#they really redeemed themselves from gen y

[lovemishjen]

Hi, I'm not a troll or a hater trying to get a reaction from you. I just want to know your opinion on Misha hate and if there's any truth to what the anti's are saying and that is Misha a bad person. Cuz my whole for you on Tumblr and Twitter is just filled with hate towards him and some have some okay points. You seem to be the only person in this Fandom who gives actual answers instead of just what fits your ship or highlights your fav.

I believe that anyone who says Celebrity X is so amazing and perfect, and God's gift to mankind, OR Celebrity Y is so evil, disgusting and horrible are both delusional. Why? Because we see a very carefully curated image of celebs, especially actors, through conventions and social media.

Now if I say i hate a well-known person, say Harvey Weinstein or Roman Polanski, who have been convicted of rape or such crimes, it is understandable. Or if I hate a colleague/neighbor for personal reasons, like they were rude to me or flirted with my partner or spread lies against me, again it is understandable.

The people who are anti-Misha, or anti-Jensen or any other actor, imagine having an entire blog on being malicious about someone you dislike.. that's such bad vibes, and they are spreading it around themselves.

Now take J2M for instance, I follow Misha and Jensen a lot more than Jared, (though I haven't been really active since the show ended) and the reason is I find Misha witty and Jensen charming. Does that mean they're perfect... absolutely not. I am sure their partners, kids, parents see the other side - when they are angry, when they're depressed, when they are irritable. Same way, just because I don't relate as much to Jared (I find him a tad immature, and I don't see much of depth in his answers at cons) doesn't mean he has no redeeming qualities. I am sure his friends and family adore him.

I am not that involved in the fandom that i should convince you that Misha is great or amazing. If you find the antis convincing, that's your choice. I generally block such blogs, so I am not sure what they're telling about him.

Misha used to be a lot more sarcastic and spontaneous in the early years, but he has mellowed down, and has become very cautious because he got attacked by antis several times. That tells me he is a sensitive person. Also, he has a very good equation with his kids, his mom, brother, and seems to be well-liked by Jensen, Jared, Danneel, Gen, Rob, Richard, Ruth, Mark and most of cast and crew, unlike say Pellegrino, who doesn't seem that popular among the cast. When Misha was asked to leave in end of season 6, the entire cast, especially Jensen seemed very upset with Sera Gamble at that Comic Con. But this is my observation as an outsider.

And I genuinely feel that anti-blogs say less about the celeb and more about the person running it. It's projection, big time. I mean if you are happy with yourself and your life, would you spend all that time and energy bad-mouthing a stranger?

Edited to add - You should also understand 'winc*st' was the only major spn ship from 2005 to 2008. When Misha joined the cast, and the sudden popularity of destiel skyrocketed, there was a lot of resistance from the og shippers, which translated to Misha hate.

[basedalcoholic]

Okay so back in 6th grade and through middle school and maybe even freshmen year of High School, I had a Mary Sue self insert who was Jill Cipher, Bill's older sister. Now I'm changing a few things to make their backstory fit Bill's and to make them less Mary Sue-y :3

First, they're going to originally be a purple triangle instead of pink simply because red and blue make purple (although I will miss being hot pink) and Bill and I could've been besties when we were kids (since we didn't really have anyone else since we both were born with that mutation) and after Bill destroys our home dimension, I run away and get raised by some other family from another dimension (ocs probably who I haven't made yet)

Timeskip and over the years people have learned to be wary around Bill but comfortable around Jill, who goes by Amber. Bill still calls them Jill but they don't really care. Amber tries distancing themselves from Bill because he's getting more toxic and manipulative and sadistic but he keeps in contact because he still likes annoying his sibling and they just go along with it

I might write a fanfic during the show about this but I'm still figuring out what to do about the whole Weirdmageddon thing (since I don't know what I would do that wouldn't fuck up the whole story too much) but I have an idea where Bill rants to me about his new "puppet" and when I get in contact with Ford, Bill gets mad and we start fighting over Ford in secret from him :3

Also, I think it would be fun if Bill was redeemed but still is himself in a way (I like the idea of Bill making continuous threats to kill me for annoying him or something but we both know he would never do it because I'm the only family he has left and we still care about each other despite our constant fights) :3

Honestly your lore is amazing/gen

[gunsatthaphan]

“will you be my boyfriend?”

[absolutebl]

Thai BL Does Shakespeare

Oooo this’ll be fun. So since Bad Buddy is basically doing a contemporary pastiche of Romeo & Juliet, only gay, it made me want to see this done for other Shakespeare plays. 

Of course I had to give them new Thai BL-ish titles too, okay? 

Romeo & Juliet = Bad Buddy 

What we’re getting: Romeo & Romeo from GMMTV as a university set Thai BL staring two of their best actors. 

More? We want it to end happily, but otherwise, so far so good. 

Twelfth Night = What You Will 

What I want: look this is a crossdressing piece and why not just do that? Admittedly both Japan and Vietnam handle drag better, but if Thailand could be honest about it I think they’d do a great job. Of course one of the main characters is named Will. 

More? This is my favorite Shakespeare play so it has to go to an established pair that can really act and also look hella pretty. I dithered over Sugus & Tenon (PitchBank from Golden Blood) but not sure they have shown their metal enough to anchor a full show like this one. Settled on PerthLay because Lay is so beautiful and Perth broods beautifully, and I’m pretty confident they got the skillz for it. 

