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decepti-thots · 1 year ago

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something that is very interesting rereading early MTMTE is that the comic is actually very much written with the assumption a ton of its readership are specifically pre-existing IDW comics readers, which can sometimes be difficult to remember because of the fact that a lot of people wound up coming onboard to MTMTE from outside the fandom in the end and now it has a reputation as an entry point as a result. this manifests in a couple ways throughout the first couple major arcs. one obvious one is that the Overlord stuff functionally makes it a sequel of sorts to Last Stand of the Wreckers, at a time no direct sequel was planned. but my favourite is that there's a kind of narrative trick the comic pulls with the leadup to the payoff Remain in Light gives us for Magnus.

the Magnus we get in early MTMTE is not the Magnus we get in earlier IDW comics. he's very exaggerated; where phase one Magnus is a by-the-books stickler for not so much as bending rules and someone we see struggling to maintain that sense of moral uprightness in the face of the war and the people around him being far less dedicated to staying on the straight and narrow like him, it's completely turned up to eleven in early MTMTE. phase one Magnus would not be doing endless doorframe audits, or throwing people in the literal brig for crooked badges. but this doesn't necessarily register as a change in character so much as a change in genre. MTMTE is also a dramedy with heavy emphasis on the comedy side of that in a way no other IDW comic is, and the shift in Magnus' characterisation therefore feels like 'well in THIS genre, that's what that archetype is like', rather than a diagetic shift in character. even if you come to MTMTE straight off those prior comics, it is very much a 'roll with the genre shift' thing rather than a 'hm. Magnus is acting… weird' thing. you let it go.

there are a couple indications this might not be the case early on. Rodimus especially seems to be under the impression that Magnus is acting uptight even for him, with his insistence on waving it off like 'he needs to relax, Swerve can you get him to chill on Hedonia because my guy is REAL stressed' and the like. (this makes sense- Rodimus is the person on the ship who has actually been directly interacting with Magnus regularly pre-MTMTE.) but it's not super obvious and not heavily emphasised.

which makes the eventual post-Overlord and RiL reveal, which is that Magnus has in fact been acting weird because he's having a breakdown that has largely gone unremarked upon by his shipmates, really really good. Magnus has not been doing doorframe audits because he's the comically uptight second in command acting as straight man for genre purposes; Magnus has been sending Rodimus a million memos a day and losing his shit over nothing because as someone whose entire identity as 'Magnus' is rooted in a wartime role he escaped into, he's been having an existential crisis now the war is over and he has no purpose and doesn't know what to do because he never expected to have to play that part in peacetime. the entire time the genre shift was somewhat obfuscating the fact this characterisation was a thing that is in-universe relevant, which also then reflects back on the fact Rodimus is like. hm. probably should have noticed that, now I feel like an asshole for not realising. (the scene where he and Rung discuss those unread memos, post-Overlord.)

it's a small thing, but it's a really effective misdirect for the payoff Magnus gets in RiL that reads a hell of a lot more clearly on reread and rewards that chance to revisit the early issues with that knowledge. of course that wasn't just a gag, of course he's actually slowly losing his shit slightly, he cannot go five seconds without making it clear he is Stressed As Hell. but until you get to that actual reveal, there's just enough room for the comic to let a reader assume it's, you know, we're in a comedy now, we need a hilarious straight man, and Magnus is it. it's great! all the stuff MTMTE pulls to simultaneously obfuscate the Magnus/Minimus reveal while also making it feel completely reasonable on reread is great. really good use of reader bias there.

#idw #meta #ultra magnus

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waitmyturtles · 7 months ago

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As I did last week, I have more constructive criticism for Jack & Joker, so, trigger warning again, please fly away if you can't deal with objective criticism of your faves.

What frustrates me about the construction of this show is that it's tripping on its own feet. And I shouldn't use the indefinite article; I should call out director Tee Bundit directly, because we saw him do this in spades in Step By Step. Tee did everything he could to avoid building a real narrative romance between the SBS leads, and the emotional beats that succeeded their late-series intimate breakthrough were not syncopated properly to match the development of a convincing relationship.

The incomplete beats at hand here are not as bad as they were in SBS. What's keeping me going on in Jack & Joker is that, at least, we are getting separate emotional development trajectories for Jack and Joke -- and a nice, hearty head-smack from Ah Mah at the end of the episode, towards Jack and his inclination to shut down and keep his shit internal. Ah Mah is trying to get Jack to know how to act as family, and she did the same with Joke's father earlier in the episode.

Like I said last week, I think this show has some really wonderful family-related thematic gems like the ones I just mentioned for this week's episode. Yin and War are acting these themes out with heart. Jack's in a really tough spot. The robber clowns will get together again next week to try to get him out of his tough spot.

And I know many of us are upset with Joke's dad, as I am, too, he's a real piece of shit, but his scenes with Joke struck me as very real to the experience of an insanely strict Asian dad. I've written about this too many times to count, but the ability of an Asian parent to cut their kids off like that is a concept that majority Western culture hasn't contemplated, except in instances of religion, sexism, bigotry, etc., but anyway -- that kind of cut-off doesn't exist as part of the everyday Western mentality about parenting, whereas in Asian parenting styles, to reject the patriarchal hierarchy could mean permanent separation, as Joke's dad has enacted to Joke. The fact that the motherfucker reconsidered AFTER EATING JOKE'S FOOD struck me as deeply sexist ("the way to a man's" blah blah, UGH), so I'm glad Ah Mah told that bitch off, but I did think those scenes were done well and realistically.

Anyway, where this series is absolutely lagging is in the EDITING. All these rich people games. I think there are many more concise narrative ways that we can be told that the rich play with the lives of the poor, than to give us bloated scene after bloated scene of literal gaming. Forget metaphors! Just give us some well-written, snappy dialogue about how these rich people are total assholes! We'll believe it!

And at the same time, I'm feeling bad for Rose, honestly. She likes Jack! She has no idea her crush on him is caught up in this Boss bullshit. She's gonna be hurt! And they're gonna rob her house now? I mean, I think what Tee is saying (I think?!?!?!) is that what comes to her, she deserves, because she's as scummy as the rest of the other scummy rich people (Ajahn Pichai, was that you?!). But like, this is her dad's shit?! So she gets automatically blamed because she's a nepo baby? I mean, I guess, if you're a reader of New York Magazine, that's reasonable thinking, but like, some of us are moral thinkers here!

This shit is complicated, and for an episode that was ONE HOUR. AND. 21. MINUTES. LONG., we could have a shorter AND clearer episode that could have scrubbed at the grout of these otherwise very interesting moral quandaries. But instead, we got video games from some dusty-ass rich boy who needs a goddamn bath.

I know, I know we haven't gotten the intimacy payoffs for any of the implied couples yet, and maybe this is part of YinWar's intention in having so much control over their script. But I did wonder if I was watching a Series Y/BL, or if I was watching a dramedy instead. I don't really care what genre it's in. But what I would like is for the themes to be crystal-clearly focused so that us, the viewers, can lean into what the cast and showmakers WANT us to care about -- which, thematically, I'm unclear on at this moment.

#jack and joker #jack and joker the series #yinwar #yin anan #war wanarat #tee bundit

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thestrangestthlng · 26 days ago

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Oof, boy do I have a lot of emotions to process. It is still a work in progress. I am better than I was last night, not as good as I'll be tomorrow, but c'est la vie.

Spoilers under cut (and its kinda long)

Firstly I need to emphasize how valid everyone's emotions are. Emotions aren't logical or rational. They just are. So be easy to yourself and to others.

It's no secret that one of the reasons that I found so much comfort in this show was because over the overall low stakes. I have anxiety and it was nice knowing that no matter what ridiculous situation they got themselves into, that they'd be okay. They developed this universe over the past going on eight years and between 13 seasons combined in the current 'verse. There are even GA folks complaining in the comments across various entities on FB about this.

They made a calculated decision. They designed this universe and irreparably changed it. It is no longer "safe" and they will likely lose some viewers due to that. They now have to rebuild that lost trust into something new. But I know that these are professionals. They have a lot of combined years in the industry and ABC wasn't just going to let them do something that would be detrimental to the overall show.

My comfort in the show has been shaken. (Lets get one thing straight and two things gay though if they ever try this shit with my baby, Buck... peace.) However, it really does open the show up to more things.

Now mind you, the reason why a good number of us, myself included, love this show is because it is so ridiculous. It doesn't always take itself too seriously, and is this weird juxtaposition of a dramedy and a soap opera and I eat that shit up. We don't watch this show because it has the best writing in the world. Not everything has to be prestige TV. Some things can just exist. And sometimes, things can be bad and still enjoyable.

