#but the live action actor did so damn well imo

[anime-moreanime-animeagain]

Made the mistake of binging the Kdrama Weak Hero Class 1. What kind of ending was that? Seriously what am I supposed to do with that? Is there hope or not? I need to know if it’ll be okay eventually, or if like the song said ‘this is the last goodbye’.

So of course I find the manhwa. Imagine my surprise to see its looking like the show was a prequel. Yet certain people are missing from the first few chapters and that doesn’t bode well. I have a feeling the show was completely separate and I will never get answers. And yet I’m probably going to binge this entire webtoon anyway and be looking half dead like Si Eun tomorrow.

Seriously he looks like he never sleeps. Ya boy is not okay y’all. Send help!

[simping-on-the-daily]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1-wBx_Nymc/?igsh=dms3bGFlejBpeHk=

Damn, why does the live version of “Poison” sound so much better than the original? Maybe bc it’s stripped down to focus more on the vocals rather than generic pop music? Also I think Blake sounds better when he’s just singing as himself and not trying to sound like Michael’s version of Angel. I get why that doesn’t work in terms of voice acting since he needs to sound like the character he’s playing in the show, but this version of the song still is much better to listen to imo.

I think one of the stuff with getting a new voice actor is putting your own spin on your character. Doing your own little thing can help bring a character to life while also respecting the previous VA. I think they just asked Blake to soundly like Kovach, I think his name is??? But Blake isn't Kovach, he's Blake and he's gonna sound different and because he's trying do hard to be Kovach if sounds really weird, I think. You need to respect your VA's while allowing them to do their thing if you think it's good for the character. Like how Brad Douriff and Jennifer Tilly were in the same room when they did the lines for Bride of Chucky, allowing them to improv off each other and creating a great performance from both

Some actors are good at animation, some actors are good for love action, and some are good for theatre, and you need to choose actors who can do well at that medium you're trying to do. In MLP, some actors had voices for when they talked and seperate actors for when then win. Fuck, didn't Charlie have a singing and speaking voice in the pilot??? I fail to understand why they couldn't have just made Blake Angel's singing voice and Kovach the speaking VA. But apparently Viv wanted her Broadway dream, so we're stuck with it.

On the live, yay he didn't sing the fucking 'yeah yeah yeah's'! And the piano makes it sound more somber and personal rather then the typical radio pop it was as the soundtrack!! Could imagine him singing it to himself and Fat Nuggets,, Yeah I agree with you anon this one feels better

On another note is Fat Nuggets still in the show or did they just fucking nuke him?? Is the emotional support pig still present

[rahxe-things]

One Piece (Live Action)

No spoilers

Listen, I didn't have high hopes for this, but to sum up all 8 episodes in an easy little sentence; it was pretty damn good.

Granted there were a number of creative liberties taken to make the Romance Dawn arc fit and flow more fluidly into these 1hr long 8 episodes, but I feel like they didn't take away from it at all.

But I really want to talk about the casting. Cause they did fucking fabulous! Because never would I think I'd say that my favourite casting would be for Buggy the Clown. The man is probably the best actor in the whole show. A close second imo would be Shanks, and it's not just because these actors are spitting images of their characters, but they captured and carried their characters so well, that during their scenes I almost forgot they were based off anime characters.

As for character resemblances; I'm limiting the list to characters that are relevant to the series as a whole.

Shanks looks exactly like I always imagined IRL Shanks would look like. As a huge fan of Shank's character, I'm really glad they found someone who pulled it off.

I'm convinced they just pulled Mihawk right out of the manga/anime. I don't think they could have found someone who looks more like him AND play his character as well as he did. He didn't have many scenes, but it was enough to leave an impression.

Koby. I bet you didn't expect him to make the list. But when he's first shown on screen, he is so unmistakably Koby. The timid, uncertain kid who wants to be a Marine was castled perfectly imo.

Alvida! Another one I bet you think wouldn't have been mentioned. But here she is. But not because she's an accurate representation, but because I think they made the correct choice of casting. In the anime/manga, Alvida is known as the most beautiful in the East Blue but is actually drawn quite ugly. We are supposed to assume that her reputation comes from her brutally forcing people to spread the rumour, but this Live Adaptation allows the reputation to spread from something concrete, hiding her secret brutality. Because omg that woman is gorgeous! <3

Zoro: I think he was going to be difficult to cast, but the actor they chose makes for a fantastic Zoro. I think my only real grief about his casting is that the actor just doesn't have that gruff tone of voice that Zoro's voice actor has for the anime. His combat choreography more than makes up for it though. I'd have to say, he has the best choreography out of everyone. (I don't know if this was because of the directing, or the actor himself, but I loved it.)

Continuing with the fight scenes choreography...

First of all, most of it is (predictably) cheesy. Anime fight scenes are notoriously difficult to adapt to live action. THAT BEING SAID, I think they did really well. There are moments where movements are really strange, but they're actually far and few between, and typically only show up where someone does one of those in-human jumps or really long leaps from across a room. And Luffy's stretchiness. Granted I'm sure they did what they could, but I still feel like they did better in the Fantastic Four movies from the early 2000s.

The Snails

Sweet Baby Jesus, those things are going to be in my nightmares. That is all.

All in all, even if it's not a perfect adaptation of the Romance Dawn arc, I still think over all it was done splendidly. As I said before, I didn't have high hopes for an anime to live action show, but I finished off the episodes overwhelmingly positive. (Bonus point for someone finally deciding on a TV show instead of a movie.) I do feel like they could have planned for a 12 episode season (much like anime), if they paced a bit differently by incorporating some minor interactions that ultimately didn't make it in, but I'm still definitely looking forward to the possibility of a season 2... and 3, and 4, and so on. Especially if they get the funding to improve of the fighting choreography and CGI. There's so many characters that I want to see make it into the live action universe, that I'm genuinely hoping for this show's success. Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but did I see Cavendish on the wanted poster wall? I though he didn't start pirating until after Loguetown...?

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Retrospective Review: Dalton and Brosnan Bond Era

So finally I am at the era of Bond films that I know a bit more of. I had not seen The Living Daylights or License to Kill in their entirety before, but I had seen all 4 Brosnan movies. He was the Bond I knew first before I saw Casino Royale. But I was looking forward to seeing Dalton's Bond movies because I had heard they were more serious and grounded.

For me, the both the Dalton films are really solid Bond movies. They are a refreshing break from what the Roger Moore had become towards the end. Not to mention, Dalton actually looks like he's in the type of shape and age to be a secret agent, running from country to country. The Living Daylights is good. There is immediately a more grounded story of espionage. But the better Dalton movie imo is License to Kill. Which is the revenge movie that we never got after Tracy Bond's death. License to Kill is really good. There is less romantic entanglement because Bond is more focused on what he wants to accomplish. And there is a slightly unhinged edge to him. Plus, you can tell that the movie is going into some darker stuff compared to previous Bond movies.

When it comes to the Brosnan era, I have a bit of a bias since he was the first Bond I ever saw. I genuinely like 3 out of the 4 Brosnan movies. GoldenEye is arguably one of my favorite Bond movies. It is fast paced, it has a good villain, it moves away from the stereotypical cold war era Bond plot, the Bond girls are good, and the action is splendid. Its the best of the Brosnan era. Given its made by Martin Cambell who also made Casino Royale, it doesn't surprise me. I know people aren't necessarily big fans of Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, but I like both. Tomorrow Never Dies is really fast paced. There are some really solid action sequences, including a big bike chase which is quite fun. I actually liked the news mogul as villain idea. Its maybe more relevant now with the idea of 'fake news'. The World is Not Enough is more classical Bond. Its a more personal plot because M and Bond are more intricately involved with some of the players. Bond also has more of edge and is harsher in this movie which is actually pretty cool to watch. There is also a really disturbing element with the relationship between Renard and Elektra King which is also interesting. Die Another Day is unbelievably dumb for sure. To be fair, its fun in a dumb way but it goes into full blown science fiction with the whole idea of DNA being changed and a Korean man becoming a white british guy. Then there is the whole beam of sun villain plot. It is incredibly cartoonish. Its also the most effects heavy of the Bond movies and the effects have not aged well at all. The Brosnan era is one full of really cringey double entendres from Bond. In every movie, there are at least 4-5 and everyone of them is just so cringeworthy now but it seems that the writers were so proud of themselves when they wrote those lines.

The Bond girls across all these eras were a mixed bag to be sure. Kara Milovy, the Cellist from The Living Daylights is a bit on the dimmer side for sure. But there is some humor there because you see Dalton's Bond get really frustrated with her at times. Pam Bouvier is a pretty good Bond Girl because she is actually quite important to the story and plays an active role in rescuing Bond. Lupe is also not bad. In the Brosnan era, Natalya was pretty good. The romance between her and Bond wasn't really necessary and could have been taken out, but she is at least a competent person who is not dependent on Bond doing everything. We also get maybe the hottest side villain of all time in Famke Janssen's Xenia Onnatopp. I loved how sexually charged and batshit crazy she was. I had a crush on Teri Hatcher in the 90's when she was Lois so I always love seeing her even though she's there just to be killed off in TND. Michelle Yeoh was a badass even then. So she was cool. TWINE has the first Bond girl who is the main villain. I loved Sophie Marceu in that role of Elektra King because you are not sure how much to feel sorry for her in how her mind was warped by her trauma and how much to be a bit disgusted by her. Denise Richards on the other hand is perhaps the most hilarious piece of miscastings in a movie that I have seen. She is so completely wrong for the role that its almost entertaining to watch how bad she is. I would love to hear the casting director try and justify her casting for the role in any way other than to say that she is hot. Rosamund Pike and Halley Berry are probably the biggest names out of all the Bond girls. They have done much bigger and better things since but in Die Another Day, they are basically just there to fight each other and be bedded by Bond.

The villains are similarly a mixed bag. In The Living Daylights, the villains are nothing much to speak of. License to Kill has some good villains because Sanchez has some menace to him as does a young Benicio Del Toro as Dario. I think Sean Bean is one of the best Bond villains. Jonathan Pryce seemed to be having a ball in Tomorrow Never Dies. And I already mentioned that Marceu was damn good as Elektra. Renard is more the physical villain in TWINE but he feels more like a henchman for Elektra by the end. Gustav Graves is just completely ridiculous an a villain that just can't be taken seriously. He also wears a power rangers looking suit by the end of the movie which doesn't help.

One of the big plusses of the Brosnan era is the inspired casting of Judi Dench as M. She was so good that they kept her in the rebooted Craig era, despite a possibility of confusing the audience. M in the past was just a figure who gave Bond the mission and occasionally told him off. Judi Dench brings a personality and a weight to the character. She has a combative relationship with Bond but you still see that they share mutual respect, especially when you see where she admits that he's the best agent she has in TWINE. After the Roger Moore era, there was a refreshing in some cast such as Moneypenny which changed to Caroline Bliss under Dalton, and then to Samantha Bond under Brosnan. We also got the introduction to John Cleese as the new Q in the last two Brosnan films, taking over from Desmond Llewelyn. Robbie Coltraine has an entertaining supporting role in GoldenEye and TWINE. The Dalton era also saw the last use of Felix Leiter until the Craig era.

When it comes to the Bonds themselves, I think Dalton is extremely underrated. I think he is a precursor in spirit to Craig's Bond. I love the darker edge to his Bond. He gets angry and frustrated. It humanizes his Bond so we see he's not a superhero. He doesn't have the suaveness and charisma of a Moore or Connery but he has the physicality for it. He sells the action scenes far more than Moore did. He is really good in License to Kill which played to Dalton's strengths as an actor. Brosnan's portrayal split the difference between Moore and Dalton. He feels very much like a mixture of the two. He has the suaveness and charm to feel like the womanizing Bond, but he also brings out moments of anger and harshness. Even in the goofiness of Die Another Day, you always feel that Brosnan is giving it his all. I really like him particularly in GoldenEye and TWINE. I do feel both Dalton and Brosnan are underrated as Bond because they were both very good.

Anyways, now only the 4 Craig films, coupled wit No Time to Die. Not sure if I should do a restrospective on the 4 Craig Bond films and then do a separate one for No Time to Die or just include them all together to do a Craig era review since those films are so interlinked.

[eohachu]

Post pictures of your first ever (fictional/celeb) crush to the latest one and tag five others to continue the game.

Ali tagged me, thanks. I guess 😘 @lanzhansmiles​

A’ight so I’m simply taking this as an opportunity to show off my frankly impeccable taste 😌 *coughs into the crook of my elbow with my mask on and from a safe distance* More under the cut, godspeed!

I’m tagging uhh I really don’t want to expose anyone but uh. @morifinwes​ @ttaechwita​ @sunshine304​ @treemaidengeek​ @flamingwell​ no pressure tho!!

Since 2006

Janina Fautz: Die Wilden Kerle, anyone?? Tbh i had a crush on quite a lot of the characters/actors but in hindsight Janina was and is the most influential one. Also probably my first ever girl crush (again, in hindsight bc it took me until 3 years ago to finally find out i’m queer lol)

Eva-Maria May: Yeah well I’m not gonna talk about where I know her from let’s say it was an incredibly bad soap opera my mom used to watch. She was one of the reasons why I went Yeah I Have Always Been Into Girls. I was pretty obsessed with her to the point where mini me secretly printed out a photo of her to look at lmaooo the signs have always been there and it’s truly amazing how I had been missing them for years

Amy Adams: Her as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum was also definitely a huge Thing to young me. Again, I had been completely oblivious about this crush for years

David Luiz: HAH! This is the point where we do NOT get into my football/soccer crushes bc this list would get WAYYY too long hahaha. I had to cut loads of people from my list for this post bc I develop a new celebrity crush every 5 minutes basically but yeah. David Luiz was definitely my biggest football/soccer crush out of..... everyone else

M*rvel

I don’t have a lot to say about any of them since I’m not into m*rvel anymore TFATWS makes me want to stick the tip of my toe back into m*rvel waters but otherwise NO THANKS

Sebastian Stan was, if my judgement of my archive is right, the longest highkey celebrity crush I’ve ever had. Mostly because I love Bucky a lot and he was so amazing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I must’ve had a crush on him for as long as I had been in the m*rvel fandom

Recent Past

some celeb crushes from last year that were all more or less short-lived tbh

Ester Expósito: As it often goes I didn’t find her spectacular in the beginning but as Élite went on I started to develop a huge crush on her. I still find her pretty hot but I’m not invested in Élite so yeah..... I have no object permanence

Mina El Hammani: Got to know her through Élite, too. She’s so incredibly beautiful. Had a hard time choosing a photo of her bc I’d stare at every single one for ages. Wow.

