#will stand here on my soapbox and say

[phoenixkaptain]

The scene of Anakin turning back to the Light and saving Luke is such a beautiful scene in so many ways, but especially from a character standpoint.

If you look at Darth Vader just in the movies, he doesn’t do things without a plan. He has a step two. Even if his step two is immensely dumb, he always seems to at least have some form of an idea where he wants to end up; he has a point B he’s trying to reach.

Part of what makes Vader a terrifying villain is that he always seems to anticipate what his opponent will do. He seems to know what they’ll do before they even think about what they’ll do. Very rarely is Darth Vader ever taken by surprise. Darth Vader is the character who proves how scary the Force can be. While Palpatine uses his Force lightning and can predict what his opponents will do, he never quite reaches the level Anakin is on, he never reaches that peak of knowing the next five steps his opponent is going to take, even as those next five steps change.

Palpatine doesn’t see Vader turning on him coming. Palpatine is not a Force user who can see the future, he uses the predictions Darth Plagueis made and he sticks to the outline provided by his former Master. He does everything he does and believes everything will be fine and has complete confidence in himself because Plagueis was just that good at predicting the future.

Darth Vader literally changes the future. He makes those predictions false. Him throwing Palpatine down a reactor shaft wasn’t in the books, him choosing his son wasn’t an option, the idea that a Sith lord as powerful as Darth Vader could turn back from the Dark Side is believed by the Jedi and Sith alike to be impossible. Darth Vader himself doesn’t even believe that he can turn back from the Dark Side. The only character who ever believes that Darth Vader can come back is Luke.

Darth Vader is fifteen steps ahead of his opponents. It’s very rare that he ever gets surprised. He always has a plan.

But when he saves Luke, he isn’t any of that. He leaps in without a plan, without any ideas of where he’s goung. He doesn’t know what will happen except that he’ll probably die. He doesn’t have a way out of this. This is the first time Anakin Skywalker ever does anything without already having a way out or immediately being able to come up with a way out.

Anakin was hotheaded and impulsive, yes, but Anakin from his introduction always has a plan B. And when he doesn’t have a plan B, he makes one. He is by far the most competent character in Star Wars, just from his ability to get himself and others out of trouble.

In the moment of turning back from the Dark, Anakin is listening to the Force. He’s listening to the Force as it tells him to save someone. The universal call to the Jedi, the inexplicable push that all Jedi feel and what ultimately led to the majority of Jedi dying, just because they couldn’t not listen when the Force told them to help. Anakin finally listens to it, finally answers it, he finally acts like a Jedi.

There’s no step two. There’s no way out. Doing this will end in his death. Darth Vader is already injured, and the only one who has the resources to put him back together is Sidious. To save Luke, Vader has to step into the lightning, which he knows all to well will ruin his suit. Choosing to save Luke is tantamount to choosing to die.

And he does it. He hesitates, but ultimately, he sacrifices himself for someone else. He goes in knowing that this won’t end with him being able to get out. He has no way out. There’s no plan B. His suit has gone from keeping him alive to being part of the reason he’s dying. He takes off his helmet accepting that he’ll die and being happy to die because he’s finally at peace, he finally feels the warmth of the Force, he finally sees his son with his own eyes, his son is finally looking at him with nothing but trust and worry for his wellbeing, he’s right where he wants to be.

He went from wanting to posess Luke to just being happy that Luke is there with him. That Luke is the one by his side when he dies, that he’s dying on the same side as Luke — Anakin is fine with this. He’s ready to die. He’s accepted it. He’s just happy that the last thing he’ll see is the product of his and Padme’s love for each other.

The scenes of Anakin in Return of the Jedi are beautiful. The title “Return of the Jedi” is so great for this movie, it’s perfect, okay, you don’t understand. It has so many meanings!! The Jedi returning could be referring to Luke, the main Jedi we follow, returning to the screen, or to Tatooine. It could be referring to the Jedi Order, since Luke takes on Yoda’s request to share his knowledge with others and, with Sidious dead, the Jedi Order has functionally returned, even if it is only one member strong. It could refer to Yoda returning, it could refer to Obi-Wan returning.

Or, Return of the Jedi could be referring to Anakin. Anakin Skywalker, the son of the Force. Anakin Skywalker, the only character powerful enough to change the future itself, the only Sith Lord powerful enough to stop being a Sith Lord. Anakin Skywalker, who has always done impossible things, who has always performed impossible feats, who is himself impossible. And he’s back. He’s returned. The Jedi returned.

#star wars #anakin skywalker #darth vader #luke skywalker #return of the jedi #star wars original trilogy #the inane ramblings of a madman #woke up thinkin about him #anakin my love my darling my blorbo #my baby my girl my boy my baby my dear my dearest darling my utmost affection #will stand here on my soapbox and say #the scene of vader turning on palpatine is the best scene ever made ever #it’s dramatic it’s daring it’s beautiful it’s meaningful it’s amazing #it’s a turning point that turns the entire galaxy on its head #the force is over there like a soccer mom screaming ‘fuck yeah that’s my boy!!!!’ #and i am right there beside it #anakin my darling you’re doing amazing you’re showstopping you’re perfect i love yo- #anyway star wars was pretty good huh #a okay movies if you ask me #i’m so glad #that anakin killed palpatine #he def kill palps #nothing disproves that he killed palps #palps is dead for good and never coming back #anakin did great i’m so proud of him #so glad palpatine is dead yup dead and gone no doubt #sequel? you mean the movies where the main antagonist #turned out to be a dry piece of toast? #yes of course i remember dryth toastatine in the sequels #do glad ani killed sidious so dryth toastatine could rise

[jessaerys]

sun visits the moon at spk headquarters and gets so so so sleepy

#death note #my art #meronia #mihael keehl #nate river #mello dn #near dn #mellonear #trying out this new thing where i post quick art that is entirely for my own self-indulgent amusement here #this was an exercise in letting go of a piece as soon as possible and you can tell i failed because i couldn't stop retouching it #here and there. OLD HABITS DIE HARD but [with passion and confidence] expect a drop in quality/finishedness #kind of very into the colors here i like exaggerating their colors and saturations. their sun and moon codedness compels me #i also think people aren't as much into this ship because they assume they have very rigid [pardon my language] seme/uke roles and i'm like #[standing on soapbox] [crazy ex gf voice] the situation is actually a lot more nuanced than that #but these tags are long and i can't get into the push and pull power dynamics of it all. mello can heel is all i'm saying #ok that's all i have work to get back to drawing for work ( <- girl who just took a two hour break from drawing to draw) #brothercrush.txt

[liquidstar]

i saw a comment by you on an old post saying lesbians are bigots if they refuse to consent to sex with anyone amab. do you still feel that way (about homosexuality being bad) or have you changed your pov?

lol no, i didnt get stupider.

depending on how old the post was its possible i didnt phrase myself in the best way (ive been here since i was a young teenager after all), but youre also clearly prone to the worst possible bad faith interpretation of things so ill at least make this clear: i do believe that anyone has the right to refuse sex for whatever reason they want. whatever. thats fine.

but i dont think thats an excuse for transmisogyny. i dont think there have to be entire "movements" dedicated to this imaginary concept of trans women forcing cis lesbians to have sex with them. no, im not doubting that this situation has ever once happened on an individual level, but its not a systemic issue by any fucking means. people saying that trans women are women, and that having sex with them doesnt make you less of a lesbian, IS NOT the same thing as someone forcing you to have sex with them. no one is making anyone do anything beyond respect people's individual choices. your adverse reaction to this is whats bigoted.

again, i think anyone can refuse sex for whatever reason they want, but i also think that we live in a bigoted society where a lot of people dont want to unpack their biases or shallowness, especially when it comes to sex and romance. so i think that once you decide to base your personality around "EWW I WONT HAVE SEX WITH A PENIS HAVER!!! GROSS!!!" you are a bigot lol, its clearly about a lot more at that point. you are using it as an excuse for your bigotry, a way to recontexualize yourself as the victim in a pure hypothetical. but trans women have said it better than i ever could though, so i dont want to soapbox too much.

im still a dyke btw and homosexuality is awesome :thumbsup: and i think woman are more than just their vaginas, which is why i dont boil them down to the parts they have, even when it comes to sex. if you want to put me on somekind of blocklist for this go ahead, i dont want terfs interacting w me anyway. bye forever now

#transmisogny #i hope it doesnt seem like im speaking out my ass here as a tme person #but i didnt want to like link this person to a trans womans post or something #like that just feels irresponsible idk #and i dont wanna overstep either. but i do wanna make it clear where i stand to keep ppl like this away from me #and keep this blog a safe space in general #so i worded this as best as i can basically but im also sleep deprived rn so. lmk if i should fix anything ig? #sorry for all this to my trans girl followers though #reblogs off bc like i said trans women can say it better than me. i dont wanna soapbox i just wanna make where i stand clear

[sureuncertainty]

“if you eat at chick fil a you’re the scum of the earth” posts always just make me wanna go get chick fil a out of spite

