#but honestly you brought up a good counterpoint

[goingbuggy]

I NEED YOU TO DROP EVERYTHING! I HAVE TO TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT SHANKS SCAR I FOUND OUT THROUGH SOMEONE TAGS BUT I CANT FIND IT ANYMORE

It’s about your great theory of speech bubble

Someone found another shanks panel like that, where it’s covering his scar

It’s when mihawk comes to him and greets him. They both have their eye covered like in your theory

I think it was 96 chapter? I’m sorry if I found the tag I will link it to you!

What do you think about it? I’m going crazy u thought there’s only the two you pointed out… what does that mean? What is shanks hiding there? Is he hurt mihawk ended the rivalry? What is going on?

This, right?

I feel like it's actually a good counterpoint to my interpretation, honestly -- there's not a lot to glean from the panel in terms of double meanings/hidden vulnerabilities. At least on Shanks' side with that dialogue bubble. It's a good panel to use to argue, "Hey, maybe this is just an aesthetic for pleasing visuals and balancing out a panel."

My interpretations aren't always 100% correct. There is a variety of reasons Oda could be hiding Shanks' scar in a panel, both meaningfully and non-meaningfully. Chapter 96 is the first Shanks appearance since chapter 19 and his third appearance overall, so his most recognizable feature might have been hidden for the surprise reveal. (Shanks is back again! That sort of thing.) That also explains why he is re-introduced by name.

I think it could still fit into my theory, though! Shanks is shrouded in shadows for all of his panels in this chapter, so it's possible there's something more going on emotionally, but I don't know. Sorry if you were expecting me to have an in-depth explanation. I'm only guessing at Oda's possible intentions, here, seeing what might fit and what might not.

[genderkoolaid]

That's the problem though, nonbinary identities are always seen as "academic" and not casual. Cis people love to say that we're too complicated and only academics understand us, trying to turn nonbinary identity into a classist thing, when nonbinary people need to be included in casual things too. Saying "nonbinary inclusion is only important in academics and not casual stuff" is the real classism here because it keeps people from understanding us. And you do that too, by saying "transfems don't experience higher rates of violence" but only bringing up transmasc as a counterpoint, ignoring all other trans and nonbinary people. We exist outside of adademics, and to say that non-binary inclusion doesn't really matter outside of that is exorsexist and actively plays into the narrative that nonbinary inclusion is hard or impossible. like other queer people get to exist and be recognised in casual too but non binaries are confined to university

Waist why are nonBinary less casual than transmasc or transfem? Exist as casual and lower class as trans mascs and femmes. Are you really saying nonbinary inclusion is more important in colleges than in casual social media like... you don't need a degree to not be exorsexist. sincerely an agender who never seen a college from the inside. Sad seeing you get more more exorsexist.

These asks were all sent very close to one another, so I'm responding to them all as if they were one ask.

I never said that nonbinary identities are "academic" or "less casual." Also, I rarely ever see anyone use "academic" to describe nonbinary people- maybe in relation to queer theory, but honestly? It feels like you are stretching here to try and conflate me saying "I don't feel like its worth getting angry about binary language in people's casual Tumblr posts that aren't meant to be in-depth analyses of gender" with "nonbinary people are too complicated" by acting like I was talking about nonbinary people in academia?

When did I say nonbinary inclusion is more important in colleges than social media? Where did I say that sentence?

If you are referencing that recent reblog of the baeddel-txt post, that was specifically in reference to anti-transmasc violence, which is why I only brought up anti-transmasc violence. But additionally, It is frankly quite hard to find good studies focusing on abinary experiences transphobia. Very often, nonbinary people are just grouped into "transmasc" and "transfem," and other times nonbinary people are separated in data by AGAB. I have never seen a study or paper focused exclusively on exorsexism. This sucks! I know it sucks, because a lot of my life has been negatively affected by exorsexism and its very frustrating how little in-depth discussion there is of exorsexism. But honestly when it comes to data around the violence experienced by trans people, the conversation is binary because so much of the data is binary. And, to a certain extent, a lot of nonbinary people's experiences are colored by the binary; exorsexist violence is very real, but a lot of nonbinary people's experiences are anti-transfemininity or anti-transmasculinity or both, even if their experiences can also be different than binary people's generally are with those forms of violence. It is important to be inclusive of nonbinary identities in the discussion of transphobias but frankly there's a lot more nuance when it comes to nonbinary people and transphobic violence, not to mention how a lot of exorsexism (like attacking a person for not being obviously male or female) is seen as synonymous with "general" transphobia, so it gets discussed without being named as exorsexism or misandrogyny.

Anyways. Idk. I think maybe you are reaching a bit with your interpretations of what I'm saying. I said it in that other ask but online communities are pure communication, so language-as-activism is the most obvious and easiest thing to focus on. But I am in fact a nonbinary person who Does Things In Real Life that you do not see. If you are really getting this hanged up on me not caring that much about the language people use in Tumblr posts maybe like. get some perspective?

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

What documentaries on Disney have you watched so far?

I sat down and watched Animat's 12-hour documentary on Disney as a whole, I have sat down and watched the documentaries on Disneyland, I and now am binge watching the Wonderful World of Disney

Oh and then the Mickey Mouse Documentary Mickey the Story of a Mouse,

And then the countless hours I do on my own making sure sources are correct ect because I care that much about accuracy and respecting the sources

I'm not like modern Hollywood writers that will see oh we're handling this famous celebrity and not do any God damn research and butcher them as a result...

From watching everything I have gathered Walt Disney was a very complex individual he definitely deserves the respect and renown he does and yes I get pissed off at people picking on Walt for his actions because nobody brings in mental illness as in big issue,

I really do think Walter Elias Disney had PTSD as a result of events in his life and possibly a reactive problem as a result of things in early childhood this is why he was known to be hard to work with and incredibly stubborn

Doesn't give him an excuse but it should be brought into the arguments of people trying to slander his name as a counterpoint here,

It's like a lot of people don't realize he practically had no hand in Animated movies from 1941 all the way up until the Jungle Book and he didn't even get to see the success of that movie he was that traumatized over the Strikw deal I really do think there was a lot more going on there than has ever been publicized.

Especially since it led to him getting more and more paranoid about communism like he was looking for an escape and reason, it's honestly heartbreaking. He literally practically gave up animation because of what had happened.

Again I can't tell you the amount of Disney documentaries official and unofficial I have watched

But I do applaud animat on being the absolute insane motherfucker to decide hey I'm going to cover the entirety of the Disney repertoire

12 freaking hours long from 1928 to Frozen 2 good god somebody get an honorary award for Animat over that one please,

And that's not even the only one he's covered the man's insane and I say that with all respect!

[overobsessedfanboy23]

Yugioh Best Friends Ranked

So YugiohEverything did this recently and I’ve ranked both the protags and the main girls so I figured, why not? I need something quick and easy to write this morning. Also, since there’s some debate on who counts as the best friend character in each show and I have some notably weird opinions on this, I’ll say right out of the gate which characters I’m including: Joey/Jonouchi, Sho/Syrus, Crow, Shark, Gongenzaka/Gong, Soulburner, and Luke. (Of whom I’m going to use whichever name I’m more to used to using.)

7 Gongenzaka

Honestly, Gongenzaka being the lowest here isn’t a slight against his character at all. There isn’t a bad character from this set to me. Gongenzaka is definitely the weakest but I’ve actually really grown to respect him. I think his style of duelling was really cool, especially the growth of him learning synchro summon despite it being against the traditions he was brought up with. That’s really neat. And the one time he ever did use an action card was against Z-Arc, in an attempt to save his friend, which is a really compelling moment. The only reason he’s the lowest is because I don’t feel like his personality is all that interesting, I definitely like him more for his duelling. He is a very good friend to Yuya though, as I’ve also come to appreciate in my most recent watch of Arc V. So just know, I respect Gongenzaka, I just like these other characters more.

6 Sho Marufuji

Betcha didn’t see this placement coming. I go on and on about how much I love GX and for every other character ranking, GX’s pick would be near the top, if not the top. Sho meanwhile… I do really like him, especially his relationships with Judai and his brother, Ryo and his growth in the series, especially season four but I like the other characters much more.

Still, people dunking on Sho is news to me. People really hate this guy?! Jeez, what did the dub do to him to make him deserve this? (Okay, maybe it is based on the sub but considering how the GX dub is and that it’s one of the more watched dubs, it definitely stands to reason that the dub just screwed him over.)

5 Luke

Luke is a weird one because I feel like he’s probably more like the rival character but out of the main friend group, Yuga undeniably has the closest connection to Luke. So I’ll count him as the best friend. Luke is a lot of people’s favourite character from Sevens and while I do prefer Yuga and Romin, I do enjoy Luke’s dorkiness and even some of his more arrogant moments when they’re done right. It is annoying that he basically never loses but I guess it’s to counteract Yuga, who loses and wins quite evenly. So overall good character.

4 Shark

Yeah, I’m counting Shark as the best friend instead of Bronk. Because Shark is far more prevalent, far more interesting, has more development and purpose in the narrative, and it’s his connection with Yuma that’s given the most focus in the climax of Zexal II. In my mind, Kaito is the rival, he just got screwed by part two. And you know what? I think Shark is a really neat take on the best friend character. He’s definitely Yuma’s friend, and shows that care often, if begrudgingly or in a strange gruff way and that’s really fun and a great counterpoint to Yuma. Also, do I even need to talk about their final duel? Feels out the wazoo.

Honestly though if “main girl” wasn’t a stupid arbitrary category for these shows, I’d argue Kotori is Yuma’s best friend because they actually have a really good platonic dynamic and they make a point of her mere presence boosting Yuma up in the final part of the Barian arc. But for this list, I say and argue Shark.

3 Joey Wheeler

Man, how I’ve grown. Once upon a time, a young man was in quarantine with his younger sibling and, being very bored and needing a distraction, the man agreed to watch a few episodes of this show his sibling liked, of which he’d only ever seen memes of and thought sounded stupid as shit: Yugioh Duel Monsters. On that first watch, the man could not stand Joey, due to his voice, inflated ego, and lack of duelling skills and while the man did grow to respect Joey as a duellist later in the show, he could never bring himself to like his character. Now, two years later, I question what the hell I was thinking because Joey is easily one of the most compelling characters from the original series. Out of everyone on this list, he’s easily the most supportive as a friend. He always has Yugi’s back, up to and including jumping off a cruise ship to save Yugi’s Exodia cards and sacrificing his life for Yugi’s after he breaks free of Marik’s mind control. Heck, he’s willing to die for Mai as well in Battle City and his whole motivation in Duelist Kingdom was to use the prize money to afford his sister’s eye surgery so she wouldn’t go blind. He is such an ideal best friend it’s hard not to respect him, especially my absolute favourite moment of his: surviving the full force of the Winged Dragon of Ra and coming out of it still on his feet. Joey is literally just an average scrappy guy with a deck he threw together and some street smarts and he is duelling on the level of gods. It’s hard not to admire that.

