#I kinda wish he was still the leader in rise tbh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

youghvaudough · 4 years

Text

Here’s a list of random things that tickle my funny bone for no reason in the Kyoshi novels

(as a Mandarin speaker)

am working through the novels currently so light spoilers?

will continue to update as I go

click 4 sum fun rambles

Horse stance. THIS BITCH DESERVES THE TOP SPOT SO HERE GOES. I somehow did not make this connection until like I’m almost all the way through the book, but 扎马步 (zhā mǎ bù) or if you take the literal meaning of characters “poke horse step” is literally so well known it’s insane. I’m talking one of the first training/fighting stance that comes to a Chinese person’s mind when u mention kung fu/combat training in general well known so I rly dunno how it slipped my mind for an entire book

this particular stance is always a lil funny to me bc of the way it’s phrased in Chinese; with the 扎 “poke”, the intention is to convey a planting & sinking, steadying of the stance that’s just also funny af to me

so imagine sth u find a lil silly & funny fully becoming a flirtatious & romantic code specific to the main characters of the story? hilarity ensued; rip my friend who had to listen to my scream-laughing

Jianzhu, the architect, his name is literally pinyin for building (建筑 jiàn zhù); imagine naming ur kid Building Smith. No wonder he’s such an uptight type A

the name of Jesa’s (Kyoshi’s mom) sky bison, Longyan / 龙眼 (lóng yǎn), while directly translates to “dragon eye”, also happens to be the Chinese word for Longan fruit (which like Lychee, has cloudy, white/clear-ish flesh surrounding a dark, round pit)

Rangi’s name in the Chinese translation of the book is 燃姬 (rán jī), which itself is a basic sound translation, but these characters mean “lady on fire” or “burning lady” this is kinda cute as heck 4 me for some reason????? lil furnace lady Rangi makes me soft

…that brings us to Rangi’s mom Hei-Ran, someone who we know can be cold and calloused in getting sh*t done with some shady days in the academy, & her name may reflect that. her name could be these two characters 黑燃 (hēi rán), which translates to “black burn” or “dark burn”. talk abt obvious characteristic here; nothing more obvious than ur name amirite???

…then again it could also be 黑兰 (hēi lán, “Black Orchid”) which tbh I kinda like better bc it’s more likely to be used as a name; AGAIN, no one wants to name their kid “black burn” it really doesn’t sound as cool as you’d think

SO! After clues from the comments (thank u @taare-writes!) and help I outsourced from TikTok — Hei-Ran’s name actually could be 혜란 in Korean !! also when I put this in the translator I used, the corresponding Mandarin it gave me was 蕙兰 (hùi lán), which is a specific type of orchid (boat orchid I believe?) and SUCH A PRETTY NAME oh my

the term used for the outlaws daofei, is literally just 盗匪 (dào fěi) “thieves/bandits”; this especially tickles my friend (who’s also reading these novels) so I gotta include it for her ;))))

the daofei’s secret gathering spot next to a lake in the mountains, Hujiang, could be 湖江 (hú jiāng) “lake river” or 湖将 (hú jiāng) which if u squint at it could mean “just by the lake”. this is fun bc it’s possible the author just flipped the saying 江湖 (jiāng hú), which while directly translates to “river lake”, has a much broader & meaningful use often in 武侠 (wǔ xiá, if u know u know, but if u don’t you can think of it as samurai or traveling knight but CHINESE) lore: it is used to refer to the world of action, thrills, and adventure walked by these warriors. It’s p cool to me lmao

oh and the Lei Tai the daofei’s fight on? Just 擂台 (lèi tái) “fighting stage”, same thing as the ring in boxing but doesn’t only reference one specific type of fight

Yun’s name is p simple & straight forward, probably just 云 (yún, “cloud”); it’s also an actual last name and I know someone from Highschool with this last name :)))

While Kyoshi obviously has Japanese origins, the kanji corresponding to きょし is 虚子. Japanese kanji have their origins in Chinese characters, and in this case these two kanji can mean “child of the void” (虚 xū “the void / the lack of something” 子 zǐ “child / kid”); pretty fucking metal name if u ask me

Lao Ge, the human alias of the bloodthirsty spirit in Kyoshi’s gang, could just be 老哥 (lǎo gē) “old brother” which is equivalent of just bro

… it’s real name, Tieguai, could be 铁怪 (tiě guài) “iron monster” or 铁拐 (tiě guǎi) “iron crutch”, which both kinda make sense??? given its monstrous tendencies and ancient origins

the green emerald burial sword Tagaka carried with her, jian, literally is just 剑 (jiàn) “sword”. Yes they really went you know what? we gon call it a sword sword

speaking of weapons, the dao broadsword? same thing. 刀 (dāo) literally means “broadsword”. broadsword broadsword hehe

what I find interesting abt this whole weapons naming is that technically when u picture a broadsword, it falls under the umbrella classification of sword (can someone who’s first culture ain’t Chinese confirm this??? thanks); though for Chinese ppl, 剑 (jiàn, “sword”) and 刀 (dāo, “broadsword”) are completely different beasts

basically dao & jian to us r like tigers and wolves when broadswords & swords r like tigers and lions (both in the felidae family)

where this info kinda becomes relevant is bc knives are also translated as 刀 (yeah the one for “broadsword”), and the way ppl know which type of sharp instrument you mean depends on the context. if ur carrying ur dao on ur back (like in the novels) it’s broadsword; if ur looking for a dao to prep dinner with it’s probably a knife unless u really have the urge to chop spinach with a broadsword

the Yellow Scarf’s imprisoned (later freed then dropped) leader, Xu Ping An, has a weirdly ironic name; his name is likely 许平安 (xǔ píng ān), “wish for peace”. 许 (xǔ) can mean “making a wish” & is an actual Chinese last name; 平安 (píng ān) “peace” on the other hand can be & have been used as a name

slight tangent: there’s this Chinese tradition of including undesired characteristics in ur child’s name so they could avoid those things in life I know it’s probably not the tradition mom&dad Xu had in mind when they named him but it did kinda take effect

the design of Govener Te’s mansion complex, the traditional earth kingdom siheyuan design that Rangi mentioned? It’s an actual traditional courtyard’d household design. I’m not the expert on this but if ur interested u can just search siheyuan and read more abt it ! v fascinating

四合院 (sì hé yuàn) roughly translates to “four enclosing yard”, referring to how the structure of this type of housing consists of four sections of single floor housing (each a specific functional space) enclosing an exposed courtyard in the middle. You can still find some of these in Beijing; also these houses go for SO MUCH MONEY on the housing market bc 1. it’s p much a suburb home but in the city 2. CITY LAND 3. homes r just insanely expensive in a city like Beijing. so there’s a running joke that you’d say someone’s well-off by saying their family has a siheyuan

(alright that’s the end of the Rise of Kyoshi!!! Will prolly make another one for the Shadow of Kyoshi; see y’all then)

#Kyoshi #avatar kyoshi #rangi #hei ran #jianzhu #jesa #kyoshi novels #the rise of kyoshi #chinese #mandarin #pinyin #avatar #the rise of kyoshi spoilers #wuxia #weapon #language discourse #rangshi #text wall #original

179 notes · View notes

kazdoesntknow · 4 years

Photo

i’m gonna talk about the new episodes, so if you haven’t seen them, sorry. also? LOVE THIS SCENE. MWAH.

so i felt like it was rushed.

was casey just supposed to be thrown in? no. was leo suddenly supposed to become leader like that? no. was karai supposed to be there suddenly? probably not. was there a lot less angst than i imagined there would be? yeah, tbh.

this was a great way to end a season, but with something as intricate as these episodes were.... you’re supposed to have more. did i enjoy them? to a degree. but i wish i had seen more of the boys training, more of them at todd’s doggy park, the fight between draxum, splinter, and shredder, more of foot recruit/casey’s debate on morals and the foot clan. and tbh, i feel like giving the hamato essence to april was... just a way to move things along faster. i think that’s what the hamato essence was in the first place. and it surprised me how quick donnie was to accept mystics. like since when does he do that? and the lack of trauma- i mean, it showed in raph these episodes, yes, but what about donatello, who had been attacked, his battle shell torn from off his body?

but i’m not all complaints! i firmly enjoy seeing the glowing markings- kinda reminds me of 2003 tmnt, really. i enjoyed how they used gardening tools as weapons- ninja stuff! i also loved todd. i loved how draxum and splinter called the boys “our sons”. i loved the designs on these turtles! incredibley beautiful.

but despite this, claims are saying that the show might be ending in favor of the movie- hence the line at the end “people will make movies about you”. well, yeah, because they are. and the sudden “blue’s leader now” like even leo was surprised. me too, leo, because no offense, hon, but though you show strategic brilliance, you still rely on raph as leader. which is understandable, so i don’t know why you were suddenly thrown into it unless it was to appease the idiots who say “blue is always leader!”

WHICH leonard said, which was a bash towards the haters, we all imagined, so it seems contradictory to make leo the leader so soon. good job, nick. you royally fucked up there. now you look like a bunch of wusses.

and seriously? big mama being so quick to say yeah to them saying their father was in danger? since when does she give a flying fuck? like she literally tried to kill him so many times. they should have let donnie beat her up when he said he wanted to fight. god damn, i would have.

though i did like the outfit on april. that was pretty crafty, too, and i enjoyed it. the yellow sweatshirt- pays homage to her yellow leather jackets in other iterations. and splinter’s, too, while we’re talking about it.

and shredder speaking? that was kind of terrifying, making a monster sentinent. but the ending fight- to me- seemed too quick and much too easy. call me whatever you may like, but i saw it as too quick and too easy. like come on, it’s the shredder!

highly appreciated leo’s jersey jokes- but i was sorely missing his oneliners. where did they go? please come back. they made me laugh.

anyway, as usual, flawless animation! and amazing voice acting, even if there was hardly any time to feel anything in the fast paced episodes.

that’s my take on it all. praying nick doesn’t cancel rise!

#rottmnt #rottmnt spoilers

41 notes · View notes

sanchoyo · 4 years

Note

Looks like you’re gonna have to gush some more cuz I meant in general uwu🌸

🌺😌🤟 Always happy to! Okay here’s just some General bnha Thoughts ™ Mostly Lov centric. You asked for them, and you said GUSH about them, so here’s. A Lot! :)

This isn’t a lov one but it’s really funny so I thought I’d put it out there:

-when bnha was first gaining traction on tumblr, it was all art of Tsuyu. I have no idea why. People were talking about the funky frog lesbian superhero anime. Maybe it was just the people I was following, maybe it was a general trend, but I LOVED her design!!! my fav color and frogs r super cute!!! And I already loved superhero media, so I was like. I’ll watch it. For Her. SO. FROPPY IS THE REASON I WATCHED/READ BNHA. I went in thinking she was the protag and I was sooo confused when Izuku was... tbh I still think it’d be more interesting if she was lmaooo aus where? ...seriously if anyone has good aus where this is the case send them LOL

-I don’t actually feel that bad abt what Shigaraki’s doing. I still feel bad for him. I’m this post. yes im an apologist. its not my fault hes sexy and has been running around shirtless. hes a lesbian icon like thor is. I want to touch his hair. hes never done anything wrong in his life. he could kill all might, deku, bakugo, whatever, I’d still be sayin this. I don’t feel bad for gt. like. was anyone genuinely attached to him? lmao

-well u know how spinner’s quirk is just sticking to things? We haven’t seen him use it in canon except like, (1) time iirc?? I think this is probably bc he’s embarrassed about it even in front of the league... I loooove the idea that he gets more comfortable with it around them :”) and also how shigaraki. um. does that falling asleep thing while standing up with his eyes open, canonly? (which I still love lmfao) Imagine someone in the league walking in a dark room, turning on the light n just seeing. Spinner upside down, stuck to the ceiling asleep bc heat rises and its Warmer Up There. (cold blooded thing like tsuyu?? come ON give him a big fuzzy coat and scarf...) and Shigaraki in the center of the room, slouched but still standing, eyes open and motionless. Theyre both sleeping. Whomever sees it just...slowly walks out. LMAO

-Toga roller derby au. No deep thoughts I just think she’d be good at it.