#win rambles #like i could explain my reasoning for eating there and defend it but i actually don't have to defend myself lol #and i'm p sure i already have in previous posts #but i'll just say this: some people really like to prove their moral superiority by saying 'it's so easy to do/not do this thing' #acting like being a good person is a list of things you have to do or not do (which is very christian) #and the people who say that are the people for whom it IS easy #and for some people. it is NOT so easy #for lots and lots of reasons #like if it's easy for you then why are you standing up on your soapbox talking about what a good person you are because of it? #'it's not even good' then why are you so proud of yourself for not getting it? when you wouldn't anyway??? #anyway y'all can unfollow me for eating at chick fil a if you want but i'm so sick of this black and white view of the world #(also LMAO at the people who are like 'we don't have chick fil a here' THEN WHY ARE YOU A PART OF THIS CONVERSATION???? #like i can't lie and say seeing this doesn't grind my gears and make me feel defensive but i'm not gonna defend my personal reasons for #going there and i'm not going to apologize for it or hide it

[aritany]

it feels like yesterday i was posting my first ever WIP intro—this is that story.

today DEAD GIRLS DON’T SAY SORRY is out in the world, and i am officially a published author!

i love this story and everything it means, and i can’t wait for nora and julia and dillan to meet the readers that need them.

at its heart, DEAD GIRLS is and always has been about navigating grief without closure. how do you heal when the person who hurt you is out of reach? how do you heal when that person will never say sorry?

today is wildly significant to me not only because my debut novel launches, but also because on this day two years ago, feb 6 2022, my whole life imploded. i lost a spouse and two sets of parents in one fell swoop when i refused to go back in the closet regarding my gender identity, and while i’d expected the road would be long and bumpy, it was a shock that so many were unwilling to walk it with me.

i never imagined starting over at 22, let alone while struggling with chronic illness and no savings. but i did it, and DEAD GIRLS was with me the whole way, for better or for worse. slowly, i got to rebuild a family who who have supported me through it all. i’m so grateful to all of you here on writeblr who have showed endless kindness and support—more than you’ll ever know.

i’ll get off this soapbox in a second, but a last word: the grief does get easier to walk with. to those who have been hurt by friendships that were supposed to protect you: there are people worth trusting around every corner. to my fellow queer kids orphaned by bigotry: i stand with you & beside you & that hurt might never go away, but it does fade with time.

be you. be free. live joyously🩷💛

oh, P.S. you can support my journey (and future books) and buy it here ;)

#alex talks #publishing #dgdss #dgdss pub day

[cerastes]

so Drimo for those of us who do not know what is the Armored Core series about [leaves out convenient soapbox for no reason]

If you asked a room of 100 people nowadays, "do you guys know FromSoftware?", the majority of them would stand up and answer, "oh, yeah! The guys that made Dark Souls, right?" You would hear about people wondering when Bloodborne will be ported to PC, or when it will get a sequel. You would hear lamentation for the lack of Sekiro DLC. You would hear praise and anticipation for Elden Ring DLC.

If you were in 2008 and asked a room of 100 people, "do you guys know FromSoftware?", maybe 4 would stand up and say "Oh, the guys that make Armored Core, right? My cousin had it, it looked ok."

The truth of the matter is, FromSoft was a niche studio before Demon's Souls planted a seed and it grew into the massive tree we know as Dark Souls, and its countless branches lush with beautiful flowers, like Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. It even inspired nearby trees, all beautiful in their own right! Trees like Code Vein, Nioh, and others.

But I'm not here to talk about fucking trees and their god damn branches.

I'm here to talk about the sterile wasteland, the wilderness of fallen angels, where the ocean meets the sand. I'm here to talk about pre-Soulsborne FromSoft, when FromSoftware was an unknown, niche, small video game developer barely hanging on to relevancy. They had games like King's Field. They had games like Shadow Tower. They had games like Armored Core. Hell, all of these games still live on in Soulsborne! Did you know? The notorious Mushroom enemies that punch your entire lifebar out from Dark Souls are originally from 1999's Shadow Tower:

Iconic boss fight, Seath the Scaleless from Dark Souls? He's originally from King's Field 2!

The well-loved bald rascal with a penchant for annoying fighting styles and kicking, Patches? Originally from Armored Core! Lucky Patches AKA Patch the Good Luck:

The Moonlight Greatsword? That's originally from King's Field:

Knight Commander Dragonslayer Ornstein? The Bloodborne Reiterpallasch? Armored Core originals, baby:

The truth is, Soulsborne is as dear to old school FromSoft fans such as myself as it is because it carries the past of FromSoft, it carries part of all the old games. The old, niche, unknown FromSoft that we fell in love with lives on in this new, successful, popular FromSoft of nowadays, all without selling out. FromSoft's design philosophy and mission statement has always been to make things that are out there, that aren't generic, that have that slab of esotericism to it, that are inspired and raw and difficult and challenging and oh so rewarding. Soulsborne wasn't a surprise hit. Soulsborne exists built on a foundation of trial and error that carries in its DNA years upon years upon years of difficult, niche titles. I've not even mentioned all the Tenchu references that Sekiro has! How the Powderkeg weapons from Bloodborne are mostly Armored Core weapons scaled down to human size, such as the iconic Stake Driver being the mighty Kiku from Armored Core!

Armored Core was the biggest franchise FromSoft had prior to Soulsborne. The biggest. And it wasn't too big, to be honest. A rather niche, unknown game franchise with numerous titles that did just well enough to justify sequels, with strong cult followings, Armored Core is all about that mecha high octane action, right? Well, it's 50% about that mecha high octane action! Your average Armored Core is a high intensity, breakneck fast game full of machine guns, laser swords and huge explosions when you're in the field, but in order to be able to do that, you must construct your machine, your Armored Core, piece by piece. Not just the chest core or the head piece or the arms, we're taking about generator, radiator, targeting system, thrusters, subsystems, all of that! And each given piece has a stat screen that looks like this:

This is a single laser rifle's stat screen. Every piece has about this many numbers to it. As you can imagine, it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but for those that took the time to understand it? That familiarized themselves with the game well enough to just be able to look at a piece and understand what it did and roughly how well it performed? Oh, this was to die for. The amount of unique builds, of mechs that were your very own, unique creation, catering to your own specific tastes, was basically infinite. You could make your own dream gameplay machine, that operated in exactly the way you wanted it to. 50% of the time, you were in your garage, tinkering, mixing and matching different parts to improve your Armored Core more and more, to make it better, comfier, stronger, cooler.

Do you know what was influential in Dark Souls' success? And I say this with all the love in my heart, as a massive Dark Souls fan: It was simplification. Dark Souls is a different beast in many regards, of course, compared to Armored Core, but what Dark Souls did was simplify the Armored Core formula, in both comparative gameplay execution and building, and focused on other aspects, like making incredibly cool unique enemies, polished combat, great enemy placement, the works. But end of the day, Dark Souls is a simplified Armored Core. You're not boosting around and firing laser weapons in Dark Souls, but the fundamentals are all there: Tempo based fighting, with intensifying speed, lots of numbers to play with in order to optimize your character to your preference and needs, and the flexibility to switch around builds to certain degrees, more so in the mid game and late game. Hell, the ever-present "little plain white number above the enemy that shows you how much damage you did recently" and how Poise works in Dark Souls are both originally Armored Core things. Most every Armored Core veteran that I know, myself included, that played Dark Souls just felt it click naturally after a bit. Because it's an extension of Armored Core (and King's Field/Shadow Tower).

Armored Core, since its inception, has been about being a mercenary in a callous world where companies that are as powerful as countries, plural, wage in economic war with each other. Rarely has there ever been a good guy in Armored Core, it's the pristine FromSoft absolutely horrid and doomed world narrative that they love so much. You can even go into debt! Your rewards at the end of any mission are affected by how much ammo you consumed and how banged up your AC got, you have to foot the bill for repairs and ammo (unless your client specifically states that they'll cover it for you), and if you don't perform too well and end up going into sufficiently big debt? Why, you forcibly get put into the Human-PLUS program to offset your debt, which actually makes your stronger, since it gives you the ability to ignore Total Weight restrictions and gives you infinite energy! At the cost of, you know, your humanity. At that point, you're literally just a corporate drone with more machine than brain in the nogging. It's a fancy Easy Mode toggle, so to speak, that comes with lore. This game is from 1997. Even from back then, they were making stuff like this. The setting of Armored Core is ruthless, cruel, and brutal... And yet, beautiful, the little things, they are there. But I won't tell you about them. You have to find them yourself. The beautiful things only have value if you find them in a horrid world by your own merit.

This is true for Armored Core, and this is true for Dark Souls.

Armored Core, on a personal level, is what I grew up with, what inspired me as a child, the kind of storytelling that gives you a few explicit morsels, and the rest, figure it out yourself. Armored Core is basically what came before Dark Souls. I consider Soulsborne sequels to Armored Core. They are so very alike.

Brutal gameplay, challenging management, ruthless storytelling... It's heaven.