Taming of the Shrew = Taming of the Tsundere

What I want: 10 Things About You only gay af. And I think EarthMix could handle it. Admittedly it could be argued that this is SOTUS already, but either way BL actually suits this play which (might be argued) is the most difficult to modernize. By making this one gay, you can play with gender roles and not face up to the serious feminist issues it poses for a modern audience. 

More? There is a huge part of me that thinks this should to go to Taiwan to be done properly. But that’s not the game I set out for myself. 

Much Ado About Nothing = Much Ado About Engineering 

What I want: this one could be adapted pretty easily to a new students starting at engineering uni model. The existing host family is the older students and the visitors are the new freshmen. So back into 2 Moons territory. It’s got enemies to lovers, solid side dishes, and a super one note villain (did Mame take notes?). 

More? Frankly this kinda writes itself, it basically IS BL already only the original forgot to be gay. The leads have to be able to deliver the back and forth barbed wit of the dialogue though. Beatrice has one of the best rants ever written.

O God, that I were a man! I. would eat his heart in the marketplace.

The actor has to be able to handle it. Which honestly left me no choice, Gun it is. They’re getting a bit old for a uni setting but really who but OffGun could do this play justice? 

As You Like It = Too Much of a Good Thing

What I want: another cross dressing piece only this time a pastoral comedy and honestly I think that is it’s charm, so it has to be kept. In other words, like 1000 Stars this BL would need to leave the city to be successful. 

More? This play is too long, no one argues that, so it’s need to be cut back, but it is a good adventure story. So I handed it to SantaEarth, I think they could redeem themselves with this one. Also Earth = the Prettiest Rosalind EVER. 

Midsummer Night’s Dream = What Fools These Students Be

What I want: Starhunter to roll out their full cast of chaos babies and go to town like they did with Gen Y only with an actual story and script to work with. I don’t know how they might handle the fantastical elements but I think they should leave them in. 

What we got already: I should say this one has already been done as a gay teen movie, it’s called Were the World Mine and it’s worth tracking down. I think it’s one that, now, only BL fans would appreciate anymore since it has soem issues with dub con and such, but hey we’re used to that. 

(source)

[purfectmlpblog]

...alright fuq it lemme explain my thoughts about the finale spoilers lol

Don’t worry, I WILL be posting this under a read-more so PLEASE turn away and ignore this now (especially with some “spoiler” tags on if you use ‘em) if you don’t want to be spoiled for the finale until it officially airs. I just can’t contain my thoughts no more after ponderin’ them and who knows when it’ll officially air in English (’cause slow schedules can be a pain to deal with lol) sooooo... yeah you’ve been warned xp 

...Ooooh boi, well admittedly I kinda skimmed through what the whole plot was about behind the last three episodes (I was moreso focused on all the stuff happening for “The Last Problem” so lol), but I’ll try to keep it brief for the most part:

-So... that whole thing about Grogar being the last “big bad” was just a total lie... since apparently it was just Discord masking himself as the guy just to give Twilight one last battle to face? ...Ehhh, I get that he apparently had “good intentions” but this just seems to be pushing it too far even for Discord’s standards tbh... like these are his friends now (including Fluttershy, his best friend) so why would he allow this much risk to be thrown at them for the sake of just teaching them a valuable lesson about overcoming obstacles? ._. Then again, this IS Discord we’re talking about so him pulling some shady stuff like this is to be expected, I guess? Idk...

-As another twist to the trio of bad guys... NONE of them get redeemed at the end (not even Cozy Glow... who again, is nothing more than a whiny child compared to Chrysalis and Tirek :P), as they all pretty much get blasted with the same stone spell that Discord was under for what I can presume to be forever. I mean... had Sombra been placed in Cozy Glow’s position then I guess I’d be a bit more satisfied with this kind of ending for them instead of feeling questionable about it (’cause again, Cozy’s young age ^^;)... but at the same time, for what it is it’s at least a refreshing change of pace from just having them all instantly forgiven and befriended by all the main heroes. Now that would’ve been cringey... >_<

-We got a reaaally big group of cameos from many past ponies/other creatures from the show to aid in the final battle, including Sunset and a few of the MLP movie characters like Tempest, Capper and Skystar! o.o A shame that Captain Celaeno couldn’t have been added along with them but still, pretty cool to see that particular trio regardless along with my girl Sunset ❤️ about time the main show acknowledged her importance to Twilight -.-

-Moving onto the big finale itself, “The Last Problem”, we cut ahead to I presume to be a couple decades or so since the last episode... where Twilight and her friends are all grown up and leading their own lives as Twilight’s pupil (Luster Dawn, was it?) comes to prepare herself for her own first friendship lesson. Surprisingly, unlike past finales it’s not so much a really heavy or action-packed episode but more of a “relaxing breather” kinda filler... yet still pushes the feels the more we get to see the aged-up cast and realize how this truly is the end for our heroes :(

-We’re also given a nice flashback to Twilight’s coronation as Equestria’s new leader, though it didn’t go according to plan it still provided some heartwarming feels to teach that friendships will always remain solid even if some end up moving far away. Awww ;w;.

