#this whole issue is full of adorable jason content

[inamindfarfaraway]

Batman fun fact! Did you know that Scarecrow’s toxin doesn’t always cause fear? Sometimes it does the opposite! In Detective Comics #571, he wields a variant that completely inhibits the biochemical fear response, preventing people from feeling any concern for themselves or using basic common sense. He runs a racket administering it to star athletes, who take huge risks and get badly injured. Then they’re willing to cough up a lot for an antidote. Batman and Robin - here Jason Todd - catch on, but Bruce is dosed with the reverse fear toxin; since his intelligence is his greatest strength, being too overconfident and reckless to think twice about anything makes him his own worst enemy.

This premise was adapted in the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Never Fear”. There we see that with no fear of losing his moral integrity, Bruce becomes cold and merciless to criminals. Robin - here Tim Drake - has to catch somebody he leaves to fall off a building, tie him up to stop him endangering himself and others and give him the antidote to prevent him murdering Scarecrow.

But in the comic book, Jason is kidnapped by Scarecrow. He gets gassed and hallucinates Bruce dying and telling him that it’s his fault. He isn’t around to keep Bruce in check as he goes to rescue him through a series of death traps that he can’t resist cutting it as close as possible in. So how does Bruce not go off the deep end? How does he not lose sight of what’s important? Not lose himself?

Because even a drug designed to shut down stress at the most fundamental level can’t overpower his true worst fear. The Dark Knight might feel fearless…

but a parent never is.

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Warner Bros Animation, favorite character from the second wave of the shows they produced for Cartoon Network from 2008-13, exclusively producing for Cartoon Network at that time due to Kids WB ending in 2008 from increasing competition with kids' cable channels making Saturday morning blocks on broadcast networks obsolete at that point: Batman the Brave and the Bold, Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, MAD (may need to do favorite sketch instead of favorite character for that one since it's a sketch show with various one offs), Young Justice, The Looney Tunes Show, ThunderCats 2011, Green Lantern the Animated Series, Teen Titans Go (aka the show that Cartoon Network really loved to air alongside Gumball from 2015-20), and Beware the Batman?

This is a goood block and i'm happy to say i've seen all of it.

Batman Brave and the Bold: Aquaman. John DiMaggio and the writers took silver age aquaman and made him intresting and fun, a bombastic kindly man who may be in his own little world, but genuinely loves his family, batman and being a hero. He became probably the most recurring hero for good reason as every episode with him is a treat. It's also thanks to him we got this

Why this isn't a full on spinoff I don't know.

The show itself is one of my favorite dc shows. I've reviewed this one a few times at this point and given how much Kev loves it too, I defintely will again. I love a good bit of silver age nonsense, and Brave and the Bold embraces that tone, while not just focusing on the silver age as the series embraces dc as a whole: Heroes like the jason rusch firestorm (mixed with ronnie raymond... literally), jamie reyes and ted kord blue beetles, guy gardner green lantern, and even big swings like kamandi or haunted tank got included. Every bit of dc's long history up to this point was touched on in some way and it's clear the writers loved every inch of this universe while still bringing something new to it. While ther'es plenty of great bat content as Deidrich Bader is easily one of the best batmen, Brave and the Bold is at it's core about celebrating the dc universe in intresting ways, and it was a shame to see it go.

Scooby Doo Mystery Incorpeated: Fred. It's fred again. This time because it's the best fred, our trap hyperfixatd awkward prince. Taking Fred's weirdness and ramping it up and yet making him a sympathetic wholly likeable kid living

Though Sheriff Stone is a close second. The show itself is an awesome reboot of scooby doo, nicely updating with horrifying monsters and a nicely goofy sense of humor, blending both sides of scooby that have always been there together perfectly while adding a compelling mystery and eventual elder god story into the mix. The show admitely did have a rough start as whlie all the comeplling stuff was there including the gang's parents actually being present and the gang's day to day lives being a part of it for a change, now settled in a home base of crystal cove (the second time the series left the team to one location and not the last), it got bogged down by a love triangle between velma, shaggy and scooby

Yeah look I don't thinkt hey INTENDED for it to come off that way, they intended for it to be a platonic love triangle.. but tha'ts not how it comes off especially when Velma keeps ranting about dog issues after everything falls apart, yet still comes off like a horribly abusive monster who tried to change shaggy and didn't understand that maybe his dog, HER FRIEND was also important.

The Fred and Daphne thing is also mildly grating but thankfully is more nuanced ( as Fred , being heavily autisim coded (I say this as someone with autisim myself), simply misses daphne's cues and their adorable later and their breakup, while mildly contrived, does make sense at least as does their ineveitble reconceliation.

While the show does start rough, no question it quickly sheds the relationship drama for good character work, some of the best monsters of the week franchise wise and a comeplling mystery. It's got it's rough edges but man is this show good. Plus it's got tia carrere and gary cole in major roles and Marche LaMarche doing his best vincent price as vincent van ghoul. You.. really can't beat it and it's still a high water mark for the series.

MAD: I dont' really have a faviorite sketch as I only mildly remember this one. It wasn't bad though and I liked it's style, doing diffrent kinds of animatoin ala the magazine itself, which I read as a tween and teen and loved.

