#ngl the show has ruined him and all the other starks for me but

[waitingforwinterwinds]

Sew Long, Fair Well - 01 SANSA (pages 01)

Sansa makes a final sacrifice for her people, and wakes to discover she's made a deal with a god.

-

The years of war, and the sheer number of their combined forces, the sheer appetite of the dragons, everything had put too large an impact in their reserves. Her people were going to starve before the new crops could be grown to harvest, before the animals could breed and mature enough for culling, the glass gardens were still in ruins, and winter still upon them. Spring hadn't magically come sweeping in when Arya had slain the Night King, the Long Night hadn't mystically given way to the spring dawn.

That's actually something I'll be interested to see when we reach it in the books, how the resource situation is, because with the wars, and The War, resources are going to be so low, I have concerns about the post Long Night survival rates.

“Please,” she asked, “if you know of any way to save my people, please tell me how, please help me save my people.” “What are you willing to give up for them?” It was a test, Sansa knew, and thought of rough hands on her skin, thought of all she has lost, and all she had fought for with whatever she could. With words and looks, and favours and lies, with the blood of others and with her own. “The last thing I have left to barter with,” Sansa told him, hoping it was enough, “the last thing I have which is rightly mine to give away.”

“That's-Not-Bran” Theory at play here. I do kinda like that one, just for the fridge horror aspect of it. I also like the “rightly mine to give” mentality when characters deal with eldritch/ancient beings, cause you could give them anything, including the life of another, a thousand other lives, but where's the personal sacrifice in that. (Also it makes you look like an asshole.) This one showing us just where Sansa's priorities lie, it's not just about the building, it's about the people in it

“Down through the crypts, until the tunnel turns into a cave. Down through the cave to the heart of the hot springs, where the waters of Winterfell are born. Until there's nothing left to give.”

You know, I have now read two fics with Sansa Time Travel that feature the hot springs in the tunnels under Winterfell as the medium for said time travel. Two different types of time travel, mind you, but I see any more and it will officially be a pattern.

In her mind, she could see a golden light flowing through Winterfell, spilling out into the surrounding lands. It was like watching a flower slowly blooming. Sansa vaguely felt herself slip completely below the surface of the hot spring, but she didn't care, didn't fight it. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming, or if she was truly witnessing a miracle, but these were her last moments, and Sansa chose hope.

This would have been such a tough ask though, after everything Sansa survived, after everything that didn't kill her, after everything lost and regained, for her to have this presented as the saving move, when she can't even trust the source it came from, like, not really. For all she knows, That's-not-Bran just wants her out of the way so he can take over.

Anyway, the world is much nicer when people choose hope. (Nicer still when hope pays off.)

Sansa?

Yes, that was right, she was Sansa Stark of Winterfell And she was dead. Were the dead allowed to play games?

“I won't tell if you don't.”

ngl, that made me laugh.

Fun? That sounded nice. Sansa missed nice things, like lemon cakes, and her family, and practising her sewing. It had been so long since she'd last embroidered anything... No, that wasn't right, there had been a wolf... for Jon .

🍋=🥛

She was a child. She was a woman grown. She'd never left Winterfell. She'd been to King's Landing and the Eyrie, she'd even visited The Wall. She was in love with the idea of love, and couldn't wait to be a wife and mother. She was jaded, married twice, and revolted by the idea of sharing any man's bed. She was Sansa Stark of Winterfell. She was Sansa Stark of Winterfell. A summer child. She'd seen the Long Night. She'd died for her people and now she was either in heaven, or she'd had a second wish granted. She was home, and safe, and she had a chance to fix everything.

I feel like I don't see it enough in fanfics, but I do enjoy the use of formatting as a storytelling aid. Like this section, how the two versions of Sansa are put on opposite sides, and then the center alignment to show that the two versions were separate have melded into one being. (tumblr doesn't like left center right alignments, so I've indented the right aligns.)

People format their fics in different ways and some of them are good, and some of them are one paragraph of 8,000 words. This fic has a lot of 1-2 sentence paragraphs. I know one author, different fandom, and I love their premises, but my gosh, there's an epidemic of people who have never heard of “new speaker, new line,” and they are one of them.

GRRM doesn't always start a new paragraph whenever someone new starts talking, and sometimes he'll let someone start talking at the end of a paragraph, but he never really has two or more people speaking in the same paragraph, where readers get confused because you start reading the second voice assuming it's the first. Sometimes he has the speech tag before the spoken line, instead of after, he actually does a really good job of keeping an easy to read flow with conversations and he has a good balance with the speech tags themselves.

...Sansa just accidentally Blood Magicked the mystery Embroidery Hoop. In her defense, as someone who has dabbled with embroidery, can confirm: those needles are freaking sharp. Fiber arts are hardcore, I have such mad respect for anyone who can do them.

The Hoop was on the ground before her. Sansa looked back at her table, where the hoop was not. She picked it up again, and put it back on the table. She turned to dress, and the hoop was back on the ground before her. Huffing, Sansa picked it up again. This time when she put it on her table she said, partly pleading, “at least let me get dressed before I deal with you.” She stepped back, eyes on the hoop. It stayed where it was. … In all honesty, if Sansa hadn't been through what she'd just been through, she would have been freaking out over the hoop far more.

Good of her to acknowledge that she's either having a mild disassociation, or has been struck by the blasé attitude stick a few too many times. Look, don't get me wrong, “nothing can phase me” is a fine personality type for a girl to have, but when all the only -female-characters have it, it starts to grate. Like how “snarky, sarcastic, he'd be an asshole if he weren't so cute, clever, and charismatic” became default male protagonist personality for a while th- … actually I think they're still doing that one.

...../              HELP               \ .../   I've made a deal with   \ /an Ancient God, and now I \ |     don't know what to do!     | .\  (Slide finger from right to / ...\       left to turn to next    / .....\              page)              /

'Oh,' Sansa thought, feeling a little faint, 'so that was real.'

Apparently. Don't worry, I hate when that happens to me too. (Also I shudder to think how long it took to do the console format every time.)

-

So I actually had the message box open and was going to fire off a message to see if @redwolf17 would be cool if I did The Weirwood Queen for this, but then I thought “if my review curse* triggers, I will be devastated, everyone will be devastated!” So I picked one that's been on permanent hiatus for... three and half years? Oh wow, I didn't think it had been that long. Time is an illusion.

Anyway, I have author permission, and I'm even allowed to be as mean as I want. Oh, the evil that could unleash >:3c (I've fiddled with the formatting slightly, just because the layout in the og is very... laid out.) This fic is also more GoT than ASoIaF, sorry, but I poorly worded the fic option in the poll and no one gave me recs.

*I have this unfortunate curse where if I review a fic that's still in progress, something happens and the author drops the fic like 86% of the time. It's not because I'm mean or anything, I don't go for the writing jugular, it just. happens.

Happy April Everyone!!!

#sew long fair well #sansa stark #a chapter a day reading #april fools book swap

[minmin-pal]

im just gonna nab that "dead man's questions" and stick it in between watching part 4 and 5, kinda gives me vibes of like spy secrecy type stuff lol and ngl i was about to search it up automatically but i'm glad i refrained from it now. so the plot follows a character whose passed away? is it some type of flashback or maybe an 'afterlife/ghost' adventure? i don't know which or if either are right so i'm just pulling stuff outta my guessing hat lol

i might just have to accept this inevitable heartbreak either way tbh, just watching characters go on an adventure, have fun, develop and just generally live makes it very hard not to get attached though ig that just comes with the viewing experience. the 'waiting for them to bring the person back' bit is so real though, ngl i always end up forwarding and end up ruining a series for me because "when is this character getting brought back???", to the point i end up not paying attention to the rest of the series lol(/lh) though i'll make sure to not do that when watching jjba :D W series fr

and oh! you've watched naruto? you said the 'original naruto' so i'm gonna go out on a leg and assume you didn't watch Shipudden?(/genq/nf) could I ask what were your thoughts on the story (however far you got into it?) maybe like favorite/disliked characters? parts of the plot you liked and didn't, did you have any critics of the series (both manga and anime, assuming you read the manga too)? (/lh) any opinions on the legendary Sannin? generally, just your thoughts on it i suppose

and oh yeah fair fair, the intro bit i brought up since i kinda tiptoed around it when i was searching up watch guides and didn't want watch anything that might've spoiled anythin lol (may have been too careful for no reason lmao) the intro was just the first clip i saw of the actual 3d bits (i'm in the 'not know' side whether that style/model was consistent with the actual 3d used in the show tho) but wait they animated the powers n stuff to be 3d?? that's actually super cool wha (/gen)

took me a while to understand that 'death 13' was the name of the episode, and ohh it never occurred to me about the 'copyright issues' bit though i guess it's the same reason why people will always use names like '"barbucks" for a shop in their story whose icon looks awfully like Starbucks lol. i usually watch my anime subbed, though which would you suggest for this one? do you usually watch in subbed or dubbed? but eh yeah, might not matter much but still ty for the heads up! (/gen)

no but truee, the foundation parts make the lead up to the big punchy monster powers bit even more satisfying though :( and jonathan, yeah yeah! i've seen very small smidges of him here and there, i briefly consulted the wiki page of his because i wanted to find a clip of his voice without spoilers and omg he sounds so cool! :D i didn't scroll down any further down the wiki though, there weren't any "spoilers ahead!" warnings but i didn't wanna take any chances :')

oh yeah, sxf is actually a pretty good example of a 'polished' anime artstyle similar to other modern animes tbf, the sharp difference when i try to compare the two in my head made me snort a bit ngl (/lh) the style and story (from what i've seen of jjba and sxf so far at least) are so stark in contrast but they're both so good too (/gen)

twt has already shoved in my face that apparently, eren dies for mikasa or something? i'm not in the know of all the details but the shock factor is definitely eh- minimized now i suppose lol, and oh a tier list might be a fun idea if your up for it! how do you manage to keep track of the ones you've read/watched? or is it just a 'welp i'm relying on my memory for this' type thing? (/hj/lh) sxf really carrying both jjba (with no one being safe lol) and aot in terms of fluff, i feel as though i'm jinxing myself and that the ending might not be happy either but i;m crossing my fingers it is lol, and yea dw abt getting off topic, it's fun to read tangents (is that how you use the word)

mangakas favorite drink are the tears of their fans :') (/j) but props to you for managing to get the titan lore, i've seen a lot of people say it just confused the heck out of them and some said they dropped it so i hope you were able to enjoy it :D (both the series and the 'head-ache inducing' lore /hj/lh) 

and yay no problem! i'll admit when i read your description of it, i tried to do the same actions? like laughing but not making any sound, i definitely looked very goofy while doing it but i remembered the term 'croak/croaking' so it was a fruitful endeavor :D (/j/lh) i apologize for the tmi ;')

 "Chainsaw Man is a character-driven story that manages to conclude itself in 97 chapters, and its due to the author focusing on the main characters and its themes," i didn't think it could be explained so simply in word form but that actually does make sense. "All the battle shounen stuff is just being used a medium to tell the actual story, it's not the story itself." just this description alone summarizes it well i'm assuming and now that i think about it, really makes csm stand out tbh. Almost all anime i can name off the top of my head (action/battle genre ofc) really does focus on "different states and nations all preparing to fight one another for [ cue overarching plot point ]." Character development and personal introspection don't tend to be the top priority, well aside from the 'shonen mc moments' such as ya know- tanjiro, izuku, etc.? (/lh) or from what i can gather at least lol

but honestly, i didn't know csm concluded at 97 chapters! the fact the author was able to just- start it, do what he wanted to do and end it as planned (or at least i'm assuming? i haven't seen any articles with the clickbait tagline of "csm creator dislikes/isn't happy about [ ... ]!") it got pretty popular too so that's awesome to hear, and yea true actually, i can see you and other people like denji and the fact that both the "Mineta Minoru is Expelled from U.A. High School/Shinsou Hitoshi Replaces Mineta Minoru" tags on ao3 collectively have over 5.8k fics says enough lol 

spy was definitely a very wholesome show and it's just so, so nice to watch the family dynamic form and grow<3 dunno why but i liked how they were able to incorporate bits of yor and loid's profession into their parenting styles what with yor helping to cause the iconic damian scene and loid with attempting to sneak in to change anya's grade lol, but oh! what's your thoughts on franky? ngl i kinda love all the goofy stuff he pulls and gets twilight to do lol, but yeah tbh yuri's bit of being secret police and his scenes with anya are some of the only highlights of his char i remember when watching ;; (/lh) obsessive brother still kinda shocks me with how it's pretty prevalent as a trope tbh but also what's your thoughts on bond? also what was your favorite and maybe least liked episode or mayb chapter of sxf? 

it's been a bit since i found the site but i can binge all the chaps now so heads up an ask abt that in a few hours :D (/lh/gen) your so right about that thoo, having characters that could just be irrevocably bad people can be done but managing to make them appealing/getting the readers to feel for them is such a sign of being a good writer, but also yeah managing to cause your readers pain thru them is to be applauded too lol (mangaka's really do enjoy their reader's pain /j/lh) 

how have all the scenes you've shown be so pretty, my brain would assume it's just specific detailed scenes but i have the very sneaking suspicion that the whole manga is styled like this and i'm very much looking forward to it,  even if i covered her facial expression her hair swaying and clothing ripples(is that what u call it) somehow portrays emotion so well, how even? (/lh/pos)

i was confused on who 'nameless white-haired guy' was until i read the next sentence and i just went "ah" lol, and oh kinda sucks he got gassed too much but damn that personality is just yikes lol (from what i've seen of the one scene ofc) and oh there'a dif other guy? in about 30 minutes i'll see this hoodie dude so i'll end up finding out, i know he won't be 'as bad' but i'm looking forward to seeing how bad? uhm, basically looking forward to the chapter, hope that made sense or the sentiment at least got across lol, and yea no worries i'm reading your response at the same time so there might be dead ends/random tangents in mine that i didn't notice so- sorry about that :') 

And ah yea that makes sense, I'd actually be pretty surprised if you were able to remember specific little details but glad to hear you enjoyed it :D the analogy of 'cramming before a test' hit me on a personal level lol (/hj) and oh, was nijimiya the girl mc? she really does seem like a sweetheart and help I never knew she had a younger sister, that's super cool! And yeah! The dude's character development was nice to watch too but alas ofc, tears lol

I remember reading 'Kichikujima (Freak Island)' quite a while ago, I remember it's pretty gorey though I don't know if it qualified as phycological horror? Don't remember too many details so I may be wrong, but oh yeah! I don't know for sure if you were reffering to these types but I kind of made some terms for it lol, idk they're pretty simple labels

Jumpscare Horror - self explanatory, there's a lot of jumpscares and "dun dun dunn" type music/scenes right before the jumpscare.