Danger Days!Gerard Way: Hah! The ones of you who’ve been following me for longer might remember my posts about wanting to dye my hair neon red. Well, him’s the reason and also clinical depression. Ended up with natural red/ginger bc my hair is too thin for bleaching lel. ANYWAY

Maxence Danet Fauvel: Pretty short-lived crush from my Skam days

Ramy Moharam Fouad: So Ramy has a brother, Tamino-Amir Moharam Fouad, who makes INCREDIBLE music. Ramy made some of his music videos (directed them? not sure), that’s how he came to my attention. Idk man he’s just so incredibly beautiful.... gives me a hint of genvy, too......

Janelle Monáe: Became a fan when Make Me Feel came out, listened to the entire album for days and eventually inevitably crushed on her

Lera Abova: Saw her in ANИА and fell in love. I screamed to my friends for weeks about how she was the most beautiful human being I’d ever seen etc etc. Eventually my crush went away mostly, but I still think she’s stunning

Keiynan Lonsdale: Keiynan said FUCK gender and I said 😍😍😍 and that’s all you need to know.

Current

*deep breath* alright let’s gooo

Bright (Wachirawit Chivaaree): Crushed on him for as long as I watched 2gether/Still 2gether lmao. I still like him a lot and sometimes lose my mind over him but I’m not exceptionally Thirsty™

Tul (Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai) and Max (Nattapol Diloknawarit): If you search either of them on tumblr you will have to scroll for a long, long time to find seperate photos of them. However, I’m not patient enough so here we are. Re: Tul, actually I want to copy/paste what Ali said bc DAMN a man who is confident about his masculinity and sexuality really is kinda hot. Same goes for Max tbh. Also Max’ lips look so soft I [redacted]

Lukas von Horbatschewsky: Also known as Lukas Alexander. He did an amazing job in Druck and he’s just a person I admire in general. As one of the few out trans actors in Germany, he had a main role as a trans boy in Druck and also co-wrote Druck’s seasons 5 and 6. He’s just a huge role model to me and, apart from that, Big Crush Material (h i s  e y e s)

Li Wei: Someone suggested him as Hua Cheng for the TGCF live action and my life hasn’t been the same since. While I’m open for whoever will get that role in the end, I could look at his face for hours and not get bored. Major Genvy, too.

Li BoWen and Liu HaiKuan: I will have to deal with these two in one paragraph bc LanLan bc they have the exact same effect on me which is. that they’re not 100% my type but I WILL go absolutely feral about them at regular intervals, if you know what I mean

Song JiYang: ohh honey. oh honey.......... hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have a natural affinity for aquarius ppl and this one lives in my heart rent free. I’d even make him soup if he’d ask.

Wang YiBo: WELL HOLY SHIT. listen. LISTEN! the hype around him is 100% justified imo he really is That Bitch and I love him so so much for it. Fucking ICON

Honorary Mentions: Gender Envy

Here’s to the People I Thought I Had A Crush On But Not Quite until I learned the word Gender Envy:

Zhu YiLong: Man, this is the person who’s mainly responsible for me finding out AT ALL about not being entirely cis. The POWER he holds!!! His performance as Ye Zun in Guardian was like a breakthrough point for me which. certain people witnessed in real time hahaha oh I love this fandom!!

Zhu ZanJin: HIM. AAAH!! He’s literally so beautiful and whenever I see him I just go ZANZAN!! in my head and in the tags bc. well. hIM.

Xiao Zhan With Long Hair: Look, Xiao Zhan is always amazing but BLESS the person who made these manips. I can finally rest.

Wang YiBo: uhh what’s he doing here again?? Tbh YiBo is one of the few, if not the only person that gives me Major Gender Envy that I would also [redacted] if they asked. Do I want to be him or be with him? The answer is Yes.

I skipped the fictional characters bc I tend not to crush on them 👉👈 Instead I will just directly crush on the actors/actresses lol!

Thank you for bearing with me. As a prize, you can choose between a ladder supported forehead kiss, or a bowl of homemade soup. ❤

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

Welcome back folks. Read the innocence dying inside me as I accept that this show eats my expectations for lunch and leaves me like it's going to buy milk.

As a side note from what I said in my first review, here’s an interesting article. Apparently I was clowning because the Gobi desert scene was filmed (probably? idk) with the tech from the Mandalorian. I think the studios were the same. Oh well. https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2021/06/loki-filming-locations.html

Episode 4: THE NEXUS EVENT

Pre-title scene

The new perspective of Asgard is incredible.

Oh baby Sylvie, what did they do to you. Also, RAVONNA??

The TVA through a child’s eyes is heartbreaking. The mixed use of shots that were familiar (the feet walking into the TVA) and new (the TVA logo on the floor) convey how though routine, this is an alien experience for Sylvie.

She too wants to help the man being dragged in. Maybe Sylvie was a better person than Loki, the TVA taking her away was what changed it.

We don’t see Casey, but iIt’s the same ‘sign here’ guy. The changing perspective and music really alters the mood created, contrasting the whimsical procedure we followed in episode one.

She hadn’t even said much in her life. They knew how to influence the audience’s emotions, that's for sure. Props to the actress, I felt genuine concern for her before I remembered that she’s acting.

TVA

Ravonna probably underestimated Sylvie as a Loki, a mistake that cost her greatly.

The golden doors.

Ravonna looks tense and a bit fearful.

Scattered throughout the episode are eyes watching. George Orwell’s 1984, anyone?

Big Brother is watching.

Mobius! He’s a good friend to Ravonna, but there’s a power imbalance.

Ravonna is shaken. Her past failure is haunting her.

Someone edit the “What? How?” into “Wow.” It’ll be a service.

Lamentis - 1

Loki’s apology and Sylvie reflecting on her childhood are the conclusion to the previous episode. Faced with death, Loki realises that her goals were hindered by his actions. His apology is the first time he acknowledges he had something to do with it. Sylvie’s offering her emotional vulnerability in the form of memories. Her mind and experiences are her most prized possession because they’re all she has of the person who she was as Loki, her childhood and what she was supposed to be. Her glorious purpose, what really makes a Loki a ‘Loki’ was her life.

THEY TRUST EACH OTHER. THIS WAS WHAT CAUSED THE NEXUS EVENT.

C H A R A C T E R D E V E L O P M E N T.

Ravonna pointed out that Loki will always be a “lying scourge” but they went against this. In any timeline, this could cause a nexus event. They found a middle ground.

“That should be setting off alarms if someone steps on the wrong leaf.” I had a whole idea about entropy and the timeline being an isolated system but I struggled to define an isolated system, and thus I couldn’t use the whole irreversible process causing entropy to grow causing a br- if you have a clue of what I’m going on about, or want to know more, I’ll explain my thoughts. I can understand why this isn’t scientifically accurate and I’m no physicist.

The unbranched timeline means all the things that were speculated - Wanda’s kids, what happened on Saakar, all of it - is gone.

“Any news on C - 20?”I called it! B-15 is having doubts! Her subtle unease building up throughout the ep is perfect!

Most settlements have a street design that can be from space. Sharru doesn’t.

“No. We may lose... ...you’re amazing!” Damn it literally took the end of a world for Loki to change as a person.

“Their smiles. If that isn’t people accepting their deaths I don’t know what is. Man, I just want both of them to be happy.

Please don’t let that be the love theme, it’s so pretty.

The music fading into the TVA theme as they get separated is so sad.

Time Theater 25

Back to square one in terms of trust with these two, but now they have history and hurt feelings too!

Oh Mobius.

Cycles are a part of who Loki is within Norse mythology (from what I know, correct me if I’m wrong). This scene is conflict.

Loki needs both Mobius and Sylvie to incite change. One can empathise whilst the other believes in him.

Mobius believes in Loki like no one else in the TVA. He treats him like an individual, they developed a bond in episode 2, so his disappointment and anger were genuine. This is reflected in their dialogue.

Even when Loki was going through all the Feels in ep 1, he didn’t shout at Mobius. It makes it more heartbreaking when Mobius laughs and dismisses him after the “TVA is lying to you” thing. His laugh was so bitter, it’s like his belief that Loki would be the variant to prove that variants were individuals had been shattered. What Mobius doesn’t realise is that Loki was genuinely trying to warn him. The trust between them was fragile but Mobius needed to come to his own conclusions before he could see that Loki had broken out of the mold the Time Keepers set for him.

“Just kind of an asshole and a bad friend.” Y’all, Mobius doesn’t rise to Loki’s baits. He’s so hurt.

I can’t be the only one that thought Loki was going to be brainwashed when they saw the red door. Turns out it’s just a time cell.

I love Mobius but he makes me feel so conflicted. Oh shit, he’s my problematic fave.

Watching Loki get his ass handed to him by Lady Sif shouldn’t be this funny.

This particular memory reflects what Mobius will talk about later, Loki being abandon by the people around him.

Putting Loki through a memory that was physically and emotionally painful was nasty. If you hear something horrible, over and over especially from a friend it would take a toll on your self-perception. Mobius was hurt by Loki leaving him, he’s getting revenge whilst doing his job and getting into Loki’s head.

Ravonna’s office

Ravonna has hang ups from failing with Sylvie. Who she is and what she knows is going to be interesting.

Heck I just realised are Mobius’ lapels not real? They look fake.

I wonder whether the “mastermind” thing was foreshadowing the next ep.

Am I the only one who thinks this isn’t the first Loki Mobius has dealt with? Could that mean there’s a reunion next ep?!

“Variant pet.” There’s a culture of dehumanising variants within the TVA.

The cuts showing both B-15 and Mobius’ faces reminds me of ep 1, but now there’s a new angle to things. B-15 certainly sees things differently.

Time Theatre 25

Lady Sif would kill with short hair. Or long hair. It’s Lady Sif, she’s a badass.

Loki’s exhale reminds me of how he tenses before a fight.

Notable things about this scene:

Heavy use of metaphors to trade jabs.

The lights are shifting in a consistent pattern, scanning the room almost.

Shots are constantly moving and cutting.

Loki’s speech pattern changes when he’s lying. Nice touch there.

When they start arguing in earnest, the shots are close ups of their faces, not circling around each other.

Loki was at first willing to talk to Mobius if he was treated with respect, the way they engaged in episode 2. He also wants to trust that Mobius won’t kill him. Mobius dismisses him (rightly so, his trust is gone) and Loki’s pride about ‘not working for anyone’ gets in the way rather than listening to each other. Loki’s behaviour is cyclic and his lying about Sylvie affirms Mobius’s understanding that Loki won’t (or maybe can’t) change. I wouldn’t be too surprised if Mobius is a Loki, the man’s uncannily good at reading him. He deduces that Loki and Sylvie have a bond and unsettles Loki to get answers out of him, because he knows that’s the only way he can force Loki to reveal his cards. He definitely wasn’t expecting Loki’s earlier admission to be the truth. What Mobius did was not right, but it sure was effective.

“No. Not partners.” I believe this. They had an understanding, but their goals differ. Maybe just give Sylvie her own show.

“Guess you don’t do partners.” MOBIUS WHY ARE YOU SO BUTT-HURT? Probably to make Loki feel bad ik, but it’s still funny to think Lightning McQueen is salty.

That memory really hurt Loki. He stuttered.

Loki fixates on Sylvie rather than his own freedom. This was the cue to Mobius to start interrogating.

Bruh, the feeling they were experiencing better be friendship.

This made me uncomfortable because I was so sure we weren’t gonna get a romantic subplot that I related the characters to my actual family relationships. Marvel. Why?

The music combined with Mobius’ subtle shift in demeanor from irritated to mockery was very unsettling to me. I never realised how good an actor Owen Wilson was.

“Our interests are aligned.” Once Mobius tells him the truth, Loki does the same. I really hope this is the extent of their relationship. Just let them recognise one another as equals. Please Marvel.

Mobius’ hands twitching, the slight swallow. Yeesh, he certainly doesn’t think Loki’s lying, but he’s not about to accept it.

Loki’s head shake is sad. He knows he can’t convince Mobius.

“That I can respect. I mean the lies you tell yourself.” This was the best writing imo. Loki doesn’t make any final attempts to connive his way out of the situation because telling the truth to someone he’d trusted had failed. He willingly walks into the Time Cell.

Time Theater 47

B-15 being unable to support herself, having to rely on the structures around her to stay upright. This woman deserves so much y’all.

WE NEED HER NAME MARVEL.

You better appreciate her beyond shipping her with Sylvie or istg.

The music is so mournful. It just emphasises how much everything changing is going to hurt not only the main characters. Lives change because of the TVA and the events of this episode, it’s not overlooked by the writing or music.

The poster and the 1984 parallels. Exquisite!

Sylvie not sitting straight made me snort.

Ravonna Renslayer’s office

More Theremin music! This time I’m pretty sure it’s Carnival of the Animals, XIII. Le Cygne (the Swan) : Le carnaval des animaux: No. 12, Le cygne (arr. For theremin and piano) by Clara Rockmore.

Fun fact! Clara Rockmore influenced theremin music and the instrument and was a virtuoso of the instrument. Give her a google, it’s worth it. Also look up Leon Theremin, he was (among other things) a Soviet spy. There’s a great Wiki spiral for anyone there.

Mobius was probably being lined up for a high position in the TVA. Damn.

TemPads are personal, or have different levels of clearance.

Mobius didn’t stop interrogating Ravonna throughout that scene. He knew that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

Sleight of hand wasn’t shown how Loki and Sylvie do it, they didn’t use misdirection.

