#I think at some point I watched another of his films and had another negative experience so this cemented the hatred for me

[callisteios]

hey i just took your quiz and lemme just say that i really like movies, and i know a lot about them, but what did oliver stone do? this is a genuine question btw. i don't know anything about the guy, except that he's a vietnam vet, and at least two of his movies went to the oscars? sorry if this is a dumb question, it's 7 am where i live rn and i haven't slept very much 🙃

no its fine oliver stone technically hasn’t committed any crimes that I know of.

I simply loathe him because I HATE his Alexander film. It’s bad it’s inaccurate, it erases queerness, the accents are abysmal, it's TOO LONG, it makes the life of Alexander the great (an interesting life) unbelievably dull

if it were inaccurate but good i could forgive it, if it were dull but accurate i could forgive it. It is neither and for that he has earned my lifelong emnity

[murdercide626]

Regarding Gerald in Sonic 3

(SPOILERS!!)

I've been thinking about how Gerald Robotnik was depicted in the third Sonic movie, and I have some observations.

I'm sure some fans have been comparing Gerald as shown in the film versus the games and taken note of not only how much sillier he is in the movie, but also how he's depicted as being considerably more villainous.

There are a couple things to consider though. In the games (especially since Shadow Generations) the majority of what we see of Gerald is from before the tragedy on the ARK and losing Maria, and we only get brief bits of him after he lost his sanity.

However in the movie it's the exact opposite situation. Almost everything we see of Gerald in the film is after Maria's death and he's clearly lost his sanity. Not only that, but because Gerald in the film never got executed, he spent many decades in a prison cell, stewing in his despair and rage, becoming more and more bitter and deranged while also extending his lifespan to an unnatural length by dosing himself with chaos energy from Shadow's quill.

But you might say, "Gerald in the movie only saw Shadow as a tool and didn't love him." While there's evidence of that being true in the present day, there's little to suggest that's the case in the very brief bit we see of Gerald in the flashback he's shown in before Maria's death. I personally think Gerald did have a fondness for Shadow before the tragedy, likely through observing Maria's close friendship with him. When Gerald retrieves Maria and Shadow to flea the facility he refers to them both collectively as "children", meaning he possibly had a similar fondness for both of them. I think that after Maria's death though, Gerald's slipping sanity, disillusionment with humanity, and obsession with avenging Maria's death, probably made him lose sight of the love he once had for Shadow.

And there is even evidence of the same thing happening in the games, with Gerald treating Shadow as little more than a tool for his posthumous plan for genocidal vengeance, which would have ended with Shadow's death too. Gerald even tampered with Shadow's memories of Maria to ensure he'd carry out his plans.

There's also evidence in the games of Gerald having an ego similar to Eggman's, shown by him modeling the ARK to resemble his face. Gerald even sheepishly confessed in his journal he was being self indulgent when designing the ARK. So it would seem in the games Gerald does possess at least some of the negative traits shared with his grandson, though he's self aware of these flaws and tries to suppress them. Gerald in the movie however is at a point where he's way past caring, since he's already decided to destroy the earth and everyone on it, so he's just letting his freak flag fly. lol

So if Gerald hadn't been executed in the games, who knows how he might have turned out. Gerald being executed was probably a mercy, really...

And it should also be noted that Sega themselves even considered resurrecting Gerald as a villainous character in the early production of Shadow's solo game.

That actually brings me to another thing I was thinking about while watching the movie. In Sonic 3, they repeatedly emphasize how similar Eggman and Gerald are in appearance, quirks, skills, and even wearing near identical outfits at the end. Sonic even collectively refers to them both as "Eggmen".

This stood out to me because it reminded me of the Rush games where Eggman teamed up with Eggman Nega, a character that was near identical to Eggman, but having a greying mustache and a darker, more twisted personality.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've had a theory that the scrapped plot point of resurrecting Gerald as a villain is what led to the creation of the Eggman Nega character. So seeing Gerald as depicted in the movie was like seeing it all come full circle. lol

But anyway, yeah, this has been another stream of consciousness rant from me. Maybe you got something out of this, or maybe not. Oh well. lol

And just to make myself clear, I am NOT trying to argue that Gerald is a bad person in the games (at least before Maria died). If what I said came across like that, then I'm sorry, but that was definitely not my intention.

[elizais]

when you know, you know.

when they realise just how much they love you ft: nikolai, bram, poe part 1 here content/warnings: mentions of murder (poe's ability), shortttt, i tried to keep it as a gn reader but i might have slipped up at points. i wrote bram without the sword and in current day bcs i was struggling dudesss i think this is my first time trying to write for bram and poe so please take these with a pinch of salt but the lovely person who requested it was so polite i couldn't pass it up <3

nikolai was.. lively to say the least. i mean, just having a partner would be (in his eyes) something tying him down. but, for you? being with you would comply with him wanting to be free. you granted him freedom from all of the negative thoughts that could plague him.

walking down the high-street with you, hand in hand as he pondered all of these ideas. the both of you were strolling towards a cafe that kolya had begged to go to for its "famous pirozhki".

he was not in his usual attire today, wearing a simple blue turtleneck sweater and jeans that fit him loosely. you had to admit, he looked close to incredible when you contrasted it to his usual wear. even though his outfit was different, his personality did not falter in the slightest.

swinging your arms forwards and backwards quickly as you walked, he giggled at whatever joke he was thinking of. turning towards him, you smiled. "kolya?" you poked his upper arm for his attention. "what type of bird is that?" you asked, glancing at a small bird hopping through tree branches. as he looked over, it flew away.

his braid fell over his shoulder, laying softly as he considered making a witty joke. the truth of what he was thinking was of how much he adored you, how you pointed out birdies, watched comedy shows with him, tried your best to cook his favourite meals, put up with him using his ability to scare you..

he thought back to earlier, you had brushed his hair into the usual neat braid as he spoke about what tricks he was going to pull on sigma and fyodor too. he laughed as you frowned, claiming "leave sigma alone, he has a casino to take care of, babysitting you is my job."

bram was, aside from being a vampire and that, perfect. his personality was complex, but you often joked that it wittled down to him just wanting to sleep.

today, you were both sat on the sofa as he spoke about aya. you were brushing through his hair. "she was telling me about some artists, i think she meant composers." he explained, going on about music as you giggled. his hair was showing some curls towards the ends that you were entertaining yourself with.

he was kneeling in front of you so that you could face his back and toy with his hair.

"what is amusing?" he asked politely, refraining from turning around incase he messed up the braid you insisted so stubbornly on putting in his hair. you pulled the long braid onto his shoulder and he saw how you had refined the hair past the bobble into a sweet curl.

he smiled softly as you spoke, "what genre do you want to listen to? does aya have any recommendations?" you teased and he let out a soft chuckle. cherishing these sweeter, saccharine moments were as good at keeping him alive as his ability was.

he put up with the garlic jokes, playing dumb vampire films on tv (he really does love hotel transylvania!), the teasing.. all because he loves you !!

poe was like a breath of fresh air to be around. there was never a need to be loud or extroverted with him. and those were just bonuses on top of getting to hang out with a raccoon all of the time. you were currently in another room trying to trim karl's nails.

key word: trying

ed was in the study, writing another novel. whether it's for ranpo or not? who knows. karl wasn't putting up a fight but more so.. wriggling around. any sane person would have given up by now but with the amount of time this raccoon spends around your shoulders? zero chance.

once you finally finished, you swooped karl into your arms and carried him back to edgar. "ed? have you eaten or drank water recently?" you asked, setting down karl and walking over to him as he closed the book before him. he nodded as he looked up to you from his armchair.

"yes, and i have finished it!" he exclaimed, you furrowed your brows in confusion. "finished what, love?" he presented you the book proudly. "it's just like the film we watched a few weeks ago. you said you wanted to live in that manor house, no?" and that's when it clicked for you.

he carried on, "when you want to go, all the characters will be there! i had to add in another to die but other than that? it's the same!" he excitedly explained. tracing over the clothbound cover with your name on the front, he added one more thing. "oh! and to figure it out in one of the office desk drawers it will let you know what happened."

you smiled at that, he didn't want you to struggle. unfortunately, his ability was only murder mystery related so he couldn't write a book about a sunshine land where nothing went wrong. yet he tried his best, for you!

[absolutebl]

Pit Babe - it's time for a Trash Watch!

I had to. Well, no I didn't, but COME ON. It's like Thailand is negging me. Let's burn rubber, shall we? Burn rubbers...?

The things I had been told going in about this show:

it's about car racing (this bores me)

it stars Pavel (my BL ult bias, he is my icon for a reason)

it started as an omegaverse y-novel but the A/B/O aspects would be stripped from the BL series

it's high heat

(There some chatter about whether point 3 was a mistranslation of something the author said, but don't bother me with trifles.)

Here's a definition of omegaverse:

Omegaverse, also known as A/B/O (alpha/beta/omega), is a subgenre of speculative erotic fiction, and originally a subgenre of erotic slash fan fiction. Its premise is that a dominance hierarchy exists in humans, which are divided into dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas".[1] This hierarchy determines how people interact with one another in romantic, erotic and sexual contexts.[2] (Wikipedia)

In my experience and opinion, omegaverse archetypes and tropes are often used to strip out female characters (and The Feminine) and as a tool to excuse extreme hyper-masculine behaviors without a critical feminist lens (leading to lazy characterization). Just as heat is an excuse to get nkd quickly, A/O/B is often an excuse for taboo and dubious consent actions and behaviors. Do I get why writers/readers enjoy it? Yes I do. Do I personally like it? Not particularly. (Although there are always exceptions.)

Putting all that aside, the above represents my foundational knowledge before Pit Babe started.

Oh and that the familiar BL faces appearing in this show were follows:

Pavel Naret (aka Pavel Phoom) from 2 Moons 2 & Coffee Melody - Pavel is a fluent English speaker, a bit of a drama monger, and a motorcycle rider/car-dude, this role suits him

Nut Supanut from Oxygen & Something in My Room - has an amazing voice, his somewhat wooden acting has improved steadily since Oxygen

Pon Thanapon - one of Star Hunter's stable first seen in the Gen Y series (where he stole the appeal of an intended pair), also v good in Make a Wish, I wish he'd get a lead role as he has a likable screen presence

Pop Pataraphol from La Cuisine - he's playing the Alpha rival and I'm not convinced he's suited to this role

Michael Kiettisak from Love Sick, Oxygen, Call it What You Want, Till the World Ends - playing the comic relief this time rather than his usual tortured stoic... huh

All the rest are either fresh faces or older experienced actors. Interesting mix. They must have some money behind this.

And now, get out your marshmallows! The dumpster is on fire! Let's start the roast.

Episode 1 - Platypus, Pickles, Pavel, & other Smoking Hot Problems

This first segment told with a 4 day retrospect, because I decided to do a trash watch only after @aliceisathome said I should.

My initial reaction:

the sheer audacity of Thailand being like "PitBabe is not omegaverse" and then serving "Alpha" to us on a platter in the first sex scene is

how dare

but also

what the actual fuck is going on? what world are we living in where a/b/o is LIVE ACTION ON OUR SCREENS?

we getting heat, knotting & mpreg next?

apparently this is my reality now

I'm not sure what weird quantum time stream I've jumped into but someone was all,

yes the whole world is hella screwed, but also...