-As for the “Grown up” designs themselves... I’m kinda torn, tbh lol

On one hand, I do like Rainbow’s, Fluttershy’s, and AJ’s older looks just fine. AJ’s especially gives me the feels looking at it ‘cause of the shawl... really hits in that poor Granny Smith is no longer around by this time :( at least she’ll always keep her memory strong in her heart ❤️

As for Twilight, Rarity, Spike and Pinkie... ehhhh ^^;. Rarity’s sparkly shawl is rather pretty though that big grey steak in her hair kinda clashes too much with the regular purple imo, Pinkie’s beehive look could’ve been fine if they just took out all that random junk in her hair, and while part of me kinda likes the “ethereal princess-y” vibes of Twilight (despite the rather dark implications that she’s gonna outlive her friends now ;-;)... the fact that she still sounds like her old dorky self when speaking kinda kills the effect for me... plus idk if only a couple decades in the future would be enough to make her this tall as an alicorn, I mean even Luna (who’s older than her) is alot shorter so it’s just a little off-putting to me to see her so “Celestia”-sized ^^;. And as for Spike... yeah, I don’t even know what’s going on there, so... let’s just move on, please lol.

So then we get to look over how everyone else in Ponyville’s doing, with so many new species living there now, some old kiddos grew up like the CMC and the Cake twins, Starlight and her friends (plus the Student 6) continuing to run the friendship school together, and apparently some canon couples started to thrive during this time too including Lyra and Bon Bon, Big Mac and Sugar Belle, and... Pinkie and Cheese? o.o 

...Um, wow lol Wasn’t really expecting that considering that most of Cheese and Pinkie’s previous screentime together (which was only in like, two episodes?) wasn’t really that romantic from what I can recall, but guess the writers decided to just throw it in anyway ‘cause it’s a popular ship? lol I mean, not like it’s a bad one or anything but it still feels a bit randomly-placed in a narrative sense imo ^^;

Speaking of their daughter (Lil Cheese, I think?), while I do think she’s cute, part of me is kinda disappointed that they didn’t really get more creative with her design like they’ve done for Flurry Heart and the Cake twins :c. Color-wise she looks okay but... why just make her a recolor of her mom’s filly design? .-. Even putting her hair in some pigtails or something would’ve worked better imo.

-Some more design nitpicks I had were certain weirdly placed hairstyles like Pumpkin Cake’s and Diamond Tiara’s, as well as why Gummy the alligator just looks like he resized into a giant than legitimately grew into an adult lol. Also this might also be nitpicky but why exactly is everyone (minus Twilight) so old-looking with grayed hair and/or eye bags (ex. Rarity and Sugar Belle), when a couple of them have school-aged children at this point? .-. Hell, even most of the Mane 6′s parents didn’t look this old (including Twilight’s, and they’ve got a granddaughter lol), so I’m kinda confused by this type of design choice tbh.

-I don’t really remember if they explicitly stated what happened to the old princesses during this time since they didn’t show up again, nor what the final fates of Shining Armor and Cadence were (save for a brief shot of Flurry Heart having her own stain-glass window in the throne room). Idk, just would’ve been nice to have gotten more explicit about that ‘cause I don’t wanna think of these poor royals being gone now with just Twilight being the leader now ;-; 

-I guess there was also a couple “implied” ships thrown in too like Fluttershy and Discord (though that one might be more “loose” to interpret, depending on how much you like the ship) and apparently AJ and Rainbow Dash seem to be having something “deeper” going on considering they specifically walked in together when all the other Mane 6 walked in individually into the throne room. Hmmm...?

-And lastly after a bit more filler and than a montage song of the Mane 6 harmonizing together one last time, we get to close off the entire episode, season, and series with one final shot of the heroes standing on a sunset-y hillside together, saying goodbye to Twilight’s student who goes off on her own friendship adventures... and then the screen fades to a book closing as a call back to the very first episode of the series over 9 years ago... where the exact same book opened up to start off our beloved show to begin with T-T

....aaaand yeah my feels exploded over again, sorry T-T. Despite the lil nitpicks I had here and there (and how I wish certain plot holes could’ve been handled better in hindsight), this was still a really sweet and thoughtful way to end MLP: FiM with one last batch of fluff like this... the end of a good 9-year run of the show which’ll surely leave a special place in every fan’s hearts, including mine ❤️

Though again, like I mentioned before I still won’t be considering any of this actually “canon” in the main universe I’m setting up, which is all basically an AU at this point since I haven’t really been keeping up with the show as frequently to care much for sticking with the main canon :p. For my fellow content creators, please don’t be afraid to keep working on your own next gens and such btw, even if some of it might be contradicted in this particular finale I’d say anyone is free to make their own interpretations however they want, canon or no canon~ ;p

  Hope y’all understand that well and I hope you guys have a great rest of your day! 😃 

[pkmnjesus]

P J a shipper? SHIP-A-THON ‘18

𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒱𝐼𝐼

My case with the others:

Now the ships I like listed here are uncategorized by any series of the main-core anime series, such as QuestShipping. This pairing between Jimmy/Kenta (Trainer Gold’s anime counterpart) and Marina (Trainer Kris’s anime counterpart) can only be seen in the Legend of Thunder anime special. While their feelings for each other are flat out obvious, it’s nice to see a main protagonist that actually responds to a girl’s feelings for him *cough* *cough*

Other examples of unlisted pairings are Flint and Lola, Brock’s parents. They’re weird bunch if you’ve seen the anime specials they were in, but their love is definitely strong as a rock. Not even redesigning the Pewter gym to a water type gym with streamers around could break this marriage. And speaking about their son... 