Young Justice: Wally. I love his evolution from mild fuckboy with a heart of gold to responsible boyfriend and hope he one day returns from the speed force. The show itself is decent. While I like the less family feel of the team after season 1, I do like the idea of the team (their rough version of the titans) being a strike force against a shadowy cabal of villians, the twists and turns and like Brave and the Bold being a celebration of the dcu, being essentially Greg Weissman's version of an ultimate universe. I didn't watch most of the revivial seasons, only watching the first half of season 3 but they were decent though I do feel the time jumps hurt the series a bit: the first worked fairly well but each successive one means we get less time with the characters as naturally years on each time their going to be in some diffrent place int heir lives. It works well enough to not wreck the show. The myth arc also is a bit too slow. Still it's hard to deny young justice is awesomea nd deserves a comic to wrap it all up at some point.

The Looney Tunes Show: Daffy... that.. should be pretty obvious given one of my most used reaction images

Daffy in this series is truly unhinged and a nice combination of his screwball earlier self and his later deadpan attention whore egotist self: he has the need for attention, massive ego and bitterness, mixed with the lack of selfawarness and over the top antics for what i consider to be the perfect daffy, being able to both deliver great dialouge and unhinged insnatiy. The man drives around in a parade float and was a wizard. The series as a whole is great, but Daffy is the standout and one of the main reasons it's as funny as it was.

So yeah the series is great and was badly unerapprciated, hated for not being the usual screwball looney tunes and instead being a sitcom about a pansexual rabbit and his bi diaster live in husband he's in an open relationship with as he tries to keep the latter from burning their lives down. And.. it works. Bugs and Daffy are tweaked slightly to fit but they still feel like my boys: Bugs is less sarcastic and can be more passive sure, but his trickster antics, not reallysomething he can DO in subrbia, are traded in for a dry sarcasm, while I went into daffy already. THe result is comedy gold as everyone is remagined a bit to fit this new environment. The only one really changed is lola and while I do like the original , I like this more fleshed out version whose no less attractive, but fits in better. Granted the stalking bit dosen't work well but it's quickly dropped and only really cued up for We are in Love. It's still not GREAT but they do tone it down and recognzied maybe stalking isn't funny just because it's a woman on a man. Overall one of the best eras of looney tunes and it's sad they felt they had to walk it back.

Thundercats 2011: Not bad, don't remember it that well.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series: Aya: I have a soft spot for robots (or ai's in this case) learning to be more human. As for the show itself it's pretty good. Not the best thing i've seen and having the anti montior be big bad of season 2 just felt.. weird. While he is related to the green lanterns for his role in the sinsestro corps war he still feels a bit TOO big of a threat to just plop into one heroes show with no other heroes showing up. Still a solid show with good animation.

Teen Titans Go: Robin who orginally irtated me for being nothing like his teen titans counterpart.. then entertains me because he's such a dick. He also got a decent arc in the movie. The show itself.. is eh. I've watched it a few times. I originally hated it but that was more for the fact they orginally did not make it clear that no, this isn't the same continuity and then made pot shots at the old show because fans of something entirely didn't.. didn't like this. Versus brave and the bold who took shots at fans.. who didn't want a lighter and softer batman that was clearly in it's own continuity. With time i've cooled on it, and don't hat eit.. but I don't really like it either. It's just kinda there. I appricate them bringing back freakazoid, freakazoid, and their weird creative swings and the movie is okay, but I just can't get into it. The characters just aren't that funny and while not aimed at me, i'm well aware (though with a nice amount of dc cameos), it still could be funnier and it's telling my niece and nephew kinda just.. forgot about it with time. It has some strengths but just not enough to make me check out mroe than I have.

Beware the Batman: Magpie because I like the rework. As for the show itself I didn't get to see enough to really judge it, as we dropped out of cable around this time. I should go back if it's anywhere to watch. That said what I saw was decent.. nothing amazing, but nothing terrible. It's the second series to try following an earlier batman. Now the third overall. And it does try to have it's own identity using more obscure rogues and katana as a main character, both novel ideas (and apparently also building up to the outsiders as a whole).. but frankly I feel if they wanted to go the outsdiers direction it woudl've made more sense to just do batman and the outsiders, as while a batman team up show just happened batman having his own full team that isn't the batfamily but is under him so far hasn't been done in animation. It felt like it wanted to be btas but also didn't want to be btas, something the other two young batman shows i've seen don't have: The Batman goes for a more action oriented show over the mood and atmosphere of btas while Caped Crusader goes for scummier crooks, leans harder into the 40s having a similar vibe (from similar creators) but it's own stuff btas , the batman and bwtb couldn't do. It's not a horrible show, but it's one that feels misguided, trying hard ot be diffrent than the previous three shows, without actually being all that diffrent. The only thing it had was focusing on more obscure foes, and even that novelty didn't quite pan out.

[anewnewcrest]

New Newcrest News - Winter 2, Part 2

Babies

Kayleigh and Nathan Bell's patience has finally been rewarded by the Watcher, and they have welcomed their first child, Levi Bell, into the world. Both parents are overjoyed and we're all so happy that there will be another generation of Bells at our church!

After a long struggle with secondary infertility, the Rogers family has welcomed their sixth child, their son Lucas Rogers, into the world! Despite his father Frank being in prison when he was born, the family was overjoyed to have another little one at home!

Slowing down their pace a little bit, the Payne family only welcomed daughter Eleanor during this season of life, but they are still overjoyed to have another little one at home!

Ever fruitful and multiplying, the Matthews family welcomed babies Madison and Miranda this winter!

