#she's subverting all the evil mom tropes one by one

[sgcairo]

what are mamattores thoughts on each harbinger????? im hungry for her

She's been rotating in my brain for eons... so let's do it!

Pierro

Smash. She sees him and immediately thinks he's hot, has to physically compose herself so she doesn't start trying to flirt with him in the middle of being questioned by the Snezhnayan court. Sure, he might be the Tsaritsa's (potential) man, but she's not against sharing. In fact, she might just bag the Tsaritsa too, while she's at it. When she does flirt with Pierro, the poor man is hopelessly oblivious, thanking her for her compliments while the other Harbingers look on in disdain. Poor Mamatorre gets a little discouraged, but it's worth the blush on his face (she thinks it's cute).

Il Dottore

I mean, he's her baby so... She loves him. So much. To the point that she pulled a knife on Pantalone and threatened to cut him if he ever breaks her son's heart. That might've been overkill, but the point stands. She's the supportive evil mom, and encourages Dottore to do all the nefarious things he wants. She also advises the segments to try questionable methods of torture, which are suspiciously effective. Regardless, every time they see each other they scream, run, hug, and probably bite each other. She's always believed in her son's abilities, and she isn't about to stop now.

Columbina

Mamatorre thinks she's so pretty. If her son weren't trying to shoot his shot with a clueless banker, she would've definitely encouraged him to go after Columbina, because she is beautiful. Ah, but her son doesn't swing that way, so she'll just have to settle for having tea with the Damselette. Overall, she quite enjoys conversations with the Third over the "narrative" and gushing about Danya. The two also get up to quite a bit of mischief together, as one does when they're evil and inexplicably immortal.

Capitano

Oh, she thinks he's an absolute unit. The beefcake son she's always wanted, and quite the gentleman when she comes to visit. Capitano tends to escort her everywhere when Dottore's busy, and he's chivalrous as always. She quite enjoys his protectiveness, and she often comments that he's the "son she never had", to which the Captain's ego is inflated just a little. She admires his blades quite a bit, and if she weren't so old, she probably would challenge him to a duel, but alas, she has bad knees and he's still young and spry. Ah well, she'll just hang off his arm and pat his muscles for comfort instead.

Pulcinella

Three words: Old people gossip. These two, when put together, will not stop talking about their respective "children". While they often butt heads on whether Dottore or Childe is cuter, they agree that Danya is just the most adorable, most precious little guy ever, and will gush about him for hours. Mamatorre thinks he's a little suspicious, and probably wouldn't trust him alone with her child, but they do have their old person gossip huddle every once and a while, just because they have nothing better to do.

Scaramouche

What a little bitch, she thinks, staring blankly at him as he growls like a damn feral animal. She thinks he has rabies. Either that, or there's something profoundly wrong with him. Probably both.

Sandrone

Does not trust her. While usually she would gush about how pretty Sandrone is, there's something about her that raises Mamatorre's hackles, and she'd rather keep her at arms length, if possible. She's never outright hostile towards Sandrone, but the two being left alone together leads to an awkward atmosphere that won't leave them alone. 0/10, would not recommend.

La Signora

She never got to know her, but I just know, in my heart, that they would be the two pretty best friends.

Pantalone

He's weird, but he's kind of her future son in law, so she can't be too hard on him. Besides, he's pretty rich, and also deals in poisons, so... Okay, she likes him. She likes him a lot, actually, and the fact that he's taking care of her son and grandchild only gives him more points in her book. Sure, he rambles about economic shifts, and is chronically stressed out, but he's not the worst candidate for her son's hand in marriage, and has so much money. He also has a nice wine stash that she can steal from, so extra extra points for that.

Arlecchino

Thinks she's hot, but in a handsome way. They have a sort of comradery, both of them being parents of a sort, but also Arlecchino has the style and attitude that Mamatorre approves of. Yes, put that man in his place, you're doing amazing sweetie- Mamatorre says give this woman a medal. Arlecchino also has a pretty cool and shiny sword, which Mamatorre is a big fan of.

Tartaglia

She thinks he's funny. She's probably one of the only people that thinks he's silly, and is always delighted by his excitement for battle. He's just a goofy little guy to her, and she often treats him to traditional Sumeru dishes when she can, just because she knows he'll eat it without complaints and probably ask for more. She really unloads her motherly nature onto him, of all the Harbingers, given he's the youngest, and proudly watches him dice up enemies from the sidelines while cheering him on.

Bonus:

The Tsaritsa

Hot damn. Give her a piece of that, she'd give anything to bite the Tsaritsa, even if it's the last thing she does. It doesn't help that the Tsaritsa and Pierro are both pretty and standing next to each other all the time, so she's hit with the double whammy of attractiveness. She absolutely loves talking with the Tsaritsa, just because they can gossip and giggle about Pierro together behind his back. Once again, the poor man is too oblivious to realize what's going on, and just thinks they're talking about Capitano again...

[zexal-club]

Tropes applying to Zexal Club

(I'm mostly taking inspiration from TV Tropes)

Abhorrent Admirer: Miyuki towards Shark. While not physically ugly, her twisted and cruel personality that makes Pilot Shark look like a saint is more than enough to make the boy rightfully want to steer clear of her.

Action Mom: Since Kari and Yuma's mother is Bloom, this is obvious. It's a bit downplayed, though, since she's, you know, trapped and missing

Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Downplayed, but the fact that Kite has to work with 3 magi haters, two of which are especially disdainful of witches, when his mother was a witch, definitely isn't doing any good for his emotional state.

Adaptational bada$$: Yuma, obviously, due to being the fairy of the freaking dragon's flame. Also applies to Kari and Kite.

Adaptational Jerka$$: The students of Heartland Academy, specifically 70% of them, due to their vicious bullying of Kikyo

Alpha B/tch: Miyuki Tachibana

And There Was Much Rejoicing: Every Magi and their family and friends when Mr. Heartland is defeated

Bada$$ Normal: Casey Reeves. While she may not have been born with magic, her skills with alchemy more than make up for it.

Battle Couple: Mari and Kikyo qualify as this

Beware the Nice Ones: Very prominent with our main characters

Crapsaccharine world: Heartland City counts as this due to how Magi are treated

Crossover/Fusion Fic: The whole premise of the AU/fic

Dark Is Not Evil: Kikyo and later Kite

Dating What Daddy Hates: Subverted. A lot of people might expect Musa to be concerned with her daughter dating a witch considering, well, the entire Winx show, but she's actually completely supportive of Mari's relationship with Kikyo.

Expy: Mari was originally this for Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous, but after I've written her independent from that and given her more of her own personality, I'm not sure how much this counts anymore. Laurent also draws inspiration from Gabriel Agreste and Aiden from Adrien Agreste.

Fantastic Racism: There is a lot of this towards Magi

Good Parents: Hannah Sharma

Hate Sink: Miyuki

Interspecies Romance: Bloom with Kazuma, Dr Faker with Mrs Tenjo, and Hannah with Chandra just to name 3 main ones off the top off my head. Mari and Kikyo may also count.

Karmic Butt-Monkey: I am so going to make Miyuki this. I know she's Yukii's OC, but this is still my AU and I say that b/tch is going to be humiliated.

Kids Are Cruel: In play when Kikyo gets severely bullied after being outed as a witch.

Opposites Attract: Mari and Kikyo

Original Character: We got plenty of these

Our Fairies Are Different: It's a crossover with Winx Club

Our Sirens Are Different: Suga

Our Werewolves Are Different: Here, werewolves are humanoid-like being with the ears, tail, (maybe nose,) claws and skills of a wolf that can change into an actual wolf and back again, along with having knowledge and skill with lunar magic, albeit to a certain degree.

Pink Is Feminine: Mari

Politically Incorrect Villain: Mr. Heartland and to a lesser extent Miyuki

Red Oni, Blue Oni: Mari as the 'red oni' and Kikyo as the 'blue oni'

Tagalong Kid: Downplayed with Casey, as she's only 2 years/one and a half years younger than the rest of her friends

Tragic Bigot: Nistro and Dextra definitely qualify as this, as their disdain towards Magi stems from their families being killed by certain Magi when they were children, and Mr. Heartland exploiting their trauma and feelings of hurt to convince them all Magi were the same - wicked, heartless monsters.

Yandere: Once again, Miyuki for Shark, Let me tell you, it is not played for laughs.

Kikyo Shama, Hannah Sharma (nee Jackson) and Chandra Sharma, Suga Hiragi and Miyuki Tachibana all belong to @yukii0nna

@yukii0nna @fair-night-starry-tears @kousaka-ayumu @bibookdemon @bakawitch @lovelyllamasblog

[roseaesynstylae]

Tropes Applying to Kid/Camie

I don't care how little attention my posts about this ship might get, I'm going to keeping typing them out. (Note: I have no idea how to link stuff yet, so I'm just going to do a regular list.) These are all from TV Tropes.

General Love Tropes

After Action Patch-up: Well, given how often Kid challenges people much stronger than him (Kaido, Big Mom, Shanks), this is probably something that happens semi-regularly.

Anger Born of Worry: ...It's Kid. Do you think he actually has a healthy way of expressing concern (for anyone who isn't Killer, anyhow)?

Beach Kiss: It's either that or a Ship Kiss.

Bridal Carry: It's the easiest way to carry a mermaid.

Crazy Jealous Guy: Let's face, Kid's the guy who gets jealous easily. It's more the "suspicious of other men" than the "possessive of the girl" sort.

Even Evil Has Loved Ones: I like Kid, but I can't deny that he's a nasty bastard. One thing that can't be denied, however, is that he cares about his crew a lot. Once Camie gets his trust, he'll go through Hell for her.

Everyone Can See It: Killer, Pappagu, Hatchan, the rest of the Kid Pirates, Law, even Luffy... When Luffy sees it, you are officially GODDAMN OBVIOUS.

I "Uh" You Too: Because Kid.

Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Do you really think that anyone wants to either invoke Kid's wrath or, um, see too much?

Love Redeems: Possibly subverted or played with. Camie's presence might soften her boyfriend a bit, but he'd most likely stay the violent psycho we all love and enjoy.

Moment Killer: It'll be Luffy. It has to be Luffy.

Nobody Thinks It Will Work: These two are so different. The people around them would likely conclude that this will end in some kind of violence, most likely towards innocent bystanders at Kid's hands.

Oblivious to Love: Camie. Granted, I suspect Kid's a moron in this department as well.

Rescue Romance: Subverted in canon, given that Kid chose to leave the auction house rather than do anything to help (admittedly, there was a Celestial Dragon and he probably didn't want to get an Admiral or two after him at that stage in his career) in canon. However, the most likely way for them to meet again is the Little-Mermaid-style. (The equation, if anyone's curious, is Mermaid + Devil Fruit user + near-drowning = excellent grounds for romance.)