Thailand has decided live action mm fanfic is gonna win it the culture wars

and I'm beginning to think they may be right

BL is now the platypus of the film industry

4 days later:

Considering how much chatter this caused there's a part of me that wondered if it was all intentional and a marketing ploy (to say it wasn't omegaverse when obviously it is). In which case... brilliant Machiavellian tactics, production.

But Thai studios are rarely this calculated in their promo. So I think it's all accidental. But it certainly caused a raucous few days on Tumblr.

On a completely different note, Babe's house looks like it started life as a particularly inventive Olive Garden. Or is that just me?

More random thoughts:

Pavel has had work done, why honey? You were the definition of perfect.

The smell thing is great, I love stuff to do with scent and necks. If omegaverse brings this to the table, fine. But...

Being all Alpha perfect butch manly man = I do not like Babe at all, I kinda want him to be brought down a peg. (Woo... pegging!) I never like narratives that glorify the captain of the football team (side eyes Cdrama CEO romances and Love O2O), Babe better have depth and damage (forget the pegging) of some kind or his behavior will get old FAST, faster than he drives (also, forget the pegging idea)

Nut is ideal in the Beta role. I mean, that's Way's character right? We all can see that. If it's not intentional, it's a miscast. I love how soft he is as as screen presence. He's great in this part.

None of the other characters are sticking out to me yet, but I'm prepared to love the side dishes in this, please make them swoon worthy!

I'm glad they didn't hold the Charlie = trickster reveal off, I like knowing he is a double agent up front.

Finally, with respect to an adequate trash watch, I'm in a pickle.

How am I going to drink for this show when there is so much else airing on Frigay? I can't keep track, if I'm drunk.

I need a strategy for this trash fire if the puns and snark are to spout forth! (HA Fourth!)

Controlled burn?

Anygay, see you all next week.

Episode 2 - Side Dish Addiction + Second Lead Syndrome are both infecting me at once

[FYI I gotta have my backup computer to watch this so that's why Imma sometimes be delayed getting the trash out to the curb.]

3 minutes! 3 minutes in and I needed to pause and wax snarkful. (Ouch, bet that hurts. Is waxing snark similar to a Brazilian but for BL? Is that why they all so hairless in The Sign?... I digress, where was I?)

Okay so the subber said Daddy but I don't think that word means what they think it means. Because Way said simply nong paa.

Usually they'll use the English word Daddy (pronounced Dah-deee) for, ya know, Actual Daddies (tm).

Wait wait:

Calling Daddy Actual

(My dumb sci-fi loving arse will see myself out the back before I start drawing Battlestar Galactica = Pit Babe connections. TOO FAR ABL. Too far.)

Look, I like the tension in this show. It's good to set up an unlikeable Alpha dog and then immediately turn him into an underdog, makes him a bit more likable. I still don't like Babe, but now at least I'm on his side.

Charlie = cute but v sus. Fortunately for him, Babe = cute but v thick.

Everyone calls Charlie Babe's dek. Yes sounds a bit like what you think but also means kid/child and SHOULD be translated as boy in this show. Why doesn't the subber get that? They a sub...ber after all. (I'll see myself out.)

Honestly, the script writers might know what they are doing with abo but our eng sub translator sadly does NOT. I'm so glad this is coming now in my BL watching life. When my ear and knowledge of Thai is so much better than it once was. Others much be SO CONFUSED.

Snicker. They just fucking with us, but it's fun to watch the mpeg speculation abound.

File this one under: Thailand's trouble with ESL plurals and also "you should have Pavel helping with these subs" sweethearts.

Production knows entirely what it's doing with this show and its omegaverse shizz (even if the subber doesn't) and I am very much enjoying the online carnage that results.

This dumpster fire continues off screen into the blogosphere and I continue to roast things over it.

Meanwhile, hi Pon! You so adorable! When you gonna lead out a BL for us?

Is Idol Factory stealing all of Star Hunter's talent? Are they the Red Racers of the BL world? These are the questions I ask myself as I watch this.

Is that AGE GAP I smell before me?

Is the 20 yr old college kid meant for the pit boss? Cause you all know I am a slut for age gaps.

Moment of a/b/o: Jeff's fear of touch/heightened personal space would be a plot marker for "baby doesn't want Alphas close cause he smells like an omega" but of course this show it not omegaverse. Not omegaverse at all.

nuh-uh

Linguistic corner!

Lung (sounds a bit like loo) is uncle(ish) it means basically a male relation older than phi. So Alan is the oldest in the crew.

Alan calls Jeff nu (which the subber translated as boy I would have gone with cutie or little one). Nu is a diminutive affectionate term that's technically gender neutral but is most often used by/on cute girls/women. Jeff did NOT like it. Then Alan sort of dodges through pronouns/particles settling on phi for I, ger for you, and ja for a particle. This is interesting because ger & ja kinda lower his age and status into a casual sphere. Not more intimate more equal to jeff... fascinating.

I love the new "Korean" red racer, he drinks my brand of soy milk. He is now my baby snake in the grass.

Get it? Snake.

He and Babe should end up together.

The fight wasn't bad, do both actors have kickbox training in their backgrounds?

Who am I kidding, I care only about Uncle Alan and Nu Jeff now. All others are irrelevant to me.

Also...

WHERE IS A BOY FOR WAY?!!! Or a Daddy. I do not care. (Methinks nether does he.)

I am now captain of the Way Appreciation Society. Let's all find a way... to get him some dick.

Also the BTS stingers are tons of fun. Looks like the set was a blast.

Finally, and I mean this kindly. Why isn't Noh Phouluang in this? He should have been cast as Winner. Bah. I'm biased.

But one should be with Noh.

Episode 3 - Side Dishes Delux

Gayest bridge n Thailand has made its obligatory appearance.

How much do I love uncle & nu? They are SO damn cute. Also nu flustered is the best kind of nu.

I could not care less about Babe and Charlie. Except I do love the smell thing.

Way will break my heart by getting his broken. He is right tho.

Tra la la. I feel like this is a bit like KP 2.0.

Charlie is a such a princess (and ace manipulator). Good thing Babe clearly likes being buttered up.

Babe's backstory was more interesting than I expected, I didn't think we would go so far into the paranormal side of a/b/o. I like it and I hope they lean into it quite a bit more. Make it part of the plot.

Unlike the kissing thing which seems to have been gotten over rather quickly.

I gotta say I'm enjoying the corporate sponsorship jockeying and tension more than I thought I would. I'm curious as to who Jef and Charlie are working for and what their motivation is. The plot itself is keeping me intrigued and that is rare for me with BL.

So no trash talk this ep, I was largely absorbed and entertained. I didn't event need booze. Shocking behavior on my part.

#giveWayaboy2023

Episode 4 - I (who never ship) am shipping the impossible

Here’s the thing. I just want this to be a better story than it is. Right now it’s kind of like a soap opera. I don’t hate lakorn, I really don't. To Sir With Love is a glorious chewing of the diamanté scenery (completed with death glitter). But...

If this is gonna be a soap opera it needs to lean into the messy side more than the tailored high concept side. Support characters and evil needs more screen time.

Instead, right now, I don’t know where I am with this show because it doesn't know where it wants to be. I’m kind of dangling in the middle of a dirty situation. It’s uncomfortable for me, and the show feels uncomfortable for the performers. 

Also... I have questions.

Yes, of course I want to know what Charlie & Jeff are up to. Why can Jeff see the future?

But more importantly I NEED to know why Babe has a flying saucer bed?

That kind of lighting makes nobody look good, especially not at that angle. It’s very traumatic and I’m not wild about the shag rug either. I have concerns about Babe's taste. I guess is what I am saying. 

On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT note:

There’s absolutely no chemistry to justify this, but I have decided that I am going to personally advocate for, and ship, Way and the interloping not-really-Korean. They are both sort of own-moral-code types. I have tiny crush on Kim, and Nut is the prettiest, and Way is Best Boy so there it is, I would like them to hook up, please & thank you.

#giveWay2Kim2023

Arrow guy is cute, too. Will we get to see him bone?

Is he going to be another one of the adopted alpha super-kid pets?

What the hell, throw Arrow Boy a bone! All hot boys in BLs deserve bones.

Plot thickens.

Hah.

Thickens.

(I am an immature idiot.)

Episode 5 - wait wait way-t, can arrow boy have Way?

Look, BLabies, I didn’t get any screen caps this episode because frankly there wasn’t anything worth capturing.

I guess Charlie really does love Babe? Very dramatic if idiotic saving from the burning car. But Babe has gone to the broken Alpha place of extremely unlikeablability (frankly he was almost there at the start). If I were Charles B Spectacled I would be OUT by now. 

Is that?

NO.

Don't get the plastic bowl.

No white towel sponge bath. Please kill this trope.  

I mean, it's not as bad as singing, but that's because NOTHING is as bad as singing in a Thai BL.

AND the main boys are back together.

I don’t find their relationship or Babe’s lack of senses a particularly interesting aspect of the plot.

Unless, of course, Babe is pregnant and that's why he lost his Alpha sniffer.

BUT I do love the sides.

Jeff = the introvert precog who can’t/wont do people and Alan = the extrovert people person who WANTS but doesn’t understand him. 

Were Jeff and Charlie ALSO raised by Evil Daddy MacEvilPants? 

I liked the way Arrow CEO & Way looked at each other. Way, hon, give up on Babe (he sucks) and get thyself a billionaire bf with great aim and BDE.

On a completely different note, the best thing about this show is the blooper reel. That thing with the green smoothie going down his pants was hilarious!

In conclusion, this was a green smoothie down the pants episode. I was entertained, and it’s probably gonna be good for the plot in retrospect, but it was kind of squishy and unpleasant at the time.

Episode 6 - Are they actually listening to us now? Is Tumblr bugged?

This was a fun ep full of like actual racing and shizz.

Whatever.

Charlie is on the team now. All the teams, apparently.

Can we talk about Jeff and Alan?

The apology scene! Did you hear that Alan dropped to chan/ger? Eeeee!!! So cute. (He equalized their relationship in a soft way.)

Get it with that language play hottie. Next up: lengua play.

Please & thank you. 

Meanwhile, as all of the Internet knows, they went fully in for omegaverse - no bars.

I have to say, one of the greatest typos (or whatever) in existence is enigma instead of omega.

That's where I personally would rank in the omegaverse.

Hello, my gender is... enigma.

 Apparently it's a/b/o and sometimes e!  Also sometimes switch-ee 

Oh I'm very proud of myself with that one.

Funfunfun

Charlie. Babes. When a man asks to be thrown up against the wall. You throw him against that wall.

OMG is that arrow boy looking at Way in the bar?

3 seconds later.

Noooo.

Wait come back.

Noooooo.

That’s what I actually want to watch! 

OMG. Who said nu was the first step to teelak?

I flipping love Alan. 

Ah the boyfriend ep. Thank you, but I still don't trust Charlie.

Poor Way.

But nice crying jag, and I don’t say that often in Thai BL.

Now let him go, Way.

A boy with his arrows is waiting. 

(source)

Note for the future: tumblr has a bug that stops allowing edits after a certain time/number, thus my full trash often occur in 2 segments as a result. Click on the "abl trash watches bl" tag for the full thing if you're reading this and later episodes are missing.