Armored Core is a series of a gaming era long gone. Armored Core is the opposite of "cinematic experience" games. Armored Core is brutal, it wants to test you, it grants you no quarter, but it wants you to succeed. Armored Core wants you to master its management systems and its high speed combat. Armored Core wants you to be a sharper, better you.

Armored Core is a video game series about giant robots blowing each other to bits.

Armored Core is both a test and teacher, and it wants you to win. It wants you to become the you that can beat it.

Armored Core loves you. Armored Core will do all in its power to prevent you from winning. Armored Core knows you can win, which is why it tries so hard.

Armored Core is a good video game.

#zeravmain #armored core #dark souls #fromsoft

[laylawatermelon]

The K-Drama Of It All

Hello! My hyper fixation has (very unhealthily) latched onto this show so I'm gonna be analyzing.

First of all, I am a veteran in these spaces.

Very shy in real life I am an avid observer in all my fandoms but TRUST I know what's up at all times because of it.

This first analysis will be of the phenomenon of how they playing in my face with the classic K-Drama tropes and cinematic choices.

Let us begin.

Now we all agree that The Bear is a cinematic masterpiece right? Right.

I have been consuming media across all mediums since I was a kid.

I quite literally spent most of my life watching behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, and in between the scenes.

I'm also an aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter. As such I analyze stuff I like more.

I try to understand why they are the way they are.

Now that we got all the fluff out of the way let's get down to the nitty gritty.

*stands on soapbox*

Page 1 of 10000 ehem

In this this essay I will -!

Fr tho. Let's look at this from a K-Drama perspective.

I've spent about 10-12/13 years watching them. And luckily got into it during the golden era.

I literally watched She Was Pretty air (among others). Ex, Strong Woman, Descendants of the Sun (never watched; controversy+ bad attention span), School 2013.

So you know I'm (somewhat) of an og.

I'm those shows it's very formulaic.

This can extend to other Asian dramas but I'm going to try to stick to K-Dramas.

For example, the 10 ep rule. Must have a kiss or kiss in that episode. (Before is fine)

Now they're getting a little willy nilly and getting down in the first EP but I can argue they was down bad back then as well. Just more angsty longing looks.

(which tbf Sydcarm does all the time but it's 99% Carm though)

In KDramas there's something common in the cinematography that I'd call the halo of light. Almost all the time there are some form of beauty shots with them beautifully lit where they're together, the way they look at each other etc.

Which ironically they do with these two a lot on the show.

I know the show is gorgeous but you can't just explain away some of the choices.

I have watched and read a lot of discussions so this will be influenced by a lot of people. I will mention when I got the help from (if i can find it).

Now I just want to say I think this.

These following trope have been here since the dawn of K-Drama time.

Enjoy my infodump.

Firstly let's discuss this here:

1. The Meet Cute/Halo Effect

We've all been screaming to the void about the classic meet cute that happens with Carmy's life and him being constantly bombarded with noise and chaos.

Stylistically this wouldn't be a typical formula for K-Dramas as it leans more into Kmovie style (which valid The Bear was originally a movie) I think it's as textbook as it comes.

Now the original script (which I have read) had a story of different tone. Very Chicago and chaotic but still...

In this iteration of the script idk what the actors were on but JAW looked at the script and chemistry test and was like hmm yes.

A dramatic romcom. I see.

For her she's an ambitious woman who has (maybe a tiny crush) admiration for him cause like he's literally who she wants to be.

Young, talented and successful. He's made a name in their industry so of course she wants to work under him.

But he he's playing the male lead in an early K-Drama with the classic *she enters* and it's like the second coming out Christ being lit from behind her.

The classic 'I can't believe I never noticed how beautiful she is' in all dramas (and romcoms honestly).

You can also compare it to the corny slightly funny moments in slow motion when they miss each other/do the angsty look.

Like this.

Good old kdrama tropes.

What's interesting is that in their scene they do the opposite of what a K-Drama would usually do. They cut the music and let it become calm.

You get to breathe and relax and so does he. He feels at peace.

In K-Dramas, osts are a kind of a life line so they would most likely blare it when he has that realization.

And then at every other romantic moment after.

Another way that it could be is by using very like calm music (still the ost but still).

They do use this with having mostly romantic music in their scenes but it's usually quiet and a bit hard to hear or understand (unless you're analyzing like many of the wonderful people on this app).

Now you can argue her warm lighting in each scene from the finale and introduction represents his hope/life/good change being given back to him in the form of her (but if that's not the most romantic thing I ever heard).

Now for the flashback in the panic attack scene you could argue the blue tone he sees her in, as it usually represents some kind of sadness/distance/professionalism in this show, it can also represent his piercing blue eyes remembering her in the only shade they know how.

Good God that color grading is nuts. His eyes *ARE* the color Blue.

Now I want to talk a bit more about shot composition, color grading and color choices.

In a few interviews I've seen and read the editors, directors and others were quite serious about the shots and music they used were very much on purpose.

I mean come on.

Also Announcement from a novel/screenwriter:

EHEM

WE DON'T EVER INCLUDE NOTHING THAT CAN BE MISINTERPRETED IN SCRIPTS!

AND THE DIRECTOR WOULD DEFINITELY CUT IT IF IT WASN'T HOW HE ENVISIONED IT!

(/hj)

The most telling scenes is the beginning of omlette and the end of the episode before it.

The director had chose to show her tattoo that represents loss in a deep blue lighting which was actually in a similar lighting that Carmy and Claire were bathed in afterwards.

The quora search says it means pain, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil.

It also lines up with the rest of the shots with him preparing dinner with Claire and her being alone.

I believe this kind of represents the emotional cheating (?) going on between them as he practically abandoned her (and their child, The Bear).

(which is a wild choice for platonic coworkers)

As I've said before blue lighting is usually representative of sadness, coldness etc.

In the scene personally even without connecting it to shipping or everything the message came clear to me.

Suffocation.

He was quite literally being suffocated as in the last scene her body was on his as he stared in the distance blankly.

Honestly that shot was kind of heartbreaking because it feels like coercion in a warped way.

He feels like he should be happy, he should participate in these acts, he should be doing well.

He's fulfilling his family's wish.

So why isn't he happy?

That's my writer kicking in but that's what I got from it.

🥲 (gimme a sec i gotta cry)

But the same blue tone was used in his panic attack as the camera zoomed in.

Now the ironic part was that they used warm lighting for the scenes with Claire, but it's not that unusual.

Warm lighting has always been used to also represent a time period in the past in addition to good/warm times.

What's ironic is what's literally colored in what should represent good times isn't working.

He's remembering his family in those same tones. The past isn't helping.

But the future does.

Enter Sydney in blue.

Now blue usually represents sadness (or calm) but it's also used in futuristic scenes.

*They benefit from the cold clinical look i guess🤷🏾‍♀️*

Then he becomes calm.

I can also say that their kitchen scenes in early season 2 are blue coded but it has a calm feeling not a distant feeling. It ironically feel warm and calming despite the cool tone.

This appears in a couple other scenes in the show when he's showing her the work done in the early season.

But color wise it's usually warm tones with them as the color kind of transitions in that scene. It's half half.

His view is warm because he thinks she's good with what he did and hers is cold because he ditched her so yeah.

Now shot wise let's discuss because it's a bit obvious.

The staff head mentioned loving close ups to show the characters emotion but also to convey a sense of what's not being said.

An example of his uncertainty with Claire is the car scene. In most of his shots it's extremely close to her and gives off an awkward vibe.

But when you go to her perspective, she's more open and his shots show background and more of his character, also reflecting their relationship with each other,

This persists with the kitchen scene as well.

When I rewatch it it has that same quality. It's a bit more pulled out (obviously as they literally spent the night together so anyone would feel closer) but there's still an awkward/dreamlike feel like when its on her like she's not quite based in reality.

Or in Carmy's self sabotaging view, too good to be true.

In comparison to Sydney, the shots with her are almost always wide and open.

We see it with them as early in season one with the outside scene where he's staring her down and gets her to open up.

You can argue that almost all of their shots are as equals, or in the same frame with an openness that have/represents when they're communicating with each other. (I'm def writing about their communication)

Sydney's character is ironically what a male lead would be like and Carmy would be more of the female archetype.

Which I really appreciate now that I think about it.

The male lead is usually very successful/good at what they do, hesitant to share but when they do you feel it and know it's sincere. They're usually more bumbly with expressing when they're emotional but when they do its like a huge release. And when they love it's very obvious and excessive at times.

In comparison, Carmy is very expressive, sensitive and aware. He's devoted (Claire sorry but you don't quite count) to things he's passionate about, willing to communicate and has traits of sensitivity.

His eyes and body tells what he's feeling almost immediately. (Also JAW is just an incredible actor)

In Kdrama land their roles would be switched. Hell I can argue some American dramas as well.

Back on topic though.

The Halo Effect is there. Like all the time.

To my next point-

2. The She Looks Away, I Look At Her

Now you may argue this is very Disney Rapunzel, all that coded.

You will also be correct.

I am a Disney (more Nick honestly) kid.

This too applies to the K-Drama world nay I would say it originated there (it did not).

