#and his actions have HUGE weight on the show’s themes

[shelfperson]

fuck the haters aight jack crawford is my special little guy and everyone who doesn’t like him gets Squished Like Bug. I don’t want to hear anything else about gender envy will or whatever okay i’m in lesbigay for jack crawford ans i could have fixed him.

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND FOUR

ROCK LEE vs HATAKE KAKASHI

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

practical and fashion-forward with his bright green onesie. Function over form, and is prepared at all times by carrying around a spare onesie he will give without question to anyone - even complete strangers

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

embodies the ideals of original series Naruto. True underdog, had nothing going for him, came from nothing with no legacy or powers, was so disadvantaged that he physically could not meet the bare minimum abilities of his peers. But he worked harder than everyone else and proved that he can be a great shinobi despite all the adversity he faced

Sasuke had to copy Lee’s moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

Gaara vs Rock Lee was one of the most iconic fights in the series, and everyone remembers where they were when they first saw Lee drop his weights. He owned that fight so hard that people forget he lost.

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn’t special and neither was [submitter], but we didn’t need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee’s got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn’t want them to think like that

objectively would’ve made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn’t like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they’re very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Kakashi

relatable as an adult

he is just an overworked guy who was told to watch some kids w LOTS of issues

needs therapy

good presence and guidance in Narutos life

interesting

cares about and is dedicated to his students very much

he is just cool

he is trying his best despite what he has been through in the past

is up for having fun but still knows when to be serious

was a narcissistic shit but grew out of it

has good intentions

sexy

wonderfully complex and well developed character

incredibly resilient and supportive

a sad and deeply broken man

always willing to give his life to protect them and his other precious people

just wanted everything to be ok for once in his life

hated Danzo

his friendship with Gai is adorable

the way he teases Tenzo is fun

he’s known as cool and aloof but in reality he’s a huge dork

Gai would want him to win

[mejomonster]

Just watched till the end of the moon ep 9:

I'm so down bad for these 2

I cannot stress enough that skipping them to marriage so no stupid "innocence" or naivety stuff as is the usual situation is here

I cannot stress enough how much I LOVE that li susu seems adult, mature, seasoned in battle love etc, and just generally like a late 20s early 30s adult trying to save the world instead of a young adult Hero and how nice it is. Just for me, I'm happy for the variety

I LOVE tantai jin. He's a fucked up guy. He's the wet skinny pathetic man fangirls always say they want. He's genuinely a pretty cold bitch AND he gets to be lead (in a cdrama!). He is monstrous cause bitches have treated him monstrous so like susu said! He responded to a cruel world with cruelty back. It's not a lead I'm used to but I AM loving it. I also love how for him a kind gesture really is worth it's weight in gold like? For him. As awful as ye xiwu was in marriage pre susu, as much as susu literally said she wants to kill him more than anyone else in the world... she keeps saving him. Giving him food. Risking HER life for his. And for him those specific actions are worth more than anything anyone's ever given him. Maybe even more than what Lan gave him, since at least ye xiwu is upfront about wanting to imprison him and being mad at him so like she probably isn't going to "secretly" betray him since she's fairly honest (now). I love that he is JUST a fucked up guy with a fucked up destiny meant to be devil God, who the universe was probably intentionally shitty to cause its hoping (on like a cosmic scale) he will Suffer and Die and become devil God in revenge. I love that its not trying to make the bitch noble. He is who he is. For whatever that means, it's just a story about 2 people who'd never have met. But susu has changed the trajectory just by being herself around him and it's COMPELLING.

The transformative power of love (or simply being kind to another person) and all that. How the cursed jade said she's mostly just SO SURPRISED someone would help another person. I feel like that's probably the Theme of the show right there. Even susu is probably surprised by herself helping him. And in the jade transfer moment, I think she's surprised she genuinely does NOT think he only is comprised of bad traits. For all the cold bitch that he is, betraying her that he's done, cruel view he has of the world... actions speak louder than words to susu too. And for all the bad he's done... he has also done some good things. And she finds herself seeing him in shades of grey instead of a monster like she expected to.

I just love their bickering lets be real. Susu just SAYS shit on the top of her mind (to be fair tantai jin is a bitch and deserves to be bitched at). But she's like "from now on let's have NO CONNECTION" to 6 hours later being like "your life is in my hands and I say when you can die I'm imprisoning you forever ill see you nonstop bitch." And it's like... susu honey, that was LITERALLY tantai jins plan to do to you like 6 hours ago. Yall have the same plan. Just who's the prisoner is switched lmao. No wonder he's oddly attracted to you. You see him being a big manipulative bitch and like you're not stealthy, but you ARE like "WELL FINE ill say some SHIT and BREAK YOUR HEART then. Cry me a river! Oh you thought I was dead? You cried? GOOD. Now anyway fight is over as long as I'm winning!"

Their emotional fights are both ridiculously huge (like rumor of the Kingdoms wild) but also so shallow cause these bitches will be like "I DECIDE when you DIE" then you find them clutching each other in the woods BOTH unwilling to abandon the other and BOTH taking life threatening damage trying to protect the other and BOTH trying to then heal said damage of each others! Like. That's just so fucking funny??!! And fun. Xiao Lin is going to be like "what in the world??" But move on

Anyway speaking of Xiao Lin: I love how he genuinely seems to care for tantai jin! Probably only person in the world who does! I hope one day tantai jin finds out its genuine heartfelt care for him. Buy knowing tantai jins life... he's going to do some awful shit to Xiao lin that ruins his life or kills his wife or kills thousands of innocents in front of him, THEN Xiao lin will be breaking down crying how he never thought tantai jin would do this and he thought tantai jin was a good person who wanted to avoid seeing the ppl in harm and he always wished tantai jin could have a better life. And then tantai jin, probably newly learning compassion from enough bullshit attempts with susu, that his own heart will be breaking BECAUSE of the consequences of his own actions. So. Thrilled to cry later I guess

Speaking of susu and tantai jin. tantai jin LAYING ON HER SHOULDER THINKING ABOUT WHAT SHE BULLSHITTINGLY SAID LOVE WAS AND HOW HE THINKS SHE LOVES HIM AND HOW HE THINKS HE MIGHT LOVE HER AND CUDDLING

that is what watchers want!! (At least me!!) Men lying heads on their lovers shoulders and thinking dreamy about them

Bai Lu gives off such bisexual lead energy tho even without a woman to flirt with I'm sure thats part of the appeal for me. Bottom line is I like in my b/g romances on occasion (who am I kidding more of the time than not) to have a dominant kind of woman. And bai lu delivers. Her man leans on HER shoulder. Is carried around her shoulder with HER arms.

Speaking of, people who cast this were 1. Fulfilling so many wishes letting Luo yunxi just play PURE FUCKED UP and I love it. 2. By casting him as this suffering Weak physically nearly always dying willfully little skinny twink of a man, who's also God tier powerful especially with rage, who's costume entails constant bloody whump, collars, choking and ropes, like. There's a HELLA SPECIFIC NICHE Luo yunxis character resides inside this show and it sure is feeding That Demographic. I'm up for it. It's like if mo ran and chu wanning had a fucked up mashup

I'm fearing the jade maker witch was somehow susu in a past life and now I'm wondering if time travel is gonna be in this bitch

If there IS time travel? I really like the idea of tantai jin specifically time traveling the 2nd time around, once he and susu fell in love, once he knows what susu knew from the beginning. I think that could open a lot of new avenues that he is not currently able to go into given his current personality and knowledge

It's still funny as hell to me tantai jin is kind of angling for death cause he KNOWS he gets super-powered once he dies. But his wife keeps being like NO BITCH YOU GOTTA LIVE WELL. And I'm hoping eventually he's like: maybe she's right... maybe the revenge means more if I'm alive for it and not dissassociated. Maybe I SHOULD try to become a God tier monster without dying. Which would still lead to oh no devil tantai jin lol, but a version of it that is fully Himself which I would like

You know I'm liking a show when I'm contemplating binging beyond what's on youtube rn

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Disclaimer: This post is an interpretation of some of the Barbie movie's themes and messages, particularly struggles men are faced with. That's its focus. It is not exhaustive of all possible takes or understandings of the film, either mine or others. If talking about men as equal human beings is a problem for you, feel free to ignore this post and then block me. Otherwise, carry on.

