#BM arc is nice. it's fine

[llycaons]

the difficulty is when you're in the flashback arc you're like 'this is so rough can we get to postres already' but the postres arc is both really sad and also just not as good. 43, 46, and some parts of the finale are the best parts and the rest of it is kind of eh

[ikamigami]

So what if I told y'all that this is actually a "Moon's paranoia" arc? And what if showrunners hint that Sun will try to help or reach out to Eclipse behind Moon's back.. and they hint that with Moon's words that he trust Sun?

Cause let me tell you something. I've watched many shows and movies to know that this line reminds me of that type of foreshadowing in which one character says "we'll meet again" but they never had the chance to meet again because that other character dies. You know what I mean, right?

So with Moon saying that he trusts Sun - it's not the first time when he says that btw cause he told Earth that he trusts Sun with his life - and Moon being more and more paranoid, I have a heavy suspicion that Moon will stop trusting even Sun..

But ofc it won't be like that that Moon will abandon Sun or anything like that.. He most definitely will be mad at Sun.. but I think that this is what may lead to Moon locking Sun on the island..

Moon really acts paranoid. Some of you may not believe me but what Moon is doing is something that paranoid person would do. What I mean is that Moon devides what informations he shares with whom. No one receives full picture. Only Moon holds all the cards all the time.

Cause look at what he did. He decided to not tell any info to Solar at the moment, right? He did the same thing with not telling anything to Sun and Lunar before. But he eventually told them everything, right? Yes and this is another thing that hints to Moon being paranoid.. because he is the one who always shares things with others. It let's him feel in control of situation.

"Everything is fine as long as I keep my finger on the pulse"..

Getting back to Moon locking Sun on the island. Moon would obviously think that this would be the best for Sun. To keep Sun safe. Even from Sun himself.. or maybe especially from Sun himself.. because remember what I wrote in this post !

I think that everything is adding up nicely. Like many people were wondering about the purpose of Evil Sun's appearance in the show, thinking that maybe he's behind Eclipse's return. But it doesn't make any sense because E Sun doesn't have any agenda to meddle with our dimension. There weren't given any hints that our dimension has anything to offer to E Sun (yet, obvi lol)..

That's why I think that they made Moon go there so he could get paranoid for legit reasons and not out of the blue. Also it's important to do a good build up for rising paranoia in character for it to be more believable..

And most of the time paranoia is piling up before it'll reach a critical point when person snaps and starts doing things that endangers their and their family lives. It never starts right off the bat..

Paranoia is no joke. It messes with your mind badly.. especially if you feed your paranoid thoughts!

I'm saying that from personal experiences. I'm still struggling with paranoid thoughts. Who's read that one post of mine then knows what I'm talking about 😅

Also it might be actually just like @nightixx (hope you don't mind that I tagged you) said in one of their posts that Moon is probably realising to what lengths Sun is willing to go to protect his family. Maybe Moon actually sees that Sun can and would probably put himself in danger in order to keep his family safe. And maybe Moon actually suspect Sun to act behind his back and maybe even he may suspect that Sun may try to give Eclipse a chance just like he did with BM.

Cause Moon isn't stupid. He might not be the best with reading emotions etc but I won't doubt that he is quite observant. Like even Old Moon was noticing that something was wrong with Sun but unfortunately he didn't do much to help.

I think that New Moon is probably noticing that something is wrong with Sun as well. But unlike Old Moon he'll do something about it. He'll keep Sun safe no matter what. And why I think that Moon may be suspecting that Sun may try to give Eclipse a chance? Because I think that in Moon's eyes Sun is too nice, too naive, too stupid - he learned that in Ruin's dimension when Sun wanted to help that dimension so badly and he learned that with how Sun tried to give BM a chance.. Both of these situations were dangerous and yet Sun was willing to help and act on his kindness even if it meant endangering himself.. Moon sees that. I think that Moon realises that Sun is the biggest threat to himself...

Also I think that it's very possible that Moon may suspect that Sun will act behind his back because Sun already lied to him about that whole being a conduit for star's power thing which like Moon said was killing Sun every day..

And important thing to note is that paranoia may induce a hypervigilance in someone. Which explains why someone who is paranoid plans things in advance and with suspicion that others will break their trust.

Old Moon was paranoid af.. and we can see that New Moon starts becoming more and more paranoid as well...

But like I said it'll most definitely end up with Moon restricting Sun's freedom in order to prevent him from endangering himself. Which I'm afraid will lead to a tragedy.

[sunshine-in-a-bottle]

I'm watching Beast Wars again for no reason and so you all have to hear me talk about it.