2 Crow

This one and the last one are honestly kind of interchangeable. I like Joey’s role in the narrative better than Crow’s as I will concede that Crow too often took the spotlight away from other characters. This didn’t really annoy me that much outside of WRGP which was just terrible on literally every front and either way. Personality wise however, I do prefer Crow. He is an absolute sweetheart and his backstory was honestly heartwarming, especially that part in the dub where it’s implied he didn’t have a name so one of his first friends named him after one of his cards. I know I’ve brought that up before but it honestly is one of my favourite moments from 5Ds, and Crow is one of my favourite characters in 5Ds. Heck, I even love him in Arc V, despite him being notably more aggressive there. I think it makes sense considering the change to his backstory, which is still really cute, though I will admit his 5Ds backstory is better. I might also be a little biassed because I watched Arc V before 5Ds so Arc V was my first exposure to Crow and I loved him there.

1 Soulburner

Hahahaha, I’m gonna get burned for this one :)

I’m so sorry.

I debated whether I wanted to include Soulburner or Kusanagi on this list because there are good arguments for either of them being the best friend. However, I decided to go with Soulburner since A) I prefer his character and B) 5Ds has been the top pick for one of my lists like this before. So here we go, Soulburner. The adorable sweet dorky bean who sucks at technology in a technology based show and is the one horrifically traumatised character in VRAINS that got proper closure and whose backstory was one of the biggest tearjerker scenes in VRAINS for me and that is saying something considering how much this show made me cry. I really love his dynamic with Yusaku, of being one of the first people Yusaku trusts and of course, Soulburner and Flame are adorable. I love their sassy back and forths and Flame’s death tore me to shreds partially because of just how hard Soulburner took it. Soulburner is just so… outwardly positive and sweet that seeing him break hurts me so deeply, and gets me more invested in his character. I relate to him in a lot of ways, from his little quirks to the way he reacts to those traumatising events he was put through. Also, I didn’t talk about it when I first saw it (because I was still so broken up over Roboppi and was anxious about Ai) but Soulburner vs Revolver is one of the best duels in VRAINS and was a really good resolution to Soulburner’s character arc. So overall, Crow and Joey are probably better best friends but I personally like and relate to Soulburner more so he gets the edge here.

[blackjackkent]

Cultist battle report: Bhaal cultists are scary. This has been the cultist battle report.

Hector and co are also scary at this point and Hector basically evaporates people once he manages to get close to them; the scary thing about these cultists, primarily, was that they all got to go first, strike from stealth, and have about 50 attacks each. But once Hector and Karlach are allowed to do the NINE ATTACKS they do between them per round, anyone in the immediate vicinity is toast. Jaheira has also been spending a lot of time in sabertooth tiger form (particularly now while she is very clearly in the mood to rip someone's throat out) which also gets like 2-3 attacks and can cleave off AC levels. Shadowheart is honestly pretty low-key by comparison, but she mostly stands at the back with a bless and a spiritual weapon up and keeps everyone feeling as badass as possible. So we've got a pretty good group going.

(It occurs to me that if I do slot Minsc in for Shadowheart we'll be losing our healer; I think I'm starting to do well enough at this difficulty level that it won't be TOO much of a problem but it will definitely add complexity. Hm. We shall see!)

But eventually we won. Several ambient comments from the thieves/bank employees we saved in the process, of which this was obviously my favorite:

Hell yeah - Jaheira's a badass. ^_^

She's also having a very, very, VERY bad day and showing it.

"I grow tired of these false faces. Every corner we turn, another - and now it is my face they use to turn Minsc against us."

Her voice cracks and she looks away from him towards the floor. "I am sorry," she mutters. "But... I am just... *tired*."

:( :( :(

I really, really wanted Hector to be able to answer something here along the lines of "Oh, gods, me too, you have no idea," but sadly this was one of the points where none of the available options really seemed particularly Hector-ish.

2 is the only one that seems remotely reasonable as an answer, but it's WAY more optimistic than Hector feels about this situation. He suspects at the very least Minsc is tadpoled, and there are a lot of potential worse-case scenarios piled on top of that.

But... he is tired too. Perhaps too tired to try to explain all the ways this could go wrong when Jaheira is no doubt just as aware of them as he is.

"Why?" he says gently. "We know Minsc is alive. Now we just have to find him."

"It is some defect of the mind, I think," Jaheira snaps bitterly, "to stubbornly insist you are following the light, even as you blunder through the darkness."

(It is, perhaps, a defensive reaction, a cry of pain for those she has lost - so many who brought the light wherever they walked. Caden, of course - the boy from Candlekeep who carried Bhaal in his blood but Selune in his soul, who opened his heart to everyone without reservation even when times were darkest. And Rasaad, whose faith wavered but whose striving for the light never did, who stood at her side and held her hand and searched for purpose along with her when all direction seemed to have faded.

Imoen, always quick with a joke, never phased even by the things that faced them in the most horrible corners of the world. Aerie - young, innocent, a beacon of kindness that smoothed some of the rough edges Jaheira would have presented in her worst moments. And Minsc himself, always joyous in combat and out of it, gleeful always as long as he was among friends and on the path of right.

And farther back still, Khalid who she carries always deepest in her heart, his light voice always a counterpoint to her caution, brave and ferocious in defense of the good but always finding the softer note to strike even when all seemed lost.

What good, she wonders, to carry such light on my own, when all those who carried it with me have slipped beyond my reach?

But they are not all gone. She has new companions now - this new monk of Selune with his pale, sad eyes, who has shouldered her burden alongside her without regret or question - who stands looking at her now and offers an optimism that carries echoes of those who came before him.

The light may be hard to come by. But she is not alone in the dark, if she has the courage to face what is lurking there...)

"Or perhaps the defect is mine," she goes on quietly after a short pause. She swallows, draws a shaky breath and lets it out heavily. "When I left Minsc to this fate... I believed I had no choice. I believe it still; we were ignorant of our enemy, unarmed against the cult. I made the right decision. But I do not like how easily I made it."

Her voice has grown flat, wearier than Hector has ever heard it, full of grief and regret. This is, he realizes, a moment of trust; she is taking him as a confidante, speaking of all that has weighed on her. And so he remains silent and very still, as if any movement might break the fragile moment.

"Minsc would never have left me behind," Jaheira goes on heavily. "No matter what happened." A pause, and then her eyes flash with muted frustration. "That is his problem entire. The past century left Minsc unchanged. And so he believes the world has never changed - that *I* have not. You saw the fool... hanging on the doppelganger's every word, for no other reason than that it wears my face."

He hears the anxious catch in her voice, the note of guilt, and the urgency to explain herself, as if it could push the feelings away from her physically. He shakes his head.

"You don't have to explain, Jaheira," he says gently. "You're worried for your friend. It's not a crime."

She looks at him for a moment steadily, and then a slight smile tugs her lips. He can see the visible shift that he is all too familiar with in himself - putting the feelings aside to be dealt with later, or ideally left behind entirely. "No," she says with sudden briskness. "But snotting into my sleeve while there is still work to do is." She turns away, looking out over the blood-smeared vault. "Come, then. We need a lead. And bullying this banker ought to make me feel better."

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

Honestly with those titles I want to know whatever evey single one of youe wins is about ngl tellll meeeee pleeeeease

Ok, so uh.

Swing My Way is my Spider-Man Steddie fic. Steve is Spider-Man, Eddie is Venom. It's a little Enemies to Lovers, it's a little Save The World, and a lot of me making the Stranger Things characters fit in the Marvel Universe whether they like it or not. I've got like a chapter and a half left to write and then the first draft's done!

Also Swing My Way is a terrible pun because webswinging, and because Steve's bi.

I'd Let Hellfire Consume Me Before I Hurt You is, surprise surprise, also a Steddie fic because I am apparently incapable of writing anything else these days. I've not actually started it yet, but I have a vague plan written down.

It's kind of the magical counterpoint to the more sci-fi Swing My Way - Eddie gets killed and brought back to life as a Ghost Rider, and finds himself in the middle of a mob war that Steve is also somehow involved in (though Eddie's not quite sure how to start with). The closer the two of them get, the more weird shit starts happening, because there's an ancient prophecy that if the Ghost Rider ever falls in love, the world will end, oopsie.

It's about how like light can still be borne even surrounded by darkness, and how good people will find a way to be together even when they don't think they can.

The title is also a work in progress because I think it's a bit too long atm, but I like the double use of Hellfire because Eddie's in the Hellfire Club in the show, and like demons and hell and stuff.

And The Price Of Victory is actually a novel I'm 1/3 of the way through. It's the third part of a triology I've written, after The Depths Of Despair and The Heights Of Insanity, which are my attempt at a horror/Cthulhu mythos type story.

They follow Alex Valmont, a woman who finds herself targetted by the Elder Gods as a vessel to bring Cthulhu through to our dimension once and for all. She and her boyfriend end up fighting his minions no matter where they go, and it starts to take its toll on her mind.

It's what I was writing before I got hit with the Steddie Brainrot like 8 months ago. I will go back to it, because I wanna finish the story, but...not yet.

This is probably more than you wanted to know, but hey.

[certifiedskywalker]

Breathing Room - Bucky Barnes

Thanks to Sharon’s new profession, you have a chance to catch your breath in Madripoor. Though, Bucky never fails at stealing it away.

WARNINGS: drinking (?) and tensiooooonnn

“I’ve never seen him look at anyone like how he looks at you. Except for Steve.”

“It’s not like that,” you persisted as you shook your head.

Ready to prove your counterpoint, you traced the path of Sharon’s pointed gaze. It landed on Bucky who, amidst the party of stiff art connoisseurs and writhing criminals, looked strangely at ease. When you let your gaze linger, you saw him shift against the far wall he was leaned on. His eyes found yours in an instant as if he had been glancing in your direction before. As if he already knew where you were stood.

