#And now his son is dead bc of his selfish actions

[subternia]

People pearl clutching over the deaths of billionaires will never not be funny to me. You mean to tell me that people's who's wealth was built off the blood and sweat of all the workers they continue to subjegate and exploit, who probably would and have turned a blind eye towards those being crushed under the violent heel of capitalism, decided to fuck around and find out is not the least bit funny? Be fucking for real.

#wizardtexts #They're human beings that still chose to accumulate wealth through inhumame means and I will judge them for that #And now his son is dead bc of his selfish actions #Like I do not feel bad for the ceo AT ALL

[chuluoyi]

tw vent — a personal life problem. i just have to leave it here bc i’ve been crying for two days. it’s long… so feel free to scroll past it :’)

i’m… about to break up with my bf of 2 years

he’s a really kind person. and i don’t exaggerate it. he always makes sure to show me that he loves me through little actions like forehead kisses whenever we meet up, getting me a customized keychain with my name on it, getting me meaningful gifts and flowers on important dates unprompted… and every simple and little gift he gave me i have stored inside a box and there are so many i’m bawling whenever i look at them bc i’m so touched that a man who loves me really exists :’) he’s my prayers coming true. i used to pray for a boy who will accept me as i am and he comes at the perfect time near the end of my college year when i thought everything in this world was jaded

not only that he also spoils me, goes along with anything i say… he is serious regarding our relationship, introduces me to his parents and siblings. i thought i no longer have any worries about the future. and i can say i’m 90% content with my life now— a great job, a nice boyfriend, financially independent… my life is too good sometimes it feels scary

but there’s no such thing as a perfect life and i’ve dreaded it quite some time… because i know that both of us have been avoiding a certain issue just so we don’t burst our happy bubble… and now that issue has come to bite us

we’ve been in a LDR for two years and i’m honestly okay with it, but whenever questions about the future comes up—like “where should we live in the future?” i always clamp up bc for certain i want to live in my hometown, where my job, parents and social life are. but the thing is… he has his own thing in his city, where his parents reside and he’s the first son so he’ll inherit the family business there

i eventually voiced my worries about this to him, and do you know what his first reaction was? i was so sure he’d immediately get worked up and convince me to leave my job

but no. it never happened

he was so shaken. and yet… he never denied me. he said he’d talk to his parents about it… he said he’d be fine with this arrangement even if he has to be the one going back and forth. he said anything that would make me happy… he’d do it

and i believe him. until the end, i believe him. because he really means it even until the end

i’ve predicted it already. no way are his parents going to agree with this. i know bc just put yourself in their position—your bright first son has everything in order, set to inherit the family business, but he’s going to live a hard life of LDR only for some girl… that’s simply unacceptable

now you might wonder why i’m so dead set with living in my hometown. in chinese culture, when a girl marries, she usually lets go of everything and goes with the husband. but i really, really love my job here. i love the work i’ve been doing, community and friends i’ve made here, the salary and whatnot. not everyone gets a chance to work in my company bc it’s considered prestigious. working here gives me a purpose— i feel enabled here and i can be a part of something greater. i’ve won awards and i’m considered for a promotion too in just 2 years in this company, so it’s really hard for me to let go of it when i know i can be more than just a housewife. and so, whenever i imagine that i have to leave this company one day… i’m crushed

and not only that, my parents only have me. i’m an only child, and my father’s health condition isn’t the best either. i can only shudder whenever i think of them being alone if left them here

sometimes i think i’m too selfish for wanting this. for wanting to keep my job. for wanting to be with my parents. for keeping my social life. my bf is the one sacrificing energy and money twice a month to meet me in my city, and even then i still want to ask for more

but… i really can’t lie to myself and say it’s fine when it’s not. and what makes me cry even harder is the fact that when he finally tells me what his parents’ opinions are… he cries too and said all of these:

“i want us to be together. i feel so, so lucky to have met you. there are some days in which i thought that if you weren’t there… then it’d be much harder.”

“i’m always so happy seeing you all happy and energetic, doing things you love. i don’t want to take that from you.”

“if i make you go with me, i’m afraid that one day… you’ll regret leaving. i’m afraid you’ll be unhappy and tell me ‘if i’ve known this earlier… i wouldn’t have left at all.’”

it’s the depth in which he thought of all of these. i cried on the spot in front of him because… what have i done? what should i do? i love him, i really do but in the end, i can’t let go of everything for him either

and the cherry on top? he doesn’t even want to instigate the break up. he said everything is in my hands now. he wants nothing more than keeping our relationship, but he doesn’t have the heart to make me unhappy. even until the end, he says whatever my decision is… he’ll accept it even if it hurts

i’ve been crying since yesterday. it’s so hard to let him go when memories of the past two years pop up one by one. he’ll pick me up, hug me on hard days, tell me that i’ll do just well, adore me and make me feel confident in myself… he’s been a really great emotional support for me and i’m so, so grateful to have met him too

now we’re still in a limbo. i’m too shaken so i obviously am not able to tell him what my answer is. we agreed to think of this further and talk about our decision in 2 weeks, when he’ll come to meet me again

i don’t know what my answer is even until now. i know the best course is probably breaking up bc we can’t agree on this particular point… but it’s not easy, not when we still love each other this much

. . .

for any of you who have taken the time to read this until the end… thank you :’) this blog is the safest corner i have and i really don’t want to bring any sort of negativity here… but this time i’m just too sad with everything and i think i need a space to confide in💔

#tw vent #so sorry i’ll answer asks later!! :’)) #thank you all for dropping by🫶🏻✨ #—chu’s ramblings 🗯️

[sophie-i-guess13]

*pokes head out* I am not sure what lore you speak of 🤔 Not the lore we are fanatic about in our chat no way-- Could you possibly explain to the class babes?? ✨

DEAD DALLAS GHOST LORE + LORI LORE <3

Also combining some lore from my other fic Something Sweet so if you haven't read that....maybe check it out? For me?

- ok anyway

- Dallas dies in 1965. We know this. Canon. He kills himself bc he can't stand to live without Johnny and wants to be with him again

Now here's the kicker that could either go two routes:

1. Dallas isn't allowed to move on to the peaceful afterlife. Honestly this could maybe fit really well with @outsiders-lesbian-xvi HC/ideas about Dallas being the son of a preacher man.... Bc of Dallas’ reckless and selfish death, more people have been flung into more emotional distress. So, Dallas gets one more chance to roam Tulsa as a ghost until he understands the consequences for his actions

2. Dallas doesn't get to move on the way Johnny did because people came to terms with his death. Of course people miss him, but Johnny’s death wasn't preventable the way Dallas’ was. Because Dallas is still weighed down with all this grief of those around him (from the Curtis gang but also from Sylvia (something sweet lore!)) he can't move on

- Now Dallas as a baby ghost is still tryna figure out all the ropes and stuff so he can't really do anything for the first year. He can't move shit, can't be heard or seen, but people can feel him

- by his second year as a ghost he can make his presence a little bit more known which certainly comes in handy for Sylvia when Billy’s being a dickhead

- by the time Lori’s three Dallas is a pretty decent ghost. He doesn't make his presence known to Sylvia and Tim as much because lo and behold, he does have a heart and doesn't want to hurt her again when it seems like she's finally allowed herself to live on from him, but Lori’s free game. Sure, Dally never liked kids, but this kid is different. This is Sylvia’s kid. So yeah now Dallas is a little ghostly protector and nuisance to this little girl

- IDK man something about Sylvia recovering from Dallas’ death and processing her grief while Dallas processes his own and can make the decision himself that no, he doesn't want to move on to the afterlife quite yet.

- Dallas realizes that he was loved. Even if he only acted like he loved Johnny Cade, Dallas Winston was loved by so many people.

uh yeah :) ghost lore in a nutshell <3333

#soapie’s stuff #asks! #in the heights! #dallas winston #sylvia (the outsiders) #tim shepard #the outsiders #Lori Lore

[neverdoingmuch]

hello! I just wanted to ask, which do you think in the mdzs novel has the most questionable morality? like they have done more bad things but they still had kindness in them somehow (?)

oh!! this is a hard one for me anon! i’m always bad at ranking characters but i’ll do my best!  i’m not sure if you were hoping for like a quick answer or a long one but i’m gonna go with a long one bc that’s always fun and i’ll do a tldr if you don’t want to read through all that? yeah that seems like it’ll work because holy shit i didnt mean for it to get so long (and kind of away from the point of your ask too so sorry about that!)

okay! So, the three main contenders for morally dubious characters are, as far as I’ve seen, Xue Yang, Jin Guangyao, and Wei Wuxian. Not a big surprise, I’m sure. While they’re the more obvious options, they do have a lot of parallels and exhibit a lot of the themes and ideas that MXTX was getting at. I mean, I love looking at Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian as foils, and even other combinations of the three, so my answer will probably be heavy on the comparisons. I do think it’s worth touching on Jiang Cheng as well though. Also, I’ll try to stay as unbiased as I can because there’s a few characters on this list that I just don’t like … like at all.

Jiang Cheng tends to get brushed over a lot when it comes to some of the horrible things he’s done. From promising to protect Wei Wuxian from dogs only to immediately use them as a threat whenever he wants to to leading a siege on a group of people he knows are completely innocent of any crimes to torturing and killing people for thirteen years, he’s definitely not a good person. His concerns lie first and foremost with himself and his. That doesn’t seem like a horrible thing at first – he should owe his loyalty to himself, his family, and his sect – but it does mean that when the Xuanwu’s cave situation happened, his response was to get mad that Wei Wuxian helped Jin Zixuan and Lan Wangji. (And that’s why Jiang Fengmian got mad at him!). Later on, when pressure comes from the sects regarding Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng chooses not to stand with him, which, while understandable, isn’t exactly a kind move to someone who called Jiang Cheng his family and was trying to repay the debt the two of them owed Wen Qing. There’s no denying that he does care about Wei Wuxian, but when forced to make hard choices, he picks what’s easiest for himself. In general, I’d say that his sense of morality is selfish and somewhat flighty, but not necessarily questionable, so I’ll move on!

For the usual suspects, I’ll start with Xue Yang because I’m just going to immediately eliminate him from the running. I’ve seen people interpret his character sympathetically or try to justify some of his actions or the way he turned out, but I honestly just can’t. While you could feel sympathetic towards him because of his childhood, we have Wei Wuxian as a direct contrast to Xue Yang, as well as, to a certain degree, Jin Guangyao. Both Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian were street kids who had a horrible time in their youth, but Wei Wuxian was able to leave that behind him. That’s a lot easier to do when you’ve been adopted into a major sect and afforded comforts above your station (and also have terrible coping mechanisms), but even Jin Guangyao’s revenge isn’t quite as wide-spread and malicious. I know it may seem a bit obvious, anon, but some people really do try and treat Xue Yang like he’s morally dubious which confuses me a lot because how?? Even if we do say that he has suitable cause, one of the messages of the novel is that your past experiences don’t justify your future actions, so even within the context of the novel – a novel which is concerned with highlighting the grey areas of morality – Xue Yang isn’t afforded any sympathy. So, there’s really no way to construe him in a positive light. His only moments of kindness come with his time spent in Yi City with Xiao Xingchen, where Xue Yang doesn’t change much – he may have cared for Xiao Xingchen, but Xue Yang still tortured him as he did so. I never quite read that arc as Xue Yang learning to care or being allowed to be kind again so I’d just say that he lacks both morals and kindness. On that basis we can boot him from this competition. 

Jin Guangyao may have been one of the antagonists of the novel, but he wasn't a completely bad person or like The Worst. His main crimes involved getting revenge for slights against him or his mother – being from Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangshan, or any number of other cultivators. I think that, to an extent, his actions are justifiable. While you can contrast this to the way Wei Wuxian gets called a servant's son, they do differ in the fact that Wei Wuxian is afforded a higher level of protection due to him being favoured by Jiang Fengmian. Additionally, when Wei Wuxian does have his birth used against him, he's usually the person who acted out first anyway. Jin Guangyao was insulted for doing little more than exist and was never the person to act out first, yet still faced a near constant onslaught of insults. I'm not saying his actions were justified by any means, but the reasoning behind his actions is sound. The one thing I will note is that he doesn't let go of his grudges – even when everything is all done and dusted and he has everything that he could possibly want from life, he still holds onto that hatred. I remember seeing a post where someone mentioned that characters who were able to move on and change for the better were able to get their happy ending in MDZS, which isn't relevant here but definitely applies to Jin Guangyao when thinking about why he got the ending he did. I don't agree with the degree to which he enacted his revenge against certain characters and I loathe the whole Qin Su situation. I don't care how much he cries about it, he could've at least told her, but I mainly just pretend that part didn't exist. So, he has suitable cause for at least some of his actions, and his other victims can just be classified as necessary collateral rather than being intentional innocent targets, if that makes sense, but he's definitely vindictive and spiteful.

On the other hand, he did a lot of good, too. He's a side character for the most part so Jin Guangyao didn't get the most screen-time, but we do hear of some of the good things he's done. The main example would probably be the watchtowers. One of the interesting things about Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian is that while both of them are capable of kindness, the breadth and scope of Jin Guangyao's is much broader – the watchtowers are an idea that not only showcase how Jin Guangyao's upbringing allows him to see flaws in the cultivation world that the other privileged cultivators can't, but also show how he does care about the people. I've seen a few people try and play it as a spying technique but I don’t really believe that in the slightest. I mean, the point of the towers is to cover the areas where the sects aren't, so I have no idea what Jin Guangyao's people would even be spying on. Anyway, setting up those watchtowers really didn't benefit him any specific way – unless you consider him endearing himself to Lan Xichen and garnering a good reputation with the common folk something that outweighs the absolute nightmare it would have been to make the sects participate in the project to begin with. In a more specific case, Jin Ling's dog was given to him by Jin Guangyao. It's interesting that, despite Jin Ling spending the novel being trailed by Jiang Cheng, the gift that he obviously cares for deeply is from Jin Guangyao. In the Guanyin Temple scene I definitely got the sense that Jin Ling had loved and trusted Jin Guangyao before the truth came out so I'm firmly convinced that he would've been a wonderful and conscientious uncle to him and just generally good to the people who worked for him and/or the commoners.

