#they’re all kind of lackluster but I had a lot of fun so YAYS

[leloup2007album]

witch hat doodles from tweeter dot com ^-^

[mermaidsirennikita]

bridgerton--the good, the bad, the ugly

The short of it: Bridgerton excellently captures the tone of Regency romance novels and offers a lot of escapism and great sex scenes, but could definitely use some serious work in terms of how it depicts race and it should have made some further alterations to the dated and flawed source material.  Definitely loved a lot of it and am hotly anticipating the second season, but I want to see more work done and I HOPE that this encourages the adaptation of better (and less inherently flawed) romance novels.

Now for the longer take.

The Good

Bridgerton depicted sex and romance in a way that is totally different from anything I’ve seen in period dramas, for sure, but possibly different from anything I’ve seen on TV.  The romance of it all was woven into almost every aspect of the show. There is the handsome and seemingly severe but extravagantly wealthy and sexually adept duke sweeping into town.  The (multiple) rakes who just want to have fun while also being hot messes.  The awakening of female sexuality and the copious use of the female gaze.  (Note the pretty modest and minimal focus on female nudity, while we get plenty of lingering shots on Simon.).  People want love!  There is pretty minimal violence and perhaps the most physically violent scene involves Simon beating a man up because HE IMPEACHED DAPHNE’S HONOR~.

The sex scenes themselves focused on Daphne’s pleasure for the most part, and were probably among the best I’ve seen since Outlander in terms of chemistry, in terms of the visuals, in terms of focus on sex as an act of emotional connection and FUN. Yes, there was some Unlikely Vaginal Orgasming, but we also saw Simon tell Daphne about masturbation.  On the wedding night, he was pretty clearly touching her to help her enjoy it.  He ate her out... a good bit.  

And aside from that, we got all of the grand speeches, the stolen glances and touches, an excellent buildup of sexual tension that led to some pretty hilarious moments.  

I also really enjoyed many of the performances on this show.  Rege-Jean and Phoebe had great chemistry and excellent back and forth.  Jonathan was a GREAT Anthony.  I would argue that as lackluster as I found his relationship with Siena (more on that in a minute) it largely existed as a way to set him up for his romance with Kate.  He now has even more of a reason to be down with love, as opposed to solely relying on a kind of flimsy tragic backstory.  Additionally, his overprotectiveness of Daphne added tension to the story and made him a source of comedic relief for me?  I loved it.  Give me disaster Anthony all day; can’t wait until he falls to the enemies to lovers trope just like Simon fell to his FLAW-FREE fake dating plan.

A lot of the changes I found were really good.  Obviously, it was important that the show incorporated greater diversity (though they need way more).  Benedict was INFINITELY more fun and interesting than he was in the novels, and acted as another standout for me.  As much as I hate Portia Featherington, I think that the elevation of her to a proper villainess is probably necessary and Polly Walker excels at those types of roles, though they need to maybe have her be less like, actively racist.  I adored the addition of Queen Charlotte; she was excellent comic relief.  Lady Danbury’s expanded role and relationship to Simon was one of the best moves they made.  It touched my entire soul.

Buuuut....

The Bad

The show needs to work on casting more men that are frankly on Rege-Jean’s level.  It feels a bit awkward to see a guy that is by most people’s standards kind of stunning and then.... Colin looks twelve.  Lord Philip is like... a farm guy.  Get rid of the sideburns, we’re in romance novel territory.

In the same note, the girl who played Siena wasn’t a great actress and wasn’t super stunning, so even though I’m fine with her being a placeholder....  Eh.  Go for better casting.  The woman playing Madame Delacroix would’ve played that role so much better and I really enjoyed her dynamic with Benedict because she was just fun.

Frankly, I don’t know what the fuck they’re going to do to make me want to watch Penelope and Colin fall in love.  Their book was already a bit basic--fun, but far from revolutionary.  I don’t really get why they would receive attention similar to that of Kate and Anthony, basically.  The issue is that Colin, again, looks and sound rather young and twerpy.  It obviously wasn’t great for him to be tricked into raising another man’s child, but.... For fuck’s sake, how much would that have affected his life on a practical level.  He’d never know unless he was told, thanks to the lack of DNA tests.  He was marrying far out of his league in terms of attractiveness.  He’s a rich white guy in England with a supportive family.  

I really disliked the fact that Colin told Marina in his huffy little tantrum that he would have married her anyway--because would you have, buddy?  Really?  The thing is that Marina had no way of knowing that and her entire life (and the reputations of her cousins) was on the line.  She didn’t know if she could trust Colin to keep her secret.  They barely knew each other.  He basically came off as a whiny child and I’m fine with him staying in Greece if that’s the plan.

Penelope was just... psychotic.  And that was really disappointing, because I love Nicola and would love to have loved to see the fat girl get her sexy love story.  But first off, lol, it wouldn’t have been sexy because Colin was miscast.  Second, she basically tried to destroy Marina’s life and that of her sisters?  And herself?  Because Colin?  Because Colin, a guy who hasn’t even shown any amount of attraction to her at this point?  Her tears, her whining, it was all too much.  Penelope was dealing with a crush and Marina was dealing with the real Grown Woman issues of a child out of wedlock and as it turned out a dead lover and they were not on equal footing.

I mean, Penelope could very well make a great villainess at this point, and if done well I’d embrace it.  But I do not know how the fuck they can make me interested in her love story.  And the idea of her basically being launched into villainy because she was this chubby white girl obsessively jealous of a beautiful black woman...... not a great look.

The show definitely needs to explore diversity in terms of sexuality too--I don’t think it’s correct to read Benedict as straight because he still seems to be open to exploring.  Once he has more screentime, I think he could totally end up being bisexual, and it’s possible that the writers were trying to feel the audience out in terms of their receptiveness to taking a straight character who has a big straight love story in the books and making him LGBT+.  Eloise could also easily be a lesbian, and I’d be thrilled to see that happen.  They need to do something to expand the world, and if there are 8 Bridgerton kids, all of them being straight as an arrow seems SO unlikely.

The Ugly

Obviously, the rape scene was bad and should have been written out.  Simon could have gotten caught up in the moment and blown up at Daphne after he accidentally didn’t pull out in time.  Men.... accidentally don’t pull out in time... a lot.  That’s how babies happen.  It would’ve been believable, and due to our sympathies being with Simon largely, I don’t think he would have become irredeemable if he was more at fault than Daphne.  

As it was, I will say that the scene was somewhat better than it played in the books because Simon was conscious and totally sober, and it was a bit?  Confusing?  That he didn’t just roll Daphne over and pull out?  Because she wasn’t really clearly trying as hard as she was in the book to wrap her legs around him and hold him tight.  But it remained a rape scene.  The show also did a better job, I think, of establishing how fucked up it was that Simon took advantage of Daphne’s lack of knowledge.  Whatever he said about thinking she knew what was up--he knew she didn’t even know about masturbation.  He had to know she wouldn’t understand what pulling out meant.  He did very clearly mislead her to think that he was sterile and therefore denied Daphne her ability to give informed consent.  Did that justify what Daphne did?  Nope.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.  But both of them did a fucked up thing and I think that we honestly could’ve stopped at Simon’s misleading.

The issue too is that this leads into a bigger problem the show had.  It wanted to include diversity (yay!) but did not consider the total implications of what was happening (not yay).  Daphne and Simon’s dynamic is inevitably influenced by the fact that she’s a white woman and he’s a black man, regardless of whatever handwaves happened.  This influences the sexual assault and makes it even more messy.

Speaking of mess, I’m not sure what exactly would have fixed the “we don’t want this to be a colorblind casting” issue... but the explanation they came up with wasn’t good.  Never mind that this makes everything SUPER confusing (racism is over like..... maybe 50 years MAX after Queen Charlotte’s marriage if we assume she was a teen when she married and is in her 60s now?) but Lady Danbury’s dialogue explaining this was HORRENDOUS.  “One of them fell in love with one of us”.  The implications are awful.  I don’t know if perhaps setting back the integration of society centuries earlier would have helped?  But this wasn’t it.

Additionally, the writers and casting directors didn’t seem to get that diversity is all well and good, but what about the fact that almost every black character has a light skin tone?  Why are there so few black female characters?  Why is Marina, the most prominent woc on the show, given the “pregnant and desperately trying to trick a man into marrying her until her jealous white cousin fucks her life up and she is humiliated into settling for a loveless match” plot?  I desperately hope we see her next season, falling in love with Sir Phillip or perhaps having experienced a plot twist that gives her someone else...  And she better not die. Eloise can find someone else if Marina really ends up with Sir Philip.

