#STELLAR performances by the cast tho

[im-not-natalia]

I think you mentioned you liked omfd a while ago but i can't find the post, im just going around all the blogs i follow asking for thoughts on the finale! Sorry if i am confusing you!!!

you are right!!! i posted something about it before i just deleted those posts to make everything more cohesive with my drawings and stuff.

I have watched the finale two times now and i liked where they left off but am dissapointed with how they executed it, i really could go on and ramble all about the season but yeah, dissapointed.

(im also still cooling off over what happened to my favorite character so honestly i dont think i can give you a good answer right now)

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (16/06/24)

new serialization round baby let's gooooo there's nothing too fancy on it but I'm curious about the series that will start in 3 weeks since I read the author's previous manga years ago when it came out, until it got axed, so I wanna see how much they improved since then

green - new series/new to me blue - finale/completed

Anime

Dungeon Meshi Ep24 (Finale)

there really isn't anything else I could've given it. trigger absolutely killed it the whole way through and thank GOD someone convinced the shitflix execs to make this a weekly release instead of the shitty binge model which would've killed the show dead instantly.

but yeah, I haven't read the manga (yet) but I'd seen tons of spoilers before and even more during the show airing ( 😔 ) and it's an incredible adaptation. a lot of people complain about certain scenes not hitting as hard as in the manga for this reason or another but I feel like most (not all) of those complaints are just nitpicking and trying to give off a sense of superiority cause they read the manga beforehand

anyway, great animation the whole way through, like always above average and with a lot of sakuga sprinkled all throughout. we even got unorthodox animation like that one with the siblings or all the scenes made in the classic trigger style instead of this more "mainstream" look they used for the show everything else is stellar too, I loved the whole seiyuu cast and their performances and the music was great as well

also ryoko kui is an incredible author so it was just a treat to see all the thought that went into the world, dungeon and otherwise, tho I already knew that before the anime was even announced

anyway, TL;DR: incredible adaptation and what everyone should dream of getting for their series. can't WAIT for S2 coming TBA, surprised they announced it already cause they have a panel at AX next month so I figured they'd do it there

Manga

Youkai Buster Murakami Ch1

I went into this not expecting much since I read the author's previous work, shugomaru, which while not terrible was also nothing to write home about. I was pleasantly surprised by this tho, I actually liked it a lot more than shugomaru. I was doubtful at first cause "oh boy here comes another exorcist series" until I was told who the author was. as expected it's a comedy series like their previous work. the gimmick is that the main girl is an exorcist and it's her job to seal all these youkais that are being ressurected but she's a huge coward so she brings her, completely normal, friend along to help her and he defeats the youkai by poking holes into it's story like you can see in the pic below I can totally see this being a fun series that I wouldn't mind having stick around for a while if every chap is at least this good. even being a shorter debut of 30 pages it felt like it dragged a bit too long but it should be fine with normal lenght chaps. we'll see how it goes in the coming weeks

Dear Anemone Ch17 (Finale)

man where do I even start with this. first of, I'd thought about giving it a 2 instead of a 1 cause the art is really good but this final chap was so bad it made me change my mind. that spread I picked below is a compilation of stuff that never actually happened in the manga. I guess it was stuff the author had planned but it got axed so yeah. from chap 1 I said the art was good but way too gory for wsj and that stayed true the whole way, it was just way too much for the magazine it was in. impressive that the author managed to keep up the quality in a weekly serialization tho. that's all this manga had tho, the art. everything else was terrible. the story was confused and moving all over the place and the bad ratings made it even worse with the author trying to rush and give reveals and twists constantly which never felt satisfying cause there was no build up to it. the characters didn't felt like characters either and they were just getting pulled along the plot. I went into this not expecting much and still came out disappointed. author is gonna have to put a LOT of effort into their writting if they want do to another serialization or at least they should team up with someone else since again the art was actually really good

[neroushalvaus]

Oppenheimer thoughts!

I said I would type out my hopes and fears for this movie like I did with Barbie, but me and my partner decided to watch this ex tempore, because storm warnings made us leave our secluded cabin in the woods. However, my expectations for this movie were that it would be a typical "suurmieselokuva" ("great man film"), you know, all about how a historical figure is the specialest boy ever specialed. But the topic did interest me and so did the cast, so I was kind of excited even thought I did have my concerns.

I ended up liking it a lot. It wasn't one of my favourite films ever, but it was very solid. It kept me hooked for the entirety of it's run time and I experienced the thing I sometimes do when watching a good film or a good theatre performance; I kept wishing it would be longer and that it would continue. So that was very nice.

Cillian Murphy's performance as Oppenheimer was stellar and I loved watching him in this movie.

Side note but I got a little giggle out of Oppenheimer being described as "naive" so many times, since the word for "naive" in Finnish is "sinisilmäinen" ("blue-eyed") and every time the subtitles called him that while zooming to the bluest eyes you've ever seen it was. Funny. To me.

I really enjoyed Kitty (Emily Blunt's character). She felt very real while also delivering some points the audience was probably also thinking. Like idk, I loved how she never, deservedly, cut Oppenheimer any slack. Also there was this one interrogation scene that I really loved.

In general the frame story (or... the other frame story. it's complicated) was very effective and as someone who has spent way too much time digging into unfair trials, it was very interesting.

Liked the way they highlighted the Jewish identity of many scientists, even commenting on how Hitler's antisemitism could be one reason the Nazis wouldn't get their hands on the bomb. Many of the scientists being Jewish also made their drive to build the bomb very understandable.

In general all the character motivations were really easy to understand, even though this was a biopic and real life decisions are often irrational.

However, I did not enjoy how Jean Tatlock was portrayed. Her relationship with Oppenheimer felt really one-sided (unlike it was in real life, as I've understood it) and even though the movie didn't say Jean killed herself (if she did kill herself) because of Oppenheimer, it felt like that in the film's world, especially because Oppenheimer blamed himself for her death. I wonder if they could have like one mirror scene to the one scene where RDJ's character got told "maybe they were discussing something important". I think it would be in character for Kitty to point out "have you considered that maybe Jean's death was not about you at all. Maybe she was unhappy because of something else. Something more important". You know. But yeah, Jean's character was really thin in this movie. I wasn't expecting them to explore her mental health or her sexuality or her political beliefs, but I felt like they could have done more.

I didn't hate the infamous sex scene as much as I thought I would. I think I kind of got the point of it? Actual sex being violently unsexy and the most erotic moments of the film were the scenes where the characters discussed physics. I get that. I could have dealt without seeing that sex scene, tho.

I was worried the movie would try to smooth over Oppenheimer's role in the actual bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Because this was a biopic of a scientist and not a movie about the bombings, they could have perhaps avoided mentioning the fact that Oppenheimer pushed to use the bombs after Germany had already surrendered. But no, they showed Oppenheimer (who had first got his anti-bomb Jewish scientist colleagues in the project by reminding them that it's better they have the bomb than the nazis) very clearly pushing for the use of the bomb, and pushing for using it on a large city full of civilians. There are other characters saying they could bomb a factory or a military base, but Oppenheimer keeps saying that those targets are not big enough, that they need to hit a larger city. And then, when the bombs are already on their way, out of his reach, he starts having second thoughts.

The distance all of the people involved have to Japan is honestly chilling. The true story of them taking Kyoto out of the list of potential bombing targets because of Secretary Stimson's personal affinity to the city was done well. The guy playing Stimson really sold it, he sounded like a guy remembering something wonderful that happened in his life. No qualms about destroying human life, but hesitance to destroy something precious to him. I hate it here.

The same goes for the workers celebrating at Los Alamos. It takes like sixteen hours for them to even hear that tens of thousands of people have just been evaporated by their fucking bomb, and tens of thousands more are currently experiencing a painful death because of it. And they are waving their tiny America flags.

Oppenheimer realizing what he has done is done very well. Him seeing the workers exhibiting the full range of human emotions, laughing, crying, sweating and celebrating, and imagining all of them becoming dust in one flash of white light.

I kind of wish they explored the complicated military situation involving the conditions of Japan's surrender since to me it is very significant when considering the bombings, but once again I get that this was a movie about Oppenheimer, not the war. I would have been interested in a further exploration, but I don't know if it would have fit the story, probably not.

My partner took our popcorn away from my hands before the bomb went off in the movie because they were pretty sure I would be startled. I was. Glad they didn't let me knock our popcorn over.

The make-up in this movie was done so well. And the costuming too.

This movie was scary and frustrating and very interesting to watch. You just wanted to shake and slap Oppenheimer and tell him to stop being such a wet rag of a man, to have some spine and morals. There is a point where naivety becomes an actual moral failing and the film captured it. Yeah right, you kill a hundred thousand people and that will end all war. Of course, that makes perfect sense.

The movie was a wild, aggravating ride and I enjoyed it.

