#I don't know I'm kinda just a side character in everyone else's tragedy

[jest-a-genetta]

Hey wait get back here you motherfucker

made a uquiz

[bonefall]

Mapleshade Discourse O'Clock

It's that time again!!! SO I just kinda want to jot down all of my various thoughts about it as a story and just generally weigh in about Mapleshade.

I like the idea of Mapleshade more than the actual Mapleshade that is used throughout the books.

She has a really good gimmick-- to haunt Applekin though the generations. I don't like how they turn her into a generic "cat satan" for Tigerclaw's Fury and keep making her appear as a vain lackey demon.

I like her characterization in Mapleshade's Vengeance the most, of all her appearances.

But, I don't think my reading of the character depicted in MV is what the author intended.

See, I like MV as a story with no hero. The only blameless characters are the kittens who drowned and Perchpaw, while everyone else is some flavor of selfish, cruel, or vengeful. Everyone thinks they're in the right, but no one truly wins in the end.

Nothing about it was noble. Every tragedy that happened was utterly avoidable. In the end, everyone bears some responsibility for the pain and suffering that happened the day those children drowned.

BUT I'm pretty certain that the intended reading was that Mapleshade would be the one clearly in the wrong the whole time, as she justifies her own actions like a villain does.

Especially knowing how poorly the writers thought of similar female characters like Squilf and Leafp lying about the three, or Nightcloud being jealous her crummy husband is acting strange around another woman.

I feel justified in assuming that when Mapleshade is not happy she's being cheated on, or when she refuses to correct Frecklewish's record knowing it's unsafe if her kits are revealed as half clan, the writer really does think you're not supposed to take her side.

Because women should just not have emotions about being cheated on or something, and lying is unspeakably bad even if the truth puts you and your children in danger.

But. Y'know. We can all use the braincell for a moment and see that this is fucking stupid

SO when the book goes on to have Mapleshade ignore all the warnings about the swollen river, show both ThunderClan and RiverClan being obscenely cruel to her, and then walk across that bridge while insisting in her head that the deaths weren't her fault, I think the implication is obvious AND SHITTY.

Ergo I reject it completely. I can see what the book wants to say, and I think it says something trashy.

In spite of how badly the writer wants it to be Mapleshade's fault the kittens died, I say it was the asshole who threw a bunch of kittens out into the rain for being mixed race, actually.

Oakstar had the power here. Ravenwing had some power as well, but he makes it clear it wasn't his suggestion to throw the babies out into the woods.

And when it comes to Bridge Discourse, it was at least the afternoon, raining heavily, and Mapleshade was trying to get to RiverClan Camp. A straight shot across the stepping stones.

I think it is ridiculous to imagine an extremely emotional parent managing three very scared children, attempting to get out of the rain and dangerous wilderness before nightfall, would be rational enough to realize a large detour would be safer.

MAYBE the distance from ThunderClan Camp to the Bridge is equal to the distance to the Stones. But the distance between the bridge and RIVERCLAN Camp is longer.

I hope this goes without saying; but Frecklewish didn't deserve the Dark Forest.

Even in Banana World logic where she was sitting on the bank watching those kids doggy-paddle. Do not fucking jump in to save drowning people if you are not trained to do that.

I'm dead serious, this is the first thing you learn in any kind of water safety course. They WILL panic, you WILL get dragged down, you WILL become another liability someone else has to save instead of helping your initial target.

And that isn't even mentioning this being a flooded river. That's POOL safety.

In spite of how I think Mapleshade was right to lie, I do think Frecklewish being that upset and angry was understandable.

You're entitled to your feelings, but not how you treat people. She still attacked Mapleshade and called the kittens a slur.

That's what makes her interesting, though.

I don't think she deserves the Dark Forest, but Frecklewish's anger is an interesting trait. I don't like how a lot of defensive interpretations of her character end up downplaying how she acted at the exile

why does a woman being rightfully angry suddenly strike people as "unsympathetic." Girls can also say things in fury they don't fully mean. OR girls can rationalize their unjustified, ballistic response post-hoc out of pride.

Idk let girls be mad. Admit they were wrong without deserving HELL. I don't like the woobification impulse.

It's not really a hot take anymore I think, but Frecklewish is definitely only in the DF because the writing team judges women characters more harshly. Oakstar threw babies out in the rain in fury, and Ravenwing didn't stop it. But somehow only Frecklewish, a normal warrior, gets DF'd.

But what really rattles around in my head about the whole story is the way that the in-universe culture is able to suddenly value ethics like peace, forgiveness, and tolerance when MAPLESHADE is ready to throw those things out, but BEFORE then, it's well established that Clan culture is violent, vengeful, and intolerant.

One of our earliest scenes is Rainfall snarling at Mapleshade that he loves the way Birchface and Flowerpaw drowned. He's threatening that he'll kill even more ThunderClan warriors.

Over in ThunderClan, everyone is itching for revenge against Appledusk for those deaths, even though it seems to have been an accident. Oakstar even hates RiverClan well into sequel books for this.

But then later on, everyone acts Shocked Pikachu that Mapleshade actually went and GOT revenge.

And like, let's be real. This is a battle culture. Yes, by OUR standards Revenge Is Bad.

But in these books, so full of war and clan conflict...?

What I'm saying is that I wish the books let Mapleshade be a little more "controversial" in-universe. Like some cats actually frame the story very differently, and you can learn a lot about a person by who they think the hero is.

And how RiverClan responds to the drowned kids bugs me a lot tbh

We just established over in ThunderClan that there are people who think the babies were born filthy for being HalfClan.

