#but I would be shocked if his own personal issues don't actually hinder him and get in the way once the parallels sink in

[thesummerstorms]

Jason Todd being sold out and lured to his death by his mother, still dying trying to protect her

&

Annabeth Wayne Chase being conscripted by her mother into a quest that her siblings have never once survived in a thousand years, succeeding only to fall into hell anyway as a result.

[fringyrasa]

A Detailed Account Of Skeen's Bullshit (ANDOR SPOILERS)

I've seen quite a few people react to Cassian's quickdraw on Skeen and suggesting that Skeen could've been testing Cassian. There's a number of reasons why I think that's not correct, but also want to just pinpoint some things here, mostly from Episode 5 that show Skeen's actions and how it played into his endgame:

1.) From the very beginning of episode 5, Skeen takes Cassian's stuff and starts inspecting it for clues. He claims Vel told him to do this, dares Cassian to ask her, but it seems more like Skeen did this on his own. His manipulation starts within seconds because he tells Cassian he can't be mad, he's luck they didn't kill him. He then tries to make a connection between him and Cassian based on their backstories of prison time. He questions how Cassian has a corp gun, and from the conversation it even feels like maybe Cassian killed the person to take his gun (We know he didn't). He tells Cassian that even the others don't know about his prison time which should be red flag number one that Vel hasn't vetted everyone as much as she'd probably like. So when Cassian kills him and reveals Skeen's double cross, Vel's response of he would never do that, we understand that Vel didn't really know Skeen. His story is very vague on purpose. He did prison time, but we don't know what for. He tells Cassian revenge is enough of a motivation point for now. And speaking of his story-

2.) Let's talk about this now known to be completely made up story. Skeen says the empire flooded his brother's farming. His brother couldn't take it so he filled his pocked with stones and killed himself drowning. What's interesting about this story is how light on details it is. It's meant to be short and shocking. Most people would probably just say shit I'm sorry, or accept his apology. But worth noting is Cassian is able to stick in a question: What was he farming? Cassian's trying to trip up Skeen to see how much of the story he can get, the same way Skeen starts to question what Cassian actually believes in their conversation with Nemik. Skeen is able to respond quickly. Interesting that his brother's occupation just happened to tie in with the motto of the axe forgets but the tree remembers. Totally head canon, I think Skeen was able to say this because of the motto and it just fit or it's possibly someone else's story he got from prison and used for himself. Although Skeen doesn't know it, this is another part of manipulation because a dead brother most likely hits personally for Cassian, who is still searching for his sister.

3.) Now let's get into the big moment in episode 5 when Skeen takes the Kyber off of Cassian and demands to know answers. They are a day away from the heist and he can't go on just hunches anymore. He needs to know what Cassian's deal is and if this is a threat. Cassian comes clean that he's being paid for the job and it now all forms into place. Cassian isn't a true believer, someone who would object to taking the money, he's here for just that. I believe in this moment, Skeen believes he can have Cassian in on his attempt to take the money. The brother story is meant to bring them a bit closer together, but not something so much that Skeen thinks the reveal of his lie would effect Cassian the way it did.

4.) Let's also talk about the information about the crew that Skeen shares. Anything that seems personal, is really just what he thinks would help or hinder his attempt. The only thing he shares about Taramyn is that he's an ex-stormtrooper and that it caused issues with Cinta, something he could exploit if he needed to. His first remarks about Cinta are that she's in a relationship with Vel, which means those two will be alligned together and anything he did against one of them, would be met with fury by the other. We don't hear much about Gorn from him, but we see he reports to Gorn as soon as he arrives in Episode 4, showing that he knows Gorn is a leader, and possibly wanted to rile him up so that Gorn would be on his side of kicking Cassian out. What we know of Gorn actually comes from Vel, who unlike Skeen, tells Cassian personal information. Why he specifically is in the rebellion, not what their skill or worth is. Yes, Cinta's family being killed by stormtroopers is personal, but it's framed with how it could effect the friction between Taramyn and Cinta, which is something Skeen could want.