The case with Brock/Takeshi: Now Brock deserves a special mention for this ship-a-thon post he is always finding for new love every day with every girl his age or older he meets. Unfortunately 95% of that he gets reject and gets his ear pulled, or poison jabbed. But there is that 5% of females that do like him (he didn’t really like the younger ones back though). And out of all that liked him back, Pike Queen Lucy from Battle Frontier was my favorite one (LuckShipping). I really got mad at Max for dragging him out in the end of that episode, where we clearly see Lucy blush. What’s funny about all of this is that she probably only liked Brock because most of the Pokémon she had at home had the same eyes (e.g. Skitty, Swinub, Snorlax) as he did xD I bursted out laughing because of that scene. On the friends side of things, he was Ash’s first big bro and chef. It’s amazing to see how close they were traveling for 3 series straight (the only companion to do so). GymShipping (Brock and Misty) had some cute moments too, but mostly goofy ones (like with Max’s ear-pulling lol). Big bro Brock also applies with May when she helps him buy for traveling supplies in Hoenn, or with Dawn giving her advice to lighten up during her times of depression. WE <3 YOU BROCK, screw all the girls that rejected you!

RocketShipping / KojiMusa (Jessie/Musashi & James/Kojirō): The favorite villain ship of the series definitely has a special place here in the others section since they were basically in every series! Take that Butch & Cassidy (I kinda ship them too) with your unoriginal motto! Along with PokéShipping, this is one of the most respected older ships in the community (as it SHOULD BE for being the longest running one TO THIS DAY). I feel like they’re already a married couple discussing plans every night before going to bed on how to catch Pikachu. This also the first adult pairing I grew up loving whether they eat, argue, cheer (in Jessie’s contests and performances), or blast off together, it’s really nice to see a mature (not really if you think about it lol) pairing over the course of 20 years in this show. Favorite moment - All the episodes with Jessebelle/Rumika (James’s childhood “friend”) in it. I remember watching the first one where they introduced James parents, and actually seeing a good side of James for the very first time outside of Team Rocket. At the end of that episode is really when the ship was sold to me. James pulls Jessie aboard the Meowth balloon, and they look into each other's eyes promising to continue to live without anymore personal commitments and resume Team Rocket operations. I’m sure hardcore RocketShippers loved that scene as much as I did. Unfortunately because of that sweet moment, they forgot about Meowth who was still in the ground running to the balloon as the episode ended xD

Meowth’s/Nyarth’s loves: Meowth has had its fair share of romances too that deserves a bit of mentioning. Meowzie was the first one he fell for, and in fact was the reason why he can talk and walk like a human! Too bad she had preferred to be with the Persian :( That episode broke my heart too because I was rooting for Meowth to succeed. After that we saw multiple occasion where he was infatuated with other Pokémon, such as Skitty, Glameow, Purrloin, and others I might be forgetting. KrazyShipping is the cat and mouse relationship he has with Ash’s Pikachu, although I really wouldn’t say there’s that much love in this relationship (gets shocked like every time they meet lol). In the end, his one true love is helping and aiding Team Rocket with Jessie and James (he loves them each of them you know it)...or fetishes with Giovanni fantasies. 

Inter-region interactions: There are some fantasy shippings people would like to see happen because of region barriers (I NEED MAX AND BONNIE TO MEET), however some came true in the form of cameos like Misty and May, May and Dawn, Brock and Cilan (FAV!! Gotta love the experienced chefs), Brock and Kiawe, or even Piplup and Oshawott (best Pokémon meeting/rivaly ever). But I would have to say that Misty and Lana’s recent interaction is worthy of praise. The two trainer specialists showcased their love and passion for water type Pokémon when they swam together finding the Gyarados that startled their group. There’s a bit of a watery rivalry in this cool and clean wet relationship (okay I’ll stop the water puns). I would definitely pay to watch a spin-off just between these two sailing the oceans of the Pokémon world together, and diving into the deepest part of the sea just to see more Pokémon. 

Movie shippings: There are a couple of movie shippings to take into account over the past 20 years, especially with the movie exclusive characters. I would have to say one of my favorite ones (besides AccordShipping that I explained in a prior post) is in Pokémon Heroes with Ash and Latias (AltoShipping...though MareShipping is the Bianca alternative term of the ship). This human Pokémon relationship is just so unique since Latias could transform to the human form of the movie’s Bianca (kind of creepy if you take advantage of that). Another one worth mentioning is CarnivalShipping in the Jirachi movie. I don’t remember much, but I know that Butler and Diane were an awesome magician & assistant dynamic...too bad Butler had evil intensions with Jirachi that made me (and Diane) lose respect for him a bit (he later redeemed himself but cmon man).

Game ships: Like with the movies there’s a lot of game shippings to take into account, but my favorites would have to be from Gen. V! I do like the pairing of Dawn and Lucas from Gen. IV and the player with Lille/Hau OR Lillie and Hau themselves from Gen. VII. A lot of obvious hints too! But the Gen. V games had AgencyShipping, FerrisWheelShipping, SequelShipping (FAV!!!) and VisorShipping. I don’t know why but the character designs stuck out to me and really enjoyed its characters emotionally. But I would definitely have to say TransceiverShipping is my favorite game ship simply because it is the first time where you can actually have a DATE OPTION IN A POKÉMON GAME. Whether if it was the male player and Yancy, or the female player and Curtis, the mysterious conversations you have with the Xtransceiver build up to the eventual date you’ll have with them. Some very, very cute stuff if you haven’t experienced it yourself. Go play Pokémon Black or White Version 2 NOW!!!

Shippings from Pokémon Adventures manga/PokéSpe: We gotta show some love to the manga side of things too! One of my favorite PokéSpe shipping include LuckyShipping (the flirting in here IS REAL), FranticShipping, ChessShipping (manga counterpart of AgencyShipping), and the pairing of X and Y (don’t know the name for that one). But SpecialShipping to me takes the cake on my favorite manga ship simply because of Yellow’s shy feelings for Red. It’s kind of like AmourShipping in a way, since Red is a bit dense in his own right to notice Yellow’s feelings AND Red and Yellow had their own childhood history before the Adventures storyline. It’s just very very adorable, and full of blushes! If you aren’t into PokéSpe, but love shipping cute characters together, you should definitely give it a read! 

