#you can hate me because I think your fave show is hot garbage not because of my sexuality

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

Am I alone in thinking that a lot of transphobes/homophobes also have main character syndrome?

Like there are people out here who seem genuinely convinced that people's gender identities and sexual orientations are about upsetting them.

Boo no one knows who the fuck you are.

Trans people aren't trans in the name of pissing off transphobes, non-het people aren't things other than hetero in the name of pissing off homophobes (because we're all the same to them).

It's not about you guys, it's never been about you guys, and it's never going to be about you guys.

Okay. Full stop. Most queer people wouldn't even care what you guys think about us as long as we stopped getting murdered, and raped, and tortured about it.

Feel what you feel, even though you're a bigot, and that's just a fact, just don't abuse and murder us about it.

You think we're icky. Okay, fine, be that way. Leave us alone then.

The world isn't about you, and doesn't need to cater to you and your wants and desires, as you all love to tell us queers. Go about your business, and we'll go about our business, and we'll be polite to you if you'll be polite to us.

I feel like I'm not even asking for a lot really, literally only for basic human decency.

And sure there are plenty of other queer/lgbt+ people who disagree with me. And the rest of this post is more directed at them.

People who think everyone should love and accept us for who we are, no matter what we are and how we identify, and who we want to share our lives with.

And that's a lovely dream, it's a great goal for us to work towards, but we're not there yet.

We're on like step 12 of 200 on the universal love and acceptance plan, and we still got to get past step 20 of Hey Don't Murder Us Because We're Not Like You, before we can get to step 160 of Let's All Celebrate Are Differences Together.

It'd be great if everyone could get along and love each other as diverse individuals each portraying a completely unique and special existence in the tapestry of the human experience.

We'd all (or at least the majority of us, some of us are petty enough to still be pissed) love that.

But there's some people out there who still struggle to see other people's humanity through the surface differences of others, like their skin tone.

I don't know how it'd be possible for us to defeat homophobia/transphobia before we manage to end racism. Racism is literal ass backwards garbage that has been proven to be based on literal nothing and somehow it's still alive and well no matter what we try.

How are we supposed to convince these people that we, who have experiences so different from them, that we have the same innate humanity, when we haven't even managed to convince them that people of other ethnicity and nationalities are in possession of that innate humanity.

My hope for humanity is high, but my expectations are a few inches off the floor. Because I love my fellow human being, but also know them well enough that you have to sometimes bugs bunny fool them into not being shitty.

Some people are just mean, they're just jerks, and assholes, and hateful, and I don't want to waste anymore time and effort on them than I need to. I don't need them to like me, I just need them to respect my humanity.

It's not our jobs to fix our abusers and oppressors, and sometimes I feel like lgbt+ people can forget that.

[newyorkkiss]

135, 119, 100 :D

100: whats your most listened to playlist?

my general listening diary which i've been curating since i was 16 lol

135: what’s a music pet peeve of yours?

hm. intentional record crackling on a track. awful stuff, especially if it actually runs throughout and you can hear it. really can't stand it. there's defs other ones but that one just seems to be the one on my mind rn

119: What music did you grow up on?

putting this last bc i wnna put a post cut here cuz im just gonna go on awhile SORRY this one means a bit.

i'm putting * next to my all time albums here

for the first 13 years of my life, i would say it's 70/80s chart hits through my parents, and modern pop radio on my own. mostly the latter. the first song i ever became aware of was nelly furtado's maneater when i was 5. most of what i really did grow up around was pop radio like your generic local station shit. then my parents got cable when i was 7 which introduced me to more... curated things? i'm gonna speak in australian pay tv networks and artists here i'm sorry i hate speaking like this. but [v] (may it rest in peace for its shuttering is easily one of the worst losses i've ever experienced) was like my slow awakening to my more "alternative" tastes than the general packaged pop i'd been so used to at that point, in the way it was mostly just 2008-12 peak era (imo) triple j buzz bands and that kind of thing. artists i really remember getting into that time because of that were the presets – who'd just released apocalypso* at this point – and ladyhawke* – who had just released her self titled debut (another all timer.) very related is that modular (the label that issued these albums, and of tame impala fame) genuinely had some fucking top tier albums out in 2008, like van she's v and another all timer and pitchfork best new album in ghost colours* by cut copy. insane year for them, but back to me. i was really getting into listening to the weekly top 40 on radio around this time too. my local station was mostly syndicated programming from 2day from a certain hour. like their usual weekdaily thing was their morning show which i have never heard for some reason, then it was just local in house selected garbage that i have permanently seered into my mind now until 3 when they started the pre-record syndicated stuff like hamish and andy or kyle and jackie o. which after 5pm is when The Fucking Goods happened and you got the ill-fated hot 30 which was pretty much became a ritual thing for me when i was 9 until it was canceled when i was 11. on weekends i would listen to my beloved take 40 which i continued doing up until i was 12 and gained a proper internet connection. when i think back on this time period it it's kinda crazy how much music i was listening to and the fact it was just something i did and didn't know anybody else who was like crazy deep in music like this. but it did give me my extensive knowledge of 2000s/early 2010s popular music which i've been curating in a playlist since i was 15 that was just a comfort list turned mutant.

but the turning point in my taste came when i was 12 and got an non-poor person internet connection aka wifi, an ipad and a dream. at this point i was slowly moving away from charts and into full albums – something i never really did. one of the first albums i owned was rogue trader's here comes the drums* and that until katy perry's teenage dream were like the only albums i'd heard back to back. first album i brought in 2013 was ellie goulding's halcyon* and i pretty much burnt it to my pc and listened to it and it only for like 6 months of the year, before buying calvin harris' 18 months* on itunes when they did that u have 3 singles from this album u can buy the rest for $6 thing. by this time i was starting to get on socials and drift into fandom. one of the first ones was dan & phil who are big fans of muse and spoke about how origin of symmetry* is their fave album by them and i was like, damn i gotta check this out. from that point onwards for another like 6 months was the only album and first discogs ever sought out and listened to. through being in that fandom i started getting into music circles which happened right at the biggest turning point of my life. by mid 2014 i'd started to venture into the 2014 tumblr-core stuff; sky ferreira, vampire weekend, the strokes, grimes and twigs, and my first super hyperfixated musical act, foster the people. i was on indie twitter by this point and consumed by it and had completely stopped and refused to listen to top 40 radio which i still don't do. by 2015 i'd basically crafted my alternative taste and begun collecting vinyl. here's my top artists from my old last.fm to illustrate where i am as a 14 year old:

it pretty much stayed like this for somewhat unchanged until 2017 when i got a spotify subscription and started listening to radiohead a fair bit lol. by early 2018 i was starting to listen to fantano-core stuff and by extension got into post-punk, iceage-ajacent bands which led me to posh isolation and started my interest in noise/ambient stuff. late 2019 i started listening to the brixton windmill-ajacent bands like black midi and bc,nr and started using rateyourmusic and just discovering things over time.

im sorry that this is so long and i dont expect anybody to read this lmao 😭

[the-silliest-idiot]

Blorbo and friends for a fandom you don't talk much about often but still hold dearly in your ❤️!

Thank you for asking Snickers, time to embarrass myself!

So uhm.. I don't talk about this often and I certainly do not hold it dearly in my heart anymore. But I'm just going to pick fucking Fairy Tail for this. It was one of the very first anime I watched so it is still kind of special even though it is hot garbage.

Do you want shounen garbage junkfood that requires your brain to be out the door? Go watch it. But if you want something good? Watch something else, anything else.

With that glowing review out the way, off we go.

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

This little shit right there

Dishevelled, no fucks given, ripped clothes and piercings were all 15 year old me wanted in a favourite. Not to mention that he is a jerk with cool powers that don't suck and I'd actually like to have and use even still to this day

Too bad he had to go and become incredibly dadlame after some time. Also his arc started to revolve around romance and I am too fuckign ace for that shit

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

None really. All I get from these characters is regular aggression.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Freed. Smart, cool powers and stoic and I have not seen a lot of appreciation for him. Shame because he is one of the very few good characters in that manga. The mangaka ignored him too much to fuck him up

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

None again... Boy it's almost like all I have is salt

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Juvia Lockser, she started off as a really really cool character

Unfortunately she lost her personality and became a romance obsessed starker. Her character became all about being in love and really fucking creepy with a guy

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

This fucking guy

This fucking edgelord can plinko for eternity

His name is Gray Fullbuster but he won't need that in the plinko

Early manga him is fine. I liked that he had to be smart and creative with his powers. But then he did not and sometime after that he had to have more edge than a porcupine

I probably have too many doodles of him eating dirt, dying, or his corpse being thrown in the garbage. Because he is garbage

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Erza, Natsu and Gray and probably half the cast

Erza for actual (sexual) assault (not even accidental-it's-a-shounen-assault!) towards both men and women. And breaking and entering. That's a crime Erza... And also for being preachy as hell and having bullshit powers. And for being a mary sue

Natsu because he is just the worst. Preaching about friendship while pushing one of his friends in a mine cart to get rid of him. All so he can show off. And for breaking and entering all the fucking time. Especially for emptying Lucy's fridge. The girl is broke all the fucking time and he is just- Yeah send this guy to superhell

Gray because I just hate him and want to see him suffer. Also indecent exposure/full frontal assault towards minors.

[lisbonsteresa]

His Dark Materials!!

the first character i ever fell in love with: my feral little daughter Lyra

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: okay...when i was younger, i thought Asriel was really cool. (even after the end of tgc 😓) but luckily, i have grown wiser and i know he’s garbage

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: ah......pass

my ultimate favorite character™: books: Lyra show: Will (but i love both those kids so much; 10/10 would die for them)

prettiest character: very much a tie between Marisa (because evil lady hot) and Ruta (because witch queen hot)

my most hated character: books: Gomez (because like....my guy. the fuck.) show: ....for the moment, MacPhail (who honestly might end up being the show’s version of Gomez; i would not be surprised)

my OTP: i cried over Will and Lyra at 13 and i cry about them now; they deserve all the happiness the worlds can give them

my NOTP: i don’t know if i have one per se.....

favorite episode: oh ok ok i go back and forth so much on this; i have an episode in each season that i think is the objective best, but i also have my favorite episode of each season. I think Armour is the best episode for s1: we got fantastic introductions to Lee, Hester, and Iorek; we got the scene with Serafina and Farder Coram that still breaks my heart every time i watch it; we got the start of the bear battle royale (which was 13-year old me’s favorite plot in tgc); and we got a tiiiiny little Will tease; it’s great. But i also loved The Fight to the Death, for the aforementioned bear battle and Will’s plot really kicking off in the worst way will honey it wasn’t your fault moxie is the true guilty party here And obviously The Scholar is the best episode of s2 (i would argue of the whole show). It’s such an amazing look into Marisa as a character without making her too sympathetic and without detracting from the other - very good! - storylines in play. Also the heist scene was so good...SO good and it has my second favorite will-lyra moment but that’s just me. But i also really really loved The Cave (for almost purely sentimental reasons maybe, but the Will/Lyra storyline in that episode....*chef’s kiss*) 

saddest death: i know the one that’s fresh in everyone’s mind now (and it does hurt me, don’t get me wrong) but Billy Costa was a sweet innocent boy who never did anything wrong and deserved NONE of what happened to him and he doesn’t even get a **** ** *** **** cameo!! what’s up with that Phil!!?

favorite season: s2 outsold

least favorite season: s1 (i still love you though)

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: the closest i would say is sometimes i think we take the Marisa appreciation a little too far (yes evil lady hot but she’s fucked up)

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: THAT BEING SAID....do i think Marisa Coulter effectively utilized girl power when she had countless children kidnapped and cut their souls away from them, brutally attacked and traumatized her own daughter, tortured multiple witches and encouraged the bombing of their lands,  killed or had who knows how many people killed/tortured/imprisoned, kidnapped her own daughter, and .....other tas-related things? maybe.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: ROGER PARSLOW AND BILLY COSTA DID NOTHING WRONG AND WHAT DID THEY GET FOR BEING INNOCENT? i hate this story

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: ......Marisa and Asriel are a lot ok?

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Farder Coram and Serafina, but it’s only lowkey because if i think too hard about them i will start to cry

[a-hobbit-in-isengard]

Song game

Ok so I wasn’t actually tagged by anyone but i’ll be darned if i’ll let my lack of friends stop me from playing these games when i’m bored af. i’m my own tag. deal with it XDD

Rule: you can only repeat one artist and only one time, so we can all kind of spread new music to the people we tag! Try to listen to at least one of the songs people rec here! Music is fun!

1. One song that you loved the first time you listened to and never got tired of?

Lordi - Would you love a monsterman? Listened to it back in 2006, loved it, still one of my absolute faves

2. One song you cry every time you listen to or makes you emotional?

Demi Lovato - For the love of a daughter Now, i’m not an emotional person so seldom does music move me in such a way, but this one just has some power to make me sad

3. One song that always makes you happy/smile?

Sergey Lazarev - Это все она An absolute banger. Can’t not be happy when listening to it. Gabriele would agree XDD

4. One song that you would dedicate to your best friend and/or your family?

Halestorm - Here’s to us “Stuck it out this far together, put our dreams through the shredder, let’s toast cause things got better” - literally the general mood after having survived college.

5. One song with a production (the sounds, the beat, the mood) you love?

Little big - Uno Such a stupid song, but it has an incredible beat that I adore

6. One song with perfect, amazing, outstanding lyrics?

In this moment - Natural born sinner “Did you really think by pushing me I would become what you want me to be? And did you really think by hurting me I'd open up and just hand you the key? I know you're scared and don't understand This is my life, this is who I am“ Just look at this. Absolute. Feckin. Masterpiece. Hits me on all the levels.

7. One song that you would recommend to anyone?

Ermal Meta - Vietato morire Fantastic song, fantastic artist (and a cutie too), incredible message and gorgeous music video. Everyone should hear this at least once before dying

8. One song you don’t understand why you like so much but you do anyway?

Fabio Rovazzi - Tutto molto interessante Another absolute banger. It’s so stupid but I love it so much, and also Rovazzi’s a cutie.

