#the analysis there will be about this scene later oof

[sentaluise]

oh my poor sad little meow meow

[thegreatcaptainusopp]

The Water 7 Fight: An Analysis

So. Water 7. There’s a lot to be said about the Usopp vs Luffy fight, their motivations, and the right vs wrong of it all…it’s a complex situation, and so I wanted to share some thoughts:

The Set Up

The growing tension and activity that led to the fight between Luffy and Usopp is so so well explored in the scenes right before it happened. Of course, events are kicked off by Usopp’s abduction by the Franky Family, and his subsequent beating and losing the money. This, on top of the many many clues sprinkled throughout the early bits of the arc and earlier arcs regarding his own feelings of inadequacy as well as his connection to the Merry, is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Usopp in my opinion. This was one of his deepest fears, finally realized: he felt that he had finally crossed the line into more than just useless but an active liability to the crew. He admits as much to Nami when he sees her: he’s ashamed more than anything else. He can’t face the others.

Nami’s reaction in this moment is also really interesting. She sees Usopp at possibly one of his most vulnerable moments ever, and she reacts so kindly: she tells him it’s not his fault, that it’s going to be okay, that she’ll get him some help. It’s such a mature and responsible response and out of everyone here I think she reacted most rationally to this whole situation. I think if she had been a little more confident she could’ve engaged in some really good conflict resolution practices with everyone.

At the same time, everyone slowly gets the bad news about the Merry, and their differing reactions are interesting: they’re all upset, and openly discuss that. Sanji even notes that Usopp is going to be particularly upset to hear this, so they’re all already aware that this is going to be quite bad. What’s interesting, though, is Luffy’s reaction: he goes through a similar emotional journey that Usopp does when getting the news, but their ultimate destination is what differs greatly here. I think the difference here is probably down to two factors: 1. Luffy does not have the same particular insecurities that Usopp does and 2. Luffy is the ultimate authority in the decisions here, Usopp is not.

Then, Usopp picks himself back up, badly wounded, to return to the Franky family to try to get the money back. This is a big moment too, because it showcases that he is the type of person to fight even when he knows he isn’t going to win, which is what ends up happening here. Even the moment where he burst in really felt paralleled to the moment he stares down Luffy in a fight later: it’s a really good set up.

And then he gets injured even more, and chopper has to check if he’s even alive when they find him, which is important to note because his physical condition is just dire right now.

I found the reactions of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper interesting too because they get super angry, obviously, partly because of the money but more because of how Usopp is hurt. In one sense it’s funny that they just left him there while they took revenge for him, but on another it’s a little tragic because that wasn’t what he needed in that moment. I don’t think he ever finds out about it either if my memory served me correctly. There’s another layer of irony in the way they all leap to fight to save their crewmate but we’ll get to that later.

I also think it’s notable that Luffy locks in his decision to get a new ship here, right after they destroy the Franky family’s hideout. I think he felt a sense of responsibility for what happened, maybe believing that if he’d been more decisive in his leadership, then Usopp wouldn’t have been this badly hurt. Which is also just oof. Extremely ironic.

So they take Usopp back and it takes him a while to even wake up, and when he does he’s all apologies. The physical framing of it is interesting too, because he’s on his knees and hugging Zoro’s legs and stuff. He’s not outwardly expressing his shame like he did with Nami earlier but it’s close. He’s not really standing up at all.

And everything seems to be going ok, and Usopp is asking about next steps and then…and then Luffy drops the bomb. And that changes everything.

The Confrontation

Usopp starts the whole argument in full denial. It’s a pretty classic gamut of emotions here: he goes full tilt into the cycles of grief, starting with just straight up denying that Luffy would do this, to bargaining by asking if he was at fault in this situation and trying to convince the others to let him continue fixing the ship. He’s clearly feeling a lot of guilt here: he believes he is directly responsible for the Merry’s “death” as it were and is scrambling trying to take responsibility for fixing her. I think everyone else was taken aback by the level that this guilt went and were wholly unprepared to deal with it. Luffy yelling that he isn’t a carpenter I think was him trying to talk him down but ultimately had the exact opposite effect: all Usopp heard was he had no expertise in this and was useless, and may have even harmed Merry further or out her in this situation to begin with.

This snaps Usopp into the anger stage, and this is where it really starts to get ugly. It’s notable to me that he’s the one that escalated by grabbing at Luffy’s shirt and yelling at him that he excepted better, which were intended to hurt I think. Luffy though gives as good as he gets, and is the one that actually turns the confrontation violent: knocking a grave injured Usopp down. In short: he doesn’t descalate or calm the situation, but instead adds to it. The way his temper is so hair trigger in this scene is extremely interesting to me.

Nobody else intervenes either (at least not yet). All of them try on occasion to tell them to calm down or stop fighting but not more than that. Not even Zoro steps in at this stage, which I found super interesting. Nami tries to tell Usopp at one point that Luffy had a similar emotional reaction ti him about this choice, but Luffy stops her. Funnily enough I think if he hadn’t she may have been able to calm things down a bit here.

It’s not until Luffy is right about to tell Usopp to leave, it’s practically already left his mouth, that someone actually steps in here. And it’s SANJI. Sanji, who knows very well how it feels to be told you don’t belong somewhere anymore. Sanji physically knocks Luffy back and he does it with FORCE, and it’s him who desperately tries to wrangle some control back of the situation. And the thing is: it almost works! Everyone listens to him, nobody objects to his methods, and Luffy actually starts to reign himself back and apologizes!

But it’s a bell that can’t be unrung at this point. Usopp has heard what he heard and has made his decision. What’s interesting here though, and what I realized upon rereading it, was how self aware Usopp was at this stage about the whole thing? Like he was fully aware that he was substituting himself in for the Merry and straight up tells the crew that he thinks he’s useless and that they should get rid of him in the same way that the did the ship. Like…he’s not subtle at ALL about this, and about the reasons why he’s behaving the way he does. He knows exactly why! And he tells them! I honestly credit him for that in a way…he’s spiraling here but he’s aware of it, and he’s aware of exactly what he’s feeling and why. The way this fight is remembered and discussed in fandom I feel is he’s characterized as throwing a tantrum about it but this really isn’t what happened here at all.

Nobody really pulls him back on his statements: I think they were too shocked here to really know what to do. Chopper is falling apart emotionally, Nami is trying to get him to hang back and wait, Sanji even starts yelling at Usopp to come back. Zoro…Zoro says nothing, which interested me a lot too. He does however have a flashback to him being the one to invite Usopp on board, which I have a LOT of thoughts about. From Alabasta, Zoro has been privy to a lot of Usopp moments that were important turning points for him: carrying dalton up the mountain, expressing doubt after long ring long land, etc. I think he’s thinking of those things here too. I think he’s feeling a sense of responsibility here that he doesn’t know what to do with.

Luffy says nothing too. He looks angry, which I think is a cover for upset, but his silence is fascinating. He’s letting things play out here because I think he’s still in fight mode but also because I think he’s letting Usopp make his own choices here, as he should. I think he’s trying to be captainlike here. But…also not quite. He’s spiraling just as bad as Usopp here, imho.

And then, Usopp issues his duel request. There’s a few interesting bits in between where Nami is trying convince Luffy to not go through with it, but he’s very dedicated to doing so anyway. She’s telling LUFFY to apologize which is interesting thinking of the fandom recollection of this fight. She’s trying conflict resolution here but it’s a bit too late for that.

I also like that Sanji and Zoro are fighting about this too, blaming each other for what happened. I think it’s a form of tension release for the two of them, and Nami stopping them shows it’s still a bit of a sensitive time for it anyway. Which leads to:

The Fight

This fight is one of my favorites in OP, insofar as actual fighting techniques/approaches go. It’s unique to the series and so emotional and just hits different. Luffy’s later fight against Sanji hits similar notes but this one stands out specifically because it’s Usopp, who is very much not a fighter in the same way Sanji is.

For one, Usopp’s a ranged fighter, and he’s fighting Luffy at close quarters. He’s already at a MASSIVE disadvantage and he knows this, Luffy knows this, the straw hats know this. It’s his fight to lose, and he picks it anyway. And I think this is what’s so key to this entire conflict, from start to finish: Usopp KNEW he was going to lose. He knew it from the start. He knew Merry was doomed. He knew that from the start too. But he did all of that anyway. Why? I think the why is so incredibly nuanced, from loyalty to pride to fear of rejection to abandonment issues. But it also highlights his tendency to bullheadedly get things done if he thinks he’s the only one left who hasn’t given up on something. And I think that’s so important to him as a character, and it’s this realization and this specific fight that made Usopp into my favorite character. It’s also why I don’t think there’s a black and white wrong and right side to this conflict. From one end, Luffy’s the boss so they need to follow his instructions without question. From another, I like it better when Luffy’s challenged by his crew for both story and character purposes for all involved. I think Luffy needed this to happen, not because he needed to assert his authority as captain, but because he needed to fuck up as a leader and learn from that.

For another, Usopp is also on the brink of collapse this entire time. The fight ends when Luffy gets a single hit in, which means Usopp was on his last legs and he still went through with it. That is super admirable to me and a testament to his super tanking abilities and determination when it counts. He had the deck stacked against him here and he still went for it.

Now: fight techniques. Usopp took this fight seriously, like for real seriously. He pulled every weapon out of his arsenal and went for it, from lying to caltrops to dials and actual honest to god explosions. It was interesting to see the crew be so surprised at him doing so well at the start. He even uses Luffy’s care for his injuries against him which was a notable part of it for me. The impact dial bit is one of my favorites: it’s such a powerful moment to me.

And then he loses, and is probably actively dying as a result lol. Everyone’s absolute devastation, expressed in different ways, was really fascinating to watch. Chopper just trying to run over and fix things and Nami unable to watch hit hard. Zoro being super composed on the outside and holding Luffy together but…yeah he’s not pleased about this. Sanji telling chopper not to go because Usopp doesn’t need pity. Luffy crying…which always is very emotional. Them giving Usopp the ship and moving on to demonstrate that they took all his words seriously but also to acknowledge his dedication to the Merry. Ooof.

Anyway this arc physically hurts. 10/10 experience. Destroys me every time.

[fanficapologist]

Oof, here we go!! Maera went there!! I couldn’t believe what I just read. I thought I was hallucinating the words.

Oooh the nerve of Aemond, I mean if I were Maera I’d ignore him too. He doesn’t get any sympathy from me. In this universe, even if he’d lain with Alys as a means to an end, and not because he felt something for her, well, we can’t deny the proof of it now can we.

I was also seething at how the people around her - Alicent and even her father fully expect her to turn a blind eye to Aemond’s indiscretion all while she is held up to an impossibly high standard of always doing her best and just accepting it, as if she should be grateful Aemond still returns to her. I know we’re supposed to be judging them based on the standards of that time but it just reminded me that even now, little has changed. Just this afternoon my parents asked when I planned on getting married as I am nearly thirty. And the worst part is how marriage is seen as the solution to everything - because as they put it, what else was I going to do with my life if I didn’t get married? It just drives me mad because it implies that all my accomplishments amount to nothing until I secure a husband, not even that, as if my entire being is worthless until I got married.