Ravonna knows something is up with Mobius. Maybe he hasn’t been around for long if this is his ‘career case’.

The pacing becomes really fast like in the end of episode 2 as conflicts get resolved. Buckle up comrades.

2050 Roxxcart Disaster

I don’t have much to add, it’s a powerful scene.

They use close ups whenever a truth bombshell is dropped.

The music varies considerably between these scenes, each one has a different tone.

“We’re the same.” With what she knows of B-15, Sylvie knew not to be smug when delivering the news about B-15’s life.

B-15 crying in the rain hurts.

“I looked happy.”

TVA archives, Time Cell, Time Theater 25

The floor opposite Mobius is FE3, above it is 3FG.

Oh Mobius.

C-20 deserved better, I'd love to see her later in the series.

The music goes from mournful to harsh and we’re left in silence when it cuts to the Time Cell.

“You told me to shut up.” Loki can be salty sometimes.

“Do you really think you deserve to be alone?” Mobius is rattled, he wants to unsettle Loki.

The music starts to build somewhere between “...your connection... “ and Loki saying “‘WE?’”

The faint tinkling reminds me of the Avatar (blue people) score.

“How about the word of a friend?” This is Loki’s olive branch. When he admits Loki was right, their trust is tentatively reinstated.

The music is finally back to that chaotic theme we know. I think it’s the TVA’s theme.

“You can be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. I mean just in case anyone ever told you different.” Mobius corrects what he says in the first ep.

They are friends y’all I’m so sad.

Mobius can lie through his teeth like it’s nobody’s business.

Pruning hurts, Mobius’ face is in agony.

Loki’s tears. GIVE THEM ALL JETSKIS.

Ravonna takes a moment to compose herself.

Time Keepers (the final smackdown)

Why are the last 10 minutes always so insane?

Loki’s eyes only show hurt. I’ll leave.

Ravonna’s so sharp, she instantly catches Sylvie’s wet hair.

All of our expectations from the trailers always get yeeted out of a window because the scenes are never really what we think they are. I get that that should be expected but it’s refreshing that the writing is never what we think it is.

Did anyone else notice the egg timer/infinity sign murals on one of the hallways to the left of Sylvie?

Ravonna is so cold (and yet I’d simp for her).

The M.C. Escher staircases I see you set designers/CGI folks.

B-15 just gets knocked out. They better not kill her for no reason or I riot.

I’m pretty sure that Sylvie ripped off one of Ravonna’s TVA badges (or buttons) when she fought her.

Sylvie’s the better fighter, she’s had to use it more often though.

The elevator doors stay open.

It would be so funny if we get an elevator scene where Sylvie is just dragging Ravonna somewhere.

They really led us on with the Time Keepers, particularly the middle one. I was somewhat convinced there’d be something more to it. I’m interested to see where it goes.

Ep 4 review

I really don’t have much to add with these last two episodes. I’ve definitely come to appreciate that no matter whether you liked the writing of the show or not, it’s never what you expect. Is that a good thing? I guess that that remains to be seen. Nonetheless, I appreciate how much effort went into this series. It’s been a fun romp, I’ll be back with my reviews of the final episodes. I’ll also stop posting Loki content to my blog because the Gods know that my followers don’t read this lol.

I’m just going to survive until the season is over and then hopefully keep my sanity together until the next Marvel content or at least Dr. Strange.

Here's the link to my episode 3 review.

Thank you all for being here, you're wonderful my loves.

[thixms]

opinions on each adaptation

i've just finished the mdzs donghua adaptation. which means, i've went thru all adaptations except the audio drama. this means, i'm gonna write down all my opinions in this post even though no one cares and asked for.

manhua: honestly, 10/10. like they follow up the novel sooo damn close. and i love it. they said fuck censorship. literally. the whole accidentally leaking the kiss scene just made me stan them and put them on the first place of all the adaptations. ofc, the audio drama follows it 1:1 but for me.. not understanding any chinese, it would just be reading the novel all over again by reading the subtitles so i'm just like.. kind of too lazy for it. (i'm sorry y'all can attack me) just the for chibi characters i'd already rate it 100/10. don't argue with me i love them. ofc it's not yet that far into the plot. well, for me at least, as someone who reads the translated version. i think it's more lighthearted up until now and i guess it's because of the chibi characters. some won't like it. but i love it. i'm eager to get to know how they portrayed wwx!ylz. or in general the whole past story arc cus there, it's not that lighthearted anymore.

drama: i might be biased. and i know many novel fans don't like ppl like me. but i started the whole getting into mdzs with the drama. and it- it just left a mark on me. i love it with my whole heart and i also really like the actors. there r lots of controversies around this adaptation. but from my perspective, i did read the novel, it's done really damn well. how they handled the censorship was amazing imo. and i think many don't get that there's a specific character type for the hero/protagonist bcs of the censorship, so ofc, wwx isn't morally gray. and yes, that's kind of the whole point of the novel. and ppl r like: why even do the adaptations then. but i think the characters are amazing enough that they deserve the adaptations. all of them. the drama followed the novel the closest it could. and yes there are some changes. but imo it's to fit the medium. the medium is a live action drama. i could go on about it but maybe imma rant about it on another post. but yes. the drama imo did the best they could. many say xz wasn't a good wwx. well, okay i could understand it if the novel was my first impression and not the drama. there is some kind of lack on the 'the terrifying wwx!ylz part. but imo you could see that it was him (the yiling patriarch) maybe not as terrifying but other than that, he was a good choice. all of the actors were good choices. oh wait- except maybe wen xu. they made him too hot. way too hot. for no reason. and then killed him of way too soon. one of the changes i really like was that, wangxian didn't hate it e/o for too long? or more like not at all. they had a whole mission together to get closer to e/o and u got all these interactions of them and ah- i just loved it. the whole show was on the brink of the censorship. and i loved it. you can clearly tell they slowly loved/ cared (for) e/o more and more as the time went on. and it just makes more sense for why lwj cared sm for wwx and how the whole 'wei wuxian!' - 'lan wangji!' scene hurt way more bcs of all the backstory. if they didn't show it like that... would many have guessed that lwj cared for (or had a crush on) wwx? i mean, i definitely wouldn't. yes i would be as oblivious as wwx. and the whole confession scene, the phoenix mountain kiss and them actually ending up together doesn't happen. so there wouldn't be many or even no real scenes where they were really close w/ e/o.

donghua: i liked it. but not as much as the other ones. and i think it's because of the lack of wangxian. they followed up the whole past plot of them and didn't change which, like i mentioned before, results in no real 'good'/happy wangxian interactions. it's still going on so we will get more but up until now, there's not much. the latest episodes in season 2 did do some justice doe. we will see what will happen. but imo it's the most censored one. it lacks in this part (the part of not much wangxian) but excels in others. that's how it always is ofc. but they did do some real good changes in the season 2. especially the one in the last episode. lemme tell ya, i bawled my eyes out when bby!lwj gave bby!wwx the toy. (why's there no fic about that one doe??? dude!) and also where you could see bby jin ling interacting with wwx. i also cried there. ah i loved it. all the characters are real badass in there. fuck, especially wwx!ylz... he's just so hot in this version. the scene where he came back after 3 months and killed wen chao. i lost it. literally. he could spit on me, step on me and throw me of a cliff and i would thank him wholeheartedly. some changes were probably made for even more intense action scenes. they do look real nice on screen. but some changes just threw me off. while the drama only expanded on the yin iron plot, some dialogue changes and some real real minor one's, they still followed up the novel real close on how things were revealed and how characters got to get to know stuff. like some things just get revealed way before in the timeline of the dongua than it is in the novel/drama. or they just added stuff that i'm like- was it necessary? (no offence ofc) and i think, after watching cql 2 times, reading the novel, and several fanfics, i know how, when and what happens after each other way too well, so all those changes threw me off. ofc, they're not bad. i kind of appreciated that they did their own twists to keep it interesting. still.. it's not my favorite adaptation (not many will probaly agree) but i really appreciate it and can't wait for the third season.

[hamliet]

The Untamed is Damn Good

MDZS’s Live Action review!

My hopes for live action adaptations of my favorite stories are exceedingly low. That’s actually putting it mildly. However, for the most part, The Untamed has amazed me with just how damn good it is as an adaptation.

The acting is phenomenal. Wei WuXian’s actor perfectly embodies the character and his emotions to the point where he basically is WWX at this point to me (meaning, I can’t see anybody else as Wei WuXian). Jin GuangYao’s actor is perfectly sympathetic as our sneaky boy, Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi’s actors give a ton of depth to every single one of their scenes, and Xue Yang’s actor absolutely steals every scene he’s in. Lan WangJi’s actor, though, deserves an extra special shout-out for his portrayal of Lan WangJi, an extremely emotional character who shows very minimal emotions and often none at all. I’m not the first to say this, but the actor is truly stunning in how well he portrays the character. Every twitch in his face, every look in his eyes, reflects some important part of the character and what he’s feeling in a particular scene, but is so understated that you don’t blame the others characters for missing it. Get the dude an award. 

Like I said, it’s an adaptation, so there are some changes from the novel, many of which I think are great additions for the particular medium in which it’s being adapted, and some of which I’m less a fan of. For changes I liked, I love that Jiang YanLi has an expanded role and travels around learning to cultivate with her brothers. I love that Wen Qing and Wen Ning also came to the Cloud Recesses, and that the timeline was altered to introduce the audience to Xue Yang, Xiao XingChen, Song Lan, Nie MingJue, Meng Yao, and others far sooner. The weaving of the Yi City Arc’s characters in with the story’s earlier arcs was really well done, imo, and a smart decision, as was having Meng Yao as a cultivator in the Nie Sect. This results in the war scenes not dragging on, and allows us to focus on the Wei WuXian drama of the war.

It also focuses on building empathy for every character, even the ones we don’t like. At first I thought that the Wen Sect’s darker framing from the get-go would lead us to a more black-and-white world, and to some degree that’s true. However, every character still comes across as three-dimensional with complex motivations and relationships. And whoever wrote the script definitely had a thing for the more antagonistic characters (bless #oneofus) From the very beginning, you get the impression that Xue Yang and Jin GuangYao are complex characters, and you even root for Jin GuangYao for a long time. 

In many interactions, you can tell exactly what Jin GuangYao’s motivation is without him having to say it directly. When Lan XiChen tells him not to take Nie MingJue’s disapproval to heart because he’s so rigid and “abhors evil,” Jin GuangYao’s face looks stricken and he remarks “Evil? ... is that what I am?” before then assuring LXC he doesn’t take it to heart and it’s fine. Still, the viewer can tell how desperately he wants NMJ’s approval--and the more NMJ doesn’t give it, the more JGY looks for it with his father. And again, the script and actors show us that his father is using him by dangling a promise of love he never intends to give. He praises JGY in scene after scene of just the two of them, and then pours wine down JGY’s clothes publicly when something outside of JGY’s control happens. When he holds a baby Jin Ling and JGY plays with the baby, grinning and asking to hod him, he tells him he cannot and even tells the wet nurses not to let JGY hold the baby (implication being that he’s unclean for being the son of a prostitute). He doesn’t have to say: I want my father’s love and approval, I want my surrogate father’s love and approval, and I want the cultivation world to accept me despite my birth. We can see it. (Plus, the writers and actors aren’t subtle with XiYao.) 

For changes I didn’t like, I’ve talked about this before, but I miss Wen Qing’s feisty personality. The Wen Qing in The Untamed is not at all the same character as the Wen Qing of the novel/donghua/audio drama. She is equally a strong survivor as that character, but she’s much more.... docile. I did, however, enjoy the cute romance she had with Jiang Cheng--I just think it would have been even more enjoyable if she was still her snarky self. 

I also didn’t love the Wen Sect as the original founders of demonic cultivation, as it removed a lovely gray aspect of the story. I also felt sad that Jin GuangYao ultimately killed Wen RouHan to save Wei WuXian, whereas in the novel he does it to save Nie MingJue, which tells you he did in fact care for NMJ at one point. My biggest complaint though thus far is the changing of Jin GuangYao’s timeline and the Qin Su pregnancy, as I feel that was a very vital part of both JGY and Qin Su’s characters in breeding his resentment in comparing RuSong and Jin Ling. I’m also not sure exactly how much this is changed. We will see. 

Also, ignore the special effects. Obviously. The costumes still look great, the music is phenomenal (where can I get that soundtrack), and it is so blatant about the romance that it isn’t even subtext despite the lack of physicality and romantic declarations. It’s not really that censored, and hats off to the team who made this. 

Also: Fairy

she is a chonk and we stan a doggo

[bigskydreaming]

Idk guys, could people maybe just try taking me at my word every now and again? I mean, what exactly is it that people think I get out of these posts?

Is it popularity? Do you think I make these posts to be popular? Because I took several months upon moving into Batfandom a year or two ago before actually making these kinds of posts more than once in a blue moon, and I was waaaaaaaaaaay more popular initially than I am now. I lost literal scores of followers once people realized this is a Thing for me, and could probably get most of them back if I just....stopped. Given the number of people who seem to follow and unfollow me regularly, as if just to see if I’m ‘done yet.’

So.....no, its not about popularity.

Is it about note counts? Do you think I make these posts to get notes, by being controversial, or with ‘the anti’s’? Because if you look through my archives you’d see that without variation, I consistently get FAR less notes on these posts that I do compared to like....literally ANY other content I post. When I write a Batfandom meta indepth, its rare for me not to get hundreds of notes on it. When I write a post like the last one examining survivor-related topics in depth, its rare for me to get up to even fifty notes. 

So......no, its not about note counts.

Is it about garnering sympathy/pity? I do rely on donation posts sometimes, and I might see gains there due to people having sympathy or pity for me that they’re afraid to tangibly express online due to the controversial nature of many of my posts, but that might show up there, right? Well, sure, except for the fact that....my sob story is in no way reliant on these more controversial posts to exist, and in fact would be a hell of a lot more compelling when it comes to attaining donations if I DIDN’T add in all these other posts that are blatantly alienating to a lot of the people who were like “you had me at abuse/incest/rape survivor who needs major surgery as an end result of his gay bashing way back in college but then you lost me when you said I am a literal rapist for reading and writing specific fics like wtf dude?”

