#even if he didn’t get a tragic backstory it was still such a sad scene

[arwenkenobi48]

Enmu throughout most of the Mugen Train arc:

Enmu at the end of the Mugen Train arc:

(I am not over that string of episodes, not at all)

[wholoveseggs]

I know so many people are Hayley and Elijah shippers, and I don't know where you stand, but I loved Elijah and Gia the most. She not only matched him with wit and sarcasm, but I felt like she was able to get him to let loose and be more himself. Just my opinion.

I have a lottttt to say about Elijah's lovers, so I'm going to make a list and rank them, from least favorite to my number one favorite. (I left out Tatia because we don't know anything about her...)

{6} Antoinette

At first, I liked her. She brought something refreshing to Elijah's brainless lobotomized state. She’s classy, shares his refined tastes, and has this calm, collected demeanor that seems like a perfect match for him. Plus, she’s absolutely gorgeous. But then, her personal philosophy on vampires started showing, and it was all downhill. The whole "purity of the night" nonsense, the way she looks down on humans as nothing but food (fuck that). She claimed she wasn’t like her Nazi vampire family, but her actions proved otherwise. She still practiced their old prejudices and wrapped them in a veneer of elegance to make them seem acceptable. Worst of all, she manipulated Elijah. SHE KNEW WHO HE WAS THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME DIDN'T TELL HIM.

AND!!! Used it all to her advantage. She didn’t love him for who he was; she loved the blank slate he became. So yeah, fuck her, her toxic ideology, and everything she represents.

{5} Celeste

She’s fascinating and so much fun to watch. From the few crumbs we get of their relationship, it’s clear Elijah loved her deeply. Her death broke him, and you can feel the weight of that grief centuries later. But her revenge? Oh, her revenge was everything. The centuries-long scheme, the meticulous planning, the twisted way she channeled her love into hate. It’s such a good trope, and they executed it perfectly. Rewatching the first season, knowing that Sabine was Celeste all along makes it even better. The layers of their history, their unspoken connection, the tensionnnn… it’s all so good. And then there’s the ending. When he kills her, it’s devastating, satisfying, and somehow hot? (I'm unwell)

{4} Katherine Pierce

I enjoy their backstory so much. The flashbacks of Elijah and Katherine in TVD are adorable. Those scenes are filled with charm and chemistry, and you can tell Elijah truly saw her as more than just another doppelganger. He admired her fire, her resilience, and her ability to survive even in the face of unimaginable odds. There’s this undeniable magnetism between them, and their early relationship feels so genuine and heartfelt.

But unfortunately, their present-day relationship just doesn’t hold up. Maybe if we’d gotten more of it, I’d feel differently, but I can’t see them working long-term. The baggage between them is just too heavy. Elijah is eternally tied to Klaus, and Katherine has spent centuries being deeply traumatized by him. The pain and resentment she harbors toward Klaus make it impossible for her to fully trust Elijah, and Elijah being the honorable, ever-loyal brother, can never truly separate himself from Klaus. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Beyond that, Katherine’s paranoia, lies, and manipulative tendencies create even more barriers. Elijah values honesty and loyalty above all else, and while Katherine is capable of great love, her survival instincts will always come first. It’s not that she doesn’t love Elijah (I think she does, in her own way) but she’s too guarded and self-serving to let that love flourish. And Elijah, in turn, can never fully let go of his doubts about her.

It’s sad because there’s so much potential there, but the emotional wounds on both sides run too deep. Still, the sexual tension is insane, we’re talking 500 years of pent-up frustration here. Elijah would go until Katherine tapped out. Except, let’s be real…Katherine never taps out. They would’ve burned the world down in the best way, but passion can’t fix their underlying issues.

Their relationship is tragic because it’s built on what could have been.. rather than what actually is. But there is too much pain, too much mistrust, and too many unhealed wounds for them to truly work.

{3} Aya Al-Rashid

THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF THIS RELATIONSHIP WILL HAUNT ME FOREVER.

First of all, I love her. She’s so cool, so badass, so unapologetically ambitious, and so fucking stupidly gorgeous. Every second she’s on screen, she commands attention. The few clues we get about her and Elijah’s past relationship are SO interesting. I think their attraction to each other (beyond the obvious chemistry) stems from their shared ideologies. Aya is the only woman on this list to truly match his intelligence and his vision.

They didn’t just connect physically or emotionally; they connected intellectually. I think they fell for each other over this shared, almost idealistic belief that they could shape the world into something better. Sure, it was a fool’s errand (they were playing gods in a world that thrives on chaos) but their belief in that dream was admirable. And Aya adored him for it. She didn’t just love Elijah; she believed in him, in their shared vision, in what they could accomplish together.

And then he betrayed her. Elijah turned his back on everything they believed in, and it destroyed their relationship. Everything goes to shit after that and their love twists into bitterness and resentment. They end up on opposite sides, trying to kill each other, and it’s just such a tragic mess. There’s this constant tension between them that feels like it’s one step away from either a declaration of love or a blade to the throat. It’s raw, it’s dramatic, it’s the epitome of ‘what could have been.’

I also think her unwavering ambition and refusal to back down made her one of the most compelling women in Elijah’s life. She wasn’t content to follow his lead or play a supportive role. She was his equal, his partner… and that’s exactly why his betrayal cut so deeply for her, and why his regret feels so palpable. Their story could’ve been a fascinating exploration of love, betrayal, and the clash between idealism and reality, but we got just enough to see how incredible they could’ve been.

The missed opportunity of Aya and Elijah will forever make me scream into the void.

Oh Giaaaaa, sweet, beautiful, perfect Gia!!!!!! My only complaint about her relationship with Elijah is that it was cut way too short. It was the beginning of a great romance. She's the only one of his romantic interests to not want anything from him… not his power, not his influence, not even his protection. She loved him for exactly who he is. That’s so rare in Elijah’s life, where everyone else seems to need him to be something for them.

{2} Gia

I adore her so much. She was such a good, pure person, but not in an annoying way, she had an edge to her that made her feel real. I really enjoyed their mutual love of music and how they communicated through it. Those moments between them felt intimate and natural, like something Elijah truly needed to pull him out of the chaos of his life. It’s also worth noting that she didn’t tiptoe around him or treat him like he was above her. She teased him, challenged him, and didn’t let his whole ‘stoic nobleman act’ intimidate her. She made him feel human, something I think he desperately craved but rarely allowed himself to experience.

She was the opposite of him in so many ways, and yet she gave him what he needed most: an escape from all the darkness. I loved how he cared for her too. You could tell she brought out a softer, freer side of him, even if it was brief. I was rooting so hard for them. And her death? So shocking and so fucked up. It was a senseless, cruel loss that still makes me mad. Elijah should have stayed mad at Klaus for longer over it. Honestly, that deserved a real, lasting rift between them. What Klaus did wasn’t just unforgivable….it was a reminder that, no matter how much Elijah sacrifices for his family, Klaus will always rip away the things that bring him happiness.

(Note: I've never been able to decide between Gia or Hayley, so I'm going to go with the woman Elijah would choose.... And we allllll know who that is...)

{1} Hayley

I've seen a few posts saying they have nothing in common, but I completely disagree. They're both fiercely loyal and protective of their family, they're both very sarcastic, and they're both incredibly selfless. (Sometimes to a fault). They share this inner strength, this unshakable moral core that makes them perfect equals. Hayley isn’t intimidated by Elijah’s formality or his calculated nature, and Elijah respects Hayley’s independence and fiery personality. They challenge each other in the best ways.

And let’s talk about how she brings out the best in him. Hayley amplifies all his most admirable traits (his self-control, his honor, his loyalty) but also gives him something he’s never truly had: someone to fight for him. And Elijah gives her what she’s always needed: unwavering protection and support… the kind she never received growing up as a orphan. He respects her agency and defends her fiercely, often putting her safety and happiness above everything else. The way he looks at her… like she’s his entire world… is just *chef’s kiss*.

Their love was so beautiful, pure, and genuine. It wasn’t riddled with manipulation, lies, or selfishness. The only thing that kept them apart was outside interference (*cough* Mr. Niklaus Mikaelson *cough*), not interpersonal conflict. That’s rare in Elijah’s love life, where external drama and loyalty to his family usually ruin everything. But Hayley managed to become both for him. His heart and his family. She’s the only person in his one thousand years who did that, and it’s why I believe he loved her the most.

Her death (and his role in it) was absolutely devastating. The guilt and heartbreak shattered him. She wasn’t just someone he loved; she was his hope, his redemption, and losing her left him broken in a way he never recovered from. Their love story is one of the most tragic yet beautiful parts of the show.

[ondeemand]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Review

This movie came out months ago and isn't really talked about anymore, but I had this review in my notes and wanted to share :)

(It’s also just my general thoughts, not separated by positives and negatives because I didn’t follow guidelines when I wrote this)

Visually beautiful, Dreamworks never fails to deliver.

The animation of The Chameleon shapeshifting was sooooo cool and sooooo fluid and a little gross but I loved it. It was really interesting to see how each body part and shape melded into another.

There were no Furious Five except for a small scene at the end, but they didn’t have any voice lines. Sad, but also somewhat understandable. This was a very Po-and-Zhen-centric movie, and adding the Five could have muddled things. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want Tai Lung and Tigress to meet again, but that’s just a me thing.

The beginning had me pretty nervous. Some of the lines and deliveries felt stilted, there was a lot of “tell don’t show,” and it was all pretty fast and rushed so they could get to the actual plot. (Some of the “tell don’t show” makes sense in context from later revelations about Zhen and The Chameleon, but still).

I wish Zhen’s design more closely matched her concept art and wanted poster. It’s a small thing, but pushing her features to be sharper rather than pulling back towards softness/roundness like they did would have made her much more visually interesting.

It felt a little awkward at times since Po has already learned all of these lessons, so transferring to a new protagonist was sometimes hard to watch. Some of the deep connection/bonding moments they had also felt forced, like she just started telling him her tragic backstory apropos of nothing. In the first three, characters revealed things about themselves as they became relevant, because they were giving Po advice about something he was facing, or Po was actively looking for the answer. It felt a lot more naturally paced back then vs now.

It had good comedy moments, pulled quite a few chuckles out of me, but was also able to rein it in and be serious when it counted. It was definitely weird with the modern slang/humor (“Ok, I see you spiritual leader!”). Then again, I’m sure the humor of the other three movies were modern when they came out. Or it’s just Awkwafina, who’s to say.

The movie kept cutting to the Gay Road Trip RomCom B-Plot with Po’s dads, which was sometimes kinda cringe, other times very fun. I love that they kept both his dads around and they still get along really well. I’d say they co-parent, but their son is an adult, but they still live and run the restaurant together (I thought the panda village was destroyed in the last movie and that was why, but no, Li Shan is choosing to stay there). Their new familiarity and unabashed love for their son (they constantly call Po “our” son) is both heartwarming and kinda gay. It took me a bit to realize, but they were giving similar energy to Timon and Pumbaa.

The choreography was stunning. Every fight, chase, and scuffle felt unique. The fact that they kept it so fresh after three movies says a lot. It felt similar to old school KFP fights in terms of stunts, but the more dynamic camera movements and lighting/graphics also added a modern spin on it.