Anyway, back to the story, we finally have the confrontation scene!! I had to process my feelings on this because my knee jerk reaction is to feel insulted, how dare Alys act like that as if she was the wife? But then, when I calmed down, I realized, it could also be a projection of my possessiveness to Aemond and to an extent Ewan Mitchell. Fanfiction makes me lose myself in the character so it’s easy to feel as if I’ve been slighted, yes, I’m feeling quite meta today. But in reality, or in canon, Alys isn’t really portrayed heavily enough for us to really get a glimpse of what she was like so it’s easy to paint her as the villain, the seductress who tempted Aemond but let’s not forget- Aemond also chose to lie with Alys. I want to be better and not just lay down the blame on the other woman. For all we know, Alys is amused because she’s past all that and finds the entire thing silly because she doesn’t want to steal Aemond. She already knows his heart belongs to Maera. I feel like she’s like this -taunting because Maera is wary of her. I mean I do want to give her the benefit of the doubt. But I suppose the only way I’ll find out is if I read the next chapter.

When you said drama I didn’t expect it on a Monday hahahahaha but this powered me through the day so thank you so much!! Hope you’re doing well!

I always live for your analysis of the chapters each time I upload 🖤

Aemond is so god damn stupid but think we’ve all gotta remember this boy is about 18/19 in this fic. That is so young! And what man doesn’t make dumb decisions at that age? (I like to think most of the wars in the medieval times are due to young men spitting their dummies out and acting on impulse, only to regret it later)

With Alys, you’re right. In the canon we don’t know an awful lot about her. I’m hoping to give her a bit more depth as a character with more interactions between her and Maera. I’m not sure how some of the audience will react to that. We’re all Aemond girlies and I’m sure there will be plenty of comments like “why doesn’t Maera just stab her ffs.” (Tbf id react the same 🤣) but we can’t just go round stabbing people, can we?

Maera’s got to play the game, and what a long game it will be. She’s going to have to be sneaky, clever and downright badass if she wants to succeed in this world, especially with a war going on.

I have the bulk of the next chapter, just down to editing now. (Spoiler: there will be smut 👀)

[descendant-of-truth]

Well guys I did say in one of my tags that the Prime!Shadow analysis would be for another time and that time is now because I'm mentally shaking him around like a ragdoll trying to figure out his secrets

What I want to highlight is just, the sheer number of ways he's been set up as the odd one out in the first third of the season alone, and why I find that so interesting. So let's break that down for a minute:

The first thing we learn about him is that he's not Sonic's friend or enemy, but a secret third thing - his rival, as specified later

But despite having a clear label for it in episode 2, Sonic finds this particular dynamic "complicated." Shadow is the only person in his life that falls under that category, and it shows in how he describes him.

"He's a real buzzkill" (negative), "and he rollerskates!" (said with admiration). Sonic complains about Shadow and compliments him in the same breath, which is hilarious but also good for character building

In that same scene though, Shadow momentarily breaks into Sonic's narration to tell him that they're air shoes, not roller skates, which is ALSO funny but once again, he's the only character to do this. Even if it's for the sake of humor, Shadow is given a sort of... protagonist privilege, if you will. He's the only one to break the "Sonic POV," something he does not just this once, but multiple times over the course of a few episodes.

Now, there are other scenes that are from the perspectives of characters that aren't Sonic, but what makes Shadow's scenes different from theirs is that his are used specifically to show that Sonic can be an unreliable narrator.

The very first scene in the show after Sonic happily describes his status quo is the event with the Paradox Prism. A moment that Shadow was 100% there for, albeit towards the end, but who is conveniently left out until we return to the scene in later episodes.

And the framing is just. so deliberate on a rewatch that it hurts, because this is one of the very first shots we see of the show:

...and it takes place directly after Sonic knocks Shadow into a wall and runs away.

Literally the INSTANT Sonic takes his eyes off of Shadow is when the show's story begins, and it starts with Sonic narrating and completely glossing over Shadow's existence

(Is anyone else going insane over this. is it just me. does the implied mental gymnastics happening here make anyone else feel like they're vibrating)

Anyway as I was saying, removing Shadow from the scene with the Prism (even cutting out his voice when he shouts "Chaos Control") keeps us in Sonic's perspective just enough to share in his confusion when he starts to remember the incident more clearly.

(It also implies that he didn't consider Shadow to be important enough to take note of in the first moment we watch the scene, which. oof, sorry Shadow)

He's also missing in the scene where Sonic is first traveling through the void, despite showing up like two seconds after him - another instance where we're kept in Sonic's perspective just enough to miss the bigger picture that has Shadow in it.

Meanwhile, scenes from Shadow's point of view give us all sorts of information; the fact that Chaos Emeralds exist, more detailed effects of Sonic's speed-amplified explosion (it gave him a vision of some sort, which I'm convinced is implying something important about it beyond "it blew up part of a mountain"), how exactly he ended up in the void, why Sonic was late to the fight with Eggman, all that good stuff

It's a pretty consistent theme with Shadow, actually. He's always there to represent the bigger picture that Sonic isn't seeing.

...partly because Sonic keeps forgetting about him, in contrast to Shadow being the only other person to remember who Sonic is.

(I didn't know where else to fit this point in, but Shadow's lost in the void while Sonic is bouncing back and forth between worlds like it's a professional sport. Narrative foils and all that, we love to see it)

But there's another way that Shadow is made distinct from everyone else Sonic knows from the original world, that I think is going to have a big effect on his character development: Shadow doesn't care about sparing Sonic's feelings.

A lot of the conflict between Sonic and his friends is based on the fact that Sonic doesn't listen well, but another thing to consider is that his friends don't really... tell him when he's made a mistake, or what their point of view was, or what exactly he was doing wrong.

Tails? He could have explained that telling Sonic there was a trap was supposed to be a cue not to attack Eggman, and that he thought Sonic knew that, and so him attacking anyway felt like blatantly disregarding his warnings.

Instead, he brushes it off with an "it's fine."

Amy tries to explain that the palm tree gift has a lot of sentimental value to everyone, and yeah that whole situation went poorly, but it doesn't seem like she ever communicated to Sonic that him disregarding it hurt their feelings.

If he was just told that he messed up and explained how he did, you know he would have tried to make it up to them, like how earnestly he apologized to Tails. He could have been working on these problems a lot sooner, but because the others want to preserve their friendship with him and don't like getting into arguments, they don't communicate with him.

Shadow has no such hangups about their relationship. He tells Sonic exactly what his problem is.

...even if Sonic doesn't seem to hear him, and Shadow should really work on the whole "punching to get his attention" thing.

There's a lot of room for improvement here, but my point is that Sonic needs someone to be this upfront and honest with him. Straightforward communication is clearly what he understands the most - Thorn simply asking him (albeit rudely) what he knew about togetherness was all it took for him to really start thinking about that, though admittedly the circumstances around the question probably helped.

And because Shadow has been set up as the only person who still knows and remembers Sonic, the one who has a wider perspective on things than he does, and cares enough about him as a person to try to get through to him in the first place without being held back by a need to maintain a friendly stance with him... he's the perfect person to help accelerate Sonic's character arc.

And, y'know, hopefully Sonic can do the same for him - though it's hard to say what exactly Shadow needs help with (beyond Not Punching People) that Sonic could contribute to, given his little screen time so far.

Case in point: this show is setting up Shadow to be Important in a way that only Shadow can be and I for one am hyped to see it all play out

[purplehoodiesimon]

Ep 2 let's go

This season has hurt so much I have so many analysis posts to make later

Ep2 starting with Simon singing in the piano room and Wille watching THE PARALLELS.

AND THEN HE WALKS AWAY

The expensive riding pants for Sara oh my god

Vincent's bangs are hilarious

The color theory going on here with Wilhelm wearing the red sweater so much and Simon wearing the purple shirt

And him taking it off when he sits next to Simon

SHE PULLED HIM

She fucking pulled him

Oh my gkd

I'm not even looking at my phone right now as I type hh fuck

She's pulling him from erska

SHES.OH.MH.GOD.WHATTHEFUCK.

He left the red sweater behind. Hnnnnnnnnnnnnnññnn.

THE FROG GLOVE. THE FUCKING FROG GLOBE.

HES CLINGING TO THE DESK. SO THIS IS MALINGATE. IT BROKE. IT BROKE. IT.

I'm. In. Shock.

HE FABE HUM THE GLOBE AFTER THE FIRST SEASON FIGHT SCENE KH MH GKD. "AT LEAST YOU DONT HABE TO BE CROWN ORINCE" OH MY GOD.

I mean he probably should see a therapist anyways for the grief and privacy invasions he's been through but likeeeeee

He's in this white shirt so much I have so many thoughts about the color theory of that all

"they support me" press x to doubt

Simon is bringing up some really painful and really true stuff

I sense this girl talk game will go very badly

Oh thank god it did not

Oh she's going to have such conflicted feelings about Felice now

~Took a food and music break now we're back~

HE HAS THE SWEATER

HES PUTTING IT ON

Oh my god

I was hoping for Wille in the purple hoodie I did not expect Simon in the red cashmere oh my god I love it

HE IS REWRITING THE SCHOOL SONG OH MY GOD

AND NOW HES TEXTING MARCUS OH MY GOD

Simon is so pretty oh my god

The parallels.

OH.

Okay.

Okay the

Okay.

Processing 1 2 3 processing 1 2 3 processing 1 2 okay

Cool okay.

Sara miss ma'am what are you doing

Ma'am. Why. Why would you tell him. I mean I know why but why.

She's so autistic and I love it

OH MY GOD AUGUST FOUND IT CUTE OH MY GOD I ship it

Ayyyyyyyyyyy the return of Boris

THE ANXIETY PAMPHLET YES GET THE HELP YOU NEED WILLE

Oh my god my friend's reaction to Wille and Marcus looking at each other was "ew....he should fuck him."

They also said this could be solved with polyamory and likeeeeeeeeeeeeeee new poly ship 👀

Oof August has been dethroned

Aw he's about to cry. Fuck. I also want to wrap him up and tell him it's okay.

Oh my god a TV show mentioning cramps. Once in a blue moon.

Awwwww she's quitting riding. She's standing up for herself.

Stella and Fredericka offering to let her help with their horses I actually genuinely love how nice they are to her this is amazing

The rural kid in me is losing my mind at them running together alone in the woods

WHYS EVERYONE LOOKING AT EACH OTHERS PHONES THIS SEASON

oh god ep 3 okay

[wench-and-jezebel]

NCIS Reaction: Hung Out to Dry

Wench (@scripted-downfall) reacts [with (maybe) occasional asides by Jezebel (@typicalopposite)]

This is starting right after the last episode, so there’s no introductory conversation, alas.  Instead, the space in between reactions was filled with Jezebel ignoring me and then insisting I send her the link to the show despite it being RIGHT THE FRICK NEXT TO THE LAST EPISODE.  Hmph.  Problematic one.

Sir is both an asshole and manipulative

[Welp.  That’s a mood killer.]  Ma’am was in the neighborhood and thought she’d invade my reaction, I see.  [That.  Was not to you.  But actually kinda works.]

Oof.  Sir leaves the door unlocked but has no phone.  Unreachable except when he isn't, I see alkdsj

What are the chances he wasn’t already dead and that’s why his chute didn’t open?

"My dad's gonna kill me"  Welp.  Bit dark given the circumstances, but go off  [☠️☠️☠️☠️]

Logan, please.  Wait, shit: *Tony, please

“It was a death rattle”  “You ever hear a death rattle?”  “I was using it as a trope.”  Dude, you’re a tool.

I mean… dead dude = pinata.  Checks out to me, Ducky

Guess the groan might rule out my already-dead hypothesis, but idk if I trust this kid’s judgement

"Why didn't he pull it" BECAUSE HE WAS DEAD

She's still needing to be told to put on gloves alskdjf

Tony and the frivolous photographs.  Max wouldn't take that kinda shit without bitching and you know it (but I love it, so, and I don’t care abt Max’s judgement anyway, so.)

