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#episode one of revenge reminded me of that fact lol
whitelotusherald · 5 months
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I said I may or may not write my opinion about Blue Eye Samurai and guess who finished the first season and felt like sharing some stupid thoughts! (Gonna use they/them pronouns for Mizu - I think the creators' been using she/her but they just have that vibe, sorry.)
First of all, I'm NOT gonna praise it and say this is the best animated series I've ever seen in the samurai genre - this show is at most an okay copy/retelling of the classic Japanese revenge stories, however, it is still captivating.
For me, it felt like a mixture of two of my fav stories, namely Kaze Hikaru and Bakumatsu Kikansetsu. Mizu is pretty much like Kaze Hikaru's Sei (though a hundred times stronger and a million times more bloodthirsty with just an ounce of mercy) with a though start in life thanks to links to the Western world, losing family and wanting revenge so much that both of them end up leading the life of a man, often encountering how much better they are off in this role. On the other hand the whole show's vibe and Mizu's design remind me of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu's more serious tones and its hero, Akizuki - mysterious dude with unconventional clothing, blue eyes, a badass special sword, with the occasional rampage. Maybe my nostalgia towards both stories made me watch this one within a day.
The mix of Japanese and American storytelling was fun, although I must say that the baddies lacking complexity whatsoever made me itch sometimes. (Except for one dude, who really managed to fool me for so long.) Fowler is plain and boring, the most typical big brute Western guy they could depict, though it's fun to think this was an intentional copying of similar anime archetypes of Western characters. Taigen felt like a cheap imitation of Zuko being honor-bound but getting his ass constantly kicked, but who, by the end of the day, seemed to learn nothing. Ringo was fun and proved to be a million times useful indeed, though he just went and followed his heart in the twenty-fourth hour instead of his common sense, not helping those who would've needed it after all (though in the end it seemed like his help was not even needed lol).
Ah yes, this was my big problem with the show. Sometimes people just went to do stuff that... resulted in nothing. Like. Okay, go, warn people of imminent danger but what is the use when they can just...spot the danger like five minutes later without the warning and those minutes make zero difference? Ringo almost abandoned Mizu several times just to go after them eventually, for what?
But the series also offered some very clever ideas. For example, I truly thought that "oh my god are we going to get a two floors/episode fight or what? getting to Fowler will be like a stupid video game" just to have some pleasant surprise instead. Mizu's weapon... I'm not gonna go into that because I'm so in love with it! The red-light district and Madame Kaji and her girls were also A+ content.
This is again, something the show handled tastefully. Since anime can't show nudity without censorship (I think that law still exists?), I don't think there's any show, hentai or not where they could've got away with these sex scenes, but in an American animation on Netflix? No problem. I'm really not a fan of hentai or this type of mature content (I'd choose the most disgusting gore over it any time) but didn't bother me that we had a sex scene in every episode. (Maybe except in the last one.)
As for Mizu. Their whole aesthetics is so badass. You cannot not fall in love with them, ruthlessness or not. I know their whole character is built upon the fact that women couldn't get their revenge in the shogunate's era thanks to the strict patriarchy, and really, the most a women could achieve was rather Akemi's path. However, there are a few instances where it's not that easy to decide whether they are just pissed to be looked down upon as a woman, want to keep their secret, or there's more than that. They might be considered an unconventional woman who could never be satisfied with the traditional roles of women. One, who is forced to take on the role of a boy and does not know how to forget that when they can return to their womanhood. But that womanhood also feels forced. As if they're just simply outside of this whole shit that dudes are honorable samurai (or artisans / farmers / merchants), women are cooking and raising kids. That's part of the reason why I loved the idea that their sword is actually multifunctional and can be used as a naginata. Naginata became the weapon of women in the Edo era, so even though we're not there yet, it seems to have more feminine connotations than a katana. This double-shape of their weapon seems to reflect their soul. This is further emphasized by their outcast half-breed status, which, again, means they're not entirely one, not entirely the other.
Anyway.
Go watch the show.
It's worth it. Mizu is like some cockroach that refuses to die and kills at least a hundred people and just wants to be left alone to kill their enemies.
Please, watch it, otherwise we may never get to know how the fuck will white dudes die by the hands of a lowly half-breed who has the most crazy and determined eyes you've ever seen.
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jaylikesrainbowtigers · 7 months
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What would the Gaang’s Daemons be?
This is based off of His Dark Materials and what each of the Gaang’s daemons would be. This was a surprisingly difficult task because I obsessed over it for like a week.
Aang: Feathertail Glider
Aang’s daemon wouldn’t settle until the very end of the series when he has completed his task to defeat Ozai and stands by his morals. As such, shortly after Aang’s daemon would settle. Before this I could see her taking forms like birds or lemurs so she could fly around. I can’t think of a suitable name but something sweet like Peach or something to do with air as a whole.
But I think that she would settle as a feathertail glider because these little guys are the extroverts who hate confrontation. They tend to be quite energetic yet value others over themselves most of the time. Also the big eyes and ears combined with their tiny size reminds me of Aang. Also they can fly. The idea of another little flying thing following Aang around is adorable. Strangers would be so confused on whether Momo or the glider is Aang’s daemon. Or even Appa?? Like who knows. Not them.
Katara: Snow Goose
Despite others opinions that Katara’s daemon would settle after her mother died, I don’t think that he would. I think we would have to wait until the Southern Raiders episode as the experience of Katara not taking revenge is a pivotal one for her character. Before then I think her daemon would mainly assume the form of a sea otter or a penguin. I actually considered a sea otter as her settled form but something felt off about it. I like the traditional Inuit name Aput for Katara’s daemon as it means “snow”. It feels right to me.
As for why I chose a Snow Goose. The key characteristic surrounding this form are loyalty, dedication, ambition, outspokenness, being a team player, and a more extroverted personality. Katara shows great ambition and her ability to be outspoken when she faces the Northern Water Tribes sexist ideas and convinces Pakku to teach her. Other secondary traits that fit Katara to this form are her protective nature, her desire to help others, her stubbornness, and her ability to empathise with others. The fact that this creature lives in the Artic also shows her pride for her heritage.
Sokka: Common Raven
Sokka’s daemon certainly does not settle in the form he desires. What he really wants is to emulate his hero, his dad, with a wolf daemon. So in Season 1 we see his daemon take the form of a wolf often. However, when he fights as the planner or the inventor (when he works best) his daemon could take another form as a foreshadowing. His daemon would probably settle in the first few episodes of Season 2 as the loss of Yue settles in. I like the name Ila for Sokka’s daemon. It means “friend” or “companion” which I think Sokka’s daemon would mainly be for him.
Whilst Sokka could certainly fit into a wolf form, I think that a raven suits him better. Ravens have a strong sense of social hierarchy which suits Sokka’s desire to act as a leader for the Gaang. They are also opportunistic, adaptable, innovative, expressive, planners, bold, occasionally suspicious, affectionate, and witty. Sokka’s role in the group ranges from the meat and sarcasm guy to the planner so a versatile form was a must for me. The symmetry between Katara and Sokka both settling is birds is just a nice circle.
Toph: Wolverine
Toph’s daemon would either settle straight after she left her parents or not at all in the series. There is no in-between. The only two options for me. Whilst she was with her parents her daemon would often be a mole as a small tribute to the badger-moles who taught her Earth bending. As the Blind Bandit, he would take the form of something ridiculously large for the lols, like a rhino. Other fun forms for Toph would be a bat or a badger. I like the name Bao for him. It means “treasure” and I think Toph’s parents would name a daemon to fit their family vibe.
I had a lot of trouble picking a daemon for Toph. Mainly because all the animals I thought of were not aggressive and avoided conflict. But do you know what animal doesn’t avoid conflict. A wolverine! Traits connected to this form are independence, aggression, a hardy attitude, confidence, loyalty (though they are very socially selective with their friends), and a slightly playful personality. I think that this fits Toph’s no nonsense/ let’s kick some ass whilst playfully insulting my friends attitude.
Zuko: Yellow-Throated Marten
I think that Zuko’s daemon wouldn’t settle for ages. However, after his banishment he and Akira (seems like a good name for her) faked a settle as a lion? Or a bird of prey? Something that Ozai would approve of. Only Iroh knows that Zuko hadn’t settled as he walked in on Akira trying to comfort Zuko in a different form. Aang found out as Akira turned into a beetle during the Blue Spirit episode whilst Zhao only became suspicious. Akira turned into a seal so Zuko could break into the Northern Water Tribe.
In season two, Akira turned into a type of cat to travel incognito in the Earth Kingdom. So in the abandoned town the rest of the Gaang found out that Akira was unsettled.
In early season three, Akira presented as a snake, a python of sorts, within the palace. But her eventual settlement happened when Zuko was on his Airship going to find the Gaang. It was very much a bittersweet moment as Zuko finally felt fully confident in his choice but he was also leaving the last remains of his childhood behind.
But I think if you rewrote the series to have daemons Zuko would probably get an earlier redemption arc as he has a physical manifestation of his soul to talk to in order to work out his feelings. He may have even joined the Gaang at Ba Sing Se.
The reason for my choice of a Yellow-Throated Marten is their guts. Like these small things actively hunt deer and their favourite move is to grab their prey by the neck and flipping them onto the ground. That feels very Zuko. They tend to keep in groups of two or three which remind me of Zuko and Iroh. They have a angry outside but a slightly awkward and kinda sweet inside. Like Zuko. Plus the yellow on them makes me think of Zuko’s eyes. Zuko and Akira cuddles pleases me because she is a fluffy-ish animal.
Suki: Fennec Fox
She would be the only member of the Gaang who we would meet after her daemon settled because Suki is a fairly flat character in terms of her character arc. She already is confident in her role in life and her morals. She doesn’t have to overcome any significant challenges which could cause a settlement to be delayed. We probably wouldn’t learn her daemons name until season 3 when she stays in the show for more than a episode at a time. I’m thinking something common like Liu or Huang.
Fennec Fox Daemons tend to be social, hard-working individuals who are very tough. They also tend to have a good sense of humour and have a higher level of tact than other canine based daemons. These are traits that I see in Suki. Also the balance of Sokka who longs for a canine daemon meeting Suki who has a smaller canine daemon who then beats respect women and all daemon types equally into him. It adds to the plot. Trust me.
If anyone has any ideas for names or other daemon forms for any of the Gaang (or any other ATLA characters) please comment below.
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m00n-pr1sm · 1 year
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Assigning 25ji commissioned songs to Katie McGrath characters
Is this a shitpost? We’ll never know I guess.
1. Lena - Tricologe and kanadetomosusora
None of the commissioned songs really fit her, but the vibes on this one are nice. I suppose since the event is a kanade focus and as we know a huge part of her character is a sense of penance, she needs to save people through her music to make up for hurting her father. This is kind of how lena feels this obligation to her family name, to make up for lex’s crimes. The song alludes to things like being a “prisoner of life” and the section that is the singer being drawn to a glittering masquerade, but is pulled back (in the original mv). I think this can very abstractly being tied to Lena’s desire to express herself and put herself out there (#3Epilled) but being unable to make her vulnerable, shackled by her betrayals in life. This song can also apply to morgana in a similar fashion but I already have 3 songs chosen for her (and it doesn’t fit as well)
Kanadetomosora because the song revolves around reaching for something more and a lot of the imagery in the mv is the characters looking out windows and kanade reaching for the sky, the last few lyrics filled are filled with hope as something finally resonates (tie back to the event as kanade makes Mafuyu smile with her song),,, hmm Lena’s desire to trust another but feeling shackled by her past and her eventual growing closeness to Kara
Idsmile is more supercorp, of which I wrote an explanation for months ago. Basically just another addition to why supergirl is hella queer-coded, if Kara can tell her secret to Lena and still stay connected or if she could live in this world hiding a part of herself away from Lena, continuing the status quo. Also thinking abt how there’s a lyric that goes “the boundaries begin to blur” and there’s an episode in supergirl called “blurred lines” funny coincidence (and Kara says that one line “for a friend like you, there are no boundaries” which just reminds me of mizuena sm)
2. Morgana - Bug, saisei and nomad
ironically Mafuyu and morgana r incredibly different characters , secretly all the 25ji characters r just the Merlin core 4 send tweet /hj (Gwen is kanade, Merlin is mizuki, Arthur is Mafuyu, morgana is ena)
I like the duality of the song choices. Bug is mainly for its vibe and the sort of chaotic melody it has, the lyrics being a jumbled mess of repeating words. I think it kind of embodies morgana’s later season desperation and descent into despair. morgana’s entire arc is the sunk cost fallacy, lololol, she’s gone too fair, sacrificed too much for nothing in the end, but she can never truly let go can she? It’s also the most aggressive/forceful of all 25ji songs and it fits morgana being the sx4 triple reactive limbic mf we all know and love Also bug is a banger
NOW FOR SAISEI, I will never get over this one
IT HAS SO MUCH YEARNING AND WONDERING HOW THINGS WENT WRONG AND THE FACT THAT THERES A LYRIC THAT IS “IF THIS WAS JUST A SHALLOW NIGHTMARE, I COULD FORGIVE EVERYTHING” screaming crying throwing up, like I know morgana doesn’t really do this in canon and is like “lol everyone turned on me I’m right” BUT IT FITS MY VISION SO WELL. like the fact she lives her life with monotony, in which her life is reduced to seeking out revenge on Arthur (which I truly believe is psychological displacement) and to defeat emyrs, and also because the writers forgot to develop her character and she became one dimensional lol. The lyrics about wanting to return to long long ago and asking oneself “was it fine like this” scream morgwen and my belief that morgana enchanted Gwen also to have this companionship back, Gwen is a void no one else and nothing else could fill. Please see my vision.
Forgot to write a nomad explanation but it hinges on my headcanons for morgana that basically rewrite her to be 3V, just me thinking abt that line in that dream in s4 where Merlin asks “is this really what you wanted morgana?” I HATE THAT THEY GAVE US THAT IDEA AND NEVER ADDRESSED IT AGAIN??? Song fits bc yearning there, good enough (nomad makes me so emotional it’s such an underrated song it makes me so upset </3)
3. Lucy - Kimi no Yoruwo Kure
just read the lyrics oh my god, it’s also a really sweet mellow song so I think it fits her vibes, like at least in her vulnerable soft moments. WHY IS ALL OF KATIE MCGRATH’S CHARACTERS SO MIZUKI CODED. I think idsmile, lower, and kimi no yoruwo kure all have really really similar themes but the difference in how they go about it. Idsmile is more about hiding ones identity and a yearning for things staying the sam, lower reads as more of fight for staying together, being on the edge of telling; makes sense cause it’s a mizuena event and with ena swearing to stay by mizuki’s side until they can tell their secret. Kimi no yoruwo kure’s lyrics at least, seem like a gentle resignation, it has very Lofi sleepy vibes, a yearning for a “today” that won’t disappear. Which idk is more Lucy than any other character based on their vibes/ temperaments alone.