If I was personally given Rights I would first use them to erase Cheetors weird crush on Blackarachnia because it literally adds nothing to the plot or the characters. Instead I'd take full advantage of my personal headcanon and make Cheetor desperately want a big sister because I am always a slut for Found Family. Like, that scene with Una ?"Aw, she wants to be you!" Like c'mon viewing him reaching out to Blackarachnia because he desperately wants some semblance of a relationship is a lot more wholesome when it isn't romantically coded. Cheetor is Lonely, so horribly lonely, and so young seeming in comparison to the rest of the cast. He hasn't lost that love for the stars or spiraled into cynicism just yet, and I would much rather explore the ways he tries to reach out to his bitter, jaded teammates. And maybe he's left wanting, maybe he gets tired of being lonely, and maybe he fucks up trying to be like them because "he tried to prove himself." And maybe that scene where Optimus, Silverbolt, and Rattrap reach out to him has a little more weight because it isn’t just Cheetor trying to be an adult, but a Cheetor that tried to be them and post Feral Cheetor has real fucking consequences and isn't just a cool upgrade.

I want that episode where Rattrap finds out they spat on Dinobot’s memory by making him into a "dishonorable" clone and goes ballistic. I want him to find the memories Dinobot stowed away and be conflicted. Is it Dinobot without the spark? Could he live with only a shade? Would Dinobot even want that? I want him to try and fail and be utterly distraught over the whole damn thing. I want him to be angry every time he sees Dinobot 2. I want Rhinox to try and fail to comfort him. I want Cheetor to sit with him, neither speaking but both knowing they're in this fucked up mess together now. CONSEQUENCES. WHERE ARE THEY. GIVE THEM TO ME.

I also just really want Blackarachnia to have closer bonds with the team??? Idk, I'm vibin well enough with her and Silverbolt but tbh I'd really just like her to have an episode where she's hanging out with someone else and Isn’t A Complete Rude Person. I think that's something I actually really vibed with in Beast Machines (although my memory there is still pretty fuzzy, I'll probably have to rewatch that to say for sure) Blackarachnia could actually work with the team in a friendly and occasionally sweet way. She was capable of a blunt and angry sort of kindness. Should that happen right away? Nah of course not, she needs to get comfy with her shiny new Dumbfuck Teammates. But there’s no real Solid Connections there other than Silverbolt, which is purely romantic. (Once again I emphasize Cheetor and Found Family)

Rhinox just needs more in general. If I had to guess the reason he was made a villain in beast machines was because he is only Meh as a Developed character after Blackarachnia shows up and takes over tech wise, not to mention rattrap is also pretty damn techy when he wants to be.(it was also probably to increase tension since his whole deal is being diplomatic but that's a separate thing) Sort of an issue when you make them scientists but don't have them specialize in anything and, more importantly, have a weakness in anything. If your character is simply the backup scientist when the other one is out of commission u gotta problem. Rhinox is stagnant personality wise, I can’t honestly say anything about him changes in the whole series. He has functionally gained nothing from this perilous journey, no real trauma, no bonds he didn't already have with the team, not even an upgrade in form. Isn’t rattrap supposed to be his best friend???? SHOW ME MORE THEN. Seriously if this show had let me have Rights I’m not saying I wouldn’t have loved if we had actually Really Dug In to a character arc or something about Rattrap and the concept of Honor vs Loyalty but that’s exactly what I’m saying lets talk about that. Season One Rattrap they played with this a little (After the whole early on “I would not send someone to do something I would not do myself” and “double agent rattrap” WHICH NO ONE WOULD EVER BELIEVE IF THAT HAPPENED ANY LATER THAN IT DID SINCE RATTRAP IS SO ANTIPRED) and the whole Dinobot thing really wedged it in (”But at least you know where he stands”) AND THEN FROM MY SHODDY MEMORIES OF BEAST MACHINES ITS PLAYED WITH EVEN MORE WHEN HE FUCKING GOES TO MEGATRON BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS BEING A LITTLE BITCH TO HIM 

Where was I going with this? uhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh yeah LISTEN Rattrap and his morals are Very Fascinating and I really wished there was more about that. Like, he gives no shits about Doing What’s Right or Being A Good Person, but he rewards friendship and loyalty and not getting him killed by miles. And despite his Hatefest Dinobot he was actually really... shocked? Offended??? about Dinobot handing over the disc because you’re an asshole but you’re also our asshole what fuckery is this did all our arguments mean nothing to you. And then attempting to join Megatron in BM because he might be Evil and it might be Bad Moral Conduct but fuck morals his teammates were being shitty friends. Is that petty of him? Maybe, but if the maximals had been evil but still genuinely kind and caring towards Rattrap I don’t believe he would ever leave for a second, not for all the Morals or Its The Right Thing To Do in the world. And that’s why darkfics that still use Found Family are the best! The End.

All the characters would actually be the size of their animals because goddamit I want a tiny Rattrap that has to be carried around by the others while he screeches indignantly. Or at the very least make him just a little smaller. Just a bit. And maybe they all have a big Sleep Pile. I like physical affection and cuddling and things no I don't care if they're robots no I don’t take criticism. Dinobot would have feathers fight me.

Optimus has died, been tortured, and painfully grew to like 3 times his size why doesn’t he have ptsd someone give him a hug.