Ultimately, again, I really loved the show.  But it needs to work on some things.  I think that a lot of its issues can be addressed and fixed in a future season, and I HOPE they do that.

[onwardintolight]

In which Onward rereads the Thrawn Trilogy and writes a massive review (and some other related stuff)

Alright, so I know I said that the characterization vs. plot thing in new canon vs. Legends was a rant for another time, but I’ve been thinking about it nonstop since and I really need to get a few thoughts out, so I guess this is that time, lol.

I’ve recently been diving into some of the Legends books for the first time in years. Partly because I’ve started listening to audiobooks and can get a whole lot more reading done in a day than I was able to before, and partly... well, I’m just curious to revisit it. I read a number of books from the old EU as a kid, and I definitely had mixed feelings back then. On the one hand, I was delighted—more Star Wars! Yay! On the other hand are the mixed feelings, which have so faded from memory over time that all I can remember anymore is that I didn’t like how the books portrayed Leia.

So anyway, I’ve been curious to give some of them a shot again, and see what I think now (all except COPL. I’m never going back to that one). I started with two that have come on my radar through the Han x Leia fandom, Tatooine Ghost and Razor’s Edge. They were wonderful! I absolutely loved Tatooine Ghost, especially. Razor’s Edge was super fun and had some truly fantastic moments (including some unforgettable shippy ones), but it felt more plot-driven than I tend to prefer (give me ALL the deep character stuff!). Despite that, I still loved it. I already own Tatooine Ghost and I plan to get my own copy of Razor’s Edge, too.

Then I decided to revisit the Thrawn trilogy. 

Oh boy.

Before I dive into that, though, I first want to say that I have many friends on here for whom the old EU is their Star Wars. I have the utmost admiration for you all, and I mean no disrespect. I support you in this being your Star Wars 100%. I’m not seeking to get into any big arguments or flame wars. In fact, I will put most of my ranting about Heir to the Empire et al under a cut, so please feel free not to engage if that sort of thing bothers you. 

Honestly, I’m a big fan of focusing on positivity in fandom, of focusing on what I love and not harassing others who enjoy things I don’t. That being said, I do support a good critique. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not trying to force my views on anyone, but I can certainly express them in my own space and support other people’s right to express theirs in their space. What better space to do so than on my tumblr?

Before I go under the cut, I have one last question for my old EU stans. Based on my enjoyment of Tatooine Ghost and Razor’s Edge, and knowing I’m a particular sucker for character-driven stories, especially if they involve Leia and Han (and/or their ship), are there any other Legends books you’d recommend? Please let me know because I would love to discover more of that goodness!

Now, onto the Thrawn trilogy....

(It probably goes without saying, but major spoilers ahead)

.

.

Disclaimer: I’m sorry if I get some of the details wrong; I listened to the audiobooks and don’t have access to the books themselves right now so i’m writing out all these thoughts from memory

About Leia

So, it turns out that little me was right. Older me had the exact same reaction upon reading the Thrawn trilogy. What the heck did Zahn do to Leia? She seemed so diminished, shrinking. Hardly like Leia at all. If I had been reading a physical book, I would have been tempted to throw it numerous times.

First of all, she was set aside almost entirely for the first book. Despite the fact that the Empire was looking for Luke too, Luke got to be free and keep roaming the galaxy, doing his thing, and Leia was forced into hiding. If I remember right, it wasn’t really her choice (I believe it was Han who refused to take her no for an answer), nor did she argue it much. She just kind of followed the men in her life and let them do all the leading and galaxy-saving. Sounds a lot like Leia, right? *rolls eyes* Overall, she didn’t do much, and she didn’t have any part in the big climactic battle. 

(On another note this reminds me a little of one of Zahn’s new canon books, Thrawn Alliances. SPOILER ALERT: at a key moment, Thrawn pleads with Padme to talk with Anakin and try to convince him not to do something really terrible and disastrous that probably will result in people dying, and Padme basically just sighs, throws up her hands and says something like “It’s no use. When he gets this way no one can convince him of anything” and I just want to SCREAM BECAUSE NO THAT’S NOT THE FREAKING PADME I KNOW AND SERIOUSLY???)

Anyway. *calms down* 

In Dark Force Rising, Leia had a much more interesting plotline as she wins the allegience of the Noghri. I liked her better here, and she seemed a tiny bit more like the Leia I know. But it still just felt... lackluster. 

In The Last Command, she’s once again pushed to the side thanks to the men in her life making the decisions in the name of protecting her. True, I understand that for the majority of these books, she’s been pregnant, and so it’s not just about protecting her, but about protecting the twins. But that didn’t stop her from doing what she felt she needed to in Dark Force Rising. And in this book, she’s already given birth. Winter’s there; she can take care of the twins (as she eventually does). When the heroes assemble and go to Wayland for the big climax of the trilogy, she’s convinced by the men to stay behind (*cue me throwing imaginary book across the room*). Honestly, it felt contrived for the sake of the plot (she has to be there for what happens next) and more than a little bit sexist. 

She does eventually go, however, which made me want to cheer. I would have hated it way more if she hadn’t gotten to participate in the big last battle with C’baoth, particularly in light of the way the books had set her up as a Jedi-in-training (not very far along, but still). I was excited because surely this must mean she plays a big part in that, right? 

...She does not. She basically shows up and then gets trapped, doing hardly anything. Plot-wise, she’s pretty much there to provide an extra lightsaber and moral support of the Force-user variety. I’m glad she got to be there, but... yeah, overall, I’m really not happy with how these books treated my favorite character, and one of the actual main characters of the OT. It kind of felt like she was replaced by Mara, tbh. Which leads me to...

About Mara

Mara, like Leia used to be, is a very angry person, and for good reason. But her anger came off in these books as rather petulant and irrational. Once again, it felt a bit sexist. I hope I’m wrong, but the trajectory seems to be a trope that Leia has already been subject to (in ROTJ, as much as I love that movie, and with the job finished in this trilogy): Soften the angry woman. Make her pleasant and pliable and a little bit subservient. Legends fans, PLEASE tell me this doesn’t happen to Mara. I hope she continues to be a sarcastic, independent woman who takes no sh*t. I hope she loses none of her power, even as she loves and marries Luke. 

Mara had probably the biggest character arc of this entire trilogy. Unfortunately, that isn’t saying much. I really felt like her story had a lot of potential and could have been really compelling, but Zahn just doesn’t seem to know how to write characters with depth. In the end, her big moment of throwing off the Emperor’s power over her honestly just felt kind of contrived and shallow. Oh look, here’s a clone of Luke she can kill instead. That will magically make it all go away. Convenient. 

I wanted to love her. I think I probably could love her, if I read good fanfic. The problem is that the source material leaves all depth to the imagination.

About Everything Else

I mentioned that Mara seems to have the biggest character arc, but that wasn’t saying much. I had a lot of trouble distinguishing any other character arcs at all. The characters all seemed to be caught up in this big plot, carried along with it and deposited victorious at the end, without any obvious growth or change (except, again, for Mara). 

I suppose you could say that Luke learned to stand on his feet without the help of Ben’s Force ghost. But that was given such minor emphasis that I didn’t even think of it until this moment, weeks after finishing the book. 

Aside from my rage at the misogyny, I think this gets to the heart of why I disliked these books. The motivations and emotional/personal journeys of the characters are of utmost importance to me. To me, they’re the whole point. When a book is all plot and little character, I just... don’t care. It doesn’t feel real or relevant. It doesn’t show me that I can slay dragons, too.

I know that theoretically, I could imagine those character journeys. I could fill in the blanks in my mind, or through fic. I have a big imagination; I’m really pretty good at such things.

But tbh, when it comes to these books, I don’t even want to. To me, the plot itself felt pretty lackluster. I keep using the word “contrived” but it fits so well. Things happened and decisions were made that didn’t make much sense, just so the plot could go the way Zahn wanted it to. Now of course the same argument could be made for new canon (particularly, imho, the ST movies), but at least with new canon, there’s a deliberate and largely persistent focus on character. (And less sexism.) 

Other complaints: 

- I got sick of C’baoth in the first book. His villainy was not the least bit fearful or intimidating. His nearly prevailing over the heroes at Wayland felt more accidental than anything.

