how do people not understand how powerful finn is as a character and a person
EVERYWHERE HE GOES HE CHANGES PEOPLE’S LIVES AND SAVES THEM. he put the spark back into poe when poe was at his lowest point and ready to die!!! he went back for rey when no one else ever had, and showed concern for her when nobody else had!!! he helped rose come up with a plan that could have saved the resistance in tlj and gave her the chance to HELP and be a hero she never thought she could be!!!
literally just by existing and doing what he thought was right
he is the reason starkiller base got taken down! at one of the resistance’s lowest points he was the one who stepped up and said no, we have to believe and have hope and trust that someone will respond to our message and we have to give them time to do it!
he fuckin creates and facilitates change EVERYWHERE HE GOES. he INSPIRES people. people inherently TRUST HIM. the universe tears open around finn everywhere he goes and that’s why everyone in the free world looks at him like he hung the fuckin moon. because just by existing and making a choice despite a lifetime of having no choice, he made the galaxy a better place and changed lives for the better. and basically, i love the male lead and co-protagonist of the new trilogy, without whom none of the events of TFA or TLJ would have been able to happen
This book is anti Reylo. Love it. And Rey wanting to quote Finn! Yass. And rubbing it in that she kicked Crylo’s ass! The following passages are so strongly heroine/villain dynamic. Good shit.
Wasn’t Rey unconscious when Finn said that, though? Was she clinging to consciousness, or maybe this is force vision juju going on?
Yep, Rey was unconscious. She didn’t begin to wake up until Finn screams when Kylo drives his lightsaber hilt into Finn’s shoulder.
So really there’s no ordinary way she could have know what Finn said to Kylo, the only explanation is the Force. And since I doubt Rey goes around reading other people’s mind without permission willy-nilly all I’m saying is: Finnrey Force bond.
Plus that would explain how she found him so unerringly on Starkiller Base after she kicked Kylo’s ass, though the fight itself had taken the two of them far from Finn and the planet was busy breaking apart under her feet.
I noticed a lot of arguments and prejudice again Finn and Rey becoming an item, is their just friends. Or that’s how they work best, as extremely close friends. Because for some reason Finn isn’t good enough for Rey in a romantic sense. One thing that kind of irritates while at the same time amuses me, is folks act like friends can’t become lovers. Hell!!!!!!!!!! Some the best in fantasy and reality start with them being friends first.
So my fellow Finnrey shippers when certain fans try to discredit, discourage, disregard and dismiss our ship. Just remember Relationships get more exciting when you are not just lovers but also best friends.
10/10 can confirm, I married my best friend after all. Not all friends are good romantic prospects, of course, but if your romantic partner is not and has never been your friend then something is wrong.
‘you are a good man with a good heart, and it’s hard for a good man to be king.’
the first time you hear this line, it seems profound. it sounds like good advice from a loving father. and in many ways it is, but upon further reflection, you realise that is actually is a manifestation of t’chaka’s guilt. he led his nation for many years and he believes that power corrupts. regardless of how good of a person you are, t’chaka believes that in order to be a great ruler in any capacity, you have to make difficult decisions for the benefit of your country, and sometimes that means compromising on your morals and doing what is easy rather than what is right.
now of course when he says this, he’s talking about his past wrongdoings – the murder of n’jobu and the abandonment of n’jadaka. it’s obvious that in his mind he’s explained away to himself that while what he did was wrong, it was also necessary for the good of wakanda and his people. and based upon his experiences, he projects the same advice onto t’challa.
this is of course because as a father he wants his son to follow in his footsteps. as a ruler, he wants his successor to lead well. and of course, t’challa looks at his father for guidance and support so t’chaka provides it in the way he knows best, no matter how flawed it may be. i think t’chaka knows his son well – how kind, how thoughtful, how gentle and compassionate he is. and he also knows that these qualities mean you get hurt more often and, in his opinion, you should rather be tougher and less moralistic in order to govern.