4. Sarah - Composing the future
haha emo song but the song puts a lot of focus on the past and being unable to move on from it. Nothing else I don’t really remember that much from slasher but yeah,,, I just needed to put smth
5. Saskia- Keitai Renwa and Lower
yes I had to pull out the mizuena songs for this, like come one the whole theme of being unable to admit one’s own feelings and unrequited love? come on (yes this applies to like 4/5 characters here but these just have Saskia vibes, and it’s a huge focus of her character). Keitai renwa also has lyrics that feel like they’re counting down to something?? Totally not olivia’s impending marriage/engagement,,, lower and keitai renwa both have more of a forceful fight for love and yearning than some of the other songs here, #saskiapilled
Lower honestly reminds me of morgwen too, which is my fav ship ever and i even made an art piece that had lyrics and one of them was from lower </3
which I will copy and paste and explanation for it lol
If you stay here with me: this is morgana's line, Gwen is the only person from Camelot she was willing to make some kind of peace with and trust, she so deeply desires staying with Gwen, they genuinely cared for each other so dearly and much of what morgana did is in some way motivated by Gwen (like the episode to kill the king)
if I could just keep you from leaving: but in Gwen point of view all she sees is morgana's turn to evil as a departure from their friendship (thus the leaving line) , she doesn't know how to help her but I believe she wanted to try and save her
Morgana views her action of offering Gwen mercy as "staying here" while Gwen sees morgana's turn as "leaving" this resulting in an insurmountable difference as they are pulled apart from each other, unable to connect again
Sorry to jackpot sad girl, infinitely gray, and I nandesu (I made this post before this song existed lmao it’s been sitting in my drafts 4eva) for not adding u, I couldn’t figure out a reasonable explanation
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maschotch · 2 years
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I have such complicated feelings about Derek this whole episode ughhhh
For one, he went through something ridiculously traumatic and most of the team cared more about how he treated them than how he felt. He obviously went through something horrifically traumatic, on the verge of being killed and watching two people die in front of him while he was powerless, that's fucking awful even with no context of the trauma he had connected to it. I feel like that would be obvious to most people, especially profilers and just grown ass adults who have trauma from viewing deaths themselves
Especially buck wild that Penelope wouldn't be more empathetic towards him, not just because of their relationship but because he LITERALLY SPENT ALL OF THE TIME TWO EPISODES AGO COMFORTING HER BECAUSE SHE WAS BREAKING DOWN AFTER SEEING SOMEONE BE MURDERED and it wasn't even someone she knew. Yes, he's a profiler and views these things more and would naturally react less extremely than her, and yes I guess he shouldn't have yelled at her, but like come on its weird to me she responds the way she does in light of how he treats her in the same situation during exit wounds
On the other hand, some of the team empathizes with him. Emily definitely does the best, and Rossi doesn't hurt as much, but hotch definitely tried to help in his own stand-offish way because he knew Morgan wouldn't respond well to confrontation. And he has to take his frustrations out on him even when he's just trying to help
Yeah Morgan did his paper work but I don't see how outside of that the team was expressly "there for him" when Hailey died. I get he's passionate but it seems so fucked up that he would throw that experience back in hotchs face to get what he wants, especially putting the teams behavior towards him after foyet on a pedestal when in reality while they tried to not hurt him, i wouldn't say any of them really had his back, especially when Derek was the one openly criticizing him the whole time and arguing with him
It's also not fair to compare hotch killing foyet to Derek killing Flynn in my opinion. I think Derek compares it like it's the same situation, but I honestly think it was kind of fucked up for Derek to kill him? Hotch was angry when he killed foyet, but i truly believe he did it because he knew if foyet got back up he wouldn't stop until he killed Jack. I don't think Flynn threatened dereks life at all. He was just pissed and wanted revenge on him, which is not the same. Also the fact foyett killed hotchs first love and long-term wife while Flynn killed a detective and his sister that Derek had met like a week ago lol
there's just something a little gross to me about the show trying to make it seem like morgan has to much to apologize for when he hasn't dont anything wrong, or at least not anything that isnt understandable. bc yeah kajsdhg jhe just went through a fucking trauma... he watched a dad get murdered in front of his daughter (the same shit that happened to him when he was a kid) and now the killer's taken the kid and who knows how long she has before she's killed. akjsdhlg seems a little stressful lmao makes sense that he'd be a little snippy.
but nooo instead lets make light of the situation and laugh about how he's upset. or in the company episode lets yell at him for being selfish and remind him that he's entirely responsible for finding his cousin. or in exit wounds when he's just trying to find out if garcia saw anything important, he's actually completely out of line and being totally inappropriate by... asking her question s
penelope reid and jj all act like he's being completely ridiculous and ignroing the shit he went through like a couple hours ago. hotch and emily at least seem a little more empathetic, which is nice, but considering that morgan's closer w penelope reid and jj it seems particularly fucked up that they're the ones who don't seem to give a shit about him or his feelings. especially since he's so attentive to their mental wellbeing.
i agree that morgan crossed a line when he threw the foyet thing in hotch's face, but truthfully i'm not that surprised. considering how morgan acted during that whole thing, it makes sense to me that he'd be insensitive about it. morgan was the one who was openly antagonistic towards hotch during foyet: questioning every decision, doubting every action, etc. and i think its suuuuuper interesting that morgan sees nothing wrong w the way he handled that. especially bc we know he's capable of being supportive (even in cases where the person is being an idiot about it, like reid in memoriam), its fascinating that morgan can look back on how he treated hotch and say that he had his back. like... if that was morgan being supportive, it makes me wonder what morgan actually wanted to do in that situation
morgan killing flynn and hotch killing foyet aren't the same at all.... but there's so much different about both situations that idek if you could even really compare them. foyet was an unsub whose personal mission was to make hotch as miserable as possible; flynn wasn't after morgan at all, even in the end. foyet said "i surrender" and hotch continued to beat him to death w his bare hands; morgan said "if you point your gun at them (the hostages) i'll kill you" and flynn raised his gun and morgan shot. hotch knew that there was no convincing foyet to stop; morgan didnt even try, even when flynn was having a change of heart. foyet wanted to see what hotch would do, how far hotch would go, what hotch was capable of; flynn wanted to die and knew morgan would kill him. i dont think morgan killing flynn was as emotional or dramatic as hotch killing foyet, but i dont think it was as justified either
overall, i just dont think this episode was written well. it was suppposed to be a morgan ep, but it was more about some random white guy. nearly everyone belittled morgan the whole time and the most compelling part of the ep was this little girl taking on this guy by herself (which then they completely ignored so jj could have her stupid little speech). jakshflkad i dont usually like criminal minds two parters/finales anyway, so idk if i like this more or less than the others, but theyre definitely episodes i typically skip on a rewatch
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kmze · 23 days
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Dry-ass (Sorry not sorry) didn't just cause damage to SC.She caused damage to the characters as well.Caroline and Bonnie were established as self-empowered women in s6.By the end of s7,they both were in a devastating state,emotionally, psychologically and physically.As for Stefan,the damaged,layered,dark yet intelligent and intutitive Stefan was gone.Instead,he was acting more Damon-like.While Damon played the bad guy for kicks,Stefan enjoyed being bad when he wanted to but he chose to be compassionate and showed empathy too. His IQ level had dropped severely and was getting easily outmanipulated,despite being a great social manipulator, although whether by choice or not that is up for debate.What happened to the "Better Villain"?Was it actor's choice?
His story was so close to that of Tyler's in s4-big bad with British accent,dumb revenge schemes,mom's death,keeping caroline out of the loop,going on the run.In fact,there were a couple of scenes which were similar to that of TC e.g When Stefan was watching Caroline from outside of her house like Tyler did in s2 possibly.The only difference was this time Caroline was with that low-life.Another was when Stefan and Caroline had a heart to heart.TC had a similar conversation in s2.The dialogues were so similar that I just didn't understand what the hell were they even trying to do.It's like playing out an old relationship using different actor and maybe creating a slightly different circumstance not for any narrative purpose but just for drama which was blatantly manufactured.No wonder Stefan's choices didn't make any internal sense for him.And since you mentioned about Stefan's ripper gene,I remembered how that was like Tyler's werewolf gene.Both were unaware of it until they were informed by a family member.I know the mythology may not be similar in any way but I think the writers had simply lost control over what and how much they would recycle.At least Klaus being a 1000 year immortal hybrid banishing Tyler made some sense.Why and how were all the century old vampires so scared of Matt F***ing Donovan banishing them from Mystic Falls???Just snap his stupid neck!!!With Tyler they never bothered to show how he broke the sire bond.They just told it.With Stefan,the phoenix scar was such a terrible plot device to separate SC.It reminded me of Elena being sired to Damon in s4.Hell even the tvd half of the crossover was unnecessarily contrived and melodramatic.They had Klaus tell Stefan something along the lines of- misery,paranoia will strip you off your desire to live- which was similar to what he had said about Tyler to Hayley after banishing him from MF.Klaus was giving unsolicited advice to Caroline and restricting her identity to simply being a mom while the narrative was desperately trying to convince that Stefan lacked emotional intelligence and wisdom to be in a real relationship.He was making unilateral decisions while Caroline was a whole another story. However,the TO half of crossover was much better written keeping the history of Klefan in mind.Not sure who wrote it but they gave the respect to SC which they deserved in just one episode that their own show didn't in 22 episodes.
Sorry this got so long.Talking to you brought back so many memories.
LOL Dry-ass I forgot that well deserved nickname *snort*
Yeah anon I agree, S7 was such a letdown season because I just don't think CD is capable of writing things she doesn't personally like, I remember even the first episode SC felt "off". I mean they were very cute but some of it lacked substance and the dialog didn't feel like them (except the last scene) and it was written by her (should have been my first clue about that season). Whereas 7x04 was vintage Steroline, the dialog, the chemistry even the story of teaming up to "babysit" the murderous heretics was so them (they love playing the game).
That's a really interesting comparison to Tyler in S4 though that I never really thought of, I'm getting into Tyler and Caroline's story in S2 so I'm going to look at for what you brought up in comparison to SC in S7. It doesn't surprise me that CD would do that either, like I said I don't think she cared enough about the S7 characters (her favorite was Katherine IMO) so going back to older seasons and rewriting it fits her MO. I absolutely agree on him being outsmarted that season like ugh, I felt a lot of that was CD making a concerted effort to not have minimal Lily and Stefan interaction and she never continued the ripper-gene talk (and yes the werewolf gene is genetic too). I also don't think CD cares about the character of Stefan outside of him being Katherine's prize. The revenge plot wasn't out of character for him but Julian was very *snore* it felt like murder-Thanksgiving was much closer to how Stefan usually operates as the "better villain to beat the villain". I just remember Dries talked sooooo much before the season aired about Damon/Lily/Stefan being the new "triangle" and we got like 3 scenes of that and then she was dead by episode 8!
I probably need to rewatch S7 to really remember how the storyline really played out, it's been a while so my memory is foggy but yes like WHO CARES WHAT MATT SAYS! Moron shot his fiancée accidentally and I'm supposed to believe supernatural creatures care what he says, please. I was more bothered by the show trying to undermine how much Stefan knew Caroline and vice versa, that was all Dries and I'm glad JP tried to fix it in the second half but still, I hope CD steps on a lego everyday for her transgressions.
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skully-bones · 3 years
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fuckin OOF i forgot how much secondhand embarrassment i get from zombieland saga
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uservillanelle · 2 years
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Killing Eve ― 4x01 (Review)
“It’s been two years since S3 and my last review. At first I wasn’t sure whether I would continue writing these, but since it’s the last season I thought ― why not? Then again, I’m mostly writing these for myself and adding all of my chaotic thoughts in one place, so if any of you feel like reading these, enjoy!
The Opening Sequence
I think almost everyone thought that the person on the bike was Villanelle, I probably would’ve too, if I didn’t get spoiled in stan twitter lol. The whole riding the bike scene is such a nice parallel to Villanelle’s scene in the pilot episode. That only reminds me how many moments like these exist in the show. The question here is: how many of them are intentional? I’ll go ahead and say that this one was. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used the same bike for both scenes since it looks pretty much identical lol. 
If you really pay attention it’s easy to spot the differences in Eve’s body language as soon as she gets off the bike. The fact that she pulled out her pistol, which was not necessary(?), and started pointing it towards everyone she saw in that building shows the level of recklessness and boldness she acquired during these past few months. And yeah, let me quote 1x07 Eve by adding: “the way she walks”, because there is a completely different flair to it.
Eve & Konstantin
“You’re head of town” really now? Didn’t Konstantin plan to go to Cuba for like second half of S3? As much as we knew at the time, was that he was in huge trouble with the twelve for stealing money, Carolyn almost killed him and let’s just say it was perfect time for him to lay low somewhere. So him becoming a mayor of some Russian town/city paints a whole different picture. 
Seeing Konstantin’s reaction to someone coming to kill him still sends me lmao. Him rolling his eyes and heavy sigh says it all. He isn’t one bit surprised. However, what does surprise him, and most of us, is that it’s Eve. The problem with the premiere episodes? Is the fact that a bunch of BTS photos were leaked during filming and most of us saw Konstantin with his bandaged hand and the trailer basically revealed that it’s Eve who shot him, so I kind of was waiting for that to happen. 
Eve was pretty pissed of the last we saw her, and rightfully so, since Konstantin indirectly got Kenny killed and yet Carolyn allowed him to escape. So this time Eve made sure to take her revenge by shooting him. In the hand. *inserts Eve’s weak threat to shoot Konstantin in the leg from 1x08*
It’s interesting how Konstantin kept insisting he doesn’t know anything about Helene or where she was. Yet he did know about Rhian and the way Villanelle killed her. They are all so shady, I wouldn’t be surprised if Konstantin knew more than he was letting on, but in this case he gave Eve enough to spare his life. For now. 
“You shot me in my hand”; “Oh get over it!” ― if that ain’t peak comedy, I don’t know what is lol. Again, another parallel to Villanelle shooting Konstantin and him bringing it up only to hear Villanelle shout “When will you get over that?” As if it was nothing more than a scratch lmao. 
“She looks French, okay?” ― of course that’s enough of a description for our Hot French MILF™. 
“If you want to find Helene, why not just ask Villanelle?” ― this could only mean that Konstantin still thinks Villanelle works for the twelve, despite her repeatedly telling him last season that she wants out. Makes me wonder if he thinks that the reason she decided not to leave with him is because she wanted to keep working for the twelve? Clearly they have a lot to catch up. Now, Eve coming there to interrogate him was enough for him to draw a conclusion that she and Villanelle are not talking to each other. Which should be more than enough to let us know that something happened between them. In fact, Eve is so determined to avoid Villanelle that she’d rather hunt down Konstantin in RUSSIA, than call/text Villanelle about Helene. Yup, both Villanelle and Eve have each other’s numbers since S1 and neither of them actually used it. *sighs* gays. 
“Whatever this is, you won’t come out of it”; “Thank God” ― so that’s it, then? Eve fully made up her mind that this ‘revenge mission’ will cost her her life? I mean she has lost everyone, except Villanelle, who hasn’t been around for a long time, so in a sense she has nothing to lose. Then again, she did say back in 3x08 that whenever she images her future she sees Villanelle’s face. Perhaps she no longer imagines the future? Because deep down she knows it’s not possible for her? That she’s too far gone? 
Villanelle
♪ You made a believer out of me ♪ ― oh pleease, if that ain’t Villanelle indirectly referring to Eve lmao. I LOVE how everything ties them together, no matter what they are doing. It’s like the universe keeps sending signs left and right that they are soulmates and that they can’t live without one another. 
Right from the get go it’s apparent that Barbara and Vicar aren’t too fond of “Nelle”. Do they really see through Villanelle’s act, since no one can be that perfect? Guess Villanelle is trying too hard to the point where it started feeling unnatural, too good to be true. “I don’t know how you can be so good all the time” ― poor May is still innocent and naive to spot that. For now. “I don’t have any other choice” ― you mean, this is the only way Eve will notice you again, since you’ve changed, Villanelle? This shows just how much her mother and Helene calling her a monster affected her. The point is, Eve never wanted or asked her to change, be better... Eve is the only one who understands her and accepts her as she is, but Villanelle’s past traumas are not allowing her to see it. 
Eve
“Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late” soundtrack by Unloved is one of my favorites ever since I heard it. It’s a shame it hasn’t been released just yet. But I’m impatiently waiting for it. This song stands out because it only plays during Eve’s scenes and it makes the lyrics so much more personal. It’s like the show itself is trying to warn her, to stop it all while she still has the chance, but Eve clearly is not listening, she doesn’t hear what we hear. 
It’s so interesting to see what kind of life, routine Eve has adopted. It’s very similar to her starting point back in S3, except it’s quite the opposite. In S3 she started out miserable and on her own. Her house a mess. Her drinking wine during the evenings and hiding from the world at her work. Now? Now she’s staying at a hotel, working out, taking care of herself and hunting down the twelve in the middle of it. Love that for her. 
Eve & Yusuf
It’s so funny that I had to rewatch the episode a couple of times (and even pause it) to fully pay attention to what these two are talking lol. Apparently both of them just received a warning from their job due to their absence. As soon as Eve got into the truck she was willing to work for “one hour” and then she was going to get back to tracking down Helene. It’s apparent that neither Eve nor Yusuf really care about their actual job (I’m still not sure what that is lmao).
 Thankfully it’s pretty clear that there is nothing romantic between these two, so we shouldn’t worry much about Yusuf. From the looks of it they are more like friends with benefits, or should I say, colleagues with benefits type, and it’s only a matter of time until it’s Yusuf’s turn to go. Sorry not sorry.
I love it when it’s supposed to be a scene with Eve and Yusuf and Villanelle still is present in some way. This time in form of invitation. Eve didn’t even hesitate to tear it into pieces lol. It shows how pissed off she is with Villanelle, but the reason is still unclear. Perhaps even Eve sees Villanelle is putting on a show once more. After all... Nelle is not the one Eve fell for, so naturally she’s not one bit interested in her baptism BS. (it still is heartbreaking to know she has been rejecting her invitations for God knows how long. At least Villanelle is trying her best to create the best show for her.)