5.) A quick note on Skeen's presence during the heist. He actually doesn't do much once the heist begins. A lot of camera attention is spent on the others during the stand off and them taking hostages. He does get quite a bit of camera time telling the guards that they're gonna load the money. Once the vault is opened, Skeen takes a look, a look of greed and lust, and then bellows for them to start getting the money. Skeen's importance to the heist only really comes in when it's about the money.

6.) Okay, this one is big because it's not seen by other characters and it's just here for the audience to tell us who Skeen really is. The whole covering situation. During the firefight, Cassian asks Nemik for cover and we see how it's supposed to go: Nemik continues to draw fire until Cassian gets to his location. But then, when Taramyn asks for cover, Skeen is reluctant. He moves from his corner and takes one shot, once Taramyn has made his run from Skeen, Skeen moves right back behind the corner and does not continue to provide cover, which allows the Imperial to have a clean shot and kill Taramyn. I don't think this was some grand plan from Skeen to get Taramyn out of the picture, but shows that Skeen was not going to risk his life for the others, like Nemik did for Cassian. Skeen cost Taramyn's life so that he would still be fine.

7.) One thing I wanna throw here is that while I do think Skeen really pushed on the doctor thing because it would be easier to hatch his plan, I do think he genuinely wanted to help Nemik. He had a soft spot for the kid, but not so soft that he would do something that would change his mission (Read: Taramyn) Going to the doctor would separate him and Vel and allow him to make his pitch to Cassian. Should also be noted that if things went according to plan, he would've had to deal with Taramyn and possibly Gorn (I'm 50/50 on if the plan was going to be that Gorn left with them or if he stayed behind and still provided his cover) It's possible his plan would've been to get the surprise on them and either take out or knock out Gorn and Taramyn and then make his pitch to Cassian for them to get rid of Vel and Nemik and split the money.

8.) So, was Gorn testing him? No. What would the reason for the test be? Had Gorn done this in episode 5, maybe. It could've been a way to test out if Cassian was really there for the rebellion or for the money. Once Skeen knows he's getting paid and he's here for that money, there's no reason to do this. He's not Nemik, he's not a true believer of the cause. This wasn't a test, it was a pitch. A pitch that he showed his hand. Skeen maybe could've had a better pitch if he kept up the story about his brother, but once he revealed it was bullshit, there was no reason for Cassian to trust him.

9.) So why did Cassian kill him? A couple things here. Let's say Cassian says no way. Skeen could take Cassian hostage to fly the ship (I want to throw in here that I believe the reason Skeen even pitched Cassian, is because he didn't know how to fly the vessel. Vel might not know how to fly it either, but she can radio in for a pick up) And then make Cassian fly the vessel to the moon he was talking about where he could kill Cassian and take the money. Had Cassian gone along with the plan, the same outcome. He kills Cassian once they get where they are and he takes all the money. No matter what Cassian decided to do, Skeen would be a threat. And considering how Vel responded, we know that she wouldn't have believed Cassian had he told her the truth with Skeen still alive. I never felt Vel truly trusted Cassian, which would help Skeen's case.

10.) So Skeen was a bullshitter. He had motives to take the money I believe from the beginning and since we met him, he was trying to have his plan go through. I think had Gorn and Taramyn lived, I doubt he would've been able to pull it off. He was constantly manipulating Cassian, with his "I'm from the gutter too" to get Cassian on his side. Cassian made the only right move, which was to kill him. Something Skeen should've seen as a possibility as Cassian was ready to draw on him when he took the kyber. They have been setting all this up, especially from episode 5. So I don't want to hear it was filler or boring, they were showing you who Skeen really was.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[nightswithkookmin]

JIKOOK MMA 2020- COMMENTARY

Disclaimer: This is a commentary, not an expert analysis. I am not a ballerina. LTRS.

Let's all agree right here, right now, that if ever a moment deserve to be immortalized for all eternity, that it is this moment right here: the moment Jungkook lifts Jimin off the ground- it is the most super iconic IT moment of the year as far as shipping goes. Damn, was it beautiful. Goddamn!