so based upon t’challa reverence for his father, painting him in a hallowed image, almost worshipping him, believing his father has never failed him or wakanda, AND t’chaka’s philosophy that moralism and governance are mutually exclusive, it’s all the more impressive when t’challa breaks away from the mould that t’chaka presented to him. he finds out about his father’s mistakes and finally sees him for the person he truly is – a man who tried hard to be a great king but ultimately did fail because he compromised on his morals. t’challa is indignant, furious, he yells and cries and shakes with sadness and loss. and t’chaka is lost for words because he never imagined his son who loves and respects him so much would outright tell him he was wrong.
and he decides then and there that no – he is going to be kind and good and guided by his morals AND still be a great king. he doesn’t have to do as his father says or believe what he believes. and i do think it partially has to do with nakia! she was so loving and caring and almost protective of t’challa when he told her what happened between t’chaka and n’jobu, and how that made him feel as t’chaka’s son. she tells him, ‘you get to decide what kind of king you want to be.’ and he believes her (because he loves, trusts and respects her but that’s another post for another time).
so when he speaks to m’baku, he straight up tells him, ‘i cannot speak for past kings.’ because he doesn’t stand for them or their version of wakanda. he only stands for himself, what he believes is right, what he believes makes wakanda not only great but good. and this is why i love t’challa so much – he would never compromise on his morals to govern. he doesn’t hesitate to learn from the mistakes of the past and grow as a person and as a ruler. he knows how to deal with conflict and to adapt to change. he knows how to step away from his father’s shadow and legacy, and build his own. he knows how to see his father as a three-dimensional person and not an exalted figure. he knows who he is and who he wants to be.
Um? This is the woman who was confirmed, over and over again, to have put her ambitions ahead of the good of others, of Bajor, or indeed the universe. She also ummm tried to assassinate her opponent (Bareil)? Which would make anyone a villain? But that’s not close to all of it, you even brought up the pah wraiths yourself–i.e. her last arc in the show, where she was going to burn Bajor down and kill the Prophets because they liked Sisko better than her. I’m not sure what Berman meant by violation, certainly Dukat raped her by deception and no one deserves that. Here’s some news, though: suffering a wrong does not in itself make you a good person.
@kyberfox The salt of Dukat stans in response to his story is a major reason to love DS9 as a show, if not the fandom. But eeewwww in addition to presiding over genocide (like that’s not enough) Dukat is a sexual predator and a serial rapist and he has stans, wow. I don’t think his history of rape was as blatant in the earlier seasons though it was certainly implied, but even then he was creepy as hell pursuing Kira. Terrible as Winn is, I’d be hard-pressed to say she’s worse than Dukat and felt awful at how she was tricked by him. And that’s another long rant on how misogynistic the show was toward women who dared to enjoy sex.
@seguun Well, maybe. He certainly had flashier material, more expected material for a bad guy/protagonist’s rival. On the other hand, Winn’s brand of evil is more understated and also more… prosaic? I’d call her more corrupt than Dukat’s brand of out-and-out evil. Hers was a more nuanced look at corruption, not like Dukat’s which comes about more rarely through a perfect storm of power, policy, and personality–the sort of evil that doesn’t happen unless there is a severe power disparity, unless there is a decision to use that disparity for destructive exploitation, and unless there are (and there always are) abusive personalities to carry out that exploitation.
Winn’s brand of evil, or corruption, on the other hand, can happen in a broader range of situations. In fact, Dukat was at his most Winn-like when he turned internally toward Cardassia, as a self-serving politician, than when he was dealing externally with Bajor as a past colonial overlord. Like Winn, Dukat resisted foreign occupation, then supported/led a civilian government. These are positives as far as they go, but we also know that both Winn and Dukat were ultimately serving themselves. I can think of a lot of politicians who would be Dukats if given the chance, but in most situations they have to settle for being Winns. Dukat himself was more like Winn in Cardassia between withdrawal from Bajor and the Dominion takeover.
I think the banality of corruption is one reason some don’t see Winn as a villain and thought Dukat was being redeemed–because these characters were in the normal work of politics, whether in operating government domestically or fighting against foreign threats. The thing is, of course, they were using the workings of government to lift themselves up and serve their own ends at the expense of their peoples. Dukat again does the more obviously evil thing by giving Cardassia to the Dominion, but Winn, too, chose her advancement over the good of others and of Bajor throughout the show.