Okay, now Wei Wuxian!! As far as I've seen, people are relatively good at staying true to his questionable sense of morality. Like with Jin Guangyao, we know that he can be vindictive and pretty excessive when it comes to getting his revenge, but I'm not going to deny that I was definitely rooting for him when he went after Wen Chao and his little gang. The main issue with Wei Wuxian is probably the demonic cultivation – the stigma against it tends to get reduced to it being bad for the user and their temperament etc. etc., but there's more to it than that. I'm no expert on Daoism by any means, but from my understanding desecration of corpses and disturbing the dead is a significant cultural taboo. This isn't just Wei Wuxian doing something no one else can do (though it certainly is true), it's also him doing something no one else should do. I've seen the massacre at Nightless City being added as another tally to his list of crimes, but I honestly think that that isn’t a crime worth adding – he needed to defend himself so he did, simple as that. 

As I mentioned above, Wei Wuxian's kindness is a bit more specific – where Jin Guangyao cares for the people, Wei Wuxian cares for individuals. We see his kindness more clearly, be it because he's the main character or be it because actions are clearer and stronger when it's for a single person or a small group. It's a bit easier, in my opinion, to care about people when you don't have to live with them and face them every day, but Wei Wuxian does. Even though Wei Wuxian led a lot more comfortable life than Jin Guangyao, we never really see Jin Guangyao get his hands dirty in the same way Wei Wuxian does. When a sacrifice needs to be made, Wei Wuxian’s the one who makes it. He doesn't relegate, he does it himself. We know that he would do absolutely anything for those he cares about and that's why he's able to commit a lot of the atrocities he does.

When it comes to deciding between Jin Guangyao and Wei Wuxian for most questionable morality, I think we need to look at the reasons behind their actions. Wei Wuxian’s sense of morality is definitely nowhere near that of the Lans but he has always been driven by his sense of justice and his love for those around him. In that sense, I've always read him as having a flexible sense of morality rather than a questionable one. I'm not sure how much of it ties in with his sense of duty, but it's definitely a lot. Wei Wuxian is, and always will, fill the role that is required of him – be it the childish and sweet younger brother, the talented but flippant older brother, the monster that wins the war, or the fierce protector that gives his all, Wei Wuxian will twist himself into whatever position he's needed in at that moment. Obviously, he went after Wen Chao for his own benefit, and the corrupting influence of the resentful energy does need to be factored into this, but at his core, Wei Wuxian will always value his duty (to his sect, family, friends, and innocents) and doing what is right over anything else. He may have stumbled along the way, but he did manage to form his own path to uphold all the values that he wanted to. Jin Guangyao, on the other hand, is similar to Jiang Cheng in how he's driven by his own motivations for betterment and revenge, albeit with more grace and intelligence. Jin Guangyao may masquerade as being motivated by any number of causes but he will never do anything at his own risk, and he will always be his top priority. So, while it's a close call between Wei Wuxian and Jin Guangyao, I'm going to have to go with Jin Guangyao on this one!

tldr; the fandom favourites for questionable morality are xy, jgy, and wwx so i mainly looked at them. I included jc as well but neither xy or jc demonstrate the dichotomy needed so they got eliminated from the running. Jgy and wwx both commit and are willing to commit horrible crimes as well as being capable of caring for others and being kind. but, where wwx is driven by his sense of justice and love for others, jgy is driven by his own motivations for betterment and revenge, making for a more questionable morality (as compared to wwx's more flexible morality).

#mdzs #mdzs text #mdzs meta #dfgrgt i was like hm but what if this post isnt good enough to tag as meta #modao zushi #wei wuxian #jin guangyao #xue yang #jiang cheng #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #asks #legal talks #i figured that since i wasnt giving a very interesting answer i might as well throw in some discussion too #i hope this answers your question anon!! #thanks for asking me i had a lot of fun answering this #in case you couldnt tell from the uhh 2k i wrote #Anonymous #but if you want to send any more asks please do!! i love discussing things like this

[cat-in-a-basement]

Main Character Opinion Piece

Ah, opinions. That old chestnut. I do want to get back to sharing thoughts on this cursed series but sometimes lack Motivation (trademark pending). So here’s a list below of the main characters in the main book series and how I would rank them. 

Note: aVoS and DotC are excluded because I have not read them yet. I don’t want to give thoughts on something I have limited knowledge of.

Hollyleaf: 9/10. The perfect storm of everything I like combined with a dynamic story and complex character. She's not perfectly consistent and I recognize those faults but no other warriors character captivates me in how strong a presence she has. 

Squirrelflight: 8.5/10. What I like about her is her growth from annoying apprentice to headstrong warrior. I love she doesn't filter her thoughts and she'll break rules and the societal norm to do what's right. She's selfless, compassionate and complex, and really, really needs a break.

Ivypool: 8/10. I do believe rereading my opinion on Ivypool might lower since she's underutilized in OotS. But more so I love the idea of Ivypool, what she could have been. And that concept colors my perception of her in an ideal world where that happened.

Rootspring: 7/10. Rootspring is very good, until he isn't. Like Feathertail he's very likeable when he's taking on an active role as Rootpaw, but when he becomes a warrior he loses some of the dynamic-ness and personality he had as an apprentice. Come TPoNS, he's become a window reacting without any flair of the personality he once had.

Dovewing: 6.5/10. I used to dislike Dovewing, finding her hard to read about in OotS because she acted like a child (as children are want to do). While now I've grown to appreciate her more, she doesn't leave a big impact on me. I don't have a lot of investment in her character, and so I am indifferent to her in the books.

Jayfeather: 6.5/10. Jayfeather I have complex feelings about, because while I do think he's a good character, I for the life of me cannot make myself like him as a person (er, cat). I have settled on indifference towards him because he has settled into his role as gruff medicine cat and I just sort of mentally check out.

Firestar: 5/10. Firestar...is a warm bowl of soup. Not bad, not amazing, but it fills the belly. I don't gravitate towards him as a character because he's a very safe, very mild character who acts as the typical hero in a young adult/children's novel. I can't say I hate him, but I don't particularly care for him either.

Bristlefrost: 4.5/10. Bristlefrost being so low here is a crime I'll never forgive. She started out so strong, with sound character development, hopes, dreams, ambitions. But it unraveled so quickly, with some of the worst character regression I have ever seen. We need to be going up, not down!

Leafpool: 4/10. Leafpool never started out strong for me, but I actively began to dislike her after how she treated her apprentice/son, and especially after her actions in Leafpool's Wish. She's selfish and bitter all without the intrigue that would bring. I find it hard to accept what the books say as her being a gentle and kind figure when she doesn't act like it in my books.

Lionblaze: 3/10. Lionblaze in PoT was angry hot head guy. Okay, not as good as his siblings but not offensive. Lionblaze in OoTS does nothing but mope over Cinderheart or act as a window. Boring, lazy. Where did his personality go? It's like an incline where he somehow keeps getting worse. By TBC he's at the worst he's ever been and even with his shitty behavior he is continually rewarded for it. You want to get on BC's bad side? Be terrible with no intricacy and get rewarded for it.

Shadowsight: 3/10. Of the three PoVs for TBC, Shadowpaw had been the weakest for me. But it became apparent the writers really wanted him to suffer, even is the injury was literally falling off a cliff. What is so infuriating about Shadowsight is he actively warps the story so he can be painted in a sympathetic light and he does not grow, he does not learn, we're expected to watch him suffer and go 'yep that's a character.' It's especially awful he warps other characters around him for the sake of his suffering.

Bramblestar: How did we get from sweet, brave, dynamic Bramblepaw...to this. As Bramblepaw he was good, very good. He had a great arc denouncing his father and teaching Firestar to not judge him for his father's crimes. Bramblepaw is a 7/10. 

But Brambleclaw completely regressed in character to suddenly need his father's approval, and was a moron who didn't listen to Squirrelflight’s concerns 'hey, uh, your brother is kind of evil', and — oh, found it difficult to decide whether or not to kill his leader and commit treason. Firestar should have not made him deputy. I imagine Bramblepaw wouldn't want to be deputy after that if he was still that same character. But no, he gets rewarded for his character regression and idiocy. 2/10.

Bramblestar? He went from idiot rewarded for bad ideas to emotionally abusive partner. His cold shoulder to Squirrel in OotS is manipulative, his actions in SqH are disgusting and gaslighting, and to top it off, the narrative treats him as a good and kindly high king when he clearly has not earned it at all! GOD, I hate Bramblestar. 1/10.

Stormfur: 1/10. By all rights, Stormfur shouldn’t be considered a main character here. But he is so very bad I felt it was my civil duty to include him. If there's one thing worse than being actively shitty, it's doing nothing at all. Stormfur is a dead fish and even then the dead fish probably has more personality. He's the lowest because I cannot think of a single good thing about his character or story. He's bland and boring, does absolutely nothing and gets rewarded for it.

#warrior cats #warriors #hollyleaf #squirrelflight #ivypool #rootspring #dovewing #jayfeather #firestar #bristlefrost #leafpool #lionblaze #shadowsight #bramblestar #stormfur #swearing

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess Episode 5: many many thoughts

Strap yo selves in 

-WHERE WAS THE APOLOGY?? Lina’s just back with Catherine like nothing happened?? 

-Katherine, I get why you’re upset, but you kind of should be unsurprised?? Your dad was unfaithful to his wife, most kings were. Henry VII and Richard III were the exceptions, and even they had illegitimate sons before their marriages. Many kings also had official mistresses that everyone knew about, so by the standards of the time Henry and Bessie are actually being pretty tactful in at least trying to keep their affair out of sight. (Sexy dancing aside). 

-Honestly it would have been so much more moving if KoA was like “I know kings take mistresses...but I thought...I was so sure... he would be different...”

-”they gave me a purse of gold!” It’s expected that you give the monarch lavish presents, lmao Ursula and Stafford would do that even if they hated each other and you

-”everybody loves a masque” the only sensible thing Henry has said so far in this show. Also court probably had way more masques than we see in the show, and it would standard to have a masque every holiday. 

-”she is not a boy” hurry up with your character development and learn to love Mary already i am so TIRED of this miserable BS

-seems a rather depopulated masque? If the Chateau Vert pageant is anything to go by putting on a masque was a court activity, with most of the ladies performing.  

-Bessie Blount in her cute masque costume... sweet mother i cannot weave Aphrodite has overcome me with GAAAAAAAAAAAAY

-”I never enjoyed carousing...my mother scolded me” look i love the Neville sisters with my whole heart but a) Margaret was 3 at most when her mother died, how does she remember her? She’d have clearer memories of her double-uncle and double-aunt, Richard III and Queen Anne b) Isabel Neville in the White Queen was established as very prim and proper, a well-bred girl who cared about enforcing decorum, she refused to ‘carouse’ and she certainly would never bring a 3 year old to a party c) we saw little Margaret as a girl at the end of the White Queen and she didn’t seem at all shy. 

-”she died young, didn’t she” ...yes? most people did?

-”they both did” understatement of the year. Isabel Neville died young because she was ill, George died young (in the universe of The White Queen, at least) BECAUSE HE WAS FORCEFULLY DROWNED IN A VAT OF MALMSEY WINE. THESE TWO THINGS ARE NOT THE SAME! I do at least trust the writers of this show that the understatement was intentional, I’m sure even Emma Frost couldn’t forget a major character getting violently drowned.

-So the court only noticed the plague when one of their own got it so obviously and then died? Yes, plague could move fast, but if there was a whiff of plague the court would flee with the speed of the Looney Tunes road runner. If an acquaintance of an acquaintance of a cook had a cousin who saw someone with the plague, the court would flee to the country. How have these people not died of terminal stupid?! Like Compton was in the same building as the heir to the throne

-To be fair, it makes sense that they’re surprised Compton’s dead. Because the real Compton died of the sweating sickness. In 1528. Also he was involved in Buckingham’s downfall so... you just wrote yourself into a corner.

-Oh wow an actual good reason for More and Pole to be quarantined together i am amaaaaaazed

-”attend the queen” Boleyn, what do you think your daughter’s been doing all season if not attending the queen? Playing tetris?

-Katherine helping Anne into the wagon...I actually like that little moment. Like it does make sense, because the two have no reason to hate each other yet. (And who couldn’t like Anne? She’s such a babby!)

-Thomas More in the Tudor equivalent of casual clothes... much better. Shame about the 1930s lady’s wig.

-”what else should we do?” Maggie, this cannot be the first epidemic you’ve ever lived through. Have you forgotten the sweating sickness of 1485? You’ve probably lived through more epidemics than Oviedo has, you should know the protocol better than him.

-Oviedo continues to be the only man with rights. I wish we could see him crying and missing his wife and babies, but then my lil heart would break so maybe it’s for the best.

-They burn Maggie’s weird blue hood AS THEY SHOULD! IT WAS UGLY AND STUPID! I NEVER HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN NOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH! yes they also burned her nice dress with the strawberries on it but honestly it’s worth it, bc now i can rest easy, knowing the evil hood has been defeated.

-”you were a plaything” Katherine is so obviously insecure. I’m getting second-hand embarrassment. Like if she really was certain Bessie wasn’t important, she wouldn’t need to say it, would she? Except to rub it in. Which this KOA would absolutely do. 

-literally all Bessie said was good morning?? Like Bessie is doing her best?? The masque was Henry’s idea, not hers, she hasn’t shown off about her affair, she hasn’t demanded money or titles, she hasn’t demanded any status to rival Katherine’s, she doesn’t flirt with or even speak to Henry when Katherine’s around, she acts like they’re strangers, she doesn’t even react when Katherine loses her temper...someone please please stick up for Bessie!

-”the rocking of the cart is unsettling to the stomach” is Anne naive, or is she covering for Bessie? I hope it’s the latter, in which case Anne is the one person looking out for Bessie...the babby is Soft, I repeat the babby is Soft!

-the irony of Mary being cold to Bessie when she’s next in the firing line...

-”it is not the rocking” Thank you Lina, where would we be without your gift for stating the obvious?

-”where did Wolsey get his money”...He’s a churchman...at the top of the church hierarchy...how do you fuckin think he got wealthy. Have y’all not been in the sixteenth century for five minutes? Why do you think Luther is so mad at the church?

-”I know of no other man in her bed most nights” Honestly wow I’m surprised KoA wasn’t like “well :/ a girl like that :/ who knows how many men process in and out of her bed :/” KoA gets half a point for being less bitchy than usual. Also Bessie looked so uncomfortable with Henry groping her stomach in front of Katherine. I pray the next man in her life treats her right and that Fraham don’t prematurely kill her off like they did with Compton.  

-”the future king” if you’re regent on his behalf, then he’s already king! “Civilised companionship” back at it again with the Scots-are-barbarians.

-Laura Carmichael is utterly stunning this episode, with her hair down. The cinematography was beautiful in general this week.

