#solo analysis

[weirdplutoprince]

Trauma in Solo leveling

Always haunted by what could have been of Solo Leveling if the narrative acknowledged the inherent trauma vision that guides most of Jin-Woo's actions through the series instead of glorifying him for that.

Like, it is pretty clear to me from the start that a lot of his obsession with self reliance and his increasingly cynical views of the world ("The weak are destined to be betrayed") are a direct response to the double dungeon incident, and in more ways than we initially realize.

I think it's particularly obvious in the way he is paralled with Lee Joohee; while they're both shown to be traumatized from their encounter, Joohee is supposedly 'worse off' than him. She has noticeable flashbacks to that episode and withdraws from life and work in an attempt to avoid possible triggers - becoming paralysed when she fails to do so. And because, while also afraid, Jin-Woo is instead making a point to return to dungeons we are very clearly meant to think that he is moving on when she is not. ...Except that he isn't.

Because, you see, along with withdrawing, the reenactment of a traumatic event is also a very common response to trauma. And so is the risky behaviour that might come with it. And what does Jin-Woo does as soon as he's able to leave the hospital again? Immediately throw himself into dungeons, alone, with a clear disregard for personal safety and an extreme need to both prove himself and give meaning to his near death experience before.

Not only does he goes right back into the very same place his trauma took place, but he seems to subconsciously be trying to recreate said event in a way that gives him control of the situation. This time, he wasn't abandoned to die alone in a dungeon: he did it himself, willingly. He placed himself in that position. And later on, when he risks himself with shady parties he expects to betray him, he seems almost content; once again putting himself in risk by creating a scenario where he is 'abandoned' and 'betrayed' but where he can come off on top. He is desperate to both have his belief confirmed that someone perceived as a weak hunter like he is will always be betrayed, always be left behind, and to fight that supposed fate. To prove that he has 'fixed' this aspect of himself and will thus not fall victim to that consequences of that abandoment again. In fact, he is so detatched from the current scene that he deliberately ignores the fact Yoo Jinho challenges those believes by protecting Jin-Woo, whom he believes to be an E rank at that point.

And were this any other story, all his development from then on would prove the faults of this mindset. The dangers of self reliance, of cutting yourself off from any support network, from depriving himself of any sort of meaningful trust or vulnerability with others. But instead, we're meant to respect the fact he is increasingly isolated from everyone else. That he becomes cold, emotionally withdrawn and paranoid (his refusal to join any of the existing guilds always felt to me like his need for control taken to extreme, plus the fact he could not deal with how exposed he felt working with others again). And I think that's really sad.

It would have been really interesting to have a story that is willing to challenge the notion that he is better off alone, and that trust in others is ultimately unecessary. And that would acknowledged the strength necessary to allow himself to trust and be vulnerable after everything - and the importance of surrounding himself with people he loves and knows will protect him too. Sad 😔

#falando #long post #analysis #manga posting #solo posting #solo leveling #sung jin woo #every day i think of the version of solo leveling that exists in my head #analise

[artbyblastweave]

I think about Star Wars a lot more than I post about Star Wars, and I've had some free time recently to type up some thoughts on Episode 7 that've been swirling around in my head for a couple of years. There were a few ideas and plot beats, and moments of apparent self-examination in Episode 7 which I thought were fairly compelling, even though they ultimately paid no dividends:

First was Finn’s character concept. “Star Wars as experienced from the perspective of a Stormtrooper undergoing a crisis of faith” is a rich hook; humanizing and giving a face to what's basically the platonic implementation of the faceless mook. Unfortunately, the potency of the arc was undercut by the pre-existing textual ambiguity as to what stormtroopers actually are. Star Wars extended canon has settled on the idea that each trilogy features an entirely novel cohort of white-clad mooks, each with a fundamentally different underlying dynamic. The clones and the First-Order forces are different flavors of slave army; in contrast, the stormtroopers are more frequently portrayed in the expanded universe as military careerists, stormtrooper being a thing you work up to rather than a gig for a fresh conscript. A slave-soldier who defects is a very different character from a military careerist who defects, and they invite different analysis. There's a bait-and-switch going on here, in that Finn gestures in the direction of the familiar OT stormtroopers but can't comment on or examine them because he's actually part of a novel dynamic invented for the new movies. And there's one final nail in the coffin here, signaled by the number of times I've had to invoke the expanded universe so far. When Finn debuted, the racists were of course, legion, but I also ran into a number of people who were sincerely confused as to why they'd recast Temuera Morrison. Going off the seven films that existed at the time, it wasn't unreasonable to read the prequel trilogy as an origin story for where the OT stormtroopers came from. Going only off the nine films that exist now, it still isn't unreasonable! It's muddied from so many different directions by their failure to establish the ground rules in the mainline films before they tried to put on subversive airs about it. I am still irritated by this.