[nicki0kaye]

hey @mangsney​, no worries, I understand why you’re asking!  I really enjoyed Obi-wan, there’s some scenes that still stay with me, esp the sound design when Obi-wan and Reva have their convo while he’s ‘captured’. The handling of Vader was stellar and their final confrontation felt really well earned. 

my issue is with how less integral scenes were sort of left unfinished writing-wise. Like they aren’t bad so much as...lazy. More of a sketch than a finished drawing. Any time a show leaves the viewer asking ‘why was I shown this’ or ‘how did they get away with that’, and the only real answer is ‘to fill time’ or ‘to get from point A to point B’, its not good writing. Its only really a problem because of the quality of Filoni’s and Favreau's other work within the same universe is heads and shoulders above what we got in Obi-wan. Nevermind Andor, Obi-wan doesn’t meet Book of Boba’s competency in writing, simply in establishing expectation and paying it off. And Book of Boba is far more streamlined and fat trimmed than any season of Mando. It only did what it told us it would do. It was set up and pay off, point by point, and I commend it for that, but in other series, we were allowed to just. Hang with the characters in a way I feel like they didn’t have time for in Boba. They had Mando season 2.5 to slip in. They had a limit on episodes and a very strict shooting schedule. They had every other project built off Mando’s wings to push through scripting, shooting and editing. 

I’d defend both Obi and Boba for what they do accomplish and I seriously enjoyed both of them. I have to be honest tho, it was a disappointment knowing they could have been fuller, stronger and allowed us more time with these characters but were limited by production and ultimately corporate greed.  If you don’t see the faults I do, good. Obi-wan deserves all the love in the world, REVA deserves all the love in the gALAXY. 

Andor is fantastic, but its also hella depressing and is too human centric. they really feared losing prestige points by having any non-human central characters and it shows. And I will never not be livid about that. It’s antithetical to Star Wars imo and its upsetting that I rarely see it mentioned. That isn’t to say don’t watch it. It is well worth the watch. I’m just petty and want to bitch about how everyone’s shiney new favorite isn’t actually perfect. It’s just as calculated as every other Star Wars production, bc it has to be. Because while these are wonderful works of art, they are also reliant on their marketability within late stage capitalism, and capitalism is a fickle fucking mistress. Andor is inspiring, its cast is diverse and its performances are unmatched. It’s openly and unapologetic about its queer characters. Its cinematography is some of the best in all of Star Wars canon. It takes the time to linger and really let you invest in every character you meet. Its just also supposed to be star wars so give me a fucking alien to love for more than a single scene, Fucking PLEASE.  

[rawwkfingers]

Revenge of the Cybermen

What comes up must come down I suppose. This was, by far, my least favorite Classic Cyberman story (so far at least.) Largely because they didn't even feel like Cybermen at all? They had the look, but the way they spoke, both in dialect and word choice, felt like it could have been any evil alien menace, not the cyborg-esque Cybermen

The Vogans were fine, though the whole "alien civilization with a peaceful-if-meek ruler and a ruthless power-hungry warrior" schtick was already old by the Second Doctor's time. I thought we'd moved on from that but I guess not.

The main cast gave stellar performances, as always, though I do hope that Harry leaves after next serial. He's fine, but he's just so similar to every other male companion we've gotten so far in Classic, and I feel like having him present diminishes the opportunities for Sarah Jane to shine

Overall, Season 12 was kind of a mixed bag tbh

Genesis of the Daleks. Was there any doubt? Considered to be the best of the best of all of Classic Doctor Who, some even say all of Who even now (tho I still place Heaven Sent and WEAT/TDF above.) Its everything you could ever want from a Dalek story

The Ark in Space. It says so much about just how great Genesis is if this is second place because this was truly a great serial. The discussions on what it means to be human, a really well-designed alien menace, an interesting scifi concept. It's really strong, but alas it's not Genesis

Robot. I felt it had a strong opening act and it was a great introduction to Baker but by the end, once the Robot became a generic AI villain, I lost interest so it can't be higher than this.

The Sontaran Experiment. I welcome more opportunities to learn more about the Sontarans but the serial was too short to really have any weight to it

Revenge of the Cybermen. I wouldn't say it was BAD but it felt like filler and as I mentioned, I'm not a fan of how the Cybermen were depicted here

[lukeskywalking]

I guess my feelings are this: volume 2 had a lot of cool individual moments, but as a whole it does not live up to the hype that volume 1 created. It was not as cohesive or satisfying to watch. In particular, some glaring issues I have with it are:

Eddie being used as likable-new-character-death-fodder so they don’t have to kill off any of the main cast. Same as seasons 2 and 3

Following up with the prev point, Eddie’s reputation never being resolved and the whole angry mob thing going nowhere

Steve’s bat bites?? No consequences for those I guess

Jason having no point except to squish a Walkman and then die

What the hell happened to Owens?

Max’s victory with music/happy memories being ultimately useless; such a strong, powerful moment should have had a better conclusion than a flip-flop between death/coma. It also undermines the message of Max’s healing process that the initial Kate Bush montage gave us

Robin having a sad lesbian moment only for the girl to dump her bf in the next scene? For why?

Stancy being teased at for 7 episodes only to a hit a wall, then have the jancy conflict not even fully resolved??

Mike being a shitty person and friend to Will and it’s just not. Really fixed. He’s still hyper-focused on El, same as always. Seriously wtf happened to his friendships with the boys, I’m tired of it

Will’s queerness being used to bolster a hetero relationship. His queerness being used to fix Mike’s insecurities. His queerness being used to and isolate him and make him cry, with only his brother to notice. I feel the need to repeat that his queerness was used to BOLSTER A HETERO RELATIONSHIP. It is not good rep to the point where it is insulting.

There’s probably more but holy shit Will’s character has deserved way more grace than it has gotten in seasons 3 and 4. Wow.

Anyway. Was one of those experiences where I had fun in the moment, but ultimately volume 2 ended up being disappointing in comparison to the first 7 episodes. Here’s hoping that season 5 can address and fix at least some of these issues.

[absolutebl]

I just want you to know I loooove lovee your blog and I wait patiently each week for your post about what's happening in every bl series.

I picked up bad buddy because of you and your posts truly make me happy.

So please suggest something I can watch and get obsessed with, because I need a distraction from the dumpster fire that is my life irl.

Stuff I've watched-

Manner of death, Theory of Love, Cherry magic, we best love, history:trapped, UWMA, he's coming to me, 2gether, still2gether, my sweet dear, to my star, wyel....

Anything that's nice, angst is good and has a satisfying ending...

Pretty please if you don't mind🥺🥺🥺

Yayayayayayay! 

So you mention mostly Thai stuff, a lot of which is on YouTube but also a couple of Korean dramas that are on Viki, so I’m gonna assume you have access to those two platforms. Also you said angst is fine but you want a satisfying ending, by which it seams you mean happy ever after. 

I gotcha. 

BLs with HEAs that Are Perfect Comfort Distractions from Real Life 

Regular consumers of this blog may now tune out because ya'll know what I am going to recommend....

JAPAN 

Seven Days (2015)

OMG please watch this. Forgive it its hair? t's just a GREAT. It is an elegant little Japanese BL that stays completely true to its yaoi roots but neatly avoids all the flaws of the genre. I promise it will be such a joy and a comfort to you. 

Popular first year Seiryo has a policy of going out with any girl who asks… for one week. On a lark, third year Yuzuru tests to see if that policy also applies to boys. Seiryo agrees that it does. Along the way they accidentally fall in love. 

Seven Days is on DramaCool in 2 parts Seven Days: Monday - Thursday, Seven Days: Friday - Sunday) it’s also on YouTube right now (it never lasts there tho) I’d link to the original subber but they seem to no longer exist online. More of me talking about how great this show is here.

Cherry Magic (2020) 

The sweetest, fluffiest, most charming bit of office-set adorable ever, given gravity by some stellar performances. The characters are utter spazzes, but so cute about it. All angst is self confidence based, nothing really distressing ever happens, but it is very low heat (practically chaste). 

Adachi discovers on the mornign of his 30th birthday that he can read minds and that the most popular guy in his office, Kurosawa, has a mad crush on him. 

Cherry Magic AKA 30 Years A Virgin Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii (2020) is indie subbed. 

Restart After Come Back Home (2020)

This one is perfect if you just want a beautiful loving movie, and one that is well filmed and lyrical. The only drama is family conflict of the silent grumpy kind - will baby take over Dad’s furniture business or not? OH THE PERIL of it all. (sense my sarcasm, okay? there is NO peril)

A beautiful atmospheric movie about returning home to find yourself and finding love along the way, more romance than BL but charming.  

Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de is indie subbed. 

THAILAND 

You already mentioned a lot of the ones I would recommend, but here are a few you didn’t name. 

A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) 

All BL is romantic, but not all BL is a modern romance in the literary sense of the term, but 1k* is just that, an absolutely glorious slow burn romance that nods at BL but isn’t behooven to it. It’s got a great story and a killer cast. 

Spoiled rich kid Tien gets a heart transplant and feels compelled to give back by pursuing a rural teaching job, he meets a gruff park ranger along the way. 

1000 Stars can be found on GMMTV’s YouTube channel. 

Kiss Me Again PeteKao cut (2018) + Dark Blue Kiss (2019) 

Of all the origin BL couples, PeteKao are probably most of what you’re looking for. They start as a side couple in Kiss, and then are in a secret romance LTR by the time DBK rolls around. 

DBK is not a traditional BL, because it’s not a traditional romance, more like an escapist soap opera. It features the perils of staying in the closest, amazingly supportive friends and family, and a morality tale on the importance of good communication. But it ends super happy. 

