Do You Think The Mighty Nein Will Forbid Any New Members Because They’re Too Far Into The Nine Schtick

Yes pls

Instead of being Voldemort's daughter, Delphi may actually be the great-granddaughter of Isolt Sayre, the founder of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - and a Slytherin descendant.

The witch may come from the Irish branch of the Gaunt family, which J.K. Rowling introduced recently in her Pottermore article on Ilvermorny.

It’s still possible that Delphi actually isn’t Voldemort’s daughter, but only believes that she is.

Why? Because of what J.K. Rowling herself recently posted on Pottermore, with the entry for Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

J.K. Rowling wrote that the Gaunt family had at least one other branch, namely, in Ireland. Rionach Gaunt, a Pureblood witch and descendant of Salazar Slytherin, married the Pureblood wizard William Sayre in the late 1500’s/early 1600’s.

This is what Rowling writes in the article:

Isolt Sayre was born around 1603 and spent her earliest childhood in the valley of Coomloughra, County Kerry, in Ireland. She was the offspring of two pure-blood wizarding families (OP: Gaunt and Sayre).

Her father, William Sayre, was a direct descendant of the famous Irish witch Morrigan, an Animagus whose creature form was a crow. William nicknamed his daughter ‘Morrigan’ for her affinity for all natural things when she was young. Her early childhood was idyllic, with parents who loved her and were quietly helpful to their Muggle neighbours, producing magical cures for humans and livestock alike.

However, at five years old, an attack upon the family home resulted in the death of both of her parents. Isolt was ‘rescued’ from the fire by her mother’s estranged sister, Gormlaith Gaunt, who took her to the neighbouring valley of Coomcallee, or ‘Hag’s Glen,’ and raised her there.

Isolt Sayre later founded Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, being a descendant of Slytherin, it’s heavily implied she could speak (or, at least understand) Parseltongue. Her “house” at Ilvermorny, Horned Serpent, was named after a [likely basilisk relative] she “could speak with and understand”.

According to J.K. Rowling:

Most fascinating of all to Isolt, was the great horned river serpent with a jewel set into its forehead, which lived in a nearby creek. Even her Pukwudgie guide was terrified of this beast, but to his astonishment, the Horned Serpent seemed to like Isolt. Even more alarming to William was the fact that she claimed to understand what the Horned Serpent was saying to her.

Isolt learned not to talk to William about her strange sense of kinship with the serpent, nor of the fact that it seemed to tell her things. She took to visiting the creek alone and never told the Pukwudgie where she had been. The serpent’s message never varied:

'Until I am part of your family, your family is doomed.’

Isolt had no family, unless you counted Gormlaith back in Ireland. She could not understand the Horned Serpent’s cryptic words, or even decide whether she was imagining the voice in which he seemed to speak to her.

Isolt had two daughters with her Muggle husband, James Steward: Martha, a Squib, and Rionach II, a witch.

Rionach II never married “in an effort to eradicate Slytherin’s bloodline”. However, her sister, Martha, did marry a Native American man from a local tribe.

According, again, to J.K. Rowling:

Rionach, the youngest of James and Isolt’s daughters, taught Defence Against the Dark Arts at Ilvermorny for many years. Rionach never married. There was a rumour, never confirmed by her family, that, unlike her sister Martha, Rionach was born with the ability to speak Parseltongue, and that she was determined not to pass on Slytherin ancestry into the next generation (the American branch of the family was unaware that Gormlaith was not the last of the Gaunts, and that the line continued in England).

[…] Martha, the elder of James and Isolt’s twins, was a Squib. Deeply loved though Martha was by her parents and adoptive brothers, it was painful for her to grow up at Ilvermorny when she was unable to perform magic.

She eventually married the non-magical brother of a friend from the Pocomtuc tribe, and lived henceforth as a No-Maj (Muggle).

In another interview, Rowling pointedly confirmed that Muggle-borns “are a result of Squibs intermarrying with Muggles, and magic showing up in the descendants of these unions several generations later”.

