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cairavende · 3 months

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Worm Arc 17 thoughts:

Travelers backstory!!!!!!!!! WOOOO!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT THEY ARE FROM EARTH ALEPH! That really explains the mysterious nature of their backstory up to now.

Would have loved to get some PoV's from some people who aren't Trickster but I'll live.

He's just such an asshole! Like I already knew he was but god DAMN did this arc remove any doubt.

Just the worst type of asshole that can be found in MOBA games (I say this as someone who played MOBA games for years). And then given superpowers. Ugh.

THE SIMURGH FUCKING HELL OH MY GOD I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!

SHE IS MY FAVORITE ENDBRINGER AND ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS EVEN IF SHE IS SUPER DUPER EVIL AND TERRIBLE! BUT SHE JUST SINGS IN EVERYONE'S HEADS AND THEY SEE THINGS THAT SHE WANTS THEM TO SEE AND SHE SEES THE FUTURE AND CREATES A CAUSE AND EFFECT PLAGUE BASICALLY AND I LOVE HER!!

Just the level of planning ahead she does, the number of moves ahead Simmy is playing. After the first few times she shows up they start quarantining where she attacks. Which ends up being exactly the right situation needed to push the Travelers to the choices she wanted them to make. Like, is quarantining even a counter to the Smurph or is it exactly what she wanted?

Sure precogs mess with precogs. That makes sense. But I don't know that it is as clear cut as Coil presented to Trickster. He implies two precogs just cancel each other out, but I assume it's more of a strength thing - a strong precog will cancel out a weak precog, but a weak precog will only make things a little fuzzier for a strong precog. So having Dinah would have helped against the Simurgh but I don't think it would be enough to just cancel out the Simurgh's power. Coil and Tattletale would probably also help. But I'm not convinced the last few months in Brockton Bay hasn't been more or less what Simmy wanted to happen.

Cody is the only person here that is probably more of an asshole than Krouse. Just could not get over the fact that Noelle didn't want to date him. Unbearably entitled dick. Possibly dead now, if Accord got his way. But very possibly not. Won't be surprised if he shows up again.

Cody's power is fun. I think it's the first "time travel" power I've seen. I mean Clockblocker does time freezing which is basically the same category but still, curious to see if we get any more level of time travel than this.

Marissa needs someone to make her some cookies and give her a place to hang out that isn't the house her mom lives in. I mean, I guess the current situation handles that but not how I meant.

I already liked Jess and now I like her even more. She's a cape geek! Wonderful.

Luke is interesting cause he was the only person besides Noelle who was close to Krouse at the start, but he's the first (well, aside from Cody I guess) to leave him. Really went through a character arc. Also Krouse lists Luke's "individual tragedy" as "not getting to fly" which is hysterical.

Oliver is a trans girl. Headcanon 100% established. It just fits so well. She just needs to find herself! And once she does and realizes what she actually wants to look like her power will get her there and won't need to keep adjusting! Right now Oliver's power is doing performative masculinity for them.

Noelle has had a bad time. God damn. She was having a bad time before everything happened and now she's having a very bad time. Damn. I had some guesses about her correct. Figured she was like, monstrous bottom half and normal top half. And figured touching her was bad. But I didn't foresee "touching her creates mutated evil clones". I'm sure that won't be a major problem in the next arc or two. I'm sure there won't be evil mutated clones of a bunch of capes to deal with . . .

I had long figured Travelers had Cauldron powers. It just fit with their power levels and such. I had also figured whatever Noelle's condition was, it was related to having a Cauldron power. I had a lot of guesses. None of them were "only drinks half a vial". For some reason I thought everyone would be too smart to do THAT! (I have no idea why I thought that.)

Current guess is Noelle is sort of in a never ending "trigger" event. Her power is constantly in the "building and gathering" phase and is not reaching the "lock things down" phase that normally happens (Bonesaw talked about this). Definitely a lot of other things it could be, this is just the best fit I've found so far.

This goes for Oliver too, which is why their power keeps changing how they look. Oliver just got lucky and has much less significant troubles compared to Noelle.

Got to see lots of new Case 53's. That was fun.

I expect to see more of Accord in the future. Just cause like, he gets smarter the more complex the problem. And the world is supposedly going to end due to (I think) the actions of higher dimensional entities. That is a very complex problem. And at the same time, he seems like the kind of person that might see "billions die" as a good way to reduce chaos. To simplify the world. Not saying that is what he will do, just that it seems a shame to not bring him up again.

I knew 40 people had died due to actions of the Travelers. I did not know Noelle had eaten them all! Because she tried to starve herself. I can see why it's important to keep her well fed. And why it's going to be an issue that there is no longer someone providing her with thousands of dollars of meat a week. No waste though, she has a very efficient digestive system.

The ending, with Trickster just staring at the bloodstain left behind by Coil's body while Genesis stares out at the ocean ... very good. I mean, really sucks for them, but it was a very evocative arc ending.

I wonder who won the Ransack tournament? One team disconnected because the building they were in disappeared into a space hole. I wonder what the rules are for that?

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saturn-sends-hugs · 1 year

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i had to wait ALL DAY TO BE ABLE TO WATCH THE EPISODES, but i FINALLY DID

BAD BATCH EP 7-8 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

starting with episode seven:

First off, RIYO!!! SHE ABSOLUTELY SLAYED, the way she literally went to 79’s (also AAAA 79S!!!) specifically so she could actually talk to the clones is so so important, she is incredible

Slip was so wonderful, the parallels of him at 79s and then running through Coruscant while scared for his life were very painful tho (also his number was ct-0409 and that’s literally irrelevant but like COME ON ITS ONE NUMBER OFF I COULDN’T NOT NOTICE THAT)

Bail Organa!!! He’s here and he’s so so good!!

REXXXXX!!!!!!!!!! Omg when I heard his voice on the comm I FREAKED out and then he had his silly little disguise again and that was so so sweet

The sniper clone that Rampart sent after them was so sad to see, it reminds me of how Cody’s chip clearly wore off, but he still believes he did certain things of his own volition (i.e. “We make our own choices. And we have to live with them too.”). It seems like a lot of clones don’t know what exactly they’re fighting for anymore, and the empire is just not helping at all ofc

Ok and uh… now episode eight… these are just gonna be mostly episode thoughts cause the whole Echo thing,,, that deserves its own post

Starting off, still not over that beginning. Echo IMMEDIATELY getting not just multiple lines, but lines about his TRAUMA, and he’s actually OPENING UP ABOUT IT TO OMEGA???!???!??? “I… don’t enjoy solitude.” LIKE???? OMG??? The pain, the absolute agony, that line has me in a death grip and you bet ur ass that’s ending up in a fic sometime bhskshsjsjksks

His conversation there with Omega makes me think he’d already decided here. When Omega asks if the batch rescuing him is what made him join them, he says, “This is where I fit, where I was needed.” He seems like he already knows that’s changed now

okoKOK, OMEGAS. PONCHO. OMEGAS PONCHO OMGGGSJBSJSBSJSKSLLS SHE WAS SO SO ADORABLE!!! I’ve loved seeing her in situations without the batch, it’s nice to be reminded of how determined she always is even without her brothers right next to her :) (also, really liked how this episode didn’t take her out of the action, but removed her from the fighting so the rest of them could kinda breathe without the story focusing solely on her here)

We had a lot of very long Echo shots + lines during the mission, and that immediately scared me. Rex and his conversation here has me wondering though. Because it seems like either he already talked to Rex about it, since Rex seems to be almost bringing Echo up to speed on what exactly he’s doing, or that Echo is at least really solidifying his decision here, because after Rex’s line of “Help’s hard to come by these days,” Echo looks down and just thinks for a good long time, even after Wrecker calls down to them.

oh my GOD i might make a separate post just about this and other Echo stuff but UM???? When he just took control of the venator, diverted the power, MANNED THE CANONS AND MANAGED TO SHOOT DOWN THE SHIPS HEADED FOR THEM, and then activated the engines to make it harder for the stormtroopers??? Dude???? He can just do all of that?? By himself??? No wonder he wants to fight the Empire, HE COULD LITERALLY BE SO POWERFUL

oh. my. gOD PALPATINE I HATE HIM OH I HATE HIM SO MUCH. THE ABSOLUTE FEAR I FELT WHEN HE SHOWED UP, AND THEN HE JUST SHIFTED THE BLAME ENTIRELY TO GET EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED AND BROUGHT THE CLONES INTO IT AT THE SAME TIME??? i very much so hate him.

And ofc, I felt so bad for Omega afterwards when she said “I don’t understand. We did the right thing.” :((((((

ok.

here we go

tagging @phis-writing since u wanted my thoughts lol

first off, Hunters line here. “Wherever you end up, remember what I said.” …wHAT??? WHAT DID YOU SAY I NEED TO KNOW SIR WHAT

omega slowly realizing omg ow

“Best of luck, Echo” ow ow ow omg ow help this is where i started crying

Echo looks so sad trying to tell Omega why he’s leaving, and I get why he didn’t tell her before no matter how long his mind had been made up for, but omg, that hurt so bad. “I’m going where i’m needed.” yup yup there it is, that parallels his lines from the start ow

and tHEN. she hUGS HIM. i can’t hANDLE THIS OMG that was so important

damn it im watching it again while writing this and the music has me sobbing again i cANT, him watching the marauder fly off and then OMEGA HUGGING LULA i actually can’t

I knew Echo was going to leave. Logically, I knew it was going to happen and that it was his best option, he wants to fight the Empire and save his brothers, and that’s just not something the rest of the batch wants to take the risk for. I knew he was leaving, and even though I definitely tried to see every possible way he wouldn’t, I don’t mind it.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate that it might mean he’s getting way less screen time, and I kinda hate that he’s not gonna be there to spur the batch into action anymore, but for his sake I am so so glad he went with Rex. His entire life he’s grown up surrounded by brothers, and the batch has proven time and time again how differently they feel about that. Now, Echos just been sitting back for way too long, and I honestly love the way they had him leave.

There was no fighting, there was no long argument where he said the batch was wrong for not fighting the Empire. He knew they wanted different things, and everyone fully supported him in his decision to step away. He left because that’s where he was needed, to fight for his other family. (Not to mention he would be an INCREDIBLE benefit to Rex like did u SEE WHAT HE DID ON THAT VENATOR??? HE TOOK THAT THING DOWN SINGLE HANDEDLY)

I think it makes complete sense that his loyalty and his drive would lead him to join the rebellion, and I’m so incredibly hopeful it means we’ll get a Rex and Echo episode, probably with Riyo too, I’m SO excited

I’m also really hoping Omega will keep thinking of him and what she saw in the senate. Right now it seems like she’s getting more and more interested in standing up to the empire, and I’m interested to see if she’ll eventually bring it up with the batch? I’m not sure she’d convince them to join the rebellion, but I really hope her drive for justice/revenge doesn’t stop here, she’s angry and she deserves to fight for whatever she believes. Echo taught her too much for her not to.

The hood thing is, he’s coming back :)

(right filoni right please please omg tell me he’s coming back pLEASE)

#sw tbb spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #sw tbb #tbb season 2 #tbb echo #echo tbb #echo bad batch #it’s so late and i’m so tired i will probably have more echo thoughts tomorrow lol #also wow this is so insanely long oof

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sqella · 2 years

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Yuji Itadori x Reader (angst)

this short 'fanfic' contains manga spoilers

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the shibuya incident, the 31 october, probably the worst day for the sorcerers, they fight as a group and then after they unscrews, but there is one, one who has fought alone since the beginning, Y/n.

no one knows why she had to be alone, fighting Mahito, all alone, no one else with her, who thought it would take her life? to her, a powerful sorcerer like her, she saved everyone, but no one saved her, she died alone, well not exactly.

Mahito had two clones, the first one and original body fighting Yuji, and the second fighting Y/n, she had to die first, everytime the curses attempt to kill Yuji Itadori, she always get in their way.

she always protected him, ever since they met, she shield him because it was her mission,or as she thought. they got along pretty well, consider themselves as bestfriends, even tho they don't see each other that way at all, Yuji is adorable an kindhearted person so, how not to fall in love with him.

"i'm just...gonna run away ♡" said Mahito looking at Y/n with his usual creepy smile, he didn't want to run away because she was unbeatable no, he had a plan to kill her, the girl stare at him confused "huh...? why would you do that?".

she had a doubt, she didn't find any other reason for him to run away expect that he planned everything, Mahito on the other hand was still smiling before waving a good-bye at her and run as fast as he could "h-hey! what are you thinking?!".

she didn't actually thought that he would actually do it, so with no other options, she chase him, if he get away a new problem would be born, as she was chasing him on the hallway of the shibuya station she notice a little far away, "Yuji?".

Yuji was on the other side chasing Mahito as well, since they were two "what happening...? wait..." mumble Y/n as she freeze in place as the clone and Mahito pass next to each other "Y/n! get away!" she hears Yuji screaming, but unfortunately, she hadn't any time left to do anything.

Mahito, the original body jumps in mid-air, getting his hand close to Y/n face touching it, or precisely both of her eyes, after that he let out a mocking chuckle as he disappears, she suddenly remember that, if that curse Mahito touched you, it means death.