All that being said, I've processed a lot between now and last night and here are some of my overall thoughts.

Yes, things need to be shaken up. (That being said, keep Shonda and them tf outta the room.) This is a fact of life with procedurals, especially, ensemble shows especially need to have shake ups. Take NCIS for example. Kate died in season two, the actress went onto another show. In came Ziva. At this point as they go into season 22, the only person left from the original cast is McGee. Characters and actors have died or moved onto other projects, but the show is still going strong.

Let's call a spade a spade and keep it 100 for a moment. The storylines were getting stale and repetitive. A shake up needed to happen if it were to continue past next year. None of us knows what truly happened in those production meetings and beyond. Tim said this was 100% creative, but that doesn't mean that it was 100% on him. (Speculation:) It could have been highly suggested from the network for any number of reasons like a condition of renewal, it could have been Peter being close to ready to pack it up (he mentioned in September "having a year or two left in him"). We truly don't know.

A happy/hopeful ending for everyone was possible when he was getting canceled in season six and would have been possible if it was being canceled this season, but they're trying to keep it going for as long as they can, and that means cast shake ups.

What I am pretty confident in is that Peter wasn't pushed out that door. He's an EP on the show and if he didn't want to go... he wouldn't have.

Further, there's no one else it could have really been. He was the backbone of the 118 family and had the most connection to everyone. From a storytelling perspective... this is important. They'll bring in a new captain next year. Maybe they'll promote Hen, maybe they'll bring in someone else. But there are going to be growing pains. There is going to be turbulence in ways that we haven't really explored on the show.

As for how it was done, it was heartbreaking, but it was so, so, so good. These past two episodes were some of the best that they have ever made. They were cohesive, despite having two different directors. It was so beautiful. The symbolism, the acting, the filmography... phenomenal. The two most important people in his life got to say their goodbyes. He got his endgame. He died knowing that he was loved and that, with his faith, he knew that it was going to be okay. He would have known that he was going to see his children again. I noticed his posture change when Chim asked him about his kids. He was happy to talk about them because it wasn't going to hurt much longer missing them (yeah, I made myself cry with that one).

Even last season, when he was saying his goodbyes, Buck got the most intimate of them. And they got to have their moment. He didn't die alone. He may not have been able to touch, but he closed his eyes knowing that his wife was by his side.

A lot of people are justifiably and understandably upset that this happened right as he felt true joy in his life. But remember, if it wasn't so impactful, it wouldn't hurt so much. Many of us saw him as our father figure too and we're mourning that loss. Be kind to yourself and others.

RIP Cap.

You'll be missed.

#911 on abc #911 spoilers #911 meta #bobby nash #8x15 discussion #peter krause #118 fire fam

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rescue-ram · 2 years ago

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Now I'm curious, how would you adapt a modern version of Mash?

Oh man thank you for giving me pretext to ramble about this. I have too many thoughts about Cursed Hypothetical MASH Reboot.

Genre Change MASH is from the golden age of sitcom and is one of the best examples of the genre. Tragically, really good sitcoms don't get made, and the shorter lengths commissioned mean we wouldn't get space for the sillier or more experimental episodes that make MASH so charming and memorable. This is also why any remake or reimagining could never replace the original. There's also less "suspension of disbelief" with modern audiences, so I think modern MASH would have to have a more grounded setting and consistent time line, so RIP time loop. I think the modern genre that would best fit MASH is dramedy. Classico MASH already had elements of "get 'em laughing so they cry harder" and Hypothetical Remake MASH would play that up. Basically, we're gonna "Better Call Saul" this bitch.

In writing out my ideas below, I realized hitting the main plot beats I imagine makes this sound like. Depressing. Which it kind of would be! But I want to emphasize that in my mind's eye this would still tonally be a comedy right up until It Isn't. Similar to BCS, characters encounter obstacles, handle them in very funny ways, but things Keep Happening and compounding and at the end you realize all those funny things have added up to something horrific and inevitable.

General Thoughts In my beautiful mind, this is five twelve episode seasons, each corresponding to a roughly six month period- the first two seasons are 1951, climaxing with Henry's death, first episode or two of season 3 is Trapper leaving/BJ arriving and then 3/4 is 1952, and the final season is 1953 and the ceasefire. Fortunately, because the characters in MASH are pretty well fleshed out with a lot of traits I think they could be turned into dramedy characters pretty easily, and you can take the Big Things that happen to them and play them straight/expand on them into proper arcs. Also, pulling in more historical details could be really interesting, and an opportunity to unpack how Fully Evil the war in Korea was. In reading more memoirs from doctors who served in MASH units, I was struck by how much contact with international forces they had, and the surprising amount of contact with their Chinese/Korean counter-parts. I think more of both of those things would be fun to incorporate into Hypothetical Remake.

Expanded Roles for Nurses We need more women. And fortunately, we got them! Even though there is Not A Lot of existing canon, I really do think we have enough on the recurring nurses to act as seeds for fuller characters. I would love to see Kellye developed as a supporting character from the start. Struggling to articulate this, but I think a deeper perspective on anti-Asian sentiment could be explored through her, possibly with some connections to the history of colonialism in Korea in particular. The character was described as Chinese and Hawaiian, but given her credited surnames of Yamato and Nakamura getting a little into her Japanese heritage and the resentment of Koreans towards the Japanese could be interesting as well. I also think "Dish" Schneider's conflict, torn between loyalty to her husband/fiancee and her attraction to the handsome funny guy who relentlessly flirts with her, could be a source of drama. I also really like Ginger's recurring "thing" with Trapper in canon, and expanding that into an actual friendship and digging into the racism and taboos against interracial relationships of the period would be interesting. You can take Margie Cutler as a young and inexperienced nurse and give her a little coming of age arc. I would also love for Knocko McCarthy to be a foil for Margaret- as the second most senior nurse, she chafes under Margaret's command and kind of collaborates with the Swampmen to subvert her, culminating in Margaret calling her out that if she didn't side with them against her, they'd hate Knocko too, and them growing closer over the series.

Ho-Jon and Expanded Roles for Korean Characters Many have written about the shitty representation of Koreans in MASH, and Hypothetical Remake could remediate that significantly. I think giving Ho-Jon (or a similar new character) an expanded role would be good, with more ties to his family out of camp and conflict over whether or not supporting the occupying American forces and the south is the right thing to do or the expedient thing. I also think there's some dark comedy to be mined from a slightly subversive Ho-Jon taking advantage of racism and being seen as ignorant or interchangeable to get away with shit. Would love for Black Market Guy to be a recurring character. There's also a great real life story I read where a MASH surgeon formed a bond with a Chinese doctor after accidentally connecting to a PLA radio channel, and I think that could be adapted into a really fun source of comedy (bonding with "the enemy" over shared indignities, surprising similarities, etc) and ultimately drama (Hawkeye finds out about a US or ROK attack that will cripple that doctor's unit or put him in danger- does he say nothing, knowing hundreds will be injured or killed including maybe his new friend, or does he commit treason and risk prison or death to warn him- and how does he live with not knowing what happened when he has to choose inaction?) Any of the Very Special episodes could be adapted and expanded. And of course, Hypothetical Remake would have Korean writers, or consultants, or at the very least a goddamn baby name book so we don't end up with a dozen characters just named Kim, or worse random syllables.

Radar I would love to keep Radar as one of the main POV character throughout the whole series and use his unique position to bridge between different storylines- he's an enlisted man so he has that perspective, he's close with Hawkeye and the surgeons, he's assisting Henry/Potter so he has ties to command, give him a friendship with a nurse and you're set. Given the comedy-to-tragedy arc of dramadys, I would love to take the book detail that he enlisted with dreams of glory and becoming a general and lean fully into that. He starts out season 1 as a sweet naive farm kid flying by the seat of his pants to figure out his job, he gets more and more enmeshed with the military over the course of the series, currying favor with the brass to pull strings to help the unit/his friends/himself, and it ends with Potter giving him a recommendation for officer school- an outcome fully framed as a tragic loss of self to a corrupt institution.