Not them putting on sexy music right before they have sex *groans*. At first I didn’t question why or how Eve got “in the mood” for it, but the more I think about it, the more I’m leaning towards the fact that Villanelle sent her an invitation. Or... was it the fact that Eve shot Konstantin in the hand that was a major turn on? Both Villanelle and Eve love power and control so it wouldn’t be a surprise. 
Ohhh the way we all thought that Yusuf is going to try to kill Eve by strangling her in the park.. the fact that they showed that bit in the trailer means that it’s not what it looks like, otherwise they wouldn’t have spoiled it in the first place. Not gonna lie, I’d love to see Eve snap his neck with her thighs... I mean they started it, Eve should’ve put an early end to it lmao.
Carolyn & Hugo
There has been rumors about Hugo possibly coming back but they ended just as quickly as they appeared so I didn’t have high hopes for it to happen, but it did! I’m glad at least a couple of characters from previous seasons are coming back to tie everything together (Good job, Laura!)
Carolyn has been demoted and let’s just say she’s not happy about it. At least she has a job at all. But it’s clear she still has a couple of contacts that are helping her to investigate the twelve (Milos). 
It wouldn’t be Hugo if he didn’t barge in like that bragging about his new position, which was previously Carolyn’s. He did get shot after all and I’m all for him giving Carolyn a hard time, but he has no idea who he’s dealing with. It seems like he underestimates the twelve and just how dangerous they are, thinking he got everything figured out only because he got a leverage over Carolyn. Makes me wonder how did he get those pictures of Paul’s dead body..? Maybe Carolyn had more enemies at work if they were exchanging such information to someone like Hugo. 
Christian Dinner
Villanelle preparing fish and loaves because she wouldn’t know what to make otherwise is so hilarious, but also really adorable of her 😭
Them naming the black cat Lucifer is peak comedy lmao!
Seeing how both, May and Vicar, reacted to Luficer hissing at Villanelle truly shows both of their attitudes towards her. May immediately rose up to take Lucifer away, while Vicar told May to leave it be. At this point it’s clear that Vicar doesn’t want Villanelle around for long since he is bringing up the fact that she’s not going to stay there with them forever.
They are trying to tell me that it’s been 8 or so months and only now Villanelle is about to be baptized..? 
RIP Lucifer
This is probably the first time in this episode so far when Villanelle was by herself. There was no one else around that could watch her. There was no reason for her to pretend. Yet she still chose to pray. Pray for a new life. This time she was genuinely trying and it was even more heartbreaking to witness 😭
NOT Lucifer coming from behind her while she was praying 😭😭😭
We all saw where this was headed... I hate it so much, but a point had to be made, I guess. No matter how good she tried to appear to be, death would still be surrounding her, in one way or another. The only thing that somewhat comforts me is that that kill was accidental... then again, her killing the cat means she killed Lucifer...? Is that intentional? I think so. 
May aka the Fanfic Writer
A couple of peeps have mentioned something about someone writing fanfic in the show and there you have it!
The way May represents the fandom as a whole is INSANE! She writes fanfic of herself and ‘Nelle’, is completely in love with her and once given an opportunity, will tell you all the amazing things about Nelle. 
“Now tell me why you like me so much” ― if this scene ain’t us explaining why we love Villanelle, then I don’t know what is. 
This wasn’t the first time Villanelle had her hair stroked, which also happened back in 2x05 while she was “grieving” for Eve. I guess this is one of the things that brings her comfort. Along with stroking her ego ofc.
“You’re the best person I’ve ever met” ― DO NOT THROW ANOTHER PARALLEL MY WAY LIKE THIS!! Niko literally told Eve she was the best person he knew back in 2x04, which makes May the female version of Niko 😭
Eve & Carolyn
Only seeing them together in the trailer made me roll my eyes since it seemed like they were going the same route again. Carolyn finding Eve and asking her to work for her. Like she did in each previous season. This time Eve saw it coming and refused right away lol. (That is until Carolyn left)
Carolyn clearly had made her homework prior to meeting Eve, since she knows where she works and that she’s still investigating the twelve. Interesting because it was Carolyn herself who told Eve to stop investigating them all together back in 3x08. Now Eve is basically her only lead to find out more about the twelve. How tables have turned...
Carolyn knows exactly what she’s doing by coming to Eve... like in S3 she came in and even though Eve refused, she still left the file with her... knowing that sooner or later Eve will still do the work for her since she can’t help herself lol. How convenient. At least she’s willing to pay this time.
The Preparation for Baptism
Besides Villanelle showing off her knowledge of the lines to Vicar, the absolute highlight of this scene was Villanelle trying to find the right spot for Eve to sit so she could see the angel wings behind her 😭 she was being shy and nervous, I bet not seeing the love of your life for longer than half a year will affect you in many such ways.
“I can’t reserve a seat at my own party?” ―  Villanelle pls 😂
Did Barbara actually dig up the dead cat from the freaking graveyard only so she could show it to the Vicar?? She seriously needs to go 
Conversation with the Vicar
One good point the Vicar made is that “Nelle” was with them for months and they hardly knew anything about her. And that led her to remind him, and let us know, what story she has cooked up for Nelle.
“Born in Russia, abandoned in an orphanage and sold into slavery”  ― well she’s not really lying here, just being extra dramatic about the slavery part lol. I mean I could see why Vicar didn’t trust her, having such a suspicious background while pretending to be a saint.
The fact that she thinks if no one were to see her being baptized means it didn’t happen shows her lack of faith. But then again, it’s one the ways she knows how to operate, through a show. 
I find it interesting that Villanelle didn’t directly lie or admit that she didn’t believe in God. Instead, her actual answer revealed so much. I think she truly believed that being around people who believed in God would help her change and I want to hug her for trying so hard 🥺️
I feel like Eve really needs to open up to Villanelle and let her know that she loves her the way she is and accepts her because suddenly Eve’s acceptance from 3x08 was completely erased from V’s mind 😭
The Funeral Home
The more I rewatch it the more it makes me question Eve’s disguise choice. Was she pretending to be Anna?!
Not gonna lie, Pam’s behavior does remind me of Villanelle’s back in 1x03 when she was pretending to be a nurse in that fetish clinic 👀
The way Eve straight up asks Pam if she knows Helene like... Eve honey, you’re better than that. Now Pam definitely knows you’re up to something. 
The Baptism
Seeing Villanelle’s expression drop as probably did her heart, while watching strangers come in without a sight of Eve was truly heartbreaking😭 really brings me back to 2x04 of when Eve didn’t show up... the only difference is that Eve wanted to come to Amsterdam even if she didn’t receive that post card from Villanelle... where’s here she did receive the invitation and decided not to show up 😭😭😭
Villanelle’s reaction to actually being baptized like... 🤔 asdjngsdjfsfs
Eve discussing Pam
“The look in her eye... I’ve seen it before. I can’t explain it” ― Hold up... HOLD UP for a moment! Eve did see it before. With Villanelle. And guess what? Eve described every tiny detail about her back in 1x02, so how come she can’t explain it now?! 
“That was an expert analysis” ― well Eve is an expert. Like Carolyn said, an expert of female assassin’s. So what’s changed? Or was this a writing decision that basically yet again confirms Villanelle and Eve are soulmates?? Since Villanelle is the only one Eve can connect on such a deep level to understand her like that? Or am I not getting something here?
The Fish Tank Scene
You’d think since Eve didn’t stop up at baptism, which was a very special day for Villanelle, she would be very angry and wouldn’t want to see Eve at all... yet here she comes, looks at her only the one completely in love could look and forgives the love of her life not showing up 😭
Villanelle going as far as to kneel before Eve... let’s be honest...we all know what we first thought was going to happen there 🤡
“If you’d really changed, you wouldn’t have come here” ― you mean, if Villanelle stopped loving and caring for you then yeah she probably wouldn’t have come there, but that’s not what she meant, Eve 😭
“If you’d really changed, you wouldn’t have let me.” ― also a good point. I mean maybe Eve could’ve made it harder for Villanelle to find her if she really wanted to leave Villanelle behind?
The moral of the story: both parties are trying to avoid each other but they have failed and now they came to blame one another since they can’t admit feelings for one another 🤡 aka. typical gay activity
Also, the fact that we don’t know what actually happened after bridge and Eve being so mad at Villanelle for no reason like?? She went as far as to slap her hoping that will drive her away... and it did break her heart, you could see it in her eyes... there could’ve been a short scene where Eve could’ve either told Yusuf or what happened or wrote something in a diary, a flashback, something so they could let the audience connect the dots... but instead we only got an explanation through one of Laura’s interviews.. which apparently described that Eve is trying to keep Villanelle as far away from herself so she could fully focus on the twelve, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to stick to the main mission with Villanelle around and in a way I understand... I mean who could focus on anything when Villanelle is next to you lol? However, that does not mean Eve has to be that cold with her... and there was no sign, no confirmation Eve is doing this to protect Villanelle... and I’m really hoping that we will get it in the future episodes... there has to be something more obvious that explains it.
“Yes I want to, yeah I want to really get to know you more” ― STOP IT WITH THE LYRICS ARE KILLING ME 😭😭😭
Tracking Down Helene
Look... I support Eve following Pam to get to Helene, but not that close!! Right before Pam got her I was really thinking like “did she seriously not notice someone right behind her all this time? Especially in the area where there were no people but them two?” and then Pam appeared out of nowhere to warn Eve not to mess with her. But we know Eve better than she does... nothing will stop Eve from getting what she wants 😂
One look at the car and BAM, there she is! Looks pretty French, huh?
Pam could’ve knocked Eve out if she wanted to...which leads me to think that maybe she did want Eve to follow her...? Maybe Pam already told Helene about Eve coming to search for her and Helene told Pam to lure Eve to her...? Making her think that she has trakced her down on her own...?
Nelle’s outburst
“It’s very much in your interest for me to believe in you” ― pls this bitch is actually killing me here 🤣🤣🤣
“I knew you weren’t real” ― that’s what happens when the love of your life rejects you I’m afraid... all the faith is gone in an instant. Come on V, all of it was for Eve from the beginning, let’s be real here.
“No one can pretend as well as that” ― oh sweetie... you’re in for a damn ride. Probably your last one too lmao!
“She knows you’d never hurt anyone...”; “You don’t know me” ― aaand here was the part where I was waiting for that sweet kiss to come... and it never did 🤡 interesting how Villanelle was trying so hard to receive that recognition of being a good person, the best one in fact, this entire episode and now that May tells her she wouldn’t hurt anyone since she’s so good, that’s when Villanelle feels like she has to prove her wrong. Because May doesn’t know anything about her... sadly. And thus drowning May I think was a form of lashing out due to Eve’s rejection. 
Not “Jesus” playing while Villanelle is literally killing May... ☠️☠️☠️
Now that instant regret completely mirrors Eve’s at the end of 1x08 after she stabbed her out of impulse and immediately realized what she has done. I guess Villanelle is so used to killing that it almost feels like she has to, its a natural thing for her to do... so not doing it it’s just weird. Off. Kudos to her for quickly realizing what she did and reviving May 🙌
Vlad & Carolyn
Well I didn’t expect to see Vlad again, so this was quite a surprise!
“Hello traitor” ― let’s just say Vlad is still very bitter for being pushed under the bus... and rightfully so. 
Is Carolyn this desperate that she’s willing to come and work for the Russian’s now to get some kind of information? Or does she have another plan for them?
The Introduction of Jesus!Villanelle
When Jodie kept teasing that they are going to be pushing boundaries with Villanelle, I’ve never, not in my wildest dreams, could’ve seen THIS coming.
I’m going to say this now, Jesus!Villanelle is the craziest and BEST thing that happened in KE and I am not going to accept any criticism for it. In a way it makes total sense knowing that Villanelle has such a strong god complex and that she now completely “lost” her faith, that the only one that could lead her is herself. IN DRAG 🥵️
Jodie admitting that playing Jesus!Villanelle is the sexiest she has ever felt PLEASE, I LOVE THAT SHE SAID IT, AS SHE SHOULD 😭
When you really think about it, Jesus!Villanelle is a GENIUS choice for a Jesus representation for Villanelle since it does include her sense of fashion, her sexuality, her gender fluidity... all those things that Jodie mentioned ARE there and I’m just like...🤯
At the same time a part of me still can’t believe that part happened.. like it’s too crazy good to be true.. but it did and I will NEVER recover from it lol... I mean if Jesus looked like this, you can call me religious lmao
The soundtracks
I don’t think any other show puts so much meaning into songs and lyrics they choose.. like the songs are literally made for this show, for these scenes and these characters...they add up so much more meaning and depth to them, it blows my mind every single time.. but the fact that Unloved created a couple new songs for this season is literally chef’s kiss 🤌
Well, if anyone lasted until this part, THANK YOU for taking your time to read my mess of a review lol! I’ll be back tomorrow with the second episode review! 
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breeeliss · 4 years
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i heard some people don’t know about the Taang/Kummi theory
So this was originally supposed to be a response to an ask I had gotten about this ATLA theory, but because Read More links on Tumblr asks seem to break once you edit them, I’m reposting so that people can actually see the post lol 
For anyone who wasn’t a part of the Toph x Aang LiveJournal fandom in the early 2000s, buckle up, because this bugged me out as a 13 year old. 
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Remember the end of “The Swamp” (Book 2, Episode 4)? We find out the swamp isn’t haunted, Huu was just protecting it the whole time, and then he explains to Katara, Sokka, and Aang why the swamp is so mystical and sacred.
The swamp is just one big banyan grove tree that’s grown out over miles and miles. All the branches and trees they see are connected because they’re one big breathing organism. And that extends to life as well. We’re all living beings. We all share the same roots. We all are from the same tree, even if we don’t act like it. Everything is connected! Cool stuff.
But when Katara asks what her seeing her mother and what Sokka seeing Yue meant, Huu explains that “in the swamp, we see visions of people we lost, people we’ve loved, folks we think are gone, but the swamp tells us they’re not. We’re still connected to them. Time is an illusion, and so is death.” So Katara never really lost her mother and Sokka never really lost Yue because the connections we make in life transcend death and time. They’re not gone. They’re still a part of us. The swamp reminds us of this.
Now, to keep in theme with this, we probably would’ve expected Aang to also see visions of people he’s lost and loved before (Gyatso, the other Airbenders, his culture, etc.)
But for some reason, Aang sees...Toph. Someone he doesn’t know.
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Huu doesn’t really give Aang an explanation for this, he sort of just lets Aang figure it out for himself. And what we’re left is “okay well if time is an illusion and this isn’t someone I’ve made a connection with yet, it’s someone I will make a connection with.” We’re made to accept that as viewers, but why was Aang’s vision so different? Was it really just to lead him in the direction of his Earthbending Master so that he can continue on with his destiny?
Or was it because, unbeknownst to Aang, Toph actually was someone that he had loved and lost before? Just not in this life. In another life. A past life. When he wasn’t Aang, but rather Avatar Kuruk, the Southern Water Tribe Avatar that came before Avatar Kyoshi.
✨Basically the theory is that Toph is one of the reincarnations of Ummi, the southern water tribe woman that fell in love with Avatar Kuruk and had her face tragically stolen by Koh, the Face Stealer.✨
Stay with me, because it gets way deeper.
Who are Kuruk and Ummi you ask?
We formally meet Kuruk during “Sozin’s Comet Part 2: The Old Masters” (Book 3, Episode 19) when Aang is appealing to his past lives for wisdom with regard to what to do with Ozai. Kuruk was a “go with the flow” (lmao) Avatar and sort of just let things play out and it seemed to work for him. He met a girl named Ummi, they fell in love, they were gonna get married, cool.  
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According to the comic books, Koh I guess was kinda off-put by Kuruk’s arrogance? So as punishment this spirit straight up abducts Ummi on their wedding night and steals her face (ultimately killing her). He blames himself, saying if he’d been more attentive and active he could’ve saved her. He tried to kill Koh out of revenge over it, but could never do so. Koh alludes to this when Aang visits him in “The Siege of the North Part 2″ (Book 1, Episode 20) and shows Aang Ummi’s face. All in all, super tragic.
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The Avatar never really “dies.” He’s constantly being reborn. The reason Aang is able to consult his past lives for wisdom is because all of his past lives are him. If the point of the swamp is to get you to understand that death is an illusion, then the swamp understands that the separation between Aang and Kuruk is also an illusion. They’re different people but also the same person all at once. They’re still connected.
