#i both love and hate that shes showing up more and has a more central role as an antagonist in the conclave arc
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GUESS WHO’S BACK, BACK AGAIN
ANNA’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND
#you would not even believe how long i spent on this meme lmao#dumbest way ive ever spent a friday night#dr anna ripley my detested <3#i both love and hate that shes showing up more and has a more central role as an antagonist in the conclave arc#because narratively its fantastic#but for me in particular it makes me want to commit war crimes#which is not at all a con#i want :) to fucking shank her :))#i've made this joke already but this is version 2.0: new and improved#if it aint broke dont fix it#this joke appeals to my humour specifically and thats all i need to make it#who needs sleep and social interaction when you can sit in your pyjamas with popcorn making memes!#also the amount of time i spent on this isnt even funny lmao#anna ripley#critical role#tlovm#tlovm spoilers#the legend of vox machina#the legend of vox machina spoilers#legend of vox machina#vox machina#lovm#lovm spoilers#tlovm s2#cr1#andis thought geyser
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okay, so I did just spend the entire day watching NATLA. I had no choice but to watch this all in one sitting with my friends because I knew that if I attempted to watch it alone, or in increments, I would simply never get past episode 1. and I was right. it, of course, sucked so bad. I intend to write an actual, articulate review of the show as a whole when I have time, but for now, here is a list of the notes I jotted down on my phone (including some quotes from my friends as we watched), cinema sins style (pluses indicate details I actually liked, however minuses are far more frequent; points I considered especially significant are bolded).
– NO COLON to signify the central tension of the entire show!!!
Episode 1:
+ Love Aang’s eyebrows, just a very cute kid in general
+ opening fight scene kind of serves
– Sozin does NOT
– This clunky exposition is so strange considering they clearly already assume we are familiar with the entire show
– What’s going on with Kyoshi (ie, where is Roku)
– Where is Katara narrating????
– Hideous fonts
+ AANG SO CUTE <3 (he’s giving Dewey!)
– He can just fucking fly without his glider I guess?
– Airbenders saying wow at airbending (ding!)
– Aang’s uggs
– Sky bison…… L (update: I lowkey came around on Appa, but only bc Momo was so fucking busted he looked incredible by contrast)
– Gyatso’s mustache L (update: many such cases going forward)
– What’s going on with the accents???
– Aang cannot fucking act for shit I’m so sorry to this adorable baby boy
– Depicting a literal genocide as an action scene. Fucking awful
– Aang actually trying to head back during the storm defeats the whole point of the whole inciting incident of his entire arc????
+ Waterbending Avatar State sequence in the storm actually looks cool
– I hate White Sokka
– I hate shein Katara
– They do NOT act like siblings
– I hate White Sokka
– Where is Katara I miss you baby girl
– ZUKO’S SCAR IS AWFUL
– Katara has no agency or passion or rage or emotion whatsoever?!!?!?
– Acting is SO BAD
+ Clunky exposition works for Zuko because he does have a propensity for monologuing all his intentions
– Sokka, however, does NOT
– How can Sokka be “the last man” of the Southern Water Tribe if there are like. Dozens of other guys only ever so slightly younger than him just standing around.
– Kanna just saying Katara’s monologue because Katara is a nothing
– WHY DO FIREBENDERS KEEP ATTACKING AT NIGHT
– Clunky ass exposition “he had to grow up fast” give me a fucking break
– Who the fuck is this white guy
– Katara has no motivations at all?? She’s just chopped liver I guess
– The cadence of every actor is so bad
– They can’t decide whether they want to be the cartoon or their own thing and instead they’re just nothing
Episode 2:
– KANNA JUST GIVES HER THE SCROLL?!?!? KATARA DOESNT GET TO SHOPLIFT. OR DO ANYTHING
– MILF ALERT!!!!
– I hate you straight nepobaby suki
– She’s so fucking weird
– White Sokka has a bad face and a good body. He should have a strikingly beautiful face and a scrawny, malnourished body. L
– Aang being afraid to airbend makes no sense
– Where is Sokka’s fucking Kyoshi Warrior feminization!!!!
– Sexist ass show
– STOP IT KYOSHI STOOOOPPPPP #NotMyKyoshi
Episode 3:
– This one rebel leader guy is giving Katara more than Katara
– Why are the colors so bland
– Sokka being scientifically minded makes no sense bc that trait (which, um, is actually quite crucial to his character) hasn’t actually been established at all up until this point (or retained beyond this one episode)
– This guy is giving jock who happens to be good at engineering, when Sokka should be a NERD who HAPPENS to be good at FIGHTING
– Azula and Mai are NOT GIVING
– Azula should present as sure of herself and incredibly poised. It’s actual crucial to reflecting how she has been shaped by abuse
– And Mai should be razor sharp (both physically and figuratively) and not give a fuck about any of this!!!
+ Katara hitting herself in the face was funny
– Redemption for beautiful Jet (my friend: “I love seeing a beautiful man die”)
– Freedom Fighters are GIVINGGG
– How can Kya “watch the sun rise every day” if they literally live in the South Pole
– They don’t understand Sokka’s daddy issues AT ALL. The simple fact that he’s actually communicating them is egregious
– The first time Katara actually gets angry is for Jet. But not even for the right reasons.
– The first exchange that Katara and Sokka have that makes any sense is in ep THREE (of 8)
– “Sokka was right. You are the bad guy.” WHO WROTE THIS 😭😭
– Jet is only going after the corrupt and collaborators…. So, um… he’s literally right???
+ The fight between Aang and Zuko is actually SO GOOD and understands their dynamic (sidenote: they’re the only kids who are actually giving their original characters at all)
+ Aang reading Zuko’s diary is so fucking funny
+ I love you Danny Pudi <3
Episode 4:
+ I love the interior of Bumi’s palace. Statues of Flopsy
– Omashu is in India now I guess and also everyone in the world lives here
– Bumi’s hat!?!?
+ The nomads sound like Fleet Foxes
– Katara and Sokka are literally switching roles in this tunnel
+ This one Earth Kingdom soldier is really serving.
– The fact that he’s ostensibly framed as in the wrong here though is INSANE
– Zuko is supposed to be ten here 😭 that’s a grown ass man with a BA in Econ
– Sokka’s necklace is plastic
– Katara and Sokka being like “we never used to fight at home” ……. WTF!?!?
– KATARA WOULD NEVER SAY THAT TO SOKKA SHE WOULD BEAT HIS ASS INTO THE GROUND EVEN IF HE WAS RIGHT
– Adults keep being so mean to Aang :((
+ Zuko’s hair is great
+ I like that Bumi gave Aang his bison whistle(?)
– Bumi’s anger is….interesting
Episode 5:
– Canonically 13 year old Zuko is also a grown ass man
– “How was I supposed to know she was a Fire Nation soldier” ummmmmm maybe due to your INSTINCTS and CONSTANT PARANOIA
– They keep alluding to escapades offscreen without actually depicting any of their grounded bonding moments so we have no reason to care about any of these characters whatsoever or their relationships with one another
– Sokka good with kids and names??? Preposterous
– Zuko kinda gay asf
– Zuko calling someone an idiot and Sokka never once does . Sounds fake
– Oppressed peoples are just a mouthpiece for oppression instead of real human beings
– Instragram ass makeup
– Aang isn’t having any fun
– Aang feels like he has no agency whatsoever because he only ever does what the adults around him tell him to do and never does anything of his own accord. Let him have a sillygoofy time!!!
– Constant clunky exposition and no understanding of its own narrative… it’s truly like if ATLA … was LOK.
+ JUUUUNE
– Hitting on Iroh for #feminism
– “I always thought I was spiritually attuned. I don’t know how he got in here though” is actually so Katara. Finally an actual Katara moment
– Wan Shi Tong goofy asf Guardians of Ga’Hoole ass CGI monstrosity
– What is with Sokka’s fucking white people references (all you need is love, bye bye birdie, etc). White devil I need him dead
– Sexy Kitsune for the furries
– Fox accuses him of making jokes to deflect “What? I don’t do that” WELL. HE DOESNT IN THIS VERSION!!! (Alluding to a character trait that they don’t actually depict is crazy. He literally says everything he’s feeling at all times in this and barely ever says anything witty. It’s like they’re TAUNTING us.)
– Kya sounds like she’s from the Upper East Side
– Why won’t they let Katara DO anything!!!
– Too economical with their storytelling leads to no real depth whatsoever
– Putting Katara’s flashback in Book 1 undermines the whole point of TSR
– I HATE YOU WHITE HAKODA
– If Sokka is so bad at ice dodging in this then why did they give him the mark of the wise ??????? None of this scene makes sense
– Why is Sokka CRYING (he doesn’t DO that)
– Koh looks so bad
– Aang doesn’t actually know how to fight Koh he’s just such a wooden actor that he happens to get away with it
– First Roku mention????? Lmfao
– Gyatso talking to Aang is so wack but at least he’s being nice to him
Episode 6 (aka the best episode by far):
+ Zuko just drawing an eye on the page is so real actually
– Azula’s flames aren’t even blue
– And she’s not mysterious or imposing at all!
– I HATE the makeup in the show
– The pacing is AWFUL and STUPID, no consideration as to WHY information is revealed when it is narratively/thematically
+ Okay he’s really giving Zuko lmfao
+ Ken Leung has made Zhao feel like a real person (but no one else is doing that ???)
– Low-budget fantasy C-dramas have costumes one million times better than this.
– What is with Iroh’s obsession with boats
– Quirked up old man Roku
– Zuko flashbacks don’t read as significant because his scar is nothing and he’s the same age
+ Aang and Zhao scene is great
+ I’d follow Zhao into battle
– Other friend: “This is the best episode so far and it’s because Katara and Sokka aren’t in it”
+ Blue Spirit mask actually looks like a theater mask
+ Using the original Blue Spirit theme!!
+ This episode actually slays
– Their commentary on narrativization is solely relegated to Zhao and no one else gets to participate in this thematic conversation, not even KATARA
+ I love the sassy gay scribe
+ LADDERS SCENEEEEE
+ Zuko canonically having good handwriting is so real
+ Aang and Zuko conversation is great
– Why does Aang keep assuming Zuko is compassionate and wounded when he hasn’t displayed any compassion, remorse, or pain
– Iroh stepping into the Agni Kai goes against his whole character
+ Ozai kind of rules tho
– WHY IS ZUKO ACTIVELY FIGHTING OZAI!!!!!!!!
– Zuko’s backstory makes no sense
+ Zuko’s thotty little collarbone
– Ozai’s scene here undermines the whole point of Zuko’s banishment
– Such bad dialogue it’s crazy
– How do the 41st division not know why they’ve been on this boat for the past 3 years when every piece of dialogue in this show is otherwise expository as fuck
– What’s the point of Gyatso leaving. They don’t explain it at all
Episode 7:
– The NWT is so grey and underwhelming. My favorite location in the whole show. Can’t have shit in Netflixworld.
– BECAUSE AANG JUST HAS VISIONS OF THE FUTURE NOW I GUESS
– PAKKU AND YUE LOOK SOOOOO BAD
– Yue looks like a Euphoria character in a party city wig
– This isn’t how Azula fights!!!
– I hate what they’re doing with Azula so bad
– Mai sucks too
– Their journey doesn’t feel earned at all because they didn’t hang out or learn anything or do shit
– Why is Yue in the kitchens if she’s a princess
– And why is she WATERBENDING
– Why isn’t she repressed!!!!! She shouldn’t BE “ordinary”
– Why is Sokka explaining his duties!!!! He doesn’t SAY SHIT!
– Why isn’t the guy playing Hahn playing Sokka and vice versa (I’m so fucking serious)
– YUE’S A FOX????? WHAT
– All the offscreen battles where we’re supposed to assume character development actually happened. Sure.
– Hahn being nice and respectful to Sokka makes no sense
– MILF Yugoda! (How would she know Kanna. Update: I guess that doesn’t even matter here )
– THEY DONT UNDERSTAND YUE OR HAHN OR WHAT PATRIARCHY IS. AT ALL
– Kuruk is too serious and Roku is too playful. It should be the reverse. Playing into racist tropes :/
– His eyes are way too blue I’m sorry to this man
– They all look like they know what iPhones are.
– Yue is so annoying . L
– This whole Yue Sokka scene is the most annoying thing I’ve ever fucking seen in my life. And entirely antithetical to their whole deal
– “My friends” this “my friends” that, except they never actually hang out. They just keep calling each other friends but they never actually show it in a believable way.
– They want to be edgy but they actually never fucking shut up about the power of friendship like we are all five years old. I think when they said they were “appealing to a Game of Thrones audience” what they really meant was just that they are also bad, incredibly misogynistic writers who depict sensitive topics without any care or nuance.
– I actually like the Fire Nation boats
– Zhao is working with Azula??? She wouldn’t KILL THE MOON
– Azula would never ask Ozai to do things she would wait for his command at all times!!!
– Since when is Sokka wise and emotionally mature enough to hold this conversation with Katara, and why isn’t Katara being impulsive. This fight is so planned out; all the excitement is lost.
– Her completely blank expression as Pakku humiliates her. I hate you SHEIN KATARA!!!!!!