So.....no, its not about garnering sympathy/pity or even donations.

Is it about just being interesting or standing out or getting attention? Do you think I make these posts like a broken record because I have nothing else to talk about? Because uh, I have my pet topics but I can literally write essays on pretty much ANYTHING and everything about Dick Grayson or Scott McCall or Bobby Drake or plenty of other characters. And again, like I mentioned above, consistently get WAY more attention and engagement from people on any of those. I don’t need even my survivor status to be interesting, thanks, and I don’t even actually care all that much about it at the end of the day, because anyone who’s followed me for any length of time knows I would be perfectly happy to talk for a week straight about my OCs or original content even, as long as I have even just one or two people engaging with it, lol. 

So....no, its not about being interesting or getting attention.

Is it about being a know-it-all, regarded as having certain expertise or being an authority on a certain topic? If so, that’d be a weird choice given how often I talk about how being a survivor is NOT a monolithic experience, and the fact that I center myself in my posts on the subject is not because I’m presuming I speak for everyone, but rather specifically to keep my views and experiences tailored specifically to ME and my own experiences entirely....the only viewpoint from which I AM qualified to speak with authority. I don’t post what I post the way I post to be viewed as the be-all and end-all of surivor views, and I don’t make it about myself and my experiences to wave my survivor credentials around and shut down opposition - if I did, it’d be blatantly ineffective given the amount of anon hate I get and derailing my posts experience, most of the time using information I’ve freely offered up in my own posts in an attempt to trigger or silence me. I post the way I post in these posts for one reason only, usually to my own detriment - I’m simply trying to humanize a topic that far too many people IMO deliberately try to view as abstract and hypothetical in order to distance themselves from the real issues. Not to mention like, I know a great deal about a lot of things? There aren’t many other former stuntmen or actors posting in this part of the internet that I’ve seen, I could focus on my own expertise there, or in any number of academic topics I’ve explored a lot just out of personal interest. Hell, I’ve been called a ‘Dick Grayson expert’ more than once, and could easily just focus on my knowledge and insight of his character, if I weren’t so often alienating half his fandom with these posts, right?

So.....no, its not about being a know-it-all or regarded as having certain expertise or being an authority on a certain topic.

So really, when it comes right down to it, there’s only two things it could possibly be, wouldn’t you agree? Either I’m speaking from a place of honesty as to very real reactions and views I have on this subject, born of my own experiences and knowledge.....or I’m just speaking out my ass from a place of wanting to feel morally superior about something.

But does it really make sense for it to be the latter? If I wanted a moral superiority hill to die on in order to feel good about myself or whatever, do you really think this is the only one I could come up with, or come back to this often? Given the number of ways it seems to shoot me in the foot in the process? Oh, I know I have a certain tone when I speak on this subject. I know I ooze the same ‘you sound so dumb right now’ tone I accuse others of when I approach stuff like this, but the thing is.....all of that ALWAYS traces back to like...me REACTING off of something, not just randomly up and deciding hey this is a good week to be hated by bringing up something I know damn well 90% of my followers would be happy to see me never bring up again.

And for a guy who clearly LIKES interacting and engagement on this platform as much as I do, does that make any sort of sense at all? Maybe every now and then, but as often as I do post about this stuff, for as long as I’ve been?

Or could it possibly just be like.....I’m telling the truth, and this shit is really, truly exhausting in a way that I, and any other survivor it exhausts, shouldn’t HAVE to put up with. Its not like I came out of the gate swinging, in fandom at large or even this fandom specifically. It took time to get me just....tired of it. The same bullshit, every day, every week, without fail. And again, it all mirrors the same shit I’ve been hearing from people my whole life, to avoid engaging with the ways they weren’t even complicit in my past traumas, but just....inconvenienced by it. People talk a good game about being there for us, believing us, supporting us, but in my experience, the second something beyond a simple acknowledgment of status is asked for, the second something someone would have to ACT UPON is asked for.....the switch flips.

And that shit. Is. Exhausting.

I don’t make noise on this subject because I in any way actionably or actually benefit from it. I don’t even make noise on it EXPECTING to, at this point. I make noise simply because.....the subject deserves noise, and I deserve to make it if I make that choice, and for too much of my life that just wasn’t a possibility. And all of this bullshit, as a result? Make no mistake, its just bullshit. I don’t ever call it me being bullied or victimized or harassed or martyred, because its none of those things and I don’t regard it as those things. (Well I occasionally refer to that TW anon as harassing, but that’s because their behavior is not just limited to me and very much fits every textbook definition of the word and needs to be regarded as such). But the rest of it? Like, I don’t have a martyr or victim complex because I don’t feel victimized by this shit, lmfao. It really is just exhausting and irritating. It makes me tired and annoyed. Not harmed. Even being genuinely triggered by shit, which happens more than I care to have it happen, is at the end of the day still just an unwanted echo of a shout that I heard years ago, and an echo is never going to hurt me the way that initial shout did or have the same impact. I’ll never quite get how people seem so convinced that their anon hate or triggering effect is going to accomplish what nothing before this actually did or be the TRULY demoralizing impact I can’t move past or whatever, as opposed to just being irritating and frustrating in its hypocrisy, but well. Guess people are projecting about feeling powerless in their own lives, lol, whoops.

But just....the hypocrisy of all this grates. And the only thing I’m really looking for out of it, if I’m even looking for anything at all, is just even a few people over the years saying something as simple as “i never really thought about it like this but I can see it now.” Is it really that hard to just listen to people? My ‘voice of moral superiority/condescension’ in these things comes from the fact that I AM listening, I HAVE been listening, and that’s why I know for a fact that the things being said in opposition are all things I’ve heard MANY MANY times before, and refuted or seen refuted each time. Can some of you say the same thing about yours? Especially when that tone only comes up in posts that repeatedly reaffirm that you’re not actually responding to anything I’ve actually said or written, but merely your own idea of what you THINK I’m saying, or else just a viewpoint you’re comfortable refuting, even if its not actually mine and at best tangential to my own? When you can find something insightful in so many of my posts about a character we both like, and understand even the most rambling of my essays about Dick Grayson just fine, can you truly and with confidence say the disconnect when it comes to hearing and understanding what I say in these posts is all mine? Are you sure it has NOTHING to do with anything you bring into your reading of these posts from a place of defensiveness or preconceptions of your own?

Just....think about it.

[dotthings]

Okay SPN 15.04, here we go, where I feel weirdly self-conscious about posting a meta post about an ep that had so much meta on itself and now I’m going to write meta about it, so it’s meta on meta on meta, while I’m having my feelings.

THAT COLD OPEN HOLY CRAP DIRECTOR JENSEN. As a director Jensen always pulls out warm performances from actors and he’s a really kinetic director too. That opening fight sequence I held my breath for a lot of it. 

BENNY OH NOES IT’S BENNY (this must be the character Jensen said was one of his favorites and the actor came back to set for one day to do it). “I’ll see you on the other side, brother.” Thanks so MUCH, spn, I thought I was over this and then you come in and reopen that and now I’ve got feelings gdi. Benny was a good friend to Dean. My heart hurts. 

Ohshitohshitohshitohshit demon blood Sam. Noooooo. And he kills Dean. I can never erase these images from my mind, thanks a LOT spn. 

Just a nightmare of Sam’s except no probably not given Sam’s god-wound, so wow this maybe happens on one of Chuck’s other worlds, that’s fine, oh that’s okay I’m fiiiiine, it’s fine. *covers face*

So we have a flip on early S14 here where Dean was turtling to cope with his trauma which is a healthy thing to do but hiding from the world wasn’t going to fix anything so Sam coaxes him out with a hunt. Dean coaxes Sam out with a hunt only I don’t think hunting works for Sam the same way, it’s not Sam’s mental comfort food the way it is for Dean, but still I appreciate the mirroring there.

Sam’s struggling with Rowena’s death and I think those horrific AU nightmare visions aren’t helping much either, but it’s clear he’s feeling the loss. Her loss, all the recent losses.

Dean trolls Sam with real bacon, which seems like Dean is maybe trying to cheer Sam up by pranking him and trying to cheer himself up via food pranks. Dean has quite the case of the munchies in this ep. 

I noticed almost every scene Dean is snacking or drinking from his flask. How’s that whole “Cas walked out and left apparently for good” working out for you Dean, wow, you’re suspiciously chipper while stuffing your face and drinking and Not Talking About It. Did Sam and Dean talk about where’s Cas? Who knows, the ep didn’t mention it, hey SPN you needed a Cas mention, OH WAIT THE EP IS GOING TO CALL ME OUT FOR SAYING THAT.

Seriously though, this is very Dean MO, and I have thoughts about his mood in this ep and how Cas’s absence was felt, and what it means, I’ll get to that later, but even before the last scene Impala talk, I was thinking Cas is a reminder of pain--and no it’s not all about Dean’s anger at Cas, it’s not because Dean is angry at Cas. Cas is a reminder of some things Dean just isn’t coping with very well and part of the problem is Dean cares so much. 

So Dean’s snacking and drinking and Sam is feeling the weight of them knowing all the scary things out there while people go on obliviously with their lives and I’m not sure if Sam is envying them or Sam is feeling some existential angst about the state of the world, how people can go about their lives unaware there are real monsters ready to pounce and tear their lives to shreds. And feeling the weight of the job they do in every bone of his body. Sam’s in a dark headspace.

Ok I admit I was not thrilled to see Becky again given her previous episodes and role. SPN’s later in-canon fan characters were much more nuanced and successful and respectful depictions of fans. But as with many other things, this era of SPN is revisiting some things to move them forward in a different way than before, and subvert some things that needed subverting and Becky has had--wait for it--character development. How about that.

Yes, Becky, run, you do not want anything to do with Chuck. Run, Becky run. I’m rooting for her now. RUNNNN.

Along with finding a more constructive way of channeling her interest in the Winchesters’ lives, and having a satisfying fandom creative life and a full life of her own, Becky has funko pops of Sam, Dean, and Cas. LOL. I see you spn. 

Dean, still with the case of the munchies. So this is like the eating a whole pint of ice-cream after a break-up, only Dean does it with junk food while hunting vampires.

I enjoyed this conversation between Becky and Chuck about writing immensely. Becky is actually right. Speaking myself as someone who’s suffered from writers block for a while, it’s miserable, and not writing just perpetuates the cycle. You feel cut off from an important part of yourself. And--oh here we go getting meta within meta--I find writing meta on SPN a positive outlet. 

“Writing is writing.” Damn Becky’s takedown of Chuck’s derisiveness about fanfic was sizzling and oh excuse me Chuck, what is it you think you were doing with those Supernatural books about your favorite story. Even though he’s the creator, I know. But still. Also seems to be a sly comment on how male-authored “fanfic” based on someone else’s characters or historical characters gets to be professionally published novels and nobody wants to admit it’s fanfic but it is, but women write fanfic and women write novels based on someone else’s characters or historical figures and it gets derided. 

Did not expect commentary celebrating the creativity and validity of fanwork of women in particular an episode of SPN, especially not with Becky of all people, but here we are. 

Uhhhh is Chuck writing this episode, as it happens? I am seriously uneasy now. What is going on. What is real. Which is what I think Dean is going through because of Chuck and OUCH the Winchesters think they’re free but they’re not but also they are their own people and Chuck isn’t controlling them but it’s like he’s still making the framework?? Or would this case just be happening on his own and Perez is just messing with our heads in this script right now.

Oh damn because this ep wasn’t sadness enough now here we go with the Jack parallels. “I can’t control this.” “I’m a monster.” “I killed someone I love.” Parents doing anything to save their out of control teenage kid or does he need to be killed, so the parents are Cas, while Sam and Dean are Dean. 

Interesting that Dean lowered the gun and didn’t kill Jack, but tells Sam they would do that for Jack if it was necessary. You didn’t, though, Dean. You couldn’t go through with it any more than those distressed parents of the vampire teen.

Becky is voicing various non-dire fan complaints here, every lane of the fandom is being gently called out right now. Hahaha including lack of Cas mentions in an ep that pointedly is not!Mentioning Cas because it’s not a mistake there’s actually reasons for that which is just lampshading how much Dean is pointedly Not Going to Talk About Cas. 

“Where they sit around doing laundry and talk” -- again every lane of the fandom should feel very called out right now. Seriously, fandom lanes that hate each other’s guts all have that common factor of craving more domesticity, and would like to see the laundry ep of SPN and for many, it has better include Cas, or we’re working through our need for this via fanfics or fanart. Even Jared and Jensen have expressed interest in a “Winchesters do the laundry” kind of episode. 

But here’s the thing--here’s the thing about SPN...it depicts domesticity. In small bits of pieces. Even in this ep there’s domesticity. SO HA. It’s not that SPN is against depictions of domesticity, it’s definitely in the toolset of its storytelling, to give the characters more layers, to make their lives seem more real, but there needs to be mostly an action plot because that’s the genre so they mostly kill monsters and we only get nibbles of domesticity.

Becky and Chuck arguing about Chuck’s incredibly dark story ending, after Becky criticized him for the story not having enough bite, was so interesting. While the episode’s dark story ending was actually quite well done IMO and not overdone and yes it’s bleak but it’s supposed to be. So it’s not that sad is always terrible writing, no. It isn’t. But its overuse has been a raging hot topic in spn fandom for years and SPN is a hopeful narrative as well as a bleak one. Overuse of loss of hope and misery can hurt the story, causes a number of fans to become desensitized and lose their emotional engagement for it (which has happened to be at a couple of points in SPN’s long run). So that conversation interested me a great deal, yes it did.

So.....SPN had its current biggest of the biggest of ultimate big bads, the ultimate power God himself, the author, and made him the enthusiast for overuse of the misery pr0n like that’s the only smart way to tell a story. The season’s big bad villain is a misery porn enthusiast.

I’m just gonna....sit here and absorb that for a moment.