So, assuming that Aang was no different from Katara and Sokka and was also seeing people that he’s loved and lost in the past while in the swamp, maybe Toph really is someone he’s met and known before. He just lost and loved her in a past life that neither of them remembers back when they were both completely different people.
But wait, what’s the proof that Ummi is one of Toph’s past lives?
This theory hinges on the assumption that the Avatar isn’t the only one who is capable of being reincarnated. So if you keep with that assumption, there are a few moments highlighted by the theory that connect Toph and Ummi.
The most obvious of which is that Toph is blind. Seeing as how Ummi lost her face when she was a human (and Koh still has it), it would make sense that her future reincarnations would potentially have some kind of loss of their senses attributed to, you know, getting your face ripped off. BUT, another detail that is, in my opinion, a little more interesting is one of Aang’s anxiety nightmares from “Nightmares and Daydreams” (Book 3, Episode 9). Specifically the part of the nightmare where Toph is featured looking like this:
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(so creepy ;A;) But why does Toph manifest in Aang’s dream this way, devoid of life and devoid of a face of all things?
This dream that Aang is having is over his anxieties/fears over losing his friends. Sokka, Toph, and Katara all succumb to some sort of horrific end in this dream and Aang is unable to save them. It seems like his anxieties over losing Toph manifested through showing us Toph as a lifeless husk with...no face. Maybe when Aang was having this nightmare, some of the fears and anxieties felt by his previous lives were bleeding in. It would make sense that Kuruk’s greatest anxiety/fear would be losing his loved ones as well, after he failed to protect Ummi from having her face stolen.
And if we assume that Toph actually is Ummi (i.e. a reincarnation that Aang subconsciously remembers), it would make sense that Aang would see Toph standing there in the darkness. Her face stolen. Helpless to save her.
And then in “The Avatar and the Firelord” (Book 3, Episode 6), after learning about Zuko’s lineage and Avatar Roku’s relationship with Sozin, it’s Toph who remarks, “do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”
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It’s interesting that Toph would be the one to ask this. And it’s interesting that Aang is the one that reaches out to hold her hand first and tell him that he doesn’t see why that can’t be possible. Because these connections that transcend lifetimes aren’t limited to just the Avatar. They’re apparent in everyone’s lives, no matter who you are. And the fact that Toph and Aang were able to share that brief moment and give each other that reassurance makes sense if you consider that, several lifetimes ago for them both, they were a lot closer than just mere friends.
And are there other connections between Taang and Kummi?
The theory supports some interesting parallels between Kuruk and Ummi’s relationship and Toph and Aang’s relationship. Kuruk and Aang are very similar in that they both avoided their Avatar duties. Kuruk because of his lackadaisical nature and Aang because he was afraid.
Ummi ultimately ended up being Kuruk’s punishment for not being able break from this passivity and actively pursue his responsibilities as the Avatar. But, by contrast, Toph ended up being Aang’s greatest asset with regard to helping him break from his passivity and learn to face things head on no matter how impossible they may seem.
The Earthbending portion of “Bitter Work” (Book 2, Episode 9) is exclusively about this. Aang is passive by nature, hence why Earthbending is such a hard element for him to master. As Toph so eloquently put: “You had a perform stance, and a perfect form, but when it came right down to it you didn’t have the guts.” The whole episode she’s goading him into being strong and firm. She mercilessly lays into him for not being direct. For being a pushover. For not facing his problems. For not standing up for himself. For being passive. The very thing that was Kuruk’s downfall.
But the pushing works because Toph unlocks something very powerful in him. Toph taught him how to be active. To face his struggles head on. To not flinch before responsibility or danger. That moment where Aang stands up to the moose lion and promises Sokka that he won’t leave him alone (that he will be there to protect him, and he’ll stand staunch in the face of danger) is a really important emotional milestone. It’s a role that’s very different from the one that Katara plays in Aang’s life, but it’s no less important.
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Katara has always been someone who cared deeply for Aang’s emotional needs, who understood the reasons why he was afraid, why he wanted to run away, why he wanted to avoid responsibility. But Toph was very much someone who took a much rougher approach to Aang. Because Aang needed it. Because Aang’s inactivity also threatened to be his downfall in this life because it got in the way of him mastering the Earth element. Toph and Aang became a victory instead of a tragedy. Toph wasn’t used as a way to hurt Aang, like Ummi was used to hurt Kuruk. Toph was one of Aang’s greatest sources of strength.
And it was their connection to each other -- their connection that transcended lifetimes -- that brought them back together as friends.
And maybe more if you feel like adding a ship to your repertoire.
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duskwoodraven · 3 years
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Okay! 👏👏 I’d say it’s time for the long after episode MWAF theory/pick apart everything! Of course this will be littered with lots of spoilers so don’t read if you haven’t finished ep 8 yet!
Now as a sort of disclaimer, I know that some people are preparing to throw the Richy is the MWAF theory out the window, which I do not blame them for by this point. The game has screamed over and over again that Richy is gone yet I can’t help but hold on to my theory to the bitter end.😅 I hope everyone has an open mind to what I have to say on the matter. Maybe there will be some points or reminders to help you find your own take on the topic as I explain my own thoughts in the process.
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First of all, one of the things that has bothered me since the ending is that they still haven’t explained this very basic fact about the MWAF. How in the world did the MWAF know about the group’s investigations and MC’s involvement?
I touched upon this in my last couple theories where I pushed for Richy’s guiltiness by explaining that for the MWAF to know that Jessy would be out on a walk with us, or to know Richy wouldn’t be at Rogers Garage when he was marked, or even knowing we agreed to help this investigation at all, he would need access to the group chats. He would need to know basic information about the groups whereabouts and plan according to it. Not answering this basic fact would leave a gaping hole in the plot.
Micheal Hanson by what we know, left Duskwood more then a year ago, essentially a missing person in the eyes of Duskwood. The group apparently didn’t even know his name so none of them would have told him directly what they were up to. The only way he might be getting information about anything is from Phil, who was being told everything by Jessy herself. That might be plausible if you squint, but yet we know Jessy and Phil’s relationship was even worse in the beginning episodes, I highly doubt Jessy would tell Phil much about herself and the investigation and there is no saying if Phil would even think to move this information along to Michael if he was even in contact with the old bar owner at the time. Also we received a call from the MWAF the very first time we talked to Dan, waaaay in the beginning episodes, we didn’t even know who Phil was at that point, yet the MWAF knew who we were almost immediately.
Then I played with the idea that the MWAF was using an encryption like Alan was or using a spy mode like Jake is, to read everything secretly, but that idea was tossed out too. Michael was a bar owner not a hacker or police investigator, there is little reason to believe he’d know how to do something like that, nor would anyone in his life teach him how to do it either.
(Also as a bonus point for why the MWAF might be Richy, the MWAF didn’t seem to be aware that Jessy and Thomas were heading to the house at all, he still had his candles lit and “art” up so he couldn’t have prepared for their arrival and hide. He might have only noticed Thomas and Jessy where there when he saw the car. This took place after we removed Richy from the chat as well so...)
Secondly, the MWAF’s motivation, why would Michael wait 10 years to take revenge for his daughter and why is he mainly attacking the group over it? For benefit of the doubt, Michael is the few suspects who has a possible motive that makes some sort of sense, yet it’s such a drastic leap in logic for him to attack the group at all.
If Michael is the MWAF and he’s attacking people for revenge, then why would he take Hannah, who we know feels guilty over Jennifer’s death and seems to be working to find out the truth about the case, and kidnap her. She’s trying to bring justice to his daughter, so why would Jennifer’s own father try and interrupt that process? Even if Hannah somehow helped cause Jennifer’s death (reminder that Hannah would have been a child by this point) we know she wasn’t the true killer, it was a man who hit her with a car and took her body into the woods. If Michael really wanted further revenge, killing that man should have been on the top of his priorities, not Hannah.
The hostility he has towards the group is also strange, for a man who cares only for revenge, he seems oddly determined to wipe out everyone, that sounds more like a man who is afraid of being caught then a man who just wants to take down the people who hurt his daughter in the past. That doesn’t sound like the role of a grieving father to me.
And once again he has waited a long time to seek out this revenge anyway, this man was apparently a sheep herder of sorts according to Lily before he disappeared, why come back at all? A parent who lost their child will never lose the pain of that child’s absence, but you’d think the burning embers of revenge would simmer down after 10 years of time and reflection, what could have triggered him to come back? And why would he pick the most foolish spot to set up his base? He should know he was suspected in the past, setting up camp at his own house will easily connect him to the crime as Lilly had demonstrated by throwing out this theory at the end of the episode.
I think it’s more possible for someone else to use Michael Hanson’s house as a coverup to throw off suspicion of himself. Yet who knows? Maybe he is foolish enough to do that lol.
Thirdly, the inconsistency of the legend, the MWAF is not doing a good job at being consistent. He is not taking the people he marked at the first moon of the year and he is also killing them. The original book did not state the people who are taken will die, simply that they will disappear, yet the MWAF supposedly set out to kill Richy, but doesn’t kill Hannah.
And we now know Hannah is most likely alive at this moment because the MWAF stated so in the phone call he was going to kill her. I don’t think he’s lying because it would honestly benefit him more to kill Hannah and tell the group that he did to destroy the groups moral completely rather than keeping her alive.
With these inconsistencies, why should we trust the rules of the legend, they seem to be more like guidelines for the MWAF then actual facts.
Heck, when we talked to Darkness, he told us that the MWAF takes his victims to kill them, something not stated in the book at all.
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From this, the book may very well be wrong and unreliable, perhaps the MWAF is following a different legend, a different version of the tale that Darkness might know about. Either way, it would be unwise to connect Micheal to the MWAF simply because of what the legend says until we know why these inconsistencies are taking place.
Basically what I am trying to say, the group is accepting Michael as guilty too fast for my taste, the only facts we have for Michael being the one who did it is that he’s 1. The father of Jennifer 2. The legend we first read was about a father taking revenge 3. We found the MWAF’s “art” inside Michaels old house. 4. Not many people know where Michael is.
That is enough evidence to have someone arrested and investigated, not to convict them of a crime.
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So do I still think Richy is guilty? Well... somewhat.
I still firmly believe Richy has the most evidence pointed to him and would have the ability to execute the actions we have seen the MWAF take, he would have had access to group chats, his body is still missing like I figured it would be, and he has the knowledge of Duskwood’s history and landscape. He truly is a perfect fit in many ways in my own opinion except for how he fits into this legend and what his motivation could possibly be. Plus the fact that his hat was bloody when it was found, I don’t know if Richy would be capable of harming himself on purpose to make everything more convincing.
All and all, questions still need to be answered and I don’t want to be too hasty in declaring who the MWAF truly is until we can rip the mask off of his face and get him behind bars for good 😌
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I’ll be interested to hear your takes on this below, and I’ll probably expand on this conversation when I think of more relevant points or to explain my idea more in-depth if anyone is confused over this post, thanks for reading til the end! 💛
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kaypeace21 · 3 years
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What's in a name? (Analysing all the names in stranger things)
*I'll be repeating some names more than once as I break down categories .
Show , book, and tv easterggs
Alot of character names may have deeper meaning but some are also refs to stories they liked. The stranger writers twitter posted a list of movies said to inspire s4 (which I’ll be referencing).
Dart- dustin names him this after d'artagenean (a 3 musketeers book character) and one of Dustin's fav candies (3 muskateers). Similarly his pet turtle yurtle is implied to be named after the dr Seuss’ story 'yertle the turtle'.
Brenner- main character from 'the birds', which was on the st s4 list.
Byers- john byers from x files. The duffers mentioned x files was an inspo for the show. Although John byers (from x files) resembles Murray as an unhinged conspiracy theorist. The documentary paradise lost was also cited as inspo for st- john byers and his son, terry, Michael, and Steve were names in said film
Jim Hopper- in Predator (another st inspo) he was a soldier who was flayed to death in the woods. Another character in the film with a similar fate was “Hawkins”.
Detective Wheeler and elle Holloway- from silent Hill franchise. Another ref mentioned by the Duffers. Holloway was the surname of st's Heather. Elle (is el) and Wheeler is Mike's surname. Wheeler was also on the ep of twiglight zone (another cited ref by the duffers) . In the ep 'mute' sheriff wheeler takes in a mute psychic girl as his foster daughter. So some hints at hopper too . Hopper even mentions el-anor (gilipse) in s1. The surname of a main character in the silent hill series.Lt. Colonel Sullivan (s4) could be a eastergg of silent hill 4 which had a Sullivan character.
Henderson- st twitter mentioned how all the bond films were on the s4 inspiration list . So Dustin's surname being the same as one of the bond characters is a nod. Duffers also mentioned ‘freaks & geeks’ as inspo- and 1 character’s surname was also Henderson (another nod).
Mrs Driscoll (from s3) - a nod to invasion of the body snatchers which was mentioned as inspo by the Duffers. And clear inspo for s3.
Powell (cop and partner of hopper ) - diehard films also on s4 list. He's named after the cop powell.
Callahan (cop and partner of Hopper) - father Callahan ref. He shows up in many of Stephen King novels. The Duffers have cited over 10 novels and books from him as inspo for st
Nancy- she's called ‘Nancy drew’ (from the novels). And the duffers have mentioned they are fans of elmstreet - who's main character was Nancy. Nancy also references 'Oliver twist" ,and that book has a character named Nancy in it. Nancy was also a first Lady in the 80s similar to her friend Barbara- who was also a first Lady in the 80s.Nancy's name might also be inspired by "Nancy Wheeler", a secondary character in the 1970 book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret written by Judy Blume.
Fred (s4)- apparently a high-school journalist who may be friend or foe. This one is a stretch but given nancy maybe being an elmstreet ref- and her enemy being fred-die kreuger. Fred may have animosity to Nancy and that's why his name is Fred. I mean ... they even cast a new s4 character with Freddie kreuger's original actor.so...
Jason (s4) - is in the 1986 Nancy drew novel (when s4 takes place). He is similar to the duffers description. In the novel he's a rich, popular, arrogant jock and blackmailing students at the high-school . S3 even named one of its episodes after a nancy drew novel- so wouldn't surprise me.
Christie carpenter (s4/reffed in s1 by hopper)- christie is the main character in the hellraiser series (which is on the s4 st list). Carpenter is the surname of the director of 'the thing' name dropped in s3. (The flesh monster in s3 also resembles the thing) , and in s1 mr clarke watches it ,and mike has the thing movie poster in his basement.
Argyle (s4) - die hard 1-2 were on the s4 st list. And is a name of a diehard character.
Max- her name is 'mad max' like the 80s film. But since the Duffers like videogames. Her name may be a ref to max caufield from the ‘life is strange’ game as well. She has a 'never Maxine rule' similar to max in st. But the game character is similar to jonathan as she is a teen photographer and says similar words to jonathan in s1 saying she would rather watch people through a camera than interact with them.
Eddie munson (s4)- not going to lie. I have no proof of this but I immediately thought of the TV character Eddie Munster (the friendly monster ).
Possible comic book easteggs
The duffers are no stranger to comic book references. The duffers have already directly reffed xmen, wonderwoman, and green lantern. Kali's place also has a comic book ref to 'the invisibles' on the wall. While the s4 movie list mentions thor ragnock , age of ultron, and 2 batman films. Some of these refs will go over your head if you haven't read my DID theory. But a lot of this analysis will still be enjoyable. :)
Jane st ives (jane ives aka el). marvel. (jane st ives sees her dad k*ll her mom and vows revenge against him.Sort of similar to what brenner did to terry).
Stephanie harrington (Steve harrington)- 80s marvel comic. DP.7. Will DID ref. Antibody, is a medical resident who can project from his body a dark figure of himself (also called an "antibody", a word play on the medical term) that flies, can become intangible, and transfer its memories to another person by physical contact (mindflayer).  He later merges with the antibody. like how susie refs ‘wizard of earthsea’ -the novel where the young wizard Ged releases a shadow monster (said to be an ancient evil) but it turns out to be the dark aspects of his personality and the only way for the chaos to stop is to accept his darkness and merge as 1.