Hawkeye I think Seasons 1 and 2 in particular could be driven by the Hawkeye and Trapper committing outrages and crimes in the name of justice/not giving a shit, and then having to spend the rest of the season engaging in more outrages and crimes to Bugs Bunny their way out of consequences. The central tragedy arcing through the series is the Destruction of Hawkeye Pierce. He starts out determined to stay himself, stick to his principles, and not let the army change him. The glimmer of hope at the end is that he has survived and gets to go home, but At What Cost. I also think making him bipolar makes the most sense- early season Hawkeye hints he's had highs and lows before, but always managed to cope, but under the increasing stress his mental health gets worse. Insomnia due to overwork triggers a manic episode (adapting Dr Pierce and Mr Hyde) about halfway through S1, with a major change in his relationship with Trapper associated with that, and his first on screen depressive episode triggered by Henry's death, which gets him his week of R&R he goes AWOL from. He holds it together through S3 with increasing amounts of self-medication for BJ's sake, and S4's overarching storyline for him is a fully Catch-22 expansion of The Late Captain Pierce with increasing levels of franticness to resolve it, and S5 is a full blown "I'M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE" crisis culminating in the equivalent of GFA, and a brief psychotic episode triggered by his mood dysregulation and moral injury. An expansion of The Late Captain Pierce would be a great source of absurdity and drama, the ultimate consequence of his alienation of Everyone In Bureaucracy or Command (they all dislike/hate him for his antics and disrespect in S1-3 and no one wants to help him in his predicament, with a few spitefully refusing to help outright), and necessary to explain his presence in Korea in 1953 since his enlistment should've ended by then (since key members of the bureaucracy Hate him they refuse to count the months he was "dead" as part of his service, and his father is in too poor of health/financially strained from his cancer scare to advocate for him successfully stateside). I also think "playing straight" all the nurses breaking up with him after Ceasefire could be interesting. Like, S1 Hawkeye is a ladies man who's saying all the right things and juggling multiple relationships, but after they realize he doesn't Capital L Love any of them they start to distance from him- not unfriendly, but less a source of support. That alienation from others, first with the nurses at the end of S1 then others in camp, causing a vicious cycle of increasingly erratic behavior leading to less support etc culminates in his breakdown towards the end of the series.

Trapper My beloved boy ♥️ who has less of an arc and more of a vibe in existing canon, so we get to make some shit up whole cloth. Either keep the book/movie canon they were friendly in college, or make them childhood friends- not close, but some kind of pre-existing relationship. First episode is them stealing a jeep and bonding as they get into Shenanigans and Danger on their way to camp. Some people have the headcanon that Trapper lost a brother in WWII because of Wayne Rogers' acting choices, and I think a backstory like that could be interesting. He starts out a little ambivalent about the war, not wanting to be there and very aware of the human costs, but also feeling he has a duty. As he and Hawkeye get into more and more Situations trying to expose war crimes or fix injustices and even basic supply issues and are met by indifference or incompetence, he gets disillusioned. After Hawkeye's manic episode, he decided the one Actually Good thing he can accomplish is keeping his friend sane until they can get back home, since he starts to increasingly see his medical work as futile and the UN intervention as hopeless/harmful. They get closer and rely on each other more and more in S2, and in my based and gay pilled vision this is explicitly romantic and sexual, albeit with serious ambiguity if they would've had this relationship outside the trauma of war. Towards the end of S2, Trapper starts to get sick, and it turns out stress and increased alcohol & tobacco use contributed to an ulcer- it almost seems like he'll be sent home, but as in Classico MASH he begins treatment at the 4077th- and then Henry dies. Hawkeye spirals and they have to send him away, and then Trapper has to help pick up the increased work load. His symptoms get worse and he tries to cope and hide it, and develops peritonitis. When he realizes he's going to be evacced to Tokyo and then back to the States, he has a bit of a fucking meltdown. Mission Failed, he can't be there for his friend, and he blames himself because it was partly caused by his alcohol abuse. This is not just me being a Trapper simp, he has to go home before his enlistment is up for plot reasons since we no longer get the benefit of fuzzy timeline, and the genre convention of dramedy is you always Reap The Whirlwind at the worst possible moment.

BJ Ironically, I don't need to change anything about BJ to turn him into a dramedy character. He already has a "negative character arc", and you just take the major beats of that, set them in a linear escalation, and tighten them up. He starts out bright eyed and idealistic, determined to keep his head up, do his duty, and get out. Hawkeye meets him at the air field, having missed Trapper. Hawkeye blames himself for Trapper's health problems, and wants to do better by the new guy, offering him support and guidance. BJ bonds with him through the craziness, but as stress increases he starts acting out in small petty stochastic pranks, and then Peg's letters and missing his family build his anger, and he lashes out at Hawkeye because he suspects (in that "he's not right but he isn't wrong either" way) that Hawkeye's friendship isn't really because of BJ himself but because BJ is Trapper's Replacement. He suspects Hawkeye and Trapper were more than friends and he's simultaneously jealous and repulsed- he wants to totally replace Trapper and for Hawkeye to like him best, but he also loves Peg and misses her terribly and resents Hawkeye for "making" him want him. His chaotic unhinged repression is funny until it's briefly terrifying, then sad. As Hawkeye's mental health deteriorates, he tries to be supportive, but is ultimately overwhelmed by the intensity of Hawkeye's crisis and pulls back, though they mend things somewhat at the end.

The Hawkeye/Trapper/BJ Nexus In summary, our core duos are codependent trainwrecks, but while TrapHawk are more of an enabling and felonious "Thelma and Louise" style folie a deux, BJ and Hawkeye are more of an epic highs and lows "if you can't be with the one you love love the one your with" "hand in unlovable hand" mess.

Margaret Don't have nearly as much to say about our girl because I suck and have been writing this for almost 2 hours now because I'm insane but she has one of the best character arcs in MASH and Hypothetical Remake would really just intentionally start laying out her conflicts and growth from episode 1. She would also have more independent story arcs of trying to manage the nurses, and navigating advancing her career in the face of sexism. I would love to see her messy and complicated relationships with powerful men explored more fully. She bonds with Frank first to have a relationship where she's more in control than with her superiors, then as an ally to push back against the TrapHawk Chaos, then as she grows more confident (and TrapHawk get in over their heads) she is able to let go of the cloak of power military pretensions give her and be more herself.

Henry and Potter Henry remains a lovable incompetent. The one headcanon I have I'd like to use in Hypothetical Remake is that he's pretty severely dyslexic- I base that off his mispronunciations and malapropisms and canonical issues with reading (in Classico MASH doing things like holding a paper upside down or not being able to read maps and the words on them). He got through med school by having his wife read his textbooks out loud and type his papers, and brute force memorization. This is part of why he over relies on Radar to manage his paperwork and is easily scammed into signing off on things- he really can't tell what he's signing unless he uses all of his focus to decipher the text, and he's a trusting person so he rarely does. @marley-manson I LOVE your take that your ideal Potter is the exact same character in the show but the narrative treats him as an antagonist, and that is the vibe Hypothetical Remake would have.

Frank and Charles Again not a lot to say here, secondary characters and minor antagonists, but they would remain big sources of commentary but their pathos would be played up more in a dramedy.

Mulcahy Again, not too much different from canon, just more intentional building of a tragic arc. A smart sensitive guy who grew up poor and thought the church would be a path to respect or maybe even greatness got told to be a math teacher by his diocese, enlisted as a chaplain when the war broke out as part of his personal quest for meaning and significance, is confronted by the horrors and damage to innocent lives but still tries to believe in a greater purpose and good to what's happening, struggles with feelings of powerlessness and futility, and when he's finally able to do something heroic loses his hearing, which costs him his vocation- he's permanently disabled and would be unable to return to his old role as a parish priest/school teacher.

Recurring Characters Sidney my beloved ♥️ We bring back Sam Pak as a returning character. Also General Hammond and other members of the brass. I think Oliver could work really well as a recurring character.

Klinger Whole bundle of thoughts on this guy I wanted to save till the end. Because I adore Klinger, he's incredibly funny and one of the kindest and most principled characters on the show, and he's also incredibly 70s and I don't think could work as he was in a 21st century dramedy. I can see three potential paths to adapting him. A) Lean into the young, brash, hustler side of his personality, and he's a straight guy who thinks the craziest thing someone could do is wear a dress. B) An explicitly gay character who refuses to admit to being gay for a discharge because he finds the idea of being judged less than or broken for his sexuality incredibly offensive, but did drag back in Toledo and also refuses to stop being himself just because he got drafted. C) Principled pacifist serving as an orderly because of the draft who refuses to wear the uniform and started wearing dresses as a protest against bullying/abuse- oh, your gonna call me a sissy and steal my clothes because I refuse to use a gun? I will not only wear a dress, I will zhuzh it up into something amazing, because I would rather wear this outfit you intend to humiliate me with than that damn uniform.