[island-in-the-shadows]

On Felix Catton & Disgust/Desire

I had been waiting for a long while now to write this post. I wanted to do another full re-watch before I got into it because the ideas for this have been sitting in my mind for a long time. This is going to be a long post and, hopefully, not super pretentious. Most of us fans of Saltburn know, to some degree or another, that the core themes of the film revolve around disgust, desire, and obsession. And the biggest entry point to discuss this is the actions of our protagonist, Oliver Quick re the object of his disgust/desire/obsession Felix Catton.

I've written before that I believe that Oliver did know Felix and that Felix was emotionally vulnerable and candid with Oliver. I further stated that we, the audience, are forbidden from knowing the details of this intimacy because Oliver does not want us to truly know Felix. This means that the bits we get of Felix are small and very subtle. It means that we can interpret Felix's core personality, true intent, true desires in a litany of ways. My opinion is, realistically, no more valid than anyone else's. But for today, I wanted to discuss what I view, from the bits that we get, is Felix's relation with the core themes of the film. And, because I saw a truly heinous takes about a different fandom I'm in and I don't want to think about it, my brain said: hey...let's talk about Felix Catton and his disgust and desire.

Pt. 1: "Only rich people can afford to be this filthy."

When Oliver says the above, he and Felix are in Felix's messy and disgusting dorm room at Oxford. When you take a closer look at the room (which I admit was difficult on my first few views because Felix is lit and positioned to take all of your focus), it is a total shit show. There's clothes everywhere, empty containers everywhere, other unidentifiable debris...honestly wouldn't shock me if there was some used condom somewhere. We know from Oliver that, not only does it look like chaos, it smells terrible. However, Felix is unbothered. He is concerned only with the heat which, in this case, is an external force that he cannot control no matter his good looks, his charms, his pedigree, or his money. By what we see, Felix is quite happy and content in the filth. It is only when Oliver points out the filth and points out that Felix won't take care of it, that Felix reacts negatively.

Felix, as we know, is very accustomed to his messes being cleaned up for him. Before we even get to Saltburn it's a safe assumption to make. Prior to college/uni, he would've gone to some posh boarding school or other. I doubt that they were made to clean everything in boarding school (though if any of you know please let me know). We also know that wealthy people tend to have hired staff who clean for them. This is a young man who has never had to clean up his spilled milk and it has never even occurred to him to do it.

However, the important bit to note is not that Felix is messy and that it doesn't occur to him to clean. What's important to note is that the mess simply does not bother him. Just because he is born to extreme wealth and privilege does not mean that he would have to be this way. There's been germaphobe rich people or people who prefer to have a minimalistic space or any number of things. Regardless of wealth, some people are fine with mess and some people require mess to be done away with immediately. Felix is in the former category. He certainly must notice the mess at some point (even if, clearly, he's nosebleed to it) but he is comfortable in his space.

This is also true of his room at Saltburn. We barely see it, I know, but let's take a look at that glossy af pic of it from the Architectural Digest Article...

There is crap EVERYWHERE. The more you look at it the more crap you find. You can't even say that it's perfectly clean either because there's dirty clothes in spots, there's multiple pillows on the ground, there's a random used water glass, there's either toilet paper or paper towels on the night stand, the bed isn't perfectly made, I could go on. Chaos and filth and mess is, technically, Felix's natural habitat. It's the kind of mess that is surrounded by opulence, certainly, but it's still a mess.

Only rich people can afford to be this messy because they can also dictate when and where their staff cleans. Presumably, there are things in Felix's bedroom (perhaps the toilet paper/paper towels which have a...purpose) which he has instructed Duncan to leave alone. Or Elspeth has put terms for how often the maids come in the rooms. It could be framed in a multitude of ways. The point stands that Felix can exist in these chaotic and, even, disgusting spaces because he chooses to be. What his privilege does, then, is afford him absence from judgment.

We see the staff at Saltburn clean up after the party. We see that they quietly replaced a broken mirror before anyone can question the cracks. We never see the staff judge. Do they? Certainly they must, we all have opinions. But do they express their judgement to the masters of the house? No. It's not their place to do so. They are considered staff and therefore their opinions do not come into play for the Cattons nor would they want to hear them. Even Duncan's genuine unease and grief after Felix dies is mostly kept under control. He's not paid to express his emotions or his thoughts, after all.

And why go into all of this? Because Felix is content to live in the mess, to revel in the gross and in some version of the abject. What Felix cannot handle is being confronted with his pleasure. To me, this (along with wanting to separate Oliver from staff when the younger boy starts actively cleaning) is the main reason why he snaps when Oliver points out the disgusting state of the dorm. He does not need or want to know how he fits outside a specific role that he was born to play and, likely, believes he has to play. Even if it didn't occur to him to clean, he could've used his wealth and influence to find someone to clean for him. But he didn't. Because it doesn't bother him. Oliver being bothered and pointing out that Felix is so wealthy that he can live in the filth is what bothers him, instead.

Pt. 2 "Was it? Was it awful?"

I am going to keep this section short, because there have been much better posts about this and I, personally, go back and forth on this all the time. Regardless, Felix having an interest in a made up fantasy of a shitty childhood and what he can, likely, envision as some Dickensian nightmare of a situation falls into his relation to disgust and desire. What Felix knows of true poverty and addiction likely comes from media or exaggerated stories from people who have been in contact with someone who was an addict or something to that extent. His imagination must be running wild with theories. And while I do think that he did have good intentions regarding Oliver when it comes to this, his demeanour also shows an attraction to the grotty aspects of it. Oliver only ever calls him out on this, to a degree, in the maze. Before this, Felix can be interested in what he imagines is the horror of Oliver's childhood but not be caught out as being a tragedy whore or someone with a saviour complex or anything else, because his interest is not being pointed out. Again, he has an interest or desire for mess and chaos as long as it is not pointed out.

Pt. 3 "You're supposed to be here with me."

Let's, briefly, talk about queerness. Let's talk about how Felix has an image to maintain. How he has expectations put upon him. Yes, he has privilege and wealth beyond understanding, but these things often have a tradeoff. Celebrities, for example, have to forfeit a lot of their privacy. Royalty and nobility (regardless of country) often forfeit chunks of their privacy and the possibility of living outside of a script (publicly, at any rate). Felix CANNOT go off script.

He is implied to be the heir to Saltburn and everything that comes with it: money, land, title, expectations. Like in the days of old, it's probably expected of him to produce an heir. It's also expected of him to marry a lady from his class in order to produce said heir. And, back in 2006/7, people were less acceptating of LGBTQ+ people that they are now, and Same-Sex marriage was not a thing in the UK and it wouldn't be for another 7 or so years. So Farleigh, who will inherit nothing and only ever be given scraps, can embrace his queerness; Felix cannot.

Personally, I believe that Felix did have some sort of interest in Oliver. It's not just in the fact that he is possessive of Oliver to the point of disregarding his family. It's in all the Bambi eyed looks that we see Felix give Oliver. You could argue that these are exaggerations from Oliver but then, how do you explain the POV shots we get of Felix looking at Oliver? How they are also romance coded, lustful, pinky and fluffy? There is something there. To what extent there was something is pure conjecture. But, I personally believe that he had some kind of feelings for Oliver but could not express those feelings and, to an extent, found his feelings for Oliver disgusting.

Even if his mother is, in her way, tolerant of queer people, this does not mean that she would be ok with Felix being with a man. I doubt his father, who is in his 60s at the time, would be any happier about it. Again, Felix needs to have an heir and take over Saltburn. So, at most, they would've tolerated that Felix had a "friend" tucked away somewhere that Felix could go to every so often. Queerness is not the desired outcome and so, at some point, Felix would've had to separate any feelings from the matter. And, hypothetically, in boarding school any hand jobs etc. from other boys would be viewed as part of a norm that exists within the realm of "no homo."

So, given he has been emotionally intimate with Oliver and, given that he has felt more for Oliver than he probably thinks he should, he feels disgust as much as he feels desire. He can, and personally I think does, want Oliver, but feels disgusted by his feelings and has a strong desire to keep them channeled in the "appropriate" way. Just the same, he gets jealous and he does not want to share. He cannot abide by Oliver being free to pursue another partner (guarantee he would be equally as incensed if he had found out about Farleigh and it probably would've slightly registered had Oliver actually slept with Indabel). It's specifically a slap in the face that it's Venetia who has done this kind of thing before and who is allowed to be physical with these friends of Felix's with whom Felix does not feel he could or should be physically intimate. Thus, the possession and the jealousy and the spurned wife behaviour of it all.

Pt. 4 "You make my fucking blood run cold."

Bref, I think Felix had good intentions but poor thinking skills when he wanted to take Oliver to his parents' house. Multiple posts have discussed this bit and I do think he wanted to further trauma bond with Oliver the way they further trauma bonded when Oliver's dad "died", afterwards, per the script, they were "closer than ever." And then they had that intimate moment on the bridge and spent some time there completely alone instead of being at a giant party. I think he thought that the experience would bring them closer and that he would be there to, in his way, protect Oliver. And I still think this plays in to all the little ways in which Felix desires disgust and is disgusted by his desires. But he does it anyway.

The betrayal of trust and intimacy that follows has to feel like a bomb has gone off in Felix's mind. But what's worse for him, again this is solely my opinion, is that he still desires Oliver regardless. It might not have fully formed in his head and he then dulled it with drugs and alcohol and with his shoddy attempt at fucking Indabel in the maze, but possibly the inkling of why Oliver lied the way he did had entered his brain. Oliver already tried to explain. Told Felix in the hallway when they got back that he wanted to be Felix's friend. And Felix likely relived his entire relationship with Oliver including what Oliver just told him. And, to me, Felix was not entirely opposed to it. He didn't immediately kick out Oliver or cause too much of a fuss. He wanted space. He wanted to not think about it for a while. But Oliver forced his hand.

Again, here we have a Felix who is disgusted by his desire. A Felix who, deep down, knows that he likes that Oliver lied. That he likes that Oliver desires him so much that he would do anything for him. Likes that, despite NEVER wanting anyone to know the most debauched parts of him, Oliver is close to knowing all of his darkest parts and loving him for them just the same. But a Felix who, nonetheless, does not allow himself to revel in the filth once it's pointed out.

And Oliver points it out. In a big way. "Everyone puts on a show for Felix! [...] doesn't this just prove how much of a good friend I actually am? How well I actually know you!" He does know him. Felix knows this. Felix CANNOT go off script. Felix cannot acknowledge his love for things that are disgusting or less than savoury. So too he cannot allow them or acknowledge them here. And then we have something in the script vs. how Jacob actually looked that's what inspired me to write this overly long post in the first fucking place.

This is not the exact beat. Because this is after Felix says his line about his blood running cold. The vibe is the same, though. Regardless...is THAT the fact of disgust? Because to me, that is not disgust. That is some form of desire that most mortals will never experience. But then...it also IS disgust. Because the two are intertwined for him. Because he desires because of the disgust at the situation and at the lengths of debasement Oliver will go to to please him. He is a boy who loves mess and chaos and who makes his home there. And, to whatever extent, his heart could've made a home in the mess and chaos and filth that Oliver brought to the table. Even if Felix has to be disgusted at his desires and prevent them. Even if Oliver took any option or opportunity away from Felix.