- Don’t get me started on stupid Bel Iblis and his stupid hurt manly pride that the women in power have to coddle and bow down to before he will lift a finger to help during a genuine EMERGENCY when he was desperately NEEDED (*cue me throwing the imaginary book across the room yet again*) (I think Leia would have had a few more choice words for him than she did in this book. They instantly presented themselves to my mind, at least)

- I can understand why Thrawn was such a big deal when these books first came out, but I think Thrawn is kind of oversaturated these days, and tbh I’m kind of sick of him (I’m going to blame the more recent canon Thrawn trilogy for that). While I like a good Sherlock Holmes mystery, I’m not too big on admiring that sort of “man as a machine” type character. Rationality is not everything, not by a long shot. It is empty and, frankly, shortsighted on its own. The best part about Thrawn’s story in these books for me was seeing him make mistakes (actual mistakes! yay!) and meet his end, perhaps in part due to that over-reliance on rationality and arrogance in his own abilities.

A few things I did like:

- another main female character, yay! Two if you count Winter

- I thought Talon Karrde was an enjoyable character and I’d love to see more of him

- I remember loving the vornskrs as a kid and a little bit of that adoration returned when I read this, bringing with it all sorts of happy nostalgia

- some parts of the plot were fun and exciting, and I could understand why they might feel iconic and Star Wars-y to others

Overall, however, I think Thrawn as a character kind of represents these books as a whole. It’s all very cerebral and practical. There’s art but it only serves the purpose of the rational. To me, these books felt like they were all mind, no soul.

I know that those of you who hold these books dear may disagree, and that’s fine. Honestly, despite my serious problems with them, I don’t hate these books. I might even read them again someday, maybe. I may be convinced to appreciate them more once I read people’s headcanons and hear what people love about it. So with that said, what DO you love about it? Where do you see these books’ soul?

[astormyjet]

July 19th 2017 - January 7th 2018. Summer, Autumn and the start of 2018.

Ho boy. I have been useless at keeping this updated. Things got super busy with RA, working with the kids and just generally getting out and doing more, rather than being a shut in. I lie. I’ve been studying Japanese, doing more outside of school socially and sportingly AND playing more video games. But either way, I haven’t been chronicling my time here as much as I used to.

Ok, so summer. I went to Tokyo for a holiday some time in July/early August. I met up with Maya, one of the cool kids from up north that had actually contacted me about JET stuff before they got here the year after I did, I also met one of my sempai, who actually taught as an ALT alongside my Uni Japanese Uni friend who came to visit me in January last year. So that was a hilarious twist of fate. Tokyo was A plus as per usual, but I don’t see myself living there in the future. Too expensive, too busy. Too many people.

After getting back to Matsuyama, the new ALTs came. They’re all fab. Some of us oldies and a bunch of the newbies play DnD together now, so that’s taking some of my weekends. 

When they first got here, Miriam (the other RA) and myself organised a beach welcome party, we made a kick ass sand castle inspired by Matsuyama castle. We then destroyed it with a big rock. We also beat the crap out of a watermellon on the beach while blindfolded in an attempt to recreate an “authentic beach experience”. Basically in their first couple of weeks, RA duties saw Miriam and I making sure they were settling in all good and running/presenting at Ehime Orientation alongside the other RAs and the PAs. That was both fun, challenging and terrifying. 

Junior High sports day was in September. I jumped in on the white team, or rather the white teams 3rd years basically yanked me into their tent and told me I was their cheerleader, they even got me up doing their chant and dance. I love them all so much. They’re such genki, kind and hard working kids. It’s going to be hard for the last few months of teaching at my base school after they all graduate in March. I’ll have to change schools in August most likely as that is what happens here in Matsuyama to fourth year JETs. It’s probably time for a change, but with the new changes rolling out at Elementary school, I’m seriously concerned about the future of the JET Programme in Matsuyama...side note...our BOE still has no idea how they’re shuffling the new classes at ES 3rd and 4th grade is going to work...when everywhere else on the island had that sorted out last year.....argh. 

Halloween itself was pretty rough for me and a couple of my students. Along the route I bike to school, there is a few bridges with pretty high drops. From the hospital near my house to one of said bridges an ambulance and a police car kept pace (in early morning traffic) with me. By the time we got there, there were already a bunch of police cars and a group of the local community standing on the bridge pretty somberly. I made the mistake of looking down into the river and there was a guy who’d jumped. 

My students were standing nearby and one of the community members suggested that the four of us walk to school with the kids, so we did. It was pretty bleak, the kids weren’t really sure how to process it, neither was I to be honest, but I’ve been in a similar situation a couple of times with friends at Uni so I think that kind of helped me talk through some of what was happening with them. We got to school, informed the principal of what had happened and then the day went on as per usual.

Suicide here is a pretty big issue, luckily for the students and community it turns out the guy was from elsewhere in Matsuyama so it’s impact wasn’t as strongly felt in the community. The community has made efforts to reach out and support the family of the victim and the kids who saw the aftermath are being looked after as well. Thank god. 

I am a little bit worried about how they’re going to react to the whole Logan Paul thing that’s happened recently, and I am incredibly worried about who is going to be at school and who isn’t come the new term, as that is when youth suicide rises, but there’s very little one can do about stuff like that except keep an eye out for and support those who might be dealing with mental health issues.  

On a lighter note, Matsuyama Autumn Festival in October was fun as usual. I made my way down to my school block area and joined in with the community there. The shrines were beautiful, I saw a dragon/lion dance for the first time in real life. I got to hang out with a bunch of my students and their families and generally just put myself out into the community down there which has opened some pretty cool doors for me.

In October, Miriam and I were also in charge of sorting out the yearly Halloween Orphanage visit for the Chuyo region. It was stressful, but rewarding. The kids at the home are all getting so big! I really feel for the staff who take care of them, there’s so many. This year they actually provided costumes for the kids to wear, and boy did that go down a treat. We had a good time. The Christmas visit went along in a similar fashion. Stressful, difficult to co-ordinate, but we all survived.

Skills Development Conference happened at the start of December, it was as per usual, not fantastic. Basically the workshops were more of the same and the speaker this year was bloody useless. Japan is so frustrating in respect to educational change, despite how many JTEs and ALTs ask and suggest changes or improvements, it’s basically screaming into the void. 

After the last day of school, I ended up going to Osaka for Christmas break. I left on the 26th December and came back on the 30th. In that time I spent my first day up in Kyoto, where I hiked Mt. Inari in the snow...it was pretty cool. Figuratively and literally.  The shrine, Fushimi-Inari Shirine and the tori gates are a lot more beautiful than photos can capture. It’s eerie and quiet, but it’s also a peaceful place, if you go earlier on in the day, like before 9am as due to it being a tourist hot-spot, it gets busy fast. In Osaka I went to Nipponbashi and then a bunch of the surrounding places. I didn’t do as much shopping as I thought I would, but that meant I had a bunch more money to spend at USJ. 

USJ was unreal. I loved the Harry Potter world portion and was impressed by the Spiderman ride as well as a couple of the other smaller attractions. I avoided the Minion theme park like the plague, but probably would go if I go again and it’s still there. I also went to Osaka castle, but the museum portion was closed due to it being New-year break fro Japan, so next time. I also went to a cat cafe called Mocha which was really clean, relaxing and the cats were super well cared for. I saw the staff grooming the cats and cleaning the room while I was there, so they’re on to it. I also went to an owl cafe. I got pooped on. Apparently it’s lucky. The owls again were well looked after and the staff were on top of the animals welfare. Basically I had a blast in Osaka and have some ideas  of what I want to do with my partner when they come over in May. Yay!

On the 31st I climbed up the Shiroyama-park hill to Matsuyama castle and watched the last sunset of the year. It was pretty lackluster, but it was a nice way to end the year. I spent the rest of the evening curled up in my room with the heat on and watching Kohaku uta gassen. 2017 wasn’t a bad year for me, it was just an average year. I think now that I am a little more established in Japan, but coming towards the end of my time on JET (only 2 more years! CRIKEY), I’m starting to think about, and panic a little, the future. Like I have no idea what to do after this, but I know I want to stay abroad, but weather that is in Japan, England or Canada, I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to go back into study, or if I want to stick to doing odd jobs with my somewhat useless BA in English, Linguistics and TESOL Minor. I enjoy teaching, and I enjoy working with kids and young adults, learning from them and encouraging them to reach their goals, but I don’t know if I can find a good, stable job with my current qualifications. 

