Going into Alecto, I think it's important to expect that the series won't conclude with a clear lesson. Either about morality—what makes a good person, evil getting their just desserts, ect—or a thesis on decolonization. It's not that kind of story.
Deep down, this series is two drunk girls bearing their souls in a dark corner of the bar. An hours-long conversation that wheels wildly through pop culture, past trauma, theoretical physics, dreams and aspirations, global warming, hairstyling, friends, family, gender, personal insecurities, world history, favorite foods. It has a lot to say, and a lot of it profound, but it's not trying to teach anything. At the end of the night, the point was how fucking cool that girl was, and the potent electric potential for something lgbt to happen
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Okay so I don’t feel the most qualified to talk about this, especially to make any value judgements on how any of this was handled, so I would love other people to add in if they feel like it, but this is eating my brain actually so.
Esther Finch is a funny villain. She’s a joy to watch on screen, even if part of that joy is in hating her. But there’s something that feels very deliberate in the fact that the only two girls (barring in the animated flashback) we see her target are black girls. Becky Aspen and Crystal. I don’t think we’re supposed to infer from this that she only ever targets black girls, but the casting of Becky feels deliberate. While there’s plenty of in universe explanation for why she wants to use Crystal to feed to her snake afterwards and doesn’t ever say, specifically target Niko, it’s still there. And though Niko was just hurt because she got in the way, she’s also another woman of colour we see Esther hurt.
And then at the end Crystal, who many have pointed out has been a voice for women throughout the whole season, stands in front of Lilith, the goddess of wronged women, and screams to her about who gets justice for all the little girls Esther hurt. And then Lilith, played by a black woman, is the one to drag Esther away.
Crystal says to Esther that she knows how anger can poison you. Esther says she learned to be predator instead of prey a long time ago. Do I think that the show literally wants us to think that Esther is a racist who deliberately targets black girls? No. Do I think the casting choices that they made bring up themes of the kind of people who, because they have been hurt or marginalized, want to push others down to have others that they can have power over instead? Whose problems with societal oppression is not that it exists, but that they aren’t the ones who get to benefit from it? I think so.
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@americangirlruinedmylife asked me if i had seen AG’s website today and for a minute i was so wrapped up in the revival of Julie’s floral jumpsuit that i straight up didn’t even see the other historical drops 😅
anyway i love this fit SO much. i was devastated when i got back into collecting and saw how expensive it was, so i am very pleased to be able to have a version of it (though they changed the sandal color for some reason?? it’s odd but im fine with it - I have some tan ones I’ll switch them out for).
the other thing I’m definitely going to be getting is Addy’s birthday dress- my Addy only has her pjs so i’m pumped to be able to get another fit for her!!! also I just love her birthday outfit. her snood is super fun, and I LOVE the checkered apron.
(I kinda wish the book was sold separately though, as I believe I already have a copy and. Y’know. Money.)
i actually LOVE the idea of the limited drop IF they end up doing what I think they’re going to do. they dropped just the birthday/spring outfits and books during the season when they take place….
I think they might be doing a seasonal release of each book and accompanying outfit??? 🤔
based on how much got left hanging around on sale for molly and kit, i think they might be trying to broaden the audience while limiting the amount they have to stock by doing these three girls at once - they could be planning to rotate out items as they add each new book and accompanying outfit, which I actually think is an extremely cool idea. there’s no way to know for certain until we hit summer and the next wave would release (if im not totally off base), but we’ll see 👀
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StaticEnergy Brothers AU (but it's the MovieVerse)
(I have nothing better to do, English class is boring)
It's a normal day for Lloyd. He's been receiving looks of mockery and fear from the moment he leaves home until he gets to school, Chen and his friends are teasing him as usual, and his ninja friends are fine. Zane with his usual weird and robotic ways, Cole quiet with his headphones blasting music, Kai and Nya acting like the older siblings that he never had.
And just like any other normal day, Garmadon attacks the city just before lunch time.
Lloyd and the others escape from class, put on their gis, grab their mechas, and head into battle. At first, nothing inusual happens. Lloyd orders his team to take on Garmadon's fleet of marines while he goes after Lord Shark himself. He easily finds him walking in his ridiculous shark mecha towards the mayor's building to take control of Ninjago City,they exchange some heated words and Lloyd is one step away from shooting missiles at his father. Is it his impression or his father is acting more annoying than usual?
Suddenly, Lloyd — or rather, the Green Ninja — is grabbed and thrown off his dragon and — holy crap, THERE IS FRICKING A KUSARIGAMA PRESSED TO HIS NECK.
A dark blue-gloved hand gripping the weapon's handle catches Lloyd's attention, only then does he look at his attacker, who is probably one (lucky) of his father's thousand seafood generals—
... Okay, so he's not wearing some ridiculous sea animal costume, he's actually dressed like a ninja. A black gi with varying shades of blue, some silver details and a single orange cloth underneath the outfit. The only sign of skin that Green sees is in the eye space of the mask. A patch of pale skin is decorated with a some visble freckles that are beneath electric blue eyes filled with determination.
Green hears Garmadon let out that annoyingly evil laugh and he sees the Oni approaching, only then does he realize that the guy who caught him off guard must be another one of Garmadon's soldiers, just with a better fashion style.
Garmadon steps down from his mecha and walks over to stand behind the evil ninja, smirking at the scene before him with malice and... Pride? Why isn't he giving that arrogant and mean face he gives to his normal soldiers?
"Very good move, my son."
Lloyd feels his breath catch and he is sure that this only sentence makes all of Ninjago stop moving.
"S-... Son?!" Green repeats, looking from the boy to Garmadon and back again. The Oni just laughs at his reaction.
"Oh yeah, I never brought him to our previous battles, so you guys never had the chance to meet each other." His father approaches the other Ninjac— his supossed brother — and places two hands on his shoulders, the other two behind his back. "Green Ninja, I want you to meet my son, the Lightning Ninja." Garmadon's sharp, toothy smile was fearsome. "Or Sparky for those close to him." He added, dropping his shoulders and patting the Blue one on the head.
For a moment, the three of them just stood there. Green with his throat at the mercy of Blue's curved blade while his father smiled maliciously. It was a tense moment, just like those in movies where the hero faces the villain after he makes his big revelation, and It was that's what it looked like, with Lloyd staring at his father in disbelief and confusion while Garmadon himself began to laugh uncontrollably.
That's when a throat clearing sound caught their attention.
"Dad, with all due respect, I understand that this is a tense moment and all, but did you realize that the rest of the Ninjas are destroying the fleet and that Cyan and Red are coming with everything on this way, right?"
Indeed, Nya and Kai's war screams sound in the distance.
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