Jobs & Promotions

After twenty-five faithful years of service to his company, Abner Miller has finally been promoted to Leaf-Cutter! Congratulations!

The first member of the Newcrest congregation to do so, Acton Miller has been accepted to the police academy! He is such an example to all the other boys growing up, and of course, doing such a dangerous, important job, all of our prayers are with him!

Michael Matthews is pursuing a career at a Watcherful corporation, and his hard work and dedication has paid off. He has been promoted to Assistant Manager and we couldn't be prouder of the Watcherful influence he is on his coworkers!

Birthdays

Kayleigh Bell is finally eighteen! Already married to Nathan Bell and a wonderful example of Watcherful wifehood, it was a privilege and joy to celebrate her birthday with the whole church, and hearing her sweet announcement!

The Millers' twins, Adair and Acacia, are toddlers now, rambunctious, full of energy, and of course, absolutely adorable! Congratulations!

Rose Miller has grown up to be a teen, and she's already such a pillar of support for her family! Dutiful, with a love for family and a meek and quiet spirit, she's just what a young lady who loves the Watcher ought to be!

After Candice Miller's recent birthday, she's left her years of having babies behind, and is now excited to focus on raising her remaining brood, and of course, excited to be a grandma to three, so far!

Acton Miller, the oldest son of the Miller family, is eighteen now! He has finished school - the only Miller child to go to a Watcher-following private school instead of being homeschooled - and is now embarking on a career and starting to look for the one lady the Watcher has in store for him!

Prematurely aged by his harrowing prison sentence, Frank Rogers is an elder now, and will need a lot of love from his wife and family to overcome his experiences.

So many birthdays in the Payne family! Mother Alyssa Payne had he 30th birthday, Jason is a teen now, Cordelia and Cecilia are children, and Nolan and Eleanor teens!

A lot of birthdays in the Matthews family, too! Father Michael Matthews is an adult now and advancing in his career, while twins Melanie and Melissa are children now, and twins Morgan and Mackenzie toddlers. Mark is a child too, and little Madison also toddles around, following her siblings!

Other News

Because we live in an unjust and fallen world, Frank Rogers was arrested for spreading the Word of the Watcher to unbelievers. Please pray for this persecuted warrior of the Watcher to stay strong during his prison sentence!

Prayer Requests

This young lady would do well to remember that she needs to respect her elders and is not the lady of the house after she married in. Not even on Simstagram. (Kayleigh Bell)

The Watcher says not to covet your neighbor's spouse, and this young lady needs to work on her contentment and overcome her issues with this particular sin. (Donna Bell)

Family is important, and while the Watcher says to leave and cleave, that doesn't mean you should forget about all the things you can do for your precious mama now that you've married into an important church family! (Kayleigh Bell)

Please pray for this lady who has not quite figured out yet that she doesn't have to be the center of attention at every gathering, the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral. (Suzie Rogers)

A husband needs to protect his wife, but he also needs to control her. Please pray for this man whose wife is running roughshod over everyone at church. (Frank Rogers)

Ten children are a sizeable quiver even by our church's standards, and this mother would do well to focus on the little ones she has, instead of neglecting them in favor of praying for more arrows for her husband's quiver. (Candice Miller)

A daughter's place is at home until she gets married and starts having children of her own! That's what the Watcher wants, and this young lady would do well to pray for contentment and do her chores the way I say she should! (Lily Miller)

Everything can be made into an idol, even staying trim for the Watcher, and this lady should remember that pride is a sin and that her duties are more important than her appearance. (Candice Miller)

All children are blessings from the Watcher, and these parents need to treat all of their boys equally and curb their disturbing tendency towards favoritism. (Candice and Abner Miller)

There is frugality and living a Watcher-centered life, and there is neglect. Please pray that this family will be able to provide the bare necessities to their children. (The Rogerses)

CPS has no place in a Watcher-following church! The state should not tell us how to raise our children, and if there are concerns, they need to be addressed within the congregation, not broadcast to the entire world! (The Rogerses)

This father would do well to remember his responsibility to provide, instead of making his oldest son do all the work and reaping the benefits. (Jacob Payne)

This wife needs to practice contentment and learn that submitting to her husband is the best thing she can do for herself and her children, not entertain silly notions of leaving him. Please pray for her. (Martha Matthews)

Young men are supposed to be manly, and we need to start with our boys so we don't raise weak little sissies who can't lead a family. Please pray that this little boy will learn his proper place. (Bennett Payne)

Children are a gift from the watcher, a credit to their mothers, an arrow in their fathers' quiver. Please pray that this lady will understand and finally look forward to having another baby. (Martha Matthews)

While children are an important sign of the Watcher's favor on his servants down here, who has the most of them should not turn into a competition. These two men would do well to remember that. (Michael Matthews and Jacob Payne)

[swiftlythebest]

hi! i’m new to the tumblr world of schmico! just wanted to say first that i love your writing! also, idk if you’re taking prompts but i would love to see a prompt of nico and levi going on a roadtrip and just funny, coupley bickering on the way to their destination.

Welcome to the fandom! This is a bit old so you’ve been in the fandom a bit, but still, welcome! I am somehow always roped into driving for road trips, so most of my road trip memories are of trying not to kill my friends. But I hope this is a good representation of a road trip. It’s a short trip, so I hope that’s okay. Ironically, it’s a longer ficlet, so a lot is under a cut. I hope you enjoy!

