#stephspeaks

[sthenixx]

and once again, he can't help but feel he is just like curses he fights against

[blodreina-noumou]

for stacked100 day even though we still have to wait some time to see them together... thoughts on Octavia and Diyoza?

Octavia and Diyoza are a huge highlight of the latter half of the series, imo.

One of my favorite tropes that The 100 pulled off rather well is the whole "enemies to friends" things. Octavia and Indra had a similar vibe, but Indra was so obviously a mentor and role model for Octavia.

What's really fun about Octavia and Diyoza is that they meet more or less as equals. Two cunning, cutthroat women leading dangerous, violent groups in a fight over limited resources.

The details of their leadership make it really compelling, too.

Octavia has almost ironclad control over Wonkru, and their loyalty to her is unmatched to just about any other leader in The 100's entire storyline. Obviously we watch that deteriorate as s5 goes on, but it can't be denied that that loyalty is what keeps Octavia in charge for as long as she is.

Diyoza, meanwhile, has a grip over the Eligius prisoners that is far more tenuous and is based on the fact that she led the rebellion on the prison ship. McCreary is battling nonstop to try to take that control away from her, whereas Octavia's enemies are all pretty much external.

And then they both lose it all. They end up on the floor of the Eligius ship together, one of my favorite moments. Even if "One garden, two serpents. Eden never stood a chance," is a little cheesy, it's kind of incredible to have one serpent say that to the other. A moment of camaraderie in all the destruction they just wrought.

Their dynamic in s6 is one of my favorites. Octavia has no hope for the future, feels betrayed and used, and doesn't see the point in being alive anymore. And Diyoza has been there too, and she helps her come back to herself. The way she talks Octavia down by pushing her to the edge - putting a gun to the younger woman's head when she couldn't fight back - only to be surprised and saddened by Octavia's willingness to be killed. Their entire storyline is so rewarding, and I'll admit I became a lot less interested in Octavia's s6 storyline after Diyoza disappears into the Anomaly.

And then in s7, they have their beautiful domestic bliss, raising Hope together. And we got to see how they related to each other in peace. I generally didn't ship them, but I did during this period. Honestly, they all might've been better off if they'd managed to stay on Skyring forever.

What they share with Hope there is really beautiful and sweet, and that makes Diyoza's death even harder, because they only got to live peacefully for a short time. But that's The 100 for you. S7 was disappointing in so many ways, but I think they handled Diyoza's sacrifice really well, and the story is more impactful if she dies.

I wouldn't have complained too much if she made it to the endless beach party though. She was a badass and I think she and Octavia would've made a good couple. And Hope could've been one of the few characters to make it through the series without being an orphan.

Overall - their dynamic is one of the few things I really enjoy about s6 and s7.

[iamnotawomanimagod]

the signs as the best and/or most heartbreaking lyrics on Gag Order

Aries - "I'm bored and I'm broken, I'm self-destroying - at least it's something to do."

Taurus - "Maybe all this hate I'm holding isn't helping me but - I'm stubborn. It's mine to keep."

Gemini - "Been baptized in Hollywood and the Cathedral, the power of Christ compels me, I'm a demon."

Cancer - "Yeah I'm possessive, maybe I'm possessed, bitch! Fuck yeah, I'm selfish - shut up, eat your breakfast!"

Leo - "Greatness just a shade of madness, ego just a face of sadness, 'round we go, 'round we go. I sit and watch the pieces fall. I don't know who I am at all."

Virgo - "Got that pendulum of emotions, swinging back and forth, I'm up and down, like waves in the ocean."

Libra - "I'm at the top of the mountain, with a gun to my head. Am I bigger than Jesus, or better off dead?"

Scorpio - "Lovin' me is running into a house that's burning down, baby. Honestly, make it out alive and you'll get the best of me. So get into it, or get the fuck out."

Sagittarius - "Last night I saw it all, last night I talked to god. You don't wanna be changed like it changed me."

Capricorn - "Holy Spirit, am I a demon? Baby I'm the hero and I'm the fucking villain."

Aquarius - "Sometimes I add up all my wasted time, sometimes I just like seeing grown men cry - think I killed the part of me that I like."

Pisces - "You said that the universe is magic, just open up your eyes, the signs are waiting."

