#and had a scene like this in bvs

[makorragal-312]

Slade: We’re the good guys.

Also Slade: slices a bridge pillar and tried to shoot down Superman while he was trying to hold up said bridge carrying innocent civilians.

[frownyalfred]

we need to keep emphasizing the dread of being hunted in Batman movies/media. the sound of the batmobile’s engine screaming in The Batman (2022) made my entire theater freeze in their seats. Batman Begins had the dock scene where Batman comes out of nowhere to answer a terrified goon’s “Where are you??” with a simple whispered “Here.” BVS had the wall-busting scene AND the part in the basement where Batman was perched up on the wall hiding from sight like his namesake.

they’re all one-off moments but should truly be extended a little bit. remind the audience how terrifying it is to be the focus of the Bat’s attention. the horrifying inevitability of being hunted down by him, knowing there is no escape. but not being able to see or even hear him unless he wants you to.

[crystallakec]

HI CRIS....cried a little while drawing this and cried a little more while reading your tags. thank you for leaving these it means so so much to me and I wanted to talk about him a little more😭

even if I want to believe, it's already too late.

[andy-wm]

"Who's been sleeping in MY bed?" the little one asked

I had a comment on my previous post asking if Jimin & JK stayed at the same hotel in NY and I realised I had assumed Jimin stayed in JK's room. But I don't think he did and I have thoughts on this whole situation.

[[ETA a few ppl have mentioned they had to read this twice. I apologise that this post jumps around and meanders and side-tracks all over. Believe it or not i did try to organise it... unfortunately it's an accurate representation of my brain]]

It's taken a few (probably way more than necessary) hours of looking at every bloody room in the Loews-Regency NY, and going back and forth between Are You Sure, I am Still, and the AYS behind clips to work it it but I can confidently say I know exactly* what unfolded on the night Jimin arrived in NY...

*clearly a lie, since we never REALLY know anything... However by collecting all the clues** left in these 3 series I do have a lot of circumstantial evidence. Combining that with a bit of deductive reasoning and a healthy dose of speculation, I have a decent enough theory.

** This cannot be accidental. The same people would be responsible (to an extent) for all three series. They have managed not to re-use any content, except once or twice we get the same scene from different angles. And that means we have a lot of information. BH knows army well enough to know we are absolutely going to gather up the (red) threads of these series and stitch together a story.

This is what i know:

Jungkook was in a Two Bedroom Suite - he had the master bedroom.

A Grand Executive Suite was used as a dressing room (but not much else).

Jimin had a Grand Executive Suite to himself (almost).

This is what I have reasonable evidence of:

Jungkook's master bedroom in the two bedroom suite was clearly used. Clothes on a chair, two open suitcases, personal items on the nightstand etc are evidence of the space being occupied. However when we saw him packing to leave for AYS, the bed looked largely unused. A dent in one pillow (the other pillows thrown across the bed) shows someone lay down on the bed, but the comforter was undisturbed and even the blanket at the bottom of the bed was still in place.

At first i was amazed that JK's suite is shown almost without restriction. It is not treated as a private space. But then i realised we see a number of staff moving in and out of the space too. It dawned on me that even though JK has an area for his own use (the master bedroom) this is considered a work environment, much like the hotels in BV and ITS.

So it's unsuprising that when filming, the staff casually follow JK around as he does his thing, even making a point of showing spaces we wouldn't otherwise see - like the master bathroom with its great big tub. Jungkook himself invites us into the living area when he checks on reactions to the Seven MV. and in AYS we get a glimpse into the kitchen.

We don't get to see the second bedroom or bathroom so I assume a staff member - maybe JK's manager - used those.

Compare this to the way Jimin's space is treated:

Jimin's suite is treated - mostly - as a private space. It's not just careful editing. By the actions of the staff members filming him we can see they are very aware of this.

We see it at the start of AYS when the staff member wakes Jimin up. They stay in the doorway of Jimin's suite, literally not even stepping inside. We see only a glimpse of the (second) bathroom, and the footage is cut when the camera pans away. Jimin seems quite cheerful about being on camera despite his sleep swollen face and his bed hair, but nevertheless the staff member doesn't enter his room.

On both occasions when we see Jimin's suite, the staff member recording him is cautious about being his space.

That's not something we often see when BTS are on camera - especially not as overtly we saw it here. The privacy of Jimin's suite is very obviously being respected.

Packing for AYS: Jungkook vs Jimin (and the MOOD)

In the Behind clip for AYS we see both of them packing for their getaway.

Jungkook seems quite unbothered about having his packing process documented as he moves around the big suite. It crosses no boundaries for him. He hums and haws about what to take, he chats to the staff member, and he talks to the camera as he moves from room to room. He knows he's working and this is part of his job.

Jimin, on the other hand is rattled. He stuffs his clothes into the cumbersome bag with visible annoyance, not even taking the time to open the bag properly.

Now remember, Jimin is a performer. He goes out of his way to be charming and entertaining. He knows how to turn that on for the camera and in this moment he's choosing not to.

He doesn't engage with the audience.

He doesn't talk to the staff member.

He doesn't turn towards the camera.

He gives nothing.

He huffs in exasperation as he struggles with the bag, and his movements are tense and abrupt.

Prickly is the word that comes to mind, but honestly that doesn't even cover it.

When he's done packing, he snatches that bag up and marches out of the room without a second glance.

His hair covers his eyes like a shield as he walks toward the camera but the tightness in his neck and jaw betrays strong emotion.

Yeah he's not happy

He slips through the half open door and strides down the hallway.

I get the feeling that if the staff member didn't move fast enough, Jimin would run them over.

When something like this happens, my response is usually to look closer, so let's do that.

Firstly Jimin is a consummate professional. He can usually put a good face on any situation. But in this case he doesn't even seem to try. I guess whatever is bothering him is not something he can or will just brush off in that moment.

So what's actually happening here?

What is it that's pissed Jimin off to such an extent?

Let's look at it again...

They are filming him pack his bag. The staff member stands closely beside Jimin and focuses only him, his bag, and the sofa.

Let's be honest, there is absolutely nothing interesting about this scene (except the implications we are currently unpacking).

They could have made this count for a little more, maybe by panning around the room or changing the position of the camera in relation to Jimin. But they don't. Even when, by chance, there's a glimpse of what looks like takeout containers on the coffee table and some random debris on the chair behind Jimin, the staff member moves so that we only see Jimin, the bag and the sofa. That is all we're getting.

That's a clear decision and there has to be a reason for that decision.

When they leave the room, we have an abrupt cut before the camera backs out the door and down the hallway. That's another clear decision. The staff member could easily have moved behind Jimin and followed him out of the suite but this keeps them - and us - out of Jimin's personal (private) space and he remains the literal gatekeeper to that room.