Gore Horror - I assume this is where kichikujima falls into? Typically, zombie and slasher movies fall into this one lol

Phycological Horror - what you just described :D and ngl ig the name for this one is self explanatory enough lol

I haven't met many people that actually enjoy phycological horror, what's oyasumi punpun if you don't mind me asking? I'm mildly familiar with junji ito's works, i only ever watched vids that dubbed over it tbh but is uzumaki the swirly one? Lackluster description ;; but I'm assuming that's the one, I also heard there was an anime about junji ito's work(s)? Have you seen it? If ya did, what were your thoughts on it? Ohh have you already watched neon genesis? I don't see many people talking about that anymore, what'd you think of it? Seeing your summary of your taste for manga/anime/etc., have you heard of dororo? I only ever watched the anime so I'm not sure whether you'd enjoy it or not, but it's one of the things that come to mind when I think of things that are 'depressing at their core' (/lh)

Figured they'd be under the isekai category tbh, the dif labels just confused me for a bit lol and yeah makes sense it'd depend on the story itself, blue lock is that one popular sports anime recently isn't it? Tbf it's been a hot minute since shield hero gained much media attention as it did before so I don't imagine much talk about it could've been going around lol

Very valid reasoning ngl TT always a genuine whiplash whenever you compare the male and female character designs, the 'probably do not see people of the preferred sex at all' comment both made me cackle and makes a lot of sense lol, the manga started at 1997 and since it's a 'weekly title', technically a chapter comes out every week, I assume that doesn't leave much time for socialization? I dunno but doing this for close to 3 decades, you'd think some actual body diversity or dif styling would be developed as the story progressed but- how did it seriously evolve backwards? This is biologically impossible??(/hj/lh)

I remember a review video I watched citing the author's response as basically saying the target demographic is teen boys anyways? I need to find the video but I'm definitely sure that was the gist of the first bit of his response, it's as if his made unique and customized molds for all of the male characters while using the singular body mold fkr every single one of the female characters ;; the fact he prolly just chooses not to is def a massive let down tbh :')

While scrolling down, my eyes instantly went to the pic so I went "Miles :D!" then woah second pic jumpscared me real bad lol, when you said you had an example in mind I didn't think it'd be such a good example yikes, the longer I look at the artwork the more I understand your point, it's making- a lot of sense, the "you can tell a lot about someone by the way they draw" part is true tbh, this whole bit is just giving me the icks ;;

But ahh, I'll be reading the killer in love manga now :D also very sorry for answering so late, I know it isn't compulsory or anything but really just have my sincerest apologies ;; /gen/pos

And yay alright, I'll try to switch it up sometime for variety lol, minjae, d'you have any that you prefer or prefer not to use?

I watched the outro as it's own clip and I swear the meme was scratching my brain since it seemed so familiar, I'm questioning how'd it even turn into that meme lol, did it take you a while to find out?

(may contain some grammar/spelling errors, srry abt that)

HI!!! :grin: aot spoilers and..... just walls of text under the cut i didnt answer some stuff since there really wasnt anything for me to add of worth-- i read everything though dw

you should read deadmans questions right after thus spoke rohan kishibe (which i forgot to mention is technically a prequel- i shouldve said that.. u watch it after tho cuz its only rlly fun if youve watched rohan throughout part 4 already) i think- (so between 4 and 5 as you said) i cant really... tell you without sorta ruining it so u just have to wait and see. i can say its like.. not the same person he was when she was alive (im messin up their prns on purpose. for extra concealing) and theyre kinda like trying to become happy by doing.. assasinations.. :grin:

my one piece of character death-related advice is to not expect their return in this series. like once theyre dead theyre dead basically would advise to not forward aswell- going backwards fine :grin:

yes ive watched the first naruto it didnt end on a bad note or anything, and i started shippuden and he was suddenly like fucking 16 so i put it on the backburner (for whats been... 4 years now.. i dont think ill get to it ever honestly naruto was fire though. when he would transform into that.. posessed fox form i ALWAYS had to rewind and watch the scene again. idk if its top 3 anime :grimacing: like people say but its not a bad show either (i watched it instead of reading it cuz it was Free) for characters i LOVED naruto. ofc i did hes the mc but like hes such a cool kid honestly. the kinda kid everyones friends with in primary school (apart from in show). the entire main gang was great but naruto and kakashi were my top 2 .. and gaara now that i remember him i liked him more than naruto when i watched it tbh-- he was just so angry and emo and fine ive matured past the age of calling fictional characters attractive but when i was 11 i was in love with him honestly heavily disliked sasuke. which is ironic cuz i hated him for the reason i loved gaara he was so angry and emo all the time-- but he hurt naruto with his edginess (technically gaara did too but i excuse it.) also he was just being a bit of a asshole. like anime rival esque asshole but an asshole nontheless this is getting long so i'll get to the show itself honestly. because its been so long i cant remember what i really disliked the stuff that i can remember are just dumb stuff that all older animes do i guess all the "sexy-jutsu" stuff were kinda off-putting plus jiraiya as a whole. i loved him but damn he was WEIRD i had to google what the sannin were cuz i genuinely forgot-- but i think theyre cool jiraiya is a bit icky, the blonde one (forgot her name) was pretty funny- i liked her dynamic with sakura and orochimaru i think his name was; was so cool. his entire look influenced who i am today i owe it all to him /hj

death 13 is both the episode name and the ability name of the person in that episode and- id wholeheartedly recommend subbed for jjba a LOT of the jokes only work cuz its japanese, aswell as the emotions in scenes personally i dont like dubs since i find that its usually more "colorful" in its original form (for that reason i generally cannot watch korean dubs of animes.. they just throw me off ever-so-slightly

jonathan looks better in the anime than the manga to me, but this is mainly because i dont really like anime characters with muscles as big as. uh.

the hercules-corona borealis great wall :grin: and in the anime they werent as ginourmous its a REALLY good thing arakis art style did not stay the same for the entire series honestly picturing the later characters drawn the way the first parts were drawn is honestly whiplash-inducing

(NOT AN OFFICIAL DESIGN. PART 5 CHARACTER IN PART 1 STYLE)

you really cant compare the jojo artstyle with sxf (probably because of all the muscles + how "harsh" jojo's shading is, and the personality in both styles)

this is the best thing i could find ^ and honestly it looks cool as hell- the artist is really talented but with the art style i just cant envision it would be as lighthearted as sxf is it carries its own vibe to it

if youve already heard that eren dies it wont pack as hard of a punch (the punch being that THE main character died) but it will still tug on your heartstrings, if you dont know the specifics. i wont say its for mikasa, but more for everyone really eren. is honestly a result of knowing too much thats what i love about aot really.. theres no bad guys other than the big man eating monsters, but even those monsters arent truly bad everyones doing what they have to do, and thats most evident in eren once you sit down and absorb the lore its gutwrenching for remembering what i watched... i honestly have no way of tracking it. theres been a good few times i watched a show, and then realized id finished it already i probably shouldve done that, but theres no point to it now so i just use memory (which honestly shows if a show is good or not-- theres a lot of shows i immediately think of despite having watched them 3 years ago/ ex: death note, erased, jjba, and school live) (and yes thats the correct way to use the way tangents)

thats whats great about csm its not just ur average battle shounen, and its battling is second to its characters whenever i see debates abut goku vs naruto and such its just like the main thing anyone got from the series was the fights (which is fully valid) but like.. there usually isnt much character depth this is usually combatted by making the characters one character trait- something that csm flips over idk what im on about. its 11 pm and i havent slept in 2 days im so sorry if this comes off weirdly written

csm was a really short read and im so happy about that since as you said, fujimoto did what he wanted, finished, and was satisfied with it hes also working on csm part 2- which is not from denjis pov it has a whole different protagonist ive heard, and takes place somewhere else i wont be reading it, since i dont want to start anything i cant finish, but i do push you to once youve finished jojo/killer in love/ other things you feel like reading

it is really nice that yor/loidś work influenced the way they parent (esp with how yor tried to teach anya to defend herself from bullies) franky was a fun character- i liked his disguises he got from loid

bnd is cute i dont really have anything to say about him.. the whole looking into the future thing is cool though my favorite chapter has to be the one where loid is convinced yor is upset with him so he takes her to a bunch of different places.. but she was just in pain after a mission bad explanation but you get the memo i hope

i wouldnt say ALL scenes are the exact same quality as everything ive been showing, but everything is generally *really* pretty

^that was a generally regular scene, so thats just how the art is as a default its really beautiful (also that guy with white hair is the arata i mentioned-- he isnt bad in comparison to all the other ¨bad" characters.. hes just sorta a prick)

i honestly,,,.... shouldnt have said hoodie guy isnt as bad hes really bad but morally speaking white hair guy is even worse so he isnt as bad, but he isnt tame either, esp later on all your points are getting across just fine btw :grin:

i havent read kichijuma before, but i searched it up and it honestly looks really cool like really cool it has 24 volumes from what i read though so i dont think ill check it out

of the three you mentioned, i dont like jumpscare horror its just lazy same with gore horror if thats all there is to it i dont really enjoy horror mangas/animes much in general minus a select few, but for games im all for them (chillaś art's stuff is great) people i think don't like psychological horror because its more of a thing that gets to you (?) in contrast to with jumpscares or something, that it hits you and youre scared and thats sorta that you dont really shriek in fear over psychological horror, which is what some people look for in horror (yes uzumaki is the swirly one) oyasumi punpun,... is... about punpun and him traversing life (him and his family are drawn as birds. everyone else is drawn normally. he is human) i would usher you to check it out yourself :thumbsup:

also- i started dororo, but i never finished it i probably should tonight since i cant sleep ill tell you how i feel about it if i get to it (no promises though)

i get the one piece demographic is manga loving teenage boys but i guess its just dissapointing that he just... chooses not to put effort into his female characters

im so sorry :sob: i saw it on twitter afterwards and i immediately remembered what id said before it was the best example ever (and have fun with killer in love tell me all about how you felt about it :pray: )

i dont rlly mind any variation whatever u feel like

last but not least when i heard the outro music it took like 3 seconds for me to realize what it was afterwards my world was just flipped by its head (the typos are fien i made evern mroe) (and sorry this took me a minute i kept responding then drafting it then editing then drafting it again)

#min-pal.asks #mikey 🍮

[lizacstuff]

Edser / SCK asks Ep 30 and 31 Fragman

Asks below the cut. 

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the second trailer for epi 31

My thoughts on the fragman are complicated. Here’s the thing, this show is my happy place and I want my-- and everyone else who reads what I have to say-- experience to be positive. 

So I’m going to say this once and then not dwell. (This means don’t send me a bunch of negative, venting asks, I won’t answer them) I don’t like the direction they’ve taken. I was fine with amnesia, I was great with him falling in love with her from scratch, and I was a-okay with it happening very slowly, even with lots of obstacles and pain. However, involving Selin, and some rando dude who is apparently secretly in love with Eda for years, at such a heightened level... is making it very difficult to enjoy. What they’ve had to do to numerous characters to make the Selin thing make sense is ridiculous. It’s maddening to watch her manipulate and brainwash a man with a traumatic brain injury and NO ONE recognizes it as such. It’s hard to watch such a brilliant man not be able to see through her even a little. It’s hard to enjoy anything with that going on in the background.  

So with that being said, watching the last two episodes felt a little like getting kicked in the face with a Selin shaped foot. Frankly, this fragman made me feel like we’re going to get kicked in the face a third time. While the spoilers say something is coming for her, there is really no hint in the fragmans that she’s going to get comeuppance in this episode, or even start to. (Poor Bige, good thing she’s not a Hollywood actress because I’m not sure I would ever be willing to watch her in anything again, my reaction to her as Selin is now that visceral). 

HOWEVER, the only reason I watch this show is for Serkan and Eda and to watch Hande and Kerem bring their magic together. That’s it, that’s my happy place. So while the last two episodes were hard to watch-- with the undercurrent of Selin’s crazy behavior not being recognized as such-- both episodes offered up some really great scenes of them together (though it needs to be more, much more) and that’s what I’m going to focus on. So on the BRIGHT side I do think we’re going to get some amazing and even romantic moments between Eda and Serkan in 31. 

It seems certain that the scenes on the boat when they’re alone will give us some really nice moments. The fragman makes it look very fraught and emotional, but hopefully the scenes are long and they get a chance to really talk and connect and there are lighter moments.  We know from the live, that they shot at Eda’s house, and it looks from the fragman there is a scene with them outside. That should be reminiscent of many scenes of old when he would pick her up or drop her off, and I’m hopeful they will do that justice. Then of course jealous Serkan sniffing around Deniz’s cafe will hopefully lighten things up around this joint. 

So... I’m gonna be excited for any and all scenes with Eda and Serkan that don’t also have the human praying mantis along for the ride, and for the rest... I guess I better place an order at the liquor store and stock up on human brain bleach (what do we think? Everclear?) until we can get rid of the barnacle on the ass of this show. 

Anonymous said: Do you want eda to end up with the flower ring or do you think she should get a new one? I’ve been thinking about this ever since the last engagement and now that she’s taken it off again, I’m like hmm, should they just start anew? I would of course want her engagement ring to have meaning but I wonder if they might be able to come up with something else.

We are on the EXACT same wavelength. Simpatico, my friend.  I thought the same thing when Eda asked him to marry her. Like.... hmmm... maybe this ring has the wrong kind of history to start your life together with? And look CURSED!  

So now I really think it might be best to go with a new one. Surely they can come up with something that has meaning and is not just some giant solitaire diamond, but also symbolizes a new and fresh start.  Maybe that’s what the necklace is about, retiring that ring, but still keeping it as a keepsake of how they met and fell in love?

Anonymous said: Having Serkan turn Eda’s engagement ring into a necklace that he gives her on the yacht is an interesting way for the show to go. On the one hand it means he is thinking about her and feels bad/starting to fall for her but on the other hand kind of rude too. I do not see her accepting it to be honest. She gave it back because he got engaged to Selin and they are still engaged. Seems like this next episode will be full of interesting surprises like that.

Yeah, I’m not sure what she will do. I could see it going either way to be honest.  Either she wants to hold onto it because of all it’s meant to them, or she tells him she doesn’t want that reminder of him. 

I do hope you’re right that the episode will have some more surprises... let me amend that... I hope you’re right and the episode will have some more GOOD surprises. I need Serkan to realize that the pull he feels towards Eda, regardless if he’s still hella confused and isn’t ready for anything, is reason enough to rethink his engagement to Selin. Or hell I’ll even take Serkan starting to be suspicious, or starting to see through her act. Throw us a bone, show!  This 1 step forward, 2 steps back thing they’ve started is not a recipe for success. 

Anonymous said: Am I the only one hoping that Eda says no thanks to that necklace from Serkan? I guess we are supposed to think it is sweet but it came off more like “yeah I am not giving it back to you as an engagement ring but don’t want you to lose the memories.” I need her saying “that ring meant a lot to me because the man I loved gave it to me but you are marrying someone else/do not remember me and that ring means nothing now”. Not here for the show having Eda getting excited over the scraps given to her while Serkan continues with his engagement.

If they actually had her say those words to him I would cheer.  If Eda can step around her pride and be that nakedly honest with him, it would be a very good thing indeed. 