Could we have waited for Airrazor and Tigatron to get kidnapped???? We should have gotten more for them. Let me see them more often. LISTEN THEY’RE VERY CUTE I LOVE THEM SHUT UP. 

WHICH LMAO BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK TO CHEETOR BECAUSE HE CONSIDERED AIRRAZOR AND TIGATRON HIS BROTHER AND SISTER AND HE THINKS THEYRE GONE FOREVER AND THEN ITS NEVER REALLY BROUGHT UP AGAIN LIKE CHEETOR AND FOUND FAMILY REALLY SHOULD BE EXPLORED HERE

Silverbolt is fun, but suffers from the same problem as Blackarachnia where all you really remember about them Relationship wise is the one they have with each other. Who does Silverbolt like best among the maximals, who does he like the least? And if I'm erasing that weird Cheetor crush thing then their interactions probably have a lot less tension so... what else do they have.

Depth Charge is an unrepentant asshole and I love him. He is so hostile but it doesn’t stop him from begrudgingly helping out on occasion. He also gave Optimus some backstory??? Like not as much as my greedy Character Loving hands would have wanted but GIVE ME.

Other Stuff:

Nothing will ever be as funny as Optimus being like “Evacuate the base you’re all gonna die” and Rhinox grabbing his fucking plant

Blackarachnia Craves Power 

Cheetor suffer from Bad Bondage multiple times throughout the series, but specifically during the web I remember Tarantulas leaning over him and thinking “wow this is kind of... date gone wrong vibes??? What the fuck”

Rattrap and Dinobot: *Spot each other from any distance* Miracle Hatemance has entered the chat

Why is Megatron wearing roller skates. Who did this. Why.

“Spider/Bird dog is hetero nonsense” - everyone who has to bear witness to them ever, including me the viewer

Tarantulas is completely done with any attempts to seduce him. Ever.

Airrazor tries so hard to be cool and hip oh my god she is a complete dork i love her

“FOR THE ROYALTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY”

please be nice to Waspinator he’s trying his best

Rhinox: exists

Me: hello yes sir I love u wise mentor sir

Holy shit Dinobot’s death scene is a gut punch. Rattrap honestly is what makes this scene perfect. I have never seen him so respectful or emotional is a way that wasn’t meant for comedic relief.

That scene, man

Tigatron’s speech about bringing beast mode and robot mode together is like foreshadowing to beast machines. Or it isn’t. Idk. Would have been really nice if they, yknow,

bothered to bring up literally anything from the previous series to beast machines

 (yes its been awhile since I’ve seen Beast Machines, but I do remember that being my primary complaint.)

This series is so cheesy but Thundercats is still cheesier so its fine

Rattrap was canonically a miner at some point apparently.

He’s also super prejudiced and honestly that’s interesting. HONESTLY SOMETHING I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEE DISCUSSED IN BEAST MACHINES IS THE SUPER MEGA DIVIDE IN PREDS AND MAXIMALS BUT I GUESS WE WEREN’T GETTING THAT OH WELL

The ‘Everyone is blind’ episode was always one of my favorites and it never gets old

Upon rewatching the series I have concluded Cheetor is Babey. Which is weird because I didn’t think much of him from what I remember. Shift in perspective I suppose. They really made Rhinox farting the thing that saves the day, huh. What even was season one.

BITCH THAT IS A TERRIBLE WAY TO TRANSPORT MEGATRON NO WONDER HE FUCKING CONQUERED CYBERTRON Y’ALL DESERVED THIS HONESTLY

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in conclusion:

Rattrap is my new religion apparently

[forcedapotheosis-blog]

One Piece Chapter 862 Review (Spoilers .. duh.)

Alright lads and lasses, it's review time again! Not that anybody cares, but I'm gonna do it anyway, just for the hell of it. Also, this time I'm actually going to use the scans to underline what I'm writing about. Another note is that my review will actually be consisting of two parts. In the first part I'm leaving the infamous shipping goggles out as long as it's possible while the second part will contain my thoughts (and my defense, actually) of my OTP SaNami (x) (I'm going to write that one later, maybe in a few hours from now. Got some duties to fulfill.). Let's get right to it!

Just a quick heads up though, when it comes to the panels others are infinitely better at analysing them, I'll just be picking the ones I find particularly interesting.

Disclaimer: The scans I'm using for this review have been uploaded on mangafreak.net, so translations might differ from others.

Alright, first panels we see is Luffy sleeping and Jinbe slapping the living hell out of him to get him to wake up, I wouldn't say there's anything special about it. In my personal opinion, it just highlights the exhaustion he had to work through to get to this point. Another thing might be, as we see in a later panel, that Oda tries to show us that he's ready for battle and in tip top condition, meaning well rested and (in a later panel) eating.

Well, the next three panels, I think, are not that interesting. It's mostly about the wedding ceremony and the band/musicians playing a song, what sticks out (again) is Sanji with his struggling pervert-face and his trail of thoughts.