Once they are out of the room Jimin lifts his head briefly, shakes his hair out of his eyes, and strides purposefully - defiantly even - on. He still doesn't interact or make eye contact. He still isn't giving them (or us) a damn thing, and even the funky upbeat muzak they've used can't alleviate the tension in this scene.

So why is Jimin in a mood?

We know Jimin was there for one night before they began filming for AYS. So all this takes place before filming for AYS began.

And that, in my mind, is the key.

Jungkook was promoting his album and he expected to be on camera. He knew the space he occupied was a filming location. Jungkook was already at work when he was packing for AYS. but Jimin was not.

Okay, but this a BIG MOOD... what else is happening?

It's not the end of the world to be asked to start your schedule a little earlier, is it? We know Jimin was already awake...

But they came into his room.

I don't believe he expected to have anyone in his private suite - anyone besides Jungkook. And I don't believe he agreed happily, based on his behaviour.

I'm 99% sure Jungkook spent the night in Jimin's suite for two reasons.

Logically it makes sense that they would choose the place they have the most privacy, and even though Jungkook had the master bedroom and a private bathroom in the bigger suite, that is a WORK LOCATION. It's not his private space.

Add to that Jungkook saying he was packed and ready to go, and only needed to brush his teeth which he would do when Jimin arrived. He even told us where he would be putting his toothbrush (future tense).

It's not hard to guess where his toothbrush was. And why.

So we have two healthy young adults who (we are told repeatedly by Jungkook) have barely seen each other. The flirting started at the restaurant, and we've already seen the evidence of a night spent in energetic passion.

And we have a closed-up room. I don't know how much air would be circulating in that room with the blinds down and the doors closed. I don't know how much air would need to circulate to remove the ...how can I put this delicately? the ripe and musky scent of celebration. I expect there was A LOT of celebration...

And we have Jimin. Jimin is MESSY. Jimin breaks mosquito nets and marks people's necks and pushes boundaries even in public. He throws his things about with not a care in the world... clothes, yes, and other things. How many of Jimin's tissues has JK picked up? You get the picture. It's a Biohazard.

Lastly, we have (or had) an expectation of privacy, of no staff, of restricted access.

Now there's a person in his private space unexpectedly. And they have a camera.

So Jimin is pissed off.

I'd be pissed off too.

He seems to be over it by the time they're filming the preamble to AYS, but he obviously felt compromised and deeply uncomfortable. I am glad he made it clear he was unhappy.

This highlights for me the importance of them having agency over their content and their personal time and space. On this occasion he must have reluctantly (and with conditions) agreed but I hope that in future his boundaries are respected.

I hope even more that ARMY (and Jikookers especially. I hold us to a higher standard) remember that their personal time and space is precious to them, and they deserve to enjoy their lives away from the public eye. Like the rest of us they should have the freedom and confidence to do what they want (no matter how messy) without the fear that someone with a camera will invade their space and record them.

Please don't go to Jungkook's house, even while he's not there. It's not a tourist attraction.

[biancasaidstfu]

Jumping off a comment I just saw. What if this is part of a strategic play by both teams to separate Luke and Nicola in the public eye because of the Emmy submissions? It’s far less believable about their acting chops if they come out as a real couple in love. Shondaland and Bridgerton empire also benefit with the Emmy nomination attention in the fall if the release of Season 4 is a few months later in 2026.

Obv the lime bike pap pics were dumb and plain. They are pushing the continued narrative that this is a legit couple.

We got a slew of Jake and Nicola confirmation articles following the BAFTA pre party. They had their two pap walks too to try to make it believable.

British Vogue was so staged and unreal. “Bton cast at the BV Netflix Party” was the X tagline yet, it was mostly the Luke and Antonia show without ANY Bton group pictures released..

BAFTA, not a single pic of Nic and Luke together when they were nominated for their scene. (Rivals troupe all walked carpet together and had a feeling of togetherness as a cast.) Super weird.

But.. we get little hints to draw people back to them. The MAFS favorite show references, same designers for Australia.. wearing the Ireland green dress, silly red bag in background. And Nic flashes ring right before her appearance with Jake and BAFTA week shit show. Nic flashes her ring before pap pics. Is she trying to say, remember this?

Idk. Still think Luke and Nic are together, but not holding out hope anyone in the public will know until they are ready to reveal it.

This idea has been floated for a while and I think maybe they were trying to do that for past few months but Emmy’s feels like a long shot atp.

Certainly any theory is valid. But ffs my ass is tired.

[curio-queries]

ARE YOU SURE?!

Episode 3 production Notes

I genuinely wasn't expecting to have much to say on this when I started it but there are definitely some things to chat about with this episode. Get comfy, it's another long post!

Here's a link to my post on eps 1 & 2.

(I guess this is a series now)

The Tone

I was curious about how a few things would be handled with the remainder of the show, and some of the answers are starting to unfold. We definitely have to see how the upcoming episodes play out but there's at least something to evaluate.

My main takeaway from episode 3 is that the tone is so very different from the previous ones. In my last post, I spent quite a bit explaining why AYS was a successful mix of Bon Voyage and In The Soop. That's definitely not the case here. This episode is a mix of Bon Voyage and Run BTS tonally. This episode is more what I was expecting they'd try to do with the edit to highlight the chaos and shenanigans that were a main ingredient in the content of BTS as a full team, especially to cover for the reduced member count from the full group.

Some of the main items that make this episode seem more energetic than the previous ones are:

The timeline. Episode 3 covers far less time than 1 or 2 did. It makes it seem like there's just too much going on to fit in the same parameters, which again makes the tone seem overall more rushed and hectic.

The music: far higher bpms consistently on all of the backing tracks.

The choppy edits. When we recognize that there was something missing in the middle of an interaction, our brains are still processing what we might have missed and orienting to what we're seeing next. With all of that going on, it easy to feel 'left behind' in even the most casual of scenes.

The intended audience. I just had one moment here that bumped me. At some point one of the members clearly says 'Fighting' but the translation wasn't just that word. It was a whole sentence about wishing for encouragement or something. These episodes have been very clearly laid out for an audience that is not only familiar with BTS but enough so that we know who each of these members are and why they might be doing these kinds of activities. If you had none of this basic knowledge, I genuinely don't think this show is even watchable...so why would people with that level of understanding need an alternate translation to 'Fighting'? Idk, maybe I'm being overly sensitive but like I said, it bumped me enough to question who their target audience was. Something I didn't even question with the prev eps.

