#please mcq…let them be happy

[katewritesss]

MY HEART…MY ACTUAL BENTHAN HEART

[twopoppies]

Hi gina, hope you’re having a good day. I kinda need some advice from you bc you’re one of the most people i respect here and i would like to hear your opinion. I’m from Egypt and last year was my last year in school and i’m getting into college later this year, our stupid minister of education right when we got into secondary school in 2018 (it’s three years here) started a new educational system for secondary students to make the education better which was like: every student was handed a tablet to study on and take exams on (which we never did bc of our shitty internet), we can have our textbooks in exams and changed all questions into MCQ. We answered in bubble sheets eventually after the tablet idea didn’t work. The exams over the last three years have been extremely hard bc as you can see he allowed us books during exams bc he said questions were based on how you really understood the lesson not how well you can memorize it, at first we thought that was really a good idea bc there’s too many unnecessary shit in our books that we had to memorize every year. But the exams were super hard, the questions were borderline stupid and impossible to answer with the time he gave us (he lessened the time so we don’t have a chance to look in our books even though we couldn’t get any answers from them bc the questions weren’t from it). We changed the way we study and the books we use and used the educational platforms he recommended, but we still go to exams and be shocked by how we can’t answer the questions. The last three years have been extremely stressful and hard bc we were the first year that this system has been applied to, so we didn’t have any other students before us to compare ourselves to and see if we’re doing good or not. Last year i needed a good grade to get into medical school, and it’s been my dream since i was 11, and we started july 1 2020 and finished exams august 2 2021 ( our exams got rescheduled bc of you know what). So I’ve studied and worked my ass off for 13 months with a stupid minister that made decisions and put out new statements every other day and i got nothing in the end. My grade was 83,2% and i needed 88% to get into medical school. I really wanted to make my dad proud, he was really supportive over the last year, booked me the extra lessons, bought me the books i needed and i was so disappointed in myself that i couldn’t make him proud or achieve my dream. Sorry that was too long but here comes the part that i need your advice for. Since i can’t get into a public college with this grade there are two options: 1) get into a private college in egypt but they are expensive. 2) go study abroad in Ukraine which is slightly less expensive than here. I’ve always wanted to live in another country, i don’t like egypt and i don’t see myself staying here long term and ukraine feels like my only chance to have that but i’m afraid that the system there is hard that i’ll fail again and i will disappoint my family and waste their money. While school here is a “safer option” for me but i’ll have to live in a shitty place in another city and after my experience with the education here i’m just so tired of it and want to get real education and idk if i will consider myself a real doctor with the kind of education that is here even if higher education is different than high school. Also i won’t be alone in ukraine, i have 2 cousins there who are also in college and we will be sharing a flat but i kinda feel like my dad will be more assured if i stayed in egypt, even i myself wondered if i will be able to live in ukraine but i really don’t like it here and i feel like once you finish college you get a job and you just settle so it’ll be harder to try and move to another country and i fear that will happen if i stayed here. I’m so so sorry gina that was way too long but i’m confused and frustrated and i feel like i don’t deserve the money my dad will pay bc i failed him and i don’t want to disappoint him but i also want to be happy so please tell me your opinion. Thank you

Hi darling. Egypt isn’t going anywhere. If you go to Ukraine and it’s too hard/you don’t like it etc., then you change plans. But you’ll likely always wonder what would have happened if you tried it. Your dad wants you to be happy (he wants you to be safe and secure, too… but bottom line is he wants you to be happy). I think if you’re able to be honest with him and tell him you’re worried you’ll let him down, he would tell you that you could never let him down, no matter what. You’re working hard, you’re doing your best, you want to make him proud. He’s supported you this far, talk to him and let him know what you’re thinking. Ukraine sounds like a good option to me. Good luck, sweetheart. You’ve worked hard, you deserve to feel inspired and excited about your education.

[boasamishipper]

Ethan and Iceman for the character asks?

*arrives to this ask fifty years late with Starbucks*

Ethan Hunt

Why I like them: he’s just so genuinely kind and good and cares about humanity and his team and the world so much. also yes he is the living manifestation of destiny and very intelligent and capable in the field, but he’s also a dork and a nerd and his very seriously asking benji in the middle of the RN car chase if he had his seatbelt on basically endeared me to him forever.

Why I don’t: n/a - but also, like. ethan, PLEASE take care of yourself.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): tie between the opening of RN where he literally clings to the side of a plane as it’s taking off and his wedding to julia in mi3, if only because he looks so happy and it makes me so happy for him in turn. (also him awkwardly apologizing for disrupting that funeral in Fallout in the middle of the chase scene was just. Peak Comedy.)

Favorite season/movie: Fallout.