One of my favorite parts of Barbie is when Gloria is doing Barbie's makeup toward the end and they're talking about overturning everything that the Kens have done to Barbieland, where Barbie expresses how she just didn't expect her Ken to act out so drastically. Gloria tells her it's because he has feelings for her, hinting that creating Kendom is how he tried to express those feelings and his upset with the constant rejection he's gotten. And when Barbie starts to say she's afraid of hurting him by going behind his back Gloria stops her.

I could praise that moment alone for showing how women need to stop apologizing for the feelings of others, but this is really key: Gloria doesn't trash talk Ken. She states the bad things he did but she never equates those actions with who Ken is, because they're not. I feel like any other film would've gone the route of "He's an asshole/You don't need him/Dump the douchebag/Why do you care about him when he's treated you like this?" (and to be fair I have a huge tendency to go that way myself)

Gloria doesn't even know Ken! But she was right not to immediately act like he was garbage. I don't know if she got that understanding from Barbie herself or just from being a long-term Barbie doll lover and employee at Mattel, but it stands out to me. We even see proof that none of the Kens are truly bad! In the beginning of the film they're just dudes (Just Kens, lol, I set myself up for that)! Dudes that don't even know what they don't know and can't be blamed for it.

Because the truth is that men are not inherently trash and their actions do not come from an innately evil place. Unfortunately for men, especially in the west, society has come up short in teaching them how to deal with and properly express how they feel in favor of power and saving face. Emotions hold bigger weight than they even know, but the modes they've been allowed are generally aggression, romantic passion, and cool. Nothing outside the lines. Imagine trying to sort a giant ball of complex emotions into one of those three things and stay normal.

Gloria understands that the lack of emotional maturity and regulation is where Ken's dramatic tantrum stems from. While she has experience with the patriarchy and knows how to deal with it because of the situation in the real world, I find it fascinating that her character is the one to understand both sides because she also has experience as a matriarch. (I could be wrong, but it seems like she's the breadwinner of the household. The role of her husband I have no commentary on other than que Dios lo bendice, el pobre no se puede hablar español).

So while Barbieland agrees to barely give the Kens back any power (an extremely accurate reflection of what women get in the real world), the film and its characters ultimately don't villainize or punish them further for their wrongs. Punishment isn't always the right action when someone is wrong (insert commentary on Barbie and Ken constantly getting put in jail in the real world vs. no such thing happening in their own). Sometimes it's simply helping them understand what they're dealing with and guiding them through the ordeal step by step.

Painting the Kens as all bad would've ignored what a Ken is. He is a doll just like Barbie. Ken's issue is that he's unloved and the only form of love he has been given to accept is romantic love. What he and all the other Kens begin to discover at the end of the film is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

Now I'm going to rephrase that last paragraph.

Painting men as all bad ignores what a man is. They are humans just like women are. Most men's issue is that they are unloved and the only form of love they've been given to accept is romantic love. What the men of this world need to discover is self love, which is just as important, if not more.

[merriway]

Do you have any tips for how you developed your style? I want it to be like yours :3

OH my style has been developed over the course of many years through many different inspirations. I dont really have a name for it either per your other ask its more just like a hodge podge of all my favorite things. I can list some of my prominent inspirations for you to look up as well as list some of the things I focus on when arting!

For inspiration I'd have to go back to elementary school and say that my first creative inspo was probably the Nightmare before Christmas. I think that really encouraged a love of weird and whacky shapes in character design. Anime was obviously also a huge inspo and I love a lot of retro anime from the 80s/90s. Ranma, Moomins, Add in some PS1-PS2 era platformer mascots like sonic, spyro, crash, and klonoa. If we're talking video games too i gotta bring up pokemon cause thats been my obsession since the games first came out. From highschool through college I really studied a lot of art from classic disney and I'd say one of my favorite book series is "They drew as they pleased' I think studying that gave me a love for gesture drawing and acting. I think there was the show Wakfu which had a lot of art from Gobi and Bill Otomo and I loved how they pushed shapes in their character design. Takashi Nakamaru is a big inspo for me in how he stylizes and animates. He has such a level of volume and weight that what he animates feels so real but his style feels so cartoony and whimsical. Yuasa Masaaki headed one of my favorite anime, Kaiba. Which had a very stylized toony look but held a lot of darker heart wrenching themes. I really love cute/fun aesthetics mixed with heavier topics. Yoh Yoshinari is another major artist I reference a lot. Hes a major hitter at Trigger and I love the way he has blended both western and anime styles together. Also his extreme poses are so fun. I particularly love his book of sketches he did of Osamu Tezuka characters. Very toony but animated stuff. There is probably a lot more but I would say thats a erally good starting place to know where Im coming from. As for how I approach drawing. I will echo this as long as I live but gesture drawing gesture drawing gesture drawing. I took several life drawing classes in college and my favorite thing was to do short timed drawings of people and animals. There are so many videos for free on youtube about the Line of Action, about how to start gesture drawing as well as so many resources to find models/reference to draw from. Do 5 second gesture drawings where you can only get like three lines on the page, that helps you to focus most on the feeling and energy of a pose. Then 30 sec, 1 min, etc See how people do life drawing too. I really like Heinrich Kley and he was a huge inspo for many of the classic disney artists. You keep practicing that and it'll start to show up in your more stylized work. When you learn how to twist and bend shapes it starts to show in your personal art. For my personal art I tend to have a lot of mood boards, pinterest boards with artists I like and work that inspires me. I sometimes just spend 15min-30min looking at my favorite art, injecting the things I like about them into my brain and getting hyped to draw! Draw all sorts of styles, all sorts of things! Experiment with a variety of styles and eventually you'll start to create your own signature look. And dont be afraid to make a bad drawing!! I made so many! I drew on notes in class, on napkins, on post it notes, you name it. Just doodle and sketch bad things then try to figure out how to fix them through reference and learning. But remember to just stop and think about what you want! For example, what do you like about my art? is it the posing the shapes, the energy? Think about those things. Take a moment to ask yourself questions like 'what am I going for?" "why?" I think having a motivation, a drive, or something similar to that helps you want to draw and not get caught up with social media and trying to compete with your peers. Overall enjoy the journey! You're your own unique person and all your own personal experiences can feed into your work in a way others may not! And good luck with drawing, I hope it stays fun for you!!

[deathbycoldopen]

I finished the first season of the live action ATLA, and I have to say my reaction is… mixed.

I went into it determined to have an open mind, and there was definitely a good chunk that I enjoyed! For one thing, I love what they did with both Suki and Yue, taking advantage of the longer episode lengths to give them both lives and motivations beyond just “pretty girl that Sokka crushes on” (Suki obviously gets more depth in the og show during seasons 2 & 3, but Yue has always struck me as a rather one-dimensional character).

The best (if traumatizing) choice was to actually show the Fire Nation attack on the airbenders. Doing so gave a real emotional heft to Aang being displaced a hundred years with the weight of failing to prevent a past genocide, and the pressure of having to stop another without any idea how. Not only that, but it did a great job of indicating, right at the start of the show, that this was an adaptation indenting to transform what was fundamentally a kids’ show with complex themes into an adult series with the ability to really expand on that depth and complexity.

…and then it didn’t.

Oh, the show pokes at the repercussions of Iroh having waged a long and deadly siege agains Ba Sing Se, and it does a decent job at deepening the fuckery that is Zuko’s backstory. But so much of the more ambiguous or complex parts of the original have been flattened in this adaptation—and not in ways that can be explained by the compressed narrative. Instead, it feels like the sanitized story and characters are a direct result of a purity culture that demands all things black and white, never shades of gray.