We know everyone there stood by and watched as Oakstar threw them out into the rain-- only Ravenwing even seemed uncomfortable.

AND we know very well that in a few generations, TigerClan will rise. Which openly executed a HalfClan cat and wanted to kill 2 apprentices.

We KNOW the bigotry in Clan culture is deadly and unfair.

But then they go over to RiverClan and Darkstar is sad these three kids are dead? And RC is furious with Mapleshade for that?

Again, YES, you and me with OUR morals know that this bigotry is insane and spiteful. What I'm getting at is that IN-UNIVERSE half clan kittens and their parents face extreme discrimination. Even within this book.

It's odd to me that Darkstar refuses to let Mapleshade bury their bodies, sends her away for the death of the kids while saying it's "not the season for losing warriors" to Appledusk, and it's meant to come across as delusional that Maple thinks her babies were buried dishonorably

I wish more women in WC got so pissed off at the absolute injustice of it all that they went on a girl rampage. Perhaps it's my own taste, but I like it a lot more when the villain isn't entirely wrong and there's several angles you can read the story from. If she didn't do what she did, she would have been the only one who saw any consequences for anything that happened.

Anyway in conclusion uhhh idk murder is wrong. But Mapleshade's allowed to do it because she's a silly billy. Her greatest crime was not killing Oakstar also

[pepperf]

A good tragedy should be about a) inevitability, and b) what you are ultimately fighting is yourself. The reason TUA s4 failed so badly was that it felt extremely evitable, given their history, and what they were fighting was a combination of their sort-of stepmom and sort-of brother the Giant Blob. Like. That was not the inexorable hand of fate. That was weird city-eating goop set in motion by an arch-villain. Any half-decent superhero show would figure a way out of that.

And, sure, they might have made a tragic ending work for these characters, but they needed to show the inexorable steps that led them there from the start. Instead, all their past history shows us that they will make a terrible mess, they will try to fix it haphazardly, with everyone pulling in different directions, and end up creating a different mess instead, and none of them will ever cooperate with Five's plans.

Heck, they weren't even responsible for this one, it was their dad and stepmom's actions that brought it on. They were merely a side-effect. It's not their hubris - so it's not satisfying (in a tragic way) to see them be destroyed for it.

I get the aim of making a superhero show that has the superheroes be the problem in the end (tbh, this has been done a million times already, I don't know why SB thinks it's so clever), or having them sacrifice themselves heroically and no one knows - but like, it needs to feel earned, it needs to feel like the absolute last resort, that they've tried everything else and this is it, the only option. But they didn't try much else, here - even with all their enhanced powers, which had the potential to throw in some wildcards. No - they tried talking to and then hitting the Bennifer Blob, and then...blergh, we give up, let's all die and hope that fixes things. It was an unspectacular end, and it felt like such a waste of all that potential - of the show, the characters...

I know SB has said he planned this from the start, but it honestly didn't feel like it. Maybe he planned the general idea of them failing but never worked out the exact details, and when it came down to it, he didn't have a good apocalypse in mind? That certainly feels like his MO - lots of build-up, and then no follow-through. idk, whatever it was, it was just kind of a lame end to a show that I'd loved so much -and that was what really gets my goat. I wanted to feel like, whatever the ending, they'd thrown their hearts into it, and instead I was left feeling like the showrunners had already kind of moved on with their lives, it's only a TV show, just hit some popular beats, stick an ending on it, shove some CGI in, and hope the next thing we're pitching gets picked up. And it did feel very much like a showrunner issue, bc the actors did their absolute best to sell it. But there's only so much you can do with being eaten by a CGI blob.

We had three good seasons, and I am going to move on, once I've got some fic off my chest - but I'm just kinda disappointed that we didn't get one final season of great material, some stuff that makes me keep wanting to think about how it works, what happens next, how to explain X or Y - all that fun, fandom stuff.

Anyhow, much like Steve Blackman, I don't know how to end this. Peace out, y'all.

[adeyc]

Ciel (O!Ciel) quotes

No one asked me, but I don't care. I got back into my obsession with Black Butler so I decided to rate some quotes (spoiler: many of them are my favorites even if I sometimes I don’t say so, this show/manga is brilliant).

1. "After all, justice in this world is just a bunch of principles, made by those with power to suit themselves."

-12/10

-kinda true, unfortunately, even nowadays

-shows how Ciel sees the whole system, especially the legal one and his vision of society

-reminds us of the huge differences between people

- great, one of my favorite quotes

2. "I have long forgotten how to laugh as if I were having fun."

-8.5/10

-so sad

- shows the distress and sadness he went through and is still going through and how much what he went through affected him

-feel sorry for him (he would probably beat me if he knew that, but it doesn't matter lol)

3. "So what? You're another person, so of course you look different. What do you need to be ashamed for? Besides, I'm free to be with whoever I want. No one has the right to say anything about it."

- 9/10

- we love someone who doesn't discriminate

- he hates everyone equally <3

- I think it is one of the few times when he encourages someone and I love it

- I like that he knows he can do whatever he wants

4. "If you stick to a "lie", it'll eventually become the "truth.""

- 9/10

- it shows his character and the more human side, in the sense that every man lies and he is not above that

- shows how gullible some people can be

5. "I was born to end up alone."

-9.5/10

- so sad yet so true

-he accepts his fate

6. "Moping around with sadness and sorrow... what will come of it? Even dead people can do that. However, I'll live and stand on my own two legs. If we are going to die one day, wouldn't t it be better to have no regrets?"

