#i can get some s l e ep

[hotwaterandmilk]

Discotek Media announced today that their blu-ray release of Kodocha series two is now available to pre-order from RightStuf ahead of its May 30th 2023 release date.

If you're into Kodocha you'll probably know that only the first part of the anime series has previously received a US release. For countless English-speaking Kodocha fans the only access they've had to the rest of the anime adaptation has been through raws or extremely messy bootleg subs. Discotek Media will change that with their release of the remaining TV anime episodes on SD blu-ray this year!

There's been a lot of anticipation for this Discotek release as it has been quite some time coming subsequent to their licensing announcement, but anyone familiar with the source material will appreciate the absolutely MAMMOTH job that translating & subbing these episodes would have required on Discotek's part. I know I'm just happy they were able to complete it and put together this release at all.

Unlike the first series, which received an English dub, the second Kodocha anime series blu-ray will only feature English subtitles -- but don't let the absence of a dub put you off too much, the original cast are incredible and if you want to see the characters a little older and in even more challenging situations, you'll definitely get your money's worth out of this release.

As usual, I think an Amazon pre-order link will come in time but Right Stuf offers a solid discount on their pre-orders so if you want to get your hands on this BD set at a decent price then they're probably your best bet.

Edit: For those interested, the first Kodocha blu-ray set from Discotek is still available via Right Stuf and Amazon.

[tinsyfairy]

09.19 food diary ! 🍂

*note : this is not intended to encourage anybody or follow my habits i'm just documenting my life and i want to find others who are like me :)

₊⊹ intake limit : 1.3k

₊⊹ water intake : 1.5L

₊⊹ f4st¡ng time : 18 hrs

⌗ breakfast :

– 1/2 cup of strawbs and banana (53)

– 1 apple (95)

> total : 148

⌗ lunch :

– 3 mandarins (135)

> total : 135

⌗ dinner :

– 1 apple (95)

– 1/2 cup of berries (35)

– raw honey (53)

> total : 183

other :

– applesauce pouch (60)

– sf orange jello (5)

> total : 65

☆ total : 534

☆ burned : 529 / 15k st-eps / 25 min p¡late-s

☆ net : 5

— log :

hi friendsss! today was a fruit mono and pretty busy day but i did a lot of studying and catching up on work! I did c/$ some food my mom made bc I was getting b¡nge urges luckily after I did that they went away :) I think my parents are starting to not care if I eat w them at dinner mainly because they want me to focus on school (which is awesome because they usually cook high c-l low volume stuff) they're also allowing me to have meal alternatives instead of forcing me to e-t so now I can seriously control my intake instead of just estimating (i'll try to omad dinner sometimes with them though) anyways I hope you guys all had a great day orrr I hope you have a great day:) stay safe <3

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

The Killing Vote (ep. 7 notes)

The Killing Vote (ep. 1-5 notes) The Killing Vote (ep. 6 & overall notes) The Killing Vote: more on Joohyun, Kwon Seokju & Kim Muchan

I don’t know if you saw, but they announced episode 8 will be out next week on October 5th……….. After THIS preview no less, you’ve got to be kidding me aaaaaaaa (PД`q。 ) ·。 ' ゜

This got again really long, sorry again!!!!

Have a nice week!

(SPOILERS UP TO EPISODE 7!!!!)

Let Jihoon, Joomin, Joohyun, KMC & KSJ get their happy found family ending (இ﹏இ`｡) Put them in a slice of life, far far away from this noir genre plsssssss

I appreciated the fact that no explicit violence (except when BWT was beaten up by Min Jiyoung's family & KMC) was shown on screen ie. for Narae nor her dog ; the violence implied from all the scenes were more than enough already (eg. the video on KSJ ; the audio recording Narae’s voice)... ! And by the way, Park Sungwoong's acting in this episode!!!!!! I also loved how KMC’s character was shown trying to maintain a composure/restraint (his voice damn) in front of KSJ’s grief.

And the Jihoon & Joohyun scenes were GREAT!! Joohyun sounds like that sister you can naturally rely on!

(She needs to live, you hear me?!)

(Don’t read the new OST’s lyrics you are warned haha, it was beautifully played for Jihoon’s scene and the lyrics could also very well apply to KMC & KSJ in KMC’s pov!)

♦ September 15, 2015 (Lrae091515)

Narae disappeared on September 15, 2015… Just like how the video test is titled!

OH and something I missed!!! In the first post I mentioned the video test title, I wondered if it could refer to both Narae and Dies Irae (since Mozart’s Requiem was played in ep4):

As for the ‘Lrae’… It could be a wild WILD guess but ‘Lrae’ could be ‘irae’ as in Dies Irae/day of wrath (capital i looks like a lowercase L), which is a sequence in Requiem mass!