The alarm blared as Nico Kim groaned and rolled over to hit snooze, only for his hand to be swatted away by Levi Schmitt. “We gotta get up. No snoozing.” Despite his words, Levi gave a large yawn.

“But why? It’s so early!” Nico knew he was whining, but he had had a long shift the day before and felt like he had just closed his eyes.

“Because we have to be on the road in half an hour and we’re already cutting it close. You know you want to have time to get your coffee and style your hair.” Levi shoved Nico towards the edge of the bed.

“Fine, fine.” Nico stood up, naked, and began to walk towards the bathroom, pausing to turn back to Levi. “You coming, love?”

“Mmm, yeah. Just enjoying the view.” Levi smirked.

Nico walked with exaggerated hip movements, eliciting a bout of laughter from Levi, who threw off the covers and ran towards Nico, hugging him from behind. Even though he now had a person attached to him, Nico kept walking forward, albeit a bit more awkwardly. Levi nuzzled into his back and they made it into the bathroom. Levi detached and they went about their morning routines.

20 minutes later, hair coiffed and contacts in, they emerged into the kitchen to make some coffee and get a quick breakfast. They were set to take a three hour road trip down to Portland, OR for the wedding of two of Levi’s three high school friends, Hayley Vasquez and Jason Willows. Levi was a groomsman and Nico was his plus one. Both were excited for the festivities but a bit weary of the way they would be getting there. Levi loved roadtrips, but he wasn’t sure about spending that much time in an enclosed space with Nico. Sure, they had been together for about 10 months at this point, but they’d never made a car trip longer than the 40 minutes it takes to get to the Thai place they both love.

“So I made a playlist for the drive. It’s all of our favorite songs to dance around to, so I think it should be good.” Levi was hesitant, not knowing if Nico wanted to listen to the radio or just talk the whole time.

“Is there any Taylor Swift? Or Disney? Or both?” Nico asked excitedly before taking a sip of his coffee.

“Of course. It’s a lot of Disney. And I knew you’d complain with no Taylor Swift.” Levi smiled, relieved. “I also put on some Hamilton.”

Nico groaned, but smiled. “So I have to listen to you rap for three hours?”

“Hush, you love my rapping. And it’s only a few songs. You get Taylor Swift!” Nico kissed Levi’s cheek and smiled. “It’ll be fun.”

“I have snacks! I got some bananas, granola bars, and nut mix.” Levi scrunched up his nose. “What?”

“It’s a road trip! We’re supposed to have chips and candy! Not your healthy crap!” Levi crossed his arms, adamant about the food requirements.

“But I don’t eat that. You want this body?” Levi nodded vigorously. “This is what I eat. This keeps me looking this way.”

“It’s three hours.”

“That’s what Gilligan thought.” Nico smirked, earning him a smack from Levi. “Fine. We’ll bring the bananas because they have a short shelf life. And I know you have a package of Twizzlers stashed away. And take the tortilla chips.” Levi beamed and grabbed the snacks.

They settled into Nico’s sedan, Levi hit shuffle on the playlist, and they were off.

About an hour in, they were jamming out to “Alexander Hamilton -” or at least Levi was - when the check engine light came on.

“Oh, babe, pull over.” Levi stopped mid-verse to urge Nico.

“What? Nah, we’re good. It’s nothing.” Nico went back to bobbing to the music.

“The check engine light is on! That means we need to check the engine!” Levi exclaimed.

“Would you even know how to check the engine?” Nico turned very briefly so Levi could see his raised eyebrow.

“Well, no. But we shouldn’t just ignore it!” Levi was getting a bit heated.

“Levi, I love you, I really, really do, but you need to calm down. I’ve had this car a while and it just does this at times. I promise.”

“Please pull over. For me?” Because Nico was focused on the highway, he could not feel the full force of Levi’s puppy dog eyes. Despite not being able to be manipulated by his boyfriends inhumanly adorable eyes, he sighed and pulled into the shoulder anyway.

Levi beamed and hopped out of the car, followed closely by Nico, who popped the hood and leaned down to inspect the contents. Levi peered over his shoulder, trying to see if anything looked out of place, even though he had no idea what to look for.

“All good under the hood.” Nico laughed quietly at his joke. He then walked over towards the gas cap, pulled it open, and tightened the cap. Levi just stared, utterly confused. They climbed back into the car and Nico started the engine again, prompting Levi to lean over to see if the light was still on.

“It turned off!” He almost shouted in his excitement.

“I told you, it happens. It’s the gas cap, usually.” Nico shrugged and merged back onto the highway.

Levi gaped at him before lightly smacking his shoulder. “You could have told me that!”

“It’s fun to watch you squirm.” Nico briefly stuck his tongue out in a teasing manner. “But seriously, you need to know that I would never do anything to put you in harm’s way. You mean everything to me and if I thought there was a chance it could have been something real, I’d have stopped immediately.”

“You’re sweet. You get a Twizzler.” Levi held out a Twizzler in front of Nico’s mouth and he grabbed it with his teeth, nodding his thanks.

The rest of the trip went by without any more car issues, although there was a 20 minute period during which Levi had to pee badly and there were no exits with rest stops for far too long. “Nico, I honestly may pee my pants. I may pee my pants and you will still love me! You will still look at me with your smoldering heart eyes and touch me with your remarkable hands and kiss me with your perfect lips even though we will both have experienced me peeing in your car.” Once Levi had finished his speech, a sign appeared advertising a rest stop in 3 miles.