-10/10

- a powerful quote that shows his strength of character and his desire to achieve revenge

-tough love kinda deal

- it can be seen that it is said by someone with determination and who has been through a lot

7. "Unfortunately, in reality there is no situation where one can win merely by following the rules. There will be knights that break the rules, and even chess pieces that betray him."

-9.5/10

- once again a spoken truth

- shows how aware he is of the world around him

8. "Only two kinds of people exist in this world, those who steal and those who are stolen from. So then, today, I just stole your future. That's all."

-100/10

-one of my favorites

-unfortunately, he knows what it's like to be in both positions

-tragic

9. "Pain tends to heal as time passes, but personally, I don't want time to heal my wounds. You may think you've escaped the pain and forgotten it, but that's nothing more than stagnation. You can't move forward without the pain."

-9/10

- shows the pain he still carries and that, no matter how hard he tries, the past will always follow him

- the last sentence, in particular, is devastating. Only pain keeps him alive and helps him move forward

10. "I am not so noble that I would stake my life for someone else. Nor am I so forgiving that I would sit by and allow someone to trample me. I am selfish... and self righteous human being! That's why! I... to clear my own shame... I used your power. Not for anyone else! But for myself!"

-10/10

-we love a self-aware king

- something that many of us would not recognize

11. "We mock their desperate wishes, and trample them like insects! Cowardly, base - we're more demonic than demons are! I'm just like them. I'm full of the same ugliness they were. This is how humans it's how we are, Sebastian!"

-10/10

- downright heartbreaking

- the situation in which he said it makes it even more tragic

12. "Words are cheap. There's no guarantee she won't tell anyone. Humans lie without a second thought. Including me, of course."

-8.95/10

- shows how well he knows human nature

- we love him for it tho

13. "To hate something that you used to love is such a painful feeling."

-10/10

- shows the tragedy of the character

- relatable

14. "Is there truly any human who is not arrogant?"

-20/10

- simple and yet sophisticated and true

-once again self aware king

- something that many will not admit

15. "I'm afraid when something is truly lost, one can never get it back again."

-1000/10

- one of my favs

- so sad considering that he lost everything and knows that he will never get it back

- and yet he has the proud strength to go forward regardless of the situation and not look back

- out of loss our Earl was born

I'm stopping here because if I keep going I'll be here for hours lol. I got this off my chest now....for a moment at least. Anyway, Black Butler is my number 1 and will always occupy a special place in my heart.

Bye!

[voidsteffy]

Okay okay I know you probably watched the movie AGES ago but omg. Sita ramam. I cannot

I watched it yesterday and I cannot stop thinking about it ?? Afreen ?? Ram ?? Noorjahan ???

Everything was so pretty everyone was so pretty and it was so sad and I was bawling my eyes out. Also ugh vishnu like ok bro you had a family I get it but :(((( ram :((((

And his letter to sita. Chills. Literal chills.

Anyway idk who else wouldve watched the movie so I'm here don't mind me just crying on a monday morning T-T

You came to the right place, or probably the wrong place cz i can't shut up about this shit

Fun trivia, I saw the first look when it came out, and the music was quite different from the one in the interval and they were still figuring out the poster, the butterflies and stuff

It was a shot of ram on the stones in the flowing pond of the mountains and cut to, he was looking into the train (it didn't strike as the train scene at first, the frame where he peeps from outside to see sita reading his letters on her berth and he smiles, yeah that scene)

And then flash the title

I was (and still am, unabashedly) on a dq high so obviously i checked it out and fell in love

And then, it was afreen's character intro/promo kind of thing where afreen is praying and then she's throwing daaru through windows (car windows as we saw later)

The moment I see Hanu Raghavapudi and Vishal Chandrasekhar (from Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha, ok watch it i love that movie it hits so right!) and DQ (from Mahanati and Bangalore Days and OKK like bhoooof) AND MRUNAL THAKUR (from Love, Soniya) and Rashmika IN ASSOCIATION WITH DUTT PRODUCTIONS like....

feed me.

And I liked the vibe the movie went for in the ending, it's bittersweet, sort of like that one Twilight Zone episode where one grows old for the other and all. I like that they left it at a tragedy cz that's how such stories usually end but that doesn't mean they didn't happen.

Ram is my sweet sweet bway who took the correct doses of respect women juice and sita desperately needs a therapist (much like myself) and a stress ball to stop all the clumsiness (much like myself lmao)

The mahanati references, the KGVPG references, and all the director cameos... Yeah they made my day. Vishnu is unapologetically the useless scared kinda prisoner and I respect Sumanth for taking that kind of role tbh, and i wished we'd seen more of Bhumika but eh she deserves her own movies too so imma imagine

Also, RAM AND SITA WITH KIDSSSS! Like, we know the outcome of their story and that's why it's so sad to see them be so cute with kids and get soul married and want kids but never getting the time to live the life they wanted waahhhhhh stap

The music..... Um.... Well i can tell you that each song comes off as a copy of old illayaraja/op naiyyar songs but that's ok cz this year needed such music. The lyrics have me in a chokehold and ram's eyes too

And my favorite scene of all, THE SCENE

Ugh kill me why don't you!

They're on different sides of emotions about this and he's been so supportive and loving towards her but she can't lie to him anymore but she wants to live this lie bcz it's so beautiful and before she breaks it she just wants someone to be there for one last time AAAAAAAAH

In conclusion, Ram is my smolbean, Sita is me and someone can be Afreen so that i can play ninnati theepi and cry for a legitimate reason finally

(also, Rohini in vintage spectacles literally reminds me of my grandma)

[pausegame]

Some slightly more thorough ramblings about small things in Veilguard under cut

Absolutely HOWLING at a few of the dialogue differences depending on race and faction choices.