Switching gears to last episode:

Anonymous said: i totally agree with your thoughts on ceren and eda.. like i hope they don't ruin their friendship (and i dont think they will, i think this will just be a tough period in their friendship) but at the same time, i don't really care either??? ceren and eda have butted heads before over her and ferit's relationship and honestly while her friends are great support for her, they are allowed to show conflict there as well without everyone yelling about "ruining the character"

Yes, this. It’s okay for friends to have conflicts. It also doesn’t mean all “girl power” is gone if they do have conflicts.  I’m just sad that it’s happening at a time when Eda needs friends and Fifi already left. 

And like you say, I don’t care that much. I’m here for Eda and Serkan... oh and Serkan and Eda, and that’s it (oh and Sirius, he can stay). So I’m not really invested in any other relationship, friendships or dynamics. 

Anonymous said:  I laughed at how they actually had Selin put the ring on her own finger. and I don’t think it even crossed her mind that he should’ve done it, she was too desperate to get it on! As much as I hated this “engagement”, the writers are clearly showing that he’s not very interested so I’m fine with it 😂 I was also waiting to see if they were going to spend the night together in the cabin, but then Selin came in with her suitcase and they left early? Lol

BWAH, I loved that they left early! Writers have gone out of their way to show us they don’t spend the night together. THANK YOU SHOW. One small thing they’ve done right. And to your point they’ve also gone out of their way to show how uninterested Serkan is in all of it. Unlike Selin, we’ve all seen how Serkan Bolat behaves when he’s in love and getting engaged and getting ready to be married. The difference could not be more stark. Too bad that the only two characters who don’t know how he behaves when he’s in love are Serkan and the ass barnacle.

Anonymous said: Ngl I want gag a little with Serkan giving Selin more breadcrumbs (key word lol) than before. But 1 of many things I enjoy is that Serkan has yet to try to buy Eda's shares. He expressed interest in doing so when Selin then Efe had those shares. He did suggest her moving into her grandma's old office but gave up quickly. So Serkan's cool with a stranger, who's possibly inexperienced and supposedly manipulative, being a partner in his company and taking up residence in his office? Hmmm

I loved that we got such a quick change from Robot Bolat’s you-won’t-own-these-shares-for-long attitude to you-can’t-go-on-vacation-you’re-needed-here attitude!  One of the best subtle moments from the last episode. I want more of them interacting professionally and him seeing her in action. I also want her to tell him how much she learned from him. I think that might be something he’d be interested to know. 

Speaking of, you know what I want? With his hand tremor, I hope we get a scene where he’s trying to draw something and it’s not coming out like he wants and he’s getting frustrated and she goes over there and puts her hand over his (like he’s done for her so many times) and helps him get the drawing done. 

Anonymous said: Eda was really ready to move on and forget serkan just in 2 days? He came back and lost his memory it wasn't his fault anyway but I understand that the situation with selin must be difficult for her. I just want Eda to keep fighting for him despite what he may say or do (his decisions and actions are influenced by selin so...) I don't want her to lose hope just when he is just starting to open up to her. In my opinion eda should give serkan some time.

Well... I think putting on that frilly yellow dress and forcing him into a corner with her “engagement” has nothing to do with moving on or forgetting him. That was all for him. That’s her way of fighting for him. She knows what it takes to get him to act. He needs to be in a corner and about to lose her. .  

But also I take your point. I hope that Eda’s natural pride and very understandable hurt doesn’t get in the way as Serkan starts to open up to her and gravitate to her and make moves in her direction. 

As for her talk of moving on last episode, it was premature, but Eda has said similar things many times before, her pride talking, but she never means it. She always fights for him. 

Anonymous said: There's a moment in the episode Serkan tells Engin that he love seline and that really pissed me off, because we've never heard Serkan say that before. He only lost one year of his memory and we already knew that he never loved selin so I wonder why he would say that now?

I’ve actually already answer an ask about this, but since then, I saw on twitter that some Turkish speakers confirmed that Serkan used the past tense. “I remember the woman I used to love, and that woman is Selin.”

But also, what I said right after the episode still holds. Serkan Bolat didn’t even know what love was until he met Eda Yildiz. He didn’t really believe in it, no matter what justifications he’s using now. When Serkan and Selin were together, Serkan probably though that boring milquetoast arrangement was what people meant when they talked about love. It wasn’t until he met Eda that he realized he’d never been in love.  

I predict he’s going to have the same realization one more time in the not so distant future.

Anonymous said: I am so glad you aren’t liking Deniz either! I thought I was the only one. I can’t really pin point what it is about him but there is something off. He is definitely an opportunist and is pushing Eda too hard to forget Serkan. Which totally pisses me off. Move over dude, Serkan is and always will be the love of her life. Their friends truly suck. Melo is the only smart one and good friend who is telling Eda to fight for their love. I’ll give Ferit some credit too as he is throwing some digs in at Selin as well. Everyone else is cancelled in my eyes. Do you think that maybe Selin knows Deniz and could be working with him against Serkan? I am not entirely sure but I feel like there is something more there based on the looks they shared when they met as if they knew each other before.

Oh interesting! I don’t know how that could have been arranged from the start, so I don’t think they know each other from before, but at this point I’m not putting anything past either to start working together to keep Edser apart. 

And yes, Melo is really the only non-Edser character I don’t want to slap upside the head. Ferit is better that most, but could still try harder. Oh Seyfi. He hasn’t given me reason to want to slap him upside the head either. 

As for Deniz, I’m already done with him. 

Anonymous said: Near the beginning of the series, I do remember seeing some people shipping Ferit and Melo when she started working for Selin. 😂They haven't really interacted much since but I'm also down

Let’s do this thing. What is their ship name?  Felo? Merit? Cuties?

#sen çal kapımı #Sen Cal Kapimi #edser #sckask #sck episode discussion #sck spoilers #sck 1x30 #sck 1x31 #asklizac #anonymous

[ironxkid]

why don't you like endgame or civil war

((hoo buddy, idk what brought this up but salt under the cut!! Like... a lot of salt - specifically regarding Endgame lmao

I’m gonna start off with CACW because it’s a short response lol

I don’t like it simply because I was done with the infighting between the Avengers. The found family crumbs we were given in Endgame was something I really wanted to see, and them just... ripping them apart frustrated me lol

honestly, the movie was... fine? Idk, I found it to be a lil slow for my taste (it felt like it just dragged on when I watched it in theaters), and I just don’t care for it in general  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, ngl, I’m really bummed that Captain America: Serpent Society was a joke announcement because that sounds dope as hell and I really wanted to see that before I realized it’d been a joke dfgjhdsfhj

but, yeah, literally just because CACW is specifically an infighting movie annoys me to no end so I just won’t watch it again dgsfjhsfdhj

now, Endgame?

fuck Endgame

I. have a lot of issues with it, all of which are major grievances throughout the fandom. I’m pissed they killed Natasha and didn’t even bother giving her a fucking funeral because, I quote from Joe Russo, “Well, Tony does not have another movie. Tony is done. And Natasha has another film. And Marvel Universe obviously does not have to move forward linearly anymore. But that character still has more screen time coming.” (see here) and that annoys the hell out of me. She’s getting another movie - great! So you killed one of the few characters doing her fucking best to keep everything together at the compound, the one who was taking charge, give her a big role, and then murk her and... give her nothing but a brief mention at the end. Like... what the fuck? Natasha deserved so much better than what she was given. Tony’s funeral could’ve (and, frankly, should’ve) been a funeral for him, Natasha, and Vision because god forbid we see anyone mourn Vision other than Wanda

(actually this post covers how Endgame fucked over the MCU women perfectly, though Wanda’s not mentioned :c )

plus... Tony’s not done lol - he’s still a massive figure in the films/shows despite RDJ not acting in them, so his character has left shockwaves that aren’t dying any time soon. Natasha... basically disappeared, and I believe she would’ve been dropped completely if it wasn’t for the fact she does have a film coming out soon. Which, frankly, seems awesome and all, but it’s a film that goes back to post-CACW pre-IW and... frankly doesn’t give me any reason to understand why that means she didn’t get a funeral. She’s not coming back in future movies/shows that are in present MCU timeline - her movie is set in the past. She could’ve gotten a decent sendoff 

now, Clint’s arc as Ronin rubs me the wrong way. I know it’s a huge thing in the comics, and it’s not him taking a different mantle that I have an issue with. It’s the fact he, a white man, went around murdering people and got off scot-free. Yes, he was targeting genuinely bad people, but... to show that, they specifically singled out Mexican cartels and the yakuza (Japanese mafia, essentially) - so, in other words, the bad guys were people of color! I feel like I don’t need to explain how fucked up that is. And, to clarify, I love Clint! Clint is honestly one of my favorite characters, and the whole thing was just handled... poorly in the film

Tony’s arc genuinely hurts. This is a man who has suffered for years and has tried to make things right, and finally got a chance to settle down. He finally retired from the Avengers, finally settled down, and had a fucking life he could enjoy despite his ghosts, and yet... His arc ends with a message of “tortured soul finally gets rest by dying”. Because, y’know, it’s great seeing yet another long-suffering character only reaching peace through death, because god forbid they let characters heal! He could’ve still caused the second Snap, and he could’ve survived. He could’ve finally been able to step away for good and focus on his family, focus on recovering, and be truly happy. What’s so wrong with letting him stay alive so he can rest and be with his family? What’s so wrong with letting a long-suffering character finally find peace after one last bang? 

plus it pisses me off that they’re now using him as a reasoning as to why bad things are still happening. Why is this person the bad guy? Because Tony Stark somehow may or may not have done something that hurt them! Even though most of that really stems from Howard or Obadiah. Tony just ends up getting the blame in their place. He’s just an easy target to use, much like the tesseract seems to be the go-to answer for why things go wrong. But this is a different train of thought

Steve’s ending pisses me off just as much as the next person lmao. You take a character who has acknowledged he no longer belongs in the past (which, funnily enough, was written by the Russos), aaaaaaand have him go back to the past while ignoring two important people in his life that were still right there. He got Bucky and Sam back, and he leaves them. His arc is ruined within a matter of minutes, and it paints a hella bad picture of him in the process. He goes back in time to stay with Peggy (which ultimately destroys her own arc, and the fact she’s a person outside of her relationship (or lack thereof) with him because, y’know, why have her be able to move on and be her own person?), and we’re supposed to believe he’s fine with everything he knows from the future? Fine with knowing Bucky’s trapped with HYDRA and is suffering as the Winter Soldier? Fine with knowing HYDRA has infested SHIELD from day one? Fine with knowing Howard and Maria are going to die? Fine with royally fucking up the timelines? We’re supposed to believe he sat back and did nothing with all of that? They could’ve had him still hand the shield over to Sam - they could’ve let Steve stay an Avenger without the mantle

also the fact the Russos said he didn’t recognize Red Skull when he returned to Vormir to return the soul stone? Like... what the fuck?? Not to mention he literally returns the stone to Vormir, which “soul for a soul”, and they didn’t bring Nat back that way??

and now onto Thor. Thor... holy fuck is this hitting something personal for me. Thor was ridden with guilt - he was furious with himself, hated himself, and blamed himself for failing to stop the Snap. He fell into a massive depression, and... was promptly danced around as laughing stock. Like, “oh! look at Thor! he’s fat and drunk because he’s depressed haha!” - like fuck off. It’s not funny in any form. His suffering was made into a joke and it pisses me off because I suffer from depression. A lot of people suffer from depression. It’s not funny. It’s fucking terrifying at times. I wasted a shit ton of money on a stupid online sim game because it was a distraction - it gave me... god, I wouldn’t even say temporary happiness, but it gave me something to temporarily help, and I still hate myself for doing it. It was a poor decision on my part, and I wish I could change it. And, during that time, I was scared because I couldn’t see myself pulling out of it. I thought I was gonna feel that way forever. I called out of work multiple times because there were days I couldn’t stop crying (something I still feel horrible for doing), I couldn’t get myself to contact any of my friends for months, and it was all because the medication I was on at the time... stopped working. Thankfully, my depression doesn’t work in a way that makes me a danger to myself, so that wasn’t an issue, but it still fucking sucked. And to see a character that I could relate to on such a personal level treated as laughing stock fucking hurt. I’m not sharing this for sympathy - I’m sharing this because it Thor’s arc hit home and it’s literally the main reason why I will not watch Endgame again

this is more of a nitpick than anything else, but... I didn’t really care for Carol in it tbh? Which is unfortunately because Captain Marvel is one of my absolute favorite movies! And I’m well aware she was introduced in Endgame while CM was being drafted, but that in itself is annoying?? Because Carol was originally going to be introduced in AoU, but was cut because it wasn’t going to introduce her character properly. And yet they decide to introduce her character in a clusterfuck of a movie before her movie is in the final stages, and proceed to release her movie first and then give a complete different characterization in her following appearance

honestly I just wanna cover this now to clarify some things regarding Carter and her backstory: the only reason I keep Endgame as is is because it felt easier for me to do so for the purpose of bending canon for specific threads. I wanted to stay as true to the given plots as possible to help with fudging of both the movies and her background, and also because I didn’t want anyone to feel like I was trying to force my own headcanons onto them, y’know? 

I’m just gonna plug this here because fuck it lol, but I did start a fix-it fic regarding Endgame that you can read here! I... probably won’t finish it tbh, and I haven’t gone over it in a hot minute so it might be riddled with errors ahah - plus I’m not sure about how I wrote the characters! I get nervous when writing canon characters because I feel like I’ll miss their characterization completely, which is actually why I,,, rarely rp canon characters dgfjhgsfdhj

also the image in the doc was created by @/archervale!! 

#ooc #((I think I covered what I wanted and I hope it makes sense dgjhdfh #I'm pretty tired but I'm doing laundry so I figured I'd answer this while I wait #but yeah I don't care for CACW and I honest to god hate Endgame #the potential is there and it just never reached it)) #((I'm not even gonna touch the Russos directing style #'hey guys we're gonna film a wedding sIKE IT'S A FUNERAL' #like?? MAJORLY different event fellas #also I'm literally going off what I remember from Endgame so I'm sure there's QUITE a bit I'm missing #but I'm not watching it to make a bigger salt post lol #I don't hate watch things because I would much rather watch something I'd enjoy #tbh I don't understand hate watching at all but that's a different conversation gsdfjhdfhj)) #death mention tw #depression tw

[baddyzarc]

2/7 Ruins: Legend of the Gladiator

1 x 3 4a 4b 5 6 7  

The next Barian ruins I wanna discuss is that of Alito. I was supposed to group Gilag and Alito since my contract says I’m legally not allowed to separate these two. But I went absolutely ham on Alito’s ruins so, uhhh, im splitting them up.

Alito is a fascinating, fantastic character. Not only is he outwardly bisexual and genuinely a non-evil character, he’s one of the most interesting due to how the writers use him to progress the narrative of the Barian Emperors. This could be attributed to his close relationship with Yuma, and thus he’s allowed ample screen time to play his role in the story.