-Toga 100% is a social butterfly and could befriend anyone if they didn’t just judge the fact she was trying to stab them smh :/ (ok but seriously anytime I see cute friendships with her n the other kids im like :) aw. I feel like her and Camie...would be good friends. Camie feels chill enough to be like ‘ok whatever thats totally fine I forgive you!!’ LMAO we love airheads here)

-HOW DID TOGA GET SO GOOD AT FIGHTING? We know she’s been on the run since middle school or so, but good enough to pin Deku down after he’s been formally trained at a ~hero school~ for a while? (she pinned him TWICE I think, once when his arms were messed up, but, the other time as Camie, so? AND THEN WAS ONE OF THE 100 PEOPLE TO GO THRU TO THE 2ND ROUND OF THAT? even tho she didn’t bc she had to leave) good enough to beat Aizawa in a fight and stab him? A professional hero and teacher for YEARS? Is that seriously just street training??? Can people acknowledge how amazing her combat skills and reflexes are??? More Toga appreciation when?? Also her backstory??? SO subversive and incredible, hate when people reduce her to just a ~typical anime yandere~ :/

-Tomura doing stuff with his hands/fingers to train his quirk!!! And to learn to be careful with it!! obv I’m a Big Fan of him playing piano to do this and video games are prob the canon answer, but like, guitar or any stringed instrument that requires Hands would work too. Or knitting/sewing? EMBROIDERING? ??? Please, let me give you the mental image of him knitting aggressively while mentally scheming, watching a twitch streamer or smth too while doing it. (Doing stuff with your hands is a great way to let your mind come up with creative stuff, that’s how I come up with writing/drawing ideas 70% of the time)

-Tomura actually PREFERS cutesty, relaxing games. I mean, he does fighting and bloody stuff irl, games are a way to relax...he’ll play shooters and gta type games with The Lads, but. on his own?? animal crossing. pokemon. kirby games. mario. zelda. BIG ZELDA FAN (not saying this bc I, personally, am biased, but,) slime rancher, stardew valley, funny simulator games... he really enjoys those :”) God forbid he has a kid bc they’re 100% getting named after a viddy game character unless someone can talk him out of it LOL. Toga and Tomura are that animal crossing /doom meme where she’d be asking for doom and him asking for animal crossing :”)

-Bits and pieces of Before are kinda stuck in Kurogiri’s brain, but like. mostly useless stuff the doctor didn’t care about removing. Like, types of clouds. So Tomura kinda picks up on stuff like that. He can just look at clouds and tell you what type they are because Kurogiri used to take him up to high places in the city and point them out to calm Tomura down from a panic attack when he was younger. He can tell you if the sky looks like it’ll rain with a 80% accuracy rate too.

-Kurogiri left food out for kitties in the alley beside the bar. They weren’t allowed in for Health Reasons (it IS a bar with sanitation standards!!) And Tomura really wouldn’t stop it or encourage it either way so long as Kurogiri did his job, but occasionally would stand outside with Kurogiri and just watch the kitties from a distance. If any approached he’d go back in (lowkey afraid he’d hurt them by touching them :( ) They kinda kept that between them tho, bc they both Know AFO is a big bag of dicks and no fun

-people have pointed out how similar aizawa and tomura look. this was 100% the intention. tomura has a hatecrush on him. THIS IS SO FUNNY AND HORRIBLY AWKWARD FOR KUROGIRI LMAO

-Sako??? Mr. Dramatic?? Opera fan. Drama kid. Like, obviously, but. Really. He is. I feel like he can speak a dozen languages. I also feel like he used to be an overachiever but got too ambitious. He was def some kind of leader at one point of a diff Group or something that fell apart. I LOVE how creative he is with his quirk and the magician theme??? incredible. I don’t show him enough love but I Love Clowns :o)

-I don’t care what their canon heights are. Spinner and Dabi? short kings. My height hcs are (tallest to shortest) Kurogiri, Twice, Sako (who also has heels on his boots and a tall hat, keep in mind), Tomura, Magne (Tomura and Magne are about the same height imo) Toga, Spinner, Dabi. LISTEN. Dabi has short energy. Sorry. it’s true tho

-This is a semi-popular hc I think bc I KNOW I’ve seen it before, but Dabi having Terrible Vision and needing glasses is so so good. (seriously, with burns THAT close to his eyeballs, how could he not?)

-he tries to be a tough loner coolguy. you’d think he’d smoke, but I hc his ‘weak constitution’ comes with weak lungs (esp from years of a flame quirk?? inhaling smoke over so much time is SO bad for you, most people who die in fires actually die of smoke inhalation...) so he’s got like, an inhaler, can’t smoke, actually gets carsick, needs glasses, overuses quirk to save friends constantly, likes napping, a little awkward and rude. Tomura put him in charge of the vanguard so he’s smart, and good with strategies too, like a nerd. this is the Dabi I wanna see, not the popular fandom version of him tbh also step on hawks one more time sir :”)

-I wish all the lov fics weren’t?? villain!deku like I said earlier, but also, chatfics? I have nothing against them but most of them are just a bombardment of Memes with NO PLOT!!! Listen. text/chatfics CAN have plot and be an interesting way to tell a story. I almost want to write one just to show what I mean...

I know I’ve said I like spinaraki and blackmagic, but I am a multishipper, so a few ships I don’t talk about that I like that involve the lov in some way:

-toga/any of the 1A girls??? or Camie??? super interesting. ALSO in the radio drama, bakugo’s voice actor said Toga was his favorite girl??? so?? bakugo/toga ?? I WANT TO SEE IT. but specifically my fav dynamic with her is when someone ELSE is the one to like her first, it’s what she deserves.

-Kurogiri/aizawa/mic?? any variety of that is also 👌🏻 I also kinda wanna see kurogiri/all might bc. Dads. COME ON. they bond over ‘well, I raised him, and you want to have a part in his life now?? ok. earn it. prove it. I’ll screen you first’ or something LMAO they’re both genuinely concerned for the boy, and SOOO biased. let them bond.

-WAIT WHERE IS THE MIC/COMPRESS CONTENT. THEYRE BOTH DRAMATIC. ENEMIES TO LOVERS?? HELLO??? SOMEONE?? ANYONE. rarepair hours

-giran/twice is cute. like he was hyping him up so much and so ready to go save him...

-dabi/magne where is the content. when. why not everywhere??? I’ve also seen magne/compress which was cute!! or twice/magne? they’re the big sibs of the lov...

-dabi/spinner?? come ON dabi could get over his learned biases and spend time with him and they could hold hands. I want them to.

-dabihawks. Obviously bc the Drama. yes even still, don’t @ me. (also, shigahawks, seen some REAL interesting fics with it tbh) or spinahawks?? adding hawks to a ship is like adding extra chili powder. makes it SPICY dramatic)

-nine/tomura don’t @ me once again. both kinda afo’s playthings, nine obviously was the test for tomura’s new upgrades...they both love their friends...That Scene in the Flower field </3 hmmm tragicships are fun.

-tomura/mirko. more enemies to lovers. big fan of her and bunnies. remember when he wore bunny ears in bnha smash. (ok its crack but. CUTE.)

-I’ve also seen shiganatsu and shigafuyu and I’m like. these are cute, but also Dabi’s reaction always makes me cry laugh. so good.

-MOST EVERYONE IN THE LOV IS LGBTQA+!!! heres my personal headcanons:

Toga: pan or bi (CANON BASICALLY)

Magne: transwoman (CANON BABEY) bi, leans towards men. (her crush on dabi in bnha smash... uwu content where)

Shuichi: gets sooooo flustered canonly, I think he’d go for the first person Who Hit On Him (I can see him being the target of those mean pranks where someone says ‘my friend likes you!!’ and the friend is like ‘eww!!’ :(((( ) he’s super hesitant for romance, lots of repressed stuff. gay but takes sooo long to realize it bc he thinks most women are conventionally pretty Aesthethically, feels obligated to Like Them, but has bad self esteem so never goes after them, then only likes (1) guy so hes like?? is this allowed?? is this allowed???? (HES LIKE. IN LOVE WITH SHIGARAKI)

Dabi: bi but rly hasn’t ever gotten to date anyone, so he’s actually more reserved about it and while he’ll tease, he absolutely is absent and kinda oblivious (again, I KNOWWWW bnha smash isnt canon, but. my god. when magne is hitting on him and he Just Doesnt Understand.) also hes ace

Tomura: doesn’t care. (just prob says ‘its whatever’) trans/nonbinary (i’M NOT PROJECTING, BUT. :’/) probably goes with like, the label queer if any but doesn’t care much for labels

Kurogiri: bi??? kind of??? I say kind of bc well, I hc U Know Whom as bi, I feel like thatd carry over but he’d be really avoidant to date anyone bc hes gotta Watch His Kid u know? this is gonna sound surprising but I think he’d be the type to be like ‘ok we can have a one night stand/fling BUT it cant get personal bc I have a Job to Do for my Son so don’t get up in your feelings’ and act a little coldly at first or very ..not personable... depending on who it was he’d prob turn around eventually, esp if that person valued his feelings/job :”)

Sako: that mans Not Straight. I hc him as gay and also trans :3c

Twice: Bi and HAS dated prob more than anyone else in the league imo, super comfortable with his sexuality and supportive of everyone else’s :)

ok that’s about all I can think of atm, come back in 5 minutes and my brain will refill with lov headcanons :3 thank you for asking!!

#bnha manga spoilers #bnha #sanchoyoanswersasks #league of villains #lov #i am NOt tagging all of them im so sorry its Too Much #but ask to tag #for triggers #if anyone needs them tagged #?#long post #word wall #bananaapplewaffle #im pretty amicable to most ships n stuff and love rare/crack ships lmao #also if anyone has their own headcanons #and wants to share #feel free!#love hearin them too

21 notes · View notes

its-chelisey-stuff · 4 years

Text

Love and Redemption, eps 31-40 (painful thoughts lol)

I love these posters, they’re beautiful.

Well, I officially hate everyone who likes to claim they're such good guys. Because in this drama, chances are, if you have to say it over and over again or you have justify yourself in the name of the greater good, you're actually full of shit. I feel like an overdramatic after watching these last ten eps, because before I clearly didn't know how much more bad things could get and I still haven't seen the worst, but I made such a fuss and now I can't even be angry lol I'm just so worn out, so tired and want my happy ending now. Yep, this is totally a fun drama to watch!

Anyway, no matter how bad things ended after these ten eps, I feel like this has been the most rock solid the relationship between the OTP has been. And with such good moments, and I don’t mean hot and heavy makeouts, I’m talking about trust and loyalty. I just wish Sifeng would’ve told Xuanji the truth about him being a golden bird demon, that way she would’ve never doubted him or be in pain because of it. And it was so heartbreaking to see that moment. All went to hell, people were dying and fighting, their parents (in retrospective it was obvious that the sect leader from Lize was Sifeng’s father but wtf who puts a lover’s curse on their own child? especially if you have been through it?) telling them the other never cared for her/him and they were just there, in the middle of the battle with tears in their eyes. So saaaaaad.

I loved that Dijun heard this bit! Of course that only makes him angrier and super jealous, but I love to see it gets to him, it’s a little win.

It was obvious the drama was going to go the “his father killed her mother therefore they cannot be together” route *facepalm* Of course! Because the world and the 3 realms are against them! His father didn’t really do it, as we found out later but that was enough to shock Xuanji for a good while. She still trusted him, but she was wary because Sifeng lied to her. I get it, but at the same time, Xuajin dear, can’t you see this is exactly what he feared? There was a reason he didn’t tell you.