Bellara is so cute when she talks about her and Davrin's gods, and bc I answered a few elf dialogues with Dalish knowledge she'll be like "Mine and Davrin's gods. Oh, and Rook's." It adds just a tiiiny bit of flavour but the way it's written is so her.

Davrin talking shit at Lucanis like "even though he kills people for money..... No offense Rook" HONEY I love you but also you have got to pass judgement on my baby too lmfaO I know you get each other a little hot and bothered but still 😂😂😂😂

I need to roll a Warden Rook for him so their morals are aligned, also the tragedy of being a Warden is lessened IMO if you have another Warden to share it with, as Evka and Antoine or Alistair and his lover. I'd managed to get "Thrill of the Chase" as my Rook's relationship with Davrin pretty early and they seemed close during the Weisshaupt quest which made the potential of parting very sad as she she would outlive him by nature of the Wardens/The Calling. It just sits right in my soul if they're on a the same clock fngmlhkg

Some of the other characters are wary of Lucanis as well but not my Rook so I'm gonna need to do that for romancing them too. Except Emmrich, he seems perfectly comfortable with both Lucanis and my Rook being paid killers and upon initial meeting he was honestly thrilled to ask Rook more about life as a Crow. Previously chatted about banter options with Crow Rook. He's so chill to talk to both of them and he's just like "You're an Antivan Crow, yes? You must live such a full life! Please, you must tell me more of you misadventures, once we're out of here, of course." The game likely has him say it for all factions, but it's nice that he's so open to hearing about contract killings, compared to other factions with more noble goals.

Idk where I heard someone say Rook doesn't participate in banter, I think it may have been someone from the council but Rook is well within them.

One starts with Emmrich asking Lucanis about the Crows, to which he points that Rook is also a Crow. Rook throws it back at him that they're not nearly as infamous as the Demon of Vyrantium, which makes Lucanis grumble. And then the subsequent one I got later starts with Emmrich going "So Lucanis, you're a Crow..." And without missing a beat Rook's just like "I'm a Crow too" and Lucanis asks her if Viago knew that, to which she grumbles in return.

Had Neve and Lucanis in a particular Lighthouse scene where she kinda gives him attitude about not trusting her, and then gives Rook attitude for having sided with Lucanis in a previous decision that's faction related and it just looks like she's dressing down the Crows and it's hilarious.

Also I think it was alleged in some reviews or just the obnoxious incel brigade who said everyone likes each other and they're too pleasant?? I've gotten to a point where cutscenes happen when they argue, Neve got mad at my Rook for a decision (rightfully so!) which impacts whether she can even heal, leveling up bonding with her takes significantly slower than everyone else as a result and it took a while to get her to open up to my Rook again, Davrin and Lucanis don't get along but they are civil with each other, respect each other to a degree and openly admit that they need to work together. Taash and Emmrich also do not get along, it's hilarious.

I probably should've done my first playthrough with subtitles off though, since the whole line of dialogue spoils some of it, and my eyeballs are trained to go low. I kinda wish they stuck them at the top of the screen like in Inquisition so the rest of the screen is in my peripheral.

I love the combat but miss stealth mode with my life!!! It was always great to break out of an encounter and come back with a vengeance with it. That said I do love that every fight could be the last. There's idk a more realistic sense that any fight could go sideways. Sometimes a small encounter maybe in a side quest will be super difficult bc of the location and the terrain which makes it super hard to navigate, while some boss fights are wide and open for easy movement and I know the enemy type so my team is built accordingly and it moves super fast. It's challenging and I've died several times on the standard Adventurer mode but it's really fun. I do love that I can oneshot/headshot enemies like in Tomb Raider. Those games taught me well. I did think prior that I should run a warrior playthrough, I probably still will but it's def lower priority since I'm not super proficient at the class that suits my playstyle the best lol

Antoine and Evka and Davrin are really great Wardens. Also some folks dissed how bright the game is??? Some of the dialogue is a lot more playful and light but everything with the Wardens, as has always been the case, is insanely dark. Maybe more so in this game than Origins, bc unlike Origins where the Wardens are the heroes, they start more like how the Order is in Inquisition and goes from there. They're still tragic and dark and complex, and I really wish I had managed to finish The Calling book before I played the game dhdkfbfjf I still have 2 short stories left to read in Tevinter Nights as well.

On that note, reading the short stories and brushing up on lore/being a longtime fan definitely pays off. I understood a reference about the Qunari thanks to some lore dhdjdjfnf

[bethanyeliseart]

Rise of Skywalker, a movie I genuinely loved!

Ok so I've had almost a full day to think about my thoughts on Rise of Skywalker. Right from leaving the cinema, I knew that I loved this movie! Sure it had it's flaws but every single Star Wars movie does and I like to think the positives outweigh them. It had amazing cinematography, the adventure was there, and all the emotions that come with Star Wars.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I think first I'll talk about the flaws because I love ending things on a cheery note. First, Rose Tico was pushed to the sidelines and I wish we got to see more of her character arc. I think after seeing the backlash some fans had for Rose, JJ was afraid to have her in the spotlight. She could've done more. I would've liked to see her interact more with Finn even platonically. And interact with Rey.

Second, I'm a huge Anakin Skywalker fan so part of me feels like they disrespected his arc in this movie with Palpatine being back. I kinda felt like it was all for nothing. But then I did see some other reviews that said he brought balance for a long time, but balance isn't permanent. So that post brought me some peace on that, thanks to who wrote it (I can't remember who, sorry!).