Romantic Candlelit Dinner: More of a parody, really. I imagine Kid threatens restaurants into ensuring a nice evening for his date.

She is Not My Girlfriend: At first, this would be Kid's attitude towards Camie. Law loves teasing him about it.

Underwater Kiss: The "sharing of air" variety.

What Does She See in Him?: Camie's friends have some questions about Kid.

Attraction Tropes

All Girls Want Bad Boys: Most likely subverted. Canonically, Camie seems to have a crush on Hatchan, who's pretty nice once he stopped working for Arlong. If she and Kid became a thing, it would probably be his better traits she's attracted to.

Index of Romantic Couples

Beast and Beauty: Not a conventional take on the trope, I'll say. In this case, it's the non-human character who's the nice and sweet one, and the human character who's violent.

Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: They'd probably look like this at first glance, but it wouldn't actually be true. I check the wiki; Camie is only four inches shorter than Kid. They would just appear to have a bigger height difference when Camie is in the water.

Interspecies Romance: Well, yeah.

Odd Couple: Is there anything to say?

Opposites Attract: Actually, there is! One is a violent, brutal, and unpleasant pirate with a large body count, the other is a sweet and capture-prone waitress/aspiring fashion designer who often pulls weird faces.

Pitbull Dates Puppy: Pitbulls are really nice dogs if they're trained correctly, but I digress. As I noted above, Kid is hyper-violent and Camie is really nice.

Love Interests

Dark Mistress: Probably downplayed. Camie would be the girlfriend of a violent, at his best only quasi-heroic, pirate, but she'd likely avoid certain stereotypes about the role.

Heroes Want Redheads: Gender-inverted. Camie's a nice, well-meaning young woman in love with a red-headed nutjob.

Morality Pet: Camie would probably be the only person outside of his crew Kid would give a damn about.

Shipping Tropes

Angel/Devil Shipping: See Pitbull Dates Puppy above.

Crack Pairing/Ships That Pass in the Night: I'm not sure which one this fits more. On one hand, it's a pretty weird pairing. On the other, they did very briefly take notice -- well, Kid took notice -- in Sabaody. I guess it's up to interpretation.

Shipper on Deck: Killer, Pappagu, Hatchan, the rest of the Kid Pirates...

[raesnovelsblog]

Synopsis from IMDB:

It's been eight years since the opening night tragedy of Hell House, LLC and still many unanswered questions remain. Thanks to an anonymous tip, investigative journalist Jessica Fox is convinced that key evidence is hidden inside the abandoned Abaddon Hotel-evidence that will shed light on the hotel's mysteries. She assembles a team equally hungry for answers with one goal: break into the hotel and discover the truth.

My review

Solid sequel. Follows the formula of the first one, but deviates slightly. Love the additional information about the crew from the first Hell House movie. The acting was weaker in this one for me. Not horrible, but a noticeable difference. Still a solid found footage movie with creepy clowns.  Clowns will never not be terrifying.

Rating : 7/10

How does it treat…

Women? Pretty well. They have agency and aren’t there just to be tortured or saved.

Does it pass the Bechdel test? Yes. No relationships are discussed. 

How long till a women speaks? 33 seconds

Relationships? Treated fairly.

Sex? N/A

LGBTQia+? N/A

Minorities? N/A

Older People? Seen, but not demonized because they’re old.

Mental Health? Mentioned, but not a plot point.

Kids? N/A

Animals? N/A

Tone

Was it fun? Kind of.  

Was it worth it? Yes, but only so much as to complete a trilogy.

Rewatchability? Not as much as the first one.

Gore level? Minor. The blood budget is less than the first one.

Cliches

Tired? 

Appropriate? Yes

Subverted?

Spoilerly thought beyond this. You have been warned.

Notes

That dude is way too old to be playing the character the mom is describing.

The ghosts are better at new technologies than I am.

They mastered text messages faster than my parents.

That piano tune is still creepy.

I’ve watched too many true crime shows because that reporters' intro shots are spot on.

Brock Davies!? Perfect douchie name for a medium.

Woman in the blue is not great at first. She kept looking at the camera. Her character knows she’s being filmed, but it still.

That’s a lot of police resources to keep a police car out front everyday. 

“Not a trained professional paranormal investigator.”  How does one go about becoming a professional paranormal investigator? Do you have to take classes?  Is there a test?  A certificate at the end?

Putting a rock against the door to keep it open is one of the smartest things in all of these movies.

Seeing a random person standing on the stairs and then not immediately leaving, is not smart. Although I think it was supposed to be a ghost thing.

Random latin on the wall trope, check.

Heard a noise and went to investigate, check.  The door was open. It could be an animal or a homeless person.

Do not stop to pick up a hitchhiker.  Just don’t.

What are the ghost rules?  They were just in the house. Now they’re on the side of the road luring people in? Well, I guess Sarah did lure them back to the hotel in the first movie. At least they’re consistent. 

Don’t go after her.  The place is creepy and that woman isn’t right.  If you’re that worried, call for help. You don’t follow her into the abandoned haunted place.

The teen in the booth next to the weird dancing couple is staring directly at the camera.

Don’t give Molly shit about not wanting to go inside. 

They’re searching for a way in, but every other person has just sauntered in through a wide open door.

Don’t trust that wood piece in the door. Looks like it would slip out.

Why did Brock need to go to Abaddon with the film crew? He could have gone whenever?

Old timey portraits of children are inherently unnerving.

Random nooses equal get the fuck out.

The evil clown mannequins are back.

“Grab a box and start digging.” - Nope.  You take those boxes outside and read them out in the daylight like smart people.

The pan to the woman staring at them is a great example of simple scares being highly efficient.

You’ve put a time limit on your excursion into the basement. Why waste time reading the menu?

Creepy clown walking around - world of nope.

Sending the guy by himself? These people don’t watch horror movies and it shows.

Ghosts can impersonate people now?  These technological ghosts are impressive.

She’s fighting him on leaving. He warned you multiple times that they might all have to leave at a moment’s notice. Why are they acting surprised when he insists you leave?

Fuck Brock. He’s a grown man that you didn’t even want to come along.

Fuck that clown. He’s creepy AF. Just that slow movement was all I needed to send chills down my spine.

Mitchell, you've been smart up till now. Don’t stop now.

All that ghost women did was blink.  I would have run away too.

Theorizing the ghosts were compelling Alex to stay in the hotel fits. 

Are they in a room with no windows? Why not go out the window? If there isn’t a window, that’s a major safety violation.

Ghosts fucking with them on the walkie talkie, chef kiss.

So who supposedly is filming the meeting with Alex? Maybe the ghosts are trying to start their own reality show.

Why is he writing on those tapes with a dry erase marker?

That thing at the door looks like an off brand Leather Face.

Now the ghosts are leaving notes? But you were doing so well with the tech.

Molly’s with the clowns now.  Her sacrifice was worthy.  You move the fuck along.

The wall breaking open to show the lake of fire was okay. CGI is not their friend.

But that clown slowly moving towards them is.

Mentioned Russell Wynn. Set up the 3rd movie in the 2nd one. Good for them.

So did the ghosts cause the accident involving the real Arnold?

Arnold being Andrew Tulley was great.

“Pick up the camera.” They really want their own show.

Anytime you bring religion into it, the fright factor goes up.

Should have let the clown have Molly.  Now she dies slowly from a stab to the abdomen. 

So was Tulley trolling the internet looking for gullible people to send Hell House information too? How many other people have they contacted?

Killing her off camera is more effective than showing the murder.

Were the ghosts true to their word? Did they let Mitchell leave after he made his choice?

Anytime someone in a horror movie says “Do you trust me?” the automatic answer should be no.

[glorioustidalwavedefendor]

If anything it is a demonstration of experienced writers and directors who care about the characters vs novices who kind of hate the main character

I don‘t disagree with that

→ Although it is not hard to be a better writer then Waldron …

It doesn‘t change the fact that both used the same trope, only that TDW pulled it off significantly more competent then Waldron … again, no surprise there …

Look, I am the first person to agree that a trope in and of itself is never bad

Tropes are just tools. Writers understand tropes and use them to control audience expectations either by using them straight or by subverting them, to convey things to the audience quickly without saying them.

It can be executed badly, or overused, but at the end of the day saying:

“They used trope A”

Is NEVER a critique and only ever a statement.

And honestly I personally feel like there is definitely a time and a place for fridging characters.

For example in computer games.

In a stand alone game you have a limited amount of time aka attention span to establish some motivation. Before the gamer decides to just play a different game.

So fridging someone is a way to do that.

It‘s a quick and dirty way, but it gets the job done.

→ the problem starts wen everyone uses it … even subsequent entries in franchises and adaptions that would have had other options.

And that is exactly what I am arguing with TDW

NOT wether or not Frigga was fridged.

She was.

Again, by definition of the trope fridging (s.o.) and by the admission of the writers (s.o.), Frigga was fridged.

That is not the issue

-> Trope in and of itself not bad

The point I am making is the fact that it was

1) a bad idea

2)There where other options trope wise.

Killing Frigga to make Thor and Loki work together would have been necessary if

a) This was the first entry in the Thor franchise and we go on pre „Journey in to Mystery“ comic book lore and need a quick an dirty way to explain why they work together

or

b) If Loki was at this point in the MCU an irredeemably evil character whose only soft spot is his mom and to avenge her he will even cooperate with Thor.

Neither of those is the case

We are already two movies deep in to backstory

With the established personalities, history and context of the characters, there are other better options to justify the brothers working together.

Further more, now would have been the perfect and correct moment to talk it out.

Because we already had one and a half movies of „you are not my brother“

It is starting to get repetitive.

They NEEDED to fix their issues here, so they could be a dynamic duo in Ragnarok, instead of rehashing the same „you are not my brother“ song and dance a forth time.

And they could have fixed everything.

Not because I think that the issues are trivial, but because this is a Hollywood movie.

A whole live of abuse can be fixed with one heart warming moment.

→ hug it out guys.

And they had the perfect opportunity.

There is behind the scenes footage of a deleted scene where Thor enters Lokis cell during the prison riot.

This was the moment they should have talked/screamed things through.

And ended that chapter of their characters dynamic.

Making Lokis presumed death, all the more tragic.

Because they finally had made up, they where again a team, better and stronger then ever before.

By killing Frigga, Marvel denies itself that depth, they simply paint over the cracks, resolve nothing and Ragnarok still has to drag the bloated corpse, of this unresolved issue, along.

Even in better hands Ragnarok would have suffered for that.

Further more, killing Frigga, for no good reason, makes Ragnarok a much flatter movie

(besides all the other reasons that make it a bad movie)

Without Frigga you can ignore questions like

Who is Heals mom?