On New Years day I went to the big mall and lined up for lucky bags, I got the Pokemon Center one. I was stoaked, as initially I’d been in the wrong line, but 10 minutes before the doors opened I saw the right one, jumped in and managed to get one of the last bags!!! I also went and bought new running shoes and a Nintendo 3DS  for an early birthday present.

On my actual birthday, I went to work, hung out with the Volleyball kids, the table tennis kids and made paper cranes for the kids graduation in March. I then came home, ordered Pizza and spent the evening on my DS and PC gaming. It was nice. 

I haven’t made my New Years resolutions yet, but I think I’m going to do something similar to what I did last year and write a list of 25 things to do before I am 26. I got about 20 out of 25 things done last year, so I’ll carry over the five I didn’t manage. I have my first shot at my Karate Blackbelt on Wednesday, I don’t think I’ll pass this time around (dammit, why are test fees so expensive), but I think that getting it by the end of the year is on my list. Along with JLPT N3.

I signed my re-contracting paper before I went away, so I am definitely here until August 2019. I’m equal parts excited for the changes in the Elementary school English Education, and dreading how poorly our BOE has been planning it out. But we’ll just have to see. Until next time, this has been Kai, the 25 year old, sleep deprived and slightly Jaded 3rd year ALT.

[hivestuckmushroom]

Jealous Gods, jealous thoughts

First off, Jealous Gods is a movie by @facts-i-just-made-up (or Ari Bach for short) about college students that get super powers from a strange man in a cave.

Watch it here.

So, I’m still just dipping my toes in reviewing, but I want to tackle this from three points - the movie as art, and the art as a part of Ari’s world.

@jealous-gods-movie​ if I don’t do a good job, I hope you’ll at least enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the movie.

1.) Of actors and cameras

Admittedly, the first two segments will be somewhat short.

Simply said, I liked the movie.

More specifically, though.

I absolutely adored the opening, what with the music and the old man in a cave. The actors were also very good, the main cast anyways, if a little stiff in their movement sometimes. Not as stiff as the camera was, but there were complains about that already.

I LOVED the visual gags, like when Clarke fistbumps and Don high fives, or when Clarke uses the fake ID and it has “fakeid.com” printed on it, or that knowing look from Bridge.

The effects are lackluster, obviously, but nonetheless pretty fun.

The dialog is really well written, as expected of the author, of course. There are some bad lines (I’m looking at you, stale Twilight meme), but generally it’s just really good.

2.) A god, a Geki, and a timeline walk into a bar…

Ok we’re getting into full spoiler mode now, I’m sorry it’s past 3 am I cannot talk about this without spoilers.

I have prepared notes here! There are some things to discuss both in-movie and in-universe.

The way the powers or rather the dealing with powers is portrayed is really good. Clarke realising immortality is not that good, Don turning evil because hey he can control people now, Bridge’s omniscience making her really boring to talk to.

I have really jumbled thoughts in my head, so let’s just go character by character, and stuff tied to them.

Clarke. Now, we know that Ari’s stories are all in the same timeline. And he is very obviously going to be the main character of the last story, The Lonely God. It’s just really interesting to think that he was there through the whole Ragnarok thing… Wonder where he was. Wonder what the fuck he did that made Bridge do that to him.

Quail. Oh, what love makes us do. I have to say, I think the whole thing with his relationship with Bridge, and Don abusing her, was kinda clunky? I can’t really put my finger on it, unfortunately… However, I do find the whole romance between them sweet, in a way.

Don. Man, he started out as a total fucking dick. And then was ok. And then ended as a total fucking dick. What he did to poor Jan. Wow. And then Bridge. Woah. At least the happy beams were a good idea. Plus, he did want to stop the Geki murders. In a way, he was the good guy…

Lucky. That is a very intruiging character. The way Bridge talks about him, I don’t think it’s coincidental. I am very much convinced the idea is that he has programmed the world, or is a programmer of it. Whether it’s a simulation or something like that. Bridge knows that, and she knows that she’s in a damn story. That’s a funny thing I don’t see get used with omniscience enough. The character realizing she’s in a story. She’s just a character, played by an actor. I absolutely love that. One thought - may it be that Lucky is the Author himself?

Bridget. Oh, sweet, sweet knowing Bridget. Bridge knows. Oh, she knows. She knows many things. She knew how it’ll end. She said that, that things will end how she wants them to end. And she was right, of course. Ari himself said she manipulated everyone, to reach her goals. She outright lied, to Quail about not loving him, to Don about what he’ll do to her. Well, let us focus on some other things she said though, because here we connect to the Bach universum.

So there are multiple gods, but no one God. Did she mean them, people with powers? There is no devil /yet/. So there will be. Once again, I wonder if it is a character we’ve met in some other stories? I should rewatch that bit about cetaceans.

It’s interesting to note, humanity doesn’t survive what happened in Ragnarok. “The things humans have made of themselves”, paraphrasing here, doesn’t sound exactly like wavebombs to me, though. Unspeakable Darkness? New evolutional step, maybe it was wavebombs after all…

Also interestingly, this movie happens at the same time the Geki go on a rampage!

I suppose the movie very much packs the right punch if you’ve already read the Valhalla trilogy.

I’m definetly gonna watch this movie again, which is so damn rare with me.

Well and this was a jumbled mess of thoughts. I’m sorry I do this to you.

If you’re into that kind of stuff, here are some notes I took while watching the movie! May be entertaining.

Have a nice day.

My goodness, I love the opening theme. What song is that? (Sandstorm plays in the background)

Ok, the “I have wifi” gag is officially my favourite thing omg.

You can see the budget, the effects are just hilarious. But the actors are pretty good.

Oh wow ok new favourite thing when Clarke goes for a fist bump and Don high fives it.

Jesus fuck, Don is a prick. Quail is the only good one of them.

Clarke WHY DID YOU GIVE HIM A FAKE ID AREN’T YOU IN FUCKING COLLEGE??? Waaaait right America I forgot y’all can’t drink until 21.

The Jan and politics thing is funny, but fuck Don is still such a prick what’d be do to the poor girl.

Ok I get the whole “Clarke is immortal let’s mention how immortal he is a lot” but the ammount of things he had from the looks of that bar is nothing.

That grass bit… I love when actors are made to do ridiculous shit, and even more when directors make actors do ridiculous shit.

Milk. Symbolism. Yay.

Eyes… covered… more… symbolism? Yay?

And a little section full of innuendos, nice.

Oh, Bridge… omniscience is always kinda boring. I roleplayed an omniscient god for good 2+ years, I know.

INTERESTING POINT AHEAD.

A few gods, nothing like God god, no devil /yet/. Aliens, we won’t meet them as humans, first contact 2787

The way she describes Lucky’s powers… Lucky totally programmed that world.

Eyyy, cetaceans.

Awww ok Don is doing happy beams. He’s not that bad.

Church millitias

More on Lucky’s powers. So he literally is a programmer. Maybe he even is *dun dun dunnn* Ari Bach himself o.o I like that knowing, fourth wall-breaking look Bridge gives us when she talks about it.

My goodness, Bridge and Qual have become a fucking college goth couple…

BRAIN LINKS!

IIIIIIT’S a walrus! CC: (Walrus sounds)

OH AND THE GEKI! The Geki couple are at work now.

There’s a loooot of Egyptian imagery. There’s probably parallels to some myths but I’m both not knowledgeble enough and too lazy to study that.

Superior cerebellar peduncle sounds like an insult.

Ok, she’s bee wearing red this whole time. Qual is colour blind and sees red as green. She’s wearing green now, as they’re surrounded by greenness… It’s 3 am, what does this mean, Ari?

I’m sorry guys. Those superhero costumes are terrible.

WOAAAH DUDE.

That end, though.

[shirohibiki]

@where-fading-princesses-live​

responses to your lovely comments!! thank you so much for being so sweet and writing such an in-depth response ;A; it’s really kind of you and it makes me very happy!!!! responses under the cut <3333

-FINALLY finished it, yay, sorry it took so long!

no apologies SHUSH UR FACE YOU DIDNT EVEN HAVE TO READ IT

-Once again your prose is amazing, the way you describe the Christmas party down to the very last detail is nothing short of astounding.