The use of stylized graphic elements throughout? Phenomenal, I love that studios have been getting more stylized with their animation since Spiderverse came out. Even more than just colored backgrounds, it transferred to scenes as well. Po’s inner voices floating around him, his dumpling hallucination, the bright colored lighting, and even that fight scene where they’re all in silhouette in fog and the sound gets muffled. Very cool, it reminds me of the montage scene from KFP2.

TAI LUNG!!!!! Ian McShane!!! It was great to see him and the previous movie villains make an appearance. I was hoping they’d get to team up in a fight, but they get their kung fu skills taken away or whatever, so no such luck. Also, the fact that Po seemingly killed, like, at least one other Villain since the first three movies is funny. Just killed some guy named Scott.

Live Tai Lung Reaction for real. So funny to cut to his commentary and see him kind of come around and rooting for Po. The enemy of my enemy and all that.

Po is still a fanboy despite being the greatest warrior in China, and I’m SO glad they kept that part of his character because it’s part of what makes him so charming. His character overall still felt very consistent in terms of attitude and mannerisms.

The fact that he earns the respect of all the villains he’s defeated? Amazing. I love when heroes and villains can come to an understanding like that, or even work together in a way (Dragon Ball changed me fundamentally as a person).

○ And the fact that it was Tai Lung getting a conclusion to his character arc added a lot of bonus points because I love him. It also makes sense to me because he finally got to see in-person what the real Dragon Warrior is supposed to be, and that he wouldn’t have been able to be that person. ○ It even makes sense for Kai to respect him, he was Master Ugway’s friend long ago, and Po beat him fair and square. ○ Lord Shen though?? Absolutely no way he respects Po after he did a genocide on his people and chose to die instead of grow and change lmao.

Sady, there was no reunion or reconciliation between Tai Lung and Shifu which was a huge missed opportunity. Also, no confrontation between Li Shan and Lord Shen, that could have been a really cool fight scene, but I don’t think they could have spun a lesson about forgiveness from that. The man did a genocide, and we’re not quite at Steven Universe levels of love and acceptance in this franchise.

It makes sense for Tai Lung to be the speaker for these villains (and not just because they didn’t get Gary Oldman or JK Simmons) because he and Po are connected via Shifu and the Dragon Warrior prophecy.

The villain in this movie actually did have a lot in common with Po, at least in terms of their origins. They were both ostracized and pushed away from kung fu because of their size and outward appearance. However, Po’s unwavering optimism and trust is what made him the hero, while The Chameleon turned bitter and let her insecurities control her. It was a unique dynamic, I just wish they pushed it or had Po acknowledge it more. It did feel weird that the main reason she was turned away was her size when Mantis is on the team (and was the first one to come around on Po in the first movie because it’d be hypocritical of him to judge others for their size). I guess The Chameleon was just looking in the wrong dojos for a master.

The overall plot felt pretty similar to the third movie with the villain capturing and taking the power of other kung fu masters.

○ Also, The Chameleon wanted to take all of their powers and use them against Po, but he already beat all of them before. My friend even said they were waiting for Po, or even some of the captured villains, to point out that he already won against all of this power before. ○ I myself noted that when The Chameleon took Tai Lung’s nerve technique and was about to use it on Po, Tai Lung looked confused. I think narratively it was meant to be like “Woah, how did she steal my technique?” but to me, it felt more like “I already tried that on Po and nothing happened, why does she think this will work?”

I need to talk about the music. As usual, the score absolutely fucks, but the traditional Chinese cover of Crazy Train??? Amazingly disguised, it took me a second to hear it. And the Jack Black cover of Baby One More Time was so fucking good, added instantly to my playlist.

TLDR

Overall, the movie had a rough start, but I came around pretty quickly. It’s certainly a cash grab and not as good as the originals, but it was still enjoyable and felt nearly on par with movie three. Definitely still lowest on the list, though.

7.62/10

[ran-orimoto]

Sometimes I watch this episode and I sit on it, on this scene in particular , think about it so hard because its simplicity holds such a … Subtly tragical tone I ended up catching on my second rewatch (of thousand). And, you know, on my third rewatch it kinda started hurting.

Looking back at the whole season and the way Junpei and Izumi have been written in their arcs and their resolution, I think Junpei eventually remains the loneliest of the lonely between them and it just sucks how Izumi got to open about her solitude to him, then she got support from everyone else and truly felt included in a family, whereas Junpei just had to put up with his struggles on his own, fighting against his own shadow throwing mean truths at him.

This scene in particular is really harsh on him and in my opinion it kinda needed a sort of continuation in the form of a parallelism. Junpei and Izumi are the Frontier relationship that got most amount of those, especially in the bridge from ep 4 to this episode. They got a very linear development always making it clear how they are different sides of the same coin, how they are a mirror to each other and can grow up thanks to looking at the most uncomfortable masks of themselves through each other. So, it’s absolutely a shame the writers allowed Izumi to get away with that.

“Don’t talk like you know!”

Izumi, you just don’t know anything about him.

Still, the most bittersweet and, again, extremely tragical detail is that back then, Junpei didn’t even know he was as lonely as her, either. He just lies down on the grass, staring at her while letting her viciously vent at him. He’s concerned about her outburst, but doesn’t really realize he’s as miserable as her, if not even more miserable, because tell me if it’s not just sad to be a kid believing to have thousand of friends around him, be totally blind about the greyness your life is actually dominated by. He can’t acknowledge the reason why he followed Izumi on the train in a first place was connected to how lonely he felt she was. As lonely as him.

You can laugh about this statement of mine but, seriously, they pulled a sort of Mr Gatsby character here.

On a brighter note, though, I also like wondering if what Izumi says in the very first drama isn’t a hint about how she eventually understood that as well. “You have got lot on your mind but like keeping it all inside”. Maybe, just maybe, she also came to feeling all the stuff he concealed behind his magical tricks.

Honestly, how depressing Junpei’s backstory is. We just got to see a little of it and it still hit home.

[thewiddershinsme]

Reading Finale, finished The Middle:

-I just thought of this as I was starting this section: since Legend is immortal, does that mean he doesn’t even love his brother? We haven’t really seen much interactions between the two.

-Well. Nicolas was brutally murdered. I definitely did not call that one. Poor dude. Poor doggy.

-whatwhatwhat. Scarlett is the Fallen Star’s daughter?!?!? Her being able to see emotions as colors is not just a fun character ability but an actual Fate-like power?!?!? Okay prediction time: if they can make the Fallen Star truly love Scarlett as his daughter for one minute, they can kill him

-so wait a minute, didn’t Paradise tell the Temple that it would be her secondborn that would have magic powers? We haven’t sent a hint of Tella having any. Tin foil hat time: what if Scarlett is her secondborn? Not sure who her firstborn would be though….and I haven’t forgotten Dante talking about his mother abandoning him, that’s still a loose thread, as is Elantine’s real lost heir (cause I thought it was implied Dante was deceiving everyone about being the real heir)

-oh, Scarlett had the same idea as me way quicker than I was expecting. Cool.

-Julian answered that question: nope, Legend never loved him either, even before immortality

-OMG. There is so much to unpack in this Vanished Market section. First off, that whole juxtaposition of her being ecstatic that Legend is alive along with the heartbreak that he needs to not love her to stay alive. Gahhh so good. But the biggest thing: Tella gave up her daughter just like Paradise gave her up. That is just *chef’s kiss* cause her mother’s choice is a major issue Tella has, and then to make the same choice herself is such a great mirror. It also makes me wonder if this is setting up the next series? Is it about Tella’s (and I assume Legend’s) daughter? Is her daughter gonna have a tragic backstory where her mother dies on her seventeenth birthday cause Tella refuses to give up her daughter weakness?

-what the…Tella and Jacks got immortal-married?!? “But I’ve been a good husband” “I will make you love me then murder you” this is hilarious

-damn it, Jacks’s confession about how he had been waiting for his true love so they can be obsessed with each other and how he wanted Tella to be her and it hurts she wants Legend instead….that was actually sad. And now I want Jacks to find his true love so they can be feral for each other in a chaotic obsessed and not really healthy way

-not sure if I get Tella’s changing her mind about becoming an immortal…because of her love for Legend…which she wouldn’t have if she became immortal. But it was an emotional scene

[randomnameless]

The only time I felt a major arc in Boruto(anime wise. The manga is its own can of worms)was genuinely bad and didn’t make sense was the Mist Village vs Eco Pirates, especially as they threw cycle of revenge BOTH SIDES in even though the Eco Pirates were legit insane and their arguments don’t make sense that one of them sought ReVeNgE because his sister was hurt when Boruto protected himself in SELF-DEFENSE and killed herself in a hospital room by taking off all the tubes giving her fluids and KEEPING HER ALIVE! She was such an irrational spiteful human being who killed herself out of hate but clearly it’s Borutos fault! That he didn’t let her kill him!

Even the oldest son of the Eco Pirates leader who had been raised to believe his father was the only way to protect their clan realized his father was insane and was murdered by his father when he tried to make peace with the Mist because his father was just a spiteful mosnter and their mom was an idiot that died in battle on board a ship when the pirates were RAIDING MIST SHIPS. It was just genuinely stupid.

I think stuff like Naruto’s failings leading to things being worse in areas, like letting the Mist collapse despite being so physically close in location to Konoha and the Fire Country, or him not trusting people the way he does Kakashi or Sasuke, especially as he had no real answer to making things better in Naruto itself, makes sense.

The "both sides uwu" or "cyle of hatred sad uwus" argument, especially how it is depicted in this general verse really pisses me so much and is one of the reasons I vastly prefer 1st gen to the fuckery that was shippuden, and later, as you pointed out, Boruto (I haven't watched those episodes, but reading the wiki about them makes me puke lol)

At least, in the 1st Gen, when Gaara wants to "hurt" the world because his crap dad tried to kill him, Gaara is only 12 and not in the best mental state thanks to Shukaku being an ass, and is proven wrong, which prompts his change.

Shippuden?

Nagato got his uwu moment to justify his "both sides" plan, because his random parents died in a war so in return he will bring "Tru Piss" to the world even if it means leveling a village full of randoms bcs he's pissed at Tsunade telling him to stop acting like a fucking brat and starting more conflicts that cause more and more senseless random's deaths.

(and then the dude nukes the village, including Ramen Guy and his daughter, to make a point or something)

but everything is alright uwu, since he rez everyone and we're supposed to follow Naruto's mindset, about the guy having had a point or something and the "uwu cycle of hatred that somehow includes killing people who haven't done a thing to you because they exist and it's not your fault if you had to slaughter them :("

(that's why, despite its own faults, I think BC is vastly superior, at least with this scene - Asta doesn't kill Patry when he reveals his tragic backstory and despite emphasing with him, he still punches him bcs dude, you killed a bunch of randoms who never asked for anything in your stupid plans)

Madara was the best example with his "wah wah, Hashirama y u kill me, i thought we could understand each other, see u and I are the same we kill because we can't understand each other :'(" after repeatedly attacking the Leaf, and all of its randoms, with Kurama many times.

As for those episodes you've mentionned -

Iirc Kagura was supposed to be the next Mizukage?

And lol @ his randoms friends for apparently wanting to ditch and betray him after they heard they would only get a 3 years reduction of their sentence, that they got, iirc, from the previous arc where they killed randoms and attempted a coup against the Mist???