Personally, I had so many flashbacks of unchartered fantasies, hopes and dreams- the least delusional of which is JK saying with a deep voice, after lifting JM off the ground, 'would you marry me please' and Jimin, shook out of his wits would respond in Satoori, 'we are already married, you idiot. Now put me down!' Lol.

What? A girl can dream... Leave me alone. Lol

A lot has been said of this dance and so I won't rumble on for long. I'm just gonna focus on the moments that stood out for me:

The first of which would be the build up to that performance- BigHit, you sneaky conglomerate bastard! Lol.

Y'all saw what they did there right? For weeks I have been bombarded with questions about the seemingly 'tensions' between Jikook- everyone was slipping me the 'something is up with Jikook' pill but chilee, I look at them and all I could see was Jikook up in their shenanigans. Lol

I think I mentioned this in a previous post? Anywho. I think the thing that most of us was experiencing with Jikook was the unnecessary 'limited' interactions between them in the recent content we had been getting post Jimin's birthday but regardless, there were still moments of them 'giving themselves away' like in the Grammy reaction video when Jimin instinctively turned to JK in his moment of excitement.

His hesitation was worrying though, because normally he wouldn't- they wouldn't, hesitate to hug the person that they want to hug in their moments of emotional outbursts unless something was hindering them.

Ergo, I felt, if he was hesitating, then clearly it meant there was something holding him back or stressing their dynamic- I think I've definitely talked about this right? Instinctual reactions and all that jazz?

It didn't feel like he was having problems with Kook though, honestly. Because, in spite of all these little inconsistent moments of 'tensions' between them, Jimin for the most part has been giving me the vibe he is falling in love all over again with Kook- Dont ask me why. Lol. This is just gonna be one of those statements I make in passing. Take note of it though, I'll talk about it again soon.

But from the little I've seen post Jimin's birthday, that's the vibe I'm getting. If you believe Jimin is in love with Kook and you have an idea of when he started falling in love with Kook in their love Journey, then I think you'd catch the signs too? If not, never mind. Lol.

Every now and then, I see him go through this phase- in my opinion. I can't wait to talk about it. And yes, it is what I meant when I said Jikook's dynamics seem to have flipped again lately. Time to turn on the crazy. Lol.

These minimum interactions between Jikook however, to me, felt more as if they were being 'monitored' or asked to 'tone things down' by the company or something rather than that they were having actual issues in their relationship- know what I mean?

For the love of me, I couldn't figure out why the company would ask them to tone things down... Until the blackswan performance.

I feel somehow that the lack of content and moments between Jikook in recent times, coupled with the seemingly faux tensions between them prior to their performance at the MMAs, without question, contributed to the wow factor of their performance. In my opinion- but stay with me.

BigHit ain't slick. Lol.

It's so on brand for them though, isn't it? Demand and supply and all that jazz. Chilee. Scarcity inflates the value of a product. I mean we've seen JK lift and carry Jimin in their dance performances several times now yet we can't deny this came as a shock and surprise for us all because we had zero idea what was 'going on between Jikook' behind the cameras- straight up Jedi mind trick. Lol.

Not to say the performance itself wasn't spectacular in of its own. I'd be mad damn liar and a fool if I peddled that nonsense anywhere. Lol.

I just want to point out how BigHit utilizes and taps Jikook's brand and magic in their business model, as this provides a stark contrast against BTS's marketing strategy for their self produced Album Be.

I tried explaining in my LGO analysis, how that project was a personal project of BTS' as a group and how as a group they had their own perception of brand and what sells- or who sells amongst them, as such they weren't going to and didn't star Jikook in that project as front and center.

Contrasting that project to this project, which is more of a BigHit piloted project rather than a personal project of the group's, you can see how Jikook's brand stands out and how it is being highlighted or even exploited for maximum return.

This is what I mean when I say Jikook is a brand. A powerful brand at that and that BigHit has a stake in their brand.

Jikook once again, overshadowed and dare I say, over powered BTS's own brand in that Blackswan performance- chileee, that performance was so Jikookcentric I forgot the others were even there. Lol.