Do you know how many shows I can name where the male lead is just hopelessly in awe as he stared at the female lead because she just insulted him and he wants to tell her he loves her in every way.

Ring ring.

I heard The Bear calling. Yeah imma need you to clock out on this gaslighting.

time to fangirl

Look at the gif sets!

But honestly, it's a common way to show that the character cares and wants a person without outright saying it.

You understand the vibes almost instantly.

He likes her. He wants more.

She likes him. She wants more.

3. Matching Clothes

This one is a simple one but we all know how common it is in K-Dramas to have a matching something.

A good example of a recent show is Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and how they almost always matched even if he was in casual clothing and she was in office clothes.

You're supposed to get a telepathy feel from them. Like they're on the same wavelength.

In ships/shows they usually subconsciously brainwash you into details of a relationship by having them wear or have something that reminds you of them.

In wardrobe, clothing is meticulously planned to match characters financial situation and express their personality. The clothes tell the story.

And the story usually is we go together. Real bad.

So yeah, sure in this scene/episode they were more in tune and tandem and as time went on they became more disjointed.

Granted they do work in a place with uniforms but I digress.

And lastly my third point part II-

Same But Different

If this were a kdrama there'd be like 0.00% chance that they WOULDN'T happen.

First they're the main leads so duh, and second the way that they parallel each other is insane.

There are many edits and examples of them directly mirroring each other in certain situations.

Scrubbing the floors when feeling lonely seemingly in the exact same spot, stressing in the freezer, saying stuff at the same time and their weird telepathy and answering each other's - sandwiches (that's what I was gonna say).

(sorry)

And if any of you say work wife I will rage cause let me catch my man laying under a table like that!!!

Sparta!

But for real, yes there's intimacy and friendship and all that but I ain't everr look at my friends of either gender like that.

If did I probably had feelings and just kept em in. And did the Carmy puppy eyes (TM).

And yes we are aware Carmy is emotionally constipated like a coke bottle filled with mentos with a tight cap on and his lack of a social life coupled with his (many) different mental illnesses/difficulties.

So he probably doesn't even recognize or even want to recognize them as such and honestly as a 4 lifer

I'm really sad but I don't think he'll confess in the next season.

I'm making a post about it but I'm also uncertain about it lasting more than three seasons as thematically and the way it was intended to be a movie I feel kind of uncertain.

It can extend to 4 but it was intended and the way it's narratively been flowing its exactly like a 3 act structure just spread out (like butter).

The next season is after the dark of night aka main character loses everything.

This season was fun and games - quite literally him having amusement and such. (Training Arc!!) It ended with his demise I'd say.

Now there's no where to go but up.

I'm not saying that it's impossible, but a 4th season would likely be more aimed toward getting a star or maintaining a star etc and family ties and such.

That'd be most likely when, if any, outwardly romantic contact should happen.

But they might surprise me.

Butt honestly in KDrama land there's no way the set up isn't romantic even if it was just a chef or professional focused show.

I'd say it'd be standard honestly for ones focused on career with a dash of romance.

Ex. Miss Hammurabi (best example)

The Good Doctor (Japanese Version)

There's probably more but I exclusively watch romance so 🤷🏾‍♀️.

In Conclusion,

Yes. They are end game.

I also wanna say how odd it is that this ship is attacked by fans of the show and non fans alike because I've literally grew up in the age of Rise of The Brave Tangled Guardians.

There's nothing more random than that time period.

They all dated each other!

Like my guy there's a Tony the Tiger x Grinch fic and don't even get me started on the Onceler selfcest as different flavors of himself (/j i love stuff like this)!

My point is it's not that unusual for the two leads to be shipped. Same gender or not.

I also have years of teenage brain rot developed from eating movies for breakfast so I know more than you! (/hj) I'm obviously right!

I will be discussing some more of this in length at a later date.

But I rest my case.

I will retreat into my cave until next time.

#sydcarmy #syd x carmy #carmy x sydney #long post #ranting #shipping #the bear #media analysis #tv analysis #kdrama #meta #the bear meta #sydney x carmy #the bear is a love story #syd x carmen #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #the bear analysis #i am a fangirl #you will hear from me #pls be nice #i have an agenda #and that is romance! #gifs #like a lot of gifs

[ishouldgetatumbler]

"I'm going to be somewhat less strict than many of your teachers here. I am purely invested in your education, which means trying to meet you halfway. So if you have to go to the bathroom, get a drink, stretch your legs, whatever, just get up and go. Just come back okay? Passing this class will be very easy as long as you are in class for most of it."

And that was all the eye contact Danny could stand before his hand started to doodle and his eyes made a break for the page. He wrote the date on instinct; then stared at it. He erased the day, then paused. He erased the month, then wrote the correct date.

"Now for grading, exams are not as big of a deal on my class. Exams are about five percent of your grade. In addition homework isn't really... feasible? So don't worry about that. What will make a big chunk of grade is classwork, which is mostly answering when called on, raising your hand, asking questions, and showing up. Really just showing up and showing me all your lovely beautiful faces should be enough in my book, but for the stiffs upstairs you know-"

The teacher stopped, like they were expecting the class to laugh. It was silent. Danny was just drawing lines. Long, zagging, looping trailing lines. The teacher recovered swiftly.

"Chatty bunch. Well I guess that's fair, its first day jitters and all, and I am making it sound like this class is breeze, so what's the catch right? Most of your grade is tied up in what we're supposed to call 'labs' but I prefer to call it 'live practice.' I don't want you to get too worried about results, it's alot more about 'mucking in' as they say. Just show me you're making an effort and improving because, hey, we're all learning right?"

Squiggling lines has lost its therapeutic effect. Danny moved on to drawing his instructor farting while being struck by lightning, exclaiming "YOWCH!" His personal explanation was that they stank so much god saw fit to punish them.

"I know this class gets a bad reputation, and heck the entire business, especially in America, for those of you from there, but all I'm looking for is participation. And hey, guys, eyes here? I'm gonna get up on my soapbox here."

Danny looked up from his half completed drawing of himself as a demon-cat hybrid. He made eye contact with the glaring intensity of the instructor.

"Torture is important okay? You may not use it in your day to day life, but it teaches you important ways of thinking, and 'enhanced interrogation' as we're supposed to call it DOES work, but it's not a science and its not shopping for yoga pants. You can't repeat the same test on a different subject and get the same results, and its not one size fits all."

That was all Danny could take before his lunch made a run for it and he curled over his desk and covered his mouth with a clammy hand. His swirling, sloshing lines made his nausea only worse. Somehow he'd forgotten Vlad picked the school. The teacher on his paper exclaimed "YOWCH!"

"Teacher?"

"Yes, Mr...?"

"Wayne-Al Ghul"

Shoes tak-tak'ed on the floor as the instructor stepped back to the desk at the front of the room, and scrawled a check on the attendance.

"Yes Damian?" They asked finally.

"May I be excused on the basis of experience? I feel this introductory course has nothing to teach me." Damian said promptly and matter-of-factually.

The teacher sharply exhaled in amusement, then said "Well, like I said before, I believe we're all learning. Every year I teach this class I learn something new. Heck I have learned more teaching than I ever did in the business. Really, it's about approach. Everyone can learn something from someone else's approach, and even if it isn't mine or one of the ones I teach you, I am certain you can learn something from your classmates."

Danny was finally starting to figure out why he was so damn nauseous. The words were disgusting of course, but hearing yourself talked about like veal to be dissected and portioned guilt up an immunity to that. No, this was something more.

Ghosts are more like an ecosystem than a living thing. When you die, all your thoughts get split up up into a million different mini ghosts. When someone has all of their thoughts and emotions tied into one thing, they stay somewhat as they were after death, but most people break up. Those break ups leave some small amount of stragglers, who can't or haven't yet made it to the ghost zone.

The room was covered in little ghosts. Caked in them, floor to ceiling like the whole room is painted in a thin, semi-transparent sheen of death. He hadn't even noticed. He just assumed the paint was discolored.

"Ah, yes, you have a question Mr...?"

"Fowl."

"Ah, Artemis, I see you on my attendance sheet. Isn't that-"

"A girls name, yes. Why are we being taught to torture?" The small pale boy asked.

Internally, the nausea abated slightly: finally someone was asking sane questions. His rendition of himself as a demon cat smiled at him from the page.

"It's like having a lesson on how to smash a computer screen. Or a demonstration on how to burn fine art. Why use such wasteful destruction when a fine eye for detail will suss the computer's password, or the painting's secret?"

The teacher sighed before replying "because sometimes art is dangerous, and sometime you need to smash a computer. Assuming you already have all the tools to solve every problem in your future will do you no good."

Artemis snorted but did not offer a reply.

"Right. Do we have any questions that are not 'why do I have to take this stupid class?'"

The room was silent and coated in thin, viscous death.

"Great, I'm going to be passing out your packets, these will contain some practice quizzes and any of the reading for this semester. You'll get another packet in the winter and spring."