Barry bauman (Murray bauman) . marvel comics - Will did easteregg.Bauman lived in never ending darkness. He felt, that there was a realm outside the darkness and started to explore the entire content of his brain thus using now more than the usual 10 % .Also had telekinesis.He turned his attention to the stars in order to exact revenge on the human race which spends billions of dollars to kill each other, but wouldn't spend the mere million or so it would have cost to cure him. For his vengeance he transported the suns near our galaxy into his omnipotent brain. As the people of Earth would learn of the disappearing of the suns they would panic and feel Bauman's loneliness before he would destroy Earth.Despite the death of his physical body, Bauman's consciousness somehow survived and began hopping from body to body throughout the galaxy, his powers growing until the Star Thief was recognized as a major threat to galactic society.
Sinclair- last name of xmen rhaine.  Will Did ref. storyline Rahne Sinclair is mentally bonded to Havok against her will(Will/mf).She is subsequently manipulated by the Shadow King. Her bond with Havok causes her to act irrationally, sometimes threatening teammates, sometimes by flirting with them.  She undergoes more than one attempt to undo the bonding, with varying results. Her instability also manifests in many odd dreams, in which her identity is merged into pop culture figures. What’s funny is charlie heaton (jonathan byers) was just in an xmen movie with this Rhaine character.
Victor creel (s4)-sounds like mutant victor creed of the xmen comic. x men Mutant with ab*sive dad and poor socioeconomic background. He had a "birthday tradition" of ab*sing his young relatives on their birthdays. Which reminds me of Lonnie making jonathan cry for a week (because he forced him to k*ll a rabbit on his b-day). Not to mention Lonnie is prob coming back for Will’s b day in s4... so... the name is prob a ref to that ‘birthday tradition’. Could also be a stephen king reference -since Duffers love him. The Creel family was in sk’s book “pet cemetary’-which fun fact (the actress who plays El’s aunt is in the recent remake)!
Yuri (s4)-Yuri Topolov (Russian: Юрий Тополов) was a Soviet scientist and the first foe of the Hulk. 
Dimitri (s4)-Dmitri Bukharin was born in Kuibyshev, Russia (some sources say Moscow).  First appeared in Iron man.
Peter ballard ( s4 character) may just be a hellfire ref . since I guy with last name ballard was a double agent for the hellfire club (name of st s4 ep 1). And ballard means bald which the actor is certainly not lol. I don't think he's literally associated with hellfire but its just a ref. And because its implied in his st character summary despite working for the mental hospital-where brenner is most likely at- he's horrified by the treatment of the psych patients. So that may be where the double agent aspect would come into play.
Ian Hargrove (billy hargrove)- batman comics. had a history of mental health problems dating back to childhood, which his parents were unable to afford treatment for. His brother John hargrove tried to keep him out of trouble but Ian developed an uncanny talent for explosives (will the wise fire powers). He ends up at Archam asylum. Cough billy is Will's alter. Why he has the name billy (a nickname for William) . Jonathan in s2 mentions how he likes the writer vonnegut- who wrote slaughter house 5- the main character was Billy. Already mentioned how it connects to my did theory .
Jason carver (s4)- carver is the last name of the comic hero thunderbolt (in the flash)-the first name of thunderbolt is Will and his brother is named Lonnie. There was also a John carver in the comic.
Holland (barb's last name) last name of Swamp thing. I think its plot has quite a few s4/5 spoilers but Im not diving into it right now.
Names associated with religions or mythology 
(if you’ve read my DID theory- some themes will appear relevant in relation  WIll’s alters or to WIll’s past/tr*uma).
-‘Kali prasad".Kali  is the name of a Hindu goddess . Kali’s iconography and mythology commonly associate her with death,  violence, s*xuality, but also paradoxically -motherly love. In myths ‘she only k*lls demons’ and is described as  ‘overflowing with incomprehensible love for her children’ - (aka ST’s Kali k*lling people from hawkins lab for hurting kids). Her third eye stands for wisdom (like Will the wise).Kali is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ (will the wise/fire powers).The devotee makes her image in his heart and under her influence burns away all limitations and ignorance in the cremation fires. This inner cremation fire in the heart is the gyanagni (fire of knowledge), which kali bestows (cough Will the wise-fire powers). The goddess also could create a darkcloud of lightning (similar to the mf). The phrase “brilliant as a dark cloud” is a snippet of one such prayer dedicated to Kali.The name Kali is derived from the Hindu word that means “time”. Kali receives her name because she devours ‘kala’ (Time)- like clocks ticking when El sees demogorgan/clock being wonky when Will see mf/clocks in s4 promos.’ After devouring time she resumes her own dark formlessness. “This transformative effect can be metaphorically illustrated in the West as a black hole in space” (cough mf cough hopper blackhole/time refs). Kali’s s2 butterfly-“Kali is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. ... The cocoon, butterfly and the karmic golden wheel reflect Her deep connection with life.”And Prasād (her last name) is a material substance that is a religious offering to gods in  Hinduism .
-While, EL is the name of a Cannanite (male) god associated with “salt water “ (pool filled with salt in s1) who “dwelled in a tent” (in s1 Mike’s blanket fort) .And his gray-beard was described as " "full of wisdom.” él’  in Spanish means ‘he’- which could be a nod at her ( androgynous) presentation in s1. El can also be translated to "God" or 'god'. The el character has various mythologies depending on which culture/ religion is using the term 'el'. In the post-biblical period, "el" became a regular element in the names of angels such as "Gabri·el," "Micha·el," and "Azri·el," to denote their status as divine beings.And Jane translates to " Yahweh (god) is gracious/merciful". The cannanite god El was also dubbed “Compassionate God of Mercy.”  Earlier, a ninth century B.C.E. inscription  identifies Ēl- the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the watery subterranean abyss (cough watery  dark void in st). Terry (el’s mom-aka Teressa) was originally used in the Middle Ages for a “child baptized in holy water” (El in the sensory water tank/Terry used it too,according to Becky in s1). Eleanor (called this in s1)- can mean "sun ray" (possible the opposite of the ‘shadow monster’ or Kali who can represent a “black hole”). 
-Will-the s4 st movie lists (‘red dragon’, gods of monsters, & ‘blade runner’ ) mention the artist and writer William Blake  (specifically his painting of the angel michael fighting a dragon in revelations - reffed in st s1). He was one of many painters part of the exhibition of “ The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery.”The World Turned Upside Down explores the myriad ways that artists in England visualized the apocalypse in a period fraught with political, religious, economic, and cultural change. 
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During this period Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible along with revelations .  He also drew illustrations for the novel Dante’s inferno. Blake’s brutally satirizes oppressive authority in church and state.He said those who proclaim restrictive moral rules and oppressive laws as “goodness” are in themselves evil. Hence to counteract this repression, Blake announces that he is of the “Devil’s Party” (cough hellfire club ref-and dissing the satanic panic of the hellfire club and other marginilised groups) . He also says “men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.” So Instead of looking for God on remote altars, Blake warns, man should look within.He produced a diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the “imagination as “the body of God.” He wrote his own stories based on biblical writings- one includes the fire wielding character of Los (will the wise) who represented jesus. Los (like jesus does in revelations) causes the destruction of the world and the second judgment unfolds. The poem ends with Los’s unfallen state rising up and shepherding in science and removing the dark religions. I also talked about  how this story ‘book of los’ hints at the DID theory-but this is getting long-so you can just read the explanation here if interested. Also, hellooo Both names are William B(yers/lake). Billy (a alter of Will-sharing the name William) in s3 he even wore “lady of pillar” medallion- i.e about jesus/mary.
JOHN (supposedly Jesus’ blood relative- who wrote ‘revelations’.) In scripture John was called “the disciple whom Jesus loved as a brother” .Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Jonathan did light the demogorgan on fire). Many scholars consider John & Jesus ("apocalyptic prophets"). Jonathan itself translates to " yahweh (god ) has given" in Hebrew.
Michael- Similar to kali, he’s a religious figure known for killing demons. He’s the arch-angel from the book of revelations (Apocalypse). A evil Beast (with seven heads usually translated to ‘satan’ or ‘dragon’) appears .“it was a 7″ causes Will to be attacked by the demogorgan ( which in d&d is a demon with multiple heads). The Archangel MICHAEL fought and defeated this 7 headed beast/satan. Corresponding with Mike at the end of s1 writing a fictional d&d story for Will (based off defeating the demogorgan) which was about helping kill a 7 HEADED MONSTER! Michael is also the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire (Mike telling Will the wise to use ‘fireball’ to defeat this same 7 headed monster in the game, at the end of s1)! Ironically though Jesus /Christian god is also associated with 7s a lot (he has 7 angels and during the apocalypse causes 7 plagues , he has 7 candles etc .)cause the number seven, represented ‘perfection’ according to ancient numerology . Will’s b day is March 22- (3) +2+2 =7 (“it was a 7”). Will’s bday even falls in what christians call “the holy week”( the week immediately preceding Easter.)  At the end of s1 they even defeat this 7 headed monster because Will rolls a 14 (which can be broken down into two 7s). Michael & William also have 7 letters in each of their names respectively- equating to this 14. This dragon biblical story (of Michael) is also William blake’s most popular painting. Also, random fact in revelations god has a rainbow throne (with thunder /lightning -will the wise powers- coming from the throne, and seven lit torches next to it ) . He also wears a rainbow halo. Lol. Michael also roughly translates to  ( 'Who like el?' The answer being roughly translated to ' no one like el' ... which i mean literally is saying there is no one similar to her. But I still think its a linguistic pun/ burn that Mike is not actually into El romantically).
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Jim (James) hopper- According to the s3 script Hopper’s real name is James. JAMES (JIM) was an apostle to jesus- brother of john. And in the bible was called a ’son of thunder ’. Will’s powers/ hopper being an alter of Will's so technically brother of jonathan and thunder powers. Not to mention David on Instagram saying hopper has " he has risen. like bread" is a Jesus ref to 'he has risen"... even the bread ref could be a catholic ref to the last supper.
  Martin Brenner/marsha holland-  have their first name reference the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ (will the wise/mf powers). EL (in cannanite mythology) also allowed Baal the storm god to rule the entire earth.
ROBIN- was the God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’The red belly robin is also an important bird in Christianity. Legend has it that the robin got its red belly from a fire in which it was trying to protect Jesus. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire (will the wise) who brought human beings life and knowledge. And Steve looks at Robin and says "let there be light" a biblical passage. The robin represents selflessness for a higher truth. 
Barb- Saint BARBara- dad kept her locked away from the outside world (like el/brenner) . He tried to k*ll her when he learned she didn’t believe in his religion- so the dad was punished by “god” who electrocuted him with lightning/lit him on fire. (Will the wise powers).
Nancy- is derived from a medieval diminutive of Annis, an English form of Agnes.  There’s the christian saint Agnes- who was beautiful and from a wealthy family. She was the Christian saint of girls and v*rginity . And the duffers subverted this along with the problematic horror movie trope of the ' v*rgin female heroine surviving while her more se*ually liberated female friends are punished by the villain' ( by having her survive specifically because she decided to have s*x).Agnes was also led out and bound to a stake, but (allegedly) the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her (will the wise fire powers). Also people claimed that any man who tried to r*pe her was struck blind.
Hopper's wife’s name -Dianne- is also the roman goddess of ,nature, hunting and wild animals( and greek equivalent to Artemis) .Becky  means ‘snare’ -for hunting animals .Teressa (Terry) means ' huntress'.  The name was originally used in the Middle Ages for a child baptized in holy water . Name of 2 saints-Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. Lonnie’s gf (Cynthia) was originally an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, as well.
Power couple Angela & jake (s4) - Angela means 'messenger of God". And Jake (also means ”supplanter”) is derived from jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebecca in genesis. El’s aunt,Becky (Rebecca) is wife of isaac.Other theories claim that Jacob is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".The name jacob is also where the names James/jim is derived from.
couple Steve spies on in s3- Anna Jacobi & Mark Lewinsky. Anna ( name of the mother of the Virgin Mary) Jacobi ("he who supplants"-aka same meaning as jim since both names are derived from jacob). Mark (”the god mars”-same meaning as martin brenner) .Lewinsky (lion-same name meaning as Lonnie). Also derived from the Hebrew root לוי‎ (leví, “priest”)
Joyce means "lord". Could also be a ref to the ('unofficial') saint Joyce who gave up wealth to live in poverty.
Ted-is the short form of the names Theodore and Edward. Theodore is a Greek name meaning "gift of God", Edward has an English origin and means "wealthy guard." Eddie (from s4) also means ‘wealthy guard”
Holly (nancy and Mike's sis)- Holly meanings are 'One who is pious' or 'sacred'
Karen- can be short for Katherine-one of the first christian saints.”Saint Katherine of the Wheel “(er). A 4th century martyr who suffered t*rture on a spiked wheel.  Wheeler does mean ‘occupational name for a maker of wheels’ after all. 
Gospel of LUKE (lucas?) , or simply Luke, tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Sinclair- Catholic saint of computers and TV screens (i mean... he is in the av club).
MAXimilian was deemed a saint in the 1980s- saint of journalists and radios. (Both aspects of s3)
Saint stephen/steven ( STEVE)-an early disciple and deacon . Considered one of the first m*rtyrs of the church.Stephen is first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to distribute food (lol icecream) .According to Orthodox belief, he was the eldest and is therefore called “archdeacon”.
Sara- Her name is a feminine form of sar (Hebrew: שַׂר‎), meaning “chieftain” or “prince."  She was the wife and sister of Abraham (ew -given her being an alter of Will though, such a name doesn’t surprise me). Similar to st Barabara’s dad - Abraham tried to k*ll his son isaac in the name of god. Becky (El's aunt) - is derived from Rebecca - wife of Isaac.
Claudia (Dustin's mom)- Christian woman of Rome greeted by Paul in his second letter to Timothy (in the bible).
Sam mayfield (max's dad) -  Short for Samuel or Samantha, from the Biblical name Shemu'el, which means "God has heard", from the Hebrew shama, meaning "heard" and el, meaning "God". Samuel is rumored to be argyle first name.
Marsha Kelly (s4)- Kelly means "frequents churches" or " bright headed". Given she's a counselor the bright headed pun makes sense. But maybe she's not to be trusted if she frequents churches during a satanic panic arc which was fueled by Christian religious extremism . Or she's someone who contrasts the rest of the religious people in town since she's not originally from hawkins...who knows. x files’ main character was catholic but in one ep she criticized a small town for the satanic panic occurring-and says how accusing these kids who listen to rock as satanic or being k*llers is ludicrous.
Peter ballard (s4) - Peter was also the name of an apostle. 
Tina (side character s2)- like christy (s4) it’s short for Christina which translates to "follower of christ" or 'stream'. Tina was the gal who hosted the t halloween party and also the name of one of Erica’s friends in s3.
Samantha (goth girl jonathan talks to in s2 party) translates to "told by god".
Tommy (s1-2) "God's gift" or "twin".Thomas is the Greek variation of the Aramaic name Ta’oma’. It came about because there were too many apostles named Judas; Jesus renamed one Thomas—meaning "twin"—to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and the Judas also known as Thaddeus.
carol (tommy’s gf)- Carol is the short form of Caroline and the meaning is derived from the English vocabulary word for “song” or “hymn". A hymn being a religious song or poem.
Benny ( who helped El at his dinner) - originally derived from latin bennedictus which means "blessed"
Stacey (s2-3 ) rejected dustin at dance. Stacey- "resurrection "
Grigori (the guy following and tracking hopper, Joyce, and alexi)- The name was adopted by early Christians heedful of the Biblical passage located in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful."grigory now means 'watchful and vigalent'
Alexi- prob based on the russian folklore story of alexy. A clever priest's son who tricks a dragon.
Harrington- similar to Robin's religious animal iconography. Harrington means 'he goat'.The most popular image of the Satanic goat dates back to the ever-mysterious Knights of Templar, who were accused of worshipping an idol known as Baphomet (a 1/2 human 1/2 goat man). Roman Catholic society decried it as a demon that demanded human sacrifice — but it would take a few more centuries before the goat became a truly occult symbol.Anton Lavey adopted Baphomet as the sigil of the Church of Satan in 1966, and it has appeared on countless metal album covers. But, Baphomet isn't the lone source of inspiration for our goat-like depictions of Satan.it's also believed that early Christians, seeking to demonize preexisting Pagan traditions, drew comparisons between the Devil and the Greek god Pan (god of nature), who happened to resemble a goat.Some cited how in revelations- during the apocalypse- Jesus separates the 'lambs from the goats'. ( supposedly Good vs bad)
Given the fact s3 alluded to the satanic panic. A Christian movement in the 80s that demonized and said d&d ,rock music, homosexuality, other religions, stephen King,horror films, wearing black,and non conservative ideology were 'satanic.' I wouldn't be surprised by this possible ref. Heck even William Blake criticized similar religious movements in his own time period. Several movies from the s4 list allude to this. The most obvious being the documentary paradise lost (named after the fictional retelling of satan/adam and eve story) - the documentary directly focuses on a witch hunt of rock loving teens (wrongfully accused of m*rders) in a small town during the satanic panic. Not to mention ironically s4 is hinted to be around easter. So Using such symbolism to address religious fundamentalism and the bigotry/hysteria it can cause isn't surprising. No i’m not lumping all religious people into this negative category- obviously.