Let’s look at Zuko, the villain-turned-hero with an iconic but bumpy redemption arc in the original series. Part of what makes Zuko’s story so goddamn compelling in the original is that he begins as a true villain, who does some horrible things and is led astray more often than not by his explosive temper; and yet his horrifying backstory and desperation for a loving family that never actually existed compel us to view him with some sympathy, even as he acts against our protagonists.

Yet in the adaptation, Zuko is consistently painted in a softer, kinder light than he was in the original. He has no hand in burning down the village on Kyoshi Island; he hears Aang out and even seems to consider Aang’s offer of friendship rather than immediately lashing out after the Blue Spirit reveal; he is notably more respectful to Iroh and loses his temper much less frequently and violently.

Even the change of Zuko fighting back against Ozai in the agni kai can be construed as him recognizing that Ozai is the bad guy, especially when it means that in order for his exile to make sense he has to defy his father again after he’s already been burned.

This is a pattern that is repeated with nearly all of the characters with any degree of ambiguity. Pakku is depicted as kind of a decent person who’s just being held back by his deference to tradition, rather than being pretty much an asshole regardless of whether he’s following tradition or not. Hahn is a nice guy who is in love with Yue but accepts her decision not to marry him, instead of a dick that sees her as a trophy and is more than happy to marry her despite her disinterest.

Sokka is a huge victim of this flattening of flaws. His early-show misogyny is entirely absent, making his stumbling with Suki a little odd and ungrounded, and his dismissal of Katara’s skills even more so. The narrative doesn’t allow him to be anywhere close to as boneheaded and stubborn as he is in the original—this version of Sokka would never angrily slash through the swamp despite the warning signs, or blatantly lie to Won Shi Ton and then even more blatantly steal from him.

Sokka isn’t even allowed the most understandable tactical mistake from the original show: using the air ship in the fight at the Northern Air Temple, and inadvertently delivering the Fire Nation’s greatest asset. That honor is given to a generalized “spies” that are distanced even from Sai himself.

If the heroes aren’t allowed to have flaws, the villains are even worse off, without anything that might make them sympathetic. Jet, who in the original sits in a similar in-between place as Zuko, is pushed firmly on the side of villain over the course of his two-episode arc. Instead of Jet fighting dirty against Fire Nation colonists who are nevertheless civilians, he bombs buildings in Omashu; it’s easier to denounce him when he’s hurting Earth Kingdom civilians with his tactics, rather than people who may or may not be complicit in the war. He’s even labeled a terrorist, an easy buzzword for a largely usamerican audience to point to and say “ah yes, that’s a bad guy.”

The main villains— Ozai, Zhao, and even the brief scene of Sozin— are ironically even more cartoonishly evil than in the animated show. Ozai and Sozin both declare their evil plans— out loud, with villainous aplomb— to use one major military movement as a distraction for another, even bigger movement. (Sozin’s plan at least made sense, in that the distraction was “leaked” intelligence rather than an actual deployment of troops. How the hell did Ozai have enough troops and a decent supply line to attack both the Northern Water Tribe and Omashu at the same time? And it’s not like the distraction actually served any purpose, since it’s explicitly stated several times that the separate nations don’t send aid to each other anymore.)

Ozai’s treatment of Zuko is even more abusive than in the original, especially with the aforementioned change where Zuko actually does fight back as ordered. His choice to burn Zuko and then later banish him then must be explained by Zuko showing compassion, a much more typically “evil” motivation than the more complex (though no less abusive) notion of Zuko dishonoring himself.

Zhao gets an even worse character lobotomy, which is impressive given that his original character is pretty unabashedly villainous. But rather than a devious, powerful, and ambitious commander looming over everything Zuko or Team Avatar does, this version of Zhao is cartoonishly incompetent. (It doesn’t help that the only thing I’ve seen Ken Leung in is Person of Interest, where he plays a similarly buffoonish character constantly in need of rescue. When held up against Jason Isaacs’ mesmerizing but intimidating voice in the original, there’s no comparison.)

Zhao is no longer a respected military leader but a backwoods commander who barely passed the exam to become an officer; his rise through the ranks isn’t due to military successes or a commanding presence but because Azula finds him easy to manipulate; cutting Jeong Jeong means that we don’t see Aang get the better of Zhao by playing on his temper and lack of control; even discovering the secret of the moon and ocean spirits seems more like blundering luck than actual determination and intelligence. You can’t take Zhao seriously as a threat in this adaptation, even when he’s killing the moon spirit and destroying the balance of the world— he’s a nuisance at best, with Azula as the real looming danger.

Disliking Zhao’s character changes might just come down to a matter of taste, of course. I’m always going to be more interested in intelligent, competent characters, whether they are heroes or villains. But it forms part of this pattern of flattening characters and plots and arcs, and brings me back to the fundamental question that kept hitting me over the head while watching the series.

Why?

Why make an adaptation? This is a question that comes up whenever an adaptation of anything is made: what does the adaptation bring to the table that the original did not? Often the answer to this question is money, but there’s usually an attempt to point to a different answer, if only to distract from the greed.

Sometimes the answer is simple— a translation, for example, is an adaptation made to reach a wider audience. Sometimes the answer is more complicated— changing Lord of the Rings from books to movies, as another example, took advantage of the music, acting, and visuals to pack more emotional punch than the books did.

I would argue, as I began to at the start of this post, that the benefit of adapting ATLA from an animated kids show to a live action series is the bucking of those “kids show” limitations. ATLA deals with a lot of serious, heavy topics that don’t get fully explored because they are too complicated and intense to be greenlit in a network show aimed at 10 year olds. In addition, ATLA (and particularly Legend of Korra after it) faced an uphill battle to portray some more sticky topics such as queerness, in part due to the time period when they were produced.

A live action show produced by Netflix seems to bypass all those hurdles, allowing for a darker and more socially progressive show than what the original was able to accomplish. But despite showing onscreen the destruction of the Air Nomads, the adaptation of ATLA seems more sanitized than the original, playing to the lowest common denominator in a way that the original never did, despite the latter being a kids show and the former ostensibly being for adults.

I came away from the new series with a bad taste in my mouth, even with some things that I really enjoyed, and I think this is the crux of why. The adaptation didn’t update the original; it stripped it of anything that might be deemed problematic and replaced it with a black and white worldview that is, in fact, antithetical to the themes of the original show.

After all, the creators seem to have reasoned, who would root for Zuko’s redemption if he actually needed redemption in the first place?

[livlepretre]

I was wondering when did Elena exactly become accustomed to the horrific actions of her vampire suitors? I know it must’ve been a gradual change, but my guess is that after she was rescued from her 3 year exile, she must’ve acknowledged the fact that she must accept to live with these murderers without being phased or bothered (as long as she’s not the focus of the violence) in order to enjoy her life to an extent. Like to me, in FE 64 it seemed like her moral compass was so unbalanced compared to the usual (maybe it seemed like that to me because we had to wait a while for the update but idk) - it was clear that one of the main themes of this chapter was to emphasize the mental change Elena has underwent since the beginning of the story. Would you be able to give us some insight?

Also how are you how are you doing? I’m planning on starting to read 100 years of exile and some of your other book recommendations cause I need to get my mind off of this fic in order to not torture myself on waiting for the update. 💝💐

Quite a question.

I think a lot of this actually starts on the show before the point of canon divergence.

In episode 7, she slaps Damon because of how "[he] hurts people"-- this, to me, is an expression of Elena's baseline sense of morality-- a very normal, well-adjusted disgust against harming others, and a willingness to take and articulate a moral stand-- and to back it up with force if necessary. She does her best here, and she also does her best a few episodes later to try to stop Damon from opening the tomb-- in large part to prevent the tomb vamps from escaping and wreaking havoc, if I recall correctly. (If I don't, forgive me: it's been like a decade since I've watched season 1).

(actually, this probably means I should go rewatch season 1 now)

By the end of the season we get some unnerving hints at things. She's not too torn up by Stefan attacking that girl at the founder's ball. Isobel gives her that warning about the path she's on so long as she has a Salvatore on each arm.

then: she forgives Damon for murdering her brother. HUGE red flag. Yes, it was undone, but he still did it.