"am i...going to...die?" she ask in a low tone not really waiting for anyone to answer her "Y-Y/n!" Yuji rush toward her grabing her by the shoulders, she slowly lift her head up and look into his eyes "Yuji..." she didn't know what to say else, she was so desperate.

Yuji understand that Mahito had touched her, and that she didn't even have a minute left to live, feeling hepless; he just wrap his arms her, giving her a tight hug as Y/n felt something warm falling on her shoulder, it was his tears.

"Yuji...why are you crying..?" the girl ask as she tears up "i don't want you to leave me! i...i love you! you're all i have!" hearing him Y/n tears fell over her cheeks, hearing him saying those words made her happy, that's all what she wanted to hear from him before diying "i love you too...and i'm really happy that i met you...Yuji".

"don't fail okay?" that was her last words before both of her eyes ruptured from Mahito's ability as Yuji feels some of her blood over him "Y/n...?" she didn't respond, and he'll never be able to hear her angelic voice again, that...he will never, see her ever again.

✧ּ۫ ˑ ֗✦۫ ˑ ֗✧۫ ˑ ֗✦۫ ˑ ֗✧۫ ˑ ֗✦

#itadori yuji angst #angst #yuji x reader

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elsafowl · 4 years

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SHE-RA SEASON 5 REVIEW

Okay.

Here we go.

KJEFKFPOJFEKD THAT WAS AWESOME, FANTASTIC, EXCEPTIONAL, I JUST LOVED IT FROM BEGINNING TO END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOW, to the reviewing!!! Because I have SO MUCH to say. But first, of course, and spirits I’m happy, Catradora!! Like, wow, I was crying at the end of the last episode because it was so good and pure and it felt right. At first, I didn’t really imagine how Catra could have a redemption arc, plus Adora kinda forgiving her, and then having them both falling in love and admitting this love before the end of the show. That seemed like a lot to manage in only 13 episodes of 20 min. But guess what? THEY FREAKING DID IT, and it felt fluid and right and it made perfect sense. The kiss was perfect, but every little moment before was perfect too. I especially loved the communication scene between the two ships, when Catra is sending Glimmer to Adora & Bow. Like, how Adora couldn’t believed her ears? And Catra saying “I’m sorry”, her-whom-shall-not-ever-say-sorry, saying sorry? IT WAS GREAT. And the rescue and Catra has short hair (I had to get used to it, but it’s actually a great look for her) and Bow always saying she’s cute and all. I’m glad there was some conflict at first too, it’s hard to stop butting heads when you’re used to it. But then the TEASING (you know which scene I’m talking about) and the FLIRTING and TOUCHING. Like, wow. It was so clearly romantic, and I never EVER see that in cartoons.

Korrasami walked so Catradora could run, and what a run, my friends!

But not everything is about Catradora, and it’s a greater indication of the quality of the show. I still can’t believe how they manage to do everything and get it so right in so little time, it blows my MIND!! Adora’s journey with She-Ra and her friends and Catra, it was so blatantly obvious she didn’t let herself feel too much, especially if it “distracted” her from her goals as She-Ra. She wanted to save everyone, to save her friends because she loves them, but she didn’t understand that she would hurt them by dying in some sort of heroical sacrifice. And Catra learning to accept love and affection from others, and connecting with the little invisible cat (that was pretty dope, I loved it) and opening up. That was beautiful to see her try, try her hardest, and sometimes it would work and sometimes she would lash out, but she tried. Basically, Catra helped Adora to become a little more selfish and in-tune with what she wants, and not what the world or She-Ra need. And in return, Adora helped Catra become a little bit more selfless, to think about others. They complete each other so perfectly, and the flash-forward in the future was awesome aaaaaaaaaaaaand I’m getting back to Catradora, sorry!

Now to other characters.

Glimmer was fantastic. Gosh, her relationship with Catra was so touching, and her apologizing to Bow, and just, you know, being her better self. By the way, why aren’t you all talking about BOW AND GLIMMER????? HOW COULD I NOT SEE THIS BEFORE??? They are so cute, and the “I love you”s before the final battle, and the forehead KISS omg. Best friends falling in love, this is perfect. Bow being the only one with some sense of self-preservation (at least until Catra arrives!) was pretty funny too, he is probably the most clever in their group. And the both of them searching for Bow’s dads, it shows that - again - you can be selfish sometimes, and it’s okay. Actually, Glimmer also shows that it’s okay to be a little selfish to Bow, and Bow shows her that it’s also could to rely on friends and not carry everything on her shoulders (like she did in season 4). Also, how cute Frosta & Glimmer are, everytime they see each other! And Bow & Entrapta are so funny too, I just love how we had so many different interactions between every character this season.

The plot with the chips was phenomenal too. I was worried it would be too impersonal, to have the Princesses fighting againt robots and clones. But now, having Princesses fighting Princesses was freaking angsty and great!! Spirits, Netossa trying to save Spinirella was so heart-breaking, and I’m so happy we finally had a story with the two of them at the centre of the narrative. The underwater episode was pretty great too, I love when they play dress-up!! Also, what was this CHEMISTRY between Perfuma & Scorpia???? They would be great together, and it’s refreshing to see Scorpia being treated kindly by someone. And Sea-Hawk and Mermista are soooooooooooo funny. When she said she had set a boat on fire to see what it felt like??? Lmao, I was on the floor!!! And the Princesses kinda being mad at Entrapta for caring only about technology, and then having Entrapta working, not for technology but now to save her friends was some real character development.

I’m confused about Shadow-Weaver, tho. I knew I didn’t want her to have a full redemption arc this season. It would be letting her off too easy: like, she was a freaking abuser for years, and thirsty for power and she worked for the Horde and was Hordak’s left hand for years too! And wow, I was so angry when she tried to do her bullshit again and separate Adora & Catra. The worst thing was, she actually thought she was going the right thing! I’m so happy we got to see both Adora & Catra screaming at her, and calling her out for her bullshit, and refusing to be manipulated anymore. Shadow-Weaver did a few good things from time to time (like saving Micah at one moment), but I dunno, I wasn’t expecting her to die. I had tears in my eyes when she took off her mask and exploded. I guess that was the point: Adora and Catra were also crying, she was their mother figure for a long time after all. It’s like, you can have an abuser and know about it, but still love them in a way... and that’s becoming too personal, back to the review!!

I dunno what to say, honestly, everything was great. Sure, I would have loved to see a little bit more Rogelio, and Kyle and Lonnie (btw, KYLE HAS A CRUSH ON ROGELIO!!!!!!!). And maybe a little bit more scenes between Catra & Scorpia too, she didn’t really have the time to apologize before the crushing hug (”there it is”, lol) but I’m sure they’ll be okay. The little scene between Perfuma & Catra about Scorpia was so lovely too, I hope they’ll be friends at some point. Little things here and there, mainly because there was a lot to tell and not many episodes to tell them. But what they did tell, they told it the best way possible.

She-Ra is one of the best series I have ever watched, and I’m so glad and relieved that we live in a world where this show, and even more this season, were possible. I wasn’t expecting everything to be... so explicit, I guess, especially in a serie for children, and yet Noelle Stevenson didn’t hold back at all. It’s like the curtain was, not only opened, but completely removed. I was so excited watching every episode, I couldn’t stop and then it was over and I couldn’t decide if I was crying or laughing (maybe both) but it made me feel SO MUCH, and it gave me hope and spirits know we need some positivity right now.

So yeah. Thank you to the entire She-Ra team for creating and sharing this little treasure with us. I’m sorry for rambling, I’m just, this so GREAT, it’s making me so excited for future shows like this one!! If Korrasami walked, if Catradora ran, what will we have next, you know???!!

Okay, now, one last time friends!

FOR THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(can I say how cute Catra sneezing and purring was... happy Catra = adorable Catra, you’re totally right Bow)

(and can I say I’ll miss them so much? damn, i wish Noelle would do a movie, or like, little shorts of She-Ra in the future)

(DID YOU SEE CATRA’S and BOW’S HAIRS IN THE FUTURE??!!!!!!!!!! spirits, this was exactly the look I was dreaming of for Catra, and Bow looks so gooooooood help)

(okay, I’m really shutting up now)

(GAYS FOR THE WIN)

(bye)

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

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The Mandalorian Chapter 11; the rewatch edition

I have found a bit more enthusiasm for this one on the rewatch, so here goes!

- din snapping ‘I’m trying my best here!’ in a vaguely annoyed tone as his entire ship is going up in flames around him because he mostly doesn’t get angry as much as sulky... the height of cinema

- I love frog husband’s clothes, because they’re in a very similar style and colour scheme to frog lady’s but also incorporate the knitwear we see on the people of trask, so it both underlines his belonging with her and implies that he’s been on this moon for quite a while, they may have been apart for some time

especially his scarf is a darling detail and there’s a bit of contrast in texture to it next to his wife’s, it’s nice. he’s wearing a similar kind of vest to what we see on the fishermen later, too

- I think my favourite part of this entire episode (well second after din cradling the baby against him after nearly drowning) is just the design and Vibe of the planet and especially this harbour

for one I LOVE that it’s shown that even in the middle of the day it’s dark enough that the electric lights are still on when it’s overcast (it reminds me a bit of norway during the winter, actually, when dawn just never quite breaks and then slinks off in embarrassment before it’s even noon). and there’s also the... sails? nets? hanging around looking almost like flags, which are very Aesthetic but god knows what they’re for. maybe for drying fish on in the summer?

I think the building in the distance behind frog husband’s back here is a lighthouse? or it could be one of those towers for loading you see when they scout out the empire ship too, I suppose!

and one for my strange obsession with Texture on this show: these fabric-covered crates!!! they look exactly as dingy and moldy as you’d expect them to be in this climate, I wonder what they’re for (& I vaguely want to touch them)

- from the sound of it din’s vibroknife is uh ‘on’ when he pokes the squid thing, and he also goes for the tentacle the furthest away from the baby <3

proof the calamari flan have been scratched up a bit during all that time in din’s pockets! (the attention to detail in this show sometimes istg)

- this is 100% me reading too much into things again, call the overthinking police I’ll do my time meekly lol, but the boat looks a little bit like the mudhorn signet from this angle:

again din keeps his hand on or sooo close to his blaster in this entire scene, he knows this is sketch as all hell

a) once again I want to praise the effects team for how GOOD the aliens look in this episode holy shit and b) the hell is this dude wearing on the straps of his overalls tho

- the dude mando (axe woves) uses his little... wrist launcher thing to shoot with to finish two off the fishermen, so my theory that they can be loaded with other things than the whistling birds for slightly less effective use (maybe without the level of honing we’ve seen din’s be able to do?) is looking good!

- din actually has quite good form when diving into the water, I’m guessing he can swim at least tolerably when not in full armour, being stabbed at from all directions, having just had his son eaten by a sea monster and also being trapped in with said sea monster (I’m a strong swimmer and I can tell you that there’s a reason they make you swim with clothes on from time to time to see how hard it is, it sucks. with metal plates strapped all over you as well? yeah good luck) people don’t tend to hit the water that gracefully without some kind of training in my experience lol. might be some of the training with the jet pack has carried over too, considering he throws himself off that cliff in chapter 12 with similar confidence?

it’s interesting that they’re once again showing us a threat where the armour doesn’t help and even hinders him. we’re so used to the ways it can make him near-invincible, but it can also drag him down (literally, in this case. aha ha ha. well if I’m not here for my own entertainment then what am I here for honestly)

- din’s voice sounding like he’s just on the verge of crying as he cradles the baby (and the sound he makes as he realizes the baby’s alive) is my kryptonite, turns out. fucking breaks my heart into tiny pieces every time, I would die for this man and he wouldn’t let me

- in support of din’s paranoia: so far this season we haven’t been able to go five minutes without someone talking about peeling the precious beskar off a mandalorian corpse, I can see why his mind was primed to move in one particular way there

- I think the fabric of din’s cape has been treated with something that makes it waterproof; the water seems to pearl on top of it rather than soak in! can you imagine how heavy it would get if it did absorb water tho christ

(a bit hard to see at this size but that’s what it looked like to me close up anyway! could also be that it’s wool and that’s why it looks that way but I prefer an elaborate sci-fi explanation here, because it doesn’t look particularly weighed down afterwards) might also explain why he doesn’t seem worried about it catching on fire when he uses the jetpack haha, maybe this is something the mandos do with fabric they’re going to use for a long time

I also enjoy part of the gambeson/undersuit thing poking up from under the shoulder pauldron and cape; I think this is about as disheveled as we’ve seen him since immediately post-mudhorn

- the sound mixing in this scene, where din’s breathing is layered a bit over everything else so you almost feel like you’re in the helmet with him listening to what the others are saying........ oh my GOD, it embeds you so deeply in his POV but so subtly

- not to be biased or anything... but din and the armorer’s armour design is so vastly superior to these guys it shouldn’t even be a competition lol

din looks like an honest to god knight in shining armour except also sci-fi western and the armorer looks like a fucking war goddess from a time beyond memory; the clone wars mandos look like high end cosplayers (eh maybe it’s just my dislike for the boobplates that has me so 😒 lol. also a lot of dudes were very shitty about that whole thing and I don’t say anything but the ‘vaguely-concerned will remember this’ telltale message pops up in the corner every time)

moment of saltiness over: I do like the differentiation between their individual character designs

the differences in body type and helmet design is nice! they look like a unified team, but with individuality. I suspect the ladies have those belts and their armour plates on the hips instead of the front of the thighs to emphasize the ‘female’ silhouette, which. okay fine whatever