But the capital L could also stand for the korean letter ᄂ/니은 (nieun), which is the first letter for Narae/나래. Added to the ‘rae’, it gives ‘Narae091515’.

♦ The items in LMS’s room & his ring

Some of the items that were in the display case in LMS’s hidden room were revealed in this episode (from left to right):

KSJ’s suitcase

KSJ’s book he signed for LMS

KSJ’s mug, which is seen carried in the present by:

Jihoon (we only see him retrieve it from the deliveryman)

LMS (a whole collection)

This Gaetal in ep4 with this particular red mug when they rage as the public opinion is shaken because KMC was believed to be dead.

The picture with Narae seems to have been taken the day of the conference shown at the beginning of the episode. LMS probably stole the picture because it was a significant day to him ie. when he met KSJ in person.

Also, about the ring, LMS had it even in the flashbacks (picture to the right). Could it be some device to send him a reminder to take his medicine?

♦ More on shame

Something I wanted to add to what I said in a previous post (‘On the frames facing down (ep. 1 & 6), shame and guilt’): when KSJ visited his house in the present thanks to Joohyun, he only dusted off Narae’s picture to face her stuffed bunny.

Ep7 showed the other frame was a picture of KSJ and her, so it could show how he still strongly feels he failed her as her father:

♦ Narae, Joomin and Jihoon

FINALLY a bittersweet but hopeful? (I don’t care if it’s wishful thinking, let me hope okay ;;) parallel that’s clearly the opposite of ep4 & 6’s framing, the new OST (Aalia, Blue) was a perfect addition, it was soothing:

♦ The third person meeting with Narae and KSJ

(1) « She »

At the beginning of the episode, Narae met KSJ and said a ‘she’ couldn’t join them for dinner according to the subtitle translation when I watched.

(I’m unfortunately not able to watch on Prime, so I’m not sure if it’s fansubs or the Prime translation ; I wanted to use my free trial to watch the drama and other series, but it’s region-locked in my country and I don’t have a VPN ;;)

The gendered pronoun is an addition of the translation as the original exchange omitted any indication on the subject.

Most of the time [in Korean] the subject is implied, and you would rather address someone by their title or name (with an honorific if need be) depending on your relationship eg. Joohyun calls KMC 팀장님/team leader and KSJ 교수님/professor, Joomin calls her sister 언니/big sister. Note: but it can also be used by a female speaker for an older woman she’s close to eg. a friend, a girlfriend (like 형 = younger man -> older man ; 오빠 = younger woman -> older man or 누나 = younger man -> older woman).

This is how Narae and KSJ’s conversation went:

« — 왜 혼자 왔어? / Why did you come alone? — 또 먼저 갔지. 오늘도 할일이 엄청 또 많대. / [They] left early again. [They] said [they] had a lot of things to do today too. — 셋이 같이 저녁을 먹을랬는데. (…) / I’d hoped the three of us could have dinner together. »

Nothing in this exchange hints at the identity of the person that accompanied Narae. KSJ only mentions the three of them (셋이), nothing else.

(Of course, translating this exchange could be really tricky because it’s about a context that only Narae and KSJ are privy of and we’re unfamiliar to, how to introduce a character we potentially know nothing of?)

But the conversation shows:

— That person usually accompanied Narae to see her father (and probably picked her up from school first & walked the dog together) ; that explains why the subject is omitted in the conversation because it’s implied from their daily life.

— They sounded like an adult habitually swamped with what looks like a usually time-consuming work (which excludes Jihoon)

— They seemed close enough to both Narae & KSJ (who jokingly says it’ll be a father-daughter date if they don’t come), dinner with them sounded customary.

— We know it couldn’t be about KSJ’s ‘late wife’ as Min Jiyoung comments ‘It must be hard for him to raise a girl by himself’ as they’re driving home from the conference.

— It has been highlighted twice already how hard, to society/KSJ’s surroundings, raising a girl by himself must be: first with Min Jiyoung’s housekeeper in ep5 (‘They felt sorry for me for raising my daughter alone, so they would share food with me sometimes.’), then Min Jiyoung herself in ep7. Whoever that was, this person also might've helped KSJ to raise Narae unbeknownst to everyone else.

So it was supposed to be someone close to the two of them.

(2) Kim Muchan?

In the same episode, when KMC said Choi Jinsu knew what kind of relationship he had with KSJ, CJS later described it as a ‘close relationship’ (가까은 사이), the same adjective KSJ uses to describe KMC in the present (see in a previous post the notes on 가깝다).