She also moves on from Caroline eating that guy in 2x02 like it was just a small misdemeanor. Remember, it's Bonnie who cares that that happened, Elena just wants to move on with helping Caroline adjust.

then, in Kill or Be Killed, Damon, Caroline, and Stefan are responsible for the murders (and consumption!) of the Sheriff's deputies. Elena literally does not bat an eyelash. It's astonishing. I feel like SO much more weight should be given to this, because she literally hangs around while people she presumably knows at least as acquaintances get murdered. but she pretty much just moves past it because the ones doing the murdering are her friends and beloveds.

We have tons more examples-- classmates getting dropped like flies, acquaintances getting killed and eaten-- she's less and less affected by it.

I think she has a horror in the beginning of Fairytale Ending by the scale and the gruesomeness of the vampire attacks she witnesses-- but a lot of it is also tied up in her feelings of powerlessness. She tried to help Sasha and Zoe. They both died. Klaus promised her not to kill Matt-- so he had Stefan do it instead. But even in those early chapters, with things like the head detaching and rolling across the parlor floor, or the party where Stefan drains all of the guests, or any other incident-- she's not really thinking about the specific horror of those people dying. She's thinking about her jealousy, her relationship with Stefan, how she pities him and feels so upset on his behalf; she's analyzing her power dynamics with Klaus, and Rebekah, and the sexual dynamics between Klaus, Rebekah, and Stefan.

The only REAL horror she seems to have is when she kills that witch-- because that is the first murder on her hands-- and later, when she sets up Klaus to murder their way out of the compound in chapter 22.

She gets over it, but it does stick with her.

Like, she can and does cope by reminding herself of what they would wish to do to her.

There is a lot of bloodshed after that, at the Abattoir when they return, but she's by now got skin in the game in terms of finding the bloodstone, and she's seen a lot, and it's only the ones she loves that she actually cares about.

That's why Tyler's torture haunts her. She loves Tyler, and his torture was her fault.

She faces this directly within herself that summer in exile with Rebekah-- she realizes that Rebekah's out hunting, sometimes, and she decides not to be upset about it. It definitely took her exile and loneliness and emotional catharsis and survival to get to this point, and it did transform her. She talks about this explicitly around the time she arrives in New York-- she tells Klaus that their hunting won't bother her and points out, with Rebekah confirming, that she never complained a peep about it over the summer.

So by the time she's in New York, she's definitely observing a lot of their predatory behavior, fully aware of where it's going, and she's not especially affected by it. Like, there is still revulsion there, still unease and horror, but it gets less and less with time.

I did want to bring this transformation in Elena into focus in this last chapter, which is why it's brought up numerous times, but really, she's been on the road to this level of non-concern for quite a while. Hopefully, if you ever plan a reread, with the chapters back to back rather than spaced months (or years!) apart, this will gel more fully and feel more gradual.

And! did you ever read 100 years of solitude? because! that is just so my very favorite book of all time!

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Crawler Commandeers"

The calm before the storm...

I actually do not have a live reaction version of this one, huh.

Ryder's misgivings with their circumstances showing even more. You know, I bet if they could have avoided showing footage of him helping in the attack on the Dome in the finale trailers, they could have sold the red herring of his "defection" even more.

You know, really make us worry for a moment there. XD

What's with that look, Sabine? Lol.

A very slow and strained Ezra's Theme in minor key as they observe the ore crawler here.

And a similarly strained and altered "Shenanigans". We are just putting all the serious musical modifications on the leitmotifs today.

Meanwhile at the Dragging Their Feet HQ...

Interesting that they specifically cite Thrawn's presence as a reason to be hesitant to attack. The man spooks them so much they're afraid to move. Anything they do can wind up giving something away to him that he can use later to destroy them. This is reminiscent of their paralysis when confronted with the knowledge of the Death Star in Rouge One. The Rebel Alliance know they're hopelessly outgunned, they know it's a hard fight, but it isn't until you're actually staring down the barrel of the full huge might of the Empire that you realize just how big and overwhelming the threat is.

And it's hard to figure out what to do in the face of such overwhelming odds. Which is why every so often the Rebellion needed its firebrands and Jedi to reject fear and spurn action into them.

You know... I think Hera told Ezra about the Alliance's long debate over this attack and that's what made him decide that Thrawn needed to be taken off the board permanently. Which is one reason why he was okay with sacrificing himself to take Thrawn out.

Ezra with another cute "Lookit my girl go!" look, and in my head I'm hearing his bragging, "Those troopers are in trouble now." from "Ghosts of Geonosis".

The way she effortlessly takes out those two droids is pretty impressive.

Lol the Trandoshan is listening to Zeb's favorite band, it sounds like.

Once again showing off the smaller more wirey members of the species. Wonder how many mental comparisons Ezra was making. (He worked briefly with Bossk in the junior novel Ezra's Gamble, Bossk being a much taller and heavier Trandoshan than this Mining Guild shrimp.)

Ha ha Ezra just straight up clotheslining him, awesome.

Big fan of the absolute chagrin in Ezra's face as he attempts his bluff here, he already knew this effort was doomed before he started lol.

Seevor's so offended too.

You guys really should have knocked this guy out from the outset. Just saying.

The steam effects are perfect. But then mist and cloud has always been a strength of this show.

Hi Vizago!

Lolol and I just thought of how this had to sound to Kanan all of a sudden he hears this loud familiar voice, he can't even see how excited Vizago is to see him but his WTF expression is perfect.

Oh and here's one of my favorite Zeb moments this season!

First giving him a badass entrance--"Drop the whip and step away from my friend you knuckle-brained lizard!" is an amazing line, I should rewatch this episode more often I'd completely forgotten it--and then we proceed into a very knock-down bare-knuckle outright brawl between Zeb and someone finally in his weight class.

The way Ezra just grabs Seevor's collar and drags him is sending me.

Seriously though, just stun him. Your blaster does have a stun function yes? Does it not work on Trandoshans?

Gilligan Cut to Kanan and Zeb clearly NOT being fine lol.

The comedy is On Point this episode.

I've already mentioned how I love this brawl so I'll just enjoy it and move on.

Meanwhile on Yavin, Mon Mothma is putting an official name to the Empire's habit of withdrawing its own forces before launching a major attack. "Protocol 13". The complete evacuation of an occupied world by Imperial forces.

So now you're left to Fridge Horror exactly which planet is on the chopping block. Chandrilla? Ghorman? Alderaan? The official timeline (which I don't ascribe to anyway because of NUMEROUS problems and inconsistencies) places this episode very close to Year Zero, within smelling distance of the Battle of Yavin, so the Empire's new plan is almost assuredly the Death Star.

Anyway Hera's convinced to go in and make her speech of hope. It's only too bad that they're facing Thrawn for this sortie. He keeps things at the Alliance at an impasse with his presence. Can't let his TIE Defenders go into production, can't attack his forces outright.

The Immovable Object to Ezra's Unstoppable Force.

Vizago and Hondo would get along immaculately. Actually kind of weird that Vizago's developed into a Hondo-like personality when he was so cold and chilling at the beginning of Season One but again I point to "The Empire makes all other threats into miniscule nuisances" and also he's clearly been in contact with Ezra too long, everyone softens around him lol.

My son with his impressive glares again. <3

And the plan is once again to bluff the Empire, and it's mostly a good plan, aside from the fact that they still haven't stunned the damn crawler captain.

Oh good! Zeb went and knocked him out again.

Don't mind me I just like this shot of Ezra readying his lightsaber.

And Seevor has turned internal saboteur. Man's dedicated to his job.

Sabine looking entirely too amused to make Ezra go in the vents, just like the old days.

But also:

*CRIES IN FINALE*

These shafts don't look as ah... sanitary as the ones Ezra's used to crawling through.

It was a nice touch that Ezra totally knew Seevor was there before he could attack. Force Sense warned him, it's implied.

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE HORROR MOVIE PORTION OF THIS EPISODE.

When these clips were shown in the trailer I genuinely thought Seevor was Ruhk it was so hard to see him.

Again, Ezra senses the attack a hair before it happens.