- bo katan looks very pointedly down at the baby after saying ‘a group of religious zealots who want to return to the ancient ways’ which makes me VERY nervous for reasons I can’t quite articulate

- the mournful guitar version of the mando theme as din watches the sunset...... hmmmmngh (this might be some Symbolism happening to us folks strap in for the identity crisis he still hasn’t processed)

- I Cannot get over din being so unimpressed by and uninterested in bo katan’s ‘retake mandalore’ sales pitch from literally the first moment dfhasdkjfhsad sorry lady kryze this man just does not do main quest shit, he’s all side quests all the time and that’s why I love him

- as someone who after chapter 8 wrote a whole-ass fic that was wholly & exclusively about din telling the baby he’ll always come back for him... some of the shit he’s been saying this season does feel like it’s been written to mercilessly victimize me, personally and specifically

- guessing this structure in the background is the traffic control tower! doesn’t really matter, I just thought it was neat

- this part of the soundtrack is called ‘ship o hoj, mandalorians!’, which I found incredibly charming haha (it’s ‘ship ahoy’ except how you write it in swedish, good one herr göranson)

- bo katan is vague about who exactly the new mand’alor would be if they took back mandalore to begin with, she doesn’t specify she is planning to be the ruler until she’s already got din on the ship and in no position to refuse to help. gotta respect the grift at least lol

I do love her voice, though, it reminds me a bit of jennifer hale as shepard

- “I need to get back to my ship, with the foundling” your honor I uh love him so fucking much

- frog lady stroking the baby’s back a bit as she holds her hand behind him to make sure he doesn’t fall backwards while playing with the tadpole ;___________;

and also frog husband and frog lady reaching out to hold hands and frog smooching as din and yodito leave ;____________________________________________;

- when din says the exasperated “mon calamari. unbelievable” line, the baby makes that little blowing a raspberry sound he does as if to agree ‘uh-huh unbelu -- unbelly -- unbelievable dad smh’ and it is very very adorable

- there’s quite a bit of Stuff in the concept art that didn’t make it in this time around; I wonder if maybe they cut some stuff for pacing or whatever and that’s why this episode is so short? water leaking into the cockpit of the razor crest, something that looked a bit like whaling going on on the docks and more spaceships taking off (maybe there were originally meant to be some smaller ships defending the big empire one?), there’s quite a bit here

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta

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littlespaceporgs · 4 years

Text

The Clone Wars Reacts - Part 1

Or, Leah thinks Yoda is a badass and thirsts and coos over Plo Koon.

Welcome to part 1 of season 1! Ngl I’ve only got 2 episodes for the first one because i didn’t have time to watch a third, so here we go. These are just the thoughts and notes i took as i made my way through the episode, in their absolute rawness, I’ve barely even edited them so enjoy? and before anyone mentions it, yes I could do these on tiktok and you guys could watch me being an idiot, would anyone be interested in that however?

Tags (if anyone else would like to be tagged in this series, let me know!): @acciokenobi @roseofalderaan @catsnkooks @peacelandbread @littlevodika @icedcoffeeandgays @captainrexstan @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @mcu-padawan

Episode 1: Ambush

> Fuck yeeeeeaaahhh this intro is a fucking bop, I forgot how much I like it

> OH WAIT HANG ON YODAS IN THIS EPISODE, like it’s actually Yoda centric???? mad.. i thought it was going to be anakin and ahsoka this ep

> FUCK I KNOW THAT VOICE *enter ventress* - this woman could step on me and I’d say thank you ✨

> Oh shut tf up Dooku, nobody cares what you have to say

> “Sprung the trap, we have” no shit, is it just Yoda’s trademark to say exactly what’s going on?

> HAHAHAHAHHAAH “ITS MY PROGRAMMING”!!!!!

> I have some questions, who has the creativity to come up with characters and planets that look like this?? Like that’s so cool????

> Huh you actually think you’re gonna catch Yoda???? Interesting thought.

> HAHAHAHAHA SMALL SHRIVELLED GREEN ONE WITH A LIGHTSABER *accurate tho, and I live for Ventress’ sarcasm ngl

> I want to point out the peak humour of one droid saying stop, we’re not gonna fit, followed by a droid attempting to fit >> actually scratch that the droids are hilarious in general

> HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH HIS GIGGLE AND THEN DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT HE MEANT?!

> why is yoda likeable in this episode??? If you can’t tell already, I don’t like Yoda very much.

> “He IS a little one!”

> alright fine. i admit it, I don’t think I’ve given Yoda enough credit, I didn’t like him much, but 10 minutes episode and I’m lowkey giggling at him.

> Dude Yoda is so cool *(Notes: i have written in a column here: should rename the title of part i to “Yoda is a fucking boss”)

> The force is so cool ngl

> “Trouble? Know nothing of this trouble, I do” hahahahaha hahahahaha

> AW HUNNY NO YOURE NOT EXPENDABLE YOU NEED TO GO WITH THE SHRIVELLED GREEN LITTLE SHIT

> good job Yoda make em feel better for me thank you

> *droid battallion approaches and Yoda just fucking sits there* Have I mentioned that Yoda is literally so cool?

> Bruh I shouldn’t be surprised that the 4 of them destroyed an entire battalion but that was legit AWESOME

> HA HA HA HA AH BITCH YODA GONNA KICK UR ASS

> Eh i don’t think I’ve said this enough, Yoda’s fucking cool.

> PFFFFFFFFFFTTTT fully just stole her lightsabers - imagine how much trouble Yoda would’ve saved himself if he had just kept the bastards instead of letting her take them back

> Alright fine, maybe I will enjoy this season.

Episode 2: Rising Malevolence

Notes: I am so sorry in advance, to be honest this entire one is just me either thirsting or cooing over Plo Koon and I can’t help it, and no, I still have not decided dad or daddy (its currently 14(?) hours after I watched the episode and I am still very undecided and I don’t think I’m ever gonna be able to make that choice)

> HEY ITS LITTLE BABEY AHSOKA AND OMG HOLY SHIT HES IN THIS EPISODE????????????????

> Lowkey I dunno if it’s dad or daddy?

> Awwwwwww Lil soka (wait I’m talking about Plo Koon in case you’re confused) (NOTES: uh I know I put it up top but just case you missed it)

> Sorry, did Anakin just say he was gonna ask the council?? The fuck??

>>Be mindful????? Who the fuck is this????

> Ugh it’s palptatunes slimy looking ass

> OBI OBI OBI OBI OBI OBI OBI

> oh shit man that’s bad *if you haven’t clued in I’m going on about the weapon

> AWWWWWW HE WAITS FOR THE CLONES TO GET ON FIRST

> dude what the fuck is going on with his hair??

> Everytime Plo talks my mind goes 🥰 sorry that’s off topic (or is it?)

> At least obi-wan sees sense, Anakin teaching an already reckless Ahsoka was never going to end up with them both being quiet

> AHSOKA! 😠

> Oh wait Wolffe doesn’t have his scar yet????? WAIT DOES THAT MEAN WE SEE HIM GET IT LATER?! Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh-

> HAHAHAHAHA HE ONLY TAKES A BATH ON BREAK

> HMMMMMM AWWWWW I VALUE YOUR LIFE MORE THAN FINDING THAT WEAPON

> There’s more alive, oh good I was afraid that they- aw shit poor Plo he sounds like he feels so guilty

> fucking hell I just wanna give him a hug and kiss his cheek and make it all better (NOTES: see what I mean???? Thirst or fluff?)

> OOP THERE IT IS! I was wondering when the usual Anakin would show up

> “Redeployed himself.... again.” I can feel obi-wans exasperation with this kid man

> Okay so, Anakin is a little shit. So disobey the council but don’t tell them that I’m teaching you that

> Aw no there’s gonna be more clones die??????? Oh no and they have to watch oh no oh no oh no-

> I have questions: How are they screaming? I don’t think that’s how space works??? Ok but I legit don’t know?? Is it even possible to scream in space?? And shouldn’t it have killed them straight away?

> Aaawwwwww Ahsoka my baby (literally anytime this child comes on screen)

> “Anakin where are you” I love obi wan so much hahahahahahahahaha

> WAIT NO PLO AND FEW OF HIS SONS TROOPERS ARE ALIVE DONT LEAVE

> oh good job R2, crisis averted

> Pfffftttt the droid humming is distracting me from the more potential death

> Plo Koon is cooler than Yoda, you cant change my mind so don’t try.

> YEEEEETTTTTT poor sinker yikes I can’t imagine flying through space is fun

> PALPATINE YOU BASTARD HE PROBABLY WANTS MY LOVE DEAD HOW DARE HE

> “Twice the trouble they have become”?????? No shit Yoda. What were you thinking pairing these two disasters up?

> AND THEN HE TRIES TO GET THEM TO ABANDON DAD(DY?)

> R2’s whirring is a vibe tho

> AAAAAAHHHH NOT TO ME PLO MY HEART 🥺🥺

> oh god the animation is terrible (NOTES: I can’t believe it took me that long to make that comment)

> Aw he seems so sad, thank u Ahsoka, she gave him the love and hug he deserves

> Ugh now my internet’s playing up dang it, well this is infuriating, I WANT TO KNOW IF THEY DESTROY THE WEAPON OR NOT?!

> He seems so genuinely scared??????? Plo has me getting major feels

> OH SHIT FUCK THE OTHER DROID SHIT FUCK NO SHIT

> how did everyone hate Ahsoka when this first came out??? I love her so much

> I mean like, I know they’re not gonna die??? But I still feel so anxious omg

> Holy shit the disappointment that rolls off of dooku is kinda hilarious (it took all of me not to start giggling at this)

> “Riiiiiiiiiiiiight the council report”

Alright gonna stop here, because I have class in 20 minutes and there is no way that I am leaving the library if I start watching episode 3 so uh see y’all next time for episodes 3,4,5 and maybe 6??

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #react series #blue-space-porgs reacts #ahsoka tano #anakin skywalker #yoda #obi-wan kenobi #star wars imagines #i have a deep love for #plo koon #please protecc my love

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jayz4dayz · 3 years

Note

1 for Ririka and Itsuki.

Bet. I’ve been waiting to do a fic for them. And yES I’M AWARE THESE ARE DRABBLES, BUT 3 THOUSAND WORDS IS SHORT TO ME OKAY?!

(For real tho, the other “drabbles” won’t be nearly as long as this one. I just really loved writing this one.)

Anyway. Prompt: “Come over here and make me.”

Unmasked

There was a certain mysterious element to the Vice President’s porcelain mask, something Itsuki had always privately found herself to be drawn to. The eyes, jet black and ominous; oftentimes Itsuki feared she would drop dead if she stared into the mask’s eyes for too long. And then that smile, so menacing and eerie, never fated to one day frown. There was something so alluring yet sinister about the mask that made it difficult not to look away whenever the Vice President walked by or was in the same vicinity as the nail collector.

And for the longest time, Itsuki had been so curious as to why the Vice President wore this mask. Surely no one would willingly wear it if they had nothing to hide; the damned thing in itself was rather creepy. Not to mention Ririka never removed it no matter where she was, which raised suspicion.

What exactly was the Vice President hiding from everyone?

Rumors about why the Vice President wore her mask had been floating around the school since she first arrived. Some say she was hiding a hideous scar either from child abuse or from a wicked fight she might have gotten into. Others suspected she wore it because her face was malformed and ugly from a bad birth defect or otherwise and hid her true face so people wouldn’t be as afraid of her.

Itsuki didn’t believe any of those rumors; she knew not to believe most of the crap the students at Hyakkaou would eagerly spread like a wildfire. She herself was a gossiper, but she only gossiped things she knew to be true. None of these rumors about the Vice President gave her reason to think they were true.

If anything, she speculated that the Vice President likely hid her face because she did the President’s dirty work and couldn’t risk having her face be known among the school population. It certainly made sense at least; no one knew what the Vice President did behind closed doors or what her general role in the school was. Even if Itsuki was right, it wasn’t like she was going to ever find out the truth for herself anyway.

For a while at least, Itsuki tried to ignore her fascination with the mystery behind the infamous smiling mask. Yet when she saw the Vice President walking alone down a semi-empty corridor, she could not contain her curiosity and decided to follow her.

She had no probable cause to follow her; for all she knew the Vice President could have simply been going to the restroom or student council room. However, she showed no signs of doing so as she walked to a more empty and unused side of the campus. At this point, Itsuki just wanted to see what the Vice President was up to whether or not she would finally see her without her mask.

Itsuki tried her best to not raise any suspicion, following the masked girl distantly. She noticed the Vice President’s pace seemed to slow a bit, causing Itsuki to fidget with anxiety. Thankfully, the Vice President never turned her head to see the one pursuing her and Itsuki quietly continued to follow her.

The Vice President stopped, pulling out a key card to unlock a room Itsuki had never seen nor been in before. Itsuki noticed that the door was still ever so slightly open, an invitation perhaps. Or a one way ticket to her demise.