KMC is also the one shown in the very next scenes working hard to bust drug scenes (to the point of eating those painkillers like it’s popcorn). It’s also highly likely the other cases we saw on the news were also recklessly solved by him. (Also the ‘Lives Here.’ on the mirror is a fitting detail to his workaholic side!)

He's still the same in the present and brings work at home. Even though he gets around the law to arrest culprits, the reputation he has now can also attest to the fact he’s still relentlessly absorbed by his work.

This was indeed how Jodan described KMC to Joohyun:

« (…) aka. Wipeout. Pressuring criminals to admit more crimes. Making a case bigger to take more credit. He somehow makes cases into special ones. That’s how he made his way up to Seoul from the south. The master of promotions. (…) Based on his arrest rate, he should be at the top, but those up there must hate him. »

And KMC was close enough to KSJ and Narae to firmly believe Narae would never run away from home, like family would say ; KSJ was the only person he trusted and looked up to.

Not to mention KSJ was completely tensed as Choi Jinsu interrogated him but relaxed once KMC took over, letting out a sigh of relief and dropping his guard to cry.

EDIT: KMC also knew calling KSJ 'hyung' instead of 'Professor' would eventually make him react, as he was lifeless and caught in his thoughts so far.

(3) How long did KMC know KSJ?

KSJ began teaching at KNPU in 2008, which means KMC and him must’ve known each other for at least 7+ years (it’d be 15+ years in the present): ‘Have you forgotten? I said I’d be your number one fan. I said that at your first lecture at KNPU.’

Also KSJ is 44 years old btw, I missed that detail in ep4 when KMC checked his files!

♦ Relationships conveyed through pictures

It’s interesting how the drama keeps highlighting the importance of KSJ and KMC’s relationship, but there’s (yet) no picture to materialize this truth in people’s eyes, while the other significant relationships are framed in the drama:

-> Joohyun’s family portrait and a picture of Joohyun and Joomin in the present.

-> KMC picture with someone who might be his mother.

-> Many pictures of KSJ and Narae filled the house’s walls and the furniture and there was a picture of Narae and Jihoon with the handmade bunny toys hanging on their backpack.

And even though nobody might’ve heard of KSJ adopting Jihoon soon at the time (except KMC), he was present in Narae’s drawings by her and KSJ’s side. And he also drew the three of them together.

-> Min Jiyoung’s family portrait was ostentatiously exhibited in the past & is still used to build her image for her campaign. But there’s also a small portrait with only her and LMS at her apartment in the present.

KSJ and KMC’s relationship evades common portrayal. (Not to mention family portraits are often shown in dramas to foreshadow underlying dynamics between its members!)

The only picture we were shown of them was on the day KSJ was sent to prison:

♦ KSJ’s health and military service

On KSJ’s resume (first picture), you can see he was exempted of military duty.

Indeed, what’s written on the left column under his military status is 미필 (incompletion, if he had been discharged after completing his military duty, it would be written 군필), and the rank and service term columns are empty.

I can’t quite make out everything that’s under the last column for the reason of incompletion, but I read 기형 (deformity), 친환 (one’s parent illness) and 변재 (accident) … ?

However what we learned when KMC checked his medical files in ep4 (third picture) was that he’s got asthma (천식) and primary spontaneous pneumothorax (일차성 자연기흉) ie. occurring without an apparent cause when there’s originally no known lung disease while there’s a preexisting lung disease when it’s secondary.

« Until now the cause of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) has not been identified, however; several risk factors have been identified such as; smoking, male sex, and a family history of pneumothorax ».

So he was probably exempted due to his long-time health issue (asthma, lung collapse), and maybe KSJ’s family had a history of pneumothorax.

♦ Who is Gaetal?

Is LMS really Gaetal? Are Fan no. 1 & Gaetal different people?

As I said in a previous post, the drama plays with the bias that everything must’ve been done by the same individual/a same group with the same intentions, so it’s possible:

Gaetal in the video test

Gaetal in the prerecorded votes, at least the first one (because the tone, gesture and expressions seemed different compared to the two next votes)

Gaetal broadcasted live (for Cpt. Oh’s vote)

Fan no. 1 who wrote the letters to KSJ

Fan no. 1 JJW said he was working with who described KSJ as the one they admired the most but also said they destroyed the person he loved the most, so he must hate them

Are different people in some cases, meaning:

— The ‘Fan no. 1’ Jung Jinwook worked with might not be LMS, since they never met each other

— It could be Jihoon, or at the very least, he’s an accomplice (there’s this exchange with Joohyun about the shift from an accessory to an accomplice, it could be foreshadowing). He’s well-versed in hacking, he most likely ‘admired’ KSJ and feels guilty over Narae’s death (and probably over BWT’s murder by KSJ), as KSJ said to KMC:

« — [Narae and Jihoon] were supposed to meet that day. — Yes, he thinks all of this happened because he was late. He’s still in shock. »

(He could’ve been the one to have faced Narae’s picture down!)

