. Fav lighting moments?

I love the beginning transition where the lights flash and show the silhouettes of the girls, it’s so powerful. I also love the emphasis the lighting gives when it changes in the pre-reprise of teenage delinquent and also in susannah’s song reprise (basically whenever everything stops and susannah has a gay moment). the lights shining through the smoke to give the illusion of fire? amazing. that was exactly what the scene needed to take it from incredible to literal perfection. on that note, i liked the ghostly feel the lights gave as they shone through the windows once the girls were outside. lastly, i loved the lights in the end of teenage delinquent. that was a very emotional moment and the lights just added to it. 

14. A major(s) character you love?

I love sheila a lot. she’s so tough and yet so sweet. i first met her and i was kind of worried about if she was going to be one of the stereotypical mean tough girls, but she managed to be strong and kind, and it’s amazing. i love how she’s a little aloof and yet totally willing to take down anyone who hurts the people she cares about. she fights asp, buzz, and even judith, all bc they hurt her family. plus, that girl’s been through a lot. i’ve made a few other posts just based on what i got from the three failed escape attempts but i really feel sad for her and all that she’s been through. 

19. Fav (pre)reprise?

So we obviously have the oh well reprise when susannah is delivering the esp to sheila and that’s such an amazing one that always gets me. i’ve cried a lot at that scene. sheila smiling and trying to hide it while half-heartedly trying to get susannah to stop playing by warning her that she would get in trouble... ugh. my heart. another one that i really like, however, is when sheila and susannah first met. the pre-reprise of teenage delinquent gets me almost as much as the oh well reprise does. it’s so short, only a few lines, but we see susannah immediately fall for her. it’s so sweet and it sets everything up so perfectly, and i especially love the percussion. in the last line the drums kick in and crescendo and it’s just a masterpiece. 

20. Headcanon(s) for what happens before the show?

i’m very sorry to announce that i forgot who the creator of this (if anyone knows please message me!) but some created this amazing timeline. it’s phenomenal. i’ve pretty much accepted everything on that list as canon. 

22. Headcanon(s) for what happens between Teenage Delinquent and Finale?

judith definitely became a chill therapist. 100%. she keeps in touch with ya-ya and they try to arrange meetings every now and then. sometimes they see certain plays together. ya-ya went to hollywood with dorothy. she made it big in special effects, and dorothy prefers to act in smaller gigs in underground places. ya-ya helps out with dorothy’s plays sometimes. they share an apartment together. sometimes dorothy sees rat in the audience of her shows. she doesn’t question how rat knew where she’d be performing and she doesn’t question the money and cigarettes that are pushed into her hands after. she also doesn’t question it if rat ever shows up in need to stay for a few days. it happens every few months, and dorothy just makes sure there’s good food in the house and slips some money into rat’s things when she’s sleeping. kitty keeps in touch with susannah, and she attends all of susannah’s performances she can. susannah goes on tour with her band, and she could’ve sworn in their tour in hollywood she saw three familiar faces in the crowd. she’ll never know for sure though. sheila stays in mexico for a while before deciding to go back to the states. she doesn’t know what happened to francis. at the border she told him he was lucky she didn’t kill him and left on his bike, never to see him again. she traveled around the us with that bike, eventually deciding to visit hollywood. she saw a familiar name in an underground club and immediately went to the next showing available, watching with barely held back tears as dorothy starred in a play. she saw rat in the audience and ya-ya’s name credited in special effects, and she had to leave at intermission to keep herself together. she wasn’t sure how to approach them or what she would do or say, so she took off that night to keep the temptation away. she went all the way across the country to nyc, figuring it was about time she visited some old friends from mexico. she walked into a record shop to ask for directions and caught a thief stealing from the store a few minutes later. she walked in to return the record.

27. Teenage Delinquent or Revolution Song?

how am i supposed to choose?? from the moment i heard teenage delinquent pre-reprise i loved both versions. it’s such a pretty tune, and it’s so meaningful, and the emotion in it is so powerful. it makes me cry every time, and the end... wow. they’re gay and in love and i get very emotional about it. i absolutely love teenage delinquent. revolution song, however, was one of the first ones i ever heard and probably the one that made me watch the show. it’s so energetic and so great, and i cannot listen to it without wanting to start my own rebellion and take down some terrible patriarchal system. it’s constantly in my head and it’s so catchy and fun. plus, i love watching it in the show, and the girls throwing things and burning down the building is one of my fav things. i love both of these songs so much and i physically can’t choose which one is my favorite. 

28. Something you like/have noticed about the show that you haven’t seen anyone else mention yet?

both of these things are only briefly mentioned in the show but i’ve still never seen anyone talk about them. this show takes place over the span of only 17 days (excluding the finale, obviously). in the beginning, when susannah had just arrived, asp got the call about the interview and she mentioned it being in 17 days. a lot happened in 17 days, especially since they were locked up for 8 of them. all of the events of act 1 took place over 9 days at most, and probably less, bc we know sheila didn’t respond right away in solitary and we’re not sure of how much time passed until she did. that feels like such a short time span to me. another thing is that they’re on the fifth floor. i don’t know why this stood out to me, but it’s probably something to do with the fire. they would have lit the fire and gotten out really quickly. i feel like imagining them on the first or second floor is different than imagining them on the fifth floor for some reason, and i just felt like pointing it out. 