Did Frigga know about Hela?

Did she agree with the banishment?

Did Odin tamper with her memories? Someone clearly tampered with Asgards memories, since no one remembers Hela, despite the fact that she is not that old.

→ I know the out of universe explanation is bad writing. But it in the text for better or worse

Does that mean Odin used to hold the mind-stone?

How did it end up with Thanos?

Is that the reason no one came to rescue Loki?

Is there a deal?

All interesting questions

All questions the movie ignores

All questions the movie couldn‘t ignore if Frigga was still alive.

Same as erasing the Sansa double in the adaption of GOT lead to issues in later seasons, the unnecessary killing of Frigga hampers the latter entries in the Thor Franchise …

But it doesn't end there. The whole of the MCU suffers for it.

Not resolving Thor and Lokis family issues in TDW means, Bruce has to awkwardly spout exposition in IW.

Exposition/intell that Thor should have been aware off for years and that he should have shared with the other avengers in age of Ultron, giving Tony A REASON to build Ultron. Not just a vague, there might be bad things out there …

Which would have given the Accords in CW a better fundament to stand on.

Because incoming eldritch abomination warlord, would definitive have been a reason to tighten the ranks and put “trouble maker” out of commission.

And suddenly Tony has point.

→ We can’t handle threats from inside and outside at the same time, we need to tamper that down and concentrate on Thanos.

Balancing the argument more.

Because as things are, Steve is 100% correct, wen he is against the accords as they are.

With the ticking clock of Thanos not just being player knowledge but character knowledge it makes sense that everyone is a bit unhinged and emotions are boiling over.

Suddenly the avengers aren’t a bunch of quarrelsome muppets that couldn’t agree on the color of shit, but they are very stressed out scared humans that are trying to do what they think will safe everyone.

That is much more relatable.

So yeah, I say it.

Fridging Frigga was one of the worst decisions the MCU ever made.

It is the proverbial pebble that creates an avalanche which eventually buries four villages …

Iyou know when loki talking about frigga in loki series, he describe her as pure decent and someone that belive in him, but somehow it make me note sad for loki not just because they using it to torture him. So if we look again in films frigga is well not good parent either. And in dark world, she never asked why loki did what he did on earth, she just assumed the worst from loki. And she literally know that loki have struggle with his relationship because 'thor and odin case they shadow to loki' and well ot giving real solution, yes she teach loki magic but what will that do inside society of peoples that worshipped brute strength rather than inner strength and mocking magic power?

Also let's not forget that she let odin and everyone in Asgard talking g about jotun peoples, she can at least made loki to thinking positive things about jotun but well she same racist like odin

While I belive frigga have good intentions but her actions is not enough, and sometime she can be worse. Loki really need stay away from his asgard 'family '

The later MCU and part off the fandom does have a bad habit of place Frigga on the pure perfect pedestal. and she really is just flawed as the rest of the family. Like, the only thing that puts her above Odin is that she at least tried and saw that Loki needed reassurance. But she is just as guilty for lying to Loki and denying him his heritage. It is none the less a bigoted and wrong thing to do just because it was done for "good intentions" and she may not have used Loki as a scapegoat the way Odin and Thor did she still denied him acknowledgement the wrongs done did him.

I will say I don't think she's irredeemable, I don't think she's heartless and think their is room to interpretate her as a nuanced character and thing I hate about the series is how it erased her agency and treats her like a prop for the sake of making Loki feel bad.

[space-blue]

In your opinion, who is the best-written and the most poorly written character in Arcane?

Best written : Silco

Mostly because of the depth of his motivations, and the rarity of character type.

We've seen a lot of "rough men adopts special child" in recent years, but this "rough man" is hardly ever the villain of the show. I found it fantastic how time and time again they subverted the tropes they still placed on Silco.

We see him and he's spooky. He's disfigured, his voice is nasal, he's got a skanky ass... he's the villain, RIGHT? But then you realise his scar is from the "good guy" assaulting him?

So you're thinking "OK, so he's a villain made by a grey good guy, gotcha". But then he opens his mouth and you're like... ??? I agree? Yes, you deserve better than their runoff. Yes queen, fight for it.

Pilties, it's established in the literal opening scene, will shoot people point blank rather than give in to their demands. The oppressed vs. oppressor line is clear, and in any other show, Silco would be our hero.

Him and Vander, in episode 3, blur the lines and repaint the entire series a deep, sultry grey colour. No one is perfect, no one is clean.

As for the aforementioned rarity... How often do you encounter political zealots in shows or films? Characters obsessed with political ideals, and focused on those? I mean, zealots are here and there, mostly to die quickly or be defeated. But Silco is RIGHT in what he wants—yet questionable in his ways of getting it.

It's just not a very common character trope. Nor is it common to have the top leader, evil, scarred, zealous skank in chief be OPEN ABOUT HIS FEELINGS OF VULNERABILITY, and have tears in his eyes as he speaks to his daughter, and come to important emotional milestones...

Silco is like a trope and reverse trope buffet. In my personal experience, I find him written like a great book character, more than a show character. They packed a lot of depth in him and left us space to expand... It's a buffet I'm still eating at 10 months later.

Most poorly written : Cait.

I'm being harsh. I think nobody was "poorly" written per se, the show is simply too good.

But Cait has no substance or character. We know nothing about her. Tell me! What do you know about Cait? She likes to shoot and is good at it. She likes to solve crimes, can't take no for an answer, is sheltered, thinks Vi is cute... Really wanted to be a cop when her mom isn't happy with it. Literally, what else?

This is not bad content! It's good stuff! It's just fucking outrageous it's all we know about her when she's a main character and pretends to a romance with the lead.

Like, I know just as much, if not more, about Singed, and it's fucking *Singed*.

I feel like Cait is the bottom of the writing barrel because I'm expected to see her THAT MUCH and yet I'm told that much. I've done other posts about her. You can check out this one, and I recommend reading my friend's reply as we go into a deep dive into her motivations.

[acelaces]

Just curious, who are your top 5 Detentionaire characters? =)

Camillio Martinez

My boy Cam.... He’s memorable despite having a lot of cringey dialogue he comes off more as a cringey, try-hard, social-climbing but ultimately loyal and understanding guy. Best thing about him is his immaturity.  Worst thing about him is his immaturity. I like the dynamic of Lee Ping making friends and foes and peeling back the layers of A. Nigma High. Cam as a character is a good representation of that because he’s your og, known-forever, predictable as monkey hypnosis bestie but Lee learns new things about him throughout the show and he learns new things about himself.  Cam is a protective big bro and he drinks Respect Women juice. He has repressed bisexual energy. Also he is the definition of a Short King.

Tina Kwee: Tina grew on me from my first impression of her as your colour-by-numbers Lois Lane mild mannered crush character. I think I started really liking her character when she and Cam improvised that Cameo and Tina-ette bit to get past Lynch. Tina’s a subtler character but all the details are so endearing. The Lee Ping desktop background, talking to herself in the third person, average older-sib syndrome, absolutely participating in the never-ending slap-fight one-upmanship with Chaz. She needs that scoop and she definitely forgets that she's like, a fuckign baby who needs to eat some breakfast and download a game or two on her phone. Also her iconic protective streak during the Research Frenemies arc. She has caffeinated gremlin energy. Only critique: not enough character interactions.

Lee Ping: Lee didn't come off as just another flavour of generic teenboy RebelTM character. He's a very grounded and well-written mc, but with enough meme-able moments to keep the fandom burning with that classic 2013 era energy. He tries to enter 'rad' as a password 3 times before giving up, but he can also math circles around the best mathlete. He has an armband tattoo he just assumed was a birthmark. Friend of cats and Tazzes, likes Lance Pinto movies and 'doesn't do' cliques. This is the guy that seems to borrow a pencil from you every single day and you wonder if he has ever purchased one, unbeknownst to you (and him) he has a pencil from every kid in school under his bed. Lee comes into the series smug asf and look at what the creators did, he has anxiety now. Lee spends most of the series crouching in shadows, hiding in vents and running away from shit and still manages to blunder into badass moments, get in a smug one-liner or dunk on Biffy. Critique: his character design hurts my eyes (red and green?!?!?) and we don't get a lot of his internal monologue aside from for exposition.Lee has memelord energy.

Chaz Moneranian / Li Ping / Kimmie/ Cyrus 

These three tie for 4th for being iconic characters that I love every time they're on screen even though I don't know enough about them to find them totally endearing. It's the fanon for me. 

Chaz: Insecure, narcissistic asshat who unabashedly loves drama and mess, queer-coded, possibly has super-human speed and is chronically disliked. No idea why this character was so relatable to me.....

Li Ping: It's the voice-acting for me, sometimes he goes really pitchy and every line read is unexpectedly awesome. He looks a lot like Lee and yet his character design is easy on the eyes. Unlike Lee who is genre-savvy and sarcastic, Li is the guy who sends you e-mails in all caps and with a signature with an embossed sword and an inspirational/ominous quote. Li takes this shit serious and WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING??? YOU HAVE CHOSEN DEATH. The fact his character backstory involves some serious Fridge Horror and he alludes to having committed and being capable of Actual Atrocities...and his best friend is a pet snake named Priscilla. Power of God and Anime On My Side energy.

Kimmie: The stoic Alpha-Bitch who raps about a cringey restaurant named after her, has dumb phone apps and an actually Evil mom, the fact that Kimmie can smell a stunt or lie a mile off but had the entire illuminati operating out of her foyer and didn't even notice. She's so mysterious that I think it made the fandom froth every time we saw a peek into her weirdly sad world. Also her interactions with Lee as the deadbeat dad of her ro-baby lmao.

Cyrus: He’s funny every time he’s on screen. It’s the perpetual smile for me. He has no-thoughts-head-empty energy.

Biffy: I honestly wasn't sure who to put for this last spot. It was crazy close because I wanted to put Jenny here. I think ultimately the one with more screentime won out. Also Biffy gets bonus points for being a character I initially disliked and then won me over. Classic subverted bully trope but without the unfortunate implications of characters like Buford from P&F. Biffy felt like a fully-rounded character and bonus points for looking at the cake and being like :0 (ancient meme)Biffy can't wait til he can legally get a tattoo but he would probably ask whoever was there with him to hold his hand when he's getting it. Biffy is 7 ft tall and hides in a bathroom stall to hear a teen rock band practice. I like when he advocates for Lee's well being and I like when that pits him against Cam and Holg (og friends vs new friends and the duality of man etc. etc.). Bif is the character most likely to call Lee up just to check in, after a day of getting threats, 'heads up!'s, and 'YOU GOTTA GET HERE FAST BRO's. Bif has ABSOLUTE UNIT energy

[clandestine-j]

Gossip Girl, EP. 4 Reaction & Review

Finally, I've gathered all of my thoughts for ep. 4! I had this really cool extra post to the intro and had more thoughts but then I lost the entire thing so I had to re-write the entire post SO, yeah, this is all I have for this part. Also, if anyone has those bts photos please let me know, i’m looking for the ones that have the audience reacting to max’s dick pick from the fashion show, aki biting his lip. please send. 