“Muggle-borns will have a witch or wizard somewhere on their family tree, in some cases many, many generations back. The gene resurfaces in some unexpected places.” - J.K. Rowling

Due to this, it’s entirely possible that Delphi is actually the long-lost descendant of Martha Steward, and thus, the other branch of the Gaunt family. She merely assumes she’s Lord Voldemort’s daughter, because she can speak Parseltongue.

If this is the case, Delphi would also likely be Muggle-born, or, at best, Half-blood.

If that’s the case, then why would Lord Voldemort and/or his followers have taken / stolen Delphi as a child?

This answer, too, can be found easily within the Ilvermony article. Voldemort’s distant relative, Gormlaith Gaunt, also stole away Isolt Sayre as a child for the following reasons, and later, also sought to steal Isolt’s daughters:

As Isolt grew older she came to realise that her saviour was in reality her kidnapper and the murderer of her parents. Unstable and cruel, Gormlaith was a fanatical pure-blood who believed that her sister’s helpfulness to her Muggle neighbours, was setting Isolt upon a dangerous path to intermarriage with a non-magical man. Only by stealing the child, Gormlaith believed, could their daughter be brought back to the 'right way’: raised in the belief that as a descendant of both Morrigan and Salazar Slytherin she ought to associate only with pure-bloods.

[…] Gormlaith refused to allow Isolt to take up her place at Hogwarts when the letter arrived, on the basis that Isolt would learn more at home than at a dangerously egalitarian establishment full of Mudbloods. However, Gormlaith herself had attended Hogwarts, and told Isolt a great deal about the school. In the main, she did this to denigrate the place, lamenting that Salazar Slytherin’s plans for the purity of wizardkind had not been fulfilled.

[…] She intended to lay waste to the second Ilvermorny, slaughter the parents who had thwarted her ambition of a great pure-blood family, steal her great nieces who were the last to carry the sacred bloodline, and return with them to Hag’s Glen.

Likewise, in the article on Pottermore about Draco Malfoy, Rowling wrote the following:

Draco was raised in an atmosphere of regret that the Dark Lord had not succeeded in taking command of the wizarding community, although he was prudently reminded that such sentiments ought not to be expressed outside the small circle of the family and their close friends, 'or Daddy might get into trouble’.

In childhood, Draco associated mainly with the pure-blood children of his father’s ex-Death Eater cronies, and therefore arrived at Hogwarts with a small gang of friends already made, including Theodore Nott and Vincent Crabbe.

Like every other child of Harry Potter’s age, Draco heard stories of the Boy Who Lived through his youth. Many different theories had been in circulation for years as to how Harry survived what should have been a lethal attack, and one of the most persistentwas that Harry [Potter] himself was a great Dark wizard.

The fact that he had been removed from the wizarding community seemed (to wishful thinkers) to support this view, and Draco’s father, wily Lucius Malfoy, was one of those who subscribed most eagerly to the theory.

It was comforting to think that he, Lucius, might be in for a second chance of world domination, should this Potter boy prove to be another, and greater, pure-blood champion.

It was, therefore, in the knowledge that he was doing nothing of which his father would disapprove, and in the hope that he might be able to relay some interesting news home, that Draco Malfoy offered Harry Potter his hand when he realised who he was on the Hogwarts Express.

Harry’s refusal of Draco’s friendly overtures, and the fact that he had already formed allegiance to Ron Weasley, whose family is anathema to the Malfoys, turns Malfoy against him at once. Draco realised, correctly, that the wild hopes of the ex-Death Eaters – that Harry Potter was another, and better, Voldemort – are completely unfounded, and their mutual enmity is assured from that point.

How and why would Lord Voldemort be in America in the first place?

I think this is also for a reason explained by Rowling in the Ilvermorny article: Voldemort was looking for the wand of Salazar Slytherin, which was buried on the grounds of Ilvermorny. (Or heard of a “powerful wand” being at Ilvermorny, and assumed it could be the Elder Wand.)

From J.K. Rowling:

Next, [Gormlaith] uttered a single sibilant word in Parseltongue, the language of snakes. The wand that had served Isolt so faithfully for many years quivered once on the bedstand beside her as she slept, and became inactive.