– This fight is so dull and lame whereas in the original that fight scene literally changed my life as a kid????? #NotMyKatara
– “The Legend of Aang” EW
– Why isn’t Aang waterbending at all. Book 1: “talking about water in completely abstract, hypothetical terms”
Episode 8:
– Iroh telling Zuko how to break into the North Pole is undermining the one moment where he actually demonstrates his intelligence as an independent person
– Stupid ass liberal feminism I hate you
– So they are sexist but also not. Makes sense
– What the fuck is with this moon backstory shit. Who needed that
– Zhao going to the Fire Temple instead of Wan Shi Tong’s Library for info on the moon completely undermines the point about the role of knowledge in imperialist conquest
– Kuruk looks like a Star Wars force ghost
+ THEY KILLED MOMO (kind of made me laugh a lot, so… points for that I guess)
– But they could only feature him for all of five seconds bc they don’t have the budget to constantly animate his mangy rat ass
– Why is Yue helping MOMO instead of ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS
– They want me to believe that White Sokka has compassion for that little rat when I simply do not believe that this man cares for anyone or anything or even has a soul.
+ Zuko and Aang’s situationship/chemistry is crazy. They’re both kind of slaying actually
– That said, the kid who plays Aang is not a very good actor, he’s just adorable and has big ears and a Dewey voice. And the kid who plays Zuko has the easiest acting job in the show because Zuko is actually so over the top and dramatic that overacting feels authentic to this one character in particular (and no one else).
– Bending fights look stupid and feel thematically insignificant
– This red filter looks so bad
– Why do they keep dragging out fast paced scenes to explain everything so that they’re now boring af
– Hahn is just……. Okay go off woke feminist king. Sure. Why not
– All the exposition is so clunky and slow and undermining the actual point of the scene
– Not only is this not visually interesting, it also doesn’t translate tonally, and the primary actors can’t pull it off
– So NOW Iroh kills Zhao. Okay
– Zhao wouldn’t respect a teenage girl this much, even if she is the princess
– Koizilla looks bad :(
– RIP Ken Leung the Cunt Slayer. 5ever in our hearts </3
+ It’s actually so funny that Ken Leung apparently didn’t even know what he was auditioning for because he was by far the best actor in this show and nearly singlehandedly redeemed it. I love this guy so much.
– Me: “This isn’t a show. This is a farcical simulacrum of real art.” Friend, far more concisely: “This is a fucking joke.”
– Katara and Sokka barely even seem like they care about each other. Look at how they massacred by boy (and girl)
– Yue and Sokka alluding to fucking offscreen WOULD be a slay if they weren’t both annoying as fuck…
– Oh so NOW Katara talks Aang down from the Avatar State. Yeah. I buy that.
– “You’re not just the Avatar you’re my family” really? Because you’ve barely even talked
– The sequencing and pacing of the Siege of the Noth was nonsensical.
– “My daughter always made her own choices” NO SHE FUCKING DIDNT!!!!! THE WHOLE POINT OF HER CHARACTER. WAS THAT SHE COULDN’T!!! Shallow fucking libfem bullshit they MASSACRED my girl!!!!!!
– Why is Arnook comforting Sokka when Sokka should be comforting HIM
– Also Sokka would never express his insecurities to Arnook in the first place. NOT MY REPRESSED KING????
– Why is Sokka giving emotional support and Katara giving tactical support -_-
– They really think that “Gotta let go of the past to have a future” is such a fucking smart line they used it twice
– Conquering Omashu wasn’t a STRATEGY it just happened CONCURRENTLY because their imperialist regime is incredibly powerful … This show doesn’t understand its own politics at all.
– Azula has no poise or swag smh
– Aang doesn’t even know about Sozin’s comet because Roku didn’t tell him…
– It’s crazy that a show written in the 2020s is actually SO MUCH more sexist than a show written in the 2000s.
– TDLR; I hate you capitalism, I hate you Netflix, I hate you White Sokka, I hate you SHEIN Katara, I hate you heterosexual nepobaby Suki, I hate you girlboss Yue, I hate you visibly insecure Azula, I hate you whatever is going on with Mai, I hate you CGI Momo, I hate you wack ass pacing, I hate you clunky, idiotic dialogue, I hate you complete and utter lack of consideration into what made this show great in the first place, I love you Danny Pudi, I love you Ken Leung.
Which, in fairness, is all pretty much exactly what I expected this show would be. But at least actually watching it did indeed verify all my assumptions (although what they did to Katara specifically was even worse than what I had assumed, dear god), so I will be writing up a more in-depth review soon so that I can actually try to unpack why this show is such a dumpster fire, and how that reflects larger trends in media. But for now, all I can say is, I can’t believe I sat through 8 hours of this fucking garbage knowing it would be bad and it was. I’ve been saying this show would suck ass since the second it was announced, and yet it somehow managed to still prove worse than even my incredibly pessimistic expectations. A soulless, shallow, offensive work of profit that cannot even attempt to justify its own existence. I need to kill White Sokka with hammers.
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Now that I've had time to Absorb mentally. Several things.
-Luffy going from overeating to swearing off eating entirely. Homie that CANNOT be good for you. And the fact that he's willing to not eat unless it's Sanji's food...that's so. INCREDIBLY significant. Bc it's been very clearly established how much Luffy LOVES food. His stomach is literally a black hole. Eating gives him strength and makes him happy. He enjoys food so much he steals it off other people's plates. He's so impatient when it comes to meals that he'll sneak into the kitchen to try and mooch before it's ready. And now he's refusing all that...for Sanji. He's going to sit there and starve himself, even though he doesn't like being hungry, even though food is one of the most important things to him, even though he has a CHOICE to eat and he CAN eat but he's not going to because it's not food Sanji made for him. The fact that food is such a central part of Luffy's character and who he is, and that we know he never does anything he doesn't want to do, it just makes me. GODDD. Why is he like this why are they like this I'm insane
-THE FACT THAT THEY LITERALLY DID THE MONTAGE OF ALL THEIR MEMORIES TOGETHER. JESUS CHRIST. That was a low blow. And also the gayest shit I've ever seen. Yeah let's just drive it in even further how important these two are to each other and how much it's tearing them both apart that Sanji's leaving by showing all their wonderful moments together. I was literally full on SOBBING at this point. Fucking RUDE smh
-Sanji being SO self sacrificial makes me want to cry I CANNOT with him rn,, It's to the point where he feels like he can't even rely on his nakama because he just wants to protect them. Like he could have easily told them what was going on. But he decided he'd chase them away, for their own safety, because Zeff's already in danger and Sanji can't risk losing his crew too. He couldn't bear to see any of them get hurt by the family that's been tormenting him for years. So he hurts HIMSELF by pushing them away. He loves them so so much that he's willing to cut ties with them completely and make them hate him so that they'll stay SAFE. GOD. Except Luffy sees right through that act bc he knows Sanji too well 😭 The fact that even Nami didn't realize that Sanji was just trying to protect them makes me so emo she really did think he'd been lying to them all along...GIRL have more faith in your nakama!!
-Luffy refusing to give up on Sanji, not ever, I'm going to explode, that is HIS nakama HIS cook and he won't stop until he can bring him home. BASHING my head against the wall
-Also I already talked about The Line in my last post but here I'll share my tags
I need to be put down I think I am so unwell rn
#SORRY. I'M SORRY. I JUST NEEDED TO GET MY THOUGHTS OUT#Oda was successful he put a bullet RIGHT through my heart. She is bleeding now. I am crying#Sanlu#Lusan#One Piece#WCI#Whole Cake Island#Sanji#Luffy#Monkey D Luffy#Black Leg Sanji#They are in LOVE your honor!!!#Things are rough rn but they'll work out I KNOW they will#Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt tho. CHRIST.#Feverishly rewriting their farewell as we speak. AKA Sanji kisses Luffy goodbye instead of beating him senseless#Shima speaks
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Ive been thinking about the anakin world between worlds sequence and I really hope and think that it was really anakin. Since I first got into star wars i thought at the end of jedi he became anakin again and completely shed vader but I realised him coming to be both vader and anakin like that is really cool and narratively really nice. Because the force is all about balance that there are equal amounts of good and evil. And this being represented in anakin the forces special little guy. Who brought balance to the force twice just makes sence.
Here's the thing for me: The Force isn't just an unspecified magic field, that whatever mysticism remains about it (and I love that aspect!! it is fundamentally impossible to completely wholly perceive it!!!) it still operates on some foundational thematic rules. And people are fully free to disagree or whatever, my speaking in a confident voice is only about me being confident in my views, not a condemnation of anyone else. But I do think those foundational thematic rules are central to understanding Star Wars.
The Force is about your mindset, your emotions, that what you bring to the Force is what you get back out of it, that the dark side isn't just randomly evil, it's about embracing fear, anger, and hate. You don't just go to the dark side because you're born a bad person, it's about the choices you make along the way, it's about the mindset you have, it's about how you think of things.
Lucas' themes for Star Wars are centered on how letting go of the bad shit in your head, on how not clinging to others out of fear of living without them, of how you need to think of others selflessly rather than what's more comfortable for you personally, those are central to what the Force is, because the Force is the unifying aspect of all of his Star Wars.
So, what does that mean for becoming a Force Ghost? If Anakin holds onto Darth Vader, if he doesn't let go of the anger and hate and fear that make up Darth Vader, I think that goes against everything the Force is, everything about what Star Wars is trying to tell us.
To become a Force Ghost, you have to let go. To become a Force Ghost, you have to be completely in tune with the Force, which means letting go of the hate and fear and anger.
Lucas says that a Sith/dark sider cannot become a Force Ghost, they cannot achieve immortality. Only through the light side can this be achieved. Which means I don't think Anakin can hold onto Vader and have become a Force Ghost, I think worldbuilding necessitates that he's shed that part of himself.
So how does that square with what we see in Ahsoka? Letting go of the fear, the anger, the hate doesn't mean that you don't acknowledge that you held those things in your heart, that you didn't do those things, that you weren't responsible for them. Anakin is acknowledging that, yes, he was lost in the dark, those things dug claws into his heart.
But his appearance there wasn't for his own sake, we're not seeing Anakin there to learn a lesson--he's there for Ahsoka's sake. And what does Ahsoka need from him? Ahsoka needs him to say that he's more than just Vader so that she can still care about him without feeling guilty, she needs him to point out that, if he can rise above Vader, she can rise above being the student of the man who became Vader. He shrouds himself in Vader's appearance for her sake, to force her to confront her feelings about how she has to keep fighting to live, to let go of her fear about him.
I think all of that was a play designed specifically for Ahsoka's sake, because he doesn't really go full Vader until he says she's not listening to what he's saying, she's not getting it, so he has to change tactics. It isn't because Vader is still part of him, but because she is still holding onto Vader and he needs to show her how to let go.
Balance isn't equal light and equal dark, Star Wars is pretty against that message. That's neutrality and neutrality in the face of evil is letting evil flourish. Look at Bendu--he's the one in the middle and, ultimately, he's a coward who refuses to help save anyone's life because he's equally light and dark.
Balance is stability, balance is moving with the currents and changes of life, moving with the Force that resides in all life forms--balance is exactly what the Jedi teach and practice. Balance is the light side.
And I think to become a Force Ghost, one of the ultimate expressions of the Force, one of the most important thematic examples of What Star Wars Is About, has to be aligned with Letting Go and finding selfless peace. That's why Anakin wears white Jedi robes at the end, rather than his usual dark tabards--because during Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars, he was equal parts light and dark and that wasn't stable at all. But once he let go, he became stabilized, he became a Force Ghost, he became a Jedi of the Jedi Order, he became balanced.
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my thoughts on spooky month 6
copy pasted from a page and a half of google doc. crying. spoilers inbound.putting it under the cut cuz its super long. also swear warning.
Ok to start off LILA. LILA MY GAL NO UR DOING UR BEST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Im crying im actually fucginf crying. She's trying. So hard. Skid is trying so hard. THEY'RE DOING THEIR BEST PLEASEEEEE. Father Gregor can go EAT SHIT. THEY'RE TRYING AND THAT'S WHAT COUNTS GODDAMNIT.
Susie… Susie no… please… she deserves better istgggggg. What happened to their parents? Are they actually just busy? Are they DEAD? Holy shit what if they're dead. Poor Pump, poor Susie, god please just let these kiddos be ok. PLEASE. ABUELO WONDER IS TYING SO HARD BUT SUSIE KNOWS IT ISN'T REALLY FROM HER PARENTS IM CRYING. SUSIE NOOOOOO
FATHER GREGOR I HATE YOU. ok well he obvs did some good but STILL. GREGOR. STFU GREGOR. I get that hes trying but U CANT JUST SAY ALL THAT SHIT ABOUT JUDGEMENT AND THEN JUDGE HER HER FUCKING HOUSE GOT BROKEN INTO!! YOU DONT HAVE THE FUCKING CONTEXT!!!! ARGHFDGHJSGHJKAGHSD. Also DAMN IS HE A CULTIST NOW?? IS HE DEAD?? WHAT?!?!?!