Swallowing back the fear and urge to turn and run away while she still had the chance to, Itsuki waited a minute before slowly approaching the door, creaking it open a little more so she could see what was going on within. She gasped slightly once she noticed the Vice President’s mask sitting on a small tea table near the door and searched to see the unmasked face of the platinum haired girl.

All she saw was the back side of the Vice President, who no longer wore her school uniform, but still had on her skirt and her bra, appearing to be brushing out her long, smooth hair. Itsuki knew she should have shut the door and walked away to give her privacy, but her eyes were glued onto the Vice President’s semi-bare form.

She was stunningly beautiful from behind; Itsuki could only imagine how she looked if she turned around. Itsuki felt like such a pervert for watching her like this, but she needed to know what she looked like from the front. Just a glimpse was all it would take to satisfy her.

Itsuki continued to watch in silence, noticing something rather odd. The Vice President began to braid her hair. To her shock, she saw the Vice President braid her hair the exact same way the President did. Even more peculiarly, the Vice President also had the same exact Presidential blazer Kirari wore every day. The only reason why she would have this and braid her hair just like Kirari did and coincidentally have the same hair color as the President was because...

No. It couldn’t be. The President and the Vice President… were the same person?

Itsuki rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly, now taking a really good look at the girl inside the room who still had her back turned to the door. She was aware that the President was known for doing strange and out of the ordinary things, but to pose as the Vice President made no sense. Not to mention the Vice President and the President had been seen in the same location as each other, so obviously they had to have been two different people.

Frustrated for not gaining any answers, Itsuki barged into the room and snatched the mask on the table. Naturally, the only other girl in the room yelped in surprise and turned to face Itsuki. Itsuki was just about to yell and confront her on why she was doing this and expose her for it, but all her words died in her throat the moment she saw those cerulean eyes and flustered cheeks.

This girl was not Kirari Momobami. It was impossible. Yet she shared the exact same face as Kirari. However, her expression alone proved she wasn’t the President, so how could this be? The thought of it made Itsuki’s head spin.

“Y-you shouldn’t be here, Sumeragi!” the girl across the room squeaked, covering her top half with her dress shirt.

“Who are you?” Itsuki questioned in a loud voice. “I know you’re not the President, but you look just like her.”

“G-give me my mask,” the girl sputtered, shakily putting on her shirt and slowly buttoning it up.

Itsuki snorted. “Ha! Not a chance. I want answers and I’m gonna get them. If you don’t comply, I’m gonna smash this thing to smithereens!”

The younger girl was well aware she was playing with fire and her actions were honestly quite cruel, but she didn’t care. This was an opportunity unlike any other. The amount of blackmail she would now have on the student council may just be enough to get her re-hired in exchange for her to keep what she saw to herself.

“No! Don’t!” The older girl shrieked, reaching out with her hand even though she couldn’t reach Itsuki. “Just… give it to me and we won’t have any problems! Give it to me right now!”

Itsuki wanted to laugh at how pathetic the Vice President sounded while trying to threaten her. Without her mask, she was a completely different person. Itsuki wasn’t intimidated by her in the slightest.

“You’re in no position to demand things from me,” Itsuki snickered. “Now talk.”

“I… I will explain, but first give me my mask,” the other girl complied.

“Oh yeah? Come over here and make me,” Itsuki challenged.

Itsuki wouldn’t give up so willingly and she knew the Vice President wouldn’t either. Skittishly, the Vice President slowly approached the ginger. Itsuki began to study the features on the Vice President’s face as she came closer. She was convinced if the President were in the room that very moment and stood next to the Vice President, they would look like clone copies of each other. At this point, Itsuki wouldn’t have been shocked to discover the President did have a clone.

Perhaps the only difference about the Vice President was her eyes. They were a bit brighter, more innocent and warm than Kirari’s cold and blank ones.

“Please,” the Vice President bowed respectfully in front of Itsuki. “I’m not myself without it.”

Itsuki sucked in a breath and blushed, not expecting her to do this. “F-fine, but you really better explain who you are and what’s going on!”

Itsuki handed the mask to the Vice President, but to her surprise, the platinum haired girl did not place the mask back on. She instead clutched it to her chest protectively.

“My name is Ririka Momobami. I am the older twin sister of the President,” Ririka explained, her voice calming down.

Itsuki blinked at her. Finally, something made sense. The only thing that didn’t make any sense was that Ririka was the older sibling. As far as she knew, Kirari was the heir to the Momobami wealth and the Bami clan. It was strange considering the eldest child was traditionally and typically the one to inherit their family’s wealth and top positions.

Regardless, Itsuki knew this bit of information was detrimental to obtain and now gave her a future advantage against the student council.

“The President has a twin. Of course she does,” Itsuki snickered. “Who else knows?”

Ririka hesitated. “Only four people know. Sayaka Igarashi, Runa Yomozuki, my sister, and Mary Saotome.”

Itsuki bristled at the mention of the blonde’s name. She had recently become friends with her and trusted her, so why would Mary keep something this important from her and the rest of their friend group?

“How did she find out?” Itsuki questioned.

“On accident much like you did. We sort of knocked into each other while walking down the halls a week ago,” Ririka explained.

Well, Itsuki wouldn’t say this was an accident per say. Ririka didn’t need to know she was followed here, so Itsuki kept her mouth shut about that.

“Ugh, now she has some explaining to do too,” Itsuki grumbled. “So, what’s up with the mask? I get why Kirari wouldn’t want people knowing she has a twin, but why bother with that creepy thing?”

“That’s… something I’m forbidden to reveal,” Ririka whispered darkly, her tone turning much like Kirari’s.

“Okay then, why were you starting to braid your hair like the President?” Itsuki retorted.

Ririka suddenly chuckled, the surprisingly comforting sound making Itsuki’s heart skip a beat. “Kirari likes to switch places with me sometimes. Usually it’s to gain information on other students quietly, but this time it was because she wanted to avoid English Literature and have me take the class in her place.”

“So, you’ve been trading places with her for a while now and no one has ever found out?” Itsuki asked with wide eyes, now wondering how often she was talking to Ririka when she thought she was speaking to the President.

“Well, someone very dear to Kirari’s heart figured out the two of us were switching places a while ago,” Ririka said softly.

“Igarashi,” Itsuki mumbled under her breath.

“You know about that?” Ririka asked in shock.

Itsuki scoffed. “Oh please, the whole school has suspected those two have been together since Sayaka was hired as Kirari’s little Secretary.”

“I suppose you’re correct about that,” Ririka nodded in agreement. “Now, I hope you have no more questions, Sumeragi. I know you likely won’t grant this, but can you keep this interaction of ours private?”

Itsuki debated on that. On the one hand, she knew she could use this secret against Kirari to gain her position in the student council back, but was it fair to do such a thing to Ririka? The ginger hardly knew Ririka, but perhaps it would be better to have Ririka as an ally rather than an enemy. Revealing her secret would only burn bridges between them, something Itsuki didn’t want. At least right now.

Still, Itsuki wanted to know if there was anything she could gain out of this.

“I don’t know, what’s in it for me?” Itsuki asked flatly, her intense ocean blue eyes searching for an answer from the taller girl.

“I…I have nothing to offer,” Ririka sighed in defeat. “Nothing you would want, at least.”

Itsuki raised an intrigued brow at her. “Oh? What exactly do you have in mind?”

“The only thing I can offer is monetary compensation, but why would you accept that seeing as how you’re the daughter of Japan’s wealthiest toy company?” Ririka murmured sadly.

That was hardly something Itsuki would consider to be worth keeping her mouth shut over, but she knew Ririka was at the end of her rope and truly had nothing else to offer. And the more Itsuki found herself to be drowning in cerulean, the harder it became for her to want to continue her blackmailing.

Deep in her heart, she questioned whether or not Ririka deserved this treatment from her. Perhaps she was just as much a slave to Kirari’s bidding just like the rest of the academy was. There was still too little she knew about Ririka to say what she was doing was justified or morally right.

“Yeah, I don’t want your money,” Itsuki deadpanned. “Maybe you can offer a partnership instead?”

Ririka looked up at her with hope. “What are you saying? Do you wish to be my gambling partner like Saotome is?”

“No, nothing like that,” Itsuki shook her head, laughing at the idea of having Ririka following her around like some lost puppy like she did with Mary. Though the idea itself was still intriguing.

“Then what are you suggesting?” Ririka asked in confusion.

“You know… a partnership,” Itsuki responded stupidly.

Ririka’s cheeks turned bright pink. “Y-you mean like a romantic relationship?”

Itsuki almost choked on the air as soon as those words left Ririka’s lips. She supposed the word ‘partnership’ was a rather broad term, but she still wasn’t expecting Ririka to suggest something like that.

“No! God no! I-I mean not that you’re undesirable, you’re… you’re actually really pretty! I just…” Itsuki fumbled her words, turning redder by the second.

“You think so?” Ririka asked shyly.

Itsuki’s throat went dry. “W-well, yeah? It’s kinda hard to believe you’d hide such a beautiful face behind something so scary.”

“No one’s ever called me that before,” Ririka chuckled.

“Yeah, I can see why,” Itsuki smirked, gesturing toward the mask Ririka still clutched to her chest.

“You must think Kirari is beautiful if you think I am. Usually those sort of compliments are reserved for her anyway,” Ririka deflated at the realization.

“I mean I guess, but she’s terrifying. You’re… different. A good kind of different,” Itsuki blushed.

Ririka’s eyes searched Itsuki’s for any trace of deception, but found nothing. “Thank you, Sumeragi. As for this… partnership, I’m not opposed to it whatever it may be.”

“Seriously?” Itsuki asked in disbelief. “What if it was something romantic out of curiosity?”

Ririka sighed. “I’m not sure, I’d have to thoroughly know you better before deciding on something like that. Still, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

“And why is that? I was kinda pushy and mean to you a few minutes ago,” Itsuki reminded her.

“You could have easily snatched my mask and ran off to tell the world about my true identity, yet you didn’t. Why is that?” Ririka shot back with a cute slight smile that melted Itsuki’s heart.

“I don’t know, sheesh! I wanted answers I guess?” Itsuki said in defense.

“I hope you got your answers,” Ririka smiled fully.

“Not all of them,” Itsuki replied quickly. “I still have a lot of questions. Even more now if I’m being honest.”

Ririka nodded calmly. “Alright then. If you join me for tea tomorrow afternoon, I will try my best to answer them all.”

“W-wait, this… this won’t be a date, will it?” Itsuki stuttered.

“It’s whatever you wish it to be,” Ririka shrugged. “You want a partnership? Very well. As partners, however you may see it, we will have to get to know each other regardless. Am I wrong?”

Itsuki’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. How did it ever come to this? She was only trying to satisfy her curiosity. She never expected things to turn out the way they did.

“You’re not wrong,” Itsuki mumbled shyly.

“Good. I will see you tomorrow then. You still have my contact on your phone from your time on the student council, yes?” Ririka asked.

“Yeah,” Itsuki breathed out. “But remember, this is my compensation for keeping my mouth shut! Got it?”

“I understand,” Ririka nodded.

“Great,” Itsuki sighed.

“Now, um. Can you let me finish changing into my clothes?” Ririka requested with a sheepish grin.

“Oh! Right! O-of course!” Itsuki exclaimed in embarrassment.

“Thank you,” Ririka chuckled. “I will text you sometime later on where I’d like to meet for tea tomorrow. Have a good afternoon, Sumeragi-san.”

“You… you too, Momobami-san,” Itsuki said breathlessly.

With that, Itsuki left the room and shut the door behind her. She stood in the empty hallway for several seconds, still processing what just happened. All this information was too much for her brain to process all at once.

The smiling porcelain mask hid the President’s identical twin sister. Itsuki now apparently had a date with the President’s twin sister. And she was actually kind of looking forward to it.

Though some of her questions were answered, they were replaced by dozens of new questions. What was the history behind Ririka’s mask? Why was Kirari the heir to the Momobami clan and not her? Why was she forced to wear the mask all the time? Why in god’s name was she okay with going on a ‘date’ with Itsuki?

Itsuki sighed and ran a hand through her ginger hair. All the questions her mind was producing was overwhelming and to be blunt, she didn’t want to think about it. The only thing she wanted to think about was what she was going to wear and what color nail polish she was going to apply tonight for her ‘date’ with Ririka Momobami tomorrow.

#kakegurui #ririka momobami #itsuki #ririka x itsuki

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twilightofthe · 4 years

Note

So...about that Obitine Anidala rant. Also, you said something about how Sidious and Obi-Wan are foils. I would love it if you elaborate. (Also, I love your blog.)

Awwwww thank you anon! I just be yelling on here!

*wheezes* okie doke! Tho I stress that this won’t exactly be a rant because I adore Obitine and Anidala and rant kinda implies aggression towards them, this is more of just a long-ass ramble because while I love them, I don’t always love the way canon portrays them in the narrative, particularly in relationship to each other, because I often do not feel that what the show is trying to push us to think about them is accurate to how they actually act and come across. Notably, the show attempts to draw comparisons to the two relationships that really don’t exist below surface level similarities. Again, these are my own personal opinions, and in fact, I welcome discussion! I truly do! Please politely debate me on this if you disagree!