We don’t know his whereabouts for these 8 years but he must’ve been in contact with KSJ at least once since what happened and given KSJ’s reaction when KMC asked him if he contacted him.

Also Jihoon was definitely searching for KSJ before Joohyun interrupted him when he was at the Police Agency at the end of the episode.

He looked like he definitely knew the content of the ‘video test’ too (or recognized the room), he seemed dumbfounded to learn Joomin found it in ep3:

Determined to help, a part of him could’ve held KMC guilty of the chain of events 8 years ago. KSJ entrusted his handmade bunny toy to KMC and said:

« He said he made them himself, so there are only two of them. Whoever has Narae’s is the murderer, so he told me to use this to catch him. He left this with me. I’m counting on you. »

And KSJ must have some part in whatever is happening now with the Killing Vote: after all, we never got the reason KSJ went out of prison in ep4 (‘If they find out what I did instead of performing labor, they might believe the suspicions are true.’).

-> This scene in ep3 (the first set of pictures on the left): of course this shows his relief because he still cares for KMC but it seemed like he somehow already knew for a fact KMC was out of danger, even before the janitor said he was barely hanging on and not off the hook at all.

— This was even before the video of KMC was revealed to the public in the next episode ;

— The present Gaetal might have informed him in advance a police officer got involved in the bombing against their will, without revealing it was KMC. This would explain why KSJ seemed genuinely surprised when the janitor said it was KMC (the last two pictures of the set) ;

— Someone else could have informed him even if it seems difficult from the prison (but we know he got lots of privileges there and we still don’t know what he did for the warden ; the visit register could have been fabricated and someone indeed met him) ;

— It’s worth pointing out KSJ was convinced KMC was Gaetal up until ep6, which adds another layer to this scene.

-> His reaction in ep5 was also curious (the second set of pictures on the right), he only got perplexed for the video test, as though he was well-acquainted with the rest of whatever was going on except for that one detail (which adds to the theory that Gaetal in the video test ≠ Gaetal in the Killing Vote/Fan no. 1).

Curiously, as I said just above, while KSJ seemed unaware of the video test's existence, Jihoon looked familiar with its content on the contrary.

KSJ never outright denied he was Gaetal eg. his interview with Joohyun in ep2:

«  — ‘Devils who were deemed innocent.’ The phrase that the killer used… You were the first one to say it, weren’t you? I think the killer has something to do with you. — The two people who used the same phrase must be connected. That’s such a naive approach. »

Ep6 only showed KSJ hoped KMC was Gaetal.

And you wouldn’t say KMC’s ‘I’m a cop.’ is a real answer too. Hate to admit it, but KMC stayed silent when KSJ wanted to confirm he was sincere: his feelings might be genuine, but denying he’s Gaetal could very well be a lie.

As for KMC’s front ie. keeping silent when asked about his relationship with KSJ, I guess it comes from his determination to solve all this by his own hands this time: he knows they would take him off the case otherwise. (And for some reason, I can’t help but also suspect Joohyun aaaaa we still don’t know anything about her past!!)

KMC or KSJ, one of the two might be related somehow ; if so, I guess they’d be trying to plan something without the other knowing in order not to involve them and also because the other would disapprove (eg. KSJ to put an end to KMC’s guilt ; KMC to offer some peace to KSJ after all the tragedy and his past mistakes).

— Plus, the Gaetal of the first vote sounded suspiciously like KSJ (his silhouette and gait too) eg. t h a t tremulous voice when he gets angry (the actor plays a lot with that in his roles overall).

— The first vote was prepared from a redevelopment area and BGC was murdered there (pictures on the right).

In ep7, in addition to the video accusing KSJ of being dubious and the witness statement, Narae being found in a redevelopment area was what made the police suspect KSJ of murdering her, since he was known for standing up against said building’s demolition:

« You’d been to the place where the body was found, right? Don’t even think about lying. We know you protested against demolishing that building. »

(Even before Joohyun showed him the Gaetal video test, KMC must’ve had his suspicions from BGC’s murder scene and the broadcast after the body was found eg. recognizing KSJ’s tone, 'the devils deemed innocent' or the ‘rational justice’!)