GAH THANK YOU////// tbh i feel like my descriptions are really lackluster but thank you very much ;;;;;;;;

-Sandy in gold eye shadow and purple lipstick, hell yes <3

agree <3

-Plabs moment?

kinda!! i’m considering having them either together or like... sort of exploring their relationship in my AU. karen and plankton are finally divorced and she’s going to find someone so much better for her. so yeah i’m not completely sure what i’ll do yet

-I really love that you touch on Sandy’s daredevil side, it really is her character flaw. Often times she’s having so much fun taking huge risks in her reckless adventure seeking that she doesn’t always see the irrationality in it.

yes, and also blinded by her desire for her friend to be happy... she’s wanted to do some risky things XD she’s like “NOW KISS....” she’s a BAD GIRL

-I absolutely adore this passage: Squidward’s mind went completely blank, any and all thoughts evaporating instantly. His entire body went rigid and the wind was knocked from his lungs. He didn’t return the kiss – the world around him had disintegrated and he was lost in a sea of nothingness. Time ceased to exist. Was he dreaming? Had he himself gotten drunk and passed out? Where even was he? What was he doing? Who was with him? Who was… What was…

It perfectly sums up all the mixed emotions of someone’s first kiss, or at least someone’s first meaningful kiss. It’s usually more confusing than pleasing.

i can’t even remember my first kiss so i can’t say for certain, but definitely if it’s an unexpected kiss heh. thank you <3

-The kiss was very hot btw, oh Lordy Lord, I think I sweated a little. O///O

i’m so glad!!! i was hoping it was hot enough so i’m happy you think so :D

-You jump into Squidward’s mind fairly well. I love all the oxymorons, such as delight displeasure to really emphasize the apparent contradictions that are racing through his mind. And the pacing’s really nice.

!!!! THANK YOU!! i’m always nervous about writing him bc i feel like it’s not my forte, but it is getting a little easier as time goes on. it’s great to hear that my pacing is okay!! i worry a lot about everything so the reassurance is nice dkjghdfghfh

-Drunk SpongeBob flirting with lamps. I’m sorry, I’m dead. XD

Spongebob slings an arm around the lamp, a grin on his face. “You come here often, miss?” He slurs, swaying a little with with it. “You got a real pretty dress on...” As if it weren’t bad enough that he was flirting with a lamp, he dares to take a peek up the lampshade and giggles drunkenly. “Ooops~... ’M real sorry, miss, I accidentally saw yer... Heehee... Hope y’don’t mind~...” He seriously looks about ready to start making out with that lamp. Sandy watches the show, guffawing with each advance Spongebob makes. Patrick cheers him on, and Squidward looks on, dumbfounded. This wasn’t the first time, but it honestly shocks him each time. He could only wonder what that piece of furniture looked like to Drunk Spongebob.

-Love this part: Time to wash away the impurity and the sin! Because that’s why we all take showers, right?

not me! i could never wash it away so i don’t bother 8)

-His little breakdown is perfect. I hate to see Squidward suffer and yet at the same time it’s so fitting, and it’s really his emotional investment, it gets us, the readers, on his side, blim blam.

i love his tears. i mean they make me sad but i love them at the same time. Delicious. thank you ;v;

-I like how you touch on Squidward’s loneliness, and the idea of him being without physical love for such a long time that he’s literally deprived, and of course SpongeBob being virtually the only one in Bikini Bottom who loves him the most, it’s funny how he puts up those walls and pushes him away, and yet he could easily take SponbeBob’s love for granted. Deep down, I always regarded Squidward a hopeless romantic.

he is a hopeless romantic. absolutely. it’s displayed multiple times in the show -- it just takes him actually WANTING to date the person first. and i think he does take spongebob’s love for granted in some way even if he “Hates” it... without it, perhaps he’d feel even MORE lonely and he just doesn’t realize that. because something he was used to wouldn’t be there anymore. just a thought :V

-I love the little Mr. Krabs/SpongeBob father-son moment. When Mr. Krabs isn’t tunnel-visioned over money, he can be a great voice of reason. It was just really sweet and cute, and so organic rather than contrived.

i like krabs and bobby father-son moments c: i like to think of mr krabs as kinder and more in-tune with spongebob and more willing to give him advice and help him out.

- Ironically, Spongebob reminded Squidward of himself

Personally, I always felt that too. One of my headcanons is that SpongeBob is like Squidward’s former self, how he used to be before he lost his innocence and became disillusioned by how life didn’t turn out how he anticipated. Sometimes we don’t like people because they reflect certain qualities in ourselves that we disprove of. And then there’s the Looking Glass Self theory, how we think others perceive us compared to how we perceive ourselves, so I like that you have the same fan theory as me about why Squidward ‘’pretends’’ to abhor SpongeBob, mainly because he possesses the youth and happiness he once had. Also the backstory with Squilliam, I always imagined that too.

yes indeed! they’re far more alike than squidward likes to admit or realize -- even now, they do actually have some interests in common whether it’s books or art or whatever else. someday he’ll acknowledge that <3

-I hate seeing Squidward so tortured over this, and as I keep reading, knowing it’s going to have a cliffhanger and no absolute closure till your next fic, I want nothing more right now for them to just end up together and be happy. I love how you get us to root for them by playing this cat and mouse game. Writers should always leave the readers wanting more, and I must say you succeed in that department.

HHHGHGHG idk if there will even be closure in the next one haha (if i ever finish it)i have too much fun torturing him,,,,i do really want them happy and together but i also love the chasing. i’m glad i’m able to make it interesting enouhvh ;v; now god give me strength to finish the next...

-I like the scene in the music store. You write character interactions really well. And the Julien guy is quite a character.

thank you!!!! //// it’s so nice to hear these things kjdfgdf <33333 and i’m glad you like him haha. he cares about squiddy. <3

- Overall, you’re a very good writer and I love how this ended, and I seriously can’t wait for your next fic!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

-My only criticism for this piece was that there were minor grammar errors, and some occasions where you switch back and forth between active and passive voice, and if you ever need a proofreader in the future, I’d be more than happy to proofread for you. :)

-I just loved the emotional charge of this story, how it was more focused on the psychology of the characters. I always find stories like these more fascinating and deep.

feel free to let me know what i did wrong! i’m curious to know what areas need work!

-Otherwise, I enjoyed this piece very much, and apologies it took so long for me to finish!

YOU ARE THE SWEETEST STOP IT <33333 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YOUR WORDS MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!!!

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 7 -- How Are Thou Fallen -- Review/Discussion

Shadowhunters Season 2 Episode 7, How Are Thou Fallen, was a really fun episode. I think this episode is probably the best they’ve put out there, so far. Granted, since the showrunner change, each episode has steadily been getting better since the previous one but that’s beside the point. The characters are feeling more like actual characters, chemistry between the actors is through the roof right now, and I only had a couple of small issues with the plot. So yay! I call this episode a win. 

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding this episode. If you’re the kind of Shadowhunters fan where you only want to hear positive things about the show, this is not the place for you. If you decide to stick around and get offended by what is said, then that’s on you. I warned you. Just know that if you send me any rude comments or messages, I will 100% ignore you. I find that’s the best way to deal with bullies. I work 14 hour days. Do you really think I want to waste my incredibly valuable free time dealing with derogatory comments? Hell no. This review will consist of my honest opinions. Opinions are never right or wrong. I’m not telling you how to think and feel. I’m telling you what I think and feel. So please, let’s discuss with dignity and respect. If I’m critical about the show, it’s only because I want it to get better. There is, in fact, a difference between hating a show and being critical of it. I am not hating on Shadowhunters; I am being critical and analyzing the flaws as I would with any other show. There are positives but there are also negatives. It’s great if you want to promote positivity with this show but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t acknowledge the things that are legitimately wrong with it. There will be spoilers for the show and spoilers for the books and movie. 

How Are Thou Fallen was a great episode, in my opinion. I had a really awesome time watching it. I only had a couple of small issues plot wise but that was it. The actors were on point, the dialogue was on point, the cinematography was FANTASTIC. Even the plot was on point even if there are a couple of things I wished they had done differently. With this episode, I really think the writers have figured out their groove on how they want to write these episodes and I am very excited to see the rest of this season. 