KetchupShipping (Pikachu & Ketchup/Kechappu): BEST. SHIP. EVER. Favorite moment - The moment where Pikachu first laid eyes on that delicious bottle of ketchup at the Dark City episode, and licked it with cute pleasure :p

.....okay in seriousness what I really want to be talking about is PikaShipping

Of course the final Pokémon shipping I have to showcase here is between Ash/Satoshi and Pikachu of all people and Pokémon! I can’t really say favorite moment because almost every time these two interact, it is always a great moment in my book! RocketShipping maybe the longest, but this beats it by an inch because there isn’t a single episode where we don’t see Ash with Pikachu by his side. They made this show work ever since it started, and everyone around the world knows this dynamic duo since 1997! Ash leaves every Pokémon behind after Johto, BUT NEVER HIM. Everyone in the anime has had their one special Pokémon partner (Dawn and Piplup, Iris and Axew, Bonnie and Dedenne, Sophocles and Togedemaru, etc...), but it is not quite like the courageous and close bond that Ash and Pikachu share. Nothing will ever beat their Pokémon partnership...NOTHING!!!

P J’s ship-a-thon: OS | AG | DP | BW | XY | SM | Others | Non-Pkmn ships

[thegeminisage]

SUPER SPOILERY REVIEW OF STAR WARS

im putting it behind a cut, but if cuts aren’t working for u and you see a fuckton of text, SCROLL PAST IT. those are spoilers!!!!!!

OK HERE WE GO LAST CHANCE BIG SPOILERS AHEAD

the good (lots of this):

every single scene with carrie fisher in it

that they didn't KILL leia god i'm so relieved

her little fakeout death w/ the recovery at the end i ugly cried that's how relieved i was

i’ll note that for that one second i really thought she had drowned in moonlight

seeing her fly back to cheat death was so fucking good for a moment it was like carrie gave death the finger and was with us again

here’s a nice review about how this was accidentally the kindest and most loving goodbye to carrie and leia i agree with all of it

also rose is amazing i love her so much from her starry-eyed hero worship of finn converting to straight up stunning him a second later down to her saving him at the last second

like she's in a lot of pain but she does what needs doing - even giving away her pendant (tho i'm relieved she got it back) - even crashing into finn when he's being an idiot!

finn is still very much himself, by which i mean he's fully 1000% "bye y'all lmao" when shit gets hairy

the comedy!!! god it was SO FUNNY poe’s call with hux the little porg bird thingies luke trolling rey like 11/10 on humor it never felt too badly timed and honestly in such a serious movie and in such serious times i think we all needed that? like, there's never a wrong time to try and lighten your load, yk

all the space stuff was done well in general actually - like the alien race on the island, the icy fox creatures, they were nice star wars-y lil details and really added a LOT to the feel of the movie

the music as always was 10/10

it really sort of kind of is the last of the jedi?! (more on this later but at least the temple burned)

REY AND POE FINALLY GOT TO MEET

speaking of poe, his mother/son relationship with leia :')

luke skywalker high key Did That he really did face down the whole first order with nothing but a light saber

luke getting to see leia and his droids one last time ;_;

also, R2 hitting below the belt by playing the Original recording of leia that was one of the 3 times i cried (the other two being when leia survived the space thing and when luke showed up to meet the rebels & leia)

bb8 was honestly so wonderful & when poe was like HEY happy u guys are alive wheres my droid! it honestly gave me life

YODA!!!!! i was so happy to see him :')

rip snoke u dumb bitch lmao

kylo ren didn't get redeemed!!!! suck it r*ylo shippers

the bad (barely any of this):

kylo ren came THIS CLOSE to getting redemption and rey was full on suckered into this fuckboy's drama-angst and i think she'd be smarter than that like they did her dirty and actually i'm sure the r*ylo shippers are delighted, which: disgusting. he only tortured her! no big deal!!!

i Do Not Like the subtle implication of a rose/finn/rey love triangle. like, mostly because i hate, hate, HATE love triangles, ESPECIALLY ones that pit two women against each other, but also, people will get very ugly over this if we go this direction. please lets dont, can’t everything just be gen, Please Lets Dont 

the nitpicky (by which i mean, not too bad exactly, but could have been way better):

that codebreaker guy flip-flopped alliances too many times. first we liked him, then hated him, then liked him, then hated him—one or two misdirections is plenty, past that you're just overdoing it

they did phasma dirty she deserved more Depth rather than to be some throaway villain i expected finn to empathize with and spare her at the last second, But No

not thrilled poe spent most of the film kinda sitting around and not interacting with finn or rey or bb8 ecept thru comms—mixed feelings on his plotline in general, it was good he learned some stuff but bad that he sort of had to carry the idiot ball to do it, and it's emotional whiplash to spend the whole movie thinking he's right and when he suceeds he'll show them all! and then have him very much not do that and present it as character development - there should have been some sort of audience awareness that he was making bad choices, but instead they just made purple haired lady look like a bitch until the last second

also not thrilled rey didn’t get to interact with anybody but luke and kyle ron like :/ cmon i miss her and finn!! i wanted to see her finally INTERACT with poe!!!!! not just meet him!!