Edited to add: an example of the tone influenced by the edit. Can't believe I forgot this one. It stood out to me in my first watchthrough. Thankfully our beautiful giffers captured the story beats for us all.

The Edit

Like I said at the beginning, this episode was far less a blend of ITS and BV and more a mashup of BV with Run BTS. The only thing in this episode that reminds me of ITS is the extremely choppy edit, which i think most would agree was not one of the highlights of those shows.

There are so many unresolved story beats in this episode of AYS! If you're not used to noticing something like this, here's an example:

In the car after their meal, vmin discuss that it'd be nice to pull over for some pics.

At the coffee drive through, Jimin makes a point to coordinate a stopover with JK so he can have his drink.

...and then we arrive at the house with no resolution. Did they stop? Did JK get his drink? We don't know, the only evidence we have is Tae carrying his partially consumed drink. So IF they stopped, Tae either didn't drink his or it was a very brief stop to not finish.

Here's another one:

When arriving at the house, the guys are all commenting bout how nice the place is.

Jimin exclaims about the pool.

...we don't get an establishing shot of the pool. On a rewatch of the episode, once you already know where it is, you're able to notice it for the slightest of moments but that's it. No hint of how big the pool is or even where in relation to the members it's located. It's just a tiny thing, not even important to the storyline but it leaves the audience without a reference to what the members are talking about.

There are dozens more of examples I could list but I think you get the idea. Again, not a big deal on small productions but you KNOW there was plenty of b-roll footage of the place. We see some of it. These are mostly just tiny observations that, if isolated wouldn't mean anything, but repeatedly set the tone for how the audience will be experiencing the rest of the episode.

The Guest

Another choppy edit is how they handled the introduction of Tae and the narrative that explains his presence here when he wasn't in the previous episodes. They either didn't get any good footage explaining it or they decided to purposefully try to cut it 'dynamically' for a reveal... in my opinion, this was not successfully done and just leaves the viewer feeling like we just need to accept the confusion and enjoy the endearing moments....which is exactly one of the main things I comment on in my Run BTS series. The BTS production team is astoundingly terrible at entertaining exposition. Long time armys are just used to it by now and I really don't see them changing anytime soon. They know ppl will watch the content for the moments we get to spend with the members, whether there's a proper narrative or not, so why bother?

Anyway, it's clear to see why those who have a bias against Tae have been using this as ammunition in their fanwars. It's just an awkward narrative that was poorly presented. (Personally, I'd rather everyone just focus on celebrating the members moments with each other rather than warping them to win imaginary points in a pointless battle but alas, I'm just an aging fan in a space that rewards useless vitriol).

Jimin's sickness...again

Poor guy just can't catch a break! At least that was the point they were trying to make editing it this way. Honestly, Jimin has so far been not as impacted as he was the previous episodes. Likely due to this upset being far more mild than the last one. However, there's so much more tension with it cut the way it was in episode3. It's not just that we're aware of it upfront unlike we were in episode 1. It's only highlighted in moments where Jimin is NOT participating in whatever the others are: not eating, not swimming, not climbing. In episode 1, most of the scenes that included any mention of Jimin feeling unwell also included some hint of JK wanting to take care of him or inquiring after his health. Episode 3 includes no such scenes. The overall impact is a much lighter view of how the members spent an exciting day rather than a genuine look into how they're interacting with each other as humans.

One last note: The Sound

There are definitely some horrific sound moments this episode! So much so that I noticed some on my first watchthrough! Again, there are allowances to be made, this is not a show being shot on a sound stage in controlled conditions but some moments were just plain misses in the edit.

For example, when vmin is listening to music in the car, the balancing of SEVEN from vmin's audio is horrific. The way to do this properly is manage the audio levels of their voices alone and overlay with the music track. This will help mask any audio that leaked into their mics. Something that can be easily done with rights to the music...which they have. And oh look at that, they do it correctly for J-Hope's Arson! It honestly is just coming across as a missed correction on the edit but I'd expect more from a BTS show that's licensed to Disney.

That's it for now. Overall, I'm disappointed in the edit of this episode but moreso because of how pleasantly surprised i was by the previous episodes. This one was very much kn par with other BTS content. Im also looking forward to the remaining episodes as I estimate we'll see a little more liveliness from our latenight-loving Jimin now that he's had his nap! 😆

Edited to add:

Are You Sure?! MasterList

[susiecarter]

hi!! i'm a big fan of soulmate stories, and "the tide that carries us out" is actually the fic that ended up getting me to dabble a bit in gq/croc. so i was just wondering, do you have any soulmate ideas in the hopper for superbat?

Hi, anon! :D Congratulations on your A+ taste in tropes, I LOVE soulmate stories so much, and I'm so glad you enjoyed "the tide that carries us out"—I'd be thrilled enough if you'd just had a good time reading it, but that it actually inspired you to dabble in GQ/Croc as a ship yourself is the best compliment in the WORLD. ;-;!

AND as always, I can't guarantee any of them are going to actually be finished and posted anytime soon :'D but I have about as many soulmate ideas for Bruce and Clark as I have favorite soulmate tropes.

FIRST WORDS: I developed a hankering for a BvS soulmate AU pretty much the moment I noticed that the first words Bruce and Clark say to each other come during the scene at the benefit for the Library of Metropolis—i.e., when they're being Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent. Clark's first words to Bruce in that scene are "Mr. Wayne? Mr. Wayne?" which Bruce has presumably heard said to him a MILLION times, literally every press conference he's ever done; he'd be adding Clark Kent to a list of possibles, mentally, but have no reason to think THIS guy was actually going to be it for him. And Bruce's first words to Clark are, "Uh, my foundation has already issued a statement in support of—books." :'D

So, yeah, Bruce would probably start the same basic background research process he always does on anyone who says, "Mr. Wayne? Mr. Wayne?" to him, but be expecting nothing to come of it, and have NO idea his soulmate is Superman also ... but Clark would know exactly who he's talking to, and in BOTH cases, because it's listening in on Bruce talking to Alfred at the benefit that seems to clue him in about there being something going on with Bruce, and he canonically has figured out that Bruce is Batman by the time he shows up for their fight sequence at the end of BvS to try to reason with Bruce. :D Which, SUCH an amazing explanation for why Clark's trying so hard to reason with Bruce there—he knows this is his soulmate! He sure as shit doesn't want to kill this guy!—and makes Bruce's refusal to listen to him EIGHT THOUSAND TIMES worse, and!!!! Bruce would only realize "Martha" + "it's his mother's name" = Martha Kent when he actually rescues her and sees her face, the face of the mother of CLARK KENT, a match for a dozen photos his research into his POTENTIAL SOULMATE turned up ... and then he runs back out there just in time to watch Clark die. :')))))) But, you know, his words don't disappear the way he'd have expected them to when his soulmate died = that's why he's such a lunatic about them NEEDING to use the box to try bringing Clark back, SOMETHING has to work, Clark is clearly NOT permadead, and Bruce has proof of it of the most agonizingly intimate kind. :')))))))))) This is the kind of AU where I'm still working out how to keep it from being too much like all my other BvS AUs, but I am absolutely going to write it one of these days, okay.