ROYYYYYY ROY MY BOI NOOOOOO poor guy :( i understand why he hates the kids they DID kinda ruin him so. At least he knows theyre trying now :( and ross n rob just ASSUME he did something bad isnt helping here!!!! I get that theyre also trying to help him and its nice to see him opening up to them about stuff (even if we dont get to know what specifically PELO WHY) but PLEASE get this kid an anger management class or smthn PLEASE. He needs SO MUCH THERAPY. I dont think hes gonna get therapy because im pretty sure his parents are Part Of The Problem but STILL. Also FUCKER LITERALLY GOT POSSESED BY A DEMON?????? THATS GOTTA BE TRAUMATIC TF
Side note i love ross and robert dearly and i appreciate them doing their best to help on both sides i love them smmmmmm AUGH
KEVIN AND RADFORD FRIENDSHIP REALLLLLLLLLL i am SO fucking happy about that!!!! Also Kevin having conflicted feelings on the kids FAIR. Similar thing to Roy except hes an adult with a semi-functional support network and is able to understand that theyre just dumb kids and they dont actually mean any harm. He’s harsher on the hatzgang cuz theyre teens and old enough to know stealing is wrong but Skid n Pump are little kiddos they dont know better. Also him disapproving of father gregor REAL THO. also HE GOT POSSESSED TOO?? TRAUMA CENTRAL HOLY SHIT
PATTY DESERVES TO HAVE A GUN ACTUALLY. Also JOHN ANGST JOHN ANGST JOHN ANGST! IS HIS KID DEAD? IS HIS DAUGHTER OK HOLY SHIT. ALSO THEM HELPING THE KIDS PROPERLY IM CRYIG AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
WHAT WAS EVERMORE DOING WITH THE HOBOMEN???? HELLO??????
I SAW THAT CULT NECKLACE UNDER IGNACIOS SHIRT. I FUCKING SAW IT. CALLED IT BITCH!!!!!!
Rick just has the WORST luck lmao
STREBER IS ALIVE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOO
DEXTER NO PLEASE AUGH…… HIS MOM TOO……
JAUNE AND ROSS’S DAD… HE'S REAL HE EXISTS!! I get ur trying jaune but that is NOT the best way to comfort poor lila… AT LEAST SHES TRYING THO I APPRECIATE HER
THE ENTIRE NEWGROUNDS ENDING?? THE THIEVES AND THE CANDY DEALER IN CAHOOTS WITH THE CULT???? HELLO??????
MOLOCH IS GONE. he deserved it but also THE KIDS ARE SO SAD ABOUT IT? Like they don't really get it but they just watched someone they thought was their friend DIE. HOLY SHIT.
finally. SKID AND PUMP. KIDDOS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ok for real tho theyre so much more self aware than the fandom and bulk of the show give them credit for?? Like Skid is VERY aware of his dad being dead/possibly missing and legit just doesn’t wanna talk about it. He knows what death is and he finds fun in it to cope. My poor sweet boyo… and PUMP. PUMP ANSWERING THE CALL AUGHHHHHH HE WANTS HIS PARENTS BACK IM CRYING. SUSIE AND ABUELO ARE DOING THEIR BEST AND HE'S TRYING SO HARD AND AAAAAAAAAAUGH. Also him getting possessed by Moloch while having Star-Eyes basically debunks the theory of the Star-Eyes being a form of possession which is FASCINATING. Anyway that scene with Susie and Pump got me misty eyed and then during the ending with Skid and Lila i actually genuinely started crying. I just want them to be happy. Please let them be happy. Please. PLEASE.
#spookymisc.txt#spooky month#spooky month 6#spooky month 6 spoilers#sm6#sm spoilers#not tagging all the characters cuz theres too many mentioned#anyway CRYING.
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sally park: a missed opportunity
this is probably going to rot in drafts for a WHILE but i needed to scream into the void about this so let me rant to YOU (yes, you) about how ptj fucked up sally park's writing and purpose in the story so much that she is now just a bundle of missed opportunities. the same could also be said about other characters like crystal choi, luah lim, etc. but i just reread hunt for hostel and i have a lot of insane thoughts that need to be screamed about.
as a character who was the center of attention during her introduction arc, she has been reduced to simply an eli enabler and warren's love interest, who gets about 3 panels to really shine, and then is demoted back into window dressing.
warning: mild eli hate ahead but i do NOT hate eli, i just hate ptj for making everything hostel related eli-centric, when sally is arguably just as important.
so. lets start at the beginning.
from the very beginning, the eli jang arc was told from sally's perspective especially based off the narration, and her character during the majority of the eli jang arc BANGED. initially introduced as a classic demure, feminine savior figure for bad boy warren in the first chapter of the eli jang arc, it's then shown that she isn't as naive or one-dimensional as she may seem.
in fact, shes shown to be fiercely independent and self-sufficient, learning to live by herself and deal with her own problems without anyone helping her, while simultaneously grappling with her grandmother blaming her over her dad's death (side note this plotline, which could've added so much depth to her story was NEVER picked up again)
on my first read of the eli jang arc, this sequence actually punched me in the gut and sally became an instant fav
but i digress. continuing back to the main point, sally was a tremendously well written character (or as good as we're gonna' get when it comes to female characters by ptj) in the eli jang arc, whether it be her narration (scenes like "sometimes i think if i hadn't introduced them to eli back then, our story wouldn't have been such a tragedy"), or her actual actions in the story.
she was integral to the story. in fact, i would say that she was MORE central to the heart and soul of hostel than eli jang was (at first, before she got butchered by ptj and forgotten about) because it was HER that was providing for her family with HER own money, until eli stepped in months later. she was the one that everyone wanted to assist and protect because she was who was holding everyone together through her sacrifice and love.
LOOK AT HER!!! just LOOK AT HER!!! she is so noble and tragic and she does everything for the sake of her family, including starving herself! she is so tremendously loving and sacrifices so much for her family, which is why everyone unites around her to help her!
in fact, the reason warren, eli, and others devolve into crime and stealing is to help her get more money for food, as they can't bear to see her starve herself. while this does come off a little bit white knight-ey (oh a big strong man has to save the sweet damsel), the point is that she has this kind of power over the people around her through her genuine leadership skills
not only that, but she was actually also the one who came up with the idea of using their old building to provide for more homeless kids, showing that she really should be credited with the creation and management of the runaway fams, far more than she is in the story.
even though, immediately after, its shown that she didn't think enough about the financials of the situation, and eli gets his time to shine by coming up with the point organization stuff, the way its framed portrays both sally's idea and eli's financial proposal of the financial system as equally important things. this scene makes me think that, at the very least, sally and eli's importance should be on equal footing: sally is the passion, the heart, the core, while eli is the figurehead, the brains, the fighter.
in summary, sally was the person who united the original hostel A through her leadership, kindness, and sacrifice, and had so much soft power over everyone that the entirety of her family would do anything to help her. she also came up with the idea of helping runaway families, demonstrating her kindness and generosity.
not only that, she was still actively managing the runaway families and making money while eli fucked off to j high to become a barber, allowing her to get closer to the runaway fams and inspire them with her leadership.
with all that said, it's clear that sally should be a three-dimensional girlboss who uses her charisma and good personality to gain soft power and lead the people around her as one of the figureheads and hearts of the hostel crew, right?
well. no.
after the eli jang arc, she becomes close to useless.
i dont remember much of 2A outside of the big deal stuff, but what i do remember is that sally does nothing, wins a singular rock-papers-scissors game, and then becomes a damsel in distress again that warren needs to save and gets to show off his cool fighting skills in the process. (this may not be accurate, feel free to correct me if im wrong)
but my BIGGEST gripe is the hunt for hostel arc. the hunt for hostel arc was very much centered around eli, warren, and even jerry, more than it was sally, despite how much of an integral role she played in the formation of hostel. during the entire arc, she does basically nothing but watch on the sidelines
... and then ptj pulls this on us. they all unite because they admire and love eli jang so much? only eli jang? not warren chae, gangdong's mighty? not max and derek, the two uncles? not sally park, THE big mama?
i cannot emphasize how ironic it is that sally, the big mama, quite literally gave birth to the idea of the runaway fams, and yet nobody mentions her again afterwards, and only ever eli jang. like... what did eli ever do for you? give you a shitty haircut?
and when warren and eli leave, i FINALLY thought that ptj was going to give sally a moment to shine and show her by herself again, like she was all that time ago, and how she figures out how to save her family despite being unable to fight...
but no. we get this sick ass panel and then she is completely irrelevant again
the next example of the sally erasure comes when eugene is talking to eli about him joining workers. he tries to convince eli that this is the ONLY thing that he can do to protect his family, and that, now that he's here and so is warren, hostel is weak and helpless because the MEN that get everything done aren't there anymore and "oh no, what can sally park and the girls do?"
like fym "what can they do"?! sally is a LEADER and she has POWER and INFLUENCE (or at least, she should). but no, the narrative doesn't prove him wrong, and sally does next to nothing in the narrative.
i cannot emphasize how much more of a leader figure she is than eli btw. she took all the runaway kids under her wing. it was her idea to build an organization for these kids in the first place. she was the one singlehandedly raising money for all 7 high schoolers in her family before eli stepped in. she STARVED HERSELF and CUT HER OWN FINGERS trying to make food for her family. she was THE big mama. EVERYONE wanted to protect her and respect and love her. and yet ELI is the main character of hostel that is oh so important and that everyone will unite under????
"oh no without you how will anything get done, eli jang?" stfu
and even when she does do things, later on, it's really more of an excuse for vasco to shine. while she was the one to get heather's mom to forgive eli, as well as the one that got vasco to save eli in the first place, 1) her major role in this part of the story is entirely sidelined and given no narrative weight outside of being the reason that eli's healing arc can happen and 2) the only agency we've ever seen her having since hostel arc is in relation to eli. she only ever acts on her own to save eli. she PROBABLY did stuff outside of that to help hostel, but that is entirely offscreen and not focused on at all, so her leadership and agency when it comes to things outside of a MAN are ignored.
in chapter 478, i thought that she was once again given a brief moment to shine when she looked sad and all wondering what they would do once they didn't have the income workers supplied them with, and i was hoping that she'd get a chance to creatively problem solve around it to show a good character moment for her and the rest of hostel... but who am i kidding this is ptj of course he wouldnt do that. nah, it was just a scene so that vasco could introduce jay again and be like "hey guys jay is actually relevant to the story and he's a nice person, just so you guys dont forget that he's still there! and also ignore this deus ex machina ass solution to a conflict that could've been a really interesting character study!!"
so yeah. that's basically it. in conclusion, i think sally park is a HUGE missed opportunity for ptj to finally write a good female character. kind, compassionate, charismatic, smart, sally's got it all. however, just because she is a soft character doesn't mean that she's a pushover and she held tremendous power and authority because of everything she did for her family. however, ptj decides to do nothing with her and turn her into an eli enabler and a warren love interest instead, ignoring her leadership skills and influence.
and once again, no hate to eli, warren, jerry, jay, or any of the other character i just shat on to make a point!! i like all of them, but i just think that sally's character assassination to allow them to shine was an infuriating decision on ptj's part
#lookism#lookism manhwa#eli jang#jang hyun#eli lookism#warren chae#chae wonseok#jerry kwon#kwon jitae#sally park#lookism rant#literature analysis#(?) kinda#hostel#lookism webtoon#jay hong#hong jaeyeol#i hate how ptj treats his female characters#women deserve better
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Chapter 5 [Read Here]
CHAMPION
Part III of Heavyweight
a deancas boxing au by valleydean (emmbrancsxx0)
read from the beginning | playlist | tip
SUMMARY: Brooklyn, 1933. Dean Winchester, the number one contender, trains to become the next Heavyweight Champion of the World, and this time he won't let anything get in his way. Title holder Castiel Novak has second thoughts about retiring, especially when someone from his past arrives in New York and asks for his help. Meanwhile, a new contender rises to fame and threatens to complicate both of Dean and Cas' ambitions - and their relationship.
CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Dr. Meganolopis’ voice came out staticky through the radio’s speaker: “I’m sorry, Doctor! I forgot being a head surgeon means you cut into whatever body you want, and take out whatever organ pleases you without any paperwork whatsoever!”
“Well, Doctor, I’m sorry you’re so forgetful,” came the reply of the titular character, Dr. Desire.
Castiel heard Dean’s breathless chuckle in response. From his place on the living room couch, he glanced down at the rug, where Dean was doing his pushups. The neck and armpits of Dean’s t-shirt were darkened with sweat. The shirt was riding up the small of his back, leaving a sliver of skin above the waistband of his gray sweatpants. He wasn’t wearing any socks or sneakers.
As far as training sessions went, this was certainly more casual than most. However, Dean seemed determined to get in what he could before Castiel left town next week. Evidently, that meant conditioning through Dean’s favorite radio show.
The rest of the house was quiet, with Eileen at an NWP meeting and Sam still at work despite the fact that the sun had set an hour ago. Maura was asleep in her wicker bassinet, as she had been since Dean stuck his finger into his whiskey glass and gave the baby a taste to “soothe” her. Sam hated when Dean did that, but Castiel wouldn’t breathe a word of it because it seemed to work every time.
“How much longer do I have to do this?” Dean asked, his voice strained from exertion.
Castiel took his eyes off the satisfying way Dean’s back muscles moved beneath his shirt with every pushup to glance at the clock on the mantel. It was almost half past, which meant the radio broadcast would be over soon. “Until the end of the show.”
To his credit, Dean didn’t complain. He did look up at Castiel with slyly twinkling eyes to say, “Could use a little more incentive.”
Castiel rolled his eyes for show, despite the fluttering wings in his chest. He kicked his legs off the couch and climbed down to the rug with Dean. He laid on his back, placing his head beneath Dean’s face. When Dean lowered himself down, Castiel caught his lips in a quick kiss before Dean pushed away again.