-”freedom to speak and licence to speak are two different things” hey look at that one of Thomas More’s actual beliefs. I am giving all the credit to the historical advisor for that, I don’t believe for one second Fraham knew that beforehand.

-Maggie I love you but no, God does not sanction adultery. For any reason. 

-KOA smirking and gloating about Bessie’s pain...she has never been so punchable. I would understand, if not condone it, if Bessie was manipulative, or greedy, or ambitious, or trying to supplant Katherine. But Bessie’s been betrayed by Henry too, and there’s no concrete evidence she ever gloated about her affair, to anyone let alone Katherine.  

-”You think only of your own fate while London is struck down with plague” Earth to Katherine?? What concern have you shown for the Londoners?? Also calling Bessie selfish...Bessie’s not the one who lashed out at Lina, was jealous at Lina for having twin boys, and who wanted to continue a war for personal reasons. And then Bessie proves KoA wrong 5 hot seconds later by sticking up for Mary. Bit rich of KoA to be all “how dare you leave my daughter unattended” when she herself won’t even hold Mary. 

-”Louis didn’t last a year” What! Is! The Timeline!

-Meg in that cloak reminds me of the Scottish Widow adverts. Georgie is so greedy- she steals every single scene she is in! Even when she’s raging she has more dignity and more presence than KoA ever has.

-”YOU LYING SOD” i burst out laughing it’s really not the little two-timing shit’s day, is it?

-Mary receiving Charlie B in the most Extra way possible. A++

-Why does Wolsey look like he’s about to cry?

-”thoughts are not actions” Lina I love you but... that is NOT what the New Testament says. Jesus said evil thoughts are very very much sins. I’ll give you a pass because maybe you haven’t been Catholic as long as Katherine has? Idk your backstory.

-Aaand now she’s wishing death on Bessie and her unborn baby and Lina isn’t disgusted? At least Katherine is feeling guilty. AS SHE SHOULD.

-”must it always fall to me to be magnanimous?” Katherine, you think only of yourself, for 23 out of every 24 hours. 

-”God wants me to be compassionate to Bessie because of my sins” God wants you to be compassionate because that’s how Christianity is supposed to work. It’s not very selfless of you to decide to be selfless so that you can get what you want. 

-oh wow look at that! She’s getting some self-awareness, i never saw that coming.

-”you betrayed Bessie” 5 points to Katherine of Aragon for standing up for Bessie when Henry screwed her over. Finally, some positive character development.

- MINUS 20000 POINTS FOR BABY STEALING

-WHAT THE FUCK

-is henry so dumb he thinks that baby is Katherine’s? Katherine was so obviously not pregnant

-When a baby’s born his skin needs to touch his mother’s skin so they can bond. They should have at least an hour’s cuddle time. Katherine of Aragon is literally traumatising a baby the very minute he is born. For her own selfish, selfish desires. 

#the spanish princess

[lavernius]

So, if the premise of RVB is that there are mostly simulation troopers, do you think there's a real regular space army like there is in Halo? I'm just wondering how they fight the aliens bc project freelancer alone seems like it wouldn't be enough.

i haaate the intersection of halo and rvb, hypothetically it’s really fun to play with but as someone who has been a halo fan literally my whole life + an rvb fan for years i’ve always preferred to keep them mostly separated with very little overlap minus the base concept of “fighting the same war”.

comparing the canon of both medias is a process and i have many thoughts on it.

more under cut because i don’t know how to condense all of this LOL. tldr at the end this got really long because this topic is a mess

the real way rvb integrates halo canon into its story is that the director, like catherine halsey, is just another man who wants to do something to end the war. his solution is project freelancer, which initially has a goal of winning the great war using super soldiers paired with equipment and ais, but it changes into a selfish project to bring back his dead wife once he’s realized his own capabilities and the way beta split off the alpha.

(the director and church are directly inspired by halsey and cortana, they have the same base premise, but different motives and arcs and actions past “making an ai based on their own brain”. it’s obviously all based on halsey and cortana because halsey and cortana are an uncommon case of a LIVING human flash cloning a brain 20 times until one was capable of being copied into an ai, a concept that isn’t common in halo canon because most halo smart ais are based off of scans of the brains of already dead humans.)

then, after pfl breaks itself apart, tex will try to kidnap tucker’s alien parasite child, planning with wyoming to use this to win the war. carolina reenlists in the unsc to continue contributing to the war. after it all, tucker and junior will use their father/son relationship to become ambassadors between the covenant and humans.

that’s like... it. that’s the entirety of halo’s plot overlapping with rvb. it definitely does influence the plot in its own ways, like none of this would have happened if the director didn’t want to have an influence in the great war, tex wouldn’t have died if she didn’t have a dedication to win the war, etc.

the unsc definitely still canonically exists, since hargrove canonically works for it. chief exists, too. some people headcanon the freelancers and sim troopers as spartans themselves, and i like the idea, but the truth is just that machinima limited character appearances, all models are just spartan models  because the player model in halo is ALWAYS a spartan, but no one in rvb is intended to be a spartan. they just have the armor because rt is forced to used spartan models for the show, the game doesn’t let them do anything else and they’re not gonna make face rigs for every character just to prove people aren’t spartans.

now here’s where i get annoyed, because rvb isn’t written in a way that caters to the idea of spartans. by this i mean armor is just armor in rvb, it’s just something every character slaps on instead of its halo purpose, instead of the way canon halo spartan armor links to your body and brain, is too heavy for someone without body modifications to wear, is curated for bodies that have been genetically and chemically modified specifically for war.

that isn’t to say that making the characters of rvb into spartans is a dumb idea, again, i genuinely like the concept. it’s just that no character in rvb is intended to be a spartan, the halo concept of a spartan is nonexistent in rvb’s interpretation of halo lore, since EVERYONE wears spartan armor (machinima limitations) and it’s implied some characters (like grif) are not physically fit to be spartans but still don the armor curated specifically for a fighter. characters who never had prior training and are obviously new to the world of the unsc wear the armor. these people aren’t spartans.

robots get armor, teenagers on chorus get armor, people with normal jobs like the pig (c*p) in season 16 wear armor. it’s basically just clothing in rvb. it has no specifications for use, you don’t need a million injections and a body that was trained since the age of six. it’s not halo spartan armor.

tldr. that whole rant is all to say that yes, the unsc exists in rvb and is fighting the war, yes, chief exists, yes, hypothetically all of halo canon is coexisting with rvb’s canon and happening at the same time, but rvb is a comedy machinima that started two years after halo combat evolved came out. it has its own interpretation of halo’s lore and logic, and because of this it’s constantly inaccurate to halo’s canon mechanics, which means basically everything is free grounds wrt what parts of halo YOU want to consider canon to rvb and what parts you choose to ignore. have fun with it!

#tldr if you dont even wanna read the tldr: rvb has chosen to interpret halo canon in its own way and everything is up to you. fuck canon for #both medias just do whatever you want #rvb #inbox #anon #nicohc

[soncfseed]

REPOSTED FROM MY OLD BLOG: Probably my most important headcanon, so please take the time to read this!!

spoilers ahead, but im gonna look at ethans cutscenes and talk about how his bpd (borderline personality disorder) affects his actions and his perceptions throughout the story of new dawn. this is all just headcanon and my interpretation of ethan and how bpd would affect him. none of this is meant to excuse his more nefarious actions, but explain why my interpretation of ethan doesnt pin him as a selfish, horrible, awful monster, but rather a young man with a lot of unresolved trauma and a serious mental health condition who ended up making some terrible choices that resulted in a lot of pain for a lot of people.

0:05 - ethan’s introduction

in this scene ethan experiences some pretty quick and dramatic mood shifts, and has a pretty significant emotional outburst. these are characteristic of the mood swings and emotional dis-regulation experienced by many people with bpd. he starts off catching the captain off guard, sneaking up behind them. ethan has been taught to distrust outsiders, and a symptom of bpd he experiences is suspicion of others and sometimes brief bouts of paranoia. this kind of behaviour makes sense when this is taken into context.

he says that he might not be what the captain expects. this is part of his low self esteem and struggles with his self image and how others perceive him. he constantly feels as though he can never truly be his own person, outside of joseph seed, and that his existence is a disappointment to those who know him.

once he sees the book, he is triggered into a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. acknowledging that the deputy is the one who found the book, and according to joseph’s prophecy will be the true ruler of new eden, is what sets him off. once ethan goes into his rant about it should’ve been him, he’s experiencing a mood swing and sudden spike in his anger and irritability. due to his issues w emotional regulation and control over his expressions of emotion, ethan lashes out by screaming and knocking over the podium in the church. mood swings for bpd sufferers can be only minutes long. what pulls ethan back down to earth a bit is a sudden rush when he realizes he can work with the captain to enlighten new eden to the truth: that joseph is a man, not a messiah, and kind of a shitty one at that who abandoned them all.

3:50 - ethan’s first speech in new eden

ethan’s posturing here is just that; posturing. he’s putting on a bit of a show with the “non believer” bit. he does, however, not entirely trust outsiders nor would he trust that the people of new eden wouldn’t turn on him if he suggested that the captain go north. no, instead he plays off of what he expects the people will do to avoid potential rejection or rebellion. this plays off of his mistrust and suspicion of others, as well as serves to protect his secret interests (getting proof that joseph is dead to get new eden to move on from him) and his ego (tied to the bpd symptom of self image issues and unstable self realization).

ethan can’t help but be a bit sarcastic with “we are all his children”. sarcasm and unwarranted aloofness can tie into bpd, and here it definitely does due to his poor relationship with his father, and with the rumours surrounding his paternity in new eden.

while bpd does not inherently make people manipulative, manipulation of others is often something those with bpd adopt as a coping mechanism to manage their unstable relationships or unstable self image. ethan has adopted this trait in some ways and this is definitely one of them. he does not trust the people of new eden, and knows they wont listen to him fully. this is his main motivator for keeping his plan secret.

the fact that ethan feels he has to act a certain way when he’s the leader of new eden further contributes to his unstable self realization. he puts on different fronts to different people to try and both please them and protect himself.

when he says “they will at last understand that i am their prophet…”, this is in part because he feels he’s worked hard to be the inheritor of new eden. he’s not only joseph’s son (and even if he doesn’t like joseph he wants to be recognized as his biological son, making the rumours about his paternity even more hurtful) but he’s been a successful leader as far as we can tell. to think he will lose it all over a book is damn near panic inducing for ethan. well this is in part a kind of arrogance, it’s fueled by his extreme emotions/mood swings as well as how closely he ties his identity to his position within his community. because his self image is so unstable, threats to that cause him to act in ways that may seem irrational or extreme in order to try and protect his self image. also, ethan will only help the captain in exchange for something in part bc of his suspicion of others. he doesn’t want to offer new eden’s archers and resources without knowing that he will benefit in return. after all, if something goes wrong in new eden bc of this outsider and he allowed it, it’s his responsibility to take the blame and fix it.

5:20 - into the bliss

theres not much in this scene to tie to his bpd. one line i think is important though: “bring me proof of my fathers death and i will make sure you are remembered as a friend of the prophet”. well this can be interpreted as ethan saying to kill joseph, i dont think he is. ethan believes joseph is long gone, that he could never survive all alone for this long. ethan isn’t evil, he’s not asking someone to commit murder, he’s asking them to confirm that someone is already dead. sure, he’s self serving and he wants something in return for his allyship, but to him this is how he can ensure a fair trade, and that an outsider won’t take advantage of him or new eden as easily.

14:18 - ethan, interrupted

ethan’s big speech where joseph fuckin crashes it. at first, he literally does not even see joseph in the crowd. he truly believes he’s dead and that the captain will bring back proof of this. to him, adherence to his rule makes sense; he’s the leader, and things need to change. it is arrogant, because ethan has partially internalized a sense of superiority and entitlement because of his position as joseph’s son, and now heir to the rulership of new eden (he thinks). this combined with an unstable self esteem and self image makes him want total compliance to his rule. criticism, disobedience, they threaten his self worth and that can send him into an emotional spiral or severe mood swing. so, to try and avoid the negative consequences he experiences from perceived slights and rejections, he wants a clean slate and total adherence to his new rules.

when he actually sees joseph, he stops, stammers, and says “father?”. not the father. just father. in this moment, his father who abandoned him (who went out for smokes and never came back) has suddenly shown up in the middle of his speech about him being dead. his arm drops and he stands there, stunned and speechless. his first question is “where have you been?”. he wants to know why and he asks why. why did his father abandon them? abandon him? the answer is completely meaningless to him. it’s basic, it has no detail, and isn’t sufficient. he’s speechless again for a bit, breathing heavier and hyperventilating. he steps away from joseph. when joseph calls the captain god’s sword, ethan damn near does a double take. he’s literally standing in his father’s shadow while he exalts an outsider in front of his own son, after interrupting his speech and embarrassing him in front of everyone.

one of ethan’s symptoms is his overvaluing and undervaluing people in his life. this is when he switches from overvaluing the captain, putting too much faith and hope into them, to undervaluing and practically hating them. his relationship with his father is tenuous, and rocky. it is characterized by ethan’s intense desire to be josephs successor and publicly recognized as his son. ethan even calls out to joseph, upset about the fact that hes now suddenly and publicly being dethroned; joseph doesnt even look back at him. ethan rejects josephs words in anger. he has a sudden outburst in front of the crowd; yet another sudden spike in his emotions from a stressful situation causes him to say what he’s really thinking. “you abandoned me. you abandoned us.” ethan says joseph didn’t leave instructions or a message, just left ethan to lead with no idea how. he does the best job he can under these extreme circumstances, and now all of his hard work is for nothing. that would make even the most level headed neurotypical person upset. whenn ethan starts to lose the support of new eden, he breaks down a bit. the anchor of his self image has been completely ripped away from him in a moment. he storms off partially and his body language is pretty dire; head down, shoulders moving sharply like he’s breathing harshly, and then he turns to watch the crowd walk away from him. imo, part of why ethan doesn’t completely lose it in this scene is that he might be partially dissociating or beginning to dissociate or experience some de-realization from the sudden, acute emotional distress this moment causes for him.

17:45 - ethan’s response

this is when ethan says that the captain betrayed him. they had a deal. he completely put his trust into the captain, idealizing them as the person who could solve his problems, only for them to bring joseph back and make everything in ethans life worse. now, the pendulum swings to the other side where ethan begins to loathe the captain. saying that the captain should have killed joseph themselves is an expression of 1) the intense reactions people with bpd can have to certain situations and 2) his skewed logic because of it. what seems totally irrational to someone else might seem like the only logical solution to a problem for someone with bpd. the stress of such a painful, emotionally charged situation like this one. he never wants to see the captain again; on a dime he flips, from putting all of his trust and hope into one person to saying he never wants to see them again and that they betrayed him. this quick switch of very intense perceptions of others is a cycle of idealization and undervaluing that people with bpd may experience.