9. One song that you think people in general wouldn’t like but you do?

Impellitteri - Punk This one is one of those... odd ones. Really. I could understand if people thought this song was just a flaming bag of garbage but i honestly love it. It’s so fun and badass at the same time.

10. One song people normally like and you don’t like or hate?

Tones and I - Dance monkey See, the problem here is that I have no idea what people these days listen to :DD i’m just working off of the assumption that this song is still somewhat popular bc I literally didn’t recognize anything else on the hot 100 list, and this is the best I can do :D

11. One song you would call a masterpiece?

Queen - Show must go on Had a hard time picking between Bohemian Rhapsody and this one, but ended up going with this one, mainly because the music track sounds so much more pleasing to my ears. Also the lyrics are beautiful, and knowing Freddie’s struggle when trying to record that song? It just hits you in the guts with how masterful the entire thing is.

12. One song you recently (last 30 days max) discovered and really liked it?

In this moment - The in-between They dropped the whole album during this quarantine, so I had quite a lot of new music to listen to, but this one song was the first one I heard and the lyrics really got to me.

13. One song you listen to get pumped like you wanna tear down the fucking government or something?

Fall out boy - The last of the real ones This song is my go-to whenever I need a boost. idk how or why it works but it gets me really pumped every time.

And yay, that’s about it. Kinda surprised even myself that I only put one Ermal song. But in this particular case, my metal side got its time to shine, really XD

I tag: @arsenalmakesmesuffer @dreamers-queen @bunny-banana @consulting-angel-in-bag-end @breaddo @giotanner @raisedtokeepquiet @itsagifnotagif @chillermal

[rasoir-national]

@ghostplantss​  tea is such a fine luxury to have! i never know where to start with teas. which ones do you like? oolong is awful lovely i don't think i knew it was blue before

Oh boy, I am as glad you asked as you’re about to be sorry you did. I humbly present to you :

A GUIDE TO MOTHERFUCKING TEA

By Raz

A Very White European

Part I - Basics

Okay the great thing with tea is that you can take any of them and make them taste like crap. It’s like a superpower that everybody has. I’m not going to make a lecture out of this, but there are two basic rules to respect if you want to actually taste what you bought.

1) THE WATER MUST NOT BOIL !

Fun experiment : put a teabag in cold water. Nothing happens. You’ve wasted your time. Tea works because oxygen trapped in hot water opens up the leaf which frees odouring particles. But if you boil the water, then there’s almost no oxygen left. It will still sort of work, but it won’t even be close to the actual taste of the thing. If you’ve had a oopsie, just had a bit of cold water into the teapot.

2) Respect infusion times

I used to think I was too good for those. If you go over, it will still taste like tea, but most of the secondary flavours will be gone, and it will be much more bitter. You don’t have to buy fancy hourglasses like *some* people, but still respect the basic guidelines : 2 min max for white, 3 min for green, 4-5 min for oolongs, 5-6 min for black, 7-10 min for infusions.

That’s it. Contrary to most purists, I’m not opposed to teabags. Yes, loose tea tastes better, but you know, I’m on a budget too. Onto actual recommendations.

Part II - Brands

Look, I may lose my french citizenship over this, but I’m the most basic shopper when it comes to “gourmet” products. To me, there are only four wines (fruity red, bitter red, fruity white, sink-unclogger white) and three cheeses (gruyère, gooey and gross). Tea is the only thing I’m willing to spend money on, because really, if you don’t aim at least a little bit for quality, you might as well be drinking hot wet garbage. Do yourself a favour and stay away from Lipton, which is owned by Unilever - really, all you need to know.

The upside is that it really pays off to go to an actual tea shop and pick something you really like. Also, one of the rare socially accepted opportunities to go around sniffing everything like a goddamn pervert.

When it comes to luxury brands, I don’t know what will be available to you where you live ; personally, I’m most familiar with french brands, of course. My favourites are L’autre Thé, le Palais des Thés, Mariage Frères and Damann frères.

If you don’t want to spend objectively way too much money on loose leaves, there are plenty of middle-range brands : Kusmi Tea, Lov, Clipper. I’m personally not a fan of their blends but they’re perfectly fine.

And if that’s still too expensive, my advice is to look into green/fair-trade brands. In my own experience they have the best quality/price ratio. Also, the mysterious tea from the quote unquote “ethnic foods” aisle of the supermarket with google-translated info on the box ? The one you’ve never seen anybody buy ? It’s good, actually.

Part III - Actual recommendations

I tried to make a ranking of my favourite teas, but that quickly proved impossible, so instead I’m presenting these in increasing order of how insane you’d be to trust me and try them. I’m a stranger on the internet. Remember the PSAs.

0) Infusions !

This one doesn’t really count since it doesn’t actually have tea in it, but for that reason it’s a good entry point into hot beverage + taste. You have classics, like my personal fave apple&cinammon, and less so, like thyme, which feels like chugging a sunday roast. Also, contrary to popular belief, they’re not just for sleeping : I’m fairly convinced those pills they give US seal teams so they stay awake are just concentrated hibiscus infusions. It’s what I use when I do an all-nighter.

1) Perfumed green tea !

It’s light, usually fruity or flowery, and it’s great for everybody. I’m partial to Jasmine and Lily of the Valley, but you really can’t go wrong with green tea.

2) Green mint tea !

I’m putting this one separately, since it’s the only case in which I take sugar in my tea. I was lucky enough to have an Algerian friend who showed me how to make it : you take basic Chinese gunpowder tea, put it in water, then throw the water away to wash away the bitterness, pour again, then put fresh mint leaves in it, and then just a BUTTLOAD of sugar and you don’t stir. Then you pour it by doing the fancy trick with the teacup super high that my friend did perfectly and that I’ve never been able to reproduce.

3) Perfumed black tea !

We’re starting to get in the zone. You can basically make any flavour with those. Sweet, fruity, flowery, spicy, woody, musky... I personally prefer those last three categories, but there are all sorts of fun blends you can find. This is where we find Christmas teas, the best thing in the universe : they usually have a sweet/fruity base with spices (usually cinammon & cardamon). Since it’s the time of the year, I really encourage you to try those. They’re a good indicator of the sort of flavour you might like.

4) Oolong tea !

This is actually my favourite kind. It’s not usually blue, but it’s recognizable by its slightly burned taste, usually coupled with a secondary flavour like roasted chesnut, fried rice or hot milk. My favourites are from Taiwan (especially the Dong Ding) and Vietnam, but the Chinese ones are great too. I’d say it’s a good entry point into tea that mostly tastes like tea, it’s really easy to like and it goes great with any meal. It’s also quite good iced.

5) Rooibos !

This kind of tea has a fun rust colour and comes mostly from South Africa. Its base is very woody, with secondary flavours that are usually “exotic” fruits. It’s caffeine-free, and a good entry point into “harder” flavours.

6) Raw black tea !

This is where you find all the classic British breakfast types : Earl Grey, Ceylan, Darjeeling, Assam... I personally prefer the last one for its spicy taste. Ceylan and Darjeeling are a bit too bland in my opinion, but I do like a good bergamot Earl Grey. If you’re looking for something a bit stronger, I recommend Chinese varieties : Yunnan and Qimen are my favourite.

7) Smoked Chinese tea !

I’m putting this black one separately because I love it so much I could cry. There are a few different varieties, but you gotta try the Lapsang Souchong. It’s what it says on the tin : very smokey, very excellent.

8) Korean Maesil-cha !

I only tried this one recently. You know how I said green mint tea was the only sugary tea I drink ? This one does it one better by adding fucking plums and leaving the skin in the cup. It probably gave me diabetes, but it’s quite amazing.

9) White tea !

This is tea with minimal processing that is only left to infuse for a very short time, resulting in a strong grassy scent. I recommend working your way up to those, but they are of course excellent. I’m basic : my favourite is the Baihao Yinzhen.

10) Raw green tea !

The only reason I’m putting this so high on the insanity list is those freaking Japanese green teas. You know macha ? That thing every white person loves ? Well real macha is thick as hell, it has weird bubbles, sticks to the bowl and tastes like fish. I’m not kidding. I’ve been a vegetarian for 5 years and it gave me whiplash. It’s not my favourite thing in the world, but I’m gaining more of an appreciation of them. I fell in love with the Sencha Yabukita variety last year. Taste the sea.

* I should note, if you’re a vegetarian as well, a lot of those (as well as some black teas) did indeed involve animal products at some point in their making. This is personally the one exception I give myself in my diet, but do check your tea ingredients if that’s a problem for you.

11) Pu Erh !

Technically speaking, Pu Erh is tea that’s rotting in dirt. Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about Pu Erh, the best thing in the universe. It’s mossy, it’s heavy, it’s powerful, it costs 25€ for 100g. The one I own (Mariage frères’ Pu Erh Supreme) is more expensive than most of my clothes, but it’s really the kind of thing you have to try once. Plus, if you’re that high up the insanity scale and you still trust me, you owe it to yourself to see this to completion. Every single person I forced to try it hated it. It delights me. I’m not hardcore by any means, by the way, I just have very white friends. Also it looks like this :

So that’s my unnecessarily complicated recommendation list ! I know you probably didn’t want something that detailed, but talking about tea is one of the things that make me happiest in the world. Thanks for indulging me !

Also, if I didn’t make it sufficiently clear at this point, I’m very white and therefore open to any and all corrections/additions by someone who didn’t just fall into tea when they were 16 the same way white girls get way too much into hip-hop.

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 27 “Bizarre! Gran Torino Appears!”

mysterylover123

The Internship arc starts off with a bang! Let’s see that Full Cowl, Deku! 

SORA NI UTAEBA! While the song in this intro is kinda meh to me, the visuals are amazing. I love the symbolism for all the events of the ep - tho not gonna lie, this core’s ED is better than the OP. Anyway tho, go punch that wall Deku!

We start with Gran Torino pretending to be crazy. I’ll admit, I’m kinda eh on this bit, though I love  Gran. It’s probably because I found it annoying when Yoda did it, so I find it annoying here as well. (It’s really just my inner fangirl talking. Nobody makes Deku unhappy except Kacchan. Who can get away with it.)

But actually, this sets up an interesting difference between Deku and Luke, though admittedly situation isn’t the same because Deku knows Gran is Gran. But Deku’s response to this is to call All Might to tell him Gran’s gone senile. He’s so empathetic Deku why aren’t you real? (no shade at Luke there,e I love him too. Just not as much).

“I don’t have time to mess around.” Deku did not come to play.

New costume! It’s incredible how much better it is than the old one. Like, not even funny how much better. Day-um, Deku. 

Pfh Gran knows exactly how to piss off Deku: Insult All Might. You clever little scoundrel.

So onto Deku’s character flaws: 1. He’s overly analytical. Deku doesn’t know how to act quickly, partially due to circumstance, but partially that’s just how he is. Hesitant. Over-cautious, over-thinks things. He needs to learn how to take action - and in this arc, he does indeed do so without hesitation, and saves Iida’s life by so-doing. Box 1 checked off.

2. Deku admires All Might too much. Like every MC in BNHA, his Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy (insert me telling you to read that essay again). It’s a problem because he doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn not to imitate All Might and be his own hero. That one doesn’t really sink in until the PLE arc. But check.

3. Deku is insecure. He has a massive inferiority complex (which fits nicely into his foil’s inf-sup complex,  wouldn’t-cha-know) and doesn’t believe in himself. So he needs to learn to be more confident. (Is it wrong that I want this to end with him breaking through Instrumentality to a chorus of his friends saying ‘Congratulations’?)

Gran is my favorite Teacher, as a teacher, in BNHA. I’m a teaching-major, and I kinda aspire to his techniques. What I love the most is helping students figure it out themselves. Just telling someone the answer doesn’t help them. It’s so satisfying seeing a student make that breakthrough thanks to your guidance.

Now we’re cutting away to Iida’s internship to remind you Iida Wants Revenge. This is a little exposition-y, let’s cut somewhere else.

OK good, the villains! Right off the bat, we’ve got some great Parallels with the Heroes, as Tomura decides to basically Intern with a Pro-Villain. He even calls Stain a pro. Tho Tomura really needs to work on his recruitment strategy. “Stain join us. Cause.” “Bakugou. Join us. Cause”.

I want Deku and Tomura to build a grand Hero-Villain rivalry. Tomura basically hates him for no real reason right now, and I want there to be a good reason. Other than “He’s All Might’s successor”. I want them to be the Joker and Batman of BNHA with a real complex hero-villain rivalry, where one reflects the other. They’re getting there but I want more.

“Bloodlust without conviction is meaningless.” Ooh I love me some Stain. He really elevated this series’ philosophical side with his ramblings on heroism and villainy.

OK am I creeped out by the fact that All for One just said the same thing I did about learning? A little.

Deku is so brilliant and such a fast learner tho. It doesn’t take him long to put it all together. And Gran actually really admires him for that - I enjoy their mentor dynamic a lot, since Gran has some real respect for Midoriya in a different way from All Might.

Bakugou with Best Jeanist! OMG the comedy gold of this. Though I just want to take a sec to gripe about a change from the manga to the anime: Manga! Bakugou does not charge at Best Jeanist and yell at him. He’s not dumb enough to try that on the #4 Pro Hero and his teacher. He sits still and listens to Jeanist’s lecture. The only Bakugo line here that’s from the manga is “Didn’t you make an offer for me?” This completely changes the way we perceive Bakugo in this scene, and in general. Bad change.

 But in Good Storytelling-ville, I like the continuing parallels between the Wonder duo this creates: Izuku interns in a rundown neighborhood with an unlisted hero, Bakugo in Tokyo with a top pro. Izuku needs to learn to control his power and believe in himself. Katsuki needs to learn to be kinder and more humble. Izuku learns his lesson her, Katsuki doesn’t. Parallels!

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu again! 4th kind is ok. He’s probably the least memorable of the internship pros, since his gimmick is simple and his design kinda dull.