Keep Pudding's expression in mind, because it actually makes it quite difficult to believe what happens later (oh my god, I sound like some clickbait article on buzzfeed now), funny thing is that when you look at Sanji's hand in the picture in the middle, his struggle extends to it. Nice attention to detail, Oda! In the third one, he's trying to focus on the task at hand and again, gotta give it to him here, he's fighting his usual tendencies while still being in character.

Coming to the next page, we get a large shot of the wedding cake and I don't really care about it. Other people will do, promise. What I want to highlight on these two pages is the following:

Not even Sanji giving in a little to his usual persona, but the last picture in which Pudding again thinks "C'mon, die already", as I said, keep that in mind.

The next panels though, in my personal opinion, are a whole lot more interesting. We get a small conversation between Stussy (The "Queen of the Pleasure Quarter") and Du Feld (Black Market King, "God of Fortune") in which it is lampshaded that Stussy might be having some little secret about her age.

Mind you, it's entirely possible that I'm overinterpreting it and it's just friendly/unfriendly banter between the two of them. One Piece actually makes it pretty hard to guess the age of the portrayed women (there are exceptions, I know, but I'm sure you know where I'm coming from). Personally I'd just find it pretty fun to think about some One Piece-version of Countess Elizabeth Báthory (you know, the infamous hungarian serial killer who is said to have bathed in the blood of hundreds of virgins to keep herself young. I mean, yeah, it'd be pretty dark, but so is Smoothie wringing out people. Hell, even more so!

End of the page, BM's giving the signal to start this song and dance.

Next page, we get the clueless male Vinsmokes again, I don't know, but nothing interesting for me. They're somewhat established and until shit really hits the fan (hopefully next chapter) I don't think that anything will change about that. What I really like about this page is Reiju though.

Calm and collected, she's analysing their situation and comes to terms with going down. Don't know, I just really, really like fatalistic characters. Also, even though it might be just the after-effects of the alteration of her genome, I personally think that she'd be perfectly fine to die with her last thought being about the only brother she considers worth living.

Coming off next, we have the the vows of Pudding and Sanji. Nothing of interest for me again, but that "Father" looks like he's straight out of Berserk, only with a more square head (and hair, for that matter). And I honestly think that the "Till death do us part"-part of his speech is going to have special emphasis in the anime. Also it might be of note that for the first time in quite a while we see Sanji without his perv-face.

Why highlight that one? Lemme tell you! I just think that him displaying his normal face here shows that he won the fight against the ero-cook, he's now able to focus on the mission and fought his urges down. In the last panel, Luffy has finally awoken from his sleep and the gang starts to move out. Nothing of note, and I hope Oda didn't plan to make the reader think that Luffy would eff up the occasion by just not waking up. That'd be way too simple and we have enough tension that had a way better setup.

Onto the next page, then! And finally things start to freaking happen! Ooooooh, this party's getting crazy! Sanji's finally to lift her veil and kiss her. What I really want to highlight about this (I'm German, remember, our wedding ceremonies possibly differ in that regard) is that the "Father" asks them if they will love and cherish (etc...) each other but demands no answer. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually pretty happy about that, but as far as I remember it in Germany, you've gotta say "Yes, I do" before you may actually kiss the bride.

Heck yeah! We get this shot of Katakuri foreseeing Pudding breaking down to cry, Capone realises it and in the last shot, Sanji is finally lifting Pudding's veil and the we get her trail of thoughts for the moment. Sorry, I need to highlight that, too.

So, as far as I remember, since we've known Pudding this is only the second time she refers to her third eye as being the mark of some horrible abomination. I don't know if it's just a lame setup for what happens next, but at this point, I'm not really buying anything that comes from her. At least not totally.

Next page, we have the reason that so many people are upset with Sanji right now. And I'm gonna give you the full page here.

Whoah! People are going to start shipping Sanji and Pudding again! And they're well within their rights to do it. I'm not though, but my second post will be about shipping and my ship in that particular case. Right now, I'm just taking a look at the last panel in which Sanji says that her eye is beautiful, even without heart-eyes. Well, does that mean he fell in love? Personally, I'd say no, and I'll tell you why. The heart-eyes are Sanji's usual reaction to beauty, no matter of mermaids, minks or human women. Here, I'm sure you could interpret it as something more. Buuut! I just think that his ero-cook/perv-side is just not adjusted to it, meaning that this new sight simply surprises him. But well, that's only my opinion, other's will differ and Oda might just be trolling again.

Next page, we get her tearing up (not gonna provide a picture for that one, I feel that I included too many anyway with too little meaning) and people are getting suspicious about that. All well and good and in the last panels, we get some flashbacks of her past and even her mother calling that eye creepy.

Next page, more flashbacks. Yeah, I get it. She's been bullied and I know that children can be fucking horrible to other children and people in general, especially when it's about someone who's "different". Still think that she's a psycho, though.