Start with PeteKao’s 3 Part BL Cut from Kiss Me Again then move on to Dark Blue Kiss.

Great Men Academy (2019)

Gender body-swap means this isn’t technically BL but I have to suggest it because it just such a great escapist story. For body-swap it’s particularly clever and very well acted. 

Love makes a wish because she has a crush on this boy. But the wish is tricky and turns her into a boy forcing her to attend the elite Great Men Academy and win her man... as a man. Unfortunately, male Love kinda falls in love with his best friend instead. 

You’ll have to get this one off DramaCool or the like, unfortunately it never got wide distribution. 

KOREA 

Color Rush (2021)

High school set BL with a unique paranormal twist that makes this a achingly apt allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this).

Yeon Woo is a mono, born with the inability to see color until he meets his probe, his perfect match. Unfortunately once a mono find his probe he’s prone to becoming obsessed and deadly. But on his first day at a new school when that probe shows up, said probe seems a hell of a lot more obsessed with him. 

Color Rush is on Viki.

Light On Me (2021) 

Korea does a pitch perfect classic high school set BL with all tropes cleverly deployed to bolster one of the most riveting love triangles ever put on screen… and I don’t like love triangles! It’s pristine in both color pallet and execution. 

Taekyung decides after years of self imposed social isolation that he wants friends, so he joins the student council and meets two boys who both want more than friendship. 

Light On Me is on Viki.

Wish You (2020)

This i a low stakes high pining romance set in the music industry. It’s soft and subtle and achingly adorable.

It’s about a pianist who falls in love with a busker who is on his way to being the next big idol. 

Wish You AKA WISH YOU: Your Melody in My Heart is on Netflix or Viki, you want the movie version. 

A First Love Story (2021) and then Just Friends? (2009) 

This is a double bill but they are both short. Just Friends? is only 30 minutes (its YouTube uploads are padded), watch it AFTER A First Love Story (which is 2 microfilms from Strongberry). AFLS just came out but you should watch them first as they make a great prequel to Just Friends?  

Basically these deal with Korean military service and a kind of comfortable LTR relationship evolving from friends to lovers and then out of the closet. 

A First Love Story and Just Friends? are all on YouTube. 

TAIWAN 

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line (2018)

Taiwan’s best example of classic BL with a sports romance foundation using some of the most typical but least offensive yaoi tropes. You know it’s Taiwan so the kisses are great but in this case it also ends well. Only trigger is that the side couple is the stepbrothers trope and some don’t like that.

Super low stakes sweetest story of the bad boy who falls hard for the senior on the volleyball team and then works to earn his love. 

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line is on Viki. 

Be Love In House: I Do (2021)

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns, plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan.

It has a story but not much of one and it kinda doesn’t matter. The leads are great and carry everything off the maximum pretty. 

Be Love In House: I Do (2021) is on Viki. 

See You After Quarantine? (2021) 

Taiwan’s answer to Gameboys is just as charming and adorable yet still as quintessentially Taiwanese as one might hope. It features a Japanese love interest and the cutest most confused disaster gay. The two have almost no actual screen time together and yet manage some truly amazing chemistry. Honestly how does Taiwan do it? 

Again, story schmorey, just watch it. 

See You After Quarantine? is on Viki. 

I got a few pinoy and Vietnamese BLs I could rec too, but that’s enough for now. 

Here are my...

Absolute Top 15 Best (and Worst) BLs 

(source)

[stormyoceans]

Monica what is remember 15 and why is half the why r u cast covered in blood in it shshdhd (also should I watch it and where can I watch it?)

ROWAN I THINK YOU MIGHT REGRET ASKING ME THIS BUT HERE WE GO

let me take this one question at a time

what is remember 15?

remember 15 is a thai horror/psychological thriller (so yeah, very much not a bl) about a group of friends that, after receiving a mysterious message from a classmate who committed suicide 5 years ago, return to the deserted island where she died to pay tribute to her. of course shit hits the fan pretty quickly, and it turns out that none of them is as innocent as they seem

why is half they why r u cast covered in blood in it?

the covered in blood look is a consequence of the show being a horror and i personally think they all wear it pretty well sfjksgfj

not sure what conjunction of celestial objects made the three of them reunite to work together in this show, but im very grateful for it (my best guess is that zee sent a text to jimmy and tommy like

zee: hey, heard you two have a very cutesy bl coming out this year. i have a very cutesy bl coming out this year too. wanna do a fucked up show to balance the vibes out?

mii2: sounds nice, man!! can we still make out in it?

zee: i mean.. i guess...... you don't have to tho

mii2: nah we're gonna. count us in!!

for legal purposes this is a joke)

should i watch it?

MMMMMMMMHHHHHHMMMMM this is a pretty hard question because it very much depends on 1) if this is a genre you like, 2) how much you can deal with. like, i've personally watched worse in my life, but the show still comes with a VERY LONG list of trigger warnings (from the more obvious blood and gore, to r*pe mention), so i wouldn't recommend it unless you know what you're in for and you're sure it's safe for you to watch it. also, the characters die and no one is safe, so keep that in mind (but if you like the genre i think the show is truly well done and everyone is giving stellar performances)

where can i watch it?

if i didn't put you completely off, you can watch the show on viu with a vpn or rent it on vimeo. this (drama) is very (cool) so those are the best places to watch it

[netherlady]

I’m watching movies/TV shows I used to watch as a kid in the 90s. Specifically, non-Disney animated media. These are my thoughts as they come.

I’m on to a Filmation Associates film called Happily Ever After. It’s a continuation of what happened after the end of Snow White. I actually used to watch the Disney film and this one back-to-back because that’s how I felt things should be done.

Right off, the mirror is recounting Snow White’s story—but get this. The prince didn’t kiss Snow’s corpse to awaken her. With love in his heart, he touched her hand and it was enough to break the spell.

Can I just appreciate the fact they didn’t wanna be like kissing sleeping and/or dead people is okay if you’re supposedly in love with them. Not cool, charming.

Dom DeLuise is the mirror, and a shady bitch right off. Straight up is like lol I don’t know you.

This animation is beautiful, tho. Fluid, expressive, they’re all individual character desiiigggnnn.

Malcom McDowell is iconic in this. Also, adding the dimension that the Evil Queen has family—and not only that, but a good strong relationship to her brother? To the point that he doesn’t even know this Snow White situation other than what he’s heard from his sister over the years, day in day out, holy shit are you STILL talking about this fucking teenager give it a rest maybe? And when he learns that aforementioned teenager is RESPONSIBLE for the death of his beloved sister? No questions, not even any real monologuing; Lord Maliss really said just where is this pasty little fuck I’m gonna set fire to her entire goddamn life.

I never understood why the Bat felt sorry for the evil queen. Seriously, she spent a good week trying to murder a teenager and failed. Over vanity. Just.

Speaking of the whole teenager thing, Snow is supposed to be 14. In lore, and in the Disney film. The prince is over 18. Super not okay. However, the way Snow is animated in this film, she looks older, acts older, and is clearly not a child. She is also voiced by Irene Cara (yes, THAT Irene Cara), which lends an unmistakable maturity to her. I honestly think they mean for her to be older in this. 18 at least. And I appreciate that.

Also, damn is this child traumatized. In the span of a few months, she was nearly murdered by the huntsman, her step-mother (four times), resurrected from a hell-sleep, and when she and the love of her life finally have a moment’s peace, she gets carried off by a giant fucking dragon, chased into another dark and terrifying forrest, and her prince gets kidnapped.

Her prince looks like He-Man with red hair. By the way. That aside, my favorite moment of him is how they animated him watching Snow pick flowers for her dwarven friends. It’s not creepy or possessive. It’s so damn affectionate.

I love the dwarfelles, and every actress that voiced them. Fuck.

Low key, I always thought Sunburn and Muddy were married. Like, knew it, accepted it, moved on from it.

And again, the radical bops of 90s non-Disney animation. Gotta love this shit, sing about your feelings Thunderella.

Phyllis Diller as Mother Nature is also iconic. She is made of bitch. Good for her.

Remember when I said the Prince looked like He-Man? He got turned into Orko. I just saw it and i can’t unsee it now. Fuck.

Anyway, I always liked the Shadow Man, and while I did love that he was the prince, I also would have loved him being a separate entity. Idk.

Maliss is so fucking extra with the magic mirror, like “STFU YOU INSOLENT PIFFLE lol you right tho imma go sic demon wolves on this bitch brb”

The bat is supposed to be the moral one, right. Calling the owl, Scowl, out on his bullshit. Honestly, this bat is an asshole. Straight up a piece of shit.

Man, Snow really out here, fighting wolves, saving dwarfelle lives, being agile as hell. I think about the scene where she gets up in the morning and twirls in front of the dwarves’ mirror, happy to be safe somewhere she calls home. A lot. Like? This is the same bitch. It’s great.

There’s a lot of themes about vanity in this story. I find it so interesting that after being invited to travel with them by Snow, the prince, cursed like to be the shadow man, is so horrified at his new visage, he runs off in shame. In doing so, he leaves Snow vulnerable, and without her mystic companions—and she gets hella kidnapped by Maliss.

Who, again, is a competent villain. No speeches, no posturing, he transforms and grabs her while he has an opening. Like, Maliss legit did not fuck around.