rey's parentage technically thematically makes sense but it was executed so weirdly and without confirmation that it was the absolute truth that i don't know if it's For Real and it didn't gut punch me like it was intended to, i think

i was expecting them to go "the force belongs to all of us, no more jedi!!" until the very last second when they kinda chickened out and it was okay i guess but also :/ mixed message!!! i suspect they can't do that bc marketing lol

there were a lot of fakeout deaths and it really stressed me out they might have gone too hard there

the side trip to the city felt a Teensy bit unnecessary like im all for rose's development i LOVE ROSE but if they could have found themselves there rather than gone out of their way to go i would have bought it a little more

i don’t like rose mortally wounding herself/risking her life for finn with the immediate romantic implication after like...let her do that OR smooch on finn or like even do both at different times in the movie but Don't do both at the same time like No Man Is Worth Your Life, not even finn, the Only good man!!! 

there was one tiny moment of queerbait for finn and poe which........dont

like i almost wonder if the lil smooch was to try and discourage the finnpoe shippers like for some reason when writers hear about fandom shipping two dudes their reactiosn are always 1. give one of them a gf 2. separate them like why bother with romance plotlines at all it always gets ugly i hate it

i was slightly confused when luke died i didn't realize it was happening til it was over like overall im at peace w/ how he went out especially considering theres definite room for force ghost stuff later but was he like looking at himself near the end? maybe i missed something but i like thought he saw something in the sun and i was like oh shit the first order came to blow him up! and then the suns were covered with clouds and i was like ??? and then he was looking at himself and there were two suns and then he vanished! and like i got that he died and why he died but was was the thing in the sun did they shoot the planet destroying canon did he hallucinate the other sun it was all just very ???????

OVERALL: 

4/5 for the above mentioned reasons. i would have given it a 5 if not for that kylo ren bullshit like they’re doing rey so wrong with that it’s my main beef with the movie

my favorite from the first was finn but this time it’s rose (sorry finn)

my least favorite as always is kylo ren

[weopenviews]

If you purchase something through MashStash, Mashable might earn some cash through an affiliate commission. If you don't have 3-D printed shoes and your own personal emoji, are you even really living? The millennial generation has made customization the new norm -- and that's a good thing. Rather than conform to a one-size-fits-all formula, this generation expects a multitude of choice right at their fingertips, whether it's shopping online, scrolling through a dating app, or deciding what to order on their lunch app.  Customization has also fueled the rise of smart technology. Innovations like smart thermostats and remote pet monitors give you greater control over your life, with the ultimate goal of making everyday things work more intelligently for you. Of course, this outlook also applies to money. To meet this growing demand for control and customization, Bank of America kicked off the the new year with the introduction of a new Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card designed to fit your specific spending habits and help you rack up more rewards.  ## Millennials are meeting savings goals Older generations and even millennials themselves have been quick to judge Gen Y as being frivolous with money, but it turns out this isn't the case at all. Bank of America's 2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report found that millennials are actually just as good, or better, than earlier generations when it comes to managing money. BoA found that 67% of millennials who have a savings goal stick to it nearly every month, and 73% of millennials who have a budget stick to it nearly every month. As a result, 47% of those millennials have $15,000 or more in savings and 16% have $100,000 or more in savings. The credit card you use can be one more financial tool for supporting those good habits. ## Maximize the power of choice Even if you're an ace at budgeting, your spending habits can fluctuate from month to month. The Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card takes a more customized approach to rewards by offering 3 percent cash back in a category of your choosing, 2 percent at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined quarterly purchases in these categories), and 1 percent on everything else. The new choice categories -- which you can change once per billing cycle -- include gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, and home improvements and furnishings. ## Make the most of your spending To break it down, let's say you're going on a road trip and your gas spends will be significantly higher than usual, or you're moving into a new apartment and buying new furniture and housewares. You can earn more cash back on those big purchases by changing your choice category to "gas" or "home improvements and furnishings," respectively. The cash back you earn can then be redeemed as a deposit into your Bank of America checking or savings accounts; a credit to eligible Merrill Edge and Merrill Lynch accounts, including 529 accounts; a statement credit to your credit card; or a check.  To help you determine which category will help you earn the most cash back, Bank of America gives you a snapshot of your previous spends. Apply and earn cash back on your terms and enjoy the next generation of rewards today.  Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://yhoo.it/2B8GXgb

[bryrosea]

Dear Yuletide Author - 2017

Hello dear Yuletide Author! 

I'll start as I always do, by saying that I am genuinely and truly going to be happy with anything you produce: shippy or gen, smut or no smut, canon or AU. If you’ve already got a story idea that you signed up for this fandom hoping to write, please stop reading this letter now and go write it! If you’re interested, though, I’ve listed a few things below about my general likes/dislikes and about each of the fandoms I’ve requested.

My general likes: in-world fics, missing scenes, AUs where all of the changes result from one canon alteration, hurt/comfort (all the hurt/comfort, seriously, whether of the emotional, physical, or sickness type), soulmarks, accurate history, romance, realistically rendered domesticity, unrequited-but-really-requited longing, alternate POVs of canon scenes. 

Usually I just say “smut” as a like (minus the few exceptions below) but this year my fandoms lend themselves to smut more than usual, so I'll expand out to say my smut likes particularly include: any kind of consensual full intercourse two adult people can have, toys, first times with new sexual scenarios, risky locales, PWP (as long as the characters shine through, I don't mind no plot), or a plot-filled romp with one sexy scene, sexual inhibitions lost via “sex pollen” or similar magic-y plot contrivances. I actually had a bit of a hard time filling out this list because, uh, I pretty much like most of it smut-wise, so don't consider this exclusionary at all. 