Clary, Luke, and Cleophas

Honestly, I think the weakest part of this episode was the show’s A plot. As it typically is with this show. And it’s not that it was a bad plot. It does work for Shadowhunters and it was interesting to watch. I just felt that it was far too rushed. The bit with Ithuriel felt extremely rushed. The final battle, although wonderfully shot, just felt lackluster in terms of story. This battle in Valentine’s lair could’ve been so epic if the show would’ve just taken its time developing it. But pacing is not a new problem with this show. I wish there had been more build-up to this “angel” plot line. Not to mention, it kind of leads to a few unanswered questions. Valentine says he broke Ithuriel out of his entombment and that he should be thankful. What entombment was he broken out of? Spoilers for City of Glass ahead. Don’t read the italics if you don’t want to be spoiled. 

Why all of the sudden was Clary hearing Ithuriel’s cries? Clary was given Ithuriel’s blood as an unborn child. Ithuriel, if they’re keeping with what Clary is in the books, has been Valentine’s prisoner for a long time. Why is he just now calling out to her? If the blood is the reason for why she could hear him? And also, why couldn’t Jace hear it? He has the same angel blood Clary has. 

But I really did enjoy the angel’s wail. I think it sounded super cool and yet terrifying and sad at the same time. 

Cleophas’ redemption arc also felt too rushed. Really, with this whole entire A plot, it was almost as if the writers realized they were having too much fun with their B plots and were like, “Oh crap. We’re in the 5th act and we don’t have a climax for the A plot yet. Hurry up. We need a big fight.” This plot could probably have been dragged out for a couple of episodes and it would’ve been much more satisfying. It just felt like all of the sudden, Ithuriel was here, all of the sudden, Cleophas was switching sides, all of the sudden we’re at Valentine’s lair, all of the sudden we’ve saved the angel and all of the sudden the angel is now giving us an obscure vision. Most of this happened in a time span of 5 minutes. That vision was pretty awesome, though. I liked that they didn’t go overboard with it. They didn’t try to put too much into it and give anything away. It was obscure enough to keep me interested on what may happen in future episodes. 

I want to take this moment to talk about Valentine. I’m feeling a little underwhelmed with Valentine as a character right now. Don’t get me wrong, Alan Van Sprang is doing a fantastic job with the material he’s been given. The show is doing a really good job with painting him as a villain but I still want to see more from him as a multi-dimensional villain. Because that’s what he should be. That’s how he is in the books. He is a bad guy and he does horrible things but there’s also a human element to him. He’s doing everything he’s doing because he’s trying to protect his people. The shadowhunters are dying out and he’s trying to take steps to prevent that from happening. He does love Jocelyn, he does love Jace. He did love Luke. As a young adult, he was deeply traumatized about what happened to his father and that’s what fuels his hate towards downworlders. Werewolves killed his father. It’s not completely because of racism and envy over the downworlders’ abilities. There is a personal element to it. His treatment of Luke is also because of what happened to his father. It’s not because of Luke and Jocelyn’s affair … primarily because the affair never happened in the books. That’s a show only thing and I still hate it. It really cheapened Luke and Jocelyn’s relationship in my eyes. No, Valentine has a particular disdain for werewolves because of what happened to his father and as a result he cannot reconcile the fact that Luke is now a werewolf. And also, Valentine did not cause Luke to be bitten. Luke getting bitten was an accident in the books. Valentine’s father’s death is where his hatred of Luke lies. He genuinely believes Luke is no longer Luke. That his parabatai Luke is truly dead and the man he is looking at is nothing more than a demon that wears Luke’s face. 

Now, I’m not saying that I want the show to be exactly like the books or that Valentine should have a backstory that is verbatim like it is in the books. I would be fine if the show created a different backstory for Valentine as long as it turns Valentine into a multi-dimensional villain instead of just a power-hungry racist. What I like in my villains is for me to question my own morals and ethics when I’m listening to them. Klaus from the Vampire Diaries and The Originals is one such villain. He was so multifaceted and displayed so much humanity that he was intriguing and I could understand someone like him in charge of the Circle. With the way TV Show Valentine is being written, it’s hard for me to imagine that people flock to him. In the first couple of episodes this season, the show really got him but we’re just missing that human element. That human element is what separates him from Sebastian/Jonathan. 

I also want to mention that I am still not feeling this whole “mortal sword can be used to commit mass murder” thing. Honestly, it feels like they are trying to simplify the evil villain’s master plan. Call me crazy, but I enjoy complex evil mastermind plans. Klaus is one of my favorite villains of all time partly because of how complex and diabolical his master plans are. The book series has a really interesting evil mastermind plan but the show is trying to simplify it in a way that is, to be perfectly frank, cheesy. With that said, I am not selling these writers out yet. I still have hope that they could take this plot point in a really interesting direction and I hope it’s going to surprise me. Right now, it kind of feels like Valentine is going to use Clary to activate the sword and I kind of hope it’s going to be a little more complex than that. Here’s for hoping.

Yin Fen That’s Not Really Yin Fen…So Can We Please Stop Calling It That

Don’t get me wrong. I am still loving the implications of Izzy’s drug addiction story arc. I think it’s going great and it doesn’t look like the writers are planning to resolve it anytime soon which is awesome. I would lose a lot of respect for these showrunners if they decided to make an easy fix for this problem. Izzy was definitely struggling in this episode. She kind of gets on Clary for not telling her about the sunlight rune which she was a little justified in being angry about. I didn’t think she should’ve been as angry as she was under normal circumstances but these aren’t normal circumstances. Izzy’s going through withdrawal so she’s going to snap at the smallest thing. As we saw when she snapped at the random shadowhunter, Lindsey, and Magnus. Speaking of Lindsey, I hope this is a character that the show is planning on giving some amount of screen time to. She was a decent actress and I kind of like this whole nerdy shadowhunter thing she has going on. Let me get this straight, because when Lindsey was first introduced back when that deleted scene was released for episode 6, a lot of people were saying it doesn’t make sense that she wears glasses. Shadowhunters are not vampires, okay. They don’t have flawless bodies. They’re human just like the rest of us. They’re afflicted by human ailments just like us. The angel blood in them just makes them a little stronger and their bodies can carry runes as a result. Their bodies can have certain imperfections. So it doesn’t bother me that she wears glasses. I kind of want to see more of this girl and I hope she’s not just going to simply disappear. Case and Point: Where the hell is Raj? I am liking that the show is making more of an effort to find a way to incorporate these other shadowhunters so I’m all for that. I just hope we get a few more personalities thrown into the mix. Izzy’s conversation with Magnus was also something that I liked even though the show did spoil The Infernal Devices. Really, at this point in the show, if you’re not reading the books now, you’re probably not going to so the show shouldn’t worry as much about spoilers. I just wish the show would stop calling this drug yin fen because that’s not what it is. By saying that it’s made from vampire venom just makes yin fen feel like it’s less than what it really is. And it certainly doesn’t feel as threatening. Not to mention, it’ll create plot holes for The Infernal Devices if they ever make that into a tv series.

We did have some really great scenes with Izzy going through her withdrawal though. She has a blowout with Clary which was interesting to watch. I think it’s important for friends to fight every once in a while. It’s what makes the relationship feel genuine. And besides, it’s about high time for SOMEONE to acknowledge that Clary is not this perfect, flawless angel. She’s impulsive and self-centered. Granted she’s like that in the books as well but at least characters from the books call her out on it. In the show, so far the only one who calls her out on it is Alec and every other character is always telling him he’s wrong for saying that and he should quit being mean to Clary. I don’t think he’s being mean to Clary. He sees Clary for exactly who she is and he recognizes the danger of having that kind of personality around his family. Whether she means to or not, her impulsive decision-making could very well get everyone killed. Besides, I always hate it when characters are keeping secrets from another character because they’re trying to protect them. You’re pretty much saying that person isn’t capable of protecting themselves. And wouldn’t they be better equipped to protect themselves if they knew the secret? It’s like the superhero always concealing their superhero identity from their love interest in order to “protect” them. Then that person inevitably gets kidnapped while walking down a dark alley which would probably happen a lot less if said love interest was actually aware that they’re involved with a superhero. I think they’d be far less inclined to be walking alone down a dark alley.

Izzy has an interaction with Magnus which is great. She’s trying to score some yin fen from this drug dealer but Magnus scares the drug dealer out of the country which was great to see. We don’t see it a lot where other warlocks respect Magnus and the power he holds in the show and this scene just reinforced that Magnus is a dangerous dude and is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He can also tell that Izzy is lying to him which is also great. But he does end up telling Izzy that she can get more yin fen from the vampires. I think he believed Izzy’s reasoning for trying to crack down on the yin fen drug trade but didn’t really believe it. I think he’s going to be keeping a closer eye on Izzy. He was close to Jem, I’m sure he’s aware of what yin fen addiction looks like.