I feel like I’m a step closer to finding out how Sifeng and Xuanji came to know each other when she was still a God and why he followed her to the mortal realm and had to get through 9 lifetimes together. Didn’t fanfic writer from heaven told Tengshe that, when Dijun married another woman (and btw isn’t he still married? the heck?), God of War went away and her only company were some golden birds? Am I reading too much into it? But, isn’t that weird? That was after the big war with the demon realm, where she defeated the Star of Mosha... so is Sifeng really him? I’m super confused.

HAHAHAHAHAHA The audacity from this man knows no limits. I couldn't believe he dared to say something to Tengshe when he has been sticking his nose into Xuanji's mortal life for years! I HATE HIM more than the bad guys. To me, he’s the number one enemy and I fear my hate for him will only grow more. I want to see him fall, real bad and real hard, from glory. I want him to suffer and to be punished. I don't care by whom or by what (but can I suggest OTP for the job?) I just need for him to end on a really really bad note.

Also, I love Tenshe. That episode where he met OTP, was gold, from beginning to end. I laughed so hard and I’m documenting here that it was ep 32, so that I can always go back and watch it when the story gets too angsty or sad. It was amazing and it had so much smiling/amused Sifeng, what else can you ask for? Also, Tengshe became a powerful ally and moved forward the plot: he helped rescue Linglong (more on that later), he told OTP what he knew abut God of War/Dijun “love” story, which left Sifeng thinking (and I’m sure will come into play later), he had the softest interaction with Linglong when everybody else refused to tell her where was Minyan. And he protected Xuanji so many times, despite saying he wouldn’t do it. He’s the best, he loves food and notices important things when there’s drama.

Demon fox and Merman doctor continue to rank high on my list of favorite characters as well. It’s the mortals from the “good” sects the ones I’m having issues with. And Xuanji’s father. For a moment, when he gave his blessing to OTP I thought I could forgive him for torturing Sifeng, but not anymore.

My sweet badass Linglong finally got rescued, but after 15 eps of being kidnapped, the weird thing would’ve been that she returned as if nothing had happened. I felt bad for the flower demon that helped Minyan and traitor friend from Lize, because she thought creepy bad guy actually had feelings for her and in the end, she got killed. It was terrible that Linglong remembered everything that happened when she was captive, but of course, this drama doesn’t spare anyone. I thought she wouldn’t! My poor girl was so traumatized, felt so guilty and was so depressed that she tried to kill herself but thank God Minyan stopped her. Oh, Minyan, okay, okay, I apologize to you, I misjudged you. You’re not a favorite yet but I like you and I’m so glad my Linglong has someone like you by her side. Just give Sifeng a chance (I’m not asking that of Linglong bc my girl has been through enough, I understand her).

*deep sigh*

Now, the biggest problem. I have raised my eyebrows so high at all the people from the sects they almost reached my hairline bc, from what I've seen, Xuanji is way more unhinged and dangerous when she is in God mode than my dear Sifeng, a demon, has ever been (till now I've never seen him with as much more than an distant and cold attitude let alone really angry), he is always in control of his emotions and a big part of that is thanks to the fact that he keeps his mind clear and is able think with reason and logic something everybody from the sects lacks. So why are all so angry and scared of Sifeng when they should be fearing Xuanji?

I'm not saying "lock her in the dungeons without food" they did it with Sifeng though but maybe like, I don't know, get some magical therapy to see through her head, advise her to meditate or something. As much as I love that girl, she's a ticking bomb and I've seen her about to kill her friends and the people she loves a few times now, because she doesn't recognize them in that state and Dijun loves to delulu himself into thinking he knows what’s best for her ugh. Why does no one find that scarier than a bunch of demons who disguised themselves through centuries just to avoid being killed and have been lying on the low trying to keep peace with the other sects? Oh, I know, because you're all a bunch of prejudiced racists assholes.

Tbh I kinda want Sifeng to go bad. I don’t think he has it him but I’m just so tired of him always being so good... what for? Rise, demon Sifeng! Be angry!

#love and redemption #cdrama #cheng yi #crystal yuan #yuan bingyan #chu xuanji #yu sifeng

24 notes · View notes

atamascolily · 4 years

Text

Lily liveblogs: “The Rise of Skywalker,” part three

I end as I began: hopelessly confused about what the point of all this was. (Except for money. I got that part loud and clear.)

Rey just leaves Finn behind, because... friendship, right? Jannah does not have a good opinion of Rey right now, and tbh, I can't blame her. I realize Rey is under a lot of stress, but... her behavior since arriving on this "moon of Endor" has been wayyyy out of line.

Also, Poe pulls up with the Falcon right then, so I guess they got it repaired in record time, lol. Convenient.

Meanwhile, at the Resistance Jungle Base, everyone is sad because Leia is dead. I wonder who's in charge now???

"Goodbye, dear princess." Oh, so she's a General right up until she dies, and then it's back to princess again? I wish the ST would make up its mind about her title.

Oh, I guess Poe is, since he showed up and actually has a rank??

Chewie LOSES IT at the news Leia is dead--I feel you, bud. I feel you so hard.

Kylo tries to look dignified as he broods on the wreckage, but he looks awful. Like a drowned rat, with a convenient lightsaber-shaped hole in his tunic where Rey stabbed him. (She didn't even take the saber with her or drop it into the sea or anything! WHHYYYYYYYYYYY - gimme a reason, any reason, even a stupid one.)

And then Han shows up. Is he a ghost? Is this a memory? Is Kylo hallucinating? WHAT WHAT WHAT IS HAPPENING??? (This would have so much more resonance if we had SEEN how Han's death impacted Kylo earlier on instead of that one confused flashback at the beginning of the film....)

grizzled Harrison Ford looks great, why the hell did they kill him off in the first movie whyyyyyy

Okay, so they answer the question and this is a memory, which is fine, I usually love this trope, BUT it would be hella more effective if we'd seen Kylo arguing/interacting with memories of Han earlier instead of this happening for the first time NOW...

"Come home." Uhhhhhh, I honestly don't know what exactly Leia did, but she certainly kinda abetted killing him. What home does Kylo have now, anyway??

So Han says that what Leia fought for is still around, which is true, but Kylo is ostensibly the supreme leader here, so he doesn't just have to go AWOL, he can drag the FO leadership with him, and what passes for their government, he could SURRENDER and end the war right now. Does he? Of course not. He fucks off all by his lonesome after Rey and Palpatine because... that's all he knows how to do, apparently.

There's a callback that is supposed to resonate but doesn't work for me, because I just can't make myself feel for Kylo at all. Yes, redemption is hard. Yes, you have to work for it. Stop whining and just do it!!

We're supposed to think that Kylo will stab Han again (I guess?) but he turns and throws his saber into the sea. So that's why Rey didn't take it - so he could make a dramatic fucking gesture with it.

Palps is upset that Leia messed up his plans, but whatever. He orders Pryde, who apparently is now in charge of the FO in Kylo's absence, to come to Exegol. Apparently Pryde is a diehard Imperial (and possibly Sith cultist/Palpatine's secret puppet/agent??) I guess. It's never explained, he's just bad. And his name isn't subtle, either.

Palps just wants to burn everything to the ground for... evulz, I guess? I got nothing.

Pryde's star destroyer pops out a giant gun and blows up a planet.... apparently, Kijimi. Why, I don't know. Because they were just there?? Anyway, BOOM. Kijimi literally explodes.

What the actual fuck. How is that EVEN POSSIBLE?? What was the point of building two Death Stars if a Star Destroyer can do that????

Oh, apparently, that was the new model from the "Sith fleet" with a better upgrade. sounds fake, but okay. Poe is not thrilled by this news. The same Resistance member brings him the bad news, so I guess that's her official job??

Poe is genre-savvy enough to know that every ship in the Sith fleet has planet destroying weapons and they're doomed unless they stop the Final Order... which isn't new? I thought there was a countdown to an attack in 16 hours or something. What did they think they were attacking with? I don't even know, this movie is that incoherent.

Rose pops in with a message broadcasting on every channel about the "Resistance is dead. The Sith flame will burn. All worlds, surrender or die"... but given that it's in a language that isn't Basic, there's this one random dude with a beard who translates for the audience... and even though I assume it's meant to be some more commonly spoken language, given that the Sith have their own language in this movie, It makes it seem like this Random Resistance dude understands Sith and... I have questions.

Poe goes to sit by Leia's shrouded corpse because apparently they haven't buried her yet??? I wish Poe and Leia's relationship was more prominent in the movies, because I love the dynamic they're supposed to have, but never actually manifests in any of these movies.

Lando shows up to console him!

"How did you defeat an Empire with almost nothing?" "We had each other."

DAMN RIGHT YOU DID AND THE NEW GENERATION COULD TOO, IF THE WRITERS WEREN'T INTENT ON SEPARATING THEM CONSTANTLY AND MAKING EVERYBODY SUFFER....

Poe decides to make Finn his co-general. I have a lot of feels about this.

Turns out D-O knows all about Exegol because he used to belong to Ochi... that's actually earned, I'll allow it. Hilarious Rey never asked the droid about it (or any other details of his past, given that she was pretty sure Ochi killed her parents).

Ahch-To! Rey is wearing her hood and I don't know why. She's throwing driftwood into the flaming wreckage of Kylo's TIE and sobbing and... I don't know what's going on here. There are SO MANY REASONS she could be crying, I don't even know.

And she tosses her lightsaber into the sea... just like Kylo did. Parallels. I get it. And just like Luke did to her... She's giving it up because she doesn't feel worthy of being a Jedi because of her heritage, I guess?? (I'm guessing because this movie doesn't explain shit.)

Speaking of which, there's Luke's ghost, right on schedule! I love his snark but it's SO OUT OF LINE given his behavior in the last movie... and the fact that Yoda told him he had to let go of the past and let the books burn. I mean... the fuck???

Rey has this dark throne vision that's driving her, but ironically that's the one vision we don't see in this whole mess.. we have all these OTHER visions instead, I can' teven keep them all straight.

Oh, she's decided to model Luke and fuck off to Ahch-To forever because she feels she made a mistake. that's absolutely the WRONG LESSON from Luke's life, Rey!!

(also, what happened to saving the world? The sith wayfinder? She just conveniently forgot Palpatine was gonna slaughter everybody because she's having heritage angst?????)

Leia not telling Rey about Rey's heritage makes perfect sense when you realize just how much Leia's life was fucked over by the knowledge that Darth Vader was her father--once in ROTJ and again when she got kicked out of the Senate and ostracized in Bloodline.

Luke has Leia's lightsaber conveniently hidden in his hut... so now Kylo/Ben can have a weapon of his own in the upcoming fight, gag. (Really, Rey should use it to make a double-bladed saber, but she won't, sigh.)

The flashback looks like a video game to me. The CGI is not terrible, but doesn't look nearly as real as the rest of the film to me.

Also, I'm forever mad that Leia gave up her saber thinking it would save her son, that is SO AWFUL, especially since IT DIDN'T WORK, HE STILL TURNED OUT EVIL ANYWAY AND RUINED YOUR LIFE.

"A thousand generations live in you now" would have so much more resonance if Rey was an avatar of the Force or a reincarnation of Anakin instead of the metaphorical. (Yes, I know it will be realized literally later on.)

[Just realized that Kylo's obsession with Rey would make TOTAL SENSE if she were an reincarnation of Anakin given how much he idolizes his grandfather!!!]

Whyyyyy doesn't Luke talk here about the revelation that Palpatine is alive? That he and his father failed to kill the Emperor? That Rey has to finish LUKE'S journey, too??? But no, it's all about Leia here.