Favorite line: tie between “mission accomplished!!! [surprised pikachu]” in Ghost Protocol, “we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it” in Fallout (bc mood), and just ethan’s entire expression after benji is like��‘yeah you can hold your breath for three minutes, that’s nothing!’ in RN.

Favorite outfit: 

OTP: julia/ethan, benji/ethan, luther/ethan, hunley/ethan, brassel/ethan, ethan/jack

Brotp: ethan&luther, ethan&benji, ethan&jane, ethan&ilsa, ethan&jack, ethan&lindsey

Headcanon: ethan has a heavy midwestern accent that only slips out when he’s drunk or tired.

Unpopular opinion: he is NOT a generic action movie protagonist with no personality (glares at Screenrant)

A wish: let him be happy and alive at the end of mi8

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: mcquarrie if i have to watch ethan hunt die onscreen i will hunt you down and beat you up in the paramount parking lot.

5 words to best describe them: kind, determined, loyal, empathetic, clever.

My nickname for them: n/a

Iceman Kazansky

Why I like them: i love his hair and his face and his very pretty eyes (whose color i can STILL not discern after many rewatches) but more than that, i love that despite his absolutely warranted confidence in himself (and as a pilot), he still appreciates mav’s outside the box thinking - he specifically calls mav out for being unsafe, and never accuses him of being a bad pilot - and he’s got a big heart (as evidenced by the ‘i’m sorry about goose’ scene which gives me All The Feels to this day) behind those ice cold walls.

Why I don’t: n/a

Favorite episode (scene if movie): tie between the entire ‘i’m sorry about goose scene’ and his introduction in the O Club. the #bde was through the roof. (also Why Were You Wearing Sunglasses Inside, Ice. Was That All Part Of Your Plan.)

Favorite season/movie: Top Gun and TG2 if they don’t kill him

Favorite line: “You can be my wingman anytime.”

Favorite outfit: gotta love how the only times he’s seen in in the movie, he’s either in uniform or shirtless and/or only in a towel lmao. (not that i’m complaining.) my favorite outfit of his is probably this though:

OTP: iceman/maverick

Brotp: iceman&slider, iceman&goose

Headcanon: ice has an older sister who’s an air force pilot and five inches taller than him (and never lets him forget it).

Unpopular opinion: iceman kazansky is jewish, i don’t make the rules.

A wish: i’m always out here wishing for canon icemav, but @ mcq please just let him and mav be friends (and have a wingman hug).

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: as much as i don’t want to see ice die, i don’t want canon to clint barton him and randomly give him a wife and children and a farmhouse even more. ALSO i have been hearing speculation that hangman in tg2 is ice’s son, which. PLEASE don’t let that happen and let hangman be a rival to bradley in his own right.

5 words to best describe them: confident, loyal, intelligent, disciplined, caring. (bonus word: dramatic)

My nickname for them: ice.

send me a character!

[wild-aloof-rebel]

There's one item that was in the VSP sale which HAS to be David's--based on designer and size--that I am dying to see him wear (assuming it was actually used). Is there any clothing item or accessory we haven't seen yet in season 6 that was in the sale that you're looking forward to?

ooh what a great question. (any chance for me to talk more about the fashion on this show is very welcome lolol.) i’m gonna put it under a cut because it might get long 😂 

let’s start with a couple that we know for sure are gonna happen…

alexis and david’s looks here (for what i presume is 6x05) are all things we saw in the sale that i was excited to see pop up in the promo pics. this gold lamé, asymmetric, saint laurent dress alexis has on looks gorgeous on her. and i already loved this sequined dsquared2 sweatshirt and these leather rick owens moto pants separately, but i love them even more combined as david’s take on an appropriate look for a movie premiere.

on the more speculative side of things, there are a couple pieces we might NOT see but i still hope for anyway…

first, there’s this incredible, black, knit mcq dress with iridescent sequins all over it. we see it briefly lying on the table in 5x02, but i’m really, really hoping it will make a reappearance this season as something moira actually wears. similarly, this msgm silver sequined fringe top goes with the skirt that she was wearing in 6x02, so i don’t know if we’ll actually see it on its own, but i love it anyway and imagine that it would just move really beautifully as moira parades around town.

there’s also this fantastic mohair mcq skull dress.

i just love it. absolutely 10/10 would wear. but since that’s unlikely to happen any time soon at least, lol, i hope it pops up this season.

on david’s end of things, there seems to be a bit of a theme to some of the pieces we’ve seen him wear so far this season.

there was the bianca chandon lover tee and the comme des garcons play long-sleeve striped tee in 6x02, and this bianca chandon sequined lover hoodie appears in one of the promos that aired on poptv (and i’m presuming will show up in 6x11). none of these were in the consignment sale, but there were a few other similar pieces in the sale that def caught my eye.

there was this resort corps heart of fire sweatshirt and this amiri lovers hoodie. ultimately i don’t know if they were perhaps alternatives for some of the ones we have seen or if they really will be part of this continuing theme, but i def hope it’s the latter. i love the idea of david walking around basically wearing his heart on his sleeve these days.

there are two last looks that are by far my biggest hopes to see from the sale. first, there’s this dries van noten sweater, which i would guess is the one you’re prob referring to in your ask.

