#I need several in depth analysis on this opening

[captainsploosh]

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS FRAME

ISNT THAT VEINS HAND?? IS THAT HOW CHENG XIOSHI DIED IN THE FIRST TIMELINE??? IS THAT WHY LU GANG WENT BALLISTIC WHEN HE GOT SHOT?? GUYSSSS

[stardust-moth]

Hey there! What's your take on why Mike keeps his eyes open and just limply stands there when El kisses him at the end of ST season 3? Bylers claim it's because Mike doesn't love her and idk about that... that definitely wasn't my read. But I recently rewatched the whole show, and I can't really figure out what that moment is supposed to convey?? Like, watching that scene, there isn't the feeling of a great love being fulfilled, or of grief at losing her to the move. He just kind of seems... idk, confused? Perturbed? idk! I can't wrap my head around what I'm supposed to take away from that moment!

Ok. I almost didn't bother writing out a long, detailed post about this, because it's one of those things that (in my mind) shouldn't need to be explained, since (to me) it's presented so clearly in the source material already. So much of this show is so wildly misinterpreted all the time these days and it's getting to be exhausting-- half the time my reaction is just:

BUT! Why would I ever pass up an opportunity to yap about my favorite things, namely my dear my son my boy Michael Wheeler??

So! Let's consider all the context pieces going on here, shall we?

Things we know about Mike:

Struggles to say the Big L Word in general. Feelings are big and scary. (This is not a new concept, mind you. It's a very common romance trope. It's also a real thing that real people struggle with, especially among men and boys. Remember the cultural setting, everybody.)

he has low self-esteem and Big Insecurities about the validity of his feelings and his relationship with her (insecurities which are constantly reinforced by the people around him)

he is ALWAYS visibly startled/surprised when ANYONE expresses that they care about him to ANY extent (surprised that his mom empathizes with him and isn't angry about staying home from school when his best friend is missing, surprised when Dustin points out that he and Lucas are close best friends, surprised that Nancy runs out to hug him and says she was worried about him, surprised that El doesn't judge him for being bullied and says she understands, surprised when she tells him she was listening all 353 days, surprised when she tells him she missed him at the pizza shop, surprised when Will tells him that he's the glue that holds the party together and that they all need him, surprised when Karen goes on a mom tirade about how she was worried sick and never wants to let him go far away ever again, etc etc etc... idk what you expect at this point)

here, he is clearly bracing himself for saying goodbye and putting on nonchalant fronts to protect himself from experiencing that grief again (see my pinned post for more in-depth analysis of why Mike is scared of his feelings)

Also take into account: 

He TRIED to tell her he loves her in the supermarket, like really genuinely tried, but they were interrupted by ALL the shit hitting the fan. There is a LOT going on!! El's powers are gone and no one knows why! She's grieving the loss of her father! She's about to move across the country to somewhere entirely new and unfamiliar! Mike doesn't want to be selfish right now given what she's going through, making such a move now would be pretty tactless, and he's trying so hard to be a good respectful boyfriend (after literally everyone told him off for things like caring too much/spending too much time with her). Plus, if she doesn't reciprocate, well then fuck, some of his last moments with her will be stained by disappointment and guilt and awkwardness. And if she does reciprocate, well then fuck, now that just makes this goodbye even harder for both of them.

So yeah. He's fuckin shook. And, like the awkward noodle he is, Mike is slow to process it.

There are SEVERAL emotions going on right now-- the most apparent one being shock/surprise/confusion. Of course it's massively validating to hear "I love you, too", the same way it's massively validating to hear her say "I understand" and "I heard". But whatever happy feelings it brings are definitely overshadowed by the sinking realization that despite it all, he's still losing her. They still have to go separate ways. Remember that while we the audience know they're all going to come back to Hawkins and be reunited by the end of the story, the characters don't know that. As far as anyone knows in this moment, they're moving away for good. (And btw, distance is a lot bigger of a deal when methods of communication are limited-- remember the setting, everybody!! No instant messaging!! Letters take weeks to mail, no way to see each other's faces except through mailed photographs, only one landline phone per household and you have to factor in time zones and family members' working hours... long-distance relationships are hard now, imagine how hard they would be for teenagers in 1985!!)

Bottom line: He wasn't expecting her to say it. He wasn't prepared to hear it now. He wasn't ready for it to be such a mix of hurt and happy all at once. All he could do is stare in awestruck bewilderment.

His first love, the most important person to him in the whole world, truly reciprocates his feelings. And he's about to lose her forever again.

Unfortunately Finn's face is kind of obscured from view during a lot of the actual kiss, which can understandably make it hard to read, but he is most definitely kissing her back-- it's very hesitant and subtle compared to El's confidence, but he does lean in to meet her.

Every single indicator (in the music, the blocking/camera work, etc) is purposefully framing this scene as a positive moment and the resolution to their relationship arc for the season.

Further conflict and further resolution that we see in S4 supports/confirms this as the correct interpretation. His confession monologue spells it all out word for word for christ's sake.

Narratively, the scene would make ZERO sense if that was meant to be a negative reaction. Their romance subplot goes through all the story arc steps and all the buildup, why would it fall so flat right at the final piece of the resolution? That would just be poor writing. (And frankly, that entire take is evidence of poor media literacy and comprehension. You just... you can't cherry-pick the details, guys, I'm sorry.)

If that kiss was meant to be a nail in the coffin, a realization that everything that the story has established and everything these two characters have expressed thus far is, in fact, not so... then we wouldn't have seen a moment like this with such intimacy right afterwards:

Tell me you can't read his face now. He's in tears and clinging to her. That is heartbreak! And just by looking at how she touches his face and presses their foreheads together, you can tell she feels it too and understands.

So yeah, that's my take on it. I hope this provides some clarity! <3

PS, on a lighter note, allow me to present to you a directly comparable confused-open-eyed kiss scene that absolutely NO ONE questions:

[mothgodofchaos]

Movie Night

My need for soft Anti fluff is never ending. Write the fics you wanna read, I guess.

Antisepticeye x GN!Reader, TW: none Words: 1134

“Baby, I’m home. I brought dinner!” “YAY!” Anti glitches into the entryway, scooping you up into his arms with a giggle. He holds you tight, kissing your cheeks until you’re laughing along with him. You know he misses you, being a stay-at-home demon, but until you’re able to find a way for him to go out in public safely, it’s what has to happen. At least while you’re at work. But on this particular day, you promised that you’d bring home a treat and the two of you would have a date night. You had grabbed some Chinese food, and a couple things from the local bakery.

He lets you set the food down, even if he refuses to put you down. It’s hard to resist his giggling laughter. You kick your legs as he holds your feet above the ground, squishing his face before meeting his lips in a giggly kiss. 

“I missed ye.” “I know. But I’m all yours tonight. Just like I promised.” Anti looks up at you, chin resting in your chest. He briefly nuzzles in, before putting you down with a kiss to your temple. You go wind down for the evening, changing into something more comfortable back in your shared bedroom. The door to his gaming room is open, the game paused and his chair still spinning from when he glitched to greet you at the door. It’s cute, seeing a physical representation of his excitement to see you. Reminds you a bit of a golden retriever with separation anxiety. 

Walking back out into the kitchen, you find him going through all the containers of Chinese food, separating the food for the two of you out into two piles. He’s also grabbed a package of batteries, already snacking on it. You walk up behind him, playing with his hair before wrapping your arms around his waist from behind. Anti spooks a little, before lighting up again and spinning to reciprocate the hug.

“Mine.” “Yes baby, I’m yours.” He buries his face in your hair, squeezing you tighter. The two of you stay there for a bit, letting him get a hug that he very clearly needed. The coffee maker bubbles behind you, as he rocks you back and forth. It’s quiet, rain hitting the window above the sink, distorting the street lamps outside as the droplets fall down the panes. You lift your head, looking up at him. “Baby? Are you okay?” “Ye… I just… needed ye here. Just fer a minute.” “It’s okay. But how about we go sit on the couch? Better cuddles, eat food, and we can watch our movies.” “Okay. Uhh-”

Anti pauses for a second, before lifting you up into his arms again. His hands are tucked under your thighs, hoisting them up as your legs wrap around his waist, arms around his shoulders. You laugh, holding on tight as he tries to balance bringing everything, including you, into the living room. You turn to see a pile of blankets and pillows, you assume that he set up while you were at work. He dumps you in the pile with a giggle, running away after he sets the food on the coffee table. You sputter, digging yourself out before flipping him off. Anti simply cackles, pouring coffee for the two of you and returning with your mugs. 

“Can we watch a horror movie?” “Sure, baby. Anything you want.” “Yay~”

You hand the remote to him as you get a blanket over your laps. His arm rests over your shoulders, letting you rest your head on his. Food rests in your laps over the blanket, mixing your food around in the container briefly with your chopsticks. Instead of a traditional movie, he selects an in-depth analysis of an analog horror series on YouTube. Several hours long, but it does intrigue you. He dims the lights, a soft orange around the room as he snuggles you closer to him. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t take you out somewhere, Anti. I know you’ve been itching to get out of the house.” “Eh, it’s fine. I more miss ye t’an anyt’in’. T’e ot’er people I don’t really care about.”

“So you’re okay with us just staying in and doing, this?” “T’e only ot’er t’ing I’d wanna do wit’ ye is play a game. But we do t’at all t’e time. Just found a new game t’at we could play t’get’er.”

“Oh! That sounds fun. Maybe tomorrow? I don’t work this weekend.” This is a detail you wanted to surprise him with tomorrow morning, but with how he was acting when you got home, it definitely feels like he needs it now. His smile returns, pleasantly surprised and squeezing you excitedly. His feet kick under the blanket, wrapping you tighter in his arms.

“We can do lots o’ t’ings t’is weekend!”

“Whatever you want. Maybe we can go to a quiet coffee shop, or maybe a pumpkin patch?”