18:07 - ethan’s prayer letter

in this letter, ethan discusses how he feels he hates his father for the abandonment; how joseph “expected everything and gave nothing”, how ethan never got to really have joseph as a father for himself because he was too busy being THE father. he says wrath and envy grip him tight to the point he feels he can’t breathe. this is definitely indicative of ethans mood swings and intense emotions, especially the irrational anger and aggression many people with bpd can have. then, he says nobody but himself, his mother, and god can know about how he feels, and that he must put on a front for new eden and be a leader to them “no matter what”. this is absolutely something i can see being tied to his bpd. he is aware that expressing his thoughts, feelings, and reactions to others would probably get a negative reaction. he seeks to avoid that, as well as to avoid the judgment from others he thinks he would get. his unstable self image is complicated by the fact that he feels obligated to hide the symptoms of his illness, and pretend to be someone he isn’t. this only makes it worse, as he ties his social and therefore individual identity to “ruler of new eden”. he relies very much on the responses and reactions of others to gauge whether or not he seems “normal” or capable of doing his job.

18:27 - npc dialogue

ethan says that josephs followers see the prophecy coming to light, but ethan sees it as a chance for new eden to make its own path. this is also when ethan says that he is josephs biological son, and that his mother raised him outside of hope county and brought him there when he was young to be raised by joseph. she died from an illness on their journey. this is some pretty significant baggage for ethan. he wants new eden, and himself, to become independent. the only reason he stays in new eden is because of his mother. he loves her, and idealizes her in a way that never flips to undervaluing because the relationship is one sided since her passing.

19:23 - megan’s letter to joseph

this is important just bc it states megan raised ethan as a non believer but after the collapse taught him about joseph’s word. this is important for ethan because it means he had to relearn some pretty significant things after the apocalypse, including a whole new religion and worldview. this can be very confusing for a child, and in part explains why ethan isn’t totally on board with josephs word, or the all of new eden’s beliefs surrounding him; his earliest formative years had nothing to do with joseph seed or prophets or collapses. he had to convert, and did so as a child who couldn’t really understand or make that choice for himself. he is tied to new eden solely because of megan, and without her wish to have him be josephs heir, he would’ve left long ago.

20:08 - intermission/flashback

this is when we see a young babby ethan get nasty with joseph. this is an early sign of his bpd developing. he has an intense reaction and says something very hurtful to his father over not getting what he wants, which isn’t just the apple but his father’s approval. to him, this is another rejection by joseph, or it is perceived that way by a young ethan. constantly being told something wasn’t gods plan, or it isn’t part of a prophecy without further explanation was confusing and frustrating for ethan growing up. he wanted the apple to be like his father; he wanted the apple to feel integrated into his community like the others who were given the gift. this denial, one that is permanent and leaves no room for ethan to change or grow and become capable of handling its strength leaves him feeling defeated and angry. his reaction of “you are an old man, and when you die i will take one” shows a very quick emotional shift and a shift from idolizing his father and wanting to be like him to practically hating him, becoming cold and distant in mere moments.

21:16 - joseph’s worry

“ethan’s sin is pride. there is something deep inside him that no word of mine can touch. i worry that now as an outsider appears to take his place that beast will feed on resentment and grow stronger. ” YEAH ITS BPD YA DINGUS fdpgpfd but more seriously, ethans pride is a coping mechanism to deal with his ever changing self image and self worth. its a rigid barrier to keep others from knowing how weak he really feels, and how uncertain he is of himself.

23:25 - ethan’s betrayal

this is where ethan betrays new eden and sets them up so the highwaymen can destroy the settlement. he tolerates the highwaymen laughing at him only so he can get what he wants: revenge. this extreme response is from his bpd. his impulsive anger, and the extremes his mind goes to won out and he acted on his violent thoughts.

26:26 - ethan and the fruit

when joseph asks ethan what hes done (referring to betraying new eden), ethan says: “i did what i had to do. i freed myself, i freed us all from you, from your rules.”. to ethan this was logical. this was something he had to do. he didn’t take pleasure in it, he didn’t go into new eden and kill everyone himself. no, he handed them over to the highwaymen in a desperate, out of touch moment. the spark was there and his disorder was gasoline that helped the flames to spread. he reacted intensely, out of irrationally extreme anger, towards an entire group of people he had shifted to undervaluing. he felt betrayed so he returned in kind, but no matter how wrong that was ethan couldnt see it.

“i will have what you denied me. you gave it to an outsider but you wouldn’t give it to me. i am your flesh and blood” and explosively tells joseph he doesnt know gods will. he lashes out against his father, arguing with him and rebelling directly by taking the one thing joseph kept him from that he truly wanted. to ethan, in my hc, the apple is more than just power and more than just something he covets. its a symbol of joseph’s fatherhood, of his love; he gave it to everyone but ethan, his own son, and now he would take what he wanted from life with or without josephs input.

31:08 - the death of ethan seed

the first thing ethan says after he sees joseph is “father… i’m sorry”. he’s scared. he knows he’s going to die. he asks if joseph can forgive him. he knows he’s fucked up, obviously, not just by eating the apple but by betraying new eden. his last word is “father”. no matter how torn his relationship was with joseph, he wanted his father’s love. he wanted connection with his father. he wanted to feel validated, have his identity confirmed, even in his last moments.

#hc #repost from old blog

[frostygar]

The Flash S5 Ep5 Thoughts

- If I were Nora I wouldn’t come either, you betrayed her heart and her trust.

- Nora may have almost hurt a couple BUT I love sassy Nora who rebels against her parents it’s really refreshing for someone to actually not like Iris. And she caught the bad guy so WOO NORA MY BABY IS DOING JUST FINE

- So the writers finally wrote someone to tell Iris how she acts “condescending, I know better than you” and they most certainly do not have Iris change, AND Nora ends up forgiving her? Wack. Unrealistic. Boring. Change things up smh

- “You know, Nora, I wish you would try to understand who your mom is today.” UMMM BITCH SHE’S THE SAME DIDN’T YOU JUST HEAR HER???? Also why don’t YOU try to understand your daughter’s actions under years of neglect from your step sister. (also I watch Riverdale and that show pisses me off but NOTHING has ever pissed me off this much omggggggg)

- Cisco is back! YASSS WE HAVE MISSED THE VIBES 🥺🥺🥺

- OMG PROFESSOR STEIN!!! Small crossover we love to see it, and we also love to see Cisco and Caitlin’s friendship! Even if it hurt Cisco ugh a crying atm

- UMMMMM EW. EW WHAT THE FLYING FUCK WHY IS THAT CREEPIER THAN ANY RECENT HORROR MOVIE please…….. I much prefer Elongated Man… aLSOO ALSO how did they not hear that weirdo fucking pounding his fucking hands into the glass I feel nauseous. 

- I know I wanted journalist!Iris again but like because she’s being even worse than she normally his (and Barry) I literally just want her to get the fuck off the screen. I even took a small break and watched something else and I can still feel the anger inside of my body… like I just can’t even look at Iris OR Barry. That’s just sad… the worst sibling duo since Bughead 

- Barry working with your journalist sister-wife is probably not professional but no one would ever point that out so… rip to me wanting to watch shows that down ruin everything over a disgusting

- Schrap… give us more of these cool words to use I love them. ALSO NORA AND CECILE BONDING WE LOVE TO SEE IT

- Oh Cecile not you too… if Iris doesn’t respect her own daughter she’s not owed respect back. Besides, since when the FUCK is it “disrespectful” to say that your mom nags at you… all mom’s do it. Nora is raving about her mom wanting to control her and is talking abut her nagging at her over everything and Cecile is like "this is the west household and that means that all west's are respected" like girl you have been civil and understanding to everyone and everything this whole time and suddenly its out the window??? I understand that in black households it’s a big thing to respect your parents, especially a mother who raised a child alone, but this is some pedestal bullshit and highkey right now I want basically everyone except Nora, Caitlin, Cisco, Ralph, and even Sherloque, fucking dead for the rest of the episode………. wow I never thought a show could literally make me this mad.

- That scene afterwards was really weird. Like in my family we can never really move on like that, but also how would Nora get all of that to fit together and stay for like five seconds and why wouldn’t Cecile give Nora the screws like—

- Cisco vibing the chalkboard and knowing it’ll hurt him and he’s not going to tell anyone I’m: sad.

- “Did I scare him away?” CAITLIN! 😭🥺 Also didn’t he MAKE Killer Frost or am I just dumb and slow lol

- This Meta is so gross yet so cool asdfghjkl EW THAT’S GONNA GIVE ME NIGHTMARES, THE META’S MASK HEAD THING BEING IN SIGHT AND THEN DISAPPEARING AFTER SAYING “FLASH” EWWW although funnily enough I’d rather watch that than Iris and Barry so um

- How is The Flash able to make the most disgusting, creepiest thing than like any horror movie

- Barry trying to force date shit with Iris is so awkward and weird and forced… I hate it a lot

- This woman not being impressed with Iris or Barry is giving me life … ARE THEY REALLY NOT REALIZING THAT IRIS IS BASICALLY THAT WOMAN IN THE FUTURE WITH NORA??? “She’s so cold, she gave her son what she thought he needed but was wrong” like… how dense are these fuckers???

- Why is Barry acting like this is his last night with Iris? Like I can wish but why is this forced domesticity that makes me want to rip out my eyes happening rn? EW I WAS LOOKING DOWN AT MY LAPTOP AND I ALMOST DIDN’T SEE THE META IN THE CORNER I’M SO DISGUSTED.

- Barry,,, she is exactly like that woman fuck off there’s a time to be supportive to both women and rn it’s not to Iris. GOD NOT IRIS ACTUALLY REALIZING IT OVER BARRY??? The fanservice and ruining Barry’s character is real and it HURTS

- Why is the meta looking at Barry and Iris as if he knows who they are… he only knows the flash

- Caitlin realizing he was hurting himself to help her I— “I could bring my value to the team” BUT YOU DID WAY BEFORE YOUR POWERS. You’re smart, you know science, you help The Flash help people. Sure the powers are a big bonus but he brought so much value even before :( If anything ever happens to Cisco and Caitlin’s friendship, ever, I will kill everyone and then myself

- I know this show is about The Flash and rn the season is about Nora but like,,, constantly talking about her and having westallen scenes is just so… overdone. They talked about it outside of the gala, then it showed Cisco and Caitlin for a few minutes and then they’re back. Give it some rest Jesus

- Every time someone says that Iris probably dampens Nora’s powers to keep her safe literally feels more like “the more I say it the more true it has to be” like… shut the fuck up can someone (Caitlin or Cisco) PLEASE slap some fucking sense into this boy??? Blindly following after your sister-wife isn’t healthy and it’s dumb as fuck. See, kids, this is why you don’t date and marry (and eventually have a kid with) your step sister

- Now Iris is being the smart one…………………. this is the weirdest, forced bullshit that I’m more used to from Riverdale.

- I’m glad there’s more cute bonding between Cecile and Nora. But what kind of kids would be mean to someone who lost their parents? That’s a tv thing yes but irl??? I’ve never heard or seen it and it just… cannot be true. Also how does Cecile know about a story from when Barry was ten?? Like how would this come up with her and Joe for him to tell her? Really that story was… westallen? And the fanservice grows… That was an awful way to show Nora that Iris sometimes can be a good person when she was in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. God why does NO ONE get that Nora was raised by an awful mom and she already has all of these bad feelings for her? Why are they trying so desperately hard to downplay Nora’s rightful feelings? Oh, right, because Iris isn’t supposed to be able to do wrong… God why do we watch the CW’s awful shows that pander to toxic/gross couples that are catered to while the better main side cast is tossed to the side?

- That was a weird (and creepy) scene with a random face call by Iris lol

- OH GOOD RALPH IS BACK BECAUSE APPARENTLY EVERYONE FORGOT ABOUT HIM LOL. HE’S FUCKING SPIDERMAN-ING HISMELF OMG??? Also why does Iris have to come along every single fucking time?? Also also how didi the meta know whoo to capture like all he saw was The Flash

- MAKE THIS META INTO AN ACTUAL HORROR MOVIE BC THIS SHIT IS SO FUCKING SCARY. LIKE SOME PEOPLE SOMEHOW SAY THAT THE BABADOOK IS SCARY (when it’s boring and not scary at all smh) BUT THIS IS SO FUCKED

- YES META DUDE HURT IRIS PLEASE WE. BEG OF YOU 

- Did Iris just fucking jump… for Barry… when Ralph should be the one getting him? The pandering I—

- EW RALPH… ATE HIM?

- The way that Iris is suddenly called a badass… the fanservice isn’t even trying to be hidden

- RAGDOLL WHAT A GREAT META NAME

- Don’t tell me that after a couple of stories of Iris as a kid suddenly makes Nora forget all the times future Iris treated her like trash and thinks it’s okay because she has the ability to be nice (but never is)???

- Future Iris made her “accomplishments” off limits??? What kind of dumbassery—

- They’re gonna make the one character who actually called Iris out forgive her after five episodes??? Jesus we couldn’t have one thing, one character who doesn’t like Iris could we?

- I’ve never seen any books or movies about Nancy Drew (but I will give the new one a try because I’ve heard it’s good) but when the awful detective female leads (basically just Betty and Iris) call themselves Nancy Drew makes me automatically hate Nancy Drew. If Nancy is a selfish, annoying, whiny bitch who can’t do no wrong and butts into people’s lives then she sure is like Iris and Betty

- This family bonding is just so fucking FORCED. Poor westallens having their scenes have to shoved in and the quality ruined. I’d feel bad if I wasn’t called racist for how they write Iris (and Barry together). I already go through this shit on Riverdale I’m basically just dead inside lol

- WAIT SO AFTER ALL THIS TIME NOW YOU THINK ABOUT USING DEVOE’S SATELLITES??? WHY WOULDN’T THAT BE THE FIIRST THING AFTER SALLY WAS DESTROYED?