Third, Ben Solo's death. So I'm not sure if I just hate it because I loved his character or if it really wasn't a good decision. Star Wars stuck to their algorithm of redeeming the villain but to only kill him seconds later. We already saw this with Anakin. Did we have to see it again? Then again it was really meaningful that he sacrificed himself for Rey. Maybe he's still alive somewhere, idk I'm in denial still.

Ok so now onto things I liked/loved which is a lot, but I'm not good with reviews so I might not name all!

First I must say that I loved Rey and Ben's relationship and chemistry. There isn't too much dialogue, but you can see how much they care for one another through expressions. Props to Adam Driver for conveying so much in just looks and actions. The way he looked when he found Rey's dead body was so heartbreaking. He looked so vulnerable.

Also the way Rey was so relieved to see Ben after he brought her back. She smiled like he was this bright light. And oh my, my heart fluttered when they kissed. It's probably just me being the huge romantic that I am, but that was one of my favorite parts. From the beginning they had a strong emotional connection. In TLJ we can see how strongly they feel for one another. Ben wants her to be by his side constantly and really opens up to her. Rey does the same. She let's her self open up about her past and desire to belong somewhere/someone to Ben. In my mind, the buildup was there. It saddens me that it had to be a tragic romance, but Star Wars always has that tragedy. Ben also showed that hope leads somewhere. Rey held onto hope that he would return to the light and he did. He was at peace when he died.

Second thing I loved was the trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe in this movie! We have been waiting to see them all in action together since TFA. And JJ did not disappoint. The banter between the three flowed nicely and was comedic. It felt like a family. It was also so nice to see Rey interacting with Poe! You can tell they have spent a lot of time with each other. For those who think Rey is alone, she has these two guys for her family.💛

The scene where all the ships showed up last minute gave me Endgame vibes and I loved it. Especially when the main theme started.

The entire be with me scene in the throne room was chilling and awestrucking! (wow that first part of that sentence just threw back to GoT😨) When Rey looks up into the sky and the lightning fades to the calm and serene stars I too felt so relaxed. The soft music was so lovely, John Williams never fails. Hearing the jedi voices was what had me smiling like an idiot, especially hearing Anakin's voice saying "Bring balance as I once did". (I guess that's proving that his arc wasn't completely ruined). I would've loved to see Hayden Christensen, but I appreciate that we got to hear his voice.

Was anyone else so surprised to see Han even as a memory? It's not even that I was surprised because of how it goes into the plot, because it makes perfect sense for Ben to look back and remember his last interaction with his father. His father would be the key in him returning to the light. It just surprised me because I did not expect Harrison Ford to show up on set of Star Wars ever again😂. It was a very nice and welcome surprise though. From the moment he killed Han, you could tell Ben felt regret and remorse. I also loved that Leia reached out to her son one last time, showing Ben that his family has not given up on him.

LEIA! It was so awesome to see her training as a jedi with a lightsaber! That flashback gave me so many chills. I loved how Leia continued to train Rey even though she knew she was related to Palpatine. It shows that Leia doesn't judge someone based off blood. Leia loved Rey and had faith in her. People can't help where they came from.

It was so sad to see Leia die but we all know it was going to happen. Chewie's reaction was so emotional and made me shed a tear. The galaxy will remember Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher forever.❤

The Ending

Overall, I loved the ending. Sure I'm still devastated that Ben is dead, but looking at the big picture it was good/satisfying.

People are saying that Rey didn't grieve Ben and she moved on too quick. I think she knows that he will always be with her because no one's ever really gone. He is one with the force. (Ngl, part of me likes to believe he is alive out there somewhere or waiting to come back).

Also as I said before Rey still has people she loves! Finn and Poe are still alive and there for her.

This is just the way I saw it, but I don't think Rey plans to stay on Tatooine very long/permanently. Rey didn't start and end the same way. She has a family now (Poe and Finn) and knows who she is. I think she went there to pay respect to the Skywalker family, it is where it all started with Shmi and her son, Anakin. She buried the lightsabers because they are no longer needed (her new lightsaber is beautiful btw) And don't hate me, but I don't mind her calling herself Rey Skywalker. She felt a deep connection to the family and both Luke and Leia took her under their wing. She doesn't care for/need the name Palpatine. It's not who she is. Which brings me to people being mad that Rey wasn't a nobody. I respect their reasons and everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I don't think it hurt her character arc. Rey being related to the worst Star Wars villain and still not falling to his dark ways shows how strong she is! She defeated him and brought balance once again to the galaxy despite being his blood.

The ending shot was beautiful and was a perfect way to end the Skywalker saga. The binary sunset and theme was ethereal. It's how the movies started and it's how it ended.

Star Wars is tragic, romantic, and hopeful. This movie showed all of those things. We lost Ben but he felt love again with Rey. Hope was restored with him turning back to the light and Rey defying expectations of a Palpatine. Personally, I loved this movie so much and it did not let me down.

Feel free to add anything you liked about the movie!

[lala-394]

So about TROS... What can I say? Devastated, heartbroken, angry and sad - that's how I feel after watching it. The plot was kinda rushed and looked like they tried to erase what TFA and TLJ have started. Even the characters behaved differently, they were not themselves in this one.

SPOILERS AHEAD, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET!!!

I'm not gonna count all the flaws of the script - nothing is perfect. But I have to higlight some major ones so maybe my current emotions cool a bit.

1) Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter? Seriously? Rey who was a perfect example of that blood doesn't matter and you still can be a hero even if your parents are not some legendary family's descendants. It was literally answered in TLJ that her parents were no one, but no, they had to revise this part and try to fit in the wrong piece of the puzzle called Palpatine in TROS through Rey.