Under the colored lights that seemed to flash in tune with the music, Bucky’s eyes, once bright and blue, were dark as he focused on you. Despite the heat of all those that danced, you found yourself frozen. A chill rolled up your spine and threatened to overtake you, thrust you in the depths of Bucky’s stare. Only the sound of a knowing, humming sigh freed you.

“Uh-huh, sure. It’s not like that,” Sharon echoed sarcastically. You glared at her as she moved out from behind the bar. She passed a glass of dark liquor over to you with a grin. Gently, you nudged the drink back across the counter and shook your head.

“I’m on a mission.”

“So is he,” Sharon quipped as she tipped her head towards Bucky. Steaming embarrassment rose along your skin as you glanced back over towards the super-soldier. He was no longer fixed on you. He instead squinted at Zemo as the Baron broke it down in the most awkward, display of dance you had ever seen.

“Yeah, and I’m not it.”

“You are, you just won’t admit it,” Sharon sipped at her drink before she continued. “The way he watches you...he’s ready to take a bullet for you.”

“He already has,” you sighed, gesturing to your left arm. “Vibranium, remember? He’s covered me more than once.”

“Couldn’t forget it.”

“Also, he stares at everyone.”

Sharon scoffed, a light laugh slipping from her lips. “Sure, but not like that.”

“Do you really think...he’s hard to read. I don’t know if he really means to…”

“You’re right, he might not mean to look at you like you’re his lifeline, but it doesn’t change the fact that he does.” Sharon downed the rest of her drink and rested the empty glass on the counter. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m on a mission too: to sell some art and information.”

With a wink, she sauntered away, towards a group of individuals clad in formal wear. You watched her go for a moment longer before you shifted your gaze to sneak a glance at Bucky. When you did, you found he was already looking at you, dark eyes fixed on your face. It was tough to tell in the red tones that shone down on him, but you thought you saw Bucky’s mouth quirk the slightest bit upward. Though, you did not stare long enough to see if it morphed into a full-fledged smile.

You were too aware of how your chest tightened to let yourself linger on him. Especially with Sharon’s teasing, her insights, you could not find it in yourself to stare back. Not then, not when there was a chance Bucky felt the same as you had for years, which meant both of you were too stubborn, or too wary, to say anything about it. Even the thought of it knocked the air from your lungs. You eyed the liquor Sharon had poured out for you, considered downing it to distract yourself from the new wave of nerves that washed over you. Before you stretched your fingers out towards the glass, a sudden warmth brushed against your left shoulder.

“You gonna drink that?”

You turned and saw Bucky, his side nearly pressed against yours. The scent of the cologne Sharon had forcibly sprayed on him before the party filled your nose. Fragrant balsam and clove: warm, welcoming, and enough to numb your racing thoughts. When you didn’t respond to his question, Bucky leaned in closer to you with furrowed brows.

“Y/N?” Up close, you noticed just how clear his eyes were, how wholly focused on you he was. Silently you hoped he didn’t detect the shuddering breath you took.

“Yeah,” you said as tipped your head towards the drink, “it’s all yours.”

Bucky nodded at you as he reached for the glass. As he moved, his gaze remained fixed on you and you could not tear your eyes away. The moment the lights flashed an almost natural white, you swore you saw hints of pink on Bucky’s cheeks; but before you could truly tell, the fixtures flickered between blue and red. As Bucky brought the glass to his lips, you forced your eyes to the granite countertop.

To busy your mind, distract yourself from the lure of Bucky’s presence, you traced your fingertips along some of the natural patterns on the stone’s smoothed surface. It was only when you heard the clinking of glass against the countertop over the music that you felt enough courage to face the man stood at your side. Bucky’s eyes were still trained on you when you looked back up at him, full of that same attention Sharon had noted earlier.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink before,” you remarked, “or relaxed.”

“I’m not relaxed,” Bucky said, shouting slightly to be heard over the music. You smiled as he leaned in closer to add, “I don’t think I’ve ever been. Not since….”

“The forties?”

Bucky averted his eyes from you at your teasing question and turned his gaze to the floor. “Well, yeah, honestly.”

The smallness of his voice made your heart ache. Without a moment’s thought, you reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. At your touch, Bucky met your eyes again, and then you saw it. It must have been the glint that Sharon picked up on before. A ferocity, but not one that frightened you. It was a ferocity born of passion, the same, deeply rooted feeling that forced the air from your lungs when you let yourself stare at Bucky for too long.

The passion that you had kept bottled in your chest since you met him, the real Bucky, not the Winter Soldier. It had taken so long for you to truly see him and he was just finally seeing himself. Until the party and Sharon’s observations, you hadn’t realized that maybe he was seeing you too. How long had you been blind to each other, giving each other breathing room when all you wanted was to be close?

“Honestly, I think you look good,” you said, with a confidence that surprised you.

Bucky cocked his head to the side slightly, with the faintest hints of a smile on his lips. “Really? I don’t...it’s been...I haven’t been to a party since the forties. I haven’t danced…”

“You look great, Bucky,” you pressed as you let your hand fall from his shoulder. Bucky blinked at you a few times as if trying to compute your compliments. You gave him a soft smile, an expression that he, shockingly, returned.

“So do you, Y/N.”

The way he said your name sent another chilling shiver down your spine and tightened your chest. Your breath grew ragged and you became suddenly self-conscious about the volume of your breathing. Though, when you noticed how Bucky’s chest rose and fell a bit more rapidly than before, your worries faded. They melted into the music and the smell of his, Sharon’s, cologne until all you felt was warmth and light.

“Do you want to danc-”

Before Bucky could ask his question in full, a drunken party-goer knocked into your back and sent you leaning off your stool. As you tipped forward into him, Bucky opened his arms to catch you. The cool metal of his left arm dug into your waist as your hands braced against his chest. Once you found your footing, you glanced up at Bucky.

“Are you alright?” His eyes scanned over your face as he asked. Yet, all you really heard was Sharon’s voice: he’s ready to take a bullet for you. Ready to fight for you too.

“I’m fine.”

Despite your assertion, Bucky looked past you and towards the person that had nearly knocked you over. For a moment, you saw the man that Zemo had ordered around in the Power Broker’s bar. He wasn’t your Bucky. The passion had turned to anger in his eyes. Quickly, you trailed your hands up from his chest to cup the sides of his face.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” you forced Bucky’s face to turn until his eyes found yours. “I’m fine. Are you fine?”

Bucky didn’t respond. Instead, he just stared down at you, his eyes flickered from your eyes to your lips and back again. Gently, you rubbed the pads of your thumbs along the peaks of his cheekbones. At the contact, eyes glinted and you knew he was the Bucky you loved again. The scruff that lined his jaw and grew up the sides of his face prickled and tickled the skin of your palm as he drew in closer.

Suddenly, there was no more breathing room; but you were so wonderfully okay with that. Each breath you each took mingled between you until there was no space at all. Bucky’s lips brushed softly against yours, a tentative ask for permission before you closed the gap. He tasted like whiskey as you kissed and, when his arms tightened around your waist, you felt that you might drown in him.

You were prepared to do just that when you heard someone loudly clear their throat. With a small gasp for air, you and Bucky parted and turned your attention away from the other. Sam, clad in Sharon’s spare turtle neck, stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing grin on his lips. Your hands slipped from Bucky’s face and the super soldier’s arms went a little more slack around your waist.

“So, if you two are done, Sharon found Nagel.”

“Y-yeah,” you stammered, “we’ll...follow you.”

Sam glanced at you then Bucky and back again. “You really gotta work on your timing. We’re on a mission, guys. Seriously.”

Before you or Bucky could comment, Sam started off towards Zemo and Sharon. You glanced up at Bucky who seemingly sensed your eyes and looked back at you.

“He’s not wrong.”

“Don’t tell him that.”

[the-english-student-studyblr]

Writing a dissertation: topics

So one of the most important parts of the whole process is choosing a topic. There's like a million and one guides on the internet on how to do this (I know, because I looked) but the truth is, it has to be something you choose for yourself. Most guides will tell you what topics are easiest to research, or what ones are the most 'prestigious', but none of that's really useful if you don't find it interesting (yes, this is aimed at every advice column that told me to write about Dickens).

Ease of research, or how much research has already been done, is important, of course, but that shouldn't be the first thing you consider. And 'prestige' is a stupid concept anyway so ignore anyone who mentions it.

The first thing you should probably think about is what modules/classes you enjoyed most. These may give you an approximate idea of the area you want to explore. If, for example, you loved your module on Medieval poetry, this might be your field. If you really hated post-modernism, don't try and write about Virginia Woolf.

If that worked, then try and consider what specific topics piqued your interest. If you did a week in an American lit class about Native American literature and thought it was the coolest thing, take a closer look at that. If someone brought up an ancient folktale that inspired lots of writers and that's a topic you find fascinating, go do some reading.

If looking at your current academic journey hasn't helped, consider what you read for pleasure. (To clarify: this advice is for English lit students, unless you do outside research on your own field of study). If your favourite book of all time is a well-known and highly regarded fantasy or sci-fi novel you can write about that. I have read an article about Misty of Chincoteague. I have seen countless articles about Ursula K. le Guin. I have seen entire books about Tolkien and Lord of the Rings. The truth is, no topic is too obscure really, so long as the interest is there.

THAT BEING SAID, the amount of prior research is important. If you really want to write about a specific text, and there's very little research, don't let it stop you (certainly hasn't stopped my teachers setting texts published in 2019 for essay work) but do consider it when planning your dissertation topic. Is it something that can be worked around? Is there a grounding in literary theory that you could use to pad out your argument? Are there other relevant texts by that author with more academic interest that you could tie in?

As a counterpoint, if there's loads of research already, that actually can be quite limiting. If you're writing about Romeo and Juliet, for example, someone has probably written almost exactly what you wanted to say already. You have to be very original to write a good dissertation about a well-known text. It can be very hard to do something new with a text like that. Honestly, though, as long as it's something you're passionate about, you'll find a way to make it work.

As a final thing to consider, if you get the option to choose your own supervisor, think about what lecturers you like, or would enjoy working with. There's that joke about uni students imprinting on teachers like ducklings and following them around the department, but it's not baseless. If there's a teacher you really like, and share interests with, you can try and guide your research towards something they would be able to help you with, or that you could work together on. It's something you have to be careful with, and you can't force it, but it's something to consider when all else fails.