“Ooooooh, pumpkins…”

Something you stick in your back pocket for Sunday, letting tomorrow be for gaming. Your attention goes back to the video essay on the television, settling back in. It’s a little refreshing, enjoying horror with him without worrying about jumpscares. There’s something about the video essay that makes it simultaneously more and less terrifying. Or maybe just terrifying in a different way, wiping away the dust on top of the lore to make you look deeper into the horrifying mess that lays underneath. Anti seems moderately invested, but he’s quite amused at how much you’re getting into it. You pass commentary back and forth between bites, theorizing in your own ways as you both gain new information. 

An hour or two in, you pause, cleaning up your dinner and getting the desserts from the kitchen. He grabs some more batteries as well, and pops some popcorn for you in the microwave. You refill your beverages, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he waits by the microwave. His cheeks blush, looking at you walk by with love in his eyes. When the popcorn is done, he walks back into the living room, hopping over the back of the couch to take his seat by your side again. You kiss him, settling into his arms as he lays you on top of him. His batteries rest on the coffee table as your popcorn sits on the floor, both snacks within easy reach considering your positioning. 

The two of you get sleepy laying on the couch after a couple more hours, nested beneath the blankets and thoroughly supported by the abundance of pillows that Anti brought out. You don’t even make it through the entire video, leaving YouTube autoplay to carry you through the night as you stay curled up together. Luckily, you have the entire weekend ahead of you.

[putschki1969]

hi puts, how are you reading all the current drama, its sad that there are fans who say that kalafina better to be stay disbanded rather than forming new kalafina 2.0 without Yuki Kajiura :(

Hello there!

It is indeed very sad. I understand being skeptical but to dismiss the idea entirely seems excessive.

I actually talked about this topic in my most recent reply post.

I am probably one of the few people who will be supporting Kalafina no matter what. I am pretty sure I would like new music from them even if it wasn’t written by YK because my love for Kalafina as a group goes far beyond my appreciation for Yuki Kajiura’s music. I just love the girls themselves, their vocals and their harmony.

I sometimes have to wonder if all those so-called Kalafina fans really don't see anything of value in the members themselves... Are they just replaceable tools for Yuki to use? Because yes, Yuki's music is without a doubt very beautiful and an important part of what makes up Kalafina's current discography but that doesn't mean just anyone can sing it and do it proper justice. It's Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru who add a lot of the unique charm to Kalafina's music. They made it their own with their excellent ensemble work. The girls are a well-coordinated team, they know how to make each other shine and how to compensate for each other's weaknesses. Together they can create gorgeous harmonies and they don't necessarily need pointers from Yuki Kajiura anymore, they have long outgrown their apprentice role.

Would I prefer potential new releases to be written by YK? Of course! But I am also open-minded to the idea of other composers being invited to write/arrange for the girls. Yuki is not the only person on the planet capable of writing good music. It will probably be hit-and-miss but that would also be the case if YK were in charge of the music. After all, a lot of her music isn't particularly well-received (even among hardcore fans) so it's not like everything she touches instantly turns to gold.

Either way, it's completely pointless to get upset about this right now because so far, there are no concrete plans for future Kalafina releases, all we've got so far is the reunion live, nothing else. And from what we know, they will be singing existing Kalafina songs (written by Yuki Kajiura) during this concert.

PS: There is no need to send the same message twice (especially if it has just been a day or two since the last message). Unless it's something super urgent that can't wait due to a certain deadline, I usually won't be replying right away. It can take me several days to work through my inbox and if the message/ask requires a more in-depth analysis, it can take even longer (up to several weeks). So I kindly ask everyone to please be patient with me! Allow for at least a week to pass before you resend an ask/a message. Thank you!

[cyvonix]

Cyv Reads Homestuck - Act 5 Act 2 Wrapup

It's that time again.

Another act under my belt, another wrapup post. Like the last one, I'm gonna try to keep this relatively brief and condense it down to the main shit. For this act in particular, that's especially needed, since if I went fully in depth, this post would presumably take on the length of a considerably hefty novella. Seriously, this act is BEEFY. Over double the length of any of the previous acts, and with the content to show for it.

Apparently this was the act that got everyone hyped in Homestuck's initial run, and I can absolutely see why. Everything here is raised to an astronomical level, (literally and metaphorically) as we get not only greater stakes and more action than ever before, but more intrigue, more questions, more lore, more character depth, more fun interactions, literally just more of everything. I think this act is extremely interesting, because it capitalizes on what Act 5-1 teed it up for; that is to say, Act 5 Act 1 queued us into the fact that this story was going to get more complex and darker than before, and went places that never could've been expected in the first 4 acts of the comic. Meanwhile, this act is essentially an entirely new thing. It puts 100% into the new identity that Act 5-1 created for Homestuck, and imo, hits it out of the park.

The first major contributor to this is the shift is the character interactions, which have noticeably taken a much more nuanced approach than anything before. Many scenes or lines that would have been purely jokes were now seen as opportunities to genuinely explore these characters and their relationships with each other. As far as returning characters, Dave in particular stands out as someone who has been completely opened up to new layers that, if they were there before, were heavily obscured by his place in the narrative. The trolls are undoubtedly responsible for this element making its way further into the dialogue, as they give the kids so much more to bounce off of than they used to have, and with these many new dynamics that are formed, new avenues of exploration and analysis are opened.

And speaking of the trolls, their story also escalates far beyond anything possibly imaginable when we first met these angry goofballs several acts ago. They stand as the latest in a generationally traumatized race, one so beaten into their societal roles that anything short of bloodlust is considered weakness. A bloodlust that, as we later learn, was maticulously crafted by our darling villain, Doc Scratch. This layer of their collective characterization, though, makes it all the more potent when they manage to let part of themselves slip past this torturous conditioning and reveal the sympathetic souls that lie underneath. Even Vriska, cartoonishly evil as she's been, comes out the other end of this act seeming much more three dimensional than before. Also, Gamzee's murder arc happened. Honk honk. That's really all there is to say on the matter.

With the mention of Doc Scratch, I would be remiss to leave out his role in all this, and how it encompasses another aspect of this act that left me impressed and overjoyed, which is the multitude of ways in which the conventions of Homestuck and its medium are expanded and broken, over and over. The games begin to feature much more story-relevant information than before. The animations become longer, denser, more daring with their content (Cascade is a whole fucking cartoon episode!!); the easter eggs of games past are folded into the narrative itself, as well as other meta elements brought from simple gags into genuinely intriguing plot points. Even the way the comic allows itself to be interacted with twists and changes as it needs. The banner on top of the website becomes its own entire canvas for storytelling, the borders of the panels are less restrained than ever, the command system is contorted in various ways that make for a more interactive experience even just on the web page. I could go on. Even in the final moments of the act, when the curtains close, we see them tattered, fire surrounding them, and a shattered fourth wall behind. To me, it acts as a declaration that the confines of this work are no longer relevant. That this is truly a multimedia project which will take any shape it sees fit to convey what it desires, and which will blend realities and rulesets to create a strange, new entity. I've watched this piece of fiction grow and mold itself over the course of these various acts in ways I truly never anticipated when I'd begun, and this moment feels like a symbol of that mentality becoming its mantra. I highly doubt these experiments with form will stop any time soon, and I truly do look forward to whatever is waiting for me next.

And finally, for my own sake I kinda want to decompartmentalize into a list all the currently unanswered things leaving me either curious or interested as I move forward:

Not really a question but I just couldn't find another place to write that I fucking love all the god tier stuff. Just really fun and satisfying magical fantasy shit with very cool aesthetics and also thematic elements that tie extremely well into a lot of what the story seems to be getting at.

LORD ENGLISH HAS ENTERED THE PICTURE. Clearly, as we all already knew "He is already here." So the question is, where? Where has he been? What will be that decisive moment that he will propel himself into this story?

Regarding resurrection, what actually classifies as "heroic" or "just" seeing as these are largely subjective concepts? Is is simply a mystic "Paradox Space will decide" type thing? Will the comic address this quandry at some point?

On this point, Doc Scratch's clock. It shows the results of this query. Does it actually decide the result, or similar to the meteor timers, simply show the result that was already going to happen? If it decides the result, this implies that by manipulating the clock, the outcome of the resurrection can also be manipulated.

On timelines: What actually consitutes the Alpha Timeline? Who decides that? Who's to say that one particular timeline is more canonical or holds more importance than the rest, other than the author themselves I suppose.

Who's fedorafreak? Is this actually gonna be important?

What actually are the denizens? John implies they aren't as threatening as they initially appear. What does this say about their function in the game and in this world?

Who is the mother of all monsters? I don't think this is a term we've ever heard before unless I'm just forgetting

Why does the emblem of "Her Condescention" look somewhat like the Betty Crocker logo. Don't tell me I'm looking too deep into this. This fucking story has done me dirty before. That thing fucking looks like the other things and I don't trust that one bit especially after hearing about the whole Betty Crocker isn't human thing. hrmmm...

WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT MEAN THAT THE KIDS ARE IN ANDREW HUSSIE WORLD. WHAT. I CAN'T GET OVER THAT. I LITERALLY DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT COULD EVEN GO.

As for any predictions or expectations? Basically none. At least as far as predictions go. I've learned to surf Homestuck like a big ass wave and let it take me where it takes me. If I pick something up along the way that I feel I can properly theorize about, I will, but I'm no longer trying to pick everything apart and estimate what it could mean for the overall story, because quite frankly, there's simply too much shit going on and too little of it has any intention of appeasing my base instincts about the movements of the narrative. Now, I'm not going to lie and say I know NOTHING about what's next in Homestuck. I know next to nothing, but that's still not nothing. In fact, I'll break down literally everything that I know so you know exactly what expectations I'm going in with. So obviously if you're also reading for the first time, maybe tune out here in case you wanna be completely blind!!!