SOULMARKS: So, so, SO enamored of the idea of Bruce having a Kryptonian symbol as a soulmark—presumably the emblem of the House of El, lbr, or, like, the name "Kal-El" written in Kryptonian, whatever—and of COURSE having tried absolutely everything, researching the shit out of it, trying to come up with even a single shred of a clue as to what this means and getting NOTHING ... and then, you know, Zod shows up, Superman's flying around with the same symbol (or at least a blatantly similar symbol) right in the middle of his f*#%&*$ chest, and Bruce is, you know, himself about it, which is to say it's PROOF OF HIS OBJECTIVITY, of his willingness to do what's necessary without regard for himself, if he kills the guy because he's a threat to Earth, soulmate or no soulmate. :') And Clark has anything you please, the bat, the Wayne coat of arms, whatever—obviously the bat's not much to go on UNTIL he starts hearing about the Batman of Gotham while he's poking around in BvS, and learns his soulmate might be going around branding people and executing them; the Wayne coat of arms is probably a tough one to research before reverse image searching is invented, so he probably wouldn't get anywhere with that one unless he was, you know, Googling Bruce Wayne after running into him at the benefit. :D

And of course Bruce could so easily go from refusing to cut his soulmate any slack, refusing to let Superman off the hook for all that he's capable of just because he might be the only person Bruce will ever love romantically, to deliberately keeping his soulmark a secret from Clark, refusing to confirm that they match each other, because he believes Clark deserves better than a guy who almost killed him ... :')))))))))))

TRUTH-TELLING: I love a lot of soulmate tropes that would play out pretty much the same way as one or the other of the above (names! last words = Clark hears his from Bruce, is she with you? and turns wry, resigned, says what he can be pretty sure are Bruce's, I thought she was with you, knowing this must mean he's about to die! Bruce instantly knowing it too, but Clark goes anyway, and Bruce doesn't stop him, because they need to stop Doomsday! But then, the day of Clark's funeral, Bruce gets a SECOND set of words, and realizes that must mean Clark's going to come back somehow, even if he's also going to die again someday ...), BUT one of my favorite less-common ones is soulmates not being able to lie to each other. :D :D :D Just imagining how the scene at the benefit would go, if Bruce and Clark BOTH found themselves suddenly unable to lie to this man (Clark asking Bruce his opinion on the Bat vigilante AND GETTING THE TRUE ANSWER :D :D :D)—this would probably turn into an outright fix-it AU, because I love everything about the idea that BvS simply COULDN'T go the way it canonically does if Bruce and Clark were forced to be honest with each other, couldn't hide anything from each other, had to explain what they were thinking and why they were thinking it ... *clenches fists* SO GOOD.

So, um, yes. There's a small handful of soulmate AUs I'm kicking around for these goofs at any given moment :'D and if you have a particular favorite soulmate trope you'd love to see with them, by all means come back to my askbox and tell me about it! *chinhands* ♥♥♥!

[ageofgeek]

Ok, listen, hear me out: I don’t think the “Martha” scene in BvS had to be that bad. The idea was there, the execution was terrible.

Admittedly, fanfic has gone more in depth on this, but the broad strokes of it make sense. Throughout the entire film, Bruce has been dehumanizing Superman, as an alien Other, as something that is an unknown variable. He’s let his fear rule him and make him irrational.

So, when Clark, before he’s about to die, calls out to his mother, and suddenly it hits Bruce that this is a man, a person, who has a mom, who loves her and wants to protect her, and is willing to do so even at the cost of his own life, and that is what triggers his realization how wrong he was… AND, as a bonus, positioning Clark as a mirror to Bruce because their mothers share the same name… that’s a good idea, ok, it just is!

But the execution is dogshit. Why does Clark call his own mother “Martha”? Why was the script like that? (poor Batfleck, having to scream, “WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?” I cannot help but laugh even now) Why is there 0 explanation from Bruce to Clark or Lois as to why there was this sudden change of heart, and why are they ok with that??? It’s just so bad.

Allow me to script doctor here: instead of saying Martha’s name at the outset, have Clark start begging Bruce before he’s about to kill him to save his mom, please, save his mom, you can kill me, but please help her, and that’s enough to make Bruce hesitate, just enough (maybe some parallel flashbacks to Thomas Wayne begging the Joe Chill not to hurt his wife or son). And then Lois comes in and explains Luthor’s plot to kidnap Martha and force them to fight, and it’s Lois’s invocation of Martha’s name that triggers Bruce, and he asks Clark, “your mother’s name is Martha?” And he’s struck speechless, and sort of stumbles back, and realizes what a terrible thing he’s done, what he almost did.

And I think, at this point in the movie, Clark and Lois know about Batman’s identity? So maybe Lois is the one who puts it together to a confused Clark, by whispering, “Martha Wayne.” And then cut into Clark’s face, the realization, that they’re so alike, and that he could actually have an ally and friend who can help him save his mom.

And scene! 🎬

…Anyway. That was approximately 8 years too late, but I needed to get this out of my system.

[stormblessed95]

Okay so I’m on my fourth watch of the travel show

It gets better the more you watch, they are just so much fun

They have me smiling from ear to ear the whole way through

I know there is a lot of conversation about the car conversation but seriously, apart from Jungkooks beautiful ‘finally’ (and I’m glad that is in English so we hear it without mistranslation), what struck me upon this watch, is that he could actually mean them being in content together. 

Hear me out, but the kid spent the better part of the first half, and even to a degree still asking in the later half, of 2023 begging to go live with Jimin, inviting him over on lives. Including the bed begging live days after this filming, and now I’m framing it that he was probably thinking they have filmed this show, why can’t they have a live? I know that the show wasn’t going to be aired straight away but I can totally see him going with that thought. 

But it just struck me, he’d been asking and probably denied so many times, whereas Jimin had gone live with Yoongi and Hobi etc during work promotions, but denied JK. This was his olive branch, his two birds one stone, a trip for them to spend time together when free, but also for them to be alone in content (albeit airing a year later atp). If we remember too that they could not leave SK without work and a permit, the chicken and egg, hence the show. Jimin had the time at that point to plan it with the company, it makes sense he pushed it, though I’m sure Jungkook was involved too. 