Batso continues to be an asshole.

When Maliss/evil prince says ‘You will look out on this forever’, it always hits. I used to rewind this particular segment up here on the parapet a lot. I loved the betrayal, the final stand-off. But that? That moment? I think about that line on the daily still. Chilling.

The cloak came out of nowhere, but it’s no less terrifying.

Seriously, I want background on the cloak. We got a whole bullshit song out of the chain smoking owl, I wanna know where Maliss got this cloak, and if all the statues in his sister’s castle are because of it. That’s a fucking story.

Straight up, wtf does he do to the prince/shadow man with the eye beams. Like. Mad scary and super fucked up. Maliss is powerful AF, and he wanted the woman responsible for killing his sister to suffer so bad, he gets real angerblind real fast.

This movie went hard. Killed the prince and the dwarfelles right there. Like. They were banking hard that the Magic undo button with the death of the villain was gonna sell right.

I was always low key confused when Snow said she loved the shadow man ‘as dearly as the prince’ when she mourned him. I’m sure it was supposed to be a soulmate hand-wavey kind of thing, but still.

My brother used to make fun of the way she cried. Irene tried, okay.

Ah, yes, the 90s non-smoking PSA. Everyone had one. Now with more owl.

Happily Ever After. I wouldn’t blame Snow if she legit had a guard who’s only job was to test her food and clothing for poisons, and another to watch the sky for fucking dragons for the rest of her life.

I loved watching this again. I forgot how much I loved it. The cast is huge and stellar, with a ton of legends. And the pop ballad at the end is, of course, performed by Irene Cara.

There’s only three songs in this whole thing, and the pop song at the end. I always wished there were more.

Either way. I loved this movie as a kid. Next time I’ll probably watch the Princess and the Goblin.

[lindsaymendezobsessed]

Ranking Lindsay Mendez's Roles

1.) Rose in DOGFIGHT: I’m pretty sure everyone who has even seen a second of her in this can agree, she CRUSHED this role. This part was perfect for her, in every way. The vocals were very different from her usual style, but in a wonderful way, her chemistry with Klena was off the charts and her emotions through the entire show were *chefs kiss*.

2.) Carrie in CAROUSEL: I mean, she won her Tony because of this role. (tho we all know that if Dogfight was on Broadway, she would have won for that as well.) Again, this role was very different from her normal style, but it was wonderful to see her branch out and do the classic soprano in a R&H show. Her vocals were beautiful, her embodiment of Carrie was lovely and the amount of joy she brought to that show was enchanting.

3.) Elphaba in WICKED: I really really enjoyed the choices she made with this show, she didn’t try and copy Idina, she brought her own style, her own voice and her own heart to the role. She played Elphaba in a way I’ve seen few portray her and for that reason, I really really enjoyed it. Again, her chemistry with Klena was stellar, her vocals were off the charts and just her amazing personality made this role so memorable. And wow, her INTG, NGD, and WAI are PERFECT.

4.) Sara on ALL RISE: It’s so cool getting to see Lindsay in a different environment, though my theater loving heart misses her on Broadway. I guess it’s good that she left about a year before the shutdown? Idk. Anyways, I really really enjoy this character, her chemistry with everyone is lovely. The way she plays such a protective friend over Emily is so so sweet and her friendship with Sherri is always hilarious to watch. I can’t wait to continue to see her in this and I hope she gets utilized more because she really does liven up the show!

5.) Performer in GODSPELL: I’d really love to rank this higher considering how “Bless the Lord” was my second most played song in 2020, but I had to. I ADORE Godspell, this cast is so amazing and the show is so fun and so personal but since her role is I guess, smaller, and she’s not exactly playing a “character” per se, I’m going to have to rank it lower compared to the others. As always, her vocals steal the show (I mean Stephen knew that she was going to be an Elphaba after working with her on this), and her fun personality really complement this show nicely. I especially love her chemistry with Telly in this show. All in all, really fun role and really great show!

6.) Jan in GREASE: Ok I’m going to be honest, I’m not a huge Grease fan, I mean I like it, but it’s definitely not on constant shuffle for me, and the whole plot kinda bugs me. Anyways, I really do like her portrayal of Jan, she’s so lively and fun and totally gets into her character. For her first Broadway role to have literally its own song and for her to sing that song so beautifully, I say kudos to her! Definitely not my favorite role of hers but I don’t dislike it at all.

7.) Laura in SIGNIFICANT OTHER: This show was so weird for me, to see her in a non musical, but I really enjoyed it. Her chemistry with Gideon, Sas and others was hilarious. She had so many great one liners and her whole character was so interesting. I don’t have too much to say on it since it’s not a musical but all in all I enjoyed her in it.

8.) Naomi in 21 CHUMP STREET: Yeah, I’m just going to leave this here. It really pains me to see the hate she gets from the teen theater community who only know her for being the girl who “Hurt their little Anthony” haha but yeah, not exactly my favorite role.

Others: So I’m not super familiar with the WINTERS TALE, EVERYDAY RAPTURE AND THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES, so I don’t have much to say on them, but let me know what you guys think!

[lordxgrinnyxboy]

watching Flowers For Mrs. Harris Act Two! (contains spoilers)

ooh staircase

oh hey it’s Vi as someone else

i really gotta get back into my french lessons i'm only understanding like every fifth word u-u

oh hi mr maskell

oh mr maskell :3

bro that eyebrow’s billed separately huh

come on maskell be polite

he really just walks Like That eh

TELL HER ADA

BITCH

oh Ada is too sweet too kind what a treasure

IS THAT A GUN

oh oh it’s just a cane oh good

the husband better not be double-cast as a jerk

BITCH

THERE YOU GO SIR

that was an... odd little moment... c’mon crowd y’all gotta get into it now

alright here it comes what’s so great about

eh s’alright

ooh i like this one

no to the cape but otherwise good

looks like a wedding no- that’s straightup a wedding dress

the jacket’s nice but the skirt’s not doing it for me pal it doesn’t Go

ooh i like this blue one a Lot

ooooooh best one!

this one’s p good

what you mean no one stands apart did u not look at no.7?

mr maskell please

what are you Doing mr maskell

I Like It

number 7 still wins tho

Andre 👋 stop that. 👋 chill 👋 be nice

ANDRE IF YOU DON’T

aw natasha seems sweet

SHE’S TELLING ON YOU ANDRE AS WELL SHE SHOULD

the terror on this man’s face i am so

GOOD

that’s right A you know what’s up

wait are you two gonna 👀befriend each other?

or is he secretly a Jerk

can’t they just ship it to her?

aw Natasha. we love to see it

“aren’t you going to say goodbye to him as well” ma’am,  saying that was an act of violence. look what it did to him.

andre.exe has stopped working

Andre please take a breath it’ll be okay sir i promise

i wonder what the Eyebrow’s salary is on this show

dear lord she’s absolutely Killed Him that right there was

YOUR BONES SIR SIT DOWN BEFORE YOU WOBBLE TO DEATH

i wonder if his face was tired after all that

is this man okay???

sir do we need to call somebody

aw little steppies

YEAH ANDRE YOU DID THANK YOU FOR SAYING AS MUCH

be....his...guest be his guest something something someth

oh boi that man is having a Moment

what’s he doing? is he just replaying the conversation or..?

ohhhhh. yeah. mood.

oh mr maskell

mr maskell what are you doing

😂

AHHHH THE JAW TWITCH WHAT’S THAT DOING HERE

i wasn’t ready

andre shut up cleaning ladies can want things

ANDRE 😂😂😂

this choreo is just

i might not survive tbh

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR FEET ANDRE

wait are we in his house now

is he trying to speed-clean before Ada arrives

all those pictures XD

this idiot.

i like him.

i have once again been just taken out by a Jaw Twitch i did not know to expect like. wow.

oh no Natasha came with Ada. does Andre know? or is he going to die on sight

“naTAsHA” ope he’s dead

hashtag petition to Help Andre i think he might need it even worse than Bob

did these two make an offscreen agreement to just come for this man’s life just straight-up end him cause him to Cease Existing like.

y’all are gonna work him up into a coronary episode

keep going

next time i see a staircase is going to be a Test i tell you that

love how she’s like “I haven’t been permitted to clean in years I’d love to help” and then just sits down

also him getting absolutely run over by these two is hilarious but i for one would Also Die in this situation like no pls do not clean my house don’t perceive the mess OR me for that matter

oh no Natasha’s all in his laundry now

idk if he’s gonna come back he might be screaming down an alley somewhere by now

get this woman some cake

wait wait ANDRE YOU SHOULD MAKE HER SOME CHOCOLATE CAKE I’M SURE IT WOULD GO HORRIBLY WRONG BUT SHE WOULD APPRECIATE IT

ANDRE BROUGHT THE CAKE

HE CAN STAY

andre’s just dying steadily huh

“her mEN?!”

he’s playing with his shoelaces

“Indeed” that eyebrow just won an oscar a tony a gramophone all the awards stellar performance 10/10

REAL CAKE

Alright Andre your life-preserver just ditched you and left you for dead but you’ve got this buddy i believe in you

DAMMIT ANDRE

oh no did the marquis die too

oof is the marquis making a move?

Ada you absolute trickster 

i’m impressed

and there goes his soul whooshing away on the breeze send help this man has no ghost! it’s gone! he’s died!