- Cisco understanding that Caitlin is afraid and not ready yet 🥺🥺

- So that episode was fucking AWFUL. The only good thing about it was Cisco and Caitlin’s friendship and the cool yet horrifying meta. Everything else was just… the fucking worst. I’d literally rather watch disgusting Bughead step sibling kissing scenes than people try to downplay Nora’s feelings all because “no one can hate Iris” uwu

- I’m not usually this… hateful. But something about that and (typically older) people using the “you HAVE to respect your elders!” mindset when they don’t respect the people younger than them. Like, if my older sister doesn’t respect me, why the fuck would I respect her? Respect isn’t given, it’s earned.

#The Flash #Barry Allen #Caitlin Snow #Cisco Ramon #anti-westallen #Nora Allen #anti-Iris West #Ralph Dibny

[asillydreamer-on-a-crazyworld]

After a good night’s sleep, I’m not high on feelings anymore, so I feel ready to talk about last night’s episode and my opinion about what might happen in the future.

This is gonna be a bit long so, click on the link below:

1. Ruby and Stan: WOW. Like, really, WOW! I loved that Stan is on this dangerous path with Ruby and that he is using his position as a cop to help his wife. I think it’s his way of showing her that he is glad she is not lying to him anymore. More like a “ well, baby, you finally understand what I want from you and why I was hurt. So, now that you’re coming clean to me, I’ll do whatever I need to do to help you.I’m not going to lose you”. And it’s awesome coz Stan knows the risks. He knows what is waiting for them if they don’t cover Ruby and the girls’ tracks. He understands now that his wife got tangled in this mess and that some of the things they’ve done were necessary coz the situation got out of their control. 

Really, I wish I’d find someone as understandable and honest as Stan one day in my life. Now I’m worried about what can happen with these two, now that Turner will come for them. I’m curious and excited to see how Stan’ll use his knowledge as a cop to help the girls escape the law. I wonder if he might meet Rio at one point actually, coz in my head, it makes sense that Stan will want to talk to him. Stan will wanna know what this man is really doing what he is doing and his reasons behind it, coz I believe at one point, Stan will find out that Rio is the one helping the girls cover their tracks ( even if he asks for money in order to do that)

2.Annie.

Oh, Annie, Annie, Annie... She is still acting like a selfish, immature person, who isn’t really understanding what her big sister is going through. Her comment about  Beth finally getting some “vagina action” and how she understands she needed that but not with gang friend...Ouch. It was so not like that, Annie. It was not about your sis getting a dick into her vagina. It was about how your sister needed to regain her sexuality, the reins to one aspect of her life at least. However, I get it, Beth isn’t really opening up to her sister about how she is really feeling, but she was so quick to judge Beth. Again, maybe I feel that she is worried about how things are gonna end for all of them just like she said, and that is why, later, she tells Sadie about her being the bag of dicks who hurt Nancy? What shows me that Annie still needs to “grow up” bc even if I understand her need to be honest with her daughter, she must learn that telling things the way she did is not ideal!! And right before poor Sadie got inside for her classes and in her mamma’s car!! I think Annie should have waited and not drop this bomb the way she did. But she will come around. I hope we’ll see these two sisters finally open up more about what is going on in their heads to avoid more drama but who knows. It will be interesting to see how Beth x Rio closer relationship will affect Beth x Annie's one. I think that as things get more complicated between those two, Annie will worry about her big sis.

3. Beth x Rio.

OH. SWEET. BABY. JESUS.

first, the bedroom scene. Beth’s fantasy. Like I said I think it means that Beth is attracted to what Rio represents: power, control ( or the loss of) and him breaking things down is just a parallel of how Rio was in control of the situation and demonstrated his power over Dean’s back at the end of episode 4. How he is such an alpha, dominating male and omg, kill me. SHE GETS OFF ON THAT.

The violence of the act is a parallel to the violence Rio showed he is capable of, as he smashed that car. It doesn’t mean he’ll ever turn that kind of violence to Beth even in bed like some ppl thought ( including, maybe, the lovely anon I got).

Now, I believe that this particular scene tells us something interesting here about her feelings for Rio, and you’ll find out that I agree with some fellow shippers here: she is more attracted to what Rio represents than the man himself. It is complicated bc you might tell me: “but Mila, this is part of who he is. It’s not the same to say that she IS attracted to him as a person too?”. Yep, it is part of who he is but I believe it’s just 10% of the person he truly is. Look at how he is around his son, his lawyer and even with his crew ( just remember how he was in episode 1x03. He was the boss there but he wasn’t screaming orders all around. he was talking to them and coordinating things but without that bad boy vibe he had around the girls). He doesn’t need to be that dominating alpha male with them and with most of the ppl he interacts. However, I understand that, since the girls mess up constantly and even tried to put him away, the lack of trust makes him act the way he does around them. Rio is way more than just this powerful guy Beth sees. The problem is that he doesn’t let her see nor get closer to him so she can finally begin to know him. 

We got to the real problem actually. They rly want to know the other? Or the level of distrust is so high between them that this is almost impossible right now ( don’t worry, I’ll answer that)? Because I believe Rio has a plan for them. He is grooming her into this boss bitch probably so he can have someone he can trust to help him with one of the multiple aspects of his business ( and I believe he chose her coz she is NEW to all this. She isn’t like the ppl he usually deals with, in this business, who are way more greedy and dangerous than Beth will ever be). But since she betrayed him once already, he is keeping some things he can use against her later to teach her a lesson if she even thinks about throwing hin un the bus again.

To answer my question in the last paragraph, I think he is intrigued, curious, definitely attracted to her. He thinks he knows her already, at least this part of her who wants his power, his control over things,his influence, but not the rest of the real Beth. I believe he wants to know her better, tho, because he can’t help it, but he is not feeling safe to do that just yet. 

And Beth? Beth tells him to not label them and he says “yeah, it’s too soon”, and I feel like it was the writers’ way of telling us that it really is, bc they didn’t open up to the other still. They don’t trust each other, not 100%,  even as business partners ( well, just look at the promo for 2x06). Beth is definitely not in the right state of mind to really wanna know Rio. She is dealing with the mess her marriage is right now, and with the fact that she’ll now be a businesswoman and provide for her family, and Rio is still this mysterious guy who can not be trusted bc he has Boomer’s body and she doesn’t know what he is gonna do with it 

Beth is aware of the fact that he holds too much power in their relationship right now and this scares her, maybe, coz Dean had the power in their marriage all those years ago and look at where it got her? I bet she thinks that he doesn’t wanna her to get closer and she is not feeling all that sure of what she is feeling too, so it’s safer to keep seeing him as this guy who can be her downfall if she makes the smallest of the mistakes.

I just keep trying to get into her shoes and I can’t help but think about how her head and heart are both a mess right now and I feel tired just thinking about it. Also, considering how her marriage ended up in disaster, just think about how she might wanna avoid falling for a guy like Rio if they don’t share any common ground here yet?

I truly believe any relationship between them will be possible only if they are equals. And even then, it won’t be a conventional relationship. Also, yes, it can end up in total disaster but what a beautiful disaster it will be.

all that being said, I do believe Rio has feelings for Beth that run deeper and are more complicated than just lust, and that Beth will develop them in the next episodes, because, like I said before, it’s too easy to turn attraction and lust into something more, depending of the situation, of course.

4. Mary Pat:

Oh, now MP is in deep trouble, and giving Turner one more info about what she knows of the girls was just one more way of showing us that MP is all about protecting herself, doing anything she can survive even if it means throwing the girls under the bus. She was a woman cornered and MP did what she had to do to escape Turner. However, I truly believe that, since it seems that she won’t give Turner what he wants ( coz Rio and Stan will get in his way, in order to protect themselves), this woman will cross a line here and I’m scared and excited to see which one. Can MP turn into the bad guy of this season? Totally b, but hell if I’ll risk telling what she is gonna do in the end.

5. DEAN.

I wanna this fucker dead.

Such a piece of garbage, really. But he is also turning into an interesting character bc I wonder, why he is still by her side? He truly believes that he still loves her? He sees her as his property? Is this about his huge, stupid male ego, that makes him stay by Beth’s side, so he won’t lose her to a guy like Rio? I’ll say yes to the last one but with a side comment:  he is just so used to his life, to the way things are... Dean is this old fashioned guy with sexists ideas and I think that if Beth rly leaves him, he’ll think of it as this epic fail as a man. He wasn’t able to keep his house in order and his wife by his side. So he’ll rather have this lie of a life than lose everything. But once he sees that Beth won’t be by his side for long, what is Dean gonna do? We know he is capable of lying, he knows ppl just as untrustworthy as he is... I believe that in order to keep Beth, he will use blackmail, yep, or try to bring Rio down, but only heavens know how.

Phew, that was long. Thank u for coming to my GG ted talk xD

#nbc good girls #beth x rio #OMG I lost control lol

[lisinfleur]

so what do you think about the episode?

I was afraid someone would ask me that bc I have some controversial opinions on the last episode of Vikings… So, let’s see…

First of all: WHERE THE FUCK IS FLOKI? 

I really want to believe they wanted to leave us with the suspense. It is too stupid for me to believe Floki died that idiot way. Such a huge character, such a big person, dying that way was too stupid, even for me. Like Lagertha - who was supposed to be dead LONG AGO and has NO FUCKING AGE to be dressed to battle as she was in the fucking trailer for season 6 - he’s part of the old cast and I really wish to see Floki in season 6, having a better ending than buried in a mountain tricked by the Christian God.

Now… One by one, and the shorters first:

Ubbe Ragnarsson

The meeting with Hvitserk, in the end, was TERRIBLE. I was waiting for any kind of talk, even an angry one, anything. But they didn’t exchange more than glares and Hvitserk’s eyes were pretty confused, not letting me understand if he was sad because of Ubbe’s clear rejection or if he was mad for seeing his older brother there. A weak presence, strangely punctual, with no introduction and bad worked for something we wait through this entire season. I love Jordan’s acting, but in this episode, the script swallowed him.

Lagertha

What in the actual fuck is she still doing in this show? She’s old, tired and has no purpose but spoiling Björn by being alive.

For someone who started this war with a selfish behavior, for a crown that wasn’t hers anymore, placing brother against brother because of her impossibility to accept Ragnar’s current wife - and queen of Kattegat - wasn’t her, killing dozens of people for cowardly refusing a single combat against a crippled sixteen years old boy, and fucking with an entire lineage because of her need to be queen for a couple of months, Lagertha seems to be receiving too much attention and too much care from the writers.

Please, someone send this woman to Valhalla SOON. Love Katherine, but Lagertha was over THOUSANDS of years ago…

Magnus

Do I have to say something about this pitiful attempt to reintroduce the religious conflict into this series? This shit was presented with Athelstan (perfectly, btw), then with Ragnar (ok… good), then with Ubbe (fine, we got it, enough?), then with Hvitserk (what the fuck? Buddhism? And how in the actual fuck you just throw something you liked so bad away like he did with the little Buddha???), and Magnus…

Magnus was a TOTAL throw-away character, a total loss of time, with no real plot, no real participation, who did nothing but confuse the spectator and died without solving the mystery we all wanted to know: Was Ragnar telling the truth about sleeping with Kwenthrith or not? Think we’ll never know…

Amma

I thought she would be with Magnus and give him some plot. Now, idk what to think about her. She seems to be a strong character loyal to Björn, but also, a character who came just for this season finale. Let us see… I hope to see another strong woman in this show, at least.

Gunnhild

FUCK ME, WOMAN! I WANNA MARRY THIS GIRL! She’s amazing! Her battle skills were amazing! Her scene shooting straight to Ivar when everyone was shooting around was amazing! The way she fought EVERYONE to take Björn outta that place was amazing! I will fucking dry my stock of “amazing” with this woman. My favorite woman FOR SURE.

Harald

I have to say I was reticent with Harald since the beginning. I think Peter is a huge actor and gorgeous man and stuff, but Harald always got me with a foot behind… However, this episode showed me he’s trully a loyal man, who sticks to his word even knowing he could be a son of a bitch and warrant his crown by letting Björn die. He was intense in this last episode and I hope to see good things from him in the next season.

Now… The polemic ones…

Let us start with Björn…

I grew in hate for Alexander’s character since he started to act as Björn was when he was a child, showing himself an arrogant person, cheating on Torvi like fuck and doing things he reprehended his father for doing - for the ones who don’t remember, he was the one who reprehended Ragnar saying it was disgusting to know his father was fucking another woman that wasn’t his mother (when ubbe was made, btw).

However, I must admit in this last episode he was strong and intense. I would even be fallen for him if it wasn’t my analytic eyes who noticed since the beginning the enormous curve this season made to break Ivar and build Björn under the eyes of the public. So, I’m sorry Alexander - for his actuation is absolutely perfect and he’s good as fuck making Björn - but I still think Bj��rn does not deserve the crown he’s wearing now and if it was to make Björn the king of Kattegat, Lagertha could only have waited until he came back from the Mediterranean bc Aslaug wasn’t denying his birthright and since Ragnar fell ill, she was collaborating with Björn to raise Kattegat into the great market center it became under their hands. So, no war would have been necessary and Björn would have ascended to King of Kattegat anyway. It was a stupid end, tbh. Sorry, sad, but true.

My baby, Hvitserk…

I love to see him fighting, but I’m tired to see Marco’s character being beaten in this show. This episode was a real beat down to his character who was beaten from the beginning to the end. From discovering his beloved Thora was dead burned alive by Ivar, to having his flank defeated in the war, passing by not being able to kill or even reach Ivar and going under his brother Björn’s shadow once again after all he did to prevail by himself, Hvitserk was knocked out in this episode and the last hit was Ubbe’s arrival, embracing Björn and twitching lips to him that disgusting way, causing me chills of anger for seeing such a bad ending for this relationship.

Hvitserk deserves better than live under his brothers’ shadow until the end of this series and the trailer for season 6 really made me have chills about this possibility, since we clearly can see Ivar is proposing Hvitserk to join him again - or forcing a dagger against his throat for a positive answer, which is just worse than just propose.

Hvitserk has been being treated as a game by the writers, being beaten from side to side, failing in finding his destiny whenever he jumps sides and extending a conflict that could have been already solved in his plotline. Every brother has its own side. It is passed time from Hvitserk to grown into an independent character.

Passing it by, the battle scenes with Marco’s growls and marvelous acting are amazing and I can’t wait to see more of his acting - which is actually the only reason why I’m still seeing Vikings.

I gonna be beaten for this, but… Freydis.

Everyone hated her from the beginning because of the bad acting Alicia gave for her. Fine.

Now let us take off Alicia from this show. Put anyone there, idk, anyone you like. Forget the actress. Let us look at the plot story that was presented to us and what it was really supposed to be.