THE COLORS. it’s still very much a david sweater in style, but i’m so so sooooo here for the idea of david’s whole world becoming just a little more technicolor as he gets happier and happier. give me post-marriage david, cozy and happy, in this sweater, please and thanks.

and then there’s this.

idk what moira is gonna wear it for, but i need it. i need it immediately.

[why-am-i-pluto]

this one should be obvious but mission impossible movies. if someone beat me to it then doctor who series 11 so far specifically!

send me a fandom and i will name a character…@ineverhadadoubt

who i will protect at all costs: Well, everyone, but mainly Benji. Protect that poor boy.

who deserves better: Ilsa fucking Faust. She deserved better than shoehorning her into a forced romance that was unjustified and unnatural. But hopeful now that Queen Rebecca has spoken out against the romance.

who was killed off too early: Lots of people, if I’m honest. But Trevor Hanaway is up there. I wish him and Jane could have been happy.

who i used to hate but now i love:  Uhhhhh I dunno tbh. I don’t think that there’s any character who I’ve ever particularly hated.

who i used to love but now i hate: I don’t think I hate anyone now either. I did go off Brandt for a while because of the way the stanners would treat the other characters

who needs to be killed off asap: Lane. If not for Benji’s sake, for Sean Harris’ sake. He didn’t want to survive Rogue Nation but he did. Just let the poor bastard die. 

who is unfairly hated: I don’t know if anyone is actually hated? I fortunately remain in a blessed part of the fandom where there is no hate - and any that I’ve seen has been blocked.

who is unfairly loved: I don’t think the loving of the character is so much unfairly given, but the reasons why August is loved piss me off. He’s a fantastic villain, but people seem to love him because Henry is hot. And that leads to all kinds of bullshit that is common in larger fandoms. Love the character, yes. Don’t talk about how you want him to fuck you because that is seriously messed up, guys.

who needs to sort out their priorities: Ethan for one. He needs to focus more on, y’know, actually staying alive. Also Lane. Find a new hobby that doesn’t involve hurting my boy please. Learn to fucking knit or something dude.

who needs a hug: BENJI FUCKING DUNN

who needs to get out of their current relationship: If we’re talking about it as how McQ tried to make it, Ilsa and Ethan. They both deserve better.

who the writers love: Ethan. I mean, it’s Tom’s baby. He’s bound to get the spotlight. But it is nice that everyone else does get their time to shine.

who needs a better storyline: Ilsa in Fallout. But also bring back Nyah and give her the good closure. Show me a Nyah who was inspired and joined the IMF officially, who was trained by Ethan, who mutually decided that their relationship wasn’t working, who still remains a good friend with Ethan as she leads her own team in IMF.

who has an amazing redemption arc: Not a villain being redeemed, but I’m gonna say Hunley. He was a right bastard in Rogue Nation, interrogating Benji weekly, sending the CIA to kill Ethan and Benji, hunting them down, but then he realised he was wrong, accepted that, and changed his outlook on the team. The things he spoke to Ethan about at the start of the film, praising him - god I loved that.

who is hot af: Like… everyone? But have you seen the White Widow?

who belongs in jail: Lane and August. One is sort of there, and the other is dead, so there’s that.

who needs to be revived from the dead: Hunley, Lindsay, Jack, Hanaway, just about everyone

[pauperpedia]

Tuesday Brewsday 31: The Shambling Dead

I’ve always had a zombie deck built ever since it had a top 8 finish in the Pauper MCQ held in Los Angeles back in 2019. Kendra Smith, renowned Elves player and pauper columnist, wrote a report on the event here. Since then the deck has slowly been getting pieces to make it better. It’s still missing that one important card that can allow it to compete at the top tier level, but it’s still a good deck to play in small local tournaments.