People weirdly thought Ezra went briefly Dark Side again right here? Because they thought he manipulated his dropped saber into Seevor's foot path, sending him into the furnace, plus the dark humor comment later.

...I both do and don't see it. I see how it would certainly look like Ezra deliberately moved his saber somehow to make him slip but... I dunno I can't square it away with how he's been characterized for the most part. I'm going to settle on a maybe.

Sabine looks so happy for him, awww.

OHHHHH NO NO NO, SHOW. SHOW. YOU HAD TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING WHEN YOU HAD EZRA SAY, "YOU CAN COUNT ON US." WHILE LOOKING SIGNIFICANTLY AT SABINE.

Hhhhhhngnghhfhfffff my heart I ache now. Everything is so hopeful and optimistic it huuuuuuuurts.

This is a fun one. A bit silly in places, but entertaining. Lots of good moments for characters and unlike "The Wynkahthu Job" I don't want to slap anyone upside the head.

[dangertoozmanykids101]

Mistaken: An Arranged Marriage Bratva Romance, by Arianna Fraser (aka @caffiend-queen )

Look what arrived last night!!! Written by our very own brilliant @caffiend-queen !!

I love the cover my dear. But of course we all know that our main anti-hero / dastardly villain / antagonistic Adonis REALLY looks like, don't we y'all.

The REAL Maksim Morozov

I continue to ramble and swoon over this book and its characters after the break below. I've chosen gifs to fit my mental picture and a theme song I've assigned to @caffiend-queen 's book.

Walking with his bodyguard.

Always on the phone.

Weight of society's underbelly rests on his shoulders. Wide wide broad muscular shoulders that block out the sun when he towers over his beautiful Ella Givens, our brilliant protagonist and heroine in this story.

And the Real Yuri Morozov - Maksim's second hand man and cheeky loyal brother.

Don't forget, he's Maksim's right hand man. So dangerous!! *Gulp.

He's the personable friendly brother. He's the lucky one who doesn't have to strike fear in everyone ALL THE TIME. He's allowed to smile and laugh sometimes. OMG I WANT TO FUCK THE BROTHER! I'm Team Yuri all the way!! Am I allowed to call out a Team Yuri?

Damn. It would have been so much easier to pick out the right image if the characters were simple and two dimensional. RIGHT?

But like all of @caffiend-queen 's characters - these two men - two terrifying, beautiful, brave, ruthless, loyal, sexy, kinky, fucked up, violent, infuriating men have a lifetime of experiences that add up to who they are today. There are so many moods, so many hats, so many roles they play with every different character, who they are to them, how they act with them. How much they reveal and when. When do they let their guard down versus when they don't. In the end, the men are just living roles they were dealt within the world they were born into. Trying to survive, thrive even, and take care of their family.

OMG.... The ACTION SCENES!! This is so intense I've been on the edge of my seat!

Y'all gotta read this!!!

Check in with @caffiend-queen for info. It hit the 'bookshelves' just this month. Both e-book and the hard copy. I love it!

One morning I heard the PERFECT theme song for the chapters I'd been reading the night before. The entire drive to school and back I had to play it multiple times. (And it's now my son's favorite song, so he has been requesting it specifically each car ride for a couple weeks. It goes to say that the whole family can sing it word for word by this point.)

I'm so excited to have all y'all listen to it and tell me if you can see the intense action scenes from the book play out in your mind like they do in mine when this song plays. Please let me know what you think??

Give And Take, by Poor Man's Poison.

Someday I'm gonna show up on your doorstep, @caffiend-queen , with a huge box of all your books I've collected over the years for you to sign for me. :-) I can't wait!

Spread the word and boost this signal. REBLOG PLEASE. Support and promote our sister. All her profits go to the local Crisis Nursery in her city. Such a wonderful way to support them and help families in crisis. Again check in with @caffiend-queen for the exact details.

@nildespirandum @emeraldrosequartz @ladyoftheteaandblood @alexakeyloveloki @tilltheendwilliwrite @jtargaryen18 @imanuglywombat @myoxisbroken @lokisgoodgirl @devikafernando @threeminutesoflife @talklokitome @latent-thoughts @mooncat163 @nonsensicalobsessions @angelriverwrites @kind-of-crazy-butthatsokay @frostbitten-written @just-the-hiddles @redfoxwritesstuff @imnotrevealingmyname @shiningloki @grufflepuff-writes-stuff @so-easy-to-love-me @wolfsmom1 @what-is-your-plan-today

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND ONE

ROCK LEE vs HYUUGA HINATA

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

practical and fashion-forward with his bright green onesie. Function over form, and is prepared at all times by carrying around a spare onesie he will give without question to anyone - even complete strangers

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

embodies the ideals of original series Naruto. True underdog, had nothing going for him, came from nothing with no legacy or powers, was so disadvantaged that he physically could not meet the bare minimum abilities of his peers. But he worked harder than everyone else and proved that he can be a great shinobi despite all the adversity he faced

Sasuke had to copy Lee's moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

Gaara vs Rock Lee was one of the most iconic fights in the series, and everyone remembers where they were when they first saw Lee drop his weights. He owned that fight so hard that people forget he lost.

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn't special and neither was [submitter], but we didn't need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee's got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn't want them to think like that

objectively would've made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn't like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they're very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Hinata

contrasts with Naruto in personality, but still goes through similar struggles with self esteem and bullying, and comes out with a similar outlook on life

relatable in the sense of being socially awkward, self conscious and having a strict father

can hold her own

[zzencat]

Hi, sorry I forgot to send my initials are RSF, my sign is capricorn and my favorite emoji 🧚‍♂️.

To ask about

How is gonna be my future job?

Will I be work in a job for long-term about my degree?

Will I be happy in my future marriage?

Thanks in advance❤️ and have a good day 🧚‍♂️🍀🍀

hey rsf!!! thank you so much for participating! now, imma let you know that this…is probably one of the heaviest and CLEAREST readings i’ve ever done, but it’s all based on your current energy so i hope you can learn something from it.

*note: felt the tiniest earthquake just now idk why. moving on!

future job + long term:

ok so right now you might feel victorious, confident. either now or at first starting at your career. it might’ve even been something that you thought you were going to enjoy so you’re ready for action, ready to start on this journey and put your efforts, brain, creativity into good use. however, you’ll find that you face too many obstacles and might end up giving up on this. you’d be in a state of stagnancy, boredom, and loneliness too. a bad situation is going to hit you, or multiple, as a matter of fact, and you’ll be like “what the hell is going on?” Usually i look at the death card as a good thing and that there will be a death of something for a greater thing to come…but i didn’t feel that here. the environment you’re in might be comfortable, comfortable enough for you to hone your ideas and expand on them, maybe even share them easily with others, but you’ll be like megamind and have this huge never ending jumbo of creativity and mental energy going on. BUT you’re unable to travel or see more than this. the job keeps you limited in many ways and therefore, makes you feel incomplete. you’re neither achieving or making enough. i’m not sure if this is a remote job or a job that doesn’t stimulate conversation or regular exchange between coworkers or colleagues, but you’ll be so lonely and distant that you’ll feel like you’re losing your mind even. the cards also suggest that your efforts won’t pay off and you’ll be broke if you continue down this road with the energy you carry right now, so you might have to find other options to financially support you. themes of being broke or homelessness also show up more than once here, along with loneliness and despair. you might also lose quite a bit of weight. also, idk if this job requires a lot of technology for creative purposes or a lot of creativity, but either way, both end up in loss.

it’s crazy cuz this is such a big and transformative thing in your life that might’ve been interesting at first, but i drew again and i don’t see a good outcome for it. it’s something that a lot of people dream to have a happy ending, make a lot of friends, have a lot of fun with, but you’ll end up being sloppy or careless with it, doubting your abilities and no longer having pride in your work. perhaps you’ve grown up with strict parents/caretakers and you’ll be reminded of failure bc you wanted to try something new. eventually, you’ll fall into the deep end of it and will be more realistic. you could have a whole career switch after holding on for so long.