Next up is how Han Solo was written. I actually liked the tack they took with him quite a bit. Because initially, right, his role in the movie is just to be Han Solo. He's back, and he hasn't changed! He's still kicking ass and taking names, he's still the lovable scoundrel you knew and loved from your childhood- and the principle cast members react to his presence with the same reverence the film's trying to invoke in the audience, they've grown up hearing the same stories about him. Except that episode 7, at least, is also very aware of the fact that if Han Solo is still recognizably the same guy thirty years on, it indicates that things have gone totally off the rails for him. We find out that the lovable rogue routine is the result of him backsliding, his happy ending blown up by massive personal tragedy rooted in communicative failures and (implicitly) his parental shortcomings. It feels deliberately in conversation with the nostalgic impulse driving the entire film- here's your childhood hero back just as you remember, here's what that stagnation costs. And it also feels like it's in conversation with what was a fairly common strain of Han Solo Take- the idea that Ep. 6 cuts off at a very convenient point, and that Han and Leia's fly-by-night wartime relationship wouldn't survive the rigors of domesticity. Obviously, that's not the only direction you can take with the character; the old EU basically threaded the needle of keeping Han recognizable without rolling back his character development gains. But it felt like they were actually committing to a direction, a direction that was aware of the space, and not a reflexively deferential and flattering one, which at the time I appreciated! The problem, of course, is that for it to really land, you need to have a really, really strong idea of what actually went down-of what Han's specific shortcomings and failures were. And given the game of ping-pong they proceeded to play with Kylo Ren's characterization, this turned out to be. Less than doable.

Kylo Ren is the third thing about Episode 7 that I liked. His character concept is basically an extended admission by the filmmakers that there's no way to top Vader as an antagonist. Instead, they lean into the opposite direction- they make him underwhelming on purpose. Someone who's chasing Vader's legacy in the same way any post-OT Star Wars villain is going to, pursuing Vader's aesthetic and the associated power without really understanding or undergoing the convoluted web of suffering and dysfunction that produced Vader. It's framed as a genuine twist that there's nothing particularly wrong with his face under that helmet. Whatever it takes to be Vader, he doesn't have it, and he knows that he doesn't have it, and the pursuit of it drives him to greater and greater acts of cartoonish villainy. The failure to one-up Vader is offloaded to the character instead of the writers, and it was genuinely interesting to watch. For one movie. The problem, of course, is that if the entire character archetype is "Vader, but less compelling," you can't try to give the bastard Vader's exact character arc. You can't retroactively bolt on a Vader-tier tragic backstory when you spent a whole movie signaling that whatever happened to him wasn't as compelling as what happened to Vader. You can't milk his angst for two more movies when it's the kind of angst on display in "Rocking the Suburbs" by Ben Folds!

There's a level on which I feel like Moff Gideon was a semi-successful implementation of Vader-Wannabe concept; he's the same kind of middling operator courting the Vader Aesthetic for clout, but he's doing it in the context of the imperial warlord era, where there's a lot of practical power available to anyone who can paint themselves to the Imperial Remnants as a plausible successor to Vader. Hand in Hand with this obvious politicking, Gideon is loathsome, which relieves the writers of the burden of having to plausibly redeem the guy; he's doing exactly what he needs to do and there'll never be a mandate to expand him beyond what his characterization can support. Unfortunately, the calculated and cynical nature of how he's emulating Vader precludes the immaturity and hero-worship elements on display with Kylo, which is unfortunate; the sincerity on display in Kylo's pursuit of authenticity is an important part of why he worked, to the extent that he worked at all, and it'd be worth unpacking in a better trilogy. As he stands Kylo is a clever idea, and that's all he is- he lacks the scaffolding to go from merely clever to actively good.

#and these are my unsolicited star wars thoughts #thoughts #meta #star wars #star wars sequel trilogy #kylo ren #moff gideon #han solo #star wars finn #star wars meta #sw sequels #the force awakens #analysis

[boyfriendgideon]

thinking tonight about the bruce wayne that went through horrific trauma and decided he would never be unprepared again, that he would prevent as much pain as possible from occurring to others in the future. the bruce wayne that saw a boy who had been orphaned, recognized his rage and his hurt, and decided to help however he could. the bruce wayne that looked at a kid jacking his tires and wondered if he could use something to eat. the bruce wayne who doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone. the bruce wayne that started keeping lollipops in his tool belt to calm down and distract kids. the bruce wayne who loves his city fiercely, who wants things to be better than they are and fights to make them that way, both day and night. the bruce wayne who funds social programs and leads with compassion whenever he can. the bruce wayne who wants his kids to be happier and better than he is. the bruce wayne who doesn’t work alone, who’s best friends with superman. the bruce wayne with routines and habits and plans and backup plans. the bruce wayne with layers. the bruce wayne who is awkward and paranoid and angry and protective and traumatized and loving and strong and brave and relentless. the bruce wayne who is so, so imperfect, but loves, even when a part of him wishes he wouldn't. 