Again, it's the general trend within that crap verse of giving more fucks to the perpetrators than to the victims - you can't fucking kill people and expect to get away with a slap on the wrist ; 1st gen Gaara understood it and swore to protect the people of Suna, as the Kazekage, to make up for what he used to do and what he used to be, which ends beautifuly with his final scene in the Deidara battle, and is corrected when he "wakes up" - aka his entire village loves him now (even if the later chapters of Shippuden try to retcon this in a Naruto wankering fest).

Anyways, iirc, one of those random dude in this filler killed Kagura by stabbing him after taking him hostage? And Boruto'n'co effectively dropped their weapons to comply to the dude's demands?

And then Boruto apparently goes in "rawr revenge mode" by pummeling randoms and nearly killing a kid, because that's totes how revenge works, I mean have you seen the old Chiyo pummeling Sakura to death because she comes from the same village as Sakumo? (and I'm pretty sure she was faking trying to attack Kakashi during her "senility" scene, because she didn't use any of the techniques she uses against Sasori!!)

Forget trying to build up or shoehorn an "uwu cycle of hatred uwu BaD uwu" with third rate characters in a third rate filler using a convoluted plot on how "killing terrorists BaD because their families will hate you afterwards :("

Why don't we have any samurai going to Konoha and having a beef with Sarada because Sasuke killed some of them during the land of iron arc? Like Pedro the Samurai's daughter, or niece, or grand-daughter ? I legit thought the samurai girl character would be something like this, but no, she's just pure filler material.

It's not a fair comparison at all, but I was re-re watching FMAB a few days ago, and I vastly prefer the "cycle of revenge" and Scar's general arc to whatever Kishimoto and whoever the fuck works on Boruto tried to give us.

Kishi's world is stupid enough to apparently make everyone accept Naruto's decisions even if those same decisions, if they were made by anyone else or during the Shippuden Era (or even the first gen), would have declared several wars or have been criticised to oblivion.

At least, the later manga reveals he is a shit hokage, even Shikamaru shits on him - and he receives the worst punishment ever, being fridged with "the woman who makes diner in his home" lol

[lonelier-version-of-you]

There is... a lot to process about that episode of Casualty. So while I organise my thoughts, I’ll start with this:

It looks like I was right about Max Cristie’s backstory! About halfway through his very first episode, I thought “he’s definitely gonna have a backstory where he either lost a kid, suffered childhood trauma, or both and that’s why he cares so much about children now”. And tonight seemingly confirmed at least the childhood trauma part. What the trauma exactly was still isn’t totally clear (a Holbyverse character hasn’t been this vague and incomprehensible about their backstory since John Gaskell), but from the stuff he said regarding the patient Ivy and how he “knows what it’s like”, it sounds like we can assume, at minimum, that he was a victim of child neglect and went down a dark path (possibly involving a gang or something??) trying to cope with it. Interesting.

Nigel Harman did say, if I’m remembering right, that someone from Max’s past will show up and provide insights into his character. So I’m assuming that’s where his backstory will be further explored - I imagine this is all we’re getting for now. (I’m not actually even all that interested in this character, funnily enough. I’m just fascinated to see where they go with his backstory, because they’re definitely setting up a tragic past for him.)

One thing I do know is that he is continuing to give me strong Greg Douglas vibes. Remember when Greg gave that teenaged patient his phone number so she could speak to him?? Yeah.

As for the Ivy storyline itself... eh, I struggled to focus or get invested due to Faith’s involvement. Why are they keeping that woman on this show?!?!?! Everything she’s done is just... beyond redemption. There’s no salvaging that awful abusive monster. Casualty producers, if you’re reading this, please write Faith out.

Her being outraged at Max for shouting at Ivy was especially ridiculous. Yeah, Max shouldn’t have shouted, but Faith has absolutely no right to get mad at someone for shouting at a teenager. Just a few months back, she literally physically assaulted Natalia’s boyfriend Tristan. Max shouting is nothing in comparison.

Speaking of which, I really, really despise how they seem to be setting up a Faith/Max/Dylan love triangle. Revisiting Faith/Dylan would be bad enough - pairing Dylan, an abuse survivor, with an abuser would be absolutely disgusting. (They could pull it off if they actually turned it into a deliberate abuse story and made it a story about revictimisation. But I don’t think they’d do that, because that would require acknowledging Faith is abusive.) But throwing a pointless love triangle in, where Faith’s other potential victim is also (from the sounds of it) an abuse survivor - yikes. And that’s not even getting into her future relationship with Iain... who wants to bet they’ll break up the moment she finds out about his depression? Faith does, after all, hate it when her men aren’t perfect and dare to be mentally ill and traumatised. ://

The Rash and Ashok storyline is still incredibly sad. I don’t have much to say because they didn’t have that many scenes in this episode, but it really is heartbreaking. And from the looks of the spoilers, it’s only gonna get sadder. :( Neet Mohan and Kriss Dosanjh are still as brilliant as ever.

The Stevie and Marcus storyline is... a lot. I really don’t know how to feel about any of this so I’ll just say, Elinor Lawless absolutely smashed it. What a wonderful actress - Casualty are very, very lucky to have her. Adam Sina has been great as Marcus too, although it’s harder to compliment his acting precisely because of the thing that makes it worthy of compliments: Marcus has been getting more and more repulsive to watch.

But I am kind of disappointed that they gave Eloise, Marcus’ previous victim, BPD - giving me hope for a properly represented BPD character in the Holbyverse, even if one who was just a guest role - and then... killed her off. Like, did they have to give her BPD for the story to work? I feel like it could’ve worked just as well if they’d said she had depression or something. Idk. I’m just tired. I guess I should be glad it wasn’t “BPD makes you evil” like John Gaskell (who was a textbook case of BPD, whether Holby intended him as such or not). But the only Holbyverse character I can think of with even potential BPD who survived their storyline (Jac fits a lot of traits too, but like John and Eloise, she didn’t survive) was Chloe Godard, and they retconned all her traits away! (And her mental health struggles in general, but I especially noticed them retconning the BPD traits away. And yes, I am still on the “Chloe has BPD” train after all these years.) Sorry for the rant. I just want some good BPD representation for once. :(

The Jacob and Stevie scenes were absolutely fantastic. I’m so glad the show tied Jacob’s own experiences of domestic abuse into Stevie’s storyline. Charles Venn was brilliant, too. I hope Jacob gets to be an ongoing support to Stevie throughout the aftermath of the Marcus storyline. They’d better not just isolate her into only interacting with Faith again.

Marcus is a monster. I mean, what more can I say about him? Everything he’s done to Stevie in the past and everything he did tonight... he’s just so awful. I despise him with all my heart. He feels like a very realistic abuser, so kudos to Casualty for that.

I’m also glad they made the choice to avoid going down the usual cliche route of Marcus physically hurting Stevie and that being his point-of-no-redemption. I feel like these storylines always spiral into something like that. And I’m not saying that’s not worth depicting, but it’s nice that they let the coercive control/emotional abuse stand on its own, without feeling the need to add physical abuse to make Marcus a “proper” abuser.

I could see some of Stevie’s actions while seeking evidence and revenge being called “unrealistic”, and that would probably be a reasonable argument, but personally I’m fine with it - it doesn’t cross the line into sensationalism for me, as it feels perfectly in character for Stevie (if it were anyone else, that would be another story).

Anyway, I hope Marcus suffers for his actions, or dies, or both. I don’t really know what else to say. May Stevie succeed in her revenge plan! I fully support her. <3

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Less than 12 hours this is actually insane….also wait from the previews the additional time also looks a lot less crusty???? Or maybe it’s just me LMAO either way SOO EXCITED

SHSAHS Tullia out here living her best life I fr forgot for a second that otoya also has a sad backstory his dumbass moments that we’ve talked about just outshine it LMAOOO Nagi’s story fr has me in tears though wdym his house burned down?!?! Ok anyways YES that’s exactly the vibe I was thinking of I just had no idea how to word it LOL Yukimiyas team definitely has an insane level of respect for him and all the training they’ve done through together while hioris is more like “we’ll be your parents” LMAO

LMAOOOO aegislash being the director of the pursuit office au im crying that would be so funny otoya flaming the hell out of tillie and Karasu eulogy quote have me crying

OH FR?? Hopefully that also means less ugly pokemon but we’ll see LOL mega flygon would be so cool I definitely remember people making fan designs for it when megas first came out and some of them go hard

Wait the interteam pokemon dynamics and relations have me spiraling into more universe expansion LMAO first we have garchomp and nidoqueen taking care of babies together and now hydreigon altaria unrequited crush HAHAHA also otoya just straight up not knowing ampharos can mega has me rolling like for all that time he just didn’t know it was possible where even aikus like “lmaoooooooo you dumbass”

DEPRESSED VIBE reading this has me laughing but you’re so right if aiku wasn’t so, well, aiku LMAO then the stubble probably wouldn’t feel as off

No fr when you start touching grass it hits you hard LMAO but the more I think the more I feel like this is an opp….we’ll see if my premonition is correct LOLL

Omg the best dynamic they fight like arch rivals but the moment someone talks shit they’re like “uh. Nuh huh that’s MY rival only I get to say shit to them”

YOU GOT THIS!!! But also take it easy!!! Rewind a bit while watching s2e1 I still can’t believe we’re almost there

IT WAS A THIRD DUDE wait I think you mentioned the third dude briefly before but not the spicy white comment I’m crying talk about a night to remember omg wait sorry I’m laughing too much “oh it’s some Indian thing” “yeah I’m Indian” BYEEEEE bet she was speechless when she saw you at the event omg I can’t

- Karasu anon

THE ADDITIONAL TIME PREVIEWS LOOKED REALLY GOOD i was laughing idek the context but just karasu and nagi going 😐 at each other while otoya and shidou are up to some bs in the background is SO them HFJSJDJ notice how yuki and rin weren’t involved that’s because they’re the only normal ones (well rin debatable but yuki yes) 😭 i’m super excited too AHH based on the previews the art style looks really nice!! less than six hours away now omg…

LMAOOO tullia fr has no problems i was lowkey considering coming up w smth tragic for her but honestly having one normal character might be beneficial to throw into further relief how insane the rest of the cast is 😫 otoya himself is stupid but his backstory is tragic…ngl in the actual story though he’s not quite as much of a dumbass although he does get scammed by chris prince and is crazy for literally every woman (except reader and tullia) he meets he’s also surprisingly mature and chill when the situation calls for it!! he def has his moments where he’s giving cool wise adult (although most of those scenes go to karasu tbh) FDJFJHD NAGI HAS ME CRYING TOO my poor baby…why must he suffer in this way…i say as if i’m not the one who’s making him suffer to embody the themes of the story 😭 yeahhh with yuki’s it’s kind of like his team thinks he has nothing left to prove and if he wants to/needs to do contests now then that’s what they’ll do and NOBODY better say anything without even knowing what he’s going through!!! meanwhile hiori it’s like “oh this little boy has zero parental figures we must adopt him and make him our own” actually lowkey you know what would be cute is if yayoi kinda takes hiori under her wing (pun not intended) when he’s younger and looks out for him when she can?? this both contributes to how tabito knows him as well as his inferiority complex (why does yayoi like hiori more) because he doesn’t understand why yayoi is nice to hiori and not him meanwhile she’s just trying to be the sole kind adult-ish person in the kid’s life 😟 maybe she’s the one who gives him ducklett as a reason to get him to come to the gym more often or smth (it was originally supposed to be tabito’s hence why it’s so sassy but yayoi thought it would do hiori more good)

the best thing about aegislash is with its inclusion you can truly have any au you want within pursuit since it canonically can manipulate people like that and seems to enjoy common manhwa tropes like isekai 😭 it WOULD be the one to just put reader and co in an office au randomly and probably would do so if it wasn’t terrified of houndoom and hydreigon LMAOAAO

a lot of the fan megas are so cool!! i’ve seen a lot of fan designs for a mega lapras too that would be really fire…we’ll see what comes out though ig HDSKJSSJ