People are moaning about Jungkooks attitude and they are so wrong and miserable, not to mention they misunderstand him. They guy is glowing with his Jimin, he’s being cheeky and kids around and it’s so beautiful to see it. To see their dynamic, as they are. 

Seeing them say they hasn’t planned another trip in NY, and the Forbes article said this too, they must have thought it a success enough to plan jeju and so on. I think a post from another blogger here also helped frame this for me, bc at the end of the day they talked about and proposed the show, just the two of them, to the company and needed a deliverable product. This involved planning to a degree, scouting locations and a vague idea of activities. They definitely had more freedom than Bv, and they had to rely on their natural chemistry, which is there in spades, but they still had to deliver/ this is where Jimins panic comes in when he is sick, bc he has to power through to make the show work, hence the are you sure? It’s so logical when I think about it all in that framed way. 

And mainly I think this also because they do not present as people who had had a falling out, or massive distance, or had issues, or something more ridiculous people are proposing. I mean logically do we really think Jimin (sensible Jimin) would even think it a good idea to do this if there was bad blood or feelings. Exactly, he would not.  There was no tension there, not that I saw anyway. They just vibe with each other. They present as pretty domestic, in tune and loveable goofballs. 

Also when you think about MS application being a month after this, they had to have seen and spoken to each other, it’s a complete reach to think they didn’t. Also, it’s their habit, Jimin literally said the same sentence in the very brief restaurant scene, that JK says to him in the doc and we know that was a complete fib. Also I feel the way JK looks at the camera in that scene and in the hand holding scene is very telling about how he felt around the cameras at first, especially when Jimin touches his throat, like he hesitated. 

I also hold in mind that at the end of the day we got about 5/10% of their time on screen, the rest is on the cutting room floor, and also probably not even filmed (esp given Jimins condition). Leaving them plenty of time for them. 

Just my thoughts. 

.

[slick2quick]

𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑺

these are my personal slick hc. derives from fic / other people / role plays or just what i believe slick to be !

* originally she grew up with the crime fam. [ olc CB father, caboose &. bv twins, and slick as a half sister. that came later. ] she was removed when she was 8 due to their.. well crime tendencies and slick was placed with the wembley trucks.

* slick has a sweet tooth and loves cinnamon rolls. especially dinah’s…

* she got a lot of her ideas from watching her old family crash trains for their job. got a lot of tips from them, and connected more with BV’s idea of crashing for money instead of fun. but she wouldn’t suggest this until about the age range that would be around 17 - 18.

* currently slick is about in her mid - 20s but in train years. she’s definitely an adult!

* slick is demi - girl and uses she / they / he. very i don’t give a shit about gender but sure i’m your sister. i regularly swap out sister / sibling / brother &. guy / girl.

more under the cut

* slick did not care for romance at all for the longest of time. until she bonded with dinah after the events of stex. i think she also had a lot of admiration for greaseball but she doesn’t really show it as much and less so since the crash. [ i am a kitchen disaster truther. ]

* slick hates being vulnerable. partially because you could not be vulnerable and open when living with the cabeese and partially because she puts up this front so much. a tough guy act it feels scary to be so open to someone. it also became a habit at first when she met porter &. lumber, and wanted to impress them terribly so. fellow fuel freights, despite being different fuel, felt much more easier than her old life.

* and how they are with rusty and hydra. she’s a very “ i hate you. but if anyone’s mean to you i’ll kick their ass ” type of sister after the events of stex. the crash made her realize that.. well being so rough can get you dangerous. she still keeps up with the job but it’s not as often anymore. it also took awhile before they took his first job again.

* slick never got along with anyone in the yard EXCEPT for porter and lumber. momma was always a 50/50. depending on if the older steam engine had gone on her steam is great spiel. she loves momma, but a very big believer that steam is the past oil is superior.

* i think she’s closest to porter than the others. something i like always seeing is porter looking out for her as an older brother and i think that’s so cute.

* and as much as she publicly shits on steam trains and such. and even if she’s a little mean to momma behind the scenes i think slick is a little bit of a mommas girl. growing up with so many guys and previously insane ones, having someone like momma means the world to him. it’s just hard for her to express it

* slick had a lot of anger issues growing up and i think it would be cute if they used a sort of “ emotions ” chart growing up that momma found in the trash can.

* if anyone calls her oil - spill, she tweaks out and will get incrediby angry at you and not explain why

[dearweirdme]

Hey Rain,

I'm the anon who asked you if you recommend watching AYS. Well, I started watching it, and I'm so glad I did because it's so freaking hilarious. I'm kicking myself in the butt for not watching it when it first came out. I just started episode 6 but paused because I didn't want it to change my initial thoughts.

I apologize ahead of time if this is all over the place 🙃

So I've never been someone who has sat down and watched any of these series like BV, in the soop, docu series etc. Mostly because it's a bit pricey for me, so I usually just watch clips that I see on socials and call it a day. The reason I bring this up is because watching episodes 1-5 of AYS showed how out of context a lot of scenes are taken by shippers. And I can see why a previous anon said that after watching the show, they don't see anything romantic with jikook. For the most part, I agree with them. I tried to watch the show unbiased, and I will admit there were a moment or 2 that I could see why people ship them. With taekook, there were sweet moments but also moments that made me question the ship and that's why I'm here lol 😆

The main thing that stood out to me is that Tae seemed a bit disinterested the majority of the time. Did you also feel that way? It kinda irked me how at the start of Jeju they made it seem like Tae wasn't invited and was crashing their trip because they could've told him no. It sorts reminded me of when tae showed up during jungkook suchiwita episode. It also felt like Tae was third wheeling majority of the time and idk if it's because it's a jikook show and they wanted the main focus to be on them or if it's again that Tae was just disinterested. I would expect Tae to wanna be with JK but instead he would often go to bed early, on his phone, and then in the boat episode, he stayed on the boat instead of swimming with them plus they also had him on the other side fishing by himself. I would love to hear your thoughts on that.

But then there were also some really sweet moments, like when Jungkook told Tae that the trip was better because he was there. And so many more. There was one specific moment that did make me raise an eyebrow and would like to know your thoughts. I believe it was episode 5, JK says he's gonna go shower and then it cuts to Tae who's on his phone but quickly jumps out of bed takes his shirt off and goes to take a shower too. The door seems to be locked and even tho tae didn't knock it opens almost like JK was waiting for me him. Do you think that's the case? Could JK have texted him or am I reading too much into it?

Do you have any recommendations of other bts shows that you would say show more of taekooks relationship?

Hi anon!

A quick tip, I watched most of my BTS shows like BV and ITS on Dailymotion (which is free.. though the site is a bit annoying at times). I don't think everything is on there right now, but I only did a quick check.