#mash #thank you for the ask!!#i literally wrote this out for over three houts why did i do that lol

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henrysglock · 5 months ago

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Oh but you need to remember, stranger things is apparently never that deep and foreshadowing doesn’t exist, unless it’s something that can be interpreted as “byler endgame proof” or some other shipping material of course.

😔🎤

You're so right. My bad. How could I forget. Unless it's about byIer or WiII Byers it's simply Nawt that deep. Henry's story could never be as deep as byIer's romantic dramedy. No, no. He just gets a normal average backstory with no deeper levels of oddness. Ignore all the blatant differences between his three backstory retellings. Those are errors because the Duffers and Kate are stupid dumb-dumbs. Unless it's about byIer. Then they're fucking insane mastermind geniuses. So on and so forth.

#asks

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llycaons · 6 months ago

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Section Five: Part XV

Shenanigans: COMEDY. boy do I love a laugh

*CEO Billionaire Lan Zhan* by detention_notes

summary: you all knew this was going to be on here. the greatest transformative work in existence. parody of lonely, stoic ceo lwj, impoverished hyperactive wwx, coffee shop meet-cutes, and the various absurdities of tropey wx fic. both canons are joked about work issues: none author issues: none! this author is great

*Marital Prospects* by Vamillepudding

summary: in an canonverse AU where the war never happened and everyone lived, now-sect leader jzx is increasingly annoyed by wwx’s refusal to leave koi tower after jl’s birth. in order to get him out of their hair, he attempts to match him up with nmj. it may be a cliche, but hilarity indeed ensues lwj is perfectly repressed and insane, jzx is smug and stupid, nhs is trying to stay out of it, nmj is slightly maniacal, and lxc has concerning standards for acceptable behavior from children. absolutely hysterical, especially the finale. wwx is oblivious-to-engaged in seconds flat, but the rest of it is so funny I don’t even mind work issues: none author issues: xiyao

*Fatherhood’s Calling by Fortune_Maiden

summary: burial-mounds-era jzx, realizing that jyl sees wwx as a sort of son, attempts to step up as a father and irritates literally everyone around him in the process. one of the funniest things I have ever read, flat out. either canon but feeling more novel-verse work issues: none author issues: has written lxc/nhs

*The Hangover: A pre-wedding Dramedy* by natcat5

summary: an absolute blast. many povs, many crimes, and many characters converge in the night before the xuanli wedding, ft. betrayal, car chases, petty vengeance, kidnapping, fistfights, manipulative crying, lost phones, getting blackout drunk, awkward getting-along prison time, and gay awakenings there are four works in this series, and I think they’re all great except the last one - it’s a bit generic, not a comedy, and not super in-character, but that’s okay since it’s fairly discrete anyway. highly recommend the first one - nhs is a treat. this is loosely based on the hangover, which I’ve never seen, the author has apparently never seen, and which you need no knowledge of. either canon, except for xy - see below work issues: none, but the way xy is treated requires a note. he’s closest to his novel self, but he’s also relatively harmless? like, he’s this weird destructive teenager apparently much younger than xxc and sl, who are like, babysitting him as his parole officers or something. certainly not the quasi-romantic manipulation that’s featured in cql author issues: none

*The Fault in Our Stars by Vamillepudding

summary: god, this one is so funny. modern AU wwx and lwj, both fabulously wealthy and famous, meet by chance without realizing who the other is. for various rather silly reasons, they both assume the other is barely scraping by and then independently commit to appearing poorer than they are to avoid embarrassing the other with their fabulous and unreasonable wealth. really funny. these guys are completely out of touch with reality work issues: none author issues: xiyao, or else their other one would be in this section too

*Making an Effort by bosgood

summary: wwx and jc are struggling to endure jzx’s terrible beercycle bachelor party until wwx sees someone he’d rather hang out with instead. short, really funny, and sweet, especially the author’s note work issues: none author issues: jl/lsz

*give it to me straight by JSM�� (Senforza)

summary: modern au, a cracky teen comedy where jc melodramatically and self-righteously suffers in the dawning knowledge that he’s the token straight of the friend group. I laughed out loud the entire time reading this work issues: 3zun is mentioned but never actually shows up, nhs identifies as pan, and there’s a scene where jc talks about like, waking up and witnessing wwx and lwj having sex?? maybe?? honestly I just didn’t take any of it seriously, this is mostly teenage jc being a hot mess author issues: background 3zun in their other fic

stray cat strut by ScarlettStorm

summary: not technically a comedy, but quite lighthearted and silly nonetheless. while out nighthunting, canonverse lwj finds an exceptionally intelligent black spiritual cat in the forest who helps him defeat a yao, and adopts him. turns out that cat is a cursed wwx, and attempts to break the curse commence. it’s kind of hornier than interested in the tender romantic feelings, but the get-together was really nice and fun and I liked it all quite immensely. short and satisfying. lwj’s small but significant connections to his mom were very sweet. and they hang out with a some brothel workers in a really lovely chapter quite jiang-friendly, to the point where some of the author notes had me screaming bc no, myu would actually hate wwx whether jfm was dead or not?? anyway, a good time. and just to clarify no, it’s not bestiality. either canon but more towards cql bc of the jiang treatment imo work issues: none author issues: feminized wwx and nhs, pansexuality...just general annoying choices in their other fics

Happily single by moonwaif

summary: little apple pov! postcanon, wwx contemplates getting a husband for her so she won’t be lonely, but little does he know she’s got the best friend she could hope for. the characterization for her is appropriately sassy, and the ending is surprisingly sweet. novel canon work issues: none really, but the everyday thing is mentioned, so ugh author issues: xiyao and 3zun

you’re not hardcore unless you live hardcore by lesbianspirals

summary: it’s wwx starring in the school of rock, baby! this hilarious work is surprisingly faithful to canon themes and characterizations, though I think it gets a little corny by the end and the romance is not its strong suit. it’s still a super fun time. work issues: none author issues: none

*Hangin’ With The Raisin Girls by Dhillarearen

summary: postcanon oneshot on the epic romance of sect leader yao/sect leader ouyang. there are footnotes. I cackled work issues: none author issues: jl/lsz

The Ghost of Gusu Lan by twinky_dyke

summary: jgy is dead and he’s haunting cloud recesses. follow him as he makes a nuisance of himself, judges everyone he comes across, and ineffectually tries to ruins wangxian’s romantic moments. says cql canon but it reads more like novel to me work issues: none author issues: genderbends

*The Word of Your Body by Elcief

summary: HOUSE MD CROSSOVER BABY! I searched for this as a joke and then found it and immediately loved it. post-jinlintai stab wound, wwx and lwj stumble through a portal into new jersey, where wwx is immediately taken to the ER and lwj wanders around a comics convention looking for him not the most serious of fics but the characterization isn’t bad! charming and interesting and funny. no wilson or cameron, but house himself is enough of a delight to carry the world. won’t be as fun if you don’t know the show house, but worth reading for a little dimension-crossing goofs work issues: PM kiss mentioned :( author issues: none. mostly goofy crossovers and comedies

Best man for the job; a detailed treatise on Chief Cultivation by Aerlalaith

summary: postcanon lwj is dragged into reluctant respect for jgy’s sense of organization and competence as he takes on the mantle of chief cultivator. quite funny and in-character. either canon work issues: none author issues: dubcon

Forget Me Not by Vamillepudding

summary: postcanon wwx and lwj lose their memories at different parts of their lives and are told by other characters they’ve gotten married when in fact they haven’t actual gotten together yet at all. but it’s completely okay. some other characters have to babysit them and it’s kind of charming to see how they interact. it’s sweet, they make out a lot. cql canon work issues: none author issues: xiyao

thunder only happens when it’s raining by ScarlettStorm

summary: you know how rainstorms always accompany drama and tragedy in the show? what if the characters noticed that and panicked when it started to rain because they thought something terrible was happening? a goofy little meta fic. cql canon by design work issues: none author issues: they’ve done some really weird things with feminizing wwx

Twin Heroes of Tigers by FrostyAngst

summary: I found this silly little fic incredibly funny. does it make sense? no. what canon does it follow? no idea. is it in-character? kinda! check it out and have yourselves a chuckle work issues: none author issues: wwx/nmj

Back to Start

#I love this section. more people should write funny things #section 5 #part 15 #fic recs

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orbiorbster · 10 months ago

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THE GALLAGHERS REVIEW PART 1: FIONA GALLAGHER

(Gonna start this by saying that I have recently finished the show in terms of s1-9 and will include opinions I have on it, but these reviews will only focus on each person in the Gallagher household and their romantic relationships. Part of this is also to kick off discussion so if I missed something or someone lmk!)