Oliver makes his blood run cold, but Felix never said that was a bad thing. And it isn't. Just as Oliver revels in the filth of bodies and their fluids and the inferred possession that comes with them, so too Felix revels in the filth of places and things he shouldn't want and things he can only truly savour in the shadows where no one points them out.

TL;DR Felix is as much of a freak as Oliver is, though in a different way. He is shown to be comfortable and even like messy and gross things but, he only does so when it's not pointed out. He can be, to a point, physically close and emotionally intimate with Oliver and, even partially overlook a betrayal of this intimacy, but only if it's never pointed out. Only if it doesn't break with the expectations and social script on which he has been raised and to which he has to stick. He serves to demonstrate the relationship with disgust and desire as much as Oliver does, but his relation is more subtle and harder to see. And maybe, just maybe, given time, he would've at least bent the script.

--------------------------------------0--------------------------------------

Super sorry for how long this is, I just needed to get it out! Thanks to @ollieapologist for being my biggest cheerleader about this post. Sorry if this is incoherent!

[cupoftaae]

Hello! your writing is such a comfort to me, and Im a sucker for domestic, fluffy type shit to be honest. could you do something cute like reader is pregnant and tae like journals and vlogs all the time because hes so excited? Was gonna write something like this but I dont think I could do it justice.

uhg this is so cute omg. Thank you for reading my work and im so glad it can offer some comfort, thats such a sweet thing to say :(

I hope you enjoy! <3

warnings- swearing, mentions of pregnancy

ladybug - KTH (drabble)

Saturday, june 11th, 2022

Taehyung set his phone down on the desk as it recorded him, he smiled and jokingly waved. "hello, today is.." he leans to check the date, "June 11th, its Saturday and the time is 4:54pm. Y/N is in the bathroom taking another pregnancy test because she is now a week late" he laughed and spun side to side in his chair. "I dont know why, but...I have a really weird feeling about this one, a weird but good feeling" he smiled and looked down. The past year has been very exhausting mentally for the both of you. After getting married, you both knew you wanted to have children right away, but your body didn't get the memo.

It was purely negative after negative, to the point where you refused to even take any tests for 3 months...up until now. Taehyung knew he wanted to journal your journey so that years from now you both could look back on the firsts of parenthood. He wrote down everything, from the good days to even the ugly ones, every appointment, every test, everything was in his notebook, and he was hoping that today would be *the* entry, he had a feeling it would be, so he decided on filming it just in case.

"ok, we have to wait 5 minuets" your voice is heard off camera as Taehyung looks up and across the room at you, "Ok" he smiles, waving you over. "cmere"

you nervously walk over as he places you onto his lap, long arms draping around your waist as you exhale. "filming?" you asked, watching him nod. "Do you want me not to?" he asked, "no, its fine, but what if its negative again?" you sigh and turn your body so your back is to the phone.

"then i can just delete it like the other ones" he ran his hand up and down your back, attempting to soothe you best he could. He was in his whole little nervous energy world right now and couldn't imagine how you were feeling, it had been months since the last test, and you werent sure you could take another hit with the reminder that your body isnt working.

It seemed like you had been waiting forever, tae had paused the camera 3 minuets after you came out, playing with your hair as you remained silent, hand in his. Your phone alarm could be heard from the bathroom once the long wait had ended. You, in that moment, wish you had another 5 minuets, because the second the alarm filled the air, your heart has stopped. "Im nervous" you whisper, standing up slowly as taehyung followed. "I know sweetheart, but we won't know unless we look, yeah?" he cupped your face gently, thumbs caressing your cheeks as he pressed a soft kiss to your lips.

You led him into the bathroom with you, "Wait dont turn it yet" he giggled and ran back to his phone he had left in the bedroom. You stared down at the upside-down test which sat on the edge of the sink, feeling your pulse in your ears. Once your husband returned, he closed the door and set up the filming, setting it a bit against the mirror as it faced you both. "dont be nervous, whatever it is, we will get through it ok?" he soothed, hugging you tightly and swaying a bit. It had been a few moments of preparation and deep breathing before finally feeling confident. "Ok ...im ready" you nodded, making him smile, "yeah?", he lifted the test, not flipping it yet. "yeah, but....you need to read it because I think I'll throw up if I do" you laughed, hiding your face in his chest as he breathed out, counting down in his head before finally flipping it.

"what does it say?" you whispered, fingers lightly gripping his t-shirt. Taehyung giggled nervously, "angel, Im not too good at reading these types of test....I-..I dont know if you are pregnant or not"

You let yourself smile at your husbands antics, pulling away to face the test, eyes widening. "baby..."

"what? is it negative?"

"Baby...two lines means pregnant, im pregnant." you turned to him, "Im pregnant" you whisper, taehyung not fully registering it until a few seconds after, head looking back down at the test.

"youre pregnant....." he looked back to you before a smile creeped onto his face, pulling you over and gently lifting you into his arms as tears escaped both of your eyes. there was no talking, just quiet (happy) crying, and touches and squeezes of love and emotion.

He finally set you back down and held your face. "Finally, damnit" you joke, making him laugh as he leans down to kiss you. "we are gonna be parents, baby. It is happening" he cooed sincerely, your hand wiping at his tears. you nodded, "its happening"

He kneeled down and lifted your shirt, his cold hands against your still flat stomach. "hi there" he whispered, making you cry even more as your hand ran through his hair. "we just found out about you, but mommy and daddy already love you so much" he kissed above your navel and held you close.

"Im so glad we got that on camera, fuck" you laughed as he stood up, wiping a tissue under your eyes. "I know!!" he sniffled and kissed you again. "god, I fucking love you"

"I love you too"

Tae picked the camera up and held it to both of your faces, making you giggle a bit. "welcome to the adventures of two 20 something year olds figuring out how to be parents, tune in next week for 'realizing we are too poor for this'" tae finished, shutting the camera off as you laughed and gently slapped his chest.

You sighed contently as he walked back into the bedroom with you, already becoming clingy with just the way he holds you. "this explains so much" you sit in thought, "I thought my period was coming because I was crying so much last week over everything but I guess not"

Taehyung smiled and crawled onto the bed next to you, hand rubbing your stomach. "oh my god, Taehyung, I had wine 2 days ago" you frown, grasping his hand. "im sure its okay, my mom used to have some wine when she was pregnant with me, and I think im okay" he smiled at you, his eyes scanning over your features lovingly. "dont stress, sweet girl, you are gonna be a mommy. We will plan an appointment this week and Ill be there for you ok? I promise" he kissed your hand as you looked up. "I love you so much"

"I love you more"

--

Thursday, November 20th, 2022

You had taken back everything you said about first trimester being the worst. Second trimester had absolutely everything to despise, and you realized it more each time you began to outgrow an article of clothing.

"theres mama" taehyung smiled brightly as he walked out of his office and into the living room with his camera, filming you on the couch. "shes wearing my sweatpants" he whispered and sat down, flipping the camera to the both of you. You pouted and looked at him, "baby I dont wanna be filmed, i look really gross" you sigh, "No you dont, you look sexy" he teased before shutting the phone off.

"are you still dizzy?" he asked, hand gently rubbing your thigh. "a little...but not as much"

the dizziness you've experienced since the second trimester has been the cause of worry for the past few weeks, despite your doctor telling you its normal.

"Just stay here, chill out and drink water" he smiled and got up to refill your water.

"I hate sitting down all day, its annoying" you huff, laying against the pillow. "I know baby, I know, but its not like your being lazy, you are creating a whole human, its a lot of work mama." he spoke, shutting the fridge to see the ultrasound photo hanging on the door.

You smile at him as he walks over, thanking him for the water. "Do you need anything else?" he asks, hand rubbing your slightly bigger stomach. You wouldn't have guessed you were almost 6 months pregnant, your bump has remained relatively small throughout the entire pregnancy, which you were thankful for, however it seemed like the weight just travelled to other parts of your body, like your feet.

"can you just lay with me?"

"of course baby" he moved to lay behind you, pulling you against him as you both watched tv, his hand finding its familiar place against your stomach, feeling soft flutters, something thats been occurring more recently.

"little ladybug is awake" he whispered and kissed your shoulder. You laugh and place your hand atop of his. You two had never figured out the gender, wanting to be surprised until they made their arrival, but Taehyung had a habit of calling the baby by "ladybug" ever since last month when you two laid outside and a small ladybug found its way to rest on top of your bump. He, of course, wrote the whole thing down in his journal as it happened.

Taehyung deep down didnt care the gender of his child, but he really wanted a little girl. A mini you. He wanted to take care of and protect his princesses all the time, and he so desperately wanted to make you both happy.

--

2 months later

You had woken tae up around 4am with severe cramping and back pain, he joined you on the floor in the bathroom as he placed a cold cloth on your neck. "just breathe, sweetheart." he sighed, trying to calm you down.

"What if they are coming early? Its too soon tae, and I-"

"shh, everything will be ok. You and ladybug are ok" he kissed your head. "Do you want to go to the ER?" he whispers, watching you nod as he helps you up carefully.

he helped you slip on your sneakers before getting into the car as he began driving to the hospital. "It doesnt feel like, I dont know how to explain.." you mumble, taking deep breathes

"What do you mean, love?"

"It doesnt feel normal and Im afraid something is wrong. Ive never felt this befor- ah!" you whine and hunch in pain as tae holds onto your hand and whispers soft words, promising he is driving as quick as he can.

Once he had helped you into the hospital, the doctor made him wait in the waiting room until they figured out what was the issue. Half an hour of leg bouncing, lip picking, and deep breathing later, a nurse finally stepped into the room to alert him of the situation. "Mr.Kim?" she asks, walking over as he sat up and nodded.

"ah, ok, So y/n is perfectly healthy and ok" she smiles and sits, "what she was feeling, is what the medical industry call 'braxton hicks', they are completely normal, its basically the body preparing itself for when the labor does in fact come." she adds, watching tae instantly relax upon hearing this. "I know its scary for a lot of first time parents but she and baby are in good health"

"thank god" he exhales and follows her back into the hall as he meets up with you again.

"Baby already causing problems for mommy huh?" he jokes and kisses your head, making you giggle and reach for his hand. "Did she tell you?" you ask

"mhm, nothing to worry about."

"kinda scary, if pre-labor feels that bad....then how is real labor gonna feel" you sigh, trying to avoid the thought despite the fact the baby needs to get out one way or another in just a few months.

"hey, look at me" he smiled, "everything will be ok, im right here" he squeezed your hand and leaned to kiss you softly, making you feel better already.

"I know, thank you"

Once you had fallen asleep, taehyung sat at the tiny desk across the room and began to film himself. "Hi ladybug, we are at the hospital because we thought you were making your grand entrance a month and a half early" he laughs quietly "but no, thank god. just stay in there and keep growing, you will meet us eventually" he smiled, "we love you"

--

march 3rd, 2022.

2:23 pm

You and taehyung had been adding the finishing touches onto the nursery, placing soft little blankets and bedding into the crib taehyung put together. "I like the colors, I think baby will like it" he spoke, adjusting the drawer and adding some more things into the hospital bag.

You were 9 months pregnant at this point, and there was nothing you hated more than moving. you sat in the rocking chair and nodded, watching your husband clean and organize. "hm what about this?" he asks, holding up a onesie that had pink ruffles. "are we bringing this"

"yeah" you smiled and ran your hand over your stomach

"ok" he put it into the bag and zipped it up, placing it by the door.

