#to be clear everything i'm saying isn't meant to be taken that seriously i'm just being hyperbolic and goofy

[reanimatedgh0ul]

me @ gray ghost fanon: ENOUGH BANTER EITHER HAVE THEM FIGHT EACH OTHER TO A BLOODY PULP LIKE THEIR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT OR I DON'T BOTHER💥💥💥

[maidenvault]

During my last rewatch of the prequels I was actually shocked by how much I've misremembered or decontextualized certain moments in my mind because of how they're often talked about in fandom as showing the Jedi as too arrogant, too bureaucratic, generally just burying their heads in the sand while everything goes bad etc. So I'm gonna try to address every individual scene that typically gets brought up to argue that this is an actual theme in Lucas's portrayal of the Order.

The Council doesn't take Qui-Gon's account of meeting a Sith seriously.

Mace and Ki Adi Mundi do both express doubt this guy could be a Sith. (Understandably! Historically they've never known Sith to be able to hide their existence, and for them to have survived totally in secret for a thousand years is a pretty wild thing for Qui-Gon to be so sure of.)

BUT Yoda admits that the dark side is hard to see, and Mace assures Qui-Gon they'll do everything to find out the identity of the attacker. Later he's ordered to go back to Naboo and try to draw out Maul to discover more. Qui-Gon accepts this and doesn't ask for backup. Why should he? He held his own against Maul before, and Maul's probably not gonna show himself again to face a ton of Jedi. They end up missing the chance to learn who trained Maul because of how things go down, but Qui-Gon's death isn't the result of the Council mishandling the situation.

At the funeral, Yoda says the presence of one Sith means there's another out there. They know they've got to be on guard now and will be, but they've got no more leads for now.

2. Qui-Gon's not here to free slaves.

There's this idea that slavery existing on Tatooine shows the Order is apparently too tied up doing shady things for self-interested politicians (footage not found) to help the people who really need it. But Padme's shocked to know the Skywalkers are slaves for a reason. The truth is there isn't a lot of slavery in the galaxy at this time because the Jedi have helped keep it that way for centuries only by working with the Republic. In TCW we see that Zygerrian slavers have a particular hatred of Jedi because they're literally The Anti Slavery People and did so much of the work to crack down on their trade. But Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts and they simply don't have the resources to start a war with them.

(And honestly, it's crazy how people talk like Qui-Gon's a monster for honestly and apologetically telling Anakin no, that's not why he's here. This is a child he's already indebted to and who has a hero-worshipping idea of Jedi, it would be fucked up for him not to be clear about how he can't help him and his mom.)

3. They doubt Dooku could be behind the assassination attempt.

This I understand shows the Jedi to be a little naive. But they knew Dooku as a good man, and at this point he and his followers are still putting on a show of wanting to secede for idealistic reasons (and a few of them, manipulated by Dooku, actually do have good intentions). Only later do the Jedi learn they're illegally building an army before they've even officially left the Republic and clearly have no interest in the peaceful resolution Padme's been advocating for. And they only find this out because they have Obi-Wan investigate the assassin and this very quickly leads him to Dooku.

4. "Arrogance, yes. A trait more and more common among Jedi. Even the older, more experienced ones."

In context, this line from Yoda is clearly not meant to be taken so seriously. Obi-Wan says he fears Anakin is too arrogant, and this is Yoda's light-hearted way of telling him not to be so hard on him. Part of training a Padawan is learning to trust them so they can grow, and Obi-Wan perhaps needs the reminder that he isn't done learning himself.

Of course Yoda saying this could be partly motivated by them having been caught off guard before by the existence of Darth Maul and the dark side clouding their awareness, as we're told repeatedly throughout the PT they know is a problem. But it's kind of contradictory to take this as confirmation that this is a serious fatal flaw of theirs. If someone acknowledges their own arrogance then they're aware of their ability to be wrong, which means they can't actually be that arrogant. If truly meant in a general sense and not just as a gentle reproof of Obi-Wan, it's a pretty self-deprecating comment coming from Yoda.

5. "If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist."

Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu gives this haughty response to Obi-Wan looking for Kamino, a system that's not in the Jedi Archives. So being so overly confident in the infallible knowledge of the Jedi, he takes her word for it and totally drops this lead.

Except no, he goes to someone older and wiser to figure out what this actually means. And he and Yoda are forced to conclude that the unthinkable - a trusted person among them somehow had reason to erase information from the archive - must nonetheless be what happened. This is honestly an exception that proves the rule: Kamino, and we can assume only Kamino, is missing from the archive only because it was removed, which is so suspicious it just shows he must be on the right track to discovering something. Jocasta is kind of snooty about it but theirs obviously is supposed to be one of the most accurate and complete databases in the galaxy.

6. Obi-Wan doesn't believe what Dooku tells him about the Senate.

For one thing, in this conversation Dooku's lying about basically everything but this. And I can't ever stress enough that Palpatine is a threat unlike anything the Jedi have ever dealt with before, who's already taken control of so much before they even know they're fighting anything, so the idea that a Sith is controlling the Senate would be really hard for anyone to believe.

Still, we know Obi-Wan reports this to the Council anyway. But it's a vague statement and they still don't have any information to act on. Palpatine soon has them very busy putting out fires in the war, and naturally fighting the Separatists who are led by Sith seems the best way for them to get to the bottom of what exactly is going on with the dark side. And they do finally turn their attention to how power-hungry Palpatine is getting once the war is nearly over and they've got the bandwidth for it, and think about what they might have to do if he's the threat to their democracy they fear, but of course he's too many steps ahead of them all the time.

---

So basically, what we see the Jedi being so guilty of in these examples are thought crimes. When confronted with the crazy explanation that happens to be true, their instinctive reaction is "No, I don't think that's possible." And then they do their due diligence to uncover as much of the truth as they can anyway. And Yoda, the Grand Master of them all, is often the first to admit that their first assumptions could be wrong. But Palpatine wouldn't be a good villain if his moves were predictable and he couldn't get an advantage over the good guys - that's just how storytelling works sometimes and it's not that deep.

It honestly felt stupid typing so much of this out because it's 90% just describing what actually happens in these scenes. But I guess it's a lot to ask that people actually carefully watch the films they discuss. 😒

[theoddest1]

Hey, isn't it so..."Great" that Viv is out here liking posts that clearly find moments where Angel is being sexual with his rapist "Hot" How much more telling can this all get, right? We really sit here, having to explain how fucked up it is to take SA, try to tackle it "seriously" but then proceed to not even do it for that reason. Only for it to be for angst and goon material. How do you expect me to SIT HERE and take whatever Viv has to offer seriously? The number of people I have seen trying to justify this gross behavior is abysmal. If you have this kink or whatever, fine not like I can stop you, be into that shit somewhere else, but DO NOT try and TACKLE IT only for it to be not even seen as serious or as a way for you to get off to your sick fantasies.

Why the hell would you like this? "Angel with his abusive rapist boss😝, so hot guys! Can'tstop thinking about it!"

What good reason would Viv have in liking this post? Why do over 4k people find a post like this neat? "Oh they're fictional, it's gucci, stop bitching" wouldn't need to bitch if people didn't outright sexualize moments meant to tackle an irl fucking problem.

By the way, this person ships Angel and Valentino together. Their pinned tweet is legit sexual Val and Angel art. I wouldn't recommend attacking them regardless if you disagree with their ships and what they deem...ugh "hot."

Fair warning to I WILL be showing some of their arts and reblogs as evidence, so if you are not into that sort of thing (anything NSFW), I highly recommend scrolling past my post or past this section of it.

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I'm pretty sure Viv actively searches for this sort of thing on Twitter, like it's PAINFULLY obvious that she does. How you just so happen to like a post clear af lusting for this abusive relationship YOU CLAIMED to take seriously that ALSO happens to be from an account that ships the abuser with the victim? Gtfo with your two-faced shit, just say your find this hot instead of lying your absolute ass off. The audacity for some fans to go after one group of people for liking questionable stuff only to let other questionable things slide. Like homie, you can let rape slide, but draw the line for any other questionable thing? How's about you have that energy for EVERYTHING with your hypocritical asses. Ion wanna hear y'all stank ass make callouts if you're okay with a rapist being shipped with someone he actively harms in various ways.

And Viv

You say this entire sequence is meant to be uncomfortable, meant to not sugar-coat how awful this situation is, and supposedly have people who are victims/survivors themselves, yet here you are liking posts from people who do anything but take it seriously and even sexualize it. That's absolutely insane to me. And reminds me how you were drooling over some pins that glamorize the abuse Angel and supposedly Husk goes through, you know, the same character that COMPARED his abuse with Angel's.

Ah yes, let's downplay how horrible Angel's situation is further, shall we? Let's especially do it after adamantly arguing with other SA survivors who "haven't seen the episode yet" and need to shut up or don't watch 😃. Let's ignore the fact that Husk and Angel's situations STILL aren't comparable but it's still very odd to have pins on TWO situations taken seriously in the show. So do you actually view the situations seriously or not Viv???

God she's....actually fucking stupid and horrid.

[fresne999]

Half way through the journey of our analyses

I feel like roughly half of the analysis I'm reading about OFMD S2 is folks who clearly fixated on a character (it's Izzy, it's always Izzy that inspires this kind of analysis) write analyses that cause the 2nd response of, "Um…did you ever study literary analysis in school."

Now I come at this from a slightly odd place in that I did study literary analysis in school (30+ years ago) where I learned it's possible to interpret anything about any way, because we're all bringing different lenses to the analysis. Which isn't to say that an author can't have an intended interpretation. 

Dante in Canto V of Inferno (Divine Comedy) would still like folks to understand fixating on the two damned-lovers and ignoring the details that the artist is putting in there for you to catch about how they are damned because they won't change the toxic patterns that got them there in the first place. Also, they can't because they are in hell, and hell is like that. That Dante-the-writer had Dante-the-character swoon over those same two damned-lovers (because Dante-the-character is on a journey of moral correction) is hilarious, but doesn't make it any less the point of that section of the work, but I digress.

As a career, I am very aware that folks love to misinterpret what is meant to be very clear instructions. Of course, I'm writing policies and procedures, which is a bit different from writing fiction, and is worlds away from creating a t.v. show. But that's the life experience that I always bring to literary analysis. Frequently, people choose their interpretations to fit what they want to see, and that's part of being human.

