#but let's face it when they show up for the first time they're kinda garbage people | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

iocainesmoothie · 3 months

Text

Been playing ffxiv, paid to skip HW but really enjoyed stormblood, saw emet-selch for the first time.

I'm very impressed that his first introduction to the player was to be shot and rag dolled down the stairs, it immediately differentiates him from the other ascians who just say ominous and vague nonsense that never amounts to anything. It was almost more sinister, because it really illustrates the point that the ascians are noncorporeal horrors piloting a meat puppet.

Also very minor detail but I noticed even back in stormblood, instead of writing a boring talk quest as "go talk to so-and-so", instead they say "go meet SOMEONE at such-and-such place". Like it's so very minor, but instead of straight up telling me who you're going to meet they just sorta hint and say how excited that person is to see you again.

Mechanically it's the exact same boring quest format, and maybe I don't otherwise even care about that character, but even that tiny bit of speculating who it is and the implication that they have any kind of emotional response AT ALL is already elevating the writing.

I get the majority of quest text boils down to telling the player to go to X or talk to Y or collect Z and there's only so many ways to do that, and clarity of communication is always top priority, but in something long format like an mmo where the player has likely plugged in a hundred hours already you can kinda assume they've been trained to expect a certain order of events and can play with the format a bit.

Also the last duty of sb was one of those "everyone shows up at the big battle as npcs and cheers at you to go on to the big boss while they hold back reinforcements" fights and it's very anime but honestly it always works on me.

Been leveling up dark knight, but I bought the level 80 warrior boost because I hate playing with other people and I wanted to solo a bunch of the main scenario raids instead of queueing. Also I'm playing dark knight because aesthetics, and tanking for a group is too much responsibility for me.

Honestly dk kinda sucks compared to paladin and warrior, way less mitigation and self healing, and though it feels like I'm doing more damage it's still not as much as a pure dps.

Also bought a bunch of clothes on the shop in a moment of weakness, but now my outfit is so cool I don't want to change into anything else! And I kinda miss wearing vanilla gear and seeing your outfit change as you pick up upgrades. Oh well atleast I'm cute and it avoids those awkward moments when a piece from a new set doesn't fit with your current fit.

Ffxiv clothing designs are so gorgeous, even the shitty low-level vanilla garbage is kinda cute. Ppl who buy store stuff obviously look good but I have way more respect for the glamours I see where people just got really creative with in-game items. The graphics are like 10 years out of date but the hair and clothes and faces are still miles better than some of biowares stuff (guys I love you I'm on your side let's figure this out you can't just make everyone bald)

Also I've noticed the cuts scene cameras do a trick anime does a lot to cut down animation costs, the framing and panning and angles do a LOT of the work when they otherwise can't get these limited models to emote that much. Or else they just fully cut away and let a sound effect imply an action took place and your brain just fills in the difference.

Anyway I'm addicted and am probably wasting a lot of time on things I should be doing instead but it's nice to have something to hyper fixate on for a while, and I haven't even started SB or EW and I've heard they're both life changing so maybe I'll just glut myself until I've wrung all the dopamine I can out of it.

Also I've realized there is such a jump in writing quality in SB that I'm only really emotionally attached to lyse and hien and the general, the rest of the scions are all kind of... idk unlikable?? They're all the same kind of snarky but not really funny, and speak intelligently but not really with any character or having much to say. Allisae being maybe the exception but I feel like she doesn't get much screen time compared to her brother.

It was very touching that she's the tough prickly one, but very honestly tells you she feels alone and sadly asks you not to leave her in a moment of vulnerability before the fight where she reaches for your hand desperately before her soul is teleported away. Like damn yeah this is manipulative but you got me! I'm invested now!

Also that little crystal cat boy was in arr and I never finished/paid attention to his quest line so idk how he ended up i SB, guess I'll find out.

#playing ffxiv #just dumping my thoughts

11 notes · View notes

respectable-username · 3 years

Text

🔐 Why You (Probably) Don't Need A VPN

A rant by a software engineer sick of VPN ads from her favourite YouTubers

TL;DR:

Here are some legitimate reasons the average internet user might want to use a VPN:

To connect to their company's internal network

To bypass the Great Firewall of China (or other types of website blocks at country or organisation level)

To watch Netflix etc as if you were in another country

Here are absolutely rubbish reasons to use a VPN:

Privacy

And today, I'll tell you why.

Hang on, won't a VPN stop hackers from stealing my passwords?

I mean, it does encrypt the web traffic coming from your device.

You know what else encrypts web traffic coming from your device? Your browser.

Yes, in the year 2021, pretty much all websites on the internet are accessed over HTTPS. The "S" stands for "secure", as in "your request will be securely encrypted". If your browser is using HTTPS, nobody can capture the data you're sending over the internet. More detail in the "I like too much detail" section at the bottom of this post.

It's very easy to check if you are using HTTPS by looking at your URL bar. In most browsers, it will have a lock on it if secure:

(From top left to bottom right: Chrome on iOS, Safari on iOS, Chrome on Windows, Edge on Windows, Firefox on Windows, and Safari on Mac. Screenshots reflect the UI at the time this post was written. Oh gosh this has taken over 4 hours to write.)

But isn't moar encryption better? What if somebody breaks HTTPS?

For starters, nobody's breaking your HTTPS, and there isn't any benefit from double encrypting. This is because of the maths behind encryption/decryption!

Encryption works kinda like a lock and key, except the lock is maths and the key is a special number only known to the person allowed to unlock the information.

The important thing is, without the key, all the locked data looks like complete and utter garbage. Completely unusable. Barely distinguishable from random noise. There's absolutely no way to tell what the original data was.

The other important thing is that the key is nearly unguessable. As in, with current technology, will generally take more than the lifetime of the universe to guess by chance. And when technology gets faster, we just make the numbers bigger again until they're once again secure.

For any major website you use, they will use a strong encryption algorithm (ie lock) with big numbers so your keys will be strong enough to withstand an attack. This means your data is safe as long as that lock icon is in your URL bar.

A VPN will not make the existing garble any more garbled. The extra $10/month or whatever you're paying for does not buy you any extra protection.

If you want to know more about how encryption and HTTPS in particular work, see the "I like too much detail" section at the end of this post.

Something something viruses

How's a VPN going to stop viruses? It controls the path your internet traffic takes, not the content that gets sent down that path. I guess it could block some known virus-giving hosts? But if it's known to the VPN provider, it's probably also known to the built-in antivirus on your computer who can block it for you.

(Oh yeah, 3rd party antivirus is another thing that's not worth paying for these days. Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender is as good as the third party options, and something something Macs don't get viruses easily because of how they're architected.)

Honestly though, keep your software up to date, don't click on anything suspicious, don't open files from sources you don't trust, and you'll be right most of the time.

And keep your software up to date. Then update your software. Hey, did I mention keeping your stuff updated? Update! Now! It only takes a few minutes. Please update to the latest version of your software I'm begging you. It's the number 1 way to protect yourself from viruses and other malware. Most major software attacks could have been prevented if people just updated their damn software!

But my ISP is spying on me!

Ok, it is true that there are TWO bits of data that HTTPS can't and won't hide. Those are:

The source of a request (your IP)

What website that request is going to (the website's IP)

These are the bits of information that routers use to know where to send your data, so of course they can't be hidden as the data is moving across the internet. And people can see that information very easily if they want to.

Note: this will show which website you're going to, but not which page you're looking at, and not the content of that page. So it will show that you were on Tumblr, but will not show anyone that you're still reading SuperWhoLock content in 2021.

It's this source/destination information that VPNs hide, which is why they can be used to bypass website blocks and region locks.

By using a VPN, those sniffing traffic on your side of the VPN will just show you connecting to the VPN, not the actual website you want. That means you can read AO3 at work/school without your boss/teachers knowing (unless they look over your shoulder of course).

As for those sniffing on the websites end, including the website itself, they will see the VPN as the source of the connection, not you. So if you're in the US and using a VPN node in the UK, Netflix will see you as being in the UK and show you their British library rather than the American one.

If this is what you're using a VPN for and you think the price is fair, then by all means keep doing it! This is 100% what VPNs are good for.

HOWEVER, and this is a big "however", if it's your ISP you're trying to hide your internet traffic from, then you will want to think twice before using a VPN.

Let me put it this way. Without a VPN, your ISP knows every website you connect to and when. With a VPN, do you know who has that exact same information? The VPN provider. Sure, many claim to not keep logs, but do you really trust the people asking for you to send them all your data for a fee to not just turn around and sell your data on for a profit, or worse?

In effect, you're trading one snooper for another. One snooper is heavily regulated, in many jurisdictions must obey net neutrality, and is already getting a big fee from you regardless of where you browse. The other isn't. Again, it's all a matter of who you trust more.