Rey somehow didn't notice the wayfinder in Kylo's TIE until Luke says "you have everything you need"... I guess? I don't know how she missed it before!!!

And the X-wing rises out of the water like the deus ex machina that it is... somehow still spaceworthy after six years in the ocean. Okay, then.

Apparently, Force ghost Luke can still manipulate physical objects through the Force??? Okay, I can kinda buy that, but... still....

I love how Artoo doesn't even wait for Threepio to get started with the bullshit, he just imports the uploaded memories right away without asking. Normally, I'd be mad about consent, but a) they're married, and b) he's restoring Threepio's personality, so I'm okay with it.

I love how warped and creepy the space is around Exegol.

Also, D-O looks just like a desk lamp.

Oh, so the Resistance follows Rey through Luke's X-wing computer via Artoo. Convoluted, but it works, I guess.

Okay, so time for some technobabble, but there's a navigation tower (the new shield generator) they have to hit for REASONS with a "ground team" (aka strike team). Sigh.

Love the dismissal of the "Holdo maneuver"--which is essentially kamikaze-style suicide. Not a great battle strategy if you want to survive the fight.

Wait, wasn't Poe angsting earlier about how nobody answered their call from Crait back in the last movie? What makes him think this is going to be any different?????

Okay, so all the FO folks on are on Exegol now?? Who is piloting and crewing those Star Destroyers?? Are they First Order or Final Order people? What happened to the First Order? What is the relationship between the First Order and the Final Order? Are they the same thing with two different names?? (But no, there are two fleets, the Sith destroyers are different.) What happened to the First Order then? Does anyone notice and/or care the alleged "Supreme Leader" of the First Order is missing in action??? I'M SO CONFUSED.

Okay, it makes sense that Poe is in an X-wing given he's a hotshot pilot, but he's also a general, and... I'm so confused about the tactical aspect of that, but fine, whatever. Also, Artoo is in the X-wing with him instead of BB-8, who I thought was Poe's droid (to the point of reaming Rey over injuring him earlier in the film!!!) WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE???

we're baaaaacck in the creepy sith ruins just like the beginning of the film, but so much has happened that my brain has fried and so the parallels are not as compelling as they could be.

WHEN DID THEY PICK UP JANNAH?? Has she been there the entire time and we just didn't see her until now, or did they stop back at Endor's moon along the way??? I'M SO CONFUSED!!!

Finn has " a feeling" where the ship is... it's the Force, why are you teasing us like that. LET HIM BE A JEDI.

Okay, I actually really like the fact that all the FO deserter stormtroopers from Endor are using their mounts so their enemies can use the tech against them. That's poetic justice right there. And also, epic cool. Good thing all the ships are still in the atmosphere... (nobody's wearing masks like Finn did for the Kijimi pickup)

I don't know how there is lightning in a fucking underground pyramid, but 10/10 for aesthetic, I love it.

"Grandma, it's me, Anastasia"--oh, wait, never mind.

The reveal that Rey is in a giant arena is hella creepy, even though it makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. Where do all these people come from? What do they do? Where do they live? What do they EAT?? Are they born Sith? Brainwashed Sith?? Cultists? Clones??? I NEED ANSWERS HERE.

Palpatine dangling in his creepy metal arm-thing is a lot like GLADoS from Portal.

So... Palpatine can possess the person who kills him in anger??? Explains a LOT about how he treated Luke, actually. And why it was so important that Anakin finish him - one, because Anakin's body was failing, and two, because he did it for love.

Love the aesthetic of the flickering lights for added creepiness and nothing is quite real. Even if it makes no sense. My id knows what it wants, okay??

Jannah and Finn teaming up for the battle is great, BB-8 actually gets to do something for once, and I love Jannah's crossbow.

Oh, now Palps is going to monologue about Rey's parents, while telling us no interesting details whatsoever. Sigh.

HOW THE FUCK DID KYLO GET TO EXEGOL AGAIN????????????????? she left him stranded in the middle of a frikkin' OCEAN... and he just knows how to get back to Exegol without the macguffin,.... how....?

(yes, I know he's supposed to be "Ben Solo" again, but so far there has been zero explanation in the film itself, so I'm just gonna keep calling him Kylo.)

Okay, there's a TIE fighter next to the X-wing, but... where did he GET IT?????????

That "ow" is priceless. I watched that sequence twice.

(clearly Kylo has not been exploring ruins much recently.)

Finn explaining to Rose that he's going to sacrifice himself for the cause, exactly like she wouldn't let him do in the last film... and Rose goes with it. Okay, then.

Now Kylo has to fight his own boy band... who were secretly following the Emperor's orders the entire time (?) THE ENTIRE FIRST ORDER WAS LITERALLY A FRONT TO KEEP KYLO REN DISTRACTED AND KYLO TOTALLY BOUGHT IT. I... have questions, but I actually admire the sheer audacity of this.

Kylo fighting said knights would be way more emotionally engaging if we a) knew anything about them, b) had seen any interactions between Kylo and the knights earlier, and c) gave a shit, but none of those happened, so we don't.

Kylo and Rey have some sort of Force bond communication thing that is super vaguely filmed so it's hard to understand wtf is actually happening. Rey tosss her saber back and... Ben pulls it out behind his back.

what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK

I won't say that wasn't forshadowed, because it kinda-sorta was. I will just say that this movie has NEVER EXPLAINED HOW THEY CAN DO THAT or talked about it at ALL, just treats it like a fact, and I... have questions about how reality can be bent that way even if you are a Force dyad or whatnot.

So Kylo's fight with the knights parallels Rey's fight with a bunch of Imperial guards and it's so hard to care. Th timer says there's still a half an hour left, how is that possible???

So... it's okay to stab people as long as you do it with the properly colored lightsaber, I guess???

Kylo shows up, he and Rey exchange Meangingful Looks, they raise their sabers, Palps zaps them and slurps up "the lifeforce of your bond" and uses it to grow younger, whatever the hell that means ughhhhhhhh please let this be over soon.

Did he know they were a dyad before? Is THIS his real plan? I'm so confused and I have no idea wtf is going on.

RIP Snap. I guess I should care more about you, but I don't think you're mentioned in any of the other movies, so... *shrugs*

Poe has a meltdown but.... Lando shows up AGAIN to give him a pep talk, and also a fleet. Like seriously, Lando gets results, if he'd been running the Resistance, the war would be OVER by now.

Is the "Nice flying, Lando!" Older!Wedge?? I think so. I hope so, anyway.

Zorii shows up too, to fight and also insult Poe over the comm... I guess she's upset about Kijimi being destroyed? (Or maybe not given how she was so eager to get off it???)

Palps tosses Kylo into a pit, which... given that Palps survived, maybe not the best plan if you wanted to actually kill him.

Then he shoots force lightning through the hole in the arena into the sky and... zaps all the new fighters.

Well.

Okay then.

Rey wakes up and... reaches out to the spirits of past Jedi for help. (Apparently, Palpatine doesn't care about her killing him now, because he's young and healthy again, so it's okay to kill her? I guess he can always try again with another grandkid, lol.)

Also, it's funny how Rey is a Palpatine and blood is sooooo important and scary and destiny until someone's trying to diss her and then she's just "a scavenger girl". And by funny, I mean terrible. Sigh.

"I am all the Sith." I don't think the Sith, by the nature of their existence, can embody their predecessors the way that the Jedi can. I mean, to be a Sith is to be alone, and there is that whole Rule of Two business if that's still canon now. I mean, unless the Sith literally eat their masters and thus become them? But it seems a little late for THAT detail.

But it's okay because Rey's embodying all the Jedi this time (and has TWO sabers, lol) and she turns Palpatine's Force lightning back on himself and he turns into a crisp. You'd think the Sith Lords would have worked out a defense against that, since that's how Mace Windu scarred him in the first place, but okay then.

The entire arena crumbles. All the faceless cultists are crushed by falling rock. Pryde goeth before the fall. Lando rescues Finn and Jannah before Poe can. All the star destroyers are stranded because the command ship is gone and start blowing up.

Anyway, Rey collapses in the ruins. Finn senses her fall. but Kylo climbs out of the pit and cradles her in his arms. (ewww ewww ewwwwwww NOOOOOOO) and cradles her to his chest [gross gross grossssssss she's dead and can't consent and I can't decide if that makes it grosser or not, she's never let him do this while she was ALIVE fuckkkkkk]. He finally lets go and then places his hand on her stomach, and ughhhhhh I have so many issues with this I don't care if he's reformed, he's been stalking for three films, this is NOT OKAY and does the Force healing trick, and...

literally he could have just put a hand on her forehead or shoulder, which I would still hate, but would be less creepy than this.

Rey wakes up, puts her hands on his, sits up, startled and... doesn't say anything, doesn't even flinch, and smiles. "Ben."

and she kisses him. I knew this was coming. I still hate it.

he smiles, falls over, and dies. Like, literally, it's like Rey's kiss murdered him. I'm a terrible person, I know, but I really can't mourn him.

Kylo's body vanishes (Leia's stayed intact, damn it!) proving I guess that he was good after all?? I thought only special people learned the vanishing trick??? Leia's body vanishes right at the same time, and... I don't get it, I really don't.

Maz apparently skipped the final battle to watch over Leia's corpse and I.... definitely don't get it.

was Leia possessing her son this whole time? What. Just. Happened??????

Rey flies away in Luke's X-wing under her own power, and... "Red Five is in the air again," says Finn. People are rising up all over the galaxy, though against what, I'm not clear, and the skies are suddenly clear, implying that the Emperor was warping the weather with his darkness.

We see Star Destroyers blowing up behind Cloud City and on the FOREST moon of Endor with the Ewoks and I just... never knew they were there??? Were they connected to the rest of the Fleet somehow (like the Katana fleet in Legends??) Where did this come from?? Wicket and his son are clearly satisfied, though why they think anything's going to change is beyond me. And was the First Order oppressing them? Why didn't we see any of their fleet when our protagonists were IN THAT SYSTEM AND SO WAS THE OSTENSIBLE SUPREME LEADER???

Another Star Destroyer crashes on Jakku, so literally NOTHING HAS CHANGED THERE, LOL.

Back at the Resistance Jungle Base, everyone cries and hugs, Poe and Zorii have a moment that goes nowhere, Poe's arm is somehow in a sling (???) There's a very brief lesbian kiss, but it gets even less screen time than Rose Tico, so again, don't think that counts as representation, but nice try.

Maz gives Chewie Han's medal from Yavin and... where the hell did she get it??? Leia's corpse??? Creepy!!

Jannah comes up to Lando and asks him where he's from, and when Lando asks the same question, she say she doesn't know. "Let's find out." Wow, that's way more interesting than most of this movie!

Rey hugs Finn and Poe and I... just... it's the tearful hug of "wow, we've all been through a lot of trauma since we last saw each other and also I was a jerk and threw you across the sea with the Force to get you out of my way and I abandoned you without saying goodbye to isolate myself on an island in the middle of nowhere until my ghost mentor reminded me I could save the day".

ButWeDon'tHavetimetounpackThatNow.jpg

Rey takes the Falcon to the Lars' moisture farm on Tatooine with BB-8. No one is in sight. This is an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, not a shrine to the Legend of Luke Skywalker. Rey slides down the sides on a piece of metal and into the courtyard. She wraps up Luke and Leia's sabers and... we cut to her back up on the ridge near the droid garage, using the Force to bury them in the sand.

Then she pulls out her own saber and it's yellow-bladed and looks like a double quarterstaff (although I only saw the top blade ignite). What she should have had this entire movie.

There's a random woman with an eopie there, who... came over to investigate? there is literally NO ONE ELSE FOR MILES. HOW????

The woman asks who she is, and we have callbacks to that earlier conversation on Pasaana. Rey hesitates, sees Luke and Leia's ghost on the horizon, smiling their approval and says "Rey Skywalker". The movie ends with her standing watching the double sunset... alone except for BB-8.