I know there are still more characters to come. Specifically, I know that there are at least four other kids to be introduced to, just from fan art and cosplay and such. I know two of their names are Dirk and Roxy, but I do not know the other two. I know ZERO about their actual roles in the story or like, who they are as people. Based solely on their appearances, my only real guess is that maybe, similarly to how we learned of the troll ancestors creating a new world and becoming ancestors to the true successors, the kids will do something similar now that they're essentially exiting the reset world, and become the guardians of a new group of children who are supposed to be like "the real heroes" and those will be those characters? I'm not sure if the logistics on that actually work out but it's all I got rn. Also, I know there are weird green people. Now, call me psychic, but now that I've seen Lord English, something tells me they have something to do with him. Again, I'm cluelesss as to how they actually connect or what role they'll have in the story or literally anything at all, I just know that they exist and are green. The third and final thing that I know is that trickster mode has like, a greater role in the story? I'm grasping at straws here but I've definitely heard talk about trickster mode in later Homestuck as if it becomes more than just an easter egg in games. No fuckin clue how. So again, I'll make a guess that, since the characters are continuously getting closer to the meta layer of the story, perhaps they find out about the "easter eggs" in the games and how to activate trickster mode, as characters and not just as us playing them, and then maybe they can use that to gain new information or traverse places in a different way, almost like Twilight Princess type shit. But yeah. That's all I got. I don't feel spoiled at all because that's all such minimal information that it doesn't really tell me anything of significance, but it does at least give me some breadcrumbs to look for as I keep reading, so that's pretty neat.

Anyway, yeah! This is what I call relatively brief now I guess! Either way tho, if you read thru this I wanna thank you, I know there have been some people sticking with me through this journey and seeming to enjoy my posts, so if I've provided some entertainment or interesting commentary that makes me very happy. Always feel free to chime in and discuss with me or even just correct me on stupid shit I say lol. But I'm gonna go start ACT 6 NOW I GUESS??? GOD DAMN WE'RE HALF WAY THERE BABY WOOOOOOO I'M REALLY DOIN THIS

[yolowritter]

In Defense of Chloe Bourgeois Part 3: Why Thomas, WHY?

Hello everyone! In case it wasn't obvious by the title, this is a part 3 to this post right there! I'd sincerely recommend reading it since you'll need the context. Anyhow, moving right onto where I left off! Yes I copied the message too, it's 2am leave me alone.

[...]

Mind you, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be one at all, but that Miracle Queen was absolutely not the right time to go for it. Assuming that Chloe's fall was planned from the start, then I'll admit that it was the right call from Astruc and Co. Why? Because Seasons 2 and 3 give us an excellent analysis of Chloe as a character, and a lot of time for her to try and acclimate herself to the new circumstances of actually belonging somewhere. But...they also don't provide Chloe with the oppurtunity to figure herself out that much. She's preoccupied with Akuma fights whenever she's Queen Bee, and doesn't get much time to actually talk to her would-be friends as herself, at least outside the context of beating up this week's fashion atrocity, courtesy of the local Butterfly Man. And to be honest? The only reason I don't love Miracle Queen as an episode is because Chloe's fall didn't get proper buildup. If Astruc had devoted time to show us what was happening, then I'd be head over heels for the sheer amount of potential doors this storyline was opening!

Unfortunately...Thomas decided to double down on a terrible writing mistake...with Queen Banana. Dear Nooroo, the sheer amount of hate I have for this episode is almost as bad as my seething rage for Ephemeral! I'll talk about that disasterous stew of rotten eggs and horrendous writing some other time, but Queen Banana nearly takes the cake for my least favorite episode in Season 4! Would you like to know why? Because I was inhaling one thousand cubic meters of copium when I predicted that Astruc would actually bother doing something worthwhile with Chloe! And I'll admit, I do see what they were going for here. Make Chloe as bad as possible to replace her with Zoe. But that just ended up undermining both of them so badly that it actually hurts me to watch Queen Banana and Sole Crusher! I honestly don't think it was 100% intentional to make it look like Zoe was her half-sister's replacement, but the fact that it even looks that way from what I believe to be a decently unbiased point of view...is a problem. Don't get me wrong, I love Zoe! She's amazing, and Season 5 made her even better! But her introduction was so poorly written that it feels that way.

And Thomas certainly didn't help matters with the way Chloe was portrayed in those episodes. People have said that "she was being nice to Zoe at the start" and that "Chloe was trying to help with the movie, she had a really cool idea!" and both of those are true, yes, but look at the way that she goes about it. Chloe cranks up her "Audrey-ness" from the 8.5 we see on a good day, to the 10 of Style Queen...to a good ol' 27. Mind you, this could have been very well done! It could have been made obvious that Chloe is intentionally falling back into old habits as a defense machanism or a way to cope by deluding herself into thinking she doesn't need anyone because she's a Bourgeois! Would have made for a wonderful plotline, especially since she broke off her and Adrien's friendship. If I recall correctly, he told her she's being unreasonable, which Chloe absolutely was the entire episode, at least in the way she went about interacting with people. Naturally, Chloe insists otherwise, and decides that she doesn't need him either! This would be a wonderful moment to have her cry in the limousine, or maybe we could have gotten a scene where she's regretting cutting him off in Sole Crusher! Even at some later point in the Season! It would have been great! It would have given Chloe proper depth and made the approach of her fall in Miracle Queen have actual consequence in regards to her character! It would have severely complicated Chloe's relationship with the now only positive influence in her life, Zoe!

Speaking of Zoe, there's a huge theme hanging between her and Andre about breaking cycles of abuse. I won't talk about it here since it fits into a future post, but there's already a lot of analysis posts out there, especially about their relationship, which I personally find fundementally flawed. Andre is in general a really shitty person who I don't think ever should gotten a redemption arc, especially one that amounts to "Oh well, the problem child (that I am responsible for failing to raise) is gone now, time to receive zero consequences and enjoy my life after being a corrupt politician for almost a decade!" Can you tell I do not like that by the way? Can you tell? I swear I am giving this man a downfall arc to end all downfalls in a fic one of these days...

Anyway, point is that Chloe and Zoe are both screwed over by their incredibly horrible parents! And to anyone who says "but Zoe isn't a bad person, she's just different", kindly think about why that is. Chloe spent her entire childhood begging for her mother's attention and then being taught how to bribe, extort, blackmail and bully people into submission by Andre. Which is canon by the way! Meanwhile Zoe spent a significant amount of time with Audrey, and therefore doesn't idolize the mom she never knew.

Now, I'm not going to speculate on Zoe's childhood, but it seems pretty logical that Zoe was at the very least witness to a frankly ludicrous amount of Audrey's "you're ridiculous, utterly ridiculous" moments, to the point where she's sick of it. Like c'mon, if you had anybody in your house firing their unpaid intern 27 consecutive times in the span of maybe an hour, you'd quickly get used to it, get annoyed by it, and then promptly decide the behavior isn't worth emulating. Especially if you're sick of their shit by that point, which we can logically Zoe is. Therefore, she doesn't act like Audrey. Considering Andre didn't know she existed, he never poisoned her with his slimy politician ways, Zoe's behavior is different from Chloe's. As an aside, she still does try to emulate her actions when she first arrives at Dupont, if only for a couple minutes. Zoe wants to fit in, and even if she doesn't like what Chloe does, she's willing to play the part at least for a moment to get close to her sister. Fits really well with her wanting to be an actress, so I wanted to highlight it!

Anyway, the point is that there is some great foundational material here! Regardless of whether or not Chloe "fell" in Miracle Queen, there's amazing potential for a proper conflict between these two! Because as a reminder, we deduced earlier that Chloe was jealous of Marinette because of the latter having what she didn't! Zoe presumably had Audrey's love (in Chloe's mind at least), hence she would treat her differently. Be it either with seething hatred or jealousy is up to whomever writes the story. Alternatively, Chloe could (in the scenario where Miracle Queen didn't happen) believe that Zoe is a similarly abusive situation as she, and we go from there for a plotline between the two. Irrespectively of which route they wanted or could have taken this, any potential for character development between these two is utterly ruined from the very moment they first interact on screen.

This because Chloe is now reduced to a one-dimensional "school bully" character, which would have made logical sense if the writers explained it as a self-defense mechanism, but without any context or exploration of her mental state post Season 3, it can only be seen as character regression, which is never a good idea! Not to mention that Lila Rossi exists specifically to fulfil the role of antagonist for Marinette's personal life now! I know as well as everyne else how much Lila gets ignored and underused in this show, but the fact that Thomas and Co. took time to forcefully shove Chloe back in a role that no longer fits her instead of using the villain they spent three Season Finales hanging in front of us like a carrot on a stick is ridiculous to me! Therefore, Chloe's entire character development, which I would have been completely fine with if anybody bothered to treat her downfall with even the minimum amount of respect it deserves, if solely from the perspective of not leaving a gaping plothole bigger than the cavern in Gabriel's basement in the middle of their storyline! I know I already brought up me having an aneurysm once because of these crappy writing decisions, but we are well past the point of a mental breakdown and headed directly to a freakin' heart attack!

Why? Why??? How do you even manage to disrespect your own character to the point where you ruin two villains simultaniously, and the new heroine you're introducing??? Thomas Astruc! Have you ever taken a Writing 101 class before? Do I need to borrow Nathalie's crossbow and force you into one? Yeah okay, we get you don't like Chloe, but I honestly cannot accept that her botched downfall would spiral into the utter butchering of two more characters with unlimited potential, one of whom is supposed to be the villainess for your protagonist's personal life and the new Hawkmoth! I am well aware that Thomas doesn't even know I exist, but the sheer amount of beef I have with this man solely for being incompetent it honestly starting to become too much! I'm sitting over here desperately trying to retcon and re-write his characters in my head to at least make logical sense! And he just adds even more steaming-hot garbage to the pile of inconsistency, insanity and bad writing decisions! Meanwhile, we're missing 100% of logical sense, character respect, or at the very least some kind of way for the audience to understand what you're trying to communicate! Just tell us in a twitter post at this point! Please, be clear with your writing!

Okay...I'm sorry, this post has gotten way too long. Ridiculously long. Including this paragraph, it's actually almost 7.5k words in total. Hence why I've split it into so many parts. I sincerely hope you got the point. To summarize, regardless of if Chloe was redeemed or not, there were incredible oppurtunities for storytelling, and Thomas missed the wide side of a barn with this one. If you ask me I can go into way more detail, and yes that's despite the 7.4 thousand words in this series of posts. Anyway, I am now going to cool off, and quite possibly (maybe) sleep. I'll see you all next time (when I wake up from my coma), but until then, Stay Miraculous everyone!