#i am not a bruce wayne stan but. #sometimes he makes me :'))))) #just. at the heart of his character there's so much. #bruce wayne go to therapy challenge. bruce wayne stop getting written as an alpha male solo hero power fantasy challenge. #bruce wayne stop getting written as someone who would hit his kids challenge. u guys I get so mad #i have such complicated feelings about him but tonight is an appreciation night you're welcome #bruce wayne #dc comics #batfam #batman #batman meta #bruce wayne character analysis #mine #wes.txt

[wolfblood-of-anubis]

Nina Martin, daughter of Hades, god of the dead, and ruler of the underworld.

Fabian Rutter, son of Athena, goddess of wisdom, warfare, and battle strategy.

Amber Millington, daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, and passion.

#ok so look nina took me FOREVER #she was almost a child of apollo too #she was also almost an athena child but that’d make fabina… yknow lets not go down that road #but listen it makes sense Hades is her godly parent; death has surrounded Nina her whole life and her chosen one powers are similar #her parents died when she was a kid; she sees ghosts (sarah; the frobisher-smythes; senkhara; victor sr.) #she has a fear of skulls (and thus death if you wanna think harder on it) i also read an analysis by someone here ab that fear #i like to imagine that while she is a child of hades she is absolutely TERRIFIED of what that entails #she’s afraid of what kind of power lingers inside her because she already doesnt like it; she does NOT want to embrace it #anyway that’s another story; all about personal growth and development #fabian is a child of athena #he’s the brains of group (so is nina but you get it) and in s3 he is left in the brains of the group category solo #amber’s is perfect are you kidding she’s the first one i made #house of anubis #nina martin #fabian rutter #amber millington #hoa

[factorialsotherfandoms]

Just making a list of things, intentionally or otherwise, which might have/did mess with Philza's emotional state in the lead up to him doing a silly and following the book (which promised his kids back and implied his wings too) (from memory I don't have the stream open and it was loooong):

It being Tallulah's birthday

Forever, a close friend, is in a coma after having been drugged, and Philza probably having a pretty traumatic time just 2 days prior trying to help. And now all he can do is bang a pan and talk and pray.

Eggs missing

Philza missed his eggs being hurt and in pain and scared because he was away, and the signs are still there to prove it

Him and Fit discussing the eggs, and if Philza would still love them even if they were AIs/robots/lab experiments/etc

Event his kids would have really enjoyed, but they aren't there to do so. No Chayanne doing the cooking, no Tallulah playing her flute...

Taking Tallulah's place at the event by playing the music (a thing Philza doesn't do, despite being in an extremely musical family)

Capybaras helping him fly to take photos (see: the damaged wings and the promise of flight)

Alcohol from the celebration, even if he only drank a little bit.

Having to explain everything to Missa, his government assigned husband, and admit he wasn't there when the eggs needed them - neither of their parents were there, just the babysitters. Couldn't even get a phonecall with their dads when the kids were hurt and in pain. Having to tell his partner their children are lost, maybe dead, maybe gone, nobody knows. Obviously Missa needed to know and Philza would explain it! And telling Missa the best option! But... It wouldn't have helped Philza's mental state.

The eggs in the maze and only two survive story (messed with everyone tbf)

Only (a copy of) Chayanne's item being in the maze. Also it being blocked from him by the barrier blocks. It only being Chayanne's is even worse to his mental state than it being everyone's there

Believing himself too stupid to save his children, expressing this directly by apologising to the Chayanne floaty for that, and bringing it to mind, probably not helped by being in a crew of a lot of the 'clever' players (we all know from those tumblr posts insulting yourself enough over time affects behaviour, and given his mentions about not doing lore because not clever enough earlier even if that was ooc this is probably a longer term concern for him C as well. Pretty sure he's called himself stupid while rping with the eggs before)

The maze ending with no answers, only more pain and fear. Once again left with glimmers but in practice nothing

His extremely secure home being compromised

Using Tallulah's colours and flowers on the box. Also correctly getting the one of his kid who would leave him angsty metaphor and a story with the instructions, even if it felt a bit off (its her birthday, its her birthday, he was desperate)

The joke about a wise old crow whilst he was feeling very stupid, but knows his kids think of him as clever.

Also the crow thing. I know there's a lot of jokes about Philza and bird brain which go around from time to time, the perching, the wandering off to examine shiny things while people are talking, etc. If we take this as read... Well. Phrasing the instructions as about a bird really would force that side of him.

Using the nest as the closest waypoint. His nest, not his house, his concrete nest in the sky where he felt most like the bird he partially is.

It happening so late. Philza doesn't often continue to midnight, let alone gone 2am. To me this implies his character isn't usually up and big active that long (I like to think when offline the characters are a combo of sleeping and just chilling). So IC he's probably exhausted. Which. Does not for "rational" thinking make. You probably wouldn't have got him not leaving at least a copy of the book in the chest earlier in the day.

TBH, all that accounted for, I'm surprised he kept weapons and shield and glider and food on him with the note. It was needed, but I'm more surprised he managed to reign himself to bring some things with him not just throw everything on the floor and go.

