#I WANT TO SEE EPISODE 10 ALREADY GAHHH

[aroanthy]

thinking about kanae and her relationship with her parents and akio and his relationship with her parents and just like…. ideas about patriarchs and fathers and family in utena. and incest obviously. you know there’s something so horrifying about kanae’s situation, beyond the obvious fact that she’s not yet graduated high school and she’s being married off to a child predator who is using their relationship to levy more power over more children. and her mum. and the fact that we don’t ever SEE her dad. fathers in utena have, shall we say, the worst track record in the book. i have so many things that i want to say about representations of Adult Men in rgu and specifically representations of fathers but it all circles back to their absence and imitation.

like, okay. i think the only (non-silhouetted, ie Actual Flesh) father we see is miki’s, and even then we don’t see his face. similarly we don’t see kanae’s mum’ face though she too is a Flesh Parent. don’t even get me started on how the only two visual representation of utena’s parents are their coffins and graves. also don’t get me started on that One shot from episode 10 that i use in all of my amvs of the silhouetted kiryuu parents because as you can probably tell from my heavy use of it in my amvs, i find it a deeply fascinating shot. swagever. all of this is to say, dads are not In The Flesh in utena.

im excluding the movie from this discussion bc whilst im a diehard aou lover and would never normally eclipse it from my analysis like this, the choices it makes in representing touga’s father break with rgu’s typical stylistic choices in a way that i honestly think is less effective. that whole sequence is incredibly visually rich in every other way and includes symbology that is some of the most compelling in all of rgu, imho, but it’s like. gahhh. i know it’s an active choice to represent him as Just A Guy, and you could argue ‘well akio’s Just A Guy’ but it’s. it just irritates me. i don’t think it’s meaningful in the way that utena likes to be meaningful. id argue that seeing his face doesn’t contribute anything, but idk maybe i just don’t like looking at his horrible face. it’s probably just that but also im right it’s a lacking stylistic choice

rambling side note aside, i get to my actual point that i technically already alluded to: akio. akio’s not a dad but akio is positioned as a (pseudo?)father figure to (checks notes) anthy, utena, kanae (hey remember she’s what started this post lol), touga, id throw nanami in, you could probably make a tangential argument for miki and kozue, ruka’s an interesting one, and mikage (maybe??). this is for a couple of reasons. he’s the (acting) chairman of the school that all the characters i just listed attend, he’s the guardian/caregiver for three or four of them, and, fundamentally, he guides and governs their lives to the best of his ability (not in the sense that he’s trying really hard to raise these kids, in the sense that he’s trying to control them. lol). BUT. crucially. he is an approximation of a father, an imitation of the patriarch, even and especially to anthy.

why does this matter? well, funnily(?) enough it circles back to why i dislike aou’s choice to portray touga’s father as A Guy. the powerful men in ohtori— and when i say ‘powerful’ here, i specifically mean men who are not marginalised, men who are not racialised, men who come from money and have never had to reach the top of the tower, rather always resided at its summit— are not seen by us. akio is the acting chairman, the acting father, the stand-in who stood up for something that is altogether worse than him, that made him who he is in such an insidious way. and i just think that’s really fucking interesting to think about wrt his status as a brown man, being racialised, being The Thing That We See when everything else— the inappropriate vice principal, miki’s piano teacher, mr ohtori, mr kiryuu (anime version), even off-hand dialogue from shadow girls about adult men in positions of power like mr judge (papa! daddy! god!!)— is obfuscated and implied. and i don’t want to suggest that that’s an intentional commentary on the racist mythologising of brown and black men as innately sexually violent, because. It’s Not. and utena massively drops the ball wrt race, but because of that lack of explicit, intentional commentary, it creates this strange dynamic between akio, the only racialised man in the show, and Every Other Guy. and that’s a very long-winded way of saying ‘maybe poisoning mr ohtori was a good thing actually’

[t-mulxifandom]

ep 10 title: “DAP NOT NEEDING WORDS”

dap is a friendly gesture of greeting, agreement, or solidarity between two people

dap typically is like handshakes, fist-bumps, pound hugging

renga finally gonna make up?? 🥺🤧

im guessing more hand scenes like

I WANT THEM TO HUG EACH OTHER

[bestiepetedavidson]

Can I request hcs what Pete would do when you're standing in the middle of the night at his door, after a break up with your now ex boyfriend? Thankss ❣

yes! this game me inspo and i’m going to try to do a written-out story if that’s ok! :)

a/n: y’all this is the first story ish thing i’ve ever written so i apologize if it’s really bad/cringey! i feel like it’s extremely choppy but idrk how to fix it. constructive critism/suggestions/etc is ALWAYS appreciated! thank u! <3

song to listen to: i’m thinking adore you by bestie harry? idk it just fits hehe

tw: angst? i think? idk this is my first time writing this much lol. some strong language. ending with fluff :)

it was almost 3 am on a saturday night, pouring rain and thundering, and you were left crying on your now ex’s doorstep. you ran into your car, soaking wet. your boyfriend/girlfriend of 3 years, the person you were gonna marry- had just dumped you. they cheated on you with your best friend.

you had no one to talk to and nowhere to go. you’re pretty introverted, and the only people you really had were your ex-best friend, your ex, and your friend pete. and pete’s friends too, technically. they were mainly his friends but you would all hang out together, none of which you felt comfortable enough to go to.

you called pete- no answer. he probably still hasn’t left 30 Rock. but anyways, he had a lot on his plate. you continued to bawl as tears rolled down your cheeks and your mascara smudged underneath your eyes. you broke down and you couldn’t stop. he/she broke your heart into a million pieces in the matter of seconds. the past 3 years of your life had gone to waste.

you decided to just drive. you didn’t have anywhere to go because you were staying with him/her. you just drove around aimlessly for 20 minutes, still crying the whole time. then, you got a phone call. “pete”, your phone read. thank god. quickly, you pulled into a random grocery store’s parking lot. you picked the phone up and your bluetooth connected to your car.

“y/n” pete said. he sounded tired.

“yeah?” you responded, still crying.

“what happened? is everything okay?”

you tried to explain what had just happened, but you were too much of a crying mess for him to make out anything you were saying.

pete, confused, told you “y/n, i’m sorry, i can’t understand what you’re saying”. he took a deep breath, and continued. “do you want to come over? i just got home from work. we can talk it out”. his voice sounded worried

you agreed and hung up, and set your google maps to his apartment address. you started to blast a random spotify breakup playlist and drove.

~

a little later, at around 3:40, you finally made it. still soaking wet from the rain, you took the elevator up to his floor. you had somewhat calmed down, but you looked like you’ve been through a trainwreck. you knocked on pete’s door and he opened it to see you in your current state. the moment you saw him you just broke down, and he pulled you into a hug without saying anything.

so there you two were. just standing in the middle of the building’s hallway, hugging. in the middle of the night. he didn’t care that you were getting him and his clothes wet, and he didn’t care that he couldn’t go to sleep. he was simply focused on you and what was going on. he softly rubbed your back, and every time you would start shake uncontrollably again, he’d just hug you harder.

eventually, he suggested going back in. “y/n, let’s go inside and sit. you can tell me what’s going on and i’ll do my best to help.”

he held the door for you to go in, and you walked in and sat on his couch. he sat right next to you and there was a moment of silence before he decided to speak up. “hey.. y/n look at me. please.”

his words only made you cry more. he place his hand on your chin and slowly lifted it, giving you a slight “please tell me what’s going on” smile.

you took his hand off of your face and held on to his thumb. you were luckily able to get a hold of yourself and explained to him what had just happened, crying in between sentences. he didn’t take his eyes off of you for a second. he stayed there and listened to absolutely everything you had to stay, his thumb still in your hand. by the time you were done, any trace of makeup that was still on your eyes was a done deal, and it was all smeared on your cheeks. he took a deep breath and gave his opinions.

“wow.. y/ex/n is a fucking scumbag. no like seriously, what the actual fuck. who would do that? and especially to someone like you.. y/n you deserve so much better than that piece of shit. fuck him/her.”

you cried, and responded with “no, he/she’s right. i wasn’t worth it and y/bsf/n is so much better fit for him/her. she’s so much prettier and smarter and just better”

pete took a second. “y/n that is so fucking wrong. you can’t say that about yourself. you are beautiful and smart and amazing in every single way. anybody would be lucky as fuck to date you.”

you simply shrugged, he knew that he couldn’t technically change your mind and that you weren’t in a state to really believe that, so you just let it be. he took both of his hands and cupped your face.

“you are perfect.” he tried to wipe your cheeks with his thumbs but it only made things worse, spreading it all across your face. you looked across the room at that large mirror he had hanging on the wall and went “ah”, making fun of the way he made it look.

“hey, at least we have matching raccoon eyes now” pete said, smiling. to that you giggled, and he responded with “gahhh, there’s that smile i love”, as he hugged you again.

still sniffling but now with a smile on your face, you whispered “thank you” in his ear.