Uraraka and Gunhead! I love how well they get along. He’s kawaii and she’s a hardcore badass. Don’t you forget it!

Now for more of Momo’s arc. The Uwabami internship is usually dismissed by fans as Just Fanservice, but think about it in context, and it becomes really interesting. One, the Hero Killer arc is about Stain protesting the commercialization of heroism, so we do need to have a Pro-Hero demonstrate the problematic nature of that commercialism. Uwabami does just that. Two, we need to have Momo’s internship be unfulfilling to her, to complete her downward trajectory (before the Final Exam arc can bring her back up), so it’s useful for further embarrassing and developing her character. 3, it sets up Momo and Kendo’s future rivalry.

I’ll take more about it in future eps where it appears.

Izuku practicing and constantly hitting his face on the wall is one of those things that makes me wonder if either a) he has a secret endurance quirk or b) OFA just naturally ups your durability. How does he still have a face after that.

Here’s a hot take: Izuku with his face smashed up from spending a night with no sleep training in garbage all night is still prettier than any other guy in this series.

One of the reviewers I follow made the comparison between All Might vs Deku’s using of OFA and Korra vs Aang’s role as the Avatar. You know, All Might and Korra, both master the power pretty quickly so they get to be strong fast but lose out on the spiritual connection a bit, while Deku and Aang take their time learning ofa/the four elements, but get as a tradeoff more of the spirit-y side...(ATLA & BNHA. My 2 favorite shows, alongside FMA. I swear these are like, three sides of the same show).

While I’m watching in the Sub this time around, i wanted to note a dub-ism in this scene: it’s localized to ‘hot pastries’ instead of taiyaki. There’s a lot of bits like that, where they take Japanese food and translate it for us dumb Americans. But well, maybe that made sense in the 90s, when there maybe wasn’t as much cultural crossover, but...even I knew what mochi were before watching BNHA (Uraraka’s fave, and the dub always localizes it to ‘sweets’) and everyone has google if they’re confused so why not just say ‘Taiyaki?’ Ah well, it’s a stupid nitpick but still.

Gran’s metaphor here is so great. As a teacher I aspire to learn from this man. Teach me your teaching ways.

“THIS TAIYAKI IS ME!!!!!” Another dub-ism has him say “I’m not really a dessert” I saw a reactor once comment on this ‘Yeah, but you are a snacc, Deku.’ I wholeheartedly agree.

FULL COWLLLLLLL!!!!!!! FYEAH!!!!!

OK so there are a lot of reasons I love Full Cowl. it’s one of the series’ finest moments, emblematic of what makes it cool. And what makes Deku cool. He’s smart, and has to work his way around problems, and this solution was just...it was there, for us and Izuku the whole time, to finally sit up and take notice of. It’s about applying power in a different way. About taking what you can do and doing the best you can with what you’ve got. A big central theme for the series.  

Also dayum that slow pan up Deku’s entire body as he activates it...he just looks good in this arc. Actually, post-cavalry battle Deku in the sports festival arc always looks weird and odd (because he’s beat up and in pain, duh) and prior to that he was mainly just adorable...this arc, however, is his official transition into Best Boy for Reals. He’s just...swoony. and also really cool, smart, and all sorts of great fangirl-y things. 

We end on a confident Deku smile and Daiki’s adorable ‘hai.’ Basically, i really enjoy this episode. A little slow at the beginning, maybe. But that conclusion is amazing and so worth the payoff. It’s even got this amazing rhyme and rhythm to it, cutting back and forth between the different students and teachers and just having themes echo between each other like poetry. It love it.

To close off: ED4, AKA BEST ED EVER!!!! This is seriously, no sarcasm, best ED. So for those of you who don’t know, the story behind ED4 Datte Atashi no Hero is, 1: The Fantasy AU theme comes from the second popularity poll, which came out around Chapter 120/Episode 61 (yes, THAT one) and for which Horikoshi drew the top 10 in fantasy garb. 2: The Song was written by LiSa and was explicitly stated by her to be effectively about Izuku’s feelings towards Kacchan. I wrote a post analyzing it. It is, basically, the anthem for...

BKDK CORNER

“Loose…” Guess who the first person Deku thinks of to create Full Cowling is? If you sad Kacchan, ding-ding-ding!

On an analytical note, I think it’s very, very significant that the first real breakthrough Deku makes in handling his power comes by observing Kacchan and imitating him. This is one of my Top 20 Favorite BKDK moments, even though it’s completely indirect, because of how important that is in the long-run. But what about the Imitation theme? Why is it OK for Izuku to imitate Katsuki, but not All Might? Well, first of all, he does use Gran Torino’s moves as well, but mainly, I think the series is saying with this distinction that it’s OK to imitate someone if you see their flaws and acknowledge them, but if you hero-worship them and see them as perfect, you’re only going to screw yourself over.  This is why Iida imitating Ingenium, Shoto imitating his mom, Deku and Kacchan imitating All Might, and yes, Uraraka imitating Deku, are all so bad for them. If you see someone as perfect, and want to imitate them, you’ll never achieve that in your mind, because you already view yourself as imperfect. So Deku can imitate Katsuki because he thinks he’s a jerk, but also an amazing fighter, and Gran because he thinks he’s weird, but tough.

Also Deku just automatically thinking of Kacchan first is so damn shippy.

BEST GIRL OF THE EPISODE: Uwabami!

RANKER: Ranking the Internship Pros, least helpful to most.

10. Uwabami

9. Mt. Lady

8. 4th Kind

7. Endeavor

6. Death Arms

5. Manual

4. Selkie and Sirius (anime only)

3. Gunhead

2. Best Jeanist

1. Gran Torino! (Deku lucked out)

[cleaduvalls]

i watched “spy kids 4″ exactly twice and i plan to keep it that way. here are my thoughts

i had the volume up from the last one because it was SO QUIET and now my ears hurt. not a great start

i used to think that was carmen and i was so disappointed because i wanted to see carmens kids 😔

tik tok????? oh no

i thought tick tock was matthew lillard for most of the movie

you cant do that in the SIMS

why are you shifitng gears. you dont need to shift gears

shut up wilbur have YOU given birth?????

YOU GO IN AT EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES AND YOURE AT THREE ARE YOU S T U P I D

wait it sounds like ive given birth i havent i assure you

a pregnant belly wouldnt make that sound

yeah alright whatever shaggy youre high

isnt she from girl meets world??????

itd make a better sitcom honestly

hahah funney because shes a spy

WHY ARE YOU NOT IN THERE WITH YOUR W I F E

birth is NOT that short

i would be great at cinemasins

oh!!!! disabled character!!!!

who approved this show

oh like its HER fault

youre watching the clock speed up why are you not suspicious

roll credits

argonaut. my english teacher would like that

its 5 o clock somewhere

have you not been watching the show??????

there is a serious lack of floop

i feel like ive seen the boy before too

guess not

also i guess this one had a smell feature?????? ig thats why the baby farts so much

AND IT EXPLAINS THE DRESSING!!!! YOU CAN SMELL DRESSING!!!!!

dont say stepmother its creepy

ooh tinker toys!!!! real ones this time!!!!

girl its dyed blue youre gonna stain your carpet

oh God she wants to be FRIENDS

epic????? No

these pranks can all be used for smellovision

aromascope ig??????

BEING FRIENDS!!!! THATS SOME FANFIC LEVEL TROPEYNESS

oops

the CHEETOS

because you pulled the prank?????

power move

those are really your worst fears?????

i have almost that exact clock

youre looking for SPIES not VILLIANS

i kinda want a clock hand sword

MARISSA NO IM DYING OF SECONDHAND EMBARASSMENT

cecils so chill

it looks like the slime from floops castle..... i miss floop

felix has been replaced??? by a computer voice????

oh mood

hahah carmen said that

is that ricky gervais

oh!!!! they broke gender binary!!!!!! took the other chair!!!!!

worlds smallest camera!!!!!!

yeah hes right theres no invisibility powder

ew

its not a SPACESHIP theyre not IN SPACE

hey can we maybe not put that in a movie thanks

yeah i hate this one

that fall was awful

C A R M E N!!!!!!!!!!!

wilbur youre so boring

spy week???? dont you mean shark week?????

buddypack!!!!

IS THAT THE PICTURE FROM WHERE THEY ENTERED FLOOPS CASTLE AND THEN JUNI SAW A THUMB THUMB

i watch these movies too much

except this one this one sucks

7 years ago????? when game over came out????? nice

THE BRAIN THING THAT MADE FOOGLIES!!!

SPY PLANE!!!

SEA GUPPY!!!!

CARMENS GAME SUIT!!!!

why does she still have that

HOW does she still have that

MACHETES ELECTROSHOCK GUMBALLS!!!!!!

DRAGON SPY!!!!

take that giggleses

JUNI!!!! only video tho ://

oof

WAIT I JUST SAW ARGONAUTS NAME TAG AND MY DOG HAD THAT SAME ONE BUT IN PINK AND WE HAD TO GET HER A NEW ONE BECAUSE IT WAS S O  L O U D

your baby is your back up????? Bad Idea

did you not name your child????

why did they pause for a label????

stop making time puns i hate you

i really hope those are floops. like the cereal

stop calling her stepmother like its her name its CREEPY

stop WASTING them

just say youre marissas kids?????? they know who she is

oh God piss joke

oh God POOP joke

right its the bombs that make him cool not the fact that hes literally ricky gervais

and a fart joke????? i hate this movie

silent but LETHAL???? awfyl. i hate it

toot??? stop making fart jokes

OH THEYRE GETTING CHASED CUZ THE SAPPHIRE i need to pay attention more. i blame buzzfeed

“you weirdo you vaporized us” STOP TRYING TO GET ME TO LIKE THIS MOVIE BY PLAYING ON MY NOSTALGIA

its not working btw. i hate this movie

oh look. a butt joke.

oh yay disney acid trip

uh yeah???? hes ricky gervais

yeah except shes WHITE

i kinda wanna go to the cheese shop. wisconsin instincts ig

thats not a WORD

no the red ones the second hand do you know anything?????

how does she know how to army crawl???? shes EIGHT

there are 42 minutes left im suffering

oh no he died

is she wearing twinkle toes??????

did they.... teleport???? was that an awkward cut???? did they straight up travel through time????? im so confused

yknow as an OBVIOUS choice for the next doctor, floop should REALLY be in the movie centered around time

im gonna punch this dude

IM GONNA PUNCH THIS DUDE TOO YOU CAN STILL BE A FAMILY AND CALL YOURSELF STEPKIDS

hes the hulk

oh dear he referenced a meme

he just called the google lady annoying im gonna punch him next

n i c e

SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS!!!!!!

yeah theyre gonna flip youre STALKING THEM

that seems like a Bad Idea

try harder rebecca

IF YOURE GONNA TAKE THEM THERE W H A T DO YOU THINK THEYRE GONNA DO???????

dude you look like youre on crack

youre gonna divorce her because she wasnt allowed to tell you?????????

W H A T

no???? ofc not???? you have no weapons??????

DUDE CHILL SHE L I T E R A L L Y COULDNT TELL YOU

and i feel fine~

J U N I!!!!!!!!!!! FOR REALS!!!!!!!!

oh shiitake mushrooms he got kinda cute

you can???? reach into the garbage can???????

BECAUSE YOURE CHILDREN!!!!!! THEY SHUT DOWN THE SPY KIDS PROGRAM!!!!!!

i love the sound of clockwork. so soothing. that doctor who episode with the time robots???? a fave

oh no they all have died

M A C H E T E!!!!!!!!

why did juni freeze if he didnt really freeze???? thats some buzz lightyear level stuff

oh hey i just realized that junis hair is back!!

oh no now argos the hulk too

the baby looks like dora

hahah funney

HE WAS TOAST IN THE FIRST MOVIE S T O P  P L A Y I N G  O N  N O S T A L G I A

and diaper lady???? Stop

nice censorship

can hearing aids work that well???? im no expert but i dont think they can do that?????

taking his hearing aids???? i hate this guy

R A L P H!!!!

oh!!!!!! sign language!!!!!