Wow, she's literally come full circle from being alone in the desert with a droid to being alone in a different desert with the same droid. What the fuck.

Cue triumphant music and credits.

Oh, and I just realized we never found out what was so important for Finn to tell Rey about... so that went nowhere. I assume it's "he can use the Force" but apparently that wasn't important enough to ACTUALLY INCLUDE, sigh.

Did Rey fuck off to Tatooine to be a hermit? Is she going back to her friends? Is she going to train the next generation of Jedi? How will she keep the cycle from repeating? Is it broken? Is Palpatine really dead this time??? How does she feel about Kylo/Ben?? Is HIS ghost still around stalking her, too? Why did she take the Falcon? Doesn't it belong to Chewie now? Why didn't the rest of the gang come with her???? I'm so confused.

This was even worse than I had anticipated, and I came into this with super-low expectations. This wasn’t bad in a “bad B-movie kind of way,” this was bad in the “nothing makes sense, it’s all jumbled blur, I am numb and cannot begin to care” kind of spectacle. I cannot imagine watching this in a theater. No wonder the critics savaged this.

#star wars #lily liveblogs #WHY DISNEY WHY

8 notes · View notes

thisselflovecamebacktome · 4 years

Text

Pokemon Sword and Shield first thoughts

The Negative:

- The reduced pokedex. Hear me out before you go screaming about how we knew this was going to be a thing. While I would always be disappointed with the reduced pokedex like I was with generation 7, Sword and Shield’s pokedex somehow felt less full than generation 7 which is strange because they had about the same (small) amount of new pokemon. My guess is that it’s because a lot of the pokemon we saw in Sword and Shield feel like the ones fans use more often than not. Like sure there were combees and whatever, but I noticed most the pseudos and beloved pokemon like charizard and gengar made it in. And like there’s nothing wrong per se about that, but it honestly felt like less diversity, especially in a game that had 6 new dragon lines.

- The lack of “evil plot” until the end. Look I know there was a buildup in Sonia’s plot about the darkest day and so on, and I know pokemon has done games where the major evil plot event happens at/after the elite four before, but the lack of evil team in these games made it feel empty and lowkey like a ripoff of Lysander’s reveal in X and Y without the team flare stuff. Like I don’t know, the chairman was an interesting villain and the whole “Is he or Olenna really the mastermind?” red herrings thrown through Bede’s story (as a sidenote, justice for Bede tbh, like yeah he’s a prick but he deserved better than he got) and Olenna’s personality was good, but none of it felt developed enough. Like story wise it literally felt like I was playing X and Y but instead of the protagonist, I was Tierno until the last part. It also made the gym challenge/travelling seem a lot longer which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but again, made it feel a little empty compared to past games.

- The version exclusives. No, I don’t care if this is a product of capitalism, I’m still gonna complain about it each game lmao. And I am especially going to criticise it with these games given you had to have a Nintendo switch online account to trade. Like I am someone who despises the idea of in game purchases, so the idea you need one to fill the pokedex is scummy to me.

- Hop. Whoever decided that he needed to make a comment every time you battled and did a supereffective or critical hit move on him needs to be fired because my god was that annoying. Just in general, I felt he was under developed in a way that made him uninteresting and pretty much a Hau rip off. And the sad thing is that like there was the makings there for him to be interesting. Him feeling like he had to live up to Leon + the shame/disappointment he felt from the loss to Bede and then you at the end along with him finding his own way in life and deciding to train to be a professor all sound interesting in theory, but it just didn’t come to life in the game in the same way I found Bede and Marnie’s backstories to be. I also kinda wish they built up the him wanting to be a professor thing more rather than just feeling like they added it on at the end.

- The graphics just popping in. Look, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild graphics given this is the first new pokemon game on the switch and it wasn’t in development for as long. But I am someone who hopes that this gets fixed for future games.

- It was handholdy/linear. So I will gladly admit this was much better than it was in generation 7 and again, I wasn’t expecting Breath of the Wild but when you consider that technically in generation one, once you get cut you can do gyms 3 - 6 (7 if we’re talking let’s go) in whatever order you want and explore like 80% of Kanto, it feels restrictive that they flat out block you out of any town you haven’t been to/aren’t supposed to be in.

The Mixed:

- Sonia’s arc. I love that they showed through Hop and Sonia that becoming a professor is a genuine path because I feel like if I was in the pokemon universe, I would be a professor. But I felt the execution of Sonia’s story felt off. Like she spent a lot of it reminiscing/telling us about how she used to be a battler and supposedly Leon’s best rival and having Magnolia ask her what she’s doing with her life (which in itself was weird, I mean a professor making fun of someone for working towards being a professor???) just for Magnolia to hand Sonia the coat with no on screen resolution of any of that. Like I don’t know, I guess I just would have liked a big moment where she helped with the chairman or something whether that be through battling or her expertise and have that be an “aha!” moment where she decides to be a professor and Magnolia hand her the coat then or something of that calibre.

- The beginning. Basically I thought it was perfect except it still felt too long. Like having the champion give you pokemon, those pokemon showing their personalities in the choosing scene and being able to skip the catching and pokecenter tutorials were amazing. But even with those skippable features, the introduction felt long.

- The gym leaders. I like that Piers played a notable role in the story and his inability to use dynamax pokemon intrigues me. But quite frankly, the rest of the gym leaders are among the most forgettable we’ve ever had in my honest opinion.

- TRs. I feel like this was added for more competitive players who want a challenge which is not me if I’m honest, so I get it but would prefer TMs to stay multiuse lmao. I’m also kinda surprised at which particular TMs they chose to be TRs.

- The experience share. I’ll admit, even as someone who uses the new age experience share, I thought making it compulsory would be a horrific idea. But I genuinely feel like they balanced it out really well given I versed every single trainer with the same team without facing many wild pokemon and was still under leveled for most the gyms. My only gripe with it is that I tend to switch out my strongest pokemon throughout the main story to add a pokemon I don’t plan to use just to evolve it to fill the pokedex, so it being set up to mostly make you under leveled was a bit of a pain because as someone who isn’t big on versing wild pokemon and was just aiming to catch the new ones until post game, I couldn’t afford for my main pokemon to not be getting that experience. But I do recognise that that’s a personal thing and like not an inherit flaw of the experience share and it will definitely work well for nuzlockers and so on.

- Dynamaxing. Basically I liked them for the raids but they still feel like a worse version of mega evolutions mixed with z moves to me.

- It felt longer than most games. For the most part this is good. Like overall it felt like a fuller game, in part due to the Wild Area being somewhere you can spend literal hours in without getting sick of it. As I mentioned though, I just wish the beginning wasn’t as long and their was more to the “evil plot” part of the story throughout the games.

The Positive:

- The wild area. This was by far the best thing they added to this game. A large amount of the time I’ve spent playing this game has just been messing about in there and none of it felt like I was doing it just to pass time. The weather changes throughout also added some nice variety and change of scenery.

- The raid battles. I thought these were going to be the worst part of the game if I’m honest, but I’ve actually really enjoyed them. I do wish they had a bit more variety, but in general I feel they’re fun and well balanced.

- Bede, Marnie and Oleana. Bede was a pratt at first, but again, his backstory along with game story intrigued me and I wish we dove further into that. Marnie was just a sweetheart and I love her and wish they did more with her connection with team yell and Piers. I also wish we got more about Oleana because I loved what I saw and feel like her team was perfect for her, but wanted more.

- The music. Whoever created the Slumbering Weald music needs a pay rise because that is literally the best music track pokemon has ever had in my honest opinion.

- LionHeartShipping. Leon/Sonia is the Rivals to Friends to Lovers ship we deserve even if it’s not cannon.

- The new pokemon we got in general. Yes I wish there was more and yes there were a few that I think were among the worst we’ve ever gotten (Looking at you Thwacky, Meowth and Cramorant), but in general I liked a majority of the designs even if I didn’t pre game.

- Old pokemon getting Galarian forms and evolving.

- The attention to detail in the speaking text. While a little stereotypical, using British slang was a nice type.

- Not having an elite four. Having a more anime style championship competition to make your way up to versing Leon felt like something new and a nice change of pace. I just kinda wish that it wasn’t the gym leaders you versed in the finals. Like if they wanted to go with the major/minor idea for the gyms, it would have been cool for the gym types not included to be the ones you versed in the finals.

- Exclusive gym leaders/types. So I know they’ve done this before with Iris/Drayden, but it is something that makes playing each version feel unique. Like I don’t think just the two was enough for me to want to play sword straight after finishing shield and I wish that just say sword had grass, electric, ground, fairy, ice, normal, poison and flying types while shield had fire, water, fighting, steel, dragon, ghost, rock and bug types with Marnie and Bede keeping their dark and psychic types, especially with them emphasising the minor/major league aspect, but it was something I hope pokemon continues to do in the future.

- The fossils being created from mixing and matching parts. Feels far more creative than past games.

Final Thoughts:

- Overall this was an okay game and a decent step into the console world. While there are some spectacular aspects of the game, the story leaving something to be desired made me feel like there was something missing on this journey. Given this and the probability of pokemon improving those well done features as time goes on, I imagine this game will be one that in time will be easily forgotten. Still, despite its flaws, I definitely see it as a necessary step to whatever comes next and am excited to see where it leads us.

#pokemon #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon shsw #pokemon sword and shield #yes some of this is nitpicky i'll admit but it was basically all of my thoughts while playing #also tbh i discussed this with my brother and he pretty much agrees with everything I said which is a first

1 note · View note

bthump · 6 years

Note

Hi! I was just rewatching the first movie because I am not ready yet to re-read the manga. I think Guts' feelings of heartbreak in the end of the first movie are very palpable. After the assassination he wanted to see Griffith immediately (my heart!), but he had to hear that speech which fucked him up worse. So why did Griff say all that? He really values Guts, and maybe he sees him only romantically and that's why he doesn't see him as a friend. He's possessive but sees him as an equal 1/2

2/2 So I’m a bit puzzled and I am wondering about your interpretation, if you’ve already written a meta about that scene. What I think is that Guts definitely sees Griffith romantically so he was doubly heartbroken after hearing that he doesn’t see him as a friend or equal, so he wanted to leave in order to make him care about him seriously. But Griffith already loves Guts and respects him, so his speech is a bit contradictory. Sorry for the long ask btw I love your blog :)

Hi there :) Yk, I don’t think I actually have really talked about this scene in much depth.

My general default reading of Guts and Griffith’s relationship is that they are both romantically in love with each other but neither of them actually realize that they are. (Well, I don’t think Guts has ever quite realized it, at least not consciously, but I do think that Griffith figured it out during his year of torture.)

So in my opinion, Griffith meant his friendship speech.

I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the conversation that comes right before the assassination attempt and then Griffith’s speech in the narrative included this exchange:

Griffith asking Guts to assassinate Julius was, in a way, a gesture of friendship. It was a request for Guts to do this for him, as a favour for a friend rather than an order from a superior, and Guts picked up on Griffith’s careful phrasing and accidentally rebuffed him. I think Guts meant this as a lighthearted joke, but while we don’t get to see Griffith’s reaction to it, I’m willing to bet he took it as a rejection.

Maybe not even a purposeful rejection - but certainly a sign that Guts doesn’t see him as a friend, but sees him as a superior first. I think this leads directly to Griffith’s speech to Charlotte where he proclaims that he has no equals. Like, it’s completely accurate, whether or not it’s arrogant as well - people either look up at him as a saviour or symbol of their ability to rise in the world, or look down on him as a symbol of corruption in the system.

I also think there’s another important aspect to his speech.

What he describes to Charlotte as a friend is someone who has his own dream, separate from Griffith’s, and would pursue it even if it meant clashing with him.