Alito’s ruins are located under an artificial lake in the fictional city of Spartan City located somewhere in Italy. The ruins are revealed when Alito blows up the dam and drains the water away. Judging by the presence of a colosseum and the fact that Alito was a gladiator in his past life, I’m sure this is supposed to be based on Rome’s Colosseum. Not a big shocker, but this sets up the basis for the discussion. 

The Guardian for this Mythyrian Number found in the ruins (Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart) is a gladiator. This Guardian is the hardest one to decipher out of all of the Guardians. You have Mach, Ponta, Abyss, Minotaurus, Jinlon, and then a random gladiator. Each of the Guardians I listed have something to say about the Emperor it corresponds to, and I believe that the gladiator also falls into this category because of this line.

The gladiator recognizes Alito. This confused line is also spoken by Jinlon when he first encounters Mizael, so it can be said that some of the Guardians may not immediately recognize their Emperor, but they do feel their “aura”. 

Like Jinlon, the gladiator takes a moment before realizing its attacker is Alito. After that, Alito breaks through its power and gains him to get control of the Mythyrian Number. 

The most common theory, and the one I personally believe, is that the gladiator is the prince of the legend. 

My evidence is slim, but I think his likeness to the Mythyrian Number "Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart", his usage of a sword during his fight with Alito, and strong familiarity with Alito (”we’re like brothers!”) provides enough evidence. Not the best or decisive, but from what we have, I like this one the most.

Not only that, and I may be reading into this scene a little too deeply, but it looks as though the gladiator recognizes that this angry blob of hate is Alito, and under some choice of its own, it  allows itself to be taken by a Barian. Rather, the Mythyrian Number yields to a Barian. (For reference, only Nasch and Gilag came into direct contact with their Numbers; each has their own situation with Nasch’s being more complex and Gilag’s being similar to Alito). But why would something like a Mythyrian Number give itself to a Barian? I’ll get into that when I talk about the Ruins Duel later on.  

Back onto the ruins itself, when I first started this, I was truly struggling to see how the past and present are the same place. 

Obviously they have to be the same place because that’s how the plot works, but looking at the placement of the mountains, this image of the ruins in modern Spartan City does not match the geography of the past (unless there’s a glacial retreat or something, mountains do not wear away that quickly). I assumed that the animators didn’t consider this until I found a single second that shows that these locations are the same place. The image of Yuma is a poor angle of the ruins. 

And luckily for this shot, it gives me not only a confirmation that the geography is consistent, it also allows me to use this as an accurate frame of reference for the layout of the city.

Hold onto this information for a minute, because it is absolutely tasty.

Now that I confirm that everything is consistent, I can move onto Alito’s legend. His legend is straightforward if you discount the false memories embedded in him. Alito was a popular gladiator who was also friends with the prince. They frequently fought head-to-head and were on equal footing with each other. According to the legend, Alito and the prince were going to have a final showdown to see who comes out on top. However, the prince’s advisors were afraid that the prince would lose and damage the reputation of the country. The advisors framed Alito for murder, and despite the prince’s plead that Alito was innocent, he was executed under charges of murder. But according to Alito’s memories (or the ones altered by Don Thousand), the prince declared him guilty and was the one to call his death. Alito, being a hero adorned by many, was betrayed by his best friend and scorned by the people of the city, and this was what pushed him to Barian World. 

(Side track: But this is one of my favorite scene of his legend. The casket-shaped shadow, the crystalline, Barian-like shape, is a prelude to his fate after being framed for murder through the works of Don Thousand. At this point, no matter what happens, only death waits for him. The bright crimson coloration not only alludes to his bloody demise but also his descension into Barian World.) 

Now, the past lives of the Barians are often mucky because it’s hard to distinguish the truth from the lie, especially since Don Thousand altered the lives of the Emperors in many different ways (memory change, influencing outsiders, personality alterations, ect. It gets disgustingly messy). But in the case of Alito, it appears to be influencing the advisors to frame Alito, and then a memory alteration to where Alito believes that the prince was against him rather than for him. Because of this, I assume the legend recounted by Gauche (aka the advisors framed Alito + the prince was for Alito’s innocence) is the truth. I believe that if Alito knew the prince thought highly of him and trusted him during the entire trial, this would’ve been enough to allow his soul to pass onto Astral World regardless of the truth.

Therefore, Alito’s resentment exists as a product of Don Thousand going into his mind and changing his perception of reality. 

And this statement is what ties his character together during this arc. 

Now, if you know anything about this blog, you oughta know that I do not believe the Barian Emperors are evil. Except Vector. Vector is evil. He is evil because he feels like it and that’s it; it makes him happy hes a freak. The rest of them act like that because they are living-beings and have some self preservation. If they do not retaliate, Astral World will literally erase them from history. Each of the Barians (vector DNI) exemplifies this concept throughout the show. They are not antagonizing Yuma because he’s the hero. They are antagonizing him because he sides with Astral, and thus he supports the side that wants them dead. (and ngl, aside from Vector, they are incredibly inept at being evil villains, just look at their accomplishments if you take Vector away, gilag ate a live racoon whoop-de-doo these guys are going extinct)  

But this isn’t what this essay is about. This is about the legend and ruins of Alito, who is the most prominent in his lack of evilness. At the beginning of Zexal Second, Durbe ordered Gilag, Alito, and Mizael to defeat Yuma and Astral. From here, these characters acted first on orders, and then on self-motivation (or not at all). Mizael followed this order before getting side-tracked with surpassing Kaito. Gilag followed this order before kinda just joining a bunch of random clubs at school and watching *looks at script* Love Live. 

Alito did not followed that order and was immediately infatuated with Kotori. And by chance BY CHANCE did he run into Yuma, before being infatuated with him too. Alito has zero drive to be evil or follow any orders. He doesn’t hate humans nor does he act on anything malicious. Even with Yuma, his drive wasn’t to defeat Astral but to duke it out with Yuma with as much passion as possible. 

This is a stark contrast to what happens to him (and Gilag) when Vector injects their comatosed bodies with Don Thousand juice. This happens Twice. And each time, he loses his passion and becomes a genuinely evil person. He hypnotizes Gauche and makes him use the adverse effects of “Lion Heart”, he puts Kotori in danger, he wants to kill Yuma, he is filled with so much hate and rage that all the characters point out that “this isn’t the same person” they originally met. 

In essence, he became cruel by coming into recontact with Don Thousand. 

But we all know this. Don Thousand is evil while Alito is not.

So how does this prologue connect to the ruins and the Legend of the Gladiator? It has everything to do with Gauche.

Consider the geography of this again.

Even though it doesn’t appear like it, these images reveal some information about Alito and his proxy, Gauche. Compare the geography of the mountains and the placement of ruins, look at the current location of where Gauche and Droite live in the present and Alito’s home in the past. 

It’s the exact same place.

Neat, yes, but also consider that Alito was a hero to the children of his time and Gauche wants to be a hero to the children of his time. (“A Messenger From The Stars For The Kids”) Not only that, these two have an interesting relationship with Yuma. At first, Gauche dismissed Yuma before seeing that his unbreakable spirit makes him a worthy opponent. Same with Alito. They also get possessed by Barian powers in order to fight without their iconic fiery passion. These two characters are thoroughly similar if you can look past the surface level (also they were opponents during the Barian Onslaught arc if that counts for anything). 

From here, we can draw direct parallels between the fate of Gauche and Alito. 

On a historical note, I assume that Alito is not from Spartan City. Most gladiators in real life consisted of slaves, prisoners of war, or criminals, and if you consider the “Alito’s Theme” soundtrack and his “Farewell, My Friend” soundtrack (which I believe only plays after he frees Gilag from Don’s curse, but correct me if I’m wrong, also these are two of my favorite soundtracks), it sounds like it has vaguely Spanish origins to it. (again, correct me if im wrong, im not good at cultural interpretation of music)

The theory I accept is that Alito was a prisoner of war for some other country, say modern-day Spain. Gladiators in real life, if popular enough, can win back their freedom, and I assume Alito’s charisma, passion, and strength won him the favor of the public and the prince along with his freedom. He still fought, of course, but this may be due to his drive to keep fighting. 

Unlike Alito, Gauche is a native to Spartan City, but he started in the similar wrungs as Alito, although not like, slavery. He was an orphan living in the streets with Droite, and he also used his charisma, passion, and strength to rise as the Dueling Champion of Spartan City. 

Both of these characters are champions of their respective times, but Alito got decapitated while Gauche did not (so far). If Don did not interfere, Alito might’ve received a happy ending like Gauche.

This connection doesn’t go much further until we get into the Ruins Duel with Alito/Gauche vs. Yuma/Droite. And this duel is what I think storytelling through duels should be like.

Earlier, I talked about how the Guardian allows Alito to gain control of the Number. I do not think this is a fluke on the Numbers part. Mythyrian Numbers are the antithesis to Over-Hundred Numbers, and the only way to break the spell of Don Thousand is to use a Mythyrian Number. I believe that the Guardian saw that Alito was under Donny’s influence, and thus gave him the Mythyrian Number in hopes of snapping him out of it. 

This happens with Gilag too, where Ponta hands him the Mythyrian Number before swapping into his body (as well as Ryouga but this was before he was declared an Emperor, and i will get to this when i cover him). The only other Emperor who got close to his Mythyrian card but didn’t touch it was Vector, who made Black Mist deal with it; that said, I wonder what would’ve happened if Vector reconnected with his Mythyrian? 

Back to duel, will you believe me when I say that the actions of this duel tells the story of the Barian Emperors? Maybe, maybe not.

But I do not think it’s a coincidence that Alito is the only Barian that participates in the Mythyrian Numbers duels (mr. Ryouga and ms. Rio do not count for obvious reasons) nor is it that he fights under the full influence of Don Thousand. 

There is a lot that happens in the duel under the text, but the overall message of the duel is the rekindling of the original self. This is in opposition to Gauche and Alito, who lost their true spirits after being possessed. In contrast, Yuma and Droite duel with as much, if not more, passion than ever before. 

The duel, although not spectacular in terms on the plays made, has a lot of interesting imaginary that I appreciate so much. 

I think this scene is the most lovely of this entire duel: a fearsome lion and a tender butterfly facing off against one another. The butterfly is able to move the heart of the lion, and Gache returns to his original soul with Droite’s unyielding passion alone. He isn’t freed, but this action opens the door to his heart. 

Droite’s actions mimics the flow of Yuma returning Alito to his original soul. Instead of responding to his hate-filled dueling with a similar stance, Yuma duels with relentless passion, summoning out “Heroic Champion - Excalibur” and letting in face off against “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart”. This is enough to save Alito from Don Thousand’s spell.

Furthermore, I feel as though this entire duel is closure for Alito’s past life whether he realizes it or not. As you know, Alito and the prince never had their final match due to Don Thousand’s interference. This duel concludes their fight and put the souls of both parties to rest (figuratively speaking). 

As the duel picks up, the stadium comes to life with the spirits of the spectators. They cheer for the duelists as the fight gets more and more intense. It’s as though the characters are thrown into the past.

The final move of the duel is what gives this “Legend of the Gladiator” the closure it deserves while presenting an amazing end to the narrative of Alito and Gauche. 

As Gauche and Yuma duke it out with “Lion Heart” and “Excalibur”, two monsters that are passionately battling one another, Alito interferes with “Cheat Commissioner”. This is no different than when the advisors cheated in order to murder Alito, thus preventing the final match from commencing. The strength of “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart” and “Heroic Champion - Excalibur” was able to overcome “Cheat Commissioner” and as a result, Alito is instantly knocked out rather than Yuma or Gauche. 

Alito’s Mythyrian Number and Gauche’s former ace—their passionate souls working together to defeat a common foe, freeing their masters and returning them to their original self.

The presence of “Lion Heart” and the knockout of Alito’s “Cheat Commissioner” (or Don Thousand’s interference with Alito and the prince in the past) was enough for Alito to shake off Don Thousand’s control and revert back to his original personality. He’s confused and baffled as his memories as a human flood into him, but he quickly retreats back to Barian World. 

A similar outcome happened when Yuma faced off against the gladiator version of Michael, who is a character who shares many similar traits with Alito. I talked about this before and I rather post this here than rewrite a decent explanation of my thoughts. 

Yuma was able to free Michael of his hateful and rage-filled state like how he did it during this duel with Alito and their final encounter. 

But from the contents of this duel alone, it is revealed that Don Thousand has the ability to alter the Emperors’ minds; he can also influence even the kindest Barian to act cruel and sadistic. It demonstrates that enough passion and force from their Mythyrian Number is enough for them to shake off the control—if only a little bit—and return them to their true nature. It also cements that the true memories of the Barian Emperors are suppressed and hidden from them, and they are the heroes we suspect they are, but unknown (but probably Don Thousand-based) circumstances sent them to Barian World without their consent.

You can take all of this was a grain of salt or say im looking too deep into it but,

This is what I mean when I said “story-telling through duels” should be something like this. There shouldn’t be a character in the background recounting what’s happening below the subsurface. Seeing a battle between a lion and butterfly, or the knockout of “Cheat Commissioner” through Alito’s Mythyrian Monster and Gauche’s original ace monster, or the awakening of the spectators to cheer for Alito—this should be left for the audience to dissect. I’m not gonna say this is my favorite duel or the plays are amazing, but I truly appreciate the story it shows without the characters looking at the camera and expositioning what this means. 

This analysis is long enough as it is, but I want to end it by talking about “Number 54: Rebellious Fighter - Lion Heart” and and “Number 105: Burning Knuckler - Cestus the Meteor”. They’re both based on fighting, which fits Alito’s personality. These monsters (as well as Vector’s) are unique in that they are the only ones that swap attributes between the Mythyrian and Over-Hundred Numbers. “Lion Heart'' is an Earth Monster while Cestus is a Fire Monster. I’m actually quite stumped on this decision. Lion Heart looks like it should be a Fire Monster based on the colors of its design, the fiery background, and fiery spirit it uses to keep fighting even after death.

However, despite this, I think it’s a cool idea that the Over-Hundred is a Fire Monster. According to the legend, the gladiator is said to “still wander the ruins of the Colosseum” because he “... regrets… not being able to finish his fight with his rival”. 

To “seal the wandering spirit of the unappeased gladiator” the Colosseum was submerged underwater. 

Water suppresses the flames that Don Thousand forced into Alito, and as the water drains away, revealing the earth beneath it, after a thousand years, the lost gladiator wanders through the ancient ruins of the Colosseum once more. And through the cheers and hollers of the spirits that transcends time, the champion and lion partake in their final showdown. With the conclusion of the intense battle, the bantering of the spirits fade away in the glow of rising sun, and gladiator of the legend is liberated.

#i legit said ''ill group gil and alit together since their ruins dont have much to them'' #boy #zexal #alit #alito #dyzarc writes #barian biology #long post

[zalrb]

Do you have any posts about your opinion on the got main characters?

Hmm, I don’t think I have one where I discuss what I think about the characters in a single post, more like I list favourite characters and favourite scenes and best actors, so here it goes.