Other Names with similar definitions
*Hunting /forests woods, nature, animals
Hunters and people in forrests
name meaning : becky - snare (a trap for catching birds or animals). Teressa-huntress. Dianne/Cynthia (Hopper’s ex wife/Lonnie’s gf) - is a roman/greek goddess of hunting and wild animals.  Rhadaghast- Will's password for cb is a lothr wizard who protects forests/wildlife.martin/marsha- previously god of agriculture/plants.As an agricultural guardian, he was believed to directed his energies toward creating conditions that allow crops to grow, which may include warding off hostile forces of nature (pumpkins rotting in s2). El in phoenician culture was called Elus and its Greek equivalent Cronus (god of agriculture) steve- he goat- associated with pan- god of fields, groves, wooded glens . brenner- ‘someone who cleared forests by burning’. the blond women, Brenner worked with,  Fraizer-  “of the forrest men”
* FUN FACT: Kali’s name originally was going to be ‘Roman’ (which is derived from Romulus-the son of Mars... aka Martin Brenner) .
Trees
Ives and owens- ives means 'yew wood' while Owen means 'yew tree. ' bauman- nickname for someone who lived near a tree.comes from the German word "baum," or "boum" in Middle High and Old German, meaning "tree’. Jennifer hayes- Jennifer  derived from Old English words "jenefer", "genefer" and "jinifer", all of which were variants of Juniper used to describe the juniper tree.Lonnie means "oak tree; or lion". Lion plushie in cb and the lion el has along with the tree establishes a connection between all 3 maybe? Oak groves were especially sacred to  the goddess dianna too. Buckley (it has many different translations) - Old English "boch ley" (with boch meaning beech tree and ley meaning wood, glade or clearing).
Nature
buckley if translated from "bok lee," means meadow, or field. mayfield- open country (field) where madder (mæddre) grows. Holland- wood land, Bruce (who was also possessed) - means WILLow lands . Keith (s2-3) : woods or forrest.Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (Jonathan’s hunting story).Holloway is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, or type of tree. Tina means 'river' . Burness (guy who claimed he jumped into quarry)-stream. Neil- cloud. Lowe (Bruce's last name)-This surname is derived from a geographical locality 'at the low,' i.e. the hill. Hayes means "hedged area'.
Flowers
Flo (hopper's secretary)- means flower. Suzie-  lily flower. Susan (Max’s mom)- means lily, lotus flower or rose. Karen (in Japanese can mean)- flower, lotus, or water lily. Heather is also a variety of small shrubs with pink or white flowers which commonly grow in rocky areas.  Erica is a type of "heather" plant. martin/marsha: in the legend of Mars,his mother become pregnant with him using a magic flower- which was given to her by the goddess flora.
Bright (aka intelligent)
Bob- nickname of Robert . Both Bob and Robert mean 'bright, shinning or fame'. Aka smart -he's called ' Bob the brain ' for a reason.
Robin- is also diminutive of Robert . And we all know robin is smart too. Being multilingual/ cracking the code.Robin (like Robert) also means 'bright, shining , or fame.'
Lucas- means "bright" or "shinning" aka he's also a smart cookie. His firework plan saving the day.
Lonnie and Larry (the mayor) can both be nicknames for Lawrence which also means ' bright one' or 'shinning one'. Well... both are cunning I'll give them that. Lonnie is unfortunately ...smart. I think this detail had other foreshadowing. Joyce to Will about Will the wise ' if he's so wise why does he need the fireballs? can't he just outsmart the bad guys? " Will: " yeah. Usually. BUT sometimes the bad guys are smart too." I never understood why on earth Joyce would be with someone as awful as Lonnie in the first place- than be with his literal opposite Bob- but maybe she just found intelligence attractive?
Names associated with thunder/lightning/fire (Like Will/mf/Will the wise)
Byers-reprsents Greek Zeus (god of thunder/lightning). Martin - references the roman god Mars who was originally a ‘thunder or storm deity’ .ROBIN- was the German God of Thunder’s- Thor’s- favorite bird. And Dustin also means ‘Thor’s stone.’Jim- “son of thunder”. Christian god- has throne (surrounded by thunder /lightning). Kali- could summon thunder storms.Nancy/Barb-both saints associated with fire. Kali-is called at times ‘ the bright fire of truth’ /and bestows the fire of knowledge. Robin also name drops the greek god prometheus- the god of fire. Mars -the keeper of Rome's perpetual flame . The Robin bird in a Christian story myth protects Jesus from hell's fire. William Blake- wrote about a fire wielding character of Los who represented jesus. Jesus during end times wields fire. Michael is the archangel who oversees on Earth the natural element of fire. Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration (Saint John- called Jesus’s brother).
Animals (and their symbolism)
Byers- means ‘ cattle shed’.The Greeks considered the bull animal totem to be a symbol of Zeus (god of thunder and lighting - will the wise powers). He is the head of the gods and the almighty ruler of Olympus.  I”n hinduism, Shiva is known as Gorakhnath, means the lord of the cows.  And is also known as, Pasupathinath, the lord of all animals (similar to Rhadaghast). According to some scholars, Shiva’s association with cows and bulls might date back to the Indus Valley period. Cows have a special significance in Hinduism, as aspects of Mother Goddess and as symbols of selfless service. Mahatma Gandhi declared the protection of cows a central feature of Hinduism.Hindus worship cows as the Mother Goddess and symbol of motherhood, kindness and forbearance.”
Tigers: (Sarah’s plushie/ Hawkin’s macott/ Will & Mike have tiger posters in their rooms): The goddess Kali & God Shiva wore a tiger skin (this fact was actually mentioned by Kali in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ ).”In many tribal traditions of India, the tiger (or lion) is worshipped as a god. In some Hindu hymns the domestic fires are compared to the tigers that guard the house.Tigers also figure prominently in many Indian folk-tales, Jataka-stories, and the Panchatantra.”
Lions:(Lonnie means ‘lion’ and el and Will have matching lion plushies)- In the Bible, the lion has two opposite meanings: it is compared to the Devil (1 Pet 5:8) and to Christ (Rev 5:5). Aka: Lonnie is the devil. The kids are the opposite. Nancy also compares the demogorgan to a lion. “In many tribal traditions of India, the lion is worshipped as a god.One of the ten incarnations of Vishnu is Narasimha, who has the head and shoulders of a lion, but the torso of a human.Goddess Durga, a fierce form of Parvathi or Shakti, has a golden lion as her vehicle, while Rahu, a planetary guard, rides upon a black lion as his vehicle.Lions form an important part of Hindu religious art. The face of the lion (simha-mukha) is used in images and sculpture in many Hindu temples to decorate the doors, walls, arches, and windows.The memorial pillar at Saranath  contains four beautifully carved standing lions at the top on a round abacus representing the imperial power. They now constitute the official emblem of the government of India.”
El almost k*lling a cat- “Some superstitious beliefs are also associated with cats in Hinduism. For example, killing a cat is considered a grave sin, for which one may have to offer prayers and give in charity at least seven golden images of the killed cat. “
Harrington- he goat. Buckley- has various translations. Anglo-Saxon: ‘bucc and leah’ meaning goat and wood respectively. And obviously there’s the robin-bird. And I've already discussed their symbolism. Goat= baphomet/pan. 
Robin- thor's fav bird/ helped Jesus from hell's fire.
Buckley- can also translate to " field filled with deer" (like the deer attacked by the demogrogan or the bambi film jon reffed in relation to the hunting story about lonnie).And Karen ( when from it’s Hebrew origins) can mean- antler or horn. Also the caananite God el was usually depicted with animal horns on his head.Diana in Roman art usually is accompanied by a hound (demo dog) or deer.  Because of the story of her turning an attempted r*pist-hunter into a deer/ and then causing dogs to attack him.  Deer is also one of the symbolic animals accepted since early Christianity as an allegory of Jesus Christ and the Christian Disciple. And when associated with Shiva (kali's husband) in Hindu iconography, the deer omen denotes sovereignty over nature and symbolizes the lord of all animals, humans, and the King of the Forest. In many visual and written illustrations, human beings and deer appear as close companions and in some cases, humans adopt the face or antlers of a deer, in images more common in stories of human strife. Deer also have a supernatural significance and appear as apparitions of divinity and in legends of spiritual awakening.
Hargrove- meadow filled with rabbits (like the rabbit lonnie made jonathan k*ll.) Hopper sounds like thumper the rabbit- which jonathan mentions in relation to bunnies . And ... idk... Hopper did make that pun in s3 about bunnies to Larry (lawerence) ? We also have rabbit refs elsewhere like with- el in Benny's. They play the song 'white rabbit' a song referencing Alice in wonderland and in el's room at Terry's house is the white rabbit from that story. Also paralleling to jonathan- el was almost made to k*ll a cat by her father (Cheshire cat aka Alice in wonderland ref + cats are associated with magic powers/witch craft).In Celtic folklore, the rabbit is seen as a supernatural being from the Otherworld.The rabbit symbolism in Christianity has found its way through the Germanic deity Eostre from which the name Easter came to be (s4 will most likely have the Easter holliday).One tale describes the rabbit as the pet of Jesus Christ. And rabbits were often inserted into art of jesus' mother .
Creel- basket or container of fish.fish is taken as symbolizing Christ’s faith, charity, and abundance. A biblical story goes how Christ fed his disciples with 2 fishes and called them “fishers of men.”  The Christians made an acrostic from the Greek word for fish, “ichthys” as early as the first century and it is, “Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter”, meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.
Names hinting at character traits (which are very literal)
Mr clarke (science teacher)- clarke means 'scholar'
Dottie (in kali's gang)- she was in an insane asylum . And ‘Dotty’ is a very old British slang term  for 'crazy'
War (usually relates to ‘villains’)
Troy- means ' foot soldier'. Martin brenner: Martin means 'war like'. Lonnie is diminutive of Alonzo or Lawrence. Alonzo means 'ready for battle'.
In contrast to Lonnie, Will can mean "desiring peace. " Axel  who is part of Kali’s crew (who i think Will created along with others ) even means "father is peace."
Twin
Tom (Heather's dad) and Tommy mean ‘twin’. Robin's crush Tammy ('twin') Thompson ( 'son of tom’).
* Besides similar/identical name meanings.There’s also a lot of other repeated names that go into this whole twin/mirror imagery which i find strange... makes me wonder about @strangertheory ‘s version of the did theory. If not...maybe it’s just a allusion to the whole Will vs Will the wise arc (possibly) coming up?
Jennifer hayes (popular girl) & Jen (Mr clarke’s gf). Tina (highschool gal) & Tina- erica’s friend- Tina & christy are also nicknames of christina (s4 character). Susie (dustin’s gf) & susan (max’s mom). Sam (max’s dad) and Samantha (girl at party)/ samuel (possibly argyle). Billy Hargrove, Bill (dianne’s new huband),  and Will-all being nicknames for William. Robin & Bob-nicknames for Robert. Lonnie & Larry-nicknames for Lawerence. Ted  & Eddie being nicknames for Edward.James (Will’s bully), Jim Hopper (real name James), jacobi, and jason- all 4 are derived from jacob . Marsha Holland (barb’s mom) and marsha kelly (therapist s4)/martin relate to mars. Tom (reporter), tommy (highschooler), thompson (other highschooler).
it’s definitely peculiar to repeat names like this in a story. Unless it means ...something... I talked about how David was mentioning alot of doppelganger/twin imagery recently-here. So the name mirroring could just be an allusion to the Will/WW arc coming up ...possibly?
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mittensmorgul · 2 years
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2021 in Mittens Fic
The annual summary of things I’ve written this year! I’m relieved and pleased to say that while I’ve accepted I’ll probably never hit 2015′s record word count again (sigh), at least I improved over last year’s record low. And this doesn’t even count the 54k words in my upcoming pinefest fic, since I only count posted works for this little summary. I finally feel like I’m making writing progress again! Yay!
For reference, past year end summaries can be found here:
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | the closest thing I have to a 2015 wrap up post is the lil bit of text at the bottom of 2016′s post... even though my two most popular fics were from 2015 lololol
Starting the year off writing a finale fix-it I could live with really helped me get going this year, even if it meant this was the first year I failed to finish a pinefest fic. I did manage to finish the fic I’d started for that (in March 2020 lol) for the dcbb, which was a process that renewed my belief in my own ability to write long fic again.
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I did manage to outdo my 2020 total fics posted, with six, and beat my 2020 total wordcount by more than 8k, for a total of 111,806 words! Thrilling!
(tries not to think about 2015′s 250k+ total lolol)
At some point recently, I also crossed the 2 million words total posted on AO3, but about 800k of that is the tumblr tittyban meta dump, and none of that really counts as fic. I’m leaving it all there anyway. It’s still stuff I wrote, and honestly if the meta count counted toward fic writing totals, I’d probably have a million words a year, easy. :’D
And if meta counts for anything, I started the @spngeorg​ podcast this year in an attempt to organize all my thoughts on this show. It’s just me talking through every episode of the series one week at a time, but I’ve kept up with it, which I’m super proud of myself for! Thank you to everyone who’s listened, liked, subscribed, commented, and engaged with me about it this year. Episode 39 of the podcast-- 2.17 Heart-- will drop later tonight, and if you’re interested you can start from the beginning on AnchorFM or wherever you enjoy podcasts! The fact I’ve now spent a decade with my eternal rewatch, seen the entire series at least 30 times all the way through, at least this podcast gives me a weekly reminder that I haven’t just poisoned my entire brain for nothing. :’D 
With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the fic! Presented in the order it was posted:
Revenge of the Text (25427 words, rated T): Begins right after Jack takes off after defeating Chuck in 15.19. This is my best case scenario for how the show should’ve ended, and I needed to write it so I could continue to engage with the series I love. I wrote it as if it COULD have been an episode of the show, hence the rating. Though if it WAS an episode of the show, I would’ve included a lot more of Sam and Eileen’s POV, and in an ideal covid-free world, a lot of other characters in general. This is just the beginning of what I would’ve hoped for an ending, though.
what goes around... (468 words): a “what if” alternate version of a fix it, with Dean waiting in the meadow where Cas had come back from the empty before, only something sinister is waiting there with him.
Just Another Morning (1166 words, rated T): the annual DeanCasVersary fic. Pure Fluff.
You Held It In Your Hands (73239 words, rated M): my dcbb, with amazing art by the wonderful @solstheimart​. It makes my heart so happy! AU medical residents!Dean and Cas, they’re roommates!, and the powers that be at the hospital where they’ve both found themselves seem to be doing everything imaginable to keep them apart. Fluff and feelings-- revealed through notes left for each other, music, and food-- ensue.
For The Best (4912 words, rated T): annual holiday fluff, Dean and Cas end up snowed in together in the bunker. Technically in the same ‘verse as Revenge of the Text, so everyone’s happy and nothing hurts.
Haunted Heart (5594 words, rated T): Despite having written this waaaaayyyyy back in 2019, in collaboration with ArtSynk, for the To Hell And Back Anthology, we’ve finally been cleared to post them to AO3. So just under the deadline for this annual list, I had a happy little bonus story (with gorgeous attendant art!) to add to this year’s totals. I’m so thrilled to have been included in this project, so thrilled by the fandom’s (and the actors!) reception to the book, and thrilled to be able to share even my little contribution to it with everyone else now. <3
And that’s my year in fic. I’m amused I’ve already got nearly half this total wordcount written for 2022 already, and so much more waiting to go. At this point my biggest obstacle to writing is the sheer overwhelming quantity of ideas on my To Be Written list. And yeah, I think it would be hilarious to share the stats on that doc here too. Ahh, to the good old days when this list was ten pages long... Why do we get new ideas faster than we can write the old ones? 
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which, at least means I’ll be writing fic for years to come... gotta get through this list, at least! I think I’ll save that for 2022 lol!
Thanks to everyone who’s read, kudos’ed, commented, reblogged, rec’ed, and enjoyed anything I’ve written in the last year. I love you all. <3 See you in 2022!