I mean I saw NamJin jump in the foreground somewhere... I'm gonna get canceled am I not? Lmho.

VHope were powerful too. But I couldn't help but notice how neither of those individuals could have sold it the way JK did, had they been in his shoes. V and Hobi both have stamina and presence, yet for some reason I just can't picture either of them lifting Jimin up and spinning him the way JK did and does- not that they can't...

It's just, they take the spotlight too. Jimin is captivating when he dances- or does anything quiet frankly. And usually, he shines under the spotlight when there is undivided attention on him.

When he is paired with Hobi, V or even Suga, very often they act as distractions as they tend to compete with him for the viewer's attention and as such they don't necessarily compliment him. In my opinion.

Often too, when he is paired with RM or Jin, he tends to outshine them and make them look like rookies- Namjin... bless their hearts. Lol.

Kookie is the only member in the group that I feel compliments Jimin- well. Not that he isn't a great dancer too like Hobi or V, it's just whenever he is paired with Jimin in a performance he has the tendency to waive his spotlight and cede it to Jimin by letting go off his own shine and spotlight as well as his competitive spirit so Jimin can be highlighted.

It's why he is the perfect partner for Jimin and the perfect choice for this role in their duet. I think. He pulled it off guys. He PULLED IT OFF-chef's kiss JK. Chef's fucking kiss! Lol.

JK often talks about how he prefers to 'be behind the cameras,' how he often films the members but doesn't like being filmed or being in the spotlight and you see this in his GCFs where he takes the back bench and allows Jimin or even the others to dally in front of the camera.

I don't know if he is aware he does this in his dance too- because for the longest time critics often commented on his stage presence or lack of it there off- their words not mine...

Frankly, I never saw it that way. Because, paired with any other member, he squares up. Chilee. Lmho.

It's one thing to look great next to your partner, it's another to look great together next to eachother and Jikook looked great together in that moment- just exquisite and outstandingly beautiful.

The point of the black swan dance as RM had said in their blackswan Film reaction video, is not to highlight all seven but one- Jimin and that is exactly what JK did on that stage.

Jimin I felt wasn't as intense as he often is in his solo performances. He is brutal in the way he captures attention when he performs alone on a stage. His aura is demanding and alluring and if you can tear your eyes away from him when he is in the height of his performances then- share your magic formula you lucky bastard. Free us all from Jimin's hold. HELP! Lol.

But for some reason, in this performance, he wasn't lost in himself in the moment. It took me a while to understand what was happening-he was equally relinquishing his shine so Kook could share the spotlight with him- please, leave me here to die.

They each compete against the members when they perform with them on a stage, but they never seem to compete against eachother. They move in awareness of eachother and lift eachother up. They enhance eachother's presence and when they collide it's harmonious. This is what we mean when we say Jikook compliment eachother- nobody is doing it like them.

They were both powerful in their strides, graceful in their descent. They did it. They killed it.

Signed,

GOLDY

[fumus]

are there things you don't like about dsp's stuff? i was wondering since yo u play characters like fumus. you 're opinions are always nice. you don't have to answer if you don't wan t to. i hope this isn 't too nosy.

I’ve been in this fandom about 6 years, and by the new year it will be.  I think I’m one of the few original people who’ve been here from the beginning, as most have long since removed themselves from the fandom.

That being said, I still do like their stuff but I also see the blaring problems with it.  I might get hurled out of this fandom for this but I was asked to provide my thoughts and no one has to listen to me.  

Keep in mind you can be a fan of something and still see it’s flaws.  It doesn’t make you a bad fan to cite flaws in other’s works.  Critique when done properly is very useful at helping people improve in themselves.  I am still in this fandom for a reason, despite my activity being low as of recent.

I’m not going to go into all of the controversial topics people have covered to death, as it would be hypocritical to do so given my reputation for accurately portraying the darker characters that Mogeko has presented the fandom with.  So, I’m not really going to be touching on the rape, incest, ect because it’s been done to death by most people.  Also, I joined this fandom because of it’s satire, dark humor and controversial content so I have no business talking about said topics.  