I've seen a fair number of folks interpret Izzy's redemption arc in S2 as one of a queer man struggling with disabilities and mental health issues whose struggle is made meaningless by his demise. Which sure, you could interpret it that way and in that it's coming from I'm sure an emotional place, I get it. And hmmm… I might give this interpretation more credence  if I hadn't read a lot of Izzy analysis for S1 that was wildly different than the text.

So let's take a step back. 

First, know the rules of the literary universe: OFMD is a show where the reality is not ours. It is either the Core Universe or something very close to it. BTW: If you've never heard of Core Universe or read the seminal BtVS+HtLJ "When Hellmouth's Collide" (https://www.ltljverse.com/index2.htm), a Core Universe is one where everything lines up. Row boats are magic, and where there is a Badminton, he will accidentally stab/shoot himself. 

Terminology more befitting of that fancy literature degree might be to say that OFMD functions along the logic of Magical Realism. Characters will appear briefly for the purposes of the story and then disappear not to be mentioned again (Nana, Calico Jack, Mary Read & Anne Bonny). Things align because they are meant to align. It is a universe where the Gravy Basket is a real place, and meant to be taken seriously.  It's also a universe where a man may become a seagull, because he loves the sea. You change for love, but the ways you change may be positive or toxic. 

They can result in a bird that never gets to know rest. Always flying over the sea. Or they lead to becoming a bird, who can float in the sea or land on a unicorn's leg. 

Transformation. 

Anyway, S1 - Stede commissioned a ship with secret passageways. It did not have a buxom mermaid on the prow, nor something more befitting a ship named the Revenge. He commissioned a unicorn prow and went off to become a pirate. 

A not particularly violent pirate. But a pirate who didn't have a problem with the violence of piracy. See Stede telling Lucius (hardest working man on the ship in S1) to take notes during a violent raid where the show's logo was literally carved into the chest of a dead man. 

BTW: The tone about violence is darker in S2, but the violence was there in S1. It was just presented in a more whimsical way. The nose jar was full of noses in S1. We heard about Blackbeard's violence. A man was skinned alive off screen, but we focused on the Prussian (but also sort of French) party. 

What Izzy needed to be redeemed from was established in S1. The problem is that folks who interpreted Izzy as a) the central focus of the show and b) a put upon manager just trying to do right by his crew (or as one Tumblerina referred to him as the man/father of the family going out to hunt - excuse me while I vomit - and support his family as men must do), are not going to understand what Izzy's S2 arc was all about. 

Ed and Stede are the main characters in a romantic story. There are other characters with their own arcs, but they are the main characters.

In S1, Stede created a safe space where characters had a chance to breathe for the first time. Possibly ever, and as a result revisited parts of themselves they'd lost. Wee John got back in touch with his roots as the son of a seamstress. Frenchie got back to what he loves, scamming the rich. The Swede sang like a siren of the sea, because it doesn't always have to be scary. 

Ed had his first good time in years. After expressing suicidal ideation to Izzy because of his terminal boredom in S1.E4 - Discomfort in a Married state, Ed found himself some balance. Some sweet marmalade. 

Ed and Izzy were in a toxic relationship that only reinforced their toxic behavior. And yes, I'm going to overuse the word toxic. While piracy is a place where you can go be yourself and shag whoever you want (whatever happens at sea stays at sea), it's not a place where you can be soft. Gentle. Emotionally open. Available. 

Ed's only path out that he could see at the time was to plan to skin the face of the man who built a ridonculous boat with a unicorn on the prow and wear it for the rest of his life. A plan to send Stede to Doggy Heaven. 

BTW: This is why Izzy uses the line in S2.E3 - the Innkeeper, that they put Ed down like a mad dog, so that Stede could reply that they sent Ed to Doggy Heaven. Reiterating this concept of piracy as violence, as taking away faces / identity / lives, but also losing one's own. Forgetting even what day of the year it is. Also revealing that Stede knew about Ed & Izzy's plan to murder him, send Stede to doggy heaven, and had moved on. 

This is also why the respite in S2.E4 - Fun and Games is so critical. Mary Read/Anne Bonney are portrayed as direct parallels to Stede/Ed. They are selling what are, no doubt, the spoils of their piracy. But they've chosen a remote location with no community, but each other and a life where they are not actually communicating. Which on its surface is where Ed and Stede end up, and yet…the Revenge can sail back. They are on the shore facing the sea, not in a jungle lost from a clear view. I'll quote the relevant Dante in just a bit, never fear.

Ed and Stede's new inn has the potential for a solid foundation, because the unicorn has been planted firmly in the ground, and if we get an S3, I firmly expect the unicorn leg to have transformed into a tree, because I've read a lot of medieval literature and that's how that sort of thing works. 

Well, it could be a penis tree (this was a thing in medieval marginalia), but somehow I don't think it will be. 

 But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

Back in S1, the plan to murder Stede and take his identity broke down despite Izzy trying to perform an intervention to get Ed back into the toxic soup, and ended with Ed curled up in a bathtub and opening up about murdering his father. An image the show chose to flash on the screen multiple times in S2 just in case folks forgot that this was a traumatizing event for Ed, and was itself the culmination of years of traumatic abuse at his father's hands. 

Just as Stede kept flashing back to the moment his father tells him what it is to be a man, and kills an animal, the blood splashing on Stede's wee little face. 

That this is the point of the show. Transforming past trauma. It's there. You always carry the scars. Sometimes, you decide to tattoo yourself with the image of the thing you fear, and then the thing you fear is always there, but you've got to keep moving forward. To stay in one place, to stay trapped in the same emotion/action, is hell. I've read a lot of lit crit of Dante's Inferno. Trust me, it's the same thing.

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the events of S1E6 - Here Dragons Be, because it's where the pustule of his relationship with Ed breaks. His attempted intervention fails to get Ed to kill Stede, so Izzy tries to kill Stede. Not realizing that a) Stede is a main character and b) this is a Core Universe show. Where it's possible to win a duel by being stabbed in the left side of your gut and stay there for many hours and not die. So he loses the 1 thing that defines him, his job. 

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the events of s1E8 - We Gull Way Back, where he enlists Calico Jack to lure Ed off the boat (with all the toxic masculinity that entailed) so that the British could show up and shoot the head off the unicorn, and kill Stede. So Izzy can crawl back into his old patterns / job / life. 

Izzy's redemption arc is firmly based in the big drama confrontation in S1E10 - Wherever You Go There You Are, when as a person whose entire identity is tied up in being Blackbeard's First Mate and after realizing that he couldn't cut it as a captain on his own, he does whatever the f- he can to get Ed back into the toxic soup so he can get his old role/job back.  

This isn't to say that Ed's off the deep end actions in S2.E1&2 aren't his own choices. He is a main character. His emotional arc is one of the driving forces of the show. But they are the choices of a man who wants to die. After a lifetime of violent action that had been increasingly drowning him, he wants to die in the violence of battle, but the enemy are never good enough. He wants Izzy to kill him, but Izzy won't. Until he does…sort of. He wants to die in a storm. He's carving notches on his wall hoping to lure Ned Low to him so that he can die in pain. But Ed is the devil and does not die.

Except Ed's not the devil. He doesn't have a head made of smoke. He's a man. Not a fisherman. Not a fisher of men, and what an interesting attempt to go Christ himself off into the wilderness only to be fired for not being that good at it, and then receive his letter from the deep. 

Because in a show full of magical realism, the bottles with messages will reach the intended recipient eventually.

"In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself in a dark wood for the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to say what that wood was. So savage and harsh and strong, that the thought of it renews my fear. It is so bitter that death is little more so. But to speak of the good that I found there, I will tell of the other things I saw…and like one with laboring breath comes forth from the deep onto the shore, who turns back to the perilous water and stares, so my spirit still fleeing turned to gaze upon the pass that has never left anyone alive." Dante, Canto 1, Inferno. 

Instead of dying, Ed goes not to Purgatory (sorry I'd quote the opening lines, but Inferno actually works better here), but to the Gravy Basket, where he confronts the spirit of Hornigold. Dead spirit. Aspect of Ed's self. Both. Neither. Hated. Self. Unkillable. 

Is saved by a goldfish incarnation of Stede. 

But just as the imaginary as Stede's vision of what / who he thinks he needs to be for Ed, this is not true. Life being what it is, Ed and Stede rush when they need to go slow. They break apart because they are saying words, but the other person is hearing based on their own interpretation. 

BTW: The clue Dante-the-writer gives the reader in Canto V of Inferno is how one of the damned lovers, Francesca, explains how she hooked up with her brother-in-law, Paulo. She describes reading an Arthurian romance. She and Paulo kissed when Gwenevere and Lancelot kissed in the story. Except the version they are reading (and Dante tells the reader which version this is) was intended as a cautionary tale. Also, Paulo and Francesca were real people who were murdered by Francesca's husband when he caught them together. So there is that too.

I always like it in fiction when characters misinterpret each other because they hear based on their life experiences and don't hear the things that are said/unsaid based on the life experiences of the other person speaking. That's good writing. It's also how we end up with wildly varying interpretations of works of fiction.

But I digress.

Izzy's S2 arc is that he must let go of his relationship with Ed and turn to others. He must learn to let go of toxic masculinity and let in softness. Not weakness. Water is not weak, but it is soft. Calypso, goddess of the sea, is not weak. Her birthday is whatever day you need it to be. She is vast and deep and soft and relentless. 

In Ro-sham-bo, it's a shame that there is not a gesture for water. Because it is not paper that defeats stone, but water that wears away the stone. Of course, scissors wouldn't do much to water either, so that would sort of break Ro-sham-bo, so I suppose it must stay as it is.

It is through a craft's project that the crew of the Revenge find healing. Turn Izzy into the unicorn. A unicorn that Izzy's own actions caused to be decapitated with a British cannon ball in S1. That Izzy rendered legless (drunk). But the Revenge is a boat. They just need to swim/sail. It is through a craft's project that Izzy is able to offer healing to Lucius, who in turn is then able to turn their art away from fixating on Ed, and the trauma that he's been through and back towards love, and Black Pete. 

But it's not possible to see Izzy's S2 arc, if you didn't interpret S1 Izzy as needing to go through his own gravy basket. 

That Izzy dies because his transformation is necessary. He can't leave Ed, and if he doesn't leave Ed, then Ed can't stop being Blackbeard. The kracken. He literally tells Ed this as he chooses to transform. To free the world of Blackbeard, so Ed can be Ed. Yet, I've read so many posts by folks saying, "But why did he have to die?" Which sure, you can choose not believe what the character says while dying.

Which is a narrative privilege. To get a good dying speech. "There he is" get to be transmutted from an attack to an actual seeing. The larger than life concept of a smoke headed pirate can waft away.

