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slayfics · 2 months

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Explosive Tendencies a slow burn fan fiction about the readers developing relationship with Katsuki Bakugo.

Chapter twenty-one: Your class decides what to do for the School Festival.

Chapter links

In class, you overheard that your classmates had decided to put on a concert for the school festival. After classes, everyone huddled around in the common room trying to decide what the show would look like. You weren't surprised to see Katsuki wasn't there yet again.

Mina eyed you as you walked past your classmates debating on what kind of show to have. You slipped by them and made your way to the elevator for the boy's side of the dorms.

Once you finally made it to the fourth floor and Katsuki's door, you were greeted with his typical furious "What!?" when you knocked.

"Oh, hey," he said when he opened the door and realized it was you.

"Hiding up here again?" You asked, as you made your way into his room sitting in your usual spot on his rolling chair.

"I was about to head down," he said, as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"What really!? You were actually going to help with ideas for the show?" You asked surprised.

"Tch- I don't know... the whole thing is pointless anyway," he said irritated, although you noticed he had been much more in thought about it than before.

"Pointless hu?" You asked.

"Yeah... I overheard some dumbasses from general studies talking about our class. Saying it's our fault everyone had to move into the dorm. As if we fucking asked for some villains to come and ruin everything. Just- I don't know..." He trailed off.

You could tell it was bothering Katsuki more than he was saying. You knew he must feel partially responsible given he was the one that got kidnapped at summer camp. You decided changing the subject to get his mind off it was best.

"Whatever, forget those extras," You joked. "I never asked how your classes went this past weekend for your provisional licenses," you said.

You were hoping a change of subject would help, but this also seemed to activate Katsuki.

"Fucking dumb," he said dryly.

"Tell me about it," You encouraged.

Katsuki grunted and looked away as he decided if he wanted to talk about it or not. "The test was fucking stupid and those damn airheads from Shiketsu were there," He spoke.

"Airheads?" You asked clarifying.

"Yeah, that fucking wind guy and some blond bitch that was all over Icy Hot," Katsuki said as he averted his gaze to the ground.

Katsuki wasn't saying it but the fact that Inasa and Camie ignored him while they fawned over Shoto upset him.

You noticed the dejected look on his face and laughed, "Well sounds like that blond girl has some horrible taste then."

"Hu?" He exclaimed and looked back up at you.

"I just mean if I was her, it's not Todoroki I'd be looking at," You explained.

"No?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who would you be looking at then?"

"Uh-," You felt your face get hot. You hadn't expected Katsuki to call you out to clarify.

"Come on, say it," He pushed.

Just then Katsuki's door flew open, "Are you seriously not going to come down again and help Kacchan?" Denki asked entering the room unannounced. "Oh! Uh hey! Didn't expect to find you here too," Denki said looking at you. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Didn't anyone teach you to knock dunce face!" Katsuki yelled.

"Sorry!" Denki said throwing his hands up. "But come on- you two should be helping us!" He complained.

"Fine," Katsuki grunted standing up. "Let's go see what these idiots are planning." He said waving at you to follow.

Once you three made your way down to join the rest of your classmates a discussion about who knew how to play instruments ensued.

That was when Denki shouted excitedly at Katsuki, "Hey! Didn't you say your parents made you take drum lessons?!"

"HU?! No way I'm playing and making a fucking idiot of myself on stage!" Katsuki barked.

"Oh, we get it- it's too hard for you, hu?" Hanta said snickering. He was clearly trying to anger Katsuki into playing them.

"WHAT!? THEY AREN'T EVEN THAT HARD!" Katsuki yelled as he stomped over to play.

"Well, that was easy," Hanta whispered to Denki, and they both broke laughing.

Katsuki proceeded to play a short drum solo that left everyone shocked. Jiro quickly proclaimed that Katsuki should be the drummer for the school festival.

"NO!" Katsuki said and began to walk back to his dorm.

A symphony of your classmates broke out trying to persuade him.

"Don't you idiots get it!" He yelled. "All the other classes blame us for why things are so strict now. They are only going to come and watch us to hope we make fools of ourselves," Katsuki explained.

"What?! We're just trying to help everyone have a good time!" Trou yelled back.

"You didn't help decide what we were going to do so you can't complain," Shoto said.

Katsuki let out an annoyed grunt, "Whatever, but doesn't it piss you off? It's not like we wanted villains to show up and attack us, but now we're being blamed for it? I don't give a damn how those other weak classes feel about us let's just destroy them by having the best event at the stupid festival." Katsuki replied.

Most of the class erupted in excitement at Katsuki agreeing to play drums, but few exchanged glances having a different understanding about what he said.

Some of your classmates picked up on the subtly of what Katsuki was saying. He had been carrying around the guilt of being kidnapped and causing all the strict changes to the school.

Tags: @anon-mouse223 @unofficialmuilover @maddietries @sikuthealien @queenpiranhadon @melrs21 @poemzcheng @kazuumii @bakunianadecorazon @ur-crusty-uncle @reads-stuff-quietly @chixkadee @perfectsukii @faetoraa @fem-weeb @nagicats @lees-chaotic-brain @maelibo

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just-trying-my-best-everyday · 1 year

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"One Way Out" is truly masterful TV. Andor keeps getting better and better, and I think it's due to the way they highlight different emotions.

Andor's biggest strength is not the emotions it's able to evoke. Any somewhat decent storyteller can make you feel sad or happy or angry. No, Andor's biggest strength is how it evokes those emotions.

They do it in an almost mundane way, without big pomp, just visuals. (Spoilers below the cut):

There is nothing epic or grandiose about the way Bix is tortured in ep 9. They just explain what this type of torture is and they put the headphones on her. They don't even play the sounds she is hearing. You just see her reactions, her shaking, the fear and horror in her eyes and that's enough.

They don't hit you over the head with how bad Narkina 5 is. The characters aren't making big speeches about how terrible it is. In fact, the characters barely even acknowledge their own shitty situation. Instead, they show you their day-to-day lives repeatedly, they show you Cassian completely zoned out to avoid facing the horror that he's living. They don't make a villain out of Kino, rather they show you he's a bit of an ass but still another prisoner. They don't remind you the prisoners might get fried on a whim, they show you their bare feet on the floor, the red lights at night.

And possibly my favorite: Kino's tragedy. He was the most eager to get out, willing to comply with his captors to an extreme because if he could only hang on a little longer he would be out and it would be over if he just played by every rule and made sure everyone else did too. And then he realizes he won't be able to get out and acts. He goes along with Cassian's plan, he is the defining factor in their victory and in the end? It's pointless. He doesn't get out. They show you the chaos of the men throwing themselves off the platform to escape and in the middle, Kino stands still. Sorrow takes over him. Cassian can't even hear him amongst the mess, but we can. It's not a big dramatic shot of Kino. It's just a somewhat far away shot, not even a close up, where he whispers "I can't swim".

And you understand. You understand perfectly and you feel for him and you want to cry and scream and you're yelling "someone help him swim!". You expect Cassian, our hero, our main character who motivated him to rebel, to save him and then what? He falls off. Cassian falls off the platform without even hearing what Kino said. He runs without ever knowing what became of Kino.

And it hits you extra hard, because this is exactly what Kino was supposed to do. He did everything right: he fought, he saved everyone and then. Boom. He can't swim. He never learned. There is absolutely nothing he can do about it. He's doomed because of something beyond his control.

It's exactly what TV should be. I can't believe we ever got such a masterfully created Star Wars show. Unbelievable.

#AHHHHHH #can you tell i loved ep 10 #one way out is the best ep #no cap #i love it #kino loy #cassian andor #andor #star wars #andor spoilers

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wrenhyperfixates · 3 years

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Loki Series Thoughts—Glorious Purpose

Ok, I’m always nervous about posting my thoughts, but here we go. Spoilers ahead of course!!! (Disclaimer: Any gifs or images are not mine.)

Let’s start out with the episode’s name: Glorious Purpose. I know some people were a bit miffed about the emphasis put on the line, but I actually thought it worked well. It’s not so much that Loki actually believes in this “purpose,” but rather he is clinging to what he’s been told his purpose is. And by the end of the episode, he’s finally working through some of the things he’s been hurt by, abandoning what he’s been forced into and ready to be who he wants. Granted, it’s still going to take some time for him to come to grips with all that has happened, but I’m excited to see the journey.

The TVA. They undeniably suck. Whether or not it will be addressed directly, they are the (or one of the) antagonists in the show. What they are doing is, frankly, tyrannical. Three “time keepers” have taken it upon themselves to force countless versions of time and people into one single stream. And you know what? They can’t control that timeline. Not like they want to. As much as Loki’s line about “the weak” applies to himself, it applies to the TVA, too. It’s a facade of control that they cling to; if they truly had the right, the ability, to control time, everyone would follow their path. There would be no variants. Now, I could write a whole separate analysis on the MCU’s explanation of time travel. It’s convoluted and in a large way doesn’t make sense.

I’d like to talk about Loki’s characterization. I am, in a word, relieved. From the trailers, Tom seemed to be over-acting, something rather strange for someone so good at conveying deep emotions through nuanced actions. Now I believe any exaggerated lines from the trailers are just Loki trying to separate himself from who he’s been told he is, and trying to reinvent himself. I don’t think that’s a bad thing either; they’re not rewriting Loki, he’s just growing in a new way. And though this way is “new” I think it will be similar to what we’ve seen before. From what we’ve seen so far, there is good continuity, and they are addressing things about Loki that should be addressed in canon.

Loki projects. Most notably in the Avengers, but also a bit in Thor 1 and The Dark World, a lot of Loki’s lines can be applied to himself, though he is talking generally or towards another group. What comes to mind is actually something he touches upon again in the series. The illusion of freedom. And though it is not said that line in particular is him thinking of himself, it can be inferred based on his admission that the line in the gifs above apply to him. Also that little gesture when he says “weak” breaks me. He’s hurting so much.

Loki is not a villain. He may think he’s one because everyone else is telling him that, yet we’re already seeing it brought up that it’s not true. I can only hope that we’ll see Loki state this himself later in the series. He was largely forced to do what he did. It is not his fault, so how can he be a villain?

Loki cares. Tom’s acting is just *chef’s kiss* Seeing his mother’s death hurts so much. I love that his first response is denial. Loki is thrown into something he’s never known about before, being shown things that, to his knowledge, have never happened. But then when he’s had a few seconds to wander around the TVA on his own terms, he’s more come to grips with all that’s going on. So, when he’s by himself and see’s Frigga lying there, dead, it gets to him. Then seeing Odin still call him his son, he feels the slightest glimmer of hope, but also regret; he already knows in the back of his mind that he’s not actually going to get that. Loki’s living from second to second, trying to hold on. He probably thinks this ends with his death. (I do have issues with that Odin scene in context of Ragnarok but that’s more a tangential aside, so I’ll gloss over it for now.) Then seeing Thor and himself acting like brothers again is heartwarming. So just when he’s feeling uplifted, Thanos comes into the picture. He realizes how much control the titan still had over his life; he never really escaped. And in the end, Thanos made good on his promise. And that is terrifying! And he laughs at it. It’s a sad sort of laugh, one that’s slightly crazed. Loki feels that no matter what he does, it ends in pain. By the end of seeing all that, he is a man broken. Rather, more broken than he already was.

Loki is struggling. That’s nothing profound; it’s obvious. But where it really stands out to me is actually in a part I originally thought to be out of character. I am referring to “What if I was a robot and I didn’t know it.” Upon closer inspection, I realize it’s actually that his perception of himself has been so thrown that he really isn’t sure about his own chemical makeup anymore. Odin and Frigga keeping from him that he’s a frost giant made him so unsure of himself, he thought he might not even be a living being.