In all the years that she had lived with it, Isolt had never known that she held in her hand the wand of Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, and that it contained a fragment of a magical snake’s horn: in this case, a Basilisk. The wand had been taught by its creator to 'sleep’ when so instructed, and this secret had been handed down through the centuries to each member of Slytherin’s family who possessed it.

[…] Isolt screamed at James to go to the girls: she ran to assist her adoptive sons, Slytherin’s wand in her hand.

Only when she raised it to attack her hated aunt did she realise that for all the good it would do her, the sleeping wand might as well have been a stick she had found on the ground.

[…] Slytherin’s wand remained inactive following Gormlaith’s command in Parseltongue. Isolt could not speak the language, but, in any case, she no longer wanted to touch the wand that was the last relic of her unhappy childhood. She and James buried it outside the grounds.

Within a year, an unknown species of snakewood tree had grown out of the earth on the spot where the wand was buried. It resisted all attempts to prune or kill it, but after several years the leaves were found to contain powerful medicinal properties.

This tree seemed testament to the fact that Slytherin’s wand, like his scattered descendants, encompassed both noble and ignoble. The very best of him seemed to have migrated to America.

But who could speak Parseltongue, aside from Harry, in the series? Lord Voldemort. A man who, even as Tom Riddle, as seen in Chamber of Secrets, had an unhealthy obsession with Salazar Slytherin.

“You see?” he whispered. “It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle Father’s name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin’s himself, through my mother’s side? I, keep the name of the foul, common muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No, Harry — I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!”

[…] “Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled,” said Riddle carelessly. “I knew it wouldn’t be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn’t going to waste those long years I’d spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin’s noble work.” - Tom Riddle, Chamber of Secrets

Likewise, we all know that Lord Voldemort greatly coveted Founders’ items - and Slytherin’s wand would have the perfect object to turn into another one of his Horcruxes.

Had Voldemort not sought the Elder Wand, likely, he would have also done anything in his power to lay his claim to Salazar Slytherin’s wand. This is especially true, given that he robs Dumbledore’s grave just in order to obtain the Elder Wand.

Likewise, by finding out how (and why) Salazar Slytherin’s wand ended up in America in the first place, Voldemort would also learn…that he was not the last of Slytherin’s decendants. That Slytherin’s descendants may still exist, alive and well, in America, through descent from Martha Steward.

Likewise, during the books, Voldemort travelled far and wide, according to Harry. We know that he travelled to Germany (Nurmengard) to interogate Gellert Grindelwald. Voldemort also travelling to America wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

If she isn’t Voldemort’s daughter, then why does Delphi have blue-silvery hair and other magical powers?

I believe that this may be due to several reasons: namely, as a descendant of William Sayre, Delphi would also be descended from the Irish witch Morrigan. Morrigan was stated to be a powerful witch and an Animagus, one who took on the form of a crow.

In Irish lore, Morrigan was known as “the Morrígan”, which means “the phantom queen”, or “Mórrígan”, “the great queen”.

However, “Morrigan” also refers to a type of creature in the earliest source material - “a monster in female form, that is, a morrígan”. (“morrígna” is the plural term used)

Likewise, in traditional Irish lore, Morrigan could turn into other animals besides a crow.

In response she intervenes in his next combat, first in the form of an eel who trips him, then as a wolf who stampedes cattle across the ford, and finally as a white, red-eared heifer leading the stampede… (Wikipedia)

This would indicate that Morrigan, though believed to be a witch, may actually be something more along the lines of a Veela.

“Veela are semi-human magical beings; beautiful women with white-gold hair and skin that appears to shine moon-bright. When angry, Veela take on a less pleasant appearance; their faces elongate into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long scaly wings burst from their shoulders.” (HP Wiki)

Likewise, we know that Veela, as seen with the Delacour family, can intermarry and have children with humans (namely, wizards).