will you be happy in your future marriage?

i’ll just cut to the chase, based on the current energy? no. at first, you’ll meet someone that has a lot of wealth or seemingly so. perhaps it’s delusional thinking that it is definitely someone rich upon seeing them. the obsession with wealth and having money might go overboard and could lead to some legal issues. i see fights, taking sides, possible abuse, but you’ll face some kind of oppression. it seems like some, if not, most of the fights are triggered randomly and it’s bc of some random accusations out of nowhere. i’m getting mostly from your side that there’s resentment and questionable behavior carried into this relationship possibly from childhood trauma. and the expectations to have a lot of money are very high in the marriage, which will also cause a lot of problems—the dream of almost being rich or abundant enough. there is going to be a split decision and possibly a split in general, and even a reunion with some people in the past. you might try to ask for help from some people but they’ll give you pretty shit advice and the relationship will be on thin ice.

the cards are calling you to get your mind straight and sit down, reflect. i would also be careful where to direct my anger and resentment, especially if it’s from something like a bad day at work. also, you’re being called to work on communication and try to see from the other side instead of picking fights. it’d also be wise not to twist words and fall into a pattern of stagnancy.

i think this reading was as clear as day tbh so thank you for that RSF! it’s clear that you have your work cut out for you if you don’t want a bad ending. and this is just based on the energy now. thank you for joining me rsf! best of luck to you 😼

[bringerofjollity44]

Very disappointed with Ahsoka: mid-season review

I watched all of Rebels just to prepare for this and I am so disappointed with what they have done with the characters. They are all played so flat, and I have to think it is the direction and not the actors themselves. Where Hera was once sharp and defiant, she is blank and emotionless; where Sabine was rebellious and independent, she is now angsty and traitorous; where Ahsoka was once spirited and charismatic she is now sour and sullen. Every character in this show feels like a different version of the same personality - all emotions feel overly reserved yet melodramatically serious. This goes for the new characters as well, including ones who were barely present in the show such as Captain Hayle in episode 1.

Moreover, the storytelling is just bad. We have little to know idea who any of these people are or their motivations:

Baylan is Dark Jedi who repeatedly alludes to some greater good and his past in the Jedi order. But how and why did he become embroiled with Thrawn, who has been in a different galaxy for years??? How did they even meet? What are the tangible things he is looking to get out of this? This goes for Shin and Morgan as well - who are they, how do they know Thrawn, and why are they so committed to him? We are halfway through the season and we are not any closer to answering these questions. (also why does Baylan know every detail of Ahsoka and Sabine's backstories??? why is his character carrying the weight of providing their backstories???)

The Ahsoka-Sabine relationship is also wildly disappointing. The writers threw us into the middle of some conflict that was depicted nowhere without providing any backstory. This allows them to add new elements to the conflict willy nilly without having to think it through beforehand. From the audience perspective, this prevents us from feeling with the characters. For example, in "Fallen Jedi" Baylan uses the fact that Ahsoka apparently prevented Sabine from helping her family survive the purge of Mandalore - which was never shown on screen or mentioned previously in the show. Instead of feeling what Sabine is feeling and internally understanding her tension regarding finding Ezra vs. stopping Thrawn, we are just told plot elements as needed. This is a classic example of TELLING and not SHOWING, while also contributing to the characters feeling like cardboard cutouts. We need to EMPATHIZE with characters good and bad throughout the show!!!!

Some of this has shown through in the plot as well, particularly with Sabine - why did she run away with the star map in episode 2?? She is a woman in her 30s, she is not a reckless teenager like in Rebels. I don't think even 16-year-old Sabine would do this - she would not sacrifice the cause for her personal gain. She has twice now played an instrumental role in helping the Dark Jedi & Morgan find Thrawn with an explicit goal of reinstating the Empire. Sabine sacrificed so much to bring about the Empire's fall!!! Why would she throw that all away now? And I'm not buying the "she doesn't have any family left" bit - even if her relationship with Ahsoka is strained, Hera is literally right there!!! One of the big themes of Rebels was choosing family when you are cast out from society/your own family. Does none of that matter now???

It feels very much like they heavily prioritized the aesthetics - which feel very "Star Wars" and are of fantastic quality - along with fan service (including cameos, live action versions of the most random Rebels characters (e.g. Jai Kell)) which makes it feel more like a Filoni vanity project than a way to advance the story of Star Wars.

Overall, I'm worried about what this show will mean for the trajectory of the entire Star Wars universe - Ahsoka is training a non-Force-sensitive individual, which has huge implications for what the Jedi are. Again, I could be on board with this, but the show has done zero explaining regarding why Ahsoka decided to take Sabine as a Padawan. The audience is just expected to accept that it's true.

On top of that, Disney-Star Wars has once again pulled the "person appears to die but actually didn't," which is getting progressively less believable each time they do it. I am also very afraid of the potential of the World Between Worlds as a deus ex machina - are we just going to use this mechanic to connect people through disjointed points in space and time whenever it serves the plot???? I will wait for the explanation when episode 5 comes out, but given how little explanation has taken place so far in the show, I have lost trust with the writing/direction of the show to do this.

Ahsoka, so far, is all flash and no substance. It feels like it is merely a way to show us characters we love in live action without doing any thinking regarding what they should be doing together. The emotions are simultaneously telegraphed and muted, which makes the characters feel dull and not true to their original characterization.

I will keep watching because I am deeply invested in Star Wars and I love these characters from my Rebels viewing, but I am so disappointed after what feels like another miss from Disney - an emphasis on fan service by bringing back beloved characters without taking any care to how their presentation is handled and whether they need to be brought back in the first place (see the horrible execution of Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett, bringing back Palpatine with no explanation or buildup in Rise of Skywalker, etc).

Closing thought - where was Ahsoka during the main action of the original and sequel movies? If there was another Force sensitive that appears to be very significant to the Force, why was she not involved? Clearly she was very involved in the creation of the rebellion and now preventing the creation of the First Order - yet where is she in the movies? Why does no one even mention her? Again, this logical insistency makes this feel increasingly like a Filoni vanity project that does not prioritize consistency with the larger narrative of Star Wars.

[a-ratt]

Pink Lizard X Monke Prime: The New Empire

It occurred to my that I should probably talk about why I really loved Godzilla x Kong.

Slight spoilers ahead (I think)

On paper, this stupid idea of turning Godzilla pink and giving Kong an Infinity Gauntlet should not work. It's the basic premise of a superhero action schlop except it's big monsters. I came in with worries that the visuals wouldn't hold up and the story would be basic human-led garbage like the rest of the entries.

Incredibly, I had my expectations completely flipped.

Not only does everything look awesome (with the exception of a couple scenes in brightly lit, daytime environments where it's super hard to pull off big CGI scenes), but the writing was really, really good!

The humans exist as comedy bits and exposition machines of course, but the narrative weight of the film is placed on Kong's shoulders as he journeys through the Hollow Earth in search of his possibly extinct species. Every scene he's in, the story is told through his eyes, his body language, and his interactions with others.

(It reminded me a lot of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal and fuck do I love that show)

His journey with Suko (Diddy Kong) through the film is very heartfelt and is also reflected in Suko's own character development.

Meanwhile, Godzilla is trying to keep the peace on the surface world, bringing down kaiju that are wreaking havoc everywhere until plot relevant stuff happens and he's forced to get ready for Act III.

And Act III? Oh man, the final battle is SO MUCH FUN.

While I do miss the darker, grittier tones of Godzilla 2014 and KOTM, where the kaiju had immense weight and this way of feeling like forces of nature, I also love the direction that the Monsterverse is moving.

If possible, I'd love to see that darker, heavier weight of 2014 and KOTM matched with the narrative writing of Godzilla X Kong. It'd be great to have a more serious film that follows Godzilla or Kong, but I'm not opposed to continuing this Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters-type tone.