< previous post >

[cloudsofbespin]

I’m excited for what they are going to do with Devil’s Minion as well. As long as they don’t make it boring I’m sure it will be good. Boring for me would be if they don’t do anything with San Francisco/their messed-up first meeting and instead ignore it by having Daniel just be over it, and/or have Armand and Daniel simply have a hate-love thing. I like (love!) enemies-to-lovers, but there’s a lot of bad versions of it which don’t work cause it’s not actually written as love it’s written as lust and simple attraction. There needs to be some actual romance and depth to it, then I’ll be fully into it!

They have such a good opportunity as well, with Daniel and Armand being screwed up in different but somewhat similar ways. Nothing compares to the horrors of Armand’s past, but they do have in common an unwillingness (and inability) to be fully emotionally open and honest - and given that they are now literally bonded together and exposed to each other (Madeleine being able to read Louis’ emotions comes to mind) I do really want them to do something with that. There’s something great with them both being unable to hide from each other! And them both being uniquely able to call out each other's bs could be something really compelling and funny to see!

I do love Daniel’s words about truly seeing Armand as the monstrous vampire (insect analogy) he is and fully loving and accepting the whole of him in the book. So I hope we’ll see that - or a good and compelling version of it! However, I do need there to be something about Daniel too. Otherwise he will just feel like a tool to aid in Armand’s character development, rather than his own person and the romance of it all would just be one-sidedly about Armand. There obviously needs to be more to it than Daniel loving monstrous complex enigmas like Armand and Armand finding him fascinating because of it. You know what I mean?

I’m carefully hopeful, feels like Daniel having been somewhat closeted and a failure at marriages is something they could use to give him an emotional arc, as well as being a new (abandoned?) vampire. Though he doesn't seem to struggle much with the latter. In Armand’s case I can see several ways of doing an interesting emotional arc for him.

What do you want to see? Big and small? What are some story and/or emotional beats you'd like to see? Also, thank you for being a fun blog to follow during these dark (hiatus) times :)

hi! i love your analysis and all the points you bring up ❤️

simply put i want them to fall in love and i want them to love each other for who and what they are. that's their deal in the books and should be their deal in the show too

obviously the vampire bond is going to play a massive role because well they are bonded forever now and as you said (and as the show established) they should be able to feel each other's emotions even though they can't read the other's mind. there's also my personal favourite detail of them having the same/similarly coloured eyes and the significance of armand looking into daniel's eyes and seeing his own reflection staring back. another aspect of the bond that makes me insane is that they're probably going to be hella possessive of each other now and i can't wait how that's going to manifest

but yeah i def do not want the vampire bond to be the only reason for their connection. because again armand should love daniel for daniel and daniel should love armand for armand. i want them to go on an intense emotional journey together and as you mentioned daniel shouldn't be just a vessel for armand's character development

book!armand describes daniel as "strangely defiant and beseeching in the same breath" and to me show!daniel fits that description as well. they can challenge each other. i feel like armand's been somehow intrigued by daniel ever since san francisco (but that does not necessarily mean they had a relationship back then)

i'm being a total sap right now but somewhere along the way i want daniel to say i love you to armand and mean it. armand should experience what it means to be fully loved in return

also i've gone through various stages of crazy since the s2 finale because as it stands now we truly have no idea what actually happened and what is going to happen with the two of them. all we know is that armand turned daniel and now daniel's been asking (looking?) for him. what the hell happened in dubai? did armand bolt as soon as he turned daniel? does daniel miss him? is he going to look for him? please rolin put me out of my misery

[life-winners-liveblog]

You want me to go more in depth? I'll go straight down the RabBiT hOLe

Lets start with LL!Scott shall we?

He has been repeatedly left by those he cares about (whether or not it was willing for the other side... unimportant). First his own brother, dissapears without a trace. Leaving him as the sole heir to the throne. Then of course I suppose something must have happened to his parents because he did take the throne, and we never hear any mention of them henceforth, so it's safe to assume they're dead. Then yes his brother does come back.... but that's not his brother anymore is it? Not truly... no this was something far more sinister.

Then there's the whole thing with the Cod War and while Scott himself said he remained neutral (from one of Jimmy's old vods) he still warned Fwip of the incoming attack. And Fwip and Sausage certainly saw him as an important enough ally that they defended him from Jimmy. Then of course Sausage teams up with Xornoth and kidnaps Scott and Gem (another betrayal, and using tips Scott gave him to do it). Then he gets his ice magic, and harms Gem accidentally. But panics and flees into a self exile so he doesn't hurt anyone else... they can't be the ones to leave him if he leaves first. Then he comes back and his very own home has been trapped by yet another person he considers an ally (Fwip).

And that's just a few of the thing during Empires. Once we enter the game... well let's see. He is constantly on guard from everyone around him, the only person he fully trusts from the beginning is Pearl, and even then he feels as though he has to work and prove himself useful in order to keep her as an ally. I mean what dark green in their right mind would team up with a yellow, and only a yellow?

Then of course any alliance he tried to make outside of Pearl and Cleo ended in a betrayal of trust didn't it? He trusted Impulse to help keep the Wither heads away from Grian. We all know how that ended. Near the end of the game he put his trust in the remaining greens, even being so vulnerable and open as to reveal he was the boogeyman. To everyone. He even helped them reconstruct and enforce their walls. Yet as soon as his curse ended, and he turned red. He was still shunned out. If I remember correctly, Cleo even hit/shot him while he was leaving.

All this to say of course, LL!Scott has severe abandonment issues that express themselves through a need to be useful, to be worth while, to be "the stable one", to be needed. In order to not be left behind. (This specific expression is common amongst many iterations of Scott S Major)

-Xas

This is one hell of an analysis.

[femciolente]

Tiqqun cursed me to Intellectual Depression...

By : Santiago "Weebu" Pemo

As a French reader, I am much more impacted and attached to French philosophy and its theorists than most people. I feel a deep connection to the language I grew up with and these theories that so deeply resonate with my being, some ideas and vague concepts I have had since the dawn of my political consciousness, that also appear to be fundamental for these intellectuals, way before my time. There is something truly eye opening about finding deeply avant-garde theory in your language, that has also pretty directly impacted the politics of your own country, to a certain degree. Tiqqun for me is the representation of the search for ideals, the insatiable pursuit of knowledge that I experience, and will experience. Dense and complicated, pretentious and critical, Tiqqun's works have everything to be categorized a million times by fruitless adjectives, but the only one truly fitting for such a titan of theory is "impressive".

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tiqqun was a French philosophical journal, even if i would categorize it more as a periodic publication and recollection of intellectual texts. It was actively published between 1999 and 2001, supposedly dissolving after the 9/11 attacks for fear of repression and a needed break from the political world, as some claim. Why would they do that? Well, Tiqqun was THE most radical publication France ever got a hold of, but specially because the tradition it subscribed into was not a typical one. Insurectionary Anarchism, Situationism and Communization (In both a general and specific manner, we will go over that later), as well as the large French school of Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism, Tiqqun is a beacon of modern French radical philosophy. And for how complex what the journal propositions can be, It is no surprise that this lovely piece of theory has gone severely unnoticed for the average "leftist". It's a literary piece at heart, a several hundred pages long poem, it's a work of passion to the world of philosophy and theoretical politics. And that is what makes the publication one of the most beautiful yet disheartening concepts to read, as well as being absolutely groundbreaking, and a read that will challenge anyone's unprepared views about many topics, since it introduces complex notions of the "Invisible Party", "Metaphysical Critique Exercices", "The Theory Of Bloom" and of course, their own spin on "Communization Theory".

"Communization" is a complicated topic, a theory not for the weak minded, something pretty much existent in the own confines of our exhausted and depressed intellectual capacities, but it still manages to be fresh enough to be adaptable to everyone. The lack of dogmatism in the writing, the synthesis of concepts and the post-post modernity of its analysis is unlike anything you can currently get your hands on. But the core concepts are understandable, and can make you rethink your own base ideology from the ground up. At least that is what happened to me. Communization, as the theory that rejects the DOTP from a marxist understanding of revolutionary action and procedures, is not a common piece of thought even in online discourse. Im not here to explain in depth this concept (as it is the case for another article of mine), but what Is important here is how Tiqqun took this theory, very marginal Left Communist piece of theory, and built it, almost single-handedly, from the ground up once again. The revolution that Tiqqun brought by explicitly importing Insurrectionary Anarchist ideas, as well as a general anarchist ethos too, to a concept that wouldn't necessarily hold it, was the stepping stone towards the erasure of "Anarchist"and "Statist" labels in the ultra left, leading to a much more fluid interaction and development of ideas, breaking the dogmas that can follow the Meta-Narratives of certain strains of "left wing" ideology. Meta-Narratives that still hold a lot of theorists back when it comes to the full liberation of their brain, towards a greater understanding of the world, even if that might come with far greater consequences, like absolutely breaking your hope and desire for the world, but not in a very Nihilist way, but a purely emotional sense. Tiqqun is very emotional, and more than anything, it appeals to the individual's understanding of them, and what that said individual wants to take for their own personal benefit. It's what I would call some kind of very well executed decentralized communal thought process.

And this is key In my personal development, as I originally came from a much more orthodox Anarcho-Communist conception of ideology, with its own dogmatism and ingrained fallacies that even back then bothered me, this fluidity and lack of strict structure that the ideas of Tiqqun have allowed me to break down the walls I imposed on myself. And that is what makes their version of Communization so specific. Not only they detail and talk about the general concept that an author like Dauvé could have, but they go further than him. They always do. That is the magic of the journal, going as far as it is possible to think. Their analysis is clean, including some fairly (and sadly) forgotten theories like Situationism at the heart of their vision, specially when they mention anything to do with the "invisible party". Avant-Gardism is the core ethos of what Tiqqun wanted. They did not want to be comprehended by the general population, they didn't write for us to use our texts as proof of the subjective validity of our ideology, but a job. They had a specific vision of the world, a ruthless one, one that did not spare any badmouthing of any concept as long as it fit their worldview, one that is marvelously constructed. A worldview Guy Debord would have been proud to read.