“anytime. and listen, you don’t get to talk about my best friend like that.” he responded

sending him another smile, you went to his bathroom to wash your face.

best friend, he said. nothing more.

while you still loved your ex boyfriend/girlfriend, you always secretly had a crush on pete. it was ever anything you would’ve acted on though. first of all, because of your friendship. you wouldn’t want to ruin the way things were. second, because you were dating someone. you loved them and you wouldn’t just cheat... but apparently they would. and did. third, you had just had your heart broken. you were in no state of mind to just go and admit your crush. but god, was it tempting. and it’s not like if you were to, you would want to start dating him. he most likely wouldn’t like you back, and even if he did, you wouldn’t want to date. you learned that you needed to take things slow, and pete knew that about himself too.

you walked back out, and you noticed that pete was in the kitchen, making tea. he knows that you love it. he saw you glaring and smiled, going “what? you love it.” you started to giggle because pete is absolutely not a tea person, but the gesture is just so cute. “shut up,” pete jokingly went, “we’re watching spongebob to help calm you and you’re sleeping here tonight”

“oh petey! how you’re just the sweetest!” you mocked him, smiling at each other.

you went to his closet to get a bunch of blankets, and soon enough, y’all were sitting & cuddling on his couch, watching spongebob on his couch, drinking tea, and cuddled up in a multitude of blankets. you were still worn out from sobbing and very tired, but. it was the perfect comfort spot. he always knew what to do. he was your comfort person.

he started smoking a blunt, (that’s pete for you) and he offered if you wanted a hit, but you declined. smirking, he decided to put it out. after an episode, it was already 4 am. you knew he was tired and so were you, so you suggested going to sleep, but pete insisted that y’all finish the episode. neither of you were really paying attention but it was kind of just playing in the background.

pete starts talking about random stuff going on, life stuff, making little jokes, the SNL show that he just did, etc etc. he’s sitting back on the couch and you’re on his side, head on his chest. you’ve cuddled platonically before so it’s nothing new. you’re both watching the screen and going in and out of conversation. at some point, you lift your head up off his chest, and you just stare at him while he’s continuing his story. he doesn’t really notice you getting up, and continues to talk about a recent standup he did.

watching his face, his jaw moving, talking, the way he speaks and the way his voice sounds, something changes in you and you feel the urgent need to kiss him. he notices that you’re looking at him. he turns his head and looks down at you. the second he notices that you’re staring at him, his words slowly fade out and he just looks into your eyes, forgetting what he as saying before. you’re still in his arms, but your head is up and you’re just staring at each other. there’s about 5 inches between your faces, and your heart starts racing. his does too.

“pete” you quietly whisper.

he softly presses his lips into yours and you kiss him back. his hand runs through your hair. his lips are perfect and it’s like you two were made for each other. the kiss lasts for like 10 seconds, and he slowly pulls away. you’re both at a loss for words, and you’re still staring into each other’s eyes. pete, breathless, quickly glances that the digital clock underneath his tv.

“wow,” pete says. “i’ve been waiting for as long as i can remember for this to happen and it happens at 4:20,” slowly creeping up a smile.

“i kno-” you start to respond, when you fully realize what he just said. you cackle out and can’t stop laughing, neither can he.

you pull him back into you as you’re both still giggling and you softly make out for a little longer. eventually you fall asleep in his arms, right on his couch. with spongebob still playing in the background :)

i hope u enjoyed my very first mess of a story <3 requests are open!

🤍🤍🤍

[lady-plantagenet]

What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 2: SOdden (or Sod ‘Em depending on your persuasion)

(Dont know how long I’ll be able to keep these puns up)

Catherine, like this woman, does not really fit into this era. But while this woman seems dropdead cool and at least looks the part, Catherine just...

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I’m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes:

The baby cloth lifting into the ceiling of the chapel had nice ‘myth of the demon countess of Anjou (ancestress of the Plantagenets)’ vibes. I am 100% that was unintentional. I get this impression by the cringiness of the baby’s screams (what’s up with those sound effects? It sounded like a zipper).

Henry gives me such softboi vibes? It’s pleasing to me because it’s making me attracted to him as a viewer, but no good in convincing me this is Henry VIII.

I think Catherine’s exposition about how she feels is pretty ok actually, it’s fitting that she would feel anger.

CHARLES’ FATHER IS NOT MAXIMILIAN, IT’S PHILIP (or rather it was). ~~ A quick wiki search guyz, a quick wiki search. Ughh

Again with the whole everyone acting like Catherine is Queen. Can they cut it out? Also while we’re at it, what was Catherine’s attendance in councils even like?

The music was nice

Post Child announcement phase:

Oof I hate to say it but I lowkey wanted de la Pole back in this mother. Mainly because it would mean more Margaret Pole and by this point I am scared her storyline will fade in prominence now that there’s no longer a Yorkist subplot (showhorned as it was, it was the crowning glory of last season tied with Arthur x Catherine).

More x Maggie Pole and all of it over Seneca and learning :’). I already know this will be the best part of the episode.

‘We certainly know stoicism in our family’ ~ I guess she’s referring to Reggie? Because our boi Clarence was no poster boy for stoicism. Though could she be making an ironic reference to her father~?

Edmund de la Pole Debacle:

Well this convo at least passed the bechdel test.

Maggie and Edmund’s interactions here are touching. I know this plotline was rushed but I think it was just right to bring us back here for 5 min as a mournful throwback to the bygone era to which Maggie Pope belongs to and now continues to do so alone. It is emotionless and you can just feel how the York cause was hanging on by a tired old threat by that point.

Maggie Pole is becoming matronly now and I like this transition.

What bothers me about a lot of fans of Margaret Pole is that what they don’t realise is that she wasn’t all like ‘I want nothing to do with my family I’ll stay low and obscure’. While far more cautious than the likes of her ancestors, she did engage in land disputes with Henry VIII and was an outspoken supporter of Catherine and Catholic. Having her be a woman woth dubious loyalties towards the Tudors is accurate.

Scotland with Meg and Jammes:

LMFAO it’s like they read my mind when I spoke of how much I laughed when Meg was like ‘Alexander Steward you pig!1!!’ last episode.

Nice reference to Aulde Alliance

I like James.

Henry and Catherine on the balcony:

Was she commander of the forces? Was Howard appointed that? Regent she was, ok.

Charlotte Hope’s new hairstyles really suit her!

‘Will you please stop cursing’ agahsjdk ahah

No offence to women (of which I am one) but this comparison between childbirth and war is just... wrong. I know Starz think they are being smart but childbirth is far less impressive than winning or surviving a battle - comparing the two diminishes the bravery of soldiers. YET ,having said that, childbirth is necessary for our society whereas war is almost always futile and by comparing them, it wrongly represents violence as something inherently as natural to us as birth and continuing of civilisation. overall not a smart, respectful or accurate parrallel to make.

Meg and prep for invasion + Catherine in her weird armour:

So Margaret dreams that her husband is dead and bloody in her bed. Ughh show you neeed to get more creative. But I did like the whole ‘dreams are how our ancestors talk to us’ line from Angus Douglas.

Re: Meg in her beret... Why is Meg dressed like me going to the London shops in October? Digging the aesthetic but not sure about the accuracy.

Rich of Catherine to bring up Edmund.

Why is Ursula Pole crying??? What is all this to her really?

Did Howard just call the guard... sonny?? Is this some WW2 crossover?

Catherine - James and the tent parlay:

Did Catherine just insult Meg’s intelligence??

Also lmao I’m going to miss James.

Re: Howard saying ‘I’m not going to get insulted by a man wearing a dress’ .. UMMM Starz, you do know that just thirty years ago men were prancing about in dresses and leggings (essentially). From around the middle of the 14th century to the beggining of 16th century (if not earlier), Englishmen were also essentially prancing about in ‘skirts’.

Am I getting a weird cooperation-partnership vibe between Meg and James?

The Battle:

Charlotte Hope looks so good with the helmet, she’d really suit an english hood! Such a shame they won’t give her one!

Ewwww he’s eating mud, why?

Just standard battle scene. They are all the same to me no matter which movie.

Aftermath:

Jesus, I find the whole Meg crying over James IV so heartfelt ‘you arrogant bastard’ for some reason just came out so full of emotion. Can someone please explain why the hell I ship them more than Henry x Catherine?? Like how ??

Awwww Linna is sooooo adorable ughhh. Also this whole Catherine going into armour among all the women crooning over the children gives this adorable sense of Catherine boyish and bloodying herself out to protect their peace, idk. All I have to say is that these series is less eager to pitt women against each other than the previous. I think that’s a step forwards.

Also, good to see Catherine being modest about her victory so Henry can save face. Finally starting to seem like the real Catherine.

‘Go on you dog’ arghh ahah he sounds like some public school rugby lad egging his mate on.

Re: Wolsey cock-blocker; the real Catherine would know it was uncatholic to have sex when you were pregnant. Also Catherine is not technically speaking in confinement if she’s wandering about.

It’s nice to see Catherine sticking up for Howard, she at least learned to respect him during the battle.

I foresee Oviedo having enough of this Christian stuff and wanting to return to the berber domains (I suppose Spain is out of the question)

Knighting Ceremony:

Apparently Margaret Pole herself was made Countess of Salisbury during this same ceremony... right? @houseofclarence

Also Maggie Pole being like: “being a rebel is in my blood, or so they tell me”... gahhh what’s with these shows and the Clarence erasure? Can’t they make one bloody reference to her dad or grandad Warwick? Ugh. Especially with lines like this. Actually? You know what? Ignore my previous comment about the stoic remark and it being an ironic reference to Clarence. I put such subtlety above this show’s writers.

Catherine has a habit of going to the coldest places possible to lose her children...

Haha @ Henry asking Bessie Blount (of all people) where Catherine is.

Conclusion:

6/10

What I’m happiest about is that Flodden got dealt with in one episode because warrior xena Catherine is not what interests me most about this show. Having said that, it was a true shame that James IV died because his were some of the best scenes. This whole show is starting to feel so historical fantasy-ish because the aesthetics are so confused. Granted it’s still pretty (not eyesore like Reign) but it doesn’t penetrate.

I am as always invested in the Poles (and More) but am also starting to get attached to Princess Mary whose actress exudes plenty of charm. This show remains confused with its feminist message because while it shows women being proactive there is so much emphasis on babies that what remains with the mind after watching is this womanish birthdrama, as opposed to a show about struggles which affect both genders.

You might tut at me and say I’m being ridiculous and that it is historically accurate to put so much emphasis on women’s babies and I say that’s swell. I would happily watch a show where that element is strong (most pre 1995 historical dramas are like that with traditionally feminine characters and I gulp them up like sustenance), but if a show promises feminism and women-men being partners I want it to deliver that properly. As I said in my previous post, why do we keep trying to make women engage in acts like war as if such an abhorrent act is the only way to take them seriously? I await the day where cunning, rationality and cool-headedness will be the traits portrayed as feminist ones.