Even Evil Has Standards

are they trying to make me cry?? im not

you can travel through time youre just not COOL ENOUGH

oh worm????

side note i figured they were the same guy but i was so disappointed when it wasnt matthew lillard

please let this be over i need to mindlessly scroll the spy kids wiki

stop being philosophical youre wearing twinkle toes

roll credits

us???? wouldnt that be me???? or is us right??? clones are wack

yEET

oh no he died

why did he float???? did they run out of gravity?????

he moved before he touched the watch

yeah but hell see his dad again and thats the point of this whole thing????

oh no he died. for reals this time

this time???? you have 6 months

STOP👏MAKING👏TIME👏PUNS👏

i cant raise my eyebrow😔

YOU CANT DO THAT WE JUST DISCUSSED IT

thats hot

WHY DOES SHE NOT HAVE A NAME

yes bc youre a robot shut up

oh thank God its over

[fba-art]

Just out of curiosity, why don’t you like young justice??

aight, so i knew i was gonna wait to respond to this ‘til i had some time to explain.

and i want to start out by saying that i don’t think Young Justice, as a property, is a bad show. in fact, i think it’s a show that had GREAT potential. i watched every new episode via livestream every saturday lol. and now, i’ll be honest when i say it’s been some time since i’ve rewatched it, and i’m always open to changing opinions. a few years back, i wanted to give it another, fresher perspective and dove in for a rewatch, but ultimately didn’t finish. i don’t remember my reasoning exactly, but i recall being disappointed.and it’s funny i received this ask this week, b/c my friend and i were planning on giving it another rewatch for shits and giggle after finals ( sober or not is tbd ).

but so, here’s where i stand on the show.

i started watching YJ when it was abt 5 episodes into s1. and i binged those first five and stick to my guns that holy SHIT 1-3 are bomb as FUCK. super strong start! Independence Day will never not get me SO HYPE and remind me why i fell in love with DC’s teenage heroes in the first place. it’s so… youthful. a fun conversation for another time.

and now, when i started watching YJ, it was like four months into my making my TT!Kid Flash rp blog, and two months after i’d gotten into reading comics; when i found out Wally was like a biG DC CHARACTER, NOT JUST AN OLD CARTOON ONE-SHOT, i went EVERYWHERE to get my hands on more about Wally West. ironically, the first purchase i ever made from a comic store was a silver age Teen Titans tale, issue #2 of TTY1, and two issues of the old Young Justice comics ( still some of my favorite comics to this day; more on that later ).TL;DRi saw a commercial for YJ, ft. my fave DC char and my fave comic title and went “HOSHIT”.

as the episodes pushed the show’s plot along, it was fun and explorative of a more intense side to the idea of a group of superteens in the DCU. and again, very TEENAGER-Y, which i say in the BEST of ways, considering that was the target audience as well. but, as part of that audience at the time, one of the things that had started to bother me was the character relationships. yeah, i was loving on most of the main cast at the time, but for the first half of the season, the team’s supposedly-close friendships were pushed to the backburner ( EXCEPT for KF and Rob’s, which was one of the only things that got me through the season ). the first season WAS about straining relationships. the social drama was palpable. you NEED conflict in your plots, and char-v-char is especially fun. but i remember feeling like there was little bonding. they were a group of acquaintances, learning to co-habitate the same space- not to say that they didn’t seem like friends, but there was a lack of balance between “teens being professionals in their field” and “teens being immature teens”. both were squeezed in, but both consistently felt forced.

which brings me to the next point: forcing relationships without developing them!i wasn’t sure why i was supposed to care about Roy, like. At all. the team always bringing up that they trained alongside him, grew with the guy, and then??? nada, except when the plot needed edgy tantrumy angst.then there was spitfire. i ship spitfire now, but the ENTIRETY of s1 i was SO FRUSTRATED, because all those two did was bicker. wally was pretty foul to artemis, who was also just plain mean to wally. and i say this with the two of them as my TOP FAVE CHARS.and don’t get me STARTED on the best char on the entire team, KALDUR’AHM!!!! who was shit on by EVERYONE– fandom and plot, alike. actually, i do recall in my last rewatch starting two tallies of everytime kaldur was DISRESPECTED and TREATED LIKE GARBAGE BY TEEN AND ADULT CHARS, versus everytime he was treated respectfully. this boy was BRUTALIZED through s1.m’gann and conner, too– a cute concept, but borderline cringey, even creepy, at times. i was rooting for supermartian. i was. but it was like the writers didn’t know how to write a slowburn. the idea was honestly better on paper than in execution.

the YJ spinoff comics filled in a lot of these gaps, i’ll admit. it explored the chars, their relationships, and their behavior in ways the show seemingly didn’t have time to do, and i LOVE the spinoff series. but i also firmly believe that you shouldn’t need a second media to fix the first. it’s capitalistic and no fun.

through the duration of the show, there were also issues such as the hiatuses. i don’t recall them coming with much warning at a time, nor sticking to much of a schedule. i don’t actually remember what they were for, either. but, before and after each of (three?? was it three?) hiatuses, the showrunners would introduce a new character during a new arc, give said character some liners or plot fodder, and do away with them for the rest of the season ( i.e Rocket, Zatanna, Garth and Tula, etc. ).

i have some other, nitpickier issues– why was wally That Way, why was clark Like That, how come bruce was the ENABLER the entire time, etc– but many can be argued as whether they affected the show as a whole or not.my actual biggest problem was the direction.the director.Greg Weisman.bc idk what the hell he was doing half the time, and i don’t think he knew, either. the writing wasn’t GREAT, but at least it was consistent. Weisman truly had a marketable property, a fan favorite, and one of CN’s best running shows at the time. but between the hiatuses, the writing’s faults, the insufficient character development, and a HUGE ego thanks to his fanbase, Weisman was unable to uphold the integrity of his show. there was both fan-pandering, AS WELL AS consciously going AGAINST fans’ wishes. there was that whole “Ask Greg”-thing, too, where he would get back to a fan once every blue moon and answer background questions about the show’s universe, which became a scene of hot debate. Greg Weisman became the JK Rowling of DC, and lost a lot of my respect with his lack of damage control, and impulse control.

then, with the very inception of the show– and i don’t actually know if i can blame weisman for this or not, but i wanna know who pitched it, otherwise– the show’s CONCEPT. why was Young Justice made with this particular cast of characters, cherrypicked through DC history, aged down or revamped or just cut-and-pasted where they didn’t fit? why was its concept, “COVERT TEAM OF ADOLESCENTS WITH SUPERPOWERS WORKING TOGETHER WITH LACK OF SUPERVISION”? why was the show called “Young Justice” when what they wanted was the TT v3 comics? WHY DID WE NEED TO TURN SUPERMAN INTO THE UNAVAILABLE-FATHER TROPE????? questions that will forever remain unanswered. that’s a lie, i can answer most of them, myself.but all in all, a show with great potential that failed in execution.

season 2, i actually enjoyed more than season 1– it felt like there was more of a handle on the story and cast, alike. did i approve of season 2 and what went down? debatable. but that’s a very subjective view. objectively, season 2 flowed better than season 1, but still didn’t follow through on subplots, nor resolved relationships or even characterization ( m’gann, girl what the fuck?? ). very little team bonding, save for, once again, two chars out of the whole team. again, another season of SO much potential, but one that fell short.

its pros, however– i really enjoyed the darker themes, getting darker as time went on. there was a lot of tragedy in s2, and different perspectives and walks of life to watch through different lenses. a much more diverse cast, and very different conflicts to tackle. i was impressed. i don’t think all the controversies were resolved, but i also wasn’t quite as upset that they weren’t; open-ended conflict is frustrating, but is a great lead-in to another season.

————which, for better or for worse, we weren’t supposed to have.i personally would’ve rather the show ended there, not quite on a high note ( are u fucking kidding me fjaoisdfjoaifio waLLY, this was during the n52, too ), but with a concrete END. of course there was more to explore, the world they’d built was a big one, but we didn’t need to.

i was literally just yesterday chatting w my sis, bc after school lets out, we wanna watch season 3. i really do. i’m upset that there is one, but i do wanna know what happens to my faves. and, on top of that, i’ve been meaning to do one BIG rewatch, anyways, to get me set up for s3. as a student of film, it’s a huge philosophy of mine to rewatch EVERYTHING and go in with the intent of giving it a fresh start and a clean slate– both medias i love, and medias i hate. it’s important to analyze pop culture critically, and even things that aren’t good can still be enjoyable.

for me, Young Justice wasn’t a phenomenal show to begin with, from its technological side to its creative team to its politics, and i stopped enjoying it pretty early on. but, that isn’t to say it didn’t accomplish GREAT things, and isn’t UN-enjoyable; it has its moments. also i would DIE for most of the cast, i fucking love the characters.

i don’t think anyone is wrong for liking Young Justice. i try to stay in the loop about it, and form new opinions based on whatever information is out there until i can get ahold of the source material. and, i do like aspects of the show. but ultimately, it just isn’t my cup of tea. 

[babyi]

Sweetener: In Review

           Sweetener (Album):             8/10

I like it a lot. I have a lot of reasons why I like most of the songs. You’re never gonna like them all, and that’s okay too. But I like so many of them and I’m really relieved. It doesn’t change whether Ariana’s personality is any better but it matters that I actually like her music. It’s so funny to me that some people like DW better because for me, this album is far more up my street. I wish a lot of the songs had their beats like 20% more subtle as a review of the songs as a whole, and some of the more pharrell-y tracks are worse. But overall this isn’t a bad album attempt. I can see myself stanning this album and still listening to it in the future. And I’ve had several songs stuck in my head or on repeat, and that’s nice because I’ve actually wanted to listen to the album more and more the longer it;s been out. It may be as much of a grower as the singles but I do think it’s a good album and I’m proud of it.  

The track by track listing is below, the opinions inside are all my own, just a personal opinion. You are entitled to your own opinion whether you agree with me or not. 

1. Raindrops (An Angel Cried)           8/10

A gorgeous way to start the album, I really enjoy hearing just a pure acapella representation of Ariana’s voice to kick off the album. It’s clean and gorgeous, and it really gives you everything you need to know about Ariana’s talent - look no further than track. 1. However, this is Ariana’s 4th album and there are two covers on it which I think is a little stretched; at this point in her career Ariana should be defining sounds, not recycling them. I think that this acapella genius could have been better if it was an original. The cover is beautiful but, as with most of her career so far, Ariana is still relying on others to provide her with material to sing to, it’s time she stepped up artistically. 

2. Blazed            5/10

I don’t hate it, I know a lot of people hate Pharrell’s production and his parts of this song, but personally I don’t hate it at all. I think it’s a far more relaxed sound than a lot of this album’s other disasters like the sampling in TLIC or the yuh’s/sheeh’s in Sweetener etc. Blazed has a basic backing track which isn’t anything special but the melody of the singing is one of the most upbeat on the album and makes it special and stand out a bit from the overall ambiance of the rest of the album. The lyrics are a bit confused but it attempts to create an image of a new relationship, it also has some of the most underrated lyrics on the album with Pharrell’s line “your magnetic demeanor”. If this song was on a different album it could have been more of a filler track but it’s one of few tracks you could potentially dance to. However It is a wasted feature, the song isn’t so good as to forgive it for it’s basic sounds and taking up a slot on the album when this song could have happily been a soundtrack song for tv/film instead. 

3. The Light Is Coming           0/10

Trash. There is too much going on, the lyrics are a mess which should never have been aloud to make it to the studio floor. Nicki isn’t bad but it’s another of many wasted features: Ariana and Nicki have done better things together and this ain’t it. It was supposed to be some commentary on people with loud opinions and simultaneously about finding the light.... when in reality neither of these concepts came across and it was just a big messy trash pile of hot garbage. The beat is too heavy, nicki doesn’t say anything about the light, ariana isn’t giving any vocals, the lyrics are all over the place, and the sample in the background is distracting and ugly. 

4. R.E.M Wake Up            7/10

The first song we come to which is actually representative of the album vibe. It’s the definition of a slow jam and I fuck with it heavy. It really only has one soul concept ‘’you’re such a dream to me’’ and everything else is frills around it but it is really pretty. We get some harmonies and some cute verses courtesy of Beyonce of all people. It’s very inoffensive and cute, if I were to critique I would say, as usual for Pharrell’s whole vibe, the beat is a bit too heavy for the sweet, light, dreamy song. It’s worth noting that people find this song a bit boring, too. And it’s hard to completely forgive it for ‘’when I was sleep’’. But Ariana’s vocals and the overall almost r&b cloudlike vibe work well for Ariana. I can see why this one is her fave right now, and why she feels it sounds the most like her. 

5. God Is A Woman            9/10

This song could have it’s own review just by itself, so I’ll only focus on it as far of the album. This song is a bop, it’s controversial and it’s just about sex, but the sound is iconic. It has big sounds and big notes and big ideas. It fits well within the album and it is a very good single choice. it could do with less ‘yuh’s and better lyrical concepts - because for all the will in the world this song is not what empowerment is, no matter how much she wants it to be. However, with that known, as a sex song with an eye catching concept, it nails it and gives us some much needed vocals. 

6. Sweetener  Bop It             2/10

The biggest disappointment on the album. As the title song, it was always going to be much anticipated and have a lot of it’s shoulders. And when the first verse hits, I almost cried because it’s so good, beautiful, with such an amazing first verse lyrically and it was exactly what she said it was about - sweetening the situation. That verse is some of my favourite lyrics on the album. And then the chorus hits. And it’s trash from there. The bop it aesthetic is ugly to me and although you can warm to it and tolerate it, it could always have been so much better. It has all the ugly Pharrell ‘sheesh’ parts in the back which we could have done without, and I don’t think I need to talk more about the lyrics in the chorus. To me, this song is like trailmix: it has lovely, amazing parts but overall its ruined by the abundance of nasty other shit mixed in. 

7. Successful            6/10

I can both take this one and leave it. This song was part of the reason I took so long to review because I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not. I quite like the melody/sound, but the lyrics are a ruiner. For others, they’re put off by the basic wii music beat in the back of it, and I don’t mind that so much, personally. However, the lyrics make me cringe a bit- I think the song was supposed to be an attempt at celebrating her journey and how far she’s come, and be an empowering song for herself and other women. However, it missed the mark just slightly and ends up sounding like she’s bragging about how successful she is, which is a shame because I like the concept a lot she just needed a better lyricist to smooth it. When I listen close enough to hear her pat herself on the back I can’t help but enjoy the song less, I don’t find a millionaire born into money and opportunity celebrating her fun cute life, relatable. I can’t ignore the existence of songs like IDC/YDKM and then Successful, but the lack of songs celebrating friends/family/fans or any type of humble thank you? This song, to me, feels like another addition in the line of songs which make her sound like a dick. And then there’s the sex aspect which is as unnecessary as me mentioning it in this review. But the beat is poppin and I can’t fault the vocals or choices made on the sound front. 

8. Everytime  Back To You            10/10

Amazing, stunning, phenomenal, genuis, iconic. I can’t get enough of this song I love it so much. It’s my favourite on the album and I ADORE the story it tells. The lyrics sing to me, the vocals and the pop feel of the whole song just really vibes with me. This pop-y slow jam reminds me of space and lavender, and a sincere pop song for Ariana. This song is everything that I enjoy in her music and I am so happy she put this on the album and let us hear it. I can’t even describe how much I like it honestly it’s just something that I need to listen to repeatedly for the rest of my life. 

9. Breathin’            10/10

My baby. This is a powerful song and I appreciate everything about it, I think the lyrics are necessary and the way the song is formulated with the long pauses and beat drops are genuis for the subject matter. It’s truly one of her better songs on her discography, one without the mention of sex and on a subject which can be so personal yet so easily relatable to so many people. This song deserves to be a single, it’s fan favourite and if Ariana and everyone on her team had any sense they would see the success of this song already and run with it, give it the day in the sun it deserves. It’s the pop equivalent of Get Well Soon, better articulated and with such clarity it just blows me away. 