Oh and this while all the PR for the show keeps warning us about how sad this story is and how bleak the ending will be, not a happy ending show. Are they warning us? Are they trolling us and misdirecting? Because they made their villain a misery pr0n fanboy and this intelligent, self-aware positive depiction of Becky the fan taking him to task for it. 

I feel like could be headed for every story needs its darkness and its light, you need the darkness to appreciate the light, and you need some light or the story is less meaningful. We’ll see.

“I’m a writer,” says Chuck and then takes away everyone Becky loves and then unmakes Becky. This is a purposeful depiction of a writer creator as a sadist. It’s a diabolical reversal on the Stephen King’s Misery scenario. Becky played the deranged fangirl in the past, who kidnaps an object of obsession, now she’s the victim of the deranged sadistic writer who breaks into her home, destroys her life, and then effectively kills her because of his own obsession with making Sam and Dean wretchedly miserable because he thinks that’s the only way to make the story exciting.

*blinks*

In the last scene, oh thanks Sam, for vocalizing the Jack connection. 

Hey Dean, that’s really a nice speech and yes Sam did give you a great pep talk but Sam wasn’t the only one who told you what you did still has meaning. This is like 15.01 where Dean is pointedly erasing Cas again despite Cas very obviously having done something Dean refuses to acknowledge. In 15.01 it was Dean leaving Cas out of his us vs the forces of evil speech to Sam, despite Cas having spent most of the ep shooting ghosts in the face and saving Sam’s life twice. Sam and Cas both have given Dean pep talks about the meaning of what they do but only Sam pulled Dean out of it...uhhh yeah that’s not writer error or canon ignoring Cas. That’s Dean trying to push Cas out of his mind. Something there hurts so much Dean isn’t dealing with it right now.

As I said, as I’ve been saying, it’s not so much that Dean is that angry at Cas. It’s not just about Mary. Or about Cas keeping things from him. Although those are all valid reasons for Dean’s hurt and anger. Dean seems to be afraid or hurt over more than that. And his love for Cas, IMO, is part of why this is weighing so heavily. What does he fear. I think it’s connected to the whole existential crisis about Chuck. What if none of this is real. I’ve talked about that in other posts, if none of this is real, if Dean still doubts, then what if what’s between him and Cas isn’t real, what if Cas doesn’t really care about him because none of it real. 

Dean valiantly puts a brave face on things here, they keep going, they keep fighting for the sake of those they lost, no matter what, “keep putting one foot in front of the other.” Which makes sense. That’s how you honor those you’ve lost. It’s just that I don’t think Dean has really reached that. He is Not Dealing with an awful lot of stuff here. And we have seen again and again how hard Dean reels from losing loved ones.  So what’s going on with Dean here. This is a healthy concept, but not if Dean is just whistling past the graveyard again. This might look like character development except look at what’s been going on with Dean. How deeply losing Mary, losing Jack affected him. The impact of those losses needs to be acknowledged and dealt with in order to truly move on and move forward. It’s like Dean is voicing a healthy outlook but isn’t actually experiencing it. I think Dean is posturing because if he lets all the hurt it right now, it will devour him.

There’s also the part where Sam and Dean have in the past displayed a lack of ability to just keep on keeping on if they lose each other, so they used to sell their souls, or violate the other one’s wishes and autonomy, or let the darkness free, but we’ve also seen them let each other go, and “keep putting one foot in front of the other.” Sam and Dean have done both ways with each other. Dean didn’t exactly just keep on keeping on no problem when Cas died at the end of S12.

Sam voices the other side of things, he can’t just move on right now. He’s feeling all the losses. They’ve piled up and piled up and it’s crushing him. Sam says he "can’t breathe” at times. He brings up Jessica, a loss he suffered 14 years ago. 

So Sam and Dean are airing the two aspects of loss and grief on SPN. One the one hand, you don’t just give up and quit because of loss. Honor who you’ve lost and keep on fighting. But losses are deeply felt, and it’s not all okay either. Sam and Dean don’t just shrug off these losses because they have each other. That’s not how this works. They need more than just each other and SPN is increasingly having more and more open dialogue about all of this.

S15 so far has been so much about the impact losing people they love has on Sam and Dean, and why their isolation isn’t a good thing. 

And there’s Chuck, the big bad, typing away to add more misery. Because Chuck gets off on giving them loved ones and taking them away, over and over and this isn’t presented as a good thing or a satisfying thing or a desirable thing or a celebration of anything. 

[repeterwiggin]

i decided to make notes as I watched POF (SVSR) for the second time and damn. it’s just as much of a rollercoaster even when you know what’s coming (warning this is long there’s a lot going on)

- wild to me how we jump straight in!

- lee & mary lee are adorable & also thomas at the wedding is a Mood literally me at all my friends weddings

- the flashback breaks my heart,

- Patton is still a really good trier... he’s so good and he tries so hard and I love him

- the way thomas rips off his suit jacket...

- the song that isn’t sung!

- Patton says “we four helped you” but there were five sides in svs hmm I feel like that’s probably significant in some way

- the ace attorney ref makes me very happy! there was a secret path of me hoping for for a professor layton reference but this is ehhhh kinda close?

- the fact that the first thing they say is “why didn’t we talk to lee and mary lee” like. yeah!!

- WE SHOULD START LOOKING I TO WAYS TO PREDICT THE FUTURE! he’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit

- patton and roman bffs!!

- feral cats,,, what a tangent i stan roman

- I like that we get some more context to the invite as well, like being asked face to face does add another element to the dilemma

- Dame Judy Dench = Queen Groovy Bench I see you using those Good Place swears, Roman

- “maybe they ... feel guilty” is like. I get where you’re coming from Patton but talking to them should’ve been step one imo like. I have been to lots of friends weddings and talking to them is important

- “I’m not sure there was a good ending to get” ... “for he’s a jolly good fellow!”

- them calling Patton out for how critical he’s been!!! very important!!! and I appreciate that Patton is trying “I’m just trying to help you be a good as you can be!” he still has more to learn but still im love him

- the bagel callback lol

- GameStore instead of GameStop lol Patton

- FROGGER

- “he eats fly for breakfast”

- We’re ten minutes in and there’s already so much going on

- Also I just want to appreciate that thomas is such a good actor I can tell which side is speaking just from their voice like the cadence is different and they way they say words ahhh it’s something I’ve thought about before but it’s really hitting me with these voice over segments

- Leslie Odom Jr lol if only we’d known

- The Pokemon battle format is so good and I love that it’s being used for a “do you give money to a homeless actor”

- The hotdog puns....

- Logan’s Lowdown!!!

- Roman mouthing “behoove” to Patton is very cute but I feel bad for Logan :(

- Pixel Logan is adorable

- The fact that roman immediately goes “ignorant” breaks my heart listen to logan!!! please!!!!

- Patton trying to soften his thoughts is kind of painful to watch

- “As long as that’s not the main reason you’re doing it!” Patton no,,,,,,,,

- Roman needs to be listened to more he looks so defeated when Patton doesn’t agree with him and only continues after serious prompting I feel like he’s been ignored too many times lately I’m very excited for a roman arc :((

- “Leslie Odom Jr’s....literal cake that he baked!!!”

- Logan’s fun fact popping up in the mario scene!! that’s my boy!!!

- Also the fact that roman is immediately painting deceit as the bad guy after they spent all of svs getting along......like, I feel like after the other sides decided that deceit wasn’t at all genuine or looking out for thomas’ best interests roman did a full 180* on him which makes sense for romans character but is also kinda depressing bc in is lying okay? and svs he was like “oh he’s not that bad!!” And now he’s like “scute bellied tyrant!!” damn

- Patton let’s him talk and then immediately is like “uuuuh no” yikes

- Roman targets all his insults at deceit and very carefully avoids being even playfully rude to anyone else hmm I really do think he’s trying to “make up” for siding with deceit last time and in the end it doesn’t even matter :((( bc he still feels like he’s disappointing people

- Roman seems like he’s genuinely trying to understand and Patton is really struggling to articulate his thoughts and that creates such a good conflict between the two bc it’s not like theyre really against each other it’s just solid interpersonal difference. or intrapersonal I guess

- The trolley problem!!!! A classic I love it

- The way it’s animated too is so good... the “Thomas is full of dread” the way the music cuts when the train appears how it cuts right before the train hits “is it over” ahhhhhh

- Also Leslie Odom Jr again lol

- “Maybe don’t depict scenarios where my friends die” and then later Patton is specifically like “it’s lee and mary lee!!!” lol wild

- “You know we don’t like to use the T word!!!” GREAT little aside

- “So it’s the how that matters” “yeah... and the why!!!” patton baby you’re trying so hard and I love you but it’s okay. you don’t need to have all the answers. you can just not know! I promise it’s alright!

- Thomas face after Patton brings up the “figment of your imagination” things KILLS ME

- I actually disagree with Thomas on the “putting more good into the world” as not being a compelling answer BUT I think that Patton is overlooking how feeling good/having positive emotions attached with those actions IS directly putting more good into the world. like, if doing good makes you feel good, that’s a good thing!! idk

- Logan disagreeing with Patton was good and we all know logan is my favourite but I think he could’ve handled that a little better

- PATTON HITTING SKIP ALL..... sweetie no :((

- everyone has already said this but that cane is the snake boy

- Roman even pulls back the insults on a philosopher who is not there

- Also Roman being like “your desires are getting in the way” again bc he feels like he’s not being listened to or appreciated bc there’s something about him that’s “wrong” and trying to shoulder the blame bc he feels bad that his desires (success, fame, love, appreciation) are inherently selfish :(((

- “that is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said” right sentiment, terrible delivery

- the way roman says “you’re just blowing smoke” is a Lot and very much like his fishing for validation but I don’t blame him for it, after what he’s just admitted it’s truly understandable that he needs that validation

- Thomas’ point about feelings motivating him is REALLY good bc we are all motivated by our emotions

- “Doing nothing is even worse!” i mean you’re not wrong but not in the way you think,,

- Logan/Deceit (I do think it’s deceit at this point) using the oxygen mask metaphor is really great to me!!! I love that metaphor & I was going to be a flight attendant so it’s something I thought about a lot. I’ll talk about it more when Deceit brings it up again lol

- “Uuuh I do need help” mood thomas mood

- “Temporarily put himself first” oof

- “It’s easy to say what we would hypothetically do...” hard agree

- Watching logan/deceit huff and roll his eyes solidifies for me that it is deceit like something about it feels unlike Logan lol I can’t explain why

- Roman nodding along with the explanation of why leisure is important makes me very happy

- “Oh is it not? Please correct me if I’m wrong” and the way the sprite pressing further and further and being more expressive with his hands and eyebrows like damn. that’s deceit!!

- Patton’s breakdown is Iconic I love the glitching and the way it zooms out to show the layout of the living room and the way he explodes ahhhhhhh so good

- why does the frog have abs that’s my one question

- lilypadton ahdhajfka I love it

- DECEIT EX MACINA THE REVEAL IS SO GOOD as soon as he started punning (cut through this bull...frog) I was like 👀 AND THEN THE LINES AND THE CAPE AND THE LORD OF THE LIES IM HAPOY TO OBLIGE

- “CODE YELLOW”

- the deceit sprite is so cute :))))

- Deceit pulling Thomas behind him we have to stan

- “Richer than Jeff Bozos” I LOVE that roman I love you

- Deceit calling him out and the way the words themselves turn into attacks is such a fun detail

- Frog Patton still punning even in serious moments is so on brand

- Deceit dodging while thomas gets hit is a solid metaphor

- “The plane is going down, you need to give thomas some room to breathe” oof like it needed to be said but oof

- The health bars changing to “Thomas’ mental health” OOF LADS WE’RE REALLY IN IT NOW

- the way thomas looks when he steps back into frame cracks me up

- “We can still beat him! We’ve beaten him before!” oh roman, but it’s not a fight against deceit :((

- the snakes on the plane ref lmao “I’m sick of this morality fighting snake on this metaphorical plane” whoever wrote that line... I want to give them a high five truly iconic

- Deceit is so much more playful and showing more diverse personality in this ep and I’m living for it

- final fantasy!! the og version turn by turn which is what I like to play lol also the villain they’re fighting kinda looks like Virgil and idk how to feel about that

- Deceit looking away as soon as logan pops up lmaoooooo

- “Not that any of you care...” logan baby no!!!!! I care!!!!

- Effective Altruism explanation and Logan making a point to go “it employs the heart and the mind” like ... reminding Patton that they need to work together and they’re on the same side I’m soft

- Deceit and Logan agreeing warms my heart they’re both so good and ahhhh

- “Emphasis on the ‘sometimes’ though, right?” “Yeah sure whatever — I mean yes! Of course!”

- I also love how deceit addresses thomas directly they don’t do that a lot but it makes sense cause deceit is really trying to persevere thomas’ self

- Him calling roman noble and roman not believing it :((( deceit trying to be honest and ahhhhh I’m so sad

- “Selflessness isn’t always the answer” which was exactly what svs was supposed to be about

- “What do you almost all things?” “Oh you’re right we wouldn’t want to plant too many trees, imagine how much CO2 might absorbed”

- lmao why am I so impressed by Roman’s deceit impression when they’re literally the same person

- roman flipping out and attacking deceit is a Big Yikes but it’s totally in character bc roman has always been black and white even more so than Patton and it’s been building to an arc for a loooong time so I’m very excited

- Deceit taking off his glove.... saying his name......... I can’t process this

- JANUS!!!!!!!!!! It’s so good it’s perfect I love it I love him

- roman immediately laughing yikesssss

- “Oh roman thank god you don’t have a moustache otherwise between you and remus I wouldn’t know who the evil twin is” YIKESSS but also valid deceit is at a breaking point

- “I thought I was your hero” “you are!”