Freydis was a slave girl from Viking people (not Christian origins), a woman who believed in the Gods and, more than anything, who believed deformities were a sign of the Gods’ favor. Period.

When she’s brought to talk to Ivar for the first time, she already knows who he is and she seems pretty fascinated for him - Alicia’s inexpressive face at this point kinda killed this fascination, but when Freydis says “I would do anything you ask me to do” she was supposed to sound fascinated, looking to someone she sees as a God. Ok? - and she says what she really believes about him: that he’s fated to great things since she knows he’s the son of Ragnar, from Odin’s lineage, a God, a man marked by what she believes is the sign of the Gods’ huge favor - since Ivar’s deformity is huge.

Forward, she’s seen looking at Ivar from the other side of his room entrance… As a free woman, she didn’t need to be there to serve him, which means she was there to see him. It gives us the impression that she was observing him, looking at him from some distance - what is proved if you remember the party scene when she’s also looking at him from far away. So, she was a woman with a crush on the new king of Kattegat, who was seeing her crush become everything she thought he would become. Freydis was a fascinated woman, who was noticing some interest from the man she was fascinated with over her.

Their interaction was supposed to be an innocent love starting. She was supposed to be shown as a woman who really was doing everything for the man she loved and believed was a god. Even fucking another man, giving up her own dignity to create an illusion for him to have the child he wanted so bad, just to warrant his dream. Killing to warrant his dream wouldn’t be broken. In her mind, she was really doing a huge sacrifice for Ivar. She was going down and far for him, for his love, for her beliefs. In her mind, when Baldur was born deformed, she received a HUGE gift from the Gods, for her son was marked by their favor and deformed like his foster father. In her mind, the gods were giving her their connivance, marking her child with a deformity so Ivar would never doubt the child was his and her illusion would give him his dreams forever.

She was a woman, in love, deluded and with a mind broken by her beliefs - someone recognizes it?

A man, wanting love, deluded about himself and broken by his legs’ deformity and disease???

That’s what I’m talking about!

Freydis was supposed to be a pair for Ivar, for real! We were supposed to have suspicious she could be manipulating him, but the acting of Alicia in this character gave us the total opposite, causing us to doubt there was any love in her actions when Freydis was completely in love for Ivar and deluded by his false divinity.

She really believed he was a god! And it all breaks when he kills Baldur for his deformity, showing her he never believed the same she does, her son was never favored by the gods, her sacrifice was nothing for him, and the illusion she fought so hard to create for him was shattered, for he didn’t want to be a merciful and loved god, but he decided to be feared and cruel against his people instead of following her advice.

Baldur’s death killed Freydis heart, her love for Ivar but more than that, her illusions and beliefs. She lost her faith, she realized all she believed about deformities and the Gods’ favor was a lie, and it brought her the realization that all she believed about Ivar was a lie. He was no god, he was just a monster in her vision, a monster who killed her little child and destroyed everything she created for them. She became a broken woman who was supposed to have shown in the end that the love of a mother surpasses everything, by betraying her “beloved” Ivar in order to avenge what he did to her son.

I’m sorry for Alicia’s fans, I have nothing against her, but her acting destroyed Freydis’ plot and she had a REAL GOOD plot in here! She was supposed to be loved, not hated. We were supposed to be mourning for Ivar’s way to kill her love. But here we are, hating and celebrating…

The poor woman deserved better and she really loved Ivar for good. The bad actress’ choice, in this case, swallowed a good plot after all. And I’m sorry for seeing this. With fewer scenes and less interaction, Eve Connolly was able to make us love Thora more than Alicia did for Freydis in an entire season… Sad, again, but true.

And, in the end, but not less important, Ivar

A complete deface. That’s what I saw in this season.

Ivar was built to be a dual character, Alex made a HUGE job to show us his duality and, in order to promote Björn as Ragnar’s little favorite, Hirst defaced Ivar’s duality, feeding his ego, causing him to become a huge motherfucking asshole to make us hate him and open our hearts to sweet Björn’s cause.

Let us put things right here: Ivar was RIGHT. His mother was killed in cold blood by a bitter selfish ex-wife, coward enough to not to accept a single combat against him, coward enough to put brother against brother and kill dozens in a war that could have been solved simply fighting him when his ego wasn’t that swollen and all he wanted was avenging his mother.

Now, the initial purpose completely vanished in the battle of egos this season became and a character who had a real valuable reason to make war is now just being a spoiled little boy crying because his toys do not want to play his game the way he wants.

Sad and ridiculous to see the exact opposite we saw with Freydis: in her case, a good plot destroyed by bad acting. In his case, a huge actor being swallowed into a vortex of bad writing and bad plotting.

Like Jordan and Marco, Alex is being swallowed by the bad writing of the series and even then, he still shows his huge talent, carrying Ivar in his back as a heavy burden, showing us emotions in his eyes, feelings, sensations, breaking the bad plot with his intense actuation and causing us chills whenever he raises his fierce blues towards the camera.

Defaced or not, Ivar is still one of the best interpreted characters of this series and I am sad to see in the trailers that Hirst will go for madness to finish the defacing of Ivar, putting him totally sunk in the role of a villain when he was clearly a dubious character that could have been saved by a better use for Alex’s heavy talent.

Hallucinating with Freydis, forcing Hvitserk to join him as if his brother was nothing but a dog, Ivar is going down and down with the only purpose to allow Björn to glow in the eyes of the public since in season 4B and 5A, Ivar started to carry the series in his back and it was never the intention of Hirst that Björn could lose the position of, in Horik’s words, “Baldur” among the sons of Ragnar.

A sad plot for such a marvelous actor and a huge struggle from Alex to deliver us a phenomenal work from the beginning to the end of this season. Applauses for him and someone please stab the writers or come to fandom for some more ideas.

As Alex said himself: Some theories and stories from fans are “better than what is written”, but he didn’t say that… “Obviously.”

That’s what I think, dear anon! I hope you enjoy!

#lis talks #season finale opinions

[moonestaly]

AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

PLEASE IF YOU DID NOT SEE AVENGERS: ENDGAME, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND GO SEE IT! ESPECIALLY BEFORE READING THIS BC IT CONTAINS MANY MANY MANY SPOILERS!!!

THANK YOU!

Now let’s start:

Considering the fact that I basically just returned from the cinema, I want to write this as quickly as possible, just to throw my feelings and thoughts on the paper so I can live in peace (although that may be impossible as of now). I don’t really have any kind of interduction so I’m just gonna start writing.

First of all, I want to mention one of fellow bloggers out there @kayytx that basically summed it up perfectly and I agree with everything they wrote. So I’m not going to repeat their words directly, but I want to mention a few things they did too.

A few disclaimers: 1) I’m not someone who’s taught on how to review movies, so this is just my opinion based on my expectations 2) I don’t want any hate in the comments if anyone disagrees with my opinion. As I said, it’s just opinion, you don’t have to share the same one. And I’m definitely not shitting on this movie – the movie is a masterpiece!!! 3) Sorry if there were some grammatical mistakes… English isn’t my first language.

By all means, this is not a bad movie review. The movie was fantastic – I loved it. The cinematography, actors, storytelling, special effects and idea of time travel itself… everything about that is amazing. The Russo brothers really went all out, and the movie contains everything I could ever hope for. I could not expect any less from a Marvel movie.

So here are a few things I loved from the movie…

By that I mean the first like 30 minutes of the movie. Tony’s return to Earth and his overall relationship with Nebula was everything. I like Nebula and think that her character was so well developed in the previous movies. Her friendship with Tony was amazing – the way she helped him heal his wound and the way Tony played games with her to help pass time. It was exactly what I hoped their relationship would be like.

 Steve visiting support group and there being a LGBTQ+ member was so amazing. The way he talked was amazing. The way he encouraged others to move on, because he knew he didn’t really have ideas on how to make things right, and him still grieving the loss of his own friends was so damn sad.

Captain Marvel’s rescue was perfect. That’s all.

Tony’s anger and outburst on Steve after he expected him to help even though Tony lost. someone too

And while we’re talking about that, Tony’s ‘’I lost the kid’’ killed me. I started to tear up at that part.

Scott Lang was perfect in every scene. The way he panicked, explained things, greeted Cassie, and was a comic relief in such a serious movie was such a refreshment. Bruce Banner as Doctor Hulk, too!

At the end in final battle when all the women attach and protest the Stones was pure perfection. As my Mom said: ‘’That’s what you get when women take things in their hands’’. I couldn’t agree more.

The scenes between Thor and his mother were so emotional and yet such a great addition to the story

MORGAN STARK, her and cheeseburgers and her relationship with (Uncle) Happy and her little ‘’Mommy said to come save you’’ when the Avengers came to his house was so sweet

Valkyrie as a leader is such a great idea (but it could have been better written… like… rule with Thor (not as his wife, though) or something… Thor here ended up like an idiot who didn’t care about his people. And yes, he isn’t the same Thor from his own first movie, but it’s still bad decision)

Now we unfortunately come to the parts that, even though I hate to say, I didn’t like as much. Not really that I didn’t like, more like wasn’t the biggest fan of and just thought could be written a little better…

One of the biggest fault I had was that Nebula didn’t get to kill Thanos. I really wanted her to be the one to do it. I don’t have the problem with Tony being the one who had done it, it was incredibly brave of him to do it. But I think Nebula was the one who deserved it more than Thor, more than Carol, more than Tony…

Thor’s whole character development… I hated it. It was nothing like Thor to suddenly become this alcoholic hippie who played videogames and didn’t care about anything. I thought Tony would be the one to turn to alcohol and drink until he didn’t pass out and be locked in his lab for days until Rhodey or Pepper come and make him do anything productive. But noooooo… it was Thor. And I get that alongside with Scott and Doctor Hulk he was supposed to be the comic relief but seriously? It could have been done differently. They ruined everything his character became since Ragnarok and Infinity War.

Tony and Howard’s scene. I will never ever forgive Russo’s for making Howard look like a good human being after everything he’s done to Tony. Ever. That was such a shit scene. I liked the conversation Tony had with him and the way he bragged to his dad that he had a daughter that was perfect, but… they can’t just turn Howard into a good father, especially after everything he’s done in comics and in MCU films. It’s a no.

And how on Earth does Tony get a long scene with his fucked up father and doesn’t get such scenes with Rhodey and Bruce. How??? Who thought of that?????? WHY?????

 Now… Nat’s death. It’s a touchy subject. I don’t think she deserved it. For her, it was obvious that Clint had a family, a blood connected family. And she said she didn’t even know her father’s name. In her mind, she was a sacrifice that would be worth it. And she knew Clint’s family, and I’m guessing she would never make Laura an only parent to such wonderful children. I think that her death was the only reasonable death. She did it to save others. It was worth it – they won. But I don’t think she deserved it in any way.

I want to make this short: lack of Captain Marvel scenes. I was just prepared for so much more action from her. That was kind of disappointing.

Now – Steve and his worthiness of Thor’s hammer. The second that hammer landed in his hand I was like no. He is not worth it. And don’t get me wrong, I like Steve. He is a man who stands over his words and is proud. I like that. But the whole spiel of him wielding the hammer and at the end living the life with Peggy was just not something he deserved. Tony was one who deserved it. I was so disappointed when he got to live that domestic life just like that and on the other hand Tony had to lose more than he had to just be married, have a kid and live a peaceful life. It was selfish of him. (But I liked the scene of him giving Sam his shield so he can be the new Captain America)

Also the whole lack of Tony’s wedding scene with Stan Lee being the priest was so… I don’t even know the word.

Now I, as an Irondad and Spiderson Tumblr blogger, would like to talk about relationship between Tony and Peter. So, the scenes we got were amazing, perfect, incredible, emotional, and happy and many more things. BUT – for a 3 hour movie – I expected more??? At first, when Tony went to lie down and sleep, I expected some kind of flashbacks from Titan. I was convinced that we would at least hear Peter’s voice. That they would show us that he’s thinking about him and missing him. But no. Then I hoped for some scene where he would say ‘my kid’. Nada. When he was tucking Morgan in bed and she wanted Tony to tell her a story I was hoping she would say something along the lines of ‘’can you tell me about my brother?’’. Nope, didn’t get that. And when Tony died, at the funeral, I hoped Peter would come to Morgan and she would be like ‘’are you the person my Dad always talked about? My brave big brother?’’ None of that either.

 And during Tony’s death scene, the way Pepper just pushed Peter away. Like? What? Was I the only one annoyed by that? Like, I love Pepper and Pepperony and everything and I get that he’s her husband… But like, they had great five years with their kid. Peter didn’t. He wasn’t there to be with Tony and see Morgan grow up into a little ball of fluff she is and be her brother. Peter was ‘dead’ for five years and all he got from Tony was a hug and a chance to call him Tony. Like I know Tony meant a lot to Pepper, but let the kid have his moment with his father-figure from whom he was separated for 5 damn years! She could’ve just stood there and tell him everything she did while Peter was in his arms, too! I’m just saying she didn’t have to drag him away while he was sobbing and crying for fourth parental figure he lost in his seventeen years of life. Like??? Dude…

Also, Russo’s made such a big deal of Irondad and Spiderson and basically gave it a pass as cannon and talked about how Tony was grieving Peter’s death and how quiet he would be and how it would be a great punch in the face and then just not give us the reunion we deserved where Peter would call him ‘dad’ or Tony would call him ‘my kid’. I think after Peter’s death he would at least have a minute with Tony to be his son figure just as Tony is his father-figure. I just think we deserved more than what we got…

And at the end, I don’t even wanna mention Tony’s death itself, because I think it could have been avoided on so many levels. He didn’t deserve it in any way, shape, or form.

Based on this, and looking at this movie as someone who wasn’t really deep in Marvel fandom, the movie is a solid five star, 10/10 movie. But when I look at it from a perspective of someone who was deep in fandom for years, especially after they said it was a 3 hour movie, I would give it like a 5/10… and I’m sad it ended up being that way. But I just expected more content that, as an Irondad&Spiderson fan, was actually wanted. Not just by me, but by many more fans.

#avengers: endgame #avengers endgame #avengers: endgame spoilers #spoilers

[sleepingfancies]

What are your thoughts on the Petyr Snape comparison

Personally, I think it only holds ground on the surface.

As in - they’re both men who resented the man their former lover ended up with, and then later came into more-or-less guardianship of their former lovers’ child. But I think the similarities begin and end there. More under the cut bc this got a bit longer than I intended!

For starters, I do not ever see Snape handing James Potter over to Voldemort to be killed just so he can be closer to Lily. I think - and this is just my interpretation - the differences between them are the degrees of their selfishness and the peace they made with how things turned out.