“Can you hold it for three more miles? Because I’m still going to be ridiculously attracted to you even if you pee in my car, I just don’t want to deal with the clean-up.”

“Yes, but you better drive the fastest you possibly can without getting pulled over!” Levi started to bounce in his seat.

A bathroom break and 45 minutes later, they pulled up to the hotel where wedding party was staying. Nico shut off the engine and ran over to open the door for Levi, offering him a hand as he helped him out.

“You’re such a dumb gentleman.” Levi gave Nico a small kiss.

“I can’t wait to spend another three hours all alone with you in a car in 4 days.” Nico and Levi laughed, both knowing there was some definite truth to that statement.

[dictionarywrites]

For the salty asks (any fandom, but honestly right now I find I'm mostly interested in your JGCU thoughts-- or where not applicable, DS9 or Buffyverse)-- 11, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27?

SALTY ASK LIST (x)

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Hmmm, David Jason I of course love, and I know that when I introduce him to TGOI, like… Everyone is going to hate him. He’s racist, he’s sexist, he’s majorly homophobic, and he’s very unstable - I’m really excited about writing him with a very obvious reaction to his most recent trauma (much like Jack B’s PTSD), and I know that people are really gonna drag him, but I actually have a huge amount of empathy for him and his situation, and I’m really interested to play with his specific basketload of fucking issues.

For DS9, everyone hates Dukat in the whole “I don’t want him in my content” thing, but like… I genuinely love Dukat. I think he’s so disgusting and revolting and I adore him. For Buffy… I don’t know who’s really popular or unpopular, I admit.

20.  What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Probably Jack H./Gil Turner and Lionel Whitney/E.L. Turner, from TR 6-5000 and Tenspeed respectively. They’re both duos of earnest private detectives with a “sensible” member and a ridiculous one (although all four of them are ridiculous, really), and they’re so full of genuine feeling for one another, I adore it.

For DS9… PROBABLY Tora Ziyal/Ben Sisko - I just think they’re so sweet together, and they’re very cute. For Buffy, I guess maybe Willow/Tara? And maybe Buffy/Angel, which pretends to be a lot gritter than it is - I think they’re very fluffy, personally.

22. Popular character you hate?

I… I don’t know, I don’t think I really hate any characters. I usually look at characters from the POV of like, the purpose they solve and their relationships, so there’s not many characters I really, truly don’t want to see on the screen, in any fandom.

Uther from BBC Merlin, maybe, but that’s to do with bad writing more than his character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

David J, Dukat… I feel like Ben Sisko is unpopular compared to other characters, but I’m literally in love with him. Oh, and for Buffy, I really love Anya in Buffy, and I think how nasty everyone is to her is horrible.

26. Most shippable character?

Oh, absolutely the GM. He’ll fuck with anybody. Ditto for Orian, to a lesser extent. I don’t think I find Loki as shippable as the fandom does, but I do ship him with a lot… Willow’s p shippable, I think, from Buffy, and for DS9, Dax!

27.Least shippable character?

There’s some characters I really only ship with one person, and the JGCU lads make up quite a few of those - the two detective duos from earlier, of course; I don’t think I’d ship Jerry Barnes with anyone except Lisa… 

[thewillowbends]

Thoughts on TLJ - SPOILERS

Now for some spoilery content!  Now that I've had a sleepless night going over some of my feelings about it, I can shuffle through what I did and didn't like.

- - - - -

TLJ Positivity:

-I liked the trajectory of Rey's whole storyline.  I had hedged my bets between two concepts - Rey as Anakin reborn (which, admittedly, I preferred because I'm an indulgent prequel junkie) or that she was a nobody, representing an entirely new generation to whom the Skywalker legacy was being handed to.  The wound up being the latter, but I'm not as disappointed as I expected.  While I have...many, many issues with some of the characterization in this film, hers felt like it progressed the most naturally.  This idea of legacies and prophecies going the way of the past, of letting a new generation start fresh but not at the expense of destroying it, of letting the PEOPLE take ahold of their destiny instead of the burden falling on a few "chosen ones" is not something I feel is necessarily a bad moral lesson for the audience nor fundamentally detrimental to the movies' previous material.

Note: I'm still writing that Rey-as-Anakin fic.  YOU CAN'T STOP ME DISNEY.

-Adam Driver has a really nice gym routine.  So does John Boyega.

-Kelly Marie Tran is adorable, guys.  She is literally the cutest.

-A film could never hurt for more POC and they could definitely use in the main cast, but I will say that the newer movies definitely feel more "casually diverse."  There are POC in the Rebellion, POC in villains, POC in the civilian culture, POC in the main cast.  It doesn't feel forced.  They're just THERE, which is how it should be.

-Adam Driver is also really good in this movie.  Considering we're not getting as extensive a backstory as most of us wished for Ben, he still does a remarkable job making the character engaging through his performance.  They essentially give him Vader's original plotline in ESB/ROTJ before the "Vader as Anakin" storyline came into fruition.  So he's sort of Vader's heir in a new and more devastating way.  Kylo isn't emotionally stable or enough of a visionary to really be the driving force of an empire, so it'll be interesting to see how that tension between Hux and Kylo works itself out in the last film.