Nervous tics. Was I the only one noticing his leg bouncing when he talked to Mobius? And what about that scene when he’s sitting on the steps? He begins to pick at his hands. Note, that’s something he did in T1 after finding out he was a frost giant and while confessing to the Warriors Four about how he was the one who told the guard of their trip to Jotunheim. Just a little detail I really appreciated. (If anyone has gifs of any of these things, feel free to share :)

Mobius. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit undecided. I’m hesitant to say he’s evil. After all, we haven’t seen that much of him yet. However, I will say he is unscrupulous and manipulative. His questions weren’t to help Loki work through his trauma. Mobius was trying to goad him into helping, and likely was trying to gauge how much this Loki is like the variant he’s tracking. When Loki makes any admission of his feelings, it’s something he already knew, not a conclusion Mobius helped him reach. Mobius mocks him a bit and pushes his buttons because he sees Loki as a means to an end, and wants to know how easily he can get him to work with him. And what strikes me is how similar Mobius’s deal is to Thor’s deal in TDW. Thor doesn’t offer Loki freedom, he offers revenge. Mobius’s deal is just another variation of this. He can’t offer “salvation” but he can offer something “better”. Working for the TVA really isn’t better, though. So what does he mean? Well, I think he means a chance for Loki to prove he’s a hero. I hope as the show progresses it’s addressed that Loki doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone. That’s what he’s been doing his whole life, but I want Loki to see for himself that he doesn’t have to.

Miss Minutes. Propaganda. Plain and simple, it’s propaganda. Besides the way it praises the “time keepers” as amazing saviors, necessary to keep the world in order, it’s essentially saying “don’t think for yourself.” The whole point of the video is “the time keepers are great. The TVA is flawless. Trust us to decide everything. You have no autonomy in the world we want, so surrender your free will. Submit to the system we’ve decided is perfect and everything will be just fine.” Of course, by “just fine” they mean the variant will be pruned and the timeline will keep going as the time keepers see fit. The animation style was great though! It really fit.

The infinity stones. I think their inclusion makes sense. If you remember from Endgame, the stones being in the right place in the right time keeps the timeline from branching, and thus prevents the multiverse from being created. Likely, the time keepers used the stones to make their “sacred timeline.” Naturally, any variant time stones would cause a problem. That’s why they have so many extras. But think about how pointless so much of what happened seems. Nat, Gamora, Vision, Tony, everyone who was snapped, everyone who was left. So, literally the entire universe was flipped upside down for paperweights. It really puts Thanos’s pursuit of the stones into perspective, doesn’t it?

The cloaked figure. I think there’s some misdirection going on here in one way or another. Mobius says he’s chasing a Loki variant, then immediately it cuts to a scene with the cloaked figure. Our minds are likely to assume that is the variant then. But they don’t actually say it’s Loki, so I’m inclined to believe it’s not. Though, I don’t have enough information to say who I do think it is, I could make a couple of educated guesses and say Mephisto (he certainly interacted with Loki in the comics, plus there’s the stained glass window) or Sylvie. Well, whoever Sophia Di Martino’s character is. I know she was previously listed as Sylvie on sources such as IMDb, but that has since disappeared. But why would you have a “young Sylvie” (Cailey Fleming) without an older version? There is speculation Di Martino’s character will be Lady Loki, but I hope this won’t happen. If they make Lady Loki her own character, I doubt we’ll see Variant Loki get to be fluid. Even if it’s confirmed on the record, it’d be nice to see actually happen beyond a piece of paper. And with twist villains being such a prominent force in modern media, I’m interested to see who our cloaked friend really is.

Time travel. Like I said earlier, this is a lot. But I can’t talk about the episode and not mention this aspect in at least a little more depth. I don’t like how the MCU deals with time travel. I think it’s an unnecessarily complicated mix of a number of different, already complicated theories. However, I think Loki will ultimately escape from the TVA and create a multiverse too difficult to prune (and maybe he’ll actually get to burn the place down too!) This will then tie directly into Doctor Strange 2. Do you guys know what that’s called? The Multiverse of Madness. Actually, in the Miss Minutes propaganda, they almost exactly say “will throw the multiverse into madness.” Will we get to (finally!) see a certain raven-haired god meeting Dr. Strange? And maybe even the Scarlet Witch herself? Well, I’m not sure, but right now I think it’s looking pretty good!

And some random things that didn’t really anywhere else:

Peggy is in the background?! My thought here is that Steve wasn’t supposed to stay with her. This made not only a Variant Steve, but also a Variant Peggy. We may not see Steve, but I bet he’s been taken care of too!! And who knows? Maybe there will be a cameo later. Otherwise, it might be something that was cut from the show, or just a fun easter egg of sorts.

The score was so good! It sets the mood perfectly.

Loki is a good fighter. Even if he’s overpowered, he finds a way.

Some of the humor didn’t land, but that might just be a personal thing.

So now my final thoughts. It’s their strongest pilot yet. So much emotion crammed into less than an hour. A lot of exposition, too, yet it didn’t feel tedious (Endgame I’m looking at you). And then we get to delve into Loki’s psyche, something that really appeals to me! Overall, 9/10. I hope the rest of the series is as good!

Did I miss anything? Was there something you were hoping I’d mention and didn’t? Or do you have something to add or (politely!) disagree with? I’d love to hear it all! Remember, fandom is a safe space to talk about, analyze, and debate about things you enjoy. My ask box is always open with anon on. Reblogs and comments are great too. Thanks!

Me after watching the episode:

#the loki show #the loki show spoilers #the loki series #loki series #loki analysis #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki friggason #the loki series spoilers #I know there’s nothing particularly profound here but here you go #*throws thoughts into the void*

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elliotapricot · 3 years

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Reviewing My Anime 10/10's *Relatively* Spoiler-Free

Note: What I rank a 10/10 is very specific and obviously very subjective to my own. Something can only be a 10/10 if I already consider it a 9/10 AND I must have rewatched it. I am someone who typically does not rewatch/reread anything, unless it's something I truly absolutely enjoy. With that being said, because of the requirements, I only have 4 animes that I rank 10/10, and tbh only one of those animes would get that ranking from the general anime audience. The rest are SO SO SO specific to my particular tastes that I would be absolutely stunned if someone also had the same four as me, because the requirement is so specific. Imma make another post eventually for my 9/10's because I think that list makes a lot more sense for a general anime audience lmaooo.

Soooo, in order of least personal to most personal (although obviously they're all personal to me lol) we have:

1. Psycho-Pass

Recommended for people who: are really into that dark dystopian future society vibes, are fans of Ghost in the Shell, like detective/crime stories

Okay, for a few people, this one actually probably makes some sense. At the moment, it has an 8.37 on myanimelist which means this anime is super well liked. I've watched this anime twice, first the original and then the second time I watched the director's cut (yes that exists lol). Overall, I'm a huge fan of the entire Psycho-Pass anime series as a whole. I've watched all three seasons, as well as two of the movies. I didn't watch any of the Sinners of the System ones cuz tbh I literally couldn't find an english sub of that anywhere, it just doesn't exist lol. I think it's okay cuz the ratings for the Sinners of the System trio of movies seems meh. I've actually watched Psycho-Pass the Movie like three/four times LMAO but that's simply cuz a movie is obviously much quicker to watch than an entire anime season. Like just objectively, the Psycho Pass series as a whole is very inconsistent in quality due to the fact that it's all original, so they do technically just make up everything as they go lol. Season two is all right (I think it gets more hate than it should), three is good but season one by far is the absolute best in the entire series. I'd argue the movie is technically my absolute favorite out of the whole IP, but I actually give the movie an 8/10. The movie, because of being obviously way shorter, simply does not have the deep controversial and philosophical lines of thought that season one has. It lacks that extra depth that would make me put it anything higher than an 8. The two main characters have good chemistry as a crime-fighting duo and the main villain's rivalry/relationship with the male lead is super compelling. The female lead is meant to be relatively naive/more on the innocent side which works with the plot as it allows the show to naturally explain and give more exposition as to the actual world and rules of Psycho-Pass without having it seem so ham-fisted or just throwing info to the audience.

2. Violet Evergarden

Recommended for people who: cry to sad movies, like gorgeous animation, are very empathetic, like vignette-esque storytelling

All right if you even remotely consider yourself an avid anime fan, then this anime is probably also somewhere on your 10/10 list or at least an anime you consider to be "very good." That is, unless you are that very vocal minority who simply really just REALLY do not like this anime for some god forsaken reason. However, in my honest opinion, I think an anime like this just really doesn't sit well with ... how do I put this blunty ... people who do not give a fuck about other people or anyone else's feelings but their own. Basically, IF YOU ARE SELFISH, A NARCISSIST, EGOTISTICAL, OR ANY SORT OF COMBO OF THOSE THREE, YOU WILL NOT LIKE THIS ANIME. And if you do, you probably don't think you're any of those things. Because of the anime's very premise, I find it very difficult to see a very self-centered/heartless person particularly enjoying this anime. The whole premise of this anime is that the main character who, because of her upbringing, doesn't understand feelings/emotions, especially the concept of love, grows as a human and slowly begins to learn what love is. The show does this by showing multiple sets of characters meant to represent different types of love (romantic, familial, platonic, etc). The vocal minority of people I've seen give Violet Evergarden bad ratings all typically argue that although beautiful, the anime doesn't have any substance/doesn't really mean anything. If that's honestly all you got after watching the entire show, then you deadass just don't get it, and you probably will never ever get it. If you've seen or heard of Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song, than just know that these two animes are VERY very similar in vibe despite being technically different genres. However, I personally found the themes and concepts in Vivy are done much more masterfully in Violet Evergarden which I think is due to Vivy's heavier focus on a story-driven overarching plot/action as opposed to Violet Evergarden's focus more on emotional impact/an episodic format. I've watched the entire series and I've rewatched the main show twice. TBH you can probably skip the gaiden movie AKA the one set at the girl's academy it was highkey pointless. Compared to the opera episode they added as a "special", the gaiden movie was still good but I wish resources were dedicated to something that actually added to the story. ALSO YES I KNOW ITS A GAIDEN AKA A SIDE STORY AKA FILLER SO YES NO DUH IT DIDNT ADD ANYTHING, BUT STILL. As for the main show, I think I cried for three episodes (the one about the playwright/author I forgot lol, the mother and daughter, and the soldier). On my rewatch, I didn't cry but I still deeply cared for and related to the characters. Violet Evergarden is a beautiful anime with a beautiful story.

3. ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu Ka

Recommended for people who: like bread and bakeries, don't mind a very chill and slow-paced story, like stories about political intrigue and hidden agendas