Veela have been known to marry wizards, although it is unknown whether any have married Muggles. Children of these unions are half-Veela, and they will inherit magical ability from their fathers and beauty and charm from their mothers. Veela traits seem to persist for at least a few generations. These traits only show up in females, the daughters of their offspring. Apolline Delacour is a half-Veela, thus her children Fleur and Gabrielle are quarter-Veela, and Fleur’s children Victoire, Dominique, and Louis are eighth-Veela; it is unknown if they have inherited any specific Veela characteristics from their grandmother. It is unknown whether half-blooded Veela can throw fire or transform into harpy-like creatures, as their full-blooded relatives can. (HP Wiki)

However, Delphi’s appearance may also point to Veela ancestry much sooner in her family tree. If this is the case, and Delphi is part-Veela, then that would also explain Albus Potter’s “crush” on her.

[Veela] magic creates an “entranced” effect, as noted in the books and hinted in the movie, wherein men (presumed to be heterosexual) fall into a trance-like stance, similar to the Imperio charm, in which they lose sight of their surroundings and focus solely on the Veela’s dance or appearance. Men are also prone to experiencing thoughts of strong desire to impress or be with the veela in question, and are strongly attracted romantically. (HP Wiki)

But a crow isn’t the same as an augurey, and Delphi is “the augurey”, not “the crow”!

True. However, the augurey physically resembles, and shares symbolic traits, with crows, such as black feathering with a green-or-blue hue, or being an “omen of death”. Likewise, you know what else the augurey is called in Harry Potter mythology? “The Irish phoenix”.

Morrigan is, her her core, an Irish figure. Likewise, Isolt Sayre came from the Irish branch of the Gaunt family, which was thought to have died out [Pureblood-wise] with Gormlaith Gaunt’s death. From what we know, Lord Voldemort came from the English branch.

From the HP Wiki:

The Augurey, also known as the Irish Phoenix, is a thin and mournful looking bird, somewhat like a small underfed vulture in appearance, with greenish black feathers and a sharp beak. Its diet consists of insects, fairies and flies, which it hunts for in the heavy rain. Intensely shy, the Augurey lives in a tear-shaped nest in thorn and brambles.

It is native to Great Britain and Ireland, but is also found in Northern Europe. It was long believed that the mournful cry of the Augurey foretold death, and wizards would go to great lengths to avoid Augurey nests. However, research determined that the Augurey merely sings when it is about to rain.

The term “augury” most commonly refers to a method of divination by studying the flight patterns of birds.

However, Morrigan also had a large connection with divination and death. In lore, she is also said to be a Seer and diviner, warning heroes of their impending demise:

Her role was to not only be a symbol of imminent death, but to also influence the outcome of war.

Most often she did this by appearing as a crow flying overhead, and would either inspire fear or courage in the hearts of the warriors. In some cases, she is written to have appeared in visions to those who are destined to die in battle by washing their bloody armor. In this specific role, she is also given the role of foretelling imminent death, with a particular emphasis on the individual. (Wikipedia)

Likewise, Delphi’s very name all but means 'prophecy’. Delphi [in Greece] is perhaps best known for the oracle of the Pythia, who would give prophecies in a trance, which equates with Seers in the Harry Potter world.

A Seer from history, mythology, and lore - just like Morrigan.

If that’s the case, what happened to Delphi’s true parents?

Likley killed by Voldemort and/or Voldemort’s followers, especially since Martha Steward’s decendants would largely be of Muggle ancestry, maybe with a Half-bloods and Muggle-borns mixed in. 

In Voldemort’s eyes, they would have “defiled” Slytherin’s bloodline.

Let's try this again

undone without you 

For future reference

My All-Time Top Ten Favourite Fanfics

I’ve thought about doing this list for quite a while now. Let me tell you why. 