Snape, despite how utterly in love he was (and went about it poorly), made peace with James and Lily being together.

Petyr Baelish never, ever made peace with Catelyn being anyone’s but his, to the point where he accepted Sansa as the next best thing after Catelyn died.

Snape definitely hung on to his love for Lily, I won’t lie and pretend he was a total saint about it all. His Patronus changing forms, taking her side of the family photo; there are many instances where we can see Snape never really got over Lily - to some, that can come off as creepy. Personally I see it as more like a guy who pushed his only friend and love away by behaving rashly, and blames himself for her death, believing he could’ve protected her from Voldemort. Perhaps he even believed none of it would’ve happened had he not called her a mudblood all those years ago, if he had never turned Death Eater. Snape is a man who has a lot of serious regrets. He certainly had no love for James though, nor even for Harry. That much is clear (and if we’re being totally honest, given the situation, Harry wasn’t always the most considerate or easiest child to deal with - some of Snape’s frustration with him seems pretty justified at times). But Snape had made peace with the fact that he didn’t end up with Lily, that James married her, and that they had a kid together. I mean that as in - he was no longer pursuing Lily, begging her to choose him instead, or harassing them as a family. He never fought with James outside of Hogwarts, and while he quite obviously detested Harry for being very much like James, he never allowed Harry to physically come to harm if he could help it.

Petyr, though? Petyr never stopped trying to make Catelyn his. As long as Ned wasn’t around, he would make the best possible impression he could, as if he might still win her over. He had absolutely no quarrels about letting Ned get executed, in fact he played a crucial role in getting Ned killed. He killed Lysa for “Catelyn” even after Catelyn was already dead (I’m convinced Sansa has now literally become a young Catelyn in Baelish’s mind. She’s no longer Sansa - who’s Sansa? She’s Cat, his Cat, and there’s nothing he won’t do to secure his second chance at having her for himself). Speaking of Sansa, he did jack all to protect her. She got beat again and again by the Lannisters, nearly raped (wherein Sandor Clegane saved her, not Baelish), shuffled around from future husband to future husband, and then was used in the most damning way possible. While that usage inevitably led to her escape from King’s Landing, there is no way in hell she can go back as long as a Lannister sits on the Iron Throne. She’s a murder fugitive, and that isn’t really the cleanest way Baelish could’ve smuggled her out (nor the earliest, mind you, I think Baelish is full of shit when he says he couldn’t have possibly gotten her out of KL earlier).

Now, in terms of selfishness: both Petyr and Snape are selfish men. But Petyr is so, so much worse.

Baelish is still doing everything for himself when it comes to Sansa. He’s still playing the Game of Thrones. He lets Sansa get the absolute shit beaten out of her because “there was no other way,” i.e. he didn’t feel secure enough in his own future to openly protect her yet. He’s predatory to her, he sees her only as Catelyn 2.0, and his entire scheme is likely leading up to him finding some loophole wherein he “has no other choice” but to marry Sansa, or vice versa. It is utterly disgusting and creepy. He doesn’t even really care that Sansa is Catelyn’s daughter, not really. He protects her under the guise of “I do this because you’re Catelyn’s daughter,” when in reality all he really gives a shit about is that she looks enough like Catelyn that he doesn’t feel weird beating off to her at night.

Snape, on one hand, is selfish. He does only care about Harry because he’s Lily’s son. But, on the other hand, Snape risked his own life several hundred times to ensure Harry’s safety. Yes, Snape was never particularly kind to him (or anyone), but credit where credit is due; he didn’t think much of his own future when Harry’s life was on the line. I distinctly remember reading Deathly Hallows and being stunned when, in Snape’s memories, Harry saw Snape attempt to sectumsempra a Death Eater who was about to avada kedavra “Harry.” Of course, turns out it was actually George Weasley, after escaping the Dursley’s in Harry’s form via polyjuice potion. The spell missed the Death Eater, hence George’s lost ear. But the facts were that Snape - in midair, after convincing Voldemort he was loyal - was ready to risk openly mutilating a fellow Death Eater to protect Harry. Plus combating that broom curse in first year, getting his leg ripped open by Fluffy, chasing down Harry when he knew Harry was with Sirius and Remus, protecting the trio against werewolf Remus, calling the Order to save the kids when Harry communicated that he thought Voldemort had kidnapped Sirius and ran off… I mean… you name a mode of protecting Harry, and Snape has probably done it. Plus - Snape was genuinely angry at Dumbledore for allowing Harry to grow up in the dark about who (and what) he was, only to wind up needing to be murdered. Snape was furious about that. He may not have ever liked Harry, but he respected that he was Lily’s son, and he was willing to go above and beyond to keep him safe. He was absolutely beside himself that Dumbledore would disrespect Lily’s child like that and allow him to be killed when Snape spent his entire life protecting Harry.

That is the crucial difference, to me.

Baelish’s actions concerning Sansa are entirely selfish. He is obsessive, trying to shove her into a box to make up for Catelyn’s loss (doubly so, between her marrying Ned and then being murdered at the Red Wedding). He doesn’t, never has, and never will respect Sansa, or Catelyn’s memory. What he wants is to fulfill his own fantasies. He uses and manipulates Sansa, literally murders those who get in his way of him and Catelyn being together, and does it all for his own gain. He doesn’t care what happens to Sansa as long as at the end of the day they can be together, because she as an individual doesn’t exist in his eyes. It’s only young Catelyn. There is no modicum of redemption for how Baelish is treating Sansa.

Snape’s actions concerning Harry are only partially selfish. His actions are a reflection of his begrudging but steadfast devotion to his only friend and the woman he loved (or was infatuated with, whatever you believe he felt). But I don’t think he’s trying to fill a personal void by protecting Harry. We know for a fact that Harry looks more like James than Lily, we know Harry even behaves more like James than Lily. I’m not saying Snape loves Harry like a son, I think nothing could be further from the truth. But Snape is not acting solely for his own gain. Snape protects Harry because he respects that Harry is Lily’s son whom she loved and wanted safe. He is making amends with his past mistakes and failures by protecting what Lily died for.

Do you see what I mean? Snape’s intentions are selfish, as he is attempting to serve himself. But to an extent, they are also extremely honorable. Sometimes selfishness and nobility do go hand in hand - self-sacrifice is a pretty common example of that. Snape could’ve gone about it better, I’m not saying he’s flawless. He could’ve practiced being kind. But he laid down his life for Harry because he wasn’t about to let Lily’s son get killed, and because it was his last chance at fixing his life’s mistakes (god knows he made plenty).

Baelish isn’t trying to fix anything. He isn’t trying to do one last good thing before he gets caught playing everyone for fools. He isn’t trying to honor Catelyn’s memory by saving and protecting her babies - else I’d imagine he would’ve gathered all the Starks under his wing, if he could. All Petyr Baelish wants is the daughter who happens to look most like Catelyn, so that he can have Catelyn - or as close to Catelyn as he can get.

#answered #anonymous #holy shit this got long #snape vs. baelish comparison #if y'all come at me with hate anons i swear to god #snape was a VERY deeply flawed but overall noble guy #fight me about it #Anonymous

[genewrecker]

Homosexuals Accelerated Democracy

(Skip to bottom for tl-dr)

One of the oldest known classics and pieces of Western literature, Homer's "Iliad," is one of the oldest and clearest examples of homosexual literature that not only inspired later authors to develop upon humanistic concepts of being responsible for your actions and your fate, but also paved the path towards democracy and theater.

In the story, which tells of the mortal demi-divine culture hero Achilles and his wrath, the Trojan War is in its tenth and last year (the war being fought because the Trojan prince Paris had taken the Spartan(Greek) king, Menelaus', wife Helen). Greek/Achaean commander Agememnon insults Achilles by saying that regardless of how much harder he fights for his leader, the leader's word is law, and the leader takes whatever he wants and however much he wants. Demonstrating this lack of honor, he takes Achilles' treasures of war and his concubine. Flabbergasted that even the best warrior of Greeks can be disposed of without care or concern, Achilles refuses to fight for Greeks in the last stretch of the Trojan War. Agememnon is foolish and callous and forces the Greeks into a compromising situation deep in Trojan territory. Fights occur, the gods join here and there, but Achilles is unmovable and nihilistic. He is aware, from his mother, that returning to the battlefield would assure glory and success, but wind up with his death (which, as a warrior, is what he strives for- to fight and die with honor). If he stays out, he will become rich, and live long, but be deemed a coward forever (which pains him). He wants to fight, but not for Agememnon, who tries to bribe him to work for him. He realizes that whether you're a rich king, a brave warrior, or a common farmer, death is the ultimate equalizer, so there is no point in life, except honor or legacies. Enter Patroclus- Achilles loves Patroclus and grew up with him, willing to protect him and listen to him above all else. Patroclus dons Achilles' armor to try and rout the enemy, but is ultimately killed. News of this reaches Achilles. Up to this point, his comrades and beloved friends have fought in the war, many of whom the Trojans felled, yet he did not mourn them openly. It was with the death of Patroclus that he suddenly mourns very viscerally, by pulling his hair, pouring dirt on himself and dying inside, sobbing and crumbling unto the ground next to him so as to be like the dead. Above all else, of all the people lost, of all he stood for before, of the great equalizer of death- that no longer mattered. Holding Patroclus' body, his rage towards Agememnon and the loss of his honor no longer spoke to him. He entered the war once more because he had nothing else to live for except to kill the people who had killed Patroclus, and only Patroclus. Achilles was a very cultured man, not a savage. He loved his brothers and his comrades and his heart rang out with pain seeing them fight and knowing he could not fight with them. Yet strangely it was only Patroclus that incites Achilles, not for the glory of war, but out of hatred. This wasnt to win a battle for the Greeks- he singlehandedly destroys the Trojan army and kills the Trojan prince Hector, and violently and publicly desecrates his corpse for days, out of sheer hatred for these people who took something much much more important to him than honor. His wrath was only satiated when Troy was in flames, and Hectors father, Trojan king Priam, begs on his knees to have his sons body back to be buried.

Scholars both ancient and modern have debated the meaning of Achilles sudden turn in the war in the Iliad, but the almost unanimous consensus was that Achilles and Patroclus were very much involved in a deeply romantic relationship. Homer, a poet who emphasized order and the macronarrative, didn't explicitly state the relationship of Patroclus to Achilles. His style was more focused on the consequences of Achilles enraged. He uses the micronarrative (Achilles focused on having honor returned, Patroclus' death and Achilles mourning) to tie Achilles back into the macro, and tries not to use monologues or soliloquies to unnecessarily explain the mindstates of the characters. Instead he uses Achilles' reaction to Patroclus' death to describe the relationship between the two, thus having no need to explain it (also it was widely known in the folktales that Homer had grown up with that a homoromantic relation with Patroclus was often the catalyst for his onslaught on Trojans after his lovers death. To omit these feelings in verse and instead capitalize on the wrath was more poetic in a sense to Homer, because it reflected the relationship between the two warriors AND delved right into narrative where Achilles murders an entire city for killing his boyfriend.)

How does Achilles and the Iliad relate to democracy? Well, the first theaters would be established in Athens around 6th century BC, some time after Homer. Theaters, which often performed tragedies in reverence to the Greek god of tragedy, revelry, and chaos, Dionysus, were the first open stage frrom which a small group of educated people (actors, who were priests and temple aides) could speak and deliver uninterrupted information to a greater group of people. The story of the Iliad and the tragedy of Achilles demonstrated the point to both the nobles and the common folk that kings and war generals were human-simple, mortal, and corrupt- and that just because they held power, did not mean they were pure. Rather, the power of aristocrats can be outright appalling if they do not hold themselves to a code of honor, and any common man or great athlete would be made to suffer to fight a pointless war if their leaders were corrupt, selfish, and entitled. The story of Achilles made people question why they should fight in war. Everyone dies, and wars were games of honor for nobles, the only people who could vote and have a voice in politics, so what was in it for the common man to fight? Especially if a king could turn corrupt and take everything you do for granted and claim all your spoils of war for themselves?

As a middle class developed in Athens, and the common man could now afford weapons and armor (but not horses. Horses and chariots were still the symbols of nobles), common folk were conscripted into armies as foot soldiers (hoplites). But after several hundred years of interpretting the Greek tragedies, and being told the story of the glorious Achilles who was screwed by Agememnon, people were suspicious of the rich and indifferent towards fighting wars that did not concern them. A compromise was eventually reached so as to have the advantage of numbers (nobles+commoners) if any war were to arise with Athens: whoever signs up to be a soldier gets the right to vote.

This change was immense. For the first time we see rights of voting being extended to the common man in exchange for their service to their king. People grew wiser. They caught on. And now they were content. The common man can now risk their life on the battlefield, but not for the glory of a warriors death-but rather for the opportunity to mould policies in their favor at home and to shape their nation.

Ultimately there is no true glory in death. Both the brave hero and the cowardly man die. In death they both return to the soil. They are both flesh and susceptible to injury. Riches mean nothing, for death removes us from every treasure we can accrue from battle. No, the honorable man needs an honorable reason to fight. That is Achilles. He refused to be treated injuriously for all of his service to his king, and protested fighting if it meant fighting for the dishonorable. An apology, a concession from a noble to a lower ranking soldier, would suffice to have him fight again. It is an equal exchange- me saying and everyone recognizing that "with all my power, I can be wrong and I am not infallible" in exchange for your years of military service. Even more important was Patroclus, a man who he loved who should not have died, and whos death influences Achilles to act in vengeance equal to the loss: the destruction of Troy and prince Hector. Fight for what you know is important, and take what you know is fair. That is the message of Achilles to the Greeks. Fight for equality. Only fight if you intend to have gains that are equal to your service and your life, and if someone takes from you unjustly, be ready to repay them in full.

tl:dr- In Homer's "Iliad," Greek king Agememnon insults Achilles, who then refuses to fight for him due to him not treating his army with respect for risking their lives for him. It is only when his homoromantic love, Patroclus, dies, (even after being indifferent towards the many deaths of his comrades) that he breaks down in mourning and repays them with what he feels is fair: killing their strongest warrior, desecrating his corpse for days, decimating their army, and burning their city to ashes. The tragedy is performed in theaters two centuries later for everyone to see, and Athens begins to have a middle class who can afford weapons. Seeing this, nobles try and conscript commoners into their armies, but commoners, knowing many Greeks tales, including the popular Iliad, are familiar with the corruption of aristocrats and their disrespect towards the service of those below them. Suspicious, they desire voting rights in exchange for fighting the wars of nobles, and seeing no other choice lest Athens lose out on tripling its army, the aristocrats comply: if you fight, you vote. Achilles is not only one of the first and most important culture heroes in Greece, he is also the bisexual/gay culture hero who shaped the minds of Greek citizens by protesting elitism, leveling a city and its army for the death of his beloved Patroclus, and paved the way for democratic thought for years to come.