- I’m going to be thinking about deceit’s—JANUS’S—nod for a long time....was he agreeing with Thomas or was he saying that Thomas was lying ahhhhhhh

- “Everything’s going to be okay. We love you.” “...right” AH MY HEART

- I want to give roman a hug

- Patton asking Janus for advice like right away and Janus not being great at first but coming around quickly with the ever true “it depends” like I love the two of them together the DYNAMIC POTENTIAL

- Janus does seem fond of Patton which is cute I can’t wait for everyone to be friends again lol

- ACTUAL LESLIE ODOM JR I CANNOT

- how did they make that happen,,,, how wild

- the clapping

- “This sanders sides not odom sides,, I’m not threatened at all” that is, somehow, a mood

- “don’t kill, don’t steal, easy conclusions to come to” “even those can get iffy” “I don’t want to think about that... but maybe that proves my point!” you what we call that? growth

- “Giving too simple answers to complicated questions can do more harm than good” “mmhmm”

- “So I’m sorry! Again!” Poor boy is trying to hard and I love him :((( so much <3333

- “Oh yeah that’s cool, talk about me like I’m not here” I love you Janus!!!”

- “I’ll take care of him” and then immediately joking around and trying to make thomas laugh is very cute thomas needed something lighthearted after all of that ahhh

- “You’re not stuck with an EVIL snake boy...you’re just stuck with a snake boy!!” I LOVE YOU JANUS what an adorable nerd I would die for him

- and how excited he gets about being called right he deserves it

- “I love how much you like these constant dilemmas so please keep overthinking things” you know what I needed to hear that man

- “You can’t get doing good down to a science” WORD

- the message of treating yourself well & finding the right balance between that and doing good for others being a personal thing is very good and much needed

- Lee and Mary Lee are onscreen for like 3 minutes and I love them so much

- “So this is what you do for a living? Comedy?” “Yeah I’m a hack”

- Patton and Janus chilling on the same screen... I adore them

- “Seems like things worked out after all... I was wrong about everything!” “You and I both know that’s not true” and Patton’s soft little smile I love them!!!!

- “Odom sides would cool!” like actual Leslie Odom Jr said that.... I’m shook

- okay that’s the end it’s just as much a rollercoaster the second time around no I am not okay, thank you for your time

[jyndor]

so I was talking to my friend @timelordthirteen about some shit and I decided to just share with you all about the importance of actually explaining shit instead of just saying it. the Left, I am looking at you bitch (ily bitch but)

lol would put a read more but tumblr's being a petty little bitch today ❤

shitposting is fun. dunking on asshat right wingers is fun. you know what is not fun? seeing people not understand the basic terminology that we use in the ~discourse*

but. if we are going to use terminology, if we are going to inject regular old laypeople conversations with (imo) unneccessary amounts of academic terms, then we should try to use them correctly** because in many cases misusing them means we as leftists do not have a full understanding of what the fuck we're on about. this dilutes both the meanings of these terms and their purposes. I know I am wordy as fuck and can be hard to understand sometimes (thanks adhd) so what I am about to say is a little ironic, but clarity is fucking important when it comes to strategy and organizing.

so I am going to examine some commonly misused concepts and terms today. yay.

1. THEORY, PRAXIS AND FRAMEWORKS FOR ANALYSIS weeee yes I am fun at parties tyvm

what is a framework? a structure, in this case, for analyzing some bullshit we deal with irl. that's it lol but I use it a lot so I figured I'd define it here. examples of frameworks are: intersectionality, marxism, queer theory. seriously, if you can think it, it has already been analyzed through the queer lens.

what is theory? ideas, knowledge in the abstract based on looking at shit happen and analyzing that shit. it is useful because it can help us articulate what we are going through in our shitty lives. this is why I often recommend people learn about chomsky's manufacturing consent (theory of why we get the info we get from the media tl;dr), not because I think chomsky is the ultimate leftist grandpa but because this site needs some media literacy lmao. and btw, this clip narrated by amy goodman is a great, trippy little 4:30 min long video that explains the basics of manufacturing consent so you don't have to open a book or use drugs!

theory can help serve as a framework to understand what the fuck is happening to us irl, but imo is kind of an incomplete understanding of shit without lived experience (aka - theory v praxis). this is one reason why we should listen to marginalized groups on their own shit and not talk over them - because all of the research and theory in the world does not make me a Black woman living in Flint (aka - ground up organizing v technocracy). it is not about being nice, or politically correct, although we should be nice and we should care about people just because they're people. if you understand the why of listening to marginalized groups, you understand that it is mainly about communities knowing their own problems best and therefore having the best solutions for those problems.

2. MARXISM, CAPITALISM AND OTHER BUZZWORDS (and leftists need hobbies)

so marxism is a framework for socioeconomic analysis observed by mr kpop himself, karl marx (and his sugar daddy friedrich engels). because leftists love to argue, there are so many kinds of marxism, and if you ever feel like you are shouting into the void too much, just look up some arguments between stalinists and trotskyists. it's just... magical. no, I am not defining tankie here.

as many people smarter than I am have said (read: kwame ture seriously watch this video it's iconic), karl marx did not discover socialism or invent it or whatever, he observed capitalism and saw how shitty it is, like any other sane person would do. the point of marxism is not karl marx (which he would say) or tankies or fuckin guillotines***

things that marxism is:

- an analytical tool for looking at the world

- a theory which was used to develop the basis of different kinds of post-capitalist economic systems like communism and socialism

things that marxism is not:

- a system of economics or government lmao marx did not govern dick

- scary

marx looked at capitalism and said "this is definitely gonna fail someday because it's clearly unsustainable, I mean the proletariat is bigger than the bourgeoisie who owns everything uh yeah so I can do basic fucking math. if I have one capitalist and fifteen hundred workers, eventually that capitalist is gonna lose his damn head because he is gonna hoard all that wealth and his workers are gonna get pissed that they don't have their basic fucking needs met. lmao now put on some kpop, freddy" or something. idk that might not be a direct quote.

what is capitalism? (besides horseshit) a system of economics where industry is privately owned. and yes, this includes publically traded corporations because they are still owned by individuals (shareholders) even if they aren't privately owned by one person or a group of partners. truly a nightmare to live in, and we hate to see it.

what is the proletariat? well, the working class. and the bourgeoisie is the owner class, the capitalist class. the rich.

and this is something else that we need to discuss, tumblr. if you are going to say "eat the rich" please understand who you are talking about. we're not talking about random actors or musicians, or doctors or lawyers, even if they make better than a liveable wage. even if they often have zero class consciousness, meaning they don't ~see class, like colorblind racism for classism.

anyone who has to sell their labor for wages and is not part of the owner class is working class. this includes people who cannot work for any multitude of reasons (disability, can't find work, caretaker, etc) and also white collar workers who might be well off in relatively high paying jobs because they don't own the means of production, or capital that is used to produce shit. so yes, that rich actor who is a part of a union is actually part of the working class in marxist theory. when we say eat the rich, we mean jeff bezos, not john boyega. jeff bezos owns the means of production. john boyega is a working actor who is in a union.

this is important not because we shouldn't get pissed off when actors and celebrities do tone deaf shit like singing about imagining no possessions in their mansions while people starve during a pandemic. they need to put their money to good use, have some class consciousness, instead of asking fans to donate to causes that they could fund. but they are not the bourgeoisie until they start owning the means of production. and there is no doubt that many of them do, which is why we might eat gwyneth paltrow but we won't eat john boyega.

and by the way, eating the rich is metaphorical, a reference to french revolution-era philosopher jean-jacques rousseau's quote: "when the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich." obviously I don't even need to explain it but I will anyway. basically, the people will forcibly redistribute the wealth of the rich if they have nothing else. this is why there are some very smart capitalists who are in favor of reforms and raising taxes, because they recognize the danger to their necks in not providing for basic needs of the working class. no, "eat the rich" does not mean be pro-cannibalism. but there are many capitalists who would prefer to die than lose their hoard so

oh, and one last thing. "no ethical consumption in capitalism" is tossed around a lot and it's a million percent true, but I need all of us to understand that it is not an excuse to support harmful practices but it is also not meant to shame consumers. it is rather an understanding that we as consumers are not responsible for the monstrous impact of capitalism. we live in it, we have no choice but to consume, and sometimes (most of the time) that means we have to buy shit that was produced in unethical ways. unfortunately supply chains being what they are, all consumption causes harm in some way.

it is a reminder that individual actions are not going to have the impact of collection actions. this is why plastic bag bans, though well-meaning, are not going to have the same impact on climate catastrophe as, say, banning fossil fuels would.

I am a vegetarian and I can recognize that I am doing a whole lot of nothing by not supporting factory farms, and when I was a vegan I wasn't doing much either. boycotts without mass support don't have much evidence of working. this is why bds exists - boycott divestment and sanctions. boycott, meaning don't support goods from various conpanies connected to something, divestment, meaning get companies/countries/institutions to remove their money from something, and sanctions, meaning getting countries to penalize a country for their bad behavior until they comply.

this is what the anti-apartheid south africa movement did and what palestinian rights organizers support for israeli apartheid.

do not allow legislators to put the burden of fixing the ills of society that capitalism created on consumers' shoulders.

3. INTERSECTIONALITY (because it deserves its own section)

I don't have as much to say on this as I did the last bit because holy shit capitalism, man.

intersectionality, a term that was coined by law professor kimberlé crenshaw in the late 80s to serve as a framework for people to critically assess how legal structures impact Black women differently due to class, race and gender. it is not incompatible with marxism (in fact marxism has been argued to be a form of intersectionality).

intersectionality can and should be used to examine why the Black queer experience is unique, for example. I also want to acknowledge that professor crenshaw isn't the only person to come up with intersectionality; sojourner truth spoke about it even if she didn't coin the term, for example. patricia hill collins, another influential af Black feminist academic****, created frameworks for viewing intersectionality. also you can read her book black feminist thought here for free.

intersectionality has been used - improperly - by liberal feminists***** to excuse bad behavior from leaders who pretend to care about women while creating and enforcing legislation that harms women. anyone who stans politicians at all needs help. it has also been misrepresented as essentialism, which it is also not (essentialism is the idea that everything has some assets that are necessary to its identity) because intersectionality isn't saying that every Black queer woman has the same experience, just that Black queer women might experience similar issues because of a system that negatively views them as Black and queer and women.

intersectionality does not excuse kamala harris for prosecuting poor moms of truant kids.

okay if you guys have things to add please do because I want us to educate each other instead of always talking shit. both is good.

* I am not calling out people for not being academic enough or not speaking english or not reading enough theory because LOL I am a 2x neurodivergent college dropout who radicalized by working retail and not by hearing karl marx talk dirty to me. also, not everyone speaks english like, I am truly not shitting on people.

** I recognize that language is fluid and ever changing, and that is a good thing. But diluting terms that serve specific purposes is not ever going to be good.

*** and I don't want to dismiss intra-leftist theory discourse (🤢) because I know how annoying it is to hear bernie sanders lumped in with liz warren, or bernie sanders lumping himself in with post-capitalists lmao of course I get it. but twitter discourse is not dismantling capitalism so ANYWAY

**** actually crenshaw built on collins' work (black feminist thought) and the collins built on crenshaw' work we love to see it.

***** I should go ahead and define liberal feminism as well as rad fem and terf and shit because people use them all very very loosely, especially terf (not every transphobe is a terf but every terf is a transphobe, it's like the rectangle/square thing). but I am exhausted with this so next time.

[kuronekonerochan]

Cdramas I enjoyed and ranty rambles... (spoilers)

Apparently I have a new favorite cdrama ML type, and it's genius mastermind bastard on a scheming backstabbing world that is likely created by the same novel or scriptwriter. Ning Que (Ever Night), Fang Xian (Joy of Life) and Zhong Xin (Young Blood) are a joy to watch and I loved these dramas on the same "spirit" and their characters. 

All these dramas had stronger and weaker points, if I could pick and choose, I liked the world and ruthlessness of NQ from EN S1, the OTP that is NQ and SS and the Us against the World vibe, plus the incredible soundtrack and the breathtaking panoramic shots, but S2 was such a production mess...it’s a pity bc I loved the theological turn of the novel and it doesn’t seem likely that after that trainwreck of s2 we’ll get a s3 to end the story (although yes, I admit it would always be difficult to translate to screen from where s1 ends in the book onward bc it’s such a drastic change).  Having read the novel, it was funny to see people reacting to the events of s2. 

The shift in the focus of the drama from the traditional wuxia, young martial arts lead and his wifey traveling the world, encountering new allies and foes and getting powered up, to religious and spiritual journey about the meaning of life, god, the world and different ideologies clashing in both literal fights and discussions as well as physical manifestations of divinity, mixed in with human subversion of values for petty personal goals...well although people seem understandably confused and not very happy about this 180º thematic turn, it’s not what they hated about the new season. From the comments I saw, what most ppl couldn’t stand were the same things ppl who read and liked the novel also hated: the horrible pacing, some of the cast changes that failed to convey the feeling that they were the same characters, and even though the budget was evidently lower than s1, the choices made where 80% of the scenes were pointless carriage shots, meeting shots, and most pointless of all Long Qing riding horses. Endless set ups of people talking boringly and then when the event that all that talk was leading up to happened, it was off screen and the result was told by some character in a conversation. You couldn’t care less about Tang and the war because all the characters that lived there and could die, like SS’s friends from the brothel, the gang, and even the generic ppl on the streets, none of this was shown...only 2 or 3 ppl talking alone somewhere at a time, talking about events that the viewer would never see. And it was confusing. I read the novel and even so I could barely follow what was happening (they did change a bunch of stuff). Enemies from 2 episodes ago were now allies and they were asking favors without any explanation and key plot points of main story arcs like Ye Hong Yu’s were just thrown out so casually it didn’t even register for me that THAT was happening.  The whole Haitian part was also a mess. It was one of those concepts that is indeed hard to translate to screen, but as they did the whole SangSang being present but powerless thing well, the casting of Haitian was a fail. She was supposed to be an uncaring, poker faced goddess, but she also had to have a presence that made her feel powerful and frightening. This lifeless doll couldn't scare a fly, so the whole thing just felt pathetic and weird(er). (Also in the novel there’s this intense mental fight thing going on between her and NQ where she hardcore tortures him and slashes his d*ck off and he in turn keeps torturing her with erotic dreams and all this bc the natal bond means they can read each others minds and can’t keep each other out even if they wanted so it’s a constant exhausting mindgame between them. The drama tried to include some of that in like 2 eps near the end, but toning it down bc of rating and taking the mindreading concept out of it made it very disappointing to watch).