"Ok, I say we go get some lunch now. Let me help you get downstairs" taehyung smiled and reached out to hold your hands. You groaned and stood to your feet, wanting to just put all your weight against him. "you ok my love?" he coos

"mhm"

He began bringing you down the stairs and into the kitchen when you suddenly gasped, leaning against the back of the couch. "what??" he turned, watching your face turn to horror as you looked down. "I think....my water broke" you yelp in pain as a sudden sharp cramp covers your abdomen. "fuck, ok it hurts" you grasp onto his arms.

"ok, ok, uhm, well, well we need to go to the hospital now" Tae rambled, looking down at the small puddle, unsure where to go as he didnt want to leave you. "Go get the bags please, hurry up" you whisper as you rely on the support of the couch to keep you up.

Taehyung had ran quickly upstairs, nerves fueling his body but yet a smile creeped onto his face. His baby was finally coming, after all of these months, all of these moments, from when you told both of your families, to your baby shower, ultrasounds, shopping...its all coming together right now.

On his way back to you, he grabbed his phone and mindlessly began to film. "no time to talk, apparently you chose lunchtime to come greet us" he laughed and held the phone into his pocket as he came into the living room.

"tae it really fucking hurts" you cry, reaching for him again as he puts a coat over you. "I know sweetheart, its gonna be okay. We are gonna meet our little ladybug soon" he whispers, helping you stand on your own. "we are, huh" you breathe out, sudden excitement filling you.

"we are, time to officially be parents" he smiled and brought the bags into the car before helping you into the passenger seat. "I called Jin, hes coming to watch yeontan" he mumbled as he tried not to speed down the street as your groans became louder.

"hmmph, shit" you gripped the headrest of your seat as you tried not to cry, squeezing taes hand. "sorry if im hurting you"

Taehyung laughed, "its okay sweetheart, just breathe and focus on baby." he assured.

And thats what you did for the next 7 hours

-

"Hello my little ladybug" taehyung held his camera up to his newborn daughter as she laid against your bare chest. You were sweaty, tired, sore and ready to sleep for months, but you couldn't help but want to capture every moment with your new little family. "We waited so long for you, our sweet girl" he spoke, voice cracking as his hand reached out to hold hers, tiny fingers wrapping around just his one. Your eyes grew wet as you looked at him. "We are parents" you whispered, kissing your daughters head.

"you did such a good job, you are so fucking strong" he kissed you softly before turning his camera off, focusing all on you both.

"I cant wait to show her off to everyone, and spoil her" he added, watching her wide eyes look over at him.

"shes gonna be a very happy little girl" you smiled, watching the sweet interaction. between the two of them. "here, hold her again" you insisted as tae helped you sit up, taking the small newborn out of your arms gently.

"hi" he whispered, listening to her little coo's. He looked at her like she was his whole world. He never knew he needed anything more in his life after he married you, but now he can say with honesty and pride, he feels even more complete.

His wife, daughter, tannie and him.

His little place in the universe.

[scrumptiousstuffs]

see now one thing i truly don't get with somsoms is how terribly incapable of rooting for their own faves they are. does that make sense? like, when First plays those more grayish characters (ex, Akk & Kant) everyone has those swings between “omg my pookie” and “omg ew why would he do that” and it's just so so funny to me. same with Khaotung and what happened for ex with Ray. idonno why our fandom can't just lock in and root for the “bad guys” too.

but i may be biased because i really need fkt to play the biggest villains in the whole universe lol would LOVE to have the fandom where we all can just collectively go “yea my man killed that guy but yk what? HE DESERVED IT.” instead of “my man killed and now he ain't my man anymore”

(btw hii it's me again 🍋)

Hi anon.

From what I can glean (and of course I may be wrong here), most FK fans have no issue with how Kant are being portrayed. It’s the casual viewers of FK/people who generally watch lots of Thai BL but don’t specifically follow FK per se that either had negative take on Kant (with some crossing the lines and starting talking nonsense on First itself) or just skipped KantBison scenes altogether because they perceived it as boring in the 1st half of the series (and then sounded so surprised that Kant was being blackmailed because of his brother. Some didn’t even know he had a younger brother 😑)

However, what I am realising with FK fans, and this is especially with inter-fans are the preconceived ideas they have of the series and then went absolutely bonkers/disappointed when Kant (or Bison) didn’t turn out to be how they thought it should be (it’s already happening with Cat For Cash). Some inter-fans said that it was a missed opportunity to make Kant “more interesting” and he became “boring” after getting together with Bison? (Very puzzled with this). So, in fact, we actually have inter-fans wanting Kant to be even an even greyer character than what he currently is?

Interestingly, I have never seen Thai fans of FK saying anything negative about the series or how they portray KB (maybe I’m not following as many Thai fans?). But I do follow Thai fans that have been with them since at least 2022 or before!). And if these Thai fans put up highlights from Thai reactors from YT - all of these Thai reactors are singing praises on KB acting/scenes.

However, if you look at inter-fans, you will see a fraction of them being angry about KB scenes where these are perceived as not being as meaningful as SF’s. Some are critical with Jojo/screenwriting team, labelling them as “lazy” that KB had to improvise their scenes, stating the scenes are only saved purely from FK acting. Now, I disagree with the statement. That’s like spitting on the face of the whole production team/lighting/cinematographer/costume/props department etc when they worked just as tirelessly.

Or how, it was “robbery” because THK was not as intense/more dramatic as it could have been - inter-fans got upset especially following the recent interview by Jojo with a Brazillian podcaster/YT channel where he confirmed he altered the script to be lighter in tone for 2 reasons - 1) he didn’t want an intense drama after just filming OF 2) when they were about to shoot the pilot trailer, the mass shooting in the shopping mall at Bangkok just happened and the series almost got canned by GMMTV. I also think personally, he wanted to challenge himself because he mentioned (during the interview), Thai series usually don’t mix comedy with action/drama together (it’s either one or another) - one of the reason why Khaotung apparently find it difficult to find the right balance as Bison when he first started shooting THK.

That’s another thing about these inter-fans, I am bemused when these same inter-fans insisted THK was made for international audience and not Thai/local audiences. I put up a post recently where P’Aof made a pointed remark stating Thai directors/production houses make BL/GL with Thai audience in mind. International fans are just bonuses for them.

Sure, THK is probably more “accessible” to inter-fans because Jojo references a lot of famous/classic rom-com from the late 90s to early 2000s. But his target is first and foremost Thai audience and that’s why he tailored it to the current political climate in Thailand at that time (not to mention he likely won’t be able to produce the series otherwise) plus “gentle” introduction to non-vanilla sexual practices to the largely still conservative Thai audiences (yes, I’m talking about BDSM, where again I see inter-fans (and not Thai!) complaining there were only that 1-2 scenes in Ep 3. Since I already explained why I wasn’t surprised in a different asked, I’m not going to say it here).

And please do not compare THK BDSM to KinnPorsche. KinnPorsche is a different ball game together. That show was aired on IQIYI exclusively with the budget largely covered by one of the main actor who is super rich, while THK is still being aired on YT/GMM25 (their local channel that is targeted to be more family oriented).

@firstkanaphans and @doublel27 also answered a recent asked about the discordant on why audiences may be so hypercritical to Kant/Ray as opposed to actual “bad people” like our hitmen. I think it was a brilliant answer.

Regardless, It will be interesting to see how Dr Karn is going to be perceived by audiences (local and internationally). I get the feeling it will again be mixed results. But one thing I will say about FK - they have always challenged themselves with the roles they take. Plus tirelessly working on perfecting their craft. For that, I will always adore them.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Rhys Darby has ‘not an ounce of scaredness’ about son’s band dreams

NZ actor Rhys Darby and his musician son Finn interview each other. VIDEO CREDIT: David White/Stuff

Rhys Darby is proudly listing career moments - but they’re not his own.

He’s recalling watching his son Finn’s band, Great Big Cow, “absolutely rock” iconic LA venue Troubadour to sold-out crowds.

As a parent, “you worry about a bit of nepotism,” he admits.

“Are we just ‘yay, our boys!’ when really they’re dreadful?”

But, he says, the band’s indie folk rock is “brilliant”, and keeps getting better. And, he insists, people are paying attention.

“We’re shocked as parents a little bit,” he jokes.

The band, Rhys and I are nestled between a Street Fighter arcade game and a pinball machine, in a dark corner of Auckland’s Whammy Bar. The US-based teen band has been sound-checking for their first international show.

Rhys has donned weathered jeans and a plaid jacket - approved by Finn. His son is wearing Dad’s socks for the night. While Rhys talks, Finn pulls faces and shares quiet in-jokes with his band mates. There are plenty of laughs.

Finn, Paolo Pesce, Will Angarola and Wyatt Nash originally played together in a school jazz combo, and went on to form Great Big Cow in 2022.

Rhys Darby, left, watches his son Finn’s band dreams without “an ounce of scaredness”. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

Now, Rhys insists, they have a growing fanbase. Some of whom “[do] that thing where you dance really closely … Moshing”. He points to my notebook.

“Put down there that I did know what moshing is.”

Sure, Rhys Darby - one of New Zealand’s most well-known comedy exports - helped the band get bums on seats and lock in bigger venues, but they were also recently featured on LA public radio station KCRW’s Young Creators Project, can be found on Spotify and their mainstay is house parties.

“I think because I'm a bigger deal [in NZ], it might have been a little different. In LA, no-one really gives a shit about who I am,” he laughs, looking over at Finn who’s patiently had his hand raised while Dad spoke.

There are people and groups in LA that have helped the band too, says Finn, and he’s not sure those opportunities would have happened back in NZ.

“I would have got you on bFM for sure,” Rhys quips back.

He looks on at Finn’s creative path with, “not an ounce of scaredness”.

“Obviously as a child I had many different dreams, but at the base of everything was art and performance,” he says, describing his younger self as a “dreamer” who wanted to entertain.

Rhys Darby with son Finn before Great Big Cow played Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“When it comes to [my kids], I see different ambitions, but they have the artistic talent - I’m completely open to whatever they want to do. I’ll always be there for them.”

Where New Zealand has a bit of a reputation for tall poppy syndrome and an air of negativity, LA is hugely positive, says Rhys - especially for fostering young talent.

And it was in LA, at a house party, that Finn recalls being caught up in the “electric energy” of playing live.

“The whole audience was moving. And I think two people got lifted up above the crowd and surfed around above the crowd,” he says.

Finn’s not the only Darby putting in some work while in Aotearoa. Following Rhys’s joint 50th celebration with wife Rosie, he’ll be returning to the local stage, performing his Rhys Darby 25 Years stand-up show at Waiheke Island’s Wild Estate on April 3.

It encompasses the best bits from his previous shows, but performing it at Waiheke is “just another excuse to put on a show, really”, and to show his US mates another part of Auckland.

Rhys Darby, following a stint in the army and then university, kicked off his career with stand-up, before becoming a household name with an impressive TV and film CV, including Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man, The Boat that Rocked and Our Flag Means Death.

As for whether he still loves stand-up, “love is a strong word”, he laughs.

“I still enjoy it. But it's it's less of a thrill than it used to be.”

What he’s really loving is throwing himself into acting, and challenging himself with more dramatic roles - different to the very physical, crazy “shenanigans on stage”, requiring more focus for the comedian and “not just being a silly bugger”.