39. What got you interested in LIHN?

I was bored in between classes and so i watched a random youtube video of musical clips. there were three clips of lihn in there, and they interested me enough that i watched the entire musical a few days later. i immediately fell in love and i’ve watched it almost every day since. 

40. What does LIHN mean to you?

love in hate nation means so much to me. i absolutely love this show. there’s so much to think about and so much to build on. musicals are amazing bc there’s choreography and lighting and lyrics and sets and so many things with hundreds of little hidden messages, and deciphering potential meanings for those messages is so fun. this show is no different. there’s so many things to analyse, and it’s such a good show that i want to analyse everything about it. i can’t put into words how much i love this show. just know it’s a lot.

47. A single wish for the future of the show?

it says a single wish, but i have three, so i’m going to list them all. if i could only have one it would for sure be the first one. first and foremost, i want a cast album. goodness gracious, i want a cast album. so bad. second, i really want this to get to broadway. more people need to know about this show. it’s so good and it’s worth everything. i want this to get big. third, i believe joe posted something about a potential proshoot? i could be wrong but that would be amazing to have.

my grammar is terrible and this is so much longer than it should’ve been, so i’m sorry about that. thank you so much for asking!! it was really fun to answer these. if anyone wants to ask more questions, the link to the asks is here

[ratspberry]

many naruto thoughts head overloading

ok im only like 20 episodes into shippuden and i skipped a Lot of filler in original naruto bc i do not have the patience </3 (i will come back to the filler one day though) and while i love this anime theres so much i wish... was not written how it is

first of all sakura... i love her sm and i just wish her character was given some more care like at this point in shippuden im actually really enjoying the direction shes taken but i heard a lot of her growth is sidelined when sasuke comes back into the picture and thats my biggest issue. im sorry but if youre going to introduce a TRIO of main characters i want to see that main group equally fleshed out. first going all the way back to the beginning i wish that sakura was allowed to fight??? like we KNOW shes super smart and has powerful chakra so even when at that time she wasnt the most skilled fighter (as far as we KNOW at least. given that we barely got to see her fight who knows!) she couldve in the very least played a similar role to that of shikamaru as far as leadership and strategizing. and ok her crush on sasuke should have dissipated a lot more after the chunin exams. even though i do hate to see her spend so much time fawning over sasuke when hes not even particularly kind to her i think a crush in the beginning could still work IF the moment of her cutting her hair (“sasuke likes girls with long hair”) and her battle w ino during the chunin exams were like an eye-opening moment for her when she was like “wtf am i doing i am going to work hard as a ninja to prove that i can do this to MYSELF and MY RIVAL first” (which. ok she does get to this point later and again i love her learning chakra and getting strong as HELL during her training w tsunade but again. i want to see that REMAIN parallel to the enormous power level leaps that sasuke and naruto make. also let sakura and ino have a fun friendship rivalry that has nothing to do w sasuke) . i think it would be better if she naruto and sasuke were just friends who ALL help and motivate each other. and so when sasuke leaves sakura is STILL super fucked up over it and maybe even has a hard time trusting naruto again after he comes back? (but ofc she eventually does bc power of friendship) like IDK loss of one best friend, then almost immediately after your other best friend (who u just learned secretly is sealed w the nine tails and the akatsuki is after him just like orochimaru was after sasuke) leaves you for THREE YEARS??? kind of a salt in the wound moment! also im simply not even going to touch on all the comphet marriages in the end

next im going to talk about rock lee my friend rock lee who i adore. anyways he either should not have foregone the surgery from tsunade or died from it. HEAR ME OUT! this surgery was good in showing how powerful tsunade is as a healer but like? was it necessary? after she brought naruto back to life??? as far as lees characterization his whole thing is that he may not have special jutsu or the same prodigal abilities as his peers but he can still be as powerful or more powerful! and idk i hate when characters have serious life changing stuff done to them and not seeing it fully explored in the story. like ok so we’ve got tsunade telling lee (who cant be older than 12? 13?) theres a 50/50 chance he’ll die in the surgery to heal him. and then guy ENCOURAGES HIM, HIS FAVORITE STUDENT, to go through with the surgery so he could then go on to be a ninja and continue risking his life?????? so i thought that was pretty screwed up. which leads me to the two paths that i think would be interesting to see play out: 1. lee doesnt get the surgery, but continues to train as a ninja. his injuries still exist but lee learns to fight WITH the injuries and creates a really cool badass unique fighting style and goes on to be a great ninja like he dreamed 2. lee dies in surgery. id hate it i would and i dont WANT lee to die but it might be a fuckin wakeup call to all these adult ninjas urging kids into warfare. lee is beloved by all so it would be a good moment of pause for everyone to think like “ummm so the systems that be are kind of majorly fucked up.”

those are the two main ideas i had but heres a few misc things:

-jiraiya can be the author of as many trashy romance novels as he wants but him hitting on younger women and being like a peeping tom and UGH the way he was introduced w narutos ‘sexy jutsu’ is just. not good. take it out.

-let tsunade look her age. like the whole “she uses her chakra to make herself look young”? i dont buy it. i dont care that you just didnt feel like drawing a woman who looks over 20. you will do it anyways bc i said so.