Their parallels are shown in their relationships with Sisko, too. Dukat may have hated and opposed Sisko openly while Winn was in a position where she had to give lip service to and be friendly with Sisko as the Emissary, but it’s clear from early on that she hates Sisko and thinks she deserves the love and reverence he gets.
It’s deeply fitting and satisfying then, that despite their differences, and indeed their enmity, Dukat and Winn end up at the same place at the end of Season 7–serving the pah-wraiths and destroying Bajor. One is an open racist and unrepentent genocidaire while the other is the spiritual leader of Bajor sworn to defend the world and its faith, yet they reach the same conclusion: Bajor, and the Prophets, deserve to be destroyed for not exalting and appreciating them enough. Dukat’s evil and Winn’s corruption may have taken different forms, but they were both equally destructive in the end and, indeed, Winn’s role was more crucial than Dukat’s.
Winn’s real final arc begins not when she is cruelly deceived and violated by the pah-wraiths and Dukat, but when she learns of the deception and responds to it. Rather than look back on her life and her faith and withdraw to make some much-needed changes in her life and heal from the spiritual and emotional trauma of what she was put through, she yet again decided power was more important and made the ultimate, fatal choice.
Winn’s story was different than Dukat’s, certainly, but in many ways I thought it was a more universal story with greater subtlety and nuance. I think together they made for a more rounded look at the nature of evil in politics.
!MAJOR SPOILERS! for Black Panther, but if you haven’t seen it yet, what are you doing on Tumblr!? Go to your nearest theater immediately! And in that spirit, I’m skipping the intro. There’s just too much thoughtful, interesting Black Panther meta to share.
Black Panther’s respect for women by @spacerenegades, I’ve now watched Black Panther three times and each time I come away with another part that’s really struck me. What I really appreciated this viewing is the full agency the women in Black Panther were afforded. There was none of this male protector bullshit we always see.
It’s hard for a good man to be king by @akadefenders, ‘You are a good man with a good heart, and it’s hard for a good man to be king.’ The first time you hear this line, it seems profound. It sounds like good advice from a loving father. And in many ways it is, but upon further reflection, you realise that is actually is a manifestation of T’Chaka’s guilt. He led his nation for many years and he believes that power corrupts.
Killmonger is an American invention in every possible way by @widewonderworld, A lot of people are saying that Killmonger functions more as an antagonist than a villain and I disagree with them mostly because I feel like they’re forgetting the moment when Killmonger had zero qualms about killing his own sixteen-year-old cousin (a direct contrast to Nakia defending the rebel soldier in the beginning btw). Killmonger is very much a villain.
MCU M’Baku is honestly one of the greatest aspects of Black Panther by @perfumeofsighs, He respects and honors the customs of his people and of the crown. He was defeated and accepted the outcome, and even when he was offered the throne, he honorably declined because T’challa is still alive. When Ramonda, Shuri and Nakia give T’Challa the heart-shaped herb, he turned around…. This has to do with the crown of Wakanda, and it’s not something he should be privy too, and he respectfully turns away (unlike Ross who was wide mouth gaping at the ritual of it all).
Nakia is T’Challa’s Mirror by @lilacblossoms, I love that there was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment during T’Challa’s coronation establishing that Nakia is a princess of the River Tribe, and – from what I understand from that scene – the current heir.
Pan-African Flag Colors in Black Panther by @darkdamiaknight, “The Pan-African flag is red, black and green, so when you see Okoye, T’Challa and Nakia in their covert looks, you’re seeing the Pan-African flag.” – Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther.
The real women who inspired the Dora Milaje by @smudgemark, Did you know that the Dora Milaje all-female army in “Black Panther” was based partially off of a real all-female army in Africa called the Dahomey Amazons? The Dahomey Amazons, who would have existed in the present day Republic of Benin, were once considered the most feared women in the world.
T’Challa’s arc from Civil War to Black Panther by @shieldspatriot, I love how well T’Challa’s arc from Civil War leads into his arc in Black Panther and how what he learned from Civil War is actually vital to how he responds to Killmonger and ultimately drove so much of his action in the film.