Izzy also runs into Simon at the bar too which was awesome. It got me in the Sizzy feels. I just loved their interactions and him casually mentioning his lack of being kidnapped recently. It’s been a while since these two have been in a scene together and I really felt the chemistry between them. The chemistry has not disappeared at all. I don’t care how many other relationships these two go through during the course of this tv series, I just want THEM to be endgame. I am happy that it looks like, as of right now, the showrunners are not going to do the whole “Simon dating Maia and Izzy or Maia and Clary at the same time” thing. I don’t have anything against that plot in the books if they do decide to adapt it later on, I just don’t think that Simon is at a point in his life right now where it would’ve been believable. I’m not going to discuss the “Simon dating multiple women at the same time” plot here because I am aware of the controversy with it but if you want to know my feelings on it, message me and we’ll talk as long as you’re respectful. I also liked that Izzy kind of tries to get Simon to bite her in order to get her fix and then plays it off as a joke when she sees how freaked out Simon is by it. It just shows how deep Izzy is in this addiction. Just how desperate she is to get this yin fen. 

Izzy had another great interaction with Alec, too. Really, Izzy was all over the place with everyone. Alec wanted to talk to her but she kind of blew him off when he called her. I really liked when he came up to her and he was all, “I just slaughtered a horde of shax demons in Grand Central. I could’ve used your help.” I really just like any line where they mention they went demon-hunting because it’s so rarely mentioned in the show even though it’s their job. Alec can clearly tell that something’s wrong with Izzy but she just shakes him off saying she’s tired. She’s facing some pretty severe withdrawal that’s pretty obvious but I guess shadowhunters aren’t used to drug addictions so they wouldn’t know the signs. Alec accepts Izzy’s reasoning and asks Izzy for advice on sex which is in pretty much every Malec fanfiction ever. I think this was probably my favorite of the Izzy scenes in this episode. She just felt so incredibly alive in this moment. It was like talking to Alec about sex made her forget momentarily about her pain which is great. I love Alec and Izzy moments and I wish the show would do more of them. She tells Alec that when he’s ready, he’ll know it and cautions him not to overthink things like he usually does. It’s always good to have someone remind you of that. I’m someone who also overthinks things so I need people to remind me of that, too.

Izzy then veers into really terrible decision making when she decides to go to a vampire den to get her yin fen fix. I’m interested to see what happens to her in the next episode. 

More Malec Greatness

I gotta say, I really like that Malec has been taking over as the show’s main pairings lately. I was underwhelmed with how the relationship was developed in Season One but where it’s at this season feels very real and very genuine. Magnus and Alec have been portalling all over the world for their dates and in this episode they just got back from a trip to Tokyo. I just love the line, “I’m just saying calling it fatty tuna seems a little degrading.” I don’t necessarily know if I would call that an Alec line but it was definitely a Matthew Daddario line. I would not be surprised at all if that was an improv. Matt just has this really quirky, matter-of-fact humor but I love that Alec as a character said it. It isn’t always obvious in the books that Alec is a little quirky, himself, so getting to see that aspect was fun. 

Alec then surprises Magnus by revealing he got him a gift back in Tokyo. It’s some sort of protection charm and I felt so sad for Magnus because he was so surprised that Alec got him a gift. It was a very sweet moment from them. I just love these two to death and I will ship them forever and ever. I’m also wondering if this protection charm is going to come into play later on in the season. Is the charm actually going to protect Magnus in some way? I think that would be really great story-wise. The first gift he gets ends up saving his life and it’s given to him by Alec? Talk about the Malec feels. 

Malec attempts to start making out only to be interrupted by female giggling coming from Jace’s room. But Magnus rectifies the problem simply by turning up the music which was great. Of course the make out session is interrupted yet again when Alec gets called in to do some shadowhunting. Apparently, if a storm is brewing it attracts a higher level of demon activity so Alec needs to leave but not before reprimanding Jace for his terrible behavior. Don’t worry, I’ll get to Jace later. After Alec leaves, Magnus goes to the Hunters Moon to get a drink and has a nice little conversation with Maia. Maia comments that Magnus’ drink is on the house since he’s such a good tipper and Magnus advises Maia to “never trust a stingy warlock when they have an eternity to acquire wealth.” Sound advice. Never thought about it like that. Then he talks to her about the gift Alec got him and he’s realizing that things with Alec are becoming really serious. This is also where he bumps into Izzy.

Alec eventually comes back to Magnus’ loft after getting his advice from Izzy and has decided to take Izzy’s advice and jump right in. Magnus stops Alec and tells him he doesn’t want to rush into this aspect of the relationship because he’s worried that if they do, Alec may start to pull back. Alec tells him he has nothing to worry about and the director took the fade-to-black approach.

I have seen a lot of people have problems with this. One side of the group feels that Alec was being too forceful with Magnus and that it was veering dangerously close to rape; the other side of the group is mad that we didn’t actually get to see the sexual escapades that the show kind of alluded to. Regarding Alec being too forceful, I did not interpret it that way. Alec knew what he wanted and he was showing Magnus that them having sex isn’t going to change what they have. He was reassuring Magnus that everything between them was going to be fine. And also, Magnus is a strong ass warlock. He could stop Alec if he really wanted to. What I saw was two people giving into passion before the fade-to-black. Now, as for the group of people angry about not getting to see the two actually having sex, this could be interpreted in a couple different ways. For one, they could’ve just continued with their make out session and not actually had sex. They were in the middle of a storm after all; Alec could’ve gotten called back to shadowhunting. I’m okay with this option. The other way we can interpret it is that they really did have their first time in this episode which I’m also okay with. I am not angry that we didn’t get a sex scene because I don’t think it was necessary. Honestly, I hate sex scenes. For me, the only time they work is if they’re filmed in a way that shows an emotional connection and they so rarely are. And just so you all know, I don’t hate sex scenes because I’m an immature little girl who giggles at the sight of a half-naked man. I am 27-years-old. I am okay with sex. I don’t like sex scenes in television because they’re usually unnecessary. I would’ve been worried that this sex scene would’ve been filmed in a way that is very fan-servicey and objectifying and I don’t want that. For me, what I love about Malec is not them having sex or how many times they make out, it’s about who they are together. Two individuals who feel completely complete when they’re with each other whether they’re having sex or just hanging out. For me, sex is such a small part of an actual relationship and television these days really over-do sex scenes. Most of the time, they’re quite unnecessary. We spend all of this time watching these people have sex when that time could be better spent developing emotional connections or developing plots. For the most part, we’re all mature adults. We can insinuate what’s going on behind the curtain. It’s not necessary to actually see it more often than not. If you can have a sex scene that develops the emotional connection then I’m all for that but it happens so rarely. It really takes a special kind of director to pull that off. If you’re not going to do it well, then you shouldn’t do it at all. I also don’t think the show opted not to do the sex scene because of homophobia. Sometimes, subtlety is the way to go when it comes to characters making love. I feel the romantic connection is stronger most of the time with the less you see. It made this scene feel more romantic to me (at least in my eyes) with them just tumbling into the next room. I really didn’t need to see anymore. I was happy with just that. I am also not homophobic so don’t take that to mean that I didn’t want to see two men having sex. I just didn’t think it was necessary in the episode to have a sex scene. And before you all jump down my throat, I would much have preferred that Izzy’s sex scene in Dead Man’s Party never been shown, either. So don’t be thinking this is homosexual bashing because it’s not. I thought Izzy’s scene was over done and it made me really uncomfortable. Them alluding to it would’ve worked just fine. We didn’t need to see every uncomfortable moment in Meliorn’s gypsy tent, okay? Now, if you liked Izzy’s sex scene, that’s fine. I’m not disrespecting your opinion. I’m just telling you I didn’t like it. I’m also not disrespecting your opinion if you think there should have been a sex scene with Malec in this episode. I’m not telling you how to think. I’m telling you what I think.