[darriness]

Klaine Fic - July Heat Wave - Day 2 - Jerk

Author: darriness

Word Count: 1068

Rating: Explicit

Summary: An experiment

Author's Note: For the Tan Hands and Tan Lines Track B Event! I could only incorporate the one word today!

AO3 Link

Blaine feels more than sees the jerk of Kurt’s body on his stool next to him. He won’t lie and say the action doesn’t cause him to smirk...just like it has the other eight times it’s happened in the past twenty minutes. Not that Blaine’s counting…

...okay he’s totally counting.

Kurt lets out a puff of air and Blaine turns to watch his boyfriend lift his glass of ice water toward his lips. He takes a shaky sip and then puts the glass back down near, but not exactly on top of, the condensation ring it had previously left behind.

Blaine leans an elbow onto the counter in front of him, rests the side of his head on his hand, and smiles sweetly at Kurt.

“You doing okay, baby?” He asks.

Kurt’s eyes squint into a glare and he looks side long at Blaine next to him. Blaine is only peripherally aware of the noises of the diner around them.

Kurt’s glare doesn’t hold long before he sighs and presses his hands against the counter, pushing away so his arms are straight and tense, “I know I agreed to this, but...I honestly didn’t think it would be this hard.”

Blaine takes a quick look around the diner to make sure no one is watching them - it’s New York City, no one is watching them - before he slides his hand onto Kurt’s thigh. He can’t help but smirk when Kurt’s body jolts again.

“Was that you making a corny pun? Those are usually my department.” Blaine says.

Kurt huffs out a humourless laugh, “Forgive me.” He says, “I’m not thinking straight.” He licks his lips before dropping his voice slightly, “I currently have a rather large plug in me. It’s causing my attention to drift.”

Blaine bites his lip at the mention of the plug he remembers inserting into Kurt not even thirty minutes ago now. They’d decided to try something new, something a little daring, something a little more spicy. And while Blaine had been fully prepared to be the one on the receiving end, he’d been pleasantly surprised when Kurt had said he wanted to. Blaine shifts in his seat at the memory of Kurt’s gorgeous ass stretching to accommodate the plug.

“You’re doing...really well.” Blaine whispers, not realizing how much hotter it would make him to give the praise.

If Kurt’s eyelashes fluttering is any indication, he finds receiving the praise just as hot.

“Oh God, I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.” Kurt whispers, staring at the table.

Blaine squeezes the thigh still under his palm, “What do you need?” He asks.

Kurt blinks a few times before looking at Blaine with wide eyes. He slides off the stool and grabs Blaine’s hand. Blaine goes willingly, figuring he’s being led home, but instead Kurt takes him through the diner and down the staircase where the bathroom sign points.

The further they go, the quieter the sounds of the diner become, until it’s just the two of them and the hum of some sort of machine in the basement of the building. Kurt tugs Blaine into the single person washroom, locks the door, and turns to Blaine whose eyes are now just as wide as Kurt’s.

“Are you serious?” Blaine asks.

Kurt tugs Blaine toward him and gives him a kiss that is dirty from the start, “I need you to get me off. I’m not going to last until we get home.”

Blaine is nodding, dumbly, before Kurt is even finished talking. He reaches between them and makes short work of Kurt’s button and fly. When he reaches inside to palm Kurt as best as he can, Kurt’s head thumps back against the wall as he groans.

The room is barely big enough to fit them both, but Blaine doesn’t care as he tugs Kurt’s pants and briefs down around his ass and positions himself to start jerking Kurt’s cock in his fist.

Kurt’s feet almost slip out from under him as he moans and closes his eyes. Blaine pulls his hand away to quickly reach into his pocket for the small packet of lube he’d brought with him in case they’d need more (always be prepared). He coats his hand and then it’s back on Kurt’s cock, tugging and twisting the way he knows Kurt likes.

One of Kurt’s hands reaches up to fist Blaine’s shirt at his shoulder and he whines, “Already close.” He says and Blaine redoubles his efforts, “Please...the plug…” Kurt pants.

Blaine doesn’t slow his hand, but reaches with his other to grasp the base of the plug. He pulls it out, in counterpoint to his hand on Kurt’s erection, and then pushes it back in.

Two thrusts is all Kurt needs. He comes with a long drawn out moan and Blaine pants as his fingers are coated.

Kurt slumps against the wall and brings a hand up to cup Blaine’s cheek, “You are...amazing.” He says with a dreamy expression on his face.

Blaine, who is almost vibrating with need, gives a shaky smile, “I would disagree. YOU are the amazing one.” He surges forward and kisses Kurt’s slack lips. Kurt responds lazily, too satiated to put any real effort into it.

“Do you think you can wait until we get home?” Kurt asks when Blaine pulls away, “I’d like to...take my time with you.”

Blaine bites his lip. He’s honestly not sure.

“I can try.” He says.

Kurt pats his cheek before pushing off the wall. The movement causes him to groan, “Oh, I actually forgot that was there.” He says, gesturing behind himself.

“Do you want me to take it out?” Blaine asks.

Kurt considers for a moment before shaking his head, “It’s not that far until we’re home. And I don’t think I’m ready to be the couple that carries a sex toy home in plain sight.”

Blaine smirks, “Good point.”

He helps Kurt right his clothing, even though that action alone is enough to leave Blaine tense and panting, before the couple makes their way up the stairs and out of the diner.

“I can’t believe I just jerked you off in a public washroom.” Blaine whispers.

Kurt smirks as he grabs Blaine’s hand in his and lets their joined hands swing between them, “I may have to burn these clothes now but...totally worth it.” He winks.

[cruelfeline]

Same Anon, sorry to bring this up again since you've stated your discomfort with it but I really feel the need to point things out

One counterpoint about Glimmer's character being sacrificed or whatever you said. We literally had an entire season dedicated to Glimmer, one where she could've brought up Angella's "death" to C*tra, but they didn't (also wasn't she left to die in that burning hideout? Plus didn't Glimmer came close on killing her again) Glimmer's forgiveness cuts trough because she too was driven to the point of making a grave mistake resulting into a near catastrophe like C*tra did, (who then sacrifices herself, and dies ) The Portal Machine. Wow, okay it honestly seems to me you only hold her accountable for Angella. Yeah Hordak and Entrapta started to get second thoughts, but they've been working on this since season 2 they ultimately built it with the intention on making it work "till its perfect", after failed trials. shouldn't all three be held accountable actually ? Shoving the blame entirely only on the mentally ill teenager who takes it a step further (As N*elle said too) seems unfair, this isn't about age differences by the way before you come to me with that meta. But from a way to emphatize what this show seems to revolve around. Your response is exactly what I mean by you woobifying Hordak=garbage C*tra But yeah I know what blogs to stay away from now. Sort of bummer cause I love Entrapdak too.

Bye 👋

The only answer I have for you, anon, is that you are exactly the sort of Catra stan that makes people dislike Catra.

You have gone ahead and ensured that I enjoy her just that little bit less. Be proud; you did that! All by yourself! Good work!

And that's the only response you're worth.

Oh! Save for this, because yikes: yes. I absolutely hold solely Catra accountable for Angella. Because she was the one who pulled the lever after attempting to kill Entrapta for trying to stop her from doing just that. And lying to Hordak about the whole thing.

Blaming all three is like... blaming a car manufacturer in addition to blaming the drunk driver who ran someone over.

also also the whole "til it's perfect" bit was their way of saying "work on it indefinitely and pretend to never be satisfied with it so that we have the excuse to be together forever" but that clearly just *whoosh* over your head

Your using her mental illness as a way to excuse this: peak Catra stan.

Just. *chef's kiss*

Magnificent.

[deathonyourtongue]

Sanguine Nocturnus | 3

Summary: Even after 2000 years, the world can still surprise you. Pairing: AU!Henry Cavill x OFC Word Count: 1.6K Warnings: It’s a vampire fic. Death. Blood. Gore. Sex. Horror. Not for the kiddies or the squeamish. I mean it. A/N : Thank you to everyone who’s been so excited and supportive of this one. I can’t even begin to tell y’all how much good stuff is in store for y’all!

The sun seemed different in Rome. Brighter, more nourishing somehow. Carla watched how the early morning light played against the soapy bubbles she brushed along her skin, smiling at the oil-slick colors and the sharp bursts of white whenever one popped. Even plain water looked different as it flowed over her, Carla admiring the little sunbursts that topped her pert nipples as the water brought goosebumps to nearly every inch of her. 

The water, so far, was her only complaint. Harder than what she was used to in New York, it had forced her to switch from her favorite shampoo to an Italian brand that promised to work even with the most mineral-deposited water; it was no wonder the locals preferred to drink bottled spring water wherever they went. Even her apartment’s size didn’t bother Carla. What her unit lacked in space, it more than made up for in natural light, French doors opened out to small verandas on each side of her corner unit, and medium-sized windows next to her front door gave Carla a scenic view of her building’s courtyard.

Stepping out of the shower, Carla took a moment to look at herself in the mirror, her smile growing in excitement as she thought about what the night would hold. Having been kind enough to give her a week to acclimate, Romulus’ owner had asked that she work her first shift on Friday the 13th. Far from being leery of the date, Carla found it only fitting given the atmosphere of the bar. Remembering she had all day to play sightseer again, she padded into her room to get dressed, only to find a big, near-blinding ray of sun sweeping across her bed. 

Dropping her towel, Carla crawled back into bed with a grin, intent on enjoying the sun for just a moment longer while the residual water dried on her legs. There was something daring about being nude just inside a second-story window, and while back home she would have drawn a crowd of gawkers in the building across the street, her view now held only the Palazzo Borghese, the blue sky, and the tans and terracottas of Rome. In short, she was in heaven. 

Since landing in Rome and settling into her apartment, Carla had decided that each day, she would pick a direction, and walk, intent on simply seeing the city as organically as possible. Some days she ended up at the Colosseum, marveling over the ruins, and others, in a little bookstore that specialized in first editions and rare finds. It kept the lonely and restless nature of her mind at bay, and in her opinion, was the best way to honor her mother’s wishes and heritage. 

Carla’s walk took her to the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian, and for the first time since arriving at Rome, her fascination for history was paralleled by an anxiety that she was wasting her degree. Having studied History at NYU, she’d always banked on getting a job at a museum or a library, but with each rejection, that dream had become further and further away. Now, with an opportunity to start anew, she wanted to try that path again. The more she walked through the ancient archways and old relics, the more confident she became that she would make something of herself, even after all this time.  