Plus, he’s 50 now.

“It’s much easier to do the stuff where I'm just sitting down,” he laughs.

Still, there’s no denying he’s been part of a movement that threw New Zealand comedy into the wider world, and he speaks proudly about his own work, but also that of other Kiwis such as filmmaker Taika Waititi and actor Rose Matafeo.

It’s a type of comedy, he says, that “has a signature” and can’t be copied.

Rhys Darby and son Finn at Auckland’s Whammy Bar. DAVID WHITE/STUFF

“I think it’s that positivity thing, which is ironic coming from a place with tall poppy syndrome. We don’t like each other but you guys love us, eh?”

It’s one of the reasons Darby is still living in LA, “still waving the flag [and] not changing my accent”.

And while Darby’s big break may have been the role of band manager Murray, when it comes to Great Big Cow he and Rosie “don’t want to be helicopter parents too much”.

“We're there when they have a question.”

And while Rhys says he can’t talk about any of his own projects, Finn interrupts with a quiet word about vague plans for a comedy musical theatre show featuring Rhys and the band.

Looking back at his own career, the highlight was breaking into the US market - name-dropping X Files and Our Flag Means Death as highlights.

“What's next? It's all peaks and troughs,” he says - mentioning Hollywood is turning to AI, but “thankfully, there's no one that can do a better robot impression than me”.

Still, the changing industry is worrying.

“People are losing their jobs, and AI is having a lot to do with it,” he says - dropping the quips and gags for a moment.

“After the strikes, I know, it's taken a while to get the industry back on its feet, but I'm hoping that it will get there,” he says.

“But it is worrying. It's really worrying the moment.”

Source: Stuff NZ

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

To add on to the person asking about Larry and if u think it was real- I (unfortunately) used to be one- but as I grew up and kinda connected the dots I realized that if they were together, it likely evolved into something very unhealthy. There’s plenty of evidence that A) Harry wanted a solo career and B) Louis didn’t know. Amongst other unhealthy things… my guess as to why Louis gets so triggered by Larry of course is likely bc of his son, but also bc it’s likely that people are romanticizing his relationship with an ex that hurt him. Can you imagine ur S.O betraying you and you 1) can’t say anything about it 2) have to talk nicely about them anyway but also 3) everyone keeps shipping you two and you can’t scream that this person hurt you. I think they’ve forgiven each other and I don’t think that there’s any true bad blood, but I can imagine it’s exhausting to have to hear about

My guess is that Louis knew that Harry wanted to go solo (if Zayn did, surely Louis did), but at the time of hiatus, Louis (+Niall +Liam) didn’t know how much Harry would try to disassociate himself from One Direction. I think that was the most painful to Louis, Harry’s disloyalty. Louis could probably forgive Harry’s greed and the poor choice of friends, but not the insult to a band he was very proud of.

I also don’t think Harry’s change was something that happened right away; it wasn’t a switch that turned on January 1, 2016. Through 2016 Louis had a lot of personal issues to deal with (Freddie’s birth, Jay’s illness), and if I recall, in early 2017 Louis was patiently watching and waiting to see what would happen. There was a feeling of optimism that all of 1D could all do some sort of solo projects and support each other. Remember when Harry retweeted the photo of Louis drinking a milk shake, in April 2017? Harries won’t admit that he did this intentionally, but Harry Styles did, and the tweet was left up for 45 minutes. I think Louis was aware.

In 2017, Louis had praised Harry’s music and film (and hyped everyone else’s projects), wished Harry a happy birthday online, and given a lot of good will. Louis also denied Larry in July 2017 so Harry wouldn’t have to (but he still got to say he was “unlabeled”— LGBT friendly). At some point, it became clear that Harry wouldn’t return Louis’ good will, and that it wasn’t in Sony’s plans, either. Louis had taken the high road, and he got played. I think Louis used a word in his 1883 magazine interview, that people who weren’t native to LA but were transplants from elsewhere were “snakes.” For Louis, that’s a loaded, emotional word, with a lot of personal betrayal behind it.

I do think that Louis gets very irritated by the mention of Larry these days. You can see the difference in his facial expression between 2017 (sardonic, playful) and 2024 (tired, sick of it, disgusted). Louis took the extraordinary step of blocking HLD. Blocking a UA is something he has never done.

I would agree with you that Louis has gotten over whatever happened with Harry. He talks about Harry as a brother, not unlike Niall, in a neutral way. Both at the Euros finals and at Liam’s funeral, they were in the same vicinity with little to no interaction— neither positive nor negative. They didn’t avoid each other but weren’t visibly warm toward one another. Louis’ sister Lottie was at the funeral as well, seen only talking to Zayn’s family. Louis had no interactions with Ben Winston or James Corden, whom he’s known for ages. When Louis did talk to someone, it was Zayn.

Part of the reason that I think Louis is able to let go of the past is that he is secure in his own career now, with his own investments and projects, and a clear way ahead. AOTV was an exorcism of sorts. When Louis wrote Walls, he could say goodbye to those traumas through his creativity. When he made AOTV, he processed the trauma from One Direction, including the most hurtful, most traumatic times. Unlike Harry, Louis has no pettiness. He doesn’t really ever blame others, but rather tries to work out how to get it out of his own system.

But you can understand that a normal person only has so much forbearance for fans’ invasive, toxic nonsense. No matter how clearly Louis shows his displeasure, Larries don’t give up. I think this is one main reason that Louis rarely ever comes on social media.

Addendum: I also think that because Liam died from issues of addiction, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence, Louis feels responsible in a way, because he had always tried to publicly support and defend Liam. And I do think that Louis feels his bandmates could have done more for Liam, especially Harry, who never publicly returned Liam’s support or friendship. I think this is a very tough thing to forgive. I think Zayn’s gesture is wonderful, and I know Louis sees it too.

[the-far-bright-center]

The Jedi *Order* in the Prequels came across negatively to me in comparison to my previous impressions of 'the Jedi' in the Original Trilogy

I’ve said it before, but I really struggle to relate to the side of the SW fandom that is obsessed with stanning the Prequels-era Jedi *Order* for its own sake. Debates about the specifics of the Jedi belief system aside, it's just that, from my personal perspective, based solely on the Prequels films, the Prequels-era Jedi Order as an *institution* is so.... uninspiring??? And, even, I daresay, rather unsympathetic. There are of course individual Jedi I adore, but the Order as a whole??? Ehhh. I can only speak for myself, but growing up as a massive Star Wars fan who had only ever watched the Original Trilogy films (I didn't have much exposure or access to the Expanded Universe material until I was older), I remember thinking the way the Jedi were portrayed in the Prequels was unexpected for a lot of reasons, and that it was largely a NEGATIVE 'reveal'. NOT that the story was bad, but just that the Jedi as an institution was not what I'd expected when Jedi were mentioned in the OT.

It was also clear to me that this was not an accident, this was a purposeful 'twist' on the OT audiences' expectations. And that it was therefore meant to tell us something about the state of the Jedi at this point in time.

The major thing that stood out was the fact that THE main Jedi Temple was located on Coruscant. I'd always pictured Jedi Temples to be in more remote and situated in nature, in keeping with their mystical, spiritual vibe established in the OT. Our only previous exposure to 'Jedi' from the pre-Dark Times at that stage had been two hermits who'd been living in remote areas, Obi-Wan and Yoda. So I'd certainly never imagined the main Temple would be a big ivory tower on a teeming city-planet and situated just around the corner from the Galactic Senate. Yoda being the 'Grand Master' and being so prominent in this setting was also a mindfuck. People may not even register it as such these days, but at the time it was unsettling to see him in that ‘grandiose’ role when all you'd ever known of the character previously was a quirky (but seemingly humble) swamp muppet. It immediately made me question what the heck was going on with the power dynamics of the Jedi Council in that era.....it actually seemed distressingly 'out of character' for the Yoda we'd always known from the OT, and this sense of incongruity informed my impression of the Jedi Order in the Prequel-era.

Going back to the OT, perhaps some fans who were familiar with the post-RotJ EU already had a certain view of Jedi Order prior to the Prequels' release that they were attached to....I don't know. In my case, I was a child when I watched the OT, and back then I never really thought about the Jedi one way or another as an organisation. And since I wasn't into the post-RotJ EU novels, I had no preconceived ideas based on that supplementary material, either. But once the Jedi Order was presented on-screen in the Prequels, I never looked upon it fondly or as something aspirational. It seemed pretty clear that this was an organisation that had changed from what it should have been and was no longer the most ideal version of itself. There was a coldness there, as well as a sense of being far removed from both humanity and nature that hadn't been present in my impression of 'a Jedi' in the OT (which was of course based almost entirely on Luke and his hero's journey). So I'm always pretty baffled when people want to view the Jedi at the Grand Temple during the Twilight of the Republic and Clone Wars era as some kind of carefree 'wizarding school set in space' rather than 'the Knights Templar just before their downfall'. I don’t share the rosey interpretation that some have, largely because the Prequels-era Jedi did not value love and family, and were essentially 'slaves of the Republic' themselves, in servitude to a corrupt and failing government. In the end, becoming militarised and participating in a Sith-run war, utilising enslaved soldiers as their cannon fodder. This is not a warm happy little enclave of space wizards that I've ever had any wish to fantasise about in a 'self-insert' kind of way.

While our first introduction to individual Jedi (Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan) in TPM is largely positive, there are already hints that something is off — the fact that they are so strongly bound to their 'mission' and answerable to and expected to obey the Council, for one. (Recall that Luke's trajectory in the OT is one of largely disobeying the Jedi authorities mentoring him.) And when we finally meet said Council— in a scene that is, chronologically, our very first introduction to the Jedi as an institution in the entire saga — we a shown a group of cold, unsympathetic monks sitting high atop their tower looking down upon a slave boy dressed in rags. And this slave boy, who had just been shown on-screen to be a selfless and heroic character, is nonetheless viewed disdainfully by this group as being unworthy of their time or attention, simply for the circumstances of his existence. His status as Chosen One, believed in so strongly by the warm and amiable Qui-Gon, is met with fear and skepticism by the other Jedi simply due to the fact that he's not what they expected. They expected to be handed a baby or a small child whom they could mold into their figurehead and ideal saviour from a young age. If the Chosen One was indeed real, then they'd hoped the one sent to them would be too young to remember his origins, rather than a boy raised in slavery who still feared for his enslaved mother's life.

Now, who am I going to empathise with, based on that scene alone? It's certainly not the Jedi Order, that's for sure.

To be clear, when I first watched TPM all those years ago, Qui-Gon Jinn was my favourite character, so it's not that I came away disliking 'the Jedi' as a concept. It's just that I could see that the Jedi character I'd found the most sympathetic and compelling was in fact viewed as a 'maverick' at odds with the majority rule, rather than as someone representative of the typical Jedi approach and mindset of that era.

In this matter, my view of the Jedi Order is still to this day founded on how it was first presented to the audience onscreen in the Lucas-era films (NOT how the EU or Disney canon or any other supplementary material portrays them). And in TPM, my very first impression was that some of the individual Jedi members are highly sympathetic and trying their best, but that 'the Order' itself comes across as cold and unsympathetic towards the characters who had already been established at that point as the protagonists of the story.