I LOVE COMING UP WITH INTERTEAM DYNAMICS lowkey hydreigon just like its trainer in that sense because altaria is also lowkey nagi coded in a way HFSJJDBS they’re both into white fluffy creatures 😭 ig y/n did raise it from a deino it probably considers her its mother (and somehow…otoya is the father…since he helped her bust the ring and all i think hydreigon has a TON of respect for otoya it probably ships reader with him too) hence why it’s so similar to her in the most random aspects KDFHSJSJ lowkey i feel like another dynamic i see working is altaria being obsessed with one of karasu’s birds (probably talonflame) meanwhile the bird just kinda side eyes altaria because it doesn’t want to be on hydreigon’s bad side LMAOO also aegislash def loves reo for some reason because they both read villainess isekai manhwa

YOU CANNOT TELL ME OTOYA WOULD NOT BE THE ONE TO NOT EVEN REALIZE his ampharos had the mega stone and everything and kept trying to mega evolve and otoya would just be like bro wtf are you doing get your head in the game we’ve got a battle to win!! ampharos almost requests to be traded to nagi (idk why but mareep line is also very nagi coded lowkey otoya’s team is just nagi lite)

YEAHHH that’s what i’m saying like the stubble isn’t giving young fun flirty attractive soccer player it’s giving middle aged man in a crisis but caveat is that it’s only attractive on said middle aged men!! also i think the connotation is diff like irl a fully grown man with stubble is attractive especially if they (like barou) are attractive already but a teenager/early twenties man with stubble is hard to pull off without looking nasty 😭

i’ll give you that it is an opp because the breakdown is almost 50% opps so that doesn’t clarify it much HDJSJS ngl the story isn’t hard to write at all but i keep getting distracted and going on my phone after writing like two lines so i haven’t been productive in the slightest LMAOAAO it will be done soon though i hope…mostly because i want to write for karasu again i haven’t written him in soooo long 😔

IT TRULY WAS AN INSANE NIGHT the other day i plugged my digital camera into my phone and i found photos from that night that i don’t remember taking/being taken LMAOAOA there’s one of me where i’m lowkey serving but you can lowkey tell there’s nothing behind my eyes (ofc i made it my insta pfp it’s kinda cunty) i would show you but i don’t want somebody random to click on this and get the privilege of seeing my face HFBDSKSJS anyways yeah the girl was so shocked to see me she was like what are you doing here i was like?? same thing you are?? anyways…

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Wishmaker

Goddamn it... 

It's bad enough Astruc tastelessly axed Lukanette, but now he just had to show up to give a sarcastic eulogy at the funeral.

Let's get into the fourteenth (chronologically the eighteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Wishmaker

Right out of the gate, we get a “Chloe bad” joke with her insulting Marinette for being poor or whatever as she hands out flyers for an upcoming career fair. Chloe doesn't have much of a role in the episode, but she will be important towards the end, trust me. We also get a funny “Marinette stares lovingly at Adrien” joke while she sees him, so it's good the writers are at least trying to get their strange habits out of their systems now instead of later.

While reading over the flyer in his room, Adrien ponders a possible career as he doesn't want to keep being a model.

(The episode came out in English first, so I'm just going to be using quotes instead of screenshots of subbed scenes for this review)

Plagg: Don't you wanna continue to model?

Adrien: I don't think so, Plagg. I'm doing it now because my father asked me to. But now I realize I don't know what I'd want to do. I've never asked myself that question.

This is a really interesting dilemma for Adrien. Unlike other episodes that just have him feel sad for entirely superfluous reasons like Ladybug turning him down or generally moping about his mom, it feels like something you can really understand. He genuinely isn't sure what he wants to do with his life because he's had everything chosen for him before. I also like the use of the English dub saying Adrien modeled because his father asked him to, as if he couldn't actually say no. I also like how Adrien is still starting to lose faith in Ladybug for giving out Miraculous to everyone, which makes even more sense after his view of her was shaken in the previous episode chronologically, “Rocketear”. I also like how Plagg suggests ideas for a career for Adrien, like the two of them opening up a cheese shop together, which shows how Plagg cares for Adrien and wants what's best for him, ultimately highlighting how healthy their relationship is. He's almost like a big brother who gives advice to Adrien, even if it isn't the most sound advice at times.

On the other hand, Marinette already knows what she wants to do with her life, but the Kwamis start to argue over what she actually means by it by saying they know what she wants to do, a painfully accurate metaphor for the writers dictating Marinette's actions no matter how inconsistent they are.

Pollen: What's a career, dear Guardian?

Marinette: Oh. Well, it's... your job! Something really important that you do and gives meaning to your life!

Roaar: Oh! So, your job is being the Guardian of the Miraculous!

Mullo: Of course not! It's being a student!

Xuppu: Not at all! It's making presents for Adrien!

Marinette:Well...

Longg: She said “something important”, like when she crafted the big doll house to hide the Miracle Box!

Wayzz: Or when she designed the alarm for this room! What a masterpiece!

Marinette: Sure, I love crafting but—

Ziggy: You guys don't get it! What gives meaning to her life is to be in love with Adrien, or Luka, that's her job!

Fluff: Luka's the one with the guitar, right?

Kaalki: Her real career is being Ladybug and carve her name in history by her glorious deeds, of course!

Of course, their bickering somehow makes Marinette realize she isn't sure what she wants to do in the future after all.

We then cut to a reality show hosted by TV personality, Alec Cataldi. He's generally an asshole to the people on the shows he hosts and takes pleasure in humiliating or just being a dick to them, making you wonder how he still gets work with that attitude. Basically, he's the Alec Baldwin of the Miraculous Ladybug universe. The current show he's hosting is one where he roasts people for their jobs, making Andre a target by pointing how counterproductive his “business” is.

Alec: Here's a perfect example: Andre, the Ice Cream Maker, the ice cream man that is never around! Let me remind you how this goes: Andre doesn't have a shop, no one knows where he is, it takes forever to find him, and he gets to pick a flavor of your ice cream! You've gotta be kidding, Andre! Give me one reason why I should bother to chase after you when I could get my choice of ice cream in any corner supermarket!

Andre: Well, people don't just come for ice cream when they find me. They come to share their love and experience of magical moments! A supermarket cannot do what I do! I am a creator of magical moments!

Alec: “Creator of magical moments?” You've gotta be kidding!

I'm pretty sure that's what a lot of people thought of Andre when they first saw “Glaciator”. The idea behind Andre is that he chooses ice cream for you representing something about yourself, so he gives Alec a scoop of lime to represent his sour exterior and chocolate cinnamon to represent the dreams he still has within. Alec flinches a little at the ice cream, presumably because of how terrible of a combination that is, and decides to go to commercial to think.

Marinette talks to Andre about what he does, and he explains he used to be an office worker, with the only highlight of his days being making ice cream for himself after work. It eventually inspired him to quit his job and start making ice cream for everyone. It's a nice backstory, and I think a lot of people watching who are struggling to think about their future can relate to this like with the earlier scene with Adrien. It's also a nice touch for the flashbacks to reveal Andre has served ice cream to some of France's most famous couples.

(Jean Coutau and Jean Marais)

(Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin)

(Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet)

Granted, I'm wondering how old Andre is to have even met some of these people given Jean Cocteau died in 1963, but seeing how Master Fu is 186, I'm guessing the Miraculous Ladybug universe just has really good healthcare. Either that, or the people in this universe take Jay Kordich's diet very seriously.

Andre gives some ice cream to Marinette, who is soon joined by her ex-boyfriend who she never loved according to the writers. Actually, judging from her face when Luka talks about the very first guitar he made, the writers made another 180 regarding Marinette's feelings for Luka.

Of course, because the show wants to remind the audience Alec still exists, he makes fun of Luka for taking two years to perfect the delicate craftsmanship it takes to sculpt any instrument when you can just download an app on your phone. Your inner boomer is showing, writers, even if you were born after the time period for that generation. Luka retorts with some vague philosophical line he's known for that's one of the reasons why people are so mixed on him as a character

Luka: Musical instruments fill the space and space fills the instruments. No phone in the world will ever be able to do that.

Despite it being incredibly confusing, it gets to Alec, causing him to run off in tears. Luka and Marinette continue to talk, but it turns out that's Adrien decided to sit down nearby because of course he did. Though, like the last scene, it's a pretty interesting one as the three discuss what they want to do with their lives. There's also a really nice visual of a blimp with an ad Adrien was in passing by while Adrien talks about his father dictating his life, a really nice symbol. Of course, the scene is somewhat ruined by Luka suddenly deciding to be an Adrienette shipper.

Luka: You two will eventually find what's already in front of you, but you can't hear it clearly. Just let the melody flow.

He's referring to their uncertainty of their futures, but earlier on, Luka wanted to help Marinette be honest with her feelings about Adrien, and even before that, Andre was saying that Marinette and Luka didn't have to be in love to enjoy his magic ice cream. It's here when I realized this episode is subtly trying to end any chances of Lukanette still happening with so many little details. Right when the two spend time together, that's when they decided to help Adrien who showed up for no reason, preventing them from potentially coming to terms with their feelings for each other or at the very least discuss how hard it is to be friends with their history. And things only get more frustrating towards the end, where you'd swear someone decided to smother Lukanette with a pillow in its sleep.

Back to Alec, he's roasting a wig salesman (does he even have permission to film any of these people?) for his job, but as soon as the salesman puts a wig on him, Alec immediately gives us his life story.

Alec: When I was a kid, I used to have long hair, but everyone made fun of me. That's why I shaved it all off. I've been making the wrong choices my whole life. My TV shows are nothing personal. I make fun of people when they make fun of me when I was a kid. (Starts to tear up) I should've been the person I always wanted to be, trying to change the world instead of mocking it! (Falls on his knees) I've wasted my life!

I didn't paraphrase this at all. This is seriously what happened. He goes from mocking everyone he meets, to slightly doubting himself after seeing an ice cream vendor and a young musician, and then he starts having an existential crisis about his tragic backstory. It's not a bad idea, but if there was some more buildup in previous episodes, I'd understand. But this goes from confusing to straight out insulting towards the end. I'll get to that later on.

Shadowmoth notices Alec's emotions and akumatizes him into Wishmaker through his microphone.