T’Challa is a Good Male Protagonist by @muchymozzarella, T’challa is a Good Male Protagonist ™ mainly because he is humble and without the ego you see from so so many other male protagonists in blockbuster films.
T’Challa: Not Your Prince of Denmark by @wintergaydar, Like many other humans with senses watching Captain America: Civil War, I was captivated by T’Challa. It wasn’t just Chadwick Boseman’s general dreaminess and excellent performance – T’Challa gets a satisfying, well-developed arc, with loss and growth. But what struck me the most, watching an orphaned prince chase revenge for his father’s death, was, “This is Hamlet.”
Unlike other Marvel superheroes, T’Challa is allowed to cry by @miilkncharms, A lot of Marvel superheroes and superheroes in general are allowed to be sad, but they’re not allowed to express their sadness. Tony Stark may tear up. He won’t actually cry. Steve will get that look in his eye where you know all he wants to do is break, but we know he won’t. It’s American masculinity at work stating that it’s completely unacceptable for men to cry, and Erik is a victim of it to an extent.
We did a totally Afrocentric, natural hair movie by @akajustmerry, “We did a totally Afrocentric, natural hair movie,” Ms. Friend said. “There was not a pressing comb or relaxer on set. That wasn’t happening. We’re in a moment when people are feeling empowered about being black. And that’s one thing you see when you watch ‘Black Panther.’ The hair helps communicate that.” – Camille Friend, the head of the “Black Panther” hair department.
Why Everett Ross has a vital purpose in T’Challa’s story by @shieldspatriot, I was talking to a friend about the movie and how every single character serves a purpose in the narrative but they mentioned that they couldn’t figure out what Everett Ross’ purpose is because he didn’t do anything really and this really made me think.
Why museum professionals need to talk about Black Panther by Casey Haughin of The Hopkins Exhibitionist, The seminal film Black Panther has become an international sensation in the week following its release. Notable for its impeccable dialogue, witty banter, and nearly all POC cast, Black Panther provides a platform to discuss a multitude of topics on a national scale. With issues such as police brutality, the ever-present effects of slavery in Western society, and black identity approached in the film, it is easy to gloss over one of the more exposition-driven scenes of the film that engages with the complicated relationship between museums and audiences affected by colonialism.
Why T’Challa is unlike any other Marvel hero before him by @blue-pointer, I think we can all agree that T’Challa is awesome. His emotional core, his capacity for compassion and human understanding is unlike anything we’ve seen in the MCU so far, and I was thinking about one of the reasons today.
Why W’Kabi sided with Erik by @lj-writes, On my second viewing, I definitely caught a hint of his expansionist leanings early on when he just casually told T’Challa he and the Border Tribe would be happy to “clean up” outside if T’Challa ordered it. I think he’s seen a lot of things at the border, interacting with the outside world, and he’s come to see preemptive Wakandan intervention as the answer to both outside threats and outside disorder.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was not a perfect show but its treatment of imperialism, war crimes, and genocide was light-years ahead of some of the stuff coming out today (looking at you, Star Wars).