ADULTS:

Kate & CO: JAIL JAIL JAIL. We had that one teacher being turned on by incest and ruining kids lives. DO BETTER IN JAIL. I'll say tho, the male teacher makes a better gossip girl, he doesn't feel bad and is enjoying it. Kate could never.

Rafa: JAIL. JAIL. JAIL. JAIL. JAIL. I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU, WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU. I hate that they showed us this man having common sense. This man, pushing Max away sexually but understanding that he needs serious help. I hate that they just didn't have them flirting and show us him saying no, I'm so upset. I'm even more upset that I fell for him being the character to subvert the trope. I can only blame myself but blame HBO as well. I also hate the comments saying it's okay or well, the show needs scandal and spice. They could've been photographed together in normal clothes, just standing next to each other. Max could lie to GG. There are a bunch of ways these could become an IC scandal without having them cross the line. If you support this, you need help.

OUR KIDS:

Max: My boy needs therapy, lots of it. Maybe rehab. On one hand, he's being taken advantage of because he's clearly going through something and more than just his dads and he has been for a while. His escapism is dangerous and anyone would be able to prey on that. On the other hand, I need someone to beat his ass. His lines to Rafa about money and career were punch worthy and out-right willing to lie about Rafa doing something to him, even just to press Rafa's buttons. He needs help, he needs to be taught boundaries, he needs a lot. And why were the only two people concerned for his week-long disappearance Aki and Audrey, the whole squad should've had the guns out, friends since childhood, sure.

Obie: My boy, I get that you didn't like where you saw Zoya headed. I get that in some aspects you were right about her being a little too involved and suspecting Julien. That being said, she was having real problems and troubles and needed support. Do better. Obie still isn't the worst character on the show and many of them are SOOOO much worse. He doesn't deserve the all of the smoke he's been getting when their are better people for it.

Monet & Luna: I hate them as people and love them as characters that move the plot. I guess I could see how they thought the fuck school thing was horrible (and Julien too since she planned on showing Obie). The directors cut, I don't think they thought it'd ruin Zoya, they're just fucking cruel and found it funny. Let's box. Also, why are ya'll so pressed over this CHILD. Like get over it, find a real up-coming social media star. 

Aki & Audrey: My good sis, you brought a gay man to make Aki jealous. I'm sick, it was fucking funny. Her comments at first were off the wall, I wish the writers would've done something else but a lot of woman don't see it as normal so I sort of get it. I'm glad she came around by the end. And Aki...he was a little spicy this episode, my boy was ready to pop off a bit AND I AM HERE FOR IT. My dude said, 'I don't regret kissing him' I was THROWN. Aki being with Audrey helps me like her more because she's a bitch that's still ready to gun for a now 15 year old girl but her and Aki's relationship is cute. They could break up and be fine which is great, I love that their relationship is really more than just dating and the friendship is strong. I'm here for it.

Zoya: It's just bad writing but my head canon is trauma. Trauma from her moms death death, trauma from the past and current bullying that caused her lash out. I felt like this was her breaking point (so far) and anything gossip girl related as always came around to Julien. If she trusted Julien more, she wouldn't have thought of her as the person causing her issue's but she doesn't trust her. They were civil but even at the end of ep 2. Her 'hell yeah' to Julien about bonding was too dry, too dry. I think a big part of her just doesn't trust Julien and she'll always think the worse because she's seen mostly the worse. And that video, horrible, I'd hate everything about my birthday too after that and even before. Her emotions during the scene and the talk with Julien, ouch. And while I'm happy that Zoya found herself in the end, YES GIRL POP OFF. THIS IS WHAT I WANTED. THIS IS THE FLAVOR. I WAS WAITING FOR THIS AND I WANT MORE. I DEMAND MORE. I SEE A SPARK OF A BITCH, LET HER OUT GO, GO ALISON DELAOTRUINES ON THESE BITCHES.

Julien: Once again, I love Julien as a character, I know she's supposed to be struggling and for that, It's fun to watch her BUT. Julien could never be on my team, she's too wishy-washy. That is my issue, she's too, just...flip-floppy with no substance. Like, when she does things wrong, they're expected  to be forgiven / are forgiven without true reflection or anything on her part. She fucks up, she see's its wrong and then she says sorry and goes on it does it again. This episode was just the worst example, like, the moment she heard buffalo, she was ready to send in a tip. Instead of just doing the party normally and being best because she's hear, she sends the video to Monet. She believes Luna and Monet (Monet talking about her throne being taken when Zoya isn't even an influencer) and she eats it up. They were the ones who did the dick pick thing, like girl, THINK. And why does she never get the full plan, why would she not watch the video or why is she so shocked that Luna and Monet would play something like that? She knows them. Friends since childhood? Sure. Using your moms name to make the party about charity? SIS, THE FEUD IS NOT WORTH IT. She says she wants to be sisters but then she switches up so fast and the witches up again, it's whip-last and I'm sick. I hate that she's doing this to her and I hate even more that's is the writers fault. I don't mind a character having personal conflict but make it a conflict. Like after four episodes, why is she still friends with her sisters bullies? At the end of the episode, she says she's gonna tell them to lay down their weapons, NO, shut it down. correct them. make it clear and make it known. I love my girl because she's flawed but I wish they'd linger on things and have her really think about it. I was fine with the i'm sorry speech up until the camera part.

Other random thoughts

fuck the rafa max thing again, i'm not over, i will never be over it

evan mock isn't the best but he does give me face at times, his 'wtf stare', little sly looks, the 'wtf' moment when audrey first asked him if he was gay like 'this bitch' also, give him more annoyed, irritated scenes, he gives in those

have julien go full nice or full evil for a while, pick a side and stick with it for more than one episode

i wish zoya was a bitch at her old school but i'm fine with this too, it explains why she was so reactionary when it came to the bullying at constance, not again!

i wish we could've seen julien talk with davis after that stunt

nick and davis, KISS, the ride scene was 100%

don't talk about obie so soon

i like that she chose to be with julien for the night, it was cute

emily makes these faces that i can't get with

eli brown is a good actor, that shot of him during the traumatic reveal

i will say, zobie might be boring but when they talk, they talk, their communication is p good, i don't hate it

i’d be here for obie x aki bc they’re friends, they got chemistry, aki was giving look lil up and downs this episode, aki was giving a lot of looks this ep, honestly, idk i just don’t want him heart broken 

aki menzies is still my comfort character

i couldn't take rafa serious with his ass out,

whitney's acting in that talk scene, perfect, my girl had me in tears because DAMN

jordan is pretty good but in that scene, go girl, give me nothing

fuck max and rafa

max lied about his dads or at least one, AT LEAST one, i don't think they'd do that, he saw his in and took it

aki and aud, just have that open relationship, ya'll will make it, the way he tucked into her, it was so sweet

davi and nick secret relationship plot

jail for all of the teachers, once again

the hallway scene was great, the cinematography is been clutch overall

music wasn't as jarring

that's about it! i have more thoughts on the show overall that might be another post, they have a lot of amazing ideas but they need to stick with one and flush it out is the overall gist, i'm still into it!

can't wait for five bc i love the angst that's about to hit.

[wullu]

TL; DR - Ji Won and Hee Sung’s relationship subverts a lot of traditional good girl/bad boy tropes in a way that I find interesting and here is me, spewing a few hundred words to make my case for it.

I'm struggling to articulate this clearly, but here we go.

Ji Won and Hee Sung's relationship checks off a lot of the standard good girl/bad boy trope prerequisites, such as, women doing the emotional work of making a good man out of a bad one, the bad man undergoing reform in order to better match the innocence/purity of the good girl and also, all of the related angst of 'I am unworthy of love', 'you are too good. You deserve someone better' and “I will burn the earth for my beloved’ so on and so forth. And while I do like this trope, at some points it gets so basic and boring.

And here is where I think Flower of Evil cleverly subverts a lot of these sub-tropes and shows a very different side of how the trope could work and what happens when the characteristics and habits get swapped and are evenly distributed between the couple.

Ji Won loves Hee Sung because to her he is good, despite his attempts to say otherwise. And what is more, Ji Won has proof. She believes it because she has seen it. She’s not just going off an idea that she can save him with her love.

She has no intention of changing him into something different. She just loves him. And wants to be with him, in whichever way he will have her. Even when she was pursuing him, it was not because he was the forbidden fruit or whatever. Girl  genuinely fell hook line and sinker the moment she saw him (and I don’t blame her cause it’s LJG and even in a horrible bottle blond wig, he looks fine af) and as her crush grew, so did her idea of who he really was.The Hee Sung we see now is the Hee Sung who blossomed in Ji Won’s presence without anybody being there to cut him down or telling him to be different.

And when it comes to being protective, while Hee Sung protects Eun Ha and I am sure Ji Won too would, but at the very same, there’s a marked difference to the way she protects Hee Sung. It screams mom vibes. The same loving devotion Hee Sung displays to Eun Ha, Ji Won displays to him. 

Now, the mom vibes trope is not something I’m very fond of, but idk, here I appreciate it and even enjoy watching it. Perhaps it is because while Hee Sung is a competent adult, in many other ways he seems like a wounded little boy. He never seems to defend himself in front of people, instead, it is Ji Won who is caring but also sharp and ready to snap necks if need be. Even when she’s not really sure of who he might be and is struggling to accept what she has learnt, her instinct is to is protect. It even overrides the values of her job that she is supposed to uphold! 

In a subversion of traditional gender roles as well, Ji Won holds a government job, is around and does love her family but also is not home enough to know where a particular kind of kimchi is kept. It is Hee Sung who takes care of the house, who is present for Eun Ha at all hours and more likely than not, is definitely the softer parent. The amount of times Eun Ha is in his arms, how much he does for her, it’s all what we usually see the women doing. Ji Won seems like the sterner parent, who loves Eun Ha but also knows that disciplining her is not something she necessarily can do because while she is at home too and parents, it is Hee Sung who seems to provide the bulk of emotional parenting and of course, behavioural parenting.