Based on a relatively short manga, ACCA: 13 follows the main character Jean Otus as he performs his job of auditing the 13 districts of his country Dowa, while rumors and politics brew in the background that threaten to entangle Jean into a complicated plot. To be honest, I think properly reviewing this anime is impossible for me, because I just can't really explain the vibes of this anime besides "chill" and "intriguing." I think trying to explain anything more than the basic premise I just wrote would spoil a lot of what ACCA is, because it's plot is actually relatively quite simple and straightforward. Compared to Psycho-Pass which has a relatively good cult following, and Violet Evergarden which is universally praised, ACCA is an anime that I've yet to personally meet anyone who has ever even heard of it LMAOO. And almost everyone I know watches anime, so that's saying something oof. ACCA is made by Madhouse, which if you don't know, is a super well known anime studio, producing big hits such as Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, etc. That's why I'm surprised that ACCA has flown just SO under the radar, but that may be due to the overalls nature of the anime itself. ACCA is an anime where all the characters hold their card close and no one seems to really share their real thoughts. One main criticism the anime has is the lack of deeper connections to characters and that for a main character, Jean Otus is very bland. To be honest, I think that's a very fair criticism and I can understand why this would prevent people from rating this anime higher than an 8 or 7. Due to the very nature of the anime and its plot, I do agree that there is a huge cast of colorful characters that we unfortunately don't really get to know more about. To be honest though, I don't mind this because I feel that's honestly quite realistic, especially factoring in Jean's job. All these places he's going and all these people he's meeting, it's literally just his job. He's not on vacation, these people aren't his friends, so the anime has no real reason to dwell much longer on places past its specific episode. Just like in real life, you encounter so many people and go past so many places that you probably won't ever see again. So for me personally, I didn't mind that the anime didn't explicitly show much about the backstories or lives of the cast, save for the very main characters (as their backstories were plot relevant). I think as viewers of not simply an anime, but a whole other world, I think it should be satisfactory to inherently understand that these are whole "people" who have entire lives that we are not exactly privy to. So although admittedly our understanding of many of the characters was all around quite shallow, I think that works for the scope of the anime, which was relatively simple and focused on just Jean living his life and the political plot stirring in the background until it was brought forward in the second half of the anime. Also I love Jean Otus. I actually completely absolutely adore him. He is literally my profile pic for myanimelist LMAO. I think calling him "bland" is fair from other people's perspectives, especially as the supposed main character of an ANIME, but I feel that if ACCA was in a different format like a novel, I think his personality would have been less criticized. Like I said, I love him soo much. I don't find him bland at all, but actually very interesting and highkey attractive LOL (if only he'd quit smoking but it's part of his charm 😞). Yes for an anime "protagonist," he is quite underwhelming especially compared to others, but I think that makes him very charming!!! Like all he wants to do is just chill, vibe, and do his job lmaooo. I think as a person, he’s very charismatic, and in the world of ACCA the rest of the characters see that as well. Because like, if he really were such a bland person, why would so many people like him and actually trust him lol? As for why it’s technically my favorite anime of all time (my ultimate one is a movie), I can’t give super detailed reasons why to be honest. I just really like the overall vibes of the anime itself, and I think the anime is just super unique and original. I’ve watched a ton of anime over the years, but I’ve genuinely seen nothing like ACCA in the slightest. I mean, just look at the recommended animes on the myanimelist. The recommended animes are all stuff I’ve also personally really liked (like fugou keiji unlimited and the great pretender) but yeah there’s just truly nothing that’s close to what ACCA is, and because of that, it reminds my absolute favorite anime show. I’ve seen the dub and the sub, even though I am a vehement dub hater lmaooo (except for very few circumstances, and this also applies to all non-English media, not just anime). There was only one thing in the entire show that slightly confused me/ seemed slightly unbelievable and I won’t spoil but it had something to do with the overall timeline of some events, but it doesn’t detract from the story at all. Oh and the art style! I really love the art style of the anime. It stays pretty true to the manga, but is also just an overall kind of art style I really like. I really enjoy the more like 2d/flat/drawn art style versus really clean and really detailed stuff, and I’m typically not a big fan of very obvious use of CGI (unless done tastefully like in Demon Slayer). All the backgrounds in ACCA have this painted/drawn style and the anime itself has this like muted(?) filter over it that makes the anime seem like someone’s drawings just put up on display in a way that’s really refreshing and nice. I highly recommend this story for anyone who wants a breath of fresh air and to get away from the typical action-packed high energy of big name anime.

4. From Up on Poppy Hill

Imma make a whole separate post JUST for this movie so I can explain why I love this movie so so much. And honestly, Imma need a whole separate post in the first place to address the elephant in the room when it comes to this movie (if you’ve seen it, then you know what I’m talking about). And if you’ve haven’t seen the movie, maybe you’ve heard about one of its controversial themes. I’m not gonna say what it is, cuz I KNOW it’ll be super off-putting for a lot of people, but please omg just hear me out. I just love this movie so so much. I’ve seen it like 7 times and counting. I have it downloaded on my computer and on a flash drive. I’ve watched the sub AND the dub however I’ve stopped watching the dub because it makes me sad every time I hear Shun’s voice actor ;-; This movie is legit an honest-to-god comfort movie for me that I could watch over and over and I’ll fall in love with it again each and every time. And once again IMMA MAKE A WHOLE SEPARATE POST BECAUSE I SWEAR PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE LIKE “Yo ain’t this the movie with the -----” and it’s like PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN. The vibes of this movie, the themes it addresses (yes even THAT theme), the music, the art, the characters, is perfectly presented in a way that I will never stop watching this movie. The only other film that has come close to the amount of times I’ve watched From Up on Poppy Hill would be Legally Blonde lmaooooo.

#anime #anime movie #from up on poppy hill #psycho pass #acca: 13-ku kansatsu ka #violet evergarden #anime review #myanimelist

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pi-cat000 · 3 years

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BNHA: something sad (Anger)

Summary: The last time Katsuki sees Izuku alive the other boy is rushing to save him. A ‘the Sludge Villain incident gone wrong’ AU.

Katsuki gets the worst sort of wake up call, takes a look at himself, and doesn’t like what he sees.

Characters: Katsuki Bakugo

Fandom: My Hero Academia

WARNINGS: Major Character death (mentioned but not described). Swearing. heavy angst. destructive behaviour.

(Follow up part here)

...

(Anger- In which Katsuki does not handle tragedy well and implodes)

“Katsuki, son, you should come inside.”

Katsuki barely feels the soft touch of a hand on his shoulders as his father attempts to guide him over the threshold. He remains in place, glaring at the older man, unwilling to move. His father sighs and gives up on trying to move him, instead talking over his head, addressing the police officer behind him.

“Where did you find him this time?”

“The park down the road. We had reports of a kid setting off explosives with multiple noise complaints from the nearby apartments...” The sound of the conversation washes over him, muffled in his growing irritation. He feels that familiar burning anger ignite, fuelling his resentment. “...repeated unlicensed quirk use can lead to time in a juvenile quirk correction facility.”

“We’re sorry for the disruption officer,” his father dips his head, “We’ll keep a better eye on him from now on.”

“See that you do. Next time, he’ll be taking a trip to the station. I would hate to see a kid with so much potential...”

“What fucking potential!” Katsuki snarls, whipping around to glare at the officer behind him. Bitterness curdles in his stomach, exasperated by the expression of disappointment directed his way. What right did this stranger have to look at him like that! He looked at Katsuki like he wasn’t living up to expectations!

“You don’t know a thing about me!”

“Katsuki,” His father tries to interrupt.

“Why the fuck….

“Katsuki.” This time the interruption is louder, hash, “That’s enough.”

He scowls, shoving past his father, shrugging away from the comforting hand as he goes, “I’ll be in my room, don’t come in.”

He stomps through the living room and down the hallway, sparks running up and down his arms. If his mum were home she might have yelled at loud his entrance, telling him to stop with the racket. She would probably have had some choice words to say about the police escort as well. She wasn’t home. She wouldn’t be home till later, having spent most of her afternoon with Aunt Inko.

Before he can get to his room, he catches his father’s tired voice as he continues his conversation with the officer.

“…still processing the death of a friend. He’s going through a rough patch...thank you for your leniency.”

He slams the door with enough force that it rattles the wall. With his back against the frame, he clenches and unclenches his fist, breathing hard.

Friend? FRIEND! HA!

Deku had never been his friend. Or rather, he had never been Deku’s friend. Deku had probably seen him as a friend, always following him around, whinging when he got too rough with other kids. The quirkless idiot had always been trying to help when Katsuki didn’t need help! He had never needed Deku!

He smashes a fist into his desk and the wood creeks, splintering but holding together. There are more sparks and the pop, pop, pop of tiny explosions. The computer barely escapes his next attack which sees the desk cracking, his books and pens crashing to the floor.

“Damnit.”

If he wasn’t Deku’s friend, then why was he so angry! He couldn’t think. He couldn’t sleep. All he could do was feel angry. Burning directionless anger that ate at him, leaving him hollow. It followed him through his every waking moment. Inescapable and all-consuming.

“DAMNIT!”

…

School is a chore. It’s boring. Long. Tiresome. Pointless. The other kids were either idiots, dragging out simple lessons into weeklong ordeals, or so pathetic they never grasped the concepts at all. This is nothing new. School had always been boring and full of pathetic extras. For the longest time, school to Katsuki had been nothing more than a stepping stone on his way to greatness. Now it wasn’t even that.

He taps a single, impatient finger against his desk, glaring at the clock as it slowly ate away at the seconds left in the day.

“Bakugo.”

He deliberately ignores the teacher’s attempt to get his attention. It wasn’t like he was going to get in trouble for the behaviour. She would simply shake her head, humouring his poor attitude like it wasn’t a huge fucking problem. Sometimes Katsuki wondered if he didn’t have some second quirk that projected an invisible bullshit shield, preventing others from seeing what a failure he was.

Today, the call is followed up by another, more insistent one.

“Bakugo.”

He tears his eyes from the clock.

“You’re being called to the principal’s office.”

“Huh?” he drawls.

“You must not have heard the announcement,” his teacher explains, her expression apologetic, “It was over the intercom so you better hurry.” By now, every eye in the class is on him, waiting for his reaction. The pathetic extras on either side of him are even leaning ever so slightly to the side like they expect him to blow his top any moment.

“Whatever.” He stands, ignoring the wave of whispers that run through the class in hissed voices. When he steps through the door the voices get a bit louder, so loud that the teacher needs to call them to order, “Settle down. Now if you would turn your attention to this next question.”

He shoves his hands into his pockets and stalks down the hall to his destination. When he arrives at the door he lifts a leg and kicks so it jumps open and smacks into the wall with a loud CRACK. The sudden action has both his principal, Mr Fukuhara, and that woman representing the district’s Careers Board-he can’t remember her name- startling.

“You called?”

They are both seated on the low couches placed at the front of the room adjacent to the principal’s desk. The only times he has been allowed to sit on these couches were during parent/teacher meetings.

“Ah, yes Bakugo,” Mr Fukuhara straightens his tie, recovering first, “Please take a seat.”

Katsuki slouches onto the closet couch opposite them, listening to the principal ramble his way through a greeting, “Now, we tried to have your parents come in but they were both unfortunately busy. Nevertheless, this is an important conversation to be hand and we want you to understand that the school is dedicated to….”

He exhales, cutting off the diatribe, “Am I in trouble.”

“No. No trouble. Though this does involve your recent behaviour.”

Of course, he wasn’t in trouble. He curls one hand into a fist, familiar anger beginning to bubble up, increasing in intensity.

“We received your revised high school submission forms,” Ms Career Advice starts, “and we think there has been a mistake. We want to clear it up as quickly as possible.”

So that is what this meeting was about.

“What mistake?” He grunts even when he knows precisely what they’re talking about.

“It says here that you're applying to Aldera Senior High.”

“Yeah, 80% of the losers in this shit hole are going Aldera Senior High. What’s the problem?”

The two adults exchange a meaningful glance. For a brief second, he thinks he might get told off for swearing. No such luck. Mr Fukuhara simply sighs and continues like Katsuki hadn’t said anything.

“We were under the impression that you would be applying to U.A.? You have it written on your original submission forms.”

“So what. I’m not allowed to change my mind? U.A. is a selective school…I’m just being realistic.” The words feel like ash in his mouth. Hadn’t he said something similar to Deku not too long ago?

“Your academic performance is more than high enough to qualify and with your quirk…”

He slams his clenched fist into the arm of the couch, cutting the woman off. There is an audible pop, pop around his hands, made loud in the sudden silence. God, would people shut up about is quirk for one second! Both adults pause, expressions a mix of worried and concerned. He hates it. He hates them.

“I got a zero on my last test,” he snaps, “My average sucks now. I’m just like the rest of the extras here.”

“Yes, well, there were extenuating circumstances in that case. When looking at your academic history overall you’re dedication is obvious,” another pause, “even in the unlikely event that you did not get into U.A. there are plenty of other, top-rate schools that you can apply to as backups.”

Katsuki doesn’t bother responding, opting instead to stand. They weren’t going to listen so there was no point in him being here.

“Bakugo please sit back down.” Fukuhara stands as well, voice now stern, “This is an important conversation. You can’t just walk away.”

“Watch me.” He turns towards the door but before he can move there is the lighter touch of a hand at his elbow.

“I understand that you have taken recent…events…rather hard,” says Ms Career Advice and her voice is softer, more sympathetic, addressing him like he is some startled child, “but you need to think about your future. Don’t throw away this opportunity out of some misplaced guilt…”

“I’m not fucking going to U.A.!”

He jerks his arm away, glaring over his shoulder, trying to force some of the fire burning in his chest into his eyes. It must have worked because the woman immediately stops talking, drawing away.

“How much shit do I have to pull for you morons to get that through your thick skulls,” he growls as he stalks out of the room, the two adults rushing to follow.

“…see… councillor…talk …. your parents. This sort of self-destructive…” The words wash over him as he continues down the hall.

Katsuki doesn’t bother returning to class, opting to ditch and leave the idiots and their bullshit behind. He is too angry to concentrate anyway. Until now he has had a perfect attendance record, always meticulous in his show of dedication.

And that’s all it really was wasn’t it…a show. None of that shit mattered now.