Narae might’ve been found in the lower part of the building BGC’s vote was prepared in: even though the first story doors were repainted in red and handrails were added to the bridge, the overall architecture and the sort of electricity meter/letter box on the ground floor look the same.

And even without it being the same building, it holds enough resemblance for it to seem like a disturbing recall of the events 8 years ago, combined with Gaetal’s keywords.

— LMS could’ve killed BGC’s wife as Gaetal's copycat at first but that still wouldn’t explain his involvement to the Killing Vote, saying he would give it to his mother as a present.

(But his conversation with KMC when he interviewed him in the present really gave me the impression he knew something about KMC we were not shown, and that could foreshadow what'll happen in the next episode!)

— About LMS’s true perception of justice: we never got to hear his opinion, Narae came running to her father and KSJ interrupted the conversation. So far, the drama didn’t show if his ideals align with Gaetal’s for example, but some elements in the flashbacks clearly show it could be the case.

In fact, his notes about ‘proper justice’ could align with Gaetal’s concept of vigilantism to make up for a failing official retributive justice.

And his ‘If you pass judgment without looking at things clearly, it’s not being fair. It’s being indifferent.’ clearly parallels KSJ’s opinion in the present (ep6):

« Lady Justice wears a blindfold because she’s afraid of bias in decisions. That always bothered me. If you don’t look at cases and the people involved clearly, how can one pass fair judgment? Can judgments without experience be right? Only after losing my daughter did I realize I was qualified to judge others. »

KSJ’s past self would’ve been moderate and warned him however: ‘Relying solely on your experiences can also lead to bias. Experiences are gained through situations and conflicts. They can’t be absolute truths.’

But this detail is something KMC doesn’t know, he instead focuses on LMS’s elitism because he didn’t have those kinds of exchanges with him.

♦ ‘No. 1 Fan’ & LMS

So…………………… You mean to tell me « No. 1 Fan » was originally a memory both KSJ and KMC held dear? That LMS chose this very nickname as a penname for the 5 whole years he sent letters to KSJ? That LMS described KSJ to JJW as the man he admired the most, just like KMC said in that exchange.......... ?

There’s literally no way in hell LMS didn’t listen KMC and KSJ’s conversation ; « no. 1 Fan » could be common in any other cases but not in this one: LMS made everyone around KSJ gone from the picture, it wouldn’t surprise me KMC was/is meant to be the next (LMS even describes him as a ‘cockroach’ hard to kill in ep5).

As to how he got to learn all that, bugging one of the two’s communications/belongings/Narae’s room (eg. that ‘My Daddy My Hero’ seems to be the only thing taken from the house, or the device Jodan found in the ceiling, as it’s totally covered with dust) or even hiding in KSJ’s house that day and listening to their exchange wouldn’t be that surprising given what he did and how he seems to enjoy playing recklessly.

What Jodan found looks like the kind of device that transmits frequencies to another device (eg. cell phone, a recorder prepared to this end).

In this episode, we saw LMS watched everything among the crowd each time (when Narae’s body was found, when KSJ was sent to prison), there could very well be times he watched unnoticed from KMC or KSJ.

I guess he learned about the ‘rational justice’ the same way: he could’ve heard the ‘devils deemed innocent’ from his mother or some other way (eg. if he hacked the court’s archives, he could’ve found the trial transcripts), but ‘rational justice’ was something only KSJ and KMC knew about (at least, at this point of the drama).

Given his obsession for KSJ, LMS could benefit from deliberately using a precious memory that KSJ could only attribute to KMC and posing as KMC: that would finally make him assume a special position in KSJ’s eyes (and it worked: that’s probably why KSJ firmly believed Gaetal and/or the one who wrote him letters was KMC).

And he probably deludes himself into believing it was originally his by right, not Narae’s, not KMC’s nor anyone else’s (I don’t think he knew Jihoon even if he observed the house): he considers himself KSJ’s only entitled Fan no. 1.

At the same time, becoming Gaetal, a figure that would finally bring the justice to KSJ which KMC failed to do, gives him the opportunity to finally ‘judge’/destroy KMC as he wished. Eg. making him the next Killing Vote target by showing people he was deceiving them (his ‘Wipeout’ reputation) ; or distorting facts about his involvement in Narae’s case (just like the video Min Jiyoung/LMS made on KSJ to divert the attention off her son).

And this seems to be the case in the preview:

The screen on the left side of the shot displays an edit of KMC (which looks like those Gaetal did for the previous targets ; the picture seems to come from when the journalists gathered at the prison when they learned he was alive), and if I’m not mistaken you can read on the banner « 속였습니다 » (‘I/He deceived/lied to [the people maybe?]’), which might be a reference to what he said in ep4 where he also used 속였습니다.