My general dislikes: The only things I’d specifically request that you stay away from are non-canon major character death, unrealistically happy!teen pregnancy, OC kid characters, and plots that are relentlessly sad with no redeeming ray of hope or potential to lighten them.

Smut dislikes: Please no non con, underage anything past a G rating, animal sexual kinks (A/B/O, knotting, etc.), ‘daddy’ scenarios, adultery or cheating in a committed relationship, or degrading talk during sex (”slut, whore” etc.)

I've been on a major M/M Reading kick this year, for whatever reason, so there's a definite theme to my requests. Feel free to mix and match--I'm a glommer, so I've read everything by all of these authors--or even reach back into past years' letters in this tag if you want! There are no characters in any of these canons I'd be unhappy to see in a fic, so feel free to have walk ons!

Think of England - K.J. Charles 

Characters: Any

Like I mentioned in my sign up, this book is BEGGING for a sequel. Begging. Our classic odd couple have just gotten together at the end of the story - with many delicious problems still-to-be-worked-out - and are embarking on a shared career of espionage. I mean, come on, there are so many plot possibilities. If you'd like to take time forward and check in on our characters' next adventure, that would be wonderful. 

One of the reasons this book is a favorite of mine is Archie as the narrator - he's such a good, solid presence, so confused and yet so stalwart. More of his observations on the unfolding relationship with Daniel and its importance to him would be beautiful. I love his baffled tenderness and his chivalry and his big berserker self. 

I also love the glimpses we get of Daniel’s POV of Archie (who could forget “built like a brick shithouse and hung like a horse”) and how much those feelings fluster him. I’ve read the free short story “Love Song For A Viking” and loved it and would be happy to see any scene in the novel from Daniel’s POV. What did HE think of their first meeting? When Archie read his poems? In the cave? 

If you're heading in a smut direction with these two, this canon seems ripe for a "first time doing X” fic, since there is so much ground yet to be explored. 

If you signed up to write Fen and/or Pat PLEASE DO, with or without the boys. I love me some femslash smut and I'm very curious about their background - how they got together, what they're doing at the infamous house party to begin with, private moments, either or both of their POVs on events of the book. Anything! 

DNW for this fandom: Any breaking up or mixing up of canon couples. 

Lynes & Mathey series - Amy Griswold & Melissa Scott

Characters: Any

I delight in watching Julian and his deeply awkward self try to come to terms with his feelings and the expression thereof. He and Ned have that wonderful combination of a new relationship they're still exploring the boundaries of and yet a long, shared history,

I feel like this canon has lots of little set up hints for possible bombs still hidden in their back stories - particularly Julian’s - so if any of those intrigue you and you'd like to run with it either as a prequel or flashbacks go for it! No explicit underage though, please (kissing and feelings is fine).

The authors of this series leave us at Ned and Julian’s bedroom door generally, and leave a lot of the relationship development to oblique moments. It's deliciously slow-burn-y (and super well-written) but I certainly wouldn't mind a more in depth exploration of any aspect of their relationship. Quiet times, domestic times, sexy times, fights, etc. What is their first Christmas like? Does Julian interact with Ned’s alluded to but not yet on page family at all? Smut-wise - What is on Julian’s list??? Dear god, do enquiring minds want to know. 

If you want to tackle the still unplumbed waters of one Miss Cordelia Frost, either solo or as part of the ensemble, that would be amazing. She's such a competent enigma and anything canon or not from her POV would be a treat. I'm curious about her investigations, about her opinion of our main couple, about her inner world and what she goes home to each night. Any sexuality headcanon you have for her - ace/aro, wlw, straight - is fine with me, since I have no fixed feeling on that for her. 

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue Series - Mackenzie Lee

Characters: Percy Newton

I loved the utter romp-y abandon of this fun story--Kidnapping! Pirates! Alchemy!--and fell in love with the relationship between our emotionally moronic narrator and the love of his life.

I specifically requested Percy as a character because I want more, more, more of him navigating his incredibly difficult world and his new relationships. Any interaction between Percy and either/both of the Montagues would be amazing. I'd love to see Henry from his perspective, or his thoughts on the siblings in contrast to his own family. When and why did Percy decide to keep his fits secret from Henry? When did he know he loved him? He's necessarily the oblique one in cannon, so I want to pry into Percy's inner world and find out what is really going on for him (before, during, or after canon).

If you have questions for me or want to run something by someone who knows my taste, you can drop a PM to @ghostcat3000, a fabulous fandom friend and amazing writer who has graciously offered to serve as a go between to maintain anonymity. 

Have fun writing!

Bry

[touristguidebuzz]

What Hotels Are Doing to Win Your Loyalty: 5 Podcast Takeaways

Skift Take: With so many hotel mergers in recent years, loyalty is being reimagined for bigger, broader, more diverse audiences. But can any one loyalty program appeal to all travelers?

— Sarah Enelow

On a recent episode of the Skift podcast, we discussed hotel loyalty: who’s doing it right, who’s still trying, and how it’s continuing to evolve. Marriott is merging its program with Starwood’s SPG. Hyatt’s new program just launched. And Hilton recently announced a slate of new features.

And all of these changes are taking place as online travel agencies continue to lure many travelers driven by price rather than points, and up-and-coming accommodations providers like Airbnb win fans without even offering a loyalty program.

Our guest was Gary Leff, founder of the View from the Wing blog and an expert on points programs. He joined podcast host Hannah Sampson and Skift hospitality editor Deanna Ting.