Dean laughed embarrassedly, his cheeks a little pinker than they had been a second ago. When they met in another kiss, Castiel couldn’t help the pocket of laughter in his throat from coming out.
“You’re so off the cob,” Dean teased.
Castiel narrowed his eyes at him. “It was your idea.”
“Whatever,” Dean grumbled, lowering himself back down again. That time, Castiel lifted both hands and ran his fingers through Dean’s hair. Dean laid down fully on his stomach and kissed back, parting his lips into it. One of his hands cradled the top of Castiel’s head and the other stroked Castiel’s cheek. He tipped his head slightly to get a better angle for the kiss.
Castiel let it consume his every thought. He forgot completely about the radio show. But, apparently, Dean was still listening because after a few minutes, he ripped his lips away from Castiel’s and said, “Hang on, hang on.”
Castiel frowned, annoyed.
On the radio, Nurse Piccolo was saying, “You had your chance and you blew it! I wish you hadn’t, but you did. Roger is my fiancé now, and that’s final!”
“It isn’t final until you tell me that you love him more than me,” Dr. Desire answered in his stern transatlantic accent. The torrid affair between the couple had been a central point of the story for at least a year now. “So, say it! You can’t, can you?”
The familiar outro music swelled. Then, the broadcaster said, “That concludes this week’s episode of Dr. Desire—”
Dean groaned petulantly. “Man! I hate it when they do that! Now we gotta wait a whole week to find out what she says!”
Castiel brushed his fingers through Dean’s hair, realizing that he wouldn’t find out for himself. Next week, he’d be gone. It was likely he’d miss every episode for a while. “You’ll have to tell me what happens.”
The sparkle in Dean’s eyes faded. “Or you could just not go.”
“It’s only four months,” Castiel reminded him. After Dean had come home high that night two weeks ago, Castiel had asked Michael and Gabriel to renegotiate the tour’s contract. Somehow, they’d reached an agreement of four months and seven cities, with an extra fight in Las Vegas later in the year. There would be a total payment of $500 grand, which was one hundred thousand less than what they would have gotten under the original terms—but Castiel was willing to sacrifice that amount of money to be home. Fortunately, his team seemed to agree.
It was for the best. Castiel didn’t want to be away from Dean for so long. Besides, four months of bouts seemed more manageable than a straight six.
“And you said you’d visit me in Kansas City,” Castiel said. “That’s only two months from when I embark.” It would probably feel like a lifetime. Castiel wished Dean could just come with him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Dean dismissed sullenly.
Castiel picked up Dean’s hand where it rested on his chest and thumbed gentle circles into his knuckles, not knowing what else to say.
“You gonna miss me?” Dean asked, tone light, but Castiel heard the vulnerability behind it.
“Of course.”
“Yeah? Which parts?”
Castiel shook his head, unamused. “Every part.”
“Welp,” Dean grunted, picking himself up by the arms so he could move to lie down half on top of Castiel. “That’s too bad, ‘cause I’m definitely gonna miss some parts of you more than others.”
Castiel raised a brow with interest. “Will you?”
Dean hummed. He stroked his hand down Castiel’s side, past his hip, to rest on his thigh. “Big time.”
#destiel#deancas#destiel fic#deancas fic#dean winchester#dean#castiel#cas#my writing#my post#heavyweight
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About You, About Me
Jaune: What about you?! It's all about you!
This line is what the episode is about in a nutshell. As a matter of fact it conveys 2 ideas central to the whole situation:
1 - The "you" Ruby is talking about is different than the "you" Jaune means.
Ruby is asking about herself as a person, while Jaune speaks about her as an ideal. This dychotomy is the crux of both their current situations. Ruby has been lving as the embodyment of an ideal, so now she struggles to express how she feels in a healthy way. Jaune is instead trying to hide who he is behind the ideal of a hero.
So, Ruby wants to be seen as a person, while Jaune as a hero. Interestingly, both fail, as WBY's reactions to them make clear:
WBY immediately understand Jaune's pain and can see through his very thin (paper-thin I would say) facade.
WBY fails to pick up on the many red flags Ruby has been showing throughout the whole volume. They try to address Penny's death and her frustration on a couple of occasions, but never really go deep.
2 - Jaune is lashing out at Ruby, but he is really projecting on her his own frustrations.
This is made clear by the rest of the conversation:
Jaune: On that bridge, I was the only one, who could do it... I was the only one! And I... And now I have to live with it forever, in here or back home.
It is all your fault! It is all my fault! Jaune just keeps swinging between these 2 extremes. It is exactly like when in Mistral he goes on a rampage against Cinder, but the one he really hates is himself. There he lashes out at the villain, here he lashes out at the hero. The villain is a monster, the hero just could not live up to her role.
Ruby on her part does exactly the same. To be specific, she lashes out on everybody, but I would say she does so in 2 distinctive ways.
BLAKE AND JAUNE - STOP BEING LIKE ME!
Ruby: Shut up... Don't do that... Just don't.
The fight ends with Ruby telling Blake to stop trying to be positive. This complements her previous outburst directed at her (and Yang):
Ruby: Gotta stay positive, right?! Smiles all around!
Ruby can't stand how Blake is behaving because it reminds her of how she is supposed to feel. And she doesn't feel it anymore.
Thematically, Blake has been stepping into Ruby's role since the beginning of the volume:
I would not say she has substituded Ruby as the leader. Still, she is being the optimistic one, the idealistic one, the hopeful one. She realizes they are in a fairy tale and is enthusiastic about it. She knows the right definition of what being a Huntress means. She is Ruby's past idealistic self and Ruby can't stand it. Ironically, our Black Beast is now more optimistic than our Little Red.
Which is why both moments Ruby shares with Blake and Yang past volume are now bittersweet:
Blake: I know you don’t always know what to do, but that’s never stopped you from doing something. I was like that as a girl, but time and… a lot of other things, took their toll on me. Then I wasn’t sure if that kind of girl could actually survive in the world… until I met you. It was a little strange at first because you were younger, but I’ve always looked up to you, Ruby. And I still do.
Yang: You were being optimistic. Look, blind optimism isn’t great, but no optimism means we already lost. We need hope. We need to take risks.
Sure, everybody loves Ruby because she is optimistic and pure and inspiring... but what when she can't be it anymore?
This episode addresses precisely this and takes Ruby and Blake's current foiling to its extreme conclusion:
Blake: Then we won't run this time.
Blake charges into battle to protect strangers, while Ruby runs away from her loved ones.
If Blake reminds Ruby of her past, Jaune is a spitting mirror image of Ruby's current self. This is why she doesn't even talk to him directly, but keeps mentioning him:
Ruby: What about me? No time, right? Gotta get home! Gotta help Jaune! Gotta find someone, who isn't just going to screw everything up!
Ruby: I'm sorry, is this a bad time? Are we supposed to be mourning Jaune's make believe friends?!
Notice the 2 references to time. Ruby, just like Jaune, feels she has no time. It is just, Jaune feels he has not enough time to save everyone, while Ruby feels she has not enough time for herself. No time for others to care and nurture her. This is what she is trying to convey.
Similarly, the remark about Jaune's make believe friends is cruel, but it has definately to do with Ruby's own very real lost friend:
The one she has yet to mourn. The one nobody is mentioning anymore because everybody is too focused on other things. So, yeah, why should they all be mourning a bunch of afterings they know nothing about? When Ruby herself did not even take the time to properly mourn Penny?
Throughout the whole episode,Jaune (unwillingly) steals Ruby's spotlight and caters everyone's attention on himself.
He's obviously been through a lot. We can be frustrated later. Right now, Jaune needs us. And we need him. We just can't count on him.
While Blake says so, the one in focus is Ruby because this phrase is actually about her. Except nobody realizes it. Nobody (or almost ;)) notices she is struggling.
This pattern keeps going throughout the whole episode:
Weiss and Jaune insist Ruby should just grab her weapon and fight like always
Weiss aka Ruby's partner chooses to assist Jaune instead of her. Symbolically, even the Walker that almost kills Ruby is the one Weiss and Jaune launch in the river while they are fighting
When Ruby lets Crescent Rose fall, Yang's question to her is cut off by the paper town being floaded, which leads to everybody comforting Jaune
Even Ruby's own outburst is overshadowed by Jaune's one, which leads to Ruby finally leaving
All Ruby wants is for someone to look at her properly and empathize with her. Still, everybody has been too focused on their own feelings and losses. At the same time, Ruby herself has been refusing to open up with her friends for several volumes now. Everybody believes she is alright because she has always repressed her negative feelings, so nobody really knows she has any.
Everybody thinks she is Blake, when she is actually Jaune.
WEISS AND YANG - LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME!
You don't need me anymore
No, you don't see me anymore
I'm alone in this war
I am a trap door
Ruby lashes out at Blake and Jaune because they are like her. When it comes to Yang and especially Weiss, instead, she is angry because they don't realize her pain.
Yang is too caught up in her new love life to notice her little sister needs help. Or at least, this is what Ruby thinks tbh because there is not that much evidence of this in the story. It is just that when you feel very low, you can end up resenting others for their own happiness. And this is what happens with Ruby and Bumbleby:
Ruby: Good for you, by the way. We are all soooo happy for you.
Weiss is too caught up in her own pain and grief to realize how much her partner needs help. Even in this episode, when she sees Ruby has not Crescent Rose, Weiss bitterly reprimands her. Just like she did at the market. Not only that, but after Ruby has made clear she is absolutely not okay by letting Crescent Rose fall... all Weiss has to tell her is to help support Jaune.
Weiss: It's what they wanted. Right Ruby?
Ruby: Why are you asking me? Because I am the leader? Because I am just supposed to have something to say? Cause I don't.
Nobody looks at Ruby or notices her low spirits... well, actually someone does... a small soul ; )
RED HOOD AND LITTLE
Ruby leaves and the only one she has left is Little. Her new friend. Her Ever After's guide. Little is the only one this episode who notices Ruby is off. And they are also a lot how Ruby used to be when the series starts. Little is someone who sees her and also someone like her.
It is going to be interesting how Little will impact Ruby going forward. Especially because we might get some new Little Red Riding Hood's references this volume.
Ruby leaves her family/loved ones/home and enters a wood alone. Where is she going? Maybe she just wants to go back home:
Yang: Return home, eh?
And yet, the woods are dangerous and full of wolves, who want to eat our Little Red Riding Hood:
And just like with the Hound aka another representation of the Big Bad Wolf... the monster hides a person:
In general, the situation is the reversed one of volume 6:
There Ruby enters the woods, discovers dangerous things, but also meets a mentor figure who teaches her something about her Silver Eyes. She is able to inspire everyone to move on and steps in the role of leader.
Here Ruby enters in this strange new world and can't find an ounce of optimism. They are in a literal fairy tale and she doesn't give a crap. The same girl, who started volume 7 eager to explore Atlas after having crossed a whole continent on foot.
In any case, I am curious to see where we are going with Ruby. Especially because she might very soon have a meeting with the true Neo, aka her Shadow. Little as the Little of her Red Hood and Neo as her shadow and the wolf. Probably both ingredients are needed to see where Ruby is going in the future.
Speaking of Neo, there is this:
Yang: But that's... those were more than her usual tricks. They eat and growl and... how has she gotten so powerful?
Yang openly questioning Neo's new powers make me thing there is more than just a semblance evolution. The power-up happening in the Land of Darkness makes me thing it might have something to do with it. Darkness in Jungian psychology is the Shadow and the Repressed. What if this land lets you tap into your buried potential? For better or worse?
Scratched through the surface
And you found a key
Unlocking what you thought was safe inside a box
But it's somehow been set free
(Finally)
THE FALL OF ATLAS- ONCE AGAIN
So far, the protagonists have experienced the fall of Atlas twice now. The first time at the market. The second time at the paper town.
In general, the 2 episodes clearly parallel each other. To better say, the paper town is an escalation of the market.
Both times WBY and Jaune fight Neo's Jabberwalkers, while Ruby freezes up. Both times Ruby is reprimanded for apparently spacing out when she is experiencing psychological distress. Both times the protagonists feel as if they are living Atlas fall once again. And yet:
Neo's presence is made clearer, as if we are building a climax toward a final meeting with her. The real her.
Ruby consoles Weiss at the market, but refuses to console Jaune at paper town.
Ruby buries her feelings at the market, but explodes here.
The Rusted Knight is introduced as a dependable hero and a saviour at the market, but Jaune is revealed as a broken and grieving person here.
The most interesting thing is that when it comes to the Fall of Atlas specifically the 2 characters in focus are Weiss and Jaune:
This fits the foiling set up in the Ponder Storm mirror gallery. There we see how they both are still struggling over what happened in Atlas.
Weiss thinks about her Kingdom, her people and how they risked their homes without gaining anything.
Jaune thinks about Penny and his role in her death.
Both can't forgive themselves for failing to stop Cinder and to save Penny. This makes sense considering how they are the last 2 to fall and the ones who hold on the longest. They were both blooming in Atlas and were in very positive moments of their life. And yet, last volume's climax changed things. They were brought down when they were at their strongest... so what can they really accomplish?
And yet, even if they clearly blame themselves, they end up lashing out on others, as a coping mechanism (even if in different degrees). This volume both are shown particularly rude, sassy and cynical, in ways they usually are not. Or at least not anymore and not as often. The result is that they both enter into a conflict with Ruby. Weiss's insensitivity and ignorance of Ruby's feelings coupled with Jaune's exploding at her are among the reasons why Ruby leaves.