This show has one of the strongest plots to a dramedy I think I've ever seen. From its characters to its stories to the way it depicts the struggles of lower class for those in a large city, most of the show worked in a clever format made just for it. Even though Frank is the ambassador of what it's trying to represent, I take Fiona as the most rounded of the family. In fact I believe she is the true main character. Every gallagher is a protagonist but she herself is the center.

Even without her caretaker role in the family, she's one of the few characters I can say consistently grows and develops as a character. Each of her relationships-both good and bad-reflect back to her as a person and where she's at. Her flaws were dimensional and her conflicts with others were justified. Plus she's a damn good older sister character that I feel a lot of people could relate to.

I also feel that the mistakes she makes as a character hit harder than most of the others because of just how much effort she puts into breaking the cycle her parents included them in yet she falls right back into. Progress being nonlinear is a brutal realization she represents greatly.

I would say I have less grievances with her and more with the pacing and time given between her and her relationships, so I'll get into those now-

JIMMY/STEVE

Do I think Jimmy's persistence to be with her was sweet? Not really! Do I believe he was one of the bests to her? Not even close! But do I believe he was one of the bests? Yes

The thing with Fiona's exes is that they either lack compatibility or lack personality, and though he didn't treat Fiona exactly the best or even regarded her needs in certain situations, he is the best in terms of personality. When he left for good his absence was as clear as day because no one had the same charm or screen time. You would consider him a seperate character with his family interconnecting with the Gallaghers. He had such an interesting impact on the show which I enjoyed watching, but don't believe it was good for Fiona.

TONY

Tony was sweet and also a natural integration into how the Gallaghers originally get out of their degenerate crimes. Like of course one of them has a close connection with a cop in order to bail them out of serious shit, and of course that same cop protecting Fiona and her family would be the competitor to the bad boy who wants Fiona regardless. However he felt more like a tool for their plots than a fully rounded person. His family was just offscreen mentions, and he only returned to the picture when something was needed.

He also has a caring affection toward his community, which is surprising considering he's a cop in downtown Chicago. I knew he wasn't any real competition.

ADAM

V was absolutely right he's 100% the discount Jimmy. He's just alright, I forgot he even really existed. I can only give grace because his compatibility was in a means to help strengthen Fiona's conflict. He represented Fiona's struggle to let go of Jimmy and that independence outside of the kids she truly yearns for. Like finally a male character being the support tool for a female lead.

MIKE

Mike has the opposite problem of Jimmy. I don't think he stands out very well compared to the rest of the ex cast, but I'm gonna be honest he's truly the best relationship Fiona ever really had. He wasn't just a symbol for what she wanted or needed either, he actually got along quite well with her. He's a lot better than Adam and I felt their connection was going to mean a lot like FINALLY a real relationship that can fight with Jimmy. Too bad she fucked that up

ROBBIE

Fuck this asshole for being a really good affair arc. I personally don't like affair arcs because their cliche at this point but they threw this one out of the park. He didn't even get a lot of screen time, but here I could tell it was intentional, because his impact was what's really important. He showed Fiona she still wasn't ready for that full independence because it requires accountability that none of the Gallaghers had. He also showed that disastrous cycle of her family she's managed to avoid for years. Just because she was the best caretaker for the rest of the family doesn't mean she still wasn't psychologically impacted by their behavior. From ending things with Mike to the drugs left with Liam her character needed this wakeup call as a way to continue her growth.

GUS

This is when the pacing for her relationships began to stumble a bit. Not to say that Gus was a terrible one, but the contribution he had to Fiona wasn't there. Yes he was meant for Fiona to learn her impulsiveness and accountability still needed time to learn, but how it went about wasn't necessarily amazing or anything. That plus Jimmy felt out of nowhere. Like the scene where she finally lets Jimmy go was amazing, but that seasons story had nothing to do with it, more so the previous ones helping build this up. Also he is written to be antagonistic after, but his actions are a little justified.. Fiona started this and their pettiness is what made it continue. Instead of Gus leaving for tours, or the other characters telling us how to feel about him, they could've taken the time to show how his personality wasn't nearly as great as Fiona expected and her rose tinted glasses needed to be ripped off the right way. That would've helped with the relationship after.

SEAN

I NEEEEED JUSTICE FOR HIM. It irritates me so much how much they built on him just for him to be thrown out like another Jimmy when he's NOT. What about him or his personality showed that he would've abused drugs for that long without telling Fiona? HE ALREADY TOLD FIONA?? Then what showed he would straight up lie about it?? The entire point of him not wanting to be with Fiona in the BEGINNING was his truth in the struggles to stay sober, and yet FIONA grew and maintained herself for him then vice versa. We already had this together. He was (at first) honest all the way about his conflicts and it was Fiona who had to learn to open up and actually communicate instead of wanting to immediately axe what they had.

What I believe should've really happened is, yes, Frank still does continue to ruin the wedding, but either A) let the paid killer actually go through (esp since they REALLY wanted us to consider it, being a cliffhanger and everything) or B) have it just be a LIE to RUIN the wedding and have Fiona's family antics be the ultimate reason a relationship ends. She even says in the first season most men see how her and her family are and can't stand it by a year, yet NONE of the previous exes really show that. Sean also doesn't want his kid to truly interact with all of them, let alone integrate them as family in law? Right here would've worked so perfectly to say that Fiona's attachment and their dynamic had to be changed.

FORD

Quite literally the same problem as Sean except he doesn't even have a personality. He's not even subtle in representing a reflection of Fiona, he's just a lesson for her to learn. The end of their relationship means not a thing. He was as clear as a wine glass he had nothing to do with children. If he had a struggle with his previous wife, what is the point of making more? He slept with a lesbian for what purpose, writers, what purpose. He gets upset at Fiona and her flakiness for what purpose. If the only personality trait you give him is HONEST and RELIANT, him lying about a wife and child he doesn't care about makes NO sense. Again, use this time to give Fiona a chance at reflection, that it is ultimately HER decisions and HER failures that ruin a relationship. If you're not gonna make a dimensional character have them support the real one! That would make her downward spiral more realistic! She can find another tinder date, writers, please!!!

Everyone else I do not feel has the importance of the above. They are either summary of Fiona's character or are not a real relationship.

CONCLUSION

Fiona is an amazing character, but her relationships and their pacing could've used more work if they truly wanted to have them. She had a lot to add on the message and stories they wanted in this show, and her departure of the show was imo the real goodbye.

#squire rambles #reviews #show review #shameless us #shameless #fiona gallagher

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panelshowsource · 2 years ago

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it seem so 😔 it's amazing to hear he's recovering well enough to write a whole show and do a whole tour! i have a feeling it won't be filmed, so it would be great to hear any of your experiences if you get a chance to see the show. (maybe you can send me a summary? i'm sure he'll talk more about it all then, given the synopsis for the tour :')) off the back of sean, rhod, and janey godley, i was just thinking about how the generation of comedians i grew up with are hitting more vulnerable years, which is very sobering, but i digress...

here are the tour dates for anyone who missed the announcement!

here on panelshowsource? because i was busy and not online :)

sorry anon, you sent this a couple days after his bday and i don't think i'll do belated posts. i actually wanted to do something for it, but i was just busy with life and didn't get enough of a head start (i usually need 2–3 days prep time). next time!

yes i totally agree! i like daisy on the show because she clearly loves music (the way she's always hyping up the identity parade artists is honestly really wholesome and appreciated) and she is a riot — even if she's exaggerating, better that someone is exaggerating having fun than not. i guess that's where daisy and jamali balance each other out, some episodes lmaooo greg is a textbook ham, so daisy getting such a kick out of his RIDICULOUS jokes — which makes greg so happy — plus greg and noel already having such a comfortable (and often silly) rapport makes them such a solid 3. greg and jamali have definitely gotten more comfortable with each other, too. they're a fucking random bag of people but i think it works! that show is a hot mess of good, goofy vibes

yeah, sometimes! just depends on the interviewee. last new one i listened to was probably ed byrne? i was just listening to a john kearns one since (spoiler alert for this ask post) someone asked for a collection folder for john — it's a sweet one. to be fair, john is just a sweet man. i'm not crazy about richard herring — he's fine — so sometimes i'll quit mid-way if richard is making it too much about himself or complaining too much (you know how he is). but in general i don't think i've missed anything significant bc i got bored or skipped an ep. do you recommend one?