There is nothing else to really comment on... the only potentially deeper message in this is the gender discourse. I am unsure about the accuracy so I can’t speak of the historical value of the interpretation. But what I will say is that though I remain excited for each new episode... I’m just not as invested as I was in TWQ (rewatch every year dont @ me) or TWP despite their many flaws. Some characters pull me in eg Maggie Pole (Carmichael is a bae), Thomas More etc but not the whole cast like TWQ. Anyway... would be interesting to see if anything happens with Lina and Oviedo tommorow as their storyline is conspicuously slow.

[winterune]

Pet - Thoughts and Musings

I am back with my seasonal anime musings/analysis/reviews/whatever. Because of various reasons, I have not written any of these posts since...I don’t know...last spring anime season? LOL I still have soooo many on my list from last year to watch gahhh. But I did caught up with Beastars and Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo - both of which were awesome, by the way. I wanted to write some things for them (especially Araburu, because I felt like there’s a lot of things I wanted to say), but...I don’t know. Life caught up?

Anyway, here’s Pet, with an average score of 6.57/10 on MAL. Quite a low one for my taste, as I rarely watch anything with a score below 7. However, this is one of those anime I decided to see not because of the MAL score or anyone else’s influence, but because I wanted to. Heck, when it was first announced, I was immediately excited, because 1) it’s directed by Omori Takahiro, who directed some of my all-time favorite anime, such as Natsume Yuujinchou, Durarara, Baccano, and Hotarubi no Mori e; 2) the screenplay is done by Sadayuki Murai, another favorite who has also worked alongside Omori-kantoku-san and was also the one behind Sidonia no Kishi’s series composition; and 3) the entire synopsis just sounds...soo good?? Not to mention that short PV-like thing they released way back when

OK, yes, I’m not fluent in Japanese, but the music and Hiroki’s voice acting really caught me.

However, time passed, and there was no word on the anime at all until it was announced that the anime was pushed back until the winter season of 2020. Now, I still had my initial hype, but I also had my doubts. It probably had production issues and so on. Things like that often don’t bring their best to the table and ends up becoming a disappointment. It showed on the first episode.

That episode was weird. I read what people thought about it on some forums and none gave me a positive image of the anime. But I thought, what the heck? There’s no harm on checking it. Though it wasn’t entirely bad, it was weird, and I had no idea what was happening. There was so much going on and the art felt a bit weird and the story seemed all over the place and I thought, ah, it shows.

My impression of it was: this show seems like it will have a good story, but not until some time later, so maybe I should wait for several more weeks and binge-watch it then. However, I came to learn that episode 2 was much better than its predecessor. It cleared up any kind of confusion and erased some doubts. It piqued my interest again. And now that I have finally caught up with the show, I am glad that I did not drop it. 

Because so far, Pet is amazing.

Since it’s been two weeks since I saw the first episode, it took a while to grasp the meaning of the terms and so on, but once I’ve got it, it was quite easy to get absorbed inside the show. There were a few time jumps and technical terms were thrown all over the place, and I needed to remind myself that is the director who made Baccano and Durarara. Durarara had a relatively continuous timeline, but the way it jumped POVs in those first few episodes were quite baffling and you only understood what was what much later on. Baccano was crazier imo, as I read that, unlike the light novels, Omori-san took the liberty to rearrange the story in the anime to make it so that there are several stories set in different timelines in one episode, and there are those terms and whatnot and though it makes a good mystery, it doesn’t make much sense, until that one episode where everything finally clicks into place.

I have a similar problem with Pet. I can see that the story so far is intriguing. We have these “crushers” and then “pets” and then loci in the minds containing memories, divided into “peaks” and “valleys”. And then there are “images”, which I think is some kind of protection armor? A form they take to get inside other people without letting themselves be consumed by the other’s memories and feelings. Aside from that, we have a “Company” with people who have the ability to get inside other people’s minds and alter memories. What’s worse is that we’re immediately dumped in the middle of the action with not much introduction, so all we can do is just sit tight and hang on, hoping for the best that everything will make sense in the end.

And then of course, we have our enigmatic characters.

First up, Hiroki, your shounen character in a serious drama. The longer I listen to him, the more annoyed I am haha. I don’t know. His voice kind of irritates me. Maybe because he’s this naive kid with a strong ability that doesn’t really understand what’s happening around him. And then there is that dependence toward Tsukasa, whom I will get to after this. Episode 3 makes me like him though. His heart is clearly in the right place, just that he’s in a bad environment, so he doesn’t know what to do. He is the character who will question the righteousness of their actions. I believe he hates his abilities, but using it has been ingrained into his body that sometimes, he’s unconsciously using it. Like when he almost got inside Katsuragi’s head, or when he showed the girl in episode 3 what her boyfriend was like (though it was partly his imagery of him, and he knew that and that’s why he was so conflicted when she came back). I can imagine what his childhood must have been like. Probably shunned. Probably lonely. Much like how Satoru had been before Hayashi “saved” him. And then Tsukasa came, who showed him how to protect himself and to utilize his powers. Tsukasa was his savior. That’s why in episode 2, though he was reluctant to kill, he also wanted to show Tsukasa that he could do it. They didn’t have to kill. He could save this man using his powers. he wanted to prove himself to Tsukasa. I am amazed that his heart has not been tainted, and I have high hopes for his character.

Next, we have Tsukasa. Even from the posters, this guy already looked fishy. In the first episode, there’s something off about him. He’s just too good. Too accommodating toward Hiroki. Hiroki wants something, then he’s going to give it. Hiroki says not to go with Satoru. All right, I won’t go with Satoru. Hiroki wants a shop. Here, this is for you, but I used the Company’s money, so I’m going to have to pay them back by doing jobs for them. Yeah I know you told me you don’t want to do any more of them, but I’ll be the one doing them, not you. You just need to sit tight and work on your little shop. You know that’s not what Hiroki meant. Still, I like him. So far, he’s a cool character, and I like him even more on his solo job in episode 3. But what I love the most is:

That smirk! Because yes, all this time, all we’ve seen are his facades. His facade when he is with Hiroki. His facade with Katsuragi. His facade when he does a job. And then we have this moment, this small moment, and much like how that small moment with the girl who buys guppies and her boyfriend builds up Hiroki’s character, this small moment between Katsuragi and Tsukasa, when Katsuragi tells him that his next job will be Hayashi and Tsukasa pauses for a moment before asking if Hayashi has been found, it speaks volume. Because then finally Tsukasa shows us his true self (or, at least, part of his true self). His tone changes. He scolds Katsuragi for being happy or pleased.

You seem strangely happy for someone who was outwitted for two whole years.

Tsukasa is clearly talking down to him. Katsuragi, who we thought was the boss. Katsuragi, who was the jerk who would kill people to get the job done quickly. He is surprised at the sudden change and becomes visibly nervous. He stiffens and keeps his eyes on the road. Tsukasa goes on to give orders to Katsuragi. Then Katsuragi nervously puts out his cigarette and says, somewhat formally, “Understood.” (though he’s just saying “hai” in Japanese, but it’s vastly different from the Katsuragi we know in the last two episodes). He obeys Tsukasa. 

I did wonder if Katsuragi was under Tsukasa’s control, but it didn’t seem like it. Heck, Tsukasa might actually be one of the Company’s higher-ups (or he might even be the Head of the Company, if I want to stretch it). And then we have that split-second smirk, that shows he is in complete control of the situation. It makes sense with how he refers to Hiroki as his “pet” in such an off-handed manner. It also makes sense with how he makes cold, calculating judgment. Of course he’s using the Company’s money to buy the shop. Of course he’s still doing odd jobs for the Company. He’s not the good guy he shows Hiroki he is.

Right now, I can actually see Tsukasa being the “big bad boss” of the series, if this series has any kind of villain. Or, well, I think he’d make a pretty good anti-hero. Just imagine a showdown between Tsukasa and Hiroki... So far, I am most intrigued with Tsukasa and I hope he will have a great arc.

[girllovescomic]

Winter Begonia recap episode 29

Of course, the evil stepmother agrees to compete if he gets a chance to go up against his rival. He tries to dash out of there, but Jiang papa is like, Si Xi’er I am not done explaining what I want from you.  The evil stepmother is like, nah, I don’t want to hear it, I got some shopping to do.  Gotta look good when I face my rival. LOL, ok. Dengbao questions his father for using Si Xi’er in his plan against SXR. He’s like dad, we are not related to that evil stepmother, why are you wasting your time with that tired old queen to get at SXR! Besides, Ning Jiulang has many followers and patrons willing to pay for me, so there is not even a guarantee SXR will be selected, so what’s the deal? Jiang papa is like, son, I am not really supporting Si Xi’er, I just want that tired old queen to disgust SXR.  WHAT? HOW? Like, how is that going to work? Despite the animosity, Si Xi’er is not even on the same level as SXR in the nandan department! He claims that by having both of the names mentioned during the competition, it will make it a laughingstock.  WHAT? I am trying to follow the logic, but I can’t. No, Dengbao, your dad is not wise at all, he is as much of a dumbass as you. 

Meanwhile, my other favorite side couple are discussing the nominees for the Liyuan Competition. The names are Si Xi’er (really, they nominate that bish), Chen Renxiang, Jiang Rongshou (what?), SXR, Ning Jiulang, Hou Yukui... I don’t even know why Xue Qianshan bothers to ask Du Qi who he thinks will win, seriously, you should already know what your boyfriend is going to say. Don’t be jealous and choke on your pipe smoke tho (yall simmer down, I am not talking about that pipe). Indeed, Xue Qianshan, you clearly did not use your brain when you asked that question. He asks Du Qi for his prediction based on that list of those who will move on to the final round. Du Qi declares that Ning Jiulang will go through. Xue Qianshan is unimpressed, saying the fairy godmother hasn’t been around for a long time, how can he still be popular? Oh honey, bro, reputation alone can do wonders for a great performer. Mr. Xue predicts Chen Renxiang would advance. Du Qi smirks while Mr. Xue reads an article hyping Chen Renxiang.  Du Qi is unimpressed, repeating the words successful and brings up the competition against SXR.  Yo, Du Qi, to be fair Chen Renxiang rocked his performance, is just that our boy SXR was spectacular. He states that CRX was so beat by SXR he had to run away.  Well, he couldn’t perform for a year and wanted to be with his girlfriend. LOL, Du Qi asks if Mr. Xue hired someone to write this fake article. Damn, these two need to just get it on.  Mr. Xue reads one of Du Qi’s own article flattering SXR for leading the trend with new opera, winning even the younger people’s heart. Mr. Xue is like, damn that is a fine article, who wrote it. Bish, you know your boyfriend did, why you fronting? Du Qi recommends another name and I almost choked.  Jiang Dengbao!? Bish, what? Because of his name.  GTFO.  Ewww, just no. Hmm. Qian Qian seems to agree.  Oh well. 