After a light lunch in the nearby piazza, Carla made her way home, stopping to grab a few things at the pharmacy and the little market near her apartment. One thing was certain, the pace in Rome was far more to her liking than home had ever been, and though the city was bustling, she didn’t feel the constant rush to get everything done like she had in New York. It eased her stress in a way she hadn’t even considered, and by the time she was back in her apartment, Carla felt light as air. 

Unsure of whether Romulus allowed their employees to eat dinner on-site, Carla made an early plate of pasta and readied herself for work. Donning black jeans, a black t-shirt, and her most trusted pair of boots, she added a deep red lip, feeling as though the color would not only act as a counterpoint to all the black, but that it would suit the mood of the bar. Nervous butterflies flitted through her stomach as she threw on a black motorcycle jacket and headed for the door, hoping she’d done enough to impress her new boss. 

Romulus’ owner, Fredo, was just as warm and complimentary in person as he’d been over the phone, and in no time, Carla had made herself at home behind the bar, grateful not only for the job, but for the fact that she had full control of her space. There were no other bartenders to contend with, no toes to step on. She was given free reign to do things her way, and that was more than enough to set her at ease. The only thing she’d been warned not to do was get rid of a drink called Sanguinem, one Carla had honestly never heard of. 

Coming in an ornate deep blue bottle with a crystal stopper, it looked like the design and marketing hadn’t changed since its inception. Curious, she’d poured herself a half shot of the stuff while on her first break and swirled it around in her mouth, spitting it out just as fast as she’d drank it. Sharp and metallic, she’d barely been able to pick up hints of blackcurrant and cherry before her mind had told her to eject the liquid. Intensely interested in finding out what kind of person would order such a foul-tasting concoction, Carla spent the first half of her shift hoping someone would order it. 

It would be two weeks before anyone did.

Despite having spoken Italian with her mother all her life, Carla had found herself freezing when she had to converse with native speakers, her mind tongue-tying her to the point where those she was speaking with often took pity on her and switched to English. Still, despite the occasional language barrier, Carla found Italians, as a whole, far more agreeable customers than their American counterparts. People were simply happy to be out and enjoying themselves, and they couldn’t be bothered to berate someone who was plying them with drinks. The laid back attitude helped her settle at Romulus, in much that same way she’d eased into Italian life in general and though there were times when her anxiety about the future still plagued her, most nights, she was too busy to even give it a second thought. 

On the first Saturday in December, Carla’s routine set of faces and orders changed, anxiety once more taking a back seat to the group of three stunning creatures that walked into Romulus unannounced, but very much known by the other customers. Carla watched, fascinated, as some of the patrons all but threw their money at her in their haste to leave, while others moved tables and seats closer to the semi-circular booth the group had chosen at their location for the night. Those who left seemed disturbed, and those who stayed, entranced. Without even needing to think about it, Carla knew she fell into the latter category; the two men and one woman all looked like demigods. 

Dressed almost too formally for the bar, the tallest of the three caught her eye first. Dark curls hung just to his brow, framing a jaw that seemed cut from marble and was nearly the same color as the statues of old. It was his eyes that took Carla’s breath away however, their shade reminiscent of tropical waters, their intensity almost neon. Wearing an all black suit with the shirt unbuttoned to reveal a thick thatch of hair, Carla was certain he could have any woman in Romulus that he so much as looked at.

His friends were no slouches either, the other man wearing a navy suit with a cream turtleneck, and the woman wearing a dress that had all the hallmarks of being couture and vintage. All three were brunettes of differing shades, their hair color setting off the pallor of their skin and the alien-like brightness of their eyes. They were, in short, immaculate. 

When the man in the turtleneck rose and made his way over to the bar, Carla forgot where she was. She watched his lips move, not hearing a word of what was said, too caught up in his overall presence to pay any attention to what was happening. It wasn’t until she realized he was waving his hand in front of her face that Carla came to her senses. Blushing, she shook her head and gave him her best smile. 

“What can I get you?” She asked, stumbling over her Italian and feeling the temperature in the room go up several notches as the man smiled back. 

“Two bottles of Sanguinem, and three chilled coupes, please.” The man’s words felt like they were coming from inside her own head and Carla was once more left rooted into place, unable to process how he could make himself be heard so clearly over the din of the music and other patrons. 

Blinking hard, she moved to grab the bottles, glad that she’d done her prep work prior to opening and that she had several of each kind of glass in the chiller, ready to go. Carla made a mental note of the type of stemware that paired with the drink, wondering if there’d be any variation in how it was taken; straight, on the rocks, or with a twist. 

The man in the turtleneck nodded his thanks, tapping one long finger against the list next to the till,  on top of the name Vinicius. Nodding her understanding that he had a tab with the bar, Carla watched as he headed back to the table and began to serve the other two, her glance quickly moving towards the dancefloor when all three of them turned to look at her with their piercing gazes.

[paragonrobits]

today’s ATLA idea!

The actual character and mannerisms of the spirits is not something often brought up in fandom debate, but when it does, Koh is usually singled out as an extreme of spirits at their most malicious, but i suggest a counterpoint:

spirits are not human. They certainly have ideas and feelings, but their own codes of conduct and moral definitions may be very different from humans, and would present the most difficult aspect of the Avatar’s role in maintaining harmony between the selfish short-term perspective of humans, and the demands of the spirits.

we don’t honestly know enough about the spirits in the ATLAverse, but it stands to reason that they work by the standards of an animistic setting; its a common assumption that the spirits embody specific concepts or places (as Hei Bai certainly seemed to, as do Tui and La, and I like the idea that Koh is actually a spirit of empathy), though it’s not actually stated anywhere. If so, it stands to reason that what a spirit mainly cares about is its domain, and it tends to not understand or care about human distinctions.

for example, Hei Bai had its forest burned down by Fire Nation soldiers. he then took his revenge out on a nearby village. the villagers were not responsible, but he does not care; humans did it, and humans needed to pay. consequently, the distinction of nations do not matter to the spirits (though this is probably a not to the idea that the nations are ultimately a false divide; the spirits see truly).

So, let’s go to Koh again. Is he evil?

I submit that as far as spirits are concerned, ‘evil’ is a human distinction that does not have much relevance for a spiritual entity that simply does what is in its nature to do.

would a spirit of love be more ‘good’ than a spirit that brings floods, as a basic consequence of their nature? It’s not really a moral decision, anymore than humans breathing is a moral decision. So, with Koh, his stealing of faces is frightening, sure, but does this actually make him evil?

As far as we can tell, it simply is him just being him. Its what he does, its what he is. Hence the idea of him being related to the idea of empathy; he is quite literally looking at things through the perspective of someone else.

Raava and Vaatu from LOK also deserve this kind of mentality; rather than order vs chaos, or good vs evil, it should probably be presented of them as existence vs dissolution. Vaatu need not be malicious, or empowered by hate, but simply doing what is in his nature and purpose, with as much malice in it as a plant growing. Sure, it might be bad if he fulfilled that function, but you might say the same thing about preventing a flood. The ground is shaped perfectly to allow waters to build up, and waters smash buildings and humans alike without mercy when they come crashing down, but you don’t say the flood is evil on its own.

Genuine malice is a very human thing.

[sunsetcurve]

I would like to hear the why you hate dr essay, if you don’t mind

buckle up everyone. i’ve been enabled and now you’re never going to get me to shut up.

warning: this is about to get super long, because i have a lot of thoughts about this, and this might be my only opportunity to just...go off. so here’s my whole ass thesis on why i hate dr. colosso. keep in mind that this is the product of several rewatches and a lot of character analysis on my part, because i tend to do that frequently. also, i’d like to start this off with a quick disclaimer: i do think colosso’s role in the show is very important; if you asked me if i’d get rid of him completely i’d say no, but there are definitely things i would’ve done differently with his portrayal, and we’ll get into that later.

when i watched the show for the first time i really didn’t like colosso, but i kind of chalked that up to the fact that he was annoying and left it there. there’s always been something about him that rubs me the wrong way, though. i’ve been doing a rewatch recently (as you’ve probably gathered from my posts) and that combined with talking to @ciara-knightly about it for a while helped me understand why i find his presence to be genuinely problematic.

i’m gonna start with the most obvious thing: he’s a bad influence on max. they of course directly address this in the show, but what i feel like is important to understand here is that colosso’s influence isn’t like “oh he’s max’s troublemaker friends who eggs him on to do bad stuff sometimes haha”. colosso, despite being a bunny, is still actually a supervillain max’s father’s age, and he uses that to manipulate max a lot. talking about it with shona made me realize that especially early on, max really didn’t have anyone else in his life who was willing to listen to his ideas or encourage his skills, specifically inventing gadgets. in canon his parents almost never praise his work, even when he’s not using it for evil (see: phoebe’s a clone now), but colosso is shown to be someone who both helps him with his experiments and keeps him going at them. i’m dipping into character analysis instead of straight up canon here, but it’s pretty clear to understand the impact this would’ve had on max—he’s a kid who wants approval and colosso gives it to him, and in turn max listens to colosso’s ideas and often does what he tells him. i’m not saying that max is completely at colosso’s will, of course—max is very self-driven and that wouldn’t be giving him enough credit, but at the same time, we know very little about the actual process of max’s decision to be a villain, and i really don’t doubt that colosso had a lot to do with it. in the show we see colosso frequently urging max to leave his family behind, and there’s an arc where we literally see max starting to become a better person because of his friends and colosso telling him to ditch them (see: exit stage theft). we also see colosso preying on max’s insecurities, specifically his comparison of himself to phoebe, in order to further his descent into villainy.

the reason i prefaced this by saying colosso’s role in the show is important is because i genuinely think max’s villain arc would’ve been closed much sooner without colosso’s influence. colosso was a huge factor in not only exposing max to the world of supervillains but also in deepening the rift between him and his parents. so everything i said above does actually make sense, writing-wise, within the context of the show—colosso is a supervillain, he’s supposed to be manipulating max, and he is the main factor driving the progression of max’s villain arc.

but now i’m going to get into why i think that from a writer’s standpoint, his role in the show is problematic, especially post-season three.