It was a /long/ stream and even the fun cute bits fed into a loop of stressing him out and breaking down. Crack, crack, crack, crack, and after enough time it /will/ get through.

And tbf, it probably took all of that to do so.

(and I hope the other characters when he one way or another gets out of this understand. everyone's under a lot of stress, but that stream in Philza stream was just breaking him again and again and again)

Also another aside which breaks the vibes of this post but eh - people keep saying his survivalist tendancies should have kicked in, but I think they actually played against him here?

Philza is used to taking on very shit situations with a lot less than he was carrying. That sword and shield? More powerful than anything in hardcore. And sure now he's set up he has so much food and resources in hardcore world, but when he starts? He starts somewhere impossibly dangerous with literally nothing, and does fine, which is a whole lot less than he took with him.

Plus... He's used to being alone. Completely stressed out, manipulated, and fucked with brain probably didn't even consider a note. Why? Because he's not used to anyone being there. Why leave a note before going to do something dangerous you're underequipped for if there's nobody there to read it? It's only him in most of his worlds. Nobody would notice him gone because there's nobody there to notice.

(Sure his husband his back and his friends are here and the island is full of people who love and trust and care about him, but at the end of the day, when he's stressed and its late and the Feds have systematically and likely purposefully broken him down, and his friends have accidentally helped with that... He's from a solo hardcore world, where he starts with nothing and nobody is there to help him. It's not he doesn't trust them. It's that he doesn't even realise in the height of his emotions that there's anyone else there.)

#qsmp rambles #qsmp philza #meta #I guess #character analysis #kinda again #i keep seeing people say its out of character with his survivalist vibes #but... is it? #he's from a solo world where he always starts with much less than he took with him #and he took weapons he couldn't even dream of in his world #when he's that stressed why would he leave a note when he's used to there being nobody there

[random-iz-stuff]

Theory:

Here’s a small detail about Hobo 13 that explains a lot:

When any trainee is put in genuine, life threatening danger, they’re teleported to a holding cell before any real damage can occur.

So the trainees on Hobo 13 are never in any truly life threatening danger. If they’re ever put in a situation like that they’re automatically teleported to a holding cell (and presumably given medical attention if they have any injuries. Can’t run a successful boot camp if no one ever survives).

But at the same time, there are people betting not on Zim’s injuries, but on his DEATH. With bets on things like whether or not he’ll be blown up, eaten, or even chopped in half.

But the thing is, with the logic of Hobo 13, none of those things can actually happen to Zim because he’ll be teleported to a holding cell before anything major happens.

So in order for these bets to be possible, Zim must be disconnected from the teleporting system. In other words, if Zim is put into life threatening danger on Hobo 13, he won’t be teleported. Zim has no actual protection, unlike every other trainee there.

And there’s a good chance that the Tallest are not just aware of this given how Purple starts the betting, but are probably the reason that Zim won’t be teleported in the first place. They’re royalty. A simple request to Sergeant Hobo 678 or whoever is in charge is all it would take.

And I think Zim is aware of this as well.

This would mean that Zim didn’t just take the position as team commander because he wanted to be in charge or because he didn’t want to have to take orders from people that he doesn’t know or respect (although those were definitely factors), but because it would keep him out of the most danger. The commander can’t decide to leave Zim behind or sacrifice him for the rest of the team (which would most likely kill him because he doesn’t have the teleporter as a failsafe) If Zim IS the commander.

Think about it some more. Zim was a part of the Irken military and his entire race views shorter Irkens as inferior to the taller ones. So following that logic, it would make sense if shorter Irkens in the military were given the most dangerous jobs, even suicide missions if the need arose. After all, they’re considered to be less valuable overall than the taller ones. Shorter Irkens are viewed as expendable. Zim is shorter than average. By cementing himself as the commander, Zim prevents whoever else would have become commander from taking advantage of his shorter height and by that logic “lower value” and sacrificing him for the good of the team.

Hell, we even see proof of shorter and lower value soldiers being seen as expendable in the Irken military in the comics, where Commander Poki sends Zim, the shortest Irken there, on a suicide mission:

Think about what Poki just said. They want Zim to sneak to the opposite side of an enemy base and set off a small explosion to lure the enemies in the area to the back while the Irkens attack the (now unprotected) front. After those explosives go off, person that goes and sets off these explosives will be surrounded and swarmed by enemy forces alone while also being completely cut off from the other irkens because they’re on the opposite side of the battlefield with enemy forces in between their current location and the Irken military camp.

In other words, whoever sets off those explosives is going to die. And Poki picks the shortest Irken there to do it because he’s seen as expendable.

So Zim has EXPERIENCED being used as an expendable soldier, and he knows that his shorter height makes him a target for that sort of thing. So he’d probably believe that it works the same way on Hobo 13 while also knowing that if he’s ever in danger, the teleporter won’t save him.

It’s just a shame that not counting Zim, there was only one other Irken in the entire team, so Zim never actually needed to take any of this into consideration. His paranoia would have been completely justified in an all-Irken environment, ie: the type of environment he’s used to, but isn’t needed in this particular scenario.