Meanwhile, GAHHH, the annoying maid! Er Nainai is doing some accounting and asks if the annoying maid got any news from Lao Han about CFT mother. Sigh, I really do not like that she is the one looking for his mother. Well apparently, he hasn’t reported back from Fengtian, where Chun Xuan apparently lives. Er Nainai complains that her brother no longer comes to the house. LOL, why would he come to a house full of nagging women.  Geezus xrist, he is useless, but he is not dumb. Ugh, why doesn’t Fan Xiang’er just marry that annoying maid.  They make a better couple. 

Meanwhile, we now know where Fan Lian is spending his time.  LOL, just like his BIL, he prefers to hang with the performers.  I don’t blame him, they are far more livelier, especially our penguin, who is explaining to Zhouzi how to smize with his eyes. Fan Lian runs inside the courtyard to tell Rui Rui that he has made it in the final round of the competition.  Our confident penguin is like, of course, what else is new.  He asks who made it as well. Fan Lian informs him that Ning Jiulang, Jiang Dengbao, and...what? Si Xi’er.  THE FUCK.  How much did Jiang Rongshou pay to have that old queen move on?  Anyhoo, our penguin does not seem to care about that piece of news, LOL, in your face Rongshou. Fan Lian is the one who seems more rankled by that news along with some of the members, but not our penguin.  Nah, he is too excited to hear that his fairy godmother has made the cut and he would be competing against him.  LOL, he goes into a diatribe, wondering how he is going to win against his fairy godmother when even his dad couldn’t.  LOL, he has already ceded the title.  Oh my baby.  Dasheng is not too happy to hear his boss already conceding; Fan Lian tells him he must fight for this, having pulled a lot of strings.  Shit starter Shi Jiu is like, I saw you perform with your idol and you were as good as he was. Zhouzi seems to agree.  Ran Long is like, Ning Jiulang only performed once a year, while you are more popular throughout Beiping, so he should be the one to win. Oh, Rui Rui does not seem to keen on it, even Dasheng notices.  Seriously, Dasheng, has such a big crush on his boss, lol.  

Next day, the streets are buzzing as the troupe is passing flyers urging passerby to vote for SXR.  I love the music.  It was the same use when Du Qi was writing Hidden Tale and when the battle of the beautiful queens was under way.  LOL, is this Lao Ge getting involved?! Even the rickshaw driver is doing his part. LOL, Qian Qian, why do you bother asking your boyfriend about him writing articles only on SXR.  You should know better.  I really think he is jealous.  We see a large banner for SXR with hubby contemplating the picture.  He does some type of noise......yeah, I will leave it to your imagination.  We see our penguin jumping up and down, wanting to take down the banner.  Both Fan Lian and hubby are confused; Er Ye says this is not cheating, it is simply a banner for the campaign.  Penguin says, no, I don’t need it. Fan Lian misinterpret this to mean he is too confident in his chance of winning, but penguin is like, nah, I just don’t want to compete anymore.  Oh, Er Ye is puzzled by this, since the competition happens every five years and that is a golden opportunity, so why? Our penguin replies he doesn’t want to compete against his fairy godmother, who in his mind is the best performer. If he loses, it means he wasn’t good enough, and that would make him feel bad, but if he wins, how will he face his fairy godmother in the future.  OHHHH, honey, stop it! I am sure your fairy godmother would be fine if you win.  He loves you that much!  Hubby asks if he wouldn’t disappoint his father if he forfeits, but penguin states he is worried, since it almost his father’s death anniversary and he will go back to Pingyang to bow at his grave and admit his wrongdoing.  LOL, Dasheng blows the cover on the white lie, replying the anniversary is in two months.  BWAWAWA, the penguin stomps out defeated, declaring he can compete against anyone, but Ning Jiulang, while hubby smiles at his cute penguin wife leaving.  Fan Lian, do not get involve, bro!

My old gays are back. Qi Wangye calls out to his wifey, informing him that as soon as he returns to the stage, he is already nominated for Best Performer. Fairy Godmother replies that in the opera circle, people love to fool around for fun, meaning his nomination is just people playing around for shits and giggles.  He tell his hubby to not pay any mind to the circus.  Qi Wangye reminds that every competition, it was either him or Hou Yukui who won, with Shang Juzhen as runner-up. He mentions Jiang Rongshou winning once, after he became the chairman.  HMMMMM, did he buy his win?  Qi Wangye comments that this year may not be easy with Rui Ge. Fairy Godmother changes the subject, bringing up growing watermelons in the South Garden. LOL, smoooothhh. Qi Wangye gets the hint that Jiulang is scolding him for having some free time.  Qi Wangye is like, fine, I am going to be a socialite and go buy a newspaper to vote.  Fairy godmother, say, fine, go ahead.  Qi Wangye is like, you are not going to stop me and fairy godmother replies, no, just give your vote to my little penguin, that will be fine. Qi Wangye is like, what? and then they laugh.  I love my old gays.

At a voting station, a crowd is there to place their votes for SXR when a strangely looking man, with sunglasses, a hat and scarf wrapped around half of his face comes in to buy up 10 votes for Ning Jiulang.  Why does he sounds like our penguin? One of the voters outbid him with 20 votes for SXR.  He doesn’t have any money to up the ante.  One of the voters tells him that Ning Jiulang is too old to be competing he should be spending time hugging his grandchildren instead, adding how many years can he last if he becomes the Best Performer this year. The one who outbid him says Ning Jiulang shouldn’t be competing against a fresh face youngster like SXR, it is embarrassing.  The strangely disguised man is like, yo, I am here to buy votes why are you dragging Ning Jiulang through the mud.  The voter replies that fans are the reflection of the performer, chasing our disguised man claiming he is as eccentric as his idol.  LOL, if they only knew who that was!

Best girl Xiao Lai catches our penguin rifling through the drawers and sees him holding the bank book stamp.  She asks if he is going to pay tribute to the money god. Oh, is that we call doting on your hubby these days! Can I have a money god to pay tribute to as well?  She tells him that he’s been splurging too much on the spendthrift Er Ye, buy imported cigarettes, alcohol, paying up his gambling debt (bro!), milk formula, expensive dishes at the restaurant. LOL, penguin is not listening, except to correct her when she says it amounts to 100K, claiming it is really only 80K.  BWAHAHA, oh honey!  She’s like, boss, you are going to go bankrupt doting on your hubby, if he stays longer.  He replies that for all the things he’s done, why not, but she replies that Shuiyin Troupe is not Cheng Er Ye’s piggybank.  Penguin is like, yo, this is not for Er Ye and I think I have an idea what it is for.  Penguin wants to buy the votes for Jiulang. She tries to stop him, but he twirls his way out.  LOL, poor Xiao Lai. Novel Xiao Lai emerges again as she screams he will regret spending so much on Er Ye. 

It’s the day of the result and the Liyuan Opera Hall is filled the brim.  Boss Niu is on the stage waiting for the Jiang Rongshou to show up so he can start the count. LOL, Du Qi and Fan Lian are both there.  I ship these two.  LOL.  Finally, the douchebag father and son duo finally arrives.  Boss Niu announces the start of the competition. We see Si Xi’er and Xue Qianshan in the crowd. Why are you sitting from your boyfriend? The first vote is for Ning Jiulang, the next is for SXR.  Meanwhile, our fairy godmother is singing to his bird, trying once again to teach him that song from the first time we met him.  Qi Wangye comes in and compliments him, which makes Ning Jiulang stop singing. LOL.  Qi Wangye comments how hard it is to hear his wifey sing, if he had known he would have eavesdropped outside. He asks if his wifey is really not going to go to the Liyuan Association Hall to watch the count.  Jiulang informs him he sent someone in his stead.  Qi Wangye is like, don’t you want to receive the award yourself.  Jiulang smirks and asks if Wangye really believes he will win the award.  Instead he believes that penguin will win.  Wangye is like you really think that foggy Jiang papa is going to let him win. Jiulang seems to think about it for a brief moment, but then snickers, inviting Qi Wangye to take a look at their watermelon seedlings.  Yo, anyone who claims they are only friends, please stop right now.  They are planting freaking watermelons in their garden together.  Alright!