-i dont dislike n/ruhina as much as i dislike s/susaku bc at least its clear theres a mutual respect and admiration there but hinata, like sakura, has so much more potential to be explored. idk if its looked at in filler or later in shippuden (id sure hope so) but i think her parallel to sasuke is kind of interesting? both have intimidating, extremely powerful older brothers (i know neji is technically hinatas cousin or smth but whatever older brother figures. also i know hinatas sister is also supposed to be super powerful but idk her yet) who are held in high esteem by their families and have all this pressure on their shoulders to want to surpass them? given that neji didnt um. do the things itachi did clearly its not the SAME between hinata and sasuke but i feel like examining the hyuga family dynamics would be SO interesting in comparison to sasukes arc. i didnt mind seeing hinata motivated by naruto the first few times but like. there is SO MUCH MORE THERE than JUST hinatas relationship to naruto.

-all of these kids need therapy but ESPECIALLY sasuke like the signs were there. halfway thru the bell test thing SUPER early on sasuke went into a full-fledged “i am an avenger.. i have to kill a certain someone” monologue and given the fact that everyone knows his entire clan was killed and that sasuke is likely VERY traumatized... who thought it was a good idea to let him become a ninja before addressing any of that. my god. like i love kakashi and i know he has his own devestating backstory and that hes a product of the system but why the Fuck would he let sasuke take the chunin exams. give team 7 a year more of training and getting to know each other and give sasuke some time to create bonds and maybe even open up emotionally and begin to heal and then MAYBE we can THINK ab chunin exams.

-asuma and ino apologize to choji for telling him not to eat as much challenge? did asuma not know that chojis clan uses food to replenish their chakra? it would make sense if ino didnt know but chojis teacher?? either way still p fucked, leave choji alone

-speaking of ino i want more of her character tok. why was she not included in that mission to save sasuke that shikamaru, her TEAMMATE, led?? was there an explanation for that?? i feel like her not being there was a missed opportunity for some real growth/bonding between team 10.

-speaking of the last bullet point shikamaru being like “ugh women 🙄” is tired and boring. very misogynistic “i hate my wife” facebook dad humor. cut that shit out

-orochimarus coding and his whole um. intent as a villain is just very. Hm. i dont think i like that very much but im not going to go into it bc im sure its been touched upon a million times

[miss-musings]

TROS Review - after second viewing

I’m glad I knew all the spoilers going into my first viewing. If I hadn’t known Ben died, I would’ve screamed. Although I’m pretty sure I heard someone at my second viewing go “What?!” when he fell over and vanished into the Force.

OK, let’s break this down.

THE GOOD

The movie looks great.

Daisy, Adam and John Williams all FUCKING brought it for this movie.

I actually liked some of the fan-service-y bits like Wedge getting a cameo, Han having a memory chat with Kylo/Ben, and Luke motivating Rey. I also noticed on the second go-around that Kylo flies an old Imperial TIE fighter (one from the Death Star ruins) to Exegol. And I like that shot of the old X-Wing of the Rebellion and the old TIE fighter of the Empire there alongside each other.

Most of all, I loved ALL the Reylo scenes we got in this movie. About 70 percent of the runtime seems to be dedicated to Rey, Kylo/Ben or both. I mean, it’s basically Reylo: The Movie, and I’m totally here for it. (But more on that below.)

I actually liked seeing Kylo in the mask again. I think it makes him look... sexy? Idk what I feel, y’all.

Some of the new creatures and characters were cool, even if we didn’t spend much time with them. (Again, more on that below.)

Loved Leia’s moments and how she had a big part to play in the story even if Carrie is gone. 😢

Those are all the big things; there might be a few small things that I’d remember if I were watching the movie in real time, but I can’t remember them now.

So, let’s get into it:

THE BAD

Oh, boy where do I start?

The pacing in both the very beginning (first 20-30 minutes?) and the very end (last 10) was ridiculous. My dad even agreed that the beginning felt rushed and disjointed.

While I love Kylo/Ben and Rey, the movie spends so much time focusing on them that no one else really gets an arc. Say what you will about TLJ, but Finn and Poe both had arcs in that movie, even if they were small. I felt like Poe did in this movie what he did in that last one: took to heart the words of wisdom of others around him (or at least, regurgitate their lines). He did it with Leia and Holdo in TLJ, and he did it with Zorri and Lando in this one. Finn doesn’t get any arc in this and the fact that he’s supposed to be Force-sensitive is like ... ??? What? I don’t even have time to unpack all that.

Also, Rose and Hux were sidelined majorly. I don’t even like Hux but even I felt his character and end were poorly done in this movie.

Something about both Finn and Rey’s Force abilities that bugged me was that I thought all Force sensitives can intuit or understand what others are saying in any alien/droid language. Remember how Rey could understand Chewie when she first met him but Finn couldn’t? It makes sense why Rey could understand a droid like BB-8 but why a Wookiee? Are there a lot of Wookiees on Jakku? No, she could understand him bc she’s Force sensitive and it’s an ability she has. But, in this one, neither she nor Finn could understand Babu Frick. I know it’s a small detail, and I could be misremembering canon, but it just bugged me both times.