Being part of a fandom is, for the most part, quite awesome. However, being a fanfic writer can be quite daunting and discouraging, especially if you don’t get the feedback you’re looking for. As a writer myself, I just want to spread the love and point people towards some amazing, amazing works I’ve loved and have been inspired by since I was a mere thirteen year-old discovering ff.net for the first time. I really, really hope you guys check these stories out. In my humble opinion, they are even better than some original novels that have been published over the years. (*cough* Twilight *cough*) 

At the end of the post, I’ve tagged TEN people here on Tumblr. I hope these people who are tagged will share ten of their all-time favourite fics and tag ten more people, and hopefully, we can keep this whole ‘support for fanfic authors’ thing going for a while yet. Fingers crossed! :) 

—-

1. The Life and Times (Harry Potter) by Jewels5 ( @itreallyatemyhand ) - The story of James and Lily’s sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts, and how they fall in love. This fic remains THE fic for me; it is practically canon in my mind.  If you’re a long-time Harry Potter fanfic reader, you’d probably have heard of TLAT. This fic has its own fandom, for God’s sake. (It’s even been mentioned in a Buzzfeed article? Whattt?) But if you haven’t heard of it, START READING IT NOW. I can’t gush enough about how well-plotted and well written this story is. It has inspired my own writing throughout the years and I’ve reread it more than five times. It physically pains me that it might never be finished, but don’t let this stop you from enjoying these 36 chapters. They will make you laugh, they will make you cry, they will make you fall in love, and trust me when I say - you won’t ever be disappointed. I still come back to this story every now and then, and every time, I fall in love with it a little bit more. - Multi-chapter on ff.net

2. The Queen Susan in Tashbaan, Part 2 of the Stone Gryphon (Narnia) by @rthstewart - The Pevensies aiding the British war effort in WWII. If you’re a history lover and a Narnia fan, you MUST read this story. The amount of history woven into this series is simply awe-inspiring. The plot still floors me, even after all these years. And the characters - both the canon ones and the original ones - are written and expanded so beautifully. Not only that, there is a lot of heart to this story and a very real, very palpable sense of bittersweetness to everything. - Multi-chapter on AO3

3. A Sea of Golden Sand (Narnia) by Andi Horton - The events of “The Horse and His Boy” through the perspectives of the Pevensies. This is everything - I repeat - EVERYTHING you’d want from a Golden-Age Narnia fic. This story chronicles the events leading up to the final battle at Anvard, from Rabadash’s visit to Narnia to Aravis and Shasta coming to Archenland. It is incredibly, incredibly well-written, filled with humour, heart, and amazing characters. And although it was published in 2007, most stories in the Narnia fandom don’t even come close to this level of badassery! Edmund, one of my favourite characters ever, is pretty much swoon-worthy in this. I’m legitimately in love with this version of Edmund. - Multi-chapter on ff.net

4. Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops (Narnia) by Francienyc - The Pevensies navigating life in England after they’re not allowed to go back to Narnia. Lots of sibling bonding in this one, but by God, the simplicity and the subtleness of their pain! It has been years, but I still think of this fic every once in a while, and it still chokes me up a little. - One-shot on ff.net

5. Hung Out to Dry (Narnia) by @rthstewart - Jill/Eustace but with an angsty, heartbreaking twist. Despite how short it is, it is still one of my favourite things I’ve ever read. The aesthetics, the silences, the unrequited love - this story has it all. Every time I read it, I find myself still getting emotional by the simplest of sentences. In short, just exquisite. - One-shot on AO3

6. Fools (Harry Potter) by lyin’ ( @thegirlwholied ) - The First Order of the Phoenix, with the Marauders, the Prewett twins, and Marlene Mckinnon. I remember crying my eyes out the first time I read this story, years and years ago. Yes, there are a ton of First Order fics out there. But please trust me when I say - none of them is quite like this one. This story will undoubtedly shatter you, but in the best of ways. - Multi-chapter on AO3

7. In Their Autumn Beauty (Harry Potter) by lyin’ ( @thegirlwholied ) - The teenagers of the First Order of the Phoenix as seen through the eyes of the much older, much more jaded Dorcas Meadowes. This story is only 2,000 words long, but it has stayed with me for years and years. It is so, so beautiful. Please. Just read it. I beg you. It’ll take you only ten minutes, maybe. You won’t regret it. - One-shot on ff.net

8. Joy in the Mourning (Narnia) by Andi Horton - The Pevensies during the Blitz in London, after they’re not allowed to go back to Narnia. I also remember crying when I first read this. (Yes, there really is a pattern here; I do cry a lot.) This story really captures what the Narnia books are about: finding joy and hope amidst despair. - One-shot on ff.net