♦ « This house had good natural lighting »

Losing Narae left KSJ lifeless. In this episode’s flashback, his profile, livid, is blinded by white light, like a ghost.

Even though he stood in Narae’s room, he was perhaps longing for the house that was already not there anymore and that initially had ‘good natural lighting’, as Joohyun said in ep4. It symbolized all the happiness he shared with Narae.

And KMC could only witness, helpless, KSJ’s grief.

In retrospect, on the second set of pictures to the right, the sight of KSJ’s silhouette in a similar setting and lighting (when KSJ was transferred to the Police Agency, ep5) might’ve reminded KMC of this memory.

The drama highlighted this theme in other previous scenes too. They have in common a silhouette shot in an overall dark setting facing a strong backlighting.

[And you can notice the shots get gradually brighter as the drama progresses and KSJ gets out of prison!]

Joohyun's scene on the top right was so beautifully shot... !

-> When KSJ is transferred to the Police Agency ;

-> When Joohyun interviews KSJ and makes him listen to Mozart’s Requiem in ep4. And also KMC’s reaction we could better understand in retrospect as he listened (the pictures on the bottom right) ;

-> When KSJ enjoyed the light from the prison in ep4 ;

-> When he looked outside from his cell’s window while meditating in the first episode ;

-> When KMC wanted to visit KSJ but he refused to meet him in ep2 (and we can once again better interpret his expressions in retrospect to ep7).

Note: in ep3, KMC’s reaction to the tagged wall (‘the 13th was wrong’) and the news articles about the case from 8 years ago could also now be interpreted as pained in retrospect ; his surprise upon discovering this also shows it’s at least not him who messed the room that way. If he cared for Narae as this episode showed, he probably wouldn’t have damaged her room. It's also maybe relevant to note again that the video test didn't have the tagged wall!

♦ Min Jiyoung’s classism

Whatever Min Jiyoung found on KMC was something she did not approve according to her standards: she went from ‘that detective’ when she first met him to ‘bastard like you/the likes of you’ at the end of the trial.

I get BIG classist undertones when she speaks to him, and it's not the sole occurrence:

-> When she fired her previous aide because he advised her in a way she deemed unsatisfactory, she commented: ‘촌스러운 새끼’ which was translated to ‘What a loser.’ The adjective she used is 촌스럽다 (unpolished, countrified, dowdy ie. « one’s attitude or taste being unsophisticated and looking like that of a country person »).

The Naver Dictionary also gives the expression ‘촌스러운 사람’ and translates it as ‘a lout, rustic, clodhopper, boor’.

새끼 means offspring (cub or child/kid), but it’s often used as an insult to mean someone’s a jerk/bastard/etc. which is the case here (eg. 개새끼, SOB/bastard).

-> The housekeeper: KSJ described her as ‘도우미’ (assistant, helper) and was getting along well with her and her husband (‘They felt sorry for me for raising my daughter alone, so they would share food with me sometimes. (…) Though we didn’t know each other very well, we were quite close.’).

And Min Jiyoung, who lives with her and her family, calls her…… an expense (‘비용’) if I’m hearing well (at the very least, it doesn’t sound like any of the words commonly used for housekeepers eg. 가정부, 도우미, 파출부, 하녀…), and it could explain why KMC made her repeat.

-> She used 너 같은 새끼 to insult KMC (‘bastards like you/the likes of you’), right after calling LMS his son (아들), which could imply the latter qualifies more as a person than him. She even deems him a taint/테인트 threatening to spoil their status/reputation.

-> She said to LMS in ep5: ‘[KMC] must be trying to make ends meet. You better stay away from those vermins.’

And be it a coincidence or not, Jihoon’s grandmother was also judgmental towards Joohyun and her sister (ep4, first set of pictures).

Her reaction to KSJ’s idea (she was taken aback and raised her eyebrow then looked embarrassed as she tried to answer) could also be explained by some distance she wants to put between her and disreputable people (ep6, second set of pictures).

Gaetal targeted the rich so far (‘The law that is more harsh on victims than on criminals… It feeds like a parasite off of money and power, so the ones who deserve to die are still alive.’), like some sort of Robin Hood as KMC commented.