2) Ignoring Rose completely. Killing off Hux without any further ado. Force ghosts helping Rey but not Ben Solo even after he was redeemed. Leia's pontless death which could be made so meaningful if it saved her only son. I can continue with the list till tomorrow.

3) Now comes the worst part which makes me seeth with rage. Ben Solo and his unnecessary, meaningless death right after he was redeemed.

No, this will not be a hateful message saying it was awful and how dare you spoil the whole saga by killing off my fav character. No. I just want to ask why? Why are you so keen to avoid a full happy ending? Didn't he deserve to not only be redeemed but also stay alive after years of being manipulated and staying in darkness? Didn't Rey who spent nearly all her life alone deserve to finally be happy with someone who loved her with all his heart. If the only reason was to avoid a cliché of happy ending where everyone lived happily ever after, then I have to let you know that considering the movies released during the past decade, they prove that now such an ending is the most unique one. If it was to highlight Rey as the main character of the trilogy it was still a stupid move. Then don't call it the final chapter of SKYWALKER saga just to ignore and get rid of the last person related to them.

Ben Solo just disappeared in the force... You know, it wasn't even as meaningful as it was with Tony Stark for instance. No one even knows it happened, it's not even as big for the plot as it should be. Even Rey doesn't show much emotion afterwards. She was mourning Han much more expressively after all. It just happened and that's all, everyone carries on, no one even asks.

Considering that it was the final chapter of Skywalker saga he deserved to live and continue Skywalker and Solo legacy as he was the only one left of them. IMHO it was a huge disrespect towards Leia, Han, and Luke who are the backbone of the whole saga and even Rey who tried her best to bring Kylo to the light side and the fans who waited for it for so long. The movie is called The Rise Of Skywalker but for me it left the aftertaste of their downfall. As if they just tried to wipe them off from the saga. Ending doesn't always mean death, if a character lives it doesn't mean you necessarily have to make one more film about him. If you couldn't come up with how to make him interact with other characters after redemption you could just throw them to Anch-To as Rey was glad to do herself initially and just let them live happily ever after.

Rey called herself Skywalker in the end which didn't stir any positive emotions, only another try to justify the title of the film. She is NOT a Skywalker and never will be. She's an independent hero of the saga and had the right to stay as the one and not take someone else's last name or rather hide behind it.

Back to Ben's death. If he lived it would have been such a great message that one can not only change, be redeemed but also carry on after that unlike Anakin who died right after that. Sorry, but Anakin lived a life, had the chances to make his own decisions, wasn't manipulated from birth and after all was already quite injured man whose life was supported by his costume. That's logical for him to die right after the sacrifice and redemption. Ben is another story. You had such a great opportunity to make his story different as children shouldn't always fulfill the destiny of their parents and grandparents. Besides didn't we deserve at least one Star Wars couple who didn't end in tears? Didn't we have enough of those?

The purpose of this message is not to downgrade anyone's work. It's just to show that we're tired of the tragedies. Life itself is quite cruel, tragic and sad. Don't we at least deserve a happy ending in a fairytale like Star Wars. I was so excited about it and now the whole holiday mood is spoiled. And I'm not alone in my opinion.

Although I have to thank the cast for their awesome performance. They did the best with what they were given. Especially Adam Driver. That's another pain of mine as I think what happened to his character he's been working on so thoroughly for 6 years was a huge disrespect towards him. Maybe I'm wrong but I think that's the main reason he doesn't attend most of TROS related events. That's not what was initially planned for his character. But still he delivered it in the best possible way.

After watching TROS I couldn't even cry properly, just wanted to smash something which is so out of my character. Anyway, I guess this pain will live with me and thousands of SW fans forever. May the Force be with us!

#bringbackBenSolo #BenSolodeservedbetter #KyloRendeservedbetter #saveBenSolo #StarWars #TROS #RiseofSkywalker #disney #lucasfilm #jjabrams #adamdriver #daisyridley

[boglog]

Utopia (2013) notes

Despite the infantilised female assassin w a father complex trope being the Bane of my Existence (re: Hanna 2011) and the fact that she Literally has Ramona Flowers hair, Jessica is God and we stan

I don't understand this bizarre little peck she gives Becky's head in the last ep and I don't need to. Queen of emotionally stunted social skills.

We also stan reverse-eugenicist Ygritte and her manic pixie faux suicide at a black tie gala

We do not however stan Wilson whose motivations and subsequent double agency didn't make sense to me as much as Milna and Philip's philosophy

Which is sort of a tragedy considering he's one of two major characters of colour but considering we still have Ian we don't necessarily fall into the "The Brown Guy Was Evil All Along" horror trope

Necessarily

And upon finding out that not only is Philip Roma but also that Milna has "been in a genocide" meaning that she is probably for sure Jewish, I'm sure the show is framing Utopia as revenge for WWII, esp given that the adjustments to Janus is literally going to wipe out everyone who isn't Romani.

So wi this context, Wilson's sudden support of Janus is also revenge on white supremacy, colonialism, and genocide, and later his entire character is deliberately turned into a caricature with the fedora and the eye patch and the tattoo

Not to mention Wilson's name is itself a joke and perhaps a reference to Cast Away's greatest inanimate imaginary friend: the Wilson volleyball

Grace Lee of What's So Great About That made a Utopia analysis where she states that the show's colourful composition and stock characters are meant as an uncanny valley contrast to its realism and violence

And wrt to how it portrays violence I think it's well-done in that rather than feeling gratuitous its lack of theatre makes everything uncomfortably real and sometimes the quirky neons add to this tension

But with Wilson's character his goofy attributes feel like forced inconsistencies, as an antagonist he cannot carry the show's final stretch w as much authority and intimidation as Milna nor does he have the depth equivalent to her inner conflict about being in love w Phillip

There's nothing poignant or scary or ironic about him he's just so flat my belief has gone past unsuspension and lies dead on the ground

I know him cutting mr rabbit into his own chest was supposed to be visually symbolic but I actually thinks it takes away from his authority, his vanity making him more vulnerable than Milna whose identity as mr rabbit was ultimately hidden for three decades bc guess who didn't tattoo "rabbit" onto her chest????