On a side note, I actually loved the soundtrack to this film. I wasn't a huge fan of Tom Hokenborg and Antonio Di Iorio's music in GvK, but now I adore the motifs used to represent Godzilla and Kong. I still stand that everything Bear McReary touches turns to gold, but he's a busy man and it cost Warner Bros a helluva lot of money to buy the rights to use Akira Ikufube's theme for KOTM. (While I love Godzilla Minus One, I really hate that Toho is super protective of their IPs and even more greedy with licensing them out.)

Bottom line: If they keep making content of this quality then I'm going to keep giving them my money.

NOW GIVE ME SPACEGODZILLA

[cthulhuswaifu]

dudes i started watching trigun stampede and having seen like half of the og trigun I have many thoughts!!!

unfortunately i am Bad at articulating my thoughts so I will try to list a couple:

The animation feels like what the og show was supposed to feel, yknow??? like the crusty 90s animation was a huge reason I decided to tap out halfway through bc it feels like they wanted a lot of movement but due to budget or just technological limits they weren't able to and it just looked. not good sometimes. I'm not trying to bash the animation and I'm also not an animator so i have no real idea of what the original production was like or what limits they may or may not have had. However! Putting studio orange on the job was a fuckin stroke of genius bc they know their 3d. and what with the frenetic energy the show should have had, the freedom that 3d animation allows for camera movement and whatnot is what the story deserved. Vash's bugs-bunny style character movements look so much more convincing and energetic (listen i love the of ep 1 crab walk too it was delightfully animated but i think the 3d lets them fully encapsulate that scrambling, frantic energy he carries in action scenes). once again i am not an animator and i have not outlined this at all and I'm absolutely not trying to be some credited critic i am just a Guy.

Subpoint!! the depiction of violence/death/destruction works way better. Once again I'm not going to go after the animators for not having the time/budget/whatever to give the violence and death in the story the weight they should have had. However, it is way more convincing and striking and works better with the tone etc etc i put this in after writing the next two points and my root-beer-fueled sugar high is starting to fade rip

I do miss milly, shes a delight, but i think replacing her character with a more jaded and serious one was the right move for this remake. already the tone is diving into the darker themes of the story and having someone like roberto be the voice of reason between him and Meryl matches the tone of the show better than having the more lighthearted dynamic milly and Meryl had in the original. The original took f o r e v e r to touch on the darker themes of vash's backstory and the overall tone was absolutely more on the quirky, comedic side. This worked well for the dynamic-duo-insurance-girls thing but stampede changing both milly's character AND their careers works way better for what the show is going for. like. if meryl and Roberto were still insurance agents trying to keep a handle on vash, that comedic value would have been totally undermined and had to have been scrapped after episode 3. The tonal dissonace would have been too strong and would have totally killed the mood. Milly is still my girl tho i love her with all my being

I do prefer the slower worldbuilding of the original. I understand with the focus on vash's relationship with his brother instead of the story the original focused on means we need more context for his character and the world the characters live in. But i liked vash being a mystery to both the characters and the watchers! it felt cool to see this goofball of a dude just. let down the facade and make us want to wonder who this guy really is, yknow? but again! as i have said many times! stampede is focused on the darkness in vash's story and the world of trigun so it makes total sense that they introduce vash as a tragic character first! and i love it! i love me a good dark story and instead of the "silly dude with a dark backstory who changes tone at the drop of a hat" character the "guy who has seen some shit and still tries to do good and be kind and funny in spite of it" character just works better there.

Anyway as previously stated i am kind of flagging so ill stop there and I'm sure ill have more thoughts later because I just cant be normal about these things

I think both versions have their merits and drawbacks and I'm not trying to say one is objectively better than the other (even if I do prefer stampede bc I'm a hoe for good animation and dark storytelling) so please do not kill me

i wrote this mess instead of studying for midterms pray 4 me

[beesechurgerzz]

*hands you dan* i love your headcanons for this sad miserable man. Keep talking pls

aaaa tyyy!!! i find it wildly fascinating how the fandom portrays dan in such different and varying ways, specifically the many ways they translate dan's self into his obsession and all, but sometimes it just feels like there could be something more yknow? and this isn't throwing shade at anyone, i enjoy reading all kinds of interpretations, it's just that at times it seems like dan is viewed as a sort of means to an end kinda thing, as just one more drop to the whump bucket that is danny, and while yes, the whole situation would definitely have had a huge negative impact on danny (even tho the show never acknowledges it again >>) i feel like in some cases it's a bit, misshandled? maybe that's not the best word, so maybe more of a missed potential thing? miss interpreted even

one thing i did see in some posts was that some people expressed a bit of discontentment with the way dan is portrayed as solely a danny thing, and by that i mean that they thought that putting all the weight of dan's existence onto danny was bogus because vlad was in the mix, and like, i understand where they're coming from, i really do, but there's actually a lot going on in TUE that points to this being explicitly danny's ghost half actions.

before fusing, danny's ghost half deliberately took the surgery gloves, he smiled while he wore them, and he, out of his own volition, dug them into vlad's chest to take 'plasmius' out. furthermore, even before the procedure vlad had already been showing signs of remorse for what had happened:

this is vlad's face after seeing danny somberly looking at a photo of his family and friends after the explosion, he'd been, seconds before this, smirking and acting smug about getting what he wanted, but i think this is the start of him finally realizing just what they both had lost for that to have happened, and in my personal opinion, he might've been wondering if it had been worth it. on the other hand:

this is what danny's ghost self looked like before attacking vlad. some people have pointed out that vlad's story shouldn't be taken as truth given his manipulative nature, but honestly i think that he would have no particular reason to lie. he may have lost his ghost powers, but do you think he wouldn't have taken the opportunity to try and take down present danny since the chance was right there? in a way, future danny ruined him, it was a type of violation that people don't really want to talk about since it's vlad, but it's what happened. danny isn't a saint, he's far from it really, he does a lot of learning on how to be a better person through different instances of the series:

- Attack of the Killer Garage Sale- selling his parent's invention scraps and parts for money so he could buy clothes for a party (he gave the money back at the end of the ep but he still went against his father's instructions to not throw the parts out)

-Spitting Image- danny uses his powers against dash after getting bullied (he learns from his mistake but still repeats it later in the series)

-Fright Night- danny steals frightnight's sword with the intent of cheating the halloween competiton

-The Ultimate Enemy- you all know (him cheating the test by stealing the answers)

-The Fright Before Christmas- lack of empathy after destroying ghost writer's story just for it being christmas themed; his stubbornness also ruins christmas for his friends and family

-Eye for an Eye- literally swatting vlad

and so on. the point being, yes danny can be extremely selfless and takes on the responsibility of fighting ghosts since he opened the portal, but he's still human, and most importantly, he's still a kid, he's 14. that being said, it doesn't mean he can't be infuriatingly petty and stubborn to a fault, so while wanting to attribute a part of dan's personality to vlad, it should always be extremely important to remember that danny also has the capacity to do wrong.

i think i went a bit off topic there aqndjwf, anyways-

i think what i want to say with all of this is that dan's an entity of his own. he has neither vlad's nor danny's motivations, none of the feelings either had for the fenton's in their own way: (he had no issues mocking maddie and killing her, something that love obsessed vlad would never do, neither would danny who loves his mother although a bit distantly), he singles jazz out throughout TUE's events, and also has no qualms with making her die ( jazz being danny's most loved familial tie, the one person he trusts outside of tucker and sam), and he also doesn't view himself as danny unless he's taking a jab at someone's feelings.