Haha, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself! So, let me start that I feel there is no BTS show (not ITS, not BV, and not AYS) that gives you actual insight in Tae and Jk's relationship. In this context I think ITS's show them a bit more freely, but still with clear boundaries. But hey, they're not supposed to be shown like that. They are closeted. Each show has it's cute moments. BV 1 has Jk getting into Tae's bed and hugging him while going back to sleep.

Bon Voyage 2 has them talking about wanting to live in Hawaii subtly.

Bon voyage three is Jk scheming to get Tae to share his room (ignore the edit's btw, I'm just posting as an example).

Bon voyage 4 is possibly the least tkky? We got Jk buying Tae a jacket which was cute. And some background stuff.

The ITS's got more cuddly moments overall and felt a bit less structured to me. But still.. you can't say of any of these series that it's clear they are together. I always feel it's good (and fun) to watch because you get an overal feeling for how members interact and how these things are structured. And you know what you're talking about whne certain moments come up in fandom.

When it comes to AYS my headcanon is that Tae was indeed a bit uninterested and he joined mainly because it gave him an opportunity to be with Jk inbetween busy schedules. Something to take into account is that Tae was suffering from neckpains (which can get extremely annoying and give you headaches as well). We only see a tiny percentage of the time they spent there, so you can't really speak to how they spent most of their time. I truly enjoyed seeing them close and seeing them in sync so much.

The shower incident to me does look like Tae is waiting for the door to be opened from the inside. It would make sense to me that it was Jk inside.

[sisaloofafump]

Initial thoughts on Superman (2025) contains spoilers

Going into it, I had low expectations and I also knew that Lois was going to be the make or break factor for me. Unfortunately? She was fantastic, so I had to find other methods to judge it on too.

As a whole, my rating would be:

4.25 ⭐️ as a Superman movie

3.75 ⭐️ as a movie in total

A thoroughly enjoyable movie, all in all, and I already look forward to seeing it again. I had a great time.

Filmmaking:

Art: beautiful. Costumes, sets, sound design, music. It was great. The best shots were all in the trailer, there wasn't anything particularly spectacular aside from that, but it was brilliant and fun and well done.

Writing/editing: Pacing is something I'm very tuned to in media, and I felt it was off. There was a lot of tone jumps—especially with the fun yet incredibly repetitive Krypto scenes—and while it was in no way jarring or outrageous, it didn't let us sit with the emotions as long as I wish we could have. I would have rather sacrificed one of the many superfluous fights for longer emotional beats, though I admit that if I wanted something slower, I should probably just pick up '78 or BvS again. The faster pace and constant fights was excellent at showing his "neverending battle", and there was good variability. But, it did lessen the emotional stakes of the climactic fight.

It definitely felt like a kids film. The style of comedy, the cheery colours, the lack of violence, the comic book science. I do not think that's a bad thing. It's excellent, it harkens back to the silver age and when his primary audience was young! However, while there were many aspects that were primed for adult comic lovers, it did mean that the pacing and lack of gravity was not for me.

On that note, I found the first half and the conversation between Lois and Clark definitely the strongest, though there was no clear point at which it fell off.

Dialogue/Acting: INDREDIBLE central cast. No notes. It was wonderful. Ngl the cheesiness and heavy handed exposition did take me out of it a handful of times. But that's totally excusable for a children's movie.

The comic book science: almost too bad? Deliciously goofy and incorrect but distractingly so.

Characters:

It managed its large cast so incredibly well? LOVED that. I'm not sure how it would read for people unfamiliar with them.

Clark: Perfect. No notes. Loved his cape. Personality and compassion and passion and playfulness and defensiveness and self isolation and empathy and awkwardness were all so wonderful. (In the politics section I get more into critiques of him)

Lois: man oh man. New backstory! Grew up punk rock in Bakerline - a middle class urban residential district in Metropolis. Afaik, we've never seen this before. Punk rock? Yes, in a recent flashback. Non-military? Sure, a farm girl in pre-crisis. Metropolis born? ... no. Making her not a well traveled or an immigrant (as is increasingly common in adaptations) is definitely a choice. Which I'll get into later. Making her not a military brat removed what would have been some really interesting character points, considering the plot.

Loved how her badassery was not needed to be conveyed through fighting skills - it let Mr. Terrific shine, emphasized her unique skills, removed the emphasis on her father rather than her, and helped with the idea that this was still early career and she too was out of her depth.

LOVED how they gave her flaws in her relationship with Clark. God I just. It was so refreshing to see, and the way they fought and what they fought over made so much sense for her character. I'm surprised we've rarely seen this flavour of fight/flaws before. (Tho we have briefly). It was new, and it all felt in character.

That being said? I wish we could have gotten a clearer character arc. She tells Clark "I love you" at the end, but what led her to that? Is it that she does what she'd been questioning him on before (rushing in without a thought to political repercussion)? Is it the near death? The joy of taking luthor down? What did she feel at Clark's childhood home? Was he humanized to her? Was it her political mindset that changed or her fears of commitment? I wish we got to understand more of what went through her head.

Jimmy: my boy! Loved that they leant in to his top notch and mostly unintentional game. He's a catch, even if he doesn't particularly want to be caught. Curious why they made him a standard reporter, rather than copy boy or photographer. Honestly, I really liked that. It kept the character uniqueness on plot-relevant aspects, and the "please let me be a real reporter" of comics can get old. Loved his friendship with Lois a lot.

Luthor: Fantastic. Love that he straight up just killed that guy. Love his minions. Love his girlfriends. Love his very homoerotic obsession with Superman. I don't got much to say.

Everyone else: the Justice Gang was wonderful. I don't care what anyone says, Nathan Fillion was the perfect casting for Guy. Mr. Terrific stole the show. Kendra should have had short hair and more fighting time. Ma and Pa were relatable and great. Loved Cat's friendship with Lois, and just Steve overall. Didn't particularly care for Metamorpho at all.

The Engineer was pretty cool. Ultraman was a weird mix of doomsday and metallo and Kon and not really like the Ultraman of the crime syndicate at all. Thoughts on him later. Also he looked too much like Bucky Barnes. Very Winter Soldier of him.

Politics:

I usually don't judge comic books too harshly on the politics as often that's not their whole goal, and I don't expect mass budget films to be anything other than centrist US military propaganda. However, this film makes the political aspects a huge focus. And I have thoughts.