♦ « Hyung »

(breaking my silence once again…) KMC and KSJ were lovers/KMC was in love and they were in their domestic life bubble (and ngl that ‘… [and the one] I look up to.’ delivery with that hesitant interruption felt like a left out confession)

The scene in Narae’s room was paralleled in the present at the end of the episode:

You can notice with this comparison that most (if not all) of KSJ & KMC’s scenes in the present are submerged by blue tones in the prison cell and at the Police Agency, just like in the lyrics of the new OST with the wordplay on the color blue and feeling blue! eg. 눈을 감아보면 I see blue — 그런 너의 모습에 feel so blue (When I close my eyes I see blue — At the sight of you feel so blue) 네게 가려진 난 I see blue — 몰랐던 너의 모습에 feel so blue (I’m covered/obscured by you I see blue — This side of you I didn’t know feel so blue)

♦ Gaetal, masks and dogs

Gaetal could be translated as ‘dog mask’ (개, dog + 탈, mask).

GAETAL AND MASKS

Gaetal’s excentric and playful, Robin Hood-esque character and their theatrics could be a reference to the traditional Korean masks.

« [Korean masks] were used in war, on both soldiers and their horses ; ceremonially, for burial rites in jade and bronze and for shamanistic ceremonies to drive away evil spirits/illness/bad luck out of an individual or a village (often horrifying or grotesque to invoke fear and humor), to remember the faces of great historical figures, and in the arts, particularly in ritual dances, courtly, and theatrical plays. The present uses are as miniature masks for souvenirs, or on phones hung as good-luck talismans. There are two ways to categorize masks: religious masks and artistic masks. »

Indeed, KSJ had a glass display of Korean masks in his house (it’s a limited Seoul 1988 Olympic Games Korean Masks Collection):

Masks are in fact known to be used in talchum/talnori (mask dance/play), an art developed after a cultural shift in society: masks were initially used in religious activities, but entertainment and festivities factored in through time.

« An ensemble of musicians accompanies masked performers who humorously explore social issues through dramatic combinations of cheerful, energetic and rhythmical songs, dances, movements and dialogue. »

They mostly originated from the pre-modern society of the Joseon dynasty. The country was governed by a rigid social hierarchy (eg. the aristocracy and the buddhist monastic hierarchy) and a strict patriarchal system. They sharply criticized contemporary society with satire and witty humour, depicting the falsehoods and hypocrisies of the upper classes (eg. decadent noblemen, apostate/depraved monks, patriarchal husbands) but also mocked stereotypical versions of annoying personalities within the lower classes (eg. the drunkard, the gossip, the flirt of the complaining grandmother). It offered people both catharsis and important life lessons, and masks are a key means to do that.

On the nobleman mask (Master Kim Dongpyo, maker of Hahoetal): « yangban noblemen prioritize dignity and saving face above all else. The gentle curves of a Hahoe yangban mask embody this character. » In other local traditions, noblemens’ masks may express greedy and pretentious personalities.

Talchum offered an opportunity to commoners to unleash their pent-up emotions, their suppressed anger and for the governing class to hear the people’s complaints, ultimately promoting greater unity within society. Their will for resistance is voiced.

Gaetal's apparent intentions correspond to all this to a great extent.

« Once a person dons a mask – men and women, young and old, nobility and commoners – all are freed from social conventions and restrictions. The appearance of the Korea mask itself is also liberated by convention. Nevertheless, everyone manages to find a part of the mask with which they can identify. In this way the mask is truly the face of the heart's hidden desires. (…) Korean masks are grotesque and vividly colored. Masks are painted in vivid primary colors, representing both the individual personality and social class of the character as well as his or her age and gender eg. black & dark for an elderly character ; red & bright for a young character ; white for a young female character. In terms of personality, a red, darkly-colored mask represents recklessness and aggressiveness; a yellow or lightly-colored mask characterizes foolishness and incompetence ; and a black or darkly-colored mask exemplifies an anxious, socially marginalized character. To symbolize a character's duplicity, masks are sometimes painted half red and half white. »

[For posterity, in the drama, Gaetal’s mask is fully white ; we also don’t know Gaetal’s gender, Joohyun evokes this possibility, it could very well be herself, Min Jiyoung or her assistant, even Jihoon’s grandmother ; Min Jiyoung’s attention to her clothes also reflects the good/evil duality with her outfit at BWT’s final trial.]

Professor Heo Yongho, Korea National University of Arts: « Korean mask-dance dramas deal with such universal themes as freedom and equality. However, they present these common subjects in a distinctively dynamic and exciting way. »

All these emotions, ambitions and desires can therefore be put on display without fear or shame. The characters mock and satirize the duplicity and foolishness of the ruling class and pray for a new world and a better future, like Gaetal does in the Killing Vote.

This page even theorizes 탈 derived from the Chinese character for ‘to rid/free oneself from something’.