[sthenixx]

My JJK burnout was so bad I didn’t even say anything in regards to how I felt about the manga’s ending and the story overall

[iamnotawomanimagod]

thinkin' about how the cannibalism in The 100 was steeped in seven layers of disgust and (justified) moral panic, and how the people they ate just got turned into these gross little raw meat cubes. Eating those was a horror, an abhorrent but necessary chore, done with solemn and trepidatious cringing. how it ultimately happened at gunpoint for the majority of Wonkru.

versus how in Yellowjackets, the cannibalism is of course taboo and disgusting, but it's TEMPTING. Jackie's ear being this little part of her that Shauna can keep inside forever. Jackie's corpse cooked to perfection by the wilderness. a Bacchanalian wonder, nervous waiting giving in to aching hunger turning into a glorious feast as they rip Jackie apart bit by bit.

two different survival shows with very different takes on cannibalism. and while The 100 really doubled down how awful it was (I'll still never understand why they didn't cook those gross little meat cubes,) I find Yellowjackets' portrayal to be the far more compelling one.

I know cannibalism is bad, obviously. I'm a functioning member of a relatively intact society. so If your show can make me feel like cannibalism is a good thing - not "all of me for all of us" but "Jackie wants us to" - that it could be this state of ecstasy and camaraderie and fulfillment -

now that's some damn effective storytelling.

[blodreina-noumou]

you know, a lot of my favorite ships don't get happy endings, which is actually what I really enjoy about them, and sometimes I feel like that puts me at odds with other fans of those ships

like, I like Clexa because it's fucked up and tragic and sad, and because they doom each other, not in spite of it.

Stelena, similar vibe - I enjoy their dynamic a lot more as exes and my favorite part of their story is when Stefan goes full ripper and they have their very messy, prolonged breakup in season 3.

my ship name for Dani/Jaime from Bly Manor is "moonflower" which is specifically my way of calling out how their connection was going to take a lot of work and would still be painfully and beautifully fleeting.

and that puts me in an awkward spot because you get a lot of "[ship name] deserved better!!!" and I'm just like, yeah, sure, maybe so

but one, what does deserve even have to do with it?? and two, wouldn't that be a worse story???? it'd be a lot less interesting if any of those pairings had a happy ending, and for at least 2/3rds of them actually directly contradicts their themes

[iamnotawomanimagod]

"Cherry Wine" being referred to as a love song always makes me uncomfortable.

I know it's a sweet-sounding song, it's very pretty, and evokes nice, warm feelings sonically. But it's 100% about an abusive relationship and it's not even that subtle.

People can interpret things however they want, and can of course create attachments to songs that don't have much to do with the subject matter.

But I feel like if you're going to talk about that song and how it makes you feel without bringing up the fact that it's about abuse, you're doing it a disservice.

The narrator of the song is asking for everyone to ignore the damage their abuser does because the love seems so sweet and rare to them. It's kind of ironic to hear this song and then turn around and think of it as being sweet and warm and loving, much like the narrator sees their abuser.

Maybe Hozier did something there, maybe that was intentional. But I think a lot of people are missing the point.

[blodreina-noumou]

#Stacked100 - Day 1

Today we're watching 2x01: "The 48"

Positives:

+ The title alone! In a show called "The 100," coming back to season two with an episode called "The 48" immediately reminds us of the massacre at the end of the first season, and of just how many of the kids sent to the ground have already been lost. And this was still early on, when there wasn't a new group of hundreds of people either dying or coming very close to dying every other episode. I do remember how effective that number reduction was when I first watched this episode, though, and I think that reminder pairs nicely with Clarke's desperation when she wakes up in the white room.

+ The first scene is an intense way to start the season - and this rewatch! Maya in her hazmat suit + Clarke immediately losing her shit and injuring herself + taking Maya hostage... all ending with that shockingly peaceful, community breakfast scene. If there was one thing the early seasons were especially good at, it was raising the stakes and changing the status quo in a surprising way. This scene is a great example of that.

+ This season in particular is one that I think Clarke's single-minded intensity towards a specific goal works really well for her character. She immediately distrusts everyone at Mt Weather and wants only to get out of the shelter and back to her people. And since she ends up being absolutely right, her determination and drive to protect people is at its most noble and justified.

+ TRIGEDASLENG TRIGEDASLENG TRIGEDASLENG!! This is the first time we ever hear it and it comes straight from Octavia's mouth and I love that. In later seasons, she's one of the people who speaks it the most and keeps it alive, long after it probably should have died out, so it's very fitting that she's the first person to speak it on screen.

+ Raven and Murphy on the dropship floor, (nearly) dying together. The beginning of a beautiful friendship and they don't even know it yet. Raven literally would've killed him if she wasn't out of bullets. He shot her like, only a few hours before this. But they talk and they come to a sort of uneasy truce. She saves his life at the end, by telling the adults that she "got shot" instead of saying "Murphy shot me." Another thing this show was very, very good at was putting adversaries in the same situation and that letting them find the beginning of a positive relationship there. This wasn't the first time and won't be the last, but it is one of the best.