The war & immigration

Before watching, I heard people say that the film was pro-Palestine and dismissed it as just projection. I definitely see the parallels now, as well as those to the Russian invasion/war against Ukraine. There were points I appreciated it exploring (basically all of Clark's argument with Lois), and some I didn't (referring to the country as just unvaluable desert). Primarily, though, there was one point very conspicuously missing:

"Superman is an immigrant" James Gunn said behind the scenes, and yet he barely showed it. Like Man of Steel, like MAWS, it failed at having a proper allegory for xenophobia because it gave the civilians a valid reason to be afraid. It isn't as bad as its predecessors—the Kryptonians did not appear to conduct violence themselves—but you can't confront xenophobia well by saying "oh no, their homeland and race is an issue and is violent. But look! the way they can be their best self is through rejecting their birth parents and embracing their American ones".

Similarly? Lois has been increasingly made an immigrant (MAWS, Secret Identity, Girl Taking Over), or had an emphasis on her childhood growing up around the world and her compassion for immigrants (n52, Enemy of the People). Replacing those backstories isn't a big deal on their own (and I semi-appreciate the replacement of her military past), but paired with the way they treat Clark? It doesn't sit right with me.

When it comes to the war, they don't talk about racism or xenophobia or Islamophobia at all. The crowd is brown, but not visibly Muslim. The reasons given for invading Jarhanpur are solely resource based.

Combine it with Luthor's villain monologues—yes, he refers to Clark as an "it" and dehumanizes him. But the foundation of his anger and envy against Clark is based on his powers, not his alien origins. And they combat this by Clark giving a speech about how he is human in all the way that counts, and replacing his "parents" with Ma and Pa. Considering the story starts out with him embracing his Kryptonian parents, and being proud about his alienness with Lois, this character arc ends up feeling like he's rejecting his homeworld, rather than refinding his own pride in being a Kryptonian.

Similarly, where is his hope? Superman, at his best, is a symbol of hope and a champion spurring people into collective action. Where was that? When he inspired the Justice Gang to act as solo White Saviours (the trope, I know that Kendra isn't white) to save the collectivist Jarhanpur resistance that was failing without them?

There were plenty of other opportunities for that inspiration to shine as well—civilians banding together in the evacuation, base employees turning against Luthor, prisoners escaping on mass together instead of snitching out Clark. Aside from Mali (whose death was great for showing Luthor's heartlessness but felt cheap and nearly fridged), I can't think of any strong example. You could make a case for the Planet's staff being that inspired civilian force... but it's a weak case.

I don't expect detailed leftist politics from a major block buster film, nor do I want to judge it on that basis. But Superman's immigrant identity and prominence as acting as a symbol of hope are major parts of many of his comic book portrayals. I felt they were conspicuously missing or underdeveloped, especially with James Gunn touting the "Superman is an immigrant" lines himself.

No killing...?

I like how much they emphasized Clark's no killing rule, and how he makes a point to save as best he can the dogs and squirrels and giant monster. And then he blows his clone into a black hole. Doesn't try to save him. Especially considering that Superman clones in comics often have a lot of sentience...? That Luthor-created clones of Superman in comics often have a lot of sentience...? That's just odd to me. A convient way to end the fight, yes, but odd.

Also I think Kendra killing the Boravian president was a great character moment for her. However. Back to my point on the lack of hope inspiration—I feel like the Justice Gang should have been inspired to be nonlethal, especially since they were representing Superman. Additionally, where's the fallout? I mean, it's hinted that the fallout will happen in later franchise instalments/Peacemaker, but wow that had like no consequences despite how much the "is hero involvement good" convo had an impact on the beginning.

------------

While these thoughts have a lot of critiques, I want to emphasize that I do really enjoy the film. In terms of characterization, in terms of fun, in terms of some of the attempts at some messages, in terms of general "ways to spend your time", I thought it was real good!

I look forward to watching it again and seeing how my thoughts will change :)

[frownyalfred]

Whether or not you like the grimness of the DCEU, I think a defining characteristic of that grimness is (was) their willingness to “go there” when it comes to the destruction of cities during super hero fights. Especially when you juxtapose Marvel and DC on this, even the newer “grittier” movies like Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts had a scary scene with falling rubble and crashing cranes. The characters had a bit of a montage where they were catching rubble and saving people. When the danger is gone, people file back out into the street and some even clap! There isn’t any blood or injured people at all.

BVS has Bruce saving a young child from the destruction, but it also showed a man lose both his legs getting pinned by some rubble. It showed the POV of an employee in a skyscraper as it began to crash down. Major 9/11 vibes, likely very much on purpose.

I’m not saying either is right or wrong, but it’s interesting to see the two takes, especially when both get labeled as “gritty.” BVS turned a lot of people off the realistic angle because it’s so depressing and hard to come back from. But something about every single person in downtown New York somehow escaping even the smallest of injuries feels not quite right either.

[the-aleator]

endeavour musings xxii

featuring: exeunt iv

1. Morse, the idealist, carries his tragic flaw to completion

Still here trying to make sense of this episode! I've been having a bit of success thinking about it as lying in the tragicomedy line -- one of the ideals that Morse clings too over the course of the show--his principle of love--is "If I found someone…..then all of this wouldn't matter at all," which he says to Trewlove in Icarus. (But he also say variations of it to Monica re Neverland -- he would give up work / country for a "we," and to Violetta, "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters" in Zenana).

And for Fred Thursday, who he loves so much, he does manage it: letting go of BV, letting go of Raymond Kennett. But I think, that seeing Thursday say he's given up all his principle for love, "He was nothing...Not mine," just like Rosamund Stromming (who gives up her music for her marriage! then kills for it), he sees how he's compromised his other principles for it ("Someone else's son,"), and it burns him. Both love and justice are ideals that he's failed. I do think, if you think about this way, it is actually a suicide shot (paralleling Stromming?) : both that it kills anything inside of him to love, and he can't live with the either / or. Which is why the "Tempest" as Meta monologue happens, then the Faure.

2. How does this square with Morse the idealist in book canon?

But I was reading your post (@too-antigonish) re the big reveal to Strange at the end of The Remorseful Day. link here And RL does mention somewhere writing with this scene in mind for the finale. One of the reasons I come down with the suicide angle is two bits from that section: the first is Strange describing about Morse "And he said exactly what I said to you a few minutes ago: nothing—nothing—that happened then had affected the inquiry in the slightest way." I think we can see the parallel here in the situation with Luisa Armstrong in Trove: her letter to Thursday wouldn't have affected the coroner in anyway / he doesn't summon Thursday to the crime scene. "And the other bit is "He [Morse] once told me [Strange] that the guiltiest he ever felt in his life was when a couple of the lads saw him flicking through a girlie magazine in the Summer-town newsagent’s." 3. It doesn't seem to fit. Morse is clearly upset / angry / guilty about what he's done just as much as what Thursday as done. And clearly did affect the inquiry, obviously.