Wishmaker has a pretty cool design. The grey skin color coupled with the mostly black outfit really highlights Alec's broken heart, and he looks pretty sinister. His powers... leave a lot to be desired.  Like the name states, Wishmaker has the power to make everyone's childhood dreams come true, like this one guy's dream is to be Santa Claus, so he transforms into Saint Nick without any hitch. Wouldn't it make more sense if Wishmaker twisted the dreams of his victims like a genie and made them miserable while they ironically lived out their fantasies by twisting around their words? Instead, all of his “victims” seem pretty happy, which doesn't really do much to make him a threat in my opinion.

So the aforementioned Santa starts dropping presents like bombs near Marinette, Adrien, and Luka, and they're separated by a giant robot. Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug, and gets Luka to safety, though as soon as she leaves, Luka goes to check on where he told Marinette to stay for safety, and doesn't see her there. Instead, he sees his deadbeat father (transformed into a crocodile) drowning and goes to save him.

Ladybug meets up with Cat Noir (who transformed off-screen) and the two easily incapacitate the robot before engaging Wishmaker, avoiding his blasts. Apparently, they'll get their secret identities revealed if they get hit, so Ladybug goes to get Luka to help out as Viperion while Cat Noir holds off Wishmaker. Ladybug goes to get Luka, leading to the funniest joke in the episode.

She gives Luka the Snake Miraculous and he transforms into Viperion, immediately activating his Second Chance. For newcomers, Second Chance allows the user to set a point in time when activating it and if something goes wrong, they can go back to that checkpoint in up to five minutes. Ladybug also summons her Lucky Charm, a stuffed dinosaur toy.

Back with Cat Noir, as he engages Wishmaker, the Akuma starts to tempt him with the idea of living out his childhood dream, because he genuinely doesn't remember his. As Shadowmoth orders Wishmaker to use his powers on Cat Noir, Ladybug and Viperion show up, but in the chaos of the fight, Ladybug gets hit by Wishmaker, revealing her childhood dream as the “Knitting Fairy”, and exposes her identity to Viperion, who uses Second Chance to undo the timeline.

In the new timeline, Cat Noir's vulnerability gets to him, so he willingly lets himself get his by Wishmaker, not only exposing his identity as Adrien, but tragically reveals his childhood dream, to be whatever his parents wanted him to be. I feel like this works a lot better than some of the other moments where Cat Noir defied orders or screwed around on the battlefield because it's clearly framed as a moment of weakness on his part, and it was naturally built up over the course of the episode. The reveal of Adrien's childhood dream is a real gut punch too, as it shows just how much Adrien's life has been controlled by his family.

In the third timeline, Viperon deflects Wishmaker's blast meant for Cat Noir and redirects it toward a man whose childhood dream was to become a giant stuffed dinosaur. The stuffed dinosaur in question goes to give Wishmaker a hug, restraining him long enough for Ladybug to steal for Cat Noir to cataclysm (It's a microphone, how hard is it to break???) before she de-evilizes the Akuma. Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug to force everyone to stop living out their childhood dreams, she gives Alec a Magical Charm, and Luka decides not to tell Ladybug he knows both her and Cat Noir's secret identities. Why did Ladybug expect Luka not to know her identity when the whole reason she recruited him was to make sure nobody else found out her identity?

Now, while it isn't outright said, it's hinted at that now that Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug and Adrien is Cat Noir, judging from his dejected look after finding out the latter, he may be giving up on all attempts at the idea of getting back together with Marinette, and may or may not start shipping the Love Square now, just like how Kagami decided to ship Adrienette in “Mr. Pigeon 72”. I'm not saying the idea of Luka knowing someone's identity is bad, but it feels like this only happened specifically to stop him from having feelings for Marinette because now he knows Adrien loves her alter ego, and vice versa. Maybe it'll be touched upon in a later episode, but this was just a dick move by the writers in terms of ending all chances of Lukanette like this in order to ensure the Love Square has absolutely no competition.

So the episode ends with Marinette and Adrien deciding to focus on their futures while Alec starts a new show where he helps people live out their childhood dreams, albeit dressed like Style Queen for some reason.

Eh, he still picked a pretty cool Akuma to dress up as in my opinion. A lot of people have viewed this ending as evidence Alec is a drag queen with how he dressed up, coupled with the fact that he said something that was very similar to famous drag queen RuPaul.

Alec: And now, we're gonna love one another, starting with everyone loving themselves! Because how are you gonna love other people if you don't love yourself?

Though Astruc, being Astruc, once again decided to be vague when asked about the subject on Twitter, though at least the subtext is better than when he said he didn't make Juleka and Rose girlfriends because of censors while making it seem like a noble act.

Overall, this was a really good episode, though there were some underlying issues that really kept me from actually liking it. For the most part, it had some good drama with the main character, a rare scene where Marinette didn't stammer around Adrien, a creative (albeit flawed) Akuma with some good action, and an interesting idea with Luka knowing everything about the Love Square now.

There are just two big problems that really got to me about this episode. Let's get the obvious one out of the way, Luka. Honestly, he really didn't need to be in the episode. Sure, he gave some sound advice to Marinette and Adrien about their careers, but it felt kind of strange to see someone their age talking to them about their future when Andre, someone who actually had experience struggling to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, was pushed to the side. And like I said earlier, I think the only reason Luka found out about Marinette and Adrien's identities was to discourage him from thinking about getting back together with Marinette. After all, now that he realizes how “made for each other” they are, he can't stand in the way of the Love Square.

The problem is that in the context of the episode, we don't really see what made him see things that way. At least in “Mr. Pigeon 72”, Kagami consistently viewed Marinette's attempts to get her and Adrien back together as a subconscious desire to be with Adrien. It was dumb with how she decided to go to Team Adrienette at the end of the episode, but it was something. I'm glad the episode didn't force in too many Love Square shenanigans, but I think more should have been done to contextualize Luka's feelings towards the reveal. I get the writers wanted to make sure Lukanette had no chance of coming back, but this just feels rushed.

And then there's Alec's redemption arc. While it's not a bad idea in concept, the problem is that it flies in the fact of a recurring theme this season, that being redemption. Because, here's the funny thing: Alec blatantly said he became an asshole TV personality because of his history of bullying, and decided to retaliate as a result, but he eventually saw the error of his ways and turned over a new leaf. For long time readers of this blog, I apologize for bringing this up yet again, but what exactly makes this different from everything Astruc said about Chloe? You know, when he said that you make your formative choices when you're fourteen? Just like how Alec decided to become a reality TV host making fun of people after a troubling experience from when he was a kid?

Let's say that I agree with Astruc's views about Chloe. How is Alec different from what Astruc's said about Chloe for almost two years at this point? What makes Chloe, someone who was the victim of a troubled childhood who never got help, an irredeemable monster while Alec, someone who also had a troubled childhood and had even more time to get help while never getting any, capable of change? I thought he Alec made a formative choice when he was young and stuck with it, just like how Chloe started to fully develop at the age of fourteen. I mean, Astruc, you yourself said that Chloe's troubled childhood “was no excuse to treat people like shit”, according to you.

I'm just saying, dude, if Chloe can't be redeemed because of the stuff you yourself said, then that shouldn't apply to Alec either. When you really think about it, it's almost like Astruc either made up a bunch of excuses to not redeem Chloe, or he's a massive hypocrite for going back on his word. You can't really justify this kind of hypocrisy relating to Alec's redemption when you remember just how much of a hardass Astruc was when explaining why redemption was impossible for Chloe.

This coupled with the treatment of Luka really drags this episode from really good to blatantly insulting to certain viewers. Then again, these two choices just got to me personally. I feel like if those two things weren't there, things could have made this episode a lot better for me personally. I can see why a lot of people in the fandom still like this episode, but I'm honestly not a fan of it.

[sinemoras09]

Monster, chapters 119 and 141.

I have so many thoughts about this scene, omg.

I’m re-reading the manga, and it’s interesting going back through it having seen the whole anime/knowing Johan and Anna’s background, and you can see where Urasawa peppers in Johan’s humanity. All of it is framing - Johan is a cipher, told from different POVs, and we’re never really let in to see his mindset. We only have hints, and occasionally Urasawa throws in some clues, like this scene when Johan was working to manipulate Karl in chapter 41:

His face isn’t in the frame, but I think if the manga were shown from Johan’s POV, it’s easy to imagine he was probably thinking of Anna and feeling sad, before getting a hold of himself and going on with his machinations. Same goes with this, from chapter 143:

Can you imagine? Finally recovering your memories, thinking “Oh, this is why I am the way I am,” and then realizing it’s all a confabulation? Kinderheim 511 screwed up his memories, can you imagine how much despair he must have felt when he realized this?

He’d probably laugh because it's so absurd, and then start crying from a feeling of wtf-did-I-do-this-for? flavor of helplessness.

And then this, from chapter 158:

Crying over those pictures of the two of them happy and innocent :(

What really strikes me in that scene where they’re crossing the borderlands, is that, on the first read, Johan smiling his serene smile is jarring and disconcerting, because at this point, we’ve only slowly been introduced to all the horrible things he’s done - he doesn’t have a conscience, he kills and discards people as he sees fit, etc. etc. - and that creepy stepford smile of his in that panel, in the face of their certain death, is just another example of him being something inhuman. But on the SECOND read, after we know his background, the tragic backstory? Maybe he was smiling trying to reassure her. Look at him feebly covering her with his body, trying to keep her warm. That image of him curled up against her, his arm around her back and holding her close, is just so powerful to me. He loved her and he wanted to protect her. And he still loved her and wanted to protect her, even after they were separated. He shot and killed all those neo-nazis who imprisoned her. He probably paid off a bunch of people to keep from trafficking her. Personally? I headcanon the reason why he went to all those lengths to kill his foster parents and his criminal connections was to meet Nina at Heidelberg with a clean slate. Like, hey look at me, I was traveling the world and totally *not* killing people and running the black markets or anything illegal. He wanted a clean break from his past before he met up with his sister.

(Honestly, if I think about it, all those random killings he does in the series make sense. I headcanon he didn't plan on killing the Fortners until they decided not to tell Nina about her past. That probably really angered him. I also headcanon he killed all those people he stayed with - Aunt Clara and Uncle Josef, Herr Bodecker, etc. - because he got jealous. The killings with the elderly couple and the Lieberts was him trying to protect her.

And the suicides, the kids falling off rooftops? Collateral damage. The detective was getting too close to him, the Thursday Boy could identify him. The kids he was just spouting off on his nihilism, he probably believed he really was chosen.)

Anyway, that scene just gets me every time I see it. He loves his sister so much. :’(

ETA: here’s another scene where the framing affects what we’re seeing, from chapter 64:

The extreme close-ups, the focus on the sharp teeth, etc., makes it all seem more terrifying. But if this were drawn a different way, Johan’s POV, being triggered by what he’s seeing, starting to sob when he realizes what he is...again it’s interesting going back through the manga after knowing his backstory. This poor kid (he’s only 20!) was just reliving every horrific memory (albeit distorted thanks to Kinderheim 511). What looks like a primal, WTF type of scream on the first read comes across on the second as much more anguished.

Anyway, I love this comic :)

[yui-kuromori]

I watched Squid Game a few days ago and I have a hot take for y’all.

EPISODE 6 WASN’T THAT SAD

And here’s why:

And don’t get me wrong, I was still very upset after it was over. It was wonderfully acted, cinematography was beautiful and the way that the game unfolded was incredibly well written.