Last panel on that page and I've got to thank tumblr user sunnyul for putting these three pictures together (x), Jin, Viola and now Pudding. All former enemies of Sanji who somehow came to like him (I remember it with Duval being somewhat the same, after he made him handsome. But I could be wrong). What and how you interpret it is up to you, personally, I'm going with the fact that has been highlighted by Reiju that he's just such an incredibly kind person that people who aren't 100% evil can't hold their convictions against him. But whatever, do as you want with that.

Next page and HELL FREAKING YEAH!

This is exactly what I wanted to see! Katakuri foresaw Sanji dodging the shot of the Priest, took a shot himself and Sanji just out-fortune-told him! It just looks so damn good. And sorry, one more of it.

SHIT YEAH, IT'S ON!

Next picture I don't really find interesting at all, it's just Luffy and the gang rushing to crash the wedding and Vinsmoke not knowing what's going on. Yeah, well, whatever.

Second to last page now. Katakuri realises that things have been set in motion that he can't stop in its tracks. Not gonna provide pictures here, but I find it funny that the underlings of BM aren't shooting the Vinsmokes already because Sanji isn't dead. Maybe we'll get some good fights.

Alright, last panel. A lot of Luffy-clones are breaking out of the wedding cake. Not gonna provide the picture here either, because countless people have shared it before. Good for you! Also, I'm sure that there are a lot of theories out there regarding the clones, go look 'em up because I gotta say it's really not tickling my fancy.

Final thoughts on the chapter: Well, it's a good setup for the conclusion of this arc, I think. What's most interesting to me though is Pudding. We already know by now that she's one hell of an actress, now we also know that she's been bullied. I still think she's a psycho, but let's take this from another angle. And this might be a far stretch now, but stay with me for a moment!

We also hear about even her mother thinking that her third eye is hideous and for the sake of my argument, I will assume that Pudding still is a psycho. What if she somehow is in on the plan or just has wits quick enough to use whatever's going to happen right now to usurp BM's throne? People, even children that have been neglected, could develop such thoughts. Also, looking at her Heel-Face revolving door (hey, it's her second 180° turn, that counts in my book), I can't see herself just genuinely acting on the trope "Because you were nice to me (x)".

[chippsterdotcom]

My Hero Academia: Two Heros

As a person on earth, it was bound that at one point in my carrier that I had to come across My Hero, well glad to say that time is now. The topic on my agenda today is the My Hero Academia movie, Two Heros. As of writing this, the anime has undoubtedly reached its peak. You cannot go anywhere without the mention of Deku, All Might, or any other reference to it. Never has an anime ever reach this level of widespread success; other than Attack on Titan, or One Punch before it. Back to the topic at hand, My Hero was everywhere, so a movie did make sense. A movie would just be enough to sell everyone on it but in this case, it was to contain details of the time, B.M, Before Midoriya and on top of all that Funimation promised a limited theatrical release for the said film, outside of Japan. Fans were eagerly awaiting and at first, I wasn't really paying much attention to it, but that all changed when my partner in crime David, offered me a ticket. Today on Chipp`s review My Hero Academia: Two Heros.

      The movie is its own stand-alone adventure, I expect all of you to know what My Hero is, but for the two percent of those who don't. In a world where the average man has superpowers, named Quirks, a boy Green Naru- Izuku Midoriya is born without one. He then meets All might, his idol, and the worlds most super, superhero, who gives him his quirk. Midoriya cant fully handle it yet, so for all purposes, his quirk is the ability to break every bone in his body. Fortunately, that's all you need to know for this to make sense. The movie begins with All M taking his basically sidekick, Mint Flavored Na- Izuku to a world's fair of sorts, instead it's on an island and full of Albert Einsteins, Izuku soon meets All M`s first sidekick, he was really more of a Barbra Gordan to Batman. David, his name, had a child Melissa, shes 17, Izuku freaks out. Melissa shows him around the island, and they both coincidently bump into literally everyone else in the anime. The festivities begin, evil thugs, show up and its all up to the class of 1A to fix it. Regarding the thugs, they want something to do with David`s new invention. Careful Spoilers for the rest of the review. The fellowship of All M set a longish journey to scale the tower where David’s toys are. Mineta is useful and we see some wicked neat fighting from both sides, of Todoroki of course. 1A reaches the top its revealed that David set this all up, and his toy is like hand band that acts as steroids for quirks. The main evil thug is really Magneto, and All M now free, with the help of Midoriya. Both proceed to beat not-Magneto like its the end of NNN.