(god dammit it got long again, so long I’ll actually put ur Sidious and Obi Wan as foils part in a separate post)

I’ll get to why exactly the show compares the relationships very strangely in a moment, but first we gotta explore the reason why it does this in the first place, which is that the Clone Wars show has decided to make Obi Wan and Anakin narrative foils to one another. Narrative foils, by the literary definition, are two characters that contrast one another. They don’t have to be the protagonist and the antagonist, these characters can be on the same side, basically the thing is that they have “opposite” personalities where if one character is hot, the other is cold, if one character chooses to go right, the other will go left. It’s usually used to show one character’s qualities as more favorable for the situation as opposed to anyone else’s.

TCW does this whenever they possibly can with Anakin and Obi Wan. I get its reasoning behind it. I do. The reasoning is that while Anakin is supposed to be a main character, he makes questionable decisions quite often and for the kiddies watching, those decisions must be seen as Bad even if the hero does it, so they have Obi Wan, the unquestionable good guy, encounter the exact same scenarios Anakin makes his questionable decisions in, and then has Obi Wan make the Right(TM) decision to teach the kids a valuable lesson. They turn Obi Wan into the voice of reason for the entire show, which turns basically almost everything Obi Wan and Anakin do into a constant competition in the narrative in a way the movies do not do (and I’ll get to the movies later). I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing, making them foils, but it’s definitely more of a show-only thing and it does it quite, quite often.

So yeah, TCW likes to compare Obi Wan and Anakin to the point that sometimes they try and use Obi Wan to diminish Anakin’s genuine trauma and struggles by going “well why didn’t you do it like THIS?” and I think that writing parallel plotlines for the purpose of shaming/criticism is kinda ://////, but that’s another rant for another day that again, if y’all wanna hear about, lmk

Anyway, the need to compare them absolutely made its way into their romantic relationships as well, as they acknowledge the similarities in the show, and Filoni and the crew explicitly compare the two relationships in interviews.

Basically my problem with how they try and draw said parallels can be boiled down to one quote by Filoni that a cursory Google search could not find but I know exists so y’all can take my word or not, that went along the lines of “Obi Wan and Satine are like Anakin and Padmé but better because they know how to stay unattached and let each other go. They’re a success story.” I disagreed with this quote so much it inspired me to write a whole-ass fic about it (Mutuals update: yes, it is coming soon, Darth Maul is just himself and therefore an utter pain in the ass to do a POV on and is fighting me like the bitchass he is)

My thesis that I will be arguing today is that while TCW tried to create Obitine as an Anidala parallel, they’re really not similar in the way the writers think they are. Obitine is not a success story to Anidala, they’re a goddamn tragedy too; the real parallel to Anidala is that Obitine also ended in death and tears despite making all the “right” decisions instead of all the “wrong” ones, and that is what is sad about them.

Like, on the surface level? Yeah, the crew-intended parallels are there. A fancy politician and a Jedi get together after the Jedi is assigned as the politician’s bodyguard. The first time they see each other in over a decade the guy’s first words are basically “damn girl you’re still hot”, there is Conflict(TM) and the choice to try and be together or stay yearningly apart because they are Forbidden(TM) to be together, and ultimately a Sith Lord fucks them both over because he’s obsessed with the Jedi and uses Politician Lady to his advantage, finds and exploits a vulnerability of hers, destroys her life’s work, and then lets her die to make Jedi Man sad. The difference is all that one pair said “yeah we aren’t gonna break the rules to be together” and the other said “fuck it yeah we are, let’s do this”

But beneath all of that, they real similarities are different and not at all focused on by the narrative. Obi Wan and Anakin are extremely different people, as are Padmé and Satine, so their relationship dynamics together will not be the same. You want to try and compare Obi Wan and Anakin and then compare Satine and Padmé like the crew attempts to, and you can’t, they have the same job but not nearly the same life. Namely, the funny coincidence is that Obi Wan and Padmé are much more similar in personality, while Anakin and Satine are also much more similar in personality, so the first time they meet again, it’s both Anakin and Satine as the one who’s been pining for over a decade and the one more actively pursuing the relationship, while Obi Wan and Padmé who are more like “uh, hi, wow, you’re hot and this is a Problem because I have a job to do pls don’t look at me like that but also I will Cause Problems On Purpose and flirt with you anyway because I can’t help it”. I get the Corruption TCW ep with Sati and Pads was mostly intended just to help Satine pass the Bechdel test and also show how similar the two leading lady love interests are, but it was a genuinely creative episode that actually ended up showing how much Satine and Padmé compliment each other instead of mirroring each other, much like Obi Wan and Anakin do.

And, onto my next point, despite the character parallels being wrong, the parallels in the relationship are different too. Like I said, the parallel isn’t that Obi Wan and Satine aren’t attached like Anakin and Padmé are. The parallel is that Obitine is actively running from what that attachment means instead of embracing it like Anidala is. The show would argue that since they try to avoid it, that they are able to live without one another, means they aren’t attached like the Jedi define it, but I argue that they definitely still are attached to a degree because they cannot give each other up. They held torches for each other from a timerange of 15 YEARS. Yes I know they spent an entire year together at a young and emotionally volatile point in their lives, but I stand that NO ONE is that hung up on their ex for that long unless there is some serious emotions involved. Anakin was hung up on Padmé for ten years, and that was because Palpatine was constantly bolstering those affections and reminding him of Padmé. Obes and Sati both-- or at least Satine, the show always makes Obi Wan’s feelings for Satine in return much more vague --held on to their feelings for five years longer without the influence of a Sith Lord.

And the thing is, they know it. Obi Wan and Satine are both fully aware that they haven’t been able to shake each other off like they should and that that is a Problem, that’s why they’re both a mite venomous with each other beneath the flirting at first, they’re both extremely frustrated with themselves for not being able to get over this thing they have, and frustrated with the other for being there as an active temptation.

And yet, they still are attached to each other. They try to avoid it, they definitely try, and that’s what makes them different from Anidala, but they are definitely still attached. You can see it in Obi Wan’s actions in Voyage of Temptation when Merrik is threatening to blow the ship, the way he hesitates in attacking him because that would be “striking an unarmed man”. Obi Wan Kenobi does not prefer violence, no, but he has never hesitated to cut a bitch before if it’s for the good of the many. This is the man who stabbed someone with a fork and threatened to eat him just to maintain his cover as a dangerous criminal. This is the guy who had no problem killing Zam Wessel for information to protect Padmé. This is a pragmatist who prefers peaceful solutions, but he does not hesitate if he feels it is a justified offense. But this time, when an entire shipful of people is at risk, Obi Wan hesitates. Because he doesn’t want to upset Satine. Because he’s probably thinking on how she told him that if he had killed the last terrorist they encountered, she wouldn’t speak to him, how she had criticized every time he used violence to escape Death Watch before. He hesitates because he’s putting her happiness, just for a second, over the sake of duty. Do I think that if Anakin hadn’t shown up to save their moral compasses, Obi Wan would have eventually taken out Merrik? Absolutely; hell, I honestly think Satine might have done it.

But the matter was, Merrik could have pressed the kill switch any second of Obi Wan’s hesitation, and Obi Wan knew that, and was hesitating anyway.

I am calling this attachment solely because if the situation was reversed, if this was Anakin and Padmé in this situation, with Anakin not taking out a dangerous criminal because he doesn’t want to upset Padmé (lol ignoring the fact that Pads 1000% would have shot that bitch, and even if she didn’t, Anakin would because he is perfectly fine with hurting his loved ones’ feelings if he feels it’ll keep them safe), god, the narrative would have eaten Anakin alive.

No, I won’t take criticism. I know how the show handles the Anidala dynamic. It would have shown Obi Wan popping up to take out the baddie as him doing the right thing and saving the day, and then Anakin would have been shamed for letting his feelings for his wife get in the way of protecting a shipful of people. THAT would be the Vader foreshadowing, none of this “only a cold-blooded killer” shit, no way would they ever stick that label on Obi Wan.

So yeah, I’m going off of the fact that if that would have been classified as attachment for Anidala-- which, it would, then. it counts for Obitine.

And then Obi Wan and Satine continue to be hung up on each other for the rest of the eps they’re in, Satine saying in words multiple times how much she loves and cares about him and wishes things could be different, and Obi Wan performing it in actions, risking his own neck and political standing to help her even when she’s a fugitive, probably personally putting in to send his own grandpadawan to help her later. Right up to the time when Satine decides that she is going to call Obi Wan when she is deposed. Not the Senate. Not any powerful politician friends. Not even the Jedi Order or the Council as a whole. She calls and addresses her distress call to Obi Wan alone. And Obi Wan, as now revealed to us by TCW S7, defies Council orders and breaks a century old neutrality treaty to try and bust her, a convicted murderer in the eyes of the Republic and Mandalore, out. He didn’t even know Maul had her. Just knew she was in danger and came running to her aid. He risks starting a potential war to come save her. They acted so in love that Vizsla was able to guess from being around them for like five seconds, and was able to tell Maul exactly who he would need to bait Obi Wan.

That is where the attachment comes from. It’s the fact that Obi Wan and Satine tried so, so hard to give each other up and do the right thing, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t lose the other one so they put them first when logically they shouldn’t. And thus, Satine ended up dead.

Now I know most people will argue with me that actually Filoni means that since they didn’t stay together after the year on the run, THAT is what makes them able to give each other up, and also the fact that Obi Wan didn’t go dark side and murder everyone when Satine died.

But I still think that at least the murder front is a fairly low bar to cross, and anyway, that just because they could live without each other didn’t mean they weren’t still attached. Anakin and Padmé were apart for 10 years and then even after that, they were apart almost constantly during the war. Just because they could live apart or even past the other’s death didn’t mean they weren’t attached, as they both still had not let the other go mentally and also broke rules to try and ensure the other would not die, even if the rules said they should let it happen.

So yeah, that’s my big theory. We can’t compare Obitine with Anidala by saying Obitine was a success story, we compare them by acknowledging that both struggled with attachments and letting the other go, but Obitine at least tried to the bitter end to do the right thing while Anidala didn’t really bother, and both ended up with dead women and broken men regardless, and that is the true sad parallel to me.

#ohhhhh my god i really gotta learn how to shut up lol #thanks anon! told ya it was long!#ask #asks #when we were young #star-crossed lovers #our only ho #peace out #one (1) hot mess #queen of my heart #anon

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we-rate-tmnt · 4 years

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I request: Leonardo. Please and thank you 🙏.

Idk if everyone loves Leo or if my header and avatar just remind everyone about this amazing blue boy. (This one’s super silly btw. I’m just sillier as time goes on. Character development I guess?)

The iconic leador Leonardo (1987)

Bro idk why but I loved this Leo. I have a tiny memory, especially with this version but I clearly remember that I thought he was the funniest and the coolest. I mean, he had swords, what was I supposed to do as a 7-year-old. NOT like him??? Anyway, while Raph was the best at insult comedy, I think Leo had the best puns and punchlines. I really like how nonchalant this Leo is compared to his iterations, going along with really silly ideas and having fun along the way. But because of this, his leadership is a little forced at times, he seems like such a chill and fun dude that when he gets serious, I have to squint and ask ‘are you Leo? Or were you just putting on act a moment ago?’ Or my perception is entirely warped over time. Either way, good turtle boy, could have used some work tho. 5.7/10

Here comes grumpy lad wooo this is all read very monotone btw Fearless Leader (2003)

What. What the fuck happened. I was actually so confused when Leo turned really angry and serious and almost manic. I thought that episode when he popped into Casey’s window and was like ‘Hey bitch lets go beat the shit out of some lowlifes’ I was WOAH THERE BUDDY BACK UP BACK UP BACK TF UP. It was so sudden to me and when it was finally explained, it made some sense??? Like yeah, character development is great an’ all but this ain’t it chief. I can’t imagine what it was like having to wait for these episodes to release one at a time. Bc I watched every episode back to back on Youtube and I was genuinely bamboozled. But when you have an experience like that where guilt is weighing down on you from a situation you couldn’t control, it would’ve been HELLA HELPFUL to have at least a flashback, like a line saying ‘I was so useless!’ at BARE MINIMUM. Like right after Shredder is booted off to Planet Zula, Donnie would notice that Leo didn’t seem all that happy and would ask why and Leo would get upset and yell at Donnie saying that ‘You wouldn’t understand’, ‘You don’t know how I felt, how I feel because of that’, etc. Like you don’t even have to say he felt guilty or helpless, just give us something to grab onto. We’re merely six-year-olds who thought they could climb the YMCA rock wall in easy mode but instead the script riders harnessed us up on the hard one and wouldn’t let us come down until we rang the little bell at the top. I think that is the only problem I had with his Leo. The sudden change of calm and decisive to angry and irrational was so jarring that it felt unnatural without that crucial context. If you want a surprise reveal, at least hint at the reveal (like just about every Disney movie with their ‘twist’ villains) not wait until the very last moment. I think this might be my least favorite Leo and I think the season where he stood out the most and seemed the strongest was Fast Forward (Which was GOOD FIGHT ME), especially in scenes with Dark Leo, his clone. He sees so much of himself in Dark Leo but he also sees something he had once grasped (AKA the poorly written character arc, I CANNOT stress how bad I thought it was). Although, I honestly think he’s a really good character and he’s a pretty neat guy. However, this score is entirely held up by Fast Forward and his connection with Usagi, sword bros to the end of time. 3/10 (2 for FF and 1 for Usagi)