It is clear the dynamic among Weiss, Jaune and Ruby is going to be important for the resolution of this volume and for all 3 their character arcs. Especially, there is still something that hasn't been addressed:
I thought this episode was perfect for the reveal Jaune killed Penny. And yet, it doesn't happen. Which makes me wonder when this truth is gonna come out and how it will impact Ruby, Jaune and Weiss's dynamic. What is sure is that Jaune and Weiss clearly have a role to play in this volume's climax and in Ruby's arc.
WEISS - SNOWHITE, SNOW QUEEN, SNOW ANGEL
Weiss: Then, who does that leave us with? It's obvious we need someone to guide us or we can end up throw back in time or killed by the tree or worse.
Weiss keeps looking for someone to look up to, to guide her, to console her and to support her. This is not wrong per se, but hilariously Weiss is the one who is probably the most put together compared to the characters she wants to depend on.
She opens up to Ruby about her loss. There is nothing wrong in this, but we as viewers can really see it should be the other way around. She should be the one Ruby can lean on. Even in this episode, when it comes to support Jaune, she asks for Ruby's help. Now, she doesn't really need to. She can say something kind to Jaune by herself and neither Blake nor Yang ask Ruby to butt in. Weiss does and, as little as it is, this is what sets Ruby off. Because once again Ruby is asked to ignore what she feels for someone else's sake. Even if Weiss and the others can really handle the situation on their own.
This is why Ruby calls out Weiss specifically this episode:
Ruby: Gotta find someone, who doesn't screw everything up!
Something similar happens with Jaune, as well:
Yang: And when did you get so...
Weiss: Mature...
This is both ship-teasing and a joke, but it hides an important truth. Notice that Weiss doesn't say "handsome" or "hot", but mature. Jaune is an adult, he is Weiss's childhood hero, so he must be dependable. And yet, he is not because he is still RWBY's old awkward friend and he has spent years alone with his guilt. Weiss should understand better than anyone else why Jaune isn't well. I mean, she was there when Penny died. She outloud states Penny sacrificed herself, so I think she knows what Jaune had to do. And yet, her reaction this episode to Jaune's predicament is this:
Weiss: But how? He's clearly not... all there.
Just like with Ruby, she makes a snappy remark, which is heard by Jaune and this starts a discussion and escalates an already difficult situation.
I don't say this because I think Weiss is a monster or a bad person, obviously. She is clearly suffering as well and really means no harm. Still, it is important Weiss stops looking only at herself. She failed to save Atlas, but she can still save her friends. She has the inner strength and the wisdom to succeed:
CC: I am talking about you, Wise Huntress.
It is through helping others that she will move forward from her loss. Just like Jaune did it in volume 5 by saving her.
JAUNE - HERO, VILLAIN, MAIDEN
Jaune is instead the opposite of Weiss. He tries to overcome his grief over Penny's death by trying to help other people. I mean, it worked with Pyrrha in Mistral, right? So, why shouldn't it work here? Sorry Jaune, but that coping mechanism is not functional anymore because your past self has been shattered:
And yet, Jaune refuses to let go of the heroic self-image he has worked so hard to built. Basically, he has regressed, as well and is stuck here:
Jaune: I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!
Jaune's arc has always been about integrating with the anima, aka his most feminine parts. He refuses them, but it is through them that he will eventually become the hero he wants to be. He needs to accept he is a damsell in distress to be the hero. Even more so, to truly complete his journey he needs to become a symbolic maiden. Only in this way, he will be complete. He will truly be himself. After all, he alludes to the very famous Maid of Orleans ;)
So, right now Jaune is once again refusing his anima and this is why the once promising hero has turned into a toxic version of himself. He thinks he is protecting the paper pleasers, but he has actually trapped them. He is not the one saving them, but they are the ones saving him by offering him a coping mechanism to keep himself together:
Weiss: Then why do you care so much about this village?
Jaune: Because I can actually protect these people!
They are pleasing him in a relationship, which is honestly detrimental for both parties. Jaune protects them, yes. Still, he also stops them from evolving. The same is true the other way around. The paper pleasers are keeping Jaune functional, but they are also stopping him from making any real progress.
This is why after years Jaune is still a prisoner of the Ever After. It is because (obviously) the way out one way or the other has to do with the tree. And yet, Jaune keeps avoiding it. Just like he is avoiding any real change.
This is because "changing" is a risk and a risk means you can't be sure if things are going well or badly:
A new me, I am ready, but who will I find?
And you know what else is a risk?
Weiss: Trust is a risk
Interesting...
Jaune: Afterlings are all either too clever, too stupid or too crazy to trust!
And who is the last person Jaune trusted exactly?
Penny: Trust me...
Jaune is clearly trying to "fix" what happened to Penny through the Afterlings, but he is wrong. There is no fixing the past this way and what he obtains is just that he is making people suffer for no reason. Not only that, but his stubborness puts the paper pleasers in real danger:
If the Jabberwalkers get them, Jaune's friends would never ascend. There is no escaping death, one way or the other.
Jaune needs to accept this and he is actually starting to accept it. Symbolically, the day after he finally reunites with RWBY, the time starts moving once again. After years of delusions, Jaune starts facing what he has done. His delicate stability, which is symbolically represented by a paper world evaporates and dissolves into water (this episode starts with fire and ends with water > 2 elements linked to alchemy and transformation).
He starts the episode claiming he is fine:
Jaune: This isn't crazy. I'm not crazy.
He ends the episode admitting he isn't:
Jaune: I'm sorry. I know I am not okay. I know I am not right.
And even asking himself the key question:
Jaune: What am I supposed to be?
What are you? Only by facing this question head on Jaune can hope to finally evolve. Only by letting fo of his armor, which is rusted already, he can hope to find his new more refined self. A hero, who is also a maiden.
GRIEF
It seems that after the first 5 episodes exploring the 5 stages of grief, we are getting calls out to them in different ways:
Ruby bargains her emblem in order to help her friends. Another way to run away from Summer, but also to sacrifice her pain for others. She failed to get the ingredients in time, so obviously now she has to sacrifice something so personal, like her mother's memento, right?
Ruby, Weiss and Jaune walk in a mirror gallery, which reflects their grief and fail to discuss it. They didn't even properly discuss Penny's death and how it happened. They are negating it on some level.
Ruby and Jaune explodes into anger this episode and in this way they can finally both start their self-actualizing journeys.
We'll see where it goes...
ASCENSION VS DEATH
Personally, I think we need an exploration of this dychotomy on a thematic level.
On the one hand ascension is clearly a metaphor for death. However, the Jabberwalker, which is clearly a creature of Darkness seems to be offering a different idea of death. More similar to the one the characters have. What is the difference? What is ascension really? And why does the Jabberwalker embody something different?
This a very interesting mystery thematically speaking and I am curious to see how it is solved.
Is it about introducing 2 different flavors of Destruction?
Cancellation (death)> negative
Transformation > positive
We'll see...
On another note, the reveal of Jaune's role in the paper pleasers' town gives more context to the Cat's dislike for our Knight. The CC's role is to lead the Afterlings to the Tree, but Jaune goes in the way of this. Symbolically, this makes them antagonists.
MISCELLANIA
Here come some miscellania thoughts:
The time motif is interesting. This episode specifically times keeps being mentioned by Jaune and Ruby. Jaune keeps saying they don't have time and that he is late. He also keeps asking what time is it. Ruby is annoyed there is no time and sarcastically asks if that is a bad time. In general, Jaune and Ruby are also opposites when it comes to time. Jaune is currently a man who has spent too much time alone with his trauma. Ruby is a child who has had not enough time to properly process hers.
Jaune's allusions just keep multiplying. He is the White Knight in Alice (also that character sings a song whose alternate title is litterally The Aged Man :P). He also fits the Hatter to an extent in how he killed time (aka spent years alone making no progress and broke the time fruit). And now he is also the White Rabbit.
Speaking of Jaune... meta-narratively the Rusted Knight is very interesting. Judging by the girls' enthusiasm and by Jaune's own excitement when he mentions realizing he was that character, the Rusted Knight is surely portrayed very positively... And yet, Alyx poisons him. I think @harostar suggested what we saw in this episode might offer us a glimps of why. Jaune might have been controlling to Alyx and Lewis and Alyx may have felt trapped by him. And yet, the story still portrays Jaune as a hero. If Alice wrote the story or if Jaune was really that terrible to her and her brother, then why isn't he portrayed as a villain? This question is interesting and seems to confirm Alyx might not be the writer of the story... At the same time, Jaune might have failed to leave up to a fairy tale- standard. However, if the writer still felt to write him as a hero, maybe he did better than what he thinks.
This is the third time Ruby hallucinates three people. The first one when she falls (Oscar, Yang and Penny), the second one in the Blacksmith's place (Penny, Alyx and Summer), the third one while fighting the Jabberwalker (Cinder, Penny and Salem). Clearly they relfect Ruby's deteriorating mental state. The first time, she isn't hallucinating, but seeing Neo's illusions. The second time she is subjected to the Ever After's strange magic. This time, though, she is having a straight out panic attack. In all this, Penny is fittingly present all three times. Ruby needs to properly mourn her or she will never move on.
WBY's discussion about the Tree this episode is interesting because we have: Blake (destruction) believing the Tree is rebirth, Weiss (creation) being wary of the dangerous power of the Tree and Yang (knowledge) wanting to know more. Fittingly, Ruby (choice) is silent and so they fail to reach a resolution.
I think this volume might introduce a key theme, which will probably keep going in later volumes. The idea of need vs wants in a reverse sense. Jaune and Ruby both want to be needed to the point Ruby fears that now she isn't needed anymore, she is going to be left behind. It is the same as Yang's conditional love idea (see the Auction)...I think the resolution is going to be that you don't love people because you need them, but because you want them in your life. It is the same concept expressed by Blake last volume... Others are just a part of you... you don't stay with them out of codependency or need, but because you are happy and wish to be with them.
#rwby#rwby meta#rwby spoilers#rwby volume 9#ruby rose#jaune arc#weiss schnee#blake belladonna#yang xiao long#my meta
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Shang Tsung | Relationship Headcanons | What is he like? | What does he do?
He 100% keeps a picture of you in his work desk at all times, even when Princess Mileena is in for her Tarkat treatment, it’s there. It keeps him motivated to keep working at his best knowing that even though you aren’t there, a memory of you is.
Unlike what people think about him, he isn’t completely evil. People who look from the outside in (Such as Liu Kang) believe that he abuses you both mentally and physically, he forces you at his side, and has you under some sort of obedience spell, but that isn’t true. You see a side of him that no one ever has before. He allows himself to be vulnerable with you, and shows you every part of himself.
Whenever you sit in a chair in his study, or sit anywhere near him, he will randomly just stop whatever he is doing to stand from his chair and make his way over to you, but it isn’t anything direly important to his study of Tarkat, or his elixirs, but simply to hold your face in his hands, cradling it like a prized jewel he collected in the most divine of places.
He tends to just stare at you, nothing is wrong, he’s only thinking to himself, about you. “Is there something wrong, my love?” “Absolutely not, beautiful. Just admiring the outstanding view.”
Sometimes he asks you to paint his nails, growing up in poverty, he could not afford such pleasures, so now that he can have those little things, with you no less, he adores having you paint his nails or put eyeliner on him for fun.
Hates raspberries for some reason. Absolutely resent them. Will go out of his way to not consume them. Why? He won’t say.
When he has company over for a meeting (Ex. Ermac, Quan Chi, Bi-Han…), IF they say something that intrigues you, he will allow them to stay longer for you and his guest to ramble about said topic, he usually is an in-n-out business man, but whatever makes you happy.
He’ll occasionally read you a book, he’d sit and read you a story about demons, monsters, ancient creatures and myths that were popular when he was a child. “I can’t believe these used to terrify me, can you?” He’d ask. Yet, you might be afraid like his childhood self, or you would nod in agreement and laugh with him.
Shang denies it, but he tends to talk about his mother a lot. Mostly positive, but he remembers the things she had to do just to make sure that he had something to eat everyday, or something to wear when out to get seasonings for what little they could buy for dinner that night. He misses her dearly, and wonders if she would be proud of him if she were alive to see him now.
He is a perfectionist at heart, he freaks out when his potion bottles aren't in color coded order or aren’t in ordered bottle size from smallest to largest. He even has you assist him in making sure that the bottle sizes or colors are in perfect order like he wants.
Shang loves to make you clothes to wear, not specifically for him, per say, but when you do wear the dresses/clothes that he makes for you, it sends him in an infatuated spiral.
Slow dance central, expect for him to grab you out of nowhere and begin to slow dance with you. It calms his nerves to have your body flush against his in such a romantic way, this has become one of the most common ways to ease his mind after such a long day of work and progress. "I love you."
Decided to finally start writing again, don't know if it is something I'll do more but only time will tell...