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sky-of-dusk · 3 years
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Kyouya : a positive character
There is something I want to point out about Kyouya.
Despite the whole lone-lion-thing and the I-don't-need-friends-thing, Kyouya is one of the most positive character of the show.
1. Kyouya never doubts of himself
I mean... like... NEVER.
"Who will win, me or Ginga ? Focus Kyouya. "
- about the Battle Blader semi-final (right after Hikaru and Tsubasa get crushed by Ryuuga)
"I never imagined you would be the first opponent I crush but I can't say I'm disappointed."
- to Ryuuga, episode 106
2. Kyouya's one of the characters who has the more fun in Beybattle
"Interesting, this is really kind of funny. Isn't it right, Ryuuga ?"
- to Ryuuga, episode 49
"I finally get to fight Ginga and Galaxy Pegasus at long last. It's going to be a blast."
- about his future duel against Ginga, episode 72
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"Ha ha ha ! I'm enjoying this ! I'm enjoying it a lot Ginga. This is what a battle should be."
- to Ginga, episode 72
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"Leone ? I don't know what just happens but I don't care !"
- to Leone, episode 103
"You like that pal ? Counter-mode is awesome."
- to Ryuuga, episode 106
A little note about the French dub : when Kyouya gets enthusiastic, he had a more teenagey-langage. That's really fun to hear.
3. The most important point
Kyouya always defuse the situations they get in. The gang is bound to save the world, they face great danger but, as soon as it ends, Kyouya rushes to act as usual. He's also shown as a supportive character. Not in the expensive way of Benkei, or the heartened way of Ginga, but still.
(I have hesitated to make this part in two parts, but his supportiveness is often tied up to his eagerness to defuse the situation.)
Season 1 (Beyblade Metal Fusion)
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Kyouya is the first one to announce he'll take part of the Battle Bladers, after Ginga, and he acts all "this will be a great tournament, the Dark Nebula members are just some participants among others, I'm so impatient to face you there". That forces Ginga to choose between the friendship he had with the gang and his quest for vengeance (you can't be friend with someone and push them away all the time). And as soon Ginga chose, admitting it's a tournament and not only about him revenging from Ryuuga, the others step in and said they want to take part in too.
Kyouya : So then next time we met will be at the Battle Bladers tournament. (...) By winning the Battle Bladers I can squash Doji's plans and earn the title of the strongest blader. If you think about it, it's an opportunity no blader can pass up. Remember this Ginga. You won't be defeated by Ryuuga or Yuu, it'll be me, Kyouya, who does. (...) Don't worry. After defeating you, I'll be sure to settle the score with Ryuuga too.
(in French, he said “Je te promets de régler son compte à Ryuuga”. So "I promise you to settle the score with Ryuuga").
Ginga : He's mine and nothing will stand in my way. Both your Leone and Ryuuga's L-drago will be defeated by my Pegasus.
- episode 23
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At the Battle Bladers, Kyouya still acts like this is only a tournament (and it's not an act, in view of his thoughts before his duel against Ryuuga xD). He's annoyed when Tsubasa behaves as a spy rather than a blader and he lectures him about it :
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"What you have in mind is an insult not just to me but to the whole concept of Beyblade. (...) No matter how strong an opponent is, I'll face them head-on. I'll hold nothing back even if I'm putting all I have on the line, so be it. That's what it means to be a blader. (...) You'd better to start train harder you have to stay sharp because if you win your battle your next opponent is me."
- episode 42
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Then, when Tsubasa is on his way to fight Ryuuga, Kyouya reminds him that the Battle Bladers is a tournament, he isn't about to reach the final yet so it's not the end.
"This tournament is supposed to decide who is the strongest blader in the world. Don't give him an inch, crush Ryuuga and L-Drago, end of the story. (...) I told you I'll be waiting at the semi-finals. I don't want to get cheated out on beating you so be there."
- Kyouya to Tsubasa, episode 45
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He tells him they are supposed to face each other and that, instead of caring about that booooooooooooooring Ryuuga, he'd better worry about him cause he'll totally crushed him during the semi-finals. And, like every time he says something, his interlocutor reacts straight away and forgets everything but him. For a moment, Tsubasa gains confidence. But as soon as Tsubasa isn't looking at him anymore, Kyouya seems more tense.
During the Battle Bladers, we also have this scene where Kyouya acknowledges Benkei's progress, after their duel, while Benkei gets disheartened because he doesn’t success to win against him :
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Kyouya : You’re stronger than you were.
Benkei : Really ? Do you mean it Kyouya ?
Kyouya : But you better get even stronger so you’re ready for our next battle. Got it ?
- episode 43
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Season 2 (Beyblade Metal Masters)
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When Kyouya challenges Ginga, after winning against the Chandora team, he waits for him to cheer up. He wants him to have fun at the prospect of their battle and not just battling for the sake of his team.
Kyouya : "What you have seen today is nothing at all. Hear me Ginga, I'm holding back Leone's true strenght for when I battle you."
Ginga : "I look forward to it. I'll be ready to meet your challenge."
- episode 70
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(I love the way Kyouya’s face softens... It happens too when he cheers Benkei up and reminds Tsubasa the Battle Bladers is a tournament.)
Episodes later, Kyouya comes with the Wild Fang to help Ginga and the others against the Spiral Energy and HD Academy (because he wasn't worried, lol). He does what he needs to do : helps Masamune and Dashan, hurries up Ginga, fights Damian... and then, they success. All bladers gather together in front of the Academy building. They are relieved... Yuu began to tease Ginga about him taking advance on them...
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...and then, Kyouya does what he's the best to do : drawing the attention to himself.
"So, once again, you keep all the good actions for yourself. It's a real drag."
- to Ginga, episode 102
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Kyouya acts like what they just survived wasn't a big deal. Not only he could have done it, but, at least, it wouldn't have been as boring as his part. He just fought Damian and that wasn't that hard... And he pouted, showing that the situation isn't that serious.
Ginga begins to answer seriously but Kyouya interrupts him :
"Just what about you're rambling on over there ? As soon as Pegasus is fit, it's on."
Like, well, we just save the world again and everything but that's not as important as our blader careers, you know, and that's certainly not as important as our rivalry. And, just with these two sentences, everyone is like "yeah ! we're bladers, we have to train ! see you soon !"
Season 3 (Beyblade Metal Fury)
Kyouya acts this way again at the end of Fury. The legendary bladers are all relieved to have defeated Nemesis and finished their quest... but Kyouya, of course, can't let them think it's the end :
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Aguma : Now, everything is finished.
Dynamis : Yes, our roles as legendary bladers are concluded.
Kyouya : What are you talking about ? This is just the beginning. My goal is to deafeat the legendary bladers one by one and then settle things with Ginga. Aguma and Dynamis, I finished my battles with you two. Chris, it's your turn next.
Chris : Well, sounds good. I'll battle you.
Aguma : Hang on. You and I are tied with one win each. Our score isn't settled yet.
Kyouya : Okay. That's fine. I'll crush you as many times as you want.
- episode 141
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Like everytime Kyouya intervenes, everyone react at once at his words. They are borderline fighting to answer to Kyouya's challenge... Anyway, most of them are eager to battle him while they were saying moments before they were relieved the battle ended. Some words and they are all ready to act the way Kyouya wants.
However, there is a big difference this time :
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Ginga seems to understand what Kyouya did.
(This could be linked to the fact Kyouya is a natural leader.)
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sixteenthshen · 3 years
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my rant on episodes 31/32
I feel so conflicted about them.
On the one hand, I wanted to watch the shared horse scene so much. On the other,  there were so many inconsistencies and WTF moments. I can't bring myself to touch those episodes again to make more gifs, which is such a pity because WKX falling down the cliff? SO PRETTY. 
Spoilers behind the cut. If you do follow the drama with Chinese fans, you’ll probably have heard the same things like a million times. To save yourself more angst/stress, skip my post. 
The upside is that the director took the fans complaints to heart. They were making edits until 2am last night. I heard it’s already live, but I’m still trying to prepare myself. There’re some things that can’t be fixed >< 
*hopes for the best on Tuesday* 
In episode 11, WKX wanted to tear the Scorpion assassins into ten thousand little itty bits because ZZS had some blood on his lip, which made me mentally scream so much from joy. In episode 31, he  LETS Duan Pengju, that evil dickface(TM) go, just like that? Where's the rage? Where's the anger? Do you see the colour of ZZS's face? Can you see what he's wearing? Do you know what dickface did? 
Although it's a very touching moment when WKX decides to acknowledge the shixiong/shidi relationship, it's super weird that the ghosts are behind. I mean, I suppose it can make sense if we focus on the fact that he's planning to "retire" from being the big bad CEO of Ghost Valley. But it seems careless to expose a weakness in case someone tries to take advantage of it since they have to kill you to get to be the new CEO. 
There's no follow up on the injuries sustained from being tortured by the evil dickface(TM). How could they make WKX seem so callous? Maybe a scene where ZZS asked Wu Xi to hide his injuries from WKX, but WKX's right outside. He overheard ZZS telling Wu Xi to hide it from him, so he pretends not to know. *cue angsty scene for WKX here* 
The only thing related to injuries was when Wu Xi said ZZS could be saved from his self-inflicted nailing. Okaaaay. What about the piercing of the scapula? (穿琵琶骨 (piercing pipa bones) - it's supposed to cripple your martial arts ability until you heal ok) 
WKX suddenly decides to go off and be a career man, which is perfectly fine. But he suddenly has Gu Xiang watch over ZZS like a hawk, not letting him drink. (Seriously, I forgot if this belongs in TYK or if this is yet another thing stolen from Sha Po Lang) Where is WKX showing any concern over ZZS's total loss of 2 out of 5 senses? I ASK YOU MS. SCRIPTWRITER. What have you done to WKX's character??? Poor WKX, poor ZZS. 
And did everyone laugh off the fact that ZZS can't taste, so why should he drink wine? Ok, I can make myself accept this if I remind myself that ZZS would not like people making a fuss and pitying him anyway... (but shouldn't someone, anyone care???) 
We get many hints that WKX has a sneaky scheme, but he doesn't tell Gu Xiang, his closest friend since childhood. He doesn't talk to his soulmate about this either. 
WKX and ZZS's dialogue just before he falls down the cliff... Seriously reminiscent of Silent Reading, when Fei Du makes the same self-flagellating confession & Luo Wenzhou stops him. 
ZZS draws his sword and stands beside WKX. What is going on?! How does he still have his martial arts ability? Did months pass since WKX saved him from evil dickface (TM)? Nothing makes any sense!  
ZCL's hidden weapon is what forces WKX over the cliff. If ZCL did not know about the sneaky scheme, then WTF is this kind of scriptwriting? ZCL's character turned from a good, young child to a prop-causing drama and angst. Even if he felt betrayed, was he not there to see how depleted WKX made himself trying to save Han Ying? Did he not see how WKX tried to keep his shifu safe? Or taught him how to fight? Did ZCL become stupid all of a sudden just to create angst? 
 It only makes sense if ZCL knew about the scheme because of all the info he was privy to, such as Zhao Jing as the villain behind it all (when he heard WKX and ZZS talking). How would he go from knowing that to thinking ZJ should be the new head of the alliance? As a matter of fact, how could Shen Shen?  
Ye Baiyi has to be in on it unless WKX suddenly gained so much martial arts ability in the short time since they last fought. I mean, it only makes sense that WKX got so much stronger because he got injured by YBY, then depleted his strength saving Han Ying. 
So ZCL, YBY, Scorpion King and his buddies, fellow ghosts, possibly Shen Shen... WKX only kept it from the two people closest to him? The two most likely to do something stupid when they find out? *flails at this logic* 
The scene where ZZS's nails magicked their way out of his body... It's so awkward!!! I mean, we're supposed to feel emotional, but the special effects are just awful. I tried not to skip through it, I failed. 
So now what? ZZS essentially sacrificed himself to help WKX complete his goal. He gave up on his chance to be saved to fulfil WKX's pursuit of revenge (and take revenge for WKX's death). And it's all because of a misunderstanding. 
Between ZZS's nails and the ZCL-issue, I'm drowning in dog blood. What happened to WKX and ZCL's characters/personalities???? 
Also episode 32 is VERY choppy, it seems like we’re jumping to scenes randomly, the flow isn’t there. 
I can only say that the "Priest" spirit is gone; it's not a bad drama by any means. I'm still watching & I'm still going to buy the new episodes on Tuesday. But the random angst and abusive scenes inserted without no reason nor much logic are very un-Priest-like. 
I feel a little cheated about the scriptwriter being a fan of Priest. Priest's novels always feature couples who communicate. The supporting characters can come off flat in a drama sometimes because they're so normal. They don't have ridiculous backstories that make them tragic villains, and they behave logically. 
The angst "created" in Priest's novels makes sense. Characters don't suddenly change their personalities so that we can watch something exciting. The "dog blood angst/drama" is the big failing of so many Asian dramas. *CRIES* 
Now, the GOOD & HAPPY STUFF. 
WKX SAVING A-XU. *heart eyes* 
NGL, no matter how short it was, I liked the horseback scene 
There was a cute moment between Qi Ye and Wu Xi, scriptwriter knows how to ship!! & knows how to make it clear who’s gong/shou lol. 
THE HAIRPIN SCENE. IT’S EVERYTHING.
Even though I’m 90% sure the no-alcohol thing is copied from Sha Po Lang... I have so much love for Gu Yun and ZZS that it made me happy. My drunkards <3 
Did I mention WKX looks extremely pretty when he falls down the cliff? How do you fall so prettily? Plz teach me. 
WKX also looks pretty fake-dead. ZZS looks pretty when he’s heartbroken
I ship xiangcao so hard even though I know what’s gonna happen. (Cao Weining & Gu Xiang) They’re too cute.
I love the Poisonous Bodhisattva, I thought the Tragicomic ghost would be my favourite because of how gorgeous she is, but she’s too tragic & not enough comic. Poisonous Bodhisattva is my new goddess.
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frederickthegreat · 4 years
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my thoughts on TUA season 2
(spoilers, obviously)
- opened with Klaus and Ben, my kings. Klaus’s hair looks so weird straightened while short 
- AWESOME opening soundtrack 
- seeing all their powers so controlled makes me wonder how they leveled up to that skill in the alternate timeline. like the only time we saw Klaus use the powers of other ghosts in the correct timeline was when two of them caught him falling out of the sky. however Diego did end up controlling bullets and Allison used her voice to technically kill one of the Swedes
- the homeless man screaming Allison’s name alongside Luther... funny shit
- big teddy bear Hazel
- Elliot was fucking awesome i think he was a great addition as a side character. rip tho :(
- honestly i don’t understand why Diego would WANT to save JFK. like it’s not that big of a deal. does he not understand what messing with the timeline can do??
- Lila... impeccable
- Sissy and Vanya... impeccable <3
- yeah and fuck u Carl
- ugh, Klaus’s beard. disgusting <3
- Ben and Klaus definitely act like they should be, given that they’ve been stuck with each other for over a decade. i’ve seen some people calling Klaus an asshole for not telling his siblings about Ben, which is completely understandable (cause he was an asshole), but I’m guessing it was because he was afraid? that sharing Ben with his siblings would mean that he would lose him to them, or his siblings would find him selfish, or they would ask something of him that he couldn’t give. if that makes sense
- that ghost bitch comment was funny tho 
- to the guy who called Klaus pretty boy at the bar: sir you don’t know what you’re getting into
- Raymond!! he’s such a sweetheart, i really liked him in the show. i’m really happy that Allison has found a bit of normalcy (as normal as the 1960s Civil Rights movement could be). it shows how passionate she is about what she believes in: even though she knows the movement is far from over, even back in 2019, she’s not gonna abandon it
- Allison staring at the moon every night: either thinking about Luther or how the moon blows them all up. maybe both
- of course Luther would be working for Jack Ruby
- awesome cinematography during the mental asylum escape 
- yeah it makes sense that the Handler would still be alive. she was a cool villain. although it would’ve been awesome to see how evil a fish could be
- Diego’s plan was pretty stupid. that’s my boy
- honestly they revealed how Klaus started a cult really well by having one of his followers find him at jail. Klaus, ever the musical aficionado, of course writes his scripture based off of pop songs
- Raymond and Klaus meeting!! that was cool to see how their paths connected
- Lila painting Elliot’s toenails green. ugh i love that crazy bitch
- i LOVE how they incorporated the umbrella man!! tbh i’ve always believed he was the one behind the assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald was framed 
- honestly a bit understandable that Luther was planning on killing Vanya? cause he had no idea who she is now, but them reuniting was actually really sweet. he’s grown up so much
- the Swedes and their cats.