#invader zim #headcanons #analysis #Zim #hobo 13 #this also goes to show how badass Skoodge is because he faced down not just the Hogulus #but every other challenge of Hobo 13 SOLO #without ever being put in life threatening danger or being teleported to a holding cell #and he was making good time as well #right behind Zim’s full team by just a few minutes #somehow Zim pushing Skoodge to the Hogulus was actually the best possible option #because it resulted in zero casualties or mistakes and the only reason Skoodge wasn’t there for all of Hobo 13 #was because the entire team didn’t bother to wait for him #no other Hogulus plan could have gone that well

[curlytheintrovert]

Why I Love Reylo (Pt.2)

(My old post for reasons unknown got deleted😭)

One of my other favorite parts of this couple is that they are atypically gender reversed. It’s one of the many reasons this ship is so intriguing and unique compared to others. Let me explain. Typically in most hetero romances the man is the abrasive, closed off one at first and is generally a prickly little shit. While the girl is typically softer, a little more compassionate and open minded. This not the case with Rey and Kylo.

Rey’s first interaction with Kylo is shooting a blaster at him multiple times in succession. Granted she does have a Force vision of Kylo at Maz’s which makes her justifiably hostile and afraid of him. During the interrogation scene Kylo reads her mind and speaks her thoughts out loud: she wants to kill him. Rey calls him a creature in a mask and angrily tells him to get out of her head. And then proceeds to spit Kylo’s greatest fear back in his face with such venom. I love how she snarls: “You. You’re afraid.”

Kylo on the other hand only defends himself from her blasts and force stops her from shooting any further. He gently says: “The girl I’ve heard so much about.” Kylo easily could have dragged her away or thrown her into the hands of the troopers beside him—but instead he makes Rey sleep and scoops her up into his arms bridal style. In the interrogation room Kylo sees Rey’s fear and says she’s his guest. He takes off his mask. Then explains things calmly—never raising his voice above a murmur. The curiosity about her is strong as Kylo probes her mind and the responses to what he finds there are emotional. I love so much how he says “Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.” It just feels so incredibly kind considering the circumstances—like that was the first little glimpse of Ben we got.

The shift that happens when Rey uses the force back on Kylo is what really sets the tone for the rest of their relationship. Rey attacks and responds negatively—Kylo gently deflects and tries to connect. If you watch throughout the rest of the films this dynamic doesn’t really change. Almost all of their force bonds in TLJ are similar: Rey being barbarous and Kylo being benign. A majority of their saber fights are like this too—Kylo plays defense, is hesitant to pull out his saber multiple times or looks like he’s doesn’t want to fight her period.

See what I mean?! Rey is hostile and prickly—Kylo is open minded and gentle.

The other gender swapped aspect is that in a way Kylo is the damsel of this pairing. He’s trapped far away, lonely and miserable, in a figurative tower. Rey fights Luke for his cause and goes to rescue and save him if she can. But I also see Kylo as an emotional damsel too. He’s so lost, and hurt and twisted. Rey offers him a way back—she’s the only one who can—and in the long run is the very reason he is able to become Ben Solo again. But it’s when Rey lets her guard down and mellows her prejudice that their relationship flourishes. Kylo/Ben is already ready and waiting to love and be loved…

Man, this pairing is complex and fun to analyze!

#reylo #reylo fandom #reylo fam #reylo is canon #star wars sequel trilogy #kylo ren #ben solo #rey palpatine #rey skywalker #otp ship #star wars #adam driver #daisy ridley #reylo trash #ben solo x rey #rey x ben #rey x kylo ren #character analysis #star wars sequels #star wars meta #star wars universe

[reylogirlie]

“When do you think Rey and Ben fell in love?”

My Answer

So, I feel like this is a common topic in the Reylo community and maybe even Star Wars community. Some argue it starts in TFA, others say the TLJ, some even think there aren’t any real feelings till TROS. Here’s my opinion, which might be a bit common, but I’ll explain why

So, it’s my personal opinion that Kylo/Ben developed a crush on Rey by the end of TFA. Not any feelings of love, but a little crush. Rey, on the other hand, feels slight physical attraction but hates his ass and wants to end him. I’ll elaborate on that;

Here is when they first meet. Frankly, he was not expecting “the girl” to be remotely close to what he finds attractive. You can tell he was charging at her but when he got a better look, his voice softened. And, ya know, he carried her as if she were his damn bride.

So at this point, Kylo feels attraction but not a legit crush. Rey’s scared for her life, clearly.

Now I’m not gonna go too deep into the integration scene because many others have analyzed that and you can find it easily on here. But to put it simply, Rey got much better treatment than Poe. Now, Kylo does go into her mind without consent, and learns about her life; she’s lonely. She’s scared. She’s desperate. He relates to all of this, so he becomes more fond of her. He even comforts her (in his fucked up way) and tells her not to be scared. He also learns she has the force and tells Snoke of this eagerly.