I’ve also seen some horrible twitter posts to the writers and showrunners regarding this Malec scene and all I can say is that you people doing that…you guys are idiots. No offense. We all can be idiots at times and I’m not afraid to call you out on it. And I’m fine if people call me out on it too as long as it’s done constructively. Let me explain something to you about writers. Particularly writers who publish their work like authors, script writers, showrunners. A writer’s life is full of uncertainty. Will my work be good in the eyes of the fans? Will I get new fans? Will I get famous with it? Will I fail? Will I make money from this? I gotta eat sometime. Will I be expected to write a sequel? Crap, it’s been two years since I published…I need a new idea for a new story, STAT. There is a lot of uncertainty in a writers’ life. You know what writers know for a fact that is for certain in their life? There always gonna be haters. Most writers accept this and learn to block these people out of their life. I had to learn it when I started tumblr-ing. Particularly with my Shadowhunters Hopes for Season 2 post. I was just starting out then and I was amazed at just how much hate I got with that post. But I eventually learned to block them out and not respond to them. By responding, you’re only legitimizing that level of hate. So silence is the best way to go. That’s why I have the disclaimer at the beginning of my reviews saying I will ignore any and all haters. Even to this day, I still get haters on my shadowhunters posts but I’m not going to let a bunch of bullies deter me from what I love to do. Writers accept that haters will always exist so most of them choose to ignore the haters. You telling them horrible things about what you think of them is not going to make them listen to you. They’re still going to write what they want to write. You can say as many horrible things as you want to Cassandra Clare and guess what? She’s still gonna keep on writing. You can say what you want to the showrunners and guess what? They’re still gonna keep on gearing the show towards the plan they have set up. Here’s a tip, instead of giving out hateful criticism (trust me, most writers will ignore you), give some constructive criticism such as reviews like the ones I do. They are far more likely to pay attention to you because then they’re going to see you as something more than a crazed fan who’s putting up a temper tantrum because a story didn’t go their way. Act like mature adults, please. Trust me, when people get rude with me and tell me that I suck, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing just to spite them. I’m awesome like that. 

With all of that said, I do hope that with this scene, the show isn’t planning on putting a stop to showing all this Malec. I hope that they continue on with developing the Malec relationship. A relationship doesn’t end the first time a couple has sex and a lot of times that’s exactly what television does. The couple has their first time and then the showrunners don’t know what to do with the relationship so the couple breaks up and gets back together about 5 times over the course of the series. I’m talking to you, Klaine from Glee. I really don’t want to see that happen with Malec. I want to see the show continue to explore their relationship and move this relationship in a positive and healthy way as they have been doing this entire season.

The Most Awesome Jace Scene…EVER

Now, let’s talk about my favorite part of this episode…Jace. WHAT? Did I seriously just say that JACE was my favorite part of a Shadowhunters episode? We must be on the cusps of an apocalypse or something. Jace was just so wonderfully Jace in all the ways that matter in this episode. He made me smile so much while watching this episode and it wasn’t because I was making fun of his lines for once, as I did in Season One. He was wonderfully sarcastic and narcissistic. This is what Jace should always have been from the beginning. 

We have the scene in the bar where Jace is talking to Simon and giving him advice on how to impress Maia, which was really bad advice to be perfectly frank but it was such a fun scene. And there are girls out there who are attracted to guys who display the tips Jace gave to Simon. Maia just isn’t one of those girls. Also, speaking of Maia, I am still loving her. I think she’s a fantastic character. Some of the greatest moments from this scene: 

MAIA: You have a lot of gaul to show up back here.

JACE: Isn’t it about time we kissed and made up?

Maia brings over shots.

JACE: Thank you.

MAIA: I spit in one.

JACE: Delicious. Don’t tease me.

JACE: Tell me how you approach a girl.

SIMON: You mean act it out?

JACE: Yes.

SIMON: Here?

JACE: Dazzle me.

I also loved that Simon asks Jace to be his Obi-Wan and at first Jace comes off like he’s confused but then does a jedi-like hand-motion and says, “Don’t make me regret this.” I thought it was really funny.

Earlier in the episode, we also had a scene where Jace was in bed with the faerie girl, Kaelie and Alec comes in and tells Jace to get up. They need to go kill some demons.

ALEC: Get up. We have orders.

JACE: I’m a little tied up right now.

KAELIE: Not yet, you’re not.

And I also loved that Kaelie invited Alec to join them. Of course, Alec declines. If there is something I want to see more of in the show though, it’s more parabatai moments between Jace and Alec. I really hope Parabatai Lost isn’t the only moment we’re going to get between these two. That was kind of a mediocre episode. Matt and Dom have such great chemistry together. I just want to see more of them. And not them fighting each other. I had enough of that in the first season. Just moments where they fight together and they’re there for each other when the other needs them. That’s the Jalec parabatai bond I want to see.

I don’t know where this new Jace came from. Maybe he came from an alternative universe but can he please stay for good? Broody and vulnerable Jace is fine but he also makes for a really dull character. TV is full of broody characters: Oliver from Arrow, Derek from Teen Wolf, Stefan from Vampire Diaries. I get sick of them real quick if their only personality is brooding. I absolutely hate characters that brood all the time. I had a really hard time getting through the show Angel because of that. I really only stuck around because Cordelia, Wes, and Gunn had such a fun dynamic. Broody characters are so boring. I need them to make me laugh and Jace finally did that in this scene and I loved it. I’ve seen a couple of tumblr posts where the author is talking about how they’re glad Jace is a little different than he is in the books. That he was too mean in the books. I wouldn’t call him mean. He was sarcastic which is my kind of humor and is part of why he was my first book boyfriend. My entire family is sarcastic so I grew up around sarcasm; maybe that’s why I don’t think he was mean in the books. In my family, sarcasm is how we show our love. Really, if you thought Book Jace was mean, I don’t know how you survive in the real world. I crossed the street a few weeks ago, I had the right of way, and almost got hit b a car; and the driver started cursing ME out. There were times Jace was intentionally mean to Clary but he had reasons for that. He was mean with purpose. He may have also said some inconsiderate things to Alec but he really only said those things because he was essentially trying to goad Alec into admitting his feelings about him and his feelings for Magnus. He was trying to help Alec as only a brother would. I guess my point is that I want to see this sarcastic, sardonic Jace along with Broody Jace. In one of my Season One reviews, I mentioned Funny Jace is needed to balance out Angsty-Jace otherwise he’s really a bore that sucks the energy out of a scene. And also, Season One Jace was a real douche. I don’t know what people mean when they say tv show Jace was nicer than he was in the books. The only person he was nice to was Clary. He got better later on in the season but I will never forgive Season One Jace for saying to Alec, “Maybe your mother was right. Maybe your best isn’t good enough.” That is a horrible thing to say to a friend, much less your family. There was a period of time where I did not call him Jace. I called him The Douche in my reviews. But it’s okay. Jace is so much better in this season and I hope funny but vulnerable Jace is here to stay. Just lock Douchey Jace up and throw away the key.

I’d have to give this episode a B+. Like I said, this was a fun episode but the rushing of the A plot is what brought it down a little for me. If they had dragged it out for a couple of episodes, I think it would’ve turned out great. There was just too much that was happening in the last 5 minutes of the episode. It really felt like the writers are having far more fun with the B plots in this show than the A plots. Which I don’t mind because I really enjoy these B plots. They’re a hell of a lot of fun. I loved funny Jace, I loved Malec, where they’re going with Izzy’s addiction is really interesting. The chemistry between the actors is so much better than it was in the first season. It’s also something I haven’t talked about before a lot, but the show has been doing so well with their filmography. The directors are actually using establishing shots which is fantastic. You can always tell when you’re dealing with a rookie director when there’s a lack of establishing shots. They always want to go for the creative shots but a basic establishing shot can go a long way. In Season One, it was sometimes easy to forget the show is in NYC because there were so few establishing shots. But now we got plenty of them and it does SO MUCH for the overall look of the show. Things I would like to see more of in the show is definitely stop rushing the A plots. It always feels like they’re rushing those. I want to see some more parabatai-ness. As always, I hope they keep on with Malec. On the side though, I also want Magnus and Alec to be developed as their own separate characters. Malec is great but these characters are so much more than their romantic pairing. They’re both fantastic characters and I want to see them grow as individual characters as well. I hope we keep up with snarky Jace. That was awesome. And I’m curious to find out what happened with Izzy at the vampire den. I really think this show is going to some interesting places both plot-wise and character-wise and I can’t wait to see what else they’ve got up their sleeve. 

That’s all I have for you guys. I really liked this episode. I thought it was fantastic. I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this episode. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Just remember to be respectful of everyone’s opinions.