To Griffith, whose life revolves around his dream and who frames things like that because it’s how he sees the world, what this translates to is that a friend is someone who won’t die in service to his dream.

I think he tries to keep an emotional distance between himself and his Hawks because, frankly, they tend to die in battle, and it fucks him up (as we see in Casca’s flashback to the dead kid and the morning after Gennon.)

So he says the Hawks aren’t his friends because he can’t think of them that way. They see him as a perfect leader, he sees them as people who he will one day send to their deaths, simply by ordering them into whichever battle eventually kills them.

So when Guts re-establishes that he sees Griffith as a leader and tells him to order him to do things instead of requesting favours, it’s a reminder to Griffith to distance himself.

Of course, it doesn’t actually work. He can’t turn off his feelings for Guts even if he tries to ignore and downplay them (also see: I had no reason at all for risking my life for you. He can acknowledge that yeah, he did do that, but he can’t acknowledge why - because he loves him - not even to himself.) Guts is still the only person who Griffith allows to see and participate in the shady shit he does to rise to the top, the stuff that makes him feel dirty. He still risks his life for Guts. He still sends a search party after Guts and Casca despite going against the wishes of the nobles he’s supposed to be sucking up to, and then ditches an important meeting to see them in person. He still expresses concern for Guts’ safety before the Battle of Doldrey. And he crashes and burns harder than anyone has ever crashed and burned after Guts leaves lol.

(Now there is an obvious contradiction in that Griffith wants to be Guts friend and equal rather than the superior who will send him to his death eventually, but also won’t let him leave the Hawks, but that’s plain old fear of rejection imo, and not understanding Guts’ reasons for leaving, and an irrational emotional implosion lol.)

AND I think there’s a third aspect that ought to be explored: Griffith can only call an equal who would fight for his own dream a friend because this definition allows him to continue prioritizing his dream. To save Guts’ life at the risk to his own, rather than let Guts be killed for his dream, is, at its core, a betrayal of his dream, and the thousands of people who’ve died for it. But if his “friend” was an “equal” with his own obsessive dream, then in theory he’d never have to choose between his friend and his dream - it would be understood that their respective dreams would be prioritized. Another reason for the “and should anyone trample that dream he would oppose him body and soul… even if that threat were me myself” clause.

At the end of the day Griffith already loves and respects Guts, of course - he has from day one - but he can’t admit that yet, not even to himself, imo, because it’s a serious, serious threat to everything he’s built his life around.

Tbh I feel like there’s a lot more to say on this topic, especially how and why Griffith represses and denies his feelings for Guts, and what his dream means to him, etc, but I think I’m definitely going to end up writing a long ass analytical post about him soon because I’m really feeling all this nitty gritty Griffith stuff at the moment lol. But yeah when it comes to Promrose Hall I think this is pretty much my thoughts on what Griffith’s speech is about.

Anyway, thanks for the message, I love talking about this kinda stuff :) And ty I’m glad you enjoy my blog.

#a #b #ask #Anonymous #ship: griffguts #scene: promrose hall #character: griffith #theme: repression #theme: dreams #theme: equality #theme: guilt

69 notes · View notes

st-crylo · 7 years

Text

Undercover & Undone 4

A/N: Yall I had to hold back bc tbh i was like yall need to kiss but its all good. Anyways sorry for being kinda MIA, I’ve been busy with school so it’s been a little difficult for me to write, but now that I’ve got the hang of things, I should be able to get more content out. Thanks for being patient, hope you guys enjoy!!!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.8K

Tagging: @stressedoutkylo

U&U Masterlist

Full Masterlist

You felt stress bubble up inside you as you waited for Matt and Ben to arrive. They were going to wish you good luck before you headed to the Cortenshis Estate. Thinking about how tonight was the night filled you with more anxiety than anything ever had. You kept fiddling with your fingers, unable to stay still as you waited for your two closest friends to arrive before you had to get ready. You couldn’t think of any way that this could go any easier, especially since you were terrified. What would you say? How would he react to seeing you again? Would he be happy or angry? You were making yourself sick just thinking about it. You had to find some sense of relief for your stress before the start of the Gala.

A knock at your door broke your haze of anxiety, causing you to hop up from your place on your loveseat and head over to open the door. Once you did, you were greeted by the smiling face of Matt, his glasses slightly frosted around the edges, and Ben, whose nose was slightly red at the tip from the wind.

“Hey, (y/n)!” Matt said as he walked into your apartment, shaking the snow off of his coat. He pulled you in for a hug, which had you shivering.

“Can you not just wait to hug me until after you take off your coat?” You asked as he pulled away. Ben simply gave you a pat on the back and smiled warmly at you.

“Well I figured that would be pointless since we aren’t staying very long,” Matt noted, sticking out his lower lip in a pout. You let out a light laugh and shook your head at him.

“So, how you feeling kid?” Ben asked, causing you to turn and face him. You grimaced at the question, beginning to twiddle your thumbs.

“I’m pretty nervous, actually,” you said softly, looking down at your hands. You felt a hand placed on your shoulder and looked up, making eye contact with Ben. His eyes seemed to burn with emotion, but what emotion you couldn’t quite distinguish.

“(y/n), you will do fine. I’m sure you’ve got this. We all believe in you,” he said reassuringly, causing you to smile. Hearing that everyone’s confidence was in you made you feel better about the situation as a whole.

“Well, we came to wish you good luck, and we’ve done that,” Matt said, breaking the silence between the three of you. You looked towards the blond and nodded, giving him a smile.

“Yeah, I need to call Luka so he can come pick me up,” you stated, giving the two Solo boys one last hug before they set off again. They both stomped over to the doorway and smiled back at you, waving goodbye before closing the door behind them as you rang up Luka. Knowing they had faith in you felt all the more better about tonight, and your ability to do the job at hand.

Kylo stared down at the black tuxedo laid across his bed. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his head, scratching as he came to the back of his head. He wanted this night to be over as soon as possible, especially since he didn’t really want to socialize. He just wished he could send Tal and Valerium in his place, but he knew Cortenshis would take offense to something like that.

“Kylo, you in here?” came Phasma’s voice from outside the door, along with the barking of his two dogs.

“Yeah, why?” Kylo asked, walking over to the bedroom door. As soon as he did, the two pitbulls were jumping on him, and he scratched behind their ears before looking up at Phasma.

“I thought you’d like to know that Hux is probably going to start drama. At least, that’s what Mitaka was saying. He’s hoping that if he can get you angry enough, you’ll make a bad impression to Cortenshis,” she stated, a piece of her short blonde hair falling in front of her eyes.

“Of course he is,” Kylo said flatly. If Hux’s men were going to be insulting, Kylo highly doubted any of them could really hold back. Knowing it was deliberate, though, did help. Kylo let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his head. He couldn’t really expect Hux to be civil, could he? Even if he was planning to be civil with Hux, a rare occasion in and of itself.

“Also, Valerium and Tal are downstairs waiting for you. They have some questions about tonight that they want you to answer,” Phasma said before walking away. The dogs stopped wagging their tails as they watched Phasma walk away, and as soon as she was out of sight they returned their attention to Kylo. He leaned down to scratch both of their heads before walking out of his room and heading downstairs.

Valerium and Tal were both in the sitting room, each in their own armchair, both smoking on a cigarette. Valerium was very easily distinguished from Tal, as he sat with his back straights, legs crossed, and pale blond hair parted neatly. He wasn’t as rough as some of the other members of the Knights of Ren, but he was just as fierce. Tal, however, seemed to be more carefree than Valerium. He sat back in a very relaxed manner, his legs parted, and a smug grin on his face. His brown hair was in disarray on top of his head, heading in every which direction, looking blown from the winter wind outside. As Kylo approached, however, both men stood from the armchairs and shook the hand of their leader.

“You ready for tonight?” Tal asked Kylo, who simply shrugged before grabbing a cigarette of his own and taking the lighter from the table. After he took a drag, blowing out the light billowing smoke, he sat down.

“I just want it to be over,” Kylo remarked, taking another drag from his cigarette. The other men also sat down, taking drags themselves and returning to their previous postures.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Valerium responded, looking off into the distance and out of the large diamond pane window.

“It shouldn’t be too bad. If we don’t get bothered by Hux’s assholes, we should have this in the bag,” Tal stated, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray and cracking his knuckles.

“Yes, well, if they try to insult you, remember to keep your cool. We can’t afford to let this go in their favor,” Kylo stated before putting out his own cigarette and standing from his armchair. “I guess it’s time we go get ready.”

You stared at your reflection in Anne’s vanity mirror in awe. She’d made you absolutely gorgeous, and you almost didn’t recognize yourself with how dolled up you were. You couldn’t help but keep your mouth agape as you stared at your own reflection.

“Luka!” Anne called out through your haze of examining yourself. Luka quickly ran into the room, straightening himself up as he stepped beside his mother.

“Yes mom?” He asked, looking her in the eye. She returned a smile to him and then indicated to you.

“How does she look?”

You looked up at Luka, who instantly smiled when he saw you. His smile made you feel even more confident in yourself.

“You look amazing, (y/n). Wonderful job, Mom,” he said, resting his hand on his chin. You blushed, turning away and back to the vanity mirror.

“Now, we get you in the dress. Luka, go get the dress from the guest bedroom closet,” Anne demanded, holding out a hand to you so you could rise from the seat in front of the vanity.

After Luka retrieved the dress, you quickly got into it, afterwards adding the final touch of a beautiful silver necklace with a cut of aquamarine in the pendant.

“I think this fits very well with your outfit dear. Now, go wait with Luka downstairs. Guests should be arriving any time soon,” Anne said, pushing her blonde hair back as she shooed you out of the room. You softly thanked her before rushing out and then down the grand staircase of the magnificent home. Downstairs, there was a pair of shoes waiting for you by the end of the steps. You slipped them on with ease, growing a couple of inches from the heels, and then you headed to the sitting room where Luka was waiting for you.

To say you were nervous was an understatement, but as each passing second went by, you were filled less with dread and more with excitement. There were no real words to describe how wonderful it would be to see Kylo again after all these years. After all, out of the three Solo brothers, you were always closest to Kylo. Meeting him again was like a dream you’d never expected to become reality.

“You seem excited,” Luka noted as you sat down, flattening your gown as you plopped onto the armchair. You smiled and nodded, looking at the lit fireplace as the firewood crackled in the heat.

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. I never thought I’d see him again,” you said, not looking up from the fire. The expression on your face dropped as anxiety filled you once more.

“You never explained to me how you knew each other,” Luka said, leaning forward in his seat so he could listen to your tale. You knew eventually you had to explain, it wasn’t like your familiarity with Kylo was anything bad, it was just simply something you had put off sharing. You smiled, though, as you thought of all the happy memories from childhood.

“Well, we actually grew up together, in Alderaan. It was me, Poe Dameron, Kylo, and his two brothers, Matt and Ben. I was closest with Kylo though,” you said, smiling fondly as you looked over to Luka. He smiled as well as he watched you, your reminiscent happiness almost contagious. “We used to go out to the lake every Sunday to skip rocks. I was always bad at it, but Kylo was like a master at it. Also, we’d always go to the movies together, sometimes it was all five of us, sometimes it was just me and Kylo.”

“So what happened?” Luka asked, causing the smile on your face to slowly drop. You wrapped an arm around yourself and looked back at the fireplace.

“He wasn’t happy staying in Alderaan anymore. Snoke sought him out because of who his grandfather was, and Kylo was just like Anakin. Even his mother thinks so. The last day I saw him, he said that the only reason he hadn’t gone with Snoke yet was because of me. I told him I didn’t want to be the thing keeping him in a place where he wasn’t happy,” you said, letting out a sigh. You remembered that day very vividly. You also remembered the phone call you’d received the next day from Ben telling you that Kylo had disappeared. Your heart had been broken but you felt at the time he would be happier.