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Any thoughts on "The Sky is Falling"? I happened to be listening to it the other day and went "wow, this seems like something BestWorstCase would have Thoughts about", but searching your blog didn't turn anything up on it. If Tumblr search has failed me (probably not for the last time), I'd be interested to see what you've written before; otherwise, I'd be interested to hear now :)
ough i do have thoughts. many thoughts. idk if i’ve ever posted them, partly because i argue with myself a lot about whether it’s a hound song or an ozma song brfghks. much as i’d like it to be the hound for rotating him reasons, though, i do think ozma is a stronger textual reading.
unhinged about songs hours ->
the motif of the sky falling obviously calls to mind the chicken little folktale, of which there are numerous variations but in all of them the kerfuffle over the sky falling is hysterical: the danger is not real. in some versions of the tale, a sly fox incites the panic on purpose at the beginning and then eats the frightened birds who turn to him for help at the end.
the song’s narrative placement also connects it to atlas, and thence to atlas telamon, the titan who holds up the sky on his shoulders. (not the world—that’s a common misconception; classical images of atlas shouldering a globe depict the celestial sphere. it’s the sky.)
so we have on one hand the apocalyptic motif of the sky falling, and on the other the very real danger to atlas, conflated together: if atlas falls, so too must the sky… except that ‘the sky is falling’ is idiomatically an irrational fear. atlas may fall—that danger is real—but the world will not end if it does. the song’s central motif implies paranoid hysteria.
there is also the latin maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum, let justice be done though the skies fall. i go back and forth on whether i think the writers specifically have that in mind, in relation to this motif, but: “it’s important not to lose sight of what drives us—love, justice, reverence” and “in pursuit of a new world, no cost is too great.” fiat justitia, ruat caelum. that’s the salem perspective.
and i bring that up because of sacrifice:
Born an angel, heaven-sent
Falls from grace are never elegant
Stars will drop out of the sky,
The moon will sadly watch the roses die
In vain,
Lost, no gain
But you’re not taking me.
and
Show them gods and deities,
Blind and keep the people on their knees.
Pierce the sky, escape your fate,
The more you try, the more you’ll just breed hate
And lies.
Truth will rise,
Revealed by mirrored eyes.
with its similarly apocalyptic imagery (‘stars will drop out of the sky’/‘pierce the sky, escape your fate’) in relation to ozma and his task, and salem positioning herself in opposition (‘but you're not taking me’/‘truth will rise’)—fiat justitia, ruat caelum.
hence, ozma song.
‘the sky is falling’ is directly a dark mirror to ‘touch the sky’ but it’s also—i think more interestingly—a sardonic reflection on ‘until the end’ if one reads both songs as articulations of ozma’s perspective.
emotionally, ‘until the end’ leaves off here:
Love brings us dreams,
But grief makes the heart burst at the seams.
As light fills my eyes,
I’ll picture me beside her,
And pray that I’ll inspire,
I promise I’ll be here until…
…our story has been told.
Til our bodies break down every door.
Til we find what we’ve been looking for.
it’s a dream—a fantasy—ozma finding hope in this imagined scenario where he can be with salem again. i’ll picture me beside her.
and then she, uh. captures him:
Here comes another nightmare,
Another fever dream.
The horror just won’t stop,
An endless scream,
But this is not subconscious;
We’re not imagining.
We’re wide awake,
This is reality.
lol.
‘until the end’ is very lovelorn and idealistic, and also fundamentally passive: though “desperate to make amends,” the promise ozma makes is to… wait. to do nothing. to hope for salem to make the first move.
and well. she does. this is what ‘the sky is falling’ is about, the collision of ozma’s romantic fantasies with the harsh reality of the situation.
Our world’s
Lost without a soul.
We’re losing all control,
Not getting closer.
Every day is just another dose of torture.
Now we pay the cost.
The race is lost,
This nightmare’s
Our real life.
points.
OSCAR: It should not be this hard getting people to just cooperate.
OZ: And yet, it’s something I’m becoming increasingly concerned about.
this is what oz is worrying about all morning while the hound stalks oscar across mantle, how difficult it is to get anyone to “just cooperate.” because—contrary to the popular fanon—he is in fact still committed to his task and he does still, on some level, believe that remnant is damned and its people are missing something fundamental; his secrecy and manipulation, his guiding interest in silver-eyes and maidens and elevated ‘guardians’ and ‘symbols of hope,’ his all speak to his lack of true faith in humanity. and that traces back to what the god of light told him.
(since people love to cite ozpin’s commentary on ‘the story of the seasons’ as “evidence” that he’s abandoned his task by misinterpreting “I fear that if unrestricted magic use were possible, the results would be chaotic and catastrophic” to mean that ozpin thinks people are better off without magic rather than ozpin justifying his efforts to control the maidens; here’s part of his commentary on ‘the two brothers.’
Whether or not you believe in the Brothers, or in this story in particular, the underlying message still holds value: We are burdened with responsibility for our world, and we share a common destiny. Like the twin gods, we are intricately connected with one another, and if we can learn to work and live together, we can create things greater than the sum of their parts.
Remnant survived the Great War, but while the four kingdoms now cooperate and coexist, our bond seems tenuous. We have a fragile peace, and in some ways, we are more divided than ever. Even if the gods aren’t real, even if they don’t return to judge us for our deeds, we should act each day as though they are arriving tomorrow. In the end, we will be the arbiters of our fates. We will either create a beautiful, peaceful world and live in harmony together or destroy ourselves and our planet, and the gods will judge what we have chosen.
in which he not only states his belief in his mandate and the inevitability of divine judgment outright, in plain terms, but also repeats the same fear he confided in salem thousands of years ago, that despite finding happiness or achieving peace, he worries that people are “more divided than ever.”)
thus: “our world’s/lost without a soul/we’re losing all control/not getting closer.” oz has become “increasingly concerned” about how hard it is to “get people to just cooperate.” and so “every day is just another dose of torture,” because, well…
To live free or die, it’s all the same.
The enemy was right, there’s no reclaiming.
In waves of shame,
We’re desperate to make amends
…he knows salem is right. his task is impossible; things can never go back to the way they were. the old world, the world of the brothers, is gone and trying to reclaim it will achieve nothing but destroying remnant.
and yet he cannot bring himself to believe it, because to him this would amount to condemning the world, to admitting that remnant is broken and irredeemable and must be destroyed because it cannot be saved. to him, salem’s rejection of the mandate is horrifying—tantamount to a a declaration that nothing in the world is worth trying to save.
in her mind, rejecting the mandate is an act of defiance: remnant does not need to be saved because there is nothing wrong with it, and where he sees damnation, salem finds freedom. and that’s what ripped them apart.
‘sacrifice’ makes this point also:
Did the things you thought you should,
All the things they said were good.
All your faith in ancient ways
Leaves you trapped inside a maze.
[…]
Even with the lives you stole,
Still no closer to your… goal.
that ozma’s faith in the god of light imprisons him in a futile, impossible quest because he can’t escape his belief that the world is broken, that salem’s freedom is really damnation. he achieves so much—he united the four human kingdoms after the great war and ushered in an era of unprecedented worldwide peace—and still, in ozpin’s own words, he sees only that people are “more divided than ever.”
the chorus of ‘the sky is falling’:
Better cover up your eyes, my friend,
The sky is falling,
Can’t outrun the ruin of our lives.
Be prepared, we’re near the end,
The final days are calling.
Hold on now,
The sky is falling down.
similarly echoes the motif of blindness that appears in ‘sacrifice’ (“close your eyes now, time for dreams/death is never what it seems” and “show them gods and deities/blind and keep the people on their knees”) and, more obliquely, in ‘until the end’ (“love brings us dreams/but grief makes the heart burst at the seams/as light fills my eyes/i’ll picture me beside her” -> the light is death, the light is love, love brings us dreams and death is never what it seems).
the first two lines of the chorus are also a direct inversion of ‘trust love’: “better cover up your eyes, my friend/the sky is falling” vs “trust love/and open up your eyes.” which is salient because ‘trust love’ is chiefly about ozlem; it’s in conversation with ‘sacrifice’ and ‘until the end’ and on top of the central motif of love restoring sight there is also, “if you could only open up a door/spread your wings and fly away from here/write yourself into a fairytale/all your problems would just disappear.” the you is ozma.
and that makes ‘trust love’ + ‘until the end’ + ‘the sky is falling’ really um, pointed foreshadowing:
All you have to be
Is here in reality
Leave your fantasy
You’ll find the key
To victory
I know the dark’s returning
And the fires of hate are burning
But the lies can’t hide what’s true
When love’s alive
in one sense ‘until the end’ is the fantasy and reality ensues in ‘the sky is falling’, but in another—deeper, more important—‘until the end’ is also the truth which ozma keeps hidden from himself, and ‘the sky is falling’ is the act of self-deception; better cover up your eyes, my friend, the sky is falling.
so all of this—all of it—this is the false narrative oz has constructed about himself and salem, his blindness:
A curse that’s
Never-ending
This path with
No escape
No sudden death
We’re trapped
In slow decay
These words are
Not symbolic
The torment’s
All too real
Eternal enemy
Our fate is sealed
We slide
Further down the hole
The damage takes its toll
Helpless and broken
Failed to stem the
Tide of pain
The floodgates open
Now it’s one more sin
As evil wins
And misery steals
Our lives
notice too how this section of the song reflects darkly on the hope and longing expressed in ‘until the end.’
ozma let himself imagine a reprieve (“time falls away/but pain always finds a way to stay/the tears that you’ve shed/will find a tree to water/but only when you’re stronger”), which he now scathingly reminds himself is impossible: his curse is never-ending, there is no escape even in death, he’s trapped in slow decay, his fate as her eternal enemy is sealed.
he admitted to himself that he wished to make amends and for just a moment he let himself believe that he could (“and stare with pride into the face of fear/in our finest hour, i’ll be standing here/and should we fall to darkness/this power i will harness/i promise i’ll be here until the end”), and now he mocks himself for it: he has done nothing but decay, corrupted more and more with every lifetime as he becomes unrecognizable to himself; the damage takes its toll. helpless. broken. he can’t make the pain stop, he can’t fix anything, he can’t save either of them.
oz found enough courage and hope to crawl back out of his darkness and try, once more, to do the right thing—to make amends—and what happened when he tried? “i’m not upset that you left. i’m upset you came back.”
that conversation, oz trying to apologize and being told that he’d done wrong again, made a mistake again, happened at most an hour or two before the hound caught them. one more sin as evil wins, cue the chorus.
and then the song turns inside out. (pour one out for the terrible rap 😔)
Lost all my hopes
And dreams
Watch my life flash
By in scenes
And it seems there’s
No soul on the
Video screen
But I’m green tryin’
To figure out what
All of it means
Staring at the casket
Hoping to move past it
Knowing things will
Never be the same
And that’s it
Cold soaked as
I stand in the rain
Feeling nothing but pain
Until I see you again
clears throat. not a metaphor. this is about the lost fable—ozma very literally watched his life flash by in scenes, narrated by jinn in ozpin’s own words, and then he retreated into isolation to think about it. not to brood or sulk but to reflect; he comes back with a very clear idea of what he did wrong and how he wants to change because he used that time to, well, try to figure out what all of it meant, knowing things will never be the same.
and that’s it?
this part of the song is an emotional echo of the regret and longing expressed in ‘until the end’; “love brings us dreams/but grief makes the heart burst at the seams/as light fills my eyes/i’ll picture me beside her/and pray that i’ll inspire” -> “cold soaked as/i stand in the rain/feeling nothing but pain/until i see you again” it’s the same idea.
that salem is his hope, his comfort. deep down in his heart of hearts ozma… wants to see her again. ‘until the end’ hints that it isn’t a coincidence that oz makes his hopeful return in the same hour that salem reaches atlas. here, too, “nothing but pain/until i see you again.” a flicker of hope. because the hound is taking them to her.
and then:
Feel the waves crash
Loud and hard
Oh God
Lost control
I think I’m gonna lose it
All my sanity’s slipping away
Oh Lord
Press record
I’d die without the music
Each breath is closer
To my death
Except that which is,
This life
There’s none left
Let my demons live on
Through my legacy
Study my pedigree
I need therapy
he catches himself feeling that small glimmer of hope and freaks out. lost control, sanity’s slipping away. every breath is bringing him closer to death, oscar will die, his demons will live on in his next host, he needs therapy. why did he even think that?
where you seek comfort, you will only find pain. his heart knows that isn’t true, but ozma is still fighting tooth and nail to force himself to believe it; cue the chorus. better cover up your eyes, my friend, the sky is falling.
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hii could I pls request Rachel x fem r, maybe they fight about something and up making out ? Thank u in advance
𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍.
pairing: rachel green x fem! reader
warnings: none. kind of enemies to lovers but nothing bad 🫶
a/n: changed this request up a little bit, but either way we love a rachel fic!!! we need more. i love my gf <33 this is my worse piece ever guys IM SORRY.
keep it up w the requests!!!
word count: 1.3k
THE MOMENT rachel green strutted through central perk in her wedding gown you vowed to hate her for the rest of your life. her vigorous whining and confusion of common things you learned when you were seven years old were your new normal. it amazed you how the show stopping girl was so out of touch with the world. which is probably why she got so much on your nerves.
it started exactly two weeks ago when you were discussing your best friend chandler's dream, it seemed like moments later the woman bursted through the door begging for monica, your other best friend. you had heard little to nothing about the messy haired woman from your friends. just some comments made when you found monica's old yearbook in your own apartment years ago, and a few compliments on ross's behalf. but the moment the girl walked in the coffee shop she acted like she owned monica. and you didn't like sharing.
despite the moving in without talking to monica, your dark haired friend seemed to not mind one bit as she cleaned out the spare bedroom for the preppy woman. there was multiple times you asked monica (once rachel left the room of course) if she was one hundred percent sure it was okay for her friend to barge in like that. "she has no one, y/n. she doesn't even have two dollars to her name. she was my best friend for years. i'm sure." monica had responded as she made the guest bed. you opened your mouth to reply only to be interrupted before you could even speak. "monica, the mail man gave me his number!" rachel had announced as she entered the room, noticing the pink pillow covers. "do you have any satin covers? it works best for my hair." all you could do was roll your eyes as you went to bug chandler to make you a sandwhich.
the next day, you arrived at monica's in the mid afternoon after work. it was a long and stressful day as per usual. your typical day. the moment you opened the purple door you noticed the girl sat at the table, a hand through her hair as the other balanced a pen. "oh, hey y/n. where have you been all day?"