THOSE BOOTS LOOK AWESOME; I'M JEALOUS

Tony, focus.

Tony is not focusing

"It's his anniversary"  "Which marriage"  Anniversary of a death, maybe?  Dead wife?

Oh dammit.  So much for that^.

Tony continues to not focus and I appreciate this

"We don't stop for casualties in war.  Nor do we in training" that's stupid [☠️☠️☠️☠️ military *sigh*  This is a spin off of Jag btw.]  Ah, I see.  [iirc Gibbs was in an ep of jag and people liked him so much he got his own show…. That’s still running] Damn

"I'm not calling my boss.  I'm calling yours"  Well, damn.

"Thumper" like the bunny rabbit? aslkdfj

IT IS THUMPER LIKE THE BUNNY RABBIT

“Was he dead when you reached him?”  NO HE WAS DEAD IN THE AIR; GUARANTEEEEEE  (I’m gonna cry if this is wrong; I’m so convinced about it at this point)

"Obviously his reaction time was too slow" or maybe he was DEAD

I spy with my little eye a scene from the intro

Dammit.  FINE, okay, guess he wasn’t dead when he fell.  Hmph.  Rude. (*cries*)

Okay, Tony and Abby and their art conversation are, at once, my beloveds

“Double your pleasure”  “Double your fun”  Please.  PLEASE.  These two are hilarious together

Poor Tony, stuck being the audience scapegoat since someone had to ask about opioids and obviously he’s stuck in that role 

Um.  An acid?  That’s.  That’s so specific.

Tony, why are you fiddling with the parachutes?  Someone’s gotta re-rig that now alksdfj

Oof, not the criminal recor- I’M SORRY, SHOPLIFTING AND DRUG POSSESSION??? THOSE ARE NOT REALLY THE MOST GATEWAY CRIMES TO MURDER

Okay, hair still isn’t regulation, and lab coats aren’t supposed to be open, but I appreciate the other PPE.  CSI doesn’t even use goggles most of the time.

I continue to love Abby

NOT TONY STILL HARPING ON THE ELECTRICAL TOOLS

Gibbs is still an ass, and the Alec-coded character continues to suffer the brunt of it.  But Jezebel has said that there’s an even more Max-coded character later, which will be.  Interesting.

Wait, I’m sorry.  Excuse me.  Nine of the sixteen chutes were sabotaged.  They’re randomly handed out.  The entire point of this information is that — unless more is learned — no one specific person was being targeted.  So saying “this person had a grudge against the dude who happened to die” is so illogical because they just spent the last five minutes pointing out repeatedly that it was a random chute assignment!?!??!  AHHHHH

Abby picking on Tony feels more affectionate, ngl.  I don’t hate it

Oh, no, not the epithelial analysis alksdfj

– – –

Did I forget the midpoint reaction again?  Mebbe.  But that’s a good sign because clearly I was just.  So absorbed.

ANYWAY.  Still enjoying it!  I’m kinda annoyed by the whole, you know, pick-on-Tony brigade (not as much with Abby because it feels like banter not picking, and those are different, but it still is a bit.  Hmm.) but otherwise, not bad!  I don’t know enough about the show to say if I like this episode better or worse than the pilot, but I’ll get more of a sense of that as the season progresses.  Abby, my beloved.  Alec Tony, my vaguely-idiot beloved.  (Yes, I am seeing him as an extension of Alec; what of it!?)

On we go.

– – –

“For every legal firewall, there is a way around it”  That’s not concerning at all

Not Tony knowing where Gibbs was going with the horse analogy; how many times you used that one, bud?

Y’all, please, this is twice now (once in the title, once in a quote) that y’all used “hung”.  It’s hangeddddd

“Scuttlebutt”  Tony, I appreciate you

Tony, stop rambling about Gibbs’ wife.  Ex-wife.  Whatever.

Can we please stop making Tony an idiot; this wasn’t in his character in episode 1 and it’s rude [Oooof. You. You may be in for an unpleasant surprise]  *sigh* Look.  As I said.  I’m viewing him as Alec 2.0.  I still like Alec better, but.  Yeah.  So I’m unhappy with this development

Poor kid (not sarcastic)

Being nice to the kid = way to ingratiate yourself with the grieving widow, I see

I, too, would ruin my outfit right before a funeral because I wanted to climb trees.  (I did that once, actually.  Went to a wedding wearing high heels and managed to strip the fabric off the heel because of how much running around playing tag I was doing.  I was a teenager.)

Not a bad salute, to my knowledge

Oh, no.  Tony, please be safe.

"Research for Abby"  Is that what they're calling it these days?

“How did you get into NCIS?”  Rude.

Y'all, I'm begging you.  If you have long hair.  TIE IT BACK.  Speaking as someone who has worked in an actual lab, this is killing me.

... Sergeant Nutt, huh?

THE SCUTTLEBUTT RETURNS

Y’all, please.  Once again.  Stop.  Acting.  Like this was targeted.  To “Thumper.”  The chutes were randomly assigned.

Leave Tony aloneeeeee

Poor Tony.  (They didn’t leave him alone.)  [Alas they typically don’t]

I am once again begging y’all to consider that this was a RANDOM ACT OF SABOTAGE

“With Gibbs you never know”  Yeah, buddy’s a bit enigmatic.

Cocaine = Motive!  Except!  Once again!  Apparently!  It!  Was!  Random!

Not the Significant Looks

Oh, no.  I thought the “Oh, no.  Tony, please be safe.” jump was bad enough.  This is.  Worse.

I'm sure it'll be made clear but how dare y'all stick him with a broken reserveeeee

NO THIS IS ACTUALLY HILARIOUS  “No, 4’s unlucky in China”  “We’re not in China”

I’m vaguely annoyed that the drug possession apparently was the gateway crime to murder.  You couldn’t have given the guy an assault charge or something?  That feels a bit more in line with murder.

Did.  Did Tony just fall out of the plane.

I guess he's having a good time doing it, but.  sir.   This is not what I meant by "please be safe"

This kid is adorable, and I appreciate Gibbs helping with the treehouse.

THAT’S A WRAP!

– – – 

This episode may or may not have aggravated me.  A lot.  It would have been soooo easy to just leave off the whole “the chutes were given out randomly” bit if they wanted it to be targeted.  Or, if it were supposed to be random, then have one of the riggers be pissed for mistreatment from the whole unit, so it didn’t really matter who got sabotaged.  But now, there’s this glaring writing illogic that is.  Bugging me.

I still love Abby in all things.  Tony’s characterization feels iffy compared to last episode, but whatever; I still, currently, am okay with it.  Gibbs continues to be a bit of an ass.  Kate and he continue to be… complicated.  I like Ducky, but he wasn’t in that one much.

Still enjoying, though, so we’ll see what it’s like when the first episodes’ jitters work out!

[nebulaleaf]

hold on while i’m thinking of dialogue in general, i adore the choices the game gives us where 2/3 of the options are the same. i looove looking at that and pulling akira characterization from it, it’s my fave.

and i know that in some instances its obvious/you can interpret it as the game simply trying to force a plot thing as... that shit’s gotta trudge forward man you gotta follow along. but even if it’s forcing you i still think valid character analysis can be pulled from it as usually the scenes where this occur are ones where you’re helping someone. Kasumi, you have no choice but to immediately head over and face the weird guy verbally, harshly, and head on. Ryuji, your only options later in your first visit to kamoshida’s castle are all about how you have to help him, because akira can’t just leave him behind. the november 20th (21st?) scene where you can get a bad ending has a good example of this too, especially when you pick the “”wrong””” one and it prompts you to re decide. the first set of options skew towards protecting your friends, but one is hesitant because... akira’s memory is still shot. part of him wonders if taking the deal would actually help them. choosing this choice prompts another set where he truly wonders if this is the best choice and that he should think his options over carefully. again they’re skewed to protection. iirc a third set is brought up and akira begs himself (or you i guess) to REALLY REALLY THINK before finally settling on a choice. and again, thats blatant “GET THE GOOD ENDING DUMBASS” pushing, but it’s still fun to look at and think over from akira’s pov. especially because they didn’t have to have the warnings as his personal thought bubbles. they could’ve gone a more impersonal warning route through the tutorial pop up, or just making akira’s dialogue more impersonal like it usually is (”I should think carefully about this...” my brother in christ a woman just asked you out show a little emotion) but they didn’t! its personal and he’s scared and unsure and someone get him a shock blanket like damn. there’s just so much fun to be had in picking apart the dialogue... ooh ooh another good one regarding the other bad end (in vanilla at least) is how one of the options about the choice is something like “Tell me more....” or “I’m interested, go on.”  sure, taking a deal with an evil deity is a dumb fucking idea, but akira at least wants to hear it out. yay for open mindness...? and then one of royal’s bad endings...... truthfully i haven’t seen many of these or well, any in full. but i do know in the ideal reality when sojiro asks something you’re given the choice between smthn like “I want to stay here forever.” or “I’m glad to be here.” which oof, ouch.im still in the akira should’ve and CLEARLY WANTED TO STAY bandwagon. uhhhhhhhhhhh my thoughts are petering out rip. im all scrampled i wish i could say half my akira related thoughts with poise or better receipts

[launching-a-thousand-ships]

Kurt Glee Rewatch: Pilot

Can I just start by saying damn, what a pilot. Like, establishes all the characters, has an arc, but also lets us know right away that this show is gonna be Chaotic AF. Not much Kurt here but still... what a time. 

Here we go:

Kay, not Kurt but can I just talk about this opening. Iconic. ANd Sue? Perfection. I lovee that the villain is a cheerleading coach. Lowkey I love media about things like ballet or cheerleading etc that are ‘girly’ sports but go into how hella intense and difficult they are. And also omg the ‘Cheerios’ so iconic. (also lol where’s Quinn?)

Aww look at lil baby face Kurt! I already have my whole fashion analysis thing but I’ll say it again, a lot of his outfits are pretty lowkey? Ooh a turtleneck? A jacket that’s... a colour?? Like obvs he looks great, but still. Def an Ohio during 200s thing bc can only wear flannel and jeans, idk (I should point out I’m not american and know nothing lol).

Also, what an intro to Kurt. Interesting how we only see fear in his eyes when Will approaches? To his bullies he’s all defiant/calm. Maybe he knows if they get in trouble, he’s in more trouble? And damn, Will, how can you be so dumb. I just- oof. And like, he knows Kurt’s name (in 2009 we see that Emma didn’t know him) so surely Will knows this is anything but friendly?

And lowkey I love the jacket scene. Kurt is v resigned to his fate. We learn later that he was in a dark place at this time, but hell if he lets any of it show. S1 is def Kurt at his most ‘emotional’ but even still he has it locked up.

Gonna move on from this scene, but also love the intro to Finn here? He let’s Kurt take off jacket, he watches but doesn’t do actual dumpster tossing, and there’s that lingering shot on his face that he def has guilt.

The Icon. 

First off, love his audition, great song choice (thank you Mercedes for the help). I know it was also Chris’ audition which makes it even better. And what I love is how it’s so Kurt but still not? The sass, the hair flip, perfect. But also, we know what Kurt will become, with the costumes and props and the hip swivels. Here, he’s legit just standing and singing bc he’s still baby Kurt and he’s not quite confident yet and this might be his first real ‘performance’ in front of someone. 

And omg how young he is and you can hear that he has the range, but he’s def not trained so it’ll be nice to track his progress as Chris practices more, gets more comfortable singing.