10. No Tears Left To Cry            9/10

I still like it. When this one dropped I was nervous that I only liked it because it was new, but here we are with the whole album and I still think it’s one of the better songs on it. It bridges the gap well, between albums. It’s just an all-round good song. My least favourite parts are the ‘pickin it up’ parts but at this point it’s normal for me to hear that in the song. I also wish it hadn’t mentioned a boy at all, and I wish she hadn’t tried to say that the ‘boy’ was her gays at her shows because it reminds me of how lesbian-exclusionary she is with her lgbt advocacy. However, I do think it’s the perfect nod to Manchester. I would have hated a song dedicated to it, and the subtle hints about moving on are very classy. It’s a good, strong song, and it has longevity. 

11. Borderline            1/10

Nahhhhhh. I can barely pay attention during this song. It’s the last of the wasted features, and it is the most forgettable song on the album. I’m not even gonna spend a lot of time thinking about it. It’s very one dimensional sounding. The wifey type and ice cream parts are an odd mix and a lot of people find them cringy. Missy’s part is forgettable. Ariana will forget about it just as quickly as we will.  It just doesn’t do it for me at all. 

12. Better Off            9/10

Sweet. I have no problems with this song at all, it doesn’t call to me like some of the other songs but I like it a lot when it’s on. It’s very ethereal and very deep. it feels personal and the lyrics tell a story very well. It sounds like the rundown of a real relationship. My favourite line is ‘’i’d rather have your body than half of your heart’’ which sticks out to me in such a plesant way. The whole song is pleasant to listen to, which is a clever contrast to the painful subject matter: it’s like you’re being sung to sleep with a lullaby by a widow. And those surprise strings at the end are everything, they’re a huge throwback to her earlier music and sound gorgeous in this song. Just overall a lovely listen. 

13. Goodnight N’ Go            9/10

A cover, but I would never want this song not to exist. It’s an amazing take on the original and I like the twist of the beats in the first verse then diving into the well known chorus which sounds just so goddamn pretty. The song sounds like a beautiful swirl of classical vs modern versions of the song and Ariana does it so much justice. It’s stunning, I can’t really comment too much further on it because it’s not actually her song lol. I wish she had an original as gorgeous as this. 

14. Pete Davidson  Happy            7.5/10

I gotta say that I like it. I’m not keen on the ‘look at my mind’ section. But when the song gets good, it gets so good. It’s so cute and I’m so happy that she’s this happy. I wish the song was longer instead of an odd interlude near the end of the album. It would have been better as a full song, and it would have been better focusing on happiness. But it’s cute as hell, and I’m not objecting to it being on the album at all, it’s a nice little song. 

15. Get Well Soon            6/10

Powerful. This song might be the most important song she’s ever made, it’s definitely the most personal and I love it for that. Personally, I don’t have anxiety so I find it quite loud and confusing- which I know is the point of it and that’s amazing and clever and artistic which I’ve been waiting to see from her for such a long time. However, that doesn’t make it an easy listen for me, and it’s important but not one of my favourites. I appreciate everything that it is, but I don’t like all the song rapping, and I don’t like the different clashing styles. I like about half of it a lot and the other half just doesn’t appeal to me much. I like it more because I know how much it means to other people, and how accurate it is in describing what anxiety is for them - it’s a healing thing for them. And it has the extra silence in remembrance at the end which is also a powerful and important move to end the album with. Basically, I respect this song a lot. But I don’t put it on for nice listening. I love it for everything it stands for. 

[permian-tropos]

essay which eventually makes an argument about which fandom discourse is good political praxis and which is ungood

I know it’s crass to connect inane fandom crap to real world atrocities so to be just minimally crass: recent real world atrocities have indeed made me think of inane fandom crap I’ve seen, but then I wondered what the right way to discuss the parallels even is. Stories resemble reality and things fans say diegetically about fiction (like, the thing we all do where we phrase it like it’s real) can resemble things people say about reality. Diegetic opinions can resemble shitty real world opinions. And we argue constantly about what to do about it.

I’m feeling fucking pissed about some real world opinions, but I don’t think dumb Star Wars fandom arguments technically cause the real world opinions I’m super fucking pissed about, the way people think they do. So this isn’t about that. (spoilers it eventually is about that but I’ll say it’s not for now)

I want to argue that discourse should be about examining every diegetic opinion that feels possible. Everything from baseless nonsense, to things you agree with, to things you are comfortable agreeing to disagree about, to opinions canon tries to slip by unquestioned, like, “there’s nothing to be done about the fact that Coruscant has billions of poor people buried underground like a wealth inequality layer cake”. 

I’m reframing the inflammatory “your diegetic opinions describe your real world ones” or the moral panicky “your diegetic opinions will become your real ones”: The more possible it feels that you’d find fans with the diegetic opinion, the more valid your society/culture treats the real-world counterpart.

So I’m angry, because our society treats horrible opinions about state violence now being applied to the recent Gaza massacre as valid, and it has treated them as valid for a long time, and it’s reflected in some diegetic opinions on the Jakku massacre. Opinions which I now am extra disgusted by. But the people with those opinions might not have the same bad opinions about the real world; it doesn’t work like that. I want the discourse to stop focusing on that.

The ease with which people could, if not justify, minimize, the awfulness of Kylo killing of the Jakku villagers, shows some culturally non-taboo things to say about state violence (“they were fighting back, the villagers were protecting the Resistance/were armed by them, maybe they weren’t a threat in that moment but they clearly would have threatened the Order if they’d had the means, and the Resistance was wrong to use them as a shield”) and its actors (”Kylo didn’t really want to do it, he had to prove he was tough in front of Phasma, he’s desensitized to this because everyone in the Order does it”).

Diegetic opinion: What Kylo did was not excusable. It was completely brutal and unnecessary. The villagers had been disarmed, Kylo killed not just the men combatants but the women noncombatants and children too, and the villagers fought back in the first place because the Order was imposing entirely illegitimate authority. Kylo did not have the right to use military force to get a map to find a man who was hiding because didn’t want to fight, to enact personal revenge because that man held a weapon over his head for a hot second. What would that even be, a cosmically strained stand-your-ground defense? Anyway it was definitely an evil thing to do. 

And those opinions aren’t super radical so they’re treated by society as valid too. As people have pointed out, though, when “war crime good” and “war crime bad” are treated as equally valid, it actually favors war crimes. People have to waste time justifying not doing war crimes. War crimes can be done before facing the court of public opinion, and then the noise of the debate can go on until the next war crime happens. And the same is true of “racism good”/”racism bad” and so on. 

But okay now I want to make an even more complicated-ass point about villain stanning. The more prevalent the garbage stan opinion is, the more support it gives to the overarching stan opinion: “this villain is a normal person”.

Cause I think there are three strains of fan apologia:

1) I forgive it because it’d be excusable in real life (not always wrong! but with the Jakku massacre it does indicate offensively crap politics) 

2) I forgive it because it’s not real and enjoying the thing doesn’t significantly affect my moral judgement or anyone else’s (basically always valid when true)

And the one that intrigues me, 

3) I forgive it not because it’d be excusable in real life but because a normal person could excuse it

If you’re excusing actions the narrative doesn’t present as wrong, the person you’re imagining as normal isn’t the character but the writer. Or, using Death of the Author, some hypothetical authorial intent -- but only if it’s possible to conceive of a writer with this intent. And it’s only palatable when the projected (if not actual) author is a decent person. Their opinions might be bad but it’s from a failing of society, not the individual. This is what so many of us use for the HanLeia kiss in ESB to avoid hating Han for what would count as sexual assault IRL, or to avoid deeply loathing the writers or the movie. 

Also if you project opinions onto a narrative that either aren’t there or aren’t provably intentional or explicit, and construct the hypothetical authorial intent behind it and find it unforgivably abnormal, and then decide the actual writer must be as well, that’s called Rian Johnson Retire Bitching. 

Imagining the writer as normal is one way we can forgive fictional bad behavior, if we think the writer intended it to be excusable. If we think they might not, we can turn to another version -- the character excuses their own behavior, and under certain circumstances we believe a normal person could make those excuses, so the character can be normal (we empathize with normal people, we want them to redeem themselves).

Type 3 stanning arguments about the actors of state violence (eg. what people argue the bottom line of Ben Solo’s moral capacity is), show that we think decent people can be actors in state violence. With the justifications people make, Kylo Ren could technically be a “normal” person because “normal” people can be convinced of all these justifications. And you know what, I’d say that’s true. Nearly every human is born with a healthy ability to develop good morals, so societies where tons of people condone or excuse atrocities do not have abnormally evil people. They have abnormally evil culture.

But the more people repeat the justifications as valid, the more it shows that Kylo is normal. Kylo has a lot of fans, and if enough of them express these diegetic beliefs, it’s sort of evident that “normal” people can have them. The part where I think fiction does end up maybe affecting reality is that diegetic opinions are treated as more potent if the real-world counterparts are good ones. And it’s moral purists and antis and ~discoursers~ that keep encouraging this perspective. 

So the antis give the stans a reason to present their diegetic opinions with real world opinions. Or to defend them without talking about real world opinions. To show that lots of people can have this opinion. Normal people. Good people, decent people. People who, even if they don’t have all the right morals, could have them in a healthy society. But they’re not really clarifying that these aren’t the right morals. Even people in the kylux fandom slipped into this from time to time despite a big push to make “we know they’re evil” the motto.

It’s tempting to use a more potent argument. Push the fandom Overton Window. “Kylo killed those villagers and it was evil but I can imagine him justifying it in ways that show he’s capable of good, and I want to see him become good” is just not as potent as “it was a wartime execution and if the stormtroopers are people maybe the villagers are also bad for killing them” when it comes to making people more sympathetic towards Kylo. 

Thanks to the anti framework of “your faves must be unproblematic” (nice work folks :/) and thanks to people who care too much about their problematic faves and don’t pay attention to the real world, diegetic opinions can end up implicitly encouraging people to push real world opinions for the sake of protecting Your Misunderstood Cinnamon Woobie who you’re very emotionally invested in but doesn’t actually exist, and that is kind of how I’m seeing fandom team up with bad politics when it doesn’t need to. Your Evil Woobie Boi can represent something good for you and you can express this and enjoy yourself. I have an evil woobie boi. He’s a great creative outlet. I absolutely stan the institution of loving villains. 

Which means we have to a) get rid of the purity wank framework and b) prioritize getting good opinions through ongoing interrogation of the real world and not expecting that we can indirectly absorb wokeness through media crafted to convey only the right messages. 

To ensure that people absorb those messages you have to get them to take all messages in media as correct. If your idea of media criticism is, when you get down to it, “criticize the things I think are wrong until they’re all gone and then make fiction tell people the right way to think”, your logical end goal is a society completely uncritical of media. A benevolent dictatorship of woke fiction. Forgive me if I don’t find that so reassuring. 

And you know what? Because so many normal people (like me, before I discoursed myself) toy with this dystopic underlying ideology, our society clearly treats the idea of a benevolent media dictatorship as valid. 

A creepy realization, but look how we got there with the “what opinions feel normal?” method. That’s why I think this model of discourse is one that actually gets us somewhere.

[stargazerdaisy]

11 Questions x 3

I was tagged by @kyliafanfiction, @trinitea-fics, and @skyeward-otp forever ago, but there’s no way I can come up with 33 questions.  So I’ll answer the 33 and come up with a new 11.  Theoretically.  We’ll see.

From Kylia:

1.) Favorite Trope To Subvert?

One of my favorites that I (think I) pulled off was in Please Don’t Make Me! , where Skye is all whispering in Ward’s ear about them sneaking off and finding a way to ~entertain~ themselves, and it certainly seems like sexy times are about to happen.  And then...it’s Mario Kart.  I love twisting people’s expectations for the sake of comedy and fun.

2.) Favorite Trope to ‘Play Straight’, as it were?

Bedsharing.  I am weeeeeeak for bedsharing.  GImme gimme gimme.  I want those  punks to wake up spooning and entwined and then the awkward to set in, but actually push them to deal with their feelings.  Yes please I need it now.  

3.) What is that one character that, no matter how much you might like to be open minded about other fans having their own opinions and whatnot, when you see people defending them, you just cannot stop rolling your eyes and being at the very least somewhat angry, if not raging?

Melinda May and Phil Coulson....

4.) Favorite Thing To Put Ketchup On?

The garbage can.

Haha, just kidding.  I’m not a huge ketchup fan.  I prefer bbq sauce or ranch for most things you’d use with ketchup.  But ketchup on a burger or hot dog works well (if bbq sauce isn’t an option).  

5.) Cake or Death?

Cake.  

6.) Is there a Spoon?

47 of them to be precise.

7.) What is the Average Airborne Velocity Of An Unladen Swallow?

African or European?

8.) Did you get the references in questions 5, 6, and 7 without having to look them up?

5 sounds familiar, but no.  6, not even in the slightest.  7, my answer should explain that one.

9.) Silliest name you’ve ever heard for a person/thing/group?

Oh, oh, oh, I know I have some doozies of nicknames, but I’m drawing a complete blank right now.

10.) What is a book series that is nominally completed that you’d like to see more installments of?

I’m a big fan of the Jack Ryan books by Tom Clancy, but well, Clancy died a few years ago, and none of the co-writers can match his original style and quality (honestly, neither can his own later books).  So while that verse could easily accommodate more stories, and I could love them, it’s not going to happen with the quality I want, so I wouldn’t want people to try and subsequently fail.

11.) Song you both hate but sometimes can’t stop listening too?

There was an *Nsync song back in the day that I hated.  But I listened to it enough times that I ended up learning all the lyrics and singing along with.  That’s happened with a few others too.  There are some One Direction songs that I like and it pisses me off that I like them.  

From Trini:

1. A song you are listening to on loop right now

Actually no, I’m not this week.  Which honestly is kinda rare.  Then again, I’ve been listening to a couple of playlists with The War on it and that song always gets to me, so it’s back in my mind again.