"um, work. like every other person who doesn't rely on 'daddy's credit card'." you spoke as you made your way to the fridge, pulling out a drink. you heard a dramatic huff as she dropped the pen to the table and turned to you. "and what is that supposed to mean?"
"for your information, y/n, i am not blonde. i have dirty blonde hair. completely different things, practically a brunette." she scoffed as you ignored her words and made your way over towards the couch. you plopped down as you heard her follow you and stand in front of you. "and, i don't rely on my daddy's money. look at me now."
"wow, you've been without your credit card for seventeen hours you should win an award." you spoke sourly as you crossed your arms. rachel shook her head as she put her hands on her hips. "what's your problem?"
you stayed silent as she huffed dramatically once more. your eyes looked up into hers for the first time since she walked through the coffee shop. blue eyes, bright blue eyes. ones that could make one swoon. you understood now why she was the popular high school girl like ross had told you years ago. she was easily one of the prettiest girls you'd ever seen. "i'm waiting."
your words settled in her mind for a moment. the silence of the room killing the both of you. you tried to stand your confident ground but there was something unsettling about calling out the woman who's smile vanished like that. "you think i have a smile that could make everyone fall on their knees?"
you genuinely couldn't believe how self-centered she had to be to say that to you. especially to respond to that part, out of your whole speech. but then she did that smile. that smile that made you want to fall to your knees. her lips curved ever so slightly, the brown lipgloss you were sure she took from monica glossing her lips. her teeth showing so slightly but they were perfectly white. so pretty. her cheeks lightly blushed with makeup she had in her purse. she looked down on you with a sparkle in her eye.
"you like me," rachel smiled simply as she walked away. you pressed your lips together as your eyebrows furrowed and you turned to watch her sit back down at the kitchen table. "what? did you hear nothing i said?"
"yeah, i heard a girl just begging for another girl. i'm flattered really," the blonde girl hummed as she picked up the newspaper and looked through the job section. her silence only infuriated you as you stood up and made your way over to the table. "rachel."
"hm?" the girl hummed as she glanced up at you. you felt the urge to gulp at her eyes on you. there was something nerve wrecking about the way she was looking at you. "i-" you huffed, causing air to come out of your nose. "i hate you."
"yeah?" rachel replied innocently as she stood up and made her to you. which was only a foot away from herself. there was barely any space between the two of you as she got closer and closer. becoming prettier and prettier the closer she had become. her nose nearly brushed yours as you felt her breath on your neck. "do you hate me enough to... not kiss me?"
and that was enough to envelope her in a life threatening kiss. wrapping your arms around her as she cupped your face with one hand and held your pant belt hole with the other. your lips moved in perfect union. the taste of rachel's lip gloss was cozy in your own mouth, it reminded you of hot chocolate on a chilly winter evening. if only rachel were there wrapped in you with a warm blanket, now that would be a perfect winter evening.
"OH MY GOD. MY DREAM CAME TRUE, CHANDLER!" you heard a familiar scream making you yank away from the girl, seeing your group of five standing their in awe. because yeah, you were making out with rachel green.
#rachel green#rachel green x reader#friends#monica geller#phoebe buffay#ross geller#joey tribbiani#chandler bing#rachel green x fem reader
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taliesin and laura remain truly so fantastic at making characters who… don’t necessarily have something extremely and inherently in common but do have experiences that were caused by similar sources and that lead them to have quite different opinions/ideas about things but in ways that are typically very reconcilable? which is a lot of qualifiers but it’s a through line of vex/percy with nobility, jester & cad with loneliness (and also god stuff but in a different post maybe someday i’ll talk about how actually their god stuff is intensely related to their different experiences of loneliness), and now imogen & ashton with being left behind.
like vex was this character who technically had a claim to nobility due to her blood but at the same time was burdened because of that same claim. and percy who was born into and raised by nobility but that nobility ended up making his family the targets of a massacre. and then vex who lets down her walls and Do I Look Like I Come From Money? and percy giving her the title grand mistress of the grey hunt because it has nothing to do with blood, or his love for her, or anything aside from the fact that it’s something she can prove herself worthy of simply by virtue of who she Is, not who someone makes her. and percy and vex’s conversation about forgiveness and it’s necessity for growth as probably two of the characters most inclined to hold grudges.
and caduceus clay who gets left behind with nothing but his Belief while his family goes off into the world. and jester lavorre who gets shut inside with no company except her Belief as her mother protects her from the world. and they both get the burden of loneliness and the understanding of love’s nonmalicious imperfection. and caduceus having a panic attack on a ship and jester telling him that the world is a lot bigger than his cemetery and that means he has to break out of his comfort zone to find his path. and caduceus telling jester that he doesn’t think she gets as much credit as she ought to and she deserves more pastries. and jester thanking caduceus for showing her how cool it is to actually heal people and caduceus asking if she wants to use his shield while he doesn’t need it.
and ashton who was left broken and dying on the ground and was given inescapable pain as their means of survival. and imogen who was left behind by the only person who could provide true understanding of the pain she’d one day come to feel. and ashton who’s a barbarian, who wields their rage casually and unapologetically and who sees the Shittiness of the world but is unrelenting in his version of optimism. and imogen who is weighed down by pessimism she doesn’t Want to have but hasn’t cracked how to undo and who doesn’t admit her anger until it comes up again and again and again and carries it like a burden or like guilt, who we only see really Grasp and feel Confidence about her anger being something good in front of others when she has those conversations with ashton. and like. ashton who looks at imogen and sees a superhero. imogen venturing through ashton’s mind and holding his bleeding and exhausted head and saying i’m sorry. i’m sorry. and imogen who looks at ashton and sees someone special. and fucking “we got him killed.” and “no, we didn’t. don’t you dare. […] we are not what fucking killed that man. […] we are his eventual victory. we are his fucking revenge.” and “i’ll be his revenge.” and “i have no fucking doubt.”
and in general rp wise they both tend to make some of my favourite characters (also typically the ones i find most frustrating) because they both tend to make flaws that are easy to hate and they make those flaws very central to their characters but i think that’s also what makes their character interactions so deeply compelling because so frequently it’s like. yes yes these two characters have like. a helix of things they have in common but also things they deeply disagree on but they’re going to spider-man point at the things that are the same and they’re going to honour their differences while doing so. and it’s just. i always enjoy it so much and i was psyched when i heard about an imogen and ashton side pit stop in last nights episode and i was not let down when i watched the episode today.
#also gotta emphatically say that i Do Not Mean their characters understand each other better than others or completely#i just think those two consistently have characters that have opinions that would perhaps naturally be the most at odds but then#they always craft these dynamics that like. web together pieces of sameness so that their characters end up having deeply#meaningful relationships with one another.#but like. ashton and imogen really do Not get each other in a lot of ways. cad and jester were very opposite in a lot of ways#percy and vex i think probably had the most in common but also like . they had and have vast differences .#idk this probably is worth a longer post that lingers in my brain about how relationships between characters whether romantic or not#are actually Much more compelling and rewarding when characters Don’t just click and have perfect matching experiences#because. to have to Choose to want to understand someone and what they’ve experiences and why they differ from you#if actually a much stronger act of love than searching for your reflection in everyone you meet.#someday i’ll string together that post but. until then. tal and laura my beloveds. storytelling duo truly#cr3#cr2#jester lavorre#imogen temult#vex’ahlia#caduceus clay#ashton greymoore#percy de rolo#cr1#critical role#cr spoilers#no molly and jester input here because i haven’t watched early m9 in a Long time but. i’m sure there’s similar scenes in there.#honestly even like. jesters Earnestness with her still manipulative trickery vs. mollys much more . not necessarily Cruelness but just. idk#there’s something there with the way that when they meet jester is all in for the tarot cards for the experience that they both get out#of her choosing to believe what molly says vs molly going in to get something out of jester? yk.#but they’re still bestie icons. jester still tears a man in half in the hopes of saving molly. molly still died trying to help get her back.#anyway. beloveds#laura bailey#taliesin jaffe
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What about My Pride? The uh YouTube series, I think the writer was problematic somehow but that might be a thing to mention and also I’d like to see your thoughts
It's on the list! My shorter, more concise thoughts are that while I appreciate it as very much a labor of love with some talented artists and voice actors on the team, the actual story and writing is disappointing, tone deaf, and downright infuriating at times.
I guess rattling off my issues (spoilers included):
I found the central handling of disability and Nothing's character to be poorly thought out. Needing multiple abled bodied characters to get her moving, it feels like there was little research done in trying to depict a character like her.
I hate that her name stays as "Nothing" and that an abled bodied lion lectures her about accepting it. Terribly thought out scene. I'm a she should've changed her name to Everything truther.
The central gay lion romance that the series is based off is pretty poorly written with very few sprinkles of endearing and fun moments between them unfortunately. Hover is...mean? She's a terrible partner and I was genuinely upset that her not sticking up for her girlfriend all because she missed idk a lion recital (something Hover?? canonically should not give a shit about???) was scummy. it would be one thing if Hover was meant to be in the wrong...but she's not depicted as that?
The two spend so much time apart, you start to get kind of annoyed at how much gay lions were part of the marketing and then the gay lions! weren't there!!
Didn't care for it!!
I actually liked the world and premise. I enjoy unfair and cruel societies, I like the idea of someone working to change the system (though I very rarely see the execution of that I like, very rarely will stories depict the actual necessary actions for confronting a society like this: tearing it down entirely and building something better).
I hate Feather. Them pulling their punch and not killing him was lame.
Nothing's brother being the twist villain should have been set up better, it doesn't hit the same way it could have had the series planted the seeds earlier on. We have no reason to understand why he would act this way, he was doing just fine better? Why not set up tensions when we meet the group of young male lions?
I don't like that the only real importance Nothing holds isn't because of something about her in the present, but the importance of her able bodied past life. Her ending with her wanting to die is...bleak because I don't believe she has recognized her own worth.
Poor handling of abuse. I disagree with the notion that trying to give depth to abusers is in itself apologia, but the show is trying to like....idk how to say this properly but it wants to "both sides" Nothing's mother's treatment of her, ya know? I found it really icky.
Uh I think I could say more but you'd have to give me a specific topic to bite onto or I'll keep meandering lol but I didn't care for the show but I do feel for fans of the show who are stuck on a cliffhanger. I hope the creator releases the rest of the story plan at the very least.
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Final round of episode quotes as @look-at-those-niceass-rocks and I finished our final watch party. Once again, the cast and crew are in the house, so @saveourpinks, please enjoy. (You can find previous posts with more unhinged quotes here and here)
Honorable mention from before we actually started, them waking their husband up with: wake up, it's time for me to see gay shit
Second honorable mention, a conversation had while I struggled with my audio:
Them: I tried to show [Husband] Merely Players last night but he was too tired
Me: I can't believe your husband is homophobic
Them: I AGREE
Husband, distantly: I don't deserve this!
(about Buddy) God his shoulders, he's built like a Dorito
(this is specifically in reference to episode 8 but honestly, this was said multiple times throughout our watching) Me: WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH COMMUNISM???
Them: It's the 50s! If it ain't American, it's communist!
Me: I love that Buddy's dad's name is Dick
Them: It was a choice
(In reference to Blandiels) He makes me SO uncomfortable. Like I know that that's the point but he's so slimy-NO NO STOP, STOP KISSING HER, FUCK-!
(roughly three minutes of us screaming over Lydia's Woman Scorned (tm) dress, followed by another three minutes of us laughing at the faces everyone was making when I pause the video)
(about Susan's mom) Me: Heinous fucking bitch
Them: What. A raging. CUNT.
(after we both spent a Hot Minute thirsting over Cynthia dancing on the car) Them: I talk a big game but if I was within five feet of this person, I would be just staring and stammering
Husband, distantly: We know honey
Them: SHUT UP
(both of us wheezing over CGI!Richie)
Cops: *show up*
Us: *John Mulaney voice* SCATTER
Them: NOT THE LINE I'VE LOST THE ONE I LOVE THE MOST AS SHE PICKS UP OLIVIA'S JACKET
Me: They are simply In Love
Them: He's gonna do something stupid, I can feel it.
Me: You don't know the half of it!
Them: He's gonna propose to a teenager!
(okay maybe they do know the half of it, fuckin' prophet)
Me: *reading off episode titles as it starts storming where I am* And this one is called You're Dropping Out of Rydell- thank you dramatic thunder???
(honorable mention, me being unable to tell what was real thunder and what was from the episode)
Them: I'm not emotionally ready for this
Me: Me neither and I've seen it like eight times already
Nancy: *dramatic exit*
Them: She's so dramatic and I respect her and only her
Me: I love you singing along to a theme song with no lyrics
Them: Sometimes I just gotta make funky little noises!