sure! they're honestly one of my faves ever. obsessed with them. i was just thinking about what chaos jimmy + jon + joe + roisin are, generally the episodes when joe is filling in for sean. jimmy already loves a derailing, and you can tell he gets such a kick out of both joe and roisin (same way he gets a kick out of rob beckett, honestly), and jon really lets loose with those three — they're SO stupid hahahaha like this has to be one of the most random, stupid episodes ever i love it so much

it will be my pleasure doing research for such a gifset 😈

i have added him to the collection folder!

linked to some typical panel shows + added his radio 4 series, his latest radio dramedy with tim key and his sitcom top coppers (both added to the secondary masterpost), a couple sketch things, a couple youtube things :) i also collected his podcasts + a few random episodes i don't host on drive and added the links in a doc which i added as well (i'll go back and do that for the existing collections this weekend!)

enjoy!

ps. working on nish, mike wozniak, and david & victoria folders

—

WATCH LINKS MASTERPOST / FAQ / TAGS / ASK

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nitrateglow · 2 years ago

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Thoughts on Popi (1969)

Popi is one of the older Alan Arkin films I hadn’t seen yet and it’s probably the weirdest of his early work. It’s a Chaplin style dramedy about Abraham, a Puerto Rican-American widower (Arkin) living in Spanish Harlem who concocts the most batshit insane scheme possible to get a better life for his two young sons, who are routinely tormented by pigeon-decapitating young hoodlums and temptations of a criminal life. He plans on sticking them in a boat off Miami and making it look like they’re Cuban refugees in the hopes that the Coast Guard will pick them up and then turn them over to the authorities to be given a better life with an adopted family, preferably the rich kind looking for humanitarian clout.

This element of the film is satirical, but the satire might be lost without the proper historical context. This Letterboxd review breaks it down better than I could:

It’s a satire of Cold War politics and a stinging rebuke of the United States’ tendency to praise some immigrants seeking a better life for themselves, especially if those immigrants provide good optics for the world press, while forgetting about the rest. It’s also an unusually sophisticated exploration of the tensions that exist within the United States’ Hispanic community, which is most definitely not monolithic. Following passage of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, Cubans were granted unique status under U.S. immigration law: regardless of how they arrived — either “legally” or “illegally” — they were guaranteed a fast-tracked path to citizenship, mainly as a way of sticking it to the Castro regime.

Though having a non-Puerto Rican actor play this part is problematic for modern viewers to say the least, Arkin’s characterization is very interesting in how it sidesteps easy sentimentality. Arkin doesn’t make Abraham the most likable guy-- his plan is genuinely insane and actually more dangerous than he realizes, he refuses to listen to his far more rational girlfriend Lupe (played by a woefully underused Rita Moreno), and he’s pretty slap-happy when disciplining his kids (though this is probably just another reflection of the time, if my father’s stories about my Oma going after him with a rug beater when he was a kid in the late 60s is anything to go by). However, you never doubt he loves his sons and would die for them if need be. He has some genuinely touching moments because of this.

The movie around this satire and this performance isn’t entirely satisfying though. The first half is very padded out with lackluster slapstick that could have been comfortably pruned out. Arthur Hiller’s direction does well in emphasizing urban squalor and giving some scenes immediate, documentary verisimilitude, but I can’t say the tonal variety of the piece is handled in the best way. Most of the comedy didn’t land for me at all. I did like the bittersweet, borderline unresolved ending though-- it reminded me of contemporary works like The Graduate or I Love You, Alice B. Toklas which also conclude in unexpected ways, not allowing the audience an easy happily ever after.

#popi 1969 #alan arkin #rita moreno #arthur hiller #new hollywood #thoughts

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anonil88 · 2 years ago

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Me watching younger and older YJ fans push for less adult storyline and knowing to keep ratings the writers may just do that.

But, fr fr I'm a little sad if that does happen, we finally get adult queer representation that isn't one note and people aren't so here for it. I really hope the next season is more balanced of slow to fast and visually more horroresque. Still it was personally refreshing to see someone with a black queer family and think that could be me in 20 years sans the sleepwalking cult stuff. Then to see a full ensemble of women in that age range struggling to hold their trauma in broken pots is nice. Especially because the show is not a dramedy like Hacks or a limited series like Mrs. America. This show is sits very in between Desperate Housewives and Castle Rock/Penny Dreadful. Which is a great space that needed more interest but those aspects may get shoved to the back of the freezer along with some of the more interesting adult plots. The story does need more room to breath and for other characters to get a starter course in the wilderness. Which may be the right move IF they don't get a full 10 episodes or more, but that doesn't mean it won't suck for a trade off to keep the seasons coming.

I love the 96/97 timeline I really do and get the need for it to take focus as were really in it now. Just would hate for that part of the story to completely wipe out the older storyline or postcrash and it turn into a Riverdale or Stranger Things type of show which it was not marketed as. The writers got me fully on board with more teen (and adult) Van going forward cause her role in the chaos is getting interesting af same for Akilah. But, as I get older, i am 27 now, I naturally am starting to find it harder to relate to the younger counterparts. Which is a little scary, but I think its majorly because that market of tv is saturated in a thats all we get. Everything feels a little like we jump from one show to the next and there is no reprieve or space from teenage angst or the pitfalls of youth. The shows not focused on that arent promoted as well or focus on things personally idgaf about like gold panning. Fountain of youth focused shows should exist and are important i usually advocate for them, but I just hate that studios might make it all the tv we get so that they can make money. With the strike going on we have 0 clue what will come out or be greenlit but with so much cancelled that cover the older age range, queer people, etc. and isn't business background i am a bit like hmm about where the tv market will go. The TV market often bends to the loudest voices and the biggest wallets.

Post strike and fair wages being given, a market that solely appeals to the younger market and those who don't want a deep plot is kinda terrifying. Amp up the action, visuals, and drama but delete the expose and complexities entirely because it will keep viewership is such a luke warm take. And im seeing a lot of that in fan spaces in general but currently online for yellowjackets. A tv formula like thatvfeels very hamster on a wheel to me. I settle for established older women and a wrench of trauma thrown into their lives, especially with queer non cis-men rep, cause there's not much for my age range that's specific to that age range. I don't think I could settle for "wilderness baby" theory 4000 and "Laura lee is alive" theory 700 for a full 3 more seasons with 0 Shauna playing frogger with her minivan.

#yellowjackets showtime #yellowjackets #my thoughts #yellowjackets spoilers

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benoitblanc · 2 years ago

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for the sleepover asks !!

give me an unpopular opinion you have about knives out, what you would like to see in knives out 3 and lastly can i please have some film recs (it can be whatever genre you want just films you think i should watchhh) 🩷🩷🩷

unpopular opinion about knives out: i literally do not think i have any. i guess i completely understand why the scenes with donna and jacob explaining the walt/loan shark subplot were cut, if that even counts as unpopular? it definitely fills out that branch of the family more but i think if they HAD to cut anything it really had to be that; it didn't really contribute to the actual mystery, and i would rather spend spare minutes getting to know the cabreras than the least interesting thrombey sect

what i would like in knives out 3: this is not going to happen but i would give my right arm for elliot and wagner to come back in some capacity. i LOVE them. from a more serious standpoint, i'd like at least a little more philip, and it would make me very happy if we did a big city mystery now and went to london. maybe blanc and philip are visiting philip's family or something when shit goes down i don't know. what i DON'T want is anything that pulls blanc's personal life into the mystery. if philip or his family gets involved, fine! but i DO NOT want a benoit blanc backstory. he's compelling enough as is he doesn't need one <3

film recs (you have asked the right person; i love reccing things):

little miss sunshine (2006) is a black comedy about a dysfunctional family attempting to drive their volkswagen van from new mexico to california to enroll their 6yo in a beauty pageant. if knives out didn't exist this would be my favorite film of all time. it's SO good

tick tick boom (2021) is a musical drama about a young composer trying to make his way in the nyc theatre world in the 1990s. bring tissues for this one

galaxy quest (1999) is a loving parody of the star trek franchise that revolves around the ex-cast of a popular sci-fi show being abducted by aliens who think the show is real. possibly the funniest film of all time methinks

clue (1985)... i do not know how to describe this film. it's a murder comedy and tim curry is the lead. please watch this movie

it's a wonderful life (1947) is a theoretically-christmas film that you've likely heard of. if not, the first two-thirds of this film are a heartwarming dramedy about a young man's relationship with his small town and the last third is an existential horror film. it's a classic for a reason!

much ado about nothing (2011) is technically a proshot of a play but i don't fucking care. david tennant in That Scene is the greatest performance an actor has ever given

sleepover asks!!!