a lot of it has to do with the fact that none of what i said above is ever really addressed in canon. there are throwaway lines about how colosso was a bad influence on max but there was no recognition of the fact that without colosso, max likely wouldn’t have strayed as far into villainy as he did. more importantly, though, the main issue i had with the writing of max’s arc was that there was no discussion about why he felt so strongly about colosso, and what colosso’s presence said about his relationship with his parents.

like i said before, max needed someone in his life who was willing to give him the approval and validation that he was looking for. in the show his redemption arc comes down to his relationship with his family, but at no point in the show did he actually want to harm his family, so i think there’s a bigger picture here—i honestly think that a big part of it was that at that point in his life, max had sort of grown past the need to be told his worth; he clearly still had his insecurities, but having friends, a girlfriend, and a life outside of his family (where he felt unseen) gave him a more concrete role. the point here that i’m trying to make is that max’s arc essentially came down to his own perception of his self-worth. the reason colosso was able to influence him so strongly was because as i said before, he was the one who gave max the validation he wanted. and this is why i felt like max’s arc was really one-sided—his parents’ lack of attention towards him and pretty blatant favoritism towards phoebe was clearly a huge factor in max’s arc that was never brought up again. the reason that i say i would’ve changed colosso’s role after max’s redemption is because until that point, colosso had been sort of a stand-in for max’s parents in his life, but one who took advantage of him. i wish the show had gone towards a more well-rounded reconciliation between max and his parents, and an acknowledgement of their mistakes and the fact that max was able to be so strongly influenced by colosso because he didn’t feel like he had anyone else. instead, they pretty much glossed over and trivialized max’s reasons for wanting to be a villain in the first place, and the dynamics within the family didn’t actually change—his parents still showed pretty clear favoritism towards phoebe (see: thundermans: banished!) and max still went to colosso for approval and advice. i think the only really central thing that changed was max’s relationship with phoebe, and that was incredibly important for max’s development and i liked the way it played out, but i still would’ve had more conversation between max and his parents about how things went down.

(also, i think hank and barb’s decision to let their supervillain-turned-bunny bunk with their teenage—possibly preteen at the time—son is a little bit sketchy. that’s all i’m saying.)

and now comes the counterpoint that max and colosso are best friends. which—that statement in and of itself has always rubbed me the wrong way. i’m not here to argue whether or not colosso loves max; he very clearly does (see: a hero is born, the thunder games), but it’s a selfish and possessive sort of caring. colosso doesn’t actually care about what’s best for max, or whether or not he’s happy. he hated allison, he didn’t want max to reconcile with his family, he tried to separate max from his friends. he essentially just wants max for himself, and that sort of dynamic is incredibly toxic no matter how close they are. there’s also something to be said about the age difference between them: max is a teenager and colosso is at least his father’s age, and this is not me trying to dismiss the relationship that kids can have with important adults in their life—i, personally, have had really strong relationships with teachers and mentors to the point where i consider them good friends—but the issue is that with those sort of relationships there is always a sense of the older person being like a mentor and influencing the younger one, and while that can often be a really good thing it can also, like in colosso’s case, be a bad thing.

and going off of the age difference, let’s get into the final and most prominent reason that i hate colosso. the show pretty frequently makes jokes that mirror romantic partnerships when it comes to max and colosso. i can cite so many instances when colosso calls max pet names or the situation is modeled after a marriage or colosso makes sort of flirty advancements towards max, but it’s fine because it’s all for humor, right? and colosso’s a bunny, right? except he’s actually a fifty-something year old man, and max is a teenager. and while those jokes have always made me superbly uncomfortable, my general rule of thumb during my rewatch has been “if colosso was human right now, how creepy would this be?” and the answer is almost always very. very very creepy. i don’t think i need to go into too much analysis on why i hate this so much but colosso’s “flirting” with max is just genuinely disgusting and is the main reason i can’t stand him as a character.

this is veering into 1.6k territory so i’m going to try and wrap it up here. the tl;dr for this is that while i think colosso played a pretty pivotal role in the show, i wish in the end part of max’s arc would’ve been about breaking away from him instead of remaining in a very toxic dynamic with a supervillain his father’s age. i think colosso could’ve eventually been redeemed if it came down to it, but overall i wish there had been more acknowledgement of exactly how colosso affected max before they became “friends” again, and especially hank and barb’s failures when it came to max feeling unheard. if you actually read this all the way through i’m applauding you, and thank you for asking to see this essay because i love doing character/writing analysis stuff like this. until next time!

[bouvillea]

G25 Part 2 Essay, Very Dense

There is very little I will say as a preamble besides that Part 2 was a very powerful conclusion to an extremely climatic arc. That being said, spoilers below and my Part 1 essay can be found here.

I will start by saying that although I am quite satisfied with this ending I wish things could have ended differently. This is the first time we were given antagonists who were actual individuals we had to overcome. And in doing so, we were faced with people who had powerful reasons and motivations to sacrifice for. That is something I will come back to later so—

In a broad overview of the plot of Part 2, we were given an uplifting reunion with Talvish, who claims that his decisions and choices were made with the Milletian’s best interests in mind. And it’s nice* to work together after so long, to finally have him fulfill the promise of being with the Milletian at the very end. There is a sweet moment where the roles are reversed and the Milletian asks him if he is alright. Instead of being asked to trust him, he wholeheartedly puts his trust in the Milletian.

*if you know me even just a little, you know I simp hard for this man and let me tell you I went from “I will be the first one to punch him” to “please don’t go” in a matter of minutes

And then, when everything is rewound and the Milletian is able to protect their friends and prevent the worst possible ending, all the Good Guys have a Good Time. This is of course, glossing over the fact that Deirbhile sacrificed herself, Tani dying with a finality that Milletians shouldn’t have, Piran falling apart, Treasure Hunter breaking down, and Marleid conflicted over what to do with her extremely Problematic Childhood Friend.

We still got to have a good time! We got to revel with our friends! Speak with everyone and catch up and talk and chat and eat and—

It was nice but I am very bitter because those good times only emphasized how different it ended for Cethlenn and Vayne.

If Part 1 was about trauma, Part 2 was about breaking out of predestiny and walking a different path that was set before you. This comes quite literally when Talvish appears and rewinds time* to save the Milletian from the future he saw. He (and later, Hymerark) reveals to us something that touches the fourth wall:

*not sure why I was so surprised that he could manipulate time in such a way when the Milletian’s first meeting with him was through time. Maybe I just thought it was through the Milletian’s powers that they managed to communicate but clearly Talvish’s powers were doing something.         Oh dang it makes sense why he isolated himself in a desert for centuries now…because he can’t affect time that he has been personally involved in

The ability to redo main storyline missions when we fail them is quite literally the Milletian, breaking the flow of time to try again until we succeed. Due to the nature of altering timelines, those uninvolved with the messing of time don’t remember all the previous attempts. Later, it is revealed that all our redoes and failures have a negative impact on Erinn; it increases the entropy in the world as different realities are created and then stopped. Tani is a result of that.

It is further revealed that Vayne⁠—or I should say now, Beimnech, is a singularity who experiences all these timelines and realities. He must return to Mag Tuireadh whenever the flow of time breaks because it is the role he has been forced into by Hymerark. He is the counterpoint for Talvish. The two are diametrically opposed, canonical foils with mirroring ideals and views of the world. Beimnech mentions during Eternal Dreams that he has seen Milletians fail to convince Talvish* to change his mind about the world, or fail to garner enough faith in their friends. In the current timeline, Talvish is enlightened by the Milletian and so takes control of his fate and chooses to rewind time instead of having it cut off and restart.

*It is implied that Talvish also experiences the different timelines over and over again, but he forgets it the moment the timeline is replaced with a new one. Alternatively, Beimnech is also taken out of time and space whenever the flow is broken, so the cycles are even more unbearable because he is forced to witness them as an outsider.

Beimnech did not have the liberty of meeting the Milletian before he met Hymerark. Unlike Talvish, he could not surround himself with equal companions and could not hope for a life where he was not just fulfilling a role to balance the world. The only way he could have some control over his own fate as cycles repeated over and over again was to orchestrate his own death*. He remarked before in G24 that had he and the Milletian walked different paths, they could have been friends and not enemies. Both he and Talvish see the Milletian as a savior—as a guiding, bright light. But while Talvish burned alongside the Milletian, Beimnech burned out like dying embers** or a shadow too weak to hold up against illumination.

*maybe it’s selfish, but who can blame him when he only has himself? I seethe with the unfairness of characters that have no choice but to be the “darkness” to contrast the “light”. The “what could have been if things were different” hurts as do the inability to break free from what was laid out. I seethe, but that means the story is doing as intended and I am by no means criticizing, just empathizing (I’d highkey write something like this ngl I am a ball of angst).

**the refrain that plays when the Milletian is prompted to deal the final blow to Beimnech is called The Last of the Heat Fades/Residual Heat Fades Away.

Beimnech’s disappointment in the Milletian in Part 1 is suddenly very understandable. He had pinned all his hopes in one person and he knew they were going to fail. We even saw him return to end the Corrupted Milletian in the future that we never got to witness. He did for the Milletian what he hoped they would do to him*. And then for once, to have time rewind instead of abruptly ending? I can’t imagine…

*I chose to not stab him. Apparently that gives you more of his backstory. Regardless of the decision, when he tells you he lies for the first and last time about his death…

Something can be said about Cethlenn, too, who was “emptied out” by Fodla. His current name, Cethlenn, was given to him by Beimnech, which honestly if you know your myth and lore spawns so much food for thought*. Speaking to Cethlenn in Tech Duinn on Saturdays reveals that Beimnech gave him that name because he always wanted a right-hand man with that name. Whatever that implies to the nature of their relationship… If you have the time, please, please speak to him with all the keywords at your disposal. It’s worth it.

*another food for thought includes Sera being the one to help Piran escape and Beimnech noticing that. Beimnech being Super Old and Super Tired with so much bottled up Memories and Experience like the opposite of Talvish With a Purpose okay one day I will actually write a whole essay about their foils⁠—

Ultimately, Cethlenn is given the choice to be the watcher in the mists of Feth Fiada. He acknowledges his crimes* and so he refuses to exit (except on Samhain aka Saturday). He is openly antagonistic towards everyone except Marleid, which is understandable. He thinks he has tied Marleid down. Further conversations with him in Tech Duinn reveal that he’s pugnacious and as eager as Vayne once was to spar with the Milletian. He’s also very easy to bully. He implies that in the future, he may recover the powers he lost in his deal with Hymerark and will use those powers for the greater good so…more Cethlenn content in the future? Hopefully?