- @ahollowyear  - I got a real kick out of how much of the actual storyline you accurately predicted vis a vis Kylo and Rey.  You wrote that fanfic, what, a year before the details of TLJ even started coming out?

-I am deeply relieved that we avoided the reductive light/dark balance the trailers teased at.  The dark side is still what imbalances the Force - it inevitably exists but is not necessary for balance.  Also, that the main cast's discussion of ~character complexity~ was not that open ended, since the film's protagonists actively reject more of the nihilistic viewpoints being thrown by side characters.

-Carrie Fisher is always and forever the queen. <3

-I liked the final scenes with Luke.  I really liked the choice of a binary sunset to bookend Luke's story.  Genreally, I'm not a huge fan of ALL POWERFUL JEDI, but I can deal with astral projected battles from a Skywalker because Skywalkers are special.  But he went out in a way that I found meaningful and touching.

TLJ Negativity:

WHERE THE HELL ARE RIAN JOHNSON'S EDITORS IN THIS MOVIE.

Seriously, what was going on with the writing process here?  Why is the plot all over the damn place?  (Answer: Because they didn't plot out this arcs in advance and it shows.)  Why do we spend 30-40 mintues on a casino sidequest that literally has NO ACTUAL EFFECT ON THE GODDAMN PLOT.  What are characters like Benicio del Toro's and Laura Dern even doing in this film?  We literally are trying to balance nearly two casts (OT/ST) worth of character development, the last thing you want or need is unnecessary characters distracting from the main development or wasted scenery.  And that's what literally the entire middle chunk of Rose and Finn's plotline - wasted action.

There are so many good ideas struggling to be communicated in the absolute muddled mess that is the middle of the movie.  We have a storyline about light and dark being natural opposite but neither being an inevitability outside of our personal choices.  We have the theme of the natural order of things, life begetting death begetting life, and the idea of legacies carrying us through strife so that we can become the heroes of our own making instead of relying on others to save us.  There's commentary about the significance of failures, how sometimes they're more important than victories because of what they reveal to us about ourselves and each other, and how we come to terms with them when they can't be easily remedied.  The casino is clearly meant to be a commentary about exploitative capitalism and the way the evil of fascism destroys culture and people from the top down.  All of these are great ideas, but you need to have that effectively communicated to your audience, and you need to communicate it meaningfully.

And the characters.  THE CHARACTERS.  The chaaaaaaaaaaaaraaaaacters.

Rey and Kylo I'm fine with.  Their development doesn't bother me.  I can even deal with Rose, though I wish her purpose in the plot wasn't so hamfisted.

But Finn and Poe?  Why did it feel like their character arcs literally rebooted for this film?  Poe is clearly inteded to be a kind of surrogate son to Leia ("mother of the rebellion"), serving as a foil to Ben, so I get why there's a general parallel there in the two progressing toward leadership roles - one who violently grasps at power, while the other faces some hard lessons about the reality and sacrifice of command as opposed to heroics.  I feel like that's a natural progression of what we saw in their relationship in TFA, but it still feels like a step back because the level of experience and confidence we saw in him in TFA doesn't mirror how Leia views him in TLJ.  If anything, he should have been growing into the position of command so that Leia can effectively and believably pass that legacy on to him.  Instead, what we get is a plotline that suggests to us that Poe isn't really ready for him, which is...regressive?  Like, all of these character should have been going through these changes at the start of the film, not ending on them.

(This being said, what the hell is wrong with Admiral Holdo that she can't understand the value of basic communication?  Like, she's meant as a lesson to the audience about mistaking reckless action for heroism, but it's hard not to agree with Poe when she's literally telling NOBODY UNDER HER NOTHING.  How easily could all of that drama been avoided if she's just said what the actual plan was instead of creating so much fear and uncertainty on the bridge?)

(I totally ship Leia/Holdo though.)

And Finn.  Oh my God, I feel so bad for John Boyega.  What a waste of his charisma and talent.  Most of TFA is Finn going from a deserter seeking *individual* salvation from the First Order and recognizing by the end the responsibility one has in the stand against evil.  So he basically...rehashes that entire character development here?  Wouldn't it have made more sense to see him struggling with his reputation as a hero in the Rebellion and then coming to terms with his new role?  Let him wrestle with the existentialist uncertainty of being able to make his own choices!  Explore the trauma of his experiences in the army by having him struggle with his fear and uncertainty while infiltrating the First Order - use it to emphasize the contradictions of his experiences with the freedom of his new life.

If you wanted to interject some moral ambiguity, why not have him address the issue that the New Order's army is essentially a SLAVE army?  Wouldn't that scene with Phasma held much greater power if he'd tried to appeal to his fellow soldiers about the destruction the New Order has wrought on their lives, about the potential they could have if they rose up against them?  If you're going to have Benicio del Toro nihilistically declaring that the war is endless and therefore moral standpoints are meaningless, why not have Finn reject that meaningfully to both the audience outside the movie and within it?  Legit y'all, my ideal ending for this man is to take his place in helping rebuild a newer, better system for all of them - and what better way than by helping to rehabilitate his fellow child soldiers?

Just ugh, out of everything that bothers me in the movie, Finn is the character that leaves the worst taste in my mouth.  He was my favorite in TFA, and his character development should be progressing beyond this point by now.