I love the witty sarcastic humor of Joy of Life, I’m not into tragic period cdramas but after so much cheesy lazy slapstick  wuxia/xanxia dramas, one with the intelligent, non-stop sarcastic humorous dialogue and an ensemble of god damn talented actors, especially the older cast, headed by an absolutely brilliant performance by the main lead and a script and plot that is compelling, fast paced and never misses a beat...well this is a true gem and one of the best executed cdramas, on every aspect from technical aspects to directing to acting, that I have ever seen. I usually don’t like palace dramas, and this is not one of those, it is adventure and family and transmigration and a lot more, but it retains the core elements of those palace dramas, which is the scheming politics, the intrigue and the constant tension of being surrounded by enemies by all sides and having to mind every word and action because a single faux pas will get him killed. It’s in line with the kind of cnovels I love and would like to see drama adaptations for like Husband Be a Gentleman or Golden Stage, which isn’t much of a surprise since this is also a novel adaptation.

 It is nearly perfect imo, but the harem aspect (even if tuned down from the novel) still drags it down and the (main) FL is a bore and honestly the least interesting of all the females in the drama (it doesn’t help that ZRY has better chemistry with one of the other actresses, which in the novel, since his character hits ALL of them, it would be fine, here, meh). This is also one of the rare situations where I like the drama better than the book (even with the issues regarding the lack of chemistry with the FL), bc Fang Xian in the novel is scarily ruthless...it’s the same author as Nightfall (aka Ever Night), but NQ is likable because of his bond to SangSang, the irrationality of the persecution they face from the zealots,  and also the world, despite being harsh, features loyalty and unconditional love in the members of the Academy, for example, that make all the anti-hero/antagonist traits more bearable. FX in Joy of Life it’s a much more cynical and cunning character, scary even, and the environment is a pit of backstabbing snakes. He is the hero bc he’s the main character, but from any other perspective he can easily be the villain. Add to that my distaste of harem and him getting it on with like 6 or so ladies (to give them credit some of them are pretty awesome characters), the novel just wasn’t for me. But ZRY as FX? He’s just so cheeky and likable, and this drama has an amazing supporting cast. I enjoy watching them all interact with each other.  I’m glad it’s getting a season 2 and so looking forward to it.

Young Blood I didn't even like that much in the beginning, it started out interesting but confusing and some of the cast (both acting and characters) were kind of weak, but it got better and it had a power couple as leads who were both smart and a joy to watch, plus the bromance dynamic between the smartass bastard and the righteous straight-faced dudes that Handsome Siblings wishes it had (that’s a whole other story, why HS didn’t work for me, but trust me, no offense to the actors in that, I found them charming in other things, but perhaps bc this script was just better, the boys here just did it better, it just flowed...I watched both dramas at the same time and it was weird thinking that those two should be what Handsome Siblings was trying to do). What annoyed me until the end was that out of the ensemble cast, only 3 of the characters (the smart ones) were given enough material to shine. Eventually the other 2 guys got their piece as well, but the girl from the second couple is unfortunately a waste of a character. They eventually tried to give her an arc, but she’s still mainly “the cute doll” and a foil for the 2nd male lead to have a romantic interest. She is given less screen time and she has no presence. I didn’t need her to be a “strong” woman. They do state that her strong suit is that she is so charming that ppl easily trust her, but I wanted to see her evolve, become smarter (the other two dumb-asses eventually get better from the beginning and grow as characters, but she seems stuck in her shallow one trait personality of “cute/kind”). This has nothing to do with the actress, she was perfectly fine, my issues are with the character and how she was utilized.

Unrelated, there is a weird thing in the last episode where a character just disappears, but not like, on purpose, it seems like the drama just forgot about him, or they forgot to shoot the actor near the other ones where he was supposed to be, lol.

Honestly, story wise and even in terms of production Young Blood is inferior to Ever night S1 and especially Joy of life, which was a tight drama, but since it ended up so much better than it started I really wanted to see what they could do with a 2nd season.

P.S: You know what is also my cdrama type? Genius himbo chaotic mess cutie pies, with “rage issue” but deep down caring relatives... and their “straight” faced besotted partners, I mean...

[laufire]

hellooo for fandom ask meme- atla?

Top 5 favourite characters: Sokka, Azula, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai.

Other characters you like: practically everyone. Aang, Zuko, Katara, Suki, Yue, Jet...

Least favourite characters: Ozai sucks, obviously xD. And frankly... though I love other parts of him, I have to say Iroh has not aged well in the rewatch. I hate how creepy he was with June, the bounty hunter. And I side-eye his attitude towards Azula vs. Zuko.

Otps: tbh nothing really makes it to OTP levels, BUT in this rewatch I’ve found myself appreciating Aang/Zuko and their dynamic and parallels all the more. I don’t ship them during show-time (I watched the show when I was 10-12 and it’s kind of hard to ship Aang at that time lol) but as adults I could tbh; their dynamic is just incredibly well-written. Other of my fave ships are Sokka/Suki/Zuko, Sokka/Yue, Azula/Sokka, Azula/Mai/Ty Lee, and Jet/Katara.

Notps: nothing gets to NOTP levels, though over the years I’ve decided to keep away from both Aang/Katara and Aang/Zuko discourse LOL.

Favourite friendships: Zuko & the Gaang, Toph & Aang.

Favourite family: Azula & Zuko. I love disfunction xD.

Favourite episodes: the Boiling Rock and Azula’s coup in Ba Sing Se.

Favourite season/book/movie: season 2 >>>>>>> (late s3 was... disappointing in some areas. AKA the Dangerous Ladies).

Favourite quotes: Aang talking to an asleep Zuko in the Blue Spirit episode vs. Zuko talking to an asleep Aang during the blizzard about Azula ( “She was born lucky. I was lucky to be born.” That whole speech is A Lot); “pride is not the opposite of shame, but rather its source”. And of course, “can your science explain why it rains?” “YES IT CAN”.

Best musical moment: the Avatar state theme always gets me.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: the Dragons episode (I looooove dragons).

When it really disappointed you: the Dangerous Ladies’ endings (Azula’s is utterly undignified, Mai’s is dull, and Ty Lee’s is kinda heartbreaking but presented as triumphant aka what I hate the most xD).

Saddest moment: Zuko going back to his father in s2.

Most well done character death: Jet’s.

Favourite guest star: Jet I guess? I never know how to take “guest star” in shows like this.

Favourite cast member: didn’t Serena Williams voice someone? The guard that was nice to Iroh so he spared her? There you have it xD.

Character you wish was still alive: Jet, if only for The Drama LMAO.

One thing you hope really happens: ........ I just hope the live-action reboot doesn’t make concessions and they write what THEY want to write.

Most shocking twist: hmm. Can’t really remember anything.

When did you start watching/reading?: I watched the show more or less as it aired, the first time.

Best animal/creature: Appa, DUH.

Favourite location: Ba Sing Se. So damn creepy, such good plots.

Trope you wish they would stop using: tbh the thing that annoyed me the most is when they tried to ~recreate the... effect some of ATLA’s characters had with LOK’s and utterly failed ¬¬ (Bolin annoys me in particular. It’s a good thing I’ve never seen anyone in fandom explicitly compare him to Sokka LMFAO). And I want to clarify I don’t say this as a way to hate on LOK, because I love LOK (and Korra is my favourite character in the whole ‘verse). But that part annoyed me xD

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: it falls on that category of “children show that NEVER talks down to children” and I’ll always love it for that.

Funniest moments: Sokka was sincerely funny and enjoyable. And the show was great at visual/physical humor, especially with bending.

Couple you would like to see: Sokka/Zuko or Azula/Sokka, Just Because LOL (and I really hope the reboot doesn’t erase Jet/Katara tbh).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: n/a. Well, actually, that’s wrong. I’d love to see Brandon Soo Hoo to join the cast as ANYONE, just because I want to see Brandon Soo Hoo on-screen again :P

Favourite outfit: Azula’s Ba Sing Se outfits. And the ones on the beach episode.

Favourite item: Sokka’s boomerang, OFC. And his meteorite sword.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: nope.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I’d love to be an airbender (I just want to flyyyy).

Most boring plotline: n/a.

Most laughably bad moment: Ty Lee’s ending. A character that valued individuality so much she left a family because there was nothing differentiating her from her sisters ends in a uniformed order where every girl looks the same. O-fucking-kay.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Zuko’s banishment flashbacks *sniffs*

Most layered character: Aang and Zuko, IMO.

Most one dimensional character: cabbages man, but we love him so xD

Scariest moment: Zuko’s Agni Kai. Poor dear.

Grossest moment: that weird deformed panda spirit comes to mind.

Best looking male: I actually have some Issues(TM) about how they’re drawn as grown-ups LMAO. Hmm. Between Sokka and Zuko I guess.

Best looking female: 12-year-old me had a mini crush on the Dangerous Ladies LOL.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): see above.

Favourite cast moment: n/a.

Favourite transportation: Appa.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): there’s a lot of great ones but I’m going with the dragon dance.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a. Though if we get into LOK I would have a few LOL.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from very early on, but I remember starting to Love It in Jet’s episode (Sokka and his ~instincts! Tragic ship with Betrayal(TM) and irreconcilable issues! My catnip).

[onepunchmiss]

OPM s2e5 Live blog

“The Martial Arts Tournament”

Alright I’m back to the regular live blog schedule and theres 2 things before we get started. 1) OH MY GOD DO-S IS THE EPISODE THUMBNAIL WE GET TO SEE ALL THE MONSTERS POPPING UP and 2) DOES THAT MEAN WE’LL SEE ZOMBIEMAN TRAILING MARTIAL GORILLA BECAUSE IF SO I sincerely apologize in advance yall must be aware by now how that’s going to go down on this blog. Anyway, as always I’m watching this from the perspective of someone who is caught up on both the manga and web comic. Los geht’s!

Yup the centipede movement is still creepy as hell. I saw people saying it was cgi last week which I didn’t catch right away, but regardless it’s done so well because it looks unnatural.

EYYYYY ok actually I kind don’t care about Metal Knight. What this episode is actually going to be is me screaming about all the monsters liKE RHINO WRESTLER AND PHOENIX MAN GUYS I LOVE THIS STUPID BIRD SO MUCH HECKING HECK. I’m gonna vomit like him and Do-S PLUS Garou vs Bat PLUS the other S Class heroes (Tatsumaki and Flashy Flash??) I am not physically mentally or emotionally prepared.

Yo this seems to be a trend with the monsters and me, I am evidently never prepared for the garish color schemes they get. Not mad just surprised every time?

hhhhhhhhhhhhh Ok the fight! I’m… I’m gonna try really hard to not pause every 2 seconds because I will inevitably have many words to say and screen grabs to take but that would be more than excessive sooooo ok here I go

Lol I failed immediately. I love that they’re going shot for shot with the fight. I’ve said it before, but I really think Murata captures movement and action sequences so well in the manga that if the anime were to try and deviate, it just wouldn’t be as good (especially with all the flack JC staff has been catching). Also I ADORE Metal Bat’s theme music when his fighting spirit comes out??? It’s so corny and triumphant and bad ass at once it fits him so well?? Ok wait a second I thought that after metal bat hit the manhole cover it ricocheted and came back at Garou what the heck??? That was such a cool move on Bat’s part and demonstrates he’s not just brute force, but tactical too. Why’d they leave that out??OH COME ON THEY DID WHAT THE HELL WHERE IS THIS??

This is actually my least favorite thing about season 2 biggest complaint what the fuck they did my boy dirty here. Oh thank god Zenko is here to quell my anger. Also Bat’s glowing eyes of murderous intent. Look at her. A legend.

Garou: “...haa?” Yup still love his voice actor. Perfection. Also Zenko. Just. Metal Bat and Zenko. Moshi moooshi? Just. This whole thing was almost perfect. So close. The fight felt so short, and it was because they cut out some good stuff. So close to perfection uhg

AH MY STUPID BIRD MAN he sounds exactly like what I wanted him to I’m so glad and HAH the fuckin hand I forgot about that. Side note, Anyone else play Arkham Asylum? The monster association logo looks like Scarecrow’s symbol in that game…. ANYWAY I need to take a moment to appreciate that little Phoenixman chuckle it was hella cute ok

Rh-Rhino Wrestler basically just said “Then Perish”

Oh Fuck

Oh God

Martial Gorilla  

Oh fuck

O H F UK

oh false alarm im ok my heart rate skyrocketed for nix Oh Maiko Plasma!! I love her voice wtf its cute? Phew ok the tournament. Wait that’s not giving me a break either because MAX AND SNEK M A X AND SN EK

I love him and his stupid hair omg. I’m REALLY hoping that the anime branching out and giving other characters more spotlight will help them grow in popularity a bit. Every single character in this series is underrated imo. Even the popular ones like geNOS LOOKIT HIM clapping for his sensei. Genos is baby boy I lov

“Dark Corporeal Fist?” Isn’t Void Fist just easier to say? really now. Oh My God Sourface chanting “I’m ok I’m ok I’m ok” is literally my daily Mood™. Damn look at Bang taking out some frustration I’d hate to be that monster. Me too my dude Smile Man.

WHOA I was NOT expecting that transition!! Heart! Hard! HIT! It’s the Monster Wife!! And She definitely looks more monstrous in color oof those eyes ❤❤

OH FUCK OH GOD WAIT MARTIAL GORILLA AGAIN DAMN IT I WISH I REMEMBERED EXACTLY WHEN Z SHOWS UP MY BLOOD PRESSURE CANT TAKE THIS ofuck ok false alarm again but I’m low key freaking out as they pan through all the monsters because the S Class is so close like we’re about to get Child Emperor, Flashy Flash, Pig God, Drive Knight, Darkshine and so on who got next to no screen time in season 1 its giving me anxiety im so pumped??