The teacher laid a thick stack of stapled papers on Danny's desk, then paused. Danny looked up in terror into their slightly excited face, as the hand on his desk pushed the packet out of the way and pulled out Danny's paper.

They nodded appropriately at the contents of the paper, then held it up for the class.

"See this?" they said, pointing to the drawing of themself being hit by lightning and flatulence, "even something like this indicates to me that you are invested, that you're paying attention and that you're thinking about what I'm saying."

"Is that a demon cat?" someone blurted out.

And that was all it took, the bottom fell out of Danny's stomach and he hurled.

#danny phantom #artemis fowl #damien wayne #dead serious #Dead Serious Dove #thats my ship name for them idk

[beautifulpersonpeach]

wait you are korean ?

***

It’s not something I advertise but yes. African too. Mostly fluent in the three biggest European languages but can read and understand Korean, Yoruba, Ewe, Hausa, and to a much smaller extent, Hebrew courtesy my sister-in-law. Since I’m already giving you my bio, Anon, I might as well add that I’m female, queer, and occasionally anti-America but always pro-murder-beheadings-sodomy-untold evil upon-Putin. And because I’ve gotten asks from people unsure how to address me re: my race, background, and culture, I don’t highlight my background often because (1) it’s often not relevant to the conversation, (2) I don’t want people sending me things to translate for them (the fandom already has many wonderful translators, please use them), and (3) …who actually does that? Just going around announcing what they are. Because I kid you not, I’ve actually gotten an ask from someone trying to pick apart my posts before to clarify whether I’m queer, Korean, Black, a woman… demanding that I assert and announce whether I’m any of those things. And that’s just weird.

I’m going on a bit of a tangent here but this just reminded me of something.

A couple months ago I got an ask from someone asking me to confirm something their ‘Korean oomf’ told them about jikook and Jimin. It was nonsense of course, but I didn’t say that at first. I instead asked that person for the source, to allow me speak to their ‘Korean oomf’ on Twitter. Just from the text and the way the grammar was written I could tell the person was a fraud. Scrolling back enough and cross-referencing their username confirmed it. They were a white person pretending to be a 22 year old Korean girl who knew someone that works in BigHit on Twitter. When I confirmed what they were for myself, I went back to the Tumblr person who sent the ask initially. I told them to avoid people who claim to be Korean telling them this or that, to instead stick with known ARMY translators (even solo stans have known legit translators who are actually Korean. At least I know PJMs and MYGs do so they have options too), and pay the most attention to what the members themselves say. They are very consistent. I’m saying this as someone who has seen a lot of idols - one thing about BTS is that all seven of them are very consistent. If you’re just noticing something about a member, I’d say you never really paid attention to them before. Anyway, in both their strengths and weaknesses, BTS are consistent, so listen to them and think for yourself rather than what some self-proclaimed Korean person on the internet is telling you.

I don’t write what I do here to convince anybody. But it’s not escaped my attention that, at least in jikook spaces, people place a premium on what Korean people think. On how k-jikookers feel, and that a good compliment here is to have a Korean joker acknowledge your blog, comment, or point. It stands to reason to some extent since Korean is very nuance-dependent and cultural cues and knowledge is important, but I also see how that deference is ripe for abuse. So, I’m not mad when people occasionally send me asks questioning why I write things or what I mean exactly though I think I’ve been clear, because it shows me people are still thinking critically about the media they consume. No matter who it’s from. I don’t respond because I don’t feel the need to defend myself to anybody, but I overall appreciate the sentiment behind that anon being questioning in the first place.

At the end of the day, I hope the strengths of my arguments can remain no matter my identity. And that we’re all spending more time actually having fun rather than engaging in tedious discourse.

Lol. Soapbox moment over. More fun asks please.

#small psa

[bropunzeling]

director's cut of your choice of scenes from the elopement timestamp :)))))

hello from the airport :)))) here is matthew and brady's conversation aka a secret fave scene of mine:

"Dude, you're so wound up," Brady says as they go through a bucket of pucks at Centene. The ring of the posts and their muffled curses fill the rafters. "Are you stressed about something? What is there to even stress about?" [this scene had two goals. one was more sibling/ratfam content (since its very lacking from the original works for obvious reasons) and the other was to get to the point at the end of the conversation. i decided that brady needed to be the guy because (1) i like writing him (2) matthew would actually open up to him and (3) because he's already been married for a couple years/is gonna be a dad/etc etc it adds this nice, your sibling is further along than you (helpful, rather than anxiety provoking)]

Matthew’s shot goes off the post and rolls away. He curses. "Nothing."

"Uh-huh." Instead of grabbing a new puck, Brady leans on his stick. "Try me." [matthew has not acted like this since the summer of 2022 and brady is not stupid]

Matthew takes another shot, straightens up. Brady’s still looking at him, flat and even. God, he’s not gonna move, is he. 

Giving up, Matthew checks the rink—safe, Leon went off to hit the bike five minutes ago and no one else is around [one of my editing points was reminding myself of the secrecy! like obvs they are not as horribly repressed and not telling anyone anything as they were in meet me halfway, but like, leon's reputation matters to both of them and neither want to test and see what would happen if it came out that they were dating. theyre admittedly sloppy, but it’s still a thing they think about]—and then says, in a low voice, "I asked Leon if she'd ever want to, uh. To marry me."

Brady sucks in a breath. "You proposed?"

Matthew shakes his head vigorously. "No. No. [i mean, you kinda did.] I didn't mean now, I meant in the future. Someday. You know."

"Sounds like you proposed,” Brady says, much too loudly. The whole building might have heard him.

"I didn't," Matthew insists. "All I wanted was for her to think about it, you know? I wasn't going to—to spring anything on her." [me on my relationship soapbox like SURPRISE PROPOSALS ARE SHITTY AND YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TALK ABOUT IT FIRST] He clutches at his stick. "Just—I wanted her to know that I was serious, and see if she'd also want that, and now it's been like four days, and she hasn't said anything, and I kind of think I fucked something up. Fuck, maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. What if I scared her off?"

"Dude. Breathe." Brady's infuriatingly calm. [the contrast between brady's general inflappability and matthew's anxiety is always funny to me.] Matthew glares at him. "I doubt you fucked anything up."

"You don't know that.”

Brady shrugs. "Okay, no, I don't know for sure, but like—you can't really think you scared her off."

"It's happened before," Matthew mumbles. [obvi like -- they are pretty good and over the events of The Battle of Alberta, Playoffs Edition; it's been years. however, that won't stop matthew from being anxious! last time he thought they were on the verge of a relationship upgrade leon ghosted him! he doesnt want that to happen again] He doesn't want to stand here while Brady looks at him with that calm, know-it-all expression. Maybe he'll go collect some pucks. He heads towards the goal.

Skates scrape behind him. "Matt." When Matthew looks over his shoulder, Brady’s trailing behind him with the bucket. "She’s stupid in love with you." [one of the fun things about this time stamp, along with everything, was finally getting to let this version of leon be stupid and romantic and overcome by her own feelings. she's soooooo gone.] At Matthew’s glare, Brady rolls his eyes. "I was there when she showed up last summer, remember? I think I'd know." [another fun thing was dropping bits of Lore that im not sure will ever become a proper cleaned up ao3 time stamp, and this was a big one i wanted to hit!!!]

Matthew bends down and grabs a few pucks out of the crease. He hadn't actually been awake when Leon had shown up in Florida last summer; he hadn't been expecting her. They had agreed, after the Oilers got knocked out, that she'd wait to come out until after the playoffs were over. She had to close up her house; debrief the season with Connor. And—they'd fought about it, over the phone, more yelling than there had been in a long time, but Leon had asked how he'd feel if he was there watching from the sidelines while she won the Cup without him. If he'd really be all that happy for her. [it was important to me to hit this because obvi we see the opposite in meet me halfway - matthew checking in and gone even when leon beat his team - but crucially they never did get to this point, and im not sure matthew ever thought through what it would look like if leon HAD made it that far. mr hiding in the garage when the cup was at his house probably wouldn't have handled it well! and like - even if they are in love and in a relationship, they are still the same fundamental people who are competitive and desperate to win and hate to see other people get what they want. so of course they fought.] [obvi my solution to this tension is in 5 or so years they play on the same team, win cup, put baby in cup.]

She'd apologized the next day, but she'd made her point, too. When she booked her flights for late June, he hadn't argued.