In DS9:
Bajor, a world struggling to recover from decades of genocidal colonial policies, is front and center
Bajoran characters, most prominently Kira, are allowed to grapple with their own trauma and their stories don’t revolve around making their oppressors, the Cardassians, feel better
Kira’s history of violent resistance against the occupation is not sugarcoated, nor does the show shy away from the fact that she hurt innocent people in the process. But neither does the story condemn her for using violence to resist genocide
Not only was Kira a terrorist, but a religiously driven one as well. Belief in the Prophets held Bajor together during the occupation, and is a major subject of exploration in the show
Despite all that Bajor suffered, Bajorans are not relics of the past or a destroyed, defeated people–their culture is vital and alive, they are rebuilding against incredible odds, and are working toward Federation membership
Bajorans themselves are not some misty spiritual cardboard cutouts, either. They are complex, they lash out, they are spiritual, they are lovers, killers, reactionaries, weirdos, mystics, the full range of experiences and personalities
And then there’s Kai Winn, who is an entire book in herself. She is such a well-drawn female villain, a complicated portrayal of self-serving ambition, self-deception, and self-entitlement
Because Bajorans are given their own stories, it actually works when some Cardassians–generally minor and one-off characters–are shown to be dissenters, or themselves traumatized from the occupation
We actually see Dukat, the leader of the occupation, trying to play the misunderstood hero/redemption card only to get slapped down by the narrative time and again
Dukat isn’t a one-note villain either; he is often charming and sometimes inspiring, as when he has a stint as a resistance fighter himself against the Klingons occupying Cardassian territory
Ultimately, though, the story reveals Dukat to be a liar, a virulent racist, an abuser, and at heart an imperialist megalomaniac who almost destroyed the Alpha Quadrant with his lust for power
finn asking rey if she was ok (on jakku) and rey looking at finn in disbelief bc this was probably the first time in her life on jakku anyone has asked her that
finn being the first one ever to actually come back for her (to starkiller base in order to save her) while rey was already on her way out herself since she’s used to being on her own with nobody to rely on
1. Finn tells her she looked at him like no one ever had, and while Rey is more circumspect you can tell by her look of disbelief and her tiny nod that he, too, treated her like no one in memory ever had. The thought makes me so emotional I just
2. I thought this moment is so important because it’s a rare example of a man’s relationship with a woman being primarily about emotional support and not as her physical savior. Too often the damsel in distress trope is used as shorthand for a man being a romantic prospect without any sign that the characters are compatible or that he supports her emotionally. Here, Rey doesn’t need Finn to survive any more than he needs her; they need each other because they lift each other up and love each other. They don’t need each other to survive, they need each other to live.
Remember when anti Finnrey assholes were saying Finnrey is dead because they were nominated for one of the most iconic Star Wars friendships of all time? What I found kind of heartbreaking was that some of the anti Finnreys were actually confused that Finnreys were so happy. Some were asking in honest confusion how Finnrey shippers thought friendship and romantic relationships could coexist.
And you know what, ship wars aside, I just wanted to give them a hug. I mean, who told them these damaging myths about romance? That your romantic partner should not be someone you like and trust, someone you love to spend time with?
It’s the same thing with those jeerings about Finn being “friendzoned.” I shouldn’t even have to say this, but the friendzone does not exist. It is a sexist construct that says women are worth it only for their bodies and not as full people. If there is a friend zone, it is absolutely the zone where the best romantic and sexual relationships could come from because it is also the zone of people you trust and respect.
So yes, Finnrey is awesome because it is based on friendship, and while a lot of the backlash against it is racist in nature there’s also a lot of sexism in there too. The idea is that a man and a woman in a romantic relationship cannot relate as friends on equal footing, based on mutual love or respect. Rather some sort of interpersonal violence must exist in order for it to be “sexy” and “intriguing.” Finnrey gives the lie to that idea, and that contributes in part to its not being taken seriously, being called too “pure” and “wholesome” and “boy/girl next door” and “romcom” and “not epic enough.”
Also, John Boyega is a Finnrey shipper and that alone should tell you it is the ship for people of intellect, taste, and goodwill.
Yeah, the animosity toward Finn was never even subtle. He’s not good disabled representation because idk abused and mentally ill people should be violent and immoral I guess, He’s a perfect cinnamon roll and is not complex or interesting in any way. Alternately, he’s killed more people than Kylo and is a remorseless killer/terrorist. Also he’s just unrealistic because the only people who can find their conscience are the ones like Kylo, I guess, who were raised with real morals in a good family (despite having voluntarily turned his back on all of it).
Finn was always the #1 obstacle to woobifying Kylo and Kylostans know it. They’ve been tearing Finn down since day 1, and dismissing his entire story as unrealistic is just a tiny part of it. I guess calling real people, children who are victims of war crimes, incapable of conscience or independent thought is just collateral damage. What are real brown and black children worth, after all, compared to fictional white men?
@rejamrejam Thank you so much! I’m pretty sure negative numbers add up to a negative and a dozen vagina throne room metas contain less insight than one, though 😂
L.J.'s Obsessions 