For me personally, I trust my ISP more than a random VPN provider, if for no other reason than my ISP is an old enough company with enough inertia and incompetence that I don't think they could organise to sell my data even if they wanted to. And with the amount of money I'm paying them per month, they've only got everything to lose if they broke consumer trust by on-selling that data. So yeah, I trust my ISP more with my privacy than the random VPN company.

But my VPN comes with a password manager!

Password managers are great. I 100% recommend you use a password manager. If there's one thing you could do right now to improve your security (other than updating your software, speaking of, have you updated yet?), it's getting and using a password manager.

Password managers also come for free.

I'm currently using LastPass free, but am planning to switch after they did a bad capitalism and only let their free accounts access either laptop or mobile but not both now. I personally am planning to move to Bitwarden on friends' recommendation since it's not only free but open source and available across devices. I also have friends who use passbolt and enjoy it, which is also free and open source, but it's also a bit DIY to set up. Great if you like tinkering though! And there are probably many other options out there if you do a bit of googling.

So, yeah, please use a password manager, but don't pay for it unless you actually have use for the extra features.

No I really need to hide my internet activity from everybody for reasons

In this case, you're probably looking for TOR. TOR is basically untraceable. It's also a terrible user experience for the most part because of this, so I'd only recommend it if you need it, such as if you're trying to escape the Great Firewall. But please don't use it for Bad Crimes. I am not to be held liable for any crime committed using information learned from this post.

Further reading viewing

If you want to know more about why you don't need a VPN, see Tom Scott's amazing video on the subject. It's honestly a great intro for beginners.

I like too much detail

Ahhh, so you're the type of person who doesn't get turned off by long explanations I see. Well, here's a little more info on the stuff I oversimplified in the main post about encryption. Uhh, words get bigger and more jargony in this section.

So first oversimplification: the assumption that all web traffic is either HTTP or HTTPS. This isn't exactly true. There are many other application layer internet standards out there, such as ssh, ftp, websockets, and all the proprietary standards certain companies use for stuff such as streaming and video conferencing. Some of these are secure, using TLS or some other security algorithm under the hood, and some of them aren't.

But most of the web requests you care about are HTTP/HTTPS calls. As for the rest, if they come from a company of a decent size that hasn't been hacked off the face of the planet already, they're probably also secure. In other words, you don't need to worry about it.

Next, we've already said that encryption works as a lock and a key, where the lock is a maths formula and the key is a number. But how do we get that key to lock and unlock the data?

Well, to answer that, we first need to talk about the two different types of encryption: symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric encryption such as AES uses the same key to both encrypt and decrypt data, whereas asymmetric encryption such as RSA uses a different key to encode and decode.

For the sake of my writing, we're going to call the person encrypting Alice, the person decrypting Bob, and the eavesdropper trying to break our communications Eve from now on. These are standard names in crypto FYI. Also, crypto is short for cryptography not cryptocurrencies. Get your Bitcoin and Etherium outta here!

Sorry if things start getting incoherent. I'm tired. It's after 1am now.

So first, how do we get the key from symmetric crypto? This is probably the easier place to start. Well, you need a number, any number of sufficient size, that both Alice and Bob know. There are many ways you could share this number. They could decide it when they meet in person. They could send it to each other using carrier pigeons. Or they could radio it via morse code. But those aren't convenient, and somebody could intercept the number and use it to read all their messages.

So what we use instead is a super clever algorithm called Diffie-Hellman, which uses maths and, in particular, the fact it's really hard to factor large numbers (probably NP Hard to be specific, but there's no actual proof of that). The Wikipedia page for this is surprisingly easy to read, so I'll just direct you there to read all about it because I've been writing for too long. This algorithm allows Alice and Bob to agree on a secret number, despite Eve being able to read everything they send each other.

Now Alice and Bob have this secret number key, they can talk in private. Alice puts her message and the key into the encryption algorithm and out pops what looks like a load of garbage. She can then send this garbage to Bob without worrying about Eve being able to read it. Bob can then put the garbage and the key into the decryption algorithm to undo the scrambling and get the original message out telling him where the good donuts are. Voila, they're done!

But how does Alice know that she's sending her message to Bob and not Eve? Eve could pretend to be Bob so that Alice does the Diffie-Hellman dance with her instead and sends her the secret location of the good donuts instead.

This is where asymmetric crypto comes in! This is the one with private and public keys, and the one that uses prime numbers.

I'm not 100% across the maths on this one TBH, but it has something to do with group theory. Anyway, just like Diffie-Hellman, it relies on the fact that prime factorisation is hard, and so it does some magic with semi-primes, ie numbers with only 2 prime factors other than 1. Google it if you want to know more. I kinda zoned out of this bit in my security courses. Maths hard

But the effect of that maths is easier to explain: things that are encoded with one of the keys can only be decoded with the other key. This means that one of those keys can be well-known to the public and the other is known only to the person it belongs to.

If Alice wants to send a message to Bob and just Bob, no Eve allowed, she can first look up Bob's public key and encrypt a beginning message with that. Once Bob receives the message, he can decrypt it with his private key and read the contents. Eve can't read the contents though because, even though she has Bob's public key, she doesn't know his private key.

This public key information is what the lock in your browser is all about BTW. It's saying that the website is legit based on the public key they provide.

So why do we need symmetric crypto when we have asymmetric crypto? Seems a lot less hassle to exchange keys with asymmetric crypto.

Well, it's because asymmetric crypto is slooooow. So, in TLS, the security algorithm that puts the "S" in "HTTPS", asymmetric RSA is used to establish the initial connection and figure out what symmetric key to use, and then the rest of the session uses AES symmetric encryption using the agreed secret key.

And there you have it! Crypto in slightly-less-short-but-still-high-enough-level-that-I-hope-you-understand.

Just realised how long this section is. Well, I did call it "too much detail" for a reason.

Now, next question is what exactly is and isn't encrypted using HTTPS.

Well, as I said earlier, it's basically just the source IP:port and the destination IP:port. In fact, this information is actually communicated on the logical layer below the application layer HTTPS is on, known as the transport layer. Again, as I said before, you can't really encrypt this unless you don't want your data to reach the place you want at all.

Also, DNS is unencrypted. A DNS request is a request that turns a domain name, such as tumblr.com, into an IP address, by asking a special server called a Domain Name Server where to find the website you're looking for. A DNS request is made before an HTTP(S) request. Anyone who can read your internet traffic can therefore tell you wanted to go to Tumblr.

But importantly, this only shows the domain name, not the full URL. The rest of the URL, the part after the third slash (the first two slashes being part of http://), is stuff that's interpreted by the server itself and so isn't needed during transport. Therefore, it encrypted and completely unreadable, just like all the content on your page.

I was going to show a Wireshark scan of a web request using HTTP and HTTPS to show you the difference, but this has taken long enough to write as it is, so sorry!

I could probably write more, but it's 1:30am and I'm sleepy. I hope you found some of this interesting and think twice before purchasing a VPN subscription. Again, there are legit good uses for a VPN, but they're not the ones primarily being advertised in VPN ads. It's the fact that VPN ads rely so heavily on false advertising that really grinds my gears and made me want to do this rant. It's especially bad when it comes from somebody I'd think of as technologically competent (naming no names here, but if you've worked in tech and still promote VPNs as a way to keep data safe... no). Feel free to ask questions if you want and hopefully I'll get around to answering any that I feel I know enough to answer.

Nighty night Tumblr. Please update your software. And use a (free) password manager. And enable two factor authentication on all your accounts. But mostly just update your software.

#technology #vpn #things you don't need #things that piss me off #res rambles #res writes

577 notes · View notes

sophsicle · 2 years

Note

What are your thoughts on those who romanticize Snape, specifically his actions with the Death Eaters, and the way he treated the Marauders and (eventually) Harry?

(Yes, this is me hoping for a rant. I just love hearing your thoughts!)

Listen, LISTEN, You don't even understand how like 85% of my personality for so long was ranting about how garbage Severus Snape is. My best friend could tell you horror stories about being at parties where someone casually mentions him and I just go off . I kinda covered a lot of my thoughts about why Snape is ultimately irredeemable here (specifically more irredeemable than Regulus and Draco so I'm not gonna address that in this rant, tho I still definitely repeat some of this stuff, but if you're interested it's there) Okay, lets get into it. Snape falls into this weird trope in Western literature where a male character being in love with a woman somehow redeems him of all his past wrongs. Like the bar is so low for men that a man has one feeling one time for someone who isn't himself and we're all like "aw, how can you be mad at him, he loves her?"