The whole issue with this episode is its buildup.

Let’s take for example Alice in Borderland’s dreaded episode 3, a counterpart to Squid Game’s episode 6. The episode that killed many favorite characters in a short span of time that broke the viewers’ hearts.

What makes AiB’s episode 3 work so well is the element of surprise that makes it so much more impactful. Firstly, its placement. By putting the “kill everyone’s” episode so early on in the season, the writers put this expectation that they’ll somehow make it out alive. Arisu has already proven to be able to save everyone from sticky situations and we as the viewers think that surely, they wouldn’t kill half their main cast so early on in the season. Characters like Karube and Shibuki usually make it out to at least half the plot, so it was shocking how they actually did die so early on.

Secondly, we have Chouta playing a red herring for this episode. Chota is the typical first death sacrifice. A kind hearted, innocent character that would probably die early on in the season to put the stakes higher and mature the other main characters. Since we were all somewhat expecting Chouta’s death, Karube and Shibuki’s come as a surprise. The underlying expectance that at least Karube will somehow survive the 7 of hearts makes the episode’s impact so much stronger, to the point that the entire fandom still theorizes on how they could have all survived. The open nature of the game also contributes to make the episode even more heartbreaking. They could *all* have lived, but didn’t.

Now, Squid Game’s “Kill half the cast” episode came a little later on, and anyone that has any experience watching battle royals types of media was already expecting it at this point. There was no way that the entire main cast was making it out alive, and honestly? They made it farther than I personally expected.

The construction of the killed characters also does the episode no favors.

The old man was never going to make it all the way through. He had an overall well rounded character arc with the Main Character, and as sad at it was, his death was fully expected. There was no wonder in there, no question. From the moment the game was announced we all knew which one of them was going to survive. I was also kind of expecting for him to die in his sleep because of his illness, with the buildup of him laying in the bed, sickly and all.

Ali had also no chance of survival. He very much fit into the same category as Chouta did. When he was first introduced, saving the main character, grim faced and strong, I had hope that he would make it, but as soon as he blinked those innocent eyes, smiled and trusted Sang-Woo, I knew he was done for. As soon as the games started, I knew he was going to die. I was expecting his death the entire season. As well written as Sang-Woo’s betrayal was, there was no way his death could pack a huge punch without the element of surprise.

Lastly we have Ji-yeong, the girl who sacrificed herself. She had some wonderful dialogue, and her actress was doing the most, but surprisingly, she was the death that least impacted me. When I first saw pictures of her and Sae-byeok on Tumblr, I was expecting for them to have walked in the games as friends already. There were so many parallels drawn between her and Karube from AiB, which made her feel like even less of a well developed character to me.

With Karube, we have two full episodes with him as a main character to get to know him. As little time as that may look, it was enough for us to know everything we needed about him. We see his love for his friends, his desire to marry the woman he loves. We see the uglier sides of him and the kinder ones as well and by the time he dies, we actually have something to mourn over. His relationship with Arisu is what really sells his death for me, they clearly had so much love for each other.

Ji-yeong however, had roughly two episodes, one where she had very few lines and the one she dies in. All that we know about her has been told us, rather than shown us. She shows up, has a beautiful 20 minutes of wonderful chemistry with Sae-byeok, literally tells us her tragic backstory and dies. There was little to mourn, little connection between the character and audience, and that really weakened her impact as a character for us. She also had no relationship with Sae-byeok other than some sort of friendliness. We saw that they had time and means to build compelling relationships in Squid Game, like the main character and the old man, so it’s kind of a shame that they didn’t develop the girls any further. Sae-byeok also barely mourns her (logically so, they didn’t know each other) whereas Arisu, who screams, goes suicidal and spends up until the very last episode still mourning his friends, keeps digging on the grief that their deaths brought to the audience.

Overall, episode 6 was kind of a disappointment. On its own it’s a pretty solid episode, with nice dialogue and emotional scenes, but the lack of buildup and characterization kind of kills any real punch that it might have had.

[curiosity-killed]

Lang Qianqiu deserves more love goddammit: a post, unfortunately

This brought to you by the wonderful @veliseraptor & @/yuer on Twitter but also mostly out of spite and the fact that it’s preventing me from writing a very dumb poke-the-bear post abt the entire weird social media culture around The Minors

As always ✨SPOILERS!! SPOILERS EVERYWHERE✨

So first off: when I hit the scene where lqq confronts xl and screams “I will never be like you” I sat up in bed, did a little shimmy of delight, and hissed “fuck yes” at like 2 AM so. Now you have a preview of wtf this train wreck will be

1 ) lqq is a good character

We don’t get a ton of time with lqq because tgcf is 87 side characters running across stage with The Most Interesting Concept constantly one-upping each other before vanishing. But what we do get is, I think, enough to make a pretty compelling story: Lang Qianqiu is a kind and generous prince who is also the sole survivor of the bloody massacre of his entire family, committed by the people dearest to him (both in his belief that Gusohi Fangxin did it and in the reality of An Le’s involvement), who goes on to peacefully lead his fractious nation into a peaceful reign before he ascends as a powerful enough (aka beloved and worshipped enough) god to be ranked among the top heavenly generals. That’s like. Pretty fucking classic protagonist vibes right there.

And, as usual with mxtx’s characters, we get a lot more than this lovely little backstory. In his interactions in canon, lqq is capable of great grief and anger; he is willing to sacrifice himself if it means avenging his murdered family; and he simultaneously holds both great hatred and great respect for his old teacher. And, of course, he winds up raising and taking care of his enemy’s son which shows a remarkable depth of compassion and emotional messiness that I find terribly compelling. He struggles with a simplistic view of justice that is supported by lies told to “protect” him and that is uprooted by the truth and forces him to try to make sense of the world without the guardrails that others installed around him (looking at you mister fangxin sir).

Also I’m stealing my own tweets bc I’m Right but:

*pulls up single barstool to lqq is a good character table* I think it’s interesting & Says Things abt the continued relationship btwn lqq & xl that lqq *didn’t* recognize xl, implying that he left fangxin’s mask in place even when he went to kill him

Like here is the man who killed his family & best friend, who left him abandoned in bloodshed on his 17th bday—& here is also the man who saved his life, who taught him, who lqq looked up to & wanted to be like

Even when lqq *does* recognize xl, he still has so much respect for him paired with that hatred that it’s honestly rlly tragic? Like man. There’s so much grief in lqq’s repeated demands for a duel & insisting it’s fine if xl kills him as long as he doesn’t hold back

*pats lqq pompom* this bb is so sad. And so much more like his teacher than either of them seem to realize or necessarily want

Despite being a pretty minor character, lqq gets a lot of complexity and nuance! Look at this child trying to be grown up while desperately turning to his old master for guidance and “the truth”! Look at him! Be sad!!

2 ) lqq is an excellent parallel to xl

Okay stealing my own tweet again don’t look at me I yell the same shit everywhere

Xl didn’t want lqq to become like him (self-sacrificing, vengeful, alone) but lqq not only became alone, chasing vengeance, & willing to sacrifice himself for revenge—he also became kind, open-minded, & remorseful!! & he still clearly respects xl @ novel end 🙃🙃

We all know hc’s “they’re not very alike at all” and yeah sure baby go support your man but narratively, there’s a lot of importance given to cycles, parallels, and foils in mxtx’s writing and most explicitly (compared to mdzs, haven’t read svss) in tgcf. For example, *gestures at beefleaf, gestures at Xianle Trio vs Wuyogn Crew, gestures at Xie Lian & Jun Wu’s whole uh. Deal.* And while I’d argue xl and lqq are part of a triumvirate rather than a pair, we’re not including mister three-face in this conversation so just looking at xl and lqq:

Both adored and sheltered crown princes

Both taught by a guoshi who was seeking to prevent the repetition of their own tragedies and in their efforts, lied/omitted information and failed to protect their charge from tragedy

Both were betrayed* by their closest friends

Both are the last living members of their respective royal families

Both caught the interest of supernatural beings from a young age

Etc etc I’m getting v bored and distracted writing this so moving on

Most importantly to me, we have their betrayal by a very close and adored mentor and how they react. The confrontation I mention at the start of this shitshow is really imo one of the most important scenes in the novel because it a) illustrates the differences in xl and Jun Wu and b) sort of gives you a preview of how xl ultimately wins

So a) Jun Wu and Xie Lian both take a talented, marked-for ascension young prince under their wing. Jun Wu sees himself in the boy and obsesses over shaping him into Jun Wu’s own image in the belief that this will make him the perfect heir. Jun Wu pushes his chosen heir into situations where Xie Lian is repeatedly harmed in an effort to show that the common people are fickle and cruel and don’t deserve his compassion and care.

Meanwhile, Xie Lian is reluctantly roped into mentoring his prince due to his inability to stand aside when he feels he could do something to prevent hurt or injustice befalling another (simultaneously his great strength and great weakness! God I love him). Xie Lian tries to teach his student to believe in and care for the common people and not to sacrifice himself (see: flashback convo re:taking the force of the sword strike into his own body).

When Xie Lian refuses to bend in the shape Jun Wu demands, Jun Wu bashes his head into the wall. When Lang Qianqiu cries “I will never be like you!”, Xie Lian laughs and says “Good!”.

B) this of course feeds directly into foreshadowing! Like Lang Qianqiu’s bold words, xl ultimately refuses to become like his mentor and remains defiant even when it would stop him from being hurt. Xl beats lqq and says so what if I tricked you, so what if I lied, I still won. Naturally, xl beats Jun Wu not through standard swordplay but by using a trick he learned while forced to busk and wander the earth alone and unlucky for centuries.

…okay so I have fully forgotten what I was actually saying here! Anyway!

Like Xie Lian, Lang Qianqiu spends a time consumed with the need for vengeance, hunting his enemy and rejecting the heavens. And like Xie Lian, he winds up caring for his enemy’s “son” and trying to both comfort him and maintain what’s left of Qi Rong’s life force despite having previously been hellbent on destroying him—bc he sees the impact it has on another person. In the end, he even gives a gift to Xie Lian—his mentor, his role model, and the one who killed his father—that was once given to him as a symbol of unexpected kindness. Sound familiar?

But, importantly, and contradictory to what I have been yelling abt but whatever it’s 12:30 am, Lang Qianqiu is not a direct mirror of Xie Lian but a closing of a vital loop in the story. Lqq is very similar to xl (I will die on this hill!! Only I won’t bc I’m stronger than y’all and will keep swinging these pots and pans) but bc xl tries to do better and keep lqq from suffering the way xl has, lqq is able to have a gentler and more optimistic path forward. He’s proof that even a small act of kindness or even kindness to only one person still matters and has a ripple effect that can’t be seen when you’re in the middle of it—a thread started with xl giving the coral pearl to Lang Ying and closed with Lang Qianqiu returning the pearl to Xie Lian.

So I have no idea if any of this is coherent or compelling but I meant to be asleep two hours ago and the points are:

A) Lang Qianqiu is good actually

B) parallels!!!