#thanks so much for asking!!!#answered #*mutuals #*milo

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whileiamdying · 8 years ago

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Muriel's Wedding is a feminist masterpiece and more relevant than ever

Karen Pickering Sun 12 Nov 2017 22.41 EST

In this dark time of reckoning, the classic film – and now stage musical – is a joyful reminder of the power of female friendships.

📸 Muriel and Rhonda rescue themselves and each other – and it’s a much sweeter salvation than any paint-by-number romcom. Photograph: Muriel's Wedding/Miramax

ow would you classify Muriel’s Wedding? The “romantic comedy” genre is one I love and respect, but it’s a little inadequate to describe a movie as rich and complex as this. After all, how many romcoms result in the heroine rejecting the once-pined-for love interest and deciding instead that the most important person in her life is her female best friend?

No, Muriel’s Wedding isn’t a frisky romcom; or a dramedy that’s equal parts hilarious and harrowing; or a moving account of female friendship. It’s not just an artefact of a time when Aussie indies were charming the world with “quirky” tales of “oddballs” and “weirdos”, or an adorably kitsch snapshot of Australiana. It’s all this and more: a searing document of Australian life referencing the injuries of gender, class, disability, abuse, corruption and the regional divide.

It’s why this film has stood the test of time, so layered that it continues to reward repeated viewings; and it’s why a full-scale musical reboot, reimagined in the modern day by the film’s original writer-director PJ Hogan, has been mounted by the Sydney Theatre company – a testament to the story’s enduring appeal.

Describing the film in its simplest terms, our hero Muriel is hurting badly and is healed by platonic love. She is trapped on so many levels – in an abusive home, a regional backwater, a toxic social environment – and she valiantly seizes her opportunities to escape, slightly illegal though they may be.

She steals money from her father, a bully whose entire career has been built on corruption and graft. She also takes a big chunk of change for agreeing to a sham marriage, so that a ruthless competitor can circumvent Olympic rules and win gold. And yes, she lies and schemes and believes in nonsense so she can keep breathing and cope with all the abuse she gets, from inside her family and out. I don’t actually think Muriel is terrible, if I’m honest. I think she’s a rad bitch (pretty much my highest compliment).

📸 ‘Muriel is utterly endearing and obviously, ironically, so much cooler than anyone else there – if only she could see it.’ Photograph: Muriel's Wedding/Miramax

From the very first scene, Muriel is utterly endearing and obviously, ironically, so much cooler than anyone else there – if only she could see it. Clad in head-to-toe leopard print, with red lips and nails, and rocking a tight mini on a big bod, Muriel clearly needs to ditch the losers of this town and spread her wings.

But the movie does such a great job of showing us how out of place she is, how totally the rules of Porpoise Spit prohibit her weirdness, her spunk, her very existence. From that moment, we are on her side, and we see that she’s adorable, funny, goofy and kind, not “stupid, fat and useless”. Unlike Tania and her gang, we want to be friends with Muriel – even if she doesn’t listen to the Baby Animals.

Muriel’s Wedding is also a furiously feminist movie. The main character goes on a few journeys towards empowerment: forging a friendship with someone who values and respects her; letting go of the crutch of fictional marriages and Abba therapy; standing up to her abusive father and deciding that living on the harbour with a handsome rich guy who likes “having her around” isn’t enough.

Muriel’s passage to womanhood is about realising which friendships are true and which ones stink, and tragically, about seeing that her mum must have been young and beautiful and hopeful once too – and that she cannot allow herself to meet the same fate.

Lots of little moments resonate with me as a feminist observer: Rhonda is totally and unapologetically sex-positive, and when her casual sex partners think a guy is taking advantage of Muriel they intervene on her behalf. Brice is an example of gentle, respectful and warm masculinity, while David is positively influenced in this direction by Muriel.

Undoubtedly, patriarchy is the decisive factor in creating Muriel’s reprehensible dad, in the behaviour of her hapless siblings, in the power differential between her mother and father, and even in the despicable Deirdre Chambers: just a sad woman in a bad man’s world. Bill Heslop exemplifies a particularly Australian strain of toxic masculinity. He’s macho, corrupt, racist, cruel to his children and wholly abusive to his poor wife. The most likeable he ever gets is when he’s grudgingly impressed by Muriel giving him the what for before she leaves.

📸 ‘Are you Muriel Heslop?’: Muriel (Toni Collette) and Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths) in Muriel’s Wedding. Photograph: Muriel's Wedding/Miramax

And how can we understand her beautiful, tragic mum without factoring in the misogyny and sexism that’s kept her in this home full of people who treat her so badly? But in Muriel’s case, it’s also a patriarchal fantasy that keeps her alive: the dream that one day she’ll be “a success” because someone will want to marry her.

Salvation comes in a different form. From the moment Rhonda arrives in a cloud of cigarette smoke and hairspray, with her irrepressible honesty, humour and rampant libido, she models a kind of femininity that is uncompromising and powerful, as well as tender and warm. Their friendship is organic, true and mutually affirming, making their reconciliation after Muriel really does behave badly a genuinely joyful one.

In the end, Muriel and Rhonda rescue themselves and each other – and it’s so much sweeter than anything a boring Prince Charming stock character could’ve produced.

Genuine joy is a currency we need to spend right now as we face this dark time of reckoning, with each new day bringing more proof that women have good reason to be at least circumspect about the men in their lives.

When the going gets tough, the tough find other women, and Muriel’s Wedding is a reminder that our female friendships are so often what pull us through. Because you’re never alone; you’re with Muriel.

#The Guardian #Karen Pickering #Review #Muriel's Wedding #Toni Collette #Rachel Griffiths #Australia #Cult #ABBA

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lunas-otome-blog · 4 months ago

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Luna's Review: Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani

Official Summary:

Able to see what others cannot, Agent Shino Akitsu works for a secret government organization monitoring powerful beings who travel between realms.

She meets entities with different personalities and abilities.

Part gatekeeper, part travel guide, she does her best to keep these otherworldly individuals from getting into inter-dimensional trouble.

Luna's Rating

Plot: 5/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Characters: 6/10

Art: 8/10

Overall: 6/10

Luna's Fave Characters: Akuroou & Tokitsugu

Luna's Thoughts (Spoiler Free)

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is a mouthful of a name for what boils down to a cozy workplace dramedy.

MC Shino Akitsu is aiming for a regular office job when she accidentally reveals she can see supernatural beings. Instead of clerical work, she's hired as an Ayakashimori, basically a police officer that handles conflicts in the demon realm. We do get to skip the disbelief about supernatural beings existing, because she's always known they do, so that was somewhat of a relief.

As part of her job, Shino sometimes must restrain ayakashi using spells, but unfortunately, this sounds cooler than it is. The mini-game itself is just pressing buttons in the right order and is mostly a waste of time — not to mention this function literally never comes up after the tutorial except to access the finale route.

Shino is an interesting protagonist because she has the mentality of a paper pusher. When she's flirted with, she responds in deadpan. When she's grabbed unexpectedly, she asks calmly to be released. You won't get any of the usual "kyaa!" and blushing from Shino — she's as straight-laced as it comes.

While this could have been used comedically, instead it comes across as boring. Shino is also an over-explainer, meaning all the dialogue, monologues and exposition are far longer than they need to be. In two of the routes, there's no romance until the very end.

While the portrait art is nice and the backgrounds are an interesting hybrid of modern and old-style Japanese architecture, a major misstep in this game is not having any sprites for background characters. Sakuratani is supposed to be a world full of hundreds of different kinds of ayakashi, but the backgrounds are spartan and lifeless, creating a disconnect. There are entire battle scenes where you're just staring at an office because none of the enemies have sprites. Dairoku would have done well to have a few stock sprites on hand to demonstrate the unique populace of monsters.

This game also assumes you're familiar with a lot of Japanese mythology, so be ready to google a lot of creatures and historical events. I wouldn't have minded this so much if there was more artwork in the game, but as I said, it's pretty much exclusively the main characters, so it's hard to picture anything. There should have been at least silhouettes. The villains also have no sprites despite featuring heavily in their respective routes, and it's no mystery who they are because the game doesn't give names to characters who aren't important.

From the premise, I was expecting more action from Dairoku, but instead it's more of a cozy office romance. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. I think I'd probably have liked this game a lot more as a younger person. As an adult, though, I was disappointed by this game. It's fine but not great.

Please find below my thoughts on each route in the order I played them. Spoilers abound.

Shu Route (Spoilers)

Shu is a hybrid oresama/tsundere character, which basically means he's exactly my type. He's standoffish but simpleminded and easy to bribe with fruit and sweets. Idk what's going on with his sprite but his pants are TOO LOW lol.