Hands in his pockets, Katsuki wonders aimlessly down the sidewalk, through side streets, jacket to his uniform thrown over his shoulder so he doesn’t overheat under the hot summer sun. At least out here, he is free to be as angry as he liked without people nagging him. He could glare all he wanted at the cracked pavement and it wouldn’t burst into tears. Maybe, he will go blow up some trees in a local park and the police would finally come through on their threat to take him in to the station. It’s tempting…very tempting.

It would have to be somewhere without people-harder to find on such a nice day- because as much as he wanted, needed, to blow shit up, he didn’t want to injure anyone…

Now you grow conscious… too little too late....the treacherous part of his mind hisses. The thought feeds his anger like gasoline on an open flame.

(Follow up part here)

#bnha #bnha fanfic #katsuki bakugō #heavy angst #coarse language #swearing #major character death #bakugo suffers #bakugo his sad and angry #that's it that's the fic #fanfiction #my hero academia #something sad au

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theprotagonistdies · 3 years

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Mortal Kombat 2021 Movie Review (w spoilers)

Just wanted to get this off my chest now that the movie’s been released in America. I watched this on 8th April when it was first released in Singapore, and two more times the following week.

So, overall I give the movie about a 6.5-7/10 or C+. Acting: Decent Story: Average at best Action: Above average to Good Gore: Graphic but not as often or much Best highlights: Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Costuming

I’ll be referencing some comments by others about the movie, but this’ll all be my opinions. I reviewed the movie based on my understanding that it’s a low budget film before even watching the movie. I am also a fan of the game (though I do not play, I watched most of the lore)

-------

When I first watched the movie, I was excited. The intro showing Hanzo Hasashi’s backstory would be something familiar to fans of the game. As expected, his wife and child were killed, but as we know it, they have an extra baby girl who later survives and carries on the bloodline. At this point, I was already ‘eh’ because it was so predictable what happens next. I was already disappointed that they named the son ‘Jyubei’ in the subtitles, when the wife didn’t even utter his name in Japanese. In the game, Hanzo’s son is called Satoshi. But one can say that’s something petty.

Anyways, as it goes on, we meet Joe Taslim as Bi-Han. He’s menacing, he’s cocky and has the presence that fills the screen. Already, I was smitten. While some people were saying the movie is rushed, I’d say this part of the intro felt a little draggy. But, the fight scene after is great, and we see Hanzo and Bi-Han throw hands.

I’d have to say at this point: ALL fight scenes including Bi-Han/Sub-Zero were great. They’re the best. Every other fight scene with the other characters were decent but not great.

Then we get introduced to Cole Young. From the get go, I do not like new characters not in the lore. I’m that type of person who does not like original characters in fanfiction. And his story further made me feel that a lot of time was wasted on him. Mortal Kombat has story elements around family, yes, but it’s not central, and it made the movie too wholesome and not in a way that I feel implemented well. In my opinion, it made the movie a little cringey at times. I like Lewis Tan who plays Cole but unfortunately he’s been given a role that was completely unnecessary.

A Youtube reviewer said it best: Why make up an entirely new character when there’s a plethora of characters to choose from? Heck, if you want him related to Hanzo, you could have used Takeda or something (though yes i know he’s not related to Hanzo, but he could be like a distant cousin relative whatever, with Takehashi on one of this other parents side).

There’s Jax and Sonya - why not just use Sonya? She’s the one gathering all the information. They could have used her.

Anyway, moving on. We also meet Kano. He was good and I see a lot of people loved him. Personally I thought he was okay, but he was too comedic in my opinion and felt underwhelming. While funny quips and mockery are appreciated, he felt like what Liu Kang called him: A small, angry little bunny. Not at all what I’d expect of the leader of Black Dragon.

There was... it that supposed to be Reptile? I honestly do not know, but I don’t believe that’s the Reptile we know from the game, and more of a mindless monster that has Reptile’s abilities.

I loved Sonya in this movie. Jessica McNamee was amazing as her. One - she’s attractive as hell, and Two - she felt far more relatable than Cole Young. From her being a soldier living in her ‘shithole’, to her curiosity in trying to find out more about the Mortal Kombat tournament.

They look for Raiden’s Temple in the desert. This was a little slow and again, I say Kano just felt like a chump here. A try-hard doing his best to appear intimidating but failing.

Liu Kang appears. Kano won’t shut up. Liu Kang’s introduction was interesting and I liked it, but later on his monologues and exaggerated actions were so odd and ‘extra’ to me that I was cringing. I don’t know why they don’t just make him a normal guy who’s a Shaolin monk lol.

Raiden is as cranky as we know him in the game. He’s kinda dull here, but to be honest, so is he in the game, so I don’t mind it. I saw someone compare him to the 1995 version which while I enjoyed and appreciated, did not think he suited the game and movie. So Tadanobu Asano’s Raiden is fine to me! Also, shut up to the people who get on others’ case on the way they pronounce Raiden. In Japanese it’s Rai-den, not Ray-den, like they say in the game. Both are correct, so shut up.

Sub-Zero makes an entrance again, menacingly running down the hall and making me sploosh, and Kung Lao also makes an entrance. Here you can see how poor the CG is. This is where you can tell the budget is low and realise that all the sets we’ve seen so far is pretty small and closed.

The ‘arcana’ thing that they made up to explain their powers was honestly pretty smart and I quite liked it. It then becomes a training arc, which while understandably can be seen as slow, it’s quite needed for the story.

The villains in this story were sadly underutilised. Admittedly I am unfamiliar with Nitara and Reiko, so them being throwaway characters did not affect me. Kabal, while very charismatic, died but I felt it was a decent end. I personally wish they could have included him more. However, for Mileena and Goro, I could see the moment I watched it that people were gonna be mad. I’m not fans of either of them but I understood that they are major characters in the game. So for them to be offed that easily was... tbh very disappointing and quite insulting. I sincerely hope they will bring back Mileena for the next movie, experimented on and brought to life using Kitana’s blood or something.

But best villain? Obviously goes to Bi-Han/Sub-Zero. Honestly I went into the movie expecting to root for Scorpion but I ended up being so in love with Joe Taslim’s menacing and chilling portrayal of Sub-Zero. He’s soooo good. People said he was like a slasher film villain and I think they made a great choice doing so!

As for Cole - I’m still not a fan of him or his powers. I like they used tonfas, but as some called it - he has literally plot armour which, tru. Hahahhaa.

So finally after all that, we finally get to the last fight.

Sub-Zero is about to kill Cole then Scorpion is summoned. They both fight and actually one can see Scorpion is winning? He got more hits in than Sub-Zero (two stabs, a side slash and a throw from Scorp, meanwhile Sub got one slash and a throw) so I don’t understand why people thought he actually needed help from Cole.

Also, this is another major complaint about the ‘wholesomeness’. Why was Hanzo’s family killed but Cole’s family spared by Sub-Zero? Why couldn’t they just killed them off for extra weight to the story instead of making it so safe? I felt that would have redeemed Cole’s character as more of Mortal Kombat character if they did so.

But I really enjoyed the fight here. As I mentioned all fights that involved Sub-Zero are amazing and people not giving the credit to this fight scene are blind. I also saw a comment that said they were expecting ‘John-Wick level’ of fight. Both fair and unfair comment because: It’s a low budget movie and they are two different styles of movies. John Wick is more realistic while this one is more fantastical. Though for them to call this a Marvel level choreography... I’m not sure bc Marvel put a lot of money, so that means for their budget the MK movie did well? So IDK but I believe the fight choreography was good in this most especially in the Sub-Zero/Scorpion fights.

Fatalities were great, costuming were great and for the sets while small and enclosed they did good.

Story could have been better and I cannot stress how much I find Cole’s role completely pointless. Pacing wise I actually do not find a problem with it. I only wished for more fighting and less about ‘family’.

From the movie overall I understood it as to be a set up, and even before watching it, from the trailers, I somehow knew it was not going to have a tournament so I don’t know why all these people in comments are lamenting about the lack of a tournament. It feels clear to me that this is a set up movie and more are to come.

So while I have a lot of issues with this movie, I do think it’s a fun watch which is why I give it a pretty generous score imo.

Hopefully we’ll have more to come, improving everything in all aspects with hopefully a bigger budget!

#movie review #mortal kombat 2021

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smoochi-dazai · 4 years

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✿ “ The Colour Of Honey ” ✿

—> Bungo Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu | reader / @i-am-a-bastard

—> Sweet | Gift

—> Description | Actions proven to be sweeter than honey. Just softness smh

✿ ( 1.7k words )

✿ Due to my dear friend taking my idea for a gift, I decided to rewrite this for her. *cough* *cough* Instead of taking place during the early morning, I’ll make mine at night. Honestly reading your gift for me was heart touching, I wish I could write as beautifully as you. Either way it comes from the heart, so here we go !!

As a member of the armed detective agency, life wasn’t the purest. You had a ‘luxury’ to see the earth at its true form, full of people who enjoy tainting its soil through means of violence. Day after day people were working hard for justice, but what is justice? What is good and what is bad? The idea of each varies from person to person and how far their level of morality goes. Often, justice will be seen as a tool for good, yet villains too, use this method to create their world.

Hands in each pocket of his trench coat, Dazai made his way home. The pace of his slow strut quickened as the sun began to set. Beautiful displays of colour painted throughout the sky became hard to resist, thankfully the bandaged little devil himself wouldn't allow this to halt his journey forward any longer. It was long past curfew for Dazai to return home.

The detective knew there was no avoiding a worried belladonna waiting for him at this point. Who could blame her? His job was dangerous, especially for him. Each day he’d come late opening the door, his beautiful girlfriend would pounce on him only to start spewing out apologies back to back full of embarrassment. Even if he didn’t admit it, moments like those were cute.

Finally reaching his destination, Dazai let out a long exhale, preparing for a body to come crashing into his. Unlocking the door, Dazai pressed a hand against its surface, gently pushing it forward cautiously. Something felt off, however. Shutting the door behind him, Dazai looked around their small home from his current position. His belladonna was nowhere in sight.

By now, the girl would’ve tripped over her own feet in an attempt to greet him.

“I’m home!~ ” Dazai said enthusiastically, clearing his throat before stepping forward into the partial mess of a living room. “Belladonna?” he called out once more, only to be followed with silence.

Nothing in the house looked out of the ordinary, leaving Dazai to walk through the home in search of his lover. Door after door the man couldn’t help the negative thoughts invading his mind, if something happened to her all because of his late arrival he would not be capable of forgiving himself.

Dazai was stuck in an endless silence, his footsteps echo in the hall until his ears pick up on a familiar sound. The faint sound of falling water, this faint sound floods his heart in sweet relief. He was such a fool, she was just in the shower. Scratching his cheek, Dazai allowed an embarrassed chuckle to escape his lips. Speaking out loud to himself.

“ I guess it wouldn’t hurt to still check in on her “ The mischief in his tone was evident, shrugging off his coat and kicking his shoes to the side. Dazai made his way towards the faint sound coming from their washroom. At this point, he could hear the individual droplet of water splash onto the tiles. Gentle hums met his ears as he cautiously pushed open the door, just a smidge to peak in. By the time it opened enough to reveal anything, a voice could be heard.

“ I swear if you move that door an extra inch, you’ll regret it. “ (Y/N) threatens.

That all too familiar voice echoed throughout the washroom, a heavenly sound which triggered Dazai’s heart to flutter. He knew what she said was an empty threat, but respected her privacy anyways.

Dazai smirked before it changed to a more genuine smile, chuckling lowly before shutting the door behind him. So much for getting a quick peek, he thought to himself, waiting outside for her.

It had only been around ten minutes before the door opened, revealing his Belladonna with a towel wrapped around her figure. Meeting her eyes with his own, he invites her with a welcoming smile. She only pouts in return, holding up her towel.

“ For someone who claims to be a gentleman, you aren't fazed by invading my privacy in the slightest, Osa. “

Gasping dramatically while placing a hand over his heart, Dazai acted as if he found that offensive, “ I was only checking to make sure my dear belladonna was safe! “

“ Uh-huh. “

Walking past the now moping Dazai, (Y/N) kept a hand grasping her towel in order to secure it around her curves. Smiling sheepishly, the girl made her way to the bedroom she shared with Dazai. His footsteps follow suit behind hers.