Then his sternum got cracked. Mom and Dad had to drive him home from the rink and help him out of his own clothes. And when he woke up after a miserable night, it was to find Leon asleep sitting up on the bed next to him, holding his hand like it was a lifeline. It wasn't until later that he'd gotten the details out of Mom—how Leon had shown up at two in the morning, exhausted and incoherent and making a beeline right for his bedroom. How she wouldn't leave, even when Mom tried to insist she go find an actual bed and get some sleep. [(a) she was doing so bad. (b) this is absolutely the tipping point for matthew's people to be like oh shit this is a big deal thing, as you can see with the below]

Matthew had spent the next few days thinking mostly about how much his chest hurt and how badly the team was playing, but he also noticed the way Brady and Leon had quietly teamed up—to get him out of bed, to get him dressed, to get him to the arena. [there is a whole unrealized scene in my head of them watching matthew suffer during game 4 on the couch and both are like, quietly so fucking stressed out for him, and it’s this little moment of quiet bonding and acceptance where its like you love him, i love him, we both wish he wasn't on the ice right now] Once he got past the self-pity, he’d found it pretty funny. However Brady had felt about Leon before—and Matthew was pretty sure that feeling wasn't acceptance, no matter how much Brady tried to hide it [brady really did not like leon after the Events of rob thomas' party. as soon as he connected the dots that girl matthew has been moping over for months = leon draisaitl, leon was fully on his shit list. he definitely headhunted her that whole next season]—apparently Matthew breaking himself could smooth over almost anything.

"Listen," Brady says now, leaning against the net and holding out the bucket for Matthew to dump pucks into. "Do I think she was a dick when she ghosted you? Yeah. But she's fucking crazy about you now. You can't miss it."

Matthew drops a handful of pucks into the bucket with a clunk, then heads for the boards. "Okay, but like—she hasn't said anything," he says. "What if she doesn't want to?"

"What? Get married?"

Matthew nods. [crux of the scene!】

Brady skids to a stop by the boards. "I don't know, man. I mean, maybe she doesn't because she thinks it's too soon. Or maybe it's not that big a deal to her. Half the guys from Europe do the whole, you know. The partner thing." [matthew: spiraling. brady: repository of reasonable takes] He shrugs. "I guess the question is, if she wants to be with you, but doesn't want to marry you, are you gonna be okay with that?" [and here we go! so like, a Big Theme of meet me halfway/the girl!leon cinematic universe (gcu) is like, dealing with expectations and hangup and how you pictured your life going vs how it's actually going vs how you actually want it to go. and obviously for most of it this is leon's journey - reconciling hockey and a personal life, understanding that she doesn't have to shut out friends or family or the potential for partnership in order to have a career, that it won't make her lesser or softer, that it’s okay to be soft in the first place.

but. BUT. it's very important to me that matthew is ALSO going through this reexamination of his own expectations. his picture of life was not so subtly based on his parents and structured in a very particular way. and falling for another hockey player who wouldn't be staying home, who would push and challenge him and be her own independent person, naturally upends some of those comfortable images he had of his future. and this is just one more instance of him needing to look at what he imagined for himself and changing the picture to fit not what he thought he would get, but what will actually work for him and leon, what they actually want together. and here and in the next scene is when it hits that its not about the trappings but about the knowing. he doesn't want leon to push him away, he wants to know that theyre going to be doing this together, but that doesn't mean they have to do things the way everyone else does, either.]

Matthew chews the inside of his cheek. Would he be? It's hard to know. For so long, he's had that little picture of what his future looked like. Even as it changed, that part—being married, that sense of permanency—it’s always been there. He doesn't know how he'd feel if it were gone. [again the permanency is the thing. obviously i am like, in the middle of my own feelings about all this, but really it is like: you're here with me, im with you. even when we're annoying or stressed out or tired or miserable or caught covid on our romantic vacation when you were gonna propose. you're with me and i'm with you and it's gonna be for the long haul.]

"Just something to think about," Brady says after a moment. He claps Matthew on the shoulder. "But for what it's worth, I think she's pretty fucking serious about you."

Matthew hip checks him back. Brady doesn't move, the fucker. "When did you get so smart, asshole?"

Brady laughs. "Who says I haven't always been this smart?"

"You were a fucking idiot when you were thirteen," Matthew retorts.

Brady shoves him into the boards, the bucket of pucks clattering to the ice. "You really gonna bring up teen shit? Because I remember—" [brothers!]

Things go a little haywire after that, first chasing each other and then all the loose pucks scattered across the rink. By the time they've collected everything, they're both laughing hard enough that they can't catch a breath.

"Hey," someone shouts. Leon's leaning on the boards, wet hair sticking to her head and the nape of her neck. "Are we gonna go soon? I'm starving." [relatable]

"Yeah," Matthew calls back, making his way towards her. "We're done, I think."

When he makes it over the boards, Leon’s already reaching out, one hand fisting in his jacket. She yanks him closer, kissing him, then pulls back and says, "Go shower. You stink." [they would be so much better at keeping their secret relationship secret if they didn't want to make out and or fuck whenever they're within five feet of each other. alas]

"Uh-huh," Matthew says, ducking back in to kiss her again, just to see if her nose will wrinkle. It does. [gross!!!! and!!! in love!!!]

"Shower," Leon repeats, slapping his chest and shoving him towards the door. "Hey, Brady. You coming to lunch?"

Matthew misses whatever Brady says to her, but he doesn't miss when Brady comes into the locker room and snaps a towel at him. "Told you," Brady says in a low voice. Almost subtle, for him. "Crazy about you." [rip to brady, who has to witness god's most embarrassing pda every day of his summer and then deal with his older brother thinking that his girlfriend doesn't love him]

Matthew busies himself with his towel. His cheeks are warm.

#ask meme #girl!leon wip :) #ty for indulging me pls continue to indulge me

[taylortruther]

Re: Matty/Taylor situation - I completely understand and believe fans who are hurt by this are completely valid in having those feelings, but I think that it's hard for them to see through their pain right now... which leads to a more heightened reaction to things such as insider quotes. Me personally: My heart hurts for my mutuals and those who are feeling affected by this, but at the end of the day... she's an untouchable pop star who doesn't know I exist so I can move on. Which I know is a privilege that POC fans don't have. I have to take care of me and my mental health, though, because I can't help everyone else's.

i'm uncomfortable with this discussion being framed as privilege, at least the way you just framed it (which i've heard from other bloggers here.) and i think it boils down to... being able to "move on" from this hobby isn't a privilege.

this is where, again, fighting the good fight against racism within the context of our taylor swift hobby really loses its significance for me.

it's not helpful to say "you're privileged and should feel shamed for continuing to stan taylor and ignore this issue" because it implies that poc are FORCED to stan her or engage with her/the fandom, and it implies that the matty situation is the issue you should be focusing on.

racism follows poc wherever we go, and it's inescapable - yes, that means it often appears in our hobbies our relationships. the privilege is not having to worry about that if you're white. and using your privilege means educating yourself on racism, sexism, confronting your own bigotry, maybe even learning about the dirtbag left (which matty is a part of i guess), learning how to educate or coexist with the people who claim to share our political beliefs but still say/do problematic things, etc. and taking a stand IN REAL LIFE. like. caring about the communities irl and not just your online ones.

if unstanning taylor is what your heart tells you to do, then i respect that! but moving on to a different hobby just means that inevitably you will encounter this again and perhaps be angry online again and that's useless unless your irl actions change.

SORRY this was a soapbox

#hot taykes

[ieroween1031]

My Thoughts in Real Time as I Watched Episode 13 of Love in the Air That Absolutely Nobody Asked For:

- IM SO EXCITED I CANT BREATHE

- I can’t believe this is the (second to) last time I’m gonna see this intro, I already want to cry

- Fucking Sig, I love him so much.

- Can we get a spin-off just dedicated to Sig?

- Rain, you nosy motherfucker. We love you for this.

- Also, I’m so totally here for Sky finally not holding back his emotions. Agreeing to give Pai a ‘prize’ if he wins? We love to see it.

- Prapai’s posting picture of Sky on his Instagram? I’m fucking dead.

- These episode names are too much. Can’t do it!

- Aww, little baby Sky.

- Sky smoking? Oof. I don’t care how gross it is, smoking is hot. Sue me.

- If that was really the first time Sky took a drag of a cigarette, he’d have coughed it all back out. The first few cigarettes as a new smoker suck, and they fucking hurt.

- On that note, don’t smoke, kids! It’s bad for you!

- I knew that it was gonna be Gun, and as soon as I saw him, I honest to god growled. Fucker.

- Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. (To myself and to Sky)

- Listen to your friends, Sky!

- Okay, smoking’s not hot when this fucking dickbag does it.

- This should go without saying, but for everyone out there reading this, don’t let anyone take advantage of you or hurt you unless you’re into it. Don’t go along with shit you’re not comfortable with just to prove that you love someone. Fuck them, fuck their feelings, protect yourself.

- Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

- Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck I don’t wanna watch this.

- I can’t imagine how hard this was for Peat. The reaction video is gonna hurt.

- Fuck, I hope someone kills this fucking asshole.

- I know this is an emotional scene, but I’m losing my shit over Pai calling Sky ‘baby’

- THIS FUCKING COCKMONGER AGAIN?

- Take your fucking eyes off of him and wipe that smirk off your face, you shitbird.

- Fluffy PrapaiSky will be the death of me.

- I’m so proud of Sky for not being afraid and being able to admit how he feels. My sweet baby has come so far!

- The look of terror on Sky’s face when he didn’t know who was hugging him is just one giant foreshadow and I hate it.

- “My lucky star” 😭😭😭😭

- Payu is 1000% done with Pai’s lovesick ass like he probably wasn’t just as bad a few months ago.