*what worried me the most at the end of G24 was that I could not see how he or Vayne could be redeemed. I would scoop them up in a heartbeat. But could my Milletian? Could the people of Erinn? Obviously not.

I know I brought up the concept of escaping predestiny and then dropped it like a hot potato so I’ll do some quick rundowns now of other examples. Enya realizing that she can have a life beyond just staying in her sanctum and caring for the Holy Flame, Piran gathering the courage to recognize his own existence is worth something,  Hymerark* realizing that there is no reason to continue to mess around with people and she can just observe. I’ve rewatched the conversation the Milletian has with Hymerark after the battle and I don’t even know where to start…Talvish remarked that she’s the closest in resemblance to Aton Cimeni’s will since she balances both freedom and chaos. Maybe these higher gods were never meant to have sentience or conscience because the moment they do, they make decisions and bam the whole world is a mess.

*the Milletian seem to do this to all the gods, huh?

My current understanding of things is that the Evil God Balor was created by Aton Cimeni as a counterpoint for Talvish, who is the Guardian, the sentinel of Erinn. Why? For Balance of course. But you can’t just create someone to be evil. Somewhere in between, Aton Cimeni stops answering and while Talvish plots machinations for the future he saw, Balor’s disdain for his role grows and eventually beefs it in a fight with Lugh at the battle of Mag Tuireadh. His body is dead, but his spirit remains, picked up by Hymerark to be the…plug stopping Noitar Arat. I imagine Hymerark also faced the same struggle that Talvish did of attempting to carry out duties imparted on them by their creator but yet new to independence and the weight of their responsibilities that now fell on their shoulders. Hymerark expresses her faint indecision of hearing the wishes of everyone. There will always be conflict in decisions.

Meanwhile, Talvish realizes that the balance has shifted in the absence of the Evil God Balor and so the events of G21 happen, where he attempts to recreate the balance with his own hands and summon something to replace Balor. While this fails, Hymerark tries to do the same again by corrupting the Milletian and making them the final obstacle to correct the unending cycle that, frankly, started because of her.

In G25 Part 1, Vayne mentions that Aton Cimeni will always have a solution. I suppose in this case, he was talking about how even if he were to disappear completely, someone will always take his place. Just like how Triona’s role was passed on to Millia, a new darkness grows. Not without repercussion, of course. Something is coming and that’s for G26.

In the final confrontation with Beimnech, he offers the Milletian a choice to either kill him now and escape, or perish together with him in the rift. He mentions that in the end, we are all forgotten anyway. I don’t think that is the case. The Milletian lives and the memories of everyone they’ve fought with lives with them. That is their burden. Not everyone can walk a righteous path. Sometimes, desperate individuals seek the wrong help and I like to think that the Milletian recognizes that it isn’t just black and white, and that they are fortunate to have found the right people. Things are just going to get rougher for the Milletian because they’re also a guardian of Erinn, which begs the question: who is the counterpoint for the Milletian? Does one even exist? Does there need to be one?

Instead of ending on such a gloom and doom note, I’ll go full circle and talk about Llywelyn again and his mentions of a sibling again? And also tea time?? 10/10 would fake date Llywelyn just for the court gossip. (LF > political intrigue comic ft. Milletian and Llywelyn dating like it’s 17th century France) Also Llywelyn being the next captain of the Elved Squad?? Tried to imagine him in Talvish’s armor and as I type this I realize they won’t do something stupid like that they’ll just change the emblem on his armor. Alright I think that’s it I’m hitting 2.3k words so—

Oh right something something the Aces go off somewhere again just as Hunter was going to say something…can we get a base for them please? So we can just visit them? So they don’t just pop in and out of the Milletian’s life? Thanks.

I’m about to get super sappy so readers, feel free to skip all of this. I’ve been playing mabi for about 11 years at this point and it has been a long ride. I didn’t start writing these rants and essays until G21 and I also started drawing in earnest about mabi around the same time with comics and fanart. I don’t participate much in the community as a whole because I am an anxiously overthinking person. It’s no surprise that I found comfort characters in mabi and so I return here again and again (not that I’ve ever really left). We’re getting a new game director after G25 and I am extremely grateful for all he has done for the game. And in the same vein, I’m thankful to all of you reading this. There’s no point in creating content when there is no audience, especially when I am as reclusive as I am. So, to my new readers: thanks for coming along. And to my old fans: thanks for sticking around. Until the next chapter!

[rpbetter]

Raven used to be my friend but I had to cut ties recently due to feeling like walking on eggshells everytime we spoke and they never apologized to me for when I brought up something that they did upset me. I really miss them but I don't want to deal with the if it's not about me I don't care attitude.

Pt 2 of Ravens old friend. They reblogged anti fandom posts on their resource blog and I happened to be in that fandom and it hurt. A resource blog shouldn't be doing that.

Hey, Anon! I wanted to post this before I released one of my drafts, as that draft happens to be something I do not want you to misconstrue being about you. Thought about it after the fact and honestly, felt a bit ill over potentially making you think any such thing! The post is about how pushy people can be about what they like (usually as regards fandom) that you don't, and how that can be a contributing factor toward people saying hateful things about fandom topics. It was the quickest of the finished drafts sitting around to edit, so it was being queued, that's all! I do not think you were being pushy about your likes to "deserve" this, and frankly, even if you had? One's meme/resource/help blog is not the venue for shitting on your friends.

Okay, just wanted to clarify, everyone is stressed and feeling judged enough, I don't want to inadvertently contribute to that with any drafted posts!

I'm really sorry this happened, Anon. I don't mean that in a passing, flippant way that looks good on my blog. Not that I mean anything that way lol but I frequently have had "friends" in the past who felt like it was totally fine to reblog, even make original posts, like what you're talking about. Anti-fandom, anti my part of the fandom, my muses, my takes, and so on. Really hurtful things when we'd spoken in DMs about how upsetting it was, then they go and throw full support behind it in front of me.

It would be irritating with a grain of betrayal if it was a friend of a shorter time, or a mutual one doesn't really interact with OOC, but with a closer or longtime friend, it's actively hurtful. It feels like they looked you right in the face, said they do not give a single shit about either what is important to you or sparing your feelings, and went on. Yeah, it's just fiction, but the way we treat each other over fiction is real.

Given the behaviors displayed openly, it's not a shock you received no apology. Whether you got an apology or not, though, good on you for trying to bring it up to them! It's hard to do that with friends, even ones you're more certain won't blow up at you for it. I think if we could all be a little more (calmly, nicely, reasonably) open with each other like this, we could avoid problems that result from things festering and piling up, but it's hard to take that step...and I'm sorry this was your reward for it.

Just as blogs that are not one's RP or personal blogs shouldn't be openly judging and hating fandoms like that, friends shouldn't leave you feeling like you're walking on eggshells.

And, I'm going to say something unpopular here - sometimes, we all are capable of doing that to people we care about. Bad moments in lives combine, there are misunderstandings, sensitive topics, and things we can't entirely control otherwise. I don't like this idea tumblr has that anything other than a perfect, sweet, forever-cheery relationship is the actual height of abuse, so I want to be clear on that because it's just trivializing and blinding people to the possibility of toxic and abusive interactions. When you think "toxic" means "they don't like x, I love x, we don't talk about it," you're not aware of legitimate signs like being too worried to be yourself around them.

It's when this is the typical, established behavior that it's a problem. It's when there's never any meaningful acknowledgment, apology, or attempt at changing that it's a problem. If you constantly feel like you have to be worried about what a friend is going to say or do, it's not a friendship you need to be in, and I'm glad you recognized that and got out of it!

But there's also the idea that this is easy because it's the right and logical choice. It is not, and it's often made even harder because admitting to other friends that you miss the good times with the former one is all but impossible. They're often only reacting out of concern for you, the fear that if you miss this person they watched hurt you, you'll go back to that friendship, but it effectively shuts down a more healthy way of dealing with your feelings by sharing them with better friends who could support you.

So, Anon, it's also fully alright and normal to miss Raven! They were a longtime friend, and the thing about these kinds of friendships, these kinds of relationships in general, is that we seem to fail to realize that if things were straight awful from day one, we'd not have been friends. Of course, there are memories! Of course, you have the impulse to send them a link or that meme you know is their humor! It doesn't stop for a long time, either. That doesn't mean you're fucked up for it, it's something to be ashamed of, or that you're going to drop your better judgment and go send Raven a message immediately and rekindle that friendship. It's okay!

This right here: "I don't want to deal with the if it's not about me I don't care attitude." This is the place you should be in, and I congratulate you on being there because it takes a lot of shit heaped on someone by a friend to get there. Just keep remembering the good things you experienced with them, but always with this in mind, that their end of the friendship appears to have been predicated upon what they were getting out of it only.

Case in point, like everything they displayed to the whole damn RPC that encountered them these last few months, their personal interest and viewpoint was of greater importance to them with that anti-fandom post than a friend was.

I will say, it can be a delicate thing having this blog. I have opinions and takes that most of my friends share, what's important to me tends to run in the same lines as what is important to them, that's the basis of a lot of our friendship. We still disagree! We still have different interests, fandoms, favorite characters, songs, and experiences. Sometimes, I have to address a problem that they could misconstrue, in a totally normal and reasonable way, because while they're not doing whatever in a bad way, others are. I've made a point, more than once, to contact them and talk about it a little preemptively, and that's not just to keep up friendships, it also allows for extra insight from them and better phrasing from me so that other people I don't know won't take it the wrong way either.

Yes, I have some immutable, incredibly hard lines lol I think we all know what most of them are now, but expressing my purely personal opinion on something like fandom is not more important on this blog than anything else. I may genuinely feel like there is diseased connective tissue of disappointing behavior stemming from an origin point in a popular fandom, I'm not going to go off about it on this blog. It's inappropriate as hell, going to make people feel isolated and targeted whether they're my friends or not. Being passionately displeased about that does not have place here, and that's the kind of thing you have to consider, reconsider, force yourself to shut up about when you've got a blog that isn't for RP or a personal, you know?

I don't think everyone is cut out for doing that, and no one is cut out for doing it without ever making a mistake in judgment. Some people really should simply realize that there is nothing wrong with not being in the place in their lives or mental health to put that much effort into being fair or being quiet and concentrating only on memes. If you're one of those people, random reader? I'm serious, it's okay if you can't do it! It's not shameful, I'm also a deeply flawed human being, the quietest, politest, helpful meme blog out there is also run by a flawed human, they're just at a different place with themselves than you are. And. That's. Okay. Just don't hurt other people (and yourself, ultimately) by forcing it, please.

