Maple Tart

There is a slight chance that my username has nothing to do with anything at all

[anonymousyellowlizard]

[mapletart]

I feel like I'm going insane

Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Star Wars prequels used to be universally agreed upon to be complete and utter shit. From the years of roughly 1999-2016/2017, you could ask any Star Wars fan in existence what they thought of the prequels, and they would tell you in no uncertain terms that episodes I-III were a pack of absolutely horrendous films. Maybe they would admit that they had some small bit of nostalgia for them since they came out when they were a kid, but they would still completely own up to the fact that they were awful movies with poor dialogue, non-existent pacing, terrible CGI, characters flimsier than a sheet of A4, and plots so heavy-handed and uninteresting that they put the OT to shame. Not to mention the COUNTLESS plot holes they introduced, as well as the absolutely non-sensical and flat-out dumb things they added to the canon. It may sound absolutely INSANE (again, see title) to some of you, but just ten short years ago, this was not only a widely accepted opinion, but one that was shared by more or less THE ENTIRE FANDOM, and not just the fandom, but the casual watchers, and the Star Wars haters, too. It was so baked into popular culture that you could make a quick joke about how famously bad the prequels were in practically any company and it was guaranteed to get a laugh. That was how UNIVERSAL this collective understanding was.

But then, something changed. Whether it was the surge of prequel memes, the backslide in good faith on the sequel trilogy, Clone Wars hype, out-of-hand childhood memories, or maybe just a gas leak that attacked every living person on the planet Earth, but whatever it was, it completely flipped the perception of the prequel trilogy. So much so that it's impossible for me to even have a conversation with anyone about the prequels without them trying to talk me into how it's "misunderstood", and "a secret masterpiece", and "so much better than the sequels, give me a break." Some people even claim that the prequels are (get this) BETTER than the original trilogy. Excuse me????? What???????? How???????

And sure, it might sound like I'm overreacting here, and maybe I am, but please, if someone, anyone could assure me that there was a time where everyone unilaterally agreed the prequels were bad, I would be eternally grateful. Cause I do sometimes feel like I'm the only one in the world who remembers the time of peace before prequel apologists took over the fandom. You all just act as though it's always been this way.

And if anyone comes at me asking me what on Earth I could possibly find wrong with the prequels, here is your warning: I have a list, and I am not afraid to use it.

[mapletart]

Started watching Lost recently (only on season 3 -- no spoilers, please!) but it just hit me that the thing that I really like about Kate and Sawyer as a couple over Kate and Jack is that in the former's case, they're both the brooding, unavailable, tortured bad boy. And that's a dynamic that you don't normally see on screen, which I think is a big part of what makes them stand out as a unit while also fitting together really well and balancing each other out.

[dorothylarouge]

Superman says no gacha

[oifaaa]

I dont think they need to try again at an American version of Taskmaster i think they should just keep going with the current series and slowly add more American contestants

[egax]

I have been saving this since last year. Happy Earth Day everyone.

[flycoffee]

Happy earth day

[hatchetfieldtheories]

Considering referring to the London run of TGWDLM as The Bloke Who Thought Musicals Were a Bit Naff

[autumn0689]

Those are my emotional support theatre kids right there

[onelittlemoon]

Starkid shows are crazy dude

Like, what do you mean "i'm not an angel, not the answer, i'm just going nowhere faster" is from A Very Potter Senior Year and not from some famous poet

What do you mean "science says your dead and gone forever, reason says i'm talking to the air, but somewhere in my heart some deeply hidden part illogicaly insists that you are there somewhere" is from an Alladin parody that also includes someone choking on shit

"Only my ashes will see the sea" exists in the same musical as "right in the subpeona" and Santa Claus is going to highschool.

You think you're watching a comedy show about musical zombies and then they hit you with the "why does it hurt to love you?"

[mapletart]

It's been a week since I saw the Lost Boys musical and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since. It's crazy the chokehold it has on me rn. Like THIS SHOW guys. THISSSSS SHOWWWWW!