First and foremost, I don't believe that Snape loves Lily, I think he's Jay-Gatsby-levels obsessed with her, but I don't think he loves her. None of his actions signify love. Especially, and I cannot stress this enough because I just feel like this moment tells you everything you need to know about Severus Snape, when he goes to Dumbledore and asks him to save Lily and doesn't give shit what happens to James and Harry. And I know, people are like, "Well, that's understandable, he hates James" which, sure. It is understandable, if all he cares about is himself. But Lily loves James and Harry, and it just shows how little thought he puts into her wants and needs and desires. His "love" for Lily actually has very little to do with her. Now, on the one hand, you can't really blame people for romanticizing Snape because JKR romanticizes Snape so they're just feeling what the narrative is telling them to feel. On the other hand, we spend six fucking books watching Snape abuse children, children who, I might add, are already traumatized. Now we can argue all you want about how he's a kid when he's running around calling Lily slurs and joining the Death Eaters and him coming from an unstable home and eventually switching sides, because sure, as may be evident from the fic I'm writing, I think you could present that in a way that is mildly understandable and sympathetic (could but don't necessarily have to, that goes for Regulus too). But for me, it is the way he treats Harry, Neville, and Hermione after the war, when he is a full grown ass adult, that makes him truly abhorrent.

And I will never understand why finding out he was friends with / pined after Lily makes any of that better? Like people go on and on about that Chapter in Deathly Hollows (The Prince's Tale??) but like, tbh that backstory is irrelevant to me, besides maybe the stuff about his home life. Setting up his villain origin story to be Lily Evans and James Potter getting together is the least effective way JKR could have tried to make me feel sorry for him. He treated Lily like shit, she called him on it, he did not want to change, she walked away. She got with James, who yeah, was an entitled prick sometimes but did want to change. I always think the best way to compare James and Snape is by looking at Snape's friendship with Lily and James's friendship with Remus. Both Snape and James had friends facing bigotry and who were vulnerable in the Wizarding world and James moved heaven and earth, broke laws, performed wildly advanced magic, shared his time and shared his resources, to help Remus in every way he possibly could. And Snape joined the bigots. And y'all know I love a complicated character, but Snape literally isn't complicated. He has one motivation for everything he does and that's his obsession with Lily. I hate when people defend the way he treats Harry by saying "well, Harry reminds him of James" or the way he treats Hermione by saying "well Hermione reminds him of Lily" or the way he treats Neville because "if Voldemort had just killed Neville instead Lily would still be alive" like what. What. What are those justifications? You don't get to take out your anger on these children. You just don't. Like I don't care that you have feelings you're still a gross guy. I think in order to see Snape as anything but a sad little man you have to ignore six books worth of actions. Actions perpetrated by an adult with full knowledge of what these children were going through. Romanticizing Snape requires signing off on child abuse and that's the most fucked up bit for me. And all of that is just what we see. Snape fans love to gloss over the time Snape very willingly spent as a Death Eater. But he is not just a casual supporter of Voldemort (which would still be bad!), he is in his inner circle, he has the Mark. And unlike Draco or Regulus who have family involved with Voldemort and therefore pulling strings to get them into the inner circle, Snape doesn't have nepotism to fall back on here. He gets that close to Voldemort through his own hard work (like credit where credits due booboo) and he doesn't switch sides in the end because he has a "come to Jesus" moment about blood supremacy, he switches because he wants to get with Lily Evans. All of that suggests he was doing some pretty terrible things for a while there that you can't just ignore. I think, as a general rule, it's best not to romanticize anyone, like I do my best not to romanticize Regulus, not to pretend that he was perfect. Because he wasn't. But the thing with Snape is there is just so much canon content where he is indefensibly terrible that I don't understand how we let JKR convince us that this man is some kind of unsung hero? Like okay, he's not a monster. Sure, I guess. Fine. But shit, if the best thing we can say about him is he's not a monster maybe we should stop sticking "Always" on everything like Lily and Snape were some sort of love story because they absolutely were not and pretending otherwise completely denies Lily of all her autonomy. That's like watching the Sound of Music and thinking Rofl and Liesl should have been end game like bish??? are we watching the same movie????

#soph rambles #anti severus snape #marauders era

104 notes · View notes

sanstropfremir · 2 years

Note

You mentioned this before but I really do think that high def phone cameras ( and better cameras in general) are a massive part of what killed off big stage presences. Like I really think that's what caused that big gap between early and late 3rd gen. So many things we think of as 2nd and early 3rd gen existed because you played to the live crowd and the vid quality was 360 at BEST. heavy eyeliner (I miss you) was there because something more subtle wouldn't show up. Subtly too-its easy for idols to do 'little things' that someone with an eagle eye watching a high def video could catch but like adding 'subtle' details to a proformance is more complex than that and you shouldn't need to watch a vid at half speed to notice everything that matters. Some people think kai can be cringy and over the top but I really think that started because when he was being trained 4k quality wasn't a thing and to see his expressions he had to go all out. A lot of these new people are being trained for a high quality camera so they don't have that push to be super over the top and they go the other direction ( hello, model face) when every expression gets screenshot mid frame and memed online you kinda lose the nerve to break away from frozen face.

i can't remember if i ever specifically mentioned camera quality but regardless you are absolutely correct. kpop has always been straddling the line between theatre and film by nature of how the industry is contructed, but for the first 15 years it leaned much more heavily to the theatrical side thanks to the quality of cameras and the fact that touring was the big thing. big makeup big costumes big performances is the name of the theatrical game and has been for the history of ever, since humans have notoriously garbage eyesight and even fickler brains. theatre design is about allowing the eye to fill in the parts that it can't see, that's why paying attention to minute details (as a designer) only pays off if you've nailed the full shape of the forest. the audience doesn't and can't see those tiny details. film acting (and film as a medium in general) is a totally different ball game because it's all about getting up close and personal. it's the visual and formic opposite of the same mode. now in these mediums themselves there's very little crossover by nature of the actual forms, but with the increase in phone camera quality and also the fact that everything has been filmed for the last nearly two years, kpop is now in a space where somehow it's gotta be both at the same time. and there hasn't been a lot of negotiating of the spectrum (by anyone, i should be clear. we can't lump this one on idols alone).

personally i'm of two minds on it. i like the fact that better tech means better accessibility and better quality and i like that performances can be more complex and diverse. on the other much weightier hand, i don't think that idols should use the fact that everyone watching them has souped up opera glasses glued to their hands as an excuse to not do the requisite work of learning how to use their faces. these young idols wanna be cool influencer type celebrities when the fact of the matter is all performers are deeply weird people and when you are a performer you have to let that pride go. some people may find him cringe but kai himself is posting feet pics and every time he fails to make an iced coffee on bubble as the epitome of

because he knows you have to let it go. the motions of the human face are unflattering 90% of the time, so you just gotta roll with the punches. i don't blame any of these model faced idols for being afraid, especially since the industry is so image based and they are under so much pressure, but they do gotta learn eventually or they're not gonna have careers for very long.

#flexibility is key!!!!!!!!#kpop questions #the whole theatre vs film acting thing will even itself out eventually. we're just extremely aware of the differences rn #bc there's been no live stuff for two years. that's a long time for these groups #now that concerts are happening again we'll probably see some changes #i think maybe concert fancams are less of a problem and it's actually more of the fancams put out by music shows that are more of an issue #tbh. idk i might just be pfaffing with that one but that's what my gut and also my brain says #i was gonna talk more about acting here but i don't need to so i can spare you the tirade on method acting. just know that it's there #waiting #method acting my beloathed. my eternal nemesis. how dearly i hate you #top three things i hate the most in performing: method acting auteur theory and fucking mamet apologists #i know lee strasburg was dead long before i was born #but when i inevitably meet him in the circle of hell where all theatre people go it is KILL ON SIGHT #i say this like a single kpop idol is ever method acting ever. of course none of them are most of them can barely act in the first place #answers #text #kai w #the fact that kai cannot make a drink without dumping it all over his floor is maybe one of the funniest things ever

49 notes · View notes

purplerose244 · 3 years

Text

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (3/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Yep yep yep, I'm liking this season a lot! 😍 Although I hope we'll get into a more frantic situation now, like with more battles and more bonding moments (Nya and Maya hopefully, but with Bentho too 🦈🦈🦈)! We got half a season to go, I'M READY!! 😎😎

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I do like the season a lot, maybe MoM was a little more cohesive? Idk but it's not a big complain, I still love it so far 😍

Also maybe I would've liked more interactions between Nya and Maya about how they've been apart for so long, they had a chit chat but I would've loved even more. Maybe with Nya saying that it was fine and she grew up only to realize she is still hurt by that, even though it wasn't Maya's fault. I still like how they did it, I wished there was more that's it 🤷‍♀️

While I do make sense to Maya's behavior, that while it seems a little different from Hands of Time it had its logic in my opinion, maybe Ray feels a little weird? He seems less courageous than before, and it was established that he is a hothead like his son so that came off as unusual 🤔🤔

But I do love the fact that he's here and he's bonding with his son, for real, I've been waiting for this for so long so I'm happy nonetheless 🤩

Maybe I'm just easy to please and I take all I can get idk 😅

THE STORM AMULET

Oh, are we gonna address the wind element? It feels like we haven't really seen a Morro reference since Hands of Time, that would be cool! 😍 I mean, why even mentioning the wind then 😅😅

Well what do you know, they tracked them, who saw that coming?... me, I saw that coming... we all did probably 🤷‍♀️

Jay took upon himself making a quick recap on how Ninjago will be destroyed this time, thanks Bluebell 👌

Yep nyeheh electricity makes Nya go crazy for sure ❤💙 ... wait it wasn't a Jaya pun?