And then there’s one of the  best features of the good/bad trope (for me personally) when one person is endangered, the other raises hell. Here, we know Hee Sung can raise hell because it is repeatedly shown to us that he’s capable of violence and anger and has no qualms about knocking someone off should they threaten his world. You know who else is capable of raising hell? Ji Won. The woman basically fast and furious-ed her way to protect Hee Sung, and engaged in the kind of reckless behaviour that is usually only reserved for action macho men. Ho Joon really thought he was going to meet his maker based on how fast and recklessly she was driving. But even then, it isn't the kind of driving you see from someone who is in panic mode. She drove with such surety and assurance. I don’t think anyone drifts with such precision unless they know where the fuck they are going and what the fuck they want to do. If Hee Sung is systematic, Ji Won is more than ready to leave a path of destruction behind her, if it means she can save her family and she doesn’t really care about what she has to destroy or damage in order to do so. When she says to Ho Joon, she does not know what came over her, it was not because she truly didn’t know. It was purely a gut reaction. Like a button was pressed, and she went into ‘Save My Love’ mode.

Dear lord, I have written a lot. I guess I will keep writing bits and pieces bout them as and when they worm their way into my brain.                        

[the-i-in-lie]

Vietnamese Moana: A Raya And The Last Dragon Review (Spoilers)*

I get what they were going for. I really do.

Here's the thing, on concept alone, this movie's really good. As I implied in the title, it feels like Moana with a Vietnamese (I think) coat of paint, but:

Moana wasn't the most original thing in the world either, it was just really good at executing relatively tired tropes.

Raya And The Last Dragon has a much more vibrant, alive world than Moana, although I could be misremembering.

Speaking of that world, it might be my favorite part of the movie. From the lively markets of Talon, to Fang subverting the evil empire cliche by being expansionist out of need, to even the elaborate prayer Raya makes towards the beginning, it truly feels like this isn't a world just made for a ninety minute movie.**

The animation's really cool too. I mean, 3D has come a long way since the original Toy Story. The textures, like hair, skin, cloth, metal and fur, are downright beautiful. I also love the paper-like 2D animation at the beginning. The human designs are really nice as well, although about as expected for modern Disney.

Note that I said "human", because the dragons honestly look more like colorful ferrets than reptiles (them being mustelids explains the odor comment...). Anyways, this is a good transition to my first major problem with the movie: the dragons. Well, the one specific dragon we see throughout the movie (too tired to look up how to spell her name).

Anyways, I'm very sick and tired of the hyped up magical creature is a comic relief thing. Her jokes are anachronistic (school projects??? really??? as that asshole who never contributes to group projects i am offended), they come fast and don't stop, and her raspy as hell voice doesn't help matters. When she's being serious, she's fine, but in her first scene I was convinced I was gonna hate this movie based on her alone.

And that's just one example of a pretty serious tone problem. Hunchback of Notre Dame bad? No, but in terms of how much it ruins the goddamn movie, not that far behind. The con baby from Talon is another great example. I get what the joke is, the city's so crime ridden even the babies are scammers. It's all so...Penguins of Madagascar-y. Ugh.

Speaking of Talon and crime, Raya's assumptions about that nation are never truly proven wrong, and to me that was a missed opportunity. They did it for Fang, why not have Talon's representative (btw I really like how Raya picks up companions from each nation, clever) be an honest, down on their luck market stall owner? They go to buy something, Raya's convinced she's ripping her off, and she somehow proves her honesty.

Why this tangent? Well, the movie's actual theme (trust, apparently) is very, very poorly implemented. The scene where the antagonist (antagonist is strictly the character opposed to the protagonist, which is why there are villain protagonists but never villain heroes) is trusted with the gem pieces is really nice, but trust is the wrong word for the concept.

Raya trusting her is what made this happen in the first place! Maybe it could've been about forgiveness, or belief (and actually been able to communicate that without icky implications). Maybe, like I described in the alternate Talon, it could've been about how prejudice breeds mistrust.

After Mulan 2020 though, I don't think Disney wants to take a stand against racism, lest it upset Winnie the Pooh.

Some other points I'd go in depth on if I wasn't heccin tired

Raya and the antagonist girl (again, idk her name) had a really strong rivalry that was enjoyable to watch.

Despite an annoying introduction, the shrimp kid was great

I want whatever that dog/armadillo hybrid is

The mom says to her daughter towards the end (don't remember exactly when) that what happens is "out of her control" and I thought she was legit gonna try and murder Raya and crew but she just turns to stone???

I saw this trailer before the movie of a 3D remake/sequel/midquel to Spirit: Stallion if the Cimarron and fuck you Dreamworks for doing that

Shout out to Raya's dad for actually being a good dad in animation. Low bar, but still, dads deserve better.

The short film before the movie was cute

Also I want a straw hat now

tl;dr: You know how Emperor's New Groove was originally gonna be this epic called Kingdome of the Sun? I feel like some executive saw the draft for Raya and the Last Dragon, decided "hey, it worked for Emperor's New Groove, let's do it here because kids don't like epic fantasy!". Kuzco still reigns supreme.

Rating: wasted potential/10

(I know I already posted a mini review, however I got home from the theater and talked to my dad about it on the way there, so I have more detailed thoughts now)

**and the inevitable TV series/sequel/short film

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching SPN 15x14 “Last Holiday”

oh boy it’s been a while huh. i’ve forgotten how to do this

--

05:44

this thing aired yesterday after a 6-month-long covid hiatus and during that time i ran out of patience for a lack of downloads and immediately gave up looking when i didn’t find one in 5 minutes

SO HERE I AM, A DAY LATE

hello

i know NOTHING about what’s about to happen. zero expectations. just want good shit that’s worth me spending time on it pls

-

ah good a recap because i have no fucking clue what’s going on

-

dean’s wearing his apron too low down and it bothers me

unless he’s so tall that a regular height grill is BELOW his crotch

-

dean: i killed hitler

yeah you did baybee

-

“meat man”

okay dean

let’s hope cas has better pet names for you

-

he

has

scooby doo

underwear

..............................

thank you whoever decided that

i spy one with bananas on them

NOT ONE SINGLE PAIR OF PANTIES. DIS-A-POINTEEEEEED

-

I LIKE MRS BUTTERS THE WOOD NYMPH

-

06:02pm

ooo i like this, mrs butters the wood nymph gives the bunker OOMPH

-

okay so i like this character a lot but i’m aware she’s very... 1950s housewife mother stereotype so i’m just wondering how much to trust this trope and whether it’ll be subverted or if it’s straight-up just “oh yeah new magic mom, who cares about progression”

lemme look up the writer

jeremy adams..... okay he wrote scoobynatural and the one where dean kills his ex-boyfriend so.......... hmmm. will find out

-

07:33pm

paused to write an email very slowly

-

just as i wonder why they trust her, sam asks how they know they can trust her

i like how this highlights the fact dean is so nurturing as he’s been doing “””~~~the woman’s job~~~””” all this time

-

sam: “ignoring the trauma doesn’t make you healthy”

O REALLY

-

aw man those were chill vamps :/

-

she made gingerbread and put up a tree and i only want mrs butters the wood nymph to be lovely and have nice things happen to her and i want this episode (and her story) to end well

-

THE

F

THE FREAKING LILAC NIGHTGOWN

EJRSGJDRJGJ

WAIT WAIT I’M SORRY

THE CAP

WITH THE BOBBLE

-

100% chance jensen actually flashed jared there

-

OH THANK GOD MRS BUTTERS RINSES THE PLATES

PEOPLE NEVER SEEM TO RINSE PLATES

...........hm she rinsed the first but not the second

dammit

..........wait she dried it then rinsed it? okay then

-

FAMILY DINNERS

WHERE IS CAS

WHERE CAS

W  H ER E

-

sam just

thor’s hammer

-

07:51

quietly expecting this to go wrong.........

-

08:13

dean uses jack to blast a door down

dean smort

-

mrs butters walks fast out of red steam with glowing green eyes

such a good shot i watched it twice

-

sam’s nails got healed and for a moment was like CAS???

but no

okay mrs butters you do that

-

jack’s ominous unsaid wish,,,,

-

08:22pm

OKAY SO

i liked it!!! i liked that it was a tale of passed-on abuse rather than clear-cut evil.

can’t say i have too many thoughts, but i never trusted the banana milkshakes

10/10 i guess?? out of practise figuring out what qualifies as what out of ten

this was just an enjoyable time for me~

LET’S HOPE THE REST OF THE SEASON HOLDS UP

where WAS cas tho

[ramblingguy54]

Louie’s Internal Depth

Describe nothing! He hasn’t earned it!

It’s not fair! What’s so wrong with an innocent scheme!?

Ethics is concerned with your actions negatively affecting those around you.

Look, your plans. Your schemes. They only lead to bad things for your family. If you want to be apart of this family, you’ve gotta stop...

This is the one thing I’m good at...Why can’t you see...?

Once again Della, while she has a strongly accurate point about what he did, fails to see how Louie Incorporated meant the world to him. Yes, she had every right to ground him, but taking away something that was more than a scheme hurt him deeply. Also, can I just say ouch at Della’s statement? While she had the best of intentions with that line about his schemes only doing bad things, in hindsight, Della, called Louie a bad son, from his point of view. That had to really freaking hurt this kid to be contemplating that, as he’s letting seeing things from all the angles blind himself from what really matters, in the long run, his loved ones. However, can you blame Louie for feeling this way? 

Della is correct about Louie with the time tub shenanigans, but she still hasn’t put together the pieces yet that Louie feels seriously inadequate, due to everything else that’s happened with the environment Louie grew up in. Telling him to give up what he sees as a talent that makes him not feel depressed has to be soul crushing. If Louie can’t be a schemer, I’m sure there’s times where he’s asked himself...

What’s the point in being apart of this family then?

Louie definitely believes he has to earn his mother’s love. Louie wants to become a schemer, such as Goldie, but Della is standing in his way, like an insurmountable emotional wall and for obviously good reasons of unconditional affection/concern for him. Although, Louie doesn’t see it that way at all, looking at his mother, as someone who’s out to hurt him. I don’t doubt he feels betrayed that Della showers his two other bros with affection because they’ve got more in common with with her than Louie could possibly ever hope to match 

A good scheme is like a family! It can be big, complicated, frustrating, and people may not always understand it...

...but when the individual parts come together, they can achieve the impossible and a family united is the finest scheme of all!

Here’s the complex part I’ve noticed about what they’re doing with Louie in this episode. While he does realize that Della has a point about what he did wrong, Glomdgold’s words have had a serious affect on his resolve. He may be deeply regretful of what happened in Timephoon, but is that going to stop him from getting his hands back onto the idea of Louie Incorporated? They don’t call Louie the stubborn “evil triplet” for nothing, especially when he’s emotionally driven with his powerful desires to feel loved by the family again. Louie feels entire alone in the McDuck Manor because no one shares his ideals at all.

Mom, I know I messed up, but seeing the angles is what I’m good at.

Okay, but you need to take care not to hurt the ones you love and I’ll be here to see the angles you can’t. Now all you have to do is turn back the company over to Scrooge and everything will go back to normal!