[minnieposting]

i want to talk about robins trailer again!

following up from this post + a cool thread i saw earlier compiling lots of details i didn't notice in the trailer! (and the morse code post)

mostly really interested in the fact that this whole thing is filmed and directed by sunday

(sc from twt thread)

i said earlier that robin must feel like she doesn't want to let down both sunday and the family, both as his sister and the "pride of the family". but this clearly shows that he's the one pulling the strings, or at least one of them.

(as i type this out, i realize the usage of "pulling the strings" could relate back to the imagery of puppets we've been seeing. they are present in robin's trailer and also seen in the 2.2 penacony trailer)

(and of course, another puppet on strings...)

not sure where i'm going with this because tbh i got side tracked because i had the realization while writing. just some cool consistent puppet imagery, obviously symbolic, just don't feel like thinking about this rn lol

ANYWAY, my original train of thought was going towards sunday being a huge pressure on her, whether intentionally or not, he's clearly got his own shit going on... but i also feel like this gives new meaning to something else i pointed out a bit ago (post)

sunday is always right behind robin! she's always in the spotlight while he looms in the shadows. another thing tho, the same person who posted that twt thread i linked to pointed out that our bird friend is seen in the corner watching robin perform (x)

in the upper right corner!

(though, ive seen speculation that the bird is not sunday's but the dreammaster's! either way, sunday is still the most involved with her in the context of my post...)

now, going back to what i really want to talk about in the first place - director sunday. i do think this is more symbolic than anything, and coming from robin's perspective as this is her trailer.

sunday is a perfectionist obsesed with control and robin's public image may not be spared from that. she may feel that sunday is essentially breathing down her neck, whether or not sunday is aware he's making her feel like this. i've always thought that sunday's perfectionism and his obsessiveness have bled into his love for his sister and their relationship as a whole. again, she clearly does not want to let him down specifically, especially when they're supposedly working towards a childhood dream.

it's just! this whole thing about freedom, or the lack of it. robin is a caged bird and that's become explicit in her trailer. who knows wtf sunday's deal is, but he's also clearly under SO much pressure, he's the head of the oak family and ALSO needs to be nothing less than perfect. dude had a whole speech about it. i also imagine they both don't talk about any negative feelings related to this, maybe even wanting to keep up appearances around each other too.

i feel like i dont have anything else to say. i just mainly wanted to talk about some observations and stuff. i am very much looking forward to 2.2 coming out later, im SO excited to dig into sunday because he is the most intriguing and mysterious to me. their relationship is just so so so interesting, im so excited to see it in all of its glory later.

and mandatory note bc i am an anxious person, i do a lot of talking out of my ass and this is just exactly that.

(uh i scrolled up to read this post over and saw i linked back to a morse code post and didn't talk about that at all. well there's SOS morse code in robins trailer! that's fucked up! what else can i say)

[not-wholly-unheroic]

Thoughts on Off to Neverland: 70 Years of Disney’s Peter Pan by Jim Korkis

Now that I have finished reading Off to Neverland, I’d like to share some thoughts on it—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let’s start with the negatives and get that out of the way, shall we?

As mentioned in a previous post, the book starts out sounding rather clunky and more like a list of facts than an actual book. However, once we move past the original history of Peter Pan as imagined by J.M. Barrie and start getting into the history of Disney Peter Pan material specifically, it starts to improve. Korkis was, after all, considered a Disney historian, so I guess it’s no real surprise that he writes more excitedly about that side of things. That said, there are still some things that bugged me and made me feel like the book was slapped together in a hurry. I noticed several spelling errors, missing words, and/or weird punctuation throughout the book and while that doesn’t take away from the info itself, it’s rather distracting and unprofessional for a published book. It’s also troubling that Korkis has neither a bibliography nor footnotes in his book to indicate exactly where he got his information from. Some of it was, undoubtedly, from interviews he conducted himself, but even then, there is a way that you are supposed to write up interviews as source material for professional writing…and Korkis just…doesn’t for some reason. So if I want to look up more info on, say, a specific fact…I can’t really do that because I have no proof of an original source. Lastly, some of the “facts” he includes—and I’m being nitpicky here but the guy is supposed to be a Disney historian so I think I’m allowed to be—are straight-up WRONG. For example, in the Disney film, Hook is said to have a harpsichord in his cabin (it’s not; it’s a piano—listen to a harpsichord…it doesn’t sound like that) and a cutlass as his weapon of choice (cutlasses are curved on one side; his blade is definitely more akin to a rapier or a fencing sword). Smee is also said to be the first mate in the original film, and while it’s true that in some later Disney media like Jake and the Neverland Pirates has portrayed Smee as a first mate, the original film does not. Heck, the man has a bosun’s whistle that he uses to pipe up the crew and specifically mentions the first mate as one of the people spreading rumors about Pan having banished Tink during the scene where he’s pouring hot water on Hook’s feet. So clearly he isn’t the first mate, and you don’t have to be a Disney expert to know that. You just have to actually watch the film. The author also says that Cubby is referred to as Curly in the sequel, Return to Neverland…which, again, just listen to the film for yourself and you’ll quickly learn that isn’t true. Oh, and did I mention that he essentially defends the racist portrayal of the “Indians” in the original film? Yeah, so…there’s that.

On a more positive note, I did learn some interesting new things about Peter Pan in the Disneyverse (though, of course, since there is no bibliography, I can’t prove any of them…). So, here are a few fun facts for you fellow Peter Pan nerds, as promised.

(1) There were a LOT of changes made to the original script and storyline between its initial inception and the final version of the film we have today. A few things that were considered but ultimately not used include the following:

Wendy was originally going to be the one who wanted to go to Skull Rock while Peter warned it was too dangerous to go there, only giving in when she finally dared him to take them there.

In one version, Nana came with the kids to Neverland while John stayed home, being “too grown up” for Neverland.

There were several different suggested starting points for the film. One would have had an adult Wendy as narrator reading the story to her daughter, Jane. Another started with Peter’s backstory similar to his origins in The Little White Bird. In either this or another version with a backstory for Pan, we would have seen Tink as the queen of the fairies who, on being presented with the foundling baby Peter, decided that he should be raised by the fairies to protect them against the pirates and other threats and, in exchange, gave him the power of flight.

One version of the story that would have followed much more closely to Barrie’s storyline had Hook creeping down part of the way into Hangman’s Tree to poison Peter but getting stuck and weeping frustrated tears that land in Peter’s “medicine.” These tears, of course, turned out to be poison from the red of his eye as in the 2003 film. This version also would have featured Hook voluntarily jumping ship and being nabbed by a silent crocodile whose clock had run down.

Disney debated for a long time whether to make Peter Pan a live-action film, an animated film, or a hybrid of the two. In the case of the latter, Wendy and her brothers would have been live-action characters with Hook, Peter, and the other residents of Neverland as animated characters who sprung to life from Wendy’s storybook.

There was gonna be a fairy ball. And a scene with the fairies feeding the kids at a kind of banquet. Also a fairy jazz band. Yes, you read that right. Fairy. jazz. band.

(2) The very first Tink to fly over one of the Disney parks to head off the fireworks was a 70 year-old Hungarian woman of Jewish descent and former burlesque dancer. This lady, known as “Tiny” Kline, slid down a 784 ft long cable nearly 150 ft off the ground at speeds up to 30 mph nearly every night for three years…while fighting cancer.

(3) There was an earlier version of Return to Neverland titled Peter and Jane featuring Kathryn Beaumont reprising her role as Wendy and Corey Burton in both the roles of Hook and Smee. Most of the voice recording for this version was already complete when the directors decided to go a different direction with the film. Beaumont was ultimately replaced by Kath Soucie, and the role of Smee went to Jeff Bennett.

(4) Somewhere out there, a live-action reference model version of Return to Neverland exists, and I need it. I have no idea if any of the voice actors were used as models as in the original film, but either way, I really wish we had some way to access the recording, or at least stills.

(5) Apparently, the filmmakers’ reasoning for replacing the crocodile with the octopus was that they thought a toothy crocodile would be “too threatening” for younger members of the audience. That, and they wanted to come up with a new, creative way to torture Hook. (For some reason, Korkis seems to think that the octopus can’t see well because he views Hook and the crew as fish. This is another “fact” which I’m pretty sure is wrong. I always assumed the vision of the characters as fish was just to show that the octopus considered them all potential food, not an actual indication of the creature’s sight…but whatever.)

(6) And last but not least, I have to include Hans and Corey’s takes on Hook as a character because my thoughts on the book wouldn’t be complete without them. I’ve shared some of this before but it bears repeating.

Hans Conried:

“He is a much maligned character. If you read the lines with any sensibility at all, you must have an animus against Peter Pan who could fly, and took outrageous advantage of this one-armed man. Hook was a gentleman. Pan was not. His behavior was bad form.”

Corey Burton:

“He’s the nastiest of Disney’s comical villains. He’s conceited and bombastic and takes great relish in his evil and that makes him really fun to play. Captain Hook is so theatrical, like an old ham actor of the vaudeville and music hall days. It’s not that he really scares anyone because you can see right through all of his bluster. He’s really just scrambling for the recognition afforded Blackbeard and the other great pirates.”

I find it interesting that Burton, though his take on the character is more comedic than Conried’s, still has a rather sympathetic view of Hook—that his attempts at villainy are, in fact, so over-the-top precisely because they are meant to cover up a deep insecurity that he isn’t living up to what everyone expects him to be.

Overall, the book had some fun and interesting bits but wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I’d love to send Korkis an email and ask him about some of the issues I had with the book and pick his brain. Unfortunately, he just passed away in July of 2023, so that’s no longer an option.

[krissiefox]

Sonic The Hedgehog (2020) Movie Review!

While I was sick recently, I was holed up in my room trying not to infect the rest of my family. I'd been reading Sonic fanfics in the meantime, and this gave me the idea to finally watch the DVD I got of the the 2020 Sonic movie, and then of course, I wanted to write a review, because it's fun (and my wife seems to like them)! I'll put a divider here, because this review does contain spoilers for most of the plot points, so this is your warning before you read on!

To get the unfortunate bits out of the way, the movie had a rough start, with the strange first design of Sonic becoming a social media trend of snark and negativity that I remember making me pretty depressed. In response to the backlash, Paramount changed up Sonic's design to something cuter. I've heard mixed claims saying that during this time the artists for the movie were abused with crunch, while others claim this didn't occur, so I'm not sure about whether or not it happened, but I hope not.

A worried Sonic ball, hiding from badniks....

With that unpleasantness out of the way, the movie eventually finished and came out, and at-least on tumblr I saw a lot of folks seemed to really enjoy it. My little brother expressed interest in watching it with me, so eventually while out shopping with my wife I picked up copies of the first two movies.

This movie does commit the act of "Hollywood Video Game Adaptations" by largely changing the source material and basically creating another AU for the Sonicverse, and I know that's a turnoff for some, so this wouldn't be every one's cup of tea as many folks would prefer something rooted in one the already established Sonic worlds. I was able to enjoy the film though, and found it quite cute, sweet and funny. It also gave warm fuzzies to see my favorite childhood video game hero in his first big screen movie adaption.

The Story follows Sonic as he is ousted from his home world by his owl mom to live on Earth, after a tribe of echidnas attacks their house. Sonic is ordered to live in hiding, and is given a bag of magic teleportation rings that he is to use only in an emergency to escape to another place.