Lowkey, I would’ve loved to have Kurt s3-6 sing this song again. Just to see how much he’s grown and I’m so curious how a better trained Kurt would perform it. This is sang v sassily, but based on how the og song was intended, it would be interesting to hear him sing this with that fed up/frustrated intensity, like Rose’s Turn.

Lol I love this so much. Later on Kurt is just such a performer it’s fun to see him at the start, as the awkward and nervous lil bean. And we see the start of how he’s just so not down for close contact with people.

Jokes aside tho, they do sound pretty good during the song? Would love a full version of the song tbh.

Iconic quote: “There’s nothing ironic about showchoir”

(What is this show and why do I love it)

Barely 10 min in and Kurt is already done with the Rachel drama lol. He’s def not as snarky this ep, prob trying to figure out the vibes of glee club, see what everyone’s deal is.

Omg Rachel don’t touch the hair.  Also, this scene is the first “Hell to the no” love it.

I’ve already discussed this... outfit, but anyway. I do find it interesting how Kurt barely speaks for most of the ep. He’s still in the shy, awkward mode and as we learn later this is like, his first time attempting to make friends since who knows when. Considering how snarky he becomes, it’s fun to see this softer, sweeter version. But we know he’s so much more.

Also, love how background of dialogue Rachel is legit just staring at Finn intensely the whole time omg

Yeah, Kurt, that’s be my reaction to VA too. Apparently the VA dancers would always get injuries and... i believe it. Tbh, if ND had faced them at their prime, even in s3, not sure they really would’ve won bc. Omg. I just love this show and how it’s a Musical but also chaotic and dramatic and so far the only thing that’s come close to filling the void is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Imagine being Kurt, forced by your dad to join a club, you find one with singing yay! But club has Rachel in it. and the competition is a bunch of showchoir robots. and then the teacher quits. Like no, Kurt doesn’t have another club/team to join!

Also, love how emotional Will is when he’s known these kids maybe a week and taught them nothing. It’s very clear this is all about him reliving his glory days, living vicariously through Finn. Ugh. Anyway...

And sassy!Kurt has entered the chat! I think by now, him and Mercedes have started to click so we’ll see him get more comfortable. No more shy, sweet Kurt. I mean, he’s still sweet, but he’s also a lil shit lol. 

I love s1 Kurt having zero patience for Rachel and oof, Kurtcedes was so amazing and I’m so sad it faded out later.

And this scene like. We know Kurt was already crushing on Finn by this point, but still he calls him out on the shit he pulled. I do need the story about nailing furniture to the roof bc what? How? When? How did Burt not know??? And pee balloons.. the logistics... gonna casually ignore that.

Also remember when Mercedes made her own outfits and was in charge of costumes hahaha. Also, Finn gives tasks to Artie, Mercedes, Rachel, even acknowledges Tina. What about Kurt?? Could’ve at least done a “Kurt, Mercedes, can you do costumes?” Idk just... wow, Finn

Ah, Don’t Stop Believing. Version 1.

Yeah it’s cute, it’s sweet. It’s the pilot, first learning how to perform. I will say, I like later versions better? I just prefer group numbers where they all get to sing, showing off all the voices. Esp in showchoir where there’s a group of people singing, instead of just backup for the Finchel show. 

But anyway, still great, Kurt breaks out the shoulder shimmy very early on, wow. And so ends an amazing pilot. I legit love all these characters (even Rachel tbh. Later plotlines I’ll discuss later, but here I kinda like how she’s the worst but the second she sees finn she’s all moony eyed omg)

And tension high with Puck and Sue watching, just. Excited for more...

[bleulone]

i love your analysis so much! i have a question as well, like, how do you envision polin's sex scenes ? thanks for your answer (:

    Hey! Thank you very much :)) I have no idea if they are that even good but I’m happy you like them. It’s just my brain tending to produce some iNsIGhiTfUL analyses though they usually end up drowned under a huge wave of stupidity and horrid spelling/grammatical mistakes XD. So, about Penelope and Colin’ sex scenes, I guess we’re getting spicy in this house 🌶. I mean, I don’t blame you. Who’s not hot for Polin ?! The steamy Polin hours have already begun and they’re legit challenging my patience. (Be still my Polin heart, be still).

   Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about sex baby, shall we ? It’s a pretty long answer/meta so bear with me.

    I don’t know if you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but a quick reminder (for those who haven’t... yet), there are a bunch of iconic steamy scenes that I’m dying to watch on screen. First we have the famous “thank you” scene where Penelope, now a 28 year-old spinster, asks Colin to kiss her because she doesn’t want to die without having been kissed... then ends up thanking him— which happens to be humiliating for our 33 year-old boy because he thinks that she thinks he did it out of pity while he absolutely did not. The man definitely felt butterflies in his stomach... and in other places as well lol. We also have the ICONIC carriage scene where Colin gives Pen’s generous bosoms™ the attention they deserve. This is followed by his proposal. Later on, after the announcement of their engagement, there’s a pretty hot make-out scene on Lady Violet’s sofa. Finally, we have their first time in Colin’s bedroom, after sneaking out of their own engagement party... which leads Colin to push the wedding date forward. At this point, I just love their horniness, especially Colin’s who’s just so freaking amazed by Penelope for more than 300 pages straight (duh! who isn’t ???).

    When you say envision, I suppose you mainly refer to the way those scenes will be filmed right ? I’m afraid I don’t have an advanced knowledge in film-making but let me start by telling you what elements need to be depicted. I would love Shonda and Chris to capture the real essence of our boos’ feelings : the yearning, the love, the respect and the guilt (specifically on Colin’s side) in their eyes. The more we move forward throughout the seasons, the more we see different layers of the perceptions of they have of each other, going from a childish idealization/immature ignorance to a sudden realization. A mature one. Penelope goes beyond the facade of the charming devil-may-care guy to meet the seriousness and temper of her significant other. Meanwhile Colin discovers how confident, powerful and attractive this woman is and always has been. It echoes what I’ve written about the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story in this meta. By the time season 4 hits, man... their heart eyes and eye-fucking will jump OUT XD, all fibers of their beings, burning with need. The fact that this evolution took literally years is very emotionally painful, which is why I find it important to keep the slowness aspect of their relationship before and during their love making. I’m really looking forward a slow build-up toward their intimacy. It would differ from Daphne and Simon who merely shared one hell of a kiss in Lady Trowbridge’s garden then shared their sexy times after they married or Anthony and Siena’s rough sex... In fact, there’s a certain (sweet) ardent tenderness in Polin I like due to the fact that they’re slowly (re)discovering each other, as adults. Since they were both introduced in season 1, the audience will have all the time in the world to notice numerous evidences of the many natures of love they have for one another : from an affectionate and friendly love to a more carnal and enduring one.

    Okay so, in terms of filming, with Netflix’s Bridgerton being a show which promotes the female gaze, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise watching those sex scenes being shot from Penelope’s perspective, like it was the case with Daphne in the first installment of the series. Most of the time, sex scenes in Historical Romance are not gratuitous. Their presence serve an important purpose in a hero/heroine’s journey. In Penelope’s case, they’re here to help her learn to embrace and love herself. In other words, sexuality is synonym of freedom. I don’t know if they’ll show a lot of skin, but I won’t be complaining considering the fact that we’ll have the chance to get a chief kiss treat on screen : a plus size woman in a major successful Netflix period drama getting a love story as romantic and steamy as other more “fit” female characters. No, your weight doesn’t prevent you from being desirable at all. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t watched a plus-size female character portrayed as an attractive protagonist in a period drama (please if you have, let me know, I can be wrong). Having a beautiful half bare curvy body like Nicola’s being equally filmed like numerous slim actresses will be so inspiring and powerful to watch, especially for (young) women who struggle, like Penelope, to love their body shape which, to them, doesn’t “fit” the “beauty standards”. By showing her female gaze and portraying her as seductive, Pen’s “supposed” imperfections transform themselves into mighty assets, loved and worshipped by our dashing Mister Bridgerton. That’s body positivity at its finest darling ;).

    It will be deliciously erotic watching the undressing process being exquisitely slow, garment by garment, while their gaze are all heated and hungry. Their sex/make-out scenes should be tender and passionate, sweet and raw. The lightning, colored by a dark blood orange yellow or a blue depending the locations^^. Moreover, the depiction of the exploration of Penelope’s desire can translate itself thanks to multiple close ups. For instance, I can imagine a few ones on Pen’s fingers gently roaming over the smooth skin of Colin’s firm chest and back/touching his hair right after he removed his shirt. And a disheveled Colin letting his hands and lips making a journey of their own, mapping, conquering the alluring unknown territory that is her gorgeous voluptuous body... kissing her on the places he knows oh too well will give her pleasure (is this me wanting him to go down on her?— um yeah I sure hope it IS! If he doesn’t, trust me imma riot... AGAIN). Even a close up on her face while Colin is performing his addictively pleasing torment will be a marvelous proof of the female gaze. By the way, why not even adding a post-coital scene after their first time ? I can picture Penelope waking up first and contemplate her handsome soon-to-be husband. She’d bring her hand to his face and let it travel all around his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his neck and let it rest on his heart— making sure that what she’s just experience was real... obviously, Colin will wake up in the process and he’ll take this as his cue to go for another round of sexy times under the sheets.

   Showing Pen reaction is essential according to me because she was stuck with the idea that she would never experience the luxury of being loved, giving pleasure nor receiving it... she ended up being happily wrong. Throughout her multiple intimate encounters with Colin, I want her to progressively realizes that she can be an active partner. In the carriage, she knew she had an effect on him, but it’s not until their first time that she actually realizes it. Hence the reason why I WANT the mirror’s introduction in one of their sex scenes. Here’s as a little reminder an excerpt from chapter 18 :

“I want to see you sitting up," he groaned, "so I can see them full and lovely and large [about Pen’s breasts]. And then I want to crawl behind you and cup you." His lips found her ear and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I want to do it in front of a mirror."

“Now?” she squeaked.

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then shook his head. "Later," he said, and then repeated it in a rather resolute tone. "Later.”

   It would be such a shame if the show doesn’t use the incredible potential of this object (/kink). I mean, the symbolism is pretty clear. Penelope has always fled her “ugly” reflection but it seems like Colin wants to show the real her, the beauty that holds every single inch her alabaster skin and the effects they have on him. Thus, I would love to watch a scene where Colin just praises the alluring goddess and siren that is Penelope Featherington. Just imagine! Just IMAGINE the power of this scene : a shirtless Colin sitting behind her on a bed, meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips touching her right ear, biting and licking the lobe sometimes, whispering all kinda of dirty yet poetic words to her while letting his hands caress her thighs, her hips, her arms, her lovely bosoms™... oof. At the same time, a wonderful and harmonic instrumental music will play in the background and match the melodic partition of shudders, breathes and moans let out by our lovers. I can imagine Luke inspiring himself from his performance in the 2019 short film, Youth In Bed. The way he conveyed the awe and the yearning on his face, in his eyes with his mouth slightly open when he knelt before his partner Shun Yin was just captivating and— and so Colin! I cannot help but bring myself to picture Ethan, the character he played in YIB, in a Polin steamy scene. I cannot unsee this anymore jsksk. I mean, all this gifset radiates this book4chapter18!Colin, you cannot tell me otherwise!