Della may be letting Louie continue scheming, but only in the way that she sees fit that won’t hurt the family all over again. Which makes sense because throughout the entire episode Della has been reading every trick Louie tried to pull on her by running off to join them at Candy Mountain. Louie may be sharper than the sharpies, but Della is in an entirely different league from him, similarly to Goldie. Louie realizes this now and respects Della’s wittiness, overall. So, everything goes back to the way it was again, right? Louie turned into a much better kid thanks to Della’s hard lined advice, just like Beakly said it would, correct? Pffffttt, Hell the fuck no. Then it wouldn’t be DuckTales now would it? 

Louieeeee!

Louie...?

In the usual fashion, DuckTales has used the good old meta tool to subvert its tropes into something more complicated. Has Louie gotten better? Well, yes and no. Louie certainly doesn’t plan on ever putting them in danger again with another time tub worst case scenario, but taking Scrooge’s company for his own Louie Incorporated dream idea? That’s certainly what Louie believes to be within the realm of a “good” thing to do in the end, as he confidently thinks no one will be hurt by it. Except they will and rightfully so. Della’s gonna be furious all over again because Louie severely misinterpreted her message into something else. 

Now, why would Louie repeat the same mistake of hurting his family twice? Unfortunately, due to Glomgold’s speech, Louie is now more determined than ever into making Louie Inc. a reality again and this time he wants his family to help him out, even if it means pulling a classic Goldie double cross on his dear Uncle Scrooge. Louie feels like he’s more than earned it, given how he outclassed Glomgold, Magica, Don Karnage, The Beagle Boys, and Mark Beaks, where two of whom are very well known rich businessmen. That’s more than enough grounds for him to feel justified in taking away Scrooge’s legacy, except he wants this family to become apart of his “new legacy” with Louie Inc. Especially with his mother, since Della promised to be there by his side and he really wants her to because Louie sees her as a valuable asset/relative.   This episode was a great slow burn with a lot going on underneath for Louie emotionally to pick apart here. While I’d have loved to see more of him getting truly angered/upset in today’s episode, the next one for sure aint gonna be pretty, so that more of a nitpick. He’s disobeyed Della’s strict rules a second time, so there’s no way she’ll agree to any of this, of course. Della will surely refuse to work with him, which is gonna crush Louie. He’s thinking that getting Louie Inc. would be enough to finally make her proud of him, but he’s warped the idea of true love, through his own heavy emotional trauma.

The Richest Duck In The World is gonna bring out Louie’s more antagonistic side, exploring his complicated emotions toward Della further, I believe. There’s a reason why Zan Owlson is in the episode synopsis because Louie is gonna use her instead, as his right hand assistant to see all the angles.

Della’s gonna have to make yet another tough parenting decision and turn Louie away. God, I’m not ready for more sad Louie. You’re finally getting what you want, but at what crucial price?

The subtle nuanced approach they’ve been taking with Louie in these last episodes has been very fun to see play out. I’m really loving it, honestly.   

[laryna6]

Things I would like to write for someday:

MDZS - I do have a bunny - The Adventures of Murder Mom and Love Freak Sectmaster Dad, just energy is the issue.

Baccano - Such a delightfully crazy cast! I need to get caught up on the novels.

Diana Wynne Jones - Howl’s Moving Castle is the obvious choice, but I really like this one short story, Carol Oneir’s Hundredth Dream. It kind of ends on a note of ‘when she grows up she’s going to be amazing’ and I kind of want an in-universe interview about the long-awaited release of her Hundredth Dream, and how does the former blockbuster creator feel about her new work not becoming a massive hit the way her childhood work did, but Carol basically *dons shades* and is too rich to care about mass market appeal anymore. 

CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series - I was delighted to find there is fic for it! But I have a ‘verse where Bren was in the same generation as the paidhi he replaced instead, and was in court when a young Ilisidi made her trek over the mountains and Jase ends up meeting this Cool Old Guy Bren who is just not fazed anymore because long association with Ilisidi overloaded all his brain’s adrenaline receptors decades ago. So Tabini’s delight at a paidhi who is his age gets targeted at Jase, who is not the velvet glove to his admired-but-terrifying grandmother’s iron fist. (Ilisidi runs over idiots on her mecheita and then Bren provides tea and sympathy) 

Dragon Quest IV - Alena showing up places in search of a fight and soloing the final bosses of various game franchises while Kyril follows her around offering apologies and seeming like a wimp until someone discovers he’s gotten *much better* at the instant death magic (courtesy of one of the spin-off games). Now-Queen Alena has been able to abolish taxation in her country and fund impressive public works programs by selling the loot from her hobby of kicking the shit out of ultimate evils, and they have a public health service that dispenses all the late-game healing items Alena doesn’t need. She also teaches martial arts classes to the various kidnapped princesses she’s run into. 

Lunar: Eternal Blue - Remains the best-done romance in a video game I’ve seen to this day. On the Grand List of JRPG Cliches, it’s the namer for a trope... that it actually subverts? 

Petshop of Horrors - I am so pissed that Tokyopop replaced the line with Leon revealing that he’d known what was up for ages with something random. I’m not pleased with the epilogue and did the sequel series ever stop being filler? 

Koori no Mamono no Monogatari - So good and I should re-read. 

Archdemon’s Dilemma - I raved about this relatively recently. 

[charlie-minion]

21 Supernatural Questions

I was tagged by @amwritingmeta – thank you for including me, sweetie. You’re so lovely! I gotta tell you that it honestly made my day when I read that one of my favorite meta writers considers my blog one of her favorites, so yeah… thanks! :’D

Now let’s tackle these super fun questions ;-)

1. When did you start watching Supernatural?

I remember I watched for the first time around 2009. Season 4 was on, here in my country, on Warner Channel. I’m sure that season had already finished in the U.S. at that time, but it was just starting to air here in El Salvador. I didn’t know anything about the show and I didn’t know what season that was either, but now I know it was 4 because all I remember was that some dude had rescued another dude from Hell. Period. I understood next to nothing about the plot because I hadn’t seen any episode prior to the beginning of S4. I caught a few episodes now and then and continued to watch for some time until the schedule changed. The eps started to air at 11:00 p.m. and I had to get up early for work, so I stopped watching.

In 2013, I spent one year living in North Carolina with my older sister. I was having a difficult time, so I moved to my birth country (USA) to escape everyone and everything. I had no TV in my room, but I had my laptop and my sis had the first 7 seasons of Supernatural, so I was like, “Hey! I might FINALLY understand that freaking show that looked so cool”. That’s how I started. I wasn’t planning to binge-watch the whole thing, but it became addictive pretty fast.

I loved the first 3 seasons, but once I got to season 4 and Castiel was introduced, I was hooked for real! When I watched season 5 and I saw the “I did it, all of it, for you” from 5x02, I started Googling Dean and Cas, because I was SO SURE I was seeing romance there, and I couldn’t be the only one. I was super excited when I found out there was a Supernatural FANDOM (back then I had no idea that was a thing). And I was even more excited when I learned about Destiel, about shipping, and about all the fandom culture. I joined Twitter, became a Misha stan because the more I read about him, the more I adored him, and I got caught up just in time to watch 8x17 live.

Can you imagine becoming a Dean/Cas shipper all on my own, doing research, finding out about Destiel and then the VERY FIRST EPISODE I watched live, while living in the U.S., was Goodbye Stranger written by Robbie Thompson?!! Those were the days!

I have been watching live, along with the fandom, ever since March 20, 2013. I joined Tumblr during the hiatus and started writing meta (accidentally) at the very beginning of season 9. So yeah! This show has been a very important part of my life for over 6 years now, and I don’t want to think about how things might change after the show ends. NOPE. Not thinking about it AT ALL. (At least not yet).

2. Who is your favorite in TFW?

I absolutely LOVE my three boys. I want them to be happy because they deserve it. But, we can all have a favorite, right? I was a Dean!girl when I started binge-watching. When Cas was introduced, I became a huge Cas fan, and I thought he had become my favorite. However, lately I’ve understood that I became a huge MISHA fan, and that’s a little different. If we’re talking about the SPN cast, Misha is and will always be my favorite because he’s a real life angel. I love that man with all I have! But, if we’re talking about the SPN characters, I have to admit that I will forever be a Dean!girl, no matter what.

I’ll continue after the cut because, apparently, it’s impossible for me to give brief answers :P

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW?

This question sounds cruel, but I want to understand it in a ranking way, not in an “I hate this character” one.

If I have to rank TFW, for me, it would be:

Dean

Cas

Sam

HOWEVER, let it be known that I love my three boys immensely, and I want a happy endgame for the three of them. If Dean and Cas had a happy ending, but Sammy didn’t, that would ruin it for me. Ranking doesn’t equal hating.

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs!

I’ve said I follow very few blogs because I curate my fandom experience a lot, but you guys make my time on Tumblr extraordinary. I enjoy seeing you in my dash, reading what you blog or reblog and just knowing that you’re around as part of this community. If you answer these questions, please tag me ‘cause I’d like to read what you got to say about our beloved show. Much love to each of you! ♥♥♥♥♥

@dimples-of-discontent @mittensmorgul @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @naruhearts @casthegrumpy @fangirlingtodeath513 @bluestar86 @viva-la-cockles @obsessionisaperfume @caswouldratherbehere @perfectlyelegantdelusion @occamshipper @amwritingmeta (and no, Annelie, I’m not tagging you because you tagged me; you truly deserve to be here). 

If you’re not tagged, please forgive my poor memory, but if we’ve talked before, or I reblog/like your posts, please know that I adore you. ♥

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)?

Oh my! This is so hard to answer. Supernatural has had so many amazing characters that choosing only one is hard. But I guess I have to go with Charlie Bradbury. The only time I seriously considered to stop watching the show was when Charlie was killed off. I was very angry and disappointed, and 10x21 became an episode I truly hate. I don’t think I have ever re-watched the whole ep because the writing was SO BAD. Dean and Sam were stupid in that ep, and Cas was basically a lamp. I… NOPE. Disgusting episode for sure. And I lost my beautiful lesbian queen.

 6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural?

I should say Charlie again, but because she got covered in my favorite non-TFW character, I will choose someone else for favorite woman.

And that has got to be Rowena. I don’t think there has ever been a female character in Supernatural written better than Rowena. And because the show’s ending, there will never be.  

7. John or Mary?

Definitely Mary. We got to know her better. I know certain parts of the fandom didn’t care much for her, but I loved her a lot, not despite her flaws but because of them! She was made human in a realistic way. We had only seen the idealized version of her through Dean’s eyes, but once we got to meet the real Mary, it was something I enjoyed. John, on the other hand, is not a bad person, but he wasn’t the best parent. He loved his children, and I know that, but his love doesn’t negate all the crap he put his sons through, even if his intentions came from a good place. I like the closure the boys got with him in 14x13, though. I was not against it at all. But, as John would say in that ep, “Me versus your mom? That’s – that’s not even a choice.”