[mapletart]

The Weasley siblings' responses when you ask them about their sexualities:

Bill: I’m pan, but I have a particular thing for my wife

Percy: gay, ofc, but go away I'm working

Charlie: Aro/Ace

George: Ideally someone who only has their left ear. That way we’d have the full set between us

Fred: *shrugs* I’m up for anything, I reckon

Ginny: I’m bisexual as fuck

Ron: And I’m the token straight who just reminds everyone to love themselves for who they are

[mapletart]

Although I love Sokka/Suki dearly, I will forever believe that Sokka/Toph would’ve been SO. MUCH. BETTER.

That’s it. That’s, that’s the post.

[mapletart]

Prefect Ron

One of the things that I almost never see Ron fans complain about as much as I think they could is the whole Prefect subplot that he has in OoTP. Cause pretty much, when Prefect letters come out before the start of the school year, legit EVERYONE is shocked when Ron gets the badge instead of Harry. It’s honestly a really interesting scene character-wise because NO ONE comes out of the situation looking good. The twins literally say the words “we thought that it would’ve been Harry,” and Molly takes a full page before she’s even able to comprehend that Ron has actually been singled out for having done something good. Even Hermione, who had been ecstatic when she thought that it was Harry who had got the letter, then has to do a bunch of backtracking and stuttering when she realizes that no, her fellow Gryffindor Prefect will in fact be Ron. It’s a really telling moment for Harry’s character as well, since it’s pretty much the only time when he gets a taste of Ron’s side of things. He’s jealous of his best friend for essentially the first time ever, and really struggles with how he feels about Ron “besting” him. 

It’s honestly one of my favorite moments in the whole series, not only because it features something good happening for Ron, (not to mention that this is one of the only occasions outside of Philosopher’s Stone where Dumbledore formally acknowledges Ron’s badass-ery), but because it makes clear that there are other measures of bravery besides just *being Harry Potter*, a fact which can sometimes get a little lost in the kerfuffle of everything.

But then at the end of OoTP, R*wling just goes LMAO FUCK ALL OF THAT DEEP INTROSPECTION AND MEANING, because it turns out that in actuality, the only reason that Ron was made a Prefect was because Dumbledore thought that Harry “had enough on his plate already” and didn’t want to give him any more pressure. So Harry really was the worthier Gryffindor all along and had no reason to be jealous because obviously Ron is stupid and incompetent and can never once be better in anything.

Um...Excuse me, Joanne? WHY DID YOU RUIN THAT ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SCENE WITH SOME HALF-ASSED BULLSHIT????????

Ron Weasley deserved better.

[male--wife]

guess who threw together a #SPIRKSWEET zine 
download and grab it here!

[mapletart]

All y’all saying that Spirk is history, but bitch, Spirk IS history

[samesanegirl]

ADDRESSING HERMIONE’S BACKLASH

Hermione Granger has been receiving lots of criticism, backlash and hate in Tumblr. While I do believe that some of the criticism is well deserved, I can’t help but see the #anti hermione tag under numerous posts. Some of her backlash is quite understandable and some things can’t be excused from her part. However, there are things that honestly don’t make sense to me and I want to address fully. 

1. Hermione not having character growth or learning from her mistakes.

After Ron and Lavender broke up, Hermione started to show more physical affection and comforting towards Ron. After arriving at Grimmauld Place and receiving a message that his family is safe, Hermione kneels in front of Ron and reassures him that they will be fine. You can see that Ron appreciates this as he laughs and hugs her. When Ron started fretting over the Cattermoles, Hermione looks at him with “such tenderness in her expression that Harry felt almost as if he had surprised her in the act of kissing him.” Even Harry notices and he is oblivious af. When the death eaters showed up at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Hermione screamed for Ron and was distressed that she couldn’t find him. And she was the one who flung herself and kissed him which is super shocking as she had a hard time expressing her feelings. She may be critical of Ron but in DH, but it is the book in which he impresses her the most. Remember when Ron opened the basilisk, Ron was downplaying his actions and Hermione screams “it was amazing! amazing!” Remember that these three are literal teens and they are extremely immature. But by the end of DH, they have grown so much and they still have so much more to grow in adulthood. Not to mention that time when Hermione comforted Ron when he failed the Apparition test, comforting Harry at his parents’ grave and when Ginny was traumatised in Prisoner of Azkaban. Hermione was crap at comforting people (when Lavender’s bunny died.) But she seemed to learn from her mistakes, though silently. She also learned on how to help people. At the start of the year, Hermione attempted to help Ron with the leviation spell. However, she did it in the wrong way by snapping at him. Let’s take a look at fifth and sixth year where Hermione is helping Ron with his essay twice. She has learned to be more kind with helping and Ron expresses his gratitude with the “I love you, Hermione” and “you are the most wonderful person I’ve ever met.” She has learned how to communicate with people when dealing with this situation. She also learns to control herself when she is a panic. There was the famous scene when she forgot she was a witch in SS. But in DH, she is able to fight effectively against Dolohov, come up with a great lie whilst being TORTURED and make sure Xenophilius does not get killed. It is true she does not completely overpower this as she could not produce a patronus in DH. However, Hermione has grown, and she needs to be praised for this alone. 

