when steve and amelia talk they do so in french but i write it in english obvs and don't think i've been super clear about it but i've mentioned he swears in french and their parents have french names so it's there if you squint
grian pearl and scott: none of us chose or even truly desired to win, rather, victory was thrust upon us like the cloak of destiny that we all don. victory was unwelcome and in some cases unexpected, it could've been anyone but it was us
martyn: i murdered cause i wanted to win and i won cause i wanted to murder
youve heard of sex flowers get ready for the flower that makes you into a celestial shoujo herione complete with particle effects you cannot turn the fuck off and creates a wifebeam so powerful it can incapacitate and maim and keeps making you burst into tears and fall on your ass which makes the wifebeam More Powerful and you also cannot turn this off either.
and is also still, sort of, a sex flower
from one of my favorite fanfictions, Celestial Afterglow by elanor_pam, a fic that defies description in the best possible way
Hot take: Even though I love that he beat the Miquellallegations, pre-dlc Mohg was so much better and had a lot to go for in terms of power, potential and how conniving and dedicated he was to achieve his goal. I miss him.
Also the premises for a Lord of Blood ending were right there. It would've been an interesting alternative option where you as a player, not only as a Tarnished, are giving up both your role as main character and your quest to become Elden Lord, thus letting someone else seize that opportunity.
I understand Miquella's plan for godhood and the creation of a gentler world (which is still ultimately destined to fail if we intervene and avoid having our heart stolen by him), but it removed so much agency from Mohg in particular, in my opinion.
this scene alone convinces me that byler is endgame bc you cannot make will actively say that hes not gonna fall in love and then write a whole plotline abt him being in love with mike.... just for it to not be reciprocated???
will is the only party member who's completely unexperienced with romantic relationships, which of course has to do with the fact that he's gay in the 80's, but this is a TV show. all of this is fictional so they can take whatever route they want with these characters, and making will continue to stay alone and suffer through unrequited love would be awful storytelling, especially when people claim that will moving on from his feelings would bring character development and growth.
wills feelings for mike arent there just to "show his growth". weve seen this kid go through hell and back yet even with everything kicking him down he stays strong and kind. hes the most selfless character in the show and always puts others needs before his own. in s4, they put a lot of emphasis in these character traits of his, and they're always picturing his love for mike as something selfless and pure.
now if his feelings are not reciprocated, how does this teach will a lesson that leads to character growth?? he already doesn't expect anything. life has shown him time and time again that he always gets the short end of the stick, why would he think this is any different?? making him have feelings for his best friend just to get rejected would just be a nail in the coffin, reaffirming to him that no matter what hes not worthy of ever getting what he wishes. this isnt character growth at all.
but if his feelings ARE requited, that gives us a twist to the story we havent seen. we would get to see actual growth for will, him learning to give himself value and realize that he DOES deserve happiness!! instead of leading into the expected spiral of bad things keeping up the consistency with everything else that has happened to will so far, finally giving him one good thing leads to us seeing a shift in his whole nature, and wed see him dealing with things he hasnt dealt with before!!! GROWTH!!!
besides why would they make such an intricate complicated storyline.... just to lead to a rejection we all saw coming? the GA expects him to get rejected. his feelings not being reciprocated would not be any surprise. but twisting those expectations in a way to shock the GA AND give wills character the happiness he so deserves after being through so much..... now THAT would be world shattering and a satisfying ending to both the viewers and will himself!!
this scene establishes a clear subversion trope, making us aware of how will believes he's never finding love, just for the show to later on subvert expectations and reward will with the love he deserves and never thought hed get🫶
you know what i need so bad more than anything actually is a byler moment a la the pride and prejudice (2005) hand scene where mike helps will climb up onto a rock/over a tree branch/up from the ground etc and the camera zooms in on mike’s fingers gripping will’s hand as the music swells softly, thumb brushing over his knuckles, lingering a little too long as will goes to move away, and then will flashes him a shy little smile and is like “hey, thanks,” and mike, a little flustered and caught off-guard is like “yeah, of course,” and then he panics and runs off to join whoever’s up ahead and the camera zooms back in on him flexing his hand in stunned silence
literally the best part of this whole stupid book iwlove weird obsessed horndogs thee villain archetype of all time. he’s so silly. “we could’ve had a life together”, he says to his lesbian ex-neighbour who he’s just shot with a crossbow bolt meanwhile her girlfriend who he’s also just shot is half dead across the room. god i love it here he said me and the bad bitch im going to fumble
this all being said about the light dragon and how it is definitely the biggest highlight of totk (for me at least), i Do think a lot of the reaction to it Is dependent on botw and zelda's characterisation from that game... a lot of which is kind of lacking in totk because of her more passive role (e.g. you are told about her + see her actions after they have already happened)
like. if you didn't already really like zelda and were sold on her relationship with link (and not even just from a shipping zelink perspective, like. just UNDERSTANDING they have a strong bond from everything they've gone through together) then i'm not sure if any of that stuff in totk would've hit as hard as it did. the game does very little to build on what we already know about them, which i think is both a letdown to new players (which. i am not sure why they are playing the sequel before botw, but that is how totk acts most of the time lmao) and returning ones, and as time goes on it's become harder for me to blame people for not caring for it as much.
Person who’s interested and thinking about watching RGU here, is Utena/Anthy a toxic ship? How is it portrayed and what is your general opinion about it?
So short answer? No, it's not a toxic ship. Long answer? Utena is about a lot of things, and one of its biggest themes is unhealthy relationships. Friendships, family bonds, and romantic relationships. It is a large scale dissection and deconstruction of how these relationships can become unhealthy and what can be done to fix them, if they can be fixed at all.
So, without spoilers, for the majority of the story the relationship between Utena and Anthy is unhealthy and kinda toxic, but the point is to show how they overcome it. Again, no spoilers, but there's a scene in the 38th?? episode I think that is one big thesis statement about this theme.
RGU is fearless when it comes to confronting dark subject matter. It is compassionate in its portrayal of these subjects, but it doesn't pull any punches. As such, there will be moments throughout where you'll think "wtf wtf wtf" and moments that will heal your spirit. Utena and Anthy have their share of both, but far more of the latter.
This episode basically delivered on everything it built up with Liko and Amethio so far and more, I'm really looking forward to their future development.. It's been so satisfying to watch.