    Also, I would love Shonda and Chris to keep Pen and Colin’s cute/emotional pillow talk. One thing I really love in JQ’s books is the concern she gives to her male protagonists about potentially hurting their partner during the act of penetration. Colin is a rake, and what his experience with women taught him is that he needs to be very gentle with the love of his life. It was so adorable seeing him not wanting to harm her and asking her to tell him if he does anything she doesn’t like 🥺. Plus, before actually doing it, Colin and Penelope shared a few kisses and just laid down side by side, confessing their love. Though our boy kept feeling guilty about not returning her love after all these years. He desires nothing but to make up for the lost time and show his love and desire during this special intimate moment. I hope they’ll keep all of chapter 18’s dialogue. It’s just so telling of our boos’ feelings, you see.

    All in all, I can’t wait to watch those Polin steamy scenes. As much as I may sound crazy, I want them after two other seasons of pure pining and yearning in order to have a very good payoff. I’m not an expert on depicting intimacy on screen, but I loved so far what Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator who worked on the show, have done in season 1. Sex scenes in Bridgerton seem very real and dive you in the intimacy of the moment, leaving you all flustered and hot. So probs to her! I have faith in her work and have no doubts about what her and the directors will serve us in future seasons. Though, in the end, I think it’s mostly up to the actors, Nicola and Luke, to see if they’re comfortable filming sex scenes.

    If you guys have any suggestions or wishes for those steamy polin scenes, please do share them :) by commenting on this post or by sending me asks! I’d love reading your thoughts/take on this very important matter ;)) 

[wyvernscales]

Here’s my chapter by chapter analysis of The Masked Empire. Technically spoilers but also not at all.

Ch 1: I’d be floored by the gift of Moira’s sword to Teagan if it wasn’t, you know, completely in character for Gaspard to be a right bastard. I did enjoy the insight into the daily lives of people in the palace however. It gives Orlais more life.

Ch 2: Some tableaus of our protagonists: Celene’s morning tea with Briala, Gaspard planning treason, Michel walking into a setup

Ch 3: SWEET HOME ALA-FUCKING-BAMA??

Ch 4: Now add a heaping shitload of fantasy racism. 

Ch 5: So you’re just gonna bring up a character you mentioned in one scene fifty pages ago and expect me to remember what happened? Especially one that is going to be as important as this? I suppose the original intent was to suggest that the strife of the elves was occurring as the same time as lavish events in Val Royeaux, but I’m not sure I would’ve chosen to do it that way.

Ch 6: I... hoo boy. theres nothing funny to say here.

Ch 7: So all of Celene’s tact comes from Briala. Expected. The big question is how the hell she didn’t see that coming? I found the interaction between Briala and Gaspard to be very well written though. So much characterization packed in there.

Ch 8: *DAO random encounter sword sound*

Ch 9: For a book that very clearly shows that Celene doesn’t care about the elves without Briala’s influence, it sure goes out of its way to make it look like she believes she does

Ch 10: Two and a Half Elves -- Felassan doesn’t even need magic to absolutely char Michel with that burn ft. Queen Gaslight lives up to her name

Ch 11: Mom, Bioware is once again doing the thing they do with the Dalish where they imply Dalish suspicion is arrogance rather than survival mechanism and blame the violence that befalls them on their hostility even though they have every reason to be wary.

Ch 12: AHEM... Choice.. spirit. And whatever the fuck Felassan is

Ch 13: Sylvans are a Pain in the Ass Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Ch 14: Well one thing’s for sure: He’s Michel de Chevin

Ch 15: Gaspard is awful, but he’s right about one thing and one thing only. Celene lives in a false reality where she can burn down a city and still have the trust of the Elves. Just because Briala has affection for her, does not mean that any other Elf can be swayed like that.

Ch 16: That Gaspard will go more out of his way than Celene to protect Briala is... oof.

Ch 17: UGH the FOreshadowing! The conclusion?! tHE threads all coming together?!!

Epilogue: solas you bitch

tl;dr: This book covers the beginning of the War of the Lions that the Inquisitor ends in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts. Through Briala’s influence, Celene begins to take actions that benefit some elves which doesn’t endear her to the nobility. Gaspard uses this to his advantage to imply that she is treating the elves too kindly, and Celene burns down a slum in Halamshiral to prove him wrong. Expecting this move, Gaspard takes his first military move against Celene, destroying the army she led to burn down the city and causing her to flee. The remainder of the book is about Gaspard chasing her down through the Dales and later the Eluvian network in his bid for the crown. There’s much lore on Orlesian nobility/politics and the Dalish present throughout the novel.

Thoughts: I’ve actually been really looking forward to reading this one, and I must say that it’s my favorite of the novels so far. I didn’t particularly enjoy the style of writing in the first two books personally, and I felt the change worked really well with the plot and subject matter (They’re by two different authors, so I’d expect this). I enjoyed the prose much more, and it was a very nice look into the lives of Orlesians that the games haven’t been able to explore in depth. 

That being said, the way time flowed and perspective changed was a bit hard to follow. I found myself having to refer back to scenes because they jumped around so much. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and even though they all came together in the end, the beginning was confusing.

Moving to the characters however, Celene doesn’t even thinks what she does is wrong, and for all her talk of ‘this was the only way,’ it was also the most obvious one. It caused all of the proceeding events and for what? To prove a point? That she doesn’t actually care about the elves? Infuriating. I actually found the relationship between Briala and Gaspard to be the most compelling in the whole book personally. He sees her as less than him for being elven, but also sees her as a clever and dangerous player of the game. It’s in stark contrast to how Celene believes she supports the elves at large while also thinking that Briala can’t figure out how Celene screws her over. I wish that had carried over into the game.

I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of all my thoughts on this one because I have so much to say, but this shall suffice for now.

[smileysuh]

i have to ask... bc im yr cambaby anon... but yr masterlist says one sided pining and i have to ask... is the reader pining or are some of the idols pining after her (well ik she thinks the world of jin and johnny) - 🍓

the idols all pine for her! thanks for the question bb, look, let me show you, i tried to make all the guys soft for her in ways, some are obvious like Jaehyun, but some are softer and more show it with their actions :) all of these quotes are found in the end of the fics ;)

this is a pretty lengthy analysis lol, but you can see the progression of the series quite well i think :)

Mark Tuan :

When he comes to a stop, you both just kneel there for a few moments, catching your breaths. Then the coin noise interrupts your thoughts and Mark chuckles, pressing a kiss to your shoulder, “say goodnight to your fans and come cuddle.” he tells you, sliding from your cunt and collapsing on his bed, quickly hiding under the covers

This section is in cambaby's perspective so i can't dive into Mark's thoughts, so we have to show his pining in actions.

Mark's very soft and quiet, but the domesticity and comfort in him jus saying 'say goodnight to your fans and come cuddle' like- soft boy, in my experience, fuck buddies aren't HUGE cuddlers you know?

Jaebum :

when your phone is away, you turn to look at Jaebeom. He strokes your face, fingers coming to touch the collar still on your neck. He takes it off gently, putting it on his bedside table.

You like the quiet with Jaebeom, every second needn’t be filled by word

Another section in y/n's perspective means we can't say what Jaebum is thinking so we have to look at his actions

the way he touches her so lovingly- softly touching the collar and gently taking it off, this is soft aftercare and the comfort they have in each other is obvious in the silence im so soft for them

Lucas / Hendery / Johnny :

“What about aftercare?” Hendery’s voice is unsure, wide eyes darting between you and your two big protectors.

Johnny scoffs, “what do you two know about aftercare? Look at Lucas, he’s about to pass out.”

Lucas does look really tired.

Lucas simply shrugs, tugging you to his chest so he can press a kiss to your mouth, his tongue invading your mouth before he bites down on your bottom lip, a smirk on his face, “see you later baby.”

this scene has 4 people in it but is mostly y/n's 2nd person pov, so again, body language of the boys is key

Hendery is whipped and asks about aftercare because he's soft boy

Lucas is tired but he makes sure to say goodbye and use pet names, he's a lazy kind of lover but it works for him i think

Johnny showing up at all to drive them home goes to show how whipped he is for cam baby lol

Jinyoung :

he never falls asleep easier than when you’re with him, and you’re already passed out. But tonight, it takes a while for Jinyoung to get out of his own thoughts, too many anxieties running through his head.

Five orgasms was enough. One for each man you’ve slept with on camera. He’s not sure why that number means something to him, he doubts you’ll even consider it. But for some reason, it calms something bubbling in his chest.

You mumble his name in your sleep, and it’s the last thing he hears before passing out, a smile on his lips, cheek nestled against your forehead

our first scene in the dude's pov so we can see their feelings!

Jinyoung has the domestic watching you sleep trait, and he uses this time to face his anger and jealousy. although he doesn't overtly state he loves the reader, the clues in this scene are enough to hint that he does ;) like what's softer than falling asleep with a smile after kissing the forehead of the girl you just fucked the shit out of-

Taehyung :

“Stay the night.” Taehyung says, kissing your forehead as he cuddles you tighter, “and for breakfast.”

You laugh a little, humming with happiness as you burrow yourself deeper into the embrace. “How could I skip breakfast when I’m your main dish?” you tease.

Taehyung smiles, fuck, he loves-

Oof. He has to reel in his thoughts. Love is not on the table. It never has been.

Then why the hell does he keep feeling this way about you?

He’d met you through Namjoon originally. The entire maknae line had been in awe of you that first night, and you’d closely become friends with them all. Namjoon had told them all later that you were friends with a lot of idols and had worked in the industry for a while. He’d said you were discreet and a great companion, someone who understood what they were going through with work.

Someone who wouldn’t be a risk. Your feelings would never be compromised. Namjoon said you had a handle on your emotions and that friends with benefits with you would never result in any unwanted or sticky feelings.

On your end at least.

The sex is great, you’re a great girl, wonderful to talk to- who wouldn’t fall in love with you?

Taehyung looks down at you, you’re already asleep. He brushes a finger across your cheek, removing a stray lash that was there. He looks at the lash for a moment on the pad of his finger. After a moment of reflection, he blows it away and makes a wish, although he knows it will never come true.

Taehyung's pov really sheds light on a lot of this. it sets y/n as an idol fuck buddy (referred to tae by rm) who's good at not catching any 'sticky/unwanted feelings' so this alludes to the fact that she's probably not catching feels with ANY of her fuck buddies

Tae solidifies 'who wouldn't fall in love with [y/n]' hinting that everyone in the series is in love with her

taehyung knows it's one-sided pining when he makes a wish on a stray eye lash :(

Jaehyun :

They act as if this is the most normal thing in the world, Johnny pulling you to his side so you can taste his cooking. Johnny makes you open your mouth so he can spoon feed you, making an ‘ah’ sound that has Jaehyun’s skin heating with jealousy.

He has to remind himself, you’re not his.