The count continues.  Wait, someone actually voted for Dengbao! Evil stepmother asks about Ning Jiulang, to which Jiang papa ignores the question. Meanwhile, our couple is walking together overlooking the city.  Seriously, what a romantic setting.  Anyhoo, Er Ye is like, why aren’t you at the Association Hall instead of having a romantic walk with me. Rui Rui recalls the last time he came to this area, it was snowing; he was careless and took a fall, forcing him not to perform for days.  Wait, how is a penguin fall in the snow?  Er Ye responds the troupe members must be looking anxiously for him since he left without letting them know. He shows Er Ye a tree which has a large cut, apparently made by Qi Wangye out of anger.  Er Ye replies why is he telling him that when he was not the one chopped.  He brings the conversation back to Rui Rui not going to the Association Hall.  Rui Rui answers no; hubby asks if he is afraid.  Rui Rui answers yes, he is, especially of winning. He does that face that captures hubby’s attention (to be honest, it doesn’t take much, lol). He tells how he used to think his father was formidable, chasing him all over the street to beat him, which he couldn’t never outrun, until one day, he ran so fast, he saw his father leaning on the stick, panting while looking at him, realizing he had grown taller and stronger.  He wasn’t happy at the realization that his father’s age had slowed him down.  Er Ye asks who can outrun aging and Rui Rui answers who can stop time.  Er Ye replies that God gives everything an expiration date, when that date comes, it naturally degenerates, how can his fairy godmother be an exception? Rui Rui complains that time has come too fast, Jiulang is still high up in his heart.  Oh boo boo, honey bun, you are the fresh faced, the one the crowd clamor for.  It doesn’t mean Jiulang has sang his swansong, but since he doesn’t perform as much, it is normal for him to be upstage by some of equal talent like you! He claims he is not ready to replace him.  Boss Niu still counts and the last two votes are for our penguin.  Meanwhile, the evil stepmother only has one vote.  BWAHAHAHAHA.  He storms out, followed by his pretty boys army. They ask if they should leave like this and evil stepmother replies he doesn’t want to stay for fear of being mocked.  One of them asks didn’t one fan vote for you, but it turns out it was him.  LOLOLOL.  Best girl catches up to the couple and Rui Rui asks how she knew he was there. Bro, what is wrong with you? Of course she would know, she’s been with you for decades now! She’s your best girl! Oh wait, Er Ye reveals he sent Lao Ge to get her after dropping them off.  Ok, I take that back Rui Rui. She tells him to hurry up and go to the Association Hall, informing that even Qi Wangye’s people are there, it would not be a good look for him not to appear. Rui Rui asks if Jiulang is there, which stomps best girl, unsure how to answer, but does tell him that Jiulang assistant is there.  Hubby tells him that maybe he didn’t win after all, but since Jiulang is there, he needs to go.  Rui Rui is like, right, I should go, but he needs to change clothes. Best girl grabs his wrist, telling him she already arranged with Shi Jiu to get the clothes.  

Boss Niu thanks the crowd for the support and declare the competition has concluded.  It is time to announce the results.  Du Qi gets up on the table to see the results.  LOL, such a fanboy. Ning Jiulang of Qinyang Troupe has 3586 votes, Du Qi looks over at Jiang Rongshou to see his reaction, while one of the reporter tells Xue Qianshan that Ning Jiulang has been popular for two decades.  CEO Xue replies that Boss Ning has quite the pedigree, having worked for the Bureau of Imperial Operas before and was appointed by the Empress Dowager as Minister of Opera Circle, becoming a top guest at Qi Wangye manor.  Hmmm... you mean married to Qi Wangye. His connections and experience cannot be underestimated.  The reporter is like, oh so it seems like he is going to win.  CEO Xue following in his boyfriend footsteps respond not to jump to conclusion. Boss Niu announces the tally for Rui Rui and it is a tie with fairy godmother. The crowd is excited while Xue is like, see, I told you so. They announce that weasel Dengbao received 1257 votes. LOL, what?! Who the fuck voted for him? He gets up to greet everyone.  Whatever. Then it is Si Xi’er turn.  Why even announce it, it is so goddamn embarrassing. Boss Niu is about to announce the results, seeing this is God’s will or something like that, but someone in the crowd claims the vote must have been rigged in favor of Rui Rui.  Someone asks for a recount.  Yooo, really Jiang senior! You would sink that low? Du Qi throws a tea kettle on the floor, breaking it.  He tells the one asking for a recount he will rip his mouth if he continue to spew nonsense.  The guy is like try me, but Fan Lian stops him from making a fool out of himself. Ohhh, judging from weasel Dengbao smirks, he was the one who caused this ruckus.  Geezus xrist! A man enters the room and shuts up the crowd declaring he has one more vote to deliver.  It’s Ning Jiulang’s assistant, Mr. Tong. He exchanges pleasantries with Jiang senior, claiming he got lost on his way to the Association since he doesn’t get to come out as much due him not going out as much.  Jiang papa smiles profusely, thinking Mr. Tong is here to cast away Rui Rui chances in favor of his boss. Boss Niu invites him to bring his vote to the stage.  Meanwhile, Er Ye brings Rui Rui to front steps of the Association Hall, helping him dress.  AWWWWWW, like a good wifey taking care of his spouse! When did the roles reverse? I guess since Rui Rui is taking care of him, he has become the wifey, not that I am complaining.  Rui Rui says he wished there would be some fast beating drum rolls to announce the winner.  LOL, Er Ye is like, my baby is so weird, but I love him.  Inside Boss Niu looks at the vote and ask Mr. Tong if he is sure.  He replies that is Boss Ning’s order and go ahead in announcing the result. Boss Niu announces the winner of the Liyuan Best Performer Competition is.......our RUI RUI. Outside, Er Ye is still dressing up his husband when they hear the results, while Du Qi and Fan Lian are embracing each other. I SQUEAALLL. Mr. Ton announces he has brought a gift for Rui Rui for this occasion.  It is a plaque with Golden Stage Best Performer written on it.  LOL, Jiang Rongshou is pissed off and storms out of the Hall.  Go join the evil stepmom. CEO Xue tells his reporter that Boss Ning had planned this for a long time.  The dense reporter asks what he means by that and CEO Xue replies the Opera World has a new ruler.  Our penguin stomps inside the Hall with hubby in tow, seeing the gift from fairy godmother. Rui Rui states that Jiulang is not old after all and runs out, followed by his hubby. 

Rui Rui is facing the ancestor’s altar while Er Ye and Fengyi are outside, not wanting to disturb his bae.  Dasheng sees him and asks why he is not asleep.  The other members join in and Er Ye complains that Rui Rui could have done some reflections elsewhere besides his room.  I was about to suggest that he simply sleeps and stares at his bae, but apparently Rui Rui scares him by not moving nor blinking, just kneeling and mutter in front of the Ancestor Tablet. Dasheng suggest he sleeps in Rui Rui’s room and he replies that it looks like a doghouse. Sigh, these are moments I wished book Fengtai came out to play more.  Book Fengtai was far more willing to eat the same food as Rui Rui and sleep in the same room.  Ewww, delusional shit starter Shi Jiu, with Ran Long help (girl, what are you doing?!) offers her room to sleep in.  LOL, Er Ye is like, Nah, I will go to the doghouse. Yeah, glad Er Ye prefers to sleep with Rui Rui smells surrounding him than encourage the deluded Shi Jiu.  LOL, Dasheng is like, well, can I go to your room.  Shi Jiu is like hell no. 

Fairy Godmother brings the plaque with him and accosts Dasheng, asking the little brother where to find Rui Rui.  Dasheng tells him that Rui Rui slept in the Ancestor Teacher’s room. Dasheng is so excited to meet the fairy godmother, telling him to watch his steps.  Such eleganza in one figure! He enters the room where Rui Rui is sleeping on the floor and approaches the sleeping figure.  OMG HE IS SO CUTE, I CANNOT.  Our fairy godmother being the equessential fairy stands above the sleeping penguin and then stares at the plaques, back to the penguin, trying to wake him up.  The cutie pie opens his eyes and stares at the figure above him, telling his fairy godmother he was talking about him to the Ancestor Teacher and he suddenly shows up. He grabs the fairy godmother’s leg like a little toddler and say it was a great dream, feeling so real.  Awww, is he still dreaming? Ning Jiulang reproaches him gently, saying this kid is so immersed in opera that dreaming or not, he can’t differentiate what is dream to reality. Continues saying how naturally gifted a singer Rui Rui is and tells the penguin to take what he is about to say as a dream, while the baby is holding tightly his leg with his eyes closed. AWWWWWWWW.  Fairy Godmother wonders if the penguin will remember any of the things he is about to say, but still goes on.  He tells Rui Rui that whether he wants to admit it, he is already old, which limits some of the things he can do as an actor like bending or sing a high pitch.  When he was younger, he grew up in the palace raised by the eunuchs, thus learning by imitating their behaviors as an actor, making neither a master or a slave, which limits his potentiality.  Unlike Rui Rui, who can learn all the different techniques, gestures and behaviors onstage, he doesn’t have the capacity to comprehend them.  All he could do is follow his teacher and copy whatever he could, which made him fearful of making a mistake and upsetting the Empress Dowager.  He adds he couldn’t innovate like Rui Rui, adding his own ideas into the opera.  While he is saying that, Rui Rui again wins the award for the most adorable penguin of the year.  Just on that alone, Yin Zheng must win best actor award, I will riot China! Because of his need to be perfect in the stifling environment of the palace, he could only perform the classical operas from hundred years ago, despite being tired of performing them, but that is all he could do. Cutie pie penguin tells him he performed them well, which fairy godmother agrees, but he has reached his peak.  If he cannot soar past the palace wall, then he cannot elevate to a higher level. He thank God for letting him meet Rui Rui, who holds the leg tighter.  Fairy Godmother admonishes him gently for not obeying discipline while growing up, always asking questions when learning operas, doing as he wish and not being afraid of making mistake or getting a beating.  Since coming to Beiping, he became more unrestrained, changing plays as he wish, which reminds Jiulang of the revolutionaries who barged into the palace.  He admired their spirits, but he was afraid of following them since they destroyed the sheltered world he lived in, pushing him into the unfamiliar world of the civilians. Fortunately for him, he had Qi Wangye to stay by his side which made the transition between the two worlds easier, allowing him to survive.  AWWWW. He was aware they were the future he could not avoid.  For him Rui Rui is like the sky above, that no matter how thick the brick wall was, if there was a crack, the sky will peer through eventually to let the light shine.  He needed a person like him, just like Beijing Operas need someone like him. Rui Rui ask fairy godmother what he is talking about, bringing up revolutionaries, spirits, which confuses him.  Fairy Godmother tells him not to worry, simply remember what he said, he will understand in the future.  Rui RUi said he talks too much about the future, it makes him sleepy.  LOL.  He tells him it is just a dream, so he wants to only hug him and fall asleep. When he wakes up, he will talk to him. Fairy godmother says fine, I will go ahead and make your bed.  He calls out his men to bring the plaque.  Fairy Godmother brings Rui Rui to the bed where Er Ye has been sleeping and where the plaque is, and lays him down. Baby penguin wakes up and sees the white hair ion fairy godmother’s head, comments about it and pulls it out. LOL. Then falls back to sleep. Fairy Godmother watches him sleep for a bit, then steps out, as the crowd of actors pool in front of the house.  They comment about his grace and pose, yess, this queen is the ultimate MOTHER.