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack?

Dean: Since the first moment I saw Dean, I knew he was faking and was trying to hide how broken he felt. That’s why I fell in love with him from the get-go.

Sam: My first opinion was that he was supposed to be the mature and detached brother.

Cas: I thought that he was meant to be the epitome for the enemies to friends trope. (And I added “to lovers” one season later).

Jack: The only opinion I had was that he was going to be the opposite of Lucifer. The characters were saying he was evil way too early for it not to be subverted. 

9. What’s your favorite season?

There are many seasons I love. I mean, this show has given us SO MUCH. But, season 8 is probably my favorite for two reasons. First of all, because it was the first one I watched live once I caught up. And to this day, the season finale still blows my mind.

And second, because it was when Carver took the reins of the show and did his best to fix the Gamble era. He gave the Dean/Cas dynamic a serious note, narratively speaking. I’ve said before that even though I shipped Destiel in the previous seasons, it wasn’t until season 8 that I saw an intentional development. It wasn’t played for kicks and laughs anymore, and it wasn’t just Misha’s and Jensen’s doing either. It was in the plot. The whole ‘I stayed one year in Purgatory just to get you back’ and all the ‘I couldn’t bear to think you didn’t want to come with me, so I chose to make it my fault’. Season 8 marked a new era, indeed, and Destiel became a real thing from then on, in my opinion.  

10. What’s your least favorite season?

Even though there are some episodes from that season that I truly love (and they’ve become memorable, like The French Mistake or The Man Who Would Be King), as a whole, I don’t enjoy season 6 much. After a formidable season 5, Sera struggled to keep the boat afloat and it shows. Season 6 is certainly the weakest.

11. Opinions on Destiel?

My whole blog was born because of Destiel, so? What do you want me to say? Hahahaha. Destiel is life. And I can divide my opinion in 4 (depending on the showrunner):

Destiel was a fortunate accident during the Kripke era. It was played for laughs and it was the result of whatever was going on between Jensen and Misha. Their chemistry had nothing to do with the script.

Destiel was a tool during the Gamble era. I don’t like to use the word “queerbait”, but I think the closest Supernatural has been to that was when Sera was the showrunner. It seems to me like she used the ship to lure the fandom and keep the audience, but it’s clear she had no intention of giving a resolution (we all know how she treated Misha, so…).

Destiel became an intentional part of the narrative during the Carver era. As I said before, it wasn’t until season 8 when you could clearly see that things were not accidentally there anymore. It wasn’t a joke, either. The ship sailed for real during the Carver era, but Jeremy was not allowed to give a resolution because the show continued to be renewed.

Destiel became canon during the Dabb era. I mean, I know people will argue that it’s not canon yet. And I understand what they mean. But, in my opinion, Destiel hasn’t been TEXTUALLY made canon, but when Andrew took the reins of the show, he made Dean and Cas sooooo married that I came to the conclusion explaining the subtext was unnecessary. It was WAY too in the nose to need explaining. So, I stopped trying hahaha. I don’t know if we’ll ever get Textual Canon Destiel, but in regards to Subtext, it can’t get more canon than that. And noooo, that doesn’t mean queerbait at all. Queercoding is a thing, you know?

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits?

As per my previous answer, currently I don’t think Supernatural queerbaits. I do believe Dabb, Bobo and company want to give the Dean/Cas storyline a satisfying resolution. I have no idea what they will be allowed to do, but even if they can’t textually give us what we want, I have faith they will find a subtextually strong way to wrap things up. I enjoyed when Misha and Jensen explained in the DC Cockles panel the restrictions the CW puts, and I think it applies to so much more than blood and language.

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14?

Seasons 8-14, no doubt. For two reasons: 1) They are really good (and gave Destiel relevance) and 2) those are the seasons when I was already part of the fandom and could enjoy week after week.

14. Favorite villain (plot wise)?

I think Chuck is the best of the best. Because when we look back, we now know that all the other villains were thanks to Chuck’s machinations. Plot wise that’s amazeballs! I mean, the fact that we always thought (or hoped) that God was on the Winchesters’ side just to learn he was the villain all along. Chef’s kiss!

 15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line?

I think they squeezed the freaking Lucifer plot line as much as they could… until it got to a point where I was sick of it. Everything related to Nick and Lucifer in season 14 was stupid and boring, to say the least. The plot line should have ended when Dean stabbed Lucifer. Although… I would have liked a better closure for Sam, but I’m good. As long as I don’t have to see Pellegrino again, I’m good.

16. Who do you think has gone through more trauma (Sam, Dean, or Cas)?

I don’t like this question and refuse to answer because trauma is NOT a competition (either in real life or in fiction). Trauma is trauma and it affects people. Something Sam went through was painful to him and that same thing may be less traumatic to Cas, but that doesn’t mean the repercussions and the suffering are less real for Sam, just because Cas suffered in other ways that may have affected him more. Trauma is personal. All I know is that the three of them have gone through A LOT and that’s why they deserve peace and happiness. Period.

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode?

There are more than 300 reasons to love this show. I mean, it’s almost impossible to choose ONE episode out of so many that I love. But for the sake of this question, I will answer with a very personal choice. My favorite ep could probably be 12x22 because of the moments between Dean and Mary. Dean needed a moment to finally say what he had been repressing all his life. All that hate mixed with all that love. He needed to let it out. And it was both gut-wrenching and beautiful to watch. I always cry when I see it (and I mean gross sobbing for real).

18. Do you like case episodes?

I like them most of the time. I don’t enjoy them so much when they air because I would like the plot to move forward, but it’s the case episodes where we learn more about what’s going on with our characters (their internal emotional battles) through other characters and subtext. It’s an interesting exercise, and that’s why I end up liking most case episodes in the end.

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW?

For people who have been following my blog for some time, this will come as no surprise. I relate the most to Dean Winchester.

In fact, I AM DEAN. I can find in my life every single thing about Dean’s journey. I came to accept my sexuality thanks to Dean (first as bisexual, and later as demisexual once I became more educated). I have felt worthless and like I don’t deserve to live or to be loved, just as much as Dean. I have felt like a burden, like I’m here just to help/please others, and if I’m not doing that, then I’m failing at life.

I get why Dean lashes out and hurts the people he loves even though he’s so afraid to lose them. I understand why Dean builds huge walls to protect himself from being hurt and what he needs to grow. Because his struggles are my struggles. And now I’m crying, so I better move on to the next question.  

20. Why do you like Supernatural?

I like Supernatural because I’ve been able to learn about myself thanks to the characters. Despite being a genre show, the personal journeys (character arcs) have been so real and relatable that I truly think this show is a masterpiece. The fact that I’ve grown as a human being thanks to an ordinary TV show is incredible. I don’t think there will ever be another show like Supernatural in my life.

21. If you could bring back one character and kill off another who would they be?

I would bring back Charlie. The original Charlie. I mean, I know we have seen lovely Felicia Day again thanks to AU!Charlie, but I couldn’t connect with her the same way I did with the original one. Probably because not even the boys have been able to connect with her the same way, either. They see her and they will always see the little sister they lost. It’s hard to think of AU!Charlie as her own person if she always reminds you of the one you lost. ETA: I forgot who I would kill. I guess no one. I mean, if Lucifer were still around, I'd kill him. Or Nick. I just got tired of his face.

Wow! This turned into a very long post, but I had so much fun.

I tag EVERYONE who would like to do this as a way to pay tribute to our wonderful show. Much love to y’all!

[mtvswatches]

Jane the Virgin 2x20 – Chapter Forty-Two

Click here for previous recaps!

Stray thoughts

1) I guess I should’ve figured the season finale would revolve around the wedding, but for some reason, I thought they would get married before that. What is it with TV shows and season finale weddings?

2) Jane is looking forward to spending Mother’s Day in the traditional Villanueva way – binge-watching telenovelas and bingeing ice-cream. But Petra sends her an invitation to start a new tradition, I guess. She’s organized a brunch so that they all get to spend Mother’s Day together and Rafael doesn’t need to split his time between the two households. Xiomara and Alba tell Jane to say no, but she just can’t break Petra’s heart.

3) They’re planning a crossover for Rogelio’s telenovela, and it seems epic…

Rogelio and Fernando are basically having a pissing contest to see who’s the biggest star, and Michael will inevitably get caught in the crossfire.

4) Anezka’s plan seems to be working perfectly…

Jane has to clear everything up with the school’s authorities, and she’s told she won’t be accepted back as a TA the next semester. Jane sets out to discover who is behind the fake email account and to prove that drama does not follow her around. Good luck with that.

5)  So, the narrator just said…

As my grandmother used to say: “Ay, not this guy.”

…and I’m here trying to figure out if this is a clue as to who the narrator is. It has to be. But I can’t remember any characters saying this before. Could it be Alba’s line and hence the narrator would be Jane? Or is it Xiomara’s and the narrator is Mateo? Or could it be something Jane will say at some point and it’s her grandson doing the narration?

6) Jane realizes Anezka is behind the fake email account because of her awkward grammar, and I’m kind of glad she discovered it quickly because I thought we were headed towards a “Jane thinks Petra tried to ruin her career and they fall out AGAIN and everyone fights during Mother’s Day.”

7) Jane tells Petra all about Anezka’s involvement in the fake email thing, and Petra agrees to talk to her to clear everything up… but they did get into a little thing regarding the Mother’s Day brunch, so they still might get into a fight. And I’m guessing Anezka will bring up the “Petra is not a hands-on mom” comment and make Petra explode.

8) Rogelio is still sleeping with his writer. She didn’t invite him to her birthday party because she assumed he wouldn’t get along with her “intellectual” friends and Rogelio begs her to give him a chance to bond with them, while recruiting Jane to give him an intellectual side. This should end well.

And the irony here is just *chef’s kiss*

9) As predicted, Anezka blurted out that Jane said Petra is not a good mother, which is not exactly what Jane said but it was subtly implied…

10) Well, Derek is blackmailing Rafael into selling him the Fairwick for a dollar. And yes, I’m still not interested in this storyline.

11) Rogelio channeling Michael Scott in a time-traveling soap opera? Michael Scott would love it!

12) When talking to Jane, Rogelio realized that even though Michael was grateful for the job he’d given him as head of security, he didn’t find it motivating. So, thanks to Michael’s expertise as a police officer, Rogelio promoted him to technical advisor, and Michael seems super excited about it. Rogelio is simply the best.

13) Petra confronts Jane about the “bad mom” comment, and it all spirals out of control, until both out of spite for Jane and a sense of kinship towards Anezka, Petra tells Jane Anezka didn’t place the ad.