And, from the way you look up at Johnny with stars in your eyes, he realizes you may never be.

our most recent boy Jaehyun, like Jinyoung, also gets his own inner monologue of jealousy :(

this solidifies Jae's pining, but also Johnny's again when he babies y/n and feeds her at the stove, because Johnny is low key the central figure of the series lol

[riceccakes]

Earth, Wind, and Coffee: Chapter Three Analysis

chapter one analysis | chapter two analysis

back again for another chapter analysis. i think ive been looking forward to this chapter the most, it’s where some big decisions were made!!! this analysis is a long one, i hope that’s all right! i kinda got carried away. so, let’s dive right in, shall we?

some fun stuff before we start!

chapter three was supposed to be the last chapter of the fic

idk if any of you were there when i first started writing this fic, but it was only going to be three chapters with a possible epilogue. however, everything changed when i finished the end of chapter two. (lil atla reference there for ya) (sorry i know that was bad, moving on). like i said in my last analysis, i had an idea of what i wanted to happen (the separation of korrasami) so that they could come back together. it was just a matter of what separates them. so, i’m not sure where i got the panic attack idea but once i did, the rest of the story changed. i realized i couldn’t quite possibly finish the story in one chapter so i split the ideas i had and decided on it being four chapters

now, this being said, maaaaajor changes were made in my story outline. most notably: korrasami was going to be a couple in this chapter

this was originally going to be a full fledged “they meet, they get to know each other, they fall in love, happily every after” but the thing was, i planned on treating their romance as korra’s recovery; that being with asami is what made korra better, that all she needed was a partner, someone to love, and that is not what i wanted to portray with this story. i’ve never been a fan of stories that give a character a love interest and all of sudden their problems are fixed and they’re completely happy, and here i was about to do just that. i knew i’d never respect myself if i continued down this narrative, and when chapter two ended with korra’s panic attack, i realized her growth needed better love and attention. so, i changed what happened and gave her some therapy

this change in the storyline also let me explore more of kuvopal !!! (is that their ship name?)

so, back to LOVE WITCH for a second (because that glorious fic really did steal my heart) not only did it make me love kuvira’s character more, it also got me into the kuvopal relationship! and yet again, i wanted my own go at it. with the original timeline, there was just no space for me to include the lil bread crumbs of their relationship. however, however, however; by splitting the ending between two chapters (and adding some stuff in between) i was able to lay some foundation for them, which im very happy about :)

into the chapter we go:

let’s talk about the meeting! the whole reason this fic came to be! i’ll start by saying i always knew the project was going to get pulled out from under asami. 1) because thats some angsty/hurt shit right there and im a sucker for writing angst 2) i didn’t feel like creating a whole ass presentation because knowing my ass i would’ve made a powerpoint about it so i had every detail down to the font asami used and 3) getting the presentation taken away from asami was a pivotal point in her character arc.

i actually started the chapter in two different ways. at first, i’d written her whole entire morning with there always being one thing that was off. like, instead of a perfect omelette, it was going to split and asami would’ve had a scramble, still good, but not her favorite. instead of going through all green lights on her way to work, asami was gonna meet every. single. red. light. i would’ve gone through with this if it hadn’t felt strange; i wanted to give the impression that something bad was going to happen but i felt like having something go wrong with every thing in her morning was gonna be a dead give away that some even bigger big bad was about to happen, if that makes sense. so instead, i went with the picture perfect scenario, almost too perfect, if you ask me. and indeed, it was too perfect, because hiroshi was too much of a coward to tell his daughter any sooner that his board agreed to get a new presenter

im just gonna cite a bunch of my favorite lines/bits from this chapter because i really enjoyed writing it xD

Iroh has already begun but Asami hears no words, only a blaring ring in her ears. Her face feels hot and she wonders how red she is. She stares at the black binder, notes the natural grooves and curves of the material, the plastic covering over top of it, the metal spine peaking out at the bottom. She’s only brought out of it’s dark trance when she feels a hand be placed on her arm; Kuvira. 

when you’re upset, do you ever just, hyper focus on one thing and its like you’re analyzing it under a microscope for the first time? yes? no? well, i do that, and personally, i do because if i focus on my anger/hurt emotions any more, im going to explode and i dont want to explode. so, this instance about looking at the grooves in the binder and each of the components of it just hits with me, idk if does with you too, but like bruuh.

Asami has her hand over her mouth, silently sobbing, feeling as if she’ll throw up. She leans her head on her wheel, her mind wanders to what could’ve been, what should’ve been. She feels as if her car is closing in on her, that the metal is compacting. The seatbelt keeps her locked down to the driver’s seat and she can’t leave if she wants to. The Satomobile holds her hostage and she lets it. Even while it’s hurting her, even while it’s harshly molding itself onto her, she stays at her father’s heel because, what else is she to do?

this is one of my favorite things ive ever done with asami’s character, is using future industries/satomobiles as a sort of vehicle (heh) for her relationship with her dad. this paragraph just kind of hurts, but the good hurt? but also not good hurt? it’s just, (and not me over here boasting about my writing or anything) it’s so poetic that she has this breakdown and she’s so upset with her dad, i mean “what should’ve been” like, asami KNOWS that the shit that’s just happened is more than wrong, yet asami is still somehow wondering how she can please her dad and it’s in the literal legacy hiroshi built for himself. “she stays at her father’s heel because, what else is she to do?” i remember writing that and being like “shit, am i really gonna do this? yeah” ugh, i could go on forever about how i love this section, but i’ll stop here for now.

Asami begins yelling, screaming at the top of her lungs, letting all the thoughts, all the insecurities her father gave her finally be released into the world. Kuvira lets her, simply nodding and following along on the couch while Asami paces her living room. She spews out word after word, about the work, about the presentation, about Iroh, his position, her position, the company, the CEO, and she only stops when she feels the weight of her father rest on her shoulders.

back with more diction; i really love this paragraph because of how we circle back to hiroshi. note how i first say “the CEO” and then a few words later say “her father” because, in a way, this is asami’s confession that hiroshi is CEO first and father second, if i haven’t already explicitly said so. it’s so heart wrenching and sad but my favorite thing about it is this isn’t even about korra. like THIS right here is a prime example about how i realized this fic became more than just a love story. in the planning stages of this fic, asami was going to go through getting the presentation taken away from her, but what was she going to focus more on? the fact that korra wasn’t around anymore. and yes, asami still does think about korra after this, but so much more happens for her. asami gets to know kuvira more, asami gets to know her lab partners more, (and my personal hc is that they’ve all been lab partners for two years and only NOW asami is getting to be friends with them in their senior year, but hey, better late than never!) and to me, what’s even better, is that a bunch of realizations come to asami w/o korra being there. asami is growing and the idea of being able to grow without needing to have a partner in order to grow is so important to me, not only for the fact that growth should be endless and something you do all the time for yourself, but asami literally wants to share it with korra. not boast about changing and growing and becoming better, but just be better with korra. sdlfakds i swear, im fangirling over my own writing, oops

okay, moving on from The Meeting and onto the rest of the chapter

this dock scene was also another part i wrote beforehand and it had a completely different ending in that asami was going to ask korra out on a date. of course, korra would’ve said yes, and then yay yay happy ending. this didn’t happen and i’m glad it didn’t. in one version of this dock scene, asami was actually going to be upset with korra for disappearing, and even worse, mad that korra wasn’t there to comfort her after the presentation. oof, i know. so so glad i didn’t continue down that line, cause it is toxic, and my girls aren’t like that at all.

Once Korra’s eyes meet hers, Asami says, “That doesn’t mean you always have to be on your own.” She smiles at Korra, at the girl who’s turned her world upside down. Her hand remains on Korra’s cheek and she feels the girl sink into her palm. “I’ll be here for you, and it seems like Tenzin will be too, what with saying he was calling you more. And you have his family, and your own family, even though they’re away, they’re here to support you, we all are. You can still be strong and turn to other people for help. It takes great strength to ask for help and I know for a fact you’re strong enough, those bags of coffee beans were nothing for you.”

i like this line of dialogue here for a few reasons, mostly because asami is so soft and so right and the joke at the really helped lighten the mood but didn’t take away from what she’d just said before. i don’t have too much else about the Reunions section, though if you guys have any questions or anything you wanna point out, please do so! i think what i will say is that i tried to be as real and gentle with korra’s progression. i was so nitpicky about everything i wrote because i didn’t want to get any of it wrong or over dramatized or fake. recovery from anything is so important and it takes time and it’s not a straight line so i hope i did a good job with it the rest of the fic. 

moving on, i love the found family trope and this leads me into the next section, New Friends

when i think about this section, i like how soft it is, and i really enjoy the ending bits: korra recounting memories from the south, asami meeting tenzin. i think what i like about the end of this chapter is that, it kind of leaves the question: what’s next?

asami has grown, she’s changed, she sees the errors of her father’s ways but she’s not excusing them. korra has grown, she’s changing, she’s taken the first step in recovery. now it’s just a matter of, what happens with this growth now. and i really loved how i wrapped up the fic in the next and last chapter, so i hope you enjoy it too :))

honorable mentions:

there were a lot of changes in this chapter and one of them got changed twice! korra was gonna get a therapist but then i was like, we gotta get the krew together, and then i was like supppppoorttttt grouuuppppp, because lets be honest, all the krew has stuff they need to work through, and i know therapy isn’t for everyone, but mental health is so vital and important. asami is an advocate for therapy in the chapter but there are also other means to take care of yourself and your mental health and while i’ve never been to a support group, i understand finding comfort in knowing you’re not alone.

i guess what i’m trying to say is please take care of yourself and dont be afraid to lean on others. i know not everyone has the means to get a therapist/psychiatrist and i know that your friends aren’t made to only be your therapist. buuuut, don’t be afraid to reach out, there’s nothing wrong with needing help and support :)

anything i would’ve wanted to change?

honestly, i think the only thing i would’ve wanted to change was mako’s speech during the support group meeting. for me, it was a lil bit too poetically out of character. not to say i want to change the content, but rather the manner in which it’s presented. other than that though, i really loved writing this chapter :)

so this analysis was reeeaaaalllly long, i understand if not everyone made it to end. anyways, thanks so much for reading this analysis and the fic! once again, i’m very much open to questions and any comments, i love them very much! i’ll see you guys in the next analysis of the final chapter :)

[wasdname]

kakegurui anime vs manga pt. 1

some differences i noticed between certain scenes. i’m not going to go over the differences between when something happened, because ultimately it would be redundant, and also because i think it’s more interesting to look at the differences between what happened. mainly, this will be about things that happened in the manga that didn’t happen in the anime. long post under the cut. ofc, spoilers. 

season 1, ep. 8 (Ch. 17), the helicopter scene

it essentially plays out the same way. in the manga, there’s this small extra scene between sayaka and “ririka”, in which you get to see more of sad sayaka, being ignored by both the president and VP (poor sayaka). 

@kakeguruibeyond​ already made an analysis about what happened, specifically about the twin switching, along with what happens later in ch. 36 (season 2, ep. 2).

https://kakeguruibeyond.tumblr.com/post/185900564323/can-i-ask-you-a-question-regarding-kakegurui-ch

in the anime, because rei exists, they changed the meeting between terano and actual kirari to be about bringing rei in the election. in the manga, since rei doesn’t exist, their meeting re-inforces the fact that yes, kirari and ririka switch places, and also lets the audience know that yes, terano, and most likely the whole family, at least knows about this trick. but terano is able to discern the difference between kirari and ririka at a glance. we don’t know (yet) if any of the other family members can do that. i can’t wait to see what this will mean in the future.

but maybe i’m getting ahead of myself. let’s go back and go over some differences in season one. Ep. 6, after the debt-resettlement gamble, there was  a small extra scene between mary and yumeko, which i’ll just leave here: 

kind of sad this yumary scene wasn’t animated

another difference was when kirari attempted to recruit mary, season 1 ep. 7 (ch. 16) . essentially, it played out similarly, but in the manga, when mary asks about the housepet system, instead of bringing up the aquarium, she explains her motivations in a bit more depth using a different example:

like i get why they wanted to use the aquarium metaphor in the anime during this scene, because that’s a recurring theme, but here we have the origin for the aquarium spiel. it’s not just about making the big fish eat the smaller fish because it’s interesting, it’s about power and how kirari is maintaining and preserving that power. this scene in the manga just adds more depth to kirari’s motivations beyond her doing things just because it’s “interesting”.

now, let’s talk about this scene, season 1 ep. 11 (Ch. 26), when kirari reveals herself during the yumeko/manyuda gamble.  