The Movie plot is nothing to go crazy for but in fact, throughout the entire movie I couldn`t help but feel reminded of a certain other anime about a class of inexperienced minors getting stuck on an island and then proceed to scale a tower to beat the boss. Times up its Classroom Assassination the last arc of season 1. They`re basically to the same thing, one a set of heroes, the other a set of assassins. I'm not done with it, the movie felt like three episodes, and if it was three episodes that would be fine, but it was like three main events with filler in between them. Midoriya learns about young All M, the island becomes a hostage situation, All M, beats the bad guy, three episodes. But you know what's even more problematic, the actual promise that failed to come to light. All Might`s past, I know that we did get it, but I wanted to see more of the world, B.M. this movie didn`t do justice. And finally, the entire fact that it's a one-off thing, the plot, characters, and development in the movie are all contained in the said movie, like Melissa she shows Midoriya a cool band that can make it so he doesn't break his bones using his quirk. We never get to see it ever again...

The Movie itself looked great, absolutely amazing. Especially the final 30 minutes of the film. It almost feels like they built the movie on that one scene alone. The animators definitely went PLUS ULTRA with this one. Just keep everything just as good and never stop improving as a studio. Now, this isn't a review without criticism, Young All Might looks, low key, straight out of a Bugs Life, maybe because up to this point we always saw him as a triangle, or with very defined shading. Please make his design, with maybe mess-ish hair, and smaller eyes. The soundtrack like the actual show itself just as good nothing to say there. The Actual movie is ok I would recommend it, to anyone, but it's not a must-see film. You can literally skip it and be just as informed as ever about the world. It would have been nice to see more of a BM world but maybe they can turn it into a spin-off, one day when My Hero rules the world. Thank you.

Story: 5/10

Visuals: 8/10

Enjoyment: 6/10

Final Verdict: Wait why wasn't toga in this?

[onceuponarrow]

My takeaways from MG’s asks the last couple of days. With the ridiculous disclaimer that obviously I’m not speaking for everyone and this is my opinion. Feel free to read or disregard, I just needed to get my feelings out.

For my own enjoyment of the show I need to ignore him and his explanations. He will never understand Felicity or Oliver and Felicity’s relationship the way I, and I think a fair number of people, understand them to be. His idea of who Felicity is, is pretty different from who I see her to be. His idea of how she serves the narrative of the story is different from how I wish her to be in the narrative of the story. Which is fine, I just need to adjust my expectations accordingly so I’m not overly disappointed and frustrated when I see glimpses how good this show could have been. This got really long so I’m going to put it beneath a cut.

Everything from the ridiculous BM drama of 4.08 on was one giant stall that was not needed for any reason. From the first 7 episodes of season 4 it is clear that the writers know how to and can write a mature relationship that has realistic drama that stays in the background. I don’t know where the need to add the ridiculous drama and relationship stall came from; DCTV & Geoff, someone at WB/CW, Berlanti, or MG/WM. Whoever thought it was a good idea is clinging desperately to the idea that break-up/make-up and will they / won’t they is exactly what shippers (read women) want to watch. So they thought they could keep it ambiguous and throw us a few bones (that kneeling red pen scene was pure fan service from my POV) and the shippers would stick around. Which to be fair a lot of us have, some of us groaning and complaining as we watched ;)

Following off the theory of STALL AT ALL COSTS. There was no significant talk at the end of season 4 because they couldn’t see how to leave the relationship “ambiguous” with a realistic relationship discussion. I know after the fake wedding Felicity seemed to be saying it was over for good, but Oliver clearly still had hope at the start of season 5, which makes no sense in the narrative shown on screen. If whatever happened over the summer made such a difference in Oliver’s way of thinking we should have seen that at the start of the season. So leading from the ridiculous “ambiguous” status, Billy was just to explain why they weren’t back together at the start of season 5. So since Felicity had a boyfriend and is trying to move on obviously Oliver needs to as well. Which is why just as Billy is killed Oliver hooks up with Susan. Now Susan is why they can’t have a talk and get back together. So now that Billy is dead and Susan is ?? somewhere I guess, NOW they can finally talk. Billy’s secondary purpose was to be someone we the audience and the characters themselves kind of knew that Oliver would kill for maximum drama purposes. Susan’s secondary purpose was to be a shady reporter who we were supposed to be wondering will she out Oliver or not. But by combining the LI with the plot drama characters you end up with a mess.

Another part of one of MG’s answers is that they had other stories to tell. Which is lets add all these new characters that will take up screen time and use that to explain why we couldn’t address the state of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship earlier because stall stall stall.

And what came out of all those new characters? Evelyn was there to betray the team and possibly be a redemption story at the end of the season. Who knows where they are going with her. I don’t have any kind of a read on her character and could care less what happens to her.

Rory was there as a way for Felicity to gain closure on Havernrock. I think it is clear that the writers or at least MG never intended to have that be anywhere near the emotional and long lasting story arc that many viewers thought it would or should be. He’s gone and I doubt we’ll see him again beyond a possible brief cameo. They never pushed him or his character too much in interviews which leads me to believe he’s fulfilled his part in the story and is done and gone, never to be mentioned again.