Stories are hard to kill. They live on long past us, and as long as someone is remembered, especially in a universe like OFMD, we live. 

Though always reject the gift of a clock. That's someone telling you that you've only got so many hours left of life. If you are a character in a story. 

Thus the other parallel in this season is Izzy to Auntie and Ed to Zheng Yi Sao. Auntie must allow Zheng softness. Izzy must go through a sea change to something new and strange. Also, this would be a case of Doylistically the writers needed to line up Olu with Stede for that to work, and thus the new configurations of Olu and Jim's relationship, which, shrug, could be poly. Could be friends to lovers to friends.  Woulda, coulda, had more time, but that's on Max for not giving us 2 more episodes.

Prince Richard was trying to become a concept, but was too in love with the mechanics of it. Stede was trying to become a concept too. Found his fame, and all too quickly the toxic end of that particular route. Magical Realism was on his side until he tried to face down Zheng Yi Sao, the Queen of Pirates, and then the rules of the story weren't. Because those clocks were ticking. Everyone was in a very dark wood. The memory of blood splashed on Stede's face as a little boy was a warning. It was a reminder. It was the wrong lessons we take from our childhood and must unlearn to become whole.

Having the final shot of the show being Buttons landing on the unicorn leg as a reminder that this is a show about transformation. One thing becoming another thing. Somewhere the dead are dancing in Calypso's court. A dance below the sea and on the sea and with the sea. While the living keep sailing on their magic ship to do…I don't know. 

Because the Golden Age of Piracy is coming to an end. They'll go create new worlds and new places to be. Transforming.

If we get no more of the show, this is a resolution.

Since I've been quoting Dante, I'm going to end this with the final vision in Paradiso. Because folks who haven't been reading my analysis for the last 30 years / read it, may not realize that the Divine Comedy (a story that begins in sorrow and ends in joy) ends with the vision of a 3 way rainbow. 

"In the profound and shining Being of the deep Light, three circles appeared, of three colours, and one magnitude: one seemed refracted by the other, like Iris’s rainbows, and the third seemed fire breathed equally from both. O how the words fall short, and how feeble compared with my conceiving!…Power, here, failed the deep imagining: but already my desire and will were rolled, like a wheel that is turned, equally, by the Love that moves the Sun and the other stars."

[spoopy-arcade]

The hate on Roxy because she's a "bitch" and a "narcissist" and... wanting to get Gregory? (When literally everyone besides Freddy is also trying to kill him???) Is so fucking stupid and just shows how much you people hate female characters. I'm about to go in-

First of all, the bad talk at Gregory in SB was because she was hacked by Vanny, (even her behaviour when you see her through the vents in her room) obviously there was no way she'd actually talk like that to a KID, but alot of you seriously believe that. And yeah, ok, she says a few mean things, so what? SO WHAT? If this was Monty's, or maybe Bonnie's personality instead, would you be spewing hate at them, or continue to simp for them and call their behaviour hot? I know for a FACT that a lot of you would. Not all female characters have to be too sweet or quirky and silly for you to like.

Back to Roxy's bad talk, you may think "Well, none of the others bad talk him!!" Yeah, it's because everything Roxy says to him is actually targeted to herself. The game clearly showed us how she actually feels: crying alone in her room, constantly telling herself that she's not a loser, and questioning if everyone loves her. Her praising herself are reminders to feel like she's still loved more than anything.

And the one thing that boosted her confidence alot was her looks. Her looks clearly meant so much to her, and we see this in Help Wanted 2 as well, so obviously she would be furious and lose it if someone took that away from her, including her ability to see.

And before I say anything else, I just wanna say that no I'm not angry at Gregory at all, he is just a child who was doing everything he can to survive, and if I were in his place, I would've done the same as well to protect myself. But at the same time, I understand Roxy's anger too. If I were someone who had very low self esteem that I reassure and prepare myself everyday to hang on, when one day, suddenly someone hits me with a whole go kart that shatters my entire body, and on top of that, they steal my eyes too? Yes, I wouldn't just be devasted, but I'd be very angry as well. Roxy was taken everything away from her, and was left to rot alone, I don't blame her for being angry at all.

Now more onto Ruin, which shows us her true side all along.

In the dlc, I don't think (Or it's clear at this point) that any of them are hacked anymore, since we assume that Vanny left with Gregory and Freddy in the good ending, and Glitchtrap is gone. But with Chica and Monty, I feel like they've just lost themselves and are completely broken. Even when seeing Cassie, they still tried to kill her. But with Roxy, she was the only one who recognised her when she heard her voice, and even apologized for grabbing her.

Later on, when Cassie stumbles onto Roxy again, this is where we see her TRUE self. Where she's sweet, soft, and not as mean as everyone made her out to be. (The way she gently speaks to her and holds her hand will never not make me cry) We know that from Roxy's lines, she was one of few who actually showed up to her birthday, since her friends didn't and was the reason why Cassie was crying in one of the cut outs we see. But Roxy was there for her, and she still remembered her special day, her favourite cake, and she was her number one - twice.

This part CLEARLY shows you that Roxy isn't a selfish jerk who only cares about herself, she cares about the kids, and she cares a lot about Cassie. There's a reason why she's Cassie's favourite, right? And don't forget that she literally went up against the mimic to protect her!!!

And I do wanna say that, no, this post isn't telling you that you're not allowed to dislike Roxy or criticise her at all, the issue is hating her character and personality when she would've been praised for it and called "hot" if she were Monty, Moon, Bonnie, or if she was Glamrock Foxy instead. (Which is... literally misogyny) Like, even before Ruin, there were people who hated Roxy for being a jerk, but then turn around and praise Monty when we see him being way more aggressive, while theorizing that he was the one KILLED Bonnie over jealousy. Not even because he was hacked, just... jealousy, and that's not him being 10 times worse than Roxy???

Don't forget the details in Monty's Gator Golf minigame, where in some levels, Freddy was always seen separated from the gang, and in the last level, you see Monty performing along side Roxy and Chica, while Freddy was thrown in the trash...

To me, this is clearly because he's jealous at Freddy, and wants to be the star instead. And along side him possibly killing Bonnie...

I'm sorry, but while I do like Monty, he is literally WAY more of a jerk. Alot of you people believe he killed Bonnie, is extremely jealous, way more aggressive, and yet Roxy is the worst of all for saying "I bet you don't even have friends" to a child when she was HACKED? But yeah, also praise the literal child murderer and abuser for being "interesting" and a cool character, but no, Roxy is the worst because she's a bitch. It's just so ridiculous, and I'm not surprised in the slightest, female characters will always get this treatment.

Alright, it's finally out of my system, anyway stan Roxy.

[starryalpacasstuff]

Last Twilight Ep 8; Thoughts

We're at the 2/3 mark of the show, and the episode honestly felt surreal. Last Twilight is continuing to parallel iconic moments of Bad Buddy, this time with running away and scenes on the beach. However, it never feels like it's boring or repetitive, because while the parallels are clear, the shows are also distinct. It's clear that the characters in the two shows are pushed by different things.

I was yelling at the screen when I realized Mhok and Day were going off on their own, because ditching Night = recipe for disater (he'd obviously call Day's mom!?!)

But then this happened, and I had to pause and take a moment, now that my fears had been resolved. We know so little about Night, and yet so much. Understanding his character requires a lot of reading in between the lines, and until we know what happened between the brothers, the picture won't be complete. I did, in fact, breathe a huge sigh of relief when I realized that Night was in on it, because while Mhok and Day are capable of handling themselves, if Day's mother found out, we all know that it wouldn't make for a pretty situation.

Which calls in something else I'm curious about. Is Day really naive enough to believe that they can ditch Night with no consequences? Or is there some trust left in Day, that Night will let them go. Has he figured that Night is likely in on it, and is choosing to remain quiet?

There's a number of possibilities, and I'm curious to see how it plays out. It's highly likely that his anxiousness to get away from Night, and trust in Mhok meant that the though simply hasn't crossed his mind too.

On that topic, if we rewind to the beginning of the ep

I just love how much Day trusts Mhok. It's obvious, but I felt it was worth pointing out. Mhok tells Day that there's no one there, and Day accepts. Mhok having played the caregiver role for Day for so long is definitely the main reason for this, and it's beautiful to watch.

Speaking of transparency in their relationship, can I take a moment to talk about just how much I loved this scene? Mhok was upset about the prank, and Day wasn't taking it seriously. Mhok could have clammed up, creating tension between the two. It would even be expected, given his role as Day's caretaker and the 'put Day first' mentality that we've seen so far. But he doesn't, and oh my god, this calls for aplause. He calls Day out on it, and gives Day a taste of his own medicine. And, this is something that perfectly shows that things are not the same now that they're boyfriends. Mhok gets more agency, more say, because he's one half of the relationship. I've said thia before about the subversion of faen fatale, and I'll say it again; Last Twilight has a very strong identity as a show, and a very strong grasp on what it's doing. Time and time again, it has shown us opportunities that it could have taken to create drama, and veered in the opposite direction entirely. The subversion is intentional, and clearly so.

While we're talking about characters standing up for their feelings..

I feel like someone should create a masterpost of everything we know about Night, and we can add on every bit of new info we get and compare it to the rest, because everything tells us so little yet so much. It seems that Night is still willing to push against Day's hatred. But of course, he's more willing to allow Day to live happily, as we see him letting the two go off on their own. It seems that every time Night does something for Day, he prefers to do it anonymously, such as showing up to the race. We've seen that he's accepted the villain image. Is this why he seems keen on upholding that villain image in front of Day, while helping him behind his back? P'Aof isn't one to write conflict for small or petty reason, so I'm starting to be more and more convinced that Night genuinely did something wrong to Day. He regrets it, but he also knows he can't take it back or heal their bond, so he's simply keeping the status quo, helping his brother behind his back, while only allowing himself to be selfish on occasion, like this one. I'm so intrigued by Night and his mannerisms, his actions.

Back tracking a bit again, (this is a mess)

This scene was a pivotal moment. I've previously mentioned that Day was living in a fantasy, and I've also briefly touched on Day's sence of normalcy in a post, how he was relying on things to go back to 'normal' and how he's been able to build a new normal with Mhok. He'd get the transplant eventually, and things would go back to 'normal'. Mhok helped Day redefine his 'normal', but the hope that his sight would return one day was still present. Here, it's shattered. Up till now, Day was living his life as if he were biding his time till he got his eyesight back. Now he's going to be living as if he has to wrap up a lifetime of memories in three months. He's feeling as though time is running out.