2. What is a popular show/book/movie/podcast could you not get into/have no interest in?

I’ve never gotten into Supernatural.  Just never had that much interest, despite having a big fondness for Jensen Ackles.  

3. What is the last movie you watched?

Thor: Ragnarok

4. Opinion of Valentine’s Day?

It’s nice to have a day where you make an extra effort to show your love for others.  It’s just as lovely to do so with family and friends as it is with a romantic partner.  And I definitely prefer, low-key, thoughtful gifts/activities.

5. A show, book or movie that you consider “Your childhood”

Inspector Gadget was one of my absolutely faves when I was a kid.  Also, totally loved Ghostwriter and wanted to start my own crime-solving group.  Alas, we did not have a ghost to aid us.  Magic School Bus was also watched a lot and I can still remember the ending bit with all the kids making phone calls.

6. Favourite Youtuber/what you do watch on Youtube?

I mostly listen to music on YouTube.  I don’t follow any particular person.  I’ve been enjoying mashup videos lately.  Imagine Dragons are great for mashups.  (There.  Happy Megan?)

7. What do you need to buy?

A new battery for my laptop.  It would be nice to use it when it wasn’t plugged in.  After all, that’s a big part of the whole laptop thing.

8. What merch are you close to impulse buying?

At this moment, nothing really.  But I had strongly considered buying Chloe Bennet’s Fight Like A Girl shirt.  If I had had the money at the time, I probably would have.

9. What’s the weather outside?

Right at this moment, overcast, grey, cool (low 40s), but happily, not raining.  Typical late March weather in this area.

10. A thing that you recently accomplished that you are proud of?

@mframe and I spent a good chunk of a day (or was it a couple days?) and built a form within the test environment of our database.  Built it from the ground up, adding groups, creating custom fields, making them calculated fields, setting up a bunch of codes in order to make them calculate correctly, etc.  And it works really well.  I really like it.  Now if only the assholes that I work with would shut the f*** up and get on board, we could actually use it.

11. Movie/book/Tv show/podcast coming out soon that you’re excited for

I NEED TO BUY MY TICKETS FOR INFINITY WAR.  Also, The Incredibles 2.

From Gilly:

1. If you won $1,000,000 dollars, what’s the first thing you’d do?

Pay off debt.  

2. A movie/tv show that you always go back to whenever you’re bored or don’t know what to watch?

Friends, Community, Brooklyn Nine Nine are all great standbys for when I can’t decide on what I’m in the mood for.

3. Most meaningful book you’ve ever read.

That’s an excellent question.  To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books that’s always stuck with me.  I need to re-read it again, in fact.

4. Have you ever gotten anyone to get hooked on a tv show? How did they feel about it?

HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH.  Yes.  I mean, nothing on the scale of Megan getting me hooked on AoS.  But I’ve convinced a couple friends to try Doctor Who, I got @evieoh to watch Community, and then she and I ganged up on @airaze-blog and made him watch all of Alias.  There was a lot of screaming.  We won’t talk about Orphan Black.

5. Has anyone ever gotten you hooked on a tv show? How did you feel about it?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Yes.

As referenced above, Megan was the one that really pushed me to try AoS again.  (I’d watched the first 3 or 4 episodes when it first aired, but lost interest and was always having to watch it later b/c of committments those nights.) There was another friend of ours at work, who pushed along with her, and my bff watched it as well and encouraged me.  I was kind of hesitant, didn’t care a whole lot, but I was getting into the MCU as a whole, so I decided to give it a shot again.

Amazingly enough, while I knew Hydra comes out of the shadows and about Jiaying’s evil turn, Double Agent Ward wasn’t spoiled for me.  I was SHOCKED at that.  And I’m so glad, because it was SUCH A GOOD TWIST.  

But yeah.....that may have just slightly, dramatically changed the trajectory of my life.  I wouldn’t have had an Aussie live on my couch for the last 6 months and that would have truly been tragic.

6. Where’s your dream vacation?

Croatia.  I’ve been dying to go there for years and it gets more intense every day.

7. Favorite social media app/site.

Tumblr.  I get the most interaction and the widest range here.  

8. Dream job.

Stay at home mom would be my preferred occupation.  For a profession, lactation consultant is my dream.  We’ll see if I ever get there.

9. Favorite genre to read/write.

Uhhh.....in terms of fanfic genres/tropes, I love enemies to friends to lovers (on any scale).  

10. Favorite genre to watch.

I love spy shows.  Gimmes spies anyday.  

11. Favorite quote at the moment.

CHICKENS!  (just for you, Evie)

My questions - sorry dudes, only doing 11.

What is your favorite season?

What are your feeling on A.I. (the concept, not the movie)?

What is the oldest piece of technology in your home?  Do you use it?  Do you know how?

Hummus.  Thoughts?

Tell me about a favorite birthday or holiday present.

What pair of shoes do you wear the most?  Are they your favorite or just the most functional or something else?

What’s your dream fanfic?

How easy is it for you to unplug?

What is a hobby/activity/something that you have an absurd amount of supplies/tools for?

What is your guilty pleasure snack food?

Are you more a dialogue or song lyrics referencer?

I tag: @evieoh, @mframe, @agenthaywood, @airaze-blog, @helloimthedoctor, @agentsofsunnydale, @queermageddon, @livesindaydreams, @orlissa, @vesperass-anuna, and @in-the-moving-castle

[werealljustwinginit]

The 20s and the 30s

For the “These are actually nice, you fucking nerd” ask:

20. what is your favourite song at the moment? Oh lord, I have a great deal of fave songs…I’ve never been able to pick when it comes to music. I guess some recent jams I find to be total bops are One Foot by Walk the Moon, American Girl by Tom Petty, and the entirety of The Greatest Showman Soundtrack.

21. age and birthday?This is a creepy ask to publish online…so I’ll give you I’m 23!

22. description of crush.Fictional characters and heroes.

23. fear(s)Spiders…that’s all I can think of? There has to be something else…but I can’t think of a single thing besides spiders.

24. heightTall my dude.

25. role modelHmm, my Dad, my two professors, and my favorite fictional characters.

26. idol(s)Tony Stark? Idk, I’m such a nerd…any celebs in shows and movies that I blog about on here. Beyonce, RDJ, Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Daisy Riddley, Zendaya, Obama, Julie Andrews, Tom Hanks…the list goes on.

27. things i hateSpiders, bad drivers, people, eating things from the ocean, waking up early in the morning or by alarm, cats, allergies, Donald Trump and most of the republican party…the list goes on. Why was this the easiest thing to answer so far.

28. i’ll love you if…You’re kind, you’re passionate about what you do, you are good with kids, you love shoes, are athletic, are tall, or are a nerd. Lol. You at least need to be prepared to listen to me talk about film and television.

29. favourite film(s)I LOVE THESE TYPES OF QUESTIONS. LET”S DISCUSS FILM. (Sort of in order:)Forrest Gump, La La Land, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Hook, HP, Marvel, and Walter Mitty.

30. favourite tv show(s)(In no particular order:) The Nanny, Parks & Rec, Boy Meets World, Steven Universe, The Office, Black Mirror, Bob’s Burgers, and Classic Spongebob.

31. 3 random factsI’m deaf, I can snowboard, anddddd did you know you breath mainly  through one nostril at a time? You can breath out of both but there is a stronger air flow to one nostril at a time; it changes every half hour or so. This is why when you are sick sometimes your nose just clears and you’re like “WHAT IS AIR???” …because it’s changing nostrils. I’m currently on my right nostril.

32. are your friends mainly girls or guys?Girls

33. something you want to learnIt’s on my bucket list to learn ASL and calligraphy. 

34. most embarrassing momentOf life? Recently? I’m gunna just share the most recent embarrassment of mine…Back in March I had shoulder surgery and was in a sling, unable to move my arm for 8 weeks. (and even after that but at least the sling was gone). A few days after my surgery, my parents had gone out to this local bar and tavern and invited me out for the first time since my surgery. They called and asked me to meet them there and while I didn’t feel well enough to stay and hang, they were gunna buy me some food to bring home and eat later. But mind you I only have the use of my left arm and this was all new to me…so I couldn’t shower yet, couldn’t brush my hair or put it up and out of my face on my own, couldn’t really dress myself yet, def couldn’t put a bra on, couldn’t tie shoes, etc. It was a mess. 

But I end up getting myself there in the rain. So I 134% look like a huge mess–not even a hot mess. Just literally looking like garbage, and I’m still in my sling, and it’s raining. But I at least wanted my mom to put my hair up for me to look somewhat decent in public and in a place where I know a ton of regulars. So I’m outside in the rain, calling my mom’s phone asking her to meet me by the back door to put my hair up, but to be discrete about it. She drunkenly interprets that as “go and bang on the bathroom door in the pool room as loudly as possible and start screaming for me to open the door (because I’m deaf so I might not hear the knock).” So the back door is cracked and I can see her doing this in front of all of these VERY handsome, fit, young men playing pool. The bathroom door is locked because some poor soul is in there, and I am trying to whisper through the crack in the door for her to get her stupid ass outside. Literally like a minute and a half goes by of this fucking scene and she finally notices me. But again, fuck everything, she just opens the back door wide, exposing me to all of these beautiful men, while the lady who was in the bathroom starts yelling at us. And then she says she isn’t going outside because it’s raining so she pulls my garbage looking ass into the pool room. Now all of these hot guys are staring at me, wondering why any of this is happening, and my mother then proceeds to start bushing my hair and putting it up for me in front of all of them. As if I was five. These men literally are just staring and trying not to laugh. And then I notice I know one of the guys and they are all his friends hanging out…so once she is done I (mortified) try and flee the room immediately, but she then calls out and says I need to turn around and come say hello to Brad (the guy I know). So not only was I horrified, but she made me walk back into hell to say hello to this handsome lad and his friends.UGHHHH. SO EMBARRASSING.

35. favourite subjectEnglish! Art History!

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill?Get married, have kids, and meet a really cool celebrity. 

37. favourite actor/actressTom Hanks, RDJ, Julie Andrews, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Jackman

38. favourite comedian(s)Amy Poehler, Christine Sydelko, Jimmy Fallon, idk.

39. favourite sport(s)Track and Field, Snowboarding, Soccer.

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!

[l0ve-pand0ra]

anime review: boku no hero academia

not gunna lie.. i shit talked the Hell out of my hero. like sooo much shit. i claimed it wasn’t worth the hype that it was lame, bad plot, etc. all b4 actually watching it like a dumbass. oh , how Wrong i was. my hero for anyone new or old to anime is well known and is very big especially for the incredible character design. my hero gets alot of hype and i do thinks its for a reason. shonen anime is probably the most popular and is where the most popular  franchises are born aka naruto, one piece, and dbz. and my hero is at the front running for being this generations leader in shonen. although this is not an anime that i cant find faults in , i can find quite a few but this is one of my favorite animes and is definitely worth the watch, now lets get into it.

this shonen like many is about the underdog who can! when 80% of the population has some sort of super human ability known as a quirk izuku midoriya is in minority 20% of people in superhuman society that do not have a quirk. and with the birth of the superhuman powers came the rise of a new profession, heroism. in which people with quirks get licenses to use them to save people. it’s sorta like how kids now wanna be youtubers well thats what being a hero is in this anime. of course midoriya wants to be a hero just like his idol All Might the #1 hero and pillar of peace.

in order to do that he must get into the top hero school in Japan, U.A Academy. with an acceptance rate of less then 2% (or 0.2% i genuinely cannot remember lol) . midoriya is the classic meek bullied kid being pushed around by childhood friends kaksuki bakugou who is loud, angry, and LOUD, and also wants to be a hero. his quirk is explosions that he creates from his palms with his nitroglycerin like sweat.

one day midoriya gets to meet his idol and the series kicks off. midoriyas journey in getting into U.A, viallian attacks, sports festivals., interships, training camps and more!

now midoriya as a main character grew on me. truth me told the first 5 episodes of my hero are Painful to get through, they made me cringe and midoriya cries about 5 times in one 20 minute episode which is exhausting. personally my favorite type of shonen anime protagonist are himbos , aka dumb sunshines. midoriya is not this he’s actually incrediblely smart but he’s so meek it’s annoying and for a while I thought he was the worst choice for protagonist especially with how amazing the side characters are, but he grows on you and it makes sense why he is the way he is and his character development is good. he grows much more confident and sure of himself. he has that naruto talk-no-jutsu vibe about him lol. but overall he’s good, not my favorite character by anymeans in fact i doubt he’d be in my top 5 in this series.

NOW FOR THE BEST PART ABOUT MY HERO; SIDE CHARACTERS (now i am only a mortal so i will only be talking about characters that stand out and add something to the show aka invisible girl is not mentioned neither is tail boy)

bakugou!!!! listen, he is a piece of work. and honestly it took me till season 2 to actually like and enjoy his character. he’s defently different from the normal angry anime boy because he has Zero reason to be angry which sorta adds to the comedy of the show. hes weathly, has two good parents, hes liked and popular despite being somewhat nasty, and he has a cool ass quirk along with being a prodigy at basically everything. his inferiority complex is what he battles the entire show I do feel like his character development was a little too slow, they could moved it along a little bit and not held onto how angry he was for absolutely no reason but again it kind of adds to the charm his character. his design is so beautiful the blonde hair the red eyes he’s great and hes my second fave character. his anger is toward mostly midoriya toward most people hes just loud but he really has a problem with midoriya. a problem he lowkey made up in his head but overall bakugou is a strong character and a different type of hero, he’s the opposite of all might in everyway.

TODOROKI!!!!!! if you dont know who todoroki is and you somewhat watch anime or see anime content on your social media, you are lying. his character design is super well known and is honestly beautiful he’s literally breath taking. speaking of character design let’s leave the Zuko versus Todoroki discord somewhere else I just don’t care let’s leave it alone they both have scars and daddy issues big whoop! they would literally be bffs move on. now that thats out of the way, todoroki is phenomenal, he’s the more silent type but not tsundere at all. we dont see alot of him in season 1 but mainly in season 2, he’s the son of the #2 hero endeavor who despite being a hero is human garbage! his quirk is half cold half hot. essentially he has two quirks one creating ice from the right side of his body and create flames from his left (the coolest and most versatile quirk in the series) his hatred towards his father makes him unwilling to use his fire side. but he gets over it! todoroki i feel definitely got snubbed , i feel like the dimmed him down because of how easily he could overshadow midoriya and honestly my hero could have easily been about todoroki and his journey discovering what kind of hero he wants to be thats how good he is. I cried 4 times during his battle with midoriya. i love todoroki and he is my fave character of the series.