#Achilles #Patroclus #iliad #gay #achilles gay #LGBT #lgbt literature #lgbt history #greek history #greek literature #Homer #gay rights #democracy #Achilles is my gay hero #yes pun intended

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess episode 7: the episode that had no right to be as good as it was

Come with meeeeeeeeee and you’ll beeeeeeeeeee in a wooooooooooooooooooorld of English Reformation~

-OK I had a lot of thoughts on how this ep handled Protestantism but the TLDR is: they misunderstood the theology of it, IMHO, but they actually were much more balanced than I was expecting.

-Maybe it’s my bias, but the printing press scenes were awesome. 

-the word ‘Protestant’ is being used 30 years too soon- but I get why they’re using it.

-”You’re dead Sassenach” some people have pointed out the guy called that is a Scot but I think the boy’s just using it as an insult and they’re play-fighting so I think he’s pretending his opponent is English Scum just as Hal Stewart’s pretending to be killed

-Accuracy! Thomas More did indeed lead a raid on the Steelyard, IIRC, though again it’s prob happening too soon, and he’s not undersheriff any more. They continue to knit sweaters out of the thread of linear time

-”the answer does not lie in here but in there,” I was highkey worried Henry was going to point at his own testicles.

-Please get Henry a barber. He has superglued a party city wig to his own face.

-”we were going after deer!” he sounds so much like a spoiled child i have to laugh

-the way Georgie says NO i love the inflection so much, I should make it my text alert for my least favourite people.

-”She creates bad humour in our land” “You mean she’s rude about your poetry?” “SO RUDE *sobs*”

-Wolsey has a reputation for relative tolerance and inaction on heresy, but historians seem to be finding that he was more invested in punishing heresy than previous histories and depictions (eg Wolf Hall) have shown. (At least so far as it was his job to do). He’s still hella villainized in this show.

-Allying with Angus? Sounds like Bad Decision #785

-CGI London looks way too big for a city of ~70,000 people

-Lina, I love you, but it has never been safe for a woman to walk around London alone at night. Not in 2020, 1820, or 1520. Especially before the invention of street lamps.

You can tell this episode was written by men

-”an army is for valiant purpose” Oviedo I love you but you’re a soldier, you’ve seen wars fought for political gain and not for moral reasons. Why you only shocked now? You should be more concerned that you’re attacking civilians instead of fellow militarymen.

-”what are you doing in the church?” “bitch i live here”

-”where are your ladies?” good question

-”it’s her own soul she risks, not mine” when you’re so selfish you accidentally become the most religiously tolerant person in the room.

-Wolsey’s face was a joy this episode. I want to make a moodboard of his beautiful sassy faces.

-the way Wolsey said “Thomas...” at More and Maggie looked angry... I think she was thinking “Really? You’re going to steal MY man now?!”

-why’s Henry Pole guarding More?? He’s a baron?? He outranks More??

-”maybe even have some lemon cake” it’s official, Margaret Pole is Sansa Stark

-”bathe me better and I will relax” she is literally a toddler omg

-”I have bathed you for years, no lady could do better” you can say that again, any other lady would have dunked katherine’s head under the water by now

-”to love the king why do you have to hate so many others” 

what happened?? the lines?? are so good?? i am SHOOKETH

-shot of the wavering compass...heavy-handed but i loved it

-Ursula geeking out over her garden :’) i get it girl i got into gardening myself this year.

-”my wife is the only sight I care for” *smooch* the second man in England to have rights! Thank god they’re so in love, given the real couple were married for 40 years. (They totally left the room to go make out, didn’t they.)

-Raiders of the Lost Inheritance Deeds

-WHERE ARE THE BOLEYN GIRLS?? THESE ARE STARTING TO BE THE YEARS THEY’RE AT COURT??

-God Stephenie was amazing this episode. I felt her pain, she became such a more well-rounded character, I’m so glad she got to speak her mind to Catherine instead of continuing to simp for her and excuse her behaviour. If she betrays her secret next episode, her character arc will be complete. Also, after whitewashing Isabella’s actions as Gurl Powah, it’s so refreshing to have Lina call out religious persecution of all flavours, not just against Lutherans. 

-”my own husband?” Lina...did you just... tell Catherine your husband isn’t Christian? Run?

-My theory was correct! TSP!KOA is indeed trying to be her mother!

-”ugly altar boys” Aardvark is on FIRE this episode. Everyone is bringing their snark game.

-good use of spooky strings

-mention of humours! Accuracy point! Also I’m glad that Katherine hanging out in her nightdress with men was called out for being hella sus in the Tudor worldview.

-the whole torture dungeon reveal reminded me of a similar scene in the 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow, but apart from that, it was perfect. No dialogue, just the camera, the props and Laura, and you tell the whole story with her face. This is why show don’t tell is so important!

-yes i am biased bc i never liked the ship, but the break up scene was great, for both their characters: More’s allowed to explain his worldview and Maggie is able to call him out. Also it answered the question “why Thomas More and not some tutor OC?” I’m not sure the bombshell justifies writing their romance, but at least it explains its existence. At least it built to some Juicy Drama. 

-poor Maggie though. The man she wants to sleep with won’t sleep with her, the man who wants to sleep with her she doesn’t want. Then she befriends both of them, only to lose their friendship when one dies of the plague and the other she wishes died of the plague because he’s terrible. Also her cousins keep being executed, her daughter’s terrified, and her son is way too fond of violence. Give the girl a hug.

-”watch your step” yeah we wouldn’t want you to get a splinter on your way to get your head lopped off. That would really suck. 

-the way the crowd groaned when henry’s letter was read out... they sounded like football fans when their team misses a goal.

-”Henry” just henry? not henry the king? No “PS: I’m so random lol” “PS: blow a kiss to Wolsey” No “Henry ex-oh-ex-oh-ex-oh”

-the obligatory gross thing obvs is the sideways beheading. His head bounces!

TLDR: By far and away, the best ep in the show so far in my opinion. It almost feels like it’s set in the sixteenth century. The history was still dodgy af, and so was much of the dialogue, but the drama was much more solid and less plot-holey, the pacing was good, and the foolish mistakes of Stafford and Catherine had actual consequences for the plot, the actors knocked it out of the park, some of the lines were accidentally brilliant. 

#the spanish princess

[sleepingfancies]

I’m mad and it’s about my son so you already KNOW I have a lot to say here.

The thing that is so infuriating about Chris Manawa’s situation and subsequent death is the timing and literal execution of his story line. Get ready, because there’s a hell of an essay below.

Chris Manawa got scratched out of FTWD in S2 after his fan support plummeted when he started down a rocky, arguably sketchy path. But here’s the question of the day: how would that storyline have ended if the writers hadn’t gotten cold feet about it? Too bad we’ll never know, but let’s dissect what’s so goddamn frustrating about this. In stages, broken down, so y’all can follow.

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1. Inherent Good vs. Inherent Evil vs. That Little Grey Area

 Let’s talk about Rick Grimes for a second. Our guy Rick went completely off the rails in S3 after Lori’s death, and still had moments in S4 and S5 where his actions were pretty “yikes” (i.e. leaving desperate, likely harmless hitch hikers to walkers, slaughtering people in a church, ripping a guy’s throat out with his teeth, etc).

“But Clara,” you say, “those acts were justified.”

Well, partially, sure. But on the other hand - that’s what the writers have lulled us into thinking. We know that Rick has seen some shit, been through some shit, and had to make some shit decisions. We know he’d do anything to protect Carl and Judith. He’d do anything to protect The Group. He doles out justice like he’s a walking gavel. We automatically give him a pass for this. He’s a damaged man and those are his family members; we can understand him going a little cuckoo sometimes. And besides, Rick would never go “dark side.” No matter how ruthless Rick can get, there is never any real, honest to god danger that Rick might completely snap. And if it ever seems like Rick is going down a bad road and losing fan support, well, the writers just throw in someone worse - like Shane, the Governor, the Terminus cannibals, or Negan. So long as there’s someone inherently bad, no one will start to wonder if Rick is still a capable leader.

The lack of anyone inherently bad in FTWD immediately handed Chris an extreme disadvantage when it came to his arc. We, as viewers, were simply not allowed to see his actions compared to the actions of someone who had solely poor intentions. We were not allowed to see the actions of a traumatized teenage boy in comparison to a grown ass man holding a barbed wire baseball bat who simply doesn’t care who lives or dies, so long as he’s alpha male (you know who we did get to see that comparison with? Carl fucking Grimes).

Let’s talk about why that is, shall we?

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2. Before (The Good), During (The Bad & the Ugly), and After (The Good)

With most major/minor characters (or even antagonists) in stories of all kinds (but especially televised stories), we see their “before and after” to trauma and challenge. Daryl and Carol had abusive family backgrounds that explain how they can behave and think sometimes. Shane genuinely thought Rick was dead and grew attached to Lori and Carl in the chaos, began to feel responsible for them, even love them. Even at his worst, he continually brings this up, and to a point it does explain how he can think and behave sometimes. Even the Governor had a tragic backstory, both initially and after he lost Woodbury.

Chris Manawa’s storyline is not a “before and after” story, it’s a “right here, right now” story. 

When the apocalypse really kicks in, we as an audience find ourselves right smack in the mid-beginning of Chris’ development. Think about it; he watches his mom get shot in the head, he’s thrust into a world where he isn’t safe anymore, and he’s surrounded by people who make him feel like an outcast. Add the cherry on top that he’s literally just a 16 year old kid, well shit, now you have a traumatized, isolated character who is neither mentally nor emotionally prepared to handle the situation.

What does this result in? Fucked up shit. Bad decisions. Anger - deep-seated, simmering anger that is not being dealt with, but just continually building. Look, I love my mom. Love my mom. She’s the best person I know. I look up to her, and if my parents got divorced and my dad kept telling me to give my “new family” a try, I wouldn’t want to either. I’d stay with my mom. I’d trust my mom. I’d know that she was the one constant in my life who would never voluntarily leave me or force me to hang out with my step-siblings. And then, she gets infected. No one understands by what. My mom is going to die, and then she dies because my dad shoots her in the head in front of me. In that scenario, personally, I would be beyond distraught. I would be beyond angry. I would withdraw and cut myself off and mourn and smash shit and yeah, I’d probably dissociate so fucking hard. Especially after finally trying to reach out to my step-family and getting shut the fuck out.

We don’t get to see the resolve of Chris’ backstory, because his backstory is his present in FTWD. Think. About. It. This is the kinda shit you’d expect to hear 5 minutes of over sad piano music as the narrator looks off into the mid-distance on TWD. This is the kind of backstory you’d expect to hear from someone like Daryl, or Beth. Hell, this almost is Beth’s arc.

And, sadly enough, Chris’ arc being shown presently rather than presented as backstory is almost precisely what killed him. My poor traumatized son. My third and final point is to finally settle this bullshit comparison once and for all, bc y’all see fit to do my son dirty.

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3. Carl vs. Shane vs. Negan

You know what made Shane so despicable? The fact that despite the many chances Rick gave him, he continually fought only for himself and his best interests, he continually wanted what Shane thought Shane deserved. He was selfish, arrogant, close-minded, obsessive, and downright untrustworthy.

Does literally any of that sound like Chris? Chris, the boy who tried to help Alicia over a fence and got punched in the face for it? Chris who tried so many fucking times to alert Travis and Madison that he was NOT FUCKING OKAY and needed help but they ignored him at every turn? The boy who kept making steps to leave the group because he thought they were better off without him there? The poor thing might’ve turned suicidal if he had been forced to stay with them.

“But Clara,” you cry, “remember that time Chris shot an innocent man?”

Yes, I do. I remember when my sneaky son tackled Travis pretending he just wanted a hug. I remember my angry garbage boy taking so much satisfaction in axing walkers between a fence.

You know who else shot an innocent man? Carl Grimes.

You know who else repeatedly takes pleasure in killing zombies? Carl Grimes.

You know who acts condescending, dangerous to their own families, and remark on the fuckability of every woman they meet? Shane and Negan.

You know who DOESN’T act condescending, dangerous to their own families, and remark on the fuckability of every woman they meet? Carl Grimes and Chris Manawa.

Huh. It’s almost like... Chris would’ve been another Carl Grimes, if he had had a competent parent who’d recognized his trauma and helped him through it. If the writers hadn’t chickened out by the fandom backlash and decided they were going to see Chris’ arc through rather than cut it short while they felt like they were ahead.

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BONUS ROUND: Trauma, Dissociating, and Cries for Help

Let’s just peep at some things Chris said while he was alive, mainly in his almost-final moments.

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(when Travis is skeptical about joining James, Derek, and Brandon because  the Clarks are a perfectly nice group) “[Derek and Brandon] look at me different [from the Clarks].”

(When Travis says Chris is making a mistake by trusting Derek and Brandon) “I would hide at recess every day because the football guys used to make fun of me. What’d you tell me? ... The lesson was to fit in. I’m fitting in.”

(when Travis protests at Chris’ attachment to Derek and Brandon, saying he’s only known them for two days) “They’re my friends. James is my friend.”

(when Travis says they don’t need Derek and Brandon) “I do.”

(when Travis asks for the date) “No, dad, I lost track. What does it matter?”

(when Travis remarks he should’ve helped Chris) “I’m no good. Look at me. I’m no good!”

(when Travis asks what Chris is doing killing walkers behind a fence) “Making myself useful.”

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Like. Holy shit, how does this not SCREAM to y’all that this is a kid who has a history of feeling like an unwanted outcast and he needs help my fuckignfw GOD this boy just needed HELP

He’s depressed and dissociating and angry and JESUS. He latched on to Derek and crew in two days because he’s that fucking desperate to be wanted and included and in on the joke for once

TL;DR don’t come for my son because I am upset and moody about this and he will always be more of a parallel to Carl than to Negan or Shane and I’m so goddamn FRUSTRATED that the writers didn’t have the guts to just fucking finish his fucking arc and let him be at peace god fucking damn I just

FUCK

#chris manawa #it's 3:30 AM i have class in 6 hours and this is what i'm doing with my life #i just wanna die #this is frustrating #ftwd