So, Rey being a Palpatine... makes no sense. How and when did Palpatine have a kid? Was Rey’s dad a cloning experiment, or a naturally conceived and born child? This is something I’m morbidly curious about. I liked it better in TLJ when we thought she was no one, and this seems like a GIANT retcon and slap in the face to Rian Johnson. They even had to write a line about how Kylo supposedly never lied to her. Part of me wonders whether the Emperor was lying??? Maybe making Rey think she was his granddaughter would trick her into being obligated to come and end his life herself? But then, why was that Jedi Hunter looking for her parents? Oh well. Anyway, I did want her to be Rey of Jakku and no one else. But I also appreciate the thematic parallels and the yin/yang thing going with her and Kylo/Ben. He’s the embodiment of the Dark Side even though he’s descended from the Light, and Rey is the embodiment of the Light Side even though she’s descended from the Dark. So I’m a bit conflicted, but I hate it more than I love it.

I also HATE that Ben died. BUT, at least he didn’t die from falling into the pit, and at least there’s still a possibility that he’s coming back. The worst of it is that after he disappears, he’s never addressed again at all. Wouldn’t Poe or Finn ask about him? They don’t necessarily know he’s dead, and he would be a major threat if he were still alive. And why wasn’t he a Force-Ghost at the end? I HOPE it’s bc they’re leaving it open for him to come back. Or maybe his energy is living on in Rey whether spiritually (the dyad thing) or physically (maybe pregnant???).

But here’s the deal: in some ways this movie felt like the series finale of beloved TV show. All your favorites come back for little cameos, your main characters go out on a high note, and everything is resolved to a greater extent. Sure, there are more stories to tell, probably, but the Main Conflict has now been resolved. Think Avatar: The Last Airbender TV show or Star Trek: Voyager as examples.

BUT, in other ways, it DOESN’T feel like a finale. It feels like they’ve left doors to open and questions to explore in future properties. Is Finn Force-Sensitive? Is Jannah Lando’s relative? Is Ben Solo really dead? What’s gonna happen to Rey? Etc.

So, the movie needed to pick a lane. Either be The End of an era, or not. You can’t wrap up a story but then tease us with more stories. That’s not how this works. Fuck, even Harry Potter — as much as everyone hates JKR — got this right. Big Bad Guy is dead and instigating conflict is now resolved. Palpatine was the one who started this whole thing, so now that he’s dead, all is well???

Well, here’s my other big complaint about the movie. JJ & Co don’t seem to know how the Force works.

The Force is about a balance between the Light and the Dark. When one side becomes too strong, the other side grows stronger to compensate. When one side wipes out the other, the other responds. There must always be balance. Snoke even pointed this out in TLJ that Rey was Kylo’s Equal in the Light bc he was growing stronger.

And the Sith and the Jedi are religions on their respective sides. Not all Dark side users are Sith; not all Light side users are Jedi. And there are some Force users who use both freely and some who stay in balance.

The Mortis arc of TCW demonstrates this very well.

This is why so many people were pissed that Ben died. Not only are you losing a great character but you’re also losing the potential of what Ben and Rey could’ve been together as Force-users.

Palpatine and all the Sith are dead. Luke, Leia and all the Jedi are dead.

Except for Rey, who is descended of the Sith but trained by Jedi. So, she (and Ben) would have to figure out exactly how to keep the Force in balance. If the last Jedi just destroyed the last Sith, then the Dark Side is going to have to respond. But, if Rey could find other Force-users and teach them how to be in balance and use both Light and Dark in harmony then balance could be restored. There would be no need for these extremes if everyone stays in the middle.

This means Rey would have to end the Jedi. Which is what Luke wanted in the last movie. But then we find out that Leia received Jedi training??? So was Leia a Jedi? Is Rey? I’m so confused.

I like the fact that Rey’s saber has a darker hilt but it’s a yellow/orange blade. It kinda hints that maybe she will stay in balance — using both light and dark, being neither Sith nor Jedi, but something in between — a Skywalker, if you will.

So I guess, that’s a tiny win. The theory that the Skywalker(s) could be a new religion of Force-users in balance with the Force could still happen after that scene of Rey on Tatooine.

But, still, I hate all these retcons and the idea that the Jedi are the end-all, be-all. The Sith definitely aren’t good; but the Jedi weren’t always great either. And I hate that Rey had to fight Palpatine alone when it should’ve been her AND Ben — the balance between the Dark and Light should’ve been stronger than him, but whatever.

Also, one last thing, but why did Rey have BB-8 on Tatooine? Didn’t Poe make a big deal about Rey hurting BB-8 at the beginning? Why wasn’t BB-8 with Poe? Why wasn’t Chewie with Rey on the Falcon? (I guess he might’ve been and just never got off the ship.) Wouldn’t R2 and C3PO have been more appropriate in that final shot? They were in all 9 films. They’re more iconic and thematically appropriate than BB-8 to close out the saga, but oh well.

😪

TL;DR: I have really mixed feelings about this movie. At the end of both showings, I was smiling, so that’s something. I had fun... I think?? But yeah, it’s definitely bittersweet.

[persephoneofhades]

minachar28 replied to your post “minachar28 replied to your post “If Maddie and Ben never get together...”