previously, during the helicopter scene, we’ve seen sayaka already having doubts about the president not trusting her. this thought has been embedded into her ever since kirari left without telling her anything, and now, she is sure. kirari not saying anything to sayaka as ririka, solidifies that fact in sayaka’s head. in the anime, she says something completely different that lessens the impact of sayaka’s internal struggle: “How long has she been in our midst?” which is a lot different from what she’s thinking here. i guess you can infer in the anime that sayaka is having doubts, but in the manga it’s crystal clear that she is freaking out and not okay about the whole situation.

another big difference was the build up to the ending of season 1, right after the yumeko/manyuda gamble. the main difference is, in order for the yumeko/kirari gamble to happen in the anime, sayaka had to be more passive and not have that emotional/mental ourburst that led to Tower of Doors in the manga, which was already being set up by the previous helicopter scene and the realization that the president doesn’t trust her: 

unfortunately, this also means we miss out on some more of sayaka’s dialogue in the manga that made her a more interesting and relatable character (imo, anyway). more on that later.

next, in the same scene, there was an exchange between yumeko and kirari that didn’t make it in the anime. @castleoflions​  already made a post about that.

https://castleoflions.tumblr.com/post/612058563484008448/i-really-wish-they-had-kept-this-exchange-in-the

there’s also another exchange that didn’t happen in the anime where kirari brings up the aquarium again, when sayaka asks why they can’t just expel/make people stop gambling with yumeko:

which leads to sayaka freaking out even more about not understanding the exchange between yumeko and kirari, and wanting more answers:

ow. again, poor sayaka, being refused an answer again from the president, not being trusted by the president. which leads to... more sad sayaka, when sayaka initiates the gamble with yumeko and what each person would bet was being discussed:

oof. i wish the anime kept these scenes with sayaka, it just gives us more insight into what’s going on inside her head besides the angry/jealous, obsessive, tit-grabbing (lol) secretary. sayaka was hurt by kirari, (multiple times! with no explanation!) and wants answers, and when she still doesn’t get them, she breaks. which leads to the all-or-nothing gamble with yumeko at the tower of doors. it makes more sense to me than the slow buildup between two seasons in the anime, but i get that they wanted to add in an original scene (the yumeko/kirari gamble) and therefore a lot of sayaka’s internal struggle had to be dampened and spread out over another season. what do y’all think?

that’s it for season 1 ish. (Ch. 1-29). i think i’ll make a separate post for (more) season 2 stuff, since this is long AF

[hoe-doroki]

ana reads bnha ch25

previous chapter here first chapter here next chapter here

Umm, okay, actually terrifying, U.A.! I thought technology hadn’t advanced too much in the time of quirks, but it looks like the robot revolution is looming close.

HOW DARE YOU BLASPHEME MY BOY??

Okay, legit super troubling if this is true. Did U.A. have a protocol for this or…have kids died at the Sports Festival before? I’m guessing they have.

Oh. Oof, this joke hits hard. Wowwww. I’m not here to censor but, really? Very inappropriate and tasteless imo. Probably hits harder for an American audience than a Japanese one, but still.

This is a disturbing chapter, ya’ll.

Ah, and to go with my favorite Midoriya we have my favorite Bakugou!

It is interesting. I mean, any idiot can tell that Bakugou has much better control over his quirk than Midoriya. But, on the other hand, Bakugou’s showing in All Might’s first practical exercise…pretty embarrassing, tbh. Todoroki definitely would have seen it as such. And no one saw his badassery at the USJ except for Kiri (and you and me, and boy was I watching. Respectfully). So Todoroki’s surely written Bakugou off as being not as good as him, and that’s why he didn’t make the declaration of war.

But my question is, even if Todoroki had seen the best of Bakugou’s skills, would he have cared? I don’t think so. I think he would have thought them evenly matched, at best, which still would have riled someone like Bakugou up, but not Todoroki. Todoroki and Bakugou are pretty similar in their skill sets: both very athletic, strong quirks that they use well offensively and defensively and acrobatically, strong wills. What Midoriya offers is very different, at this point: strong will, yes, but also lots of creativity combined with his encyclopedic analysis, and some interpersonal skills. Todoroki sees the value in these, that’s why he declares war. But, at the same time, he doesn’t seem to envy anything that Midoriya has going on, like Bakugou (subconsciously) does. So is the declaration of war just to prove that his way is best? That he’s the one doing it right? Or is it just because he wants to win, regardless of anything that Midoriya may or may not bring to the table? I’m not sure. But, tbh, Bakugou probably never crossed his mind.

Overall: Ya’ll know I’m just happy to see my boy. And I really am thinking about how many of these frames focus in on Todoroki’s left side, visually. It makes me think about Acting for the Camera classes that I’ve taken, talking about having a good side versus a bad side. The theory is that if you’re in a scene where you want to look stronger, and you have a side of your face with a ‘stronger’ aesthetic, you would be shot from that angle. If you have an angle that makes you look weaker, then the same is true there. But, in cartoons, characters are almost always symmetrical, except, maybe, for their hair. Todoroki  is obviously not. By this Acting for the Camera theory, Todoroki’s scarred side would be shown because this is Todoroki before he’s 'good’. You know, we don’t have his backstory yet, he’s not friends with the Dekusquad yet—he’s just cold and mean. But, eh, I don’t like this theory because, most of all, I don’t want to imply (or say that Horikoshi is implying) that scars are ugly or evil or anything like that. They’re not, and Todoroki is a gorgeous boy! Although there is the idea that we get later that Todoroki’s left side (pre-scar) is ‘unseemly’. So there is a little there there.

So, the idea must be a focus on the fact that we know Todoroki’s quirk—and it’s a very memorable one, so we haven’t forgotten—and Horikoshi wants us to notice that Todoroki’s not using half of it. I think he’s angling in on this side to remind us visibly of the part of Todoroki’s quirk that he’s not using, especially as, in the last chapter, there was the line about “Dear old dad” watching and in this one it was revealed that his dad is “The Flame Hero” who is the “#2 hero.” I think he’s foreshadowing the heck out of that for us.

Is that obvious? Lol, it probably is to you guys. Idk, I’m just stuck on the acting class bit. Like, there are some things from live action acting that carry over into animation and some things that absolutely do not and it’s just interesting to pick apart what those are.

Okay, big wall of text. My b. Other things: Really happy to see Mei—I think she’s a lot of fun. I think the bit with Midoriya and his metal plank is more successful in the anime than here. Bakugou is near unrecognizable in the frame with his forehead. I’ll never know how Iida doesn’t fall (or burn the rope) when using his engine to go across the tight rope.

[galaxy-creationz]

A long and controversial fandom analysis:

I have *~thoughts~* about Stargirl and shipping and stuff but it’s gonna look like I’m trying to start beef with a certain 1 or 2 people here (one of which I follow oof) so if you’re reading this (you know who you are), I just want to say that I’m not. Though it’d be best if you didn’t read this because my opinion is very different from yours. I’m sorry, block me if you want, it’s nothing personal, I won’t be offended, but I just wanted to post this. 

Okay, if you aren’t one of the people I implied, take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is my personal opinion and I am not attacking anyone. And please read the tags.

I am open to (respectful!) debating, so here we go. Here’s the hot takes that could possibly start a ship war, though I pray that we are all mature enough to prevent it: 

My opinions on who I ship and also Courtney’s orientation, the short answer:

I ship her with both Yolanda and Cameron. Sorta. And my personal headcanon is that she’s attracted to both boys and girls (idk about specific labels tho) but she doesn’t know this until later. 

And here’s the long answer: 

I know that Camney will be canon at some point (sorry that’s just the truth), though a cast member that I can’t recall exactly who but I know is a cast member, said that their relationship will be “complicated”. Now, I have no idea how to interpret this, as said cast member was pretty vague about it.  

I know that Cameron finding out about his father’s death and (possibly?) turning evil will most likely be the reason, but I feel like there’s more.

Now, after some digging, I found out about his character in the comics. (Comic fans will probably know where this is going.) If they do bring this in, this gives another layer to the complicated-ness that the ship will be in season 2. 

In my ideal season 2, he and Courtney will date for a few episodes, then he’ll realize that he isn’t attracted to her (or not, according to what the writers decide to do with him) and break up. After this, Courtney will go to Yolanda for comfort which leads to them catching feelings for each other and then they date and Wildstar will be endgame. The end. If it doesn’t then I’m also chill with that but that’s just my favorite speculation.

Of course, this isn’t likely (but then again, I’m sure the writers won’t erase his identity for fear of backlash). Here are several other scenarios, which I’m also chill with:

1. He still turns evil but Courtney doesn’t know this until later. When she finds out, there is angst and a breakup, which either leads to them getting back together by the end of the season or Courtney ending up with someone else, whether it’s a new character or an existing one. 

2. If they don’t get back together, Courtney can still end up getting with Yolanda like in my ideal scenario. The same thing happens. 

3. Or Cameron doesn’t turn evil and the complicated-ness is all from finding out who his dad is (was) and there is less angst but he and Courtney stay together. 

Now, I might be saying this because I just dislike Camney a lot less than everyone else here, or I genuinely ship it,  which brings me to my next point:

I don’t know how I feel about the ship, or the other one. Like, at all. 

Am I just shipping it because it’s gonna be canon at some point? 

Do I actually like Camney more than Wildstar but I’m repressing that part of me for fear of being an outcast in the Tumblr fandom?

Do I not even like Wildstar and only ship them (and write a fic about  them) because everyone practically peer pressured me into it?

Do I secretly only ship Wildstar, and is my brain just tricking me into thinking I ship Camney because I ship the canon ships in other fandoms and is preparing me for when they become canon?

This gets even crazier when I factor in another one of Courtney’s potential (or just popular?) love interests, Cindy. 

Unlike most people in the fandom, I’m not a huge fan of her, especially because of what she did to Yolanda. It seems like everyone put the blame on Henry for that. Yes, he did have a part in it, but let’s not forget that it was 90% Cindy. 

I’ve seen claims that she’s coded to have feelings for Courtney, especially because of the tension (?) in their fight scenes. It was also confirmed by a cast member. People are also saying that the writers are trying to send the message that “straight good everything else bad”, but to be honest, I don’t see it. 

There are straight villains. (assuming that all those ISA pairings floating around are just crackships)

Also, Wildstar still has a chance of happening. 

Maybe I don’t like Starshiv as much as other people do because it reminds me of another ship. (Supergirl fans who follow me will know) Or maybe because I think Cindy is perfect as a villain and the only way the ship would work is if she had a redemption arc? Or because of the above reasons. Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s a good character, but just not a good person. 

I feel like in another world, if that Supergirl ship that it reminds me of didn’t exist, maybe I might’ve ended up a Starshiv shipper. But that’s not the world we live in. 

There are claims that the writers (one in particular) are homophobic. I don’t know enough about that one writer to say anything, but given that he’s an older straight man and Tumblr hates him, he probably is. But let’s not drop the H-word on everyone else. 

Which brings me to how disturbingly familiar this situation is to me. For those of you who aren’t in the Supergirl fandom, let me explain. 

Kara is the main character.  (Parallel to Courtney)

Lena (wow I didn’t censor her name for once) is a villain who is popularly shipped with her. (Parallel to Cindy but I genuinely hate Lena, and there is no confirmation that Lena is coded to have feelings for Kara)

William is supposedly Kara’s love interest. He has asked her out only once. (Parallel to Cameron but he’s 100% straight)

(I can’t find a character that’s the equivalent of Yolanda, so let’s just ignore her for this part.)

The resemblance is that I dislike Kara and Lena as a couple, but am partial to Kara and William, despite them not being my first choice as a ship. And the people who ship Kara with Lena tend to dislike William very, very much, claiming that he’s too boring.