Robb Stark

The reason why Robb was my favourite is actually pretty simple, I thought he was a badass – and Richard Madden was really good at radiating a calm intensity which added to that persona — until he ruined it by being basic. I loved his dialogue, I loved his strategy, I understood why the North would rally behind him, he was compelling onscreen, he was great to watch and then Talisa happened and I’m still salty about it,

Cersei Lannister

Besides the fact that Lena Heady is a fucking boss, I like Cersei because she’s honest and the framing of her character is honest, she makes no excuses and no excuses are made for her and that doesn’t mean she isn’t a complex character.

I believe she truly loves her family and will do everything in her power to make sure her family is safe and keeps its status, it just so happens that by doing those things she also destroys her family.

In relation to that I respect that she doesn’t half-ass, she goes big or she goes home and her going big destroys everything.

I have always said that Cersei was [season 1] Sansa before she was Cersei, she was idealistic and naive (which does not suggest that Sansa is now Cersei because Sansa is everything Cersei wasn’t)

and then Robert hated her or didn’t care about her, her father undervalued her and used her as a pawn and  she feltlimited and constrained, that she wasn’t living up to her full potential because no one took her seriously

and she had to sit by and watch these men try to rule the Seven Kingdoms whether it was Robert who didn’t care or Joffery who was tyrannical or Tommen who was gullible

and she just finally takes it for herself. But I also find her to be a truly terrible human being who can be short-sighted and reactionary and just difficult for absolutely no reason.

Sansa Stark

I mean I’ve been doing in-depth breakdowns of her character for weeks so you can find them here:

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184463381555/what-do-you-think-of-sansas-character-overall-and

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184787962300/im-not-tryna-sht-on-sansa-i-just-have-a

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184790549330/agree-with-the-other-anon-sansa-is-being-a-ruler

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184485128465/hey-zal-whats-your-take-on-the-idea-that-sansa

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184795134250/about-sansa-trusting-littlefinger-dd-made-it-so

Jon Snow

To be honest, I didn’t particularly care for Jon until season six after he was resurrected. Prior to that, I just found something slightly annoying about him, I think his earnestness combined with his naivete irked me but having seen where the show took him in season 8, I’m a lot happier with who Jon was in the earlier seasons because at least he had a personality but Jon (like Arya) is definitely a character I like better in relation to other certain characters. For instance, I like seeing Jon interact with Sansa partly because Kit and Sophie make great scene partners but also because I find interesting things happen when they’re together.

In season one I did like seeing Jon interact with Tyrion although we got way too much of that in the finale because who CARES for the same reason.

I essentially like characters who challenge Jon because I find Jon more interesting when he’s met with people who question him or make him question, an exception to that would be his relationship with Sam, which was just pure sweetness.

Theon Greyjoy

I’ve mentioned before that I never particularly cared for Theon, not when he was a little shit, not when he was Reek (I mean I felt bad for him but an objective, damn this is A LOT sympathy) and not when he transformed into a better Theon  but I absolutely loved watching Alfie Allen play Theon. I thought Alfie was brilliant as that character, there was so much nuance to his performance:

I realize it’s because Alfie manages to do (not to the same extent) what I feel like kdrama actors can do, which is show a wealth of emotion in his eyes and expression

He holds the emotion in his body so one of my favourite Theon moments is actually when he kills Ser Rodrik because you can see the adrenaline and the agitation and disbelief at his own actions in Alfie which is why the camera lingers on him instead of doing different cuts or angles, we just watch him in this moment

Or even just before he’s betrayed

He looks ready to die, he’s got a manic gleam, he believes his own speech, he embodies that.

Arya Stark

Like I mentioned above, Arya is a character who I think works best when she’s in the right dynamic. For instance, I liked her relationship with Tywin

and I liked her relationship with Sandor

I think Maisie shines best when she’s with particular scene partners and I also think Arya as a character is more compelling to watch when she has someone to riff of of otherwise, outside of that, I don’t find her to be a particularly compelling character and for the most part I find her obnoxious. She has her moments but I’m rather indifferent to her.

Tyrion

My favourite Tyrion is seasons 1-3 Tyrion, his dialogue was fantastic back then (I’m big on dialogue) and I mean, frankly, it is Tyrion in his prime

we see him clever, we see him play the game with Cersei

(Lena and Peter have FANTASTIC chemistry, I loved their scenes, although that doesn’t change when they finally do get to interact again, one of my favourite scenes between them is in season 7)

and Littlefinger and Pycelle etc. I just found Tyrion a lot more compelling before The Purple Wedding and definitely before Daenerys when he just becomes inept and almost bumbling tbh.

Daenerys Targaryen

I never liked her character and again, I’ve broken down why for the past few weeks so you can find them here:

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184840125235/this-show-destroyed-a-great-female-character

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184904471095/all-im-saying

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184853496740/ngl-i-was-buying-into-the-whole-from-broodmare-to

https://zalrb.tumblr.com/post/184354340265/daenerys-saying-that-shes-fighting-jons-war-and

Jaime Lannister

Jaime is another character I’ve been indifferent to. I’ve mentioned before that I found him more interesting when he was more caustic and sardonic because i felt like he had more interesting things to say with that acidic bite

and also more entertaining to watch

The more the series went on, the less I cared about him although the more I did appreciate Nikolaj’s acting because I mention it in another post but his eyes are expressive and I think he gives insight into what Jaime’s actually thinking/feeling through his eyes and that’s something I noticed later on.

I think that’s all I’ll do for now. If you’re interested in what I thought about Ned and Catelyn and Tywin etc. maybe I’ll do it later, lol.

#game of thrones #sansa stark #cersei lannister #jon snow #robb stark #tyrion lannister #theon greyjoy #jaime lannister #arya stark #GoT #jonsa #sophie turner #lena heady #kit harrington #richard madden #peter dinklage #aflie allen #nikolaj coster-waldau #maisie williams

[buttercookie-art]

Disclaimer: I’m just a fan. Not a critic or a reporter, this is not my job.

I liked it, that doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s a fresh start after Endgame. I don’t have any pros and cons, really. All I want to talk about it’s spoiler and I can’t articulate without ruining the movie for the ones who haven’t seen it yet. It got released in Italy today, so I guess there are a lot more people who haven’t seen it yet who deserve to enjoy it as much as the others did. I don’t really recommend it for those who are sensible at lights, there’s a lot of flashing. For the arachnophobic peanuts out there: there’s a scene in a battle after Prague with a very close close-up of a spider, beware.

On the movie, without spoilers: it’s still fresh and young as the first movie, we see what happened after Tony’s snap and the consequences of it all. Teens are still teens, but this time on vacation. Overseas. It’s a holiday trip teen movie with a heavy “we’ve been hijacked by Nick Fury” twist. If you’re a teen, you’ll relate. If you’re past your teen years, you’ll definitely relate too! I mean, I took one (1) school trip in all my life and those things happened to me and my school mates too. Unfortunately not the Nick Fury’s related ones. There are two post credit scenes. Both will blow your mind. Especially if you’ve read some comics or did some research in the past years ;)

                                              Spoilers under the cut

Now, moving on the spoiler-y section (I took some notes, so it will be in order):

That powerpoint presentation with the fallen ones and I will always love you. Guys, I was choking back tears and laughter.

Idk about the other Country’s songs, but the Italian ones… Well, they were Italians but I’ve never listened to them before. I’d guess and say the second one was from Venice’s traditions, but I’m not really sure. Any Venetian who can confirm or deny??

Boh. Michelle learns it while in Venice. She says two things about its use: it could mean I don’t know and/or piss off. Wrong. Boh, means I don’t know. The piss off part was invented.

A thought about Peter trying to glue everything back in Venice: he did more than Government and Unesco to preserve the art and architecture lol 

Beck mentioning Earth 616 got me flipping. Also, it confirmed he was on the bad side from the very beginning, I found it clever. Not that I walked in the theatre with doubts about it

Continuing on Beck, his back story is very good. I can totally understand his motifs. I’m actually impressed with Sony and Marvel. Good job guys. I had some fears about it, ngl

Can we talk about the prison scene for a hot second? Hooligans or mere Netherlands nt supporters taking care of him? Giving him their shirt? Making Tom Holland wear a Holland jersey? I call this Pun service.

We’re going to replace #GiveTonyStarkabreak with #GivePeterParkerABreak, aren’t we?

I love Led Zeppelin. I wanted to smack him, but I was emotional.

Peter realising/knowing he can’t be the next Iron-Man because he is his own person/hero cleared my skin and watered my crops. I’ve been living on the edge thinking about Sony-Marvel screwing his character even more.

I have a love-hate relationship with Tony/Peter parallels, tbh

Happy has completely taken on his role as babysitter. One might even dare to say he’s a Steve Harrington 2.0. His relationship with May is cute, I like it better than May/JJJ ;)

We finALLY GOT SPIDER-MENACE AND J JONAH JAMESON!!!

JK Simmons playing J Jonah Jameson. My personal Marvel fan cast has happened. Not just mine, because I’ve seen other people dream about it too. I can’t believe it’s real. Someone pinch me. (Edit: I re-read this point and it looks like JK Simmons has never played JJJ before lol. What I mean is: I’m happy he reprised the role in the MCU, since I couldn’t think of anyone else to portray the character)

Everyone now knows who Spider-man really is. Like, at the end of the movie, with that voiceover, I thought we were going to get the infamous Civil War reveal (they had teased us at May’s party) so I knew it was coming… but like this? Almost utter shock.

Maria and Nick were Kree all along. Which explains why they felt a bit off, I even wrote I didn’t like how stupid and naive Fury acted in my notes. Happy there was an explanation at the end of the movie and not after it.

The actual Nick Fury is working on a Kree ship, in space… I guess the rumours about phase four being set mainly in space is confirmed.

Edit: I came down from cloud nine and wanted to talk about a few more things

Peter: home boi got good character development, but it came to a “cost”. We don’t really see his nerdy side, except for Nick/Thalos mentioning his love for pop culture, him getting excited about the multiverse and making his new suit. I wish we could see more of it, maybe in the next movie? But I doubt it. 

Michelle: if I had my doubts during Homecoming, now I have none. It’s still pretty weird that everyone calls her MJ, because she’s not. Mary Jane has always been that character portraited has the most beautiful and popular among the others. The angelic one. With a strong feminine look. Michelle is none of it. And I adore it. She likes things that are considered weird, wears dark clothes and Peter falls for her not for how she looks, but how she is. I’m very happy with how they have written her. Finally, a character played by a woman who it’s not portrayed as the “femme fatale”  nor the “strong woman tm”. She just a normal kid, with her own sense of humour and her own interests. 

Ned: There’s not enough. He has a few interactions with Peter and that’s it. I know that the movie has already a lot to show, but I really missed them together, plotting and getting in trouble

Zombies: one of Mysterio’s illusions was Tony’s grave from which an Iron Man zombie crawled out from. It was a great easter egg. And... maybe will see more of it in one of the Marvel’s What/Ifs?

Tony hate: second movie, second villain who turned bad because Tony Stark was a billionaire asshole. It makes sense, don’t get me wrong, they’re written very well but... I wonder for how long they can keep going now that he’s dead. I liked how they played this card, though. Lately, Tony’s has been portrayed as this good Samaritan guy only. Forgetting that he has his issues too, which they weren’t just mental health related. It was a good reminder.

#aaaand it's up #these are my own personal opinions #they won't surprise anyone since it's me lol #spider man #spider man far from home #far from home #sm ffh #movie review #my art #far from home spoilers

[hannah-writes]

The Semiotics of Roswell (aka why Malex is Endgame because the camera says so)

And we’re back with instalment #2 of The Semiotics of Roswell. I’m supposed to be working but eh, who needs to actually have numbers and facts behind what they’re presenting? Losers, that’s who.

Today’s focus is on episode 2 and though I’ve tried to keep my screencaps in order, something wonky happens when I upload it, so I’ll be focusing primarily on individual scenes and the pairings - as before - so plz forgive me if some of the stuff isn’t in chronological order. The Malex stuff definitely will be. 

Also, at some point, I lost the ability to differentiate between the left and the right. #datdyslexiclife

Image heavy, once again! Consider this your friendly neighbourhood warning!

All my semiotic meta can be followed/tracked using the #Semiotics of Roswell tag, and is here on my tumblr. This includes random other semiotic meta that comes at me when I see gif sets.

Part 1 / Reunion Kiss Video Meta / I Never Look Away Video Meta / 

First of all, fuck this show and its lighting. It’s so dark half the time you gotta squint at the screen to see what’s going on. I know CW shows are all about their moody lighting and how it’s meant to help portray dark, gritty realism but the very nature of this show allows them to cover gritty realism without having to swamp our characters in darkness. 

What I do find interesting is in the below screenshot Max is half lit. This seems to come up quite a lot and now we’ve all seen the finale it can be construed as a hint to the duality of their “nature” as aliens, the darkness of the legacy of their race vs the lightness of their nature and love for humanity. (Michael’s general dislike for everything notwithstanding, obviously)

Liz & Max - handprint connecting them - fall into the my-side-your-side framing in this episode. Interestingly, you can see in the shot above that Liz is shot flat, the camera’s at the same level as her and there’s no upward angle. She’s got an even distance mid-shot whereas in direct contrast Max is closer cropped and the angle is slightly up. This is likely an accident, but there’s an insinuation with the camera being tilted up that Max currently is more powerful over Liz. We’d argue that Max would never feel that way; Liz is the hurricane that messes up his mind and his life and he can’t fight her. But his handprint is on her, which means she’s feeling what he’s feeling. This does somewhat blur the lines for her own perception of what she’s feeling and gives Max a modicum of control. This is more obvious as a shooting decision on the basis that they’re both standing and though there’s a height difference between them it can be compensated for by distance. But we always focus on Max’s face when Liz is around, and she dominates far more of his shot (below) than he does of hers (above). 

Conversely, the below two images are our first proper introduction to the Max/Cam dynamic which, ngl, though Echo is my ship, I enjoyed this for the playful dynamic that it was and it helps settle and establish in Max’s character that he is a sucker for strong women who can dominate the heck outta his soft, squishy person. 

Max and Cam show an up-down shot dynamic in this instance purely because he’s sitting and she’s standing, which sets it apart from the one above with Max and Liz since they’re (ostensibly, height difference notwithstanding) on the same level and being shot differently. Cameron and Max here are physically on different levels.

Max is more centrally-right shot, whereas Cameron’s on the right side of the screen; so though she’s framed to be ready to share the screen, Max isn’t which scrubs out the possibility of a true romantic relationship. Max’s position on the left-hand side of the screen - when he is on it - is reserved for Liz (two shots down!).

(Worth pointing out here that Malex is the only ship that is consistently shot with the my-side-your-side, even when they are broken up not together. Liz and Max have their fair share of shots that are on the same side or in the middle, allowing them to bleed into one - I’m thinking of the finale where they’re both lying to each other over the phone, Liz saying she’s fine when she’s been stabbed & Max saying he’s okay when they’re off doing alien things). 