HECK

CUSTOMS? WHAT?

ARE YOU SERIOUS

WHERE’S MR MARQUIS HE’S GOT IT RIGHT

SOMEBODY TAKE UP A COLLECTION

AND HE DOESN’T EVEN OPEN IT?

man

pamler please

my god she’s gonna give her the dress isn’t she

won’t it have been made with the wrong measurements th

okay then

she’s never gonna see that dress again is she

dammit pamler

oh hey it’s my delivery fella what’s he got to

ope she went to Paris to get a dress and she got herself a man instead

Well I Guess That Date Went Super Well

oh this is so sweet this is so so sweet i

HEY BOB

AWWWWWWWW

SHE DIDN’T SELL THE

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I LOVE HER

 😭 

oh geez here he comes 😭 

oh geez 😭 

o-okay i’m- i’ll just

this is fine

[purfectprincessgirl]

The 2017 MLP movie!

favourite scene: Gah, hard to pick really lol. I did really enjoy the sequence in Tempest’s “Open Up Your Eyes” song, along with the “One Small Thing” song (those colors tho~), Tempest’s sacrifice in protecting Twilight from the Storm King, and of course that ending scene with “Rainbow” playing while everyone’s partying in celebration is pretty satisfying after all that harrowing adventure :) 

least favourite scene: Hm, not sure really. I mean I guess Pinkie’s blatant shouting for attention in the Klugtown scene was kinda obnoxious but eh *shrugs* it sorta served it’s point to introduce us to Capper, so... ^^;

how many times have i seen it: I’d saaaay about 5-7 times or so? Been wanting to check it out again lately so that number could increase at any moment lol

favourite actor in movie: Most of the cast were pretty good (both from the classic show and movie-exclusive cast), though Tempest’s VA in particular gave some pretty stellar performances for her scenes~ as did Pinkie’s VA, surprisingly enough... ‘cause wow did she sound legitimately angry in that confrontation scene with Twilight o.o

least favourite actor in movie: Hmmmmm, dunno if this is an unpopular opinion or not buuut... I guess Sia’s performance as Songbird Serenade? ^^; I mean not to knock the irl Sia herself or anything ‘cause her song “Rainbow” was indeed very catchy... but as far as Songbird goes she just sadly didn’t feel so much like a “character” on her own with how limited her screentime was... since minus a bit in the beginning and a lil towards the climax she... kinda did nothing but sing a couple lyrics and that was it? Idk, just seemed a bit disappointing compared to the other “celebrity” guest characters we’ve had like Cheese Sandwich & Coloratura :c

do i own the dvd: Yep! It came as an add-on with the Gen 1 MLP movie as like a double-feature special DVD, so I thought it’d be fun to pick it up :)

favorite song in the movie: As far as the ones I’ve listened to the most: “Open Up Your Eyes”, “One Small Thing”, and “Off to See the World”... but really I liked just about every other song in the soundtrack too ^^

ever met any of the actors: Like I said with most of my answers so far, unfortunately no :c

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

i preserved in him what he needed to believe about you.

i wrote yesterday that this episode had a lot riding on it. for the most part, it delivered--mostly in anchoring both dick and slade’s arcs, expanding on the themes introduced in s2, and in firmly establishing jericho as My Favourite Forever And Ever. it was also very flawed, but in (mostly) interesting ways. let’s talk about it!

SPOILERS ahead.

1. jericho has my whole heart and then some. i think it would’ve been very easy to paint him with broad strokes--my fear was they would drag the innocence all the way to the edge of infantilisation, which, good god NO--but while he is enthusiastic and ready to believe the best of both his friends and family, there’s a sharpness to him, a kind of reckless guile, and quite a lot of unresolved and complicated feelings about father figures. 

1.25. he is obviously very proud of his father having served in the military--he’s even tangentially aware that he was experimented on, given his nonchalant attribution of his own powers to “drugs” that his father took while serving. (this awareness has to include the fact that his father definitely took a number of lives as a soldier.) even the awful assault that took away his voice and eventually his father from his life tracks with a single, knowable truth. knowing this helped him ground his own identity--the problem comes when he realises that what he’d used to build himself on was itself built on a lie. 

there is a tension, then, between his loyalty to these friends who used him but ultimately revealed the truth to him, and his desire to have that cornerstone of his life back. his compromise is to talk to his father, but only with dick’s permission; in it, he would know if his father was finally ready to be completely honest with him, and if there was more to dick’s friendship than merely using jericho to get to his father.

1.3. of course, it doesn’t exactly work that way: in the final fight at the church, there are two men who insist on their truth while pushing him to the side. in it, he sees one of them ruthlessly cut down the other, and he sees the other using his own body and life to protect him. jericho makes his choice in the end.

1.45. dick i think was absolutely right and justified in bringing jericho to a safe place where he can explore and learn to control his powers, even if dick was surprisingly blase about the potential ethical tangles of being able to possess other people’s bodies without them being aware of it. it was honestly a bit disturbing to see that hank was chosen to demonstrate jericho’s powers, given his history and the fact that he describes the experience as a “blackout”. i’m just going to assume that he would’ve come around to it eventually.

given the relative paucity of Big Bads and grand superhero battles, i’m kind of taken with the idea of the titans essentially being a support group for young troubled superheroes who need help and training and ways to ground themselves before heading back to their corners of the world. 

1.5. ultimately this episode once again drives home what should be the essential question in a show that revolves around a team of superhero sidekicks: are we destined to be what we were moulded to be? is the point of their existence to perpetuate what their mentors/fathers did? slade and jericho both struggle with this; so do dick and donna in this episode. so do rose, and jason, and rachel, and conner, and kory in the broader context of the series. the answers they find are complicated and at the cost of a great deal of pain, but the process is always interesting.

1.8. obviously jericho isn’t actually dead. i wonder what that initial dreamscape sequence was all about? is it some secret pocket dimension that jericho jumped into at the last minute when slade killed his body? is that where he’s been for the last five years?

2. dick grayson is lost. he is utterly buried under artifice and armour. i mentioned in a previous post (i think the one for 2.07) that he performs quite a bit of emotional labour for the team on top of being their leader in a tactical sense. here, he’s trying to hold it together for the team after a devastating death; he’s spearheading an effort for revenge he thought they all supported. he pulls on batman-goggles, trying to look at what he’s doing from a logical, emotionally-removed perspective, even while burying his bleeding heart as deep as he possibly can. no wonder he’s acting “like a ghost” and “burning at both ends”--it’s a terrible burden to bear. 

then the team turns around--once they’ve already gotten the info they needed, mind!--and tells him to cut jericho out of this operation; that it’s wrong and awful to have involved him at all. when he tries to do just that, he sees that he can actually help jericho as a friend and teammate, and at the urging of dawn, comes clean to him. meanwhile garth’s death and donna’s grief is still an unrelenting pressure on the back of his neck, driving him to find deathstroke at any cost--except when that cost is betraying jericho’s trust. ultimately slade nearly murdering donna is what breaks him--and he decides to follow jericho to slade anyway.

at every point he is so desperately trying to do good by everybody that he loses himself in the process. that his reward for this is being beaten up, a truckload of survivor’s guilt, and being abandoned by his closest friends is just so fucking awful. his friends are so used to his artifice and he is so used to absorbing all the blame that they think nothing of both praising him for being someone that saves people and believing he would sacrifice innocent lives for the sake of a mission in the same day.

(but this makes dick/kory so beautiful and refreshing--she has no time for his artifice and he doesn’t have to Be Someone around her. their relationship is defined by being undefined, and in that sense--at least for now--both of them find peace in the other.)

2.5. slade commenting coldly on dick’s fighting skills and the way he uses dick’s feelings for jericho to distract and defeat him makes me think that slade’s been playing this game with dick for far longer than he was aware: slade used both jericho and donna as bait to lure dick to that church, fought him in a cold, critical way undoubtedly reminiscent of a thousand sparring sessions with batman, and drove him utterly to the ground not just to prove a point to the titans and the superhero community at large but to jericho as well: this man is weak, manipulative, and ultimately a poor substitute for slade. 

2.75. who knows for how long dick wallowed in his failure, still seeing jericho take the blade that was meant for him, utterly alone? did he go back to the batcave, utterly defeated, and did he listen to bruce call him out on his mistakes? how much do you think he internalised all the terrible things he’d been told he was until he believed it all to be true? until he couldn’t live with himself and spiralled and spiralled until his self-hatred lead to outright self-destruction?

like--no wonder he completely fell apart in the present day when deathstroke showed up again. he’d just started to trust--he’d just started to build a family again. and here it is, a reminder of his biggest failure threatening to have him fail spectacularly once again. 

... this boy needs so much therapy. or at least a long nap and a series of hugs.

2.8. (that fight between him and slade tho... goddamn. even my shitty quality stream couldn’t take away from how thrilling it was to watch.)