Zombies as a tribe in pauper has no real “lord” they can deploy like in other formats. To get around this, most zombie builds in pauper rely on the massive amount of recursion available. Because of this, you’ll see Carrion Feeder in a lot of lists because it can be aggressive and feed on your other zombies as you keep bringing them back from the grave. Pauper zombies run their recursion package in three forms: Ghoulcaller’s Chant, Dregscape Zombie, and Witch’s Cottage. My 75 currently looks like this:

Mainboard:

4 Carrion Feeder

4 Nested Shambler

4 Shambling Ghast

4 Dregscape Zombie

4 Lazotep Reaver

2 Fleshbag Marauder

2 Gempalm Polluter

3 Nameless Inversion

3 Defile

2 Cast Down

1 Suffocating Fumes

2 Snuff Out

3 Sign in Blood

3 Ghoulcaller’s Chant

2 Witch’s Cottage

17 Swamp

Sideboard:

2 Duress

3 Geth’s Verdict

2 Faerie Macabre

1 Grotesque Mutation

1 Crypt Rats

4 Divest

2 Foul-Tongue Shriek

1 Alchesmist’s Gift

From the last two sets Zombies has gotten Nested Shambler and Shambling Ghast. These one drop zombies work great in tandem with Carrion Feeder (another one drop zombie) and all the recursion the deck has. Carrion Feeder can be huge if you can chain multiple Nested Shamblers into Ghoulcaller’s Chant. Another interesting interaction is when you cast Nameless Inversion targeting Nested Shambler. For two mana you get 4 1/1 green squirrel tokens at instant speed if you do this.

The only reason the deck can function on 19 lands is because of Shambling Ghast’s ability to create a treasure token when it dies. While this mana is only usable once, the fact that the deck has a low curve and decent card draw means we can cheat on lands by a swamp or two. While the go to zombie in this slot has traditionally been Festering Mummy, known for its ability to put a -1/-1 counter on target creature and opponent controls when it dies, Shambling Ghast can only give target creature an opponent controls -1/-1 until end of turn. While it’s a slight downgrade in that department, the benefits of freeing up a card slot or two make up for it.

The next two zombies are what I refer to as, “the cream of the graveyard”. Dregscape Zombie & Lazotep Reaver will most likely be your targets for recursion. Although Dregscape has the ability to recur itself from the graveyard thanks to its unearth ability, that doesn’t mean you should be shy about using your other recursion on it instead. Afterall, you can only unearth it once, and then it’s gone for good.

Lazotep Reaver has a good rate for a 2 drop thanks to its ability to amass a zombie. Being a zombie creature itself is nice since you get a 1/2 and a 1/1 zombie that grows every time you cast another Lazotep Reaver. Which, by now you know, we can do multiple times a game if you bring it back from the graveyard.

Let’s be honest about Gempalm Polluter and get the obvious out of the way… you’re never going to cast Gempalm Polluter. You will, however, use its cycling ability to draw a card and drain your opponent for each zombie in play. The best thing about cycling is the fact that it’s uncounterable and Gempalm Polluter can be the proverbial “nail in the coffin” for your opponent.

The three drop creature in this list is straight up removal on a stick. With proper management, and a bit of luck, Fleshbag Marauder can be your best creature. Sometimes the best line is just to sac itself, but since it’s a zombie, you can get a lot of mileage from Fleshbag Marauder. Hexproof is always a tricky matchup, but once you bring in your Geth Verdicts, having 2 Marauders in the main should make it a fair game.

The removal package is not as good as it should be in this meta game, and the deck you see is one that lives in a world without Chatterstorm. If I were to play this against Chatterstorm, I’d cut a snuff out and suffocating fumes for 2 Echoing Decay. Anyways, let’s talk about the tribal instant in the room. Nameless Inversion kills a lot of things and even Affinity has reason to fear, thanks to the +3/-3 a lowly 1/1 can take out the trash and Lazotep Reaver can live to tell the tale. Like I said before, you can always cast it on your own Nested Shambler if you feel like it’s a dead card in that game or situation or when going wide would benefit you.

Defile is a classic staple in anything that runs a lot of swamps, so naturally I’m going to run it here since Witch’s Cottage counts as a swamp (even though I consider it a free recursion spell). Being an instant spell that scales to remove even the biggest creatures pauper has, all for one mana, is the reason why Defile will always find a home in swamp centric decks.

Crypt Rats is an honorary zombie, I mean they live in the same biome after all. With decks like Elves and now Soul Sisters on the rise, Crypt Rats can potentially be a nightmare for your opponents. Since I’ve forgone running the typical “burn” zombie you might see in lists, I’m looking at you Shepherd of Rot, Crypt Rats can also fill that role by burning out your opponent to win the game.

Sign in Blood is essential if you want premium card draw in black. Don’t forget play lines that could win you the game if you target your opponent. Trust me, it comes up more often than you think. Ghoulcaller’s Chant kind of reads like, for one black mana draw 2 cards. At first glance you might think this just grabs creatures, but since Nameless Inversion has changeling in the tribal part of the spell it technically counts as a zombie. Note, Ghoulcaller’s chant specifically says Zombie cards not Zombie creatures!

I hate losing to 2 decks in the format, Burn and Hexproof. With that in mind I’ve tuned my sideboard to try and beat those decks the most. Thankfully Duress can be brought in against both. In fact Duress is a pretty good card to have in your sideboard against a lot of decks, not just Burn and Hexproof. You’ll be taking Snuff Out for the decays in the Burn & Hexproof matchups.