But you simply cannot just read Tiqqun for enjoyment, as that would be too complicated for anyone with less than 50 degrees on philosophy. You read Tiqqun to experience the whole thought of the "Invisible Party", and you do so with an aim : to criticize your ideas. Tiqqun, for the more well read and fundamentally built reader is primarily an exercise for contrasting metaphysics. The variety of the texts, and the diversity of what they are able to deal with in those gives a complexity to their thought I have barely seen anywhere else. Tiqqun is not a manifesto, Tiqqun is a collection of the greatest thoughts of the french ultra-left of the 90's, one very much involved with all the social movements of its time but retaining its "armchair" critique typical of other strains of Left Communism. But why would anyone listen to them? Why care for Tiqqun? Because the modernity of their ideas is something that will put you in a state of "intellectual depression".

No, this is not a Deleuze reference (even if it might as well be). It is simply a statement to the greatness of Tiqqun's writings, ones that challenges you so much, you stay in a state of perplexity that is hard to achieve with most theory collections. Tiqqun made me depressed, because it challenged my traditional views so much, that I could never conceive traditional modern theory the same way. It radically affected my relationship with not only political and philosophical texts, but also with the politics that affect my day to day life : parliamentary politics, for example. I no longer trust what I used to, I no longer want what I wanted, and I no longer seek what I tried to find when i first embarked on the world of politics. Nothing feels enough, I want more. Satisfaction became a secondary need, but reflection and constant upgrading of my own ideas is what I aspired to, like I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Even my actions, at the scale of my fairly boring small town changed, the discourse I have with people interested or not on politics has changed so much, to the point that I feel as my ideas are exclusive to me. Exactly what Tiqqun is all about, but that does not mean it's a concept full of positives, specially living In a world where our action is necessary and important, even if at times fully pointless.

Holding radical positions in pretty much any aspect of thought is exhausting in the stage of deceiving and worse than before social democratic compromise reformist policies of the present day, one that does not even serve the petty bourgeois it sought to protect to begin with. Repeating the same things, same concepts, theories and ideas over and over again to people oblivious to them is the greatest challenge an active militant or passionate anti-capitalist can face. But the breath of fresh air Tiqqun's expression and interpretation of the classics, as well as an introduction to the newer theories that SHOULD take a larger part in our new theoretical and practical developments is very much needed in the modern day landscape. It's the best of both worlds, In a style you can hardly dislike. Why? Because of the variety of it.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Tiqqun is a collection of texts, but it didn't exactly end in 2001. The publication of several and very complex, pretty much full scale books around 2004-2010 revitalized the scene, specially taking into account how un-finished their work can seem to some. It is not a fully developed program, a truly new political ideology or thought model, but simply good theory, and these newer additions completed an already rich project. But what was important about Tiqqun's post-mortem publications is not anything published under their name, but more so an associate group that can very much be the same people that conformed the original secret council of the Tiqqun redaction, that being "The Invisible Committee". As many of you know, this neo-Tiqqunist collective made one of the most important works out of the modern french scene, named "The Insurrection To Come", a book so popular, it was the object of all the far right moral panics on an international scale, doing ravages to the brain of Fox News redactors. But what really mattered there was how it affected my perspective, as it was one of the first texts of the sort that i ever had the opportunity to read, and is considered a cornerstone of the insurrectionary movement as a whole, revered globally and by a large variety of individuals, on and outside of internet discourse. Yes, it is not Tiqqun, but its closeness with the original intellectual group makes it a product of the original thought of the Invisible Party.

Game changing, In every aspect, even on terms of rights and politics, on domains of repression of radical thought, even. In November 2008, Julien Copat, one of the known members of Tiqqun's redaction was arrested by french authorities under pretext of "Participating on a terrorist action that derailed a train" In a small locality in the rural center of the nation (Tarnac, hence giving its name to the "Tarnac Affair"). And this case, that lasted until around 4-5 years ago, caught enough traction for my young and impressionable brain to know about it, years later when the case resumed after a long break. And this was the first case I ever saw where radical thought leaders were attacked falsely based purely on the radicality of their writings, something pretty much without precedent at that time. And it was the reason why I even know about the publication to begin with, and so was the case for a large amount of young teenagers, who got a newly ignited passion towards these ideas, brewing ever since the intellectual rebellion of May 68, bringing more air to the scene than any other project before. It has been one of the few judicial cases I went deep in, and that exposed more clearly than any other case in modern times, how the punishment great thinkers receive under the rule of the bourgeoisie. It was an event that radicalized me indirectly.

The reason why I consider Tiqqun to be so heavy on my brain is because of how real it is. Never had I seen a fusion of extremely theoretical and technical philosophical theory mixed with a focus on praxis without precedents, specially in a time where political actions from the proletariat are ramping up in power, intensity and frequency once again, like a clock. Tiqqun represents the non-nihilistic view of revolutionary action, with the sadness that comes with knowing the truths behind the movements and the ideas that power them. That is what brings sadness to my soul. It was a necessary step in my development, and I feel as if it's just a reflection of what the general population can feel about the exploding liberal status quo, but the people on our side of theory know the reasons why. Tiqqun gave me the keys to understand better the world but also the revolutionary thought that i wholeheartedly stick to, and at the same time, Tiqqun amplified my Capitalist Realism to levels I had barely ever seen before. Tiqqun, In all its greatness, doomed me to intellectual depression, and I will not recover this time.

Thank you Tiqqun, really.

[pinkeoni]

Jancy Analysis: Jonathan & Nancy's Individual Conflicts

I've been talking about this over the course of a few different posts and asks, but I thought I would make one cohesive post about it in order to coherently organize all of my thoughts on this.

I'm not going to tag this as anti j*ncy because it's actually pro-jancy endgame, but I am going to be talking in depth about the issues in their relationship and a possible breakup, so I understand if any Jancy shippers might wanna skip this one.

As many may have seen, I've been making several posts somewhat stating that I think that Nancy and Jonathan will likely break up very early in the next season. HOWEVER, I want to clarify that I don't think that this necessarily has to affect their status as a couple at the end of the season. A couple can still be endgame even if they took time apart! I also don't think that this is indicative of how they actually feel about each other. Unlike m*leven, I think they love each other very much! I just think that they are likely going to break up as a natural progression of how their story beats have laid out.

In 4x01 we are introduced to Jonathan and Nancy's conflict for the season; they are having miscommunication issues and will not be seeing each other for spring break.

Here's the thing that makes this heartbreaking— both of them actually perfectly understand the others wants and needs. Nancy isn't going to pry Jonathan away from his family and Jonathan isn't going to take Nancy away from the work that she is passionate about. They love each other so much that they can't see each other.

What leads me to believe that they are breaking up is the fact that this miscommunication is never actually discussed. They have a moment where they say that "they're good," but this wasn't actually addressing the issue. Furthermore, they end with Jonathan still hasn't told Nancy about not applying to Emerson, and Nancy isn’t being honest about Steve (no, I don’t think St*ncy is gonna happen, but that plotline did happen so it there’s no use in ignoring it!). This leaves open a huge plot point that still needs to be resolved!

This lie is actually similar to the painting lie, at least in terms of how it's being used within the writing. Because this lie is not resolved by the end of season 4, it leads me to believe that once this lie does get brought up then it will not end with things staying the exact same way that it was, otherwise what was the point of setting it up in the first place? Not only would it feel unsatisfying, but it would feel like a total cop out.

I don't think that Jancy breaking up would be a bad thing for their arc as a whole, it would not only add more interest and drama but it would also give the characters space to resolve their individual conflicts.

The reasons for why they don't see each other over Spring Break actually reveal bigger conflicts for each character: Jonathan has been lying to Nancy about college because he can't leave his family, and Nancy can't take herself away from what she's working on in order to be with him.

I'll start with Jonathan since I've actually talked about this before and his problem is more identifiable. Ever since their dad left, Jonathan has felt responsible for taking care of his family, something that he shouldn't have to do. He sacrifices parts of himself in order to protect his family, including being with the people he loves and going to the school he wants to go to (which is NYU btw and NOT Emerson!).

Nancy actually has the opposite problem, she is so involved with her work that it often gets in between her and the people that she loves. After Nancy goes on her spiel to Fred about why she can't see Jonathan, she turns down Mike's D&D game! We are shown a clear example of her prioritizing work over family!

Both of these conflicts is what leads to Jonathan and Nancy having their argument in season 3, an argument that doesn't really get resolved, they just decide to make up because there’s bigger fish to fry. Although, as I stated above, it does seemNow, their argument in this season is pretty complex. They're both right... and they’re both wrong. Nancy was right to get upset at her employers for their sexism, but she was also wrong for not considering Jonathan's position. Jonathan was wrong for not considering Nancy's feelings, but he was also right for getting angry at her for losing him the job. It's not a black and white situation.

To clarify, I don't think that Nacy being a working woman is a bad thing, nor do I think that Jonathan deeply caring for his family is a bad thing! But I think the reason that both of these arcs are here is for the sake of showing balance. How to balance what you want for your future with the ones that you love.

Now, as I talked about earlier, it does seem like they do understand their personal wants and needs now in season four, but those reasons for the argument in the first place are still there. Neither Nancy nor Jonathan have resolved these issues, and failing to do so will only continue to cause problems in the future, no matter how much they both love each other. That isn’t the problem in their relationship unlike M*leven

Yes Nancy and Jonathan don't need to break up in order to resolve their individual conflicts, but I think separation would at least help create focus. And as stated above, I see their breakup as pretty inevitable anyways. After that though, I think the possibility for endgame is still there. For myself personally I'd be open to either endgame or not, and especially if they get their situation sorted out than I would love to see them together in the end.

[bowchickahwowwow]

Charlie Bradbury a victim of bad writing

I want to start this analysis by saysing that i do not hate charlie bradbury but i find that her character has been severely let down by the witers lack of abbaility to write canoncially saphc/lesbuian characters. I am also open to debate particulary as i am not a lesbian so i dont want to talk over their voices, so if anynoje feels any different to me please comment ande explain your reasrons i would love to hesr them.

To me Charlie Bradbury is solely written as the female version of Dean. She lacks development and her own true character. Although I don't believe it is inherently wrong to have parallels and similarities between characters, especially since there s a brother sister dynamic. I acknowledge that the similarities are most likely used to develop a bond between Dean and Charlie and to further propel the found family trope. As well as this is not a critique on Felica Day's performance, I think she is a brilliant actor and I am not faulting her acting rather the way her character was written.