+ Monroe and that other kid trying to psych themselves up to go save Bellamy and Finn by going "we're warriors. we're warriors!!!"- that kind of made me tear up! They were just kiiiiids!

+ Lincoln carrying Octavia on his shoulders and supporting her tiny head with one huge hand while she's sick from the poison. Lincoln making Octavia repeat that same Trigedasleng phrase over and over again so her pronunciation sounds natural and his people might accept her without him. Lincoln going back to his village and risking a very painful death for treason to get Octavia the antidote. And that doesn't even touch what Octavia is going to do for him in next week's episode. Linctavia really was THAT ship.

+ The late episode pop/rock/indie/alternative/vaguely mid-2010s song montage! Another CW classic. Especially common on The 100 in the first three seasons. I had a playlist of all of them during the peak of my obsession of this show. I genuinely love how on the nose they are, it cracks me up. Clarke settling into Mt Weather (to the extent that her paranoid ass can,) interposed with Skaikru making their way to the Ark to settle there, all while the lyrics "we are coming home" play in the background. So specific. Gotta love it.

+ Monty and his magic tricks! Jasper and Monty play-fighting over chocolate cake! Jasper meeting Maya for the first time! Jasper and Monty well-fed and wearing clean clothes!! I really miss Monty and Jasper. They brought so much heart to this show. And as much hardship as they're going to face later on in this season, it's so nice to see scenes of them relatively happy and carefree in this episode.

Negatives:

- Lincoln says "our warriors speak English," implying non-warrior Grounders don't. They gave up on that one really really quick, didn't they?? I don't think we ever met a grounder that didn't actually speak English.

- The Mountain Men probably would've discovered nightbloods and it should've been a thing, but of course nightblood wasn't a thing at all in the written story at this point, because it clearly wasn't thought of until the writing for s3 began. Just a fun little plothole, classic CW writing.

- "I saw a man. No, it was a - it was a monster!" and then it cuts to an actual deformed human who *doesn't* look anything like the Reapers we'll meet later in the season. I might be wrong - someone please correct me if I am, this has bothered me for years - but I don't think this ever gets addressed. I guess it could just be an especially irradiated Reaper but we never see anyone else deformed to that level. Most people who get radiation poisoning in this show die quickly. I hate this scene.

- "I know she's intense but Clarke's the only reason we survived." One, it's just not true, and totally dismisses everything Raven, Bellamy, Finn, Octavia, Jasper, Monty, and even the nameless kids in the background doing basic (and hard) labor did. Two, Clarke is gonna use that mentality to continue a series-long downward spiral into that "intensity," making some truly awful decisions, many of which will not be for the good of her people, despite what she says. Despite what so many of them say, unfortunately.

- "When you pulled that lever, you saved lives. Don't throw that away by pulling this one." THE GODDAMN LEVERS. IT BEGINS.

- Occasionally this show could be subtle. The heavy-handed comparison between Clarke and Dante Wallace was not one of those occasions.

Miscellaneous:

~ I fully forgot how brutal this show is??? The Grounder just executing that kid that couldn't keep up?? Woof. And they don't really hold back on the violence/gore, at least for a YA/teen show on The CW.

~ The Mtn Men put together a whole welcome packet and orientation for these kids with surprising efficiency. But I don't think anything like this has happened before?? Like they've never had unexpected new arrivals that they didn't just immediately turn into Reapers or blood bags??? How did they know to do that in such an organized way??? The mysteries of Mt Weather continue to baffle me.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I think this is a good episode. It clearly sets up the stakes and positions of everyone for the season. It gives us our first hints at some later plot points in season two, like with mentions of The Commander and Finn's first darkly uttered "The Grounders took them." It's a great season premiere, and a good place for us to begin - it reminded me a lot of what I liked about this show.

I'm not gonna lie, I had a hard time stopping! Season two has always been one of my favorites, and it's so tempting to just binge the rest of it, like I always have. But I'm also excited to stretch it out a little, and slowly reintroduce this beautiful, corny, well-written, horribly written, funny, sad, charming, heart-breaking, annoying, confusingly enjoyable show back into my life. It was one of my absolute favorites once. It'll be nice to keep rediscovering why!

Next week we have 2x02, "Inclement Weather" - see you then!

Tagging some mutuals: @laufire @bombshellsandbluebells @lucerants @murphystartedthefire (and anyone else who's doing this rewatch! please let me know if you want to be tagged in these posts going forward!)