As ordered, Sonic lives on Earth in secret, in a town called Green Hills. He spies on the humans and enjoys learning about Earth, but is still very lonely as he isn't allowed to interact with them. Some of his favorite humans are a local couple that he has named "Donut Lord" and "Pretzel Lady". One night, while playing at a baseball field at night, Sonic gets so upset about his isolated life that he causes a massive power surge with his speed, drawing attention to his location.

Dr. Robotnik meets Donut Lord!

The government calls in Dr. Robotnik (and his minion/boyfriend Agent Stone), whom in this universe is an earthling rather than a resident of Mobius. He is played by Jim Carrey as a delightfully fun and strange villain throughout the film. He takes over the search for the source of the power surge, and eventually closes in on the cave Sonic has been living in.

In a panic, Sonic decides he'll need to bail on this world, though he hates the thought of having to do so, being so fond oft it. He sneaks into Donut Lords home to use one of his teleport rings, when Donut (aka Tom) finds him and shoots him with a tranquilizer dart gun. One of Sonic's rings opens up and since Donut's shirt made Sonic think of San Francisco, that's where the portal leads to and Sonic's rings end up there.

After getting to know each-other, Sonic and Donut end up fleeing as vigilantes both from the government and Dr. Robotnik. Eventually they make it to San Francisco, Sonic gets his rings back, and he has a big showdown with Robotnik where he ends up sending Robotnik through a portal to the mushroom world he was originally going to go to. Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady end up adopting Sonic, and the movie wraps up as Sonic sees his new bedroom in a really sweet scene. Mid credits, we also get a teaser showing Tails arriving on Earth!

One of the movie's more badass looking scenes.

Outside of the aforementioned issue that creating an entirely new Sonic AU for the film will alienate some folks, my only other criticism is that I would have liked to learn more Sonic's owl mom, as she seemed pretty cool. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film quite a bit. It was colorful, pretty, Sonic was adorable, Robotnik was very funny, and Sonic's new friends were quite likeable. Definitely a recommended watch for anyone curious about the film. :) I may end up watching the sequel sometime soon, too!

[topconfessions]

I wonder if they went with a character that at least had a background familiar to TOP to make the acting part easier and try and ensure it turned out well. I mean to be fair to everyone involved TOP doesn't have much experience acting and this is a really high budget show with a lot of expectations for the acting level of the people in it. Maybe Thanos was just the writers and director playing it safe

Then don't cast him. Whats the point?, that's illogical and unfair in general. American or Korean. Thats coddling, holding an actors hand as well and its doing a major favor for them giving them shortcuts 90%, of other actors dont get. Thats pretty close to telling them to method act and lib. If this is the case dont have a set script for the entire cast. Do it like Martin Scorcesse (casino, the irishman, goodfellas etc) and have 50% scripted, the rest being an outlier of the scene and direction the characters need to go in and let the main cast ad lib and make up their own lines as it goes along but he did that with veteran trusted actors.

I wanted / do want top to have new projects and chances at new roles but this is a headache. Its double edgesword since his acting has given the show more attention but its a mixed bag and some negative. But I do agree in a way they probably just let him be himself so its a smooth ride but thats not a true job to me for a show like this. Notice the show didn't get anything at the golden globes? Shogun swept that mothafuvka UP lmaooo.

But why play it safe with him when there are a plethora of other actors from aspiring, seasoned and older, A list and then some? Kim Woo Bin is to me what TOP saw himself being as an actor or thoughts he could be. Anons will get pissed at me saying that but its the truth. I'd rather them contact Kim Woo Bin and give him a role just cause. Caus you KNOW he gonna take any role and really do an amazing with it. I'm shocked KWB hasnt gotten an international crossover role yet depsite pumping out great roles back to back. I really think they should've reached out to some heavyweights and asked but its giving CHEAP i.e they probably felt if they reached out to song joon ki he would ask too much, especially since they have gong yoo & byunghyuh already. Shit, bring Rain on there lol. Anybody.

Bring that actor from the korean version of Liar Game which is a precursor to Squid Game if yall dont know - Liar Game is a more psychological and mentally tactical but equally wacky japanese drama series & movie that came out long time ago and I always felt the director and writer took a lot of liar game for squid game and edited some of the premise tbh.

Anyways. Common sense - they wanted top in the show because of clout and hes a big name to have to draw attention. If top enjoyed filming and had fun then that is all that matters. I haven't watched the show and don't want to. It's waiting for another fan to invade the inbox and alledge I'm a secret opp cause I'm being hard on him right now.

[grimmmviewing]

S1E8: “Game Ogre”—B/C+ (Watched 2/29/24)

“No record of where he was born, no record of a family. It’s like this guy just fell out of the sky.” – Hank re. an ogre/giant (Got a, not exactly unhappy, groan from me!)

“Just the facts, right?” – Monroe to Nick/Hank re. the ownership of an important watch (Bonus points for Dragnet reference?)

Exactly how much silliness I find charming and at what point the goofiness should result in some sort of deduction for review purposes are questions I find myself thinking about a lot while watching Grimm. Even the episodes I’ve scored as “A”s have their Moments. And if I had to sum up my feelings about “Game Ogre” I would say that it starts as a fine enough monster of the week story but then, perhaps fittingly for an episode that prominently features a watch early on, it accumulates enough “complications” that it becomes genuinely interesting or noteworthy.

First—the central role of Oleg Stark, an ogre. I did love the very physical performance, which has a lot of stiff-bodied stomping around and grunting and growling. It had to have been fun to try to play that role and to try to make yourself seem as big, burly, and dense (in more than one sense) as possible. The way the camera frames this big boy and the way that shots of him getting physical are filmed and edited to make him feel as large and powerful as possible is just very entertaining. Definitely goofy, but also definitely fun in a C+ sort of way.

Another entertaining C-sort of goofy detail is how the initial murder victim is a judge, and we know that because he’s just got a gavel sitting out on his desk at home. It’s used in his murder to help suggest that the crime was personal, of course, but the placement is still such a ridiculous way to communicate the man’s profession, especially when you consider that we’re also explicitly told he’s a state judge when Sergeant Wu and his partner are investigating the scene of the break-in.

There are some similarly unnecessary-feeling, awkward quick flashbacks in the mix—back to Nick being brutalized by the ogre in his house and to the ogre-killing poison and gun in his trailer. Of course, one way of looking at these is as part of the TV series package: Commercials are a thing, and people come in late. You have to catch up the late-comers and maybe re-establish a sense of drama and of the critical details for folks after the ads. This is one of those things I struggle to identify as a positive or a negative in my subjective assessment since Grimm being so obviously What It Is is absolutely part of the charm and was part of what I wanted out of this whole experience.

And there are a couple of plot oddities here, too, like just how long it takes for someone (Wu) to put together the idea of using Hank as bait for the vengeance-seeking Oleg. Captain Renard going along with Hank to a suspect’s place probably shouldn’t feel weird, but it does since, as far as I remember, this is new behavior for him.

It’s the mounting “complications” that ultimately elevate the episode, though, because of their novelty. Actually seeing Nick kind of shaken and vulnerable after he’s hospitalized from Oleg’s attack offers a new emotional angle from which to view him. He hasn’t been this badly beaten by a Wesen before. Hank similarly gets pushed emotionally in this episode, and the exact nature of the strain on him ends up being a nice twist, with how he and the DA colluded to “lose” evidence that might have gotten reasonable doubt for Oleg at his trial years ago.

The trust that Nick places in Monroe, a Wesen, by revealing the trailer to him is very much understated and great for it. The fact that Monroe ends up being the one who has to put Oleg down is also a cool, interesting wrinkle. The focus on the .600 caliber “elephant gun” bullets that are over 100 years old in the final scene with Renard and Hank is just a delightful little bit of quirkiness and suspense. That the weapons from the trailer are actually deployed here is something I was glad to see. It certainly makes sense for Nick to use his service weapon rather than swinging around a sword or flail or something, but that armory has been essentially teased up to this point, and it was just good to see some of it put to use.

[dotthings]

Gotham Knights ep 1.08 "Belly of the Beast" Thank you to writers David Paul Francis and Nate Gualtieri (who are on the picket lines)

This ep was so stylish and dark, in themes and in the beautiful lighting and sets.

Also Duela's gown, A+.

Harper and Cullen's sibling banter and Cullen teasing Harper about how she's softened towards Steph. I love their sibling bond. And seeing how they look after each other while they both grow more deeply attached into the Knights' circle, they have more than just each other to lean on now.

Duela and Turner seem to be trying very hard not to like each other or care too much in this episode and fail at it completely. Turner sending Duela to get away with the map while he gets captured by the Court, and Duela, who mostly operates on a basis of self-preservation, showing vulnerable cracks at the idea of not going to rescue Turner right this minute.

Carrie, with tears in her eyes, making reasonable points about why they have to wait. Caring about Turner, but also thinking of the whole group and what's at stake if they rush in to save Turner and get themselves killed. That actually had some Batman energy. The caring goes very deep, but the ability to assess the situation and hold back when necessary. They can't save Turner if they get themselves killed. They can't save Gotham if they get themselves killed. As Robin, Carrie has a bit of a leadership role--the one with experience being a vigilante, who was mentored by Batman, she's been guiding and helping the rest of the Knights since the start. They are not dying on her watch.

Duela is more in a position to act and think more selfishly (not in a negative sense, but she can afford to in ways Carrie can't right then), and showed her vulnerable underbelly.

Oh, Steph. Carrying the world on her shoulders and having to parent both her parents--her mother, spiraling down into addiction, and her father, the enabler who doesn't want to face how severe the situation is. And then blames Steph for her mother's tantrums when Steph tries to stop the cycle. Steph would be better off being a vigilante with the Knights than trying to parent-wrangle. She needs them.

It seems that it's not just Harvey's mhi issues in play. The Court (I am assuming The Court, but there could be another player on the board doing this) is exploiting his mhi it looks like. He loses time again, has a blackout. The music on the cassette player was a trigger. The subtly of the expression on Harvey's face when he heard it, the way he went unhinged, but you had to be watching closely. *chef's kiss*

Oh, I was right about Lincoln. Talon doesn't miss. That attack was staged, where Lincoln really was stabbed, but purposefully do he didn't die. So he could be stabbed right in front of Harvey.

Rebecca continues to behave like the female lead of a classic Hollywood noir or a Hitchcock thriller. While she may not be able to save Harvey, maybe she'll be the one to take down Lincoln. The archetype from film I'm thinking of may seem vulnerable and scared but are also often the ones who kneecap the villain (or are the masterminds themselves but I don't think it's the latter in Rebecca's case).

I was also right about Bruce. The changes to his will were for the good of the people of Gotham. To give them a way out of being under the thumb of The Court of Owls.

Cressida was corrupt, but she wasn't corrupt all the way through. I think she didn't have many choices and was trying to survive, not that it's the excuse, but I think her motivations were mainly about self preservation, the Court of Owls is terrifying, and the cruelty and greed she participated in must have made it hard for her to look in the mirror. So morally corrupt as she was, she still hit the wall, and the idea of Gotham forever controlled by a group of greedy, corrupt, immortal and immoral monsters, forever, with no hope for a way out, was more than she could endure. So she risked it all to stop them. I'm thinking part of her hoped that Batman would win. When Batman died, so did her hope.