Jay wear your seatbelt please, you risk you life enough 😅😅 Pff lol "are we there yet" and they are actually there, biggest plot twist I've ever heard of 😂

LEGO HUG 💜💜💜

And with someone who might as well join the League of Jay apparently 💙

I liked The Island yet it was not as exciting as I hoped for, but now understand the meaning of it. The ninja helped the keepers and they are all allies. Without The Island the moment where Mammatus gives Nya the amulet wouldn't be as meaningful

Is it just me or Nya looked even more gorgeous during that moment?... just me huh? Okay then 😂💕

Wait that's a fake? Wait... UNCLE POWERS?!? OMG THAT I ACTUALLY DIDN'T SEE COMING 🤯

Here I thought he was just messing around, he always makes things harder 😅 Or maybe better? I mean, they kinda missed a bullet on this one...

BENTHO IS SO SWEET AND COOL OMG HE IS ALREADY OUR FRIEND 💙🦈💙🦈

Jay somehow had his own TV show in the past and yet he's got that horrible acting skills wth 😂😂😂

Kalmaar is a very cool villain, like, deeply evil. Not only he's calculated and merciless, he stops at nothing to get what he wants. And the people that get in the way? He wants them to suffer because they had dared to confront him 😳

And yes the voice does help a lot, I'm sorry I'll keep saying it until the season is over 😂 (or even beyond? Please cast Giles again LEGO 🥺🥺🥺)

Awww Nya no my poor girl 😢 Jay wanted to hug her to comfort her he is so sweet my SHIP ❤💙❤💙

MOM PEP TALK MOM PEP TALK!!! 🤩🤩🤩 How cool was it?

Like, this isn't even Maya asking Nya to believe in herself, this is her saying that she KNOWS her daughter can do anything when she puts her mind into it. FINALLY SHE SEES HOW AMAZING WATER GODDESS IS 💜💜💜

MORE LEGO TEARS OMG THIS SEASON IS FILLED WITH TEARS 😱 Which... kinda makes sense considering it's a water based season 😂

Nice one, and now? NOW WE GO BACK TO KAI COLE AND RAY YAS!!! ❤🖤❤🖤

RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX

That is... surprisingly Egypt theme like? It feels like a title coming from the Fire Chapter of season 11... well we got two fire elementals so 😍😍

SPARRING KAI AND RAY

I REPEAT SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! SPARRING KAI AND RAY!!! ❤❤❤ Lol Ray got old, but how can someone blame him? He did touch death while aging in Hands of Time, I'm just happy he is alive 😂

Yep, master prankster Wu, that's what I love 👌👌 I always thought Wu had become a father figure for Kai at the beginning, so seeing Ray and Wu in the same picture feels very wholesome to me 😚

Ah, uncle Powers, I both love you and hate you so freaking much 😌😌 But you make cool slides nonetheless 😂

ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH BEAUTIFUL SMITH INTERACTIONS??

BECAUSE I LIKE IT KEEP GOING 🤩

Oh no you guys are stranded on an island whatever are you going to do?? It's not like you had already before and managed to survive (Skybound) or you got stranded on a rock in a sea of sand filled with giant monsters (Fire Chapter) or you were on a freaking COMET in SPACE (Rebooted). Yeee, this is the worst yet 🙂

I'm starting to think these ninja are just a bunch of drama queens so no matter what happens, it's always hopeless 😂😂 I feel like I'm kinda right on this one honestly 😛

Whoa whoa WHOA WHO IS NYAD THIS SOUNDS VERY COOL???

Aww I like that, while Ray told his kids stories about dragons and how they traveled through the Underworld, Maya told them about Nya the first water master that could summon whales 💙❤💙❤

Pff imagine if it turned out Nya was the master of fire, carrying a very water based name? Lol

Maya: I would know if it was possible!

Nya: Yeah, like she knows that I can control a bit of ice because it's frozen water

Maya:...

Maya: YOU WHAT

I find both interesting and very annoying that this explorers club thinks so highly of themselves, to the point the deny to aid even the FREAKING SAVIORS OF THEIR FREAKING LAND 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Misako got good reflexes after all, Kai was probably ready to melt this guy's face 😅

Oh, so a trial by Sphinx is a challenge? A mental one? A cultural one? A physical one? Idk but Misako is actually taking charge and that is cool I guess 🤷‍♀️

Okay this is kind of weird, how is Ray so afraid? Is it because there's fire?... did he... did he grow afraid of fire for some reason? Because it feels a bit off for now, but if there is a deeper meaning that could be interesting 🤔

Wait is that the riddle from Decoded? That's fire right?

IT IS FIRE 🔥🔥🔥

Lol at least in this one Kai wasn't completely ignored 😂 I know my flame babe isn't the most rational person, but I do like that it was an answer connected to his element where he used his head!

Ah Clutch, you really got no backbone 😅 And apparently you're the only explorer who doesn't, dang look at the others go! I'm having a bit more respect for them now 😚

LOOK AT SENSEI GO FINALLY!!! 😍😍 FIGHTING SCENES HECK YES!!!

Kalmaar: I'm your conquerer

Wu: so after skeletons, the serpentine, nindroids, the Stone Army, Chen's army, ghosts, oni, more snakes but on fire and people from a game, that makes you the tenth. Have a free cookie

Kalmaar:...

Wu: you're not special

Is this a little throwback to Possession too? Nya seems to always control better water when she doesn't actually think about it. When her feelings are free, so are her powers 🌊🌊🌊

Also this opens up more possibilities! Creatures connected with other elements might get summoned too! I would love something like that 😍😍

This was NEAT, or maybe I just missed Kai that much ❤ What's next??

PAPERGIRL

ANTONIAAAAAAAA!!!! MY GIRL IS BACK!!! All my girls are back in this season, I'm so happy 😍😍😍 And if she is here, sweet little Nelson has to be around and I cannot wait! Bring in the purple ninja! 💜

Owww Antonia's last day as a papergirl? Nooo why??

She's got a job at the... DAIRY DRAGON??? OMG OMG OMG IT'S THE ICE CREAM PLACE BRAGI TOLD US ABOUT ON TWITTER!!! 🤩🤩🤩 I remember the post, he was asking about names for the place and ice cream flavors. Now I can't wait to see what did he choose 🍦🍦🍦

UNAGAMI BABY HI HONEY!!! 🙋‍♀️ I hope he's doing great 😘😘

This is so cool honestly, Antonia got her own character arc going on! Living in a chaotic city like Ninjago City must be pretty dang exhausting 😅

Was... was that Dareth in the garbage can? Am I wrong? Poor brown ninja 😅🤎😅

SPINJITZU SWIRL, BANANAKHAN, ORANGE SERPENTINE, I'M DYING 😂😂😂

Their friendship is so wholesome, I'm so happy they are still together no matter what happens 💕

I thought Kalmaar wasn't much of a fighter but DANG he's got skills! Also the fact that he uses tentacles makes the fight very cool to watch! 😚😚

RAY RUNNING IN AFTER KAI GOT HURT HECK YES ❤❤❤

Well at least you tried Ray 😅

Ah, little cameo of the original Weekend Whip, always nice to hear it again... AND DO THE WEEKEND WHIP!!! 🌪🌪🌪

EVEN NELSON GOT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I'M SO PROUD 💜

I don't even know what is cooler, the kids being mad lads on their bikes, Kalmaar driving a TRUCK or Kai going full parkour on the buildings to follow them 🤯

I'm sorry... am I the only one that during the Kai and Kalmaar talk kinda thought of Jestro and Clay? I miss my boys from NK, they're even more at odds now 😭😭

KAI YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE OR EVEN TRY TO DIE GET BACK HERE AT ONCE 😱😱

Kalmaar just loves to make everyone feel inferior, gotta be his hobby 😶

Oh good Kai is back

OH NOT GOOD KAI IS NOT BREATHING?!? FLAME BABE I TOLD YOU YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE 😱😱😱

Antonia, Nelson, you guys are now my heroes. You saved my fave, I'll be forever in dept with you ❤❤❤ Am I being overdramatic? Most likely, but Kai is one of the few that didn't almost die or did die in a dramatic situation and he is also my absolute favorite character so that... kinda keeps my sanity in check in this show 🥴

I wonder... does he still not know how to swim? He saved Lloyd in Possession but I wonder if he was only trying to float on the surface... THAT'S TERRIFYING

This episode was so adorable, I love Antonia and Nelson so much 💜💕💜💕 It's nice to see what the other people of Ninjago do while everything goes mad 🤣

Wait hang on my Ninjajan is a little rusty

"Ninjago City. City that never sleeps" well if that ain't the truth 😂

MASTER OF THE SEA

Like Master of the Mountain? Wait are we going back to Shintaro?? VANYA?? ANOTHER BEST GIRL RETURNS??? 💛

Hey hey hey, we got a full Nyad backstory! I really like when they do these little drawn shots, they feel more like legends! And... the ending sounds terrifying? Like, they wouldn't let Nya sacrifice herself and die... again... right? 😱

Bentho: and the world was in balance, until now because of my brother

Lloyd: and the Overlord before of course

Bentho: the what now?