And now a Leo that makes me genuinely feel UWU Leo (2012)

I cannot stress how much I like this guy! Like his design is so appealing, his dedication, his obsession with Space Heroes, like I FUCKING LOVE IT. And everyone knows, that shit with Karai, at first when they didn’t realize they were related, I can let slide but kajsdflksadf what even like why did the writers feel the need to add in more ‘love interest’ implications like yuck yuck yuck. The only two interactions with Leo and Karai that I really like are when Leo defeats her using the healing hands technique and when Leo has a goth/emo/punk/idk I’m new here phase and they team up and EXPLOSIONS. He was introduced to us as being incredibly naive and his idea of leadership is from some old cartoon that’s basically star trek but ethically questionable. After his fights in season 1, to the finale with the technodrome, you can see his growth. He’s able to formulate plans and make life or death decisions. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. When Leo got hurt, I felt like the oof sound effect mixed with some tears I normally shed at some Shojo manga bs. While the episodes following were super weird, it was a nice way to help Leo recover, not only physically but spiritually (Although I don’t remember the spirit arc at all except the epic Raph vs Fishface fight, so we’re skipping that). When Master Splinter really died, you could tell there was a huge impact on Leo, but he had to remain stoic and lead the family now. A lot of heartbreaking moments in this series came from Leo and I’m glad they took at least some thought into developing him. Tiny head Leo will haunt my nightmares, but the giggly fanboy will warm my heart constantly. 6/10

I only have one word for this Leo (Heroes in a Half Shell: Blast to the Past)

This is a super crazy bad idea accent on the super crazy bad part have I mentioned it’s also a really terrible idea/10

Okay, spoiler alert, didn’t really think this Leo was that grand Leo (2014/2016)

Painfully average. He didn’t stand out that much, Raph was part of the focus and had that touching scene at the end, Donnie was ICONIC and Mikey (with his weird-ass eyes) was super lively and funny! Leo? Uh, I don’t remember a single line he said. Because he never really grabbed my attention, I don’t have too much to say on this version. The Raph and Leo fight felt forced and the whole ‘keep this stuff that could turn us human a secret’ was pretty pointless and was added just to cause drama, I don’t even remember what that Splinter and Leo conversation was about. Design-wise, really neat! You can see some more traditional Japanese clothing/style mixed with modern (I’d feel a lot better about this assumption if some could tell exactly what the heck he’s wearing, but I get traditional Japan warrior vibes from it) in his look which was super neat! Other than that, if you like him, please tell me why because I don’t get. He was just kinda eh. 5/10

AHHH MY BOY YASSS WHOOO!! Neon Leon (2018)

Okay, I loved Ben Schwarts already from Parks and Rec but like him being Sonic AND Leo, like DUDE. He’s super funny by himself but teamed up with this shows writing and animation, it makes it hilarious. I literally love this Leo so much, maybe because we’re alike but honestly, he’s amazing. I love his design with the red and yellow crescents accenting his skin and livening up his color pallet. He has a very healthy and natural dynamic with his brothers, he’s the first to know what’s wrong and tries his best to make up for his actions. This is really prominent in the most recent episodes, along with the episode portal jacked. In both, Leo is separated from his brothers. Portal Jacked is in a more literal sense, while Air Turtle handles in more of an emotional sense. While both are brief, Leo sees his error and tries his best to make it up to them. I love his dynamic so much and it’s so nice to see something like this compared to the unnecessary drama and tension between the brothers in the previous series. It’s refreshing and this is something a younger audience needs to see; instead of fighting, it’s better to work together and improve yourself along the way. Improvement is a big theme for Leo here. He’s a goofball, makes jokes at every opportunity and isn’t quite skilled at fighting or using his weapon. But he grows over time, he learns to manage his power and he’s working on mastering it. He’s trying to put aside his narcissism more and focuses on his family. I think the approach they took with him rising to leader rather than slapping it on his forehead was the goddamn best decision they could make. He’s making plans, finding loopholes, helping out and getting out of his comfort zone. I cannot stress how well this show has handled Leo, along with the other characters. I can’t wait to see more episodes about his growth and I am awarding him with one of the greatest honors I could give... 10/10

Storytime: I drew a super cute 2012 Leo, you should look at him. Shameless self-promo, but you should follow me on my main blog bc I’m nice and I draw pretty pictures. Also. I have a little 2012 Leo Happy Meal toy??? I think??? guarding my window and he’s been there for YEARS. I need to bring him in and refresh his paint job.

Wow! I didn’t expect this many requests for Leo, so the blog will be momentarily spammed with the requests, but it shouldn’t be too much! Up next should be the last turtle (Mikey) and then we can get to some REALLY great requests I’m eager to answer. As usual, please comment and reblog! I’d love to hear your opinion!

#Tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #leonardo #1987 leo #2003 leo #2012 leo #2014 leo #2016 leo #rottmnt leo #Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #asks #I forgot how my tagging system worked

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little-panem · 4 years

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i’ve finally read cdth and i wanna talk about it !

ok, so

i really thought i wasn’t gonna like it as much as TRC but i like it mORE how is that even possible??????? the story is so captivating, it has such goooood rhythm, the new characters are all so amazing and interesting and easy to connect to!!! dECLAN!!!!!!!!!!!

first of all we get the perspective of the other side??? which is... interesting... like ok, we’re really biased cause we know and love Ronan and obviously we want all good things for him, but this is a group of ppl who have been told (by a lot of other ppl who can do insane things) that the world is gonna end, so of course they want to stop it!! i get them, i would too!!! and even tho i sometimes don’t like Carmen i get to connect with her and understand what moves her and why she’s the way she is. and Lilliana??? i’ll probs get to ship it, but i need mor intel

Adam my baby boy I’m so glad he’s in freaking hARVARD living his best life, getting a fresh start, one where he can be whomever he wants to! and i had already spoiled my self about his scenes with Ronan but my goodness were they good!!! i’m really happy he0s happy, tho that ending has me worried af...

speaking of the end: last night i realized TRB ends in a crazy situation in a magical forest and CDTH ends in a crazy situation in a less magical forest but a forest nonetheless, but this time, the one making the bargain is Ronan instead of Adam

Roro boy has grown up sO much i almost can’t believe it... when he’s chasing the car with Mór Ó Corra and the Niall copy he alone restrains himself in traffic like a rational adult cause he has realized he can’t be a crazyhead????? literal proud tears on my eyes. it’s just i’m really proud of him and how he’s maturing and i love him a great deal and need him not to die

on another note: i really hope we get to see Blue and Gansey boy but book one happened in what? 2 weeks?? i have no idea how the next 2 are gonna play out, but they still have 6 months left of road trip...

Mattie baby i obviously love you cause it’s impossible not to, and i expect big things to come out of him on the next two books

the big bIG surprise here was our lord and savior Declan Lynch!!! from TRC i knew Ronan was not a reliable narrator when it came to his bruv buttttt i hadn’t even fathomed Declan being so great! the poor kid is my age and has to take antacids cause all the stress he inherited he’s so freaking relatable... and ever since i found out about his not-so-boring-shoes i’m kind of obsessed with dressing shoes!!! every time i go out i can only look for the pretties shoes and imagine them on Declan even tho i cannot exactly picture him in my head. all his world has gone to crumbs and it’s not even his fault but he doesn’t know that so i guess next book he’s gonna do a lot of thinking and honestly i just want him to be happy and stop torturing himself and maybe just tell Niall fucking Lynch to go fuck himself a little more

and his relationship with Jordan????????? i love Blue and Gansey, but i never ever thought nothing Maggie wrote (or anyone else really) could make me feel like Pynch does, but these two????? when they get nervous around each other I get nervous too!! i sometimes have to close the book after one of their scenes and take it all in for a while... it’s just... their relationship is just about connection, no interests behind, no nothing, they just click!! and our friend Margaret here inserting some of her passions (like she always does, that’s part of why her stories work so well, essentially Ronan!) and specially art just had me sCREAMING i seriously couldn’t take it!!! and i am now a very serious lover of John Singer Sargent’s painting, so thanks for that too

Jordan and Hennessy and Hennessy and Jordan, Jordan Hennessy... it’s not even major Orphan Black vibes or anything cause they are not clones, just pretend to be, but it still dazzles me. both of them are so freaking good i literally just forget one is a copy of the other! i don’t really have much to say about them cause i still don’t know them enough, just that i like what i see and their relationship to Ronan and Declan and i hope they develop one with Matthew too, which i guess will happen cause i mean that kid’s a charm

and the Visionaries have me intrigued but now that i know about them i don’t understand why back in November when the book was released some ppl were excited maybe Adam was one of them!! i reaaaally hope he isn’t and he’s just a weird kid connected to the universe or whatever cause him being a Visionary would cause him so much pain and we all know he’d choose to turn the visions inwards and thus kill himself than let other be harmed, so please: no

all in all, pretty fantastic book if you ask me. 100/10 would recommend. i don’t know if i enjoyed it so much because it’s really so good or because i missed the kids or because i already know the gist of it all and it’s not so hard to grasp, but whatever it is i don’t really care and cannot wait for the next to come

#this commentary is nooot what i had in mind but i don't know how else to put it #if someone wants to scream about it my inbox is so open #cdth #call down the hawk

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asiryn · 4 years

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so, i just started playing the ffvii remake! it’s taken me a while to get going on this, despite my HYPE, bc i couldn’t order it physically online, so then i had to download it, which took days, plus general physical disability stuff, but i’ve finally got to sit down with it!

i’ll be talking about some of my thoughts and initial impressions behind a cut, just so i don’t spoil anybody. i’m currently towards the beginning of chapter 3, but i’ll probably mention full original ffvii spoilers, so if the remake is your first time with this story....beware of that :P

i got to say, i’m loving this experience so far. here’s a list of Thoughts:

- one gripe that i have is that i HATE that the attack button is square, when in most ps games it’s the x button (especially since the kh3 dlc was the last console game i played), so like....that muscle memory is biting me in the ass with this game, lmao. i’ll have to be careful to not play any other ps game while i’m playing this, so i can get into the rhythm of this battle system, and not keep tripping myself up (.....and then after i’m done with this game, that new muscle memory’s going to trip me up in the next game i play, probably XDD)

- one thing that i’ve noticed, at least so far, is that there aren’t that many new things, but rather....it’s just expanding on what was already there. like, the fact that what avalanche did in bombing reactors wasn’t necessarily a good thing, and that had drastic consequences for the ppl of midgar, was definitely an element in the original game, and cait sith even called barret out on it towards the end on the highwind, but bc we saw so relatively little of midgar, and bc of the hardware and graphical limitations, you never truly felt much of that impact. most of it you had to pick up from npcs, and you had to deliberately talk to them (bc everything was text boxes, back in yonder year) to get that dialogue. in the remake, tho....it’s all fully realized and reflected in the environment, and even if you don’t seek out the npcs, you’ll still hear snatches of their conversations as you go by them, so you can’t completely tune it out

- building off of that last point, we’re also spending much more time with jessie especially, but also biggs and wedge, and it’s taking the time to allow them to dwell on the consequences of their actions, and you can actually see them struggling with the weight of that. they’re trying to keep faith in their higher cause of saving the planet (which they are more right about it than even they know), and yet they’re having to ask themselves whether the ends truly justify the means

- and the scene on the train with barret and those managers really helps to show why they don’t come across so good to others; even tho i know for a fact that shinra’s evil, even i was like....barret, this is why ppl are so willing to believe the picture shinra’s painting, you’re not exactly covering yourself in glory here

- also, avalanche.....could you guys be any more obvious that you’re behind it all?

- with that initial scene of heidegger and president shinra....it’s interesting that they’re incorporating a bit of the ffvii compilation canon, w/ there being a different avalanche that tried to assassinate him before. makes me wonder how tf nibelheim’s going to go down, bc i swear, it was different in every version

- also, interesting that they had president shinra order to make that reactor explosion worse. there was nothing of the sort implied in the original game, but considering that this is the guy who will order the sector 7 plate to be dropped onto the slums and frame avalanche for it, it’s definitely in-character

- this whole ‘ghosts’ subplot seems to be new, and i can’t think of anything that it’s building off of from the original, unless if we count the fact that there were enemies called ghosts that you could fight in the train graveyard, so.....?? intrigued to see where it’s going

- i also LOVE that they’re showing just how clearly cloud is traumatized, and by nibelheim especially, and that he’s getting realistically triggered by things, like the fires in sector 8

- i still don’t really know what’s going on with the seph hallucinations (are they hallucinations?? it can’t be jenova in the guise of seph yet, can it??), but i’m very curious

- also, they’re adding in the seph clones even earlier, and i’m also loving how this is unfolding so far (i stopped just after that encounter, right when cloud’s getting up the next day after the reactor bombing). i also loved that they used the “trail of blood” music, as it’s a nice hint that it’s connected to sephiroth. and at least in this case, cloud seeing seph in that clone makes a lot of sense

- in general, they seem to be adding in more realism, like tifa finding cloud a place to stay for the night, instead of him just....sleeping in the corner of avalanche hq XD

- i love that we’re getting to see more of barret being a good dad to marlene 💖💖💖

- i also love the little hints they’re dropping about how something’s Not Right with cloud....first him not knowing his own age, and also tifa being confused when he said that it’s been 5 years (when of course, from her perspective, it’s been 7), and then there was the shinra guard who clearly recognized him. even tho square had to know that probably a lot of ppl have already played the original game, they’re still not skimping on laying out those clues

- this game is utterly breathtaking, btw. like, man, being in the slums, and then looking up at the sky and only seeing the plate, is seriously creepy. not to mention the brief glimpse of nibelheim that we got in that little flashback!!! i know this is only supposed to be part 1, and just going through all the events in midgar, but MAN i can’t wait to see the rest of the world realized like this. no wonder this game’s gonna be too big to fit on one disc, it’s so massive, especially to recreate it on this scale

- i love aerith forever, she’s so beautiful i’m cry 💖😭💖😭

- also....curious that a seph hallucination showed up when cloud met aerith, and interacted with her a bit.......hmmm

i think that’s all my thoughts for now. loving the way this is expanding the game so far, and can’t wait to see where it goes (and even tho i do know the major story events....can’t wait to see them done justice)!