My main issues is that she sexualises women and objectifies them. This is also a critique I have of dean, but I think this is more to take note of from Charlie as she is a woman so it would feel as if she would understand how uncomfortable it is to be viewed in that light. Referencing a porn star and, although this was the dark side of her, being a "player" towards women in a frat boy kinda way. As well as we have seen her objectify women in the past (I.e., crude comments and staring) . I am not saying that lesbians/Sapphic women can't do these things. However to me it feels as if instead of writing and in depth character that Charlie deserved we got discounted female version of Dean Winchester.

I am aware that she is a nerd and has many interests in geeky things. But once again this is a trait shown in Dean which has just been a trope pushed further by Charlie. Her being a hacker was for the most part one of her only unique abilities and assets she brought to the Winchesters.

Saying this however, I found Charlie's character much more interesting post-apocalypse. She finally becomes stand alone character that I longed to see more of. Even when she finally started to become her own, as a leader of the resistance. We rarely see her as a leader on screen, most of her actions being alluded to instead. Charlie, like almost every other character in supernatural was wasted potential. It's not that she was a bad character per say but that she was unoriginal as a concept. She was boring and predicable, when the sow needed contrast and something more original.

[amalgamgooze]

the enigma of (art) blend modes, and how doing brain research taught me how to better utilize them

(DISCLAIMER--I'm not actually going in-depth on different blend modes; there's other resources for that sort of thing! Rather, I'm just planning on talking about how they've been captivating to me in the past.)

I've been working with digital art programs for quite some time now, mostly for my game development pursuits, but also more recently just for fun.

Whatever program I'm using, be it Aseprite, Krita, or Paint.net, there's always this goofy little feature referred to as "blend modes". Really, all it refers to is how new colors should be made when two colors overlap on an image--particularly from different layers.

Back when I was young and naive, those layer blend modes hardly did more than just exist. Maybe I'd pull down that drop-down menu and switch around the modes every once in a while, but this was never used to help me during the creation process.

There's something about starting to use a new art program and getting overwhelmed by all the buttons on the UI. Of course, it takes time to master those menus, but when you do, it's nothing short of rewarding.

Which brings me to one of the most interesting programs I've worked with: Fiji.

Fiji isn't an art program--it's anything but. Instead, it's open source image processing software, designed for life science related analyses.

I've had the (mis)fortune of becoming acquainted with this software through my internship. When it was introduced to me last year, it was... overwhelming, to say the least.

This is what it looks like when you open it:

Not too overwhelming yet, right? Wrong. Here's what the dropdown menu for "Analyze" looks like.

(I like how it starts with normal sounding words, before devolving into things like "Helmholtz Analysis" and "Multi Kymograph".)

If any of you are already super-mega-brain-nerds and know how to utilize all of these options, then good for you, I suppose. For the vast majority of the people who are unacquainted with neuroscience (such as myself), however, this is INCREDIBLY daunting to navigate. Imagine something just as confusing as this for the other menus.

Hell, even just importing imaging data proves labyrinthine:

Okay. I'm done fussing over how convoluted Fiji's menus are.

I've worked with them for long enough to understand them a little better, though I still couldn't tell you what half the buttons do.

...like most of the art programs I use.

Yes, I've used Paint.NET since, like, 2018. No, I still have no idea what the "Clone Stamp" button does.

(by the way, if you're still using Paint.NET yourself for art, 1. what are you doing, and 2. Krita is much better for what I needed from an art program, so I might recommend trying that out if Paint.NET is getting on your nerves!)

Anyway, loading imaging data into Fiji usually gives you a video you can pan through. Most imaging data usually either represents a z-series, t-series, or both.

A z-series is imaging done on several layers of the subject's brain at a single time point, to create a 3D stack of images with time substituting for the depth into the brain.

On the other hand, a t-series is imaging done (usually) on a single layer of the brain throughout several time points. (Data I've worked with has ranged from 15-minute-long t-series to 100-minute-long t-series.) This again creates a 3D stack, though this time, time represents, well, time. (This is how most video is stored--even if the video itself is 2-dimensional, you're still "technically" viewing 2D slices of a 3D stack--though only super-nerds call video 3D.)

A zt-series can also be imaged by making several z-series over time, which can be processed into a 4D video. (Usually, though, the slices have to be processed through software to order them properly.)

Last year, I worked with zt-series a lot. This year, however, I've got easier work--I'm just working with t-series this time, to analyze calcium activity.

They're nicer to work with, to say the least. I've worked on automating the collection of calcium activity data by comparing the minimum and maximum values of each pixel throughout the whole t-series in order to determine where there's potentially calcium activity happening.

...in fact, once you get an image of the minimum and maximum values of each pixel across the whole t-series, you then work with those images as layers and use different functions to extract a mask that shows only potential calcium activity regions.

...

So it's adjacent to blend modes in a way.

Specifically the "Multiply" and "Divide" modes.

...

It's a bit of a stretch, of course, but working with these black-and-white images has helped me better grasp what's going on under the cover when I use those same blend modes for art.

Of course, I'm not using them masterfully yet. Really, I'm just using them to add blocky-ish shading to translucent objects.

...I'd show an example, but I can't find any pictures right now.

...

Sorry about the tangent.

I just feel like somehow this contributes to the intimate interconnectivity of everything.

Art and brain research being related on a software level.

[craetor]

Death Note: Another Note (revisited)ー An in-depth analysis

*

Everything I don't go over concerning Misora or L is already documented here.

Definitely interesting how Ryuzaki isn't listed as an additional character. Strange and dangerous choice but okay

And a VERY intense opening line. God I fucking love the concept of BB.

This paragraph actually makes him seem more obscure than I assume most fans who portray him make him out to be. I like to think this isn't just intended for B's Ryuzaki persona but his entire life up to the point of the case's end, as the one untainted glance we get of 'B' apart from his motive. ("Bye-bye Angel" too. Was that intentional?)

Mello sounding like the bastardization of a christian mom when explaining "the difference between the Almighty and a shinigami"

Mihael "best dresser that died like a dog" Keehl. Hand to our hearts

I'm not even going to bother with setting up theories about how Mello even knew what Misora was doing before L first reached out to her or why L would've bothered to tell him, so, alas, it's just a book. It's a book and it needs basic story telling. But actually, making Mello the narrator sets up many plot holes which I'll probably refrain from pointing out. But you can just tell a story like it's a thing... You had your chance to expand on Mello, now it's the biker chick's turn. Just let it be a novel,

Beyond bby most people don't usually look at impersonal strategy murder and assume the least scandalous part of it/the victim's names as worthy title, sweety honeybee babygirl booboobear (ok i'm done..except probably not, prepare for more ahead)

(jk i'm aware he tried to plaster "BB" all over the case, not just the names. It does make sense that the media don't care about things like that, though)

Side note that I can't understand why they created a whole new character and then outright stated 'we won't tell you jack shit about them' (except then go on to do just that. Thanks, Mello)

Wait! L calls her sama.... (also bothered to do her the honors of tending to her background. Create that comfortable work enviroment, king)

B drugging all his victims before killing them could indicate several things: 1. He wanted to show off his smarts & resources, 2. It was one of several hints that the killings were purely strategic and no act of passion (like not cutting through the shirt, the locked room decision etc.), 3. That B is not a fighter. He didn't want to get into physical altercations with the victims, which could just as well mean that he simply didn't trust himself with such a task (we know that he, in fact, can fight somewhat, so that's either a shred-of-respect thing or strict perfectionism)

ALTHOUGH... Beyond is more skilled with weapons than muscle, taking a heavy bat (that he only utilizes when Misora proves a fierce opponent, swings it once and then retreats) and blackjack to ambush Misora. It could've been a caution move to not be in danger of having his mask undone in close combat but he seems a good dodger and rather quick on foot, making more sense of why he used clean, non-taxing methods of murder like stabbing or asphyxiation with a rope.

I'm actually going to encourage discourse about the intensive cleaning of crime scenes in the comments. People headcanon that B has OCD but it's more likely that it's another attempt at appearing "abnormal". It's a pretty large and extensive effort to clean every surface of an entire home, which makes this cleaning-impulse-picture Beyond tries to paint a more forged-seeming one. He also did not clean the blood at Backyard Bottomslash's scene, instead moving around it. The contradictionー if or if not intentionalー is kinda funny, I'll give him that. We need more 'overly committed but tired' Beyond (just noticed what i did with this one in particular..)

Man, i adore him.

L, too. Funny man, busy schedule.

Mello is like "I'll save the stories of this dead individual for another time" and it's his testament

Beyond saying this line actually heightens the likelihood of his generally clumsy pretense skills severely. There's absolutely no rhyme or reason as to why he'd respond this way apart from maybe seeming non-threatening, except this line would go completely against its very purpose, creating a double-negative & making him seem more dubious.. Or. He just doesn't give a fuck

L asking the question "was he cool?", by the way, is solely based off of the assumption that B trying to make himself look as freakish as possible would lead to him showing up as a caricature of him to steer the yoke L would send to where he needs them. It is not far-fetched, considering the 'LABB' choice, yet is still quite daring, which we should appreciate as a peak comedy moment in my opinion. I mean L could've just sent a guy to where Misora said they'd investigate next to arrest Beyond but he largely wanted the final room to prove B would lock himself in and also..maybe he thougt it was funny. Just a little bit. Swallowing his pride for the guy his position in the world traumatized to the point where he's planning suicide as part of a revenge act made L steer just a little bit in direction of "alright, let him do his thing". Anyway BB is hilarious and Misora is, unfortunately, obtuse due to avarage mental wellness. L is noticeably anxious but I know they flock at humor.