Kirishima!!!!!! his quirk his hardening, he makes his whole body rock hard. i adore kirishima hes is so wonderful as a side character. we really see him shine in s4 during his work study and i love that especially since he was often pushed to the side. he’s also the first person bakugou acknowledes as an equal and friend. his backstory and motivation is really touching and his character design is so fun !! i love sharp teeth boi’s!!!!! and also i dont know they made him so obsessed with being chivalrous and manly but not a misogynist that is like so hard to do and they did it so well. and the fact that his motivation to keep going is a woman and someone who he respects was also so cool. also his hero custome is so cool. he said full chest out !!

mineta, now this is a character that literally everyone hates and granted he’s not my favorite character not even close but I don’t think he’s that bad. He’s the classic pervert classic girl obsessed character. His quirk is literally detaching sticky balls from his head he’s gross but I don’t mind him like all he does is talk like they have an anime character is a straight up harass women which he does sometimes but I don’t know I just don’t get why hes so hated when there are tons of similar character types like him that are worse that don’t get that much hate like I’m not defending him he’s gross but it’s not terrible and he provides comedic relief which is not always funny but it’s there

kaminari! cute shock boy! hes a more digestible and attractive version of mineta, slightly girl crazy but hes fun! hes also friends with bakugou and his quirk electricity but if he over uses it he gives himself brain damage and turns dumb. again hes more often then not pushed aside but hes funny and his personality is awesome and bright.

Iida, someone im kinda lukewarm about? he’s definitely a major side character and gets his own huge moments and out of all the side characters gets alot of screen time. his quirk is engine legs that make him super fast. hes a stick up his ass class rep but he’s nice and way more likeable after the first few episodes

ochaco.....um. shes ok ig, her quirk is making these float. has a crush on midoriya which is fine even though she looks his she could be his cousin dndjd. idk i dont love her type of preppy i wanna be like my crush character type, hinata does it better. but shes ok again lukewarm about her, i definitely like some of the other female characters better but shes not awful. again most shonen animes use female characters as prop to further the male protagonist character along. idk i jus dont like her personality.

froppy!!!! tsu!!! i adore you ! would d word for you!!! i love her so much shes such a cool character and she doesn’t fit into a box in terms of character type. her quirk is frog meaning she can do everything a frog can do. she’s so level headed and smart and witty she really adds something everytime she comes on. she’s just so chill i really appreciate that.

jiro!!! wonderfully talented queen! her quirk is earphone jack! shes just so again chilled and laid back but also super smart and perceptive. sorta tomboyish which is really cool 2 see a different look for a female character.

yayorozu!!!!! my favorite female characters of the show. her quirk is creation, she makes anything she wants as long as she knows the structure. its dope af. shes so smart and responsible and has an awesome sense of self improvement. i do believe in eating the rich but i still love her. shes a natural leader which i love to see and i think she should have been class rep but as always, men have to be in postions of power ...

tetsutetsu!!!!! the only person in class b with rights. hes kind of like kirishimas counter part, he also has a hardening quirk which makes his body into steele. hes jus so Funny and loud and i wish he was in class 1 a he’d be so good. he brings alot of energy and his fight with kirishima was so fun to watch.

miro, again. someone i shit talked b4 seeing what they were about. i honestly thought miro was going to have some evil agenda against my midoriya but he didn’t he was so good so bright his quirk is so cool it’s permeation meaning he can like walk through walls and stuff he’s so cool!!

tamaki!!!!!!!!! I ADORE HIM! SO MUCH!! hes so shy and insecure but wtf so badass with an amazing quirk called manifest meaning he can manifest on his body the different types of food he eats like he eats octopus he gets tentacle arms which means he basically has like an unlimited number of quirks??!! so dope and his character design is so sexy hes my bf

shinso, now his design is very good he reminds me alot of aizawa, and his quirk is insane and i dont know how people like invisible girl, tail guy, fucking mineta got into the hero course but someone like shinso with a brainwashing quirk didn’t, all someone has to do is answer his question and their under his control, literally so useful. he’s a really hyped up character which I find interesting because in the anime manga people don’t come for me he isn’t really showcased which is really annoying because he’s cool and I get what the hype is about but I just wish we saw more of him I think there is in the actual manga but in the anime he makes like two appearances??

AIZAWA!!! hes so ,, hot, idc him a bun forget it.. im .. his quirk... SO DOPE I MEAN TO BE ABLE TO ERASE SOMEONE QUIRK,,? dope af, his tsundere with more dere then anything hes so sweet and genuinely loves his class So Much, they are his babies. his character is super genuine and its so fun to see him and someone like all might working along side eachother just because they are such different people. aizawa is definitely my third favorite character

all might!!! the big man himself! honestly all might is what superman wishes he was, he is just so Nice and caring and just wants to help people thats all he wants to do, hes the only person deemed worthy by stain. he plays such a huge role in the series in a way a mentor/idol really never has 4 me. i love his other version as well its so well designed to be such a contrast to his muscle form.

stain, the best villain on the show, most complex and truly thought provoking and just all in all they did such a good job with his character design and his motives the stain arc was my favorite in terms of villains because my hero really kind of lacks in villians and sure the league does get better but stain has the most like convincing argument and morals like the concept that he wants to purge the fake heroes of the society away is just fascinating because society in the series so overpopulated with heros and just ugh such a good villain and his quirk,, crazy being to paralyze people by tasting their blood wild

dabi!!! aka todorokis brother (thats not a spoiler jus a fan theory that i wholeheartedly believe) his quirk is  cremation which he basically has such hot fire that it jus turns everything to ash. aka his character design being him with burns, his body most likely can’t fully handle his quirk. hes so hot ugh literally come on emo boy! but really hes a cool villain and works for the League. I wish we saw more of him which I know in season 4 like toward the end he makes a pretty big appearance but after training camp we don’t see him as much as I wish we did and he’s super famous hyped up character again because his design is so dope. he’d be a good anti hero.

shigaraki!!! he’s actually my fourth favorite character.... you guys ever have that one character that one think most likely thinks is hot, but you do. YES HES CRUSTY BUT STILL SEXY GAMER. if i could just give him a skincare routine...His character is one that got probably the most development I mean we see this bratty childish kind of loser in season one in in season for a re-really see a masterminded plan from him and something truly thought out because I feel like a lot of his plans aren’t thought through and this is one of the first ones that I see truly come to fruition the way he wanted to. I really appreciate that from a villain who can grow because he wasn’t a very convincing villian and he had no motivation to do what he was doing and just seem like a dumb kid but like now after watching him grow he’s really coming into his own and for season five I want to see him continue that growth he’s having.

OK IM SO SORRY THE SIDE CHARACTERS TOOK 80 YEARS THERE ARE SO MANY

now onto my critiques these are MY opinions which literally don’t matter the author/artist is incredible and knows what they’re doing and they don’t have to cater to what I want at all this is just how I thought while watching the anime.

I feel like midoriya is a character that can’t really shine on his. I feel like side characters need to be pushed down and snubbed for him to look cool. and  in general I just feel like because of the personality that he has as a main character he kind of struggles to shine unless they dim the light of the other characters because especially in season four midoriya is just constantly pushed and pushed as this end all be all if feels which OK he’s the main character but like was it realistic for some of the things that happen in season four to happen I don’t wanna spoil but if you watched it you know like who defeated who and so on.  at least to me sometimes it’s really obvious that they’re pushing for you to have that midoriya is so cool reaction which just seems forced.

I mention this in some of the side character villains but my hero really doesn’t have like super compelling villains with proper reasoning to what they’re doing or maybe we just haven’t seen that yet in the anime but for me the only good villain the whole series was stain. sure the league of villains gets better but they’re seen as a joke for most of the series at least to me like I didn’t really take them seriously just them minus all for one. I feel like they have these major villains but only see them once especially with all for one we saw him once and then if you watch the my hero movie he’s like there for 2.2 seconds as a major plot point but him physically as a villain but I see him once in action and even so I still think stain is a better villain and notice how I’m not mentioning overhaul in this conversation. there was just something beyond villainious about overhaul especially the child abuse. and again he’s someone who was spoiler alert defeated and in one shot kind of way it only took half the season and if you compare him and his organization to the league their miles ahead of the  League so why did they get defeated first it just kind of didn’t make sense to me.

I was sort of annoyed when the big three got introduced for my side character analysis I praised two out of the three of them and I love the third member she is incredible and a bad ass I just couldn’t write any more about side characters or else this will never end but did we need the introduction of more students when there are so many in class 1a themselves that just don’t get the light of day especially in season four with Todoroki and Bakugou being absent for most of it.

endeavor doesn’t deserve redemption arc that’s what they’re setting up for now i don’t want it he’s gross he’s a domestic abuser he’s a child beater he’s a child neglecter. he’s gross and I don’t understand how this hasn’t been exposed to the public about how the number one hero beat his wife and kids how we just not know that.

I mentioned this with bakugous character review but I feel like his development was just so agonizingly slow for no reason because it wasn’t this deep-rooted issue it was something he misinterpreted and created this fake narrative in his head about midoriya. and even after they have that big fight and acknowledge each other I feel like there’s still something missing which bothers me because there is no reason one it should’ve taken four seasons when Todoroki‘s deep-rooted issues were solved in a couple episodes basically.

 I feel like the series attempted to add romance and then gave up which I think was a smart move just because at the moment there isn’t really a place for it and this is coming from someone who adores romance in anime and I thrive off it but in my hero specifically especially the way they were going to do it with Ocacho was just not it and I really hope they don’t reduce her character even more to just pining over the male protagonist because I’ll be sad because even though I’m not crazy for her I still think she’s a solid character who I don’t want to become just a propeller for character development for the sake of the male protagonist.

things i love!!

the animation is beautiful, it’s so unique and different and just feels really fresh. you can clearly see the movements and can we talk about how well they draw hands? got tier anime hands.

the fighting was the Best ive ever seen in terms of timing, most shonen animes can drag on battles for many many episodes especially dbz, it honestly feels tiring and i love the my hero has the Perfect length to i get all the action and never feel bored or over it. I also enjoy that the anime wasn’t super fillery, and when there was it wasn’t that noticeable that it wasn’t canon.

how everyone is friends really makes me happy especially to see midoriya be so loved and respected by his peers, and everyone views him as an inspiration. to know he was bullied and hated by his class in middle school to in high school having everyone love him enough to make him class rep at first. which I am so glad he stepped down from because it was lowkey cringe that he won djdj.

how rivalry is done is nice because its not a huge major thing, sure everyone is competitive but its friendly and motivating. its not cutthroat.

the dub is really good, ik people shit on dub which is fair. but sometimes the dub hits and there are moments when you wanna watch anime but you have stuff to do so you can’t solely focus on the screen. personally i don’t know why but i had a hard time getting into my hero with sub and had to watch it dub. but if you do like dubbed anime then the my hero dub is solid im sure certain things are said cooler in the sub than dub (aka hqs “dont let me down fellas alright?” jdjdxjxj) but it is a funimation dub which are almost always decent.

the structure of society and the information we get told about heros and the job are soo well done. I feel like I really understand the setting which in fanatasy animes can be somewhat difficult, and everything makes sense and is really normal. they do such a good job making being a hero a normal thing, especially since heroism especially in the western comics is viewed as this big deal that not everyone can do while in my hero its the opposite. i love that.

midoriyas not give up attitude is really endearing, sure most shonen protagonist have this but especially with midoriya being the Biggest underdog to the point where he ruins his body over and over again and still keeps moving. a moments i genuinely loved midoriyas character and fell for him completely was during training camp, when he fight smuscular and still keeps moving despite being Ruined. it’s my favorite right after stains.

i love seeing them train! ik the actual villains are exciting but things like training camp and the creating special moves moment were my favorite.

-

Overall;

i love my hero, it’s quickly made its way to my favorite animes of all time, the characters, plot, and motivations are so good. it’s an anime that makes me feel like I can do anything i set my mind to. I enjoy the fact that it’s an anime that like I feel like there can be a discussion and not one over about whether it’s good or bad because it’s definitely good but more in how things are done the reason things were done how things could’ve been done differently there’s a lot to talk about and I feel like this is a very unique thing because I think with a lot of anime everything is so set in stone and if things were done a different way and it wouldn’t work with my hero there are so many ways things would go which I love. and I also love that there are things that I don’t like about it or that I’m not crazy about and for some reason that makes me like it even more because I feel like again back to the discussion point there’s so much to talk about especially on like Reddit where you can see what other people think and if you’re wrong if you’re right it doesn’t really matter because I think today this is just anime! give it a watch if you are curious you wont regret it!



[fae-fucker]

Crown of Midnight: Chapter 3-4

Chapter 3

Nothing fucking happens. Sardines has a nightmare about Cain and later she and Nehemia talk about the rebellion and the king’s plans without really saying anything, and my hatred for that fucking dog just keeps growing. Observe.

Fleetfoot took off through the pale grass like a bolt of golden lightning 

[...]

Dorian had never said what breed, exactly, he suspected her mother had mated with. Given Fleetfoot’s size, it could have been a wolfhound. Or an actual wolf.

Are you telling me this fucking dog is a fucking golden wolf?

I will eat this spaghetti-lookin’ bitch.

Nehemia’s creamy brown face paled slightly.

Why does the word “creamy” upset me so much in this?

Nehemia wants Sardines to try to figure out what the king is planning, but Sardines is like “nah”. 