Rene is there to replace Thea in the field because with how Thea has been portrayed this season I just don’t see her putting her suit back on. Everything I’ve seen so far is that suiting up isn’t good for her and being involved in politics isn’t good for her. Both of those situations lead her to act in ways that she doesn’t like. Which is leading me to assume that she decides she needs to find something else to do for her own well being and she leaves town at the end of the season (hopefully to be with Roy). But this is Arrow and her costume is still on the mannequin in the lair, so even though everything I’ve seen leads me to believe she will not suit up again I wouldn’t be shocked if she does.

Dinah is there to replace LL. Attempt number 4 at a bird that someone (I’m going w/Geoff & DCTV or possibly Berlanti) feels has to be a part of the GA story. She has the name, she is a meta, she can fight. I’ve really got nothing else on her. For me she is background that could be there or not and it makes no difference to the story.

Curtis is not really new but has had increased screen presence. I’ve been hit or miss with him all season. He’s been entertaining and annoying at times. I will say I overall enjoyed him more last season. But I’ve come to resent him a bit this season in that many times he seems to be doing things Felicity has been able to do in previous seasons. Overall I’m still not totally sold on why he feels the need to suit up and be out in the field.

Lance is just there and hasn’t really had a purpose this season beyond backsliding with his alcoholism. That backslide is totally understandable with losing a daughter for the 3rd time. He’s also there to provide cover for Oliver in the the mayor’s office when Thea isn’t available for that exact same purpose. I wonder if he will make it out of the season alive.

Thea I touched on a bit before but she has been sorely misused this season. It seems like she should have missed a few earlier episodes where she barely had any screen presence so that she would be available for these current episodes where her lack of presence makes no sense. It makes me really wonder what was going on behind the scenes. She could have also had a much more in-depth story and some great sibling bonding moments over how to balance the competing impulses within themselves.

John I’ve both enjoyed and been frustrated by this season. I’m glad he’s been able to deal with and work through his feelings of guilt with respect to killing his brother. But once again he is being pushed to the background through his re-enlistment and time in prison to give more screen time to newbie vigilantes.

Felicity is never going to be the character that I personally want to see on this show and part of that is because I have an unpopular opinion about her. I KNOW lots of people love her as she is, a strong woman and an unmasked hero. But I want her in a suit and in the field. Does she need that to be a hero or important to the show, no, but I want it for her. Is she the character I most see myself in, absolutely. Is she the character I use to insert myself into the narrative, yes. So as such I want her in a suit and in the field. It doesn’t have to be all the time and it makes more sense that she is usually back in the lair. But there is no reason why she can’t have a mask or a suit for the handful of occasions per season she is out doing fieldwork. Also on Felicity, why doesn’t she have a job this season. Yeah, yeah Marc she got a nice severance package so she doesn’t need to work. But if she isn’t working on building Smoak Tech or Queen Inc next season I’m going to be annoyed.

Oliver has had a really rough year as well. I am getting really tired of him continuously relearning and revisiting lessons he’s learned in the past. I know this has been a 5 (and 10) year journey so I hope that he finally emerges from the season a more complete person. One who has managed to make peace with all parts of himself. Oliver has been really unlikable in several situations this season. In the past he has made choices that I haven’t agreed with but could understand why he made them. But this year I’ve been at a loss for why he’s made several choices that he has. I will say that I’m beginning to possibly see where the narrative around him is going and in hindsight some of his actions will make more sense, but for now I’m confused.

Following on to my discussion of Olicity from above. I really think that the writers felt that Oliver and Felicity had to be apart for their individual journeys to make sense. That neither of them would have made the dark choices they have this season if they were together. In all honesty, I think that does a disservice to both of their characters and to the purpose and expectations around a relationship. If they were together could Adrian still have broken Oliver as badly as he did, sure could have. Would Felicity have made the same choices with Helix to save John and Oliver, probably. Just because Oliver and Felicity were together doesn’t mean that either of them couldn’t have been struggling with the same choices and decisions in the same way. A relationship does not define you or fix you, all your issues exist whether a relationship is there or not. All relationships rise and fall (and fall doesn’t necessarily mean break). People can be more or less in love and in sync with each other at various points. It all comes down to how hard you want to work for a relationship and each other’s well being or knowing when to call it quits because you are better off without each other. A true partnership and relationship is both incredibly easy and challenging all at the same time.

Why is Oliver and Nyssa’s marriage still a thing? I was under the impression that the LoA was disbanded and therefore the marriage was over. I could of sworn I remember Marc saying that in an ask response last season.

But to end on a positive note, I am cautiously optimistic about the last 5 episodes. I need to remind myself to ignore the interviews by the EPs and any of MG’s responses on twitter or tumblr. I’m hopefully that Oliver and Felicity are finally going to work on rebuilding their relationship. The horrible flashbacks are almost at an end which means more time for stories I care about next season. I’m sorry for anyone who read all the way to the end. I didn’t really mean for this to be so negative. There have been moments I’ve enjoyed this season. But writing out my thoughts up til now has put me in a surprisingly better place to hopefully enjoy the rest of the season.