Lloyd: the evil one my grandpa the first Spinjitzu Master fought?

Bentho: YOUR WHAT NOW

Why do I like this offscreen "hiiiyaaa" that sensei Wu does before actually going into the scene? 😂😂

No matter if they come from the underground or the sea, these are all snake-like creature with the same intellect 😅 Kalmaar and Garmadon would have a lot to talk about, sea king dealing with his minions does remind me of Lord Garmadon in season 2 a lot 😂😂

KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER KAI AND RAY FIGHTING TOGETHER ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

OMG Kalmaar is such a brat and petty villain I love him so much 😂😂😂 Yes I didn't even mention his amazing voice!... AH DANG IT 😳😳

*Misako kicks Kalmaar and is actually useful* 🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️🙆‍♀️

*Misako gets taken as hostage immediately after* 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

KAI LITERALLY JUST GOT SAVED FROM DROWNING WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO HIM!!!... and Ray and Cole and Wu of course, I care okay 😅

OMG that face 🤣🤣🤣

That some meme material right there

Whoa Vincent that voice just got super up when the Unsinkable showed up, it kinda sounded like Jay's lol

NO NOT BENTHO!!! 😢😢😢

Kai: Nya talks to whales now? (I snorted so hard at this 😂😂)

HECK YES NYA GOT THE AMULET!! 😍😍😍 ... we got, like, four more episodes to go so something needs to happen in between... do I need to be scared? I feel like I need to be scared 😅

Jay starting a fire then blaming Kai?... this is so in character I got chills 😂😂

SHARK BOY IS STAYING TO THE MONASTERY THIS IS SO PRECIOUS!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 I want all the shenanigans and we need to write fanfictions about more shenanigans and AAAAHHHHH 🦈🦈🦈

Bless these two fire idiots

They own my heart ❤🔥❤🔥 Also Vincent, this is supposed to be a fun little gag moment, your amazing voice acting is kinda distracting me 😭😭😭

ANOTHER LEGO HUG

YOU GUYS ARE SPOILING ME OVER HERE HECK YES 💙🌊💙🌊

Maya learned that her daughter is capable of everything, I love that. Nya simply understood that she doesn't have to give up when something gets difficult. She is AMAZING and can do anything she puts her mind into. She simply has to hold on until the end 💪💪💪

Omg Benthomaar playing billiard with the guys I already love this 😍😍

YES IT IS SHINTARO!!! THE UPPLY ARE HERE OMG!!! HI VANYA YOU LOOK AMAZING GIRL MISS YOU I HOPE YOU'RE DOING OKAY!!! 💛💛💛 ... I just really like Master of the Mountain okay 😅

I love how Vanya doesn't even question it. It comes from Cole and he said it needs to be protected? Done and done 👌

Wait what, did something fall?

IS THAT THE FAKE?!?!? WHAT HOW WHEN??? UNCLE POWERS??? OR KALMAAR DID SOMETHING??? SOMEONE??? I'M LEGIT CONFUSED AND EXCITED??? 🤯🤯🤯

Well dang, I didn't see that coming, now what Seabound? What do you have for me?

45 notes · View notes

clownistyping · 3 years

Text

A Witch & A Hick chp. 5

'Made with intention.'

Another build up before i bring Bo and Vincent in the story, Lester is...oblivious...

Elizabeth changes the calendar, from February to March. It’s been a month since she first met Lester and moved into his home for the time being. She remembers him telling her how long it may take for rebuild her van’s engine,

‘It can take up to three months, maybe more that all depends on if the parts work or not.’ Lester says and rolls his shirt up, the two doing laundry in the living room.

‘I can help you, to try to learn ya know?’ Elizabeth offered and Lester shrugs, she hands him a shirt and he folds it.

‘Don’t worry your pretty head, don’t want you to get all dirty,’ Lester smiles and Elizabeth shakes her head,

‘No offense Lester but, that's kinda inevitable here.’ She says, poking at the dirty laundry on the couch, Lester laughs and grabs his clothes.

Elizabeth turns to the living room, Mac sits on the couch and gnaws on a bone. The dog lays on dirty laundry and Elizabeth shakes her head. She peeks out the window, looking at Lester in the front yard.

The van’s engine sits on the grass as Lester inspects the valves and such. Elizabeth hums,

“Do you think he’s hungry?” She asks Mac who ignores her, she rolls her eyes and continues to watch the man.

His greased button up forgotten on the porch, her eyes go over his arms now covered in sweat, dirt and grease.

She’ll admit, Lester isn’t the strongest man she’s met. But she notices his strength comes from hauling carcasses and fixing cars. She never thought that she would be staring down a redneck man, yet here she is.

Though his strength isn’t really what caught her eye, it's everything else about him. His willingness to help her, his love for the dead. He doesn’t judge Elizabeth for her interest or her appearance.

Elizabeth claps her hand and stands,

“Okay, lunch.” She says and quickly looks in the fridge. She hums,

In the fridge isn’t a lot; jelly, sliced meat, eggs, sweet tea, jerky and a lot of beer.

“I can work with this.” She says and quickly grabs what she can,

Tossing a piece of Jerky to Mac, she grabs the bread, and quickly makes a ham cheese and mayo sandwich remembering that it's Lester’s favorite. Then she grabs two beer cans and opens one for herself.

“No, not for you fatty.” Elizabeth pushes the begging mutt away, his eye large as he begs.

“You have no power here.” She quotes the fantasy movie and makes her way outside,

“Lester!” Elizabeth calls out and said man looks up, he smiles and wipes his hands on a rag.

“Hey darlin, what ya got there?” Jonesey jumps from an old recliner in the yard and circles Elizabeth for the food.

“Lunch,” She hands him the beer and sandwich and his smile widens,

“For me?” He says and Elizabeth nods,

“Duh, you’re the only one here that likes that kind of shit.” She says and Lester breaks off a piece of it, tearing it in two. Lester tosses each piece to the two dogs,

"They're gonna get fat if you keep sharing your food." Elizabeth elbows his arm and he laughs as the two sit inside the van. The side door open to let the light come through.

"They such good dogs though, they deserve some good eats too."

"Lester they literally would eat garbage if we let them." She laughs and drinks her beer, the two sit and chat. Discussing how the engines going,

"I gotta order a piston for the engine, it's blown and I don't have another." Lester says and sips his drink, Elizabeth hums.

"Is there a nearby town to order any from? And I know, not Mikes." Elizabeth says and Lester shakes his head,

He still hasn't mentioned Ambrose to the girl and doesn't plan on it either, in fact neither of them have left the trailer since the argument with Mike. When Elizabeth asked, Lester would always come up with an excuse to stay home.

"Hello? Earth to Lest, this is Elizabeth do you copy?" She snaps her finger in front of his face and he pulls back,

"Sorry darlin, um..no there ain't one for a while."

"Man you really are a hermit, How ya gonna order the piston then?" She asks and Lester's eyes naturally follow her hair. The wind blows through it and a leaf escapes.

"I'll call the auto shop from the next town, it's a two or three hour drive."

"Roadtrip?" Elizabeth purses her lips and Lester stares, he quickly flicks his hat and looks away.

"Y-yeah sure, we can make a day out of it." Lester stutters and stands, he finishes his sandwich and beer.

"Do you need any help?" Elizabeth stands behind him, she naturally touches his shoulder. Lester tenses and shakes his head,

"Nope, I uh got it from here. Maybe make ya self something to eat, thanks again Darlin." Lester smiles at Elizabeth who mirrors it.

"Good idea, call me if you need me." She kisses his cheek and Lester's face quickly burns.

Tightening his lips he stops himself from saying anything and watches her leave towards the trailer,

Her green shawl falling to show her open back shirt, Lester sighs.

"Fuck." He brings the beer can to his lips, its empty, tossing it in the yard he distracts himself with the engine.

Elizabeth looks at Lester through the window, Mac joins her and looks out as well.

"God either he's oblivious or I'm bad at this." She mumbles and makes her own lunch.