We also heard from some interviews that Ting did at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in L.A. with Scott Berman, U.S. hospitality and leisure practice leader at PwC; Best Western Hotels & Resorts president and CEO David Kong; and Langham Hospitality Group CEO Robert Warman.

Here are five takeaways from the conversation:

Major acquisitions are changing hotel loyalty in a big way.

Recent consolidations of hospitality brands — the biggest example being Marriott-Starwood — leads to loyalty programs being pushed together, and that can get messy. Consumers loyal to each individual brand don’t want their points to be disrupted or reduced in value, and they don’t want any interruptions in their customer service.

“IHG swallowing Kimpton and we’re going to see changes to their program. Fairmont and Accor. Obviously the big behemoth being Marriott and Starwood,” said Leff. “Initially I think there was a tremendous amount of skepticism among Starwood’s members as to what that’s going to look like. And there’s still certainly a wait-and-see situation, although Marriott’s gone to great lengths to try to reassure those members.”

“Hotels are really starting to figure out that loyalty programs aren’t just a mechanism of communicating to consumers,” said Leff. “They’re a way of allowing them to expand their footprint across brands because consumers are going to respond to the incredible stickiness that allows them to have more brands.”

Retail rewards don’t work for all travelers.

Travel companies are getting more creative with their loyalty benefits. Instead of only redeeming points for a hotel room or an airline seat, consumers can now often redeem for tangible retail products like a Starbucks gift card.

“That’s the story in and of itself is how the retail sector and the lodging sector are parallel,” said Berman. “When we look at how our clients are positioning themselves and setting up their digital strategy, they’re not looking at their peers, they’re looking at retail. And so that creates a different sort of loyalty.”

On the other hand, Leff questions whether retail and lodging really make good bedfellows.

“On the retail, I think we shouldn’t overemphasize that. There are some opportunities for synergies, but we started to see a decade ago, mostly on the airline side, the airlines had a problem,” said Leff. “You’ve got all these points and a limited supply of seats and people are having frustrations — what are other things that they could do with their points? And retail never really ever took off on that side, at least in terms of percentage of redemption. Why? Because getting a toaster or washing machine for your points isn’t nearly as aspirational as the trip to Hawaii. So it just doesn’t drive long-term behavior in the same way.”

Younger generations view loyalty differently than older generations.

Older consumers may be accustomed to decades-long brand loyalty, but younger travelers of Gen Y or Z are often more elusive and willing to break their purchasing patterns. Sometimes younger people prove more adept at gaming the loyalty system to rack up more points. On top of that, millennials by and large want to exchange those points for experiential rewards, like a free trip to Hawaii, rather than retail rewards.

“Millennials are less trusting of institutions,” said Leff. “In the loyalty context, the programs are telling folks if you take action of a specific kind now, give us your business now and there’s going to be rewards in the future; it’s an inter-temporal play. What happens when you don’t trust that?”

“No loyalty program should ever use the word ‘enhancement’ again. Because millennials in particular don’t trust it,” Leff added.

“For young people who travel, it’s all about accumulating points. And they become loyal,” said Berman.

Luxury hotels lean more on recognition than rebates.

Immediate rewards may not serve as big a role in the luxury space as customer recognition and delivering that unique, personalized, high-end experience. This crowd is definitely not in it for the free toaster.

“Most of our customers and guests aren’t necessarily looking for a rebate. They’re looking for us to recognize them, to understand their unique desires, and make sure that we treat them special but treat them in the manner that they want,” said Warman. “We’re not embarking on a massive global program to reduce rates because you’re a member or give you X number of points or a rebate back. We don’t necessarily see that, in the luxury market today, as a necessity.”

“Certain upscale [brands], they’re very well attuned to getting the recognition component right,” said Leff.

No matter how comprehensive the loyalty program, no single company can be all things to all travelers.

Every hotel company has a profile, no matter how many properties or brands they have across the globe. Experiences will inevitably vary from company to company, as will the type of guest they attract, from family leisure travelers to single road warriors.

“Arne Sorenson of Marriott says that he wants Marriott to become the only program you’ll ever need. Now, I’m not sure. I think that’s a little bit of an overstatement,” said Leff. “You can go just about anywhere and stick with them, so Marriott grew their international presence, their higher-end presence. Starwood is getting a footprint in smaller cities. And so geographically, that’s more true. But I think that it really comes to the individual consumer and tastes. And one company isn’t going to appeal to literally everyone and every profile.”

Companies in the sharing economy will have an even tougher time administering their loyalty programs consistently to a large audience, since each property is overseen by its individual owner.

“The owner of an AirBnB is going to have to stock the fridge with your favorite juice or soda before they leave because you’re an AirBnB VIP.” said Leff. “How do you drive that consistent experience? How do you fund that experience?”

Start listening to the Skift Podcast, today. Subscribe via iTunes, Soundcloud or RSS.

Listen to all the Skift podcasts here.

[gunsatthaphan]

would love to see some what zabb man gifsets from you!!!! i think i saw a couple around but mainly for mayom/teng (which i love but i hope nothing happens between them before teng breaks up with his boyfriend because i hate cheating storylines). im actually enjoying athip/poon a lot too, they have a very good chemistry imho!! - stormyoceans

alrighty! I'll probably keep it on the DL if there are already people who are giffing it but I'll make some for sure 😊 and yes omg I'm really enjoying it! Which I didn't expect at all because the trailer didn't convince me right away and also it's Starhunter and..... well lol. But I'm intrigued!! Even by Bank and Bonus who I absolutely despised in gen y but they're really redeeming themselves in this one. I'm impressed.

xxx