Rey, on the other hand, has NOT taken a liking to him. She does, however, notice that he’s not hideous under the mask. (As does the rest of the audience) Further down the line, the two engage in a light saber duel and Kylo is extremely impressed by Rey’s natural talent and offers to train her. She denies his offer; despite all this, Kylo is mesmerized by her from her looks to her story and feelings to her abilities. He has a total crush but isn’t love by all means where as Rey sees him as a monster.

So by the end of TFA Kylo/Ben has a crush and Rey prays for his downfall.

So let’s jump into the start of TLJ; specifically, when Kylo/Ben is having force connections with Rey. He’s excited to see her at first but she won’t have it. Every time they connect Rey treats it like torture where as Kylo acts as if the force made his day. This is until he tells her what Luke did to him. This is when she starts to see him as less of a monster and more of a human. Sees he’s lonely and hurt just like herself. Rey then confides in him, tells him her darkest thoughts and fears, and instead of teasing her like “you came to me” or something, he tells her she’s not alone. Then they hold hands and see themselves together:

Ben is past his attraction/crush phase; he is now fully in love with this woman. It’s not just her looks and ability, it’s the fact he sees himself in her and they can trust one and other. This is the moment he’s willing to turn on anyone for her, even the First Order. As for Rey, she doesn’t hate him anymore: she understands Ben’s story, she sees he feels the same way she does, and no longer sees him as the enemy but as a victim of the enemy. Not to mention her attraction to him only grew (😏) but she doesn’t resent it anymore.

This is the very moment they fell in love. This is when they became devoted. Ben went from attracted, to crushing, to in love. Rey went from hate and begrudging attraction, to crushing, to in love. This is when they came together as they were meant to being a force Dyad.

So my short answer: Ben and Rey mutually fell in love during the hand holding scene from TLJ. But the physical attraction definitely started prior. And Ben caught feelings first. Just my opinion though.

What do you think, I’m curious.

#star wars #ben solo #rey skywalker #reylo #star wars sequel trilogy #rey nobody #rey x kylo ren #rey x ben #ben x rey #analyzing #analysis #opinion #the force awakens #the last jedi #force Dyad

[stormdragon23]

The Other S-Ranks who were in the Fiend Guild

So there are a total of ten Korean S-Ranks, but Cha Hae-In and Sung Jin-Woo weren't S-Ranks yet. Lim Tae-Gyu was the guild master, with Baek Yoon-Ho being one of the three S-Ranks, so the two other S-Ranks had to have come from the six remaining hunters

Go Gun-Hee helped established the ranking system and Association, which was after realizing he was too old to fight, so he wouldn't have helped create a guild

Choi Jong-In awakened six years after the gates appeared according to his dossier, which is three years after the guild was founded, so he couldn't have been one of the S-Ranks in the Fiend Guild

Hwang Dong-Soo is said to be the eighth S-Rank (so after Jong-In) and awakened long after his brother did, so he couldn't have been there in the beginning either

Not much is known about Ma Dong-Wook, but if he did the same thing as Baek Yoon-Ho, something would have been said about that as well

So that means that Eun-Seok and Min Byung-Gyu must have been the remaining two S-Ranks, which would explain why Tae-Gyu's the only S-Rank in Fiend now, despite them not saying what happened to the other S-Ranks because Yoon-Ho left, Eun-Seok's gone, and Byung-Gyu retired

And all four of them actually seem pretty close, but I'll get to that later in Lim Tae-Gyu's analysis

Just wanted to clear things up for myself. Picture is from Baek Yoon-Ho's dossier

#solo leveling #don’t mind me just making sure my headcanons work out #was going to put this in lim taegyu's analysis but it's not really specifically about him so here you go

[fallenangelvexed]

Anyway, let's celebrate Ghost losing the Grammy with another song!

Links under the cut:

Song:

Live performance 1:

Live performance 2:

#ghuleh kazoo solo you will always be famous #ghost songs database #ghost band #the band ghost #ghost bc #ghost #ghuleh #zombie queen #infestissumam #papa emeritus ii #papa secondo #papa emeritus secondo #tobias forge #nameless ghouls #ghost analysis #Youtube

[ikebanaka]

Every time I get to Jeju Island and the Japanese S gate in Solo Leveling I want to strangle Jinwoo. He’s like, hm, well, I’d rather take my time and really think about whether I want to handle these problems that are killing hundreds if not thousands of people every hour. The real problem though is that his lollygagging isn’t sufficiently linked to the parts of his personality and trauma that might cause him to act like that.

The link is there, because he thinks to himself that he’s being pressured to fix these situations and he doesn’t like that, and the whole taking responsibility and being the only one who can solve everyone’s problems thing is exactly how he ended up dying in the Cartenon Temple in the first place, which is where like 90% of his trauma is from. But that link is so easy to miss that every time I get to the places I mentioned, I start shaking my device angrily and have to take a break until I remember to deconstruct it again.