Also: GOD HELP ME if they kill off Leia in episode III.  It would be beyond heartless and irresponsible given the overall thematic trend of the movies.  The character who tells us dejectedly that she "went out fighting" is arguably the one who should live to pass the legacy on and die peacefully.

TLJ neutrality:

-I am on the fence regarding Luke's characterization, leaning towards finding it less problematic than others might.  He's pretty clearly suffering from severe depression, which can take a person to some pretty dark places.  Most of my struggles with his characterization center around his confrontation of Ben.  Do I feel that Luke is somebody who would pull the blade on his nephew?  Part of me violently rejects that, but there's another part that considers it from the perspective of somebody dealing with the horror of thinking he created another Vader, of knowing what Ben could become, of the Force showing him a horrific future...and giving into that temptation the dark side presents in thinking our choices are already made. I can dig the idea that part of nefariousness of the dark is in undermining our belief in full agency.  Could I believeably see him, in a moment of weakness, pulling his lightsaber?  I'm vacillating on the issue.  Ben Solo isn't all that particularly different from Jason in the old EU, and Luke toed the line of darkness dealing with his fall, too.

-I'd really like more EU exposition as to what exactly what down with Snoke and Ben when he was a child.  How was he already THAT damaged by the time of Luke's confrontation with him?  What was going on that Luke was either blind to or struggling to care for him without Leia and Han's help?

-I go between feeling like Leia was well used here to feeling like she could have done so much more, that we could have seen more emotional strife with her where Ben and Luke are concerned.  Instead, we knock her out partway through the movie, which is such a shame because we no longer have the option of the third movie to be her swan song.  Carrie Fisher was wonderful here, but I struggle with whether I feel like this story gave her the send off she deserved.

-The twins reunion.  It was touching and memorable, don't get me wrong, but it's sad to think that's the end of it.  I figured something like that was coming, but STILL.  God, Skywalker/Organa life depresses me.

-Speaking of, I'm a total idiot because it took me entirely too long to catch on to what was going on the astral projection scene.  Hurr hurr, I said, when did Luke build a new lightsaber?  And get sweet clothes?  And did he lift the X-wing out of the water to get there?  omfg, all of the hints were there, I'm just ridiculous.

-Yes, the scene with Leia saving herself with the Force is pretty cool.  Not sure if I feel it toes into ridiculous territory, though.

-SWEAR TO GOD DISNEY, if you give me a love triangle in the third film with girl fighting over Finn, I will flip my shit.

TLJ LOLs:

This movie practically made Rey and Ben canon, and I had a tremendously unkind moment of smug amusement at how the more obnoxious antis were going to react to this film. The histrionic discourse is the thing of legends, let me tell you.

[thegreatmercutio]

Shadowhunters Drama-O-Rama...(a long rant and reflection)

First…the Malec Kiss was adorable…can’t wait to see the FULL Content…there better be a FULL content!!

…and now let’s rant about the drama. There’s two 10 seconds teasers…2 teasers…which means…it’s just a tease, not a full trailer…That’s all we’re getting at the moment…a tease. And yes, there’s more “seconds” of contents on some characters vs. others…and yet somehow a war began!!!…and old wounds are open again…and to be truthful the contents are not a surprise at all. (Jace is not Clary’s brother, Simon and Clary are dating…Malec relationship is expanding…Izzy is pushing Raphael away…Luke is standing intensively…nothing was really new, just random clips, don’t get me wrong as a Malec shipper, the kiss was sweet).

I am going to say this…because I feel like I need to put another side out there…agree or not, it’s doesn’t really matter to me at the end of the day…so here it’s goes…this show is not about JUST Clary…and her name might go first in the credits but it’s called “Shadowhunters”…not something like “Buffy the Vampire Slayers”…and even in Buffy, there were episodes that focused on the other characters and their development. It’s not, Clary the Shadowhunter…she is NOT the only main character and yes it’s not the Malec Show…but it’s NOT the Clace show either. True, the relationships are important and the characters are essential. But, this show does have a bigger theme. In general, it’s a supernatural show, about good vs evil…, etc. One of the plots coming up is the Downworlders going to be treated with restrictions…like today’s reflections on the immigration laws that we are currently living in.

This is not the books. It’s “based” off the books. I understand this might piss off a lot of the loyalists of the books, but they did attempt to do a movie franchise…but they failed. Even the movie took some “artistic license” and change things. It had the potential to be the next Twilight or Hunger Games…but it didn’t make the cut. Even with the failure of the movie, it’s still holds some potential to be something. So, When a series of books get pick up as a show, it opens more doors, meaning things are going to change even more. It’s also means there’s more room for more characters development and more storylines.

The books centered on mostly Clary…Jace, and Simon perspectives with Izzy, Magnus, Alec, Luke…etc…as the supporting characters. That’s the author’s choices. That was the books, this is not the books. The show will take parts and influences of the books, but it’s going to shine more light in other perspectives that wasn’t explored in the books…that’s a given. The creators, showrunners, writers, producers, directors…are going to make choices that will and “has” made many people either happy or really fucking pissed. That’s a given. Even the author called the show, “a fanfiction.” She knows what she sign her rights off to. Like Marvel, Star Wars…Disney owns them now. She has to know that, things will change. And her loyalists should know that too.