- We need more Payu/Sky and Prapai/Rain. The boyfriend/best friend dynamic is so freaking cute.

- Every time I see that bastard, I get so fucking angry.

- I was gonna yell at Sky to run as soon as he saw Gun, but I remember when someone who looked like my abuser walked into my job and I shut down and just completely froze, so I understand why he couldn’t run.

- It’s absolutely killing me that Pai knows that Petch is a slimy little snake, but that he doesn’t know why.

- Yes, Sky! You stand up for yourself! Your man loves you, and don’t forget it!

- Rain, I know you’re trying to be helpful, but I kinda wanna smack you.

- Rain really is a gold(fish)en retriever, isn’t he? Head empty, no thoughts, attention span that only lasts two seconds, but damn it, he’s a good boy that’s trying his best.

- I feel nauseous watching Sky walk into that apartment.

- You fucking liars. I’m so angry.

- I’m so glad that Sky doesn’t believe them. It’s amazing to see how much he’s changed.

- Sky Protection Squad in full force, yes! Go rescue him!

- Where the fuck are Rain and Payu while Pai and Gun are in the bedroom? Are they just making tea with the other assholes that were in the apartment? Come on, guys.

- Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.

- Love him to death, but for the love of method acting, someone please teach Fort how to properly throw a punch.

- He should have killed him. And Payu should have hit Petch, too.

- I don’t know what hurts more, Sky being catatonic and not being able to cry, or Pai sobbing for him.

- He brought him home. Like, home, home.

- That picture of the two of them on Pai’s desk, I could cry.

- I don’t even have any more thoughts, I’m just happy that Gun and Stop are gone, all four of my boys are happy, and that Pai knows everything about Sky now.

- There are a bunch of scenes from the novel that I’m sad were not in the series, but that could be a whole separate post.

- WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH MY LIFE NOW?

- Aside from finish KinnPorsche (I still have two episodes left), catch up on Remember Me and Between Us, binge all the other shows I have on my To Watch list, and tear my hair out waiting for Just Say Yes.

- Excuse me while I rewatch the entire series over and over.

#ieroween1031 og #sawyer’s lita thoughts #love in the air #love sky #love storm #love in the air spoilers #love in the air ep13 #payu #prapai #rain #Sky #payu love in the air #prapai love in the air #sky love in the air #rain love in the air #prapaisky #prapai x sky #payurain #payu x rain #fort thitipong #peat wasuthorn #fortpeat #fort x peat #boss chaikamon #noeul nuttarat #bossnoeul #boss x noeul

[streamingcolors-gvf]

I always second guess posting like this, but with the new era starting, I just want to stand on my little soapbox for just a second. (I’m not going to hit every point, but bear with me)

I’m not an OG blog by any means, so take all of this with a grain of salt. I joined this fandom about a year and a half ago and have seen some amazing things, talked to wonderful people and have had such a cool time sharing content with you guys.

That being said, I just want this to be a fresh start for everyone already here and for new people and blogs to pop in for the future. I really want to see the past drama and bad energy to stay with the end of DIG. (Things were getting a little intense there for a bit). And I’m in no way invalidating anyone’s feelings about the issues that arose in the past year either. But I’ve just already seen some things in the last week with the new releases, and it’s starting to bum me out. And truthfully, I have actually been staying off social media because of how anxiety inducing it’s becoming at times.

I don’t want to leave this fandom at all (and I don’t have plans to). I’m honestly so excited for the new album, new content and new tour just around the corner. It’s been so much fun and I love bonding with you all over these goofy guys, but let’s step into the era with a clean slate.

I know it’s cliche to say, but let’s stay peaceful for the guys and each other. This band, music and bonding with each other is a cherished distraction from the stress of the world for a lot, if not all of us. So I would love to keep it that way. And of course expressing frustrations and feelings is healthy and expected, but let’s keep private issues, drama and negative energy off the platforms if we can.

Let’s keep it fun, supportive and loving ❤️

#gvf #let’s work on keeping this fandom the peaceful army #i don’t want to see any blogs leave again #l

[vo-kopen]

For those of you who know me, I am a fan of a kickstarted indie comic called American Dreams. The comics takes place in 1900 CE and follows a Jewish immigrant as he becomes his Earth’s first superhero. There’s a good amount of focus on antisemitism before the Holocaust, which is novel for comics. Superheroes rarely are written about before WWI let alone WWII, and discussions of Judaism often end in comics with the holocaust, not the longer history. But it’s far from a dark depressing story, there is hope, community, and triumph. First thing he does after getting his powers is enjoy the wonder of flying, second thing is free trapped workers from a burning sweatshop. And for the historians, there are a lot of historical figures who either cameo or have major roles, Edison steals an invention of Teslas that he doesn’t understand, Houdini hires the lead as a strongman, Alister Crowley says “papa spank,” lots of neat stuff.

Currently, the writer of American Dreams has a new kickstarter for a new book set in the modern day. It stars a father and son crime fighting duo whose relationship and partnership is disintegrating. My impression is they might be pastiches of Bruce Wayne and at least one of the Robins, so for those of you interested in seeing the tropes of the batfam in other contexts, this might appeal to you. It is said to be more action focused than the other books, so for those of you who like fight scenes might enjoy it too.

But if this new book’s concept does not interest you but you still want to support indie superheroes, several of the add ones for the kickstarter are for issues of American Dreams or Knightwrath (character with so,e of the tropes of Venom and Spawn set in the same universe) So if you don’t care for “Rook and Knight,” you can still get something you do like and help indie comic creators make more stories. I for one am buying a physical trade of American Dreams vol 1. It’s a solid story, I like having physical copies in case the power grid collapses, and it means I can lend friends and family the book.

And if I can stand on this soapbox here, I know tumblr obsesses over the big two, gosh I have a fondness for parts of marvel myself. But outside of image, very few indie comic creators can afford to dip into genuine superheroes. They have to dive into other genres, since most readers would rather buy the big names than try something unknown. Occasionally you will get deconstructions of pastiches, but the big two basically have a monopoly. Which is not healthy for the industry or the art. If marvel and dc are the only options, then there is not much incentive to try hard. Topically, white Spider-Man sells no matter what. So if you have some money free, consider supporting this kickstarter. And while Knightwrath was not for me, and Rook and Knight might not be my style either, I do highly recommend American Dreams. Also there are trading cards this kickstarter so that’s fun.

@geekgirl101 @nonbinary-bosmer @bear-of-mirrors @thefingerfuckingfemalefury @majingojira @littlemissonewhoisall @akirakan @paulsebert @strixobscuro @renaroo tagging some of the comics crowd I know in case any of you might want to contribute to the kickstarter or boost it. There are about twenty days left for the kickstarter and they are already over halfway to the goal, but I figured I should make a post on it since I did for the previous kickstarters. Plus you know, I plan to check out Rook and Knight myself too, even if it ends up not for me, I want to give it a fair shot.

#superheroes #american dreams #indie comics #kickstarter

[tiredassmage]

Well, I think Friday night attested enough to the fact that I'm back on a swing of Tyr brainrot, so I think it's about time I get back up on my little dynamics soapbox and talk another area of his possibly logic-defying loyalties. I miss Ardun Kothe, dude. I miss that old man.

I was gonna save this until I got far enough in... whichever number playthrough edition I'm on at this point, I've lost count, but. I'm in my feelings too much to wait.

Kind of the short of it is there's... quite a bit he pulls from his relationship with the Minister that also shows up in his relationship with Ardun. Which does put Tyr in a pretty interesting position at the end of the Agent campaign, so with that said, we're naturally in pretty decently big Agent storyline spoilers for Chapters 2 & 3, so newer friends and wanderers, that will be under a cut if you wish or need to avoid those until a later date.

I almost wish I had some eloquent way to build all of this up, but I don't really feel like I do. Because what I do have is that I think Tyr's forgiveness of Ardun for the entirety of the Castellans starts almost the moment Ardun finalizes his orders.

Of course, in the moment, his entire life's just gotten upended and his priorities are... shaken, to understate. But under Castellan orders or not, Tyr's mission orders from Imperial Intelligence were to find out Kothe's plan and only then eliminate. Standing on Nar Shadaa with a blaster leveled at the man on their first meeting was thus never part of Tyr's plan to begin with.

But Ardun says enough here that will setup the rest of their relationship. "With the lives we've saved.., maybe we'll both find forgiveness."

So, what Tyr learns about Ardun here that then tracks through the rest of his time as part of his SIS team is Ardun's respected and trusted by his team - with the same kind of trust that Tyr affords the Minister of Intelligence [that is, Tyr trusts he'll never be asked to do anything unduly harmful to himself, without very good reasoning]. What Tyr defines as "unduly harmful" is... not exactly the layman, reasonable person's "unduly harmful," as pretty much evidenced by how he responds to the introduction of the Castellan Restraints and why they were used on him, but that's it's own post and more on that with his relationship with the Minister.

More than anything, I think it's that even one second at a glimpse of some sort of remorse that Tyr gets in this initial conversation that makes Ardun Kothe a man Tyr's still willing to trust, despite this being their introduction.