Seriously though fuck the moody lighting of this show. The only mood it’s inducing is frustration and headaches. Stupid show. 

Again here, Echo is displaying the your-side-my-side framing. It’s the reverse of the above scene; they don’t have a set dynamic where there’s one that owns one side of the screen, not like Malex, but that’s actually okay. At this point in time, their relationship is unstable and tumultuous. Here, you can see they’re shot from the same, flat angle and there’s roughly the same zoom ratio used to help keep them in the frame. It’s not close on his face and zoomed out on Liz or vice-versa.

(Seriously, though, we don’t need mood lighting. I’d like to be able to watch the show without squinting)

First Malex scene! 

Which, thankfully, is outside in the day time which has better lighting. My eyes are thankful, episode. Plus, now I get to look at Michael and Alex for a while and spend some time sitting in my happy place.

The first thing that’s apparent here is that Alex and Michael - even though they’re not even in the same place right now - they’re still adhering to the my-side-your-side. Michael comes into the shot from the left and then the camera actually pans with him, tracking to keep him in the left of the shot. He doesn’t drive in and drive out, what we actually see is him driving in, looking to the right side of the frame and then we cut (below). It’s a hark back to the first episode, which is almost a frame-by-frame comparison except at the end Michael knows who’s standing there and the smile on his face feels almost part pleasure and anticipation at seeing Alex and part getting his armour on (sharp smile, sharper wit) because he doesn’t know what’s coming next. After they kissed at the reunion the sort of almost hope on Michael’s face is painful. 

We cut to Alex (on the right-hand side of the screen), sticking up a ‘you have been evicted’ notice. He’s still in his ACUs, which in many senses as a costume choice could be seen as him keeping a distance from Michael. He’s on Official Air Force Business here, so he needs to keep that respectable, responsible distance. The mid-shot here is also a testament to that; he’s being physically distant because of the nature of his job, the nature of how he has changed as a person. The uniform is a barrier as much as it is anything else, similar to the motif of the colour red referencing Liz and Rosa’s armour (Alex wears a red shirt in the pilot, too, and red is a colour that’s quite often seen in Liz’s wardrobe but styling choices are something entirely different and deserves a meta all of its own). We see it quite clearly in episode one, and again here. 

Under the my-side-your-side rules, the (below) shot where is once again telling; Michael’s home is on the right-hand side of this screen (generally where Alex tends to be in their dynamic, on the right, though it was the left hand of Michael’s that was ruined by Jesse Manes the destruction of their relationships started then and has spiralled out of control ever since, the right-hand side of the screen where home is, where Alex is even if neither of them is willing to admit it just yet, moving across to the right is a step forward, away from the pain of the left, in this framing, Alex represents being closer to home than anything else) and Alex has moved into the left-hand side of the frame. They’re not even remotely in the middle, Alex has gone into Michael’s side of the frame.

There’s a physical barrier - a pole - between them and the house in the shot which carves it in two; Malex and home, visually separated by a stark line down the middle. The lights that are in the frame are dim, and intrusive on the shot. It’s also shot at a further distance than we’re used to, items cluttering the right but a huge open space on the left for Malex. The huge open space, however, makes them look small and tight in their togetherness vs the vast open New Mexico landscape. Them against the emptiness of the world, tight and crammed together.

Visual meta aside, there’s no need for Alex to be so physically close to Michael when he moves away from the door of the airstream, he could have taken any direction - any path - to his vehicle but the one he chose was through Michael. Even now he can’t stay away, can’t fight the tug and push and pull that draws him in.

The vast emptiness of the previous shot is directly contrasted then to the sudden and quick cut the two of them, Michael grabbing Alex and pulling him closer, tugging him in and taunting him. It’s almost a reverse of their dance in the pilot; Michael moves in close, uses Alex’s ACUs to tug him in (tugging on his armour). The camera’s close over Alex’s shoulder and though it’s Michael’s face in the shot, Alex still dominates the frame. We aren’t supposed to be looking at anything else, our eyes aren’t meant to be focused on anything other than this moment right here. 

When we move to look at Alex’s point of view (and I don’t know if anyone’s commented on how Alex reaches out for Michael almost instinctively when Michael tugs him in like a reflex but then grips his hand to pull him away because he’s an airman now and he’s not the man he used to be, literally and metaphorically) the frame is further away, but Alex is still dominating the frame, both his side and Michael’s. It gives us a clue as to Michael’s headspace; Alex is still a huge driving force in his life, in his mind. So even though he’s sassing, he wants to be closer. Alex is the one putting distance between them, here. It’s immediately followed by Michael sassing him which is pretty much Michael’s MO as a defence mechanism; Alex said ‘nope, we can’t do that again’ and Michael’s immediate response is to lash out, go on the defensive, play on the town drunk. (More here in the video breakdown)

OKAY. So, I’m aware that wikipedia isn’t the best resource for information due to it being able to be edited by literally anyone, but here is a link to the USAF insignia and those definitely look like Captain bars, to me, which would mean that teenager Alex “screw authority” Manes grew up to become Captain Manes, and outranks his dad. I’m not an expert on the military at all, and so if you want to know more I would 100% suggest you go read this by the awesome @ober-affen-geil who breaks down the military stuff that we see on the show. Also everything else they’ve written. It’s good. I got lost in her meta tag trying to write this.

Having told Michael to move his rig and there’s separate space between them again, Alex and Michael return to opposite sides of the screen. The contrast here is immense; Alex’s bright “yeah, we’re not supposed to build on Santa’s workshop, either” comment is flippant and bright, there are no shadows on his face or covering him at all as he makes a joke that Michael knows is anything but. The darkness on the shadows over Michael’s face (below) are a clever lighting choice which shows conflict and unrest. Not just because Alex is leaving, but because the Air Force are buying up The Crash Site. 

Okay, then some stuff happens and I’ll dip into that during the video meta, but then really, the bit that everyone’s interested in. I’ve only included two shots of Cameron and Max’s sex scene because eh, we all know that it’s a you-scratch-my-back kind of situation but it’s cool to look at the positioning vs Malex in theirs. 

So there’s something deeply impersonal about how this is shot, it’s distant and wide-angled, the two of them are pressed together but there’s nothing there that tells us this is anything more than a quick shag in the kitchen. There’s no use of any of the motifs we come to associate with our key pairings (Echo it’s the sun, Malex it’s colour and hands). We’re watching this from a distance, an observer of the most casual kind. There’s a lot going on (what the hell are all those post-its, is that her fridge? Her counter is kinda cluttered, it’s handy her stove’s in the middle of the room on a bank of its own. That green container’s full of shit, are they all her spoons and spatulas and stuff?) which means that our eye isn’t immediately drawn to the hot shirtless Max and really hot off the shoulder shit action Cameron has going on there. It’s distant and impersonal and we’re not meant to get invested.

It’s deliberately interspersed between Malex because of the contrast; casual fuck vs two people coming together after a long time and a decade (minus a couple of days) of longing all culminating in a passionate and desperate kiss. There’s desperation between Max and Cameron too but it’s different. 

So. The second Malex scene.

One of the things I really like about this first shot is how little everything looks. We never see the exterior of Isobel’s house, but from the way it’s shot when we do see it, it’s busy and cluttered and home. Both Max and Michael’s places are set further out; Max’s house is surrounded by empty, isolated space, representative of how lonely he feels - though he’s got Isobel, she’s married and happy and he lost Michael the night Rosa died. 

Michael, too, this shot of his air-stream with the truck in front of it is so small. Alex’s car (SUV? I’m not good with car makes) is right in the centre of the screen and you can see Alex moving into Michael’s space. There’s so much amazing meta out there about their relationship that I could only distantly dream of creating, however there’s a point here about Alex being the one to consistently reach out, and @chasingshhadows did a piece on how Alex speaks with his body - Michael throws words out but Alex talks with touch, with action - and this is the first we see of it: Alex going to Michael, going into his space physically. It makes Alex and Michael look so small in comparison to the expanse around them (and, because I’m a hopeless shipper, small in comparison to the magnitude of their cosmic fucking love, fight me). 

(I’m definitely gonna find a video and do a video meta like I did with the kiss, because ~reasons. REASONS, I TELL YOU)

We see Alex on the left here, starting out, his vulnerability has already been highlighted by how small and tiny he looks walking towards the trailer in a phenomenally wide shot (above). This whole seventeen again talk just breaks me. Not gonna lie. This might get a bit incoherent.

Michael’s in the middle-left of the frame, his position already defensive. His truck’s at his back and the open landscape is in focus behind him (where it was blurred behind Alex above). There’s a vastness that’s indicative of something greater; the use of space to make the two of them seem closer is such a clever choice. The backdrop of distance gives a sense of closeness and isolation to Michael’s trailer, but also to this conversation and them as two people alone in the wilderness (it definitely gives off that kind of vibe). 

Ugh, just. My heart. This scene. Alex approaching Michael (this is, of course, after Isobel’s pointed “is there really no one you would risk everyone to save?” comment at the Pony - which correct me if I’m wrong but we haven’t even seen M&M interacting yet, so all of these heavy lines, the dialogue cues, everything supports our cosmic love story, right from the getgo.)

They full on invade each other’s framing here; Michael in the middle-left, Alex in the middle-right, the vulnerability of the situation and the backdrop forcing them to share a space that’s intimiate. The camera’s close, but it’s not too close, so we’re more intimate than the (to be spliced but analysed above) scenes of Cameron and Max and these guys have their clothes on. (And Alex isn’t in his ACUs because he’s not on official business but his father seems to wear them all the time which means the dude needs to take a break every now and then but it’s also significant because that is one of Alex’s barriers down; he’s in his own clothes, clothes that are comfortable and not a uniform that he’s hidden behind and squished himself into a box to wear. It’s another step, another concession to being something for Michael)

The invasion of the frame is important; it sets up an inability to stay out of each other’s space, something that’s all part of a cosmic love story - you know, I’m not sure if you heard this but the two of them just connected like something cosmic - how they drift in and out of each other’s space, right from the first time they see each other.

I promised a video breakdown of the scene and here it is: I never look away, not really, A Cinematographic Breakdown - Part of The Semiotics of Roswell Meta. 

I’ll wait. Come back when you’ve watched them make out some. I’ll stick the link at the bottom again, just in case.

So even though they’ve been invading each other’s spaces this entire scene so far, this is the second time Michael watches Alex walk away and the way he surges to grab hold of him, how he takes up the entire frame just by stretching his arm out and rocking his body and the expanse of wilderness behind him is so telling about where his state is. He’s alone in the world and the person who’s making him feel less alone - who is also alone in the world - is moving away. 

When Alex looks back at him, they’ve got their my-side-your-side framing on and Michael’s still a presence felt here, even though Alex is meant to be the focus. Our eyes follow Alex’s gaze, which tracks us over to Michael. In the seconds that follow, as we all know, they go into the trailer to start it rockin’. But the camera never leaves the close, focused attention it bathes Malex in here. We’re meant to look at them both, unlike Cam & Max, there’s nothing else to focus on here but them. No interesting cupboard or fridge displays, no beer bottle and random green thing filled with utensils. Just Michael and Alex.

Before diving into the framing of the kiss, I just want to touch on the circular nature of this scene. We see it starting with this same wide shot, Alex and Michael looking tiny and alone, we end it with the same shot but neither of them are there. This serves as a reminder of how alone they are right now, how separate and distant and isolated which then gives us a real sense of claustrophobia and intimacy and allows us to feel the difference in vibe between outside and inside (as if we don’t already, but you know what I mean).

Here in the two shots above we see Alex looking ready to instigate, moving into Michael’s side of the frame and though we know it’s Michael that crashes into Alex, the implication here is that Alex is the initiator; he turned up at the ranch, he walked into the air stream (I will never get over Michael’s shaking hand), he’s the one that leans forward here to tell Michael yes, this, i want this now please. We follow from a fixed camera position, frozen in anticipation as to what’ll happen next.

The whole rest of the scene is dizzying; they surge together to the middle of the screen and we’re looking up at this kiss, the camera’s tilted upwards so we’re in a lower position, signifying the importance and overbearing nature of this relationship, how it makes the camera move and swing and then we get the close up on their kisses (below) and they dominate the frame so close and tight that there’s literally no room for anything else.

We shift angles a little here; though it’s all pretty quick for something so steamy and epic. We go from a off-centre shot (above) to a centre shot (below) which gives us the full glory of Alex’s fingers sinking and twisting in Michael’s hair as they kiss like it’s the only oxygen in the tiny space. We’re still crowded close and tight, there’s no room to breathe which allows the audience to get truly caught up in the moment. We’re back viewing them from a level angle, too, allowing us to get sucked in.

The snap away from the close up to the mid-shot is purposeful and the centre focus of Michael (below) gives us a moment to breathe without actually allowing us any space from what’s happening. This taps back into the voyeuristic tone of the Malex kisses, though, as the camera bobs as a person would, Alex and Michael’s world rocking the same way ours does at the realisation that they are about to do the sex thing.

Excuse me, Michael Vlamis, how dare you have such a fucking filthy expression on your face (below) and not expect this pairing to have sailed more ship than Helen of Troy? 

The camera swings again, cutting to Michael pushing Alex onto the bed. Over the progression of the scene, it’s been slowly swamped in a sort of 1980s dusky yellow, adding a sense of nostalgia, almost sinking the scene into sepia. It feels like a dance they’ve done before, the force with which Michael pushes Alex back (below) makes Alex look almost like he’s not sure that they’re gonna go through with this - maybe it’s too much, it’s too long (close up angle, can’t breathe, sepia-yellow like tea-stained photographs - too old, is it the past?) but then Michael strips and we all scream into oblivion. 

Up next week, episode 1x03! Until next time, folks!

(tagging by request: @space-malex​, @istilfeelicantrustyou​, @ineverthoughtiwouldneedasideblog​, @lire-casander​, @i-never-look-away​, @stydiaeverafter​, @signoraviolettavalery​, @saadiestuff​, @callieramics​, @ubiestcaelum​, @tasyfa. if you wanna be tagged in future posts, let me know!)

#roswell new mexico #rnm #rnm cw #michael guerin #maria deluca #max evans #liz ortecho #isobel evans #isobel evans-bracken #semiotics of roswell #semiotics #hannah uses her degree #meta #visual meta #my meta #roswell 1x02

[janiedean]

god, youre so delusional, its pathetic.

johnny 99 is a song by Our Only Savior Bruce Springsteen, to be found in his masterpiece 1982 record Nebraska, which was wholly composed of acoustic songs concerning themes way darker than his usual and which his record company probably considered a commercial suicide back in the day - and it’s regarded by many people as his actual finest record (and objectively I agree, ngl). the song, other than being in the same stark style as the rest of the record, as in, acoustic guitar and harmonica only, in less than four minutes manages in an admirable example of synthesis, not only to tell an entire story, but to touch heavy themes such as economical crisis, the death penalty, the fact that the american government didn’t give a shit about blue collar workers way back in the seventies and arguably also that it might be a tad too easy to buy guns in the US. sounds interesting? great, then let me welcome to this evening’s episode of tumblr user janiedean explains bruce springsteen! ;)

so, shall we start? brace up because this is a wild ride.

Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none He came home too drunk from mixin' Tanqueray and wine He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call 'm Johnny 99 

first of all: bruce again shows that he knows how to hook you in, because in four lines he has pretty much told you the bones of the story. first - and most important thing: a factory in a town in new jersey closes. it was a true fact, and in real life it was because they failed to follow environmental rules, but as back in the day there was indeed an economical crisis in the US for which a lot of factories shut down, we could fictionally assume it was for that reason as well. anyway, what matters is that the factory closes. our protagonist, ralph, who presumably works there, is fired, searches for a new job, isn’t re-hired (which was common to a lot of people who were laid off at that time, please feel free to read dale maharidge’s journey to nowhere and somewhere like america to get educated on that), proceeds to get drunk and when he’s not thinking straight he buys a gun (just like that), shoots a guy and gets a new nickname: johnny 99. why? we don’t know yet. but we know that a guy who was just doing his job and failed to be rehired lost it and shot someone... because he lost his job. hmm. but let’s go on.

Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top When an off duty cop snuck up on him from behind Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99

so: after having shot the night clerk, our guy is in the part of town where you don’t stop at a red light so we can assume not the best part of it, he’s threatening to hurt himself with the gun, he gets arrested by an off duty cop, that’s it. sorry, not that much of a criminal career. but snuck up on him from behind... maybe like the closing of his factory and the fact that his life was fucked in the span of a few days? that might have been a deliberate lyrical choice, which makes you, if not sympathize with the guy, at least get how he’s feeing right now.

Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown He came into the courtroom and stared poor Johnny down Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99

at this point, of course johnny goes to trial. he gets a public defender (which from what I gather tends to be shitty) and a judge whose nickname is mean, from which we can surmise that the stacks against him are bad regardless. the judge comes into the courtroom and stares poor johnny down, and at this point it’s obvious that we’re meant to sympathize with him, not with the judge, who is *mean* and stares down at the guy before even sitting down at this point. so, the judge says that the evidence is there, and his sentence is 99 years of prison.

which is why he’s re-baptized johnny 99 as we had seen in the beginning. now, 99 years is pretty much life, since this guy must have been at least older than twenty to work in a car factory. rough. 

A fistfight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away His mama stood up and shouted "judge don't take my boy this way" Well son you got a statement you'd like to make Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away

this verdict does not indeed please johnny’s family/loved ones, as a *fistfight* breaks out and they have to forcibly remove his girlfriend, while his mother pleads the judge to not take her boy this way, presumably crying, which means that again, we are supposed to see that he has relatives who love him and would cry for him and so maybe he’s not a bad guy deep down. sure, we haven’t heard his side yet, but we know his girlfriend loves him enough to try to beat up the guards and his mother pleads for another solution... which is denied, and the judge actually replies with the last two lines, which sound fairly rude and insensitive especially given that the bailiff is coming to forever take him away. but it’s as if the judge has decided that since the guy isn’t rich or matters much in the great scale of things, it’s an already done thing and fuck that. ouch.

Now judge I got debts no honest man could pay The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man But it was more 'n all this that put that gun in my hand 

aand wait, here finally our dude finally speaks for himself. first: he had debts no honest man could pay, which means that losing his job fucked his finances for good and he was deep in the red. the bank was taking his house away, which was another thing that was extremely common back in the day (same as in the twenties haha) (read those maharidge books for more info) and so he was going to become homeless because he couldn’t find another job and had no other safety net to fall back on. he doesn’t try to argue for his innocence because he did kill a man so he’s not really downplaying it, but then he adds that ‘it was more than all of that which put a gun in his hand’, which means that it was losing his job, losing his money, possibly losing his house, being unable to provide for his family and feeling most likely useless and like he couldn’t do anything anymore with his life. and that puts the gun in his hand. he didn’t do it because he enjoyed it, he did it because he saw no other way, and none of that was considered in the *evidence*, which means he got a trial where his circumstances weren’t even taken into account. but that’s not the heaviest blow this song deals. that one’s the ending:

Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line

HAAAAA BUT JUST YOU WAIT. so: he thinks he’s be better off dead, which admittedly is fair of him, idk if I’d take 99 years (so: entire life and death) in a US prison over just being done with it already, and after all if he has no job, no house, no money and no prospects, what does he have to lose? and fine enough, but here’s the gist: if the judge can take a man’s life for the thoughts in his head, ie if the judge thinks he can condemn him to 99 years in prison ie rotting in there until he dies for what he thought and not giving a fuck about why he thought that or why he did what he did... then he welcomes the judge to ‘sit back in that chair’ (which is already pretty damn wording because it sarcastically implies the judge is in a higher position and nothing can hurt him in the chair while everything can hurt johnny 99 and everything has done so already) and have the balls to give him the death penalty instead of condemning him to die but pretending to have been merciful and only giving him time in prison that he can’t possibly serve before he dies. so he’s basically raising the judge (representing the system that betrayed him) the middle finger because if the judge/the system have ruined his life then they should at least have the courage to end it instead of condemning him to be a prisoner for the entirety of it.

now: that’s it. there’s nothing else. there’s no lesson, there’s no moral, that’s how it ends, it’s bleak and sad and it doesn’t really give you any silver lining... because there’s no silver lining and it’s unjust to live in a society where losing your job means losing your life *and* you will be automatically judged for the thoughts in your head without a chance to prove that you can be better or meant better or could make up for it.

no, it’s one mistake out of reasons beyond your control that you would actually pay for, and hey, thrown in jail with the keys thrown away. what an enlightened, beautiful, just system, the system that judges a man for the thoughts that are in his head, huh?

and actually, bonus story: this story is tied to bruce’s biggest BDE display ever, as when reagan became president and was running for re-election in 1984, he thought to quote bruce’s (sadly misunderstood) song born in the usa in a speech in nj. at that point bruce said nothing for a bit, but then:

guys, what a man, what an idol, what a class. no, sure af reagan did not listen to nebraska nor johnny 99.

and, given how you, my dear anon, also judge people by the thoughts that are in their heads and proceed to be their jury, judge and executioner, both fictional people and real ones, if you’re who I think you are (and I actually know you are)... I’ve got a feeling that neither have you. and I really think you should, same as everyone because bruce is the best ;)

#bruce springsteen for ts #bruce meta #i need to go and tag back all the other ones #oooooh my hand slipped #SORRY!!!! #va bene va bene va bene in verità #here please listen to nebraska #it's totally a good use of your time!!!! #murder cw #death penalty cw #Anonymous #ask post

[living-dead-parker]

I Hope You Dance - P.P

Summary: Peter Parker and Y/N L/N and four years without each other. So much has changed.

Warnings: cussing i think, inconsistent pov ngl, fLUFF, age gap with different characters, unedited. Also i wrote it while listening to this song on repeat so i say give it a listen

Word Count:2.5k

It had been four years since Peter Parker and Y/N L/N had broken up. It was a tough choice, but it was one they had to make. Y/N had been accepted into Juilliard while Peter had been accepted into MIT. Sure, the distance wasn't too far, a four hour drive, but it was something they knew they couldn't handle. Having gone to the same high school, they'd see each other every day. Things are different. They'd be in two different states and it was still a far distance. They decided it would be best for the two of them to break up so that they wouldn't hold each other back.

As time passed, their broken hearts healed. Not entirely, they were always supposed to be together, but they moved on, knowing it was for the best. Y/N moved on to doing big things, performing in small Broadway shows at first, networking with tons of actors, producers, managers and more. While Peter began his career in STEM. He took any possible internship, meeting people in the industry and networking with big names while still keeping up with his Spider-Man duties as well. Both wound up graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Over the course of the four years, they managed to give up on all communication. Y/n shut Peter out of her life. Out of sight out of mind. It wasn't anything personal, nothing bad. She just knew that if she dwelled too much on the boy she loved, she'd get nowhere. Peter would occasionally ask Tony how Y/N was doing, asking him to check up on her for him. She was always doing just fine. Peter didn't know what 'just fine' meant, but as long as she was happy, he was okay.

Y/N would often go to the beach, reminisce on the countless beach trips she took with the boy. How they would sit before the enormous ocean and laugh. Talk about their dreams, not realizing that their end would be right around the corner. After their split, she would find herself with a sense of wanderlust, always wanting to be somewhere else but in her skin. So the beach was somewhere she went to a lot. Yeah, it was an hour ride but she went almost every weekend. She would always love to explore and get lost and stand beside the ocean, feeling just as small as she did the day Peter called it quits.

She doesn't blame him. He was looking out for both their futures and she knows it's deeper than just holding each other back from a distance. No matter how hard she tried to remember that for the first couple of months, she couldn't help but to still drown in the sorrow. One thing they both held in common after was that they did what they were too scared to do. They took chances, took big risks. They held the wonder they once shared and they kept fighting for their futures, both in different ways. New doors opened for them and they took advantage of it all.

Now it's been four years. It's May and graduation is rapidly approaching. Y/N has been eagerly sending invitations to her family and friends about her graduation. To add the icing on top, Y/N was cast for the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. She got a good word in and auditioned as much as she could and got the role. She'd jump in later on in the year around October.

As the day approaches, Y/n packs up all her dorm items and sends them back home to where her parents live, where she'll live for a month as she finds a new house. Her parents couldn't be more proud of their daughter. Coming from nothing, a family of immigrants, they were more than proud to see their daughter graduating Summa Cum Laude from a prestigious university. They were proud to see her living her dreams.

Students litter the halls of the stadium in which the ceremony is being held. Y/N's mind is in a frenzy becoming emotional at the sight of her peers in their caps and gowns. Matching tassles and stoles decorating their attire. Her eyes glaze over at the sight of herself. Her black floral dress is covered by her gown. Her h/c hair is in curls and her makeup is simple but compliments her features.

"Hey, don't cry, babes." Y/N's friend, Madeleine, says walking up to her friend in the female locker rooms of the stadium. She shrugs and looks at her friend through the mirror. Her eyes gloss over at the sight of her best friend. They met on the first day of school at Juilliard and stuck together since, becoming the best of friends.

"These are happy tears." Y/N responds with a wide smile as she turns to her best friend. They wrap their arms around each other and sigh happily.

"Save those for after, Ms. Daaé. Save me a ticket, maybe get me backstage babe." she jokes.

"Don't you have a movie to work on in September, Ms. Daaé ?" Y/N asks. Madeleine managed to get the same role in the reprise of the film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera.

"Yeah but that doesn't matter right now. Seriously, what's got you so emotional. You hate big things like this, I know you'd rather be given your certificate in the intimacy of small groups. So why the tears?" Madi asks. Y/N shrugs as a sight escapes her lips. She sits on one of the benches and looks down.

"Peter and I had made a pact all those years ago. He'd be at my graduation and I'd be at his. I don't even know how he is nowadays. Haven't heard of or from him in years." Y/N says sadly.

"Hey, I know it hurts, but maybe he is here. In spirit, watching a livestream, who knows. But if you two made the pact, I doubt he'd back out on it. And if he did, don't dwell on it too much. You're moving on to bigger and better things. Yeah, this is the end of this chapter, but it's also the start of a new one. You can write him out of the next ones to come." she says. Y/N nods slowly. She hugs her friend with a wide smile plastered on her face.

The ceremony begins and Y/N feels herself get emotional again. She had a great time in college and all her experiences she owes it to everyone around her. She made it and she couldn't be happier. When her name gets called, she hears loud cheering as she gets her degree. She takes her picture and walks off. Once the ceremony ends, Y/N and Madi walk out together outside to meet their families. They found their families in the large heaps of peoples and ran up to them, hugging their parents and siblings and anybody else who came along. Aunts, uncles, godparents and what have you. As Y/N let's go of her brother, she notices a familiar face followed by another. Before her stood Tony Stark.

"Y/N, it's been so long, kid." he says. Her eye widen as she looks behind him to the familiar brown hair and brown eyes.

"Peter?" she asks, ignoring Mr. Stark. Peter's eyes widen as he takes in the sight of the only girl he's ever loved. She walks up to him and he meets her halfway, wrapping his arms around her as she rests her head on his chest and wraps hers around him.

"Y/N!" he says, the excitement coating every word. He feels her shake in his arms as she repeats the same phrases over and over.

"Oh my god, you actually came. You're here! I've missed you so much!" she says over and over. Peter can feel his eyes glossing over as he rests his head on her shoulder, his face nestling in her neck.

"Of course I did. A pact is a pact and I would never miss out on your accomplishments." he says softly. They pull away with wide smiles on their faces. Unbeknownst to them, Madi captures every moment, taking picture after picture as they hug and smile at each other. She never met Peter, but she can just sense the love radiating off of the two, the sincerity and the adoration. They really were meant to be.

"Alright, I hate to ruin the moment, lovebirds, but we need to head back to MIT. Peter has finals next week and then he prepares for graduation soon after, so we gotta get him out of here by Tomorrow and he still has lots of unfinished business." Tony cuts in. Y/N slightly frowns at his words.

"Come to my graduation. You have to keep up your end of the pact." Peter says. Y/N didn't even have to think about it.

"I'll see ya then, Parker." she says.

"Congratulations, kid." Tony says as he walks away. Peter quickly leans in for another hug.

"I'll mail you the invitation and yeah, congratulations!" Peter says excitedly. He leaves a quick peck on Y/N's cheek and runs off to catch up to Tony.

The month went by too slowly for Y/N's liking. She was getting impatient and Madi was too. Peter had sent her an invitation to include a plus one so she wouldn't travel alone. Y/N decided to take Madi with her, hoping her best friend and Peter could become friends. The day before, Tony Stark called Y/N to meet him at the Avengers compound and to take the jet from there to a nearby hotel in Massachusetts. When they arrived, they saw aunt May was already there with Happy standing next to her. She'd be riding with them. May was so happy to see Y/N again, talking her ear off about everything. Y/N couldn't be happier.

The entire ride was spent with May conversing with Happy. You could overhear Madi flirting with Tony, telling him she was in need of a sugar daddy. Yeah, she was the queen of being straightforward about everything. Much to your disdain, Tony was all for it.

"Madi, quit trying to make him your sugar daddy. That's weird." Y/N says.

"Hey, I don't mind. It really was a bad idea to bring her, though because she is too cute for her own good." Tony says. You roll your eyes and flip them both off. Finally after an hour ride, they all arrived at the airport and were quickly headed to the hotel.

As you approach the hotel, you're given the key to one of the top suites. You realize that you and Madi have the same key, so you two must be rooming together. May, Tony, and Happy have the keys to the suite across from the two girls, so as they enter the suite, they're met by the sight of someone watching TV in the main room. Madi gives you a look of confusion as you walk over to the familiar person and cover their eyes.

"Holy shit what's going on?" he yells?

"Guess who?" you ask as you giggle.