Imagine if Pauper had Thoughtsieze, but it didn’t cost life, and you could grab lands too. Impossible right!? Well, not if you were up against Affinity and you brought in Divest. Divest can ruin your affinity opponent’s day if drawn early and in multiples. Sometimes they can be dependent on two artifacts lands into prism, hoping to draw a third land. Turn one divest on the play to take a land, followed by another on turn two to take the land they drew can be a huge game changer. More often than not you’ll use it to nab a Prophetic Prism to throw their colors off or a 4/4 before it becomes a problem. Divest is also great against Hexproof since you can take their creatures like pseudo removal. The more I think about all the decks I’d want Divest in, the more I’m satisfied with running 4 in the sideboard.

Against decks that use their graveyard as a resource, Faerie Macabre is a fantastic card. Sometimes these matches involve the dreaded Ghostly Flicker and Ephemerate loop, so you’ll want to focus your recursion on bringing back Faerie Macabre multiple times a game. You’ll want to take out 2 Echoing Decays in these matchups since they probably won’t help you against the creatures those decks tend to run.

Alchemist’s Gift is a strange one that can be practically anything you want it to be. If you’re like me however, and you hate losing to Hexproof or Burn, then you’ll come to fall in love with this unassuming card. I bring up Hexproof because it’s another way for you to handle an opponent’s creature since you can’t directly target it. Giving a Nested Shambler deathtouch to kill of a bogle sounds like a win in my book. But wait, there’s more! Try giving your Crypt Rats deathtouch and wipe your RDW or Sliver opponent’s board in one fell swoop. The lifelink function on the card makes it versatile against burn and other hyper aggressive decks.

The format may be in shambles, but your brews don’t have to be. Stay positive and keep your brewing head up. Remember, playing Magic the Gathering should be fun, so don’t stress if your beloved brew doesn’t work in the current meta. I do hope you have enjoyed these blogs/articles. I’m always open to feedback and simply want to provide the best content I can. I’m always open to collaborate on a deck as well. Please visit and like/follow me at http://facebook.com/pauperpedia a fan page dedicated to bringing you links to daily articles, videos, and podcast from other content creators covering Pauper. You can also email me at Pauperpedia@gmail.com. Till next time folks, have a happy Brewsday!

[studylilo-blog]

RESULTS AND THOUGHTS

WARNING THIS POST IS REALLLLLLY LONG AND IM NOT KIDDING. IT’S MORE OF A PERSONAL REFLECTION FOR MY MID TERM TEST RESULTS SO FEEL FREE TO SKIP.

Today is the 2nd week of school (or 14th week of school, to be exact) after the June holidays and it’s when the actual teaching and learning begins. The 1st week was full of taking back results for the mid-term test we had the week before the 3 week June holiday and chatting about what to expect this term and minimal teaching. 

SOOO results. I would say i’m not entirely pleased with myself and expected to get better results for certain modules and some really surprised me. Here is a summary:

CLEANROOM: 55/75 = 74% = B (one more mark to B+ .-.)

BIOCHEMISTRY: 43/50 = 86% = A 

BIOMATERIALS: 38.5/50 = 77% = B+

BIOMECHANICS: 58/100 = D+ 

BIOFLUIDS: 76/100 = B+

BIOSTATISTICS: 83.5/100 = A

Note: These results are not final and each carries a different weightage of about 20% to the overall grade of the module. The grades that i’ve put at the side are just a guide for me to gauge my final results so i know what to expect. 

Let me talk about each result and my thoughts about it. Here comes the long ass part so just skip this if you don’t want to read my recount and reflection.

CLEANROOM: I was expecting to get an A. I mean i’m not mad with my B but i genuinely thought i would score an A for it because I felt like my answers were well-answered and it was one of the exams that i felt confident in as i was well-prepared and memorised the content thoroughly. I will say that i am disappointed and i will definitely work better for my assignment and the upcoming semestral exam that is 50% weightage to make up for this blunder that i do not understand.

BIOCHEMISTRY: This was one of the unexpected ones. After the exam, I was not confident that i did well and expected a B because i could not answer one of the long answer questions properly and it’s the highest marks in the whole paper. I managed to write something for it because i read the part before the exams and had a slight impression so i just wrote that down and prayed for the best. When the paper came back, i was awarded 5/6 marks for it and it did not feel good. It felt as if i was cheating although i didn’t, but i just felt like i didn’t deserve the 5 marks because i smoked through it. That being said, I will work on my memorisation skills, prepare earlier and study everything for the next test instead of trying to spot chapters because it’s always good to be prepared when the materials are already provided and it’s not even that much. JUST STUDY.