3. dawn is... well. i know it’s been frustrating to follow dawn this season, as she’s been either non-existent or, uh, flat, but there was something interesting in the way her dynamic with dick moved and shifted in this episode. she thrills to ideals without considering the consequences of actually following those ideals. in the space of a few months, she can implore dick to act like batman, then tell him no, she was wrong to have asked him to do that, then say that she loved him for saving people and then barely days later abandon him for being a reckless sociopath who exploited innocent lives. in the present day, she can support hank in his retirement and rehabilitative process, yet still think it’s perfectly ok to go behind his back and continue being a vigilante. she supported protecting rose in the tower but still piled on dick for going off on his reckless suicide mission to try and save both jason and rose. she endorsed (and once praised) dick taking on troubled young superhero charges, yet turned around and berated him for daring to open up titans tower and “put them in the firing line”. 

i mean, for all that she takes the considerate, sensitive line in conversations, it’s almost always in contradiction to a position she’d taken earlier. it’s too consistent to be a coincidence, and i think it’s fascinating.

4. i didn’t realise amazons could be defeated and killed so easily?? who issued the contract to kill jillian in the first place and what was the “important work” they were doing in san francisco in the first place? a mystery within a mystery...

5. if this season were the draft of a story, i would go right in with a red pen and start moving around all the parts to make it flow better; excise entire passages and rewrite a few others. the pacing has been terrible, and this has meant that the younger titans--and the team we came to know and love through the first season--have gotten almost nothing to do, either plot-wise or emotionally. even if kory and gar and rachel become absolutely vital to the story in the last 4-5 episodes, it would still be a fairly significant failure, storytelling-wise.

that’s a pity because this show is packed with a stellar cast, always looks gorgeous, and is filled with genuinely insightful human relationships that are allowed to unfold in ways you just don’t see in other superhero media. just--*vibrates* a little more love and care from the people making and producing the show please!

[escarlatafox]

whispers for the 'send you a series' meme, i'm tempted to just be Unoriginal and say kung fu panda, but if you'd rather something else, i'm seeing a lot of steven universe around here jfjfiea

Masha ily. You know that, right? :D

Kung Fu Panda:

Favourite character: Who else but Shifu? XD

Second favourite character: It might actually be Po

Least favourite character: Hard to think of a least favourite character. If we ONLY count the main cast + the villains in the movies and exclude any other minor characters, then I’d say Kai maybe? Just wasn’t as impactful to me as the other characters/villains. Or if we include minor characters I might say the hugging panda from the third movie because the gag and his character didn’t really add much. Also, I’ve already spoken about this in the past, possibly more than once, but back when I was a child upon watching the first movie, my answer to this question would actually be Ping. Suffice it to say, my opinion on him changed a LOT. XD

The character I’m most like: Maybe I am like Po in some ways. At my core, I’m a fangirl lol. And I like food :O

Favourite pairing: Don’t really have any ships. Crane and the girl from that one short tho. Like idk if I’d want them to get together, maybe not now that I think about it. But it would be nice to see them interact more.

Least favourite pairing: HAH. Let’s just say I really hate what Legends of Awesomeness decided to do with Shifu in the shipping realm and leave it at that. :P

Favourite moment: YOU’RE GONNA MAKE ME CHOOSE? There’s no way. I could only list off notable ones. Okay, if we narrow it down to non-Shifu moments, off the top of my head, you obviously have the iconic cannonball scene at the end of kung fu panda 2, and in the THIRD movie I love love love how when Po is in the spirit realm and he says “turns out... I’m all of them” and the music swells and the framing and the scenery is just. so gorgeous . I love. So much. If I sat here thinking too long I’d probably start recapping all the movies SO since I’ve thrown those two out there I’ll cut myself off before I get too out of hand. XD

Rating out of 10: First movie is just 10/10 for me. It’s my favourite movie, not just in the franchise but like, probably ever among movies in general, and just about every moment and scene feels like home when I watch it. The trio of movies I’d then put at probably around 9/10.

Steven Universe:

Favourite character: I can now say with confidence that it is Steven Universe.

The people who liked Steven “before it was cool” certainly have bragging rights, because I was one of those people who failed to find myself among them, as I lacked the foresight, or... future vision for it. :P. At first, in the very early days, I didn’t really care for Steven. It’s often very easy to gloss over a protagonist, and, in my case, not truly appreciate what’s great in a character like early-days Steven, or even Po. Now, Steven and Po are, naturally, quite distinct characters in their distinct franchises but there are certainly parallels that can be drawn, not only in their character but how I initially felt towards them. By asking for both fandoms in the one ask, I feel like you’ve given me the opportunity to speak about this, which has been idly on my mind every so often. XDBoth Steven and Po are the protagonist of the franchise they’re in. They’re both fond of food, they both start out needing training and then develop incredible skills along the way until they become one of, if not the most powerful in the cast. They’re both generally very easygoing, excitable, enthusiastic, FRIENDLY, and generally kind. At the start of their journeys, there’s a lot of focus on how much they’re lacking in skills and abilities, how difficult it is for them to accomplish even the basics. They both gotta Save The World, whether it be more in the sense of the universe as a whole or China.And the thing is I had the same issue with Po as I did with early-days Steven; I didn’t realise how great Po is. I was just a little too dismissive. With time, (and I’m talking around the point where I actually entered the fandom after the second movie was out, so it was mostly kid me who is guilty of not recognising Po’s greatness) I grew to realise just how cool Po is, to truly appreciate his genuine enthusiasm and excitement and also utmost reverence and admiration of kung fu. I simply Expected Po’s character to be less than it was, which is what caused the oversight. But Po is honestly so fantastic and deserves every last bit of love the fandom has to offer him. Also, seeing his potential and him reaching his potential is so damn epic. See: his “turns out, I’m all of them” quote/scene I mentioned earlier.So to bring things back to Steven, whose character arc nonetheless has its VERY stark differences from Po’s, it was around when Steven managed to calm down and stop the cluster that it fully registered in my mind how fantastic and amazing he is and how much I appreciate his character. In fact, it was a little earlier than that. Pretty sure I hadn’t actually started watching the show yet when Sadie’s Song aired, but I was getting all the deets secondhand on my dashboard and I loved what I heard and saw in gifs/pics. A boy who just wants to perform and dance around on stage in heels and a gorgeous outfit to boot (I really liked the thought of trans girl Steven at the time tbh, which was being thrown about on my dashboard back then, though of course that’s not the path the show decided to go down, so he/him it is...!). He had my full support. And THEN when he calmed the cluster down like that... (and I think I was probably watching the show at that point?) I just, loved his incredible talent to reach out to others and HELP them, I loved his magical gem abilities and how he always seemed to be triumphing against the odds, and as the show progressed his feats only started getting more and more impressive. I absolutely noticed how much responsibilities he’d started forcing onto himself, how he was trying to manage everyone and be an adult to all the adults in his life, I was kind of intrigued by how much he was shouldering, and it struck me that he had developed an Atlas Personality long, long before he was ever listed as an example of it on the wikipedia page. I simply adored Steven and his placement in the show and everything.He’s also completely ACING things as usual in the movie too.And then Steven Universe Future hit, and oh boy, that’s a whole other story. Steven truly emerged as the forefront seeing as the focus was now unrelentingly on him and his issues. What initially got me really hooked as well, was the inherent shock and intrigue of seeing a character who would usually always do the right thing, who always seemed to know what was best for everyone, who always seemed to be able to read a situation and understand who needed help and then reaching out and offering them help... not only completely failing to recognise that HE was the source of a given problem (see: the pink dome rapidly closing in), but to actively dig himself deeper by being convinced SOMEONE ELSE was at fault, and whirling around and trying to pin it all on them. Before Steven whirled around to point at Lars, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that he was about to be like “guys, you know what? I think I’m causing this - I think I have some stuff going on” LOL NOPE. And that was only the tip of the ice berg. Steven had nowhere else to go but down, and boy, down did he go until he hit rock bottom, pulled out a shovel and started digging.

Second favourite character: Hard to say. I do know that I am crazy about the zircons (I mean c’mon - lawyers!). I was crazy about Blue Pearl when we first saw her too. My answer might’ve been Aquamarine or even Eyeball if it wasn’t for Steven Universe Future. Seeing more of them just kinda made me go “ok you know what, yeah this isn’t really what I expected and they’re not actually really my thing after all.” I reeeeally don’t know. Steven Universe has such a stellar cast of great characters. Steven Universe Future also kinda threw me off Spinel, but obviously Spinel is A+ as well.

Least favourite character: I don’t really care about Lapis. She just kind of lost appeal as a character to me and I never really understood her I guess. I was also never fond of the diamonds... because you know, discourse, and like, the discourse kind of has a point. But after Steven Universe Future I might invest more in trying to understand their positioning in the show a little more, now with the confirmation that Steven never did actually forgive them. I completely wrote-off White Diamond’s seemingly quick turnaround for the longest time and honestly never bought it and felt it was WAY too easy and rushed/forced. But I came to an internal understanding quite recently and I THINK I finally get what the show meant there so I think I can buy it now and find it believable at last, which is nice. So don’t quote me and don’t crucify me, but I might warm up to the diamonds a Little.

The character I’m most like: omg. There’s so many characters idk who is most like me hahaha

Favourite pairing: Connverse. Connie kissing Steven on the cheek in the movie made me SO pleased, and I can say this is my favourite pairing if only because the prospect of it not working out and instead going up in flames and not actually having a good resolution - which is a threat that felt so very real during Steven Universe Future - was deeply, DEEPLY upsetting to me. Like I didn’t care because I’d been taking it for GRANTED, but the moment anyone suggested, with alarming plausibility that they may split up or whatever, I was immediately on edge like “NO NO NO NO NO”.