OH FUCK GUYS PUREBLOOD OH SHIT FUCK I FORGOT WE SEE HIM THIS EARLY CAUSE HIS DESIGN KEPT CHANGING he looks stupid with his hair behind his ears and his voice is NOT what I imagined and that manga panel redraw I did was way off with the color scheme but I don’t care I have read and re-read that fight countless times this monster just grew on me by default oh no UHG and look at Super S again it looks like they’re going panel for panel here with her and I’m not complaining

They keep hopping to the tournament but I don’t have much to say about it until the shit starts going down….. and like I’m so excited for that Snek and Max moment (you know the one) but until then I’m just so overwhelmed by all the other plotlines happening I don’t have much in the way of comments for it

I lied ok that eye twitch got me. But see then it cuts away too quickly and the episode is over. I get that there’s a lot happening at once but the tournament feels dragged out a bit. It’s different when you read the manga at your own pace but cmonnnnnnnnnnnnn gimme moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

HAH THANK YOU POST CREDIT STINGER YOU DELIVERED MY WISHES AND ZAKKOS IS SOME WEAK SAUCE.

NEXT WEEK GUYS ITS HAPPENING

Final thoughts. Um. I wish the Garou vs. Metal Bat was a tad longer just for that ONE moment. I’m still heartbroken over it. But otherwise? I’m so excited for next week, I can’t convey my excitement without being excessively obnoxious? this episode was pure hype. There are no buts about it- we are getting the S Class next week. I… think I’m going to leave work at noon to catch the episode right when it airs. I was saving that for an episode with Z but I don’t think I’ll be able to function at work if I stay. At this point every character is a fave and now we’re getting all of them, I feel so overloaded and we haven’t even seen anything yet. I don’t know what to even say about the future of these crap ass live blogs- they have no structure as it stands right now, but like they are going to devolve into just me screaming. Not even real words. just something like keyboard smashing and tears, probably. I’m so sorry, but anyway, as always thanks for reading, see yall next week assuming I survive

[sungggyu]

“신흥무관학교” / “iron mask” / “barnum” fan accounts

just a little over a week ago, i returned home from yet another korea trip in this year alone - this time to watch not only sunggyu but also dongwoo and woohyun’s musicals! so now that i’m back, i’ll be sharing a fan account of their musicals as i’ve done before with other performances i’ve attended ´･ᴗ･`

for those who are interested, i’ll put up a plot summary for sunggyu and dongwoo’s musicals in the next few days in a separate post!

sunggyu: shinheung military academy

16th september 2018 1430

18th september 2018 1500

18th september 2018 2000

19th september 2018 2000

sunggyu’s musical was the very first musical i watched, not just in the course of this trip but also the very first in my entire life. in other words, i have never ever been to a musical before this!! being able to experience a musical for the very first time through watching one of sunggyu’s therefore felt like somewhat of an honor, in a way?

before talking about the musical though, i just want to add that i saw sunggyu’s family…….. on the very day of my first show……………. like, what are the odds!!!!!!!!!! i had only just taken a photo of my ticket with sunggyu’s character banner at the side and turned around to walk to the seats at the back when a really familiar lady walked past me. i was still trying to recall where i’d seen that face before when not even a moment later, a squirming yoonhoo (sunggyu’s nephew) came into view and that’s when it clicked in my head.. she was sunggyu’s sister (இ﹏இ`。) i was so shocked that according to my friend, i froze on the spot LOL. after a few moments though, i finally got myself together and we went to the seats at the side as we originally intended. we caught a few more glimpses of his family a bit later and honestly they were just like any other ordinary family with a baby haha. yoonhoo kept throwing an empty bottle on the ground when he played with his dad but when he played with his grandpa, he kept tugging at grandpa’s clothes! eventually, when we went into the theatre, sunggyu’s parents stayed outside watching the baby while his sister and brother-in-law entered the theatre. after the musical, when we were leaving and making our way to woohyun’s musical venue, we walked past sunggyu’s mother carrying yoonhoo again near the theatre’s lobby. it seemed like baby-sitting duty was over for her so she’ll be watching the evening show with her husband while sunggyu’s sister and brother-in-law took over the baby-sitting role ahaha. it was such an unexpected but pleasant encounter! （´·｀ ）♡

what was really funny though (sorry sunggyu), was that yoonhoo looked so happy the entire day yet as soon as he saw his uncle....

moving on to sunggyu’s musical “shinheung military academy”, it’s a state-produced musical to commerate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the korean army. with this in mind, i was a little wary that the musical may be full of state propaganda and therefore, potentially lacking/subpar compared to those produced by privately owned production companies. as it turns out, however, the musical went above and beyond my expectations. it was most definitely not subpar and it was not just average either! it was so good that it exceeded all of my expectations ;-; imo the plot of the musical was brought out even better due to the A-list actors they recruited (ji changwook, kang haneul)..? seeing those two actors live in action had been a really incredible experience as well. both ji changwook and kang haneul really surprised me with how well they sang and it was not until days later that i found out they both actually made their debut in the musical theater.. which explains…

sunggyu plays ji cheongcheon, a korean general who was trained in the japanese imperial military academy before defecting to guide and lead the guerilla forces behind the korean independence movement under japanese colonial rule. to be really honest, sunggyu doesn’t have a very huge role and doesn’t appear much in the musical. he may be listed as one of the “main” casts alongside ji changwook and kang haneul but personally, i feel that this is very much just an honorary title? what’s interesting to note is that sunggyu’s character is one of the few, if not the only, character that is based on a real life war hero. i think sunggyu mentioned that he felt really honoured and awed to be playing an actual war hero, and he was so intrigued he spent lots of time reading up on the man’s biography.

in the first part of the musical, sunggyu only appears very briefly to sing one verse in the first song and in one of the next few songs. probably due to the character he is playing, he runs a lot, which was honestly a pretty refreshing sight lol. every time he makes an appearance, he’s basically running onto stage before running off stage again after singing his lines. he has one solo song in the first part of the musical, complete with a long sword dance and i have to say it was so!! hot!!! especially in that military uniform of his? wow. at the end of the song, he runs off stage with a torchlight, down the left aisle in the audience seats before turning and making his exit from the right side of the theatre’s door. he appears more in the second part of the musical, complete with lots of fighting moves due to the thickening of the plot. he does roundhouse kicks and punches here and there, taking down all the enemies with ease depsite being surrounded and outnumbered by them. (i know this is just a fictional plot but just picture that.. super hot)

there are times when many of the cast members sing together for an ensemble piece and in times like this, i would say you can hear pretty distinctively that sunggyu takes the notes that are an octave higher than most other cast members ;-; i checked with a few of my friends who watched the musical as well and most of them thought that the high note sounded like him too! other giveaways include the extra quivering of his lip, the subtle movement of him opening his mouth wider the very same time the high note comes on.. and many more haha. but honestly i do think it sounds a lot like sunggyu too. my boy :’)

personally, as much as i enjoyed the musicals, the part i always looked forward to the most was the curtain call at the end of the musicals because that’s when actor!gyu goes away and natural!gyu comes back :-( when he makes his appearance, he climbs up this huge stage prop and stands at the top, beaming for a short moment before making his way down to stage center to take a bow, do a salute and greet the audiences. he does so in a very sunggyu-like manner (aka in all the glory of his natural cuteness), fists half hidden in his big coat, waving frantically and excitedly in every direction all with a really precious and genuine smile on his face ;-; after all the cast members have greeted the audiences and taken a final bow together, they returned to the center of the stage as the curtain draws. it was always during these short-lived moments that sunggyu does the most adorable actions!! on the first show and the last show i went to, he shot cute little fingerhearts to audiences in every direction (ಥ﹏ಥ) on the evening show on the 16th of september which i missed due to woohyun’s musical, he even did a little dance according to my friend who watched it (T⌓T)

i must add that it was also really heartwarming to witness sunggyu’s interactions with his new friends! in one song where kang haneul’s character dusts off sunggyu’s shoulders as part of the performance, i personally witnessed sunggyu wiggling his brows at kang haneul hahaha. during the curtain call in the final show i watched, sunggyu was doing thumbs up to all the actors around him and subsequently, ji changwook turned around and patted him on his cheeks.. he is just so loved wherever he goes ´·ᴗ·`♡

my friends who have watched sunggyu’s musicals have always told me how one could see that he genuinely enjoys doing musicals and now that i’ve finally seen it for myself, i can’t help but to agree, it seems like the stage is truly where he belongs ♡_♡

dongwoo: iron mask

19th september 2018 1600

dongwoo’s musical “iron mask” was set in paris, france in the 1600s and it was really interesting to say the least! i must admit that i spoiled myself beforehand by looking up the plot but then again if i hadn’t, i doubt i would’ve understood much of the musical considering how weak my korean language skills are :/

after watching dongwoo’s musical, i personally felt that his singing in there wasn’t his best ever yet, but i think this has more to do with how musicals demand much more than just simply singing a song. it requires (emotional) acting, which dongwoo portrayed REALLY well, and i would say his acting makes up for it a lot. that said, his singing was still pretty damn good even though it didn’t seem to be the best i’ve heard from him. it was a bit shakier in the first half of the musical but once intermission was over and we moved to the second half, it stabilised a lot more ♡ when curtain call rolled around, i realised dongwoo must’ve been really nervous earlier because many of the older cast members were all patting him on his head, his back, ruffling his hair and just babying him. from an outsider’s perspective, those seemed to be acts of encouragement, praise and comfort.. which was why i think dongwoo must’ve been nervous before.. not to mention the fact that it was his first ever show for this musical.

expanding on dongwoo’s performance in the musical, i must say that he was an amazing actor. he’s such a wasted talent (πーπ) dongwoo played double characters in this musical - his role was both the elder and younger twin born to the parisian royal family in the 1600s. basically, the elder twin, louis, was the king whereas the younger twin, philip, who had been kept away from the public eye ever since he was young, was as good as a prisoner to the extent he’s unfamiliar with all the royal ettiquete that his elder brother has long been acquainted with. simply put, louis was a huge ass of a person and a king and philip, his complete opposite, was kind and gentle, albeit clumsy. the musical showcased dongwoo’s ability as an actor due to the huge contrast in the characters of both brothers he was portraying. dongwoo could leave the stage laughing his head off as a deranged (and somewhat psychopathic) louis after he had some man killed just so he could have their lover all to himself as his queen but within a minute, when the scene changes, he’ll be back on stage as weak and clumsy philip, who apologises to everyone for the slightest things he couldn’t have had control over anyway. dongwoo did such a great job in portraying each twin so cleanly without any overlap or confusion which is why i say he acted so well ;-; with enlistment coming round the corner for dongwoo, i doubt that he’ll have time to be doing anymore musicals, especially if we consider how there had been mentions of his solo as well. but if there’s a chance in the post-enlistment future, however, i’ll definitely be looking forward to his potential projects!

woohyun: barnum - the greatest showman

16th september 2018 1830

truthfully, i remembered the least from woohyun’s musical because i was feeling a little under the weather on the day i went to see his musical :-( that and the fact that it’s one of the earlier shows i watched compared to the other dongwoo and sunggyu shows.. but from the bit i do remember, he sang (really well, obviously) in a lot of lower range notes which was kinda refreshing considering how he’s usually in charge of a lot of high notes in infinite songs! if my ears didn’t fail me, the usual reminder to audiences to turn off their phones and that recordings of any form were prohibited was announced through a voice recording made by woohyun? hahaha. as soon as that ended, he appeared on stage right away and started the first song.

i would like to make a note that there was so much bromance going on between woohyun’s character (amos scudder) and the lead actor who played p.t. barnum and it was so adorable. the lead actor was easily taller than woohyun since woohyun is not the biggest man so during the many scenes where barnum grabs and hugs amos in joy, the lead actor literally lifted tiny woohyun off his feet in a tight hug and it was soooooo cute (ಥ﹏ಥ) there was another scene where the lead actor (i’ll just call him barnum from now) and woohyun ventured into the audience seats on the ground floor as part of the scene where they were pooling funds. at one point, after collecting enough “funds” (which were really just fan letters in envelopes), barnum said “i’ll give you amos” and then pushed woohyun into the crowd. the screams!! were so loud!!! woohyun was man-handled easily and i don’t know how else to say it but it was just so cute ugh. woohyun is smol, we get it, no need for the constant reminder (⋟﹏⋞) these aside, there were also the scenes of barnum and woohyun almost kissing (on the lips lol) and barnum slapping woohyun’s butt so yeah that’s about it for their bromance.

miscellanous notes from the musical:

there was this part at the start where barnum said amos was good-looking so woohyun made a flower pose

woohyun did a cartwheel

woohyun’s character got angry a lot and shouted so much it was lowkey 🔥

woohyun danced to ‘tell me’

after the show, we went to catch woohyun at his post-show greeting with fans at the lobby of the venue. it took some time before he appeared but when he finally showed up, he talked for quite some time and it was so sweet even though i understood close to nothing. other than the fact that inspirits are 너만이’s mom(s) from now on ;-) when he left the venue, fans lined the pedestrian walkway to send him off in the driveway and at one point he was so close to me i was so !!!#$%%#^@!$@! HE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.. that perfect face barely 2 metres away from me.. i had an internal breakdown seeing this beautiful man that up-close..

there was some talk going on later that night on twitter about a fan who allegedly grabbed his hand from the open car window and kissed it but personally i doubt it happened. after looking at the photos i realised said fan was actually the one right next to me and in the fancam i managed to film, there was no kissing going on. it was probably the photo angle in the initial photo that spread. if there was anything awful about that send-off, however, it was all those fans who ran after his car when it drove out of the driveway just because it stopped at a traffic light outside. that was really something.. which i hope will never happen again in the future :-/

all in all, this had been a really great trip! even though i got to see sunggyu’s solo concerts in the previous trip (featuring these two as well), this trip just felt so much better overall in that i was able to see each of my faves performing on a different kind of stage. oh, and did i mention our chance encounter with hoya at his brother’s restaurant too? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) as i’ve said, this trip was truly 10/10.