I think this is one of the first times I've seen Day talk back to his mom, which is fair, because it's ingrained in asian kids to not talk back to your elders. Day is, in the end, a rich kid. On top of that, he has a single mom. 1+1=2, Day didn't get to see much of his mom growing up. @waitmyturtles talked about this a bit in a post, mentioning how Day's mom's career always came first. She didn't have time to attend a game because she had an event, she couldn't come to school for something because she had a meeting, etc etc. (I don't know how much of an age gap there is between Day and Night, but anyone thinking that Night had to fill in on occasion..?) He's making a jab at his mom, that she's far to busy to be there with him for stuff, and she's far too overprotective to let another be there with him for it. Again, typical rich family dysfunction. Day and his mother's dynamic will be an interesting thing to watch as the episodes progress, that's for sure.

Alright, onto the last one

When I'm not sure if there's a deeper meaning behind a scene, music is always a great clue that there is something greater behind it. As episodes progress, we've seen Day slowly reassimilate himself in society. This is such an important theme, because being a part of and engaging with society is a huge part of asian culture. I view this dance as a sort of culmination of the progress that Day has made over time with Mhok. Would the Day at the beginning of the series have danced with a stranger at a party while having worse eyesight that before? No way in hell. Also, paying respect and interactling with older people is, again, a HUGE part of asian culture, so this was essentially the perfect way to depict this culmination. When the first episode had aired, @twig-tea had first introduced in a post the theme of liminality in Last Twilight. One of the definitions given was "of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL". Since Mhok entered Day's life, he's been in a liminal (transitional) state, as he moves closer to rejoing society. In this scene, we see what I'd like to say is the end of this liminal state. Of course, this isn't to say that Day is no longer in a state of liminality. Liminality presents itself in various ways throughout the show. This is simply a culmination of Day and Mhok's efforts to reintegrate Day into society. While the battle is far from over; disable people often find themselves outcasted and removed from society; it's a sign of hope, a sign of growth, a sign that their efforts have a result.

[civilight-eterna]

Hiii requesting horndragora, having an angry and steamy encounter in a Londonium alleyway

(cw: dubious consent, toxic yuri, enemies with benefits)

---

The order of "pin down the caster" was probably not meant to be taken so literally.

Horn had routed around Mandragora's cadre, covered by the debris that fell in the explosion, and at first contact, she'd managed to get behind her, far at the back lines of the fight.

A hand over her mouth and a chokehold later, and she's dragging the kicking feline into the back alley, unseen in the chaos.

"I'm not going to kill you. Just take a cat-nap until my squad passes over and I won't have to tear your head from your shoulders."

Mandragora's legs go weak faster than she expects them to and she staggers to kneel with her as she collapses to the ground, her knees splayed to either side of Horn's thigh.

They struggle for a few more seconds, in the interim of which, Horn realizes-

Mandragora is absolutely soaking between her legs.

It wouldn't be the first time someone has pissed themselves with fear while fighting with Horn, but that's precisely why she can tell that this isn't that. She's shocked, but not enough to loosen her grip.

"Are you-" Horn flexes her arm, tries to keep focused, but she can't seem to spit out the second half of her question-

-seriously about to cum from being strangled?

It's so beyond anything she could have fathomed that her arm slips in her distraction, and Mandragora throws her head back into her nose the next instant in a way that tells her she didn't even need to say it aloud. Heat trickles fast down both nostrils and through her bitten lip as the caster reverses her position, closes her hands around Horn's throat.

"Fuck, you-" She's coughing the words out. One of her eyes is red with broken blood vessels. Her hands aren't even that tight, or holding her in the right place to do the worst kind of damage. She's probably never been in a physical fight in her life where she had even glimpsed the 'winning' side. "Fuck you, you corn-fed Victorian cunt, it wasn't enough to try killing me? You wanted, to humiliate me too?"

Horn puts all her force into her legs, walking them inside Mandragora's guard to pound her feet hard into her chest. The feline goes flying through a brittle glass storefront, and when she chases her inside, she finds her scrambling to her feet, clutching a bleeding arm. A wall of rocks erupts behind Horn, sealing the door, the window, everything.

"Still want to blow us up, toy soldier?"

Horn growls, wordless fury building in her chest. Her team is on the other side, bleeding, enduring, and she can't clear it without burying them both.

"No, but maybe I'll use that hard head of yours as a battering ram if you keep talking." She wipes blood from her lip and flicks it across the floor.

A surge of energy bursts out of Mandragora and the rocks grow to triple their size, closing in the storefront, leaving about half the room to stand in. Horn staggers in the resulting quake and closes the distance between her and Mandragora, pouncing on her. A wolf on a kill.

Pin down the caster.

"You really want to die so badly?" Horn can't keep the sudden strain out of her voice.

"Don't you dare act like it's unbelievable or something! You don't get to pity me now-you're about a decade overdue! As if you have no idea how I've lived!" She's wiggling her wrists under Horn's grip, twisting from side to side in futile struggle.

"Oh, I've an idea," Horn breathes out, "'Mandragora'. Something that is ripped, screaming and crying, from the dirt. Did you choose that yourself? Or was it a 'gift'-" Her glare is molten, haloed in the curtain of wheat-colored hair obscuring them, "-from that beloved Leader of yours?"

Mandragora roars, thrashing and kicking, her fingers curling downwards and grasping, desperate to scratch.

"I'd do it again-I'd claw myself out from under as many bodies it takes to make you Victorians bleed even another drop-!"

Horn suddenly realizes how she's going to get them out of this.

It's unpleasant. It's nothing she would ever consider in any other circumstance.

She knows it'll work so she knows she's going to do it.

But it is all kinds of wrong.

"Alright, little feline-" Horn grimaces, and pushes her knee between Mandragora's legs, eliciting a scandalized gasp, "-bury us here, then. And when historians come to uncover us, maybe ten years from now, maybe one hundred years from now, they'll find Dublinn's caster and the 'White Wolf of Victoria'-"

She readjusts her arms, one around Mandragora's waist, the other raised to press a palm to her cheek in the most saccharine and overtly romantic display of affection she can imagine as she presses her forehead to hers.

"-locked together as star-crossed lovers that deserted their battlefield to die in one another's arms."

"You bitc-mmph-!"

Horn kisses her, hard, leans into her with her full weight, pulls at her slight waist and runs her fingers through her hair like she's never loved anyone else in her life.

Mandragora's nails destroy her back. She's screaming against her mouth, biting at her lips, but Horn readjusts for every inch of purchase she makes.

"Fucking Victorians-!" Mandragora howls, as Horn shifts her mouth over her throat, smothers it with bruising kisses, "-Faking's all you're good for-!"

"What about you?" Horn breathes into her ear, "Were you faking it when you nearly came from being choked out? Or are you that much of a pervert in general? Could it have been anyone but me behind you?" Horn strokes her hair out of her eyes, and Mandragora grabs her wrist so hard her nails are drawing blood.

"I don't know, I think you just love me that much that you would die in my arms."

There's something wrong with the kiss that follows. Tears prick the corners of Mandragora's eyes as she tries to force Horn back, but she's no match for her physical force. They're both exhausted.

The kissing becomes ever-so-slightly less performative on Horn's part. Mandragora's lips part just a touch wider, and even though Horn has been avoiding it, she finds her tongue sliding deep into her mouth.

"Hh...Hhah, fuck-" Mandragora whimpers, trembling with the urge to resist using her arts, overshoot her power. Horn's knee rubs slowly between her legs and she swears louder before she's silenced with an even deeper kiss.

"Mmhm." Horn exhales hard and gasps as Mandragora's cold hands slide under her tank, drag it up just over her breasts. This wasn't in the plan, she thinks distantly to herself.

"Victorian pig-" Mandragora spits, "-I bet you're, hah-used to sweating like an animal-on a leash with some crystal-studded plug up your ass, some noble's concubine because they pay big money to fuck their soldiers-"

Disgusting. Horn should be disgusted.

There should be no other emotions present at the revelation of such a filthy fantasy that her enemy has fashioned for her.

"You think about me a lot at night, don't you? All alone with your preoccupying hatred. Hope it keeps you warm, little feline."

"I was born from a grave. I've never been warm in my life."

"Then may my love for you sow warmth anew that entwines us together for the ages. I'll save you. You'll never be cold again under my embrace-"

"SHUT UP!"

The entire store quakes, the roof blowing off into the sky, the rocks vibrating so violently they become dust and powder overhead. Everything comes crumbling down.

On instinct, Horn throws her arms over Mandragora's head, ducks and covers until it's over.

They stare at one another. A voice from afar breaks the reverie.

"Aye! Captain?!"

They're both rolling away from each other, running opposite directions. Mandragora stops at the other side of the store, hand on the doorframe.

"-This never fucking happened, toy soldier."

"-Agreed."

(It's not the first lie they've told.)

[theerurishipper]

So, as a child abuse survivor and someone who has been sexually assaulted by men who think they're entitled to take what they want Adrien is canonically a god damned dick.

He sexually harrasses Ladybug. When told NO he once let 2.161 million people drown because he was busy throwing a tantrum

Being a victim of abuse does not excuse the abuse of others.

He might not mean any harm but you know who else doesn't mean any harm? Gabriel. My goddamned mother.

Not meaning harm- lacking malice- does not mean harm is not caused.

People are going on about him being a rich white guy because anyone else acting like that in public would be considered an antagonist (in fiction), in jail, or have an active warrant for their arrest. And that's assuming they aren't killed for it.

First off, I am truly very sorry for your experience. No one should have to go through that.

But I still do disagree.

Adrien's pushiness when it comes to expressing his affections for Ladybug are in the same boat as Marinette being a stalker or Chloe being pushy with Adrien: it's a joke. You may find it to be a poor one, certainly, but it's a joke nonetheless. Miraculous relies on this kind of humor, it's not meant to be taken seriously. You can have issues with it, but imho acting like it's any kind of legitimate criticism of his character probably makes people like me less inclined to listen to any actual criticisms you may have.

I don't say this to trivialize your experiences, and if the joke is hurtful to you, you are well within your rights to dislike it or talk about how it's in poor taste to make jokes about these things, but that's all it is, a joke. It's absurdist humor. It's not meant to be taken at face value. It would be creepy if Marinette seriously had Adrien's schedule mapped out, tried to break into his house, or stole his personal items, but it's not supposed to be that way because it's a joke.