Of course, with Supergirl being a much older show than Stargirl, this problem is 23894793847 times worse. We have people harassing the actors and sending  them death threats, and real person shipping is big, and they claim William to be abusive. 

I’m not saying that Starshiv shippers are as bad as that (obviously) but I’m scared they will be someday. Luckily, Wildstar is still more popular. 

Go ahead, hate Cameron if you want. He’s not real, so no feelings will be hurt. I am not implying that you will do this, so don’t take this the wrong way, but remember that his actor is real, has feelings, and is not the same as his character, so keep fiction and reality separate.

And please do the same with the other characters.

Anyways, to end this, let’s go back to where I started.

I feel like too many people think that Courtney can only like one gender. There’s the “fanon says it’s girls and canon says it’s boys” but like I said, she can like both so that’s what I think. 

The writers will most likely make her straight, and this is gonna make people really mad at them, causing a backlash that could potentially become like the Supergirl fandom’s. I hope not.

So, that’s my thoughts on Stargirl. Thank you for reading. I am fully prepared for a flood of anon hate coming after me. The second I get a hate ask, I’m closing my ask box for the next few days.

I’m gonna lose friends for this, aren’t I?

[starbuck]

Terror Notes: “Go For Broke”

well… I guess I’m really doing this! Some proper, bullet-pointed notes for each episode of The Terror, starting with ep 1: Go For Broke!

I wrote these out last night (and edited them this morning to make them readable - you’re welcome!) so I hope that y’all enjoy my thoughts and assorted nonsense! I tried to save my comments for points I actually wanted to make because I feel like they bring something to the table but I still ended up writing A Lot lol

I love that Crozier couldn’t even be bothered to be present in welcoming Sir John and Fitzjames onto Terror, making Little and Hodgson do it by themselves. One could argue that he had important captain-y things to be doing at that time or something but I’m not 100% sure that wasn’t the case. 

idk if it’s just the angle, but I paused the episode just as the shot of the officer’s mess is coming in from above and Hodgson’s hands make me so uncomfortable. They look so bone-y and weird. (Just what you came here for, I know. Hand commentary.)

Cannot tell you how uncomfortable it is, after many rewatches, to listen to Fitzjames recounting in a casual, lighthearted manner 1) shooting people 2) people catching fire (and burning to death), and 3) their burning flesh smelling “like roast duck” (so, like something edible) and it’s even more uncomfortable to have the closeup be on Hodgson’s face as he laughs at the ‘roast duck’ comparison.

On a lighter note: I love that Fitzjames felt the need to remind everyone what size cherries are by illustrating it with his fingers. In case they forgot, I guess? As someone who occasionally speaks unnecessarily with my hands, big mood tbh.

I LOVE it when Fitzjames gives Little that affirmative tap on the arm after he compares Fitzjames’s injury to Lord Nelson’s. My friend Eli and I refer to it as The Fitzjames Arm Tap. I would like a Fitzjames Arm Tap, pretty please.

God, Sir John loudly setting his hands on the table to try to dispel the tension from the ‘birdshit island’ debacle as he attempts to change the subject is so funny. I’m gonna stop just pointing out things I find funny soon, I swear, but I just cannot handle this scene.

Between Hodgson looking horrifically embarrassed by Crozier’s outburst at Fitzjames and Little looking nervous when Crozier shoots him a look as Sir John says that there’s no reason to be concerned about the ice, it really does seem that they were having to ‘manage’ him even back in ep 1 when his alcoholism wasn’t completely out of hand.

Personal sidenote about this: My Pop-pop is often rude to workers in stores and restaurants (he doesn’t drink thank goodness but he has Alzheimer’s coming on which has worsened his temper) so I very much understand the feeling of being on-edge that an outburst is going to occur and trying to deal with the fallout when it does. Just going by my own experience, I can imagine Little apologizing to Fitzjames for Crozier’s rudeness as soon as they were out of Crozier’s earshot (not that anything Little could say would heal the deep psychological wound that Crozier created but hey, it’s something).

The way that Sir John brushes aside Dr. MacDonald’s and Crozier’s concerns about moving Young when he’s in such bad shape never fails to upset me but also ~foreshadowing for hauling the ill on boats oooohhh~

I said I was done pointing out random things that amuse me but the speed and agility with which Des Voeux pops out of the hatch and onto the deck after Orren falls into the water is just so funny. I could watch that two second clip on repeat all day. Might gif it so I actually can.

Is this a good time to point out that there’s also a scene in Moby-Dick where someone falls from high up on a mast and drowns? It’s in a chapter all about bad omens experienced by the crew of the Pequod and The Terror definitely has some similar vibes going on with the sun dogs displayed in the establishing shot of Erebus in that scene and David Young, a “warning of things to come,” on his way over.

The second(?) time I watched the part where Young tells Stanley that he didn’t think anything of getting headaches since he’s always gotten them, I had this thought pass through my head that was like “oh god, I had chronic migraines for years so I’d never have known if I had lead poisoning either!” but then I realized that this probably was not a relevant concern I should have.

Not sure I have any deep commentary on this but as Gore informs Sir John and Fitzjames about the blocked propeller, he’s standing in the same spot, in the same room as Goodsir will stand next episode to tell them about his death.

Also regarding this scene, I love how Gore waits for Fitzjames to give him the go-ahead to leave before actually going. I know that Fitzjames is his superior officer too but, since Sir John already dismissed him, it seems like waiting for Fitzjames’s approval isn’t really necessary, yet a nice thing to do. Perhaps this is a legitimate formality, but something similar happens later in this episode in the command meeting when Crozier asks Gore how many sun dogs he’s seen; he looks to Fitzjames and waits for his nod before answering Crozier. He doesn’t look to Sir John, he looks to Fitzjames. I know that we know essentially nothing about Gore but like.. underrated ship???? Just saying…

Ten nights ago, I was unable to get to sleep for at least an hour because I started thinking about David Young’s saying “I want to go to my grave as I am” and, of course, that ultimately doesn’t happen for him but also, this, like all things about him, is a “warning of things to come.” I’m pretty sure that no one else was properly buried until, arguably, Fitzjames and ironically, that was explicitly not what he wanted done with his body (and, since his grave was later looted by Hickey, similar to the way that Young’s autopsy ultimately achieved nothing, it didn’t really matter anyway).

I know that this happened exactly ten days ago because I forced myself to wake up and write it down in my notes app, lest I forget, which only prolonged my sleeplessness. I suffer for my analysis. 

Ah yesssss Tozer’s lesbian haircut. We love it! Why does my hair not look like that when I take a hat off? I’d like to file a complaint.

Was just thinking the other day about how Hartnell being the one to notice that there was something up with the ice in ep 1 is followed up on with Blanky complimenting Hartnell’s ability to read the ice to Crozier in ep 7. I wonder if Blanky ever gave him like. ice-reading lessons after becoming aware of his interest and natural talent at it in ep 1? That makes me happy to think about.

The two people who we’re shown awoken by Young’s screaming are Sgt. Bryant and Morfin and like. Do I even have to explain why that’s an Oof?

The way that Goodsir hesitates before knocking on Stanley’s door and Stanley irritatedly closing his book before answering the knock in an exasperated voice would be comedic in any other context. If I’m being honest, it still makes me laugh. As does Stanley’s “As if that weren’t plain.”

I’ve pointed this out before but mmmmm... that shot of Stanley in profile with the open candle flame in the background… the foreshadowing in this ep is thicker than the smoke at… Oh alright, I’ll stop. 

God, the autopsy/dive scene…. Collins being lowered down and entering the water paralleled with Goodsir’s initial cutting into Young’s corpse, the breaking up of the ice paralleled with the cutting of the bone-saw. But most significant to me is the parallel of what is seen/not seen and the long-term effect that this has. Collins sees Orren’s corpse (and then presumably never tells anyone about it), reinforcing his guilt over Orren’s death, the beginning of his mental health decline. Goodsir doesn’t see the cause of Young’s death in his autopsy and this not knowing about the lead poisoning until it’s too late to do anything about it is the cause of many of Goodsir’s later problems as well. And, to finish it all off, both the autopsy and Collins’ dive were ultimately for nothing (considering a spinning propeller is useless when your ships are frozen in). 

Crozier and Blanky’s simultaneous face journeys as Sir John rambles on about how there’s nothing to worry about and they’ll find the passage any day now are truly legendary.

I wrote some pretty extensive tags on this already but man… Crozier’s comment about how not all of Sir John’s men returned from one of his previous arctic expeditions is just so nasty and awful. Like, yes, Sir John is wrong to undersell the danger they’re in and Crozier is advocating for the correct position here, but that was completely uncalled for and horrible to say, particularly in a command meeting, in front of so many people. And Sir John looks legitimately upset by it too. He gets over it quickly, at least on the outside, but I still feel really bad for him (and I NEVER feel bad for Sir John so this is weird for me).

“But of course we will not be abandoning Erebus, or Terror…” Let’s check back in six episodes and see how that’s going! 

Crozier slamming his fist on the table to prove he’s not being melodramatic reminds me of this one post (that I sadly can’t find rn) about Jesus Christ Superstar that’s like “‘CUT OUT THE DRAMATICS’ Judas hollered dramatically.” It’s such an Overall Mood.

I don’t have a developed commentary on this at the moment but it’s an interesting reverse-parallel that Sir John had no concern for Young’s well-being when he was alive, ignoring Crozier’s concerns about moving him from ship-to-ship when he was in such poor health, yet now that he’s dead, Sir John is the one to recommend that Young be buried which Crozier is surprised by, and seems to feel is unnecessary.

There’s been so much amazing commentary already made about Young’s burial scene so I’ll skip it except to say that Hickey’s irritated sigh when he hears footsteps coming towards the grave is SO funny. That’s exactly how I feel when I know that someone is about to tell me something that will annoy me.

Goodsir was really getting into the emotion of Sir John’s “eulogy”/motivational speech before he remembered the promise he made about Young’s ring. Also, what triggered his memory was Sir John saying “We shall earn our loved one’s cheers and embraces,” so no doubt a reminder of the traumatic “Your loved ones will be there in Heaven to welcome you! :)” “I never knew my mother or father” exchange (or maybe just a reminder of the fact that he was supposed to get Young’s ring to his sister but just let me scrape a little humor out of this. God knows I need it).

The shot of Bryant praying in his hammock the night before they get completely frozen-in is honestly deeply upsetting to me. Especially considering he’s a marine so he Did Not Ask To Be Here, yet there he’ll die.

According to Melville, ship’s compasses occasionally spun round-and-round when a ship was caught in a severe storm and this was an incredibly upsetting thing to behold because of how disorienting it was. So, considering that, Fitzjames keeps his composure pretty well but he clearly has some reservations about how things are going and Sir John has no comforting-sounding remark about ‘Magnetic North’ to offer him now.

The bit where Sir John “sees” Crozier, on Terror, turn away from him with a half-smirk on his face is interesting because there’s no way he could have possibly seen Crozier’s expression at that distance and I’m doubtful that he’d even have been able to make out the identity of anyone he might have been able to see on Terror’s deck. So really, it speaks mostly to Sir John’s mental state; his seeing their getting frozen in as a loss against Crozier and imagining that Crozier would see it as a victory for himself.

Ugh the final shot is making me think about @catilinas’s post comparing a shot of the two ships stuck in to the shot of the ink drops from ep 3 and I am LOSING IT but I was losing it anyway because it’s 2AM now and my entire body feels like gelatin. 

THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT! 

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!