I'm gonna point out that "coming onto my post" comment makes little sense on social media. Your post was public for the world to see so getting comments (even those you disagree with) comes with the territory. I looked up #Polymarine and found your post. On to your new post - I can see you point but you also missed some of mine. Bryndie was heavily entwined in the frabric of Siren. From Day 1 there were hints, then clear signs then they officially happened. Now its being dropped like it meant nothing. You seem to mainly be a Raddie fan (I may be wrong) but even they are slowing being put on the back burning. It becoming all about Bryn. I can see with this is all going. Sure Maddie in a interesting storyline with Ben & Ryn for now but how long will that really last? Maddie will be forgotten/left behind/out of the loop before long. As part of the main couple she gets to be a real lead. Bryndie is beautiful & their story can last but only if the writers don't give up on them. Relationships are up & down/not always perfect so the conflict isn't a bad thing but this extra distance will most likely get unnecessary. As for possibly dropping the show - if enough people stop watching then Siren will get cancelled which isn't helping anyone. Ben leaving Ian to drown was messed up but did you missed the point that Maddie would die? That was also a main reason Ben didn't save him which he should have told her instead of making look like it was just about protecting the merpeople. I'm not saying Ben was right but see how the merpeople was gonna be hunted down and enslaved/experimented on/killed. Ben had reasons. I'm all for Maddie having separate things outside of the mermaid stuff but that could still happen with her bring part of Polymarine. Obviously we can disagree but I needed to explain my point. In my 3rd comment I meant without Ben & Ryn. Also meant the Byrndie could last if the writers don't give up on them. Wasn't trying to start an argument just replying back.

You can point out that my post is public and it is and I have no issues with people responding to it, but you can also choose how you respond to it. Being negative on a post where I was trying super hard to be positive and telling me that you think the show is RUINED? Didn’t feel so good. I’m always up for discussions and debates about a show I’m this passionate about, I really am. Just... maybe try to keep it to discussion topics and not plain and simple bashing.

Okay, so responding to this with the perspective of having now seen episode 8, I’m... starting to turn towards the side of “this is total BS, Maddie’s being sidelined and it’s AWFUL and Polymarine may not last and I hate it.” There are quite a few moments in episode 8 that just... very visually represent that difference (Maddie getting a cheek kiss and then Ben immediately afterwards getting a lips kiss, Maddie not standing/sitting next to Bryn at the wedding, etc).

So like... yeah. I mean, you’re not wrong that I’m partial to Raddie over Bryn, for sure, but I did like Polymarine at least equally as much as I liked Raddie. And I didn’t HATE Bryn, they’ve definitely had some cute moments in the past, though I’m liking them less and less as this season goes on because they seem to be getting portrayed as more and more dysfunctional. But I have a whole post somewhere detailing why I think Polymarine perfectly represents the whole theme of balance and how the three of them together work beautifully to represent the two things each of them is always having to balance within themselves and how each of them works to balance the other two. Polymarine obviously does not exist without Ben and I have absolutely loved Ben in earlier seasons and really rooted for him. It’s just this season that they’ve made him less likable which has, in turn, made his relationship with Ryn somewhat less likable, too.

What I think you were missing earlier is that while I guess I didn’t necessarily disagree that there were some bad signs, I was trying REALLY FUCKING HARD to stay positive about it and see it in a better light, in a way that wasn’t indicative of this show I adore becoming a shitshow that drops some spectacular polyamorous rep with a beautiful wlw relationship and sidelines the main Black woman. I really really REALLY did not want to believe this show would do that, I’ve been working SUPER FUCKING HARD all goddamn season to try to come up with theories about why Ryn and Maddie have been getting a lot less affectionate scenes than Ryn and Ben have been getting, about why it was important for Maddie to have her relationship with Robb and (this is what my original post was about) why Maddie being with Robb didn’t actually cancel out the polyamorous rep or the wlw relationship since as far as we’ve been told, Ryn is still dating two people, which makes Polymarine still a polyamorous relationship, even if it’s a V instead of a triangle. And Maddie having feelings for Robb and maybe starting to date him means that Maddie is ALSO dating two people, turning that V into a Z. Or an N. Whichever letter you prefer. Which was UNHEARD of polyamorous representation. So while I definitely love Polymarine, I was not against the show exploring the different ways polyamorous relationships can happen, the different forms they can take.

After episode 8, though, I’m... really despondent. I’m losing some of my faith in this show doing right by us, doing right by these characters. Robb’s gone, Maddie definitely got sidelined in this episode both narratively and visually. None of that spells anything good. It’s like 3am so my mind is coming up with wild conspiracy theories about how some of what we’re seeing are more hallucinations in Ben’s mind, that the season 2 finale wasn’t a one-off, but FORESHADOWING. I’m tired, I’m upset, I’m kinda angry right now, so I’m probably MASSIVELY off-base, but it’s literally the only thread of hope I have left right now so I’m going to hang onto it until the show rips it out of my hands.