"Y/N?" he asks. You move your hands as he turns, a wide smile spreading across his face. He leans up and presses his lips on yours. Your eyes widen in shock as he pulls away.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry I just got so excited and-"

"Hey, it's okay Peter. Just took me by surprise." you respond.

As the day goes by, the group  of adults decide to go out for dinner and to a bar. By the end of the night, May is tired and so is Happy. Tony and Madi are tipsy and flirting with each other. Y/N and Peter are sober and just talking, enjoying each other's company. They sit at the bar, Peter's arm around Y/N's shoulder, holding her close as she snuggles into his side. It just felt so natural.

Soon, they decide to leave and go back to the hotel. They all retreat back to their suites and Madi says something about going to sleep. Y/N says she's going to sleep so she enters her room as Peter goes to his. Yeah, they were up close all night, but they weren't together or anything. It would surely be weird. But as the time passed and Peter lies down lonely in his bed, he comes to the conclusion that he doesn't care. He wants to be close to Y/N. To hold her again and kiss her and play with her hair. To just be around her. So, Peter gets up and walks off to the girl's room, his steps soft and quiet as he passes Madi's room. He opens the door to Y/N's room and finds her scrolling through her phone. She looks up and sits up in the bed, the sheets resting on her lap, revealing her pink sleep cami. He eyes her up and down, causing her to blush. She sure did look mature than she did at 17. He closes the door behind him and gets in next to Y/N. She lies back down and scoots closer to Peter as his arms wrap around her waist.

"I really did miss you these past four years, Y/N." he says. Y/N rests her head on his chest as she draws circles into his chest. He smiles softly as he breathes in her scent.

"I missed you too, Peter. So much."

"I...I still love you."

"I love you too."

"I know it was shitty of me to break up with you like that and suddenly say I always loved you_"

"Peter," she says as she sits up. Looking at him, she rests a hand on his. "I get it. Trust me, it's not shitty and I don't hate you. It was more than feeling like holding me back. Every time I saw you on the news, I started to realize, maybe it was for the best to my safety. I knew you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if something happened to me and you weren't around to stop it or save me. I get it, Peter. But, school is over, we can go back to being us. We can go back to loving each other and being together. I want it more than anything at this point." she adds.

Peter leans up and pulls her lips into his. She leans down and hovers over him as their lips move in sync. His arms rest on her hips as the kiss becomes more passionate and deeper. Suddenly, they hear moaning coming from the other side of the wall. Their eyes go wide as they pull away.

"Madi is so disgusting."

"Hey, sex is normal." Peter jokes.

"Yeah but she's having sex with Tony." Y/N replies. Peter's eyes widen as he clearly says ‘ew’.

"Wanna go to my room instead?" he asks. Y/N nods, following Peter as he gets up. His eyes widen as he sees Y/N is only in her camisole and matching underwear.

"Don't get any ideas, Parker. This isn't a ploy to get into your pants. I just want you to hold me tonight." Y/N says as she leads the way out to his room.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's go to sleep away from these gross people."

That night was probably the best sleep they've gotten in a while. Wrapped up in each other's warmth, smiling through the night as they cuddled up to each other. They always found their way back to each other, this time just took a little while longer.

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #spiderman #spiderman imagine #spiderman homecoming #tony stark #may parker #marvel #marvel imagine #tom holland #tom holland x reader #Tom Holland imagine #peter parker fluff #fluff imagine #tom holland fluff #peter parker smut #tom holland smut #fluffy imagine

[shootfortherightreasons]

;; So I know my blog is not a GoT blog so I’ll be posting all my thoughts/feelings under a cut (it’s long anyway), but since this was the final episode of the series I feel obligated to talk about it a bit because I loved GoT before I even got into TWD. Mix of being pissed at D&D and feeling emotional about the series being over lol. There’s some super light TWD stuff in here too.

Firstly, I’m definitely upset about Dany - for a lot of reasons. Seeing what the GoT fandom is going through is exactly what the TWD fandom went through last year (between characters and people feeling both respective S8s ruined the series). Both she and Carl are the reasons I got into each respective series, only to watch their characters respectively be butchered and manipulated to suit the plot, only for them to be killed off. They were turned into something they weren’t for the sake of a lackluster plot that could have ended the same way with legitimate means (and in Carl’s case, one hundred percent did not need to involve his death).

What I mean is that Gimple and D&D are incompetent as shit. I understand George gave D&D outlines and that Dany will likely go down the same route in the books, but let me tell you it’s not gonna be as shit as it was in the show. Dany will probably still go Mad Queen in the books - I don’t doubt that - but it’s not going to be as half assed and bullshitted as the show was just to end things. I loved Dany and I could have accepted this tragic end better if it wasn’t done so poorly in the show. The way things ended left a bitter taste in my mouth about Greyworm to top it off. And I mean look, any character that gives Jon shit is typically automatically on my shit list so lol. ripperoni in your lonely pepperoni, greyworm. i was about to say that made me want pizza, but i did buy an entire box of pizza strips the other day. i have pizza.

Also, lemme just say, I’m still pissed they dropped Daario off the face of the earth. He was left behind and never shown again, and tbh I imagine Dany’s descent into madness would have been way pushed off with Daario around. He was one of the actual few people who could temper her. The show didn’t even give us an inkling of what was going on with him in the end. Not only am I fan of his character (though grateful he wasn’t around for his character to be butchered), but it’s a massive loose end on Dany’s story’s side.

All things considered, trying to ignore the sheer and utter incompetence of D&D, I’m hella glad Davos and Tormund lived to the end of the whole show. I feel like Jon and Tormund are family at this point. Honestly though? The Free Folk took everything better than the Seven Kingdoms in this past season. Probably even in general just compared to the SK’s behavior this past season. Good on them.

Glad Ghost wasn’t left behind and got to be with Jon in the end because I would’ve never shut up about that if it hadn’t happened. Ngl though I got so emotional with the Starks all saying goodbye. I may have got into this show because of Dany, but ultimately Jon ended up my favorite so seeing him having to say goodbye to his siblings and leaving broke my heart. Also, like, wtf? Why does Greyworm get any say in Jon’s fate if he’s leaving Westeros entirely? Ummmm. Hop off. I really wish Edd had survived if Jon had to go back to the Wall anyway. I can’t tell if he’s the leader of the Free Folk now or if he’s the Lord Commander or both or what now, and I’m definitely sad he couldn’t stay home, but he’s definitely been accepted by a mass amount of people. All these people love and respect him regardless of what happened with Dany.

All credit to Emilia here, but the way the scene was acted with Dany literally going insane and truly believing in her eyes that she did the right thing was fantastic. Also all credit to Kit here, but I loved his acting when Jon was crying and trying to reason with himself that he was doing the right thing by killing Dany. He walked in there prepared to kill her, but seeing how delusional and lost she was to the Dany he’d met broke him and reinforced his decision. He was really destroyed that he had to do that before he even did it and that was amazingly acted by both of them. Also, I love how much that scene mirrored her vision of the throne room in the House of the Undying. Even though she was able to touch the chair, in the vision she didn’t actually touch it, as if to foreshadow it would never be hers. The moment she walked away from it in the vision was like saying her not being able to sit on the throne would be the end of her story. It really drives how gone she was too when she seemed like a normal, happy person again, just telling childhood stories to Jon like a pleasant individual despite what she’d just done. Emilia is gorgeous and amazing; have a nice day.

I’m actually pretty okay with Bronn getting the position he got because let’s be honest, it was actually due lol. For all the shit he got involved in, I think everything he got for it was justified. Hopefully Robyn isn’t a little shit anymore. Still think it’s very odd for Sam to live in the South and to be separated from Jon.

Characters who I’m really aggravated about having died are Jaime and Varys. Part of me still refuses to accept their deaths as canon because Varys turned into an idiot under D&D’s watch and Jaime’s entire character arc got reversed. Still not cool with that stuff. Cersei’s death was anticlimactic as fuck. I wanted her to die but not... like... that...? Eight seasons of buildup for... that? Hmmm.

I’m happy about Sansa being Queen of the North ultimately. She had an amazing character arc and to see that naive little girl become a real Queen is refreshing. Not sure how I feel about Arya’s ending. Bran sounds like he literally planned to be King all along so eh. Not sure I like that either. Not sure how I feel about Jon’s ending because he has no reason to listen to this “life sentence” since the only people really angry with him were the Unsullied (did the Dothraki even give a shit?). Yara was angry, but like... nobody from the Iron Islands would ever even see him if he was in Winterfell. Also the fact that Yara is totally cool with genocide kinda just ruined her character for me in a split second, so uhhh... yeah. I’m all with Arya there lol. Funny about Sansa though - didn’t Joffrey tell her “you’ll be Queen one day”? So... Joffrey was actually fuckin’ right? The one person who was right in this world was... J o f f r e y ?

Drogon crying was sad and emotional. Drogon is all alone. Drogon lost everything. Sansa won the Game. Drogon totally lost the Game. That’s not fair. :( I guess Ghost won though. Good on you, Ghost. You’re the best. But no, really; I’m really sad about Drogon. At least one dragon survived, but it’s still sad. :(

Final thoughts: I’m sad. GoT is over. It still doesn’t totally feel like it’s over because honestly, ngl, S8 was so bad that it doesn’t feel like... the whole season was... even... real. The last episode was pretty okay but a bit too sad for me. I understand it was meant to be bittersweet, but the bitter outweighed the sweet for me.

Final final thoughts: but what the fuck happened to daario i’m not satisfied with this ending the actors said we’d be satisfied what happened to daario.

#;; OOC ~ #;; im ending it with that bc my brain just suddenly turned off lol #i can't think about anything else but. am i happy with this ending? not really #am i OKAY with this ending? also not really but it could've been worse i guess #who did i WANT to be king? uhhh idk probably davos and im not totally joking lol #or Ghost. that would be nice. he's suffered more than most people okay he lost almost all his sibs #and one is still out there in the wild and he lost an ear #look just let Ghost have The Power I LOVE FLUFFY ANIMALS #so i guess tl;dr Joffrey Was Right and Wow I'm So Glad Ghost Survived The Whole Series S1-S8 ;;

[magenta-storm]

Dickon, you absolute twit, why’d you have to get yourself killed like that, you poor big dumb puppy? (ngl though, the part of me that’s still mad at Billy after season 4 enjoyed it a little)

Fuck you Randyl, served you right. It was a bit sad when he touched Dickon’s arm, but fuck you, you’re still a terrible dad. And stupid. Seriously you decided to die for Cersei, why? It wasn’t out of loyalty, as Tyrion pointed out. So... just to be racist... apparently? What fucking morons. Sam obviously got his brains from his mother.

I love how the Citadel got the news so quickly when last season they didn’t even know that Jeor Mormont had died.

Dany, I hope that decision doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass. Maybe now Jorah’s back she’ll stop doing dumb things. Please god let her stop doing dumb things.

GENDRY. GENDRY GENDRY GENDRY!!!! thought you might still be rowing, oh my god, I died. Ridiculous fanservice, yes, but it was still hilarious.

I’m not sure if I entirely accept that it makes sense that’s he’s been in King’s Landing all this time, but meh.

Gendry, don’t you fucking DARE get yourself killed beyond the Wall before you see Arya again.

lol, I’m not sure weaponry skills are hereditary, but ok. Also not sure why he cares about his douchey dad...

Not sure I accept that Bronn dragged Jaime’s armour-clad ass all the way to the other side of the lake, but ok. Even if it was a river and they were washed downstream, it’s still a little hard to believe. But whatever, better than them being dead.

Excuse you Jaime, maybe show a bit of gratitude for Bronn saving your dumb ass?

Ugh. Just as it looks like maybe Jaime’s starting to grow a brain about Cersei, she’s pregnant? *groans for ten years* 

Also, if Cersei fucking does anything to Bronn, I will be so fucking mad. Also, how did Tyrion even get him a message? Varys’ little birds are compromised by Qyburn... but maybe he doesn’t know that? I’d have thought he’d have figured it out by now though.

I’m mad Bronn and Tyrion didn’t have a proper reunion scene.

How the actual fucking fuckballs has Bran been ‘north of the wall for years’ and then like two scenes later baby Sam is still a fucking baby?!?! Like, I can forgive Jon zipping to and from Dragonstone at the speed of light, we can’t have him spend the whole season traveling, but why the fuck would they even bother to include baby Sam when all it does is call attention to the screwy timeline?

The only possible reason I can imagine they bothered to recast Dickon just to kill him so quickly is if Sam’s going to inherit Horn Hill? Not that he should be able to with his vows and everything, but maybe if the White Walkers breach or destroy the Wall there won’t be enough Night’s Watch left to care if he leaves?

Not sure what to make of Rhaegar and Elia’s annulment. How do you annul two kids? I would have thought it would either be divorce or polygamy. I guess it was just so they could get the point across without saying Lyanna’s name, which Sam probably would have recognized, or at least took some notice of the name Stark. But still, just seems kinda stupid when they could have just gone with the polygamy thing. Seriously, how the fuck do you annul two kids? And without the permission of the King?

Jon patting Drogon was sweet and cool and also a bit weird. Why did he do that? Unless he was meant to be feeling some kind of compulsion to do it because of Targ blood, but I don’t think that really came across in his expression. It seemed more like just ‘lol why not pat a dragon?’ The way Drogon sniffed him was slightly hilarious. Like “...are you...” *dramatic sniff, dramatic blink* “yes you are!”

If that note was what I think it was, Arya and Sansa had better not have too big a fight over this. Having a confrontation and then sorting out their issues - great. Playing right into Littlefinger’s hands by having a huge rift come between them - terrible. They had better not do that TV thing where characters inexplicably refuse to explain their actions clearly and let the other party believe the worst possible version of events to draw conflict out longer. I fucking hate that so much.

Sidenote, I’m so fucking sick of Sansa’s ugly ass black dresses. Dress? With a weird little leather corset thing? Why?

If Jon and Arya don’t reunite this season I’m suing. Why couldn’t Jon look more happy about Arya being alive? Grr. They had better not fuck up that reunion and they’d better mention Needle.

I’m not sure what to make of the look on Dany’s face when she saw Jorah, and hugged him. It seemed really romantic, not sure it was supposed to be? I kinda ship Jorah x Dany, and think if any Dany pairing is going to happen in the show, it would make the most sense, but I also think it’d be weird to deviate that far from the books now.

If Jon and Dany are going to get together/get married, they haven’t done the best job setting it up. Didn’t Emilia and Kit used to date? lol, why the fuck can’t they manage to conjure up some better chemistry? Next to the Dany x Jorah reunion, it looked really noticeable that they don’t give a fuck about each other. lmao, Jon and Gendry had better chemistry in one scene! On the other hand though, if they were all over each other with sappy love at first sight bullshit it would ruin both their characters. It needs to be a bit more in the middle if that’s where they’re going with them.

#Game of Thrones #Daenerys Targaryen #Jon Snow #Sansa Stark #Arya Stark #Jaime Lannister #Tyrion Lannister #Bronn #Petyr Baelish #Samwell Tarly #Jorah Mormont #Davos Seaworth #Gendry Waters #cersei lannister