I'm going to admit I didn't pay very good attention to some of finer plot details bc here's the next point, the overall thesis of my Wilson meta:

The show is overly complicated while being a very bad comedy: tone what is it

I think when it's playing it straight as a conspiracy thriller it's great (see also the infodump flashback episode 0201)

But whenever it's trying to play off its quirky ensemble cast of Girl Next Door, Nerd, Freaky Prepper and Violent Ten Year Old (occasionally ft The Whitest Family on Earth) there's something so flat and genuinely boring about all of them

And the characters forcing a sarcastic familiarity between each other with monickers like "shithead", "twat" etc? When they've known each other for 5 minutes? That's a CinemaSin ™ :/

Dialogue wise we could've toned down some name dropping and on-the-nose-ing

It's a v ambitious outlandish magical realism comedy v dark film noir balancing act that doesn't always land esp wrt its final antagonist which imo is the show's biggest flaw

The soundtrack as well is great but a little overused

Another problem I have is Becky's accidental addiction to opium, I'm sure I missed something obvious like maybe her "dealer" was connected to the network ? but when I saw it the twist felt tangential to the show at best. We know Becky is naive but to the point of being manipulated into a drug addiction? Wasn't she supposed to be intelligent? It would be smart if it weaved itself into the plot a bit better

Overall I think it's thematically tied to how we're easily manipulated esp via Big Pharma so I guess...? I guess that works? Kinda¿

The oddball family tableau near the end with Jessica, Milna, Phillip and Arby is thrilling and complicated by the internal conflict of wanting to kill each other out of their contrasting ethical beliefs and wanting to love each other out of a vague sense of loyalty / longing bc they're all lonely af

V surprised that I did not feel cheated at the reveals that Phillip was in fact alive and in a psychiatric ward (cliché) it was perhaps awkward that he was found in someone's basement, and meanwhile Arby's secret family felt totally normal AND Milna's hesitation to kill Jessica out of her love for Phillip ALSO WORKS

The intensity of the relationships btwn the family who've barely spent a second around each other for years is thrilling and to be honest way more interesting than anything else the show offers so it's a shame they didn't try to focus on that more but that's just me being predictably drawn in by dysfunctional families

So on the bright side the show is visually stunning, uses inherently interesting premises and parses out the information in a clever pace, Milna's entire arc must be my favourite bc everything about it was incredible, the chemistry between Milna and Philip was perfect (although an answer to why they never officially got together and ended up w different people other than plot convenience is still up in the air)

Ian faking a Somali accent when he's caught committing data theft is iconic and equivalent to when Chelsea Manning labelled the CD filled w war crime scandals as "Lady Gaga"

Jessica: [hardened by a lifetime of torture, slides her chained hands across the table and asks for the Bible because she's bored] / me: 😳

That one hacker guy who swears at his mother is the face of the far right movement

The blonde guy who was about to leave his family to die as he went into hiding in the Bahamas looks like Stan from The Americans so he kinda deserves that

And finally I would like to remind everyone that the notion of blaming global warming, plummeting economy and ressource scarcity on overpopulation is a bourgeoisie lie

It's their fault

We literally have enough food and water and shelter for everyone if only the 1% would put down their million dollar martinis

Once I eventually rewatch it and manage not to be overwhelmed by worldbuidiling I might have a better opinion

Thank you for listening to my TEDtalk

[breealtair]

I agree with a lot of this, but I kinda reconciled the differences of the games by assuming that the memories we see in botw still happened in aoc they're just not shown because we've already seen them.

I didn't like that we only see such a narrow view of zelda in aoc; however, I think it might be for a somewhat interesting reason. In aoc, they give us a lot more interactions between link/zelda with the rest of the champions/other deceased/aged characters. Therefore, we are seeing how zelda presented herself to them, which is probably a very different side that link saw.

Link was privy to her anger, her flaws, her hobbies. They shared that together. Everyone else just saw a struggling, scared princess, trying her best.

I like aoc because up until the champions don't die, almost everything in it could potentially be in the botw timeline (except for our little egg of a guardian and the towers of course) so we can imagine that the memories and the cutscenes that take place before the calamity from the two games are intertwined with each other.

Botw is melancholic and tragic because it centers around loss, literally losing everyone and everything, ending up with very little direction in life, and having to start over and rebuild, to process and heal. (The music, aesthetic of the world, and the memories really reflect this).

Aoc, on the other hand, is about hope and about facing the impossible but still prevailing, More importantly, however, it allows us to live a blessing that could only be possible in the world of fantasy: going back and fixing your mistakes, changing what lead to that loss. (It is literally the "friendship is the most powerful force of motivation" trope you see a lot in anime)

To me, the fact that both timelines are canon kind of reflects that happiness and tragedy and can exist along side eachother (even in our own lives).

Also I'm very aware that it's probably not THAT deep, but that's the message I get from it.

I'm not exactly finished with aoc yet, so it's possible I'll change my mind by the end, but to me, the arc in botw that we see isn't necessarily gone in aoc, it's just implied?