9. The Death of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire) by La Reine Noire  ( @poorshadowspaintedqueens ) - The events leading up to and of Robert’s Rebellion through the perspectives of the Dead Ladies Club, primarily Lyanna Stark, Ashara Dayne, and Elia Martell. Usually, I’m not a fan of fics about Robert’s Rebellion; I find most authors’ take of the events hard to believe and the characters not well fleshed out. This story, however, is EPIC and SO well-written, you’d think it was canon while you’re reading it! I cried buckets at the end, of course. If you’re a fan of the ASOIAF books, definitely give this one a try. - Multi-chapter on AO3

10. Corellian Gin (Rogue One) by guineapiggie ( @ruby-red-inky-blue ) - Jyn/Cassian surviving Scariff, with bits told through the eyes of Bodhi. Of course, I had to squeeze in a Rogue One fic somehow, but I really had a hard time choosing ONE story from my old writing partner, guineapiggie. I nearly chose “The World Through A Scope”, “Beinahe”, or something from the series that we wrote together (”Happy Endings”/ “Where’s My Love?”), but I settled on this one instead because it is one of the first Rogue One fics I read that made me tear up. I LOVE a bit of well-written romantic angst, and this story has it in spades. - One-shot on AO3

.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS (because I can’t quite help myself):

Harry Potter - Anything by lyin’ ( @thegirlwholied ), especially Brackets (Sirius/Marlene), Stray Thought (Sirius/Marlene), and the No, Nay, Never series (the First Order of the Phoenix). 

Narnia - Firstly, anything by Andi Horton, especially King’s Champion (Edmund-centric) and The Better Part (Pevensies bonding). Secondly, The Delight of My Eyes (Aravis/Shasta) by Francienyc. And lastly, Rat and Sword Go To War (Pevensies in WWII) by @rthstewart , as well as the rest of her The Stone Gryphon series. 

Rogue One - Resistance is Built On Hope (WWII AU) by ChronicOlicity, Floating, Sinking (fix-it fic) by @shu-of-the-wind, the violet hour (Jyn/Cassian modern au) by caramelle or @mellamymake, the road that sets into the sun (a beautiful Jyn/Cassian in the SW Legends-verse) by lyin’ ( @thegirlwholied ), and all the angsty Jyn/Cassian stories by guineapiggie ( @ruby-red-inky-blue ). 

TAGS: Now, to join me in this venture of spreading fanfic love (yes, I’m perfectly aware of how weird that sounds), I’d like to invite these ten awesome individuals who I have interacted with here or on AO3: @ruby-red-inky-blue, @operaticspacetrash, @yavemiel, @rxbxlcaptain, @rapha-senna, @thenewleeland, @pingou7, @jeroncassianandor, @lclrgsl and @rebelcaptainfics. And don’t worry! You guys don’t have to write these long reviews for each of your recommendation like I did; I was simply bored and overzealous! :) 

If you’re not tagged, but have seen this on your dash and want to jump in on the action, please feel free to make your own list and tag ten more people. Let’s show appreciation for fanfic writers who put so much work and time into writing these stories we love so much! <3 

This is one of the better reviews I've read I think

the last jedi. many spoilers.

Idek where to start with this one, I did enjoy it! But I was left very confused and conflicted my pals!! Gotta say it!! I’m going to give my impressions below, don’t yell at me

Things I liked:

- The 10 minute or so opening sequence was exciting and funny and devastating and kind of reminded me of the opening to Star Trek (2009). Except this ended worse for the rebels obviously

- Rose as a character was sweet and kind and brave and I liked her a lot, plus Kelly Marie Tran is pure sunshine

- Poe and Leia’s relationship, which was so clearly surrogate mother/son and very moving. He deserved her, Kyle did not

- I’ll just get this out of the way - Poe looked fucken amazing the whole movie, showstopping, incredible, I was blessed