Baby penguin finally awakes and sees the plaque.  Shocked, he gets off the bed and screams out the plaque has turned into a demon with legs and came over the house.  LOL, this penguin! Best girl enters the room in a hurry asking what is wrong. He asks how the plaque came here and she tells him that Boss Ning delivered to him.  He is surprised to hear that Jiulang was actually here in the flesh and not in his dream and best girl is like, OMG, are your dazed and confused! Bro, you were talking with your fairy godmother for a while! It dawns on the penguin that his fairy godmother was really there and finds the white hair strand.  LOL. He runs to the courtyard where hubby is sitting with Fengyi, surrounded by the other actors.  He take the baby and gives it to shit starter Shi Jiu, so he can pull hubby back into the room for some naughty times (sigh, I wish).  He tells Er Ye to lay on the bed where the plaque is still on.  Er Ye finds it uncomfortable to do so, but still does it.  Rui Rui snickers and asks how it feels. Er Ye replies he would rather lay on the floor because it is very uncomfortable. He sat up while Rui Rui tells him that he does not know what is good. He informs him it is the plaque gifted by his fairy godmother, which is the highest of all favors, such high-level treatment.  OK GUYS, I need to warn you for the next sentence our Rui Rui is going to blurt.  You might melt, jump with joy, weep like a little bish, die a few deaths. I know I did. Alright, drum rolls... Our Rui Rui blurts out the most valuable things in ShuiyinLou are in this room:The Ancestor Teacher, his father, Jiulang’s plaque and HIM.  OMG, OMG, OMG, our Rui Rui just confessed his love for Er Ye!!!!!!  I have died, I am dead, I need a moment to reincarnate. Er Ye looks at him like he is the most beautiful thing in the world, and we all know he is.  He is moved, his heart pitter patter, his bae just declared his love for him.  He smiles upon the realization, although our Rui Rui is dense as fuck, not realizing the emotional wave coursing through his hubby’s mind and body. OMG, Er Ye’s smile!!!!!!! I am dead again. He tells him how touched he is to hear his bae declare his love.  Dense penguin says don’t be, just lecture me less. PENGUIN, your bae is far too happy right now to even do this. At the urging of the penguin, Er Ye lays down and looks far too happy, not uncomfortable at all. Seriously, the man is so happy, the bed could be wrapped with 100% Egyptian cotton.  OMG, Er Ye smiling profusely.  

[tatselk]

The Untamed (陈情令) Review: Ep 21

!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!

Previous episode review: 1 and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17, 18,19, 20.

Some quality Yunmeng Jiang Siblings Fluff now that WWX is back from the dead. The teary reunion! The hugging! WWX’s (bittersweet on hindsight) promise that the three of them would never be parted again! :):):)

I have to bring up NHS randomly bursting in on WWX and telling him how worried everyone was in looking for him, ESPECIALLY LWJ and JC. Hey, NHS, why did you mention LWJ first? Are you secretly a WangXian shipper too? Hahaha. 

All the pining and estrangement btw WWX and LWJ was just-! I swear I could literally feel the secondhand awkwardness through the screen at that bit whereby WWX and JC suddenly came across LWJ and LXC in the corridors and had no way of avoiding them.

While this episode was technically about the 4 great cultivational sects trying to bring down WRH/the Wen sect and gossip swirling around WWX's miraculous return from the Burial Mounds, it basically just felt like a romcom whereby everyone else in a friend group was walking on eggshells due to the tension between certain members of the group (coughWangXianbreakupcough). XD  Like JC demanding to know why WWX wanted to look for LWJ after the falllout between them in episode 20, what was going on with WWX and LWJ, whether WWX planned to never communicate with LWJ again etc. 

I kinda like the symbolism of how JC and JYL are now consistently dressed in purple, as per the Jiang sect’s colours. Like now that their parents are dead and they have have been reunited again, the two of them have become the “face” of the Jiang sect.

Oh shit, WWX seems to have already started losing control of the demonic cultivation thing. AND JYL kept detecting traces of this. We already know all of this isn’t going to end well but isn’t this happening abit too soon?!

Oh shit X2, WRH looks like he is cooking up some diabolical zombie-related plan in his Villainous Abode. I... hope it wasn’t MY/JGY who helped WRH come up with that plan (see my review of episode 19). 0_0

Ok, I’m kinda loving WWX’s dramatic entrance (complete with special wind effects!) as he entered the meeting room where the others were having a discussion on how to attack WRH and how he casually dropped a few cryptic lines before leaving again. But I can also definitely see how/why this might piss the other characters off. Lol. 

My favourite part of this episode was probably that philosophical discussion between the Twin Jades about how one can tell right from wrong if there are no set rules in the world to follow; how one would not necessarily know the answer to everything just because one reads many books etc. 

The ending scene between LWJ and WWX killed me. Like why are they so bad at communicating with each other? Why does LWJ have to resort to drawing his sword to prove his point?! Why does WWX have to grin and evade LWJ’s questions/pretend not to know what LWJ was driving at??? GAHHH.

Overall: 8/10. I really liked how this episode fleshed out how WWX struggled and coped with dealing with everything after his return from the Burial Mounds. So this score would have been even higher if I weren’t so affected by all the underlying tension and potential for angst. Haha. 

[novantinuum]

jen’s doctor who s11 review

On the whole!

I really enjoyed series 11 for its nice change in pace and especially the relationship built up between Graham and Ryan. I really liked how many of the episodes were lighter and kinda more adventure-y in nature than in past, instead of constant “the world is gonna end” danger. Like I love those kinds of episodes, believe me, but the lighter tone is very welcomed after many series of heart wrenching angst ahahahah! 

I loved how they handled the historical episodes this series, and really dug into the truth of human condition within those time periods, and took risks there. I actually learned a lot about the time periods they visited- for example, I never really heard much about the Pakistan partition in school. 

Thirteen is precious and I want to hug her. She’s so full of hope and that makes me so happy! :DDD I love how she’s a sciency tinkerer and likes cobbling stuff together out of whatever loose ends she can find. I’m still waiting for her to snap, though- maybe that’s just me as an angst lord talking, but I want to see her super super angry. The scene in The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos with her sternly disagreeing with Graham was very good though. But anyways, I love her positivity and her quirky alien charm, and her character feels like a natural progression of where the Doctor left off at the end of Twice Upon a Time. The Doctor has gone through a lot of healing since the Time War, a lot of self reflection and forgiving themself, and Thirteen is absolutely a product of that and it shows. It’s so nice to see them back on their feet, unshackled by that guilt finally, just wandering about the universe like they always did. 

Yasmin is so sweet and so loyal, and h o h boy if there’s anyone I can see sticking with the Doctor until the bitter end out of this crew it’s her. (*nervous laughter*) Out of all the crew she’s the one who’s had the least development though, so I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes as a character moving forward. Also, I hope we see her family more, I like them! Maybe in the New Years special, we’ll see. I’ve absolutely hit the “ADOPT KID” button on Ryan, the more I think about him the more I love him- just, all this time he’s been looking for belonging, for people who aren’t gonna leave him behind like his dad, and he had that with his nan Grace- but he didn’t know if Graham was gonna be the same or if he was only there for him bc of association with Grace. But now through all these adventures through space and time he has absolute proof that Graham will be there for him, and so he’s made the conscious decision to make Graham his family. And Graham, hhh... his grieving throughout the series, while not acting as a shadow on it, was always woven through and it’s nice to see both him and Ryan actually make peace with things through seeing Tim Shaw again and giving him his humble pie. 

In the end when it comes to this series, I love the strong found family vibes it gives. Graham and Ryan and Yaz, they all knew each other in some way before, but they didn’t truly know each other. And through being thrown together with the Doctor, entering her wild adventurous life, they got to grow closer as friends, but more importantly, as a family. The whole series the Doctor was looking for a word to describe her little ragtag group, and she wasn’t exactly sure if “fam” was the right one, but in the end it’s what she settles on because this has become a family. 

Now, what I’m hoping to see more of in the future! 

1) I’d love to see more extended domestic-y TARDIS scenes! We’ve got a lot of pre/post endcap TARDIS scenes, but I’d love to see more small little convos between characters on the way to their destinations, in between, etc. For as long as these episodes were I feel like so much time was spent providing exposition and story for the plot, but I’d love to see more fun nonsense. More glimpses at what they get up to in between, if that makes any sense. (As an example of what I mean, we got a bit of this in The Tsuranga Conundrum, at the very beginning when they were just poking about a junkyard planet, and I quite liked that.)

2) As the characters keep developing I’d love to see more conflict arise between them to test their friendships. We saw some good moments of this with the Doctor telling Ryan to stay behind with Hanne in It Takes You Away after he made a kinda narrow-minded comment about her disability, and when the Doctor flat out told Graham that if he killed Tim Shaw he wouldn’t be traveling with her anymore in the finale. I’d love to see more of this.

3) This may just be because I’m really queer, but I want the Doctor to snap and yell and get really angry at something. That’s the ONE thing that felt entirely missing from this series. In the end I get the sense that this Doctor has a far greater reign on her emotions and self because she’s healed quite a bit, but I still know she’s capable of that righteous anger and I’d love to see Jodie show off her full range with a scene like that.

4) We’ll probably get this in the New Years special, but I’m super anticipating Thirteen facing the Daleks. This is a quintessential thing for every Doctor, in my opinion, and I can’t wait for when they (hopefully!) eventually do that.