BIOMATERIALS: This was definitely an unexpected one because i did not prepare for it well at all. I was expecting myself to fail or barely pass because i only read through the content once hours before the exam. During the test, I smoked my way through some short-answer questions with some common sense and guessed several MCQs cause i had zero clue. When the teacher showed the list of results, i thought i read it wrongly because the person above me scored 53 and the one below is 91 (but i’m definitely not that cause that’d be a miracle with my half-ass answers) and so i was seriously thoroughly shooketh with my 77. 

BIOMECHANICS: This is my low point this semester. I was underprepared and was rushing to finish tutorials until wee hours in the morning but i could not. When i opened the paper, i was overwhelmed and could not think of the method to do for some questions and had to skip here and there until i thought of it. Definitely need to start earlier and be more consistent with my studying. Last minute work is never good for me (except for some miracles). 

BIOFLUIDS: I was quite disappointed cause i thought i could get A worthy marks.  I thought that i would only be getting 1 question wrong but i had some careless mistakes here and there and that caused me to have B+ marks. I have to be more prepared for this too. I only did the past year paper and tutorial before the exam and that’s definitely a no-no for the upcoming one. 

BIOSTATISTICS: This is my pride and honour hahaha. I felt rather confident after this paper as i was well-prepared and my cheat sheet served me well. Although there were a few questions that i felt iffy about, I felt like i could get at least 80 marks (which is A ). When i got my marks, I saw that i got 79.5 and i was like NOOOOO cause that’s just 0.5 marks away from A and i was kinda disappointed in myself. Then the teacher said they will round up to 80 and i was like yay but not really cause it’s not what i actually earned. Moreover, my classmate sitting beside me got 81 (that was the highest) and it just didn’t settle well with me cause i felt like i could have gotten an 80 or more. Not to gloat or anything, but i was just like “ogei nvm” in my brain cause 79.5 is already considered good considering that only 3 people scored above 70 and my classmates who are scholars did not do well, so i felt kinda happy but not really HAHA. ANyways, after the teacher (mi luv) went through the questions and we were checking our marks, i realised that she missed out on my 4 marks and so I got 83.5 (which is rounded off to 84) WOOHOOO and i was really happy this time because i worked hard in class, paying attention to mi luv, answering her questions and being 10000% present 95% of the time. SO basically, i’m really proud of myself for getting this mark and my investment in mi luv’s lessons really paid off haha. I’m not joking, i really love this teacher HAHA idk why but to me, she’s a cute old lady that teaches well in her own slow-mo manner and alot of my classmates don’t like her but see where that got them HUEHUEHEUHEU my investment in mi luv proved to be gre8t okai i shall stop gloating hehe. 

OVERALL FEELS AND CONCLUSION:

I should be more consistent with my studying and start earlier. Do my work conscientiously and properly. Do my tutorials on time so i can clarify any doubts during lesson time way before the exam period. I CAN DO DEEZ!

- Li

[boasamishipper]

all the top gun Kids™️

i have decided to answer this for all of my top gun faves, i apologize in advance if this is not what you meant lol

maverick mitchell

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite | Someone Please Give Him A Hug

listen you already know i love maverick mitchell but i Really Really Love Maverick Mitchell with all my heart and i HATE that people refuse to see him for the three-dimensional character that he is (and that tom played him as). he’s determined and confident and has every right to be, he’s a badass pilot, but i love his character arc about learning how to be a team player. i LOVE his relationship with goose and carole and baby!bradley (and ice, in any capacity) and i am so ready for said relationships to Destroy me in the sequel. (also when mav is Sad i am Sad, and it looks like he has had even more to be sad about btwn tg1 and tg2. what happened to you mav. what did they do to you. mcq if u do not give this man a happy ending a hug and some therapy i swear to GOD-)

iceman kazansky

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive (i refuse to consider otherwise) | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

the fact that ice is as much of an ensemble darkhorse / breakout character has everything to do with val kilmer (whom i also love) being a fantastic actor, bc lets be real the script did not give him a lot to work with here. i love his hair and his face and his very pretty eyes (whose color i can STILL not discern after many rewatches) and his absolutely warranted confidence in himself (and as a pilot). i love that he isn’t afraid to call mav out for being unsafe (srsly, he is the Only Sane Man in this entire movie) but appreciates mav’s outside the box / ‘dangerous’ thinking as his wingman. he’s got a big heart (as evidenced by the 'i’m sorry about goose’ scene) behind those ice cold walls, and i cannot WAIT to see how his relationship with mav has grown by the time the sequel is finally released. give me respected admiral iceman kazansky or give me death. if they kill ice off i AM disowning canon mcq, do you hear me.