We have page 69 and the first pages of Opposition, which do the analyzing of other matters for me (everyone). And to be transparent: Good on you, canon, for pointing it out or whatever, but also... Fuck you-

From this point on throughout the main chunk of the book it can only be said that B relies exclusively on the fact that Misora does not tell L closer details of the investigation. It's quite impressive how safe he feels to even outright lead the investigation, even showing up with a pretty much unattainable copy of the crossword puzzle, knowing all books and patternless numbers by heart and even mentioning Misora's capoeira (P.138) although never having seen her practice it as Ryuzaki and instead knowing about it from the back-alley incident. Yeah. Also showing up pretentious & arrogant af and more power to him in all honesty

Alright, let's get to the promised practical stuff. Time to rant a bit about how LABB is written, because it would've been vastly better off without Mello as an all-knowing narrator. It makes the plot so obvious it's not even clear if they're trying to hide Ryuzaki's identity or not, since there's a big paragraph dedicated to explaining the connections given at the very end like it had been a secret. It's messy. It's not satisfying. The reverse psychology doesn't hit. But let's get to the thumb turn lock lock picking...

There are a couple ways to pick a thumb turn lock, in opposition to its key-only counterpart, making it less safe in mathematical terms of chance. The technique used by B, though, involved no pins or metal sticks to shove into its innards.

So... is this "simplified description to make it easier to understand" actually sensical?

Well, using even more words to disect this is unfortunate but here we are.

First off: I do not know how a nail with a full doll nailed to it can be "directly opposite the gap under the door". How large is the gap below that door for the thread to 'not touch it'? The explanation it comes with makes sense but the amounts of times Misora mentions that a "hole in the wall is waist-high" or 'across from the door handle' can be confusing. Thing is, the Wara Ningyo are nailed to different walls of the room. Granted, Mello doesn't say what kind of triangle the thread would form, but geometry jokes aside this whole set-up makes everything fall apart slightly for reasons to follow.

I believe what makes it so difficult to understand is that, by logic of this text, the doll at the east/west wall in relation to the door was ground-level in contrary to the one on the north wall, which was latch-level. This is weird though, as it would have pulled the latch forward instead of to its side. The correct position would need for the northern doll to be foot-level and the east/west one to be waist-level. But let us just overlook this crucial detail since there's exactly no picture of the kind of wonderful locks we're talking about. Again, the strange hight difference of the dolls is painfully telling of some greater trick but seemingly no suspicions were raised. But if this oh-so genius trick were to be discovered, B's whole 'they can't prove my suicide' aspect would crumble. There's a more than likely possibility that L could've made a case by just the fact that the case is plastered with "B"s. The 'L is After B.B.' (if someone were to argue it, in finicky fact, as double B) choice might have been able to be solved by extensive digging (which apparently paid off, since L was able to call Beyond by his full name when retelling this to Mello) or simply the philosophy that someone showing up mocking L (without even necessity to bring up his appearance but simply the name the all-knowing, highly suspicious, unlicensed detective with no track record went withー "L.L.") would've been most likely the salty runaway, B from Wammy's House, and therewith the killer and last victim.

But, at the ultimatum, if the locked room mystery were to be considered by the already relevant mantra of "the clue is not what's there, but what isn't", the now absent Wara Ningyo at the sideways wall would've been the simple and significant nail in the coffin.

So, in response to the question posed above: No. Not very sensical. But being so cocky to encourage trying it out is quite the move

*

And here we are. Thank you for reading. Feel free to ask any and all further questions below. I've gathered this largely to unwrap possibly scattered/unclear aspects of Another Note & am open to do more if needed. This book is sorta iconic with all its odd choices and flaws & I like talking about it

[treasureyourfire]

(Eng)

Day 3

27.01.2024

Today's card:

The Hanged Man

I didn't realize that day, only over time, that in my case the Tarot might not necessarily accurately predict an event for the current/asked day in advance or afterwards, but instead draws my attention to my current (mind-)state/situation, which it want me to think about it. This card could also refer to this.

The following list was compiled for my own situation, it does not contain a complete, comprehensive description of the given card.

Thoughts and inspirations from several sources:

"The Hanged Man's superficial meaning is that we are stuck..." "However, upon closer examination, the external immobility of this forced state of rest shows necessity. It is also an opportunity to in-depth analysis of our world view and our entire life. This phase of life that condemns passivity can be characterized by the image of illness, and this is indeed often indicated by the card."

"Signs: Now it becomes possible for you to recognize where you are and which areas of your life are frozen. Nothing needs to be done. The mere fact that you have a clear perception of the reality around you brings the potential for transformation."

"Questions: In which areas of your life are you stuck? Are you ready to recognize and let go of your petrified thoughts and behavior patterns?"

"The seeker must now pass two tests" ... "... the tests of courage and faith (preconceived certainty). In order to progress, you must boldly let go of all your previous knowledge, voluntarily loosen the grip of your intellect and let your deeper inner forces take the reins." - tarrdaniel.com

"You must have noticed that, to put it mildly, compared to the amount of energy you've invested in this matter, you've made almost no progress. It's as if you haven't made any progress (improvement) even though you've been interrupted. Let's examine this question a bit, because basically the sacrifice is a good thing. But have you really worked for a cause that is yours? There is a big difference between duty and service. It is not your job to waste your precious energies that can create just to make others feel good. It is your job, to balance them; while doing your thing. There is nothing more important than what is important to you! This is not selfishness, if one's value judgment is clear. This is simply the creation of living conditions in which the people you love will feel good together with you." - teremtotarot.hu

Wow... this... : D T-T pretty much describes my last couple of years xD I trust in the turnaround, I'll work for make it happen :3

"The young man's face suggests peace, a meditative frenzy..." ... "His face is greeted with a smile, his eyes are open, and although he is visibly looking inward, his gaze is still full of life." ... "The most important thing to say is this: our life's journey is lined with difficulties and trials. During these times, karma puts our ego to the test very seriously: it forces us to give up something important to us, overcome obstacles, or completely sacrifice our current interest." ... "If someone draws the card of the Hanged Man, it may indicate that they are on the verge of a radical change. Your life will soon turn upside down - or it has already happened - you have to part with something or someone, you have to say goodbye. This can be a human relationship that has become empty, does not serve the inner development of the person drawing the card. But of course there can be something else - a job, a place of residence or even our previous world view - the point is that the card is telling us that it is time to let go, even if it can be painful. ... The Hanged Man's final advice is this: if the world turns upside down around us, don't be bitter, but don't close your eyes either! Let's move forward with a calmed mind, healthy courage and curiosity in our hearts..." - Boglárka Kincses

"... he is at the mercy of others, he cannot stand on his feet at the moment and cannot take matters into his own hands - that is, the Questioner needs patience, even if he feels like a victim of the circumstances. The solution is to look at how the case you are in can be looked at differently. The Hanged Man card means that you have to change your point of view. This is the "entrance" to a happier era." - Ágnes Székelyhidi

... "His face does not show suffering, but a traveler deep in thought or in a trance, and his whole figure suggests the suspension of life, but life and not death." ... "...it rather symbolizes the connection with the Divine and the Universe. Despite this, it entered the (occult) public consciousness as a page of the victim, of suspension in every sense, and this is very important to take into account."

"…. a seeker of knowledge, a participant in an initiation ceremony, who sacrifices his own ability to act - his independence, his life - for the coveted knowledge. Physical vision is replaced by spiritual vision…"

"You are not sure of the next step, the next decision. The Hanged reminds you that you don't have to make a decision now; relax and let things unfold and clear themselves."

"In a spiritual context, The Hanged Man reminds you to pay attention to your attitude towards yourself. If you have been thinking negatively lately, you need to stop because it will affect you and the way you see life.” - thelearningwitch.blog.hu

"It's time to look at things from a different perspective - this is the main message of the card. The figure in the picture is light, almost cheerful, without a trace of worry. It is important to be able to rise above our problems at the moment in question and to see ourselves and our given situation from the outside, so that through the steps we take for our internal development, the problems that arise become opportunities. In terms of its essence, the Hanged Man card demands from us a fundamentally changed worldview, a way of thinking and a vision that is completely opposed to what we have had so far. Now is the time to prioritize our spiritual vigilance. The card draws our attention to the blessed effects of devotion, conscious sacrifice and ego surrender. Now we have the opportunity to face life's trials and challenges with a higher level of awareness and understanding." - gyurcsobori.hu

"In all classic tarot depictions, the Hanged Man hangs upside down by his feet. In the Middle Ages, this was the punishment for traitors and traitors. In a sense, it really is a betrayal: a betrayal of our own things, of ourselves."

"The Hanged Man represents the dead end, the trap into which we walked on the wrong path. It symbolizes all crisis situations that want to force us to change our lives."

"If we change 12, the number of the Hanged Man, we get 21. The XXI. card, The World, represents the end of the Hero's journey, the regained paradise; gaining wholeness from a different perspective. If we compare the two cards, we can see that XXI. card shape is the opposite of the Hanged Man. From the upside-down world, we found the way to the real world."

"According to the Rider tarot, the reason for the crisis is that until now we have not noticed the essence, or we have assessed the situation incorrectly. The card wants to lead you to a new way of seeing things."

"The Hanged Man symbolizes forced rest, the feeling of helplessness, and those crisis situations that force us to change direction, and because of their impact, we look at the world from a new perspective. These experiences usually last longer than we think and want. We always have to make sacrifices in order to move from the forced rest point. It does not depend on the card, but only on ourselves, whether we are ready for this, whether we understand the reason for things..." - tgy-magazin.hu

"The Hanged Man is suspended by his leg, bearing his fate with peaceful composure. He has taken the path of voluntary sacrifice - but he gains much more than he loses!"

"According to tradition, this card is associated with the sacrifice, sometimes it is even paralleled with the crucifixion. Sacrifice is an act that means, on the one hand, that we lose something important to us, that we give up something. On the other hand, it often happens that we get something in return, and sometimes it is even more valuable than what we sacrifice."