As for dropping the show, it didn’t sound like you were getting much out of it and I’m a proponent of not watching shows that don’t bring you joy. It’s not your job to try to keep a show from getting cancelled if you don’t like it anymore, even if other people do. I’ve dropped SEVERAL shows because they weren’t making me happy anymore, so like I said, no judgment on my end if this show just wasn’t doing it for you anymore. Personally, I wasn’t just sticking around for Polymarine or for Raddie, I was sticking around for Ryn and her baby, Ryn and her tribe, for Helen, for Xander, for the environmental message, for the beautiful theme of balance being the key to everything. There was (and hopefully still IS) so much in this show that I love and I 100% would stick around to watch this show for a while probably even if Polymarine stayed a V, or a Z. I might have problems if Maddie got sidelined and removed from Polymarine entirely, but up until this episode, that hadn’t entirely happened. This episode removed almost EVERYTHING that I enjoy about this show from the environmental message (all three of them agreeing to use the sonic cannon despite its known impact on all marine life), the message about balance (either Ben or Ryn has to give up their home to be together or they have to break up and go their separate ways but no in-between option) to Maddie’s role in the narrative and her relationship with Ryn AND Ben to Xander possibly DYING. So quite honestly, if the show continues the way it has in this episode, I’LL probably consider dropping it, because this isn’t the show I fell in love with.

Okay, so addressing your question about if I recognized that Maddie would have died if Ian had been allowed to live. NO. I don’t recognize that because it ISN’T TRUE. Did you forget the whole fact that this was a HALLUCINATION Ben had in which he mischaracterized both Xander and Calvin MASSIVELY and was working on some majorly incorrect information? We were told, point blank, that Ian could not have revealed ANYTHING without some solid physical proof, it’s why he was trying to kidnap Ryn. Without her, his article was DEAD. Had Ian lived, they probably could have forced him to give up his attempts given that they’d just SAVED HIS LIFE. We have NO IDEA what might have happened if Ben had let Ian live. But I HIGHLY doubt that it would have automatically FOR SURE meant Maddie’s death. The whole thing was a nightmare scenario based on Ben’s paranoia and very little else. Ben didn’t have “reasons”. At least, none that were actually REASONABLE. While Ben probably SHOULD have told Maddie about his hallucination, the reason he DIDN’T is because admitting to having hallucinations means he’d have to admit the reason WHY he was having hallucinations: namely, that he re-addicted himself to the Song. Nothing Ben saw in his hallucination is a worthwhile excuse for letting another human being drown when Ben could have saved him. Nothing. It helps us UNDERSTAND why Ben did what he did, sure, because it shows us just how not in his right mind Ben is, how far gone he’s become now that he’s listened to the Song again. But it doesn’t exonerate him or excuse the fact that he killed a man.

I think we have a very different definition of what “being part of Polymarine” means. For me, Polymarine is the relationship between the three of them (at least for now) and the three of them are still connected through Ryn. Just because Ben and Maddie aren’t dating EACH OTHER doesn’t mean that Polymarine isn’t still a relationship that exists, it just exists as a V instead of a triangle, as I mentioned in the original post you replied to and have mentioned in my replies a few times now. Maddie is still dating Ryn and her involvement in Robb wasn’t (for a while) taking her away from the main narratives. She was SUPER involved in the earlier episodes that dealt with the hybrids and the baby. In fact there was an entire episode in which Ben spends the whole time with his parents while Maddie runs around with Ryn, helping her train, helping her read, taking her to the hybrid doctor to deal with the cramps, following her to the ranch to find Meredith, etc. For a while there, in the beginning of this season, it definitely did not feel like Maddie was going to get sidelined just because she needed space from Ben or because they introduced Robb. I have been holding onto that hope those episodes gave me up until now. But while I agree that I’d prefer Maddie have side storylines AND continue to be involved in the main narrative, I think that’s exactly what was happening in the early episodes.

So look, am I starting to believe that all of the people who have been crying out in the tags that this season’s been a sign that Maddie’s going to be sidelined and the show is going to let go of the part that made it the unique and beautiful, might be right? Yes.

Am I still desperately trying to cling to what little hope I have that there’s something we AREN’T SEEING HERE that can turn this around in the 11th hour?

Also yes.

[warzofstarz]

star wars Thoughts at 4 am

ok so rise of skywalker happened,,, and i have mixed feelings. i didn’t hate it but i didn’t love it either (and i usually love star wars movies), so i am in desperate need of a little rant about both the good and the bad in the conclusion of the saga

DISLIKE

1. JJ ABRAMS DISREGARDING ALL OF THE DEVELOPMENT WE EXPERIENCED DURING LAST JEDI. this is what i am most upset about. you don’t have to like tlj, but you can’t pretend it never happened. it’s like he was trying to completely backtrack on everything that happened in tlj bc it was ~his~ vision for the franchise. i think that is disrespectful to not only rian, but to fans who grew attached to the development of the characters. we see finn revert back to first movie finn (lovesick puppy lowkey), rey become an invincible child of the sith, the end of the skywalker family line, complete abandonment of rose, and a total shift in the message of the trilogy. all jammed last second into the film. the next few points all have to do w this

2. the fact that in tlj it is revealed that rey is truly nobody- she’s not some all-powerful descendant or some with royal blood- and tros completely ignores this and makes her a palpatine. the whole point before was that she’s normal, but that doesn’t make her any less powerful, smart, or strong. the message from the first two movies was that you don’t have to be in these elite categories to be special and powerful, which is an important message to every single child and adult watching. it empowers us as viewers to believe that we have the capability to be great, no matter our status, birth name, ethnicity, class, or where we are from. you can find family when you have none. you have the power to change your life. when jj decide LAST SECOND to make her a palpatine, with no clues thrown into the first two movies to lead us to believe this, it feels like a joke. the rey we had come to sympathize with is suddenly an all-powerful sith, seeming stronger than even anakin and yoda, even though she had never even completed training. this reveal is not emotional and literally loses respect rather than gaining any from the audience. a cop out. i felt less emotionally attached to rey than in the previous two films bc of her sheer perfect power

3. rose being 100% sidelined even though her character was incredible in last jedi. her arc was one that i truly couldn’t wait to see finish and sadly we never got it because she was completely abandoned so it could just be a trio once more. i love her. the disrespect.