goose bradshaw

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite | rip cinnamon roll too good for this world

i love goose SO FUCKING MUCH, every bit of him, from the not-at-all-regulation mustache to the bad jokes to the country-fried southern vibe to the singing and piano-playing to how much he respects and cares about mav (and how much mav respects and cares about him in return). his relationship with carole is my favorite thing on this entire earth, followed closely by his relationship with mav and also his relationship with ice. (like ice really respects goose and vice versa, and they clearly knew each other pre-canon, and one of the few times ice smiles genuinely in the movie is at goose - i really wish canon gave us more goose&ice, there’s so much to analyze there.) his death scene makes me tear up every time.

carole bradshaw

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite | ray of sunshine too good for this world

carole is the BEST. actual ray of sunshine in human form and also a fashion icon. i adore her optimism and kindness, even in literally the worst times, and i especially love how much she adores goose and mav. forever bitter that they didn’t recast meg ryan to play her in the sequel though i’m sure jean louisa kelly will do a good job bringing carole to the big screen. (NOT a fan of the fact that it looks like she and mav and bradley by extension haven’t spoken in a long time and i Demand an explanation, even if it’s angsty.)

bradley bradshaw / rooster

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

last we saw bradley he was a little kid who clearly worshipped his dad and by the time the top gun 2 trailer rolled around, he’s the spitting image of his father, serious and determined to make a name for himself (with possible authority issues like young!mav, given he’s still a lieutenant in his late thirties).  i am very excited to meet him, and i’m also super excited to see his relationships with phoenix and the other pilots, and with jean louisa kelly’s carole bradshaw. (if bradley is playing great balls of fire on the piano in that one clip in the trailer i am going to just. straight up drop dead.) 

speaking of the trailers it’s clear bradley holds a serious grudge towards mav - “my dad believed in you, i’m not gonna make the same mistake” GOD. what happened btwn mav and bradley? what happened to their relationship?? (who taught him to blame mav for his dad’s death bc i hope to god it wasn’t carole - i’m leaning toward jon hamm’s character bc he seems like an asshole who does not like mav, or maybe even mav just refusing to correct bradley’s assumption bc he blames himself too.) anyway, PLEASE tell me bradley realizes he’s being an asshole by blaming mav for his dad’s death and works on repairing their relationship (and works through his own grief as well).

phoenix

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

one of the people i am most excited to meet in the sequel! i don’t know anything about her besides the info from a 2017 casting call describing her as a “fierce pilot, gifted leader, kind of a loner, eager to prove herself, who falls for bradley aka rooster,” but that is enough to make me Very Excited to meet her - ESPECIALLY if the bradley/phoenix is going to be set up like icemav, which i have a strong suspicion it’s going to be, complete with height difference. (phoenix: *does anything*, bradley: top me top me top me.) also, a potential mav&phoenix father/daughter relationship????? Sign Me The Fuck Up. this movie is just going to end with me in tears and with custody of seven or eight new children.

fritz

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

listen apparently he is just a cryptid because we only know his name and i THOUGHT he was gonna be a main character since he was one of the first to get named, but we have only seen him on the periphery of some scenes in the trailers, even after all this time, so now i kinda doubt it. but he is played by the gorgeous manny jacinto and he and bradley sat near each other once so i am assuming they are friends in some way, and also my headcanon of him as amy santiago trapped in the body of jason mendoza has made me love him very much. pls don’t kill him, canon. also pls @ manny and mcq and kosinski give me SOMETHING to work with here lmao. 

hangman

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

look. i know mcq and co are probably going to set up hangman vs rooster to be like mav vs ice, enemies/rivals to friends, but honestly, i’m not all that here for it??? i do like that from his callsign alone, hangman is probably going to be a darker version of ice (less kind, more focused on the job, maybe more like charlie than like ice if that makes any sense at all) and his rivalry with bradley is already clearly a lot more heated than mav’s ever was with ice. anyway, glen powell is an excellent actor, so let’s hope he makes hangman a 3d character in his own right and not just an iceman expy. 

payback, fanboy, and bob

who? | only know their name | loathe | ugh | overrated | indifferent | dead | alive | just okay | cute | badass | my baby | hot | want to marry | favorite

i’m already lowkey shipping payback/fanboy and i love bob for looking like a dorky 21st century radar o’reilly, but honestly, not super on the edge of my seat to meet these guys. i do want to know whose WSO bob is - my guess is phoenix’s since they were sitting next to each other at one point, but he could also be hangman’s - and my worry is that since he’s the only named WSO right now, they could very well Pull A Goose and kill him off in a training accident. (i hope not since i don’t want a complete canon redux, but it would definitely be angsty.)

put a fictional character in my ask box and i’ll rate them accordingly

[why-am-i-pluto]

Some thoughts on MI:F beneath the cut. Tagging to be safe, as there will be some spoilers. If you are on mobile and see this, just scroll right past because I don’t think read mores work on the app. Please scroll by if you haven’t seen the film.

KEEP SCROLLING IF YOU ARE MOBILE AND CAN SEE THIS.