I guess I just wish that the narrative either made it more obvious, or went harder on making the reader question Jinwoo, because as it is it just feels like the author being lazy with his characterization if you’re not the kind of reader that’s constantly digging for deeper meaning. And since Solo Leveling is primarily an OP power fantasy, that’s not the way most readers engage with it in my experience -_-

#solo leveling #sung jinwoo #meta analysis #i wouldn’t mind being pissed at sjw if i thought that was the intent #but instead it just makes me want to stop reading #then again i do usually read the webtoon #i should reread the webnovel instead

[weirdplutoprince]

TRANS SOLO LEVELING

Everything about Solo Levelings (Jin-woo) character becomes 1000x times more coherent if you read him as a trans man and heres why

Pre transition (before shadow monarch) he constatly struggled to be taken seriously by others

 Forced to keep his head low and endure mistreatment just so people would tolerate him

Signature baggy hoodie

Baby face

Constantly pushed down by and compared to a certain idea of masculinity heavily associated with a ‘strength’ he could not obtain

Cut to his character as he slowly transitions into a new self

Immediately obsessed with achieving a certain idea of masculinity rooted in self reliance and pushing down ones emotion ( in accord to that idea that women: emotional, men: logical )

At the same time very paranoid of other men and extremely wary of the idea of working under any of people whose ideal of strength he emulates

His pre transition self imagery is often evoked in moments of weakness as an additional gut punch. Associate with feelings of helplessness and vulnerability

Cuts his hair shorter and slowly grows out of hoodies, venturing into outfits that fit tighter around his chest particularly. Eventually moves to a very distinct dressing style as he grows more comfortable with himself

. Noted to have grown and changed visibly by everyone around him

. OFTEN PARALLED TO A RANK E GIRL THAT DRESSES SIMILARLY TO HIS PRE TRANSITION SELF and who also struggles to be taken seriously by others

LIKE. Do you see it. Do you see what I'm seeing. His ass is transgender!!

#falando #solo posting #analise #analysis

[artist-issues]

The characterizations for those first two Star Wars Sequels movies were Plain Good. Poe, Finn, and Rey were delightful to get to know! They were likeable people! It’s so nice to rewatch them and relive the fun of when Star Wars was coming out in theaters again.

Poe - In The Force Awakens, he’s a cocky hotshot who keeps making the hero-move against impossible odds. Sending his defenseless droid into a desert so he can take on the bad guys single-handedly? No problem. Fly a ship he’s never flown before with a Stormtrooper he just met to escape capture? Totally calm about that. He’s comfortable living in the moment and taking big risks. After all, he’s serving directly under Leia, Savior of the Galaxy, champion of the free world; he’s walking with giants, he’s got to act like it! And then in The Last Jedi he has to learn to stop doing that. Be a leader. Leaders look at the big picture, and focus on how to move forward instead of just saving the day in the moment. He can’t keep being cocky and reckless. Taking a stand against a Dreadnaught and facing down the First Order with cocky quips? Easy. But letting others make the sacrifice play while you live to lead, so the galaxy can go on hoping, and fight another day? Not so easy for Poe.

Finn - In The Force Awakens he’s a Stormtrooper who wants to run away from fights. He’s got a compassionate streak, sure; he doesn’t want to kill, and when he escapes, he likes to do it in the company of people who talk to him like he’s more than a number in an army list. But the point is, he’s out to save his own skin, and the skin of anybody who’s good to him. Then he learns to stop running and start fighting for something worthwhile. He starts to learn that by the end of that first movie when he’s running into danger and fighting for Rey. But it’s not until The Last Jedi that he understands: fighting isn’t the point. (And how great is that in Star Wars?) After all, even when he’s fought, it’s just to escape. He doesn’t really believe evil can be defeated—just escaped or sacrificed against. But in The Last Jedi, he learns to stop looking at it negatively, and start looking forward; don’t just fight for things that you love, or to hurt what you hate. Fight to save what you love. Actually focusing on what you love is what helps you to accomplish keeping it safe. It’s a stormtrooper learning about hope.

Rey - UAGH she’s a lonely soul who’s dedicated her whole life to having faith that her family will come back for her when you meet her in The Force Awakens. She hangs all her identity on that; she’s nobody, from nowhere, hoping that someone will come back and tell her who she is and that she’s loved. It doesn’t matter if a brave Resistance Hero believes she can help him, or if THE Smuggler Han Solo believes she can be part of his crew, or if a thousand year-old wise woman believes she could be the heir to the Luke Skywalker Legend—Rey can’t settle for their belief in her. She thinks she needs her parents’ belief in her to be somebody. But she learns that, even though her family isn’t with her, The Force is. And she needs to find belonging ahead, not behind. So her faith dips it’s toe into a new object—The Force— by the time you get to The Last Jedi. Then she’s still hoping to find out that she’s somebody who’s loved; maybe The Force can be her key to finding out about where she belongs and how she fits. She thinks it’s led her to remind Luke Skywalker of who he is by doing what he did; redeeming the bad guy. But she fails. And that’s all she really learns: that it’s not about her, and it never was, just like it was never about Luke. She doesn’t need to find her identity in where she comes from or who believes in her: she just needs to do the right thing for the future.