While I loved his cute character, his route was kind of a nothing route. Allegedly Shu and his aide Orochi are plotting to take over Sakuratani, but we see zero evidence of what this means. There are no other sprites as part of their group, so it feels hard to believe there's any sort of movement building up.

The only thing mentioned is that Shu and Orochi can fuse to become a more powerful being, but because Orochi would disappear, that was never part of the plan except as a last resort. So what was the plan, then? The world may never know.

Behind the scenes, Orochi and Shu seem to want to use Shino for their own gain, but Orochi says later they were really just planning to convince her to join their cause of her own volition. So they were really just acting shady for zero reason.

They actually DO end up using Shino as a hostage at one point, so why not just make that the plan originally? It would have added tension and made this plot more believable. Shino could have felt betrayed but be forced to acknowledge that she also was trying to get close to them for her work. But instead all of this is glossed over.

The MVP of this route is Orochi, who reminds me a lot of Killua from HunterxHunter. Orochi doesn't really have a moral compass — he serves Shu and does whatever Shu wants, even if what he wants is silly and nearly impossible. The way he sort of dislikes Shino at the start but immediately decides to pair them up when he realizes Shu likes her was really cute.

Shu as a character was 10/10 for me, but his route was unfortunately lackluster. I wish there was more to it.

Shiratsuki Route (Spoilers)

Shiratsuki is somewhat flirty in the common route, so I didn't think I'd like him that much. But once Shino figures out he's putting on a facade, he sort of drops the act. I actually ended up liking him a lot. Unfortunately his personality does not make up for his very boring, completely uneventful route.

Shiratsuki offers in the common route to become Shino's shikimori — basically a demon who does her bidding — and on this route she accepts his offer. Of course, he has baggage around being a shikimori, because he was unable to protect his previous master.

I figured this would be the main focus of the route, but once the infodump is over, this plot point is forgotten, and there isn't anything else propelling the route forward. There's a fight with Kokko (Shiratsuki's aide) and a small mishap with a character who is so unimportant he has no sprite and is referred to only as "Kitsune Kid," but neither of these events are enough to be considered a plot, and they are resolved as quickly as they come up.

Idk who green lit this part of the game but this is probably the most disjointed excuse for a route I've ever played. I feel bad for Shiratsuki. His character design is probably my favorite in the game and he deserved better.

Akuroou Route (Spoilers)

Akuroou (or as he tells you to call him, Akuro) is the gap moe character. He reminds me a lot of Jumin Han from Mystic Messenger because he's straight-laced, professional and likes cats. In his common route scenes, we find out he is used to people thinking he's scary because of his appearance, and he can read people pretty well.

After one very meh route and one terrible route with no plot, Akuro's route was a delightful change of pace. It was actually well-written, with a fairly consistent storyline. Unlike in Shiratsuki's route, the side characters get a decent amount of attention here and are used well.

The main thrust of Akuro's route is that he has baggage from when he used to live in the human world, and due to his violent past, he is targeted by an Ayakashimori with a grudge and blamed for a crime he did not commit.

I do wish Shino had a more active role in the investigation, and the scenes where Akuro transforms into an akki (evil oni) and the confrontation with the corrupt Ayakashimori should have been a single, final scene rather than separate scenes. But other than that, I really liked this route.

While I found Hajun to be an annoying character, he surprised me by offering some useful insight into Akuro's character, suggesting he understands and respects Akuro more than we might think.

Shino was very cute when she realized she was falling in love. She and Akuro text like high schoolers who are into each other and feeling each other out before taking the next step and I was living for it.

Overall, Akuro was one of my fave characters in this game. I adored him from beginning to end and he makes for a great partner for Shino.

Hira Route (Spoilers)

Hira's route was alright. Definitely not as successful as Akuroou's but certainly better than the two I played first.

In the common route, Shino asks Hira to train her, and he accepts, which makes no sense when you're aiming for any other character because she hasn't interacted with him at all. But when you're aiming for Hira, it makes a lot more sense as Shino endears herself to him by continuously trying to befriend him. Unfortunately, there's only one training scene, and even if it's implied they've been keeping at it (which it is not lol), Shino never gets to use these new skills.

In the common route, interactions with Hira suggest that he mistrusts the Ayakashimori, and that he thinks they can never be considered equals because the Ayakashimori will always look upon the denizens of Sakuratani as monsters. This is the main thrust of the route, though it doesn't really become relevant until the last third.

The main conflict comes when a government agent's son wants to visit Sakuratani. Dairoku is forced to let him in, Shino becomes his personal guide, and despite literally everyone telling her this guy's bad news, Shino is still shocked when he tries to kidnap a mermaid and sell her for parts.

The lazy writing of this route is apparent here, because it's insane to believe someone involved in the ayakashi trade would just attack a mermaid at knife point in front of the agents who protect them lol. But yeah, Hira defends Shino and then berates her when she stops him from killing the guy.

My big issue with this route is, like Ron's from Norn 9, it's just a little too subtle. Takao, Hira's aide, stops Shino from seeing Hira after the incident, not because he's mad that she got him in trouble but because he doesn't want Hira to have his heart broken by someone who's only gonna be around for a few decades of Hira's immortal life.

You have to read between the lines to realize that Hira doesn't dislike humans — he loves them. He envies them. He once enjoyed watching them live out their lives, jealous of the bonds they held despite their short existences. It's implied he was also friends with an Ayakashimori who either died or left, though we don't get anything more on this.

Again, like in Ron's route, I wanted just one scene of Hira breaking down. I wanted him to get mad at Shino for putting herself in danger because she's a fragile human and she won't be around that long. Just that one scene in itself could have saved this route. Instead, his actions are kind of weird, and when he and Shino get together, there's little tension. He never actually tells her he loves her, either.

The fun of a character like Hira is getting to see them reveal more of their hearts, but Hira just never does this. I wanted more from him. Also, Hira has wings, but his sprite does not, which I feel is very unfair lol.

Semi Tokitsugu Route (Spoilers)

Semi is one of those "eyes always closed" characters, which is fun because you know when you see his eyes, shit's going down. While you do get to see them on his route, they're actually a different color (gray) than how they look in the other routes where you see them. I guess the implication is that they glow blue when he's using his powers, though this is never actually mentioned in the game.

The main plot of this route is that Tokitsugu's ancestors did something to make Sakuratani unstable, and someone's spread a nasty rumor that Tokitsugu himself is continuing their work. There's also some family drama with Tokitaka, Tokitsugu's brother. Tokitaka is a sweetie and he and his brother are both brocons, so they're dynamic is pretty cute.

There's not a ton of tension in this route. Misunderstandings clear up pretty quickly just by talking to people, and just like in Akuroou's route, I wish Shino had more agency here. She doesn't actually do very much to help him other than exist.

Anyway, Tokitsugu's route was fine. I liked him as a character and he and Shino make a cute couple. I like that Shino freaks out because she has a crush on her boss. This is also the most lore-heavy route other than the finale, so I'm glad I played it last.

Finale Route (Spoilers)

This is the route you end up on if you ignore all the characters during the map screens and only click on the scenes where you restrain ayakashi.

The whole game, people have been telling Shino that Sakuratani is becoming unstable, but never does she think to ask what that means. Well, in this route, you finally find out that Sakuratani has some sort of power that restricts ayakashi from using their full powers and causing chaos. Which is kind of screwed up to me, because a lot of this game is about Shino learning to accept that ayakashi are different than humans and sometimes have inherently different values. So why are they holding them to human standards of brutality?

Anyway, that power is breaking down, and Shu and Orochi decide this is their time to attack to try and take over Sakuratani. Which was hilarious to me because they aren't in any other route except Shu's route, so I had already forgotten all about them by the time I got to the finale lol. That's kinda poetic.

This route features the world's most obvious plot twist. Because of it, Shino is being targeted by someone inside her agency and everyone comes together to protect her. It results in some nice scenes with characters you don't get to interact with much. We also get to see Hira's and Shiratsuki's true forms, but only for like two seconds. But their designs are beautiful.

While the finale was a good way to end the game, I wish Tokitsugu's route had been the true ending and this was combined with it. Due to his ancestry and hers being intertwined, it would have made for a more balanced storyline. The finale also ended too abruptly and there's not even an after-credits scene.

While underwhelming, that's kind of the vibe of Dairoku lol. It was a feel-good end to a fairly docile game.

#dairoku #agents of sakuratani #dairoku agents of sakuratani #otoge review #otome game #review #otome review #otoge #game review #otome game review

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