4. the sudden introduction of zorri just so that poe has someone to flirt with??? like if you wanted to prove he was heterosexual make him flirt w someone he has actual on screen history and chemistry with, like uhhhh idk? rey?????? dont get me wrong tho she is a badass and i love how she shuts poe down!! queen

5. how they throw it in there that finn is force sensitive but don’t fully explain it?? and he never even tells rey??? this is SUCH a cool concept yet it’s never even hinted at until the third movie and its not further developed as to why. likewise i wish we saw the stormtroopers before they left the first order. see what they dealt with and the abuse they endured bc it’s such an important facet of the trilogy and literally drives finns character

6. how we never touch on why poe felt it when rey was tortured?

7. i wish leia hadn’t died and she rallied support w lando

8. if they are a dyad why didn’t rey and ben fight palpatine together?? then no one would have died??

9. i’m just really sad that they chose to kill ben because even though rey takes their name, the skywalker bloodline is gone, while a palpatine lives on. the entire purpose of the first six movies is anakin bringing balance by defeating palpatine. somehow, palpatine survived this (never explained!!!!), which completely defeated the purpose of the first six films and strips anakins chosen one status and ultimate sacrifice of any true importance. in the end of tros, the palpatine bloodline lives on while the skywalker bloodline is gone, and i can’t help but to feel like that contradicts the theme of the original saga in which the skywalkers defeat palpatine and hope lives on.

10. lastly, i just don’t think george lucas would have wanted ben to die. when people kill off main characters to make the movie more emotional, he has literally said “i don’t like that and i don’t believe that” he goes on to say that he hates when main characters are killed, stating “the whole point of the film, the whole emotion that i am trying to get at the end of the film, is for you to be real uplifted, emotionally and spiritually, and feel absolutely good about life. that is the greatest thing we could ever possibly do.” so, i’m sure some of you could see why i have a little issue with killing someone who has finally recognized the error of their ways and wants to be better. yes, he has done awful things that cannot be separated from his new identity as ben, but i think that it would have been even more impactful to make him live with the crimes he has committed and still make him keep fighting his demons to join his legacy on the light side. overall, bens death left a sour taste in my mouth, and for that reason i don’t walk out feeling uplifted. i just wish i knew what george lucas is thinking right now.

LIKE

1. ben solo’s arc and han. now, before some of you pop off at me, i still think he was awful and horrible and didn’t deserve instant forgiveness, but i also think that someone who has grown up his entire life being treated like the spawn of satan by all adults who are supposed to love him would fuck him up majorly, like it would to anyone else in that situation. i think that he deserved another chance at experiencing love and happiness, and i absolutely adored the scene with him and han solo. it was honestly one of the best parts of the whole movie. thank you harrison ford. the whole “i don’t think i’m strong enough” and him tearing up to his dad CUT DEEP. AND THE “dad-“ “i know” LIKE LITERALLY MY HEART. bringing back the “i love you” “i know” so they are LITERALLY TELLING EACH OTHER THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!!! i’m at peace. adam driver’s acting was absolutely phenomenal. so much respect for him. truly incredible.

2. i loved poe and rey’s bickering. lowkey thought it built some chemistry between them. and how poe seemed quite jealous that finn knew stuff about rey that he didn’t, literally asking him more than once (1nce) about it, like???? han leia vibes. tea. but also poe and finn

3. i really liked jannah SOOO much (and i usually am not one for introducing a character so late) but, like i explained in detail above, i wish they had built that backstory better and introduced her a little bit sooner with more screen time. but i loved her and finns connection and understanding of their trauma.

4. FINN AND POE BEING THE CUTEST HUMANS EVER. that’s all. i just love how they care so very much about each other like stop. cogenerals.

5. ALL THE JEDI VOICES WERE SO FREAKING COOL. CHILLS.

6. i honestly think that’s all. i don’t have anything more

7. OH WAIT HUX BEING THE SPY. i ate that shit up. yes. we stan. AND the hint that he was going along w poe’s phone call in tlj so that the resistance could escape (that’s how poe KNEW it) like YES

8. the animation of young luke and leia made my heart weep

9. that lil sketchy bitch babu and the new cone droid that talks,, mmm

10. OH THAT THE FORCE BOND LETS THEM TRANSMIT OBJECTS THRU IT LIKE THE VADER MASK SCENE WAS ICONIC

11. this is so sad that i am putting this in my “like” parts but the fact that they didn’t kill chewie and that they showed him being so torn up about leias death

12. OH AND CHEWIE GETTING HIS MEDAL THAT WAS SO HYPE

13. rey burying the skywalker lightsabers and looking into the sunset, perfectly tying back to luke doing the same 42 years ago

overall, if i don’t think too hard, i did like it and felt kind of at peace. BUT it could’ve been much better @ JJ :/ i feel like it didn’t do the saga justice as the “conclusion of the saga” bc there is still so much left unanswered. but, like i said, i did enjoy it a lot and have so much love for this world. rant over. i love u star wars. thank u for everything. <3

[just-slide]

Rise of Skywalker - Finn is the Light Side

ALRIGHT buckle up here’s meta literally none of y’all asked for. Spoilers under the cut.