5) More of a plot arc. I definitely know the lack of a tight plot arc was because they wanted it to be more accessible for people to just tune in and watch without context,, as they’re gaining some new fans, but I hope that there’s more of a return to an ongoing series plot arc with this next series since everything’s been established. I personally really like those, because I get to be a plot arc detective! I will say that I’m very pleased that Tim Shaw was brought back for the finale, though- that acted as a very nice bookend and helped tie up all the emotional threads.

6) Also not exactly anything I can fault this series for, because I can tell one of the points/themes of it was “not everything is what it seems on the surface” and “sometimes the real monsters,,, are humanity” and I very much respect that, but I do wanna see some more just... alien baddies who ARE baddies and not misunderstood. Listen,, I’m a simple minded person. Love me some monsters! 

My rankings! 

For context, I’m generally very easy with my ratings. I’m not rating them on how critically perfect they are as plots or anything, this is purely based on how much I enjoyed them. I’ve only actually rated nine episodes of Doctor Who 2005-present with scores of 6 or below.

10- Absolutely SUPERB  9- Excellent! 8- Great! 7- Good 6- Okay

1) Demons of the Punjab    (10) This ep made me cry more than any episode of Doctor Who has in a very long time. Incredibly poignant, stunning music and cinematography. Taught me a whole lot I never knew about the partition and how it affected everyday people. I liked how the Doctor assumed the whole time that these aliens were  A good Yaz centric ep, too. It ranks 7th in my list of all-time favorites.  

2) It Takes You Away   (9.5) Wowee, another very poignant one! Some FANTASTIC acting from Jodie in this ep, and a very trippy concept with the sentient universe. Loved getting to see each companion getting a good role to play. ALSO CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I STAN THAT FROG??? AND THE DOCTOR SEDUCING AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE???? B R U H. Hanne’s actress did a wonderful job too! 

3) Kerblam!   (9) What a heckin fun episode! This one will definitely become one of my comfort eps, I can already tell. The secondary characters were all lovely, and the bots were delightfully unsettling too! I spent the whole thing going “wow I totally experienced this working at Amazon” and I thought that was pretty funny. Also, I might highlight all the wonderful Graham snark we got in this one. 

4) Rosa    (9) Gahhh this was a hard one to watch, but very truthful in its depiction of the time period, and a lovely tribute to an incredibly courageous woman. Shout out to how the ep forced Graham to recognize and accept his white privilege (and the Doctor too for that matter), the scene with Ryan and Yaz discussing racism they’ve had to endure, and also for the scene with the Doctor making jokes about Banksy. That made me laugh. “Banksy doesn’t have one of these! Or do I?”

5) The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos    (9) I was VERY glad to see Tim Shaw return for some finished business, and how it allowed Graham and Ryan to finally get a bit of peace for what happened to Grace because of him. This was a solid ep, with some SOLID character moments between Graham and the Doctor and Graham and Ryan. The Ux were interesting, too.

6) The Woman Who Fell to Earth    (8.5) Solid, fun episode. It wastes no time in setting up who Thirteen will be. Still one of my favorite scenes in this whole series so far is when she builds her own sonic screwdriver- GOD the music there is so damn iconic. And gahhh I love Grace so much. How dare they make me love a character so much and then let her die? Rude. That’s homophobia. XD

7) The Witchfinders   (8.5) The Doctor gets dunked in water and has soaked hair. Dare I say more? No, but I was glad to see an ep with an alien danger that actually IS an alien danger that seeks to destroy and conquer, I always love those- and this one, with weird sentient mud that can fill corpses, was delightfully grim. Willow was a great secondary character, too- loved her especially. 8) The Ghost Monument   (8) Okay so I really loved how slice-of-life this episode was? We actually got to know our secondary characters Angstrom and Epzo and I appreciated that. The bit with the Doctor thinking the TARDIS was gone forever at the end... hhhhhhng... that was such a good scene. You could just see the hope drained from her face, and then to see it all rush back as she finally found her?? W o w I’m so emo, y’all ;D;

9) The Tsuranga Conundrum  (7) So I enjoyed this one, but there were some kinda oddly phrased bits of dialogue in it that marks it down for me. The Pting is a delightfully weird and cursed creature, 10/10, would yeet out of a spacecraft. I already mentioned this, but I LOVE the scene in the junkyard and how slice-of-life it was. I also appreciate how someone called out the Doctor on being selfish during this. 10) Arachnids in the UK   (6.5) So this episode was riding right on the edge of “ehh” for me, but it still has some great moments in it, with the Doctor awkwardly interacting with Yasmin’s family and all those heckin spiders bee-boppin down the hallways to the tune of rap music. XD I can’t exactly pick out why it was an “eh” for me, but it just didn’t click. Maybe I was just hoping it’d be an alien thing and was kinda left wanting with the way the episode felt kinda... unfinished. Like, there’s still a bunch of giant spiders? They didn’t solve that. They just- trapped them and left. I dunno I was left wanting with this ep.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

And so I continue on my epic re-read of that nonsense royalty AU mixed with a teen movie except gayer-- uh, I mean, Misadventures

Chapter 6 here we go

I already remember that when I wrote this chapter I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window because it was impossible, so now I’m scared

Kim actually doing exercise in this fic was me directly calling myself out for lazing around all day

He tries to get out of detention by pulling the “but I’m a prince!” card ashfskdjhkf that won’t work on Lady Mendeleiev!!

Speaking of, I’ve had Ms Bustier called “Lady Caline” in this thing but Mendeleiev’s still referred to by her surname? Can’t remember what I was thinking tbh

Kim you dumb idiot, the nobles aren’t moving out of the way because you’re royalty, they’re moving out of the way because MENDELEIEV IS WITH YOU

Ohhhh my god stop accusing your own classmate of murder, I think Alix would have much more than a detention if she’d fricking killed someone

Sidenote: Alix did not deserve detention. The rules didn’t say anything about rollerskates so she did nothing wrong and this was very unfair

And there’s me showing off how much research on cobras I did lmao

...I’ll be honest, 90% of the reason I wrote this fic was because I wanted Kim to have to walk with a book on his head

goddammit you know when you notice symbolism in your writing that wasn’t there before? this fic is hecking doing it already. striking a BALANCE between being a stupid idiot and being a thoughtful goodbean is legit a running theme in this thing, and,, that’s,, their detention,,,sdskgkjf

I’m the noble who fell off the balancing beam. it’s me

Kim... I’m going to hit you on the head with that book I s2g STOP BEING A JERK

the symbolism gahhh I’m dying, he needs to be more patient and less reckless just like his life skjdhksjd sjdghbsjfhsk laksjflad

How did Mireille end up in detention, you ask? Simple. Aurore framed her. Those two have a real hecked up relationship in this thing and oh boy it’ll take a front seat in the sequel if I ever write it

well dammit now I ship Kim with Mireille I mean they held hands

“If someone doesn’t get over here to help me finish this stupid thing right now, I will throw this book at someone’s face hard enough to send their teeth into the back of their brain.” pls... alix... hit ME with the book I’m begging you

I’m. having an allergic reaction to Kim’s crush on Alix. I know what happens later in the fic and I’m already breaking out in hives

Chapter 7 is called “90% chance of death” which is an accurate statistic to describe the mortality rate of reading it

I MADE A NINO AND POTATOES REFERENCE OH MY GOD I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING BAD I EVER SAID ABOUT THIS FIC, IT’S PERFECT NOW

This reads like a game of Civilization and yet I hadn’t even played it yet at the point when I wrote this part

MAX W O W HAVE SOME FAITH IN KIM OKAY, HE’S A DICK AT THE MOMENT BUT HE’LL GET BETTER

And Kim stop trying to be tsundere, you’re so bad at it. everyone knows the real tsundere in this fic is Alix,

There’s me showing off about knowledge I learned on wikipedia again

“That would be the coolest way to die. Agonizing death by snake bite. I would love that.” Juleka you can’t just SAY that to Alix oh my god do you even know what happens in chapter 25???

Kim being good at archery is 100% a shoutout to Dark Cupid btw also he’s a sagittarius like me and I’ll fight you on this

Max just got bored and straight-up left the sports day lmaooo that’s the biggest mood

I can’t wait for chapter 60 where the Other sports day happens and it’s like the total inverse of this one

YES ALIX, GO OFF

she’s highkey lying. she cannot order someone’s execution, she may be a pharaoh but she really doesn’t have much power lol, she just pretends she does so people will let her do what she wants

only chapter 7 and Kim’s already crying over something dumb (aka the threat of being eaten alive by a venomous cobra)? nice

“I guess me suddenly storming in here and lowkey threatening to kill you may have been overboard” uh yeah, you don’t say?? he kinda deserved it tho lmao

I love how Kim’s all like “ayy there’s plenty of other cute girls at this school for me to fall for!” when the two people at school he falls for next are both BOYS

alright chapter 8 now baby, and yes the title “Chick???” makes perfect sense in context I swear

Oh here’s one of those boys already! Kim’s crush on Adrikins is so damn obvious I love it

The umbrella scene happened except with a parasol

the whole “you four seem to make a good group” thing was me thinking how Marinette/Adrien/Alya/Nino is a god-tier ot4

oh god I want to hug Nath

OKAY OKAY SO. Nath and Alix don’t make friends until like chapter 44 or something, but the reason she knew already that he liked Marinette was because Juleka told her in the snek scene earlier, and then Alix used this knowledge to force people into giving her chocolate

Alya your gaydar is so broken... almost none of the girls in your class are straight

I’m also going to hug Alix, I know what it’s like to be a confused baby aro -- in fact I was at the time I was writing this skdjfhksdjhgkjf

Kim’s homework was just me typing out a bunch of intelligent-sounding words I remember seeing in Crusader Kings II tbh

MAX YOU PRECIOUS GAY BEAN, GIVE IT LIKE 20 MORE CHAPTERS OKAY

ohohoho chapter 9 here we go

noooo Alya noooo don’t trust Theo!!! you’ll find out why in like chapter 47 but just!! don’t trust him!!!!!!