A lot of key aspects made it into the show…it’s not like the show abandon everything…like the main ships are there…they are in development. Climon did happen in the books before Clace. Clary is discovering and exploring her rune creating skills…Jace has Daddy’s issues…Alec is out and openly gay…Magnus and Camille trouble relationships…the Shadowhunters discrimination against the Downworlders…it’s not like it’s not there, it’s just delivered with different tones and directions.

So, yes it’s Clary’s perspectives and Clace is THE relationship in the books…but yet every popular polls, awards, and marketing has centered on the two LGBT characters. There’s a reason why and it’s very clear, very…VERY clear reason why…they are the most popular characters on the show, some people don’t have to like it but it’s fact. They are what most people want to see. Even non-fans, are aware of them. They are getting noticed, competing with big ships like Olicity and Stydia…basically…THEY ARE BEING CELEBRATED just like those other ships. And they should be.

So, if the Malec fandom is making some of you mad, that’s you’re prerogative. Most of the “negativity” comes from years and years of hurt. I know it’s just a show and it’s for entertainment, but you must understand that a picture say a thousands of words. When you were little and all those heroes and characters that you grew up reading about in school, watch on TV…in the movies,…on stage…they were always in the characteristics of the “default.” White and Straight…but you look at them and you look at you…sure you might relate to their morals, their journey…their struggles…but no matter what, you still never be their equal. You’re different and people won’t treat your story, the same as them. When will someone that looks like you get to be the hero, the main character? And when you see a guy like Magnus and a guy like Alec…as individuals and as a couple, it’s something special and the reactions to them, is heart warming and welcoming.

Do you know in 1989…when they created a new Robin for the Batman comics after the death of Jason Todd, Tim Drake…the creators wanted him to be Asian, but were told that the public won’t respond to him…won’t relate to him. So, he’s not. You heard about it before, we can’t get this person, they won’t sell tickets..that’s why in 2017, Scarlett Jo can play Japanese..and guess what? Her movie flopped and they lost $60 millions dollars in profit. And one of the executives of paramount even had admitted that their failure was due to the Whitewashing controversy and blamed the audience for spreading “the truth”. I am sure it was really hard for them to admit to that.

Now, currently the new Robin is Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s blood related son…he is canonically…Caucasian, Arabic, and Chinese…yet I have seen fan dream casting him…as White. That’s how some people respond…to years of being told that this is what the people want to see…but recently with the talks about the bat-family being created for the DCEU movies…and a possible Tim Drake being casted…fans are positively rooting for Ryan Potter…who is Japanese and White. See, people are speaking and demanding for change…just how people wanted Donald Glover to be the next Spider-Man…yet it didn’t happen but the people wanted him to be. It was massively trending. And he got a lot hate too, but there was a louder and positive support for him.

Alright, back to the program…

This isn’t new, there’s multiple fandoms with that one ship that’s stands out. This one ship is a big deal because, it’s an LGBT and an interracial relationship…and true, there’s other LGBT and interracial couples out there in the media, but are they getting the press, the mass acknowledgement, winning awards,…do they have a big fandom like this? A fandom that would trend them on multiple social media outlets. Name another couple with this representations with this massive love?…And they have been popular since the books, but they were never this popular until Malec were given flesh and pulses.

The most important thing is perspectives…telling people and reminding people that this show is about this person or that person, is meaningless and stressful. Because people are individuals with their own perspectives and they going to support what they want. If you’re there for Clary and Clace, you will get them…season 1 was very Clace focused…and Clary focused and if you’re there for Malec and want more Malec, you will get Malec…how much of it (we will see) and there are people who is still very angry with the choices that was made with Malec in 2a and some are not.

For me, I watch the show, I saw too much Clace…but another person will tell me…this is becoming the Malec Show. That’s what they saw vs what I saw. I saw 1 minute of Malec interaction scene in 1 episode and I was pissed. There was literally an episode where Harry had one scene…he called Alec for drinks…and that’s it. The rest was centered on Alec, Clary, and Simon interacting. And Luke…literally do I need to remind you about the treatment there. So, if you’re going to compare this and that. If you’re going to get Mad, because Clary isn’t getting the fair treatment because it’s apparently the Clary’s show, you jumping to privilege thinking and that’s a dark place to go…trust me, there’s plenty of Clary and Jace in the show…but the fame light is on Malec. It’s because the people, the fans that shined...that light on them.

So, I can be mad if I choose to be, when I did see less of this character and of this relationship…and yes, you also tell me that this is the Clary’s show and the Clace’s show…and that’s your perspective. That’s you. Be you. But also be open minded, Shadowhunters is a diverse shows…it’s aiming was to be open. It’s still has its flaws, but I hope it’s a show that’s listens to the fans. That’s a whole bag of another drama.

You can choose to be mad or passive, you can avoid the negativity, just scroll on by or follow people that think like you. It’s your choice. But why not be open minded…you are watching a diverse show. Why not understand that their aim is bigger now?

I wanted more Malec, to be honest…I had a good serving of Clace while reading the books. I like them, I ship them…and I care about them…and they will be there as much as the other characters are, but I want more characters to shine now. And there is room for more development for the other characters. It’s ambitious, but why the hell not!

When Leonard told Sheldon…don’t go thinking outside the box, but then go rub your ass against the side of the box…that Isn’t progress.

(This is nothing against the actors of the show, they really are sweet people and have been openly supportive of the representations…and my aim wasn’t to anti- this person or this ship…I just wanted to say this…if you don’t agree…scroll on by, might be a long scroll though).