C) look ive already started another wip about Lang Qianqiu and Xie Lian and I didn’t want this but no one else wrote it so now I have to so pls just accept this as a warning

*sort of air quotes around this for Xie Lian bc frankly Mu Qing was right & Xie Lian kicked feng xin out BUT on the other hand, it was experienced as a betrayal and we also again have all of Jun Wu’s shit so it evens out

[marisandini-chu-blog]

How Shadow and Bones Differentiate Villain and Anti-Hero

Alright, first I need to claim the fact that I love dark, edgy, but misunderstood bad boy in stories with the potential of epic redemption. Loki from Marvel. Jason Todd from DC. Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time. Zuko from AtLA. You name them, I simp them.

So when I watched this new show on Netflix and shown a tall, handsome man in dark clothing, both respected and feared for his power. I feel... nothing. 

WHICH IS WEIRD! Like... he’s obviously my type. Complete with the sad backstory and vicious streak. So I kept wondering why I wasn’t enamored by the Darkling, Alexander Kirigan. I wasn’t surprised he was the main villain, I even expected it. But I usually at least have a bit of sympathy for them. This OOC behavior of mine made me introspect myself and the show, trying to find out which part gave me the red flags before Mother Darkling decides to pop the chosen one out halfway in the season. 

That’s when it hit me; there were red flags! The show had been subtly trying to tell us Kirigan is a manipulative boyfriend not just by great acting and good directing, but by comparing him with the actual anti-hero of the story who I actually love; Kaz Brekker. 

Here’s the list of signs you might not notice of why Kirigan is meant to be a Villain instead of an Anti-Hero. 

1. The Eyes

"The eyes are the window to the soul" is a common saying and and the key to good acting for any good show. Eyes tell us a lot about what a person’s character is like and SaB showed us the difference of a sincere man and a man with a hidden agenda.

Look at him! Look at that little smirk. Look at the gaze. That's the look you find when someone's evil little plan is finally coming together. Not one awed by the power or by Alina. A blatant sus move is what I'm saying. Congrat, first flag planted.

Sure he could still fall in love with Alina, but that doesn't stop his agenda either. All it does is potentially create conflict for him to pick either his plan for revenge or life with Alina.

In comparison, look at Kaz when he said this to Inej; "She isn't like you, no one is." Straightforward eyes. Serious grim. No nonsense tone. Inej is one of the most talented and terrifying rogue-assassin and Kaz just blatantly said that he kept her from 'slavery' because of who she is, not what she's capable of. Like... the man has no shame being known to love her while still trying to be professional (or as professional a thief can be). I can respect that.

This is the eye of a man who would abandon everything to make sure she comes out alright in the end. Do not argue with me on this!

2. Leverage and Status

The moment Alina steps into the Little Palace she was treated like a princess. A palace, by the way, that’s managed by the Darkling. She gets favorable treatment; from the food, Zoya displaced when she fought Alina, a horseback ride just the two of them, asking her to call by his name to make them familiar, a black uniform that might as well be claiming???

Dude is desperate is what I’m saying. 

Sure, this could all be romantic gestures. There’s the problem that Kirigan is superior in status and name, powerful Grisha, and has a vested interest in her power. Pursuing romance while Kirigan has the ability to make her life heaven or hell with a snap of his finger made every single decision be seen with wariness. 

"Beware of powerful men," Genya couldn't put it any better.

Had they pursued romance after they destroy the fold, cementing Alina’s position as a saint more. Then I might have let go of that wariness. 

I’m only proven correct when the moment Alina turned away from him, Kirigan made another leverage by (spoiler!) putting an antler to her collarbone... eeeewwww much?! 

That’s how desperate the Darkling is to be in control of a person and a situation. 

And when no letter came for Alina? That a big red flag because who else in this castle can control the coming of going of letter with the Savior. HMMMMMMMMMMM.....

Then there’s Kaz. My man. There’s no competition. This guy held no leverage on my dear Inej. When she almost decided to leave, Kaz didn't force or convince her to stay but he ask her. Doesn't remind her of her debt whether monetary or life debt to him. In fact, this guy needs money for revenge but instead mortgage his main source of income for her freedom.

HE POSTPONED HIS LIFE GOAL TO FREE HER FROM DEBT ASJHAKFSDJGLDFJ!!!  

What more do I need to say? 

3. Sympathy Card

This is the type of point you want to watch out from your partners, ladies, gents, and others. The sympathy card is the way to go when anyone wants to reach out to you so you can take care of them before they abuse or gaslight you. 

While it’s good to share trauma and eased the burden, sometimes it's healthy to ask yourself whether the person can take advantage of you and to verify whether they lie to you or not.

When Kirigan shared about his past as a sympathetic boy with his secluded fountain and coin. Everything about that scene rang warning bells for me... the part he had requested her to use his color... requesting to horse ride with just them two... sharing sob story that may encourage Alina to help him...

Kudos to Alina to see through the fact she's seen as a means to an end.

It was only when Kirigan showed righteous anger and frustration of a war that's killing his people did Alina finally opened her heart to him.

Kaz however doesn't use the sympathy card. Heck, the man likes to believe he shed away any weakness and threw it in the harbor where it belongs. Kaz hates weaknesses. And garnering sympathy is an admission of weakness for him.

We still know there's a tragic backstory as any decent anti-hero would have... but by not sharing that, this implies that Inej and Jesper stayed because of who he is, and not because of who he was or how he came to be. They don't need a sob story to stay together and that showed a stronger bond between them.

4. Friends

To be frank, I find this the most hilarious because this point is the one that convinced me that Kirigan was secretly an evil bastard.

He doesn’t have any friends!!!

Like... dude had a literal witch army, a wife once, a fuck buddy, and a girlfriend but there wasn’t a single moment in the show where someone, outside of Alina and superior, to speak casually to him. 

You’re telling me this person... the most powerful and influential Grisha in the East Ravka, charming as hell, handsome as fuck, and yet he doesn’t have friends?! 

“I’ve buried good soldiers... friends...” Get the fuck out of here! WHAT FRIENDS?!?! Maybe if you get off your little power trip from your self-made pedestal, you can actually be less of an asshole and make one. 

Sure he excused himself by blaming his ‘ancestor’ for being a shadow summoner. I can see how the fear makes it hard for him to get close to anybody. But all the other characters who are part of his army only ever shown to speak with him respectfully, and the royalty even commend him. No one disrespected him even openly and you’re telling me he doesn’t have one friend amidst all these people?!

In comparison, look at Kaz. He’s brash, crude, and unapologetic. He held true to his moniker ‘Bastard of the Barrel’ and yet this ass has friends. They show Jesper joking with Kaz, and Kaz has shown to banter with him back as well as tolerating his gambling addiction when it could have jeopardized the Job. Inej was shown to actually argue and have disagreement with Kaz when he’s technically her boss. Can you imagine the Darkling doing that? CAN YOU?!

No. Because he's a pretentious ass. That's why.

This is a great example of the use “show not tell” of how Kaz despite his obvious edges has a soft spot shown through his relationship with Inej and Jesper, who have a friendly dynamic. I can attest that while Kaz didn’t create a good first impression, I love Jesper and Inej (they are precious!) so much that I project it to Kaz in extension.

On the other hand, Kirigan’s goodwill had only ever been told by outsiders or himself. None from his inner circle (which he doesn’t have!) other than his mother, who ended up outing him instead. 

So I applaud the writers and showrunners of SaB to actually have subtext signs of a manipulative bastard. The Duckling is a good villain character that's complex but unredeemable. Sometimes, you just have a good ol' charming villain you can't redeem and that's okay.

[musingsofvenus]

I know the only time we see Leah and sue together was during the campfire in eclipse and that Christmas scene in breaking dawn but I’m just gonna say it right now

We missed out on mother and daughter moments with sue and Leah. Same thing with Seth and Harry if Harry didn’t die

here's my Off The Rails and Very Long answer that includes a drabble at the end because why not:

We missed those things but at the same time it's really not relevant to Bella's story. Like I know some people say this as a joke, but it's true. The series is written from Bella's perspective so we're only getting details that matter to her AKA what matters to smeyer.

One of the many issues with smeyer's writing is that she introduced sooo many characters that truly have no relevance to the story. She inserts random things about her characters because they're a "fun" concept, but in reality those details don't serve the plot at all, never get unpacked further, and the reader is either left confused or just completely forgets the info. It's like a shiny new toy-- cool in the moment, but likely not useful long term.

If the Clearwaters were removed from the story, would Twilight really be all that different? Nope! So why include those characters and their bizarrely tragic backstories at all?

Harry dies. It's supposed to be sad? But he's hardly mentioned and when he dies it's like he never existed in the first place???? Lol??????????

Leah is the only female shifter, is apparently unable to conceive, and oh, her fiance fell in love with her cousin due to some magical force. To top it all off, she scared her father to death. Literally! Um, what?Ok? And that trauma just never gets expanded on? What did smeyer want us to do with this information? Hello??

Apparently nothing, because the only elaborate information we get about Leah from that point on is that she's bitter and mean because of the imprint between Sam and Emily. Seth is apparently not affected by Harry's death and is still sunshine boy number 2. Not a word about their father ever again. Not a peep about the grieving process for the pack, even though Harry seemed like an integral part of the freaking Council who helped Sam and the other boys when they phased the first time!

Obviously we don't see these things because 1) Bella is grounded after the Italy stunt and 2) even if she wasn't grounded Edward wouldn't let her go to La Push. So even if the grieving and the angst happens on the rez, we would never see it because the series is written from Bella's perspective. The only work around would be Charlie moping around because his best friend died, but Bella's narrative is so hyperfocused on Edward she probably wouldn't notice (AKA smeyer doesn't care).

So then I ask... what did Harry have to die for... why is any of the above information needed.... why was any of that drama necessary....?

IT'S SO RANDOM. ABSOLUTELY RANDOM. Please tell me one good plot reason why any of this stuff happened! We have all of this information and it has nothing to do with anything! None of that gets resolved. It's another weird loose end. If it never happened, the rest of the book/series would be unchanged. Do you see the problem here?

Here's a small-- keyword: SMALL-- detail that would've been some nice foreshadowing with the wolves and not foreshadow Harry's absolutely unnecessary heart attack:

In the books, Bella and Charlie have dinner with the Black's and the Clearwater’s. Leah is glued to the phone the whole time (and is described as beautiful in an exotic way? just go to hell for that steph). This would've been a good opportunity for Bella to, idk, notice that Leah is distressed and quietly ask the table what's going on?

Harry pays extra attention to his plate and says she's having boy troubles. Charlie grumbles something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, "Been there before."

But it's Seth that blurts out, "Sam's been doing this disappearing act lately."

Bella looks up sharply. "Sam? Sam Uley?"

Seth nods eagerly, happy to be part of the conversation again. "He disappeared for a few weeks and returned huge. Like, strongman huge," he says in an awed voice. "And people claim they see him at night sometimes, running around with a few other guys."

"They're not the kind of guys you wanna look up to, Seth," Jacob interrupts with a grim expression.

"But he's always been like my big brother..."

"Was like your big brother. Sam doesn't deserve that kind of attention when he barely sees you anymore. Or me," Leah gripes over her shoulder. Seth stares at his plate with a pout and slumps his shoulder.

"Sam is a good boy and he's doing his best," Harry says firmly.