[llycaons]

13 :)

I can recognize “baobei didi” as “treasured younger brother” which is personally very exciting as I have not been studying Mandarin, like, at all. I love subbed media 

I read a post somewhere about how a really good tragedy (which I think preres storyline cql is, overall) has that sense of screaming inevitability for the characters but to an audience, everything terrible is entirely preventable

I don’t think all the bad things that happened were preventable given the complexity of the political and social situation with the wens and the jiangs, but if the disciples held hostage were able to escape that cave and leave the wens inside, or to kill wen chao/wzl/wlj, or AT LEAST wzl, then the fall of lotus pier would have looked much different. no core loss, no secret sacrifice, no torture and imprisonment of wwx in the BM, no demonic cultivation. the wens attack the jiangs and nies and jins, but then, they would have attacked anyway

then again, wen ning may have died if wen chao had been killed and wrh needed to take it out an party he felt was responsible. the sects may have lost the war if wwx didn’t have demonic cultivation. there are literally hundreds of ways one small change in the plot could have led to something equally terrible as what happened, and what happened was devastating

“our parents will save us!” proclaims one kid whose sect was not important enough to ever name. sure, kid. keep thinking that.

anyway, wen chao is off the fucking rails for thinking he can boss around the JIN HEIR as well as the heirs to every sect, torment them, and throw away their lives for his own amusement. he’s been drunk on power for way too long and only wen qing can see it (on his side) and he certainly isn’t listening to her

wwx got thrown off a cliff again and lwj yelled his name and jc had the almost exact same stricken look on his face as later. okay, foreshadowing, that’s enough for one episode

this is actually not one that’s too terribly painful in retrospect. nice

you know what? the cgi on that xuanwu turtle is not that bad. anyone remember merlin? I literally had to stop watching when I saw that stupid dragon

lwj is the only other person to defend mianmian besides jzx and he’s literally on a broken leg.

the idea that an iron brand thrown by a young woman with zero fighting training, who had just been thrown off and grazed by an arrow, would hit someone’s chest and make an impression on the skin through like 3 layers of clothing, is simply unrealistic but hey, what do I care, the theme is sexy

this episode is so fucking funny for the “hey we need meat? take a look at my fresh burn scar” joke and the utter failure wwx is at comforting mianmian

jiang cheng JIANG CHENG he’s openly expressing concern he’s promising to come back and save them he’s yelling at wwx to stay alive and wwx trusts him he trusts that jc will save them he tells lwj how smart jc is oh lord. this is before everything went to shit obviously but I really think they can mend things. I do.

lwj is having a BAD time. not the worst time we’ll see him in, but definitely he’s at his most disheveled. he’s got a broken leg, his brother is missing, his uncle is severely wounded, his home is burned, he’s stuck with his crush who won’t stop making stupid comments and who tore off the family-only headband, he’s all alone etc.

he really looks close to tears. I am so mad he didn’t cry in this scene like he did in the novel. I usually don’t say this, but that was a damn fine aspect of the scene and they had no good reason to cut it

like I want to reiterate he’s so expressive and miserable in this episode in particular. a lot more emotive than usual. coming undone.

I really love wwx caretaking in this arc, it’s part of the reason I love the arx so much. we don’t see this from him again until much much later, and that’s not much relative to the lengths he goes here, because lwj is never at this point again with wwx around. I actually think wwx likes taking care of people he loves

of course we know he has a complex about not wanting help/appreciation (see how scared he is by serious emotions when lwj thanks him) while simultaneously desperately craving it and he ignores his own problems by insisting on saving other people but I do also think he’s just someone who likes to see his loved ones happy and well and he likes helping them to get there.

right after he comes back he needs a lot of support but as he recovers and heals I think they get back to a more balanced dynamic of taking care of each other. I think an emotionally healthy and supported wwx will support and take care of other people close to him too. we see this with yanli even, way back in early episodes

damn, this is another thing I actually really liked about the novel. wwx takes over in social situations to save lwj from them and encourages him not to overwork himself and stuff. you kind of see that in the temple scene with su she but I would have liked to see more. they look after each other.

a last note - I don’t think the “you like mianmian” scene is very funny but on this rewatch, I think wwx could tell that lwj’s expression is disbelieving?

I’ve seen a couple of interpretations of this moment including “lol wwx is so dumb xD” (which is wrong), and I’ve always seen his question as sincere but his laughter afterwards as fake because he was really bummed out that lwj had a crush on someone who wasn’t him

but this time his laughter seems much more relieved. to me. I think it was like “oh no, you lie her :(” to “haha, no way you like her! I knew it!” like I think he was just teasing him. and it doesn’t come up again iirc so I don’t think wwx took it much to heart

no wonder people argue over this show constantly there are five different interpretations for every character interaction and acting decisions not to mention the cultural difference between the audience and creators, the translation, and the context of the original novel, along with THAT translation/sobs

overall, a very fun episode. the next arc is going to be a straight nightmare so I will enjoy it while it lasts