Because Ardun goes on to be the kind of leader Tyr's willing to follow. Kothe trusts his team, and it's hard to trust Tyr as this would-be defector because it would backfire on his team first. One of Ardun's hard-set orders is not being able to harm the team.

Then Chance is pulled off of Taris and looked after. Chance might not be able to rejoin them, but he's getting treatment. He's taken care of. In general, broad strokes, when Tyr offers trust to Ardun, Ardun responds. They've already spoken on I wouldn't trust me, either, so there's no use dwelling on it.

In the end, Tyr's takeaway - his assessment, if you will - of Ardun Kothe is that he's a man with regrets. He's another leader trying to do his best for the people reporting to him when his hands have been bound by undesirable circumstances. Unlike the tensions that develop pretty much from the start between Tyr and Hunter, Tyr never quite finds Kothe delighting in the use of the Castellans, even if he does continue to use them. And that's enough of a difference in handling for Tyr to notice and respect.

So, Ardun Kothe survives the trip to Quesh and the Shadow Arsenal - for a mix of Tyr's respect of his leadership of his team and the absolute harrowing nature and exhaustion of the last several months of work, trying to survive acting as a double agent, trying to unravel the story behind the Castellans and their use on Intelligence operatives... Tyr lets the entire SIS team walk. [Excepting Hunter, in the end, but Tyr's not particular counting the one that was playing them all against each other for bloodsport, and that's, again, not exactly for this post lol.]

And then they run into each other again on Corellia. It's for the best for both of them that Ardun believes his story when he lays out the setup of the Star Cabal. It's one interaction that could've hurt them if Ardun had insisted on taking him in - because Tyr had a job to finish, and no amount of his dissatisfaction with the Sith and the dissolution of Imperial Intelligence was going to change that Tyr believed the Star Cabal was a threat far greater than all of it. Ardun trusting his judgement.

And that leaves us with the Black Codex and the interesting... you could call it 'betrayal' of Tyr caught between his loyalty to the Minister, to Imperial Intelligence specifically, rather than the Empire as a whole, and his loyalty to his ideals, to himself - to everything Ardun is, in essence, offering by suggesting Legate stick around. Especially after the Minister just got done reminding Tyr about the difference between ideals and goals, and how theirs is a society that relies upon authority to make changes - progress.

Because there's a part of Tyr that already knows he risks the people he just spent the last several years fighting for by handing over that Codex to Ardun Kothe. Everything Tyr just spent trying to make the last gasp of Imperial Intelligence mean something, to prove their worth in their final hours is still at risk if this final proof isn't produced. If he doesn't deliver this to "safe hands."

But for all their talk of ideals... What both the Minister and Ardun Kothe have done is shown Tyr to fight for what's important to him and hang onto it with both hands, bloody knuckles and all. Because it's never guaranteed. Because someone else will always find it a risk. There's always the threat of non-conformity. The line between obedience and ingenuity, as Lokin calls it.

In a sense, choosing the Minister or Ardun, if he's able to continue working directly for either, offer him the same kind of protection: the same faith in his abilities. But behind them is still the Empire and the Republic. Neither are perfect. Tyr might be a man who's more fond of his ideals than he may realize, but he isn't naive. But the ideals of those sides on paper are not the same, and so the question becomes just as much about what are you willing to fight for? Who do you really want to be?

Ardun won't be able to magically pull him out of the precarious position Tyr ends up in by accepting Ardun's offer to maintain work as a double agent. Some might've been inclined to argue if Ardun would've ever actually pulled him out of the Empire because that wasn't even part of their original verbal agreement. In the end, the galaxy got far more messy than either of them could've predicted at the time and such musings no longer matter in an era of the Alliance.

But Tyr ultimately decided to trust the man with his life. A little remorse was enough to tell Tyr there was some recognition of the whole situation. Ardun he trusts did not do what he did out of direct malice. He looks up to him, respects him. A bit of a supportive authority and even parental figure that... Tyr didn't exactly have growing up. In this kind of work, someone like Tyr will hang on to the few people he feels he can trust and respect. There's not a lot of them. I think even just... having a connection where the openly-stated goal was to work together for something better did a lot for Tyr. There was a lot about his career in the wake of Imperial Intelligence's downfall that was isolating - and yes, some was in part because of his position as a double agent, because of that decision made with the Black Codex. But it was a reminder that it was worth it. It was possible to fight for something better. Ardun gave him that chance.

And, of course, they played a fair few hands of Centran Sabacc, by the end. Tyr will never say where he learned, but a fond, nostalgic smile will usually accompany those memories of evenings spent between missions playing cards with the SIS team, checking weapons with Saber and Wheel, wresting with Chance. Those were the kind of memories, the kind of friends worth fighting for.

#dot talk #ch: tyr #npc dynamics talks #imperial agent #ardun kothe #swtor

[memestockpile]

to wong foo, thanks for everything! julie newmar (1995) feel free to change as needed.

my heart is full.

i was overwhelmed with my own sense of majesty.

bless you, darling. 

i’m so excited, i could just spit. 

get it, girl!

i feel that i am a handmaiden to a miracle. 

you are a menace. 

what do you do to accomplish your look?

you both are so pretty.

you are not being supportive. 

now, little one, what is your name?

what’s with the water works?

i never won nothing my whole life. 

don’t be looking at me with no bleeding heart look in your face. 

i want you to sit right here. we’ll be right back. 

i ain’t going upstairs. 

we must all help others. 

so much for spirited debate. 

that poor dear is shattered. 

there’s a hint of the romantic in there. 

not on your young, queer life. 

i must admit that i am shocked and just a little saddened. 

do you know what it is like to be so horribly alone and have a chance at specialness and ... to fail?

we are sensitive people and we can imagine such things. 

pumpkin, we’re back. 

we have a problem that only you can help us with. 

can’t go nowhere without a rabbit’s foot. 

are you making fun of me?

that’s all subtext. 

let’s go get something to eat. 

your beauty lures men to their rocky deaths. 

darling, i can’t be held responsible for that.

we are not driving from new york to hollywood. 

no one say anything frivolous for the next few moments. 

quick, someone create a disturbance. 

there is something about a cadillac convertible that brings out my eyes. 

how long is this trip going to take?

all the other children used to laugh and call me names. 

there are more important things than money. 

maps are cheating. 

don’t be putting on airs with me and whatnot. 

get ahold of your bad self. 

you have the potential of a lifetime and you are squandering it. 

turn on those heels and get back in this car. 

you know what i hate? when life just befuddles you. like war, and hatred, and fear. i mean, i don’t get it. 

we are dead meat.

my life is always horrible, just sometimes, i get a warm bed. 

what in gay hell?

i’ll bet you were the brightest in your class, weren’t you?

i can’t believe i let you talk me out of my airline ticket to be stuck in a broken car in the middle of nowhere!

well, i’ll be cow-kicked. 

this is my idea of hell. 

this weekend has nightmare written all over it. 

let’s get some breakfast. 

you got to say stuff like that to be polite. 

you’re real observant. 

you know lots. you sure are something. 

if you saw pictures of me in high school, i gurantee it would curl your hair. 

i knew instinctively that i could trust you, knowing that you’re not a big talker. 

this is something i ain’t told nobody, not even [name].

you were a regular knight in shining whatever. 

that’s so romantical.

if i was your boyfriend, you would never cry excepting for happiness.

you said a mouthful there, boy. 

it’s like living in a cartoon. 

here it is, a faultless saturday afternoon, and you ain’t got nothing better to do but be standing on a street corner, acting the fool. 

comb your hair and press that shirt the next time you set foot out the door. 

it’s an affront to the delicacy of my nature. 

this is like what nuns wear when they’re off duty. 

you know, i got a secret romance. 

this nail polish is fierce. 

no sooner is a moment noticed then it is gone, child. 

life ain’t something to be avoided. 

hon, do you ever not cry in this room?

i declare. 

i have fallen into a norman rockwell illustration. 

could you take the young’ins inside? 

you jealous ‘cause i am going out with the cute boy and you ain’t!

there are times you help people, then there are times if you help people, you get killed, so you don’t help people.

you listen here, and stop your soapboxing. 

i’d pull keanu reeves out of a burning pile. 

you make me feel like the perfect girl. 

that was very generous of you, putting someone else’s needs before your own. 

i have cookies!

we’re hoping to inspire a romance, not a dry hump. 

this is the first time i’ve felt so much life. 

i can’t even look through my address book without having a good cry about someone i miss horribly. 

i would not be telling a lie if i was to say that i will surely miss you. 

important moments demand important designers. 

what fresh hell is this?

i used to dream of getting out of here. 

this is my home. 

i think of you as an angel. 

god is a drag queen!

#roleplay meme #askbox meme #ask meme #rp meme #meme #roleplay sentence meme #sentence starter meme #sentence starters #rp sentence meme #sentence meme #askbox rp #askbox #ask #inbox rp meme #rp inbox meme #inbox meme #tumblr roleplay #roleplay