Least favourite pairing: Stevinel. Stevidot. Just, any ship with Steven and any of the gems is an instant no from me. D:

Favourite moment: omggg. Again, there are simply way too many, so no answer I give here can or will be definitive. So I’ll simply state my love for when Steven is singing Change and Spinel yeets him in the sky and there’s the stellar animation where he goes “You can make it different... You can make it right! You can make it better! We don’t have to fight!”

Rating out of 10: I’d probably give it a 9/10, if only because, look. There are a LOT of shows out there. There are a lot of pieces of media I’m into and have watched. And Steven Universe is just. It’s good. Even when I like another piece of media MORE than Steven Universe, I can still more than readily acknowledge when/if SU has vastly superior writing. And it usually does. The only thing stopping me from giving it a 10/10 is because for the vast majority of SU’s existence I was mainly only ever a passive watcher/fan and/or got secondhand knowledge (closer to the start of it airing), so it lacks that fundamental closeness to my heart that something like Kung Fu Panda has. (Though I got way more close to it during SUF, as my reblogs can attest to LOL). The other thing stopping it from hitting that 10/10 is there are things I still take issue with, like how the Rose=Pink reveal undermines Pearl’s character (the “rebellion” aspect) and casts an EXTREMELY uncomfortable light on Pearl being in love with Rose. Yes, the show already showed us that Pearl’s obsession with Rose is unhealthy and problematised it. But regardless of how problematised it already was, I’m just not comfortable with a former slave being shown as being in love with their former master at all. What does that add, realistically? There are other valid criticisms that have been pointed out, namely how aspects of the show such as Sugilite’s role in Coach Steven do fail its Black audience. That undercurrent is there and it’s unfortunate.

[magioftheseas]

Bitter Dark

@femslashfeb Day 11: Rest Days

Summary: After the events of dr1, Asahina has difficulty sleeping and relaxing. She and Kirigiri talk over coffee a few times. A short story told in almost snippets.

Rating: G for General

Warnings: None. There’s angst tho.

Notes: I wanted to get something out so I rushed to finish this... It’s only 2K so it’s more like a snack than my usual stuff. Cozy reading is good, right? Even though this isn’t the cosiest.... Oh but KiriHina and Aoi are good. Please give them more love.

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

The first time, it had been at ungodly hours early in the morning. She hadn’t really been surprised when Asahina had dealt with nightmares and insomnia before in the school. In the shelter later turned hell.

“Oh, Kyouko-chan!”

Asahina perks up with a smile of course. Bright blue eyes wide alongside it, and a cheerful tilt. If it weren’t for Kirigiri’s keen eye, the shadows beneath Asahina’s gaze would’ve been lost to the heavy shadows cast by the lamp being the only source of light in a considerably dark room.

A saved bit of electricity. But, perhaps, Asahina hadn’t been much in the mood for bright light. That was understandable. Kirigiri felt the same way after all.

“You couldn’t sleep either, huh?” Asahina asks almost innocently. There’s tiredness that flickers in her gaze, but she has enough energy to hide it. She drops a spoonful of sugar into the mug she has set out. The bitter smell of coffee lingers in the air, but it lightens and sweetens because Asahina can’t get enough sugar and cream into the drink.

“I can make you a cup, too!” she chirps, then. “How do you prefer your coffee, Kyouko-chan?”

Kirigiri snaps to attention. She sighs softly.

“Black. Pure black.”

Asahina giggles. “I’m not surprised. Back then, you said your favorite chocolate was dark.”

She remembers that.

She shouldn’t be surprised, considering Asahina’s sweet tooth. But what would’ve been a meaningless conversation to fill up dead space for someone else was Asahina’s genuine means to try and form a connection.

All the same, Asahina is humming as she preps the coffee maker.

“...did you have a bad dream?”

Asahina stiffens, briefly.

Ah. Perhaps I shouldn’t have...

“It’s actually nothing like that.”

Kirigiri perks up.

“Well...” Asahina presses the button. Coffee pours out. “The room I was in was just so...sterile. You noticed it, too, right? No color in the walls, in the carpet... Even the pillows and blankets are all grays and whites. I couldn’t stand it.”

“I see.” So something like that perturbed her. “This place does have an unsettling atmosphere. As well as the people here...”

“I’m definitely grateful about being rescued, but don’t you think there’s something off about them?!” Asahina exclaims, cheeks puffing. “They’re all so serious. They’re all in these dark suits and they even wear sunglasses so that you can’t see their eyes. Is it really alright to trust them?”

“We don’t have to trust them,” Kirigiri said. “But. We don’t have any option but to rely on them for now.”

“I don’t like the way they acted around Naegi,” Asahina huffed.

I don’t like it, either. Kirigiri couldn’t help but think. But Naegi-kun, of course, smiled as if nothing was wrong. That’s just...his character.

“Here you are, Kyouko-chan.”

“Ah, thank you.”

She takes the mug gingerly, sipping at it as Asahina downs her own cup.

“It will be fine,” she finds herself saying. “Even if the means are dubious—I believe we will be fine.”

“Yeah. Yeah, yeah.” Asahina nods almost furiously. “But—if they try anything weird, I’m gonna beat them up.”

Kirigiri snorted at that, lips twisting into a smile.

“If a time comes where we are stuck with only one another, I’m sure we’ll manage thanks to you, Asahina-san.”

Asahina beamed. It serves to make those shadows beneath her gaze ever darker, the bags ever heavier.

“Thanks, Kyouko-chan.”

--

It is not long before she sees Asahina by the coffee maker again, turned away but with a stiff grip on a cup that perhaps had gotten a bit cold. Asahina, who, again, greets her with a bright smile when she notices her arrival.

“Good morning, Kyouko-chan!”

“It is adequate, I suppose,” Kirigiri replies. Asahina just laughs without a care, despite still looking exhausted.

“I’ll make a cup for you. Black, pure black, right.”

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

“No prob!”

Asahina gives her a thumbs up and, for what it’s worth, Asahina has become stellar at presenting cheer. She’s almost as good as Naegi, but even Naegi couldn’t put in that much effort.

Asahina is even humming as she waits for the coffee mug to fill. She’s also shifting from one foot to the other.

Ah...

“Done! Here you are, Kyouko-chan!”

Before Kirigiri can comment, however, Asahina is presenting her with the mug. Her smile is bright and easy.

Despite looking exhausted.

“...thank you.” She takes the cup gingerly all the same. “You seem quite in your element.”

“Eh? You think so?” Asahina giggles, rubbing at her nape. “Actually, I worked at a lot of cafes to pay for sports gear. One time my swimsuit got torn and—weeeell that’s a long story. But it was absolute hell, Kyouko-chan! All those delicious foods that I could only serve! It was awful! But...” She plays with her ponytail. “It wasn’t bad. Sometimes I was given bread as thanks.”

“I see,” Kirigiri murmured, sipping. Asahina, likely out of self-consciousness, sips as well. And then, she blanches. Kirigiri’s expression doesn’t change, for what it’s worth. “Cold?”

“...heheh... Maybe a little...”

Admirably, she finishes it anyway.

“Oh, by the way, Kyouko-chan, let me talk to you about bread...!”

Just like that, Asahina broke into a long-winded ramble, and Kirigiri listened politely, nodding along when appropriate. She hoped that whatever was bothering Asahina would lighten up the more Asahina went at length about these significant, mundane topics.

--

“Hey, let me help.”

“Oh, uh, thank you... Asahina-san.”

“It’s no prob.”

Kirigiri perks up as she watches the scene of Asahina grinning at one of the many people in suits. This one in particular, however, is scrawny and uncertain, flustered by Asahina’s attentions. They have not yet managed quite the level of calm as their colleagues. This is likely why Asahina approaches them with such ease and chats them up.

“I really am thankful for all the Future Foundation has been doing,” she says. “So I wanna help in whatever way I can.”

There’s a twitch in her smile—but Kirigiri already knows how efficient a liar Asahina is.

“You don’t have to...” The suit hesitates. “You kids have already been through a lot, so...”

“We’re not kids,” Asahina chirps, and yet they flinch anyway. “Not anymore. Right?”

“I...suppose... Um... Y-You should probably talk to the branch leaders, though...”

“Alright.” There’s not a twitch this time. “Then I will. Thanks.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing...”

Finally, Asahina notices her staring. While keeping one arm lifting the materials, she gives a wave. Kirigiri merely waves in return.

...the branch leaders, huh.

--

“They’re going to put me in charge of delivering food to other survivors,” Asahina tells her later. “So I won’t be able to see anyone else for a while. Tell Naegi that I’ll miss him, alright?” She grins. “Tell Hagakure not to cause trouble, wish Touko-chan luck, and poke out Togami’s eyes if he’s being a dick.”

“...very well.”

They are still recovering, but of course Asahina is rushing ahead anyway.

“We will likely take up tasks as well, but...” Kirigiri trails off. “We are not quite as pushy as you are, Asahina-san.”

“Whaaat? I’ve seen you guys be plenty pushy,” Asahina laughs. “Even Naegi has quite the backbone under the right circumstances. You really should have more confidence in everyone, Kyouko-chan.”