You can like dark topics without supporting them, and wanting to know how people think and act in darker situations doesn’t make you terrible.  Just like if you want to try to explore the mind of a serial killer doesn’t make you a murder advocate.  People want to understand themes and mindsets so far from their own, to wonder why something is and research it gives us better understanding of foreign ideologies that we deem terrible by the majority of society. The fact that there are things we don’t understand make us want to decipher them.

There are things I do want to say regarding character dynamics, plot holes, inconsistency, lack of general information and a few other topics.  

So I will cover a few things that irk me.

The first thing I would say that really makes me feel a little ‘eh’ is the fact that you have to wait so long to even learn new things about characters and the majority of them are frames or archetypes and that is it.  

Yes, you can say that DSP is in no obligated to give us this as fans, and you are completely correct.  It is not a demand, merely a personal issue I have as a content creator myself.  It took us 4 years to learn anything much about Fumus, and well, other characters have went longer and when something is revealed it’s one central point that is driven into the ground - usually that said character is abusive or abused.

I feel like this lack of information does serve as a tool so that people can project themselves onto these characters via rp.  If a character only has a few traits that define them then you can’t argue as to whether or not they have certain other traits fans give them because there is no evidence supporting it either way…but that’s also where your narrative suffers.

It’s sort of like drawing a smiley face.  If you draw a simplistic, cute smiley face then it’ll be widely loved by people, but the more features you give it the less appealing it becomes to the general public and more appealing it becomes to a niche’ audience.  When you add detail you can narrow down the demographic of people that will like said content by reducing relatability.

This is not to be said that DSP doesn’t have great concepts - they absolutely do and they have great inspiration for some of these characters basing them on deities and mythology.  I just wished there was more touching on that instead of their violent, abusive relationships.

The repetitive formulas used.  I have been here long enough to know DSP uses a certain formula in their stuff.  Their characters fall under few categories - the abuser, the tsundere, the yandere, the innocent sheltered character, the abused coward, ect.

This lack of diversity stales your content after a while, and I can hear the arguments, but Fumus-mun, they can write what they want.  Again, yes they can but it doesn’t mean that the same motives over years does not get stale and make you seem like a on trick pony.  There is the saying you should do one thing and do it well, yes, but the lack of fine tuning these things and bringing new facets of them to the table hinders this.

It’s been the same thing over the years, a character’s misery is monopolized on for shock value.  

So many things I have found to be disappointing result from this.  I don’t think I would hate SatanIvlis as much as I do if not for the fact that Ivlis suddenly became a victim for the sake of shock value and fan pandering. What happened to his beliefs in TGG that he so strongly adhered to?  His stubborn and firey personality to prove to Siralos that he is something worth batting an eye at?  These are downplayed for the sake of the overarching theme of him being a victim.  Where’s the resistance to Satanick’s whims? It would have brought a lot of characterization to the both of them to show someone actually push against Satanick’s huge ego and deconstruct him to put him on the same level as they are.  Not in the way that Fumus does, but someone who genuinely challenges his position.  It could have been interesting, and I guess that’s why I’m so disheartened to see it go on the road of RocLobco and IdateShirogane.  

Shock value for the sake of shock value has admittedly grown old to me, which is why I have a hard time really finding much to talk about.  People say DSP hit a dry spell and I can tell you that probably does come with the amount of stress that is put on them to stay relevant and meet the demand of their fans.  They don’t allow themselves to rest but instead keep creating things and pumping out art.  It will fry you as a content creator.  I get that.  There are times when you just need to step back from your work and allow yourself to recoop from the burnout so you can get your spark back.

These are pretty much the only criticisms or gripes I have, noticing what I have over the years I’ve been here.  I’m not really sure if this is what you were asking for but here you go.

I shall see myself out now. I’m sure there are other things I’m missing but I can’t be fucked to talk about this for longer than I have as this post is hella long.

Also to reinstate my initial paragraph.  I don’t hate DSP’s works as a result, I just think these things weigh them down substantially.  If you disagree, that’s fine.  If you still look forward to Sunahama updates then I’m glad you can enjoy something I can’t.