“I’m sorry,” Luka said very softly, also turning to look to the fireplace pensively.

All of the sudden, a loud and resounding knock at the door caused the two of you to snap out of your depressing haze, and caused you to both look up.

“Well, I guess it’s time we make our way to the ballroom,” Luka said, standing from the armchair. You copied him, dusting off your skirt before following Luka out of the sitting room.

The haze of guests packed into the once empty ballroom as people in elegant gowns all crowded within. Kylo pulled lightly on his tie to help relive him from the stuffiness of the room. He looked over at Tal, who always walked with an air of confidence and always seemed to know what to do in social situations. Very much unlike Kylo.

“What’re you looking so anxious about?” Tal asked as he grabbed two flutes of champagne from a butler who walked by and handed Kylo one while he sipped from the other. Kylo frowned before taking a swig from the glass and then sighing.

“Because I don’t normally do this, Tal. You’re the one who does all the socializing,” Kylo said, his baritone voice rumbling deep in his chest. Tal shrugged as he took another sip from his champagne. His eyes wandered around the room, surveying all the guests he could see from where he, Tal, and Valerium were sitting.

“Val, why don’t you have some champagne?” Tal asked, looking past Kylo to see Valerium’s stone cold expression. Valerium frowned at Tal, which was something quite common, and let out a sigh.

“Because, Tal, someone has to be responsible here. Besides, I don’t like champagne,” Valerium stated very matter of factly as he pushed a piece of his silvery-blonde hair behind his ear. Tal threw his head back in a laugh as Kylo continued to shift awkwardly between the two. He was beginning to wonder if he should’ve brought more than just Tal and Valerium.

You scanned the ballroom in search of Kylo, hoping that you could at least catch a glimpse of him. However, with the ballroom beginning to fill up even more with all of Cortenshis’ guests, it was harder to distinguish any one person, so you resigned to eating some of the small snack foods laid out on the table that you and Luka happened to be standing by. Luka saw your resigned look and let out a laugh, taking hold of one of the toothpicks that had some random cheese attached.

“You’ll find him eventually. There’s only so many people here,” Luka assured you as he bit into the cheese. You sighed and turned away, looking out to the magnificent windows that lined the ballroom walls. The snow was falling lightly outside in the night air, riding along the wind wistfully.

The clinking of a spoon on glass had you snapped from your thoughts as you looked to where Lukas Cortenshis was standing, next to the small orchestra he’d hired for the night. Your eyes watched him as he cleared his throat, the ballroom going silent as their attention turned to their host.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight,” Cortenshis started, “It’s always a pleasure to throw this gala every year, and it’s even better to see new faces each time. However, I of course do not do all the preparation alone. I’d like to thank my son Luka for helping organize the food and the guests for this year’s gala.”

Everyone clapped and turned to face Luka. As Kylo did so, he noticed someone next to him, smiling widely at Luka as he accepted all the compliments from the guests surrounding him.

For a moment, Kylo’s world went silent as he realized who it was standing next to Luka. He stopped clapping and simply stared wide eyed at the beautiful face he thought he’d never see again. You looked like a winter goddess in his eyes, the dress you were wearing looked like it was made from the snow falling from the sky and the bright winter sky in midday. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he watched you smile, a smile still so radiant it put the stars to shame.

“Kylo?” Tal all but yelled as the clapping died away and the guests returned to their socializing. Kylo turned towards Tal, his brows furrowed in confusion. Why were you here? Was it even you he was seeing, or someone who looked eerily like you? Kylo had to know so he turned towards Tal once more.

“Tal I need you to do me a favor,” Kylo said, running a hand through his jet black hair.

“Yeah, sure boss,” Tal said, standing up straighter next to Kylo. Kylo felt a tightness of anxiety in his chest as he turned back to where you and Luka were standing.

“That woman standing Luka, I need you to find out what her name is,” Kylo said softly, only loud enough for Tal to hear. Tal was confused by Kylo’s request, but nodded and headed towards Luka nonetheless.

You laughed at Luka’s comment about his father’s soon to be drunkenness when you noticed a tall figure approach the two of you. When you looked over, you felt a bit of disappointment seeing that it wasn’t Kylo. However, you did notice that Luka’s grin widened.

“Hello Tal,” Luka said, smirking at the man who’d just appeared.

“Hello Luka. Unfortunately I didn’t come just for you. Your friend here-“ Tal turned to look at you, giving you a warm smile, “has attracted the attention of a very nervous and unsociable man who would like to know her name. So, Madame, what is your name?” You blushed lightly at the thought of someone being too nervous to speak to you, but you still felt disappointed about Kylo, so you simply smiled back at Tal.

“It’s (y/n) (y/l/n),” you stated.

Kylo saw Tal pushing his way through the crowd of elegantly dressed guests and make his way ack to Kylo. Kylo started anxiously fiddling his fingers as Tal stepped closer until his friend was right in front of him.

“So?” Kylo asked, eager to see if it was really you.

“Her name is (y/n) (y/l/n),” Tal stated, a smile on his face. For the second time that night, everything seemed to slow down in Kylo’s world. So it was you, after all these years. You’d somehow manage to weasel your way back into his life, and he was nothing but elated, and yet terrified at the same time.

Kylo started walking towards you, ready to finally hear your voice again after all this time. It was too good to be true though, when he was stopped by a strong arm wrapped around his shoulder, causing him to be pulled back. Kylo let out a frustrated sigh as he looked down at the drunken face of Lukas Cortenshis. Suddenly, he was reminded of why he was even here in the first place, so he turned to Cortenshis with as much of a smile as he could muster.

“Kylo, my lad. I was beginning to worry you hadn’t come! So, how are you doing?” Cortenshis said, his cheeks rosy from the heat of the room and the alcohol combined. Kylo kept his forced smile on his face as he thought only about meeting up with you again.

“I’ve been good, Lukas. This really is a wonderful gala,” Kylo noted, trying to butter his way into Cortenshis’ favor so that he could slip away quickly.

“That’s damn good! Well, I know I’m being sought out by my wife somewhere, so I’ll speak with you later,” Cortenshis leaned in and lowered his voice. Kylo also leaned towards him so that he could hear the older man better. “I want to meet you and Hux in my office after most of the guests have left.” Kylo nodded and then watched as Cortenshis walked away, parting the crowd of people all socializing and dancing.

Kylo let out a sigh of relief as he turned back to head towards you…except you were no longer there. Kylo let out a groan of frustration as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Tal smirking at him.

“Follow me boss,” he said, indicating for Kylo to follow him.

You shivered as you felt the cold wind hit your bare shoulders on the balcony that you and Luka had just gone to in order to escape the crowd within the ballroom. Though the garden from the view of the balcony was gorgeous, bushes of evergreen topped in snow, the cobblestone path through the garden cleared of all the snow, making the atmosphere surreal, you couldn’t help but still be a little anxious. You still hadn’t seen any trace of Kylo, and you doubted that he would find you out here on the balcony.

“Don’t worry, he’ll come soon enough,” Luka said, as if reading your thoughts. He was seated on the stone bench by the railing, his ankles crossed as he stretched his legs out. You frowned as you moved to sit next to him.

“How can you be so sure?” You asked with a sigh, threading your fingers together and placing them down on the skirt of your dress. You heard Luka let out a chuckle from beside you.

“Because I told Tal to come here, remember? Tal is Kylo’s right hand man,” Luka stated, causing you to perk up. So it was Kylo who had asked about your name earlier. The thought alone had a blush rising to your cheeks. You couldn’t wait until Luka brought him around.

As if on cue, the door to the balcony suddenly opened, revealing two men in black tuxedos walking out. You recognized Tal as soon as he stepped out, as he was the first of the two to join Luka and yourself on the balcony. As soon as you laid eyes on the second man, though, you slowly stood, watching him in awe.

He was slightly taller than when you’d last seen him, his hair longer as well. His overall appearance was more rugged, but in a way, you loved it, and it made him even more handsome. He had the same expression on his face that you did as he stared back at you, equally in awe of the situation.

For a moment, you forgot about everything, your shitty apartment, less than perfect job, or the task that Ben, Matt, and Poe had given you. The only thing you could focus on was Kylo, and you didn’t even notice yourself walking towards him until you found yourself wrapping your arms around him, burying your face into his chest.

He was shocked at first, after all part of him was convinced you’d never really wanted him, but after a few moments, he slowly wrapped his arms around you, pressing his cheek against the top of your head. He couldn’t really describe what he was feeling, he was simply overwhelmed with emotion.

“Luka, let’s leave them be,” Tal said to his lover as he pulled on the young man who was staring at you and Kylo with a dreamy expression on his face. Once the two of you were alone on the balcony, you looked up at Kylo’s face, taking him in as if he were merely a figment of your imagination, one that would blow away with the winter wind.

“Why are you here? Of all places, here, at Cortenshis’ winter gala?” Kylo asked, a bit of a chuckle in his voice as he looked down at you. You laughed as well, pushing a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

“Because I’ve been friends with Luka for about a month now. He invited me. Of course, his father thinks I might make his interest in men go away, but I doubt that will ever happen,” you said, letting out a laugh. You felt your cheeks heat up slightly as you watched Kylo’s expression.

The rest of the gala was spent talking to each other endlessly, catching up after all the years the two of you had gone without seeing each other, and also occasionally dancing together, causing other people to leave room for the two of you in the ballroom. Everyone watched in awe, trying to get a look at the girl who had all of Kylo Ren’s attention. You couldn’t give them any thought though, you were just happy to be with Kylo again.

“And to think that I’ll be working at this awful diner until I can find something better is driving me insane,” you ranted as the two of you stood by the food table, sipping on champagne as Kylo listened to your ramblings intently. It was something you’d always appreciated about him, his ability to listen attentively.

Suddenly, you heard someone clearing their throat beside the two of you. You looked up at a man who was almost as tall as Kylo, but not quite, his blue eyes seeming cold, and his silvery blonde hair slicked back neatly.

“Ren, Cortenshis is looking for us,” he stated, looking at Kylo and purposely keeping his gaze away from you. You frowned at this man’s behavior. What had you done to him?

“Of course, thanks Valerium. (y/n), you should wait until I’m done speaking with Cortenshis. There’s something I want to ask you when I’m done,” he said, giving you a smirk that made your heart leap in your chest. As Kylo walked away, the man called Valerium gave you a once over, and a flash of disgust appeared on his face before he followed Kylo. You frowned as you watched the two of them walk away.

After a few seconds, Luka appeared next to you, his hair in disarray and a smirk on his face.

“I suppose your job was easier than everyone was making it seem, huh?” he asked as he leaned against the table containing the last of the food in the now emptying ballroom. Your frowned deepened at his words as everything you were meant to be doing came back to you.

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s amazing what missing a person can do,” you noted, your eyes scanning the ballroom for nothing in particular.

“Are you talking about you or him?” You frowned as you looked up at Luka, confused by his question.

“What do you mean?” you asked, crossing your arms and furrowing your brows as you leaned against the table as well.

“C’mon, (y/n), it’s obvious you missed him, and that you care for him. The question is though, do you care for him enough to not do the job that Dameron expects of you?”

You thought a bit about his question before letting out a sigh. In a way, he had a point, not that you would ever admit it to anyone other than Luka. However, no, you didn’t think you cared enough about Kylo to completely omit the friends who had been by your side since childhood.

After a while of you and Luka waiting for Kylo and Tal, the two men finally walked into the ballroom, Kylo expressionless, but Tal holding the widest grin you’d ever seen in your life. You turned to Kylo who seemed a bit nervous as he looked down at you before giving you a small smirk.

“Will you come with me really quick?” he asked, holding out his hand for you to take. You felt your heart flip again, but then you remembered. I have a job to do, I can’t let him charm me like he used to. You took his hand and he lead you back out to the balcony, the winds now calmed from earlier, and snow no longer falling from the sky.