"You always stick up for him, Dad!" Leah yells, slamming the phone back into the hook. "We were supposed supposed go to UCLA together, remember? Now all he can talk about is tribe pride and his 'duty' to the rez! He did a 180 overnight!"

"Lee..."

"Don't 'Lee' me! Just tell me the truth." Exasperation colors Leah's voice as she glances between Billy and Harry.

Billy's fingers are suddenly busy messing with a tear in the tablecloth. Harry purses his lips and averts his gaze.

"God! The both of you are such liars! I'm freaking out, Sam's mom is worried sick, and you two are colluding together and don't seem to give a damn-"

"Leah Clearwater," Sue snaps.

The entire table seems to straighten under her command bolstered by her stern tone. She says nothing else-- she doesn't need to. Her reprimand, unspoken yet visceral through her flinty gaze, hangs in the air.

Leah's eyes flit between her mother's as moisture begins to cling to her lashes and her lower lip trembles. She takes a final glance around the table before she spins on her heel and disappears from the kitchen. They listen to the sound of her stomping feet and the slam of a door.

Sue sighs, dropping her utensils and wiping her hands on a napkin. "I'll talk to her."

Harry nods. "She just needs some time to cool off-"

"But she's not wrong, Harry. I'd like to know what's going on, too," Sue interrupts, staring Harry down with a severe expression. Bella immediately recognizes that intensity-- Leah gets that look straight from her mother.

When Harry only grimaces, Sue leaves the room with another sigh.

Seth and Harry watch her go with matching wary expressions and only breathe a sigh of relief when the sound of her footsteps hit the stairs.

"Sorry I said anything. I didn't mean to ruin dinner," Bella mumbles. Jacob pats her knee sympathetically under the table.

Harry waves off her apology. "You didn't do anything. She'll feel better once Emily comes down for a visit. Then it'll all blow over."

Bella and Jacob glance at each other with doubtful expressions.

"Mom hasn't looked that scary since you broke the dishwasher," Seth whispers with wide eyes.

Billy chuckles. "That's nothing. She was a force to reckon with in high school."

"Marry the girl who frightens you," Harry says sagely.

Billy makes a sound of agreement. Seth looks appalled.

The tension lifts with their laughter and everyone takes the unspoken cue to continue eating. Sue eventually returns to the kitchen with Leah tucked under her arm. Leah approaches Harry after a nudge from Sue, and she wraps her arms around his shoulders as she murmurs an apology. Harry drops a kiss on the top of her head, and it seems like all is forgiven for now.

But Bella can't help but wonder what's really going on with Sam and the other boys who follow him around. Would she lose Jacob, too, if Sam's expectant looks really mean anything like Jacob fears? When she glances up at Jacob, who stares off to the side with worried expression on his face, she knows he must be wondering the same thing.

Anyways thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[startistdoodles]

How would you rank the Pokémon Villian leaders from least favorite to favorite

(Feel free to include the Orre games)

I actually haven’t played the Orre games (YET... though I very much want to) So I’ll just rank all the team leaders from the main series 👌

Also I’ll give Rose an honorable mention since I haven’t finished SWSH yet and so I don’t really have a full sense of his plan. I do think he is delightful so far, though. Love his energy.

Another honorable mention is Colress, he’s not a team leader, he’s more of a high-ranking admin, but I still want to come out and say that he is wonderful and I love him a lot.

SO here’s the actual list, from least favorite to most favorite: (under the cut because this gets long)

Lysandre: Poor Lysandre...it kills me because I think he had so much potential as a villain, but his scheme is honestly really forgettable to me despite him having a really cool design and aesthetic. I love the orange and black color pallet, but it can’t really save him from being kind of an underwhelming villain to me. (Honestly, I think the entire X and Y plot had so much missed potential but I’ll probably save that for a different post some other time.)

Giovanni: Now from here on out, I actually really like all of these villains so it was a bit tricky to order them :’) But Giovanni is a really good team leader, and one of the scarier ones I think. Team Rocket is really threatening and shows that Gio really just cares about money, even when he has to hurt people or Pokémon to get it. His dynamic with his son Silver is really heart-wrenching and his involvement with the Mewtwo project is so despicable. And his role as the last Gym Leader is definitely one of the best plot twists in all of gaming. He’s intimidating, he’s ruthless, he’s honestly really great.

Lusamine: Yeah, I’ll include the Aether foundation president here despite not being a “team” she is the main antagonist of SM/USUM. And she is a delightfully cruel one too. She’s so self-absorbed that she had no problem pushing her own family away, including her two children who she practically disowns because they’re not “beautiful” enough for her. She’s honestly so despicable, but somehow manages to still be such a fascinating antagonist whose actions really did hurt me while playing the game. And bonus points because she has an awesome fusion with the Ultra Beast and it really shook me to my core when I first played. Her story (and honestly the whole plot of this game as a whole) is so rich and deep and underrated imo.

Archie and Maxie: I’ll put these two together since in the context of the games they’re mostly the same just a different coat of paint (ORAS made them a lot more individualized though, which is really nice and appreciated ) but they were the ones to kick off the “Harness the power of the ancient legendary Pokémon to accomplish my goals” series of plotlines, and though I think theirs is a bit more underwhelming than the other goals of leaders I’ll talk about soon, I do think it’s super iconic. They’re also one of the few leaders to actually show remorse for their actions and want to stop the mess they created. I don’t think I can pick a favorite between the two, they’re both very enjoyable in their own ways. I also love their rivalry and how they tend to dig at each other from time to time, it’s really entertaining.

Guzma: GOSH I adore this boi, he is SO delightful. Despite him not really being “evil” per se, he does have a good amount of chaotic energy and he just gives me a great big smile whenever he comes into the scene. I love how he is such a softie deep down, adopting all these misfits to be a part of his team and clearly considering them to be like a big family. They’re like a canon found family and you have no idea just how much pure joy that gives me. He’s also probably the most quotable of all the villains, giving us gems such as “It’s ya boi, Guzma” and “Y’all are stupid!”. He’s honestly such an absolute delight and I love him so much.

Cyrus: So Cyrus is one of the villains I only recently started to appreciate once I started getting back into replaying the main series and realizing just how deep his character goes. Game Freak gave this man a tragic backstory and you know I had to go and dig into it as much as I could. You can learn so much about him just by reading in between the lines of how he talks and how others talk about him. He’s sad, lonely, cold-hearted and wants to create a world lacking in spirit so that no one has to ever feel the pain of sadness ever again. But by doing that, he is getting rid of all emotions, even the positive ones. So he’s really willing to stop feeling happy if it means he won’t get to feel sadness anymore either. It’s insane and really something that stands out to people once they grow up. I know I certainly didn’t realize this as a kid. I just really feel for him and want him to be happy,,,

Ghetsis: And finally we arrive at my absolute favorite evil team leader, and the one probably no one expected! I hate him so much, and I think that’s why he's just so great. His writing makes him so devious, so twisted and terrifying that it really makes me feel so strongly about the already genius story of BW. He is admittedly one of those villains that’s mostly evil for evil’s sake and I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s as complex as Cyrus. But darn it, I can’t feel anything but absolute loathing for this man and his twisted ambitions, the way he raised a child to be nothing more than his human puppet...the way he manipulated the whole region to nearly go against us and separate humans and Pokémon from each other for good... the way he was so close to actually accomplishing his goals...the way he was so bitter about losing to the hero of BW that he actually goes out of his way to try and murder the hero of BW2...this man is just absolutely insane and probably the most terrifying villain Pokémon has to date and I will always get such enjoyment out of beating the crap out of him whenever I go and replay BW.

WHEW this took me nearly a whole hour and a half to write, hope you enjoyed my ramblings :,)

[captainpikeachu]

i need to talk about Booker’s family backstory and how it makes his exile even more tragic

When Booker hears this response from Nile, he pauses for a moment, almost considering if he should tell her his story

Then he does start to tell her this sad tale of loss, every bit of pain so clearly etched onto his face through Matthias’ performance.

In the comics version, Booker had FOUR sons, but even if there is one less in the film version, the pain isn’t any lessened.

I feel like it’s often not talked about with enough emphasis but Booker is a FATHER, a father who didn’t just lose one child, but ALL OF THEM. Trying to get through the grief of seeing one child die is bad enough, how do you endure it three times? We talk about Andy losing Lykon and Quynh, and we talk about what Nicky and Joe would feel if they lost one another, but your children? That’s something else, that’s a different kind of love, that’s YOUR CHILD. And this isn’t me dissing friendships or romantic love, not at all, all of those things are important, but your love for your children is something else entirely, you’d do things for your children first even before the person you romantically love or is your friend. And Booker had to watch all three of his children die, he’s had to bury all of them. He survived the war, made it all the way back to them, only to lose them anyways, and the cruel irony is that the immortality given to him could have saved his children’s lives. How does that not fuck you up, how does not that eat away at you every single day, that your children should be alive instead, that they should have gotten to be happy or found love or had kids of their own?

He tells Nile that the only way is forward because to go back to your family is pain, the worst kind of pain for him, a parent outliving his children and watching them suffer til the end.

He nearly breaks down here, had to pause and take a breath to collect himself, Matthias’ acting in this scene is just so perfectly portraying a man still deeply shaken and haunted by his demons, by his failings as a father who couldn’t save his children no matter how much he wanted to give them his immortality.

This moment is literally ripped from the comics.

Just imagine, having to walk away from your own children as they die, because they don’t want you around, because they hate you, they curse you, because they think you aren’t doing enough.

Is it any wonder this man drinks so damn much? The fact that he hasn’t totally burst into tears is a miracle. 

Imagine loving your children so much that you’d happily given them your immortality, if you could you would save them, but whatever granted you this gift doesn’t allow you to share it, and all you can do is watch your children all hate you, think your love is weak and selfish. That no matter how much you want to give it to them, you can’t. So all you can do is watch and be hated for something you never even chose, because if you had a choice, you’d have happily given your life for your children.

No one in the team is a parent. No one can truly understand losing one child, much less three. Booker is alone in that pain, in that loss. 

A wife who loses a husband is a widow, a husband who loses a wife is a widower, a child who loses their parents is an orphan, but there is no word for a parent who has lost their child.

I remember a friend of my parents had lost one of their twin boys whom I had met before when they were babies, one of them fell down a flight of stairs and died, he was no more than 5 years old maybe. And that one loss practically destroyed that family. His parents simply never recovered, had a divorce, and even now could not speak to that loss, still blaming each other, blaming the grandparents who was watching the kids at the time. That boy should been in his teens by now, probably going off to college, and his parents are still in pain every single day. And that’s the loss of one child from a horrible accident.

But just imagine for a second having the power of immortality, yet unable to use that power to protect your kids. What good is having the gift of immortality if you can’t protect your kids anyways? If you can’t save them when it matters? What good is immortality when it’s just pain and hate and despair?

And tragically, while trying to free himself from this pain and the loss of his children, history is repeating itself all over again. Because his actions have now cost him everyone he loves, have caused him this lonely exile, with the team who will say his love is weak and selfish (Joe literally called him selfish and pathetic), and he will never forget the hate and despair in their eyes for betraying them and letting them down.

In trying to escape the pain of the loss of one family with loved ones hating him, he ended up creating the very thing that he wanted to escape from, now this time once again forced to endure it. It’s this vicious cycle that he cannot seem to escape from.