-"i am your boy" he says to maddie when she asks him what he's done to danny, even though she isn't her son

-"what kind of parents are you anyway?" the world's leading ghost experts, and you can't figure out your own son was half ghost" he doesn't say "you couldn't figure out I was half ghost", he said they couldn't figure out their son was a halfa, which contradicts his previous "i am your boy" line, confirming that he only uses those terms when he wants to hurt

another point for the 'dan is separate from danny' deal is that he exists outside of time. he wasn't worried about danny defeating him in TUE's finale because he said that he was still there, therefore danny still turned into him, but he loses, so that couldn't possible have been true. by his own logic he should be gone, and by the show's logic (as seen by the other time travel instance during Masters of Time), undoing a timeline means it has no impact on its original. (stopping the cause [college portal incident] meant there were no repercussions [plasmius jack, married vlad/maddie]). by those guidelines, danny stopping the explosion should mean no dan at all, but he still exists, so he isn't tied to danny's fate specifically.

he is a possibility. it could mean that the burger joint explosion wasn't the only way he could be created, but the knowledge of that possible outcome should be a sufficient deterrent to thwart it, so it's back to square one. that's actually another complaint i've seen- that danny being afraid of turning into dan doesn't make sense since he made sure that that future couldn't happen, but i think they all miss the principle of it- that being that danny saw his potential to be his own worst self, and that he doesn't want that. but now that he knows he can, he'll always wonder if what he's doing is the right thing, or if it'll have a domino effect that leads him to becoming that, since the exam cheating was such an inconsequential action and all compared to the many other acts danny has pulled off.

tldr for this section is that dan is actually more like dani in that they're derivatives from danny, but still their own person. (i might make another post later about what i think dani's obsession would be [spoiler: i think it's life itself] but i suck at writing </3)

dani was created by vlad, but that doesn't define her, and neither should plasmius aspects define dan. or danny's for that matter. their similarities are mostly physical, and even those are vastly altered, and there isn't much personality wise. on top of havig the trauma of witnessing his family and friends die, living with a man he hated and growing distance with your other half, dan has 10 years on danny, and by the looks of it that decade was spent on his own, wreaking havoc. he's very much not sane. that mental unbalance doesn't mean that vlad is at the metaphorical wheel, it just highlights that the human mind just can't deal with the stress of the circumstances danny went through at age 14. his own death went unprocessed, and that's why i think dan redemption is very viable.

since we spoke of dan redemption, and this will be the last topic since this is getting extremely long (sorry asker 😔), i think jazz could help him. despite holding a large amount of animosity towards her in TUE, jazz could still be the best shot dan has at proper therapy. jazz would have to be convinced i'm sure (she'd have to remember TUE events for her to properly help, and i dont think she'd be too thrilled), but that's still a version of her brother. she'd help not as a sister, but as a therapist. (i actually have a mini fic in the works for that but who know how long that'll take so </3) the trick with therapy is that people need to want to be helped/ they need to accept needing help, and dan is very much,,, not willing. but therapy is nothing if not a work of patience and a space for learning, and if there's one thing to counteract the personification of grief, then it has to be acceptance. and time too :)

once again ty for the wonderful ask ajhdwj, sorry for rambling so much 😔

[bluetomorrows]

The Top 10 of the '10s (Part 1)

Many moons ago I noticed something about my history of watched films on Letterboxd. There was a huge drop off in the amount of films I had seen pre-50s. I'd say it's normal to have seen more recent movies than older ones, but I didn't like just how sparse my viewing was of those earlier decades. So I set out on a mission to familiarize myself with every year I was missing. I decided to watch 5 of the most popular films from every year that ever had films. I finally finished the 10s today. The 1890s and 1900s are also very interesting, but the 10s are when the film industry really began to take off and movies took a form more recognizable to modern audiences. Maybe some other time I'll talk about my favourites from those more experimental decades, but today I wanna talk about my 10 favourite films from the decade where modern film was born.

10. The Rink (1916, dir. Charlie Chaplin)

The Rink is a comedy where Chaplin really gets to show his strength at creating gags that continue to build, and his surprisingly strong roller skating skills. By this point, the tramp character is really coming into his own and Chaplin continues to invent new and exciting ways for him to be stupid. The specificity in the action and choreography make this occasionally feel more like a Keaton short than a Chaplin one.

9. One A.M. (1916, dir. Charlie Chaplin)

One A.M. is an incredibly interesting short for Chaplin as it's just him performing by himself on one small set. He plays some guy who comes home piss drunk at One A.M. and struggles to navigate the foyer of his own home. It really speaks to Chaplin's talent as a performer that this is as consistently entertaining as it is. Maybe there's something just primordially funny about people failing at simple tasks, but he seems to squeeze every ounce of potential out of this setup. It feels like this guy is Sisyphus if he was crushed by the weight of his own stupidity. Great stuff.

8. Coney Island (1917, dir. Roscoe Arbuckle)

While he's now remembered as one of the "big three" silent comedians, Buster Keaton got his start acting in smaller roles in films by and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who was also funny in his own right. I would describe the plot here but it's pretty meandering and unfocused, all you need to know is Fatty is hiding around Coney Island. The plot being weak doesn't really matter in this kind of short, it's just a vehicle for gags which is all it needs to be. Adding a theme or moral to this through a more focused story would honestly bring the short down. There are some great gags here with Buster getting his girl stolen from him and Fatty crossdressing (something he apparently did a lot), as well as plenty of slapstick and humour derived from carnival games. It gets incredibly ridiculous and is not at all interested in being grounded or feeling real. This whole style is a nice change of pace compared to some other silent comedies that tried to be something they weren't. This is primarily interested in getting you to laugh, and it gets there in some quite impressive ways. Something I do want to note is that the original release of this movie has an extended ending which is super racist. Modern restorations use the later versions which cut this out, but it still exists and is pretty gross.

7. The Unchanging Sea (1910, dir. D.W. Griffith)

The Unchanging Sea is a much more emotional and subtle film than much of Griffith's later plot-focused work, however, the ways it stands out from the style he went on to refine in this decade is what makes it so interesting and memorable. It's really a film about longing and the quiet sadness and isolation women experienced in this time period. I've always maintained that despite him being behind on other groups (i.e. being a vile racist), Griffith's films were always much more feminist than his contemporaries. Perhaps his willingness to portray complex female characters with unique issues was a factor in his early success. For the women in The Unchanging Sea, the work of their husbands out on the open ocean transfers them to a liminal state, unable to tell if their lover and possibly only friend would return until the moment he did. The sea does not care for their sorrow and their concern, it's a force much greater and mysterious than any fight they could muster. The light plot here lets us sit in the anxiety of these women and understand the way that their experience of life is fundamentally limited by the circumstances they were born into. There isn't even any real way to protect each other, as the ways of love for a woman in this time and place are a force more powerful than their pleas for other women to stay alone and self-reliant. The Unchanging Sea is about how human connection is all we have yet for many it's a prison. It's a kind of story that was only possible by someone like D.W Griffith when he and film were in this more primordial state, more willing to experiment and craft experiences that differed from the stories pioneered by other mediums, and is a shining example of exactly why this period of film history is so worth returning to.

6. The Cook (1918, dir. Roscoe Arbuckle)

Don't worry, this post isn't all silent comedy shorts. But in said genre, The Cook stands above the rest. This one feels a bit more focused than Coney Island, I know I ranted about how a proper plot wasn't super important in that one, but it did still feel a bit too disconnected overall, where here there's a full funny throughline from beginning to end. Not a throughline that's really trying to say anything, just a method to build tension and add onto gags to make them the best they can be. There are a lot of setups that take quite a while to pay off, often with several gags in between them, as well as some gags that feel like Rube Goldberg machines. It's an impressive piece of work that clearly took a lot of planning and care to execute. It has workplace safety violations and a cute dog, what more do you want?

5. Dante's Inferno (1911, dir. Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo Padovan)

Dante's Inferno/L'Inferno is the oldest surviving feature film, and the first one ever produced in Italy. I hate to call a film "an experience" but it really applies here. The narrative simply consists of two guys wandering around hell for 70 minutes. It's just an excuse to look at some really gorgeous visuals. The sets and effects in this are gorgeous, and the film seems determined to keep outdoing itself in its scope and ambition. This is much more inspired by Meliés than the likes of Griffith. It's something you look at and take in like a painting. You really need to just appreciate the artistry and imagination. It doesn't work for everyone, I'd forgive you if you got bored, but for me, it's a wonderful and astounding piece of art, that exemplifies the facet of early film to portray sharp and impactful images.

I'm realizing now that I have much more to say about these films than I expected, even ones that didn't make it into the top 10. So I'll end this post here! Look forward to seeing the top 4 and a ton of honourable (and dishonourable) mentions.