And as for your complaint about Adrien leaving people to drown, you can go ahead and blame Master Fu for that one. It's stated quite clearly in the show that the heroes couldn't do anything because everything is underwater. And he's staying there because he's waiting for Ladybug. Making up imaginary civilians who are drowning now isn't a good criticism. Ladybug spends a good amount of time underwater, but there's no-one there. There's no civilian begging for Chat Noir's help as they drown while he ignores them, so suffice to say that we're supposed to assume everyone is safe and sound. This is a kids show, so unless we're shown that people are in danger, we aren't supposed to assume they are.

And then let's talk about Adrien almost quitting.

I'll say it straight: he has every right to quit. He's a 14-year-old kid. This isn't his job. He's well within his rights to quit if he feels like this is detrimental to him. And it isn't about Ladybug not returning his feelings like you seem to be implying. This is about Ladybug keeping secrets from him and leaving him in the dark even though he's supposedly her partner. It took a situation like this for Master Fu to pull his head out of his ass and come give Adrien the tools he needed to do the damn job you're accusing him of not doing. How is he supposed to do anything if he isn't given then necessary tools and knowledge to do it? Should he just accept that he's being ignored and left in the dark? Accept his new role as Ladybug's unquestioning lapdog?

This is not Ladybug salt btw, this is Master Fu salt only, in this house we don't like Master Fu.

Anyway.

Literally look at why he tries to quit.

Adrien:(grimly) If you don't tell me what Ladybug is hiding from me, I'm done! Plagg: You can't do that! Adrien:(bitterly) Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care!

He doesn't think he's needed. He doesn't think anyone would care if he quits.

This isn't because of any entitlement. It's because he's being cast aside and left in the dark. It's because his partner (it's not her fault either, to be clear, it's Master Fu's fault) is keeping secrets from him even in this time, so he assumes he isn't needed and decides to quit because he feels like he's unnecessary and unwanted, and that no one will care if he quits. Adrien already has very low self-worth, and this is just adding onto all that already. If it is detrimental to his mental health, then he definitely has the right to step aside and quit.

So yeah. If this ask was to get me to change my mind, I'm sorry, but it didn't. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think I've made my opinion on the matter clear.

[killmongerskeeper]

first of all, THANK YOU so much for writing and taking the time for it. Your writing is incredible! Would you please write angst turned into a fluff or with a happy ending with numbers 9 and 15? Can be that they had a fight first and the other one is offering a ride to cool off or whatever comes into your mind and what you feel is right :)

Fluff #9: “I’ll give you a ride”

Angst #15 “I gave you so many fucking chances, yet you kept fucking them up. And I’m done. I can’t— I don’t want to do this anymore. I deserve better than whatever bullshit you’re giving me.”

To say you were mad was the understatement of the century. You know Shuri can be busy. She's still the princess of Wakanda and she's the Black Panther now. She has training with the Dora Milaje, meditation, and meetings with the elders. Sometimes you won't see her for a week. You do miss her. But you need her to not make empty promises to you. The shit hurts. You stomped into the lab and there she was her head in whatever she was trying to figure out.

"Seriously?" You asked and you heard her curse under her breath before turning to you.

"Yes?" She replied annoyed that you interrupted her as she turned back to the desk. She had promised the two of you would take a break from everything. Just to spend the day together and be in each other's presence.

"I thought we had plans today?" You asked and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah well plans get ruined. We'll have to go another time." She said with a straight face and you felt your blood beginning to boil.

"And when would that be? You have training again this week. A conference in the states. Which you must be present for. And probably eight millions different things in this blasted lab. When will we ever get the chance to do anything?" You fumed as she just nonchalantly waved you off. Not taking anything you say to her seriously.

"Well I'm sorry I have eight million things to do. You're just going to have to get over it." She walked past you to get to the other computer and you slammed the brochure on the table.

"Get over it? Is it a crime to want to spend time with my girlfriend? Or are you even still that? We barely see each other and when we do it in the morning when you're getting ready to leave!" You shouted and she turned to you clenching her jaw.

"You can't even see things from my perspective. It's always about you and how damn needy you are. Things come up that is my responsibility to take care of. Things that are more important than some date." She spat and you narrowed your eyes taken aback by her outburst. You ripped the brochure in half before flicking the pieces at her.

"I gave you so many fucking chances, yet you keep fucking them up! And I’m done. I can’t— I don’t want to do this anymore. I deserve better than whatever bullshit you’re giving me.” You sneered walking out of the lab not even giving her time to respond to you. You needed to leave the palace. Clear your head. Snatching your phone you stomped out the front door as Grio tried to reason with you through your kimoyo bracelet.

"Ms. Y/N I would like to ask that you both talk this out."

"I don't want to hear it, Grio." You ignored anything else the AI said to you as you went through a nearby village, walking along the road. The sun was beginning to set and you bit the inside of your cheek. When you've calmed down a bit your mind starts to replay what occurred in the lab. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. She has other things to worry about. Could be possible that the love you once shared just isn't there anymore. You could hear a sound of a car engine approaching and sighed as you really didn't want to be bothered. You only slowed down when a voice called out to you.

"Please stop walking." You stopped and turned to look at Shuri who was in the driver seat of one of her cars. She had on a pair of shades but said nothing else to you. It was until you started to walk again she spoke up. "I'll give you a ride." The passenger door opened and you scoffed before getting in the car. But only because the temperature was dropping. You sat quiet during the drive before you noticed she wasn't driving towards the palace.

"The palace is back the other way." You said in a flat tone and she kept her hand on the wheel while the other rested on her leg.

"I know where the palace is." You glanced over at her as she parked into an empty space facing the sunset. Neither of you spoke, only watch the sun as it met the ocean. It was only until her hand grabbed hold of yours that you fully looked at her.

"I'm- I'm sorry for the way I treated you my love. My mother wouldn't be very proud of me in that moment. I know you just want to spend time. Things get overwhelming and I just can't. I don't want this to end. Not until one of us is on out deathbed." She said looking forward and you gave her hand a light squeeze.

"I guess I felt as if I was an option. I know things can get hectic. But I just want you to understand that you're not alone. If I just sat in the lab with you, I'd be fine. I don't want to lose what we have." You said softly and she brought your hand up to her lips. "I forgive you Shuri." You leaned over and she wrapped her arms around you and the two of you reconciled under the sunset.

[oceansprompts]

adjust pronouns, names, and details as needed… assorted quotes taken from marvel ultimate alliance 3: the black order. part 2 of ???

❝ Your pocket is not safe place, space-bro.❞

❝ Really?! Come on, man, I only to make speeches like that once, twice a year tops! ❞

❝  That may be true, but a war is won by fighting one battle at a time. ❞

❝ As long as we have each other's backs along the way, victory will stay without reach. ❞

❝ I have seen my fair share of dark futures. What I have learned is that no fate is sealed until we choose it to be. ❞

❝ If the ending you saw is not the one you desire, then we will fight for a better one together! ❞

❝ Took you long enough. Good thing I charge by the hour... ❞

❝ Just look for the ancient ninja temple of top of a skyscraper. You can't miss it. ❞

❝ Oh, you know me. I just love this superhero stuff… ❞

❝ Oh, did I mention that the ancient ninja temple is guarded by actual ninjas? If not, I probably should've… ❞

❝ Whatever it is, they're sneaky little jerks. So watch out! ❞

❝ Stick to the shadows or you'll never make it to the temple… at least not in one piece. ❞

❝ Way to go. You've been made. Why not just announce you're here? ❞

❝ You don't really seem like the "super-team" type... ❞

❝ Oh, I'm not. Spandex is my arch-nemesis. ❞

❝ Someone's gotta keep the streets safe for normal people while all the other heroes are busy fighting giant squids on the moon or whatever. ❞

❝ You gonna tell me how you got through all that without gettin' caught? ❞

❝ Nope. Gotta keep the mystery in our relationship alive somehow, babe. ❞

❝ The soul is eternal, but the flesh is weak. Allow me to show you, as I rend it from your bones! ❞

❝ After all, I make killing an art. ❞

❝ Do me a favor and die already. ❞

❝ I have a reputation to maintain! ❞

❝  Heh. You think you won, but you really missed the mark. ❞

❝ When the big man gets done with you... you're gonna wish you'd let me put outta your misery. ❞

❝ I'm no defender of the innocent. What use could you heroes possibly have for an assassin? ❞

❝ Why so glum, chum? ❞

❝ All of this is so much bigger than us. I mean, I can barely do my own laundry. Stopping cosmic annihilation is a bit outside my comfort zone. ❞

❝ Sure. At least for today. Go ahead. Say it. You know you want to. ❞

❝ Avengers Assemble, baby! ❞

❝ You are such a nerd. ❞

❝ Which leads me to an extremely important question... Can I keep 'em? ❞

❝ Suddenly less worried about external threats and more concerned about the ones in here. ❞

❝ You bet. Not even a ripped seam. Which is a good thing, because I just spent a fortune redesigning this costume!❞

❝ It's...complicated. But let's just say he's from the side of the family that isn't invited to be in holiday photos anymore... ❞

❝ There's no chance I'm jumping ship now, even with an evil robot army ripping up our home! ❞

❝ Would you mind if I include this conversation on my latest Avengers fanfic? ❞

❝ I'm scrapping it after this and putting in a Zen garden! ❞

❝ You are the wind beneath my wings. ❞

❝ Just hold back that oversized Iron Man knockoff and clear me a place to land! ❞

❝ Almost there, team... and I'm headed in hot! ❞

❝ How come giant robots always attack on my day off? ❞

❝ You gave it your best shot, bolts-for-brains... Now I'll take mine. ❞

❝ Oh, you know. Just grappling with a synthezoid the size of a skyscraper. Typical day at the office. ❞

❝ Seriously, who stores a giant killer robot in a warehouse in New Jersey? ❞

❝ Umm, Couldn't you have asked me that, like, twenty punches ago? I mean, REALLY! That totally would have made everything so much easier! ❞

❝ Were you guys having a party without me? ❞

❝ You know… I'm not so sure they meant that as a compliment… ❞

❝ Guess it wouldn't be Earth if New York wasn't under attack by giant robots… ❞

❝ I bet you've seen way stranger stuff in space, right? ❞

❝ Well, we're half way there… …ahem… Seriously? How do you not break into the chorus of an '80's rock anthem after that set-up? And you call yourself a hero… ❞

[gamefuna-official]

Welcome to the GameFuna family!