#house of wax #house of wax 2005 #lester sinclair #lester sinclair x reader #self insert #canon x oc #oc x canon #self ship #my writing

27 notes · View notes

eradicatetehnormal · 3 years

Text

Rambling About Sk8 Infinity 'Cause I Just Caught Up

So yeah, when I initially watched it, literally my first reaction was "aw man, it looks like this show will have no real consequences for any of the main characters' actions, that's the typical shonen formula I guess." Then, as if a direct frick you to me, there WERE consequences. It didn't come from the reckless skating or beefing with scary competitors, no, it came from the person who's kinda the hero of the series, Langa, being TOO good at fulfilling his role and leaving Reki to feel left behind and like he can't match up to the rest of his comrades. Now this is resolved rather quickly within the span of 3 episodes, but what I think made it stand out to me was the way it was resolved and the perspective that this conflict was seen from. You see I think Reki's little mini arc here goes to show you the shonen hero from the perspective of his weaker companion. We've had stuff like this before but I think it's special here because 1.It shows the perspective of the weaker comrade and STAYS there. 2. Even when these characters get frustrated at their lack of strength, there's usually a scene where the protag will say some pseudo-inspirational garbage at this character. This is never genuinely done by the writers to empower the weaker character. It's done to make the hero stand out even more for being a nice person ON TOP of being a badass shonen hero. (man, aren't we getting the whole package...>:/ ) and the way the resolve this, isn't by having same "manly" fight scene where the weaker character tries to prove their worth or some sh*t, no, Reki and Langa talk it out after Reki remembered why he skates. And why wouldn't they be able to do that? They're friends :) It's moments like these that kinda almost make the show feel more like a Shoujo than a Shounen to me. Good series is good series, 7.7/10 to bullet point the things I didn't like -Langa isn't really shown to have any flaws or insecurites, it is only season 1 though

-the character design is low-key kinda weak. There's a reason why I keep comparing them to Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Kingdom Hearts characters, it's because their designs are super generic that you mix them with character designs from other anime and anime-like media in your head. Even with the designs I do like, Reki and Miya's, I feel like their silhouettes aren't that interesting. You can black them out and put them next to any spiky haired character (with reki) and any character with cat ears (with Miya), and they'd blend in together with all the other character if it weren't for those skateboards -creepy villian. Man with bad touch... (seriously though, why is the default for making a villian scarier, making them rapey? they did it with Sephiroth in ff7 and Scar from the lion king if you saw that deleted song...It's weird) Alright now lets's talk about the important thing here. The real reason I kept watching, and it's not the skateboarding scenes (though those are well directed). It's, T H E Y. Not even because of the ship, but because their relationship is just really cute, healthy, and just like wholesome my dude....BUT NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SHIPPING ASPECT SHALL WE?

wow, there's so much gay in these two, they could rid the world of heterosexuality with a doom impending glitter gay bomb lol. Seriously though, I knew everyone shipped them so I expected them to be extremely close and maybe have a little bit of not-straight implications. Shounen tends to have moments between its male characters that are very intimate and can be seen as romantic, regaurdless if that was the intention or not, but I didn't expect the implications to be THIS blatant. I feel like even the "dude-bros" had a hard time trying to keep it straight. From the very beginning they get along almost immediately and never really went through any real rivalry phase. Even when Reki avoided Langa and quit skating, it wasn't because of any bitter feelings towards Langa, but because he was getting insecure and felt like he couldn't stand to him. For most of the series, they continue to inspire each other throughout the series and become each others main motivations for waking up happy and just skating. One of the biggest examples is the scene where Reki races with ADAM and another being when Langa races with Kojiro. Even when Reki gets, dang-near molested and the race track and loses courage, it's Langa's words that reminded him of what he was fighting for and gets his head back in the game, even if he does end up losing. With Langa, it wasn't until he saw Reki's face and heard his voice from the crowd, did he start to feel passionate about winning the race, as his hearts not in skating, if he can do it with the person who got him into it (he really asked Reki if they could skate for infinity ah *cries*) (It kind of makes me wonder if the original manga writer wrote a bunch of BL before writing Sk8 and is stuck in this awkard phase were they are literally incapable of writing to male main characters who AREN'T into each other or if they are just going to make Reki and Langa a couple. I'm gonna guess it's the first one, because let's be real, when companies see that people ship a gay pairing, they WILL pander to the fraction that ships it shamelessly and then will never go through with it in the end. I'd be happy to be wrong here though.)

Aw yes, one more thing before I go. I like to think that these two scenes were meant to parallel each other:

uhhh Okay, so you can barely tell but these pictures are basically Reki, Langa, and Adam tangoing with each other on skateboards. I like to interpret as Langa being able to turn what has been seen to be spirit breaking for Reki into something positive, if only for a brief moment. A more intellectual queer could put the relationship between these 3 through a queer theory lens and say that they represent being in vs being out of the closet, a metphor for grooming, or perhaps even trying to reclaim your youth, but to be frank, my a** is not fat enough, nor is my brain big enough to be this person.

#sk8 episode 10 #sk8 the infinity #sk8 langa #sk8 reki #sk8 renga #he's still a sk8r boi :')#*gets on one knee* Reki will you be my sk8r boi?#shipping

15 notes · View notes

intrepidmare · 4 years

Text

MARE'S RECAPS ~ THE MANDALORIAN: CHAPTER 9 "THE MARSHALL"

Oh wow! It's been a while since I've done something like this. Last year, I caught up with season 1 about 2 days before the finale, so I didn't have the opportunity to write reviews/recaps. This season, though, I'm going to 😀 so here it is the first one!

For the folks that haven't seen the premiere and don't want spoilers, scroll past this, fast and furious, because it's full of them. If you want to blacklist tags to avoid spoilers from me, I suggest that you add #mando spoilers, #the mandalorian season 2 spoilers, and #mare's mando recaps to the list.

I've seen the episode a few times (yeah, I'm that obsessed with the show) so some of my reactions are more visceral than others since I was too excited the few first times I watched it and I missed a lot of details (another reason to rewatch the episode more than once). This recap is loooooong, which is an indication of how amazing it was.

So this my final warning to those avoiding spoilers. Stop reading, right now. The rest of you… enjoy and let me know if you share some of my opinions. I'm always open to chat 😊

Chapter 9 ~ The Marshall

So it begins! It's so exciting!

I knew that Mando and baby Yoda walking in the street at night was going to be the opening scene. I started to think about it after watching the second trailer, and I'm glad that I was right.

It turns out that the red-eyed creatures were not jawas as I saw some people saying.

Baby Yoda was not happy with the little excursion to the fighting arena. Not walking on the streets nor inside watching the fight. I still laughed when he locked himself up in the pram, even if I've watched the trailer like a gazillion times by now and I knew he was going to do it.

And talking about the baby, he's getting more vocal I think. He's making a few new noises, whimpering more, which I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. That he complains more means that he feels safe with his buir and isn't afraid of retaliation for it as he probably was with others in the past and the reason he didn't cry much in season 1. But it breaks my heart that he is stressed. And that child is anxious, I can tell you that much.

The fight with Gor Koresh's thugs was awesome! The gamorrean flying to squash Mando and failing had me cracking up. And omg! Din'd moves! Using his helmet as a weapon and throwing his vibroblade. And leaving Gor Koresh to be eaten! Man of his word, he didn't kill the guy.

On a side note, I would've never guessed it was John Leguizamo who gave voice to Koresh until I saw the credits. Of all the actors who could play the part, I never thought of him.

Umm, I'm curious about the time Mando has spent in Tatooine, which according to him it's been a lot and it makes sense since he knows so much about the Tuskens, their language and culture. I'm guessing he spent a while among them. He had to learn all that somehow.

When I speculated that Mando was going back to Tatooine after watching the trailers, I said that I was going to riot if he didn't visit his favorite mechanic. Thankfully, I didn't need to worry. I loved Peli in episode 5 of season 1 and I loved her even more now remarking on Din's dislike of droids and trying to keep the baby for herself. Not to mention she complaining about not getting good help these days 🤣

And I ADORE the (improvised?) Birikad Din got for the baby. Of course, the baby is safer in the pram, right (guessing that's why he used it when he met Gor Koresh), but there's something sweet watching him carrying his son so close to him.

And I tell you, Mando has been spending credits lately in baby stuff. I mean, he got a new pram (which I initially thought it was the original that he had somehow retrieved from the garbage in Nevarro, but no, it's not the same, and neither it's the one that Kuiil made) and he also got the bag/birikad thing, which looks brand-new. I wonder what else he bought.

Watching the droids doing maintenance of the Razor Crest makes me think it's all for nothing, knowing that in a few episodes (it might be even in the next one) Mando is going to crash the ship. More than once perhaps.

😆 The baby still loves speed! I think riding on the speeder bike was the only moment that he truly enjoyed in this episode. Look at that happy face

When they arrived at Mos Pelgo and Din went into the cantina, leaving the baby outside, I was like: Din! That's not responsible. How can you leave your son out in the inclement sun, alone! Then baby Yoda peeked in and I went: never mind. I take back what I said.

Oooh. Cobb Vanth! I love him! For a moment, I thought it could actually be Boba but it seemed illogical and that's what Mr. Feloni and Mr. Favreau wanted us to think. I was correct.