#kiryn's adventures in gaming #kiryn plays final fantasy vii remake #kiryn plays ffviir #ffviir #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii #final fantasy vii #compilation of final fantasy vii

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smokeybrandreviews · 4 years

Text

The Sacred Texts

Look, I really, really, love Star Wars. I know it seems like i don’t considering all of the hate pieces I’ve written about the current state of the mythos, but I actually really enjoy a great deal about the canon. I’ve been a fan since I was a wee lil’ Smokey, watching A New Hope on the tele all those years ago. I was watching a few clips of Rebels, which ain’t that good, and found myself almost in tears over the Vader/Ahsoka battle and it got me thinking: What are my favorite things in Star Wars? So i wanted to kind of captured those aspects here, for posterity. I wanted to have a place where I could just, you know, remind myself of what exactly made me fall in love with this franchise.

Darth Vader - Vader is what sparked my love for this entire franchise. That stark contrast between his jet black armor and the stark white of the rebel ship stayed with me for years. And that booming, authoritative voice of James Earl Jones? My goodness! Over the years, certain writers have nerfed him, others have embellished him, but Vader has endured. Even now, as Disney tries to completely erase his legacy, Vader is still one of the mst popular characters in the entire franchise. Even if the Mouse House usurps his pwn goddamn tale and gives it to their Mary Sue, Vader still endures. He is my absolute favorite aspect of this entire franchise and a ton of my other favorites are Vader adjacent.

Ahsoka Tano - Ahsoka is my second favorite character in the entire goddamn franchise and i never expected that to happen because I was one of those cats screaming about Anakin getting a Padawan. Color me surprised when she was just like her master but better. Ahsoka is basically the POV character to the absolutely brilliant Clone Wars, another one of my favorite things about the Star War, and she earns that distinction with the most growth, characterization, and pathos. I loved witnessing her journey over those six, now seven, seasons. She’s an amazing character and Disney is bullsh*t for neglecting her in favor of their own OC sh*tstorms.

Chelli Aphra - Doctor Aphra is one of the few Disney Star Wars characters that I actually really enjoy. She was introduced in that first Darth Vader comic run and immediately proved her worth. Obviously, the Vader comics are also on this list but it was Doc Aphra that really sold me on that first run. Her own solo adventure was pretty legit, too. It’s weird that we haven’t seen her in anything outside of the funnies though. I mean, she’s mad compelling, brilliant, resourceful, and funny as sh*t. That said, I heard rumors that Disney might be looking to cash in on certain characters after that L they took with Rise, Aphra being one of those cashgrabs so we’ll see...

Knights of the Old Republic - So, full disclaimer, I’m not super on board with Shadows of the Empire. I didn’t care for the independent tales outside of the Skywalker saga when i was a youth. That said, KOTOR killed for me. That was the first time i realized there were entire stories in this world that had nothing to do with Luke, Annie, Leia, or Han and they could be straight up excellent. That first KOTOR was damn near perfect and the second, while not as good as the first, was still one of the better RPG narratives I’ve experience. Hell, even the spin-off MMO, The Old Republic, is pretty dope and all of it started with that very first tale about Revan and his conflicted ass second life. Malak is whack, tho.

Mara Jade - Before Ahsoka, i was wildly infatuated with Mara Jade. I kind of still am and hate the fact that she was one of Disney’s biggest casualties because, holy sh*t! Ma Jade was stupid boss! The development of her character throughout her various Legends appearances was outstanding. Some of the best character writing in the lore. I was irate when they just erased her from the history. Like, how could you? Mara Jade was one of the most marketable aspect about the entire goddamn franchise and you just dump her? In favor of what? Erasing everything about the Skywalkers? Are you f*cking serious??

The Mandalorian - I actually wrote and entire thing about Mando. Suffice it to say, this is the best thing Disney has created under the Star Wars banner by the widest of margins.

Kylo Ren - Look, Vader wank, man. I really liked Kylo Ren. I thought his passion and petulance was a legit contrast to Vader’s cold pragmatism. I thought his design was dope and the potential he shows in Awakens had me looking forward to what came next. Now, what came next was the assassination of the entire Skywalker saga, but Kylo was dope in it. I cannot say the same about Rise. Still, two out of three ain’t bad. It’s the best numbers anyone in the series has gotten. Seriously, Kylo is the bet thing about the Disney trilogy, outside of the score.

Asajj Ventress - Bro, Ventrus probably has the most complete arc after Ahsoka in the entirety of Clone wars. Even her growth, post show in Legends material, is some of the best in the expanded universe. I adore this character, man! Watching her develop from devout Sith follower, to a disillusioned shell of herself mirroring Ahsoka’s own story, to a redeemed Jedi with substantial power, to her final heroic sacrifice was an absolutely wonderful journey. Her arc reminds me a lot of what the MCU did with Black Widow only, in reverse; We got to see all the sordid sh*t was into and had to read about what came after instead of the other way around. Even so, Asajj became a legit powerhouse in the franchise and i have to than Clone Wars for that.

Maul - I didn’t like Darth Maul at first. His appearance in Menace left me wanting. Cats were hung up on his double lightsaber and fancy fighting style or whatever but, to me, he was one dimensional and expendable. Apparently to Lucas, too, because the motherf*cker got cut in half. That said, fans loved him an, somehow, he found life after bisection becoming one of the dopest characters in the entire lore. Clone Wars, literally the best thing in the entire Star Wars lore, gave this cat a character and developed him into a real force. Rebels turned him into a goddamn legend. I sit here, today, confessing how wrong I was about Darth Maul and we have Dave Filoni’s excellence in storytelling for that. F*ck was Clone Wars good, man! Also, he has some dope ass concept art.

Clone Wars - F*ck it, it’s going on the goddamn list! Clone Wars is everything a long form Star Wars story should be. It’s rich with world building, fantastic characters, dope as story lines, excellent set pieces, massive stakes, legitimate pathos, palpable emotion; Bro, this thing made me fall in love with the franchise all over again and I was already in a committed, long term relationship with my Galaxy far, far, away.

Look, i still love Star Wars, just don’t care for what Disney is doing with my franchise. There is a lot of great stuff in the preceding forty years and it’s a shame to just ignore all of that because it’s not “canon” anymore. Admittedly, there are a few things that Disney knocked out of the park but most of what they’ve done is the worst. Still, Star Wars will endure. There’s too much love for the franchise to be killed off but corporate nonsense, especially considering the sheer girth of accessible material.

#Star Wars

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smokeybrand · 4 years

Text

The Sacred Texts

Look, I really, really, love Star Wars. I know it seems like I don’t considering all of the hate pieces I’ve written about the current state of the mythos, but I actually really enjoy a great deal about the canon. I’ve been a fan since I was a wee lil’ Smokey, watching A New Hope on the tele all those years ago. I was watching a few clips of Rebels, which ain’t that good, and found myself almost in tears over the Vader/Ahsoka battle and it got me thinking: What are my favorite things in Star Wars? So i wanted to kind of captured those aspects here, for posterity. I wanted to have a place where I could just, you know, remind myself of what exactly made me fall in love with this franchise.

Ahsoka Tano - Ahsoka is my second favorite character in the entire goddamn franchise and I never expected that to happen because I was one of those cats screaming about Anakin getting a Padawan. Color me surprised when she was just like her master but better. Ahsoka is basically the POV character to the absolutely brilliant Clone Wars, another one of my favorite things about the Star War, and she earns that distinction with the most growth, characterization, and pathos. I loved witnessing her journey over those six, now seven, seasons. She’s an amazing character and Disney is bullsh*t for neglecting her in favor of their own OC sh*tstorms.

Mara Jade - Before Ahsoka, I was wildly infatuated with Mara Jade. I kind of still am and hate the fact that she was one of Disney’s biggest casualties because, holy sh*t! Ma Jade was stupid boss! The development of her character throughout her various Legends appearances was outstanding. Some of the best character writing in the lore. I was irate when they just erased her from the history. Like, how could you? Mara Jade was one of the most marketable aspect about the entire goddamn franchise and you just dump her? In favor of what? Erasing everything about the Skywalkers? Are you f*cking serious??

The Mandalorian - I actually wrote and entire thing about Mando. Suffice it to say, this is the best thing Disney has created under the Star Wars banner by the widest of margins.

Look, I still love Star Wars, just don’t care for what Disney is doing with my franchise. There is a lot of great stuff in the preceding forty years and it’s a shame to just ignore all of that because it’s not “canon” anymore. Admittedly, there are a few things that Disney knocked out of the park but most of what they’ve done is the worst. Still, Star Wars will endure. There’s too much love for the franchise to be killed off but corporate nonsense, especially considering the sheer girth of accessible material.

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subjectsix · 5 years

Text

Hitman 2 and 3 theories

OKAY so I’ve been reading about Hitman 2/3 theories and thinking on the ending of the Haven level a lot and decided to make a post about it because analyzing stuff is fun dkfjghdjkfhg

Spoilers for the end of Hitman 2/the Haven level below the cut! (y’all its so much I’m sorry KJLDFHGKJFHG its Hitman Lore And Meta Time)

FIRST lemme just say. Y’all I’m very aware I’m a big Lucas Grey fan dkjgfhkdjhg BUT I did my best to make sure that wasn’t getting into my analyzation too much, I like being as objective/unbiased as possible bc the Hitman storyline is wonderful (and if Lucas is the villain oooo Drama™)

anyway this is gonna be a long ramble so here’s the TL;DR

Big point: I don’t think we can accurately piece together any sort of an answer currently, and IO wants us to doubt everyone and everything for the “hook” into the next game, and they did a lovely job at it! Thank you IO <3

My three running theories with the info we have:

None of the main four are working with the constant, and he is manipulating them all to try and turn them on each other, making them doubt each other to cause dissension among them (see: him telling Diana about the hit on her parents, the concept that he’s making Lucas out to be a traitor) which could result in Lucas’ death (or not)

Lucas is being “held hostage” in a way by the constant-- Edwards has him by some threat or pressure point credible enough to make Lucas work for him

The least likely in my opinion due to evidence and Lucas’ character, but still possible maybe: Lucas made a deal with the constant somehow (when he would’ve found the time, I don’t know) because he’s got it in his head that he and 47 should be the providence leaders-- somewhere along the way he got so obsessed/focused on this all he got his view skewed and genuinely thinks he’s doing a good and helpful thing

So what prompted me was this specific comment on a hitman subreddit theory thread:

So to me, the idea that Lucas has been a traitor from the start doesn’t seem to add up. If you look at everything we've seen from IO about him, it shows that Lucas is on a path of vengeance-- suddenly allowing The Constant off the hook seems like a massive shift in character, especially considering the comic and what we've seen of Lucas and 47 as kids (more on this in a bit)

So the only leap you can make after that to blame Lucas is the second comment on that reddit response, but that seems like such a big cheesy sci-fi stretch to me. If you look at Lucas and 47 knowing they’re clones, you can clearly see the resemblance. They aren’t just brothers, they’re like. They’re near exactly the same in appearance (save for the fact that 47’s in much better shape and like. Bald DFHFDJHG). You could argue that Lucas had his face changed to appear to be a clone, but you have to consider that they both have the hand scars from the pact they made as children, the comic confirms Lucas/6’s existence, Lucas has a lot of Ort-Meyer knowledge others don’t have, and 47 is remembering Lucas

Any leap past that gets wackier, like...

- Maybe 47 has DOUBLE fake memories from his time in the institute and this has been planned from the beginning? Doesn’t seem satisfying nor IO’s style, plus it seems rather out of character for 47.