Quick guidelines:

- This, and I cannot stress this enough, is a fan-run JOKE ACCOUNT. I am not in any way affiliated with Daniel Mullins. The "official" in the url means nothing.

- This account is not part of any ARG. No, this isn't a trick, if you're looking for ARG hints this is not the place you want to be. This account is complete bs

- I will probably end up referencing things that have happened in ARGs, this still does not mean I am part of said ARG. Anything I say about the ARG should not be taken as canon in any way

- I try my best to avoid lore speculation, so if you send in asks wanting me confirm or deny anything I will either not answer it or respond with whatever I think is funniest

- Just to be perfectly crystal clear DO NOT EVER ASSUME ANYTHING I SAY TO BE CANON. THIS ENTIRE THING IS A BIT. PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

- Everything on here is a joke and meant to be silly. I love getting asks and if I'm mean to you in the response that's part of the bit and whatever you sent probably made me laugh. (If I don't answer an ask it just means I couldn't think of something funny to say in response)

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[killmongerskeepermain]

Prompt Request: first of all, THANK YOU so much for writing and taking the time for it. Your writing is incredible! Would you please write angst turned into a fluff or with a happy ending with numbers 9 and 15? Can be that they had a fight first and the other one is offering a ride to cool off or whatever comes into your mind and what you feel is right :)

Fluff #9: “I’ll give you a ride”

Angst #15: “I gave you so many fucking chances, yet you kept fucking them up. And I’m done. I can’t— I don’t want to do this anymore. I deserve better than whatever bullshit you’re giving me.”

To say you were mad was the understatement of the century. You know Shuri can be busy. She's still the princess of Wakanda and she's the Black Panther now. She has training with the Dora Milaje, meditation, and meetings with the elders. Sometimes you won't see her for a week. You do miss her. But you need her to not make empty promises to you. The shit hurts. You stomped into the lab and there she was her head in whatever she was trying to figure out. 

"Seriously?" You asked and you heard her curse under her breath before turning to you.

"Yes?" She replied annoyed that you interrupted her as she turned back to the desk. She had promised the two of you would take a break from everything. Just to spend the day together and be in each other's presence. 

"I thought we had plans today?" You asked and she shrugged her shoulders. 

"Yeah well plans get ruined. We'll have to go another time." She said with a straight face and you felt your blood beginning to boil.

"And when would that be? You have training again this week. A conference in the states. Which you must be present for. And probably eight millions different things in this blasted lab. When will we ever get the chance to do anything?" You fumed as she just nonchalantly waved you off. Not taking anything you say to her seriously. 

"Well I'm sorry I have eight million things to do. You're just going to have to get over it." She walked past you to get to the other computer and you slammed the brochure on the table. 

"Get over it? Is it a crime to want to spend time with my girlfriend? Or are you even still that? We barely see each other and when we do it in the morning when you're getting ready to leave!" You shouted and she turned to you clenching her jaw.

"You can't even see things from my perspective. It's always about you and how damn needy you are. Things come up that is my responsibility to take care of. Things that are more important than some date." She spat and you narrowed your eyes taken aback by her outburst. You ripped the brochure in half before flicking the pieces at her. 

"I gave you so many fucking chances, yet you keep fucking them up! And I’m done. I can’t— I don’t want to do this anymore. I deserve better than whatever bullshit you’re giving me.” You sneered walking out of the lab not even giving her time to respond to you. You needed to leave the palace. Clear your head. Snatching your phone you stomped out the front door as Grio tried to reason with you through your kimoyo bracelet. 

"Ms. Y/N I would like to ask that you both talk this out." 

"I don't want to hear it, Grio." You ignored anything else the AI said to you as you went through a nearby village, walking along the road. The sun was beginning to set and you bit the inside of your cheek. When you've calmed down a bit your mind starts to replay what occurred in the lab. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. She has other things to worry about. Could be possible that the love you once shared just isn't there anymore. You could hear a sound of a car engine approaching and sighed as you really didn't want to be bothered. You only slowed down when a voice called out to you. 

"Please stop walking." You stopped and turned to look at Shuri who was in the driver seat of one of her cars. She had on a pair of shades but said nothing else to you. It was until you started to walk again she spoke up. "I'll give you a ride." The passenger door opened and you scoffed before getting in the car. But only because the temperature was dropping. You sat quiet during the drive before you noticed she wasn't driving towards the palace. 

"The palace is back the other way." You said in a flat tone and she kept her hand on the wheel while the other rested on her leg.

"I know where the palace is." You glanced over at her as she parked into an empty space facing the sunset. Neither of you spoke, only watch the sun as it met the ocean. It was only until her hand grabbed hold of yours that you fully looked at her.

"I'm- I'm sorry for the way I treated you my love. My mother wouldn't be very proud of me in that moment. I know you just want to spend time. Things get overwhelming and I just can't. I don't want this to end. Not until one of us is on out deathbed." She said looking forward and you gave her hand a light squeeze. 

"I guess I felt as if I was an option. I know things can get hectic. But I just want you to understand that you're not alone. If I just sat in the lab with you, I'd be fine. I don't want to lose what we have." You said softly and she brought you hand up to her lips. "I forgive you Shuri." You leaned over and she wrapped her arms around you and the two of you reconciled under the sunset.

[mesaprotector]

I watched Lain over the past two weeks. Twice.

The first time I saw it I didn't have a clue in heck as to what was going on, but I had a pretty strong feeling of what the show was saying. The second time I understood all of the secrets of Lain and am here to preach her gospel. Haha, just kidding. But I do feel strongly that of all the possible interpretations, the literal canonical one is the only one I've heard that isn't satisfactory.

In addition to all the crazy theories I've seen people come up with (Lain is Jesus, Lain is Shinji from Evangelion, all of Lain is about aliens, etc.) - and god bless the lovely people who write those - there are two common interpretations. #1 is that Lain is a program constructed to break down the barrier between the Wired and the real world. #2 is that Lain is schizophrenic and by the end of the series has gone completely nucking futs. You can think of these as the literal interpretation and the meme interpretation, maybe.

My problem with #1 is if you accept it, the finale is deeply troubling. One key theme in Lain is that Lain despises being observed, but she loves observing others. Notice how panicked she gets any time the Men in Black train their sights on her in the early episodes, or the repeated scenes of her family members opening her door to stare at her, say nothing, and leave. And this gets discussed explicitly in the finale, where Lain tells herself that maybe she prefers to be a god because it's easier to be a god than a human being - you don't have to be seen but you can see everything. It's very clear that the point being made here is that Lain, if given the choice, would choose to be human after all she's been through. As such, her decision to remove herself from the world feels like a defeat, a hollow tragedy, and a betrayal of her own arc. It's not bad writing, necessarily - it just feels bad.

#2, by comparison, sits okay with me, but it does feel a bit silly. You can wave away the entire show as a meaningless hallucination, and its ending as a complete break with reality. So why were we watching this again?

During my second watch of the show, after the ninth episode (the alien one featuring the ultimate husbando Vannevar Bush), I wrote down two possibilities that I still thought were plausible at that stage. My ideas were fairly similar to #1 and #2 above, but with a couple crucial differences, so I'm going to call them #1A and #2A.

#1A: Lain is the emergent consciousness of the internet, and this is the story of her trying to figure out her place in the real world.

The key thing separating this from #1 is that I never took seriously the idea that Lain was deliberately constructed. Rather, I saw her (in this version) as a being nobody wanted or expected, but one who learned to exist with reference to other people.

There's one scene that makes me dismiss the "constructed Lain" interpretation out of hand even before the ending - it's the scene where her dad says goodbye to her on the stairs, and expresses that he "enjoyed playing house". It seems very obvious to me that the scene isn't meant to be taken at face value, being that it follows up the increasingly weird but oddly human behavior of all of Lain's family members. But if you think Lain is literally a program, you have no choice but to take this at face value, along with everything else her family does. Instead, I immediately took their behavior as Lain's perception of them. To Lain, her mother is basically a nonentity whose only emotional act is to kiss her father on occasion. This isn't the behavior of a paid actor - it's Lain's vision of how her human mother would sincerely act.

With #1A, the ending of Lain is her recognizing herself as the goddess of the internet, and recognizing that she cannot participate in the real world - but she loves everyone in it all the same. They are no longer NPCs and simulations to her, but real people. I like that version of her arc, but my other construction is the one I find even more compelling.

#2A: Lain is a human girl. She isn't schizophrenic, but lonely, isolated, and prone to fantasizing. The majority of what we see is her playing out a fantasy where she doesn't have to give up her privacy and finds her secret desire for attention and love - on the internet.

I already mentioned above that all we see of Lain's family seems to me like it's filtered through Lain's eyes. According to this interpretation, that also applies to the rest of her life. In class the other students appear as gray statues in the background because she doesn't care about them. The Knights are people she talks to on the internet, but what they really do we never find out. Instead she lives an elaborate fantasy including secret organizations, aliens, and of course - herself as a god-like figure at the center of it all.

I wasn't sold on this interpretation until I thought in depth about the ending to the story, and specifically Lain's "reset". It was always very hard for me to explain the reset, in conjunction with Lain's apparent affirmation to stop living as a god and start living as a human. But then something clicked - if nearly the entire story is Lain progressing her own fantasy, then the reset is her decision to go back to the real world, not to leave it. She chooses to live as a human again after a very, very long period of dissociative introspection.

#2A gives rise to the question of what the final scenes with Lain's dad and with adult Arisu are. The more comforting and to me, less fitting sub-interpretation is that those too are "memories" - fantasies of the future - and the real Arisu is Lain's classmate. But my favorite of all is this: the real Lain is 14. Her father is dead. The real Arisu is 24 or so. Lain deeply admires Arisu but has not seen her in a long time - the version of Arisu Lain remembers was a middle schooler. Perhaps Arisu was her babysitter when she was a small child. And in this version, the final scene with Arisu is just reality - a meeting after so many years.

The only qualm I have about this version - call it #2A2 - is that Lain's crucial statement in the finale that "memories can be of the present or future, not just the past" isn't used to full effect. But emotionally it seems to fit better than anything.

Anyway, I think I've thought enough about Lain to earn myself the right to take part in discussing it. It was in case a wonderful atmospheric anime I'll probably remember for a long time still.

[hello-nichya-here]

Why is Rhaenyra so hypocritical and dramatic about everything? Her first scene is already her trying to act all rebelious by flying around in a dragon and saying nonsense stuff about everyone caring for her unborn sibling but not her pregnant mom. How does that even work?