Reaching her bedroom, (Y/N) heads towards their closet. Ripping clothes off the hangers, she could still feel Dazais intense stare. Observing her every move. Feeling her towel slip, (Y/N) quickly caught it before revealing anything. It is not the first time she'd be entirely exposed to Dazai, but it still felt incredibly embarrassing. Being vulnerable wasn't easy, yet a single touch from Dazais handy work then she'd melt.

Like a candle, she would light up his world. Failing to accomplish her mission was uncommon, (Y/N) never once regretted falling for Dazai. That warm smile whenever they had been alone, made the flame in her heart flicker.

A mysterious boy wrapped up in not only bandages but himself- was always hidden behind a façade, something she broke within a mere year.

" Can you please refrain from watching me change, Osa? It's embarrassing. " (Y/N) mutters, slowly stripping the towel off while changing into a more light and comfortable fit for bed. Two arms slither their way around her waist, feeling a warm chest against her back. Dazai began to whisper in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

" I can't seem to ever take these eyes off you, Belladonna. Can you really blame me? " Dazai was dangerously close to a flame, her cheeks grow warmer as the flame within her heart fails to compute.

Dazai’s hands roam her bare body, the towel held up between her and his bodies, the slightest movement could make it fall. Subconsciously (Y/N) sinks back into his chest, sealing her eyes shut. The girl found herself to accept the warmth of his delicate touch.

" Please? I need to change Dazai. " (Y/N) comes back to her senses, carefully prying Dazai’s hands from her frame, " It won't take long, promise. "

Pouting in defeat, Dazai turns around and heads for their bed. It was difficult to convince Dazai regularly, except when it came to his Belladonna he couldn't evade complying.

Hearing the sound of her towel drop to the floor, Dazai huffed and kept his gaze to the other side of their room. Hopping out of their bed, Dazai slipped off his previous pants and wore some Pajama pants in replacement. Stripping his shirt off carefully and throwing it aside, Dazai threw himself back entirely on the bed. His bandaged up torso left exposed.

Normally there would be food waiting for him around this time, but neither of them really cared for that at the moment. He ate lunch at the Agency, which was enough to satisfy him for the day. Dazai just wanted to make up the time he missed with his (Y/N).

" You can turn around now, I'm changed. " (Y/N) announced, flicking a switch she shut off their bedroom light. Walking to their bed, (Y/N) sat herself down. There was a moment of silence, moonlight trickled through their window. Pale white light sunk into their forms, a gentle gesture both of them could appreciate.

Pulling a blanket over themselves, (Y/N) was the first to wrap her arms around Dazai. Being the big spoon was her go-to position between them, often pulling Dazai into her chest. A hand finding itself in his soft chocolate locks. Sighing in content, Dazai rested his head on (Y/N)s chest. Feeling her breasts to be some sort of pillow in his mind. Sighing in content, Dazai smiles. He was so incredibly exhausted from work.

" Big day at work? " (Y/N) whispered, inquiring how his day has been. It was apparent as too how fatigued he was. The frequent sighs, and the way he weakly threw an arm over her form.

Dazai nods his head, melting beneath the feeling of (Y/N)s fingernails against his scalp. Messing up his coffee-coloured hair. " Port mafia doing their usual, there's been a bounty placed on Atsushis head. "

" Oh dear, that does sound rather tedious huh? I'm sure Atsushi is plenty safe with you around. Try not to stress so much, Dear. " (Y/N)s comfort reached Dazais ears like a serene melody, thanking her below his breath while leaning up to leave a gentle kiss on her neck. Finding a new home within the crook of her neck, Dazai remains right there.

The couple rested there happily within the comfort of lovers' warmth. Dazais bandaged chest had some blood stains and dirt, too lazy to change those bandages anytime soon.

Legs tangled, pairs of arms wrapped around each other. Lazily sprawled out across the bed mattress. By now their blanket was thrown off of them, dangling off the bed while the couple solely embraces one other.

Eyes closed on either party, Dazai felt (Y/N) stop combing his hair with her fingers. Pouting, Dazai opens his eyes and checks on her. The even breaths that escape her mouth already told him she fell asleep, deciding to leave her be. Dazai changes their position slowly in order to not wake his love.

Fast asleep, (Y/N) began to curl up in the boyfriend's embrace. Facing each other, now she was in his shoes. Head resting against his chest, Dazai nestles his nose into her hair. The fresh smell of shampoo gave a pleasant scent, entering his nose. Strands of hair tickle his face, forcing him to brush it behind her ear. Muttering to her, even though he was aware it had been pointless.

" I love you, Belladonna. More then you could ever understand. " His grasp around her form became more firm, afraid if he were to let go then she'd be taken away from him soon too.

"Everything I've ever cared for seems to be taken away from me, I swear I won't let anything happen to you too. Not ever again..." Dazai weakly smiles, memories of old friends of the past flash. Deciding to brush those memories to the side,

" I don't know what I'd do without you Belladonna, You've done the impossible. " Dazai kissed the girl in his arms on the top of the head. Smiling genuinely before resting his head on top of hers. Finding the lull of sleep envelope him.

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #Osamu dazai #Osamu dazai x reader #Dazai osamu #Dazai osamu x reader #Smoochi dazai

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rubykgrant · 3 years

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All those years ago, when I wrote my first Danny Phantom fan-fiction story (I started with a sequel to the Ultimate Enemy and then moved into making up episodes I wanted to exist), I wasn’t really sure what to do with Vlad... I mean, I wrote stuff for him to do, he did stuff, he was there and doing things, but like... I didn’t have a lot of thought-process or a way to articulate what my purpose was with him. Thinking about Danny Phantom stuff again has finally helped it click in my head; see, I wanted him to not be so “evil”, because that just got old. It was pointless, too (the way the show kept pushing him in the super-villain direction past the point of any motivations for himself really irked me). I couldn’t imagine him being “nice” exactly, but just not EVIL.

Also, in the one future where Danny became bad, we actually do get to see a less jerk-version of Vlad; he evidently started taking care of Danny, and not in a “get close to your parents so I can kill your dad and steal your mom” kind of way (because uhh... yeah, they were GONE). He also regretted not taking very good care of that version of Danny, and when he met the Danny from a new time-line, Vlad helped him return and stop the bad outcome from happening. So, he obviously doesn’t HAVE to suck. The trick is, how to make him suck less in a different context, because that time-line doesn’t happen anymore. Without giving away too much from my nonsense story (I’ll eventually re-write the whole thing and share it then), there is this new problem of a greater enemy appearing, and it will probably destroy EVERYTHING. Danny somehow finds a way to defeat this problem, and for a moment he’s like super-duper-extra-mega-ultra-turbo POWERFUL. This fades away slightly, it isn’t a power-up that can last (because it would probably tear him apart), but it unlocks a lot of potential. He will eventually be able to get about half that strong on his own, which is still pretty dang strong. Vlad sees this all go down, and he realizes 2 important things; 1, he is not even on the Threat Radar anymore. He just got down-graded from Major Villain to Annoying Antagonist. 2, if he can’t figure something out, nobody is going to pay any attention to him again. EVER. He has no hope of trying to push Danny around, or even try to pull the “I can teach you how to use your powers” trick, because Danny is on a whole other level. Vlad doesn’t NOT care for feeling like he isn’t important, so now he’s on a trip again where he’s constantly trying to be involved with the Fenton’s lives, which means he has to deal with Jack on a regular basis (and that is always hilarious). The opens up to all the fun potential of him trying to be “helpful”, when nobody really wants or needs him around, and this means he throws many a hissy-fit over that, BUT ALSO; he has to actually THINK about why he cares so much about these people. Yeah, he’s had a one-sided love for Maddie, blamed Jack for his accident, and has complicated feelings over how he finds the kids very frustrating, but also wishes Danny and Jazz were his own children. He also has to think about the fact that as far as Jack cares, they are still best friends. Oh, also his clone-baby, and how maybe if he wants to be a dad, he SHOULD START THERE. I also want him to have a few opportunities to do something bad again. Like, he really has a chance or two where, depending on his decisions, he could really WRECK things for the other characters... wouldn’t that put things back the way they had been, the status-quo? Isn’t that what he wants? Or maybe, just MAYBE, he actually gives a heck? Anyway, yeah, I like the idea of totally taking away his ability to be threatening, and then he has to figure out how he fits into things on his own

#my thoughts #danny phantom #vlad masters #vlad plasmius

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gascon-en-exil · 3 years

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A Game of Thrones 10th Anniversary Season Ranking: Part 2

Link to Part 1

Time for the bottom half of the list. The four seasons here will surprise no one, but the order might.

#5 Season 6

You can tell what I most what to talk about here...but there's an order to these things.

S6 actually has a bunch of great ideas, but they drown beneath the most slapdash plotting and character work the show has seen yet in order to set the stage for the narrower conflicts of the last two seasons. It's notorious for bringing back characters who haven't been seen in a season or longer only to kill them off (Balon Greyjoy, Osha, Hodor, the Blackfish, Rickon, Walder Frey) or awkwardly graft them back into the main plot (Sandor Clegane, Bran). There are plot threads that ought to be compelling but are too rushed in execution, like the siege of Riverrun, Littlefinger's hand in the Battle of the Bastards, or Daenerys's time back among the Dothraki and then finally getting the hell out of Meereen. Arya hits on the only interesting part of her two-season sojourn in Braavos - a stage play, of all things - only for it to stumble at the end with a disappointing offscreen death and some incomprehensible philosophy ahead of the start of her murder tour of Westeros. There's also so much cutting off the branches, enough to be conspicuous; the final shot of Daenerys leading an armada of about half the remaining cast she assembled partially offscreen says that better than anything else. Well, not anything....

Highlight: Without exaggeration, the opening of S6E10 is easily my favorite sequence in all of GoT. The staging, the music, the mounting suspense even as it becomes increasingly obvious what's about to happen, the twisted religious references particularly in Cersei's mock confession to Unella, Tommen throwing himself out a window because he can't deal with the reality of how terrible his mother is, how Cersei gives absolutely no fucks whatsoever about murdering hundreds of people at once in a calculated act of vengeance largely prompted by her own poorly thought out actions - I love it all. It's the single most masterfully-executed act of villainy in the whole show - Daenerys torching King's Landing probably has a higher body count, but the presentation there is all muddled - and if I had any doubts about Cersei being my favorite multi-season major character they were silenced in this moment. The explosion of the Sept doesn't sit perfectly with me, because I liked the Tyrells and because of what I said about deaths like theirs and Renly's in the previous post under S2, but I think that unease only cements the strength of this sequence. It's an overused phrase in fandom these days, but GoT at its best is all about moral greyness that gives its audience room for multilayered reactions. Cersei nuking the Sept and making herself the sole power in King's Landing, which in a sense is just a more overt example of the kind of character/plot consolidation elsewhere represented by Daenerys's armada, is one of those events that's impossible to approach from a single angle if you care about any of the characters involved. And hey, it's not in the books (yet, presumably), so unlike Ned's death or the Red Wedding the GoT showrunners can take the credit for realizing this one.

Favorite death: Even leaving aside the Sept and related deaths there's a lot of good ones to choose from in S6. Ramsey is cathartic but too gory for me, Osha's was a clever callback but a little delayed, it's hard to pin down specific deaths when Daenerys incinerates the khals, and Arya only gets half credit for Walder Frey and his sons when she saves the rest of the house for the opening of S7. I'm thinking Hodor, not so much because I enjoy his character or the manner of his death but because it's a clever bit of playing with language (that must have been hell to render in other languages for dubbing) wrapped up in some entertainingly murky consent issues and some closed time loop weirdness. It's all very...extra? Is that the word for it?

Least favorite death: Offscreen deaths continue to be mostly letdowns, in this case Blackfish and the Waif. Way to botch the ending of Arya's already near-pointless Braavos arc, guys. Speaking of Arya, this spot goes to Lady Crane, whom the Waif somehow kills with a stool or something. It's a dumb way to send off an entertaining minor character.

#6 Season 8

I swear that I'm not putting S8 this high solely because of Jonmund kind of sort of happening. I've never been very interested in either of them and the sex would be far too bear-on-otter to suit my pornographic preferences, but even so the choice to close out the series with them is hilarious.