- Ether antidote somehow gave him fake memories? Also nah, seems just too out there/odd/improbable

So from here, the only thing that I can personally add up and understand in the vein of Lucas being a traitor is the concept of Lucas maybe having a bent concept of like... morality? I can see him maybe getting a bit too over the edge, too bent and obsessed on Providence and taking them down, and somehow talking himself into thinking he and 47 need to be in control of Providence because they’re the only ones that can make things “right”. From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t exhibited behavior that tells me that in full, but that makes much more sense than him being A Complete Snake™ because if he was a traitor it would defo be in the “he fully thinks he’s doing the right and good thing for 47”

ANYWAY consider this evidence in game:

- Lucas being shown repeatedly to go to great lengths to avoid collateral damage/citizens getting hurt or killed (you can overhear this being talked about on Hawke’s Bay, Columbia (and from Lucas himself in Rico’s office), and I think Colorado, but I’m not sure. I’m sure there’s other locations as well).

- Lucas' genuine concern for Olivia to the point that he gives her her whole own security detail (seen on Colorado, thank u @olliemander for showing me that!!!), as well as the fact that he met her when she was 7 (can somebody say father figure), and she's the only person in the whole militia to have both seen him and know his real name, not even Sean Rose knows his name and those that have seen him have all been killed (Viktor, the Providence member in the cutscene after Sapienza)

- His seemingly genuine reaction to realizing he killed Diana's parents (seen in the cutscene before Sgáil)

- His seemingly genuine concern over 47's wellbeing after the ether antidote (seen in the cutscene after Whittleton)

- His seemingly genuine reaction to/at the institute (the man is genuinely emotional over it all)

- The Constant's complete bafflement at Lucas' actions-- you can overhear this on Sgáil-- and I suppose you could argue that this is just fake so Edwards and Lucas can play the long con, but that seems unlikely to me

- also this is less of a piece of evidence but still interesting, Lucas’ man on the island that gets him the info on the poison chip and the Washington Sisters comes from a genuine NPC you can listen to, who calls Lucas to give him more info and tell him their debt from their old CICADA days is repaid and to just leave him alone now AKJDLFHGKJDFHG

I mean, yeah, it could all be things to mislead us, but I don’t think so-- his behavior lines up throughout the years of his life that we’ve been shown, and 47 isn’t one to blindly trust people.

This leaves the idea that Lucas has been working with Edwards from the start, but that too seems like a long stretch to me-- Lucas seems to hate what he and 47 had to go through (as seen in the comics and just his behavior we’ve seen), and he carries that weight (like he mentions in the cutscene before Sgáil, and in the Homecoming cutscene). He seems to really struggle with survivor’s guilt over his escape from the institute. Plus Lucas doing a double side switch seems a bit Much™ (but I totally could be wrong akdljfhgkjdgh)

Ultimately tho, here's the thing: I don’t think we can solve this puzzle yet, because IO wants us to wait for Hitman 3. What good is it if we bust it before the game comes out?

They did this with the end of the Sgáil mission-- it was a big ominous cliffhanger but then we just sorta scooted along (so they could keep building the story, it was well done IMO)

My most likely theory at the moment is the idea that Edwards is trying to turn 47, Lucas, Diana, and Olivia on each other because he realizes they’re a threat. Bc If I’m real, I currently don't think any of the core group are working with The Constant, which is terrifying, because it means the constant is way more powerful than we thought and way less helpless than we thought he was in his current position. (So that means the text/phone call/whatever Lucas got in the end cutscene was from Edwards posing as someone else like Olivia). Plus, if Diana gets into contact with 47, she’s going to tell him Edwards is gone. If for some reason 47 can’t contact her, he’s going to be suspicious and on high alert.

Edwards is a scheming, smart dude and I don’t doubt him being able to do that at all. He knows Diana and 47 are close and trust each other (“in his own special way, he cares about you”) and felt the need to mention to her that 47 and Lucas were behind her parents’ deaths-- that’s not just bonus information, he did it for a reason. This also puts his line of “Do you really want to do this to me?” to the Partners in reference to being under scrutiny and needing the poison chip under a SUPER terrifying and ominous light. What sort of power does this man wield?

I would personally love to see Lucas survive these games AKJHSFJGH but I can see the story leading to 47 have to make a call to shoot Lucas (thinking he’s a traitor), playing hard against the emotions of it all, especially with the reveal that this was all a set up by The Constant, making 47 go after him with a vengeance. (also not to be angsty™ but can you imagine Lucas and 47 talking after 47’s shot him? Oof ouchy my heart)

Another possibility I can see is like my friend Synth suggested-- Lucas wanting to go in violently and take it all out on The Constant, while 47 holds him back for tactics sake

In terms of Lucas and Edwards working together, sans them planning it from the start, there really would’ve been no time for Lucas to talk to The Constant between his capture and the departure for the bank. I also can’t currently make sense of many reasons why Lucas would side with him and not tell 47 or Olivia

My final idea that plays into the idea of Lucas as a traitor is the idea that, somehow, The Constant is holding Lucas hostage in a way? That if by chance they got to speak to each other, The Constant lorded some threat over Lucas that was serious enough to him to agree to help him (like a threat against 47 or Olivia, etc). I’m not sure though, but the idea is interesting to me :Oc

aNYWAY big ol’ rant over! Here’s some pics of Lucas’ voice actor in Alice and Wonderland enjoy fdjgkhdfkjghkjfh

#hitman 2 #hitman 2016 #lucas grey #agent 47 #the constant #the shadow client #arthur edwards #diana burnwood #olivia hall #this just in: kip goes OFF on theories for hitman #coffee talks #this is okay to reblog and discuss btw!!!!!!!!#long post #hitman

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vaguely-concerned · 3 years

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The Mandalorian Chapter 11 reactions; the ‘the sea is a harsh mistress’ edition

- on first watch this wasn’t really one of my favorite episodes. I think it’s something to do with... one of the many things I love about the mandalorian is how it made the star wars universe feel HUGE. big and surprising and unknowable, there could be fucking anything out there man we don’t know. so having first bo katan show up and then ahsoka being set up right after (quite aside from who’s rumoured to play her, which is an entirely different can of wormy beans) in additon to opening the season on tatooine... eh. I’m not that into it, it feels like shrinking the world. we haven’t even gotten to see any other type of force user yet. it is only early/mid season tho so they’re probably going to pull some unexpected twists on us

my opinion might change with rewatches too, that happens quite a bit with this show!

🎶I’VE COME TO TALK WITH YOU AGAIN🎶

honestly I had kind of a hard day yesterday and watched this the next morning and kept pointing tiredly to the crest like ‘it me tho’

- I was unreasonably happy about seeing the calamari flan again hahaha he’s been keeping that shit in his pockets for a season and a half now (didn’t he pay with some at one other point too?)! also the sound effects for them are SO EXCELLENT, I keep thinking about how well this show does texture which is wild considering how it’s filmed

- the warm pat din gave frog lady’s arm when he thanked her and said goodbye 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I love the small ways he’s thawing

my heart ached so much for him at this point, he just looks so small and tense and lost, like a kid who’s lost his parents in a supermarket

(he keeps his hand on the blaster the whole time too so he knows this is a bad scene but now they’re right out in the middle of the ocean already soooo)

- din’s very very very dry sense of humour is so blessed. ‘a bowl of chowder for my friend’ faklhfsadkjlfhsadkjhfsd

the baby’s look when he poked the squid thing with his knife too -- yodito’s like ‘dad is a wizard??’ haha. some good baby & dad stuff in this one

- oh din... side quest boy, side quest booooooyyy

- the shot when bo katan helped him out of the water is perfectly mirroring the scene of bb!din being pulled up to safety by the mandalorian in the flashback, which seems Very Intentional

I Extremely Do Not Trust Her in the larger scale tho. I think it’s important that din knows now that he was raised in a very specific offshoot of the mandalorians ant that there’s some Stuff he hasn’t been told, but I also think it’s crucial to remember that her pov is not unbiased either and she, in fact, already has an established tendency to selectively share information with him to manipulate him into fulfilling her goals. (which he realizes because he keeps saying ‘that is not my mission, my mission is the child’ and I could not love him more). hell, I’m not sure exactly how ‘the children of the watch’ were positioned within death watch, but she was fucking death watch too for the longest time! and she hardly left for particularly noble reasons, she just didn’t like maul! she already lost mandalore like twice, do we just have to trust that third time’s the charm or what!

she lied to him about the scope of the mission to force him into a position to do what she wanted (fully knowing he’s responsible for a child!!) and she called that ‘the way’ just as easily as the thing about not letting his bravery be forgotten! big red warning lights, NO! I think the thing is that din is having to find his own ‘way’ of being mandalorian (/how does one be a person exactly help?? relatable content, and he’ll get there in the end I’m sure he’s so good), but her way is no less fucked up to me than the children of the watch from what we’ve seen so far. she’s good at killing imperials though which is of course a mark in her favour

(considering that the episode gives her the epithet ‘the heiress’... yeah that’s probably a hint that she’s loyal first and foremost to her entitlement, getting the position she considers hers by right of inheritance. guess we’ll see if the text agrees with her)

- ‘mandalorians are stronger together’ yeah that’s probably why the cosmic balance makes sure they’re mostly engaged in being at each other’s throats lol

- so I might be feeling kind of sketch about these guys but on the other hand... when that one lady saved the baby and then promptly took off her helmet to reveal she looks like t h i s ?

you better BELIEVE I was ready to fall down on one knee and propose right then and there holy shit

- ...wow if he didn’t have the jet pack din probably would have just sunk like a rock and drowned there huh 😨 that armour’s pretty heavy, turns out

- in happier news: din has become so good at reading what the child is expressing and responding/labeling the feeling for him! that’s so important to his development! ‘I know you’re hungry’ and both telling and showing him there’s a solution! still a bit of an issue that he thinks he can inform the baby of things like it’s a reasoned adult and have it understand, but we’re getting there we’re getting there lol

- that poor lady guiding them in for landing and sounding more and more worried fhkasjdlhfkjsdlahf (and he fucking TURNS OFF THE RADIO or whatever he’s using to talk to her through sdkfhaksdfhjs he takes a precious split second just to cut her off asfdjhaslkdfsdfhsda I love my salty dad)

- when the fisherman asshole tells mando he knows where to find more of his people there’s the tinkling bell sound in the background music, I think it’s meant to convey almost childlike longing for belonging and connection, for finding someone who’ll know what to do?

- when they took off their helmets and baby looked up at din like ‘???dad what the fuck? can you do that???’. (or like he just sensed his father taking a shitload of psychic damage all in one go)

- the way din didn’t start breathing again until they got the baby up from the water and he had him in his arms... the way he held him... sladfhasdklfhsjakdhfjsakldhfsakjldhfsjkadhfjaskdhfskajdhfjsdakhfslakhfskladhfsakljdhfjskadlhfkjsld

that whole scene was like a nightmare, so desperately unpleasant, in a way it mirrors the way the mandalorians have been hunted down and pummeled these last few generations, this must sort of be what it feels like to him subconsciously

- din isn’t particularly inflexible as a person, after the initial kneejerk rejection he did listen to what they said and is carefully considering it (he did say ‘this is the way’ back at the end!)

- the baby’s babbling when he wakes up and looks around in the beginning sounds half like ‘baba?’ and I almost had a heart attack

- loved how greasy and awful and dumb all the empire dudes were (and the comedy on board the ship too it was good for me)

- the boob plates huh. shit they’ve shown with the armorer that they don’t have to do that in any way shape or form and they still brought the boob plates back :/ I guess it’s so they match up with the rebels/clone wars look, evoking that ~*era*~ and everything, but I don’t have to like it lol

- I feel so validated in my theory that the razor crest is symbolic of din’s sense of self (now with beautifully added commentary!) after this haha (and also so so scared now they might be ditching it for a new ship eventually). it’s in pieces, his world view is going to pieces and can’t be patched together the way it was before, from what he knows he’s about to deliver the baby to someone else who’ll understand/love/deserve him better (I do think that feeling is still in him) and he doesn’t even have the certainty of the code anymore to fill the void. oh buddy.

the discomfort I felt when we got back into the cockpit -- into where it’s supposed to be familiar and safe! -- and saw all the ocean junk lying around, making it feel weird and changed and dirty (it probably smells like rotten seaweed in there now :( no likey)... I mean it was also very funny to see the pilot’s chair held together with a literal fishing net, but please favreau leave my dad’s car/ego alooooone

- baby laughing his little bum off at din catching the small sea monster before it got him and then munching it......... the ‘there’s nothing in this world my dad can’t fix’ safe energy.......... I’m so scared we’re coming up on something din can’t fix

- knitwear in star wars: I didn’t know I wanted it, but I am ELATED with having been given it

- moff gideon’s amazing evil voice... back in our ears, in our hearts, I gleefully hate him

- at least din’s armour is clean again after that (awful) swim? one must appreciate some silver linings along the way I suppose

- din goes straight for the main pilot’s seat once they get the imperial out of it, so he must feel really secure that he’s probably the best man for the job; he is genuinely a good pilot! (and after this I am wondering even MORE who taught him. who raised you within the mandos din??)

- even while everything is new and scary and falling apart we can live safe in the knowledge that at least frog lady and frog husband had a good day and will have a good and happy frog life together with their frog children

couple goals tbh

(I don’t necessarily know how it works for frog people but I uh. guess they got busy quickly huh hahaha good thing mando didn’t turn up again until later)

#star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian meta #I've mostly seen people love this episode so I feel a bit like a buzzkill about mostly being 'meh' about it but what can you do lol #I actively disliked a lot of the clone wars mando stuff so I'm biased I suppose

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