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Ok hopefully that’s safe now. Ok, I wanted to put a list of a few things that I liked about the film, and then the few unfortunate things that I didn’t like.

ONE LAST WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT ACCIDENTALLY SEE THIS PLEASE DO NOT READ! SCROLL RIGHT PAST THIS POST

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What did I like? (a few, because there was a lot):

Benji getting more action - he was seriously hands on in this and he was badass!

Poor Luther... he got to be more than just the sassy, sarcastic hacker. He showed so much emotion and I loved it! Ving and Luther are very underrated in these films

Lane showing more than just his cool, calm and collected demeanour. He was brutal! Was he doing lifts in prison?

The White Widow. I like how they handled her character. She was sexy, seductive, sensual, but I didn’t feel like she was objectified. There was the one shot where the angle was questionable, but other than that, she wasn’t treated like a typical female character. The kiss was random and unnecessary, but I could handle that because it was literally as though she was sealing their deal with a kiss.

That bathroom scene. God, it was stressful and tense, but also fucking hilarious! “Can you still make a mask?” - “We kinda need a face for that.” xD

Julia being happy with her new husband. I was worried that they would have her pining over Ethan for years and be waiting and never falling in love again, so when they introduced her new husband, I was so happy for her. Also that she was able to say ‘those bad things happened, yes, but if they didn’t, I wouldn’t be who and where I am today’. I loved that so much.

Ilsa: “Ohhh I like her.” about Julia. I wish they could have interacted properly

All the Benji whump, holy shit! Simon wasn’t kidding when he said it would be worse for him this time. He went through so much and I was so scared for him!

On that note, Benji having to face his kidnapper, being angry at Lane for what he did. Then having to pretend to BE Lane... God, that would have been so difficult for him, but he was so brave and strong. He did it all so well.

HUNLEYYYYYYYYYYY

August was such an effective villain. He balanced out Lane’s villain well. I loved his charisma and his sass, he played the part very very well.

I loved the fight scene between Benji and Ilsa vs Lane. I loved the dynamic of them both being in distress and injured, but still helping one another out. Benji even took a risk that could have literally ended his life in order to help Ilsa out. I love their new friendship, now that they’ve built up the trust after the last film.

All the action was awesome, as per usual for these films. They’re real and brutal and you literally feel like you’re there.

Erica was a really great character, I do wish we’d seen more of her, but what we did get was great. Hopefully if there’s another film, she will come back.

What I didn’t like?:

Why, McQ? Why did you ruin Ilsa like that? In the last film, you gave us something new, something unique. You gave us an action film leading lady who was badass, independent, strong, and was not romantically linked to anyone. She wasn’t a love interest, which always happens whenever there is a female character. It was so fresh to have this amazing woman who wasn’t turned into a love interest for any of the guys. So why did you have to go and ruin that by shoehorning her into a very VERY forced romance with Ethan? Not only was it so unnecessary, but do you honestly expect us to believe that after working with one another for all of five minutes (during which, Ilsa tried to harm or kill Ethan and Benji more than once), they did not see or speak to one another for TWO YEARS and now suddenly they’re in love? It’s ridiculous, it’s pathetic, and it’s disrespectful to Ilsa’s character. I’m so disappointed.

On that note, Ilsa being the only one who Ethan seems concerned with at the end? It bothers me when movies do this - Paul did it too. You have two guys there, Luther and Benji, who have known Ethan for over a decade (over two decades in Luther’s case), who have been by his side for all that time. People who he has shown to care greatly for. But no, let’s not have them go to see him, let’s not show Ethan concerned about their injuries. No, let’s make sure we push his new love interest forwards and have his best friends stand at the back.

Also, that little moment where Julia was essentially ‘giving permission’ to Ilsa? Fuck that noise.

Once again, let’s play the game of ‘put Benji through hell but then ignore his trauma’. In Ghost Protocol, he began to open up that he was having cold sweats and nightmares over what he had faced, and what happened? Brandt interrupted him and that was it, never mentioned again. In Rogue Nation, among many things, Benji was kidnapped and strapped to a bomb, but did anyone touch on that after Lane freed him? No, let’s just focus on Ethan saying goodbye to Ilsa and Brandt getting the IMF back. All it would have taken was one hug or ‘are you ok?’. And now, he literally gets HUNG and almost dies, he would have some serious issues after that, but let’s not talk about his visible injuries or what he just went through. No, instead, let’s have this forced intimate moment of Ethan worrying over Ilsa’s injuries instead because WE ALL NEED ROMANCE IN OUR FILMS RIGHT? I’m fucking sick of these films just refusing to acknowledge Benji’s trauma. 

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OK NOW YOU ARE SAFE, THIS POST IS OVER, RESUME SCROLLING AT A NORMAL PACE.