2. Hermione’s actions never get acknowledged by the narrative.

There are three instances where Hermione’s WORST actions don’t get acknowledged. When she trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar, when she cursed Marietta Edgecombe and when she attacked Ron with the birds. I would add the one when she set Snape on fire but honestly, no one likes Snape, so I won’t even include it. While these three moments are portrayed as badass moments from her, I agree that all three of them go too far, especially the third one. Hermione does not get called out for her big actions. But she gets called for her small ones. When Hermione attacked Ron for coming back, this was not portrayed as a badass moment for her. Harry was pretty terrified as he never seen her that angry before. When Ron shouts at her and defends himself, Harry literally is thankful that Ron stood up for himself and sides with him. When Hermione was rather critical of Sirius, Ron and Harry snap at her. When Hemione makes SPEW, this is a very ambiguous situation as she is doing the right thing in the wrong way. Numerous house elves are against it and Hagrid as well as the twins scold her for this. When Hermione snapped at Ron with the Leviation spell, Harry sides with Ron and believes she is being rude. When Hermione and Ginny both express their annoyance with Fleur (and later, she turned out to be one of the best female characters in HP), both Harry and Ron voice their opinions and think they’re being too critical. I could spend a week listing all of the times that Hermione’s actions were looked down by the narrative but I would be wasting my time. And you say she does not get called out? Reread the books!

3. Hermione is JK Rowling’s pet and should have her achievements stolen by Ron.

First of all, I can’t believe that I have to defend this (yes, there was an incredibly dumb asshole who actually pitted Ron and Hermione against each other, so this post is directed at that person really.) JK wrote a lot of herself into Hermione’s character. However, if she TRULY was JK Rowling’s pet, she would be a confident, popular, drop-dead gorgeous witch who would have all the boys falling at her feet. JK made her an extremely talented and intelligent witch but her flaws are ever so glaring. She wouldn’t have frizzy hair and big teeth, her looks would be similar to Emma Watson’s (who is stunning). She also commits mistakes, even if she has the mentality that she can’t do mistakes. She is socially awkward, bossy, somewhat unstable and is horrid at Quidditch. 

Hitting that last point, Hermione has worked EXTREMELY hard for her grades and talent. She spend so many hours studying and practicing to be the best. Say what you want about her but you can’t take away her tenacity. She had to prove herself and everyone in the Wizarding World because she is looked down for being a Muggleborn. That’s why she studies so hard, why she can be uptight. Hermione didn’t earn the title as ‘the brightest witch of her age’ by doing nothing, she worked for that. Someone wrote that Hermione should have gotten lower results in order to show how awesome Ron is, right? Hermione studied hours and hours and I’m not surprised she gained that amount of OWLS. It’s like saying Ron should have performed badly at chess, to prove how awesome Hermione is and her outshining him at Quidditch. Which won’t happen. Ron can be successful, he can achieve greatness, without taking one of Hermione’s accomplishments down in the process. Ron literally praises Hermione’s accomplishments and does not compare himself to her. And people claim that they ship Romione and yet they attack one party constantly to prove the other one is ‘better’.

You know what I say to that?

Bullshit

[headcanonsandmore]

There’s a certain kind of resigned melancholia that comes with being a Weasley fan watching the HP films. 

We can never enjoy the film series quite as much as everyone else, because -no matter what- we always have that nagging sense of loss for what could have been.

[catchymemes]