My gawd! Din's shock when Vanth took the helmet off. I just knew he would freak out the moment Cobb asked for drinks and I said to drink they need to remove their helmets and Mando is going to lose it when this guy does. And the standoff! Was so good! "Take it off or I will" is going to become a quite popular phrase in fics from now on, not in the same context, but yeah…

The krayt dragon… oh shit! Or rather Dank farrik! We can't see Mando's face or expression but I can imagine which one was when he saw the dragon eating the bantha the first time.

Oh my goodness. The baby hiding in the pot! Too adorable!

I know every hardcore SW fan lost it watching Vanth modified speeder because is a callback to the Phantom Menace and Anakin but my first thought was: is he compensating for something? Sorry, I couldn't help it

The dog-lizard creatures were kinda scary at first but then became adorable. Almost as much as baby Yoda getting out of hiding

Baby Yoda doesn't like dog-lizards things. He looked afraid to be eaten I think. Poor little guy.

And look at that! Din showing such growth! To think he was the one incensing others in negotiation 😆 this is a total callback to the jawas in Arvala-7. And I gotta tell you, Din freaking loves his flamethrower. He doesn't waste the opportunity to use it.

The krayt dragon eating the Tusken raider instead of the bantha was quite of a plot twist 😆

When they were planning the attack on the dragon, Cobb Vanth's face when Din told him that the bones and pebbles were to scale, and then when he had volunteered the villagers to help… priceless!

I like the fact of banding together with others for a greater good, relying on others to accomplish something is going to continue being the theme of this season. It started last season but I think it's going to be stronger this time around along all of the episodes.

😳😲😳😲 this thing vomits acid?! What. The. FUCK?!!!

Cobb: I don't think it's dead

Mando: me neither

Me, at the same time as Din: yeah, nope it's not dead

Oh yeah! Teaming up with jetpacks!

When they showed the bantha with the remaining explosives my first thought was why didn't they use all those before?! That's why they didn't kill it!! Of course, it was just an excuse to grant Din a more grand win in the end, but you know, it's stupid not to use everything you have to kill the monster on the first try. Just saying

Wait, what? Din! What are you going to do? No! Taking care of the child is your responsibility, not Cobb Vanth's! I hate this plan of yours, Din Djarin!! Whichever it is!

Oh! Nice callback to the flaw on that jetpack. But makes me wonder, do all the rising Phoenixes have the same flaw? Cuz unless Din knows Boba in person and that it's his armor with that particular flaw, it means it's a common problem for all and I don't like it.

Get away, Din! Get away, Din!! FLY AWAY!! AAAAAAAHHHHHH! NOOOOOO!

There he is! Damn, Mando! Don't scare me like that! Altho, it was a nice move.

Okay, but now I want someone to explain something to me. If the dragon's acid melted people at contact before, how the hell is Din so whole? I mean, sure for argument' sake let's say his beskar armor provides some protection, but he's not entirely covered in it. His cape and undersuit seem just fine, albeit sticky. Where's the logic in that?

The tuskens getting the pearl reminded me of the jawas and the mudhorn's egg, chanting zukka, zukka (or however egg is spelled in Jawa).

That's quite a piece of meat. The baby is going to be happy eating off it for days🤣

😮😮😳😳 BOBA FETT!!!!! Yesssssss!!

Okay, I've seen other people's thoughts and some think that Boba was after Cobb Vanth because he had the armor, but I don't know. If that was true then why he hadn't gone to Mos Pelgo and got it? It seems to me that it's more likely that Boba is following Din somehow because it's the second time in as many Mando's visits to the planet that they sort of cross paths. Could they know each other? Have some score to settle? It's possible. Din has spent much time on Tatooine -his words, not mine- so it wouldn't be so out of consideration that they actually know each other. That if Mando knows Boba is (fake?) Mando, I don't know. Probably not, but who knows?

Extra thoughts

I gotta say that Ludwig Göransson is killing it with the score music! Oh. My. God! So so so so good! I could tell from the trailers that it was going to be awesome this season but it astounded me in chapter 9. Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous! My favorite piece is when they're going to the dragon's cave to kill it. The orchestral sound of the already familiar music blew my mind!

#mare's mando recaps #mando spoilers #the mandalorian #the mandalorian season 2 spoilers #the mandalorian season 2 #din djarin #baby yoda #cobb vanth

26 notes · View notes

cenationarmyleader · 4 years

Text

I caught glimpse at Smackdown and once again I have no hope anymore. Like...who wrote Naomi's promo? They should had let her speak off script. (Ha! It would be a cold day in hell if they allowed Naomi to do that.) Did they not understand what the trending is all about? Why did they make it seem like we're upset that she lost to Lacey? That makes no damn sense. If that was the case, then this trend should had happened months ago when Naomi lost to Dana Brooke twice. I don't care if Naomi lose to Lacey in a fifty minute match. This is about Naomi's booking. If she's not good as a main eventer (Which I dunno why people think that after her awesome matches against Asuka and Charlotte) at least book her as a top mid carder. It's NO WAY she should be a jobber. The booking is TERRIBLE. Not just her but any W.O.C has terrible booking. Ember, Asuka, Kairi, Nia, Tamina, even Bianca and Shayna. I have no hopes for their booking. They only getting to shine on TV now because Liv and Charlotte isn't around. Even non colored women like Ruby who is so good even getting booked like shit. Like where is Mickie James? If you're so desperate for star power, why not using a legend like her? I bet if Trish Stratus or Kelly Kelly calls Vince and say they're ready to return, bet your sweet ass Vince wouldn't make Trish or Kelly an "enhanced talent". (No shade to Trish). Even word is that in The Bellas book, they been treated like shit. Do they have to be blonde or have blue eyes? Remember when Naomi first turned heel she dropped that iconic promo? We understood her frustration because it was shitty that she had beaten Nikki Bella so many times but she lost the right to face Nikki in a battle royal where they gave it to Paige! Or how about that iconic Team Bad promo they did on SD when Naomi introduced them as Team B.A.D. (Best. At. Dominating before it was Beautiful. And. Dangerous) we know she can deliver but you making her sound like an angry black woman. Then while talking to two white men, I'm not going to even touch on how bad that looks.

Remember the golden time of Smackdown Live where we had an amazing established women's division that Shane and Daniel put together? Naomi, Nikki, Nattie, Becky, Mickie , Alexa, Carmella and Maryse. They were ALWAYS on TV in so many storylines. Then have three women's matches on a ppv, then Charlotte and Tamina and Lana joined they were still on TV and the SD girls was the first ladies to get the MitB ladder match. That was the good days for the Women's division. Now? Garbage. Even RAW's division became garbage. NXT is where the women's division is at. They KNOW how to book the girls. Even the jobbers look so good. Triple H knows how to book his women. Sometimes it be a miss, but he makes it up. Like Bianca. Yes, it kinda sucks she was never NXT Women's Champion, but you can't tell me that Hunter deadass didn't book her like she was a multi time champion. I bet if Hunter took Naomi down to NXT, Vince and them would been like "Damn, Naomi had THAT in her this whole time? Why haven't we used her?" It shows who would give someone the chance to prove themselves and who only cares about your looks. Vince isn't fooling anybody. He says "Women's Evolution" and "Black Lives Matter" and "Gay Pride" but shows it so differently when they book people who represents those topics.

#trinity fatu #wwe naomi #naomi #smackdown #wwe

4 notes · View notes

sanfl0werrr · 5 years

Text

the meaning of love

a few months flew by, and that meant you were graduating in exactly a year. you found yourself spending more time with jaemin compared to wonwoo, despite being in the same year as him.

you genuinely felt okay. you were okay with seeing wonwoo, you were okay with being in the same class as him and you were okay with looking at him being all lovey-dovey with aera.

you were pretty much occupied with school, your club and the dreamies, meaning you were distracted most of the time. they would probably have known what had happened somehow, through jaemin. so, when you see them trying so hard to cheer you up for the past months, made it all heartening to see.

tonight wasn't an exception either. due to the fact that you and mark were seniors, both of you were one of those who had to step down from their positions as the executive committee.

"i'm honoured to have been given a chance to serve the school and bring this club to greater heights. thank you to my team who's been supporting me all these while and for being the best i could've ever asked for. signing off for the final time as your president, mark lee," he bowed as everyone erupted into cheers.

"can we have na jaemin, the newly appointed president, to come on stage to give his acceptance speech?" the emcees announced.

a round of applause was given as jaemin went up on stage to give his acceptance speech.

you knew how nervous he was. from the day mark appointed him as the president, up till now. you silently wished that all will go well for him.

"thank you, mark lee, and everyone who joined us here tonight. it's a special evening for both the seniors and us as we thanked the seniors for all that they've done for us and also carry on the tradition they've set for the next batch. without everyone, none of this will be possible. let us assure the seniors that we can carry on the unity they've established for us, if not greater so that they will not regret passing on the torch to us. signing off for the first time as your president, na jaemin," the crowd erupted into cheers once again and everyone laughed at the reference of mark's speech jaemin had made at the end.

the night ended with so much happiness and you felt at ease for the first time in a while.