I really don't need to elaborate on why S8 is down here; everyone who's ever watched the show has done as much in the nearly two years since it wrapped up. I do however need to explain why I've ranked not one but two seasons below it. My biggest argument here is that I don't believe it's fair to critique S8 for problems it inherited from earlier seasons. A non-comprehensive list:

Mad Queen Daenerys: unevenly built up beginning from S1 and continuing in some form through every following season

The questionable racial optics of Dany's army: also seeded as early as S1 and solidified by S3 with the Slaver's Bay arc

Cersei only succeeding because she makes stupid decisions and then lucks out until she doesn't: apparent from S1, directly lampshaded by Tywin in S3, fully on display with the Faith Militant arc of S5-6

Jaime not getting a redemption arc or falling in love with Brienne: evident with his repeated returns to Cersei throughout the show as one of the most consistent elements of his character, particularly in S4 and during the siege of Riverrun in S6

Tyrion grabbing the idiot ball/becoming a flat audience surrogate mouthpiece: started in S5 around the time the showrunners ran out of book material for him and wanted to make him more of a PoV character and his arc less of a downward spiral, although I've seen arguments that changes from the books involving his Tysha story and Shae set him on this trajectory even earlier

The hardening of Sansa's character: began in earnest in S4 and never let up from there

The strange ordering of antagonists: set down by S7's equally strange plot structure - the Night King had to come first with that setup

CleganeBowl and the dumber twists: from what I've heard the whole thing of writing around fans on the internet guessing plot twists started pretty much when the book content ended, so S5-6 maybe?

Yes, there's plenty to criticize about S8 on its own merits...but just as much that was merely the writers doing what they could at that point with deeply flawed material.

Highlight: This may sound cheesy, but the better parts of S8 are almost all the cinematic ones, whether that's E2 being a bottle episode with tons of poignant character send-offs before the big battle, a handful of deaths with actual satisfying weight like Jorah's and Theon's, and an epilogue that incorporates both closure for individuals and the broader uncertainty of messy socio-political systems that GoT has always been known for before working its way back to the Starks at the very end for some tidy bookending. Even imperfect moments like the Lannister twins' death and the resolution of Sansa's character felt weighty and appropriate based on what had come before.

Favorite death: Forget about the audio commentary attempting to flatten Cersei's character; Cersei and Jaime Lannister have an excellent end. Cersei especially, as the scenes of her stumbling her way down into the catacombs as the Red Keep crashes down around her really show off how her world is abruptly falling apart and how she retreats into her own self-interest at the end in spite of her demise being at least partially of her own doing. There's some stupid moments associated with these scenes, like Jaime dueling Euron to the death and CleganeBowl, but I can excuse those when the twins end up dying exactly where you'd expect them to: in each other's arms, in a ruined monument to their family's grand ambitions that, like Casterly Rock itself, was taken from another family.

Least favorite death: Quite a few dumb ones in S8 have become forever infamous. Missandei sticks out, and for me Varys too just as much because of how the writing pushes him to do the dumbest thing he could possibly do purely for the sake of killing him off ten minutes into the penultimate episode. But no one belongs here more than Daenerys Targaryen, killed at the height of a rushed and uncertain villain reveal by a man who takes advantage of their romantic history (who is also her family, because Targaryens) to stab her in a moment of vulnerability - pretty much only because another man tells him that Daenerys is the final boss. Narratively speaking that might be the case, but even so this is the end result of multiple seasons of middling-to-bad buildup. Not even Drogon burning the symbolism can salvage that. Also Fire Emblem: Three Houses did this scene and did it better.

#7 Season 5

...Yeah, we're going to have to go there.

Sansa's rape is not a plot point that personally touches me much. It's terribly framed in the moment and the followup in later seasons is inconsistent at best, but it's not a kind of trauma I can relate to. On the other hand, in the very same episode Loras is tried and imprisoned for homosexuality, and Margery faces the same punishment for lying for her brother. That hits much closer to home, not just for the homophobia but also for the culture war undertones of the not!French Tyrells persecuted by a not!Anglo fanatic who later reveals himself to be the in-universe equivalent of a Protestant. The trial is just one part of Cersei's shortsighted scheming, just as Sansa being married off to Ramsey is part of Littlefinger's, and both of them get their comeuppance in the end...but it's unsettling all the same. I especially hate what the Faith Militant arc does to King's Landing in S5, swiftly converting it from my favorite setting in GoT to a tense theocratic nightmare that only remains interesting to me because Cersei is consistently awesome. What's more, pretty much everything about S5 that isn't viscerally uncomfortable is dragged out and dull instead: the Dorne arc, Daenerys's second season in Meereen, Arya in Braavos, Stannis and co. at Castle Black. The most any of these storylines can hope for is some kind of bombastic finale, and while several of them deliver it's not enough to make up for what comes before, or how disappointing everything here builds from S4. S4 has Oberyn, S5 has the Sand Snakes - I think that sums up the contrast well.

Highlight: S5 does get stronger near the end. As much as his character annoys me I did like the High Sparrow revealing his pseudo-Protestant bent to Cersei just before he imprisons her, and there's a cathartic rawness to Cersei's walk of atonement where you can both feel her pain and humiliation and understand that she's getting exactly what she deserves (and this is what leads into the climax of S6, so it deserves points just for that). The swiftness of Stannis's fall renders his death and that of his family a bit hollow, but it's brutal and final and fittingly ignominious for a character with such grand ambitions but so little relevance to the larger story. The fighting pits of Meereen sequence is cinematic if nothing else, and even the resolution to the Dorne arc salvages the whole thing a tiny bit by playing into the retributive cycles of vengeance idea (and Myrcella knows about the twincest and doesn't care, aww - no idea why that stuck with me, but it's cute all the same). Oh, and Hardhome...it's alright. Not great, not crap, but alright.

Favorite death: I don't know why, but Theon tossing Myranda to her death is always funny to me. Maybe because it's so unexpected?

Least favorite death: Arya's execution of Meryn Trant is meant to be another one of the season's big finale moments, but the scene is graphic and goes on forever and I can't help but be grossed out. This is different from, say, Shireen's death, which is supposed to be painful to witness.

#8 Season 7

I can't tell if S7's low ranking is as self-explanatory as S8's or not. At least one recent retrospective on GoT's ruined legacy I've come across outright asserts that S7 is judged less harshly in light of how bad S8 was. If it were not immediately obvious by where I've placed each of them, I don't share that opinion.

Because S7 is just a mess, and the drop-off in quality is so much more painful here than it is anywhere else in the series except maybe from S4 to S5 (and that's more about S4 being as good as it is). The pacing ramps up to uncomfortable levels to match the shortened seasons, the structure pivots awkwardly halfway through from Daenerys vs. Cersei to Jon/Dany caring about ice zombies, said pivot relies largely on characters (mostly Tyrion) making a series of catastrophically stupid tactical decisions, and very few of the smaller set pieces land with any real impact as the show's focus narrows to its endgame conflict. As with S6 there are still some good ideas, but they're botched in execution. The conflict between Sansa and Arya matches their characters, but the leadup to that conflict ending with Littlefinger's execution is missing some key steps. Daenerys's diverse armada pitted against Cersei weaponizing the xenophobia of the people of King's Landing could have been interesting, but there's little room to explore that when Cersei keeps winning only because Tyrion has such a firm grip on the idiot ball and when Euron gets so much screentime he barely warrants. Speaking of Tyrion's idiot ball, does anyone like the heist film-esque ice zombie retrieval plotline? Its stupidity is matched only by its utter futility, because Cersei isn't trustworthy and nobody seems to ever get that.

And how could I forget Sam's shit montage? Sums up S7 perfectly, really. To think that that is part of the only extended length of time the show ever spends in the Reach....

Highlight: A handful of character moments save this season from being irredeemable garbage. As you can guess from my screencap choice, Olenna's final scene is one of them, even if Highgarden itself is given insultingly short shrift. S7 also manages what I thought was previously impossible in that it makes me care somewhat about Ellaria Sand, courtesy of the awful death Cersei plans for her and her remaining daughter. The other Sand Snakes are killed with their own weapons, which shows off Euron's demented creativity if nothing else. I like the entertainingly twisted choice to cut the Jon/Dany sex scene with the reveal that they're related. And, uh...the Jonmund ship tease kind of makes the zombie retrieval team bearable? I'm really grasping at straws here.

Favorite death: It's more about her final dialogue with Jaime than her actual death, but again I'm going to have to highlight Olenna Tyrell here for lack of better options. She drops the bombshell about Joffrey that the audience figured out almost as soon as it happened but still, makes it plain what I've been saying about how Jaime's arc has never really been about redemption, and is just about the only person to ever call Cersei out for that whole mass murder thing. There's a reason "I want her to know it was me" became a meme format.

Least favorite death: There aren't any glaringly bad deaths in S7, just mediocre or unremarkable ones. I still think the decision to have Arya finish off House Frey in the season's opening rather than along with their father at the end of S6 was a strange one that doesn't add much of dramatic value.

#Game of Thrones #GoT

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bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 3 years

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Mulan (Live-Action Remake) Review

So I thought, since I have Disney+ now, that it's time that I watch the Mulan re-make. I'd been putting it off for a while because when this movie first came out, I had heard it wasn't that good but I figured now, I've had some space since the movie came out, I've largely forgotten most of what was said in the reviews, so let's watch it with a relatively unbiased eye. And I remember when last year I think it was, Disney released this movie on Disney+ and they were charging like $30 to watch it. Most likely to help re-coup funds from the fact of people not going to theaters due to COVID. And I've heard the arguments on this and I'm firmly on the side of charging people money on a streaming site that they've already paid a subscription for is such a scam. I don't care if that extra $30 is around, less than, or more than what someone might spend at a theater, it's still messed up. But after watching this movie, I'm thinking to myself, "wait, Disney, you were going to make me pay $30 for that?!" Even if I had gone to see this movie in the theater, trust me, it would've been instant buyer's remorse.

And the movie isn't necessarily bad, it's not great, and really, I don't think I can even qualify it as serviceable. It's just lackluster. It feels like it's a Mulan adaptation that does the bare minimum. It hits all the story beats you would expect from the story of Mulan but fails to execute it in any impactful way. And I'm not even angry about the movie not using the songs, or trading in Mushu for a really ugly CGI phoenix creature. If the writers wanted to make a serious period-drama esque version of Mulan, I would be down for that. I love Chinese period dramas. In fact, I distinctly remember the director at one point saying she didn't want to incorporate Mushu or the disney songs because she wanted to tell a serious, real story not a superhero fantasy type story. Except what does she do instead? She literally gives Mulan powers thereby practically making her a superhero which was completely unnecessary. And in fact, the whole superpower/chi thing Mulan has going on in this movie, actually contributes to the lackluster feel of this movie. Because honestly, Mulan being super talented when it comes to using chi just feels like a cop-out so they don't have to do any kind of character development on Mulan or anyone else for that matter. They just throw a quickie identity crisis about her not being true to herself because she's lying about being a man, and then that's really all you're gonna get as far as character work. And then she for some reason decides that in order to accept herself as being a woman and being truthful to everyone around her, she rides off into battle, takes off all of her armor and lets her hair down. Like, I understand the point. The movie needed a visual representation to show Mulan fighting as a woman but at the same time, going off into a fight with no armor and your hair blowing all over your face is not the decision I would make regardless of my identity crisis. Even the moment when Mulan's comrades realize she's a woman and she faces the fall out for her deception feels lackluster on its own. They expel her, she comes back and they just kind of accept her (with again, a small amount of lackluster push-back from the commander) and even make her the leader for the next battle. While I get that she was smart to use the enemies' weapons against them to cause that avalanche, that hardly makes her leader-material. They even had a villain-redemption arc that was completely lackluster as well. There's an evil sorceress who upon finding out that Mulan has been accepted by her military friends and not ostracized like the sorceress was, the sorceress decides to lead Mulan to where the Emperor is being kept so Mulan can save him. And then the sorceress tells her ex-boss, in an attempt to stick it to him, that Mulan is on her way. Like, thanks evil sorceress lady. You completely took away the element of surprise for Mulan. And indeed, the bad guy sees Mulan coming, tries to shoot Mulan with an arrow but don't worry, evil sorceress lady takes the arrow for Mulan. Like, thanks I guess. Even though your sacrifice would've been completely unnecessary if you hadn't told him Mulan was on her way in the first place. Like, you want to feel for the evil sorceress lady's sacrifice, but because of how pointless it is, it doesn't feel earned and you're just like, okay, so that happened and because of her, Mulan now doesn't have the element of surprise.