She is rude as fuck Rhaenys for no reason, interrupts a meeting just to show off, flies to see Daemon without permission just because he took a dragon egg and then dares him to kill her out of nowhere just to cause even more of a scene.

She throws a fit about needing to be married then demands her uncle elope with her on her wedding to someone else and is still complaining years later that he didn't, hates Alicent for secretly flirting with her dad yet had an affair with Daemon, Criston Cole, and Harry Strong, and is constantly demanding her bastards to inherit titles meant for true Velaryons instead of having kids with her actual husband or staying childless like said she wanted to be - and she never considered letting Laena's daughters inherit anything instead of their "cousins" despite still wanting to be Visery's heir.

I know she was seriously screwed over by the Greens, but it just became impossible to have any sympathy left for such an awful, selfish, stupid character. I don't understand how you or anyone could like her.

Congratulations, anon, you just got a very high ranking on my list of "Asks clearly done in bad faith." Way to completely misrepresent a character and entire plot points just 'cause you think "I find this character annoying/I think their rivals more interesting" isn't enough of a justification to root for the Greens. I'm team Black all the way, and even I absolutely adore these motherfuckers, it's fine. You don't need to bullshit an "intelectual" argument to say you just don't vibe with a character.

Her first scene shows her riding a dragon

Yes. She's a Targaryen. That's kind of their thing. Plus, HBO has to show off their new CGI effects and designs for dragons. As for it showing she has a rebellious side by just flying off whenever she pleases, the same could be said about Arya and Brienne taking interest in typically "male" activities very early into Game Of Thrones. Stablishing a character's trait is a feature of every story, not a bug that needs to be fixed.

She claims her pregnant mother is not being taken care of, even though her unborn sibling is - how does that work?

The very first episode already makes it VERY clear how that works. Aemma had a ton of miscarriages/stillbirths. She literally tells her husband that this is her last pregnancy because SHE HAS MOURNED ALL THE DEAD CHILDREN SHE CAN.

Aemma's discomfort at being heavily pregnant is not just about the regular toll it'd take on the body of any woman. It's about the painful, traumatic experience of going through that typical discomfort, feeling it turn into pure agony as something goes very wrong, and then realizing she's lost yet another child.

And let's not forget, after she of course experiences complications during childbirth - this time with it being impossible to deliver the baby - her husband betrays her in the worst way possible by gently holding her hand and simply saying "They're going to get the baby out now" in a comforting way despite knowing fully well that he just gave the maester and midwifes permission to cut her open and gut her like a fish to get the kid out, and we see her begging them to not to do this to her. After the death of Aemma AND her child, all everyone can think about is "The king needs a wife, time to throw my daughter at him"

The Viserys needed a son. That was more important than Aemma's physical and mental health. More important than her LIFE. Rhaenyra pointing that out is NOT nonsense, it's literally her being the only one to recognize just how unfair and downright cruel this is.

She is rude to Rhaenys for no reason

Congratulations, you finally made a good point! That was indeed a shitty thing for Rhaenyra to do, and Rhaenys was fully right to point out that she isn't as superior as she thinks she is - which leads us to...

Interrupts a meeting to show off

Rhaenys correctly pointed out to Rhaenyra that, even though Viserys had everyone swear they'd accept her as their queen once he passed away, he was not doing anything to make anyone respect her - in fact, he was expecting her to just be quiet and serve men drinks during a meeting, and somehow that was supposed to make them take her seriously as his heir instead of ridiculing her.

Considering that, is it really any surprise that Rhaenyra tries to go against her father to remind the men HE made swear loyalty to her that she WILL be queen, that she can and will take action? Especially since her dad's main flaw both as a king and as a person is his complete inability to take charge of anything - to the point that a war was is about to start without his permission because he's doing fuck all to address the issue that spark that conflict in the first place.

Her conflict with Daemon at Dragonstone

Daemon, a Targaryen prince with a dragon of his own, stole a dragon egg. He deliberately stole the one that was meant for Baelor, Viserys's dead son, the "heir for a day". The one that was chosen for him by Rhaenyra, the king's new heir - aka the new threat to Daemon. He even goes as far as pretending he took a second wife (who everyone knows was a whore), once again without the king's permission since Targaryens are no longer having multiple wives by that point, and lying about her being pregnant. All of this is taking place in Dragonstone - a place that belongs to Rhaenyra.

This isn't a petty fight. This is Daemon trying to spite his family, and all of Westeros, because he's bitter he won't be king. He is openly defying Viserys's authority and chosen heir, basically daring him and anyone else who has a problem with it to go face him.

And Rhaenyra does. Because she's not a doormat like Viserys. She defuses a VERY tense situation that could have easily led to a massacre by reminding Daemon that he ain't the only one who has a dragon. She calls his bluff by daring him to go ahead and get rid of her so he can be king, and thus Daemon, noticing this won't be as easy he expected AND gaining more respect for his niece, gives her the egg back.

Daemon started shit because he wanted attention, Rhaenyra put him in his place. HOW does that cast a bad light on her?

Rhaenyra not wanting to be married/have kids

In her own words "My mother was made to produce heirs until it killed her. I don't want the same fate." A pretty understandble stance if you ask me - and Rhaenyra takes it so seriously, she even worries about Alicent's well-being and comfort when Viserys drags her to a hunting trip to celebrate Aegon's birthday, even though she's heavily pregnant and the long hours in the carriage are obviously quite a pain for her. I remind you, this is while Rhaenyra is still VERY mad at Alicent. That's how serious of an issue this was for her.

"Oh but she still had pre-marital sex anyway." Yes, but let's look at the context for it because it absolutely matters.

First she nearly lost her virginity to Daemon in a brothel - because he explicitly mentioned that this would be solely for pleasure, OUTSIDE of marriage and all of it's obligations - aka he could not possibly demand her to have his bastard if she were to end up pregnant as that would be a scandal, and Viserys himself gives her moon-tea after he hears of it to make sure it will stay a secret and have no consequences.

She then goes all the way with Criston Cole. A member of the kings guard. A man that not only holds zero political power (and in fact answers to HER), but also vowed to never have a wife or father any children. Once again, offering her zero risk of ending up in the same situation as Aemma.

Viserys finds out she's not a virgin anymore (though he doesn't know the actual man she slept with) and thus FORCES her to marry Laenor - and Rhaenyra once again tries to assure her own agency won't be disregarded, by making a deal with her (gay) future husband: they'll do their duty, then be with the actual people they want to be. Once again, there's a very clear separation between marriage/duty and love/sex/freedom.

On her demanding Daemon elope with her and make her his wife

Let's not forget the context here: Daemon showed up at her wedding, obviously against Viserys's wishes, and tries to talk Rhaenyra out of marrying Laenor - something which obviously would mean a lot of trouble for her. So, she turns the tables on him. If he's going to be selfish and demand her to go against the king, then he better give her damn good reason to do so. A one-night stand or even a proper affair like what she had with Criston won't be enough. He has to prove he is not all bark, no bite. He has to fight the guards around them, take her to Dragonstone and marry her.

As for her still being upset that he didn't do it, even after all these years, and wanting to be his wife, we can't forget that:

1 - Her agreement with Laenor went horribly wrong as he is not doing his part - be it on giving her kids or keeping his private life PRIVATE.

2 - Harwin, her lover of many years, is dead, and their children are now targets since the Greens are no longer willing to pretend they're not bastards.

3 - She NEEDS a powerful ally on her side and Daemon, for all his flaws, proved he is surely more competent than the ones she had at that time.

4 - Daemon marrying her would officially remove him for the list of potential heirs of Viserys.

5 - They had a genuine connection that they were forced to ignore, and Daemon quite clearly was just as into her even after all these years.

It makes perfect sense for her to not only want to be with him now, but to think that her life would have been better if they had gotten together years ago.

Her anger at Alicent

Unlike what you implied, Rhaenyra's problem with Alicent becoming Viserys's second wife is not because of pre-marital sex (which they didn't have) or because she was expecting Viserys to just never re-marry (she full on told him she understood that it was his duty).

Her problem was that they lied to her. Viserys made it sound like he was only gonna marry a new woman out of duty, then rejects a perfect politcal match to be with his daughter's best friend. The best friend that pretended nothing was going between them. Their wedding is announced just SIX MONTHS after Aemma's death.

"Oh, but Alicent only did it because her father basically forced her to! And then Viserys also demanded her silence, and she couldn't say not to the king!" And how would Rhaenyra know? Alicent never explained it to her, not even after they became friends again - because, yeah, they made up. Then fought again. Then made up again. And repeated the cicle about 500 times through the years.

And before you go "Oh, Rhaenyra should have been aware of the power imbalance!" let me remind you that these characters don't live in our modern world, with our modern understanding of these things, AND that the Game Of Thrones is all about people stabbing each other in the back to gain power. If you want to hold that against Rhaenyra, you also have to hold Alicent accountable for shaming her friend who was seduced by a much older man that also happened to be her clearly insane uncle (and even though she had political power over Criston, let's not forget that he was ALSO an adult man that was already very flirty with 15-year-old Rhaenyra and started sleeping with her while she was still 17, a minor by our standards).

"Oh, but Rhaenyra lied to Alicent and got her father fired! She even swore on her dead mother!"

1 - Otto was very clearly trying to make his grandson the heir instead of Rhaenyra and had her followed to get dirt on her. Can't dig someone's grave then get mad that they are very willing to save themselves through any means necessary, or at least drag you down with them.

2 - Otto ruined Alicent's life. I don't care that he is her father, that she loves him, and that he genuinely loves her in his own way. That man is an utter bastard and he had it coming.

3 - That is not even on the top 50 most fucked up things that happened in House of The Dragon. Save your outrage at Rhaenyra for when she inevitably commits some war crimes.

On Rhaenyra's bastards

Like I said, Laenor did not keep his end of their agreement. They even explicitly say that they TRIED for a while, but it just didn't work - meaning either they had sex a few times and Laenor was too uncomfortable to keep trying even after these first attempts failed to get Rhaenyra pregnant, or that he hated it SO MUCH that they never really had sex. Either way, is very clear: Rhaenyra would NEVER be able to have kids with this man.

But did she need to have kids with Harwin? Yes, because if she has no heirs, be these heirs her legitimate children or her bastards, then nobody will bother to crown her just to then have one of Aegon's children reign after her. If she has no kids, she's never becoming queen at all.

But bastards are, to put it mildly, looked down on by everyone - and while their fathers are seen as just men who had a moment (or several) or weakness, their mothers are seen as no different than the cheapest of whores. OBVIOUSLY that would also be used not just to make sure Rhaenyra would never bee queen, but also for people to humiliate and mistreat her sons.