14) Poor Anezka…

15) Well, Michael is taking his new job a little bit too seriously and I guess that’s not going to last long.

16) Rogelio asks Jane to show up at the dinner party to coach him through the conversation in person, and Xiomara encourages her to go. She seems to be handling Rogelio being in a new relationship quite well. I wonder if she’ll break down at some point.

17) Or she’ll make a terrible mistake, which is the Xiomara style…

18) Rogelio’s attempt to look smart fails miserably but he ends up admitting to his lady that he did the whole thing to impress her friends because he actually likes her. She admits that it was stupid, but it was also very sweet, and they seem to become closer because of it.

19) Jane admits to Rogelio that she wanted to be supportive and help him out but it made her feel uncomfortable and that while she’s always on his side, she needs a little bit more time to be totally on board with being around her dad’s new girlfriend. It’s a very sweet moment.

20) Dina! The lady writer is called Dina!

21) Hm. Rafael just opened up to Jane and told her everything about his brother, and she literally went inside and blurted it all out to Michael. This lady can’t keep a secret! You see what I mean? That’s not what a good person would do!

22) Rogelio made a video to celebrate Jane’s motherhood, and it’s very sweet, but I’m guessing it will make Petra feel like crap? Rogelio is simply the best, though!

23) Aww, Anezka is now trying to toast to Petra and she’s so sweet.

24) Narrator is dropping a lot of hints in this episode…

And while we’re sharing about our moms, can I just say I have the greatest, most supportive, bestest mother, ever? Love you, mamma, so much.

25) Even though it ended up being a tolerably pleasant event, Jane just can’t hold it any longer and starts screaming at Anezka and calling her a liar. And again, this makes me dislike her? Yes, she was right, but was it really the moment to do that? Did she really have to rip her head off just when they were about to leave and they had survived the whole afternoon? And of course, this happened as a result…

26) After they release her from the hospital, Anezka admits that she did in fact post the ad and naively tells Petra to stop lying for her. She’s trying to make amends, but this only allows Jane to get back on her high horse and judge Petra. I don’t know, am I the only one who slightly dislikes Jane…?

27) Michael seems to have an epiphany as regards Derek’s alibi and calls his former partner (I think?) to ask her to let him join the case again.

28) Anezka is pretending to be Petra? Did they really have to turn her into the evil twin? So this means that she has been playing the naive, childish role to manipulate everyone around her. I guess I should’ve seen it coming considering how many times they referred to the Evil Twin Trope in this episode. But I honestly thought they would try to subvert the trope? 

29) Yep, mistakes were made.

30) Petra tells Rafael he was an idiot to tell Jane about the whole blackmail thing, and I agree with her. Why did he tell Jane when Jane is marrying Michael, an ex-cop? And why didn’t he tell Petra, who is his business partner? Oh, of course, plot reasons.

31) Muter is back, I guess. This doesn’t make this storyline any more interesting.

32) So I’m guessing the season finale will be split between the wedding and Michael getting caught in this crime ring thing, right? Eh, that doesn’t sound too exciting to me. We’ll see.

33) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

[sol1056]

My ask box continues to fill up, and I have no answers for any of this. I’ve gotten comments that @dreamworksanimation is good about things like fair representation in other shows when it comes to disability, queer relationships, racial diversity, and just plain solid storytelling. Why was @voltron the exception? 

Or you can just have the questions from my asks:

I really, really wanted [Dreamworks execs] to address the situation, to tell us why VLD took that enormous shitty turn and to apologize and do us better. But I'm guessing we already know the answer (arrogant inexperienced EPs) and I think they won't do anything about it, just try to fade Voltron to the background as it's ending and focus on She-ra, if they ever decide to apologize, they're just gonna focus on the LGBT rep as if its the worst problem of their story.

You know what, I hope someone makes an extensive list of all the morally questionable messages Voltron has sent with all its characters (Shiro & Kuron everything, and Lotor as abuse victim in particular), all in detail and shove them in their faces saying, but to you it's 2 guys in love and in a healthy relationship that is wrong, instead of ableism, racism, homophobia, etc. When I think of what the kids will take from Voltron I feel sick. But queer love is the problem here, right. I’m disgusted.

Us: can we get a happy ending too like the het people and couples in the show?

VLD: no, not a happy or even semi-happy ending, you'll get a miserable ending but get this, we're going to write the last survivor of the 4 queer characters we killed off to be totally on board with this. We'll write him and animate him as if he's happy and got resolution, growth, and catharsis and not as if he got demoted, sidelined, isolated, discarded by his family, worst of all by Keith. We'll say a monster like him can’t be a paladin.

Let’s also go back to talking about how they not only made Lotor, a victim of child abuse not to mention biracial character who grew up with everything against him: suddenly evil, be the same as his abusive "father" and "mother" (who even after remembering who he is pulled the same crap as before), took every happiness away from him and had the nerve to mock his abuse in S7?! As a child abuse survivor I'M HORRIFIED.

The messages in the Shiro/Adam scene is disgusting, this is such a difficult subject, even for adults show with plenty time to explore and be fair to both characters while being explicit about it all. I was worried: in a kids’ show? how can they write this in a way they'll get it? With barely time for it? but look what they wrote, Adam gave an ultimatum instead of support and died, then they blamed the disabled guy for everything. Message: you’re gay so your relationship and your life are worthless, you'll be miserable and alone.

For a team that is all about working together, voltron members after 7 seasons still don't feel like a family and more like colleagues from work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It feels odd knowing that they weren't actually battling homophobic higher ups. It feels more tactical and greedy for social justice points than out of genuine desire to showcase diversity. Is it coincidence that the character they dislike the most is the one selected for this honor? As a lesbian fan i'm skeptical and angry and refuse to watch anything else by these two.

People keep trying to excuse this stuff with "Voltron is a kids' show", but you know what? There are gay kids out there. There are disabled kids out there. Much as we may wish it otherwise, there are kids out there experiencing trauma. Do we REALLY want to teach those little kids that they are broken and tainted forever and nothing good is waiting for them in the world from here on out? People need to know how damaging it is to have ZERO stories in media showing realistic healing of trauma.

The lady who betrayed them got a proper send off scene even tho she send Adam & the others like pigs to slaughter & betrayed them & caused them all to almost lose and die. Got screentime & some characterization. But sure why respect Adam that way too. I will never forget the dread I had for him when I saw he was with the fighters who were sent to die, then watched them one by one lose their lives until he too, was killed. I still feel sick thinking about it. We never even learned his last name.

I know it's been a while but I'm not over how they treated Lotor in s6. I'm from a broken and dysfunctional home and this show I watch for escapism told me I'm doomed to repeat the same mistakes of my parents, end up just like them. ... Are they even aware of the messages they send to their audience? Not all of us had good childhood like Allura.

From a chronically ill perspective, I felt downright insulted by the choice they made to give Shiro a degenerative illness. The idea of a chronically ill hero is cool but they pull the cure narrative, they don't give him a real illness, and it's just used for cheap irrelevant drama. Plus the whole "Has to choose between loved ones and goals" thing was pretty insensitive, we're already expected to sacrifice so much as ill people so the reinforcement of that was unpleasant to watch and read meta on.

Even if everyone was white cishet abled guy the messages sent to kids were awful: One who fought to carve his own path was forced to become someone else, one who suffered and fought till the end was told he’s a monster that can’t be a paladin, the insecure one will never be worthy as himself and he'll always be someone else’s replacement, one who survived genocide and suffered loss upon loss until reduced to nothing, one who suffered by his parents’ hand became like them, the whole Kuron thing. You cant brush off all THAT.

going into the new semester with the horrible messages of s7 on my mind...i’m lethargic. i have been since the “retired paladin” interview. it was bad for me to balance my mental health on the state of a fictional character, but it was really effective. Until that awful message that disabled people are helpless in controlling their own lives. I’m trying to disconnect and thrive anyway, out of spite against ableism if nothing else.

I had this horrible realization: you know how Shiro is a victim of abuse and him getting the Black Lion was him regaining the control the lack of he suffered in his capture? I think they gave him the illness and handwaved it with the clone, so as to argue for his removal from the Black Lion. They claim that the reason he wanted control was the illness and not the victimization in the Galra hands. They're essentially erasing his trauma.

Writers: so we'll write endearing multidimensional characters with many layers, we'll have them subvert stereotypes, especially those that characters like them usually are written with, ie. Keith isn't a loner nor is he angry just 'cause, but a lonely abandoned kid with trust issues due to his mom leaving him, thus has poor emotional control and anger management, struggles to connect and open up, he is the one whose arc embodies the found family theme more than anyone. 

EPs: nah we want stereotypes loool

We talk about Shiro and all the ableism in his story but we don't talk nearly enough about how horrifying the message is that Keith is the one to take it all from him and kick him aside. Keith chose to discard Shiro because he's broken and useless, so he can take his place. I've been through things they both have and I find all that horrifying. S7 sent terrible messages to kids watching.

They had the chance to let Shiro overcome and be a hero. To defeat his own abuser (Sendak) except Keith takes over everything and fixes everything for him while he lies helpless on the ground without a new arm yet. They had the budget. The animation. They could have empowered Shiro. They saw how many people saw themselves in Shiro's struggle. They must have seen the concerns. And they actively chose to go against that.

The Bury Your Gays trope is even worse this season when you consider the heavy lesbian subtext with Lotor's former generals who get blown up on screen. And naturally, it's the one with a crush on Keith who turns good and survives.

Was there a minority that hasn't been screwed over? Bury Your gays was merely the last shocking straw, because the whole season was chockful of terrible messages and proved they would never treat their characters right and address stuff from before. Homophobia, racism, ableism, sexism, mocking of abuse, excusing abandonment & so on.

I’m adding my voice because I'm so, so tired. None of the characters i see on screen are the characters we got to know in s1/2. The character i most related to was beaten down out of spite for 4 seasons and now may as well be a cardboard cutout. DW and the EPs don't seem to give a single shit about how badly this season has affected people. i don't know whether to jump ship or spit fire over everything. i'm just... exhausted.

I want a transparent statement & apology from DreamWorks. I want to know THEIR stance & role in this, ALL the events that ended up with us getting a show that is not only homophobic but also ableist, racist, mocks child abuse and so much more. I want them to acknowledge & explain why they allowed the marketing team to bait fans with ship content in their videos, thumbnails and even that EP interview about shipping. I want to know who and why allowed the show to to take a worse direction in recent seasons.

I have no answers for any of this, @dreamworksanimation. If there are any explanations, any reassurances that you’ll work hard to prevent any repeat, you need to say so. The longer you’re silent, the more it looks like you’re fine with the story and all its horrific messages. Are you?