- I loathe fangirls’ obsession with the whiny mediocre looking genocidal white man who is repeatedly called ‘boy’, like as a trope, but objectively kyle ron’s arc in this movie was actually pretty fascinating to watch! Very complex. Just remove the weird undertones in scenes with rey please

- Admiral Holdo was strong and clever and brave and I really, really adored her in this movie. Laura Dern is a TREASURE and further proof the women in this movie are ICONS. Flying through the Star Destroyer at light speed, jfc it was stunning, she was so selfless. I’m emo again

- Canto Bight looked poppin. Loved seeing the aristocratic side of the galaxy, even though it honestly felt like I was watching a different film for those scenes lol. The casino was very… familiar. Like as a setting. Idk if that makes sense it just wasn’t quite as kooky as I was expecting, they were even wearing tuxedos and clinking average wine glasses

- The salt plains were fricking GORGEOUS okay the battle of speeders and ships leaving what looked like bloodstains, it was such an extraordinary visual, especially because of the massacre of the resistance population. Honestly. Looking forward to the gifsets

- ‘Lifting rocks’ nice, NICE

- Luke dressed in black, slick as hell with that lightsaber silhouetted in front of a dying sun and looming AT ATs…. You better believe I shed a damn tear!!

- Rey and Kyle fighting the praetorian guard looked pretty sick, gotta admit that. Again, Snoke was ugly as hell but his whole aesthetic was *chef’s kiss*

- Benicio del Toro didn’t have as big a role as I thought, and it’s a pity, because he was great. Like, predictably villainous but hot asf and COOL. Hope he comes back. Unless he died. Did he? That wasn’t clear

- “You’re scum.”

  “Rebel scum.”

- R2D2 playing the Leia hologram message from the first movie. Oh boy. Everyone in the theater made sounds, we were shook

- That ending with Luke looking at the twin suns…. listen I’m a thug but my eyes leaked. That really was our lil farm boy who wanted power converters and who looked at Han with stars in his eyes and who wanted to make his sister proud and who loved a pair of sassy droids and who dreamed about leaving his nowhere town to be something great, and now he’s gone, and to that freaking score. I wasn’t chill.

Things I wasn’t so hype about:

- Finn was just going to ditch the resistance and POE to save himself and Rey. I get it, it makes sense, it’s an arc, Finn’s still my son, he’s heroic and he grows so much. But I’m a whiny asshole and it bummed me out lol

- Any hint of this godforsaken idea that is r*ylo just shortens my lifespan. I hated the bizarre shirtless scene. Their whole ‘connection’ led to good character development but I hated it happening. The resolution of her giving him the metaphorical finger from the ship of the father he murdered healed me though, fear not

- Phasma’s 15 minutes of fame was more like 30 seconds. Why bring her back at all, it was so brief. With gwendoline christie being in the press tour so much I just assumed she was going to ascend the ranks of villainy. Oh well

- Was it just me or was Leia like… diminished here? She spent half the movie unconscious. It makes me REALLY sad because I remember what the cast said about how the third film was supposed to be hers, like TLJ was Mark’s and TFA was Harrison’s. I wonder what they would have done to conclude the trilogy.

- The fact that there were like 20 rebels left at the end of the movie just made me so miserable. My god. All of the original films’ rebels and the Rogue One rebels and…. we’re left with barely enough people to make up two even volleyball teams. Like. Not a criticism of the film really but it just made all that effort in those movies hurt knowing that this was all they had to show for it.

- The imagery of Snoke manhandling Rey and making her ‘come closer’ fucking got to me, especially as it came on the heels of Kyle doing something similar in TFA. Must we do this, every time. Must we

- BB-8 was sort of… too useful, lmao how many times did he save main characters? Deus Ex BB? I love the little robotic football but it was convenient and after the third time, not very cute anymore

- Finn and Rose’s little side quest annoyed me, I’m gonna be real honest here. It just felt really, really weird, them (particularly Finn) being kind of swept away by the regalia of this casino and then ending up in a giant space goat car-chase type scene, meanwhile Poe and Leia have 5 hours to live and Rey’s being turned over to the First Order, you know? It seemed like they were filling time, or something… the movie felt like a 6-part TV series crammed into one movie, like there were a lot of things going on with different people and they all had different, kind of jarring tones. Like Poe’s in the trenches of a war movie, Rey’s in a psychological drama, Finn and Rose are in a comedy action heist caper ft. an adorable sidekick.