And we could talk about Kylo Ren but he gets a post of his own.

Point being, these movies had characters and a direction that were Plain Good and going somewhere, and if I go back and watch them, I remember how fun it all was

#Star Wars #sw #Lucasfilm #George Lucas #Disney Star Wars #Rey #Ben solo #Kylo Ren #the last Jedi #the force awakens #star wars sequel trilogy #Star Wars sequel #Star Wars sequels #analysis #meta #character analysis #Star Wars meta #Star Wars analysis #Finn #Poe #Poe Cameron #the first order #the Resistance #Luke Skywalker #sequel hate #Star Wars sequel hate #riann johnson #fn 2187 #phasma #Hux

[jaguarys]

Every day without fail I am thinking about Qi'ra by the way. Characters who are left behind. Characters who don't have the chance to be the good one. Characters who never get to be the hero. Characters who have the scrabble for the chance to be anything at all. Characters who will never regret still being alive. Characters who hold on so tight their hands are bleeding and who never get to be anything else

#UGHHHHHHHHHHH her. her. #qi'ra #star wars #qi'ra star wars #han solo #star wars solo #sw #type: meta #fandom: star wars #swot #sw meta #star wars analysis #sw analysis #qira star wars

[too-young-to-fall-in-love]

Listened to Che Vuole Questa Musica Stasera and…

ur girl has many thoughts

The last thing Napoleon hears is "the world around us did not exist because of the happiness you gave me." How can anyone call Napoleon straight after that, especially since it was intentional. They added in the second “the world around us did not exist/because of the happiness that you gave me” specifically to the movie. That version of the song does not exist anywhere else. In the original recording, it only happens once; at the beginning. In the movie, however, it can be heard again after the climax of the song. 

The first time it plays, Napoleon is watching the boat chase, and he’s not really paying attention, but the lyrics here are absolutely devastating: “the world around us did not exist/ because of the happiness you gave me/ what do I do with the rest of my days/ if in those days/ you aren’t there.” All this is going on while Napoleon simply watches Ilya, but certainly he’s thinking about how much of a mistake it was to play this song, because when the beat drops, he knows that he has to save Ilya.

When the truck hits the water, this is where we get our bonus “the world around us did not exist/because of the happiness that you gave me.” I love the placement of it there, and especially the lyrics after that part, because it then segues into “what do I do with the rest of my days/ if in those days/ you aren’t there” which is part of the original recording of the song. When the singer says “if in those days/ you aren’t there,” the camera goes straight to Ilya from Napoleon. It’s Napoleon wondering what he would do without Ilya, even if they’ve only known each other for a day, even if he’s lived the first 34 years of his life without Ilya, he needs him now, and he needs to save him. When the singer belts “what does this music want from me tonight,” on screen we can see Napoleon getting out of the car and swimming over to save Ilya. Because that’s what the music wants. The music wants them to be gay. It’s not even a question of whether or not it’s canon, at least in my opinion. I think that song pretty much confirms that they’re in love, especially since Napoleon decided to play it. And because he speaks Italian, he knows exactly what’s going on.

And, side note, but the fact that they added strings to the edited in part and the part after that is absolutely devastating.

Napoleon and Ilya are in love and it’s literally canon this song CONFIRMS IT I don’t think it’s even a question anymore tbh.

#tmfu #napollya #napoleon solo #illya kuryakin #the man from uncle #the man from uncle movie #tmfu movie #tmfu 2015 #song analysis #english translation #italian songs #che vuole questa musica stasera #they're in love your honor

[letmemendthepast]

the whole thing with tenza is SO fucking good. before the story even STARTS he understands that criminality and morality are two separate concepts—from the very beginning, he's actively seeking to save someone the shogunate was determined to execute unfairly. and then he just DIES. we meet him, learn he's bold and stubborn and virtuous and kind, and then we watch him die trying to protect nurugai because he knows her status as a death row criminal is undeserved. and GOD talk about haunting the fucking narrative. his self sacrifice weighs so heavily on shion and nurugai both, and it takes shion the entire story to fully come to terms with tenza's death and his own sense of justice for nurugai. as for other characters, an obvious example is that fuchi doesn't claim "crime and evil are not the same" until chapter 91, while tenza is dead by ch 22. it's just so interesting to introduce him (and kill him off) so early in the narrative when he understands something everyone else needs about a hundred chapters to figure out

#sorry for doing animanga analysis in public. none of my friends are into jigokuraku so i'm on my fourth or fifth solo read of this shit -_- #jigokuraku spoilers #hell's paradise spoilers #also. i mean we see shion reach ''acceptance'' only as much is as necessary for him to steel his resolve. we don't really need to see how #the rest of his mourning plays out. it's outside the scope of the story and whatnot and it's pretty easy to draw your own conclusions #jigokuraku