That is why she had to constantly demand them to inherit anything Velaryon, even if it meant ignoring Laena's daughters or Corlys's brother. If she lets any Velaryon inherit something that should have been meant for Laenor's sons, people will have even more reason to wonder if he ever really had any sons in the first place.

Why she didn't support other women more often

Rhaenyra was not perfect (and thank God for that, because perfection is boring). She either didn't care enough about other women wanting to have the same rights as men, or she just knew that she would already need a miracle to truly become queen and that if she tried changing the rules even more, then she'd be killed as soon as her dad kicked the bucket.

Both options would make her rather selfish, but I tend to lean towards thinking the second one is the truth. We only saw her talk down to another woman once - with Rhaenys, who put her on her damn place - and got A TON of scenes of her showing at least some compassion for Alicent, even DECADES after their friendship was officially ruined.

Conclusion

Like/dislike any character as much as you want. Just don't lie about what actually happens in the story. And more importantly, don't send people asks with the intention of pissing them off by talking shit about a character you know they like. That's childish and pathetic.

[abandoned-as-mustard]

I gotta get this off my chest. Am I the only woman who didn't like it? Really???

Here's a spoiler (rant) review, (not) sorry

To start off with, I really appreciate the effort into set design, fashion, music, choreography, casting, all the historical barbie references, how important barbie is to many girls, the nostalgia, HOWEVER....

'It's not meant to be taken seriously!!' The movie preaches about patriarchy and feminism, they literally go to the real world and interact with these real concepts, we are made to sit through feminist speeches about women who hate themselves, how are we not meant to take that seriously?

Fucking hell, I was being whammed on the head with a sledgehammer, the plot can literally be summarised with 'taking down the patriarchy'. And that itself isn't the bad thing, it's how they framed it -

Because just when that plot concept itself became clear, as if I was entirely stupid and needed to be reinformed, they then had several feminist quips and jokes (which can be summarised as 'haha look how women don't have any power in our US centric world view!') and speeches (used as actual plot devices to un-brainwash the barbies once the kens took over) wherein if I was a woman who already fucking hated myself and had no self esteem and hadn't seen any other movie in my life, I would've loved. While I understand many women hate themselves, the fact that there are women who don't hate themselves wasn't acknowledged at all when 'women' is used as a general term.

So guess I'm counted out.

There are scenes where the Ken dolls start enjoying stereotypically guy things like 'watching the godfather' and 'liking trucks' and 'having beers' and putting flatscreen TVs everywhere, and they are also even apparently mansplaining to the barbies. It's portrayed in such a silly way that suggests there is something cringe in real men genuinely liking any of those things. Yes, Ken is silly, but you are now incorporating real things.

I was confused the entire time - what is this supposed to be? A fun silly movie? THEN WHY ARE YOU PREACHING AT ME? WHY. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. DOES BARBIE SEE THE HORRIBLE REAL WORLD AND GO 'yes please I want to be there and find myself'

I'm sorry, what? You literally just established that ken's only role was to be Ken to barbie, and that he had to be himself, but you're saying barbie can't do any of that from barbie land just because she doesn't have a 'role'? THE MAN WHO DID NOT HAVE ANY ROLE EXCEPT TO BE A BARBIE SIMP GOT TO STAY BUT BARBIE BARBIE HAD TO BECOME REAL?

oh yeah and the whole 'become human and feel but also you'll just die at the end' because thanks yeah that's what we all believe right, that death is the end of everything but the pitiful excuse of our lives and ~~~~feelings~~~ makes it worthwhile? You can just tell an existential person wrote this

But also there were the weird metaphysical elements with the literal ghost of the creator of barbie being referred to as 'creator' and that she 'can't control you' so yeah, that perfectly sums up the fucked up theology and how humanity really fucking likes to think of themselves as gods.

'Mustard you're taking this way too seriously!! It's a fun silly movie about pink and clothes and dolls!' THEN WHY WASNT I ALLOWED TO ENJOY IT WITHOUT WATCHING BARBIE BECOME SOME RANDOM HUMAN WOMAN IN THE CHEESIEST FUCKING SEQUENCE???? She wasn't even allowed to be 'my' doll anymore!

'But barbie shouldn't only exist to be yours!' SHE IS A DOLL THAT IS HER PURPOSE

'But barbie never got to choose ken' - she's also a doll (Aka, not real, despite what the movie portrays). She has like, 200 careers. Having a hot boyfriend is not a serious problem. Barbie actually LIKES ken in other Barbie movies, and why would their theoretical doll relationship even exist if she didn't like him? (If you say heteronormativity I will bite you.)

His existential crisis was the problem that led to Kendom, but they did not spend an awful lot of time on his character for that. Barbie is allowed to sledgehammer home the points about women's self esteem and needing being perfect, but you LITERALLY HAVE KEN DOLLS RIGHT THERE being toned and sexy and hot, AND THEY DIDNT GIVE ANY LIP SERVICE TO THAT IN RELATION TO REAL MEN. EVEN ONE LINE. the closest they come is 'you're ken, not 'and ken'. Uhh thanks? If I based my feminism on this (which some people already are) then I wouldn't think men have ANY problems being human beings.

Barbie and Ken don't even end up together! It's not even that, but that they separate them so that they can NEVER be together and maybe I don't know, LEARN to love each other?? Clearly some of the other barbies were still attached to kens after they stopped being brainwashed. Why couldn't our barbie?

So the other problem is the heavy marketing of ken's feelings for barbie (complete with music video) made it seem like a romance. It was not a romance. And I felt like an idiot for expecting a little romance.

It swings from wildly silly to heavy concepts and back within seconds.

'But it's about forced heteronormativity' and 'amatonormativity' *BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU* so it's NOT just a silly movie then? Huh?

WHAT IS THIS MOVIE TRYING TO SAY?

That's its real problem.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS PINK, BARBIE MOVIE, COULDN’T YOU JUST LET IT BE A FUN MOVIE WITHOUT FORCING ME TO SEE BARBIE BECOME PART OF THIS SO-CALLED TERRIBLE WORLD?

[paula-of-christ]

I'm just so exhausted. I hate the meanness of online culture that isn't even online anymore, it's spread everywhere. I hate the celebration of crass vulgarity, the awful words people use to refer to themselves and their bodies, I hate how apathy is rewarded and how denigrating things and poking holes in other people's joy is considered funny, how far the world has fallen. I hate how rotten everything is and how powerless I am, and no matter who I try to have faith in it doesn't actually change anything in the world. I hate this website and the shallowness and irreverence it promotes, I hate how in real life attempts at profundity are met with coarseness. I hate how religion isn't taken seriously anymore - I'm not even really a Catholic (it's weird. I'm not really and atheist and not really a Catholic and sometimes all I want is God's comfort and other times I just can't make myself believe in Him), but I can't stand the ignorant invective with which people assail Christianity - and other religions. I can't stand how it's impossible to exist as a woman without being sexualised just for existing and how I'm meant to take it as a compliment. I can't stand how sorrow isn't seen as something necessary and beautiful to dwell in and that seeing value in it is a weakness. I can't stand how loving beauty is elitist. I'm nineteen, and all I want is to crawl away and hide, and I hate myself for feeling all of this. I feel as though my only options are a convent or a psych ward and I don't particularly want either. I'm so so sorry for disgorging all of this in your inbox. I suppose it's selfish of me, and I'm sorry for it. I think I've fallen low enough not to even want to repent, and although it's monstrously selfish I think I'm trying to absolve myself by asking for the ear and comfort of someone whose faith is more resilient than mine. I suppose all that makes us human in the end is faith, and I don't know if I'm human anymore.

I let this sit for a day or two, because I'm struggling to find the words that don't make it sound like I'm belittling your feelings. Because they are very valid feelings to feel! I know it will seem from my blog currently that I have such a resilient faith, but right now I'm in more of an up-swing of loving God. But a lot of your feelings are definitely things I've felt before, even if I never posted about them. I find that my faith is much stronger when I focus on posting positive things, even when I'm hurt about particular topics.

However, I also want to point out that what you're feeling is decently average for a 19 year old to feel in our current culture. Even those on the opposite political or religious isle, will feel the same way you're feeling, just about different things. Think about from this point of view, how naive and small-minded you likely saw the world at 16. Part of having 'faith more resilient' and just growing and maturing into adulthood, is that in five years, you have to work to not feel that way. I am lucky to have a husband that has so easily and willingly accepted the Catholic view of things, in order to strengthen my own faith, I don't know that I would necessarily have been quite so faithful if I didn't.

I can understand when you say that you feel like both an atheist and a theist at the same time. A lot of what I used to feel from God has gone away; whether because it was never actually from God or because of some other reasons, I don't know. But, it certainly makes faith a struggle and brings on a feeling that I'm 'just pretending'. A lot of having faith in my experience (though this is not everyone's, and certainly people can pick out flaws in doing this) is to just simply choose to think it's God. Without any logical reasoning or 'proof'. And when the doubts come up, to just clear your mind and ignore them. Someone truly atheist of course will say 'see that just proves God isn't real' or some other extensive yet exhausting argument. The thing is, faith isn't based in logic, and it ought not be based in what other's say or do, insofar as other people's sins or deviation from God (ie wickedness) cause doubts. Faith is meant to be blind, having faith in something does not have its basis in logical conclusions or scientific data. If I get to the end of my life, and I was wrong about God, I can at least say "I did what I could to be a kind and merciful person, and that made the world a better place in spite of the horribleness of some people".

I can't say that I see the culture you describe anywhere other than online, however, I don't have many in-person friends, and the ones I do have are my husband's, who are a bit older than us, so it may be an age/generational thing. Outside of them, most of the people I personally interact with are Catholic or at the very least Christian, which I think is a leading cause to the difference in experience. Definitely there are Christians that do not live up to the standard, we see that on this website (myself included), but it's so so so important to pursue.

Lent is coming up, and while I don't have very good advice for this in general, I think taking some time to read the book of Job, maybe with an explanation/exegesis of it would be good. Also, if you live somewhere cold and without much sunlight, like me, get some vitamin D supplements. When you find yourself getting frustrated with people either online or in person, it is absolutely ok, and I strongly encourage you to walk away physically, and just pray. Download the iBreviary app and do Night Prayer (Compline) every night. It may be awkward at first, but I found the best way of showing who really cares about me, is by putting my foot down and saying 'no, you can't act that way around me, and if you do, I'll simply remove myself."