But, so I'm not ragging on the entire movie, I did like the training montage bit, I did enjoy that. I also did enjoy the conversations between Mulan and her military comrades. Despite the serious tone this movie was trying to take, I often found myself laughing at it. The acting's not great but I'm fairly certain this isn't probably necessarily on the actors' end, the dialogue was just bad to begin with. But would I recommend this movie to anyone? Probably not, unless they enjoy being bored out of their mind. If I had to give this movie a letter grade, I'd probably give it a D. I really wish this movie was done better because I love Chinese history, folklore, culture, I love all of that and I was really looking forward to seeing The Legend of Mulan come to life here but sadly, it just doesn't feel like the writers or the director or the producers cared about it all that much. They just churned out another Disney remake and called it a day and collected their paycheck.

#mulan live action #mulan remake

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proserpineisback · 4 years

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TROS

If the only problem with TROS was the death of Ben and the rest of the movie was a masterpiece, then maybe I could forgive them. But the serious problem here is that the ENTIRE FILM is an absurdity on its own. You kinda feel like gathering all the facts across the trilogy and distribute them proportionally in each of the films so it all feels cohesive. But that couldn´t be done because Lucasfilm obviously didn´t map this project as a trilogy which it´s absolutely embarrassing. It wouldn´t have costed much for the board writers to sit for a week and write ONE STORY and divide them in three acts just like every writer does when making a book or an independent film or a short film or a documentary, Jesus there are so many people out there writing way better stuff than this with almost nothing of a budget. Having to use different directors is no excuse. The team behind the Mandalorian proves that, they obviously work as a team and so far they seem to treat the Star Wars legacy with respect taking old facts and carefully placing them where they´re needed.

Now, what pisses me off the most about this film is definitely the irrationality of Rey´s arc. The Rey who stood in front of Palpatine and told him “You want me to hate you but I won´t, not even you” is the same Rey who spent THE WHOLE MOVIE attacking Kylo over and over again out of nothing. I´ve spent this whole year wondering why they were fighting in the rain, only to find out that it was for nothing other than Rey´s sudden rage. Wondering why was Kylo flying his TIE towards her and why was she backflipping over it, only to find out it was for nothing too, were they trying to kill each other? Just after Kylo told her that he didn´t want to kill her? Did the conversations in TLJ were all for nothing and they´re back to zero? It´s like all JJ wanted was to retcon TLJ and have cool shots, which they are. The fights are very well choreographed and performed, and they´re visually beautiful and majestically scored, but that doesn´t take away the fact that plot-wise they´re absolutely pointless. When Kylo starts to talk about her past, she again attacks him in a way that for someone who believes in the good side and the Jedi and the light and repulses everything that has to do with the dark side, seems pretty infuriated and aggressive. If she was pissed off about everything the First Order did during the Allegiance comics, it would have made sense for her to mention it at least, because as it was presented it all seems pretty illogical and only for show. Again, they make her look as a person who it´s not enough informed about anything and can´t use her words to stop being one. She didn´t even think in taking advantage of Kylo´s second offering of joining him to defeat Palpatine, then if she didn´t want the throne and was so worried about Kylo becoming emperor, she just could have TALKED and tried to bring him back to the light. But that didn´t even crossed her mind, she just wanted him dead until she actually killed him and didn´t want him dead anymore just because she felt Leia dying, and I can´t believe Chris Terrio has repeated the same also pointless fight between Batman and Superman where Batman remembers his mother and suddenly decides to not kill Superman after beating him badly. I absolutely hated that movie and I was hoping he wouldn´t bring any of it into this. Saddly, I was wrong.

You can´t just link Rey to Palpatine out of nothing. You either connect her to him from the very beginning throwing hints of it or you don´t link her with anyone from the past at all. And you can´t just bring Palpatine with absolutely no excuse, it makes it obvious no one planned to have him behind it all from the start. The concept of Rey Nobody settled by Rian Johnson was a good idea so all kids around the world could relate to her, giving an important message that you don´t need to come from something important to be someone. But if the idea here was to prove that someone who comes from the dark side can choose to be light side, then DEVELOP it through the entire trilogy.

Bringing new supporting characters in the last two films has resulted in a crowded mess when everyone gets to say a line with no purpose, wasting the film´s time. When they presented Rey, Kylo, Finn and Poe as the main characters in TFA, it was understood that the story would be told through their eyes. Then why the hell bring new characters to do the job that they could do. It just makes Finn and Poe look like a pair of extras with nothing relevant to do, just being a burden to Rey when she clearly could have done everything on her own. It would have be them two going to the core worlds and convincing the people to join the cause, so they can truly be heroes in this story. Instead of having everyone joining at last minute because they think Lando is dope and decided that somehow they´re not scared anymore even now that a massive imperial fleet has appeared out of nowhere. And why having so many ships to fight the final battle when they´re gonna waste it by not showing too much of it. I mean it´s called Star Wars for a reason, but somehow they´ve wasted more time having Rey and Kylo fight than investing in the action on air. If all those fights between the two of them had place in TLJ and the talking force bonds had place in TROS, then maybe it would make a bit more sense and the story would seem to have a proportional pace in each film and a better structure. Instead, this movie seems like rushing scramble of events awkwardly mixed with all the trivia they could find from the Star Wars lore while spitting in your face absurd facts about the characters you have known for 5 years and having to believe each of them.

I wouldn´t have problems with Hux being the spy if he was suspect from the beginning. You can´t make a character to be a cold blood mass murderer and devoted to the First Order to the point of fanaticism and then turn him into a softy who reveals he is the spy and traitor of the very thing he loved, in a stupidly parodic way, and who can also be gotten rid off quite easily. And all without any character development whatsoever. I mean, fanfics make a better job with Hux as a villain.

Why create the knights of Ren if you´re gonna have them like silent dogs and get them easily killed when they´re also force users? I mean, I´m not saying that Ben is not powerful enough to finish them but apparently in the comics HE AND LUKE have fought them before and they made it out alive. It would have been a lot more interesting to have the KOR since TFA and make one of them suspect so he can be the one to bring Palpatine back to life in TROS. It would have been better to have Ben and Rey fighting them in TLJ throne room instead of the shitty praetorian guards that are killed in one second in episode III.

Why presenting new characters in Resistance Reborn if we´re not going to see them not even on the background during the resistance base scenes? It´s such a lucrative and deceitful game to have books, comics, etc. and not include them in the films in any way. I can picture them saying to the writers “Yeah, do whatever you want”.

And finally, why create such a good concept like “dyad in the force” if you´re gonna have just one of them fighting against Palpatine while the other one is in a hole. It obviously should have been them BOTH fighting Palpatine and defeating him since when they´re together they have the balance of the force. I mean, I thought that was what Star Wars was all about. It should have been all the generations of Jedi helping them BOTH since Ben Solo had already gone back to the light. Why create such a compelling complex character if they were going to make him have the exact same fate that Darth Vader had. It´s so frustrating the lack of imagination for a conclusion, it makes you cringe. The ultimate message here is that the Skywalker family was cursed and they all deserved to die.

I applaud the astonishly good performances of the actors, the realism they brought makes it all more believable and painful so we don´t forget this film actually happened. The entire movie pains me so much because I´ve grown to love Star Wars and I´ve had deep love for each of the films, yes even the prequels. I´ve defended every movie from the haters and I never thought it would come the day that I would say the saga has been completely destroyed.

#tros #reylo #star wars #sw tros #the rise of skywalker #ben solo #kylo ren #rey skywalker #tros spoilers #lucasfilm

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dumbbitchdoctorwho · 3 years

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Planet of Giants

The Planet of Giants was great for my ego after showing me that I wasn’t the only one with a micro-sized penis. This story showcased Ian’s leadership, the Doctor’s giddy attitude, Susan’s brainy potential, and for some reason exposed Barbara as whiny and unreliable. Overall, the story was average showing off the normal plot driven by politics and a trope that’s been done by anyone with the capability to create entertainment. This story was basically “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” but with a milf. Actually, I’m not sure if that movie had a milf in it but they didn’t have Barbara so not good enough for me.

I want to start off by saying how much fun it was to watch this story. Mainly, I enjoyed seeing the group walking around outside the TARDIS and coming across these giant versions of everyday things that should be small. It was cool to see a giant ant, a matchbox that Ian could fit in, and the threatening sink tap that could drown them in seconds. The set designs were well done to show off their size and really sink in that they weren’t normal sized but miniature. I don’t really have much to say about this story but I think that the pacing had been done well also. It’s odd to see a 3-part story but I think it’s the perfect length. One less part wouldn’t have tied up the plot so nicely and one extra part would have just made parts of the story boring and pointless.

Highlighting on the TARDIS team I want to point out Barbara. I usually love Babs! She’s independent, strong, courageous, and about a million other things, but she didn’t showcase any of those things. Instead, she stuck out as a hotter version of Susan. I think that her failing to let the group know she’s been poisoned by the insecticide hurts her character. It makes her look unreliable when she refuses to tell them and only puts herself at the others at danger when she continues to be selfish and withhold it from everyone. I hate shitting on Barbara (which is an entirely unsanitary kink by the way), but there is no excuse for it. She checked-in to the game but just didn’t perform. Although, now that I think about it there is one great part in the third part of the story where Barbara is willing to put her own life at risk to make sure that they finish the job and keep the insecticide from spreading. Susan was a big workhorse for this episode as the main female companion. She showed the potential she could have had for the series. I mean she’s the first one to notice that they’ve been shrunk down.

Our two boys should also be mentioned as they were killer this time around. Ian was the natural leader this time around and the Doctor gave us a glimpse of his unselfish nature. There’s an amazing part during the story where they are aware of the dangerous insecticide that could hurt people and kill animal/plant life but instead of returning to size where it would be dangerous they stay and try their best to make sure that the insecticide wouldn’t be released. It is also the Doc that realizes that the insecticide is extremely dangerous and if released will get into water and food supplies. I admire that this may be the part where he starts to develop some sort of morality in which he cares about saving people and not just going on adventures and learning. And while I’m on the topic of development I want to point out a scene in the beginning of this story. When the TARDIS goes haywire and they land the Doctor has at outburst at his two human companions. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for the first Doctor at this time, but then he quickly recovers and apologizes about being rude. I mean he is full on worried that he had offended them and was impolite. It’s interesting to see him quickly change his mind on these companions and start to feel a sense of companionship with them. I just really like how his attitude towards them has changed from a grumpy old kidnapping man to a kind old gentleman that sees them as kind of, dare I say, family.

So, moving on, I wanna mention the antagonist. Mr. Forester is our antagonist in this story and boy do I fucking hate this man! We meet this greedy ass dude for one minute and the next he shoots a man in cold blood because he knew his insecticide was too dangerous. What’s worse is that this Forester dude is a fucking idiot. He thought he could throw the body in a turned over boat and claim he got in a boating accident. Yeah, well he’s got a fucking new bullet wound dumbass. No one is buying that shit. I hope he chokes. Anyway, as I was saying this dude is actually a pretty swell antagonist. In the previous story I thought we lacked one this one was fucking great. He ignited in me a rage and I wanted nothing more than to see him choke on his own insecticide or be hauled off to jail. Luckily, justice does prevail after all. I think that Forester is a well-written antagonist that pushes the right buttons for us to hate him. What’s more is that he’s realistic. This man very well exists in our society, I’m looking at you Bezos and Musk. We have this greedy business man who is willing to wet his hands in blood for the sake of money. And while he is one-dimensional and not unique I still can’t help enjoying this story and watching his downfall. Sometimes villains don’t have to be complex or something new, sometimes the simple motives make the best baddies. He was definitely the highlight along with his little henchman Smithers.

Overall, an average story that showcased some issues with Barbara’s character but introduced us to the Doctor’s developing relationship with humans and being a hero. It was also nice to see Susan shine her bit of potential and enjoy Ian being a leader when the Doctor isn’t around. I also think that our antagonist was well-done and it made this story better. I look forward to buying the Target publication of this story for my collection and reading it.