“It is not that,” Kirigiri said. “Asahina-san... You are not the kind of person who rests easy, are you?”

Asahina keeps on smiling, even as her lips twist just the slightest bit.

Kirigiri touches her cheek carefully.

“If you do leave, can you at least promise that you won’t overwork yourself, Asahina-san? Can you try to take rest days?”

Asahina holds her hand in return, and she squeezes it hard. Thankfully, the nerves there are long-dead, so Kirigiri cannot feel it. She can, however, see the veins in Asahina’s grip, and how it trembles. Asahina’s smile, too, is wavering.

“I guess I can try,” Asahina says brightly, all the same. She makes a comically serious face. “But, you too, Kyouko-chan. Don’t pick up the slack when the others fall back. Especially Hagakure. Kick his ass if he drags his feet.”

...that is...

“If we are supporting one another, we will be fine,” Kirigiri said. “But now I worry more for you, Asahina-san, since you will be separated from us.”

“I... Y-Yeah...” Asahina shakily nodded. “Yeah, that’s true, but—I’m a tough cookie.” She winks. “I can definitely manage. And I’ll write letters. Tons of them. I’ll keep y’all in the know. So try not to miss me too hard!”

Kirigiri gives a small smile in return, but Asahina still tightly grips her hand.

“...actually...”

Kirigiri’s smile drops when Asahina’s face buries itself in her shoulder.

“A-Actually...”

Kirigiri’s lips part as Asahina begins to tremble against her.

“I’ve been thinking—a lot, lately—about the other people outside. The other people in need of rescue. And I get so sad and so sick that I just can’t relax at all. And then... I-I think about...how the Future Foundation still has no idea where our families are... Where are my parents? Where’s Yuta? I don’t know—we still just don’t know.” Her breathing hitches in a way that sounds painful. “Oh, god, what if they’re dead already? What if they’re starving and sick? W-What if—!”

“Shhhhh...”

It’s funny. While she’s seen reassurances like this before, actually performing it is—strange. She runs her fingers through Asahina’s hair, that springy ponytail she always has up, and it doesn’t feel quite right. She can feel the hammering of Asahina’s heart and the warmth of her body, and it’s all very strange. Asahina has embraced her before, but unsurprisingly, it was nothing quite like this.

“Shhh, shhh...” Even the shushing is a little awkward, not the most comforting even to her own ears. She almost feels dirty from how blatantly inexperienced and inadequate she is to provide the comfort Asahina clearly needs. “Asahina-san...”

Asahina lets go of her hand to wrap her arms firmly around her midsection. Asahina squeezes and Kirigiri can definitely feel her spine protest just a little. But then, Asahina chokes out a laugh, and Kirigiri also feels her heart swell at the sound.

“Kyouko-chan... I love you, you know that? I love you lots.” Quieter, Asahina adds. “I love all of you so much... Well... Most of you.”

“I...care about you deeply as well,” Kirigiri stiffly replies, feeling her face warm. “We are friends, after all. We have been through quite a bit together, so...”

So it is frustrating that I cannot do more for you than I already have.

Biting her lip, Kirigiri more formally returns the hug, squeezing in return. She hopes Asahina can feel it, even if she definitely won’t be hurt by it.

“Yeah, we have.” Asahina nuzzles her shoulder. “It’s thanks to you that we even survived as far as we did. You, Naegi... Even the others helped sometimes...” A small, almost pained chuckle. “I feel like I didn’t do much.”

“You do not give yourself enough credit, Asahina-san.” Without your bright and smiling face—would we have really come out on top as strongly? “You do a lot, even if you do not always realize it.”

“I’ll still do more,” Asahina mumbled.

“...” Kirigiri sighed and patted her head a couple of times. “Just don’t overdo it. Take rest days. All that. Can you promise that much, at least? Can you? Asahina-san?”

There’s a drawn out silence afterwards, and vaguely, she can tell that Asahina is idly playing with her hair, namely the braid.

“Kyouko-chan,” she hums. “You’re so formal with me that it’s a little embarrassing. Maybe call me Aoi? Even Hina would be fine, I think.”

“A... Hina.” Kirigiri swallowed. “Very well. But you did not answer my question, Hina.”

“I will.” Asahina pulls back to give her a grin. “Promise. If I break it, I’ll swallow a thousand needles!” She finally pulls away completely, and the world is just a little colder as a result. “Continue taking care of everyone for me, alright?”

“I... Yes, of course.” She nodded mutely. “Of course... Hina.”

With another cheeky grin, Asahina waved her off before skipping away, ponytail bouncing and swaying with every spring in her step.

Relax, my heart, Kirigiri thought coldly as she watched her go. Relax.

When she later had coffee again the following morning, the taste was so bitter that she had to add a little bit of cream. It would be a while before anyone else awoke, so she sipped her drink in pondering silence, looking at the ceiling.

[indiepoptime]

[the collaboration/cyzj spoilers below–WARNING LONGER POST EVEN THAN THE LAST ONE]

i should probs start calling these cyzj reactions or something but anyways i cant talk to anyone about this show as it airs bc my chinese level is only high enough for me to understand about 50% of the ep but my impatient ass watches it anyway

so im using tumblr to comment on it instead! sorry followers!!!!

my thoughts on this ep:

1) i am so embarrassed that i can’t read chinese so i have no clue what the names of any of the beautiful ladies that they casted are except tia because she’s got an english name lmao. i’ll just be labeling them based on who they ended up performing with rip

2) the cyzj cast in general Sucks™ at interacting with women and it’s beautiful. the mvp of this is jun and his endearing fanboying over tia, literally running from erics partner and flinging himself against the wall, and protecting himself from samuel and zhennan’s partner with his chair

3) jiacheng and minghao, in a surprising change of events, have completely lost their respective boyfriends to said boyfriends. #junanforever. real talk tho junan are so good to each other and the genuine happiness that floods both of their faces when they’re in the same room brings such joy to my aching unicarat heart

4) i was a bit skeptical about the choices that all of the teams made in terms of female partners. if it had been up to me, i dont think there was a single team that i would have paired in the same way....but in the end i really couldnt see it going better than it did. tia was THE BEST partner jun and yanan could have possibly had--i could feel the way that she truly cared for both of them, especially jun, and took them under her wing and guided them through a stellar and exciting performance. seeing yanan smiling and bright eyed made me almost cry considering the recent news about his health

5) i was genuinely shocked that minghao and victor picked the girl they did, and then even more shocked when their performance FLOORED ME. part of it could have been nostalgia because the song they chose was one from my childhood, but i was mostly amazed at the deftness with which they put everything together. their partner’s vocals were gorgeous, the setting of the stage was stunning, hao’s contemporary dance was stellar, and victors low rap provided a great contrast for everything. definitely my favorite stage performance wise

6) i wasn’t shocked that jiacheng and eric chose the girl they ended up with, because they weren’t left with much of a choice, but i was a little concerned that it might not work out. sidenote--this girl’s music is GORGEOUS and i am literally so excited for someone to sub the episode so i can figure out her name and listen to her stuff because it’s right up my alley. not as much up erics, though, and especially not up jiachengs. i was concerned, but their song ended up being my favorite of the night! perfect combination of ethereal vocals, ballad singing, piano, and chemistry through the roof

7) another sidenote: jiacheng and erics partner literally had the best personality ever! she was like a little female jiacheng with an eye smile to die for and laughter every 2 seconds. she was a riot and i love her!! whats her name!!!! dammit!!!

8) zhennan and samuel’s partner was really cute and had DOPE music but she seemed to be the least experienced out of the ladies and couldn’t really give the boys much direction, which frustrated zhennan and turned me off of her a little. nevertheless, i thought the stage was well delivered and interesting. my personal thought was that it felt a little haphazard at times, especially in comparison to minghao’s team, but i still enjoyed it despite the fact that i don’t usually love that genre of music. kanye :/

9) this is about the time when i realized that there are eliminations coming and I LIKE EVERY TEAM AND DONT WANT TO LOSE ANY OF THEM OR SEE ANY OF THEM CRY (AGAIN). SCREAM

10) my order of preference SOLELY based on the stages would be HAO & VICTOR > JIACHENG & ERIC > YANAN & JUN > SAMUEL & ZHENNAN, but the order never follows what i think it should be (and also i would never want to see samuel and zhennan leave literally shoot me in the face bullet bullet bullet day6 style). if i were to guess, i think it’ll be the same order as they were when the came into this ep, with junan possibly in third depending on how people felt about erics stage, but IDK THIS SHOW HURTS ME

more sidenotes

11) yanan and jun towering over tia was THE CUTEST!! 

12) zhennan getting samuel instant hotpot and regretting it while samuel went out and got him a collectible toy just reminded me how young they are and made me uwu through the damn roof. we love best friends!!!!

13) the casts joint effort to get jun to shut up in order to save his voice was blessed but also real sad. also the fact that the poor boy endured six shots down his throat!!! the day before his performance!!!! with cameras there to shoot his misery!! sad and uncomfy and 10/10 would not watch again

14) the phone with tia’s video chat being carried around everywhere and/or scaring the contestants!! iconic!! jun carrying “her” in the elevator!!! zhennan and samuel chasing the phone as the staff took it away i was wheezing