Precis: I don’t think Finn was as hard done by as some do (but still deserved better).  Cards on the table of my various opinions, because this is Tumblr and people need to know my biases so they can skip out if they don’t approve: I liked the movie, I always adored Rey and Finn as a duo in any form, and I always appreciated Kylo Ren as a villain.

So let’s get some shit out the way: I did not care for That Kiss. I did not care for TLJ deciding that 90% of Rey’s arc was her suddenly trying to redeem sad white boy Kylo Ren. The fact that Finn and Rey’s stories had been heavily intertwined in TFA only for them to be dropped as a Main Duo always vexed me. I felt TROS tried to recapture some of that but the die had already been cast that the trilogy was now about Rey and Kylo, and no longer Rey and Finn vs Evil. Thanks to Rian Johnson for benching his black male lead.

However, I’ve read criticisms saying all Finn did in TROS was run around, yell Rey’s name, and remain sidelined as a supporting character. Did he deserve more than that? Yes. Was I disappointed that, while his Force Sensitivity was proven, it didn’t really culminate in anything? Yes.

But the guy walked around all movie as the physical representation of the Light Side, especially for Rey and her conflict - which was the movie’s conflict of Light vs Dark. So I have opinions on why Finn wasn’t quite as screwed over as people think and the internet needs to know them.

Let’s break this down: Rey only ever spoke about her visions of temptation to him, where he issued repeated assurances of her strength and goodness (and yes, she was Emo in response about ‘nobody knowing her’ but let’s not forget that the narrative of the story held out that 1: Finn was right about her and 2: Ergo Finn did know her).

It becomes more overtly symbolic in all 3 of her confrontations with Kylo. When they’re fighting over Chewie’s transport, Rey is physically positioned between Kylo and Finn, one driving her to the Dark, one calling her back to the Light (could Finn have not, like, shot Kylo? I feel he should have at least tried. It would have made me feel better). On the Star Destroyer above Kijimi, when Kylo offers her his hand the second time and she refuses him, she leaps to the Falcon, away from the offer of the Dark Side and literally into Finn’s waiting grasp. And on Endor, even when Finn chasing her onto the Death Star is plot-wise completely meaningless. Its meaning comes in when Rey, in her fury, Force Pushes him back. Because he’s the bloody representation of the Light Side, her Light, and she didn’t want any of that getting in the way of her vengeful lashing out.

I agree the movie should have done a better job of demonstrating Rey’s reciprocated affection for Finn, in that he chased her a lot and she didn’t much respond to these efforts. For Finn, we get his spoken affection - for Rey, we have to go to the subtext. That he was the only one she voiced her fears and visions to. All of my above points, which are deliberate film-making choices and position Finn as more than just ‘one of her friends’ among the found family Palpatine confirms she’s made. The final Trio Hug was, yes, a Trio, but the framing emphasised Rey and Finn more. It felt like the movie really wanted them to be a majorly important dynamic but couldn’t quite stick the landing. An actual scene between just the two of them at the end, even if it had been them getting their own hug before Poe showed up (Trio Hug very important), considering they hadn’t seen each other since Rey rejected Finn on Endor (not Poe), would have gone a long way to resolving their somewhat aborted arc. This didn’t need to be romantic, so much as if they had Finn being this champion of Rey’s Light Side that she pushed away, we really needed something of them coming back together. Especially after he sensed her death. That was the bare minimum the movie should have done if they weren’t going to take further steps to develop their dynamic as less one-sided.

And who am I kidding; it was outright racism that Finn was sidelined after TFA and Finnrey was never canon. Many people of my acquaintance keep lamenting how Stormpilot never happened, and that is a crying shame. But Stormpilot arose out of excellent chemistry and acting from Boyega and Isaac. The Force Awakens, on the other hand, pretty much explicitly set up the romantic beats between Rey and Finn, and while we’ll never know for sure, I would bet my house that if Finn were white, we’d have got that. But they refused to deliver an interracial romance in Star Wars between a male black major character and a white female lead (much better for it to be between two white people even when one of them’s a mass murderer, huh?). Stormpilot was a grassroots effort which never took off because Disney are cowards. Finnrey was specifically set up in their own movies and never paid off also because Disney are cowards. I hate making it seem like I’m competing these two issues, but people can be mad about two things and should be mad about the racism as well as the homophobia that impacted these choices by Disney.

I guess I never thought Disney would ever make two of their major characters gay on screen. I thought first that they would, then that they could, keep centering a black man in Star Wars in an interracial romance with a white woman (which is, for many reasons, more subversive and challenging than white men in romances with black women in media). Oh look, I was unable to get through this screed about Light and Dark and how much I liked a particular element of this movie without descending into ‘fuck you and your racism, Disney.’ I still liked this movie, and despite having just gone on a rant supporting Finn’s role in TROS, it is unavoidable that the way the trilogy has treated Finn and John Boyega since TFA has been utterly shameful. TROS should have done a better job of fixing the damage of TLJ.

But Finn still got the be the Light Side made Manifest for our protagonist in her internal conflict between good and evil, and that’s not nothing.