RATING: 5/10

#Classic Doctor Who #Doctor Who #first doctor #william hartnell #barbara wright #susan foreman #ian chesterton #planet of giants #classic doctor who season 1

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tricksheart · 4 years

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BREAKING DOWN ‘the councillor’ CONFIDANT

There is no doubt that Maruki is the first adult to not treat Akira like garbage or a stain on society. Doesn’t be a complete ass or threaten to kick him out over the smallest thing like Sojiro in the beginning. And doesn’t complain that a troublesome student was set to their class roster like Kawakami has done. Even Yoshida had to be convinced to actually let Akira talk to him by working in the noodle shop. Everything took extra effort. That wasn’t the case with Maruki’s confidant. But for that easiness, the social link that Akira has with Maruki is a double-edged sword, especially in the 3rd semester events.

Ever since Akira came to Tokyo, everyone that Akira had met besides Shiho Suzui were either hostile or scared towards initially meeting the transfer student. Even those like Ryuji ( who thought Akira was going to rat him out to Kamoshida ) and Futaba fit into these categories ( although Futaba was scared of more than just Akira but she didn’t want to meet up with him during the chats of her being Alibaba, so she technically fits into the range of requirements ). However, the one only one of confidants that actually didn’t harbor any bad will against him was Maruki.

The guy was honest, didn’t judge anyone that he counseled, wanted to help the students even if he was hired by the same school that constantly looked down and judged people like Akira, a bit clumsy but had a huge heart, not wanting anyone to suffer through pain, was well respected by mostly everyone in the school, a little dorky but down to earth, made sure people had snacks / food. Someone that would seem really good at being a therapist. Like you could talk to them about anything. Akira really trusted and respected him throughout the confidant, even if there was glaring red flags about what was to come. The signs were there, Akira just chose to ignore it and no one knew the truth that Maruki was hiding. Unlike Akechi who no doubt was designed to be suspicious from the start, Maruki was more genuine. He seemed unassuming and even Akira says in one line about agreeing to take the deal, ‘there’s no harm in a little chat’.

Akira even saw Maruki as a type of father figure. Even a personality that he wished replaced his own father’s with, it was that strong. So when seeing Maruki overcome by distortions and the god of control’s influence, it hits Akira somewhat hard. He felt betrayed because the only one good adult in his life had fallen so much into his own ideals, that Maruki didn’t see anything else. Didn’t want to be reasoned with. Sure, he was pacifistic at certain points and didn’t seem to harbor any ill will but still thought it was ‘his way or the highway’. The bad ending 2 is a perfect example of this. Instead of just making Akira happy / unaware like the rest of the thieves, he effectively puts Akira into an endless sleep / kills him ( the last part is pure speculation as we don’t see him die but if someone sleeps forever, eventually they are going to die from the lack of nutrients. Plus, the blue butterfly dies in the scene so it’s up to opinion ).

Being hypocritical just like Akira had seen with people he trusted, with his parents as an example, makes anything Maruki says before the palace collapse and rushes out to save the counselor, fall short. The trust is completely gone or shattered by this point. Even the line that Maruki gives Akira at the level 10 confidant link, ‘if you are worried about me and what I know, then it’s okay to try to steal my heart like you did with the others’ sounds completely hollow and full of dead promises. This is especially true when Maruki deliberately hides the name of the palace until Akira, Akechi, and Kasumi confronted him on January 2nd. Or was the one responsible for Sumire’s ‘Kasumi’ personality switch or actually forced out a distressed person’s persona quite painfully to fight Akira and Akechi. Maruki, who Akira had thought so highly of, was carrying so many secrets. Just what was real and what parts were the ideal?

That is one reasons why Akira doesn’t accept Maruki’s offer when it’s presented multiple times. The other being that there’s a nagging question in his mind on why Maruki wants his opinion every time there’s a way to choose the fake reality. There’s actually a great post that explains this reason in detail and if anyone wants the link, feel free to ask for it. Sure Maruki is sympathetic but still a villain. Just not in the traditional sense. Lines from the game also mention this. Not to mention that Akira would be overwriting Akechi’s personality and effectively kill Sumire ( thus making her only ‘Kasumi’ ) if he had chose the bad ending 1 of royal. Which he would never do, even if it seemed really tempting when Maruki spins his tales of happiness and no more suffering. The key word here is that it would be somewhat better but only in theory.

Even so, Akira doesn’t believe Maruki needs to die or anything along those lines. Like with everyone else, he believes that being alive and atoning for actions done is the right path for those who’s heart has been changed. Sure, Maruki doesn’t get arrested or anything like that but he gets time to reflect on everything from that point he is saved from falling towards his death by Akira. The fist fight was warranted but to have Maruki actually bite the dust isn’t something that Akira wants on anyone. His own beliefs of people can’t atone once they are dead like Akechi for example is why he does what he does. That you have to keep moving forward even if you had lost everything and had given up before. A guiding light. Even Maruki tells Akira that he has a great moral compass and that he never gives in, no matter what the type of situation that he finds himself in. And like what Akechi had told him in his own confidant that Akira literally takes honest words to heart, just like when helping the detective disguise himself. This can be also applied when Shibusawa in Maruki’s own confidant link told Akira to look after the guy for him. In which he did until the very end. It’s just a small throw away line but it’s what made Akira want to save Maruki at the end when the palace broke apart the place Maruki was located on.

Then again, if Akira had just stopped advancing the social link all together none of this would had happened but getting perks like the DETOX ability, extra snacks that are helpful healing items and being part of unlocking the 3rd semester doesn’t make it worthwhile to skip Maruki. If ignoring him takes place, the game just reverts itself to the original with a few added game-play elements. Thus, having both this confidant and Sumire’s would be completely pointless. To get to the true ending, Akira has to complete Maruki’s social link. The game won’t let the protagonist proceed without it. Which goes back to saying that Maruki’s confidant is a double edge sword for Akira.

The point in all of this is that Akira knew Maruki’s heart was in the right place just got a little mad with power. Thinking that only his world views were right and everyone else’s were wrong and needed to be fixed. In Akira’s eyes, the one who needed saving besides Sumire was the good doctor himself. The one Akira trusted a whole lot and put a lot of faith into only to be disappointed in what the counselor had become. And in the end, everything worked out for the best. People were moving forward through the pain, especially Maruki who even changed professions, much to Akira’s surprise. Or that the counselor had overheard Akira talking about driving cars for his own dream that Maruki slightly copied that. Who knows and no one will since the journey is completed and over...for now.

#long post: tw #[ we call them TRICKSTERS. HEADCANON ]#p5r spoilers;;#death: tw #akira really thought of Maruki as his friend and a father figure;;#but that was mainly his downfall;;#if akira didn't have trust issue before; he does now;;

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awesome-bamon · 4 years

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Hux has a lot of stans who “woobify” him and many of whom are antis, yet Hux doesn’t have the amount of antis or remotely the amount of mainstream vitriol that Ben does. Makes you wonder if all these antis don’t actually care about people stanning villains “or space N*zis”, they’re just uncomfortable with male characters who are conflicted and emotional and a smidge unconventionally unattractive

“unattractive” Let’s not pretend like the Reylo fandom finding Adam Driver good looking and attractive, isn’t part of the biggest reason why they are drawn to Kylo.

I keep saying about woobification that it’s pointless to me for anyone to stan for a villain and not being able to accept that character as a villain. If a Stan has to do extra work to write a thousand metas and tweets to excuse, absolve, and woobify their problematic male character into someone one with a heart of gold, who never done anything wrong in his life and who shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions or isn’t to blame for his actions. Then it’s pointless to be a man of a villain. And these people might as well be a fan of characters who are already good guys or protagonists.

Finn has all of the traits that Reylos want to give to Kylo. Yet, since he isn’t white. Reylos spend all of their time trying to soften Kylo up into a innocent man, who shouldn’t be faulted or held accountable for his atrocities. abuse and violence.

There is a pattern among fandoms to woobify white male characters and white male characters who have done awful things, all while demonizing or throwing hatred and venom at black characters. And the same empathy y’all show to white male characters is not extended or given to black characters, such as Finn.

Don’t pretend like if Kylo was some balding, older man who was below average looking that Reylos would be making the same excuses for him. You can try to deflect and mention other characters. And yet that wouldn’t change how Reylos love to woobify Kylo from all of his atrocities while insisting that he should be treated as an innocent man and viewed as the true hero of the trilogy. While sidelining and pushing Finn to the side.

And don’t pretend like Finn committing the same levels of atrocities that Kylo had committed would be views or treated in the same way, as we have proof that Reylos love to demonize Finn to uplift Kylo. Which is proof that y’all wouldn’t be absolving a black male character for doing the things Kylo has done.

Like I said in my last post there is nothing wrong with stanning for villains if a person knows how to acknowledge the fact that the character they stan for is a villain or has committed atrocities. Reylos have a problem with Kylo being called a villain and complain about people who call him out for his atrocities and hold him accountable for them without making a million excuses for him.

#Anti Kylo Ren #Fandom hypocrisy #Star Wars

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docexe-mx · 4 years

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& most of that squander came from TRoS. Sure TLJ wasn't helping but A) Who cares about Snoke? & B) they could've salvaged Phasma for IX but chose not to. I mean Kylo Ren could've been a stand out villain but we had to make the tween girls happy & undermine him entirely for Palpatine. Hux was straight up turned into a joke, & The Knights of Ren somehow dug a bigger hole than General Grevious of "waste potential extra bad guys"

Honestly, I think the entire trilogy ultimately committed mistakes with the villains, although to different degrees. However, I do agree that TROS was the most egregious one when it came to squandering them.

But analyzing on a case by case basis:

Captain Phasma: They decided to cast Gwendoline Christie of all people as the Storm Trooper commander and field leader… and then didn’t do much with her during TFA. And in TLJ, they finally gave her a fighting scene… only to then immediately kill her off. Like, she could have been built effectively as Finn’s personal nemesis for the entire sequel trilogy given their interplay in the few scenes they had together, not to mention their respective backstories. But no, nothing, zero, zilch, nada.

General Hux: The character had already become a joke in TLJ. Then TROS finished throwing him under the bus. They could have actually done something interesting with the whole “I hate Kylo Ren so much that I’m even willing to betray the First Order just because I really don’t want that asshole to win”. But again: no, nothing, zero, zilch, nada.

Supreme Leader Snoke: Admittedly, he wasn’t very interesting (just your average intergalactic despot), so Kylo Ren killing him and then usurping his role as leader of The First Order was actually a fascinating development in TLJ. The mistake in TLJ was not explaining how exactly he tempted Ben Solo to the dark side and created a wedge between him and his family (which, while not really important for Snoke’s backstory, was definitely important for Ren’s). Then TROS revealed that he was some sort of genetic experiment created by Palpatine, which like other things in TROS, doesn’t really makes much sense when you actually stop to think about it.

Allegiant General Pryde: Honestly, you could substitute this guy for any of the generic Imperial Officers loyal to Palpatine that we saw during the Original Trilogy (and adjacent Expanded Universe material), and there wouldn’t be any difference. The only thing he does that might elicit an emotional response in the audience is that he kills Hux, and that ultimately depends on how much someone cares about Hux. Utterly pointless character.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: On the one hand, I do agree with that other post I reblogged that his character arc in TROS was actually the better developed one from that movie (which should tell you something about how TROS ultimately handled character development in general). The problem is that while it works in isolation, it doesn’t work in the context of the entire trilogy. The prior two movies had set him up deliberately as a character in a tragic path towards damnation and failure, not towards redemption. So having him finally see the wrong of his actions and redeem himself just doesn’t work. It feels indeed like a blatant case of pandering towards a certain vocal part of the fanbase (an attempt that ultimately back fired, considering how that same fanbase reacted after the movie’s premiere). And bringing Palpatine back from the death to replace him in the Big Bad role added insult to injury.

The Knights of Ren: This was sad. Like, what was even the point?

#star wars #episode vii #episode viii #episode ix #kylo ren #ben solo #snoke #supreme leader snoke #captain phasma #general hux #armitage hux #allegiant general pryde #enric pryde #knights of ren #analysis #criticism

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