- the Umbrella company building with the nuclear family mannequins... creepy, awesome shit
- baby pogo baby pogo baby pogo baby pogo
- shanked diego shanked diego shanked diego shanked diego
- did anyone else get vibes from Klaus’s episode opening that he was an escort to the old woman? like how he was being shown off at her arm or something and getting out of jail from a call from the governor. idk maybe the lady was just very taken with him, as anyone would be
- Elliot, our helpful king
- Allison and Klaus’s reunion was so sweet!! i’m so glad they got to interact so much more in this season 
- Ben getting Raymond out through a haunting... hilarious
- sweet intimate moment between Lila and Diego
- Ray meeting Luther was hilarious, but i do feel for the poor guy. i mean i’m not in love with my adoptive sister but still
- the sit-in was really well done and beautiful while terrible. the ‘riot’ that ensued was very appropriate for today’s setting 
- D-Dave
- honestly i was scared that Klaus was gonna be overly attracted to him or whatever, which would be weird cause he’s years younger than Klaus, but honestly, at the core he just wanted to save Dave’s life. even if it means never meeting him in a different timeline. he truly loved Dave. and that ptsd flashback was done so well
- i knew Lila wasn’t trustworthy but i didn’t REALLY expect that! 
- Vanya and Luther talking with each other, Luther admitting the apocalypse wasn’t all her fault. beautiful
- the Majestic 12 reminds me of the conspiracy theory that only a few families control basically everything in the world. the Majestic 12 may be based off of that, idk
- idk about everyone else but Klaus’s scorpion and the frog story made total sense to me! frogs ARE bitches
- the diner scene.... ugh. it really shows that the two of them did fall in love and they did stupid in love things, like talking about their family, about why Dave wanted to join, favorite colors, favorite foods, etc. however that’s seen later on when Dave visits the compound
- yes it’s very disheartening when Klaus is attacked, but honestly i think it had to happen, just like the riot had to happen. the 60s weren’t a fun time for lgbt people and poc. it was only going to be a matter of time before the show HAD to acknowledge the consequences of Klaus’s ‘flamboyancy’ in 1963 Texas. it doesn’t make it right or easy to see, but it’s realistic. 
- it also makes sense that Klaus fell off the wagon after experiencing something like that. yes we all would’ve liked him to stay sober, but sobriety and recovery aren’t linear. 
- Allison is so happy with Ray can we please drop this pseudo-incest plotline let’s MOVE ON 
- Texas Grace ! who is not actually Grace rip (i think? i was a bit confused lol)
- the scene with Harlan running off was really upsetting but we got to see those weird light particles that we saw in the first season
- Pogo Pogo Pogo Pogo
- Klaus being a dick to Ben again, as brothers do. i do feel bad for Ben though it must be sooo frustrating. that scene with him and Allison was really sweet and funny tho
- i just have to say that Luther and Diego are so fucking funny this season it’s awesome. like there are a LOT of good lines overall by everyone but they’re hilarious. “At least he didn’t shank my ass” “no bro, he shanked your heart”“Dads part of a sinister CABAL that’s plotting on killing the president.” “a caBAL?”“You two still a thing? *leans in* do we need to talk?” “No, she’s married.” “Woah dude... that’s rough.” and countless others
- the sibling reunion!! 
- Klaus really does get left out of everything tbh
- Ben :(
- sisters and Klaus!! that was so awesome to see. and Klaus’s hairpins, Vanya saying she’s gonna tell Sissy she loves her, their dance sequence, Klaus calling Allison out on that incest. beautiful
- the fucking Swedish cover of Hello was PERFECT i mean i was sad for the Swedes but it was hilarious. there were a couple beautiful shots of the boat on fire though
- god it must’ve been so traumatizing for Allison to be thrust into such a hostile place with no voice and no way to contact her family
-  idk about you guys but long live Team Zero
- calling Ben that he was becoming their father was a bit uncalled for 
- the fact that Klaus didn’t help Dave’s chances, and in fact escalated Dave’s own timeline.. his trembling hands... robert sheehan is an amazing actor
- the Black president bit lmaoo loved it
- the way Reginald spoke to Diego.. i’m gonna throw hands with an old man
- Klaus LITERALLY looked like he was having a seizure and they all just... played it off?? 
- poor, poor Carl. nah fuck him lol
- that bloody opening scene was awesome! and thank god Five got to say fuck. the fact that it was about a candy bar makes too much sense
- Robert Sheehan acting as Ben: amazing showstopping spectacular he’s so talented
- the whole multiple Fives and Luther bit was honestly really funny, and i immensely respect smaller Five over bigger Five. 
- yes Klaus, you survived a family of seven. you got this
- not sad about Carl dying one bit!
- Ben... that was such a beautiful scene. not just the content of the scene, but the cinematography. Ben fading away... Vanya hugging him... ugh. the main takeaway i had from that scene is that at the core of it all, Ben and Klaus love each other immensely. they have a weird, dysfunctional, fucked up relationship, where Klaus is an asshole and Ben definitely shouldn’t of possessed him without his consent, but they’re still brothers, and Ben forgives him. 
- oof Ben’s funeral was hard. also was it just me or did Klaus’s kid actor sound weird? like it sounded like Robert was dubbing his lines 
- all the siblings back together again!!!! Klaus going with Vanya to save Harlan!! Vanya telling him Ben forgives him and that it wasn’t Klaus’s fault Ben got stuck with him!! everyone in the car!!! be still my beating heart
- yeah didn’t see Lila having powers coming tbh. i really feel bad for her she’s had such a rough and traumatic life, especially with the Handler as her only parental figure
- the Swede brother and Five putting down their weapons: “enough.” the Swede wanted revenge for his brothers - an eye for an eye, but there was a mutual understanding between the two of them: they would do anything for their family. if the Swede hurts one of the Hargreeves, Five would never stop coming after him. i thought it was very beautiful 
- mmm Reggie’s foreshadowing coming into play. proud of u Five
- the ending was so beautiful. everyone got closure in some type of way. except now Klaus is alone with nothing but his dog tags :(
- EMO BEN HAHAHA WTFFF?? is Lila in the sparrow academy? why was Ben’s portrait over the mantle piece? did Five disappear?? is the sparrow academy just older versions of the siblings who stuck around?? so many questions
FINAL THOUGHTS
- Ellen Page’s acting consistently blows me away. she is amazing 
- beautiful cinematography, funny writing, pretty good acting. i didn’t like the soundtrack as much as i did the first season’s, but some of it wasn’t bad.
- i’m glad ben got peace, but i’m also glad justin min isn’t gone for good. his social media presence is too vital for us
- i swear to god if they keep treating klaus as a joke and don’t let him get any actual development like everyone else had (he barely got closure with Dave, he reconciled with Ben through a second party) next season, i’m gonna riot. PLEASE i want to learn more about his powers now that Ben is gone. what happened to seeing tons of ghosts when he’s sober??
- Luther and Diego were probably my favorite duo of the season, I’m so happy that they’ve reconciled and are bonding more. 
- just seeing Vanya grow and be happy was amazing 
all in all, really wonderful season. i probably liked it better than the first one. now it’s time to consume fanfiction and maybe finish my own (check out “god doesn’t want him and neither does the devil” on ao3!)
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strwberryracoon · 3 years
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Taywhora as some of my favorites artwork (and my really bad explanations)
A'whora as Winged Victory of Samothrace (third-second century BC, unknown artist)
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no bc it's litterally her listen- this is probably one of my favorite artwork ever it's just so beautiful,,
Nike, the goddess of Victory, portrayed in the form of a winged woman standing on the prow of a ship as she announces the glory of the navy. One word to describe this statue is definitely "mesmerizing". The dramatics, the grace, the elegance, the theatrics of the pose, the details of the wings and the drapery blown by the wind revealing her body creating a pleasant spiraling effect. The visuals are just SO good I can't put into words how much I love this masterpiece.
I saw it recently for the first time in a while and my mind went straight to A'whora. Her fashion sense, her makeup skills, her body.. there's something so familiar about them, the way they both convey pride and glory, yet peace and comfort, it just. makes sense.
Tayce as Fallen Angel (1847, Alexandre Cabanel)
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do I even have to explain this lol
I love this painting so much because despite the delicacy and elegance of the whole piece, it's a blast of wicked emotions that creates an almost disturbing peace.
Lucifer's body is tense, his wings still wrapped around his body after attempting to protect him from the Fall, while his arms are hiding his face so as not to show any sign of vulnerability. Everything about him transmits frustration and resentment, hate mixed with revenge.
The main focus of the artwork is obviously his incredibly emotional gaze: a tear shedding like a diamond from his perfect face, as if it was his last residue of goodness, the last drop leaving space to an infinite totality of hate.
It's kinda ironic to associate Tayce with one of the most famous cries in art history given the fact she isn't a crier; she doesn't like being perceived as vulnerable and therefore weak, and that's exactly why it fits her so well. Since the episode two's lip sync this art piece has been the only thing in my mind. Her eyes just speak for her, the anger, the hurt, the passion, her expressivity whenever she performs is just as intense and beautiful as the painting itself, so calm and collected and yet so moving, feeling almost nostalgic.
And little side note Fallen Angel is famous for being one of the hottest artwork ever made,, reminds me of someone,,
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ackermanshoe · 3 years
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March comes in like a lion, it's Portrayal of toxic & healthy relationship and how to compares rivamika + Ereh
Que the longest title everr 😌✨
So before I start on the actual analysis, I recently started watching March comes in like a lion instead of doing my assignments and I half way through season 2. For those of you who haven't watched it, it might be a spoilers so beware of that.
In this analysis I'll be comparing the similarities I found between Rei, Hina and Kyoko.
So watching any anime after being do emotionally attached to rivamika it's only natural that I compare them to the characters with even the tiniest bit similarities in their dynamic but Rei and hina's relationship jump in episode 4 of season 2 really caught me off guard and I was like omg?? Rivamika?? How do I make this about them 😩
Anyway so a little background on Rei's relationship with both girls Kyoko and Hina ( Hinata ). Firstly, i subconsciously placed Rei has Mikasa, kyoko has Eren and Hina as Levi, why? You will know on a minute. Rei is a depressed kid who has known only one way of life and that's through shogi games and after his parents death ( cough cough ) he was taken in by a old friend ( I think ) of his dad's who was also obsessed with shogi. Kyoko is the biological daughter of this man who has "adopted" Rei and later on Rei was came to know Hina and her sisters, they were super supportive of him from the start and having lost family members themselves they related to him on a personal level.
So you see why Eren and mikasa's dynamic matches with Rei and Kyoko and not only as "step siblings" it's also the fact that Rei became somewhat obsessed with her through the time he had spent over at their house, it's toxic and it's been showcased that way ever since kyoko was introduced into the series. Rei thought of her when he heard the word "love" and he even admitted to the fact that having her around is toxic and yet he can't push her away. He said he does not want to stop hearing her voice even tho she , herself is in love with a much older man who is married. Everytime she showed up to his bedroom uninvited and slept next to him my mind went "he is in love with her and their relationship is so toxic why does the author keep bringing her into his life?" Or "girl get the fuck away from him".
Without even thinking too much deep into their physical connection I already knew I would be able to related this dynamic to Eren and Mikasa. Although this series gives us much more depth into the main characters views since it's narrated from his own perspective, and the fact that he metaphorically compared his feelings of being lost and sadness helps me as an audience to understand what's happening much much easier than attack on titan. I personally feel like this kind of series are usually short ( idk how long this is) because it feels like the author knows exactly what he is going for, everything is set in stone.
Going back to Rei's ( mikasa's) relationship with kyoko ( Eren ) it's much much clear how toxic it had become for him in more than just one way. And the show isn't denying Rei of his feelings towards Kyoko and it's not even attempting to distant him from her and yet you just knew there had to be someone better right? That's when they introduced Hina and Kyoko in the same episode, meeting each other and a sense of invisible rivalry gushed over them, especially Hina. She is a happy go lucky girl and extremely sensitive to things to the point it kinda annoys me everytime she bursts out crying ( but hey you can't hate a genuinely good character ).
That's where things get interesting for me maybe because I am on that Levi X Mikasa agenda all the time but just like rivamika their relationship has been portrayed as platonic for the longest time in the seaosns. If I didn't go out of way to search up who Rei falls in love with and it didn't say hina's name I probably wouldn't be making this comparison right now because who wants to have their heart broken for the 2nd time in the same fucking month 🙄.
Anyway so in this one episode Hina comes home crying because of bullying issue at school and as she runs off into the dark streets Rei chases her and eventually catching up to her takes her hand and being able to relate to her problems, comparing his younger self to her present Rei reaches out his hand and God fucking damn it he says "you saved my life..I promise I'll stay with you" ofc I'm making this post now you know the real reason 🤡.
The unseen build up that happen between them reminds me of rivamika, the Portrayal of healthy relationship is rivamika. Hina (in our case Levi ) to Rei is the voice of emotion, she speaks out the feelings that Rei has been surpassing all these years inside of him. Just like how we talked about Levi is the voice of reason, while Mikasa has the impulsive urge to act up. Just like how Levi became the perosn who reasonably always took mikasa's side, he gave her personal reasons to take Erens side everytime have an actual meaning towards the scouts / everyone , he then became someone Mikasa was able to object & voice out her opinion towards because she knew that he would response and guide her the right way and finally he became someone she was able to fully trust.
Much like Hina and Rei, when Hina cried out her heart and Rei couldn't help but go back to his past self and imagine Hina coming to him and giving him a hand, being his saviour. It's much like how Levi saw his past self in Mikasa present ( S1 ), Levi gave Mikasa the hand she needed when she didn't know she needed.
Hina despite being much younger than him, was able to make him realise that he too was shutting out his emotions and was able to let himself be free through Hina when she cried, expressing her frustrations and very human like emotions. In the forest of the giant trees when Mikasa and Levi saved Eren for the first time he told her " we got your precious friend, didn't we?" A slight wake up call he had given her for the very first time, an attack on Mikasa's ego and evoking a different emotions within her. Like telling her it's not only about Eren and getting revenge, risking your life so easily, Levi had lost his entire squad in order to protect Eren so now that he is safe they better leave now.
So the question is did Levi and Mikasa save each other?
What can I say that I haven't said already in here about these two?
"you saved my life" Rei says to Hina as he reached out her hand and the beauty of that scene was the fact that it was delicate and soft despite it not being anything romantic. Remind me of that panel of Mikasa touching Levi's shoulder. How ironic is the fact that I'm comparing Hina, a openly emotional character to Levi who is said to be the most emotional inside?
Levi physically saved Mikasa a lot of the time however emotionally Levi saved Mikasa from being selfish and from herself. What if I said and ignoring 139, that Levi was one of of the biggest reasons Mikasa took the initiative and decapitated Eren that day?
Wait why does it feel like I already said it before lol
Through Levi, Mikasa learnt to trust more, learnt that even though they gave difference not only in height, age and in how they treat Eren ( Levi with force and Mikasa with care ), Mikasa still came in terms with Levi and relied on him, shared her burden with him. I think that's the biggest character twist Mikasa had, the fact that she was ready to draw sword at anyone who treated Eren wrong and everyone was scared of her and then came the grumpy shorty who beat her beloved brother right in front of her but eventually he became the biggest form of support she had in the end. I just can not help but laugh at all the unseen development this ship has had and all the implication of Futher interaction after season 3 between them, it's really obvious they had something going on because imagine you don't talk to someone for like 3 years and suddenly when you engage in battle against , paired up with them suddenly you become the strongest duo known to humanity. +?)!#)# make it make sense.
Sooo now you see the that having toxic relationship with a partner is only natural and inevitable but growing from that, opening your eyes to those who actually care there for you is rather healthy. So moral of the story is guys make sure stick with those who tells you to stay with them, the end.
Omg guys this turned out so much longer than I intended, anyway hopefully y'all liked it. I know it's not the strongest comparison or analysis but I feel like I'm running out of words for what I want to say about rivamika it feels like I'm recycling my sentences from previous analysis over and over again because ✨ lack of content ✨ and my inability to think of something new.
Please ignore all my spelling mistakes I have decided to embrace my mistakes instead of fixing them simply because I'm too lazy 😉
💜💜💜
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