I suppose, knowing that it wasn't important enough to chill and reevaluate for the sake of a friend is some consolation lol what one won't do for friends definitely won't be done for random muns deemed problematic. So, maybe that'll make some other people out there feel a little better, and I thank you for sharing...as much as I wish you had nothing of this experience to share. I know it's an unpleasant one to have had, and I hope you have much better friends!

I promise you that I'll never post anything here that is viciously against any particular fandom or any such thing, and that if you feel like I've been unfair about anything at all, I welcome polite messages as a way of discussing it so we can all be clear and/or learn from each other. I know, I openly admit, it's kind of a draw of the blog, that I have a...um, tone of salt about things lol and sometimes, I don't phrase things the way they deserved. So, it's always okay to drop in for clarification or counterpoint, so long as it isn't being done with a shitty attitude that incites hostilities. Let's do have a legitimate conversation about it instead of hurt feelings!

Thanks again, Anon!

[majorshiraharu]

Discussion of Limitations in Live Action & Style Choices

This will be all spoilers for the new episode of the Mandalorian.  I’m putting it under a cut so no one accidentally gets spoiled. Fair warning it is long af, I tried doing a mix of my opinions and information from the show, films, etc. I tried putting the more opinion parts in italic, might have forgotten some parts tho. I spent way too long on this lmao

--------------SPOILERS BELOW------------------

I'm putting my thoughts for each time I watched it. That way, you can see how rewatching changed my mind some. I also had almost a whole day to process the episode before I watched it again, then I had a few hours to think about it and add to this, and then now I've watched it for the third time. This will be a mix of my reactions and opinions and then some information about The Mandalorian and things I think many people are overlooking. Especially in a time when we have major blockbuster films with pretty amazing CGI and people have come to expect that level of detail in everything. If you don’t want to read my reaction/opinion parts, skip down past “3rd Viewing” (the sectioned area)

1st Viewing When It Dropped; Right After Watching: — Okay honestly not the biggest fan of this Ahsoka, I feel like they could have done a bit better with her lekku, montrals, and the contacts because they kinda took me out of it a few times. She didn't move a lot like Ahsoka, but then again she does move and act more like the Rebels version, so if you haven't seen that I can see how this would be more off-putting. She's much older at this point and probably can't move as well as she used to. Also, I know we've come to expect the effects of high-budget films and their fancy CGI, but this show is not that and I think they truly did the best they could with what they had. I'm too tired now, but will write about that stuff in my second viewing section. Overall, I think in the scenes where she interacted with Mando and the child were very well done and felt like how I thought Ahsoka would be after the journey she had over the past years. Those moments felt like Ahsoka to me, and I really enjoyed. 2nd Viewing; About 16 Hours After First Viewing: — So I took some time today to think about last night's episode, I also decided to hop on social media and see what people's reactions were. I was surprised how on Twitter and Reddit I hardly found anyone who disliked this version, longtime fans, new fans, people who didn't know Ahsoka. It seemed like most people really loved it and were extremely happy to see her in live-action. Some people didn't like the way her lekku & montral looked but otherwise enjoyed it, and then there were a few people who said it didn't feel like Ahsoka to them. Now here's my opinion on the second viewing, I liked her more after watching it again. As mentioned above she's definitely more like her Rebels version, and we have a few years when she and Sabine were out searching for Ezra and Thrawn. We don't know what she's been through but clearly, she's much calmer and wiser, which I think fits, it's not like how she was in Clone Wars but it's been like 25+ ish years, so she's had a lot of time to grow and shouldn’t be the same. The actress who played her was pretty stiff and monotone during more scenes than I would have liked, but all her scenes with Din and the Child were excellent, and felt pretty close to Ahsoka, really liked her in those. The action scenes were very cool at the start. Her fighting style was more like her fighting in Rebels. I would have liked a few more shots of her with her signature lightsaber hold, but they included them during the right moments, so that doesn't really bother me that much. Now for the mostly on Tumblr infamous lekku & montral, on second viewing I didn't mind them as much because it wasn't as shocking. The length should have been longer imho, and they definitely needed to change the montral, that's what I have the only real problem with. The montral just looked too short, was angled back quite far, and yeah, just didn't look like any animated version, concepts, or even any cosplays I've seen. This was the only thing about her that I really just didn't like and bothered me some. 3rd Viewing; Most of my opinions stayed the same, I watched it this time with some of my friends who love Star Wars and one who loves Ahsoka as much as me, so I wanted to see their reaction. They all loved her, tho they agreed the length should have been longer and the top should have been different. But they all really loved the episode and her.

--------------------- Now all that said, here are some counterpoints and information because I thought it was important to look into why it might be that way, and I will also include ways that I think it could have been done better. Besides having some cosplay experience of my own, I have no idea what they went through to pick or make this look, and it could have been always ended up a lot worse. First off they need to consider the actress, the material, how it moves, how heavy it is, how it looks in movement, fight scenes, etc. - There is concept art that shows many types of looks for her, and while I think they picked my least favorite of them, people need to understand that there was a reason. We don't know and may never know, but it was a choice made. Concept art from the end of the episode:

It could have also been that it looked better in person, or that they wanted a distinct look for it in live-action to make it feel more realistic or unique. Here is other concept art of Ahsoka from Rebels and The Clone Wars, Link Here

----------------- Also, many people aren't aware of this, but the Mandalorian is made to look a lot like the OG movies. They specifically try to only use camera angles/ movements from that time. They try to do action that fits the original films style and also is similar to old westerns. They have a very specific look they're going for, and a lot of people don't know this. This also includes the use of miniatures, puppets, and as many realistic things as they can for costumes and the interactive parts of the set. They use CGI and new tech too, but aside from the large screen they use for scenery they seem to only use CGI when it's really needed and not for everything like blockbuster movies or even some shows do, aka they don’t overuse it.

Here are two links for more info on this. They are long but have a lot of cool insight into the show: link for filming style here — link for the tech they use for filming here They have the tech and probably money to have made Ahsoka's lekku & montral CGI, but it was a deliberate choice in style not to do this. Was it a good idea, maybe yes, maybe no, maybe a mix? In Season 1 Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian when they had the Twi’lek Xi’an and I saw how her lekku moved I was concerned for if they ever included lekku in a more prominent role.

As you can kind of see in the above gif, they didn't have enough weight to them and were too foamy/rubbery in their movement. It seems like the same stuff was used for Ahsoka's, which resulted in the same problem. Since we've only known her in animation where they can change things to a much more finite degree, it's off-putting in live-action, and it kinda falls into the uncanny valley which I think is why it's slightly weird to see. If we had seen her in live-action first this probably wouldn't have bothered people as much.

Video Link to show it better

I included the older Clone Wars version of Ahsoka in here because I believe they mixed her looks together to come up with the live-action design. - We saw Shaak Ti in live-action years ago and many people are pointing to that as what they should have gone with for Ahsoka. A reminder that was done for a film, not a TV show, so there will be differences in quality and style. I do think they could have used that as a model to base Ahsoka on, they should have access to old headpiece unless it just deteriorated with time. Here’s a video that includes behind the scenes looks of Shaak Ti, Youtube Link Here  

Also here’s a look of Ayla from the Prequels and from the original trilogy of the Jaba palace Twi’lek to compare how they look with the Twi’lek in the Mandalorian.

I think the original trilogy looked better than the lekku in The Mandalorian so if they’re using similar material to keep it more fitting to that time, maybe they need to make them longer to hold more weight and look like actual flesh and not foamy rubber.

They could have also gone the route of making different headpieces with other material depending on what they were being used for. Again it's a TV show, not sure if they have the time or money to do this or think it's worth it for just one episode. But they could have had one made of that foamy material for action scenes, and then one that looked more like Shaak Ti's for scenes where she just talked or moved some. Honestly, this would have been their best option, and as far as I can tell, that wasn't done. I see people mention they could have done no action or less action and made better lekku, but there are already people complaining that there wasn't enough action or movement in her action scenes. You can't please everyone, and I think they struck a good balance.

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Other opinions of mine on her live-action version. I think Ashley Eckstein should have been the one to play Ahsoka in live-action, or I think they should have dubbed the voice. The actress playing her in this wasn't bad, but honestly, she brought nothing new to the role and didn't do enough to capture the smaller nuances of Ahsoka's character. Some of these problems could have been fixed by dubbing her voice, even if she didn't move or look like how people wanted Ahsoka to in live-action, having her voice would have made a big difference. I don't know if Ashley was brought in on this; she hasn't mentioned anything as far as I have seen. I would find it strange if she wasn't involved since Dave and her are friends. Both really love the character, but he doesn't have full control over the show and maybe she wasn't made a part of it for one reason or another. But if she wasn’t, I think that was a bad choice, she’s the one who brought her to life in the Clone Wars.  -  I also think that we don't always need a big name or famous person playing a character, we could have a dubbed voice and had someone performing it who was a stunt woman or an actor who isn't as well known, this has been done in Star Wars before. 

Also look at this cute cosplay of Ashley as Ahsoka:

--------------------- TLDR: Lekku and Montral are not easy to make or look real, I think the creators did the best they could with the style they try to achieve (again we don’t know behind the scenes stuff or their choices), there is stuff that could have maybe improved the look. Many people don’t understand the amount of work that goes into something like this and that sometimes choices are made for a design that you may not like, but that doesn’t make it wrong. Art is a creative thing which includes taking risks, putting a unique spin on something that exists, and sometimes making choices that not everyone will like.

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But still I’m happy we got to see live action Ahsoka and I’m glad she was able to bring joy to so many people. I’ve watched the Clone Wars since I was a kid and have always loved Ahsoka and while I have my nitpicks about her live action version, overall, I think they did a good job. I was disappointed at first, but now not so much, and instead I just view her as a different version and that she’s unique in her own ways. I remember when Rebels Ahsoka came out a lot of people hated that version, personally I loved it, there are aspects of her design I didn’t like as much tho.

I also feel this was her only appearance in The Mandalorian, I don’t think she will return again, as far as the story goes, I don’t think there is a need for her to return either. I personally would prefer to have Ahsoka stay as an animated character if she got her own show, animation suits her better and has fewer limitations for the creators.