(About Nicholson) I am going to break that man's ball sack with a driver.
Them: It's giving pouty little bitch
Me: Which one? (referring to Buddy and his dad)
Them: Yes
Cynthia: *walks in in Richie's Jacket*
Me: Hello my name is Single and Gay
Them: I am not single but I am gay and I think... I don't think, I have no thoughts, head empty
(About McGee, then the scene transitions to Daniels) Them: The only adult in this school I respect- I AM GOING TO KILL HIM WITH MY BARE HANDS!
Me, wheezing: What about your human hands?
Them: THOSE TOO
(said in the most disgusted voice I've ever heard) Of course he likes Walt Whitman
Them: [Husband], I'm killing the pedophile, wanna help?
Husband: Let's be honest, do you really need my help?
Them: Someone's gotta drive the car.
Them: "Feelings central?" I bet you were feeling sensual when you were making out with Olivia-LYDIA on your couch earlier
Me: ...You good there?
Them: The names are too close
(Face to Face begins) Ah, dramatic acapella is my gender
Me: Once again, love how much you hate Buddy
Them: He's had so many chances to earn my respect and he has done nothing!
Guardian Demon: *appears*
Them: What. The fuck. Is happening?
Me: BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT BABEY
(@ Buddy) Them: He's not a total ding-dong. Just like 80%
Me: He did just thank her (Susan) for having sex with him
Them: ...85%
(About the Red Sox analogy) Cynthia giving me Gender Euphoria with one sentence
Nancy: *talking about love stories, mentions Shy Guy*
Both of us: *Cackling at the full-body never mind Cynthia does*
Nancy: Tell anyone of my vulnerable nature and I will deny it until the day I die!
Them: FUCKING MOOD like I know I was literally also just crying but we're gonna move past that, I'm a bad bitch again
Me: Finale time! Any thought or predictions before we get started?
Them: Leonard gets arrested and as he's being taken away, he gets hit by a semi truck-
Me: What is this, Mean Girls???
Them: Yes! McGee punches the principal in the face and defeats him in blood combat and cements her place as principal-
Me: *slowly dissolving into horrified laughter*
Them: Cynthia gets to kiss Lydia again, which is all I really need to be happy, and terrifying CGI Richie comes back and does the Macarena!
Me: *can't start the episode for five minutes because I'm laughing too hard*
(Ten seconds in) PAUSE THIS I HAVE BEEF THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY OF GETTING MARRIED THAT QUICKLY IN A CATHOLIC CHURCH
(after rant) Me: Yeah but the tensions wouldn't be as high if they had six months to stop the wedding!
Them: ...there are two wolves inside of me, one says valid, and one is formerly Catholic and Upsetti
Me: I want a shirt that says "I have two wolves inside of me, one of them is Catholic" and nothing else
Them: *WHEEZE*
Cynthia: He's just. Some guy.
Both of us, in sync: HIT HIM WITH YOUR CAR
"Old Soul" is groomer for "Fuckable"
(@ Gil climbing in through the window) Me: On the one hand, I'd fold, on the other? Terrifying!
Them: YES!
Me: Although I guess if I had the rapport with someone that they have?? Maybe?? Like good in media, bad in real life.
Them: Gil? Yes, absolutely. Edward Cullen? Fuck no! The two genres of climbing through my window
(after the drag race) YET ANOTHER THING BUDDY DID NOT EARN
Me: Hey, do you have tissues?
Them (afraid): ...should I get some???
Me: Maybe
Them: I don't think I have any in the house???
Me: Ah! You're fucked!
*ten minute interlude of us crying over the Coming Out Scene, discussing what it means to both of us, and how furious we are of future generations not getting to see the best queer rep of our lifetimes if this show doesn't get saved. On that note, sign the petition if you haven't already.*
THEY STARTED BY STEALING A CAR THEY WILL SAVE THE FRIENDSHIP BY STEALING A CAR
Oh someone please hit hi- YESSSSS!!!
(at the start of All In) Me: She (Cynthia) is going to cry
Them: I'm going to cry
Me: I'm already crying
Me: Lydia is stronger than I am I would already be on my knees. (note I use a cane and sometimes a wheelchair, if I am on my knees I Will Not be Getting Up)
Me: Hopelessly Devoted walked so this song could fucking run
Them: I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE SAME THING
Pink Ladies: *Offer Hazel a jacket*
Them: *aggressively close to the mic* That sounds very gay I'm in
Them: I cannot take my eyes off Jane. Like they are all very beautiful right now but there's something about her-
Me: It's the bisexual energy
Them: ...Dammit, you're right
Rizzo: We'll start our own gang!
Them: With blackjack and hookers!
(Introduction of Frankie Zuko) Them: I'm sorry, HUH???
(As credits roll) Me: So, how we feelin'?
Them: Normal, I am so normal, I am feeling so fucking normal about this.
Me: Thoughts?
Them: *incoherent screaming*
We had some much fun doing these, we decided to keep a quotes list for more movie nights. Next up, Julie and the Phantoms!
#thank you for taking this journey with us#it was an experience#can't wait to save the show and watch season two with them#save rise of the pink ladies#save rotpl#grease rise of the pink ladies#rise of the pink ladies#cynthia x lydia#grease rotpl#cynthia zdunowski#lydia rotpl#lynthia#jane facciano#faccivinos#nancy nakagawa#olivia valdovinos#thesbians#buddy aldridge#jane x olivia#rotpl
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not trying to be rude at all, im a fan and a follower...but i didn't focus too much on yuri, just thought he was a background character, playing the same siscon role that almost every anime seems to have...sorry but can you give me a brief maybe? of your pov? cause most people seem to hate him
hey hey,, no my lovely it's completely okay, don't apologize :3
the central idea of yuri briar is that he's here just for comedic relief, and obviously, he's such a siscon and this and that, right?
and i don't blame people for thinking that in their minds, because of the way the animators and some of the writing board seem to set him up...
even endo, had said that, he just wanted yuri to be a sweet little brother people would adore, but the writers made him like this, and well, you know.
anyway, even with this personality, his character's backstory provides a lot of justification to his behavior,, like sure, at first he might seem like the comedic relief type of character, who's inappropriately in love with his sister, but actually, it's not like that at all...
in the anime, they've sort of butchered his character more,, from the changing of the lily bouquet for his sister to the rose one, and then obviously the little translation mistakes here and there.
now, let's just get to the point.
in the scene where yuri calls yor and talks about the party, he asks her if she wants him to introduce her to someone, and tbh he seems very genuine with it.
in the scene where he's meeting loid for the first time, he tells yor he can't just accept this marriage. which is so fair, because imagine your literal blood, someone you grew up with, the only person you've really ever known, gets married, and then doesn't tell you for an entire year. like, that's gotta make you upset and question things right?
i do agree, that his attachment and his admiration and obsession towards his sister is unhealthy, but hey, at least give him a second. understand his perspective right? he was just a boy, who lost both his parents to a war and grew up with his sister being the only one who went above and beyond to get him basic essentials.
and, obviously, you'd love your sibling if you were in this situation right?
so it's just that he's not really yet grasped how to normally love yor,, now this doesn't really mean that he loves her abnormally lol.
im sure that the writers will continue to develop his character as the manga continues. he's already developed a lot, and while the overly obsessed brother trope is quite funny and well-used, especially in this manga,, i still believe he has more of a personality then they show us.
and the only thing annoying is that people seem to judge him and then make posts about how he's just so creepy and weird,, which proves that they've obviously not paid enough attention to his character details to understand the reasons behind it yknow?
anyway.
...
#bye this was so long im so embarrassed rn#yuri briar#sxf spoilers#sxf#sxf manga#sxf anime#spy family#spy x family#aria speaks .ೃ࿐
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ATLA Live Action Episode 7: Overall Thoughts.
Right so this episode was a mixed bag for me. On paper I should have loved it: it’s two big moments are Azula/Katara scenes and they parallel each other. Those are my two favorite characters and I love exploring how they mirror one another. But the actual execution of some of the scenes was…lacking.
Okay I legitimately forgot that Zhao tried to blow up Zuko’s boat in the original and it was funny bc I was reacting like it was something new this show did…nope lmao. Speaking of Zhao, I feel like this show can’t really decide what they want him to be. In the OG it was pretty clear: he was an asshole with lots of resources and therefore a threat, but he was also cocky and delusional and not very good at his job. Here I feel like this show is flip flopping between having him be legitimately threatening or a delusional idiot. Both are fine choices individually and honestly I don’t really care what they do since it’s not like he was a main character in the OG, but they do need to pick one. Like, objectively, from a writing standpoint.
I know some people disliked the changes to Yue and Sokka’s relationship, but I thought they were cute. I liked that they used the extended time at the North Pole pre-attack to flesh out their relationship more and give them some more bonding moments. It makes me buy into them more (I was never a love at first sight girlie). I agree that Yue’s character in the original was a really well written example of the good and bad things that come with being as loyal/dutiful as she is and that is missing here. But unlike our main cast, if you look at her without the lens of the original, she’s still a fleshed out, decently written character. I think she works (except for her hair of course).
Sokka on the other hand…I like that they’re allowing him to express his insecurities and trying to give him an arc, but I didn’t like Yue saying his heart was the most important thing about him. It’s such a generic line, and out of all of our main cast, it seems to suit him the least. It made it feel like they’re trying to give the whole main trio the same arc, which I…did not appreciate. But he does have good chemistry with Yue.
Speaking of generic arcs for the main trio…dear god I hate what they’re doing with Aang. It’s not offensive but it’s so overdone. Every fantasy protagonist in history has this conflict, and while it works for an episode of a cartoon, it does not work as Aang’s central conflict. Gordon’s doing his best with his lines, but I get bored watching his scenes. Also I didn’t love the stuff with Kuruk. Stay away from the Korra Spirit World stuff. Y’all can’t handle the material you have.
Okay onto my main girlies:
Azula’s arc definitely goes into the “it’s a different choice from the original but it works on its own category.” If you don’t compare her to OG Azula, these writing choices make sense. They work, and they go hand in hand with how this new Ozai is different from OG Ozai. OG Ozai really didn’t seem to care about his kids. They were tools in his play for power. We never got the sense that he’d really thought about either of them succeeding him, and or that he’d ever thought about his own death. This Ozai seems to be trying to turn both Azula and Zuko into younger versions of him (as we saw in the Agni Kai last episode), and he brings up the “heir to the throne” title a lot. This means he wants his kids to have a fighting spirit, a drive. It makes Azula’s defiance all the more twisted because it’s supposed to be this empowering moment for her…but really it’s exactly what Ozai wants. It’s objectively really good writing, and both Lizzy Yu and Daniel Dae Kim do a great job acting it out. At the same time, I feel a little loss of OG Azula. OG Azula was so busy fighting for Ozai’s love, being perfect, that she never had time to think about what she wanted because she was so stifled in the “golden child” role. That’s a type of abuse we don’t see depicted a lot in media, and I do wish the live action show had taken up that challenge. On the other hand, the arc we got was objectively good and I’m not sure they could have handled that subtlety. Overall, my feelings on these scenes are mostly good with some doubts in there. It does make me wonder what they’re going to do now that we know we’re getting a Book 3. Azula’s original Book 3 stuff with Ozai really wouldn’t work now that she’s already become so defiant.
Okay my girl Katara: FINALLY she got an episode to shine rather than being a side piece for Aang or Sokka’s arcs! Funny that all the filler episodes they cut were the Katara centric ones…but I digress. I understand not wanting to cut the stuff with NWT sexism, and I DON’T THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE. But with all their worries about Sokka’s sexism not translating well to a live action, they should have considered the fact that such heavy handed sexism might come off as cartoonish in a live action format. Most real sexism is more subtle, albeit just as frustrating and wrong, and I’m sad the show passed up their opportunity to portray that. I did like that Katara finally got to show both her anger and her hope. I felt like this was the first episode where she really felt in character. While some characters work while being different from the original (mostly FN characters), Katara’s changes made her an objectively more hollow character, so seeing sparks of OG Katara was awesome! She still felt a little flat, but it’s definitely a HUGE step in the right direction. (And Kiawentiio did awesome. Glad she’s finally getting to showcase her range). The end of the Katara/Pakku fight was a little weird but I’ll let it slide because she had that AWESOME line to Aang where she was like (I’m not going to get this exactly) “Fighting is my decision, not you or Pakku’s or anyone else’s.” I was CHEERING! This is the Katara we need more of.
I know I was largely critical in this review, but I really enjoyed this episode. This episode really solidified my belief that you have to think of these characters as totally new people. Different choices are being made, and that’s okay as long as they’re still good characters with ties to the original. Sometimes it works (Azula, Yue) and sometimes it doesn’t (main trio) but if you can enjoy it when it works, you’ll enjoy the whole show a lot more.
I’ll give this one an 8.5/10. Kind of the opposite of the last episode. With that one, there weren’t any great new choices they made (most of the best moments were straight out of the cartoon), but there was also nothing I really disliked. This episode made some great new choices that I thought were interesting and took some steps towards fixing some of the characters they butchered, but there was some stuff in here that I actively disliked (namely Aang and Zhao).
#atla#avatar the last airbender#atla live action#natla#netflix atla#atla stream of consciousness#azula#katara#zhao#yue#sokka#aang#kuruk#yuekka#master pakku
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