“I just, uh, wanted to know if, um, you aren’t busy on Tuesday, if you would want to get dinner,” he said, looking down at his feet as he asked. You felt a blush creep up on your cheeks and you mentally cursed yourself for feeling anything for him.

“I would love to,” you said softly, smiling up at him. His face came up to look at yours, searching it as if to make sure he had heard you right, and that he was looking for any indication otherwise. After he realized that he had indeed heard you right, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile.

“Great! Do you want me to take you home tonight? I’m sure my driver wouldn’t mind,” he said, running a hand through his black hair.

“Thanks for the offer, but Luka is gonna take me home tonight. I’ll give you my telephone number though, so you can call me and I’ll tell you my address,” you said. He grimaced and nodded, following you inside so that you could give him your telephone number. Once you’d done so, the two of you exchanged your goodbyes for the night. Kylo brought you in for a quick hug and looked over you once more as if to assure himself that you were real.

“I’ll call you,” he said with a smile before turning towards Tal and Valerium, both of which were holding completely opposite expressions.

After everyone had gone, you got undressed and then back into the clothes in which you arrived. As soon as you went down the stairs, Luka was waiting for you, the keys to his Cadillac in hand.

Once you had gotten home, you changed into a nightgown and laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling as you thought about the night you’d just had. With a sigh, you kept thinking back to Kylo’s face when he first saw you. With a frown, you scowled at yourself for being attracted to him, but deep down you knew there was no real way to stop it. The connection between you had always been there, and it seemed that even the years apart couldn’t break that bond.

#kylo ren x reader #kylo ren fanfiction #kylo ren AU #reader insert #solo triplets #solo triplet au

66 notes · View notes

megapotatosaurus · 7 years

Note

All the Disney asks :D

challenge fucking accepted, friend

Aurora: Story of your first kiss.

All right listen up folks because this is probably gonna be the best story of them all as I’m going to get progressively more tired as this post goes on. It was a dark and stormy night - actually, it was in the middle of the day, and I was on my first real date. No, I was not a teenager. And he couldn’t drive so I’d brought my car to the train station to pick him up before going on. Anyway so I should point out that this dude was older than me but even less experienced. Like some painfully shy nerd or something. Like, I’d never kissed before, but I knew how to kiss, right?

He sure did not know how to kiss. Like the dude hadn’t even looked at a single youtube tutorial or something. He was not prepared. So when the time came to kiss, time kinda slowed down, and I was like, omg, here it comes, me first kiss at last, get ready for the fireworks, here it comes.

And this dude right, this fully grown man, SMASHES his face against mine so that my head slams back against the car seat, LATCHES onto my mouth with his like a vice, our teeth clash and his tongue rams straight down my throat.

So I’m sitting there on the receiving end of this absolutely terrible kiss, this guy’s tongue is waggling wildly against my tonsils, and I just feel so fucking exasperated, like, I feel like in the movie of my life, the camera should have freeze-framed on me at that moment, and a voiceover would’ve come in like “Yep, that’s me there, the girl with the tongue down her throat. I suppose you’re wondering how I got myself into this situation. Well…”

Rapunzel: 5 things from your bucket list.

I don’t have one so I’m just gonna make up some things now that sound like they would be pretty awesome: 1. Become proficient at astral projection so I can go on spooky adventures in my sleep, 2. Write a book that gets a movie AND video game adaptation, 3. Set up a charity to help women fleeing from domestic abuse in countries where the law is not on their side, 4. Build my own house, 5. Get married and have an owl fly the rings down the aisle because I love owls. Ok so that started off silly and gradually turned into things that I ACTUALLY want to do.

Dory: Something someone has told you that you can’t forget.

This one’s easy, I don’t remember fucking anything.

Pocahontas: Something new you taught someone.

To love and accept themselves? I’m a teacher and a therapist so all I ever do is share my great potatoe wisdom with people young and old

Mulan: Do you trust your gut feeling?

Always!! My intuition is always good.

Jasmine: The story of when you had to really trust someone.

Ah yes, I remember the last time I fully trusted someone, it was back in 1884, I was but a young potatosaur, I was trapped in the cargo hold of a ship on the way to Newport from Argentina, and the other stowaway was a bearded vagrant who gradually began to starve as the months went by. I had to trust that man not to peel and eat me in my sleep. My life was in his hands.

Belle: Is there someone you are close to who no one else likes?

To be honest, years ago I would have had to say yes, but now I’m older and I’ve often found that if nobody likes somebody, there’s a good reason.

Ariel: Where do you think you belong, and why?

Honestly, I have no idea, and just when I think I’ve found somewhere I really belong, as a member of a community or whatever, something always happens to smash it and I have to move on. So now I try to cultivate my own personal sense of belonging separate from other people, so I belong wherever I am.

Flounder: Something that surprised you and frightened you.

Dump Truck becoming president? Brexit happening? The rising tide of racism and intolerance? The looming threat of nuclear war? Lots of things have surprised and frightened me in the past year.

Eric: Have you ever helped a stranger? What happened?

Well I remember a couple of months ago a lady’s car broke down and her husband wasn’t picking up his phone so I drove her home. Tons more vague memories come to mind but that one was pretty recent.

Aladdin: A sacrifice you made for someone.

Back on that Argentinian sailing ship, I allowed my friend the vagrant to cut a few chips out of me to save his life. I might have a hole in my side, but my heart is full of the joy of true love.

Tiana: A time you tried your hardest for something.

Probably when I was sitting my Chemistry GCSE, I was never much good at it or so I thought, but I had a teacher who really encouraged me, so I studied hard and got an A!!! Still very proud of that :]

Boo: A childhood hero.

Emmeline Pankhurst, one of the leaders of the Suffragette movement here in the UK! One badass bitch

Cruella: Something you really want but aren’t allowed to have.

Tbh I mostly just get whatever I want eventually, life’s too short to have regrets :D

Seven Dwarfs: 7 things you like in the people around you.

Alrighty so not directed at anyone in particular, some traits that I value in my friends: Kindness, honesty, sincerity, loyalty, good humour, non-judgemental, an interest and curiosity for many things.

Kronk: What are you best at in the kitchen?

First of all a moment of appreciation for Kronk, the best character. Secondly I am a rocking cook so basically I’m good at everything in the kitchen. But u know my microwave skills is off the hoooooook too

Simba: Something a parent has taught you.

How to hold my ground against people who are emotionally manipulative.

Cinderella: “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” What’s that for you?

My dreams are all dead and buried like so many potato peelings.

Nemo: Your bravest moment.

Maybe when I stood up for one of my friends in school against a thug who was threatening him, there were tons of witnesses but everybody else didn’t move a muscle.

Terk: Are you a big sister figure to anyone?

Nope.

Buzz: Your favourite fantasy world.

Do I hafta pick one? They’re all so good ;o; And I like all the ones I make the best because they’re mine and I can do what I want :D

Alice: Done drugs?

Ew, no, never.

Peter Pan: Something from your childhood you still love.

My teddy bear! And going to feed the swans at the lake near where I grew up. Been doing that all my life. :]

This was fun and also horrendous, thank you friend shoe, I hope my answers were worth it!!!

#ghirahims-left-shoe #ask meme

3 notes · View notes

sophygurl · 7 years

Note

🌋 (for the unpopular opinion) walking dead

oooooo thank you. I could really re-write my previous unpopular opinion thing about villains and just put Negan’s name in there, but I’ll do something else lol

okay. I’m gonna make some enemies with this one but. I honestly believe that Daryl should have been one of the one’s Lucille’d in the season opener.

not because I hate Daryl or Norman or white dudes or whatever.

but because it made the most amount of sense to me within the framework of the narrative. I feel like if the writers were not scared to kill off the most beloved character on the show, it’s the route they would have taken. And I get why they didn’t, but here’s why I wish they did:

Negan had clear goals in choosing who to kill in that moment. Despite the creepy af (not to mention amazingly intense cliffhanger that resulted - good job show runners on that one tbh) “eenie meenie minie moe” thing - he knew who he wanted to kill and why. And Abraham being the substitute for Daryl made the second amount of sense but still...

Negan leaves the leaders of communities in place as much as possible because his goal is not to lord over each community and micro-manage them but to allow each community to persist basically within their own sub-culture as-is while also toiling for him and his people. The best way to do that is to keep things mostly intact. So Rick and Michonne and even Maggie are out right off. They’d be needed, under Negan’s estimation, to keep the community functioning enough to serve him.

He doesn’t hesitate, however, to threaten those closest to the leaders or those who the community holds dear - so going after Carl, as a child of the leader as well as being a child and therefore someone the community is likely to hold as precious to them, but not actually killing him. No, he makes it very clear that while he’d take his arm off, he is not to be killed.

(this is also why I don’t think Glenn made sense as a kill because he was so obviously the heart of the group - threatening him, torturing him, kidnapping him - yea, but not outright killing him. I think, a case can definitely be made for him being the second kill that night making sense because when he did THAT, he was trying to make a different point than with his first kill but that’s another meta)

So, while the main leaders and even the hearts of the community were out - secondary leaders are in. Specifically secondary leaders who are strong, willful, and who show signs of standing against Negan and the Saviors even once Negan got Rick good and subjugated. (what Negan didn’t know is that describes MOST of the group but that’s his flaw and not what went into his decision-making that night)

Sparing the leaders who can keep the group functional and the emotional centers who can keep them motivated is good. Killing other badasses in the community who might rise against him and/or urge others to do the same is also good. Hence, his choice of Abraham right? The way Abraham just juts his head forward like - do it you scumbag or you’ll have me to deal with later?? That’s what got him the first Lucille death of the group.

But that should have been Daryl. Everything we know about Daryl says he’d be the one to do this, and in fact he basically does when he later jumps out at Negan causing Glenn’s death and his own kidnapping and torture. Right? Daryl is someone who is not going to allow his people to be hurt or threatened. He’s super fucking protective of those he claims as his own. And he has a deep need to stand up against bullies and for those being hurt and tormented. This is essential to who Daryl is.

So yea, I believe Negan would have seen that in Daryl and chosen him first. And the rallying cry that would have sounded through the community at both Daryl and Glenn’s deaths (in my pretend scenario here, probably someone else would have lashed out at what all was going on - maybe even Abraham and we’d then get to see Abe eating dog food sandwiches and saying something oddly both offensive and amusing about the song Easy Street as Dwight tried to torture him into saying he was Negan and OH! Can you imagine, because probably Abe wouldn’t have escaped the way Daryl did mirite? So he’d have been there when EUGENE got there and Eugene would not have tried to go with the flow and convince MFing Abe to join Negan - wow, that could have been an amazing story... okay sorry tangent moving on),

but the rallying cry for Daryl - I’m sorry - would have been much bigger and deeper and truer than the one for Abe. Like, Abe had basically three people who were really close to him? And Daryl has more like eleventy? IDK. We can count that up later.

But Alexandrians and Team Family alike would have been not just devastated but moved to ANGER in a way they weren’t for Abe. Glenn devastated everyone. Abe devastated a few. But Daryl would have just catapulted the group to new levels of motivation.

hmmm, maybe that’s why he wasn’t picked? Because they wanted Rick to have half a season of dragging his heels not wanting to provoke Negan further when if he’d lost Daryl he would have been propelled into action much sooner? That’s a thought.

But I still think Daryl made more sense than Abe. And it’s not because I want Daryl gone more than I wanted Abe gone. I’m kinda meh on Abe and love Daryl to pieces. I just think his death would have made more sense both for Negan’s purposes of taking down someone who could stand against him and for the group’s purposes of how to organize to fight back after such a big blow.

I’ve been thinking this ever since I got over season 6′s finale enough to think carefully about it vs. just FEELS-ing all over the place, but this is my first time writing it out so thanks for the opportunity!

1 note · View note