Alya I s2g... of course Marinette likes girls, she’s bi af

Chloe and Sabrina are wlw too... please fix your gaydar I’m begging you

same with Rose, good grief, she really does love Juleka omg

I love how I called the kingdom of Couffaine “mysterious” and “distant” because I hadn’t decided where it was yet, because I’ll have you know that for the sequel I’ve decided it’s the non-distant and non-mysterious Orkney Isles

Alya just knocks on Juleka’s door like “YO ARE YOU A LESBIAN?” skdjhkjsdhg I’m sobbing

No Alya, Couffaine isn’t a morbid kingdom, Juleka’s just really goth. Couffaine is just like how Scotland really is lol

Kim wtf you can’t just ditch Max like that good grief...

and there I go teaching the readers about geography, because that’s definitely what normal people talk about in their conversations

Alix’s ringtone is definitely a rickroll by the way

I love that these characters are in fact completely aware that they’re idiots who should not be in charge of a country, what they’re unaware of is all that precious, precious character development heading their way nyehehhehehe >:D

Look... I know I said I was having an allergic reaction but hugs with height differences are Very Important to me so just this once I’ll let it slide

Phew, chapter 10, and then I’ll stop because holy shoot I need time to process the ridiculousness of this mess

oh my god Kim literally burning the letters his parents send him in order to avoid his responsibilities is?? such a mood?? I’m basically doing that myself right now

This is the only time Emperor Gabriel even has any lines until like almost the last chapter lol

anD IT’S FULL OF FORESHADOWING OH MY GOD ADRIENNNNN

btw Chloe’s oracle question was “will I marry Adrien?” and of course the answer was no, so that’s why she was upset lol (idk what Marinette’s question was, I didn’t think of one oops)

more geography lessons!!!

Max being irrationally mad at Alix’s country having a higher GDP than his was inspired by him being mad about losing the gaming tournament to Marinette in the Gamer episode, by the way

Alix... is a reptile scalie I’m gonna regret saying that aren’t I

I love how her oracle question is literally just a stealth “I’m aroace, right?” and that makes the irony of the next bit so much funnier omg, poor Kim lmao I was so so cruel

(also I finally fixed that inconsistency... Fu said he was 186, but technically everyone in this fic is about a year or two older than they are in the show at the beginning, so he should be 187 instead)

Kim has just accepted that he’s going to die young by doing something reckless and stupid, that’s such a gen z mood wow

I’m genuinely losing brain cells because of Kim right now, I’m contracting the bubonic plague as I type, I’ve already lost 3 years off my life and so has Master Fu,,,, ask a sensible question you idiot

No Kim, it won’t be CPR, she really will kiss you, you’ll just know okay... now if you’ll excuse me I need to go bang my head against a brick wall for several hours

[rivirofficial]

WHO’S GOT THE VAN KEYS?

The months that I’m on tour my day usually starts around 11am. You might be thinking, god damn Esteban you lazy bastard. Me too. But shit, sometimes we go to sleep at 4:30am after a gig. Not cause we’re out partying (although sometimes we are), but because by the time we’ve broken down the stage, kissed a few babies, gotten paid out, loaded out, said our goodbyes, gotten to where we are staying, decompressed for a bit and gotten ready for bed, it’s always pretty close to 4:30am.

Let’s start at 11am though - cause I just skipped over 15 hours of the day and even I’m starting to question what the fuck we do all day...

Also..... WHO HAS THE VAN KEYS?! 

Once I’m up at 11am my main goal is to figure out where and when I’m getting coffee in my blood stream. If we’re staying with a friend that night usually we have the chance to brew up some fresh deliciousness, BUT if we’re crashing in the van (30% of the time) by 11:30am we are most likely on our way to the cheapest breakfast spot in town. You’re saying you know of a spot with a $3.50 breakfast special in your hometown? See you there.

After we’ve gotten our bearings and are starting to feel like real humans it’s usually about 12:45pm and we are doing one of two things:

1) Waiting for the gig to happen

2) Driving to the next gig

Waiting for the gig doesn’t necessarily mean sitting with our thumb up our ass, in the van on our phone (although sometimes it does if it’s July in Houston, TX and it’s 100% humidity outside), but if we only have a 2 hour drive to the next city, or we happen to already be where we need to be, it’s time to wait for the gig that night. You can usually find us in a coffee shop catching up on work - for me that means booking future tours, answering emails, coming up with posts for social media that week, or falling into a massive YouTube binge and getting zero things done at at all.

We do tour with a 35lb black lab/heeler named, Luna, so we do our best to get some physical activity in at some point every day when we are waiting for gigs. We’ll go play frisbee golf, walk around downtown of the city we’re in, go for a hike, or just hang out in a park and let Luna chase squirrels. Usually this involves Tyler and I enjoying some local herbs and Connor doing a yoga routine somewhere by himself.

As far as driving.... IT’S THE BEST PART. Really though, it’s not bad. We listen to Bill Burr podcasts or sports talk radio, new music that’s out, make beats on the iPad, sleep, talk about space. Most of the time the drives are fun, unless there’s snow/ice. Then I’m anxiety ridden contemplating if we’re going to slide off the road and die.

So by the time we are done waiting, or driving it usually ends up being somewhere between 4pm-6pm. About 75% of the days we have shows we are fortunate enough to have meals provided by the venue/bar we are playing at. If that’s the case we’ll grab a quick bite at the venue - but if not we’ll be scouring Yelp for a place that has one $ sign.

By the time we’ve eaten dinner it’s about 7:30pm and every band member’s favorite time… LOAD IN TIME. If there are 30 shows on a tour, we will unload and reload the van 60 times (twice a show). So, guitars, bass, amps, bass rig, 5 piece drum set, cymbals, 2 PA speakers, mixer, 2 boxes of merch, and a number of other miscellaneous items come out into the venue, or on the street, and then back into the van after the show. I’m not complaining, it’s a part of the job and the life we chose, but undoubtedly, it gets old.

Fast-forward to about 9:00pm and it’s warm-up time. Typically you can find us warming up in the van; Connor and Tyler will be hitting vocal scales with various OOO’s, AHHH’s, MUAHH’s, GAHHH’s and a bunch of other weird sounding shit that get’s their voices ready to belt for 3 hours. I like to do some jumping jacks and push ups to get the blood pumping and then play some rudiments on my drum pad, or a van seat cushion for about 20 minutes.

Once 10:00pm rolls around we’re on stage for the 1st set, which typically lasts about an hour and a half. 30 minute-break, quick beer, maybe a toke, and then it’s 12:00am and you’re on stage for your 2nd hour and a half set. Lots of sweat, maybe a tequila shot brought to you by a random person, and a hell of a time later, it’s already 1:26am and you just finished your last song. Maybe there’s one wasted dude in the crowd who’s insisting we play one more cover song that we never know, or we’re getting encored by a packed bar, but typically we end up playing one more song and it’ll be about 1:32am.

Directly after the set we’ll hustle over to the merch booth and do our best to talk to the people that were watching us play, maybe sell a couple shirts, hand out some CDs, make some new friends, or if we’re feelin ourselves, go straight to the bar, order some tequila shots and see what happens in 28 minutes.

OKAY FUCKIN HOLD THE PHONE... WHO HAS THE GOD DAMN VAN KEYS!? CONNOR? TYLER? No... they are in my pocket. 

Now it’s 2:34am and the van is loaded up, we’re paid out, we said our goodbyes and our thank you’s and… what’s next? Are we partying? Or are we finding the nearest Walmart to hunker down for the night? It’s usually the latter since we are playing shows about 4 nights a week and partying means paying for it the next day… but if we have a day off the next day, we are known to drink between 1-100 beers in a given night. DISCLAIMER: We’ve never made it to 100 beers, but it is a goal of ours. Please contact us if you want to be a part of this endeavor.

Well shit, looks like we’re going to the local Walmart and it’s about 30 minutes away…. we’re all hungry, so should we stop and get food on the way? Probably. Or we just stock up on cheese sticks and salt and vinegar chips at a 24-hour gas station.

We got to Walmart, set up our sleeping areas in the van and an episode or two, later of The Office on my phone and it’s 4:20am. Should I smoke a bowl? Nah I’m going to sleep.

Rinse, recycle, repeat. That’s tour! Or a very vague, an extra-lengthy blog post about it.

Either way, thank you for taking the time to read through this and please feel free to leave any feedback.

Much love,

Esteban 

[nokchanim]

mmmmm (complains about the anime...)

on one hand i’m glad we get lil cute kurosawa sister moments but it’s just. that’s it. they give like maybe 10 second of them being cute but it’s like what’s the point of making them sisters in the first place if the anime doesn’t go more in depth on their relationship and such :( I think i’m just really disappointed because I was hoping they wouldn’t sweep away the other characters after their respective episodes but that’s exactly what they’re doing, especially to ruby. Like ruby needs more love and screen time and she keeps on not getting that 

gahhh someone mentioned that they wish they didnt keep on making 9 characters bcuz that’s too much characters to develop in a story and now i can’t help but agree because they do a bad time allocating screen time to each character (and i still think kanan is lacking screen time too)

I know i shouldn’t expect so much from a very “eh”written school idol anime but idk LL has been there for me since HS and it’s just sad to see they don’t do more w/ the characters.............. like all they talk about is saving the school. Literally. every. episode. we’ve already went thru that whole spiel with the first LL why do they keep bringing that back again. Loving school so much that your whole plot and conflict revolves around saving it? unrelatable.

And there’s soooo many easy ways for them to just save the school but they keep on throwing around dumb obstacles like mari not wanting to ask her dad for help, and her dad giving like a stupid ass time limit to get 100 students. Idk they just making up very weak obstacles to why they can’t do certain things just to stretch out the episodes alksjljflasd

sorry i kno no one wants to hear me complaining about this, but I love LL and wow the mediocre writing is really getting to me this season :(((