- I don’t get Finn and Rose together. I don’t. They had a sweet friendship, but I always assumed Finn and Rey would be the Couple (yeah I wanted stormpilot too but we live in a crap heteronormative world). Not sure what this means for Ep 9 since Rey didn’t seem bothered by Finn’s clear attachment to mah girl Rose…

- Poe, a queer icon, being portrayed as a straight in this film, irked me. You know what I mean, the gay vibes were not as potent here and it was really disturbing. Not sure what it means but it wasn’t good, I don’t like being patronised

- WHERE DID FINN PUT THE JACKET ONCE HE CHANGED INTO HIS FIRST ORDER UNDERCOVER GETUP. IS IT GONE, DO I NEED TO CRY

Things I’m neutral about:

- Rey’s parents being nobodies. I lowkey saw this coming, and it’s a pretty innovative idea, to have Kyle be the last Skywalker…. to end this dynasty, which has been fairly shitty. 2 out of 4 were murderous dicks. Not great stats

- Snoke could’ve been aunt beru in disguise and I wouldn’t have cared, honestly he was always just Snoke to me, no conspiracy

—-

This movie was dope. It did not fulfill my expectations, which I’m being told by multiple articles and tweets from film critics is apparently a super awesome thing. I too like critiquing film for being edgy and new and different, and in terms of artistic value it’s important - especially for a franchise so well known for tropes. But I’m a simple fuck who just finished exams and a stressful as shit year… I wanted to see Poe and Finn cuddle (platonic or not), Rey straight up kick the ass of Snoke and/or Kyle, Luke to lightsaber-battle someone with the wow-factor of Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One (which would involve actual contact lol), and nobody to die or be wrong, or like, straight

Anyway. A good film. Rian did a great job, and it doesn’t deserve all the vitriol it’s getting. I am fascinated to see where it ends up, I gotta say. Jesus what the fuck will I be doing in December of 2019 though, that’s the real question

Look I'm torn between wanting it to be amazing and thinking it won't be, and wanting it to be amazing and thinking it will be

Star Trek Discovery- Text Post Meme

the fact that even all these years later, people are still arguing over Aang’s choice to not kill Ozai suggests that A. ATLA is the goddamn best and you just can’t recapture the lightning in a bottle that it was and, B. it’s really kind of disturbing how many people are obsessed with the idea that Aang should have committed murder.

You see a lot of this in the fandom. Constant debates about how Katara and Zuko’s quest for revenge was correct in the Southern Raiders (despite the narrative painting Katara’s choice at the end as a correct one), advocating for greater violence on Aang’s part, and so on. But a biggest, disturbing trend is for people to claim that Aang’s decision to not violate the most sacred principle of his people as being immature.

There’s a tendency nowadays to see violence as not just a solution, but the only solution. That the only way to resolve a problem is to end life; to hurt people. It’s called a cop out when Aang chooses to put his own existence on the line.

The implication, therefore, is that the people advocating this sincerely believe that the mature thing to do is to kill.

Similar in nature to posts talking about how superheroes not killing is weak.

And the idea here, of the willingness to kill as a sign of strength, and as the only real solution to anything, is a deeply disturbing and unsettling one.

If Aang had killed Ozai, it truly would have been the end of the Air Nomads, their most sacred spiritual law broken by their only surviving member. Because Aang would have sunk to the level of the man who had ordered his people killed in the first place, and that of the nation which carried it out.

But when he Energybent, he knew that if he failed, he would have died in the process, and Ozai with him. Not only was Aang willing to put his life on the line for his beliefs, he was genuinely willing to die rather than sacrifice who he was, and the last lingering remnant of the Air Nomads.

journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man’s son doth know

edit: credit

A short comic I made about my experiences as a seasonal worker, and the way places change you.

just when i thought my comics couldn't get dumber... i surprise myself 👭