I just know that I love botw but I'll randomly remember that the champions are dead and get really fucking sad, and aoc gives me the happiness to know that they are alive and happy in the different timeline (botw is literally another "link failed" branch of the timeline like the one in oot that lead to the original games)

i very much prefer the story of breath of the wild to the alternate timeline we got in age of calamity. not because i’m a timeline purist, i don’t really care much whether it splits off or not, but what DOES matter to me in a story (next to the plot itself) is mainly characterization, relationships and theme.

my main issue with age of calamity’s story isn’t just what they changed… it’s what they DIDN’T change, which then didn’t fit with the new stuff they’d written.

breath of the wild’s story is, in my mind, far from perfect, but it has a consistent, vibe, flow, and a character arc for princess zelda that i believe. more than an individual arc, it’s also a relationship arc with link. the development of that relationship is a key driver of the plot.

in age of calamity… despite reaching the same conclusion - that zelda saves link, her love for him activates her power - that development is absent.

i rewatched all the memories from botw and its like. bro. age of calamity can’t even begin to compare. their relationship in botw has an arc.

every scene they’re in together serves a purpose to establish a new relationship status or milestone. zelda goes through a Bunch of emotions about link: first quiet resentment, then Louder resentment at how he’s doing better at his role than she is at hers, then full-on ANGY, then admiration, mixed with guilt and regret for having lashed out that way to someone who would save her anyway…

from then, she humbly tries to be nicer through tending link’s wounds. she allows herself to be more playful and goof off with him, then Actually Opens Up about her insecurities - displaying true vulnerability when they’re caught in the rain together. we know from zelda’s diary that link also shares his own troubles with her, and that she was trying to get him to open up was well. 

then, zelda’s excitingly sharing more hobbies (ancient tech) and hoping that maybe, just maybe, her research can substitute her lack of powers. in the same scene, link gets to witness a true relationship milestone: a parent yelling at your friend/gf in front of you. then zelda shows Even More vulnerability as she has a meltdown about her fears & insecurities at the spring of power in front of him (knowing he’s there & not afraid to show him). at this point, she even allows herself to be angry at her dad, instead of solely blaming herself. 

then she gains further appreciation for link teaching her how to handle horses (and says she’s trying to be a bit more empathetic to the horse, as a metaphor for her being nicer to link and more selfless in general), sharing her faint hope for mt lanayru…  then that hope is crushed, and zelda decides to stay by link’s side (instead of urbosa hiding her) regardless of danger.

the calamity strikes. they flee together - which leads to zelda having a total beakdown, as the others die and link’s the only one she has left. the mix of guilt, despair and grief becomes too much, so she leans on him, both physically and emotionally, and he is always there to comfort her. 

THEN, finally, zelda has reached a point of loving link enough to be able to save his life, knowing he will do the same someday. which he does, and in the epilogue, she acknowledges both the pain of the past and how (because him remembering her is what unlocks this ending) he is a big part of the reason why she can accept herself now, even with her power fading & her role fulfilled.

that’s an ARC, baby! 

i have my problems with botw as an overall narrative (especially its muddled messaging on whether zelda should be forced to have this traditional role), but i cannot fault how carefully they built the zelink relationship step-by-step without taking shortcuts. in these brief snippets, you see just enough to understand how zelda went from almost hating link to truly loving him.

by contrast… here’s the AoC zelink arc, despite having 3x the cutscene runtime: zelda feels quietly insecure, but doesn’t take it out on link. link saves her, as a bodyguard is supposed to. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond. link saves zelda again. they exchange glances. they don’t talk / bond… they flee together. then she saves link out of “love.”

that’s it. that’s literally it. 

AoC-zelink go from two (2) Meaningful Glances to zelda activating her powers, because of a bodyguard she has not spent one real second bonding with. 

link saving zelda was a turning point for their relationship in botw, yes - but here’s the key difference: it was a starting point, not the end destination. it made zelda re-evaluate how she saw link, because she was a dick to him first. THAT prompts her to try to understand someone who was kind and selfless despite how poorly she treated him. which leads to many scenes of them bonding more.

so, hot take: the real, original sin here which almost all of these issues grow from, is that they didn’t let zelda be flawed in age of calamity. 

because age of calamity-zelda was never a jerk to link, she has no reason to go out of her way to be nicer and get to know him when he saves her anyway. that’s just standard bodyguard stuff, and that’s all it’s allowed to be. they don’t share private moments of vulnerability. they don’t share at all, really.

because of this, their relationship - which became its own, organic thing in botw - is never allowed to grow. it stays knight & princess without any real flavor to it. 

i think this could be avoided if age of calamity-zelda was as strong of a character as botw-zelda was. neither is like, a literary masterpiece, but there’s a clear contrast. both are insecure and want to stop ganon, but… that’s all AoC-zelda is allowed to be, until she’s suddenly a Perfect Badass Goddess with no personality other than shouting “for hyrule!”

botw zelda didn’t just have that central insecurity. she has hobbies, she goofs off, she gets angry at people, she starts out with a huge inferiority complex towards link. she can be selfish and rebellious and clearly likes research more for its own sake than its ability to stop the calamity. she becomes nicer over time and more compassionate (unlike age of calamity, which treats it as given that she was always “boundlessly” compassionate), but that’s where she got because link was nice to her, not where she started out. 

and all of this fits into theme. age of calamity is a power fantasy in a notoriously over-the-top warriors franchise. its all about self-empowerment and looking good while kicking ass. breath of the wild is about exploration, slowly piecing together what happened 100 years ago and moving past grief into hope for the future.

i’ll put it this way - botw zelda had an arc to become a better person. aoc zelda only ever became a more powerful person.