"hey, love, wasn't i dashing up there?" jaemin came up to you, putting his hands around your waist.

"don't do that, nana! and yes, you were the most attractive man in the room.. after jeno that is," you stuck your tongue out at him.

"and you're the most attractive woman i've ever laid eyes on," jeno appeared out of nowhere, and placed a kiss on your hand.

in return, you blew a kiss to jeno.

you could see jaemin glaring at jeno even without seeing his face. ever since that night, he became more touchy, more flirty and more protective than wonwoo ever was. you knew that this was his natural state, not the one when he was quiet and cold.

you like this openly flirty and smiley na jaemin more than the other one. it made you feel all sorts of things.

"you sure you're aren't dating jaemin at this point, y/n?" donghyuck was sceptical.

even mark, renjun, chenle and jisung nodded.

"we'd be a power couple, i know it," jaemin winks at you, locking your arms in his.

you flipped your hair, "president na jaemin as my boyfriend? sign me up, baby!"

the dreamies knew that both nana and you were just joking around, but the fact that they kept pushing the both of you together, made you quite uncomfortable.

you were uncomfortable mainly because you didn't want jaemin to find it disgusting to be teased as a couple with you, but so far, he didn't show signs of disgust. the fact that jaemin and you grew closer and spent most of the time together, made you extra cautious.

you didn't want it to end just like how you and wonwoo ended.

"come on, dreamies! let's go out for dinner," chenle suggested.

one by one, all of them started walking towards the exit. you stayed behind for some reason.

"y/n, you coming?" mark turned and smiled, calling out to you.

"you're part of the dreamies now, y/n. can't run away now, can't run away later. you're stuck with us for life," renjun chuckled.

"yeah, you've basically spent most of your time with us. what's hesitating you now?" chenle questioned.

"just... i'm no longer part the club, so-"

"i thought we've established that you can't run away from us, y/n," donghyuck rolled his eyes, a smile on his face.

"we can't handle jaemin without you, y/n! you're the only one who can save me," jisung whined.

"i never thought i would be hearing it from you, jisung," jaemin exclaimed in shock.

"you're the only one who calls me attractive, y/n," jeno came up to you and held your hands.

"hands off, jeno!" jaemin smacked his hands away.

you laughed at their antics and grew soft at the way they're reassuring you. you heaved a sigh of relief.

you smiled, the happiness reaching your eyes, "yeah, let's get dinner."

the dreamies erupted into cheers as they walked fancily, with their fancy shoes and their fancy outfits. no doubt that everywhere they went, eyes would be on them.

and everywhere you went, their eyes would be on you; walking side by side, together with you.

your phone rang.

it rang multiple times till it woke you up from your sleep, the sleep you love so much.

"um, hello?" you answered the phone, half asleep.

"y/n?" the voice at the end of the receiver called out. you'd recognised this voice anywhere.

"wonwoo?" you sat right up, fully aware that you're on the phone with him.

"yeah, did i wake you up?" he asked, in concern.

"well, kind of, yeah," you answered, bluntly, "kind of a surprise, getting a call from you."

you could hear him sighing at the end of the other side, "it's been so long, y/n. i kinda miss you, you know. can we meet up?"

a few months ago, you would have have been a mess, trying to get wonwoo to choose you instead of aera, trying to get him to call out your name because he had that much of an effect towards you.

surprisingly enough, you felt nothing. you felt nothing at all, but peace. you've realised that you've finally come to terms with your emotions and left them at the garbage bin. you felt the weight has been lifted up from your heart and body.

you smiled, "sure, why not? i missed my best friend too."

the next few hours with wonwoo made you realise all sorts of things; like how comfortable you were and that there were no more romantic feelings hidden in your heart.

you could just be yourself without being all anxious, or even worrying if you're gonna make a fool out of yourself.

"so, how have you been, my girl?" wonwoo nudged you a little.

that felt weird, the way he's calling you, my girl. your thoughts suddenly flew to jaemin, who had been calling you love all these while. love seemed more classier and the way he called you love was like being under a blanket during winter; it made you warm. you smiled to yourself.

you looked up and teased him, "i don't think you should be calling me your girl anymore though. i am never yours ever since you got yourself a girlfriend, i was never yours from day 1."

"you know i've always called you my girl," wonwoo softened.

you giggled and check the time, "not anymore."

"you're always with the dreamies and we don't seem to be hanging out anymore," wonwoo started.

"don't you have a girlfriend?" you asked him, being puzzled while looking at your phone.

"i'm talking about you here, y/n. you'd always hang with them after school or even during lunch. i don't see you anymore," wonwoo complained.

you raised your brows and looked at the time, "what is your point? why did you even call me out here today?"

"you're doing it again. you've been checking your phone and time throughout the whole day! are you waiting for someone's text?" he lashed out.

"it's my fault, now? you're the one who's been missing and i don't even see the rest of our friends either! every time they'd see me in school, it turned awkward. i'm 100% sure you'd know why!" you raised your voice, "at least i'm somewhere where i know i feel at ease, and that's with the dreamies."

"you sure it isn't because of jaemin? na jaemin, the newly appointed president of your club, the club that takes up most of your time. i'm pretty sure you're spending tons of time together in that pretty little club room of yours," he bitterly spat, "everyone knows how close the both of you are. you might even date him at this point and i don't even know about it!"

"so what if i do? what's so bad about being with jaemin?" you muttered to yourself.

"you can't be serious! do you know what people have been saying about you and jaemin? tons of shit! you and i know you can't handle that," he ran his fingers through his hair.

wonwoo sighed, "i'm sorry, y/n. i overreacted. i just want the best for you. you know i'll always be here right?"

wonwoo embraced you, but you had no energy to reciprocate the hug. you stood there, staring at the ground, with his arms around you.

summer break just started and ever since that day with wonwoo, you never felt the same again. it was as if you're in a state of dilemma every single time you're with the dreamies. you don't doubt that they were sincere in being with you, heck, you would never doubt them.

you were just feeling you, undeserving of it all.

"knock, knock. anyone in there?" chenle peered into your face.

you just have him a slight smile.

"oh? what's wrong? you look lost in your thoughts," jeno questioned.

the dreamies were hanging out at your place today, and since they've never really seen your place, they suggested on chilling there.

"you can tell us anything," donghyuck chimes in.

"is this about jaemin?" mark asked.

"mark!" the rest shouted.

you looked around and laughed, "what made you think it's about jaemin?"

jisung cleared his throat, "well, since he's not here, and you look distracted.."

"you miss him?!" chenle shrieked.

"come on, chenle!" renjun nudged the little boy.

"it's about... wonwoo," you confessed, laughing a little.

mark shrugged his shoulders, "you don't have to talk about it if you feel uncomfortable."

"but i'm curious!" donghyuck chided in.

"donghyuck, don't force y/n!" mark scolded the boy.

"i don't mind, it's okay," you smiled at all of them, "it's about time i tell you anyways."

the rest of the time was spent talking about wonwoo and your one-sided, unrequited love for him. you told them the details of what made you fall for him and how understanding he was to the way he'd lashed out quickly if both of you had an argument. but it end up with both parties apologising.

"i met him the other day, because he called me up, asking to meet," you started off again, "he got annoyed at me, saying i was so distracted and kept looking at my phone. i felt bad, actually."

"so... did your feelings resurfaced?" jisung asked carefully.

you shook your head vigorously, "hell no! the moment my feelings for the person disappears, i will never go back to him. even if those feelings came back, i will never go back to him."

"so, why are you so lost in your own thoughts?" jeno asked, taking turns.

"jaemin," you confessed, "it's jaemin. you know why i felt bad? because all i thought of was jaemin. i was waiting for him to text me back, and i kept looking at the time. i wasn't even paying attention to wonwoo, and he lashed out at me, saying mean things."

"i'm so scared," you cried out, "what if jaemin and i end exactly the way it ended like wonwoo and i?"

the emotions since that day burst out, and you cried. you even prayed, not wanting your feelings to risk your friendship with jaemin. you didn't want that. knowing how heartbroken you were, everyone gathered and hugged you, patting your back to comfort you.

moments later, you heard the door being unlocked.

"y/n! your prince is here!" your little brother exclaimed and ran to you, "oh? why are you crying? prince jaemin! princess y/n is crying!"

the moment jaemin heard what your littke brother said, he immediately dropped his bag at the entrance and ran to you.

"what happened?" he looks frantic, eyeing each and every one of his friends.

"w-wonwoo," you sobbed, "but everything's okay."

"o-oh," he stuttered.

"group hug!" your brother exclaimed and everyone laughed, embracing one another in the midst of that.

#nct #nct dream #nct u #nct 127 #nct imagines #nct mark #nct renjun #nct jeno #nct haechan #nct jaemin #nct chenle #nct jisung #na jaemin #jaemin scenario

24 notes · View notes