She wasn’t even sure if she truly wanted to know what the king was up to—let alone share that information with anyone else. It was selfish, and stupid, perhaps, but she couldn’t forget the warning the king had given the day he crowned her Champion: if she stepped out of line, if she betrayed him, he’d kill Chaol. And then Nehemia, and then the princess’s family. 

But then, literally the next sentence:

And all of this—every death she faked, every lie she told—put them at risk.

Sardines: Hmm. Finding out the king’s sinister plans and telling my allies about them is a bad idea -- even though said allies desperately need that information -- because that might put them at risk, but saving various noblemen for no reason and put my unknowing allies in danger just so I can keep the moral high ground makes total and absolute sense!

What a master schemer this idiot is, huh? 

WHAT A KWEEN. 

People say they love Sardines but hate Alien and I frankly don’t get it. Sardines has always been a dumb, selfish twat, that will clearly never change. 

Celaena swallowed hard. That word—“act”—scared her more than she’d like to admit.

Good self-burn there, buddy.

Chapter 4

Salad (which is my new nickname for Chaol) and Sardines are having a jog.

They’d bundled up as best they could without weighing themselves down—mostly just layers of shirts and gloves— but even with sweat running down his body, Chaol was freezing.

Layers of gloves? What the fuck?

Noticing his stare, she flashed him a grin, those stunning turquoise eyes full of light.

Eat my entire ass, Sarah.

Salad angst about how he killed Cain. He’s very sad about it. This is what you get for hiring an inexperienced twenty-something to be the captain of the guard. But if we don’t make him young it’ll be icky for Sardines to fuck him, and if we don’t make him captain then he’s just NOT GOOD ENOUGH for Sardines, ain’t that right, Sarah?

I’d say you’re being transparent but you’re already pretty white. 

He was the Captain of the Guard—he was bound to have killed someone at some point. He’d already seen and done enough in the name of the king; he’d fought men, hurt them.

SJM: Hey guys I’m clearly aware that this is dumb but if I acknowledge it’s dumb you’ll accept it, right?

No.

Salad asks Sardines if she ever thinks about the people she’s killed, and since she’s the most ruthless and epic and badass assassin the world has ever known, ever, she angsts on about how she never forgets anyone she kills. 

I don’t give a single shit.

Salad angst about how he desperately wants to nestle his dick between Sardines’ pearly white and hairless asscheeks, but can’t because uuuuhhh angst angst loyalty to the king and also Dorian wants to do her and he doesn’t want to betray his friend.

Whatever. I don’t give a damn. Unlike many other antis, I don’t consider Chaol to be a good character and I couldn’t give less of a shit about his problems. 

Listen. You guys only think he’s good because everyone else is pretty much terrible. You cling to him because his mediocrity looks impressive when compared to the literal ass-garbage that is the rest of the lineup. 

We jump POV back to Sardines. 

And what’s this? GIRL HATE? FOR ME?! IN CHAPTER FOUR?! 

Christmas Yulemas has come early this year.

Since Salad is all sweaty from their jog and his shirt clings to his HOT MUSCLED MALE MANLY MASCULINE VIRILE MAN-BOD, there are DUMB VAPID BITCHES there to check him out.

Celaena could have sworn their eyes had bulged out of their heads and their tongues had rolled onto the ground. 

Then the next morning, they’d appeared along the path again—wearing even nicer dresses. The day after that, more girls showed up. And then several more. And now every direct route from the game park to the castle had at least one set of young women patrolling, waiting for him to walk by. 

“Oh, please,” Celaena hissed as they passed two women, who looked up from their fur muffs to bat their eyelashes at him. They must have awoken before dawn to be dressed so finely.

You see, when Sardines ogles Salad or Doriass, that’s okay because uuuuuuuuh Sarah loves her little baby girl and she can’t do no wrong and also she feels TRU WUV (even though her TRU WUV is made irrelevant with the arrival of Ratty to the point where every other love was just useless before that I guess) when she checks those boys out.

THESE GIRLS DRESS NICELY!! TO IMPRESS MEN!! WHILE ALSO CHECKING THEM OUT!! 

THEY’RE VAPID DUMB BITCHES!! EVEN THOUGH THE ONLY WAY FOR WOMEN TO GET POWER IN THIS SOCIETY IS THROUGH MEN!! LOOK AT THEM AND LAUGH!! SO PATHETIC!! 

Cool cool. 

God, I hate this series so much. 

Salad offers Sardines to help her with her Archer-related business and she turns him down. 

Hey Salad, aren’t you, like, I dunno, the captain of the guard? Don’t you have STUFF TO DO?! 

Sorry, I forgot that this world and its characters all revolve around Sardines and her problems. How silly of me.

They come across Doriass who is walking around with his cousin Roland, who I’m sure is totally chill. 

His voice was pleasant enough, but something in it made her pause. It wasn’t amusement or arrogance or anger … She couldn’t put her finger on it.

[...]

Just the way he spoke told her enough about his history with women.

[...]

As she let Chaol lead her inside the castle, she realized she was in desperate need of a bath. But it had nothing to do with her sweaty clothes, and everything to do with the oily grin and roaming eyes of Roland Havilliard.

Yeah, I’m sure this guy is totally cool!

We all know that SJM can clearly write very nuanced characters and that this incredibly obvious and cliché character introduction is just here to mislead us and make us think that Roland is a gross douchebag only so Kween Sarah can prove us wrong and develop his character into someone truly heroic! 

Anyway, turns out that Roland is the “lord” of some place called Meah, which doesn’t tell me anything, but whatever. He’s been offered a position on the king’s council, which is suspicious, apparently, because Roland is more interested in getting his dick wet rather than politicking. This is framed as disgusting, even though that’s pretty much exactly what Doriass is. It’s not the first nor the last time SJM makes hypocritical exceptions for her faves.

Doriass introduces Sardines as Lillian. 

They still used her alias whenever she couldn’t avoid running into members of the court, though most everyone knew to some degree that she was not in the palace for administrative nonsense or politics.

So the official story is that a petty jewelry thief became the king’s champion, then?

Holy shit, this world is filled with morons. 

I also love how “administrative nonsense” and “politics” are looked down upon, but when Sardines does her BRILLIANT MIND GAMES, it’s not politics, it’s uuuuh ... Fuck man, I can’t even begin to imagine how SJM’s mind works.

Roland hits on Sardines, and her two daddies really don’t like that.

Chaol smiled—if you could call it that. It was more a flash of teeth.

Have you considered that I don’t care and that this clarification doesn’t matter?

She wouldn’t mind working with him—but not in the way Roland meant. Her way would include a dagger, a shovel, and an unmarked grave.

Actually, her way would include a corpse, a staged murder scene, and the hope that he stays hidden and nobody recognizes him for who he is. 

Eat my entire ass, Sarah.

We switch to Doriass’ POV.

Chaol positively hated Roland, and whenever he came up in conversation, it was usually accompanied by phrases like “conniving wretch” and “sniveling, spoiled ass.”

So Sardines and Doriass, respectively, though “conniving” might be overstating it.

Roland was a pain in the ass, and too aware of the effect his looks and his Havilliard name had on women, but he was harmless. Wasn’t he? 

Dorian didn’t know the answer—and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

SJM: Subtlety? I don’t know her.

We switch back to Sardines’ POV.

Her salary as King’s Champion was considerable, and Celaena spent every last copper of it. Shoes, hats, tunics, dresses, jewelry, weapons, baubles for her hair, and books. Books and books and books.

Books? She likes reading? How relatable? You like reading too, don’t you, young female reader who is the target demographic for this book? Don’t you feel connected to Sardines on a deep, meaningful level? 

You see, when other women dress nice, they’re whores and idiots and brainless. When Sardines does it, she’s just embracing her femininity! 

Ain’t that right, White Feminism?

Whatever. Doriass is there in her room/s when she returns, which she doesn’t approve of.

“Aren’t friends allowed to visit each other more than once a day?” 

She stared down at him. Being friends with Dorian wasn’t something she was certain she could actually do.

Seems like SJM has been taking writing lessons from Cakeass. 

Didn’t you spend an entire book angsting about how you couldn’t be friends with Doriass and then deciding that you would rather stay friends than be lovers? And now you’re back on square one? Are we really doing this again?

I’m so tired.

“And you have so much time on your hands these days that you can spend hours with me again?” 

“Well, I have my usual flock of ladies to attend to, but I can always make time for you.”

Dorian is written as a player, but whenever we see him interact with women who are not Sardines, he’s shitty and hateful towards them. But it’s okay though, right? Because those dumb sluts are worthless and stupid, not amazing and brilliant like Sardines! It’s okay that Dorian clearly doesn’t respect any other woman aside from Sardines (and presumably Nehemia, since SJM has bestowed her godly blessing upon her for now), because those other women are simply not worthy of any respect! 

And obviously, even though Dorian clearly wants Sardines but plays around with other women, that’s totally fine! Women checking out men though? That’s disgusting.

SARAH J MAAS IS A FEMANAST KWAAAN!

Doriass makes it clear he still wants to tap that, but Sardines tells him to fuck off.

Alone in the foyer, Celaena clenched and unclenched her fists, suddenly disgusted with all of the pretty packages on the table.

Eat my entire ass.

[gayedmundo]

Skamily Love!!!!

I adore my friends so much and wanted to take some time telling my friends what I love about them and make them feel good <3 I’m so so sorry if I don’t include you, there are so many people in the skamily that later down the line I might make a part 2 :)

Esther @diablou !!!!! Ahhhhhh I’m gonna have to start it all out with you because you truly have become one of my best friends on here. Obviously I love all of my billuminati and I’m really glad we are both insomniacs so we got the chance to talk about our gay asses while we stayed up way too late and that I got to introduce you to tfc. I’m glad you learned that you don’t need to be intimidated by me because I’m just a loser who is on a lot because I hate no life :) But seriously, I love you and am so glad we got to know each other.

Mariah @bethxchilds The next billuminati member that might have been one of my first real friends in the discord chat. Nothing quite as bonding as just talking about how bi we are and running with it. I was able to dm you whenever I got frustrated about things and can always rely on you to have dumb meme humor like mine. <3

Sarina @sunflowervilde I’m not exaggerating when I say you might be the absolute sweetest person in the chat. Like you are a sunshine and even though I call you an “unofficial member” of the billuminati we all know you are billuminati, possibly the strongest of them all. *X-Files Theme Plays* I hope you start getting some sleep soon though because while I love getting to talk to you at all hours you need more sleep, love. Also is there anything more iconic than your Skamily Discord Memes? No. There isn’t.

Alyssa @thelordvoldemort Mum!!!!! My actual mum who I adore very very much!!!!! Where do I start? You are somehow both one of the kindest people I know and one of the best bitches at the same time?? Like you tell it how it is but will also comfort the hell out of us if we are even a little sad and I adore you for it. I’m so glad you are my Mum even if I am one out of 37 (even though there will probably be about 5 more by the time I post this) I’ll happily be your Katie Bug!!

Edy @lesbovilde ahhhh you are probably my oldest friend on discord and the longest lasting. I feel like I haven’t gotten to see you as much lately (but maybe it’s my imagination) which sucks BUT that doesn’t mean you aren’t still one of the ones I love The Most. We have practically the same humor and I am always very happy to see you online!!!! Basically I love u, u butt <3

Mikki @skamfairy mY Daughter!!!!!!!!! I’m so proud of everything you do!!! I don’t care that you are like 3 years older, you are my daughter whom I love. But seriously, you are a little rainbow that is purer than most and I adore having you around. Also your voice is literally adorable and I don’t think it is possible for me to listen to it without smiling. I’m really glad we get to know each other even if we live on opposite sides of the world <3

Kahled, you don’t have a tumblr but I needed to add you anyway. Honestly nothing bonds me to a person more than ranting about tv shows with someone so although I always loved you, that night where we just ranted about all of our fave shows really Bonded Us officially. I’m really glad you share my love for Mickey Milkovich and Jesse Pinkman and hope we get to continue watching shameless soon. You are a really fun person to talk to and be around and I’m just so happy you are my friend :)

Juana @jua-blackurt Love!!!!! Juana you are legit fabulous and so easy to talk to and can make me laugh till my sides hurt. Whether we are talking dumb or inappropriate shit on voice chat or streaming degrassi and shameless all hours of the night we are always having a bomb time together and I love you for it. You have an adorable personality and tbh ur hot which is a side note but it’s true. Basically I adore everything about you and theres never a dull moment when we are talking, whether it’s dildos or kinks, we keep things wild.

Ces @lazyskam my gay pal. I mean to be fair all of us are gay BUT my first thought when I think gay is usually u which,if you know me, is high praise. I love my gays. We have gotten a lot closer lately which is bomb af because I really love talking to you. I’m sorry for having a sex dream about ur family friend though srry bout that. BUT you are so fabulous keep being you and I hope we keep growing our friendship because you are an icon.

Georgie @ravenreayes ah,,, the local salt queen. Georgie you are honest to god so funny and bitter and I love it. TBH I was a little bit intimidated by you when you first joined and I’m not sure why BUT luckily I don’t feel that anymore and know you are just a hilarious shitposting dork like the rest of us. I love you even though you hate everything (don’t argue it, we all know it’s true) and hope we keep on being friends for awhile <3

Addy @lunardodie ah the chaotic good mod of the chat. Addy you are wild and I love every moment of it. You are lovely and hilarious and I am really happy we are on the chat together. There’s probably too many good addy stories to count but I’m writing this at 2 am and can’t think right now but you’ll have to trust me when I say I think ur wild. I mean ur chaos for a reason. BUT you are also sweet and fun to talk to and I am really happy that we have gotten to know each other since the first day the chat was born <3 

C @nooradeservedbetter ah my 1d pal. I was glad to find someone else on the chat who was 1d/Larry garbage and more than that I’m glad it’s you. You are a sweetheart and I can’t tell you how much it meant to me when I was in a bad mood and you just made me a shitty rainbow cool person award. I know it was a small thing but I do think about it a lot. Love ya <3

OK!! That’s everyone I’m gonna do in this post but I will most definitely make a part 2 because there are so many lovely people in this chat. I love you all so much. <3