"... the Hanged Man card is about voluntary sacrifice, but also about acquiring something what has special value to us. It warns us, we are ripe for a decision, we have reached a crossroads: we must decide what is really important to us and what is worth the sacrifice. Our decision can be a milestone on our life's journey, or just for a specific situation. We will need a lot of willpower to make up our minds, to be determined to make the given sacrifice, whatever it costs. The card also means that the upcoming change can increase our uncertainty and - especially if it drags on for a long time - can lead to stagnation or fear. The Hanged Man is a harbinger of change - let's prepare for this change! Change always brings us into motion and momentum, but we definitely have to sacrifice something in order for things to move in a positive direction. - hu.ezo.tv

"... he wants to conform to others, he does not live his own life, he does not follow his own desires, his life is not natural." ... "... impatience and violence cannot solve the situation. It only helps if you leave your previous views and expectations behind and go in a different direction, you need a new way of seeing and a huge willpower, you definitely have to sacrifice something for the sake of change." - neske.hu

"This is a planning phase when passivity is important. You get time to at least plan the route you can follow after the rest period ends." - spirisuli.com

"It is recommended to create a conscious state of rest in order to be able to think."

"You don't have to make an effort, just walk clearly around your life, the affected area..."

"Let go of what hasn't taken you forward so far and let in what wants to enter into your life." - ketosvenytarot.hu

Keywords (mixed, own and non-own):

Freezing, stopping

Forced rest

The end of a stuck situation or relationship

Letting go, giving up, surrendering, making a sacrifice

A new point of view

The need to break through old behavioral patterns

Transformation

A world turned upside down

Better blood supply in the head, increases mental freshness

Inspiration

Compulsion

Captivity, confinement

Inertia

Vulnerability

External factors binds me

Passivity, stagnation

Desire for liberation

Uncertainty

A turnaround based on deep insight

In-depth, thorough analysis

Planning phase

Enlightment initiation, initiate (spiritual)

Spiritual growth

Rebirth

Intuition

Liberation

Courage

Faith

Waiting

Patience, endurance

Complacency, resignation, we accept our situation

Change of direction

Change

(mental, spiritual or physical illnesses)

Inspirations (mixed):

Be patient

You have been given time and opportunity for a comprehensive analysis

Something ends and something new begins

Look inside yourself, ponder

If necessary, ask for help to move forward

Let's mobilize our intuition, practice it

If we have enough courage, we can make a difference

Like the caterpillar in its chrysalis state (intermediate state)

Your old expectations and ideas get you stuck

We can awaken to a higher consciousness

Don't want to suit anyone but yourself!

Learn to say no!

Finding your way back from darkness to light

At the end, ascension awaits, a state of clarity and understanding arrives

[zorkaya-moved]

" there's something wrong with you. " tighnari is passing judgement here

@avaere

"Why is that, Tighnari?"

He's funny. The expression on his face reads so well, fitting his usually snarky and sharp behavior. The beloved student of Naphis continues to be a thorn in the side when it comes to preservation of certain secrets and keeping the Abyssal creatures from escaping her hidden lab. It's a shame several forest rangers fell victim to the Withering, but such is fate. It's better they think that rather than expecting the abyssal energy to be the cause. The tried to catch something they shouldn't have tried and got in her way. Not that they'd remember; Azar's tools were quite helpful in extracting memories. It'd be a shame if Tighnari got in her way; it would mean she'd need to neutralize him. She doesn't wish for that fate to befall him as he's one of the rare specimen of researchers who can move humanity forward. There is no desire to prevent humanity from moving forward and reaching its higher potential. A rare bright mind in the midst of muddled and misty eyes is a priceless treasure. He is needed for Sumeru not to collapse.

Ah, but he is right. Tighnari is - not surprisingly - right most of the time when it comes to his analysis. This is why he, Al-Haitham, Cyno are such fun individuals to watch, study, and learn about. Every pull of his bow, every reflex, every adaptation to certain poisons and plants. He is a researcher through and through with a side of sharp claws.

Zarina holds back an amused chuckle at his words, instead giving him a sight of a peaceful and lightly curious expression. Everything in her shows she's interested in hearing what he has to say, share, and prove. In this moment, he strikes the nail on the head but without knowing (yet) the depths of cruelty lingering beneath a playful smile and soft touches.

Her relaxed slouch speaks louder than anything when it comes to her behavior around the forest ranger. This body language speaks of trust and not expecting anything to strike her, but just like a serpent, Sokolova is good at waiting and choosing the correct moment to strike. Tighnari is not a person she wishes to harm or put in a position where he'd be a nuisance to her future plans. Her golden gaze shows respect for his knowledge and his skillset, but more so towards his analytical mind and his ability to speak his mind. He and Naphis aren't that different: they do not hold back their sharp tongues.

"I guess, the only explanation I can give you is that there must be something wrong with me to get on the same level as you, Cyno, Al-Haitham, Kaveh in terms of fame," she specifically says the names of those people because they are quite often seen together in the tavern playing cards. Connections between such esteemed figures isn't overlooked, especially when taking into consideration reputations and how they affect each character's representation within Akademiya. "All of you are also not normal, but you don't see me say there is something wrong with any of you. How about saying I'm unique? That sounds nicer than what you just said!"

Now, Zarina laughs. A light-hearted sound of someone who finds comedy in her own words, not needing the other to agree with her.

"More than ten years in this place," she continues, further leaning on the table with her face propped up by her open palm. "How could there be something not wrong with me? After all, I started from nothing and did everything to get where I am today. Small doses of poison ingestion to build immunity is just future prevention from others trying that on me again." Oh, she knows what she did there by adding 'again', letting the forest ranger catch that words while looking away. As if it was a slip of the tongue, bitter and hurt before she covers it with another smile. "Either way, just say I'm unique. Be nicer to me one time, Tighnari~ One time, pretty please?"

[kingofthewilderwest]

Given how you mentioned the Disney sequels in my last last question, I'm curious what you think of the sequel trilogy as a whole 4 years later. Also what you make of the rey movie that's suppose to happen?

It's funny timing. I've been watching the Lucas sextilogy and Star Wars meta on YouTube. Particularly, So Uncivilized is a fascinating meta analyst, and I rewatched this tonight:

As for my thoughts...

When I saw TFA opening night and noticed it rehashed everything and added nothing, I lost investment. By "lose investment," I don't mean I got bitter, unhappy, jaded, cynical, etc. I mean that I was in a fine mood, perfectly chill, had fun, but I no longer carried anticipation or expectations for future projects. I could tell this was not a good foundation and was an omen for future creative issues. Thus, when the second and third movies came out, I didn't feel disappointed, but their content meant I found increasing distance between myself, the characters, and the story. I didn't mind The Rise of Skywalker was bad. I got my recreation's use out of it. The direct relationship I had with it was the time I spent watching it once (1).

But even though I didn't agree with 90% of the trilogy's premises and executions, I made sure to see TLJ and Rise of Skywalker. After all, watching these movies was the door into some of the best media discussions I've had in my life.

I was invited to a winter party with about two dozen attendees. Most ended in the kitchen to debate TLJ, which had just released. We got so animated we had to do the old "pass the ball" trick, where only the person holding the ball could talk. It was one of the most in-depth, eye-opening, fascinating, multi-faceted, engaging media discussions I've had. Everyone had different but extraordinary insight to relay about subversions of expectations, underlying messages, contributions to the franchise, scene composition, editing, dialogue, characterization, symbolism, you name it.

When the final movie came out, conversations again were endlessly fruitful. No matter who I talked to, I could hear something new and enlightening about media through the lens of Rise of Skywalker.

There's nothing I hate about the movies. I don't think about them much. Star Wars to me is pre-Disney reboot. That's the territory my heart cares about. That's the territory that's Real. But I also have fun talking about Kylo Ren or Hux as any Star Wars nerd who likes those characters. I feel no bitter emotions, but positive ones, when anyone brings up TFA and thereafter.

My perspective, several years later, hasn't changed.

Now, I love how meta analysts have enhanced my perspective. I love people pointing out that the original and prequel trilogies introduced a huge number of ship and location designs, whereas the sequel trilogy... didn't. I love So Uncivilized's analysis that each movie in the sequel trilogy was a counter to a counter, until we ended up with a course correction of a course correction of a course correction of a course correction. Or, as he said, this sequel trilogy was intended to keep the franchise alive for another generation, but "to keep a creative work alive, you have to create things, and it's clear looking at this trilogy that nothing was built here."

Fans have endlessly talked about how there was no cohesion between movies in this trilogy and how its characterization and plot were a mess. How the movies were too reliant on old nostalgia. How showboating old characters prevented our new character trio from receiving agency and direction. I don't need to go there.

There's a reason we viewers remember the names of Kylo Ren and Rey and Poe and Finn. In their imperfect appearances, we saw characters that could have enlivened us to the same levels as Luke, Leia, Han, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. I like Kylo Ren. I like Poe. I like Finn. They are appealing concepts.

But. But. I think the sequel trilogy, and Disney's over-saturation of materials, will fade over time, whereas the original six movies (I said original six, nyeh) WILL stand the test of time as classics. Just because VI-IX have "Episode" to their title doesn't mean they'll get saved from the endless mire Disney has manifested unto itself; nearly all live action materials from the 2010s and 2020s will end in late-Star Wars Disnified goop, to be lost in collective memory over time. That's not intended to be an insult; I just think that one is a short phenomenon that'll fade once contemporary sensations satiate, whereas the others are proven longevity.

There's bias in the sense I haven't watched anything outside of VI-IX and Rogue One. I've never seen The Mandalorian, or Andor, or Ahsoka, or anything else. I haven't felt the need to, so I won't. Heck, I didn't know about this alleged Rey movie thing - your comment is the first I've heard. So I have no perspective there except, "This isn't material I think needs to exist, and I'd rather go back to (and produce things like) the old." Disney's commercialized mania isn't a success to me. No ill feelings, just simple personal disinterest. It's not part of the imagination fuel I use when I fuel my imagination on Star Wars. And the sequel trilogy is something I frankly already forget about when I imagine the vast, captivating, thrilling world of Star Wars.

The legacy of the sequel trilogy isn't its story. Yet. There's real value in the sequel trilogy, and I believe it. It's perfect for analyzing media. It's a perfect medium for discussion. What went right, what didn't go right, what was compelling, what was disappointing, what was misguided, what lost focus, what never had focus, I will always find these movies valuable for that. And the thing is, I think we'll be talking about that for a while yet. Because it's fruitful. It's endlessly interesting.

Whether or not it's good media content in and of itself, it's GOOD CONVERSATION CONTENT.