AH! Obviously still really struggling with trying to make sense of this episode. I would love to hear what you think!

[always-is-always]

Insights come, through original content

It's definitely worth the time, to watch as much original content as possible. BIG note to self.

I've watched all four seasons of Bon Voyage, and just finished the four years of Summer Package. Lots of stuff that I have seen bits and pieces of before, in a lot of compilation videos and "analysis" videos. VERY interesting to see all of it within it's original context, in each show.

Yeah, there's a bit of Jikookery as people call it, in some of it. Most of it I had seen out of context, during my first couple of years in the fandom (when I didn't have any idea about anything). There are a few moments here and there that I haven't seen before which are primarily touches, and super subtle stuff.

The interesting thing is how people have taken so many of those moments out of context to support a story that they are presenting, in their compilations or "analysis". Yes, it can be said that other parts of the fandom have done the same thing, for the same purpose.

One of the moments from BV in Malta that everyone has seen comes to mind, here as I type. It is when they are all at a restaurant, and Jimin and Jungkook are seated across from each other. They reach out at the same time, to offer a bite of food to each other. That is a favorite clip that j-kookers love to use, to prove their theory. I mean, I do think it is cute and sweet, and I do believe that Jimin and Jungkook are together (in a closeted relationship), I just think that it's really a disservice when people leave out the other part of that scene. You know, when Jimin is then offering bites of his food to the other members, too. It wasn't just a Jimin and Jungkook thing, like is portrayed in many of the YT videos I have seen...

The other things I noted are how the editing was just so chopped up and discombobulated at times. Like When you see Jimin literally sitting down right next to Jungkook and then suddenly it is edited and next thing you see is Jimin on the opposite side of the group, not sitting where he had just sat down a second before. lol... Yeah, there's a TON of that crappy editing in all of the series and shows. I'm guessing that as they got into 2017, 2018, 2019 that they had to do a lot more editing as Jimin and Jungkook kinda started being more open with their antics. lol...

I kind of understand why people like to create those videos over on YT. There's thousands of them probably, and literally millions of viewers who like that type of thing. I was one who watched a bunch of it, as I mentioned before. It was before I understood what a lot of it was, and before I understood how much manipulation there was.

What's next on tap for me? I'm not sure. There's a ton of content still for me to make my way through. It has been enlightening to say the least. I do see the shift in the way that Jimin and Jungkook were from the early years into 2019, from what I have watched so far. There's so much there that clearly shows that they had particular types of experiences with each other, behind closed doors. I mean, anyone who has ever had a lover would see it in their energy(if you sense or see energy) and in the way that they would touch each other. It is as clear as the sun in the sky.

I can only imagine the complexities that the members had to navigate in their relationships with each other, their communication of how they felt to each other, and in working out HOW to have two members in a close intimate relationship within the group. Talk about a complicated situation. That puts it mildly. No wonder Namjoon had so many moments when they were in front of cameras, audiences, interviewing and such. No freakin' wonder.

Sorry for this long ramble..... I've just been thinking a lot about them and about what I have seen in these shows. Like I have mentioned, I hadn't seen much of the original stuff that was on Weverse, sold on DVD, or behind pay walls. I didn't actually understand what the heck "Summer Package" meant! lol... There's a TON of content that I have still to watch. This will be an ongoing thing for me, during these months while we wait for June 2025. There's probably going to be more rambles like this one, to come.... 😁💜

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 259 (Spoilers)

We start with a flashback to the blood junkies teaching Yuji how to use BM. As was already said in a previous flashback, Choso can't teach for shit but that's why Kamo is here. Yuji's one way of relating to the foundation of BM is a little infantile but when it works it works.

This 1-page flashback is there for only one thing: preparing us for Choso's upcoming death through sacrifice.

Sukuna collects BV like I did Yugioh cards. First a cooking pun, then a limit on furnace outside of his DE, then the inside of his DE was littered with explosive CE ambers, then a change of his barrier to keep his CT output high.

Uraume (not Sukuna! not the narrator!) declares this their victory while she hasn't even managed to defeat Hakari. The narrator does say though that this is Sukuna's ultimate move. Looking at its scale and immense destructive power, it's appropriate.

I made a post about other techniques that Sukuna probably has in his sleeve: CTR, the Maximum and the Hollow Technique. It could be that Sukuna's MT and HT could rival his Fire in destructiveness without contradicting the narrator: Sukuna is a villain who also grows while fighting just like the typical shonen protagonist. Sth like HT he might've just learned from Gojo making Yuji's continued fight against him hell.

The moment Yuji was in an enclosed and dark space with Choso above him I knew Choso was a goner. It's sad 😢 but we go back to that picnic table and those two have one last conversation with each other. They're at peace with the situation...

Important to note: Yuji normally infuses dream sequences into others unlike Sukuna who has a post-death talk with them. This is a post-death talk that Yuji now has with Choso, so I'm curious how that will get explained in the future. Is that part of the resonance that gets mentioned later?

Also important: with how everything with Choso and the picnic table is set up, I find it likely that Yuji will be here again right before dying (or when he dies). Other dead characters might greet him here.

The narrator tells us that after the dusts settles, Yuji's convictions get shaken. We get an appropriate 80% page close up of Sukuna from below, portraying him as the monstrous giant that he is.

What I don't really like here is that Yuji's feelings of despair don't get to sink in. Todo appears 1 panel after Yuji looks relatively all right. Maybe Gege didn't want to repeat Kugisaki's death aftermath as it wouldn't add much but a bit more emotions would've been better.

Anyway, Todo is here right when he was needed the most. A flashback tells us what the rational behind his late entrance and absence from Yuji's presence had been. Makes sense and now the Sukuna-Yuji(-Megumi?) resonance will be an important plot point later.

Does that resonance go both ways? Three ways? Was that how Yuji had entered the inner domain where Megumi is imprisoned right now?

Also, who else is going to show up now? This feels like the perfect setup for Nobara to make her comeback. The same points for keeping Todo's presence and assistance hidden apply to her and this scene directly calls back her death scene as well.

The "most likely fine" is also funny but it also sets up that Ino, Maki and Miwa(?) might've gotten injuries that cross them out of the fight. I think that only Maki will return.

Now the original Brothers™ are back to fighting together again (would've loved Choso and Todo to argue about that though). Sukuna of course knows everything about their fighting style and he looks like a menace again. (Maybe next chapter will open with another flashback of Choso and Todo fighting over Yuji)

Sukuna's arms are open and he smiles without any worries. While Uraume might be shocked that this isn't their victory and that Sukuna's most devastating attack only killed one person, Sukuna himself is all sunshine and rainbows.