« Korea adopted Chinese characters prior to the invention of their own, unique alphabet under King Sejong (1397-1450), and still use Chinese characters extensively. Thereby, the original meaning of the talnori or talchum, is a play or dance that helps shed ones stress and grief. Originally talnori was performed at night, often in a clearing around a fire and the exaggerated colors and expressions on some of the masks reflect a time when such vibrant colors and expressions were necessary to make them visible in the poor light. » [This bit could be relevant later on in this point when I’ll talk about the moon and the fire symbolism!]

The interaction with the audience is important, it completes the performance. As the UNESCO page describes: « talchum performances do not require a formal stage: any empty space can become a venue. The audience plays an essential role, contributing to the production with their cheers and jeers as the drama unfolds. »

Talchum players improvise their lines and actions in response to the spectators, quickly forming a bond together.

In a distorted fashion, the Killing Vote seems to strongly rely on the country’s participation to vote for the ‘judgement’ of the culprit, introduced as corrupt and deeply irredeemable people (even though we know the reality is more ambiguous: two broadcasts were pre-recorded and pretty compelling cases were deliberately chose to obtain an unanimous vote, not to mention Gaetal’s true intention eg. if they’re LMS).

The country even becomes an entertained audience in addition to their participation: each vote brings its fair share of debates, cries of support, admiration, disgust, anticipation or emulation. The Killing Vote becomes an outlet to everyone's fears, anger, frustration.

Gaetal's judgment of 'devils that were deemed innocent' by a failing legitimate system which would even condone their deed inflames passions: revealing the culprit's corrupt side in a sarcastic, unfiltered fashion the conventional society would (or could) never dare to do makes people look up to Gaetal.

It also makes people relate to Gaetal because the votes serve as an example that they wish was applied to their own tragedies eg. Joohyun, KSJ, Joomin & Jihoon. Exemplifying the 'judgment' of their cases could be seen as a prophylactic step to 'exorcise' the deep-rooted evil and appease the tormented souls of their victims.

And Gaetal engages with the people with a witty and sarcastic speech, and sounds deeply concerned with people’s opinion (again, it could be false pretenses) eg. when they cautioned sensitive souls to close the video as its content might be too violent ; when they got angry as they read forums after KMC was thought dead ; when they broadcasted the video revealing KMC was alive.

The Killing Vote also seems to touch on people’s duplicity, hidden desires and ambitions in society eg. especially KSJ, KMC, Min Jiyoung, LMS and people’s ambivalence in the face of good and evil (everybody has in them the risk of becoming a ‘Gaetal’ or one of their targets if faced with certain opportunities and circumstances) as I talked about it in a previous post (’The Killing Vote and a vigilantism built on a twisted basis’).

The hahoetal (Hahoe [Village] masks) are one of the most known Korean masks, designated as national treasures.

They were used during a kind of mask dance called 하회별신굿탈놀이, dance drama of Hahoe Village: it’s a shamanic dance drama passed down from the mid-12th century & performed to appease the local deity, pray for the village’s peace and wellbeing as well as a good harvest. It is said to be one of the oldest mask dances known in Korea.

It's a play in satire and humor directed at the ruling class from the religious perspective of praying fortune. The masks represent 12 stock characters needed to perform the roles in the ritual dance dramas included in the ceremony (eg. the monk, the scholar, the bride, the aristocrat …).

Their origin is not clearly known, but a legend about their original design exists.

« In the middle of the Goryeo Dynasty, there lived a craftsman, Heo. For years his village suffered from misfortunes but no one knew why. One day, he dreamt about a mountain god, receiving an oracle message that the misfortunes would disappear if the villagers danced with masks made by Heo. The god said he was not to have any contact with anyone until he finished. Heo then had a straw rope wound around his workshop to allow him to work undisturbed and immediately set to work. One hundred days had passed. A young woman named Kim was in love with Heo and was growing weary of waiting. She broke her vow to leave him undisturbed for one hundred days and peeked into her lover’s workshop to see what he was doing. He was carving the last mask, the scholar's foolish servant, Imae. The moment she glanced inside, Heo collapsed spitting blood and died. The mask was left unfinished, without a chin. Out of guilt for causing his death, the young woman committed suicide. Afterward, the residents of Hahoe village decided to serve the dead woman as a tutelary god and held annual rituals to assuage her soul. »

An annual winter memorial rite is held at dawn of the first full moon of each new year to console their unrealized love, appease their tormented souls and honor them. They would also pray for the well-being of the village and for its protection against evil spirits.

This also seems relevant:

The word 탈 also includes a second meaning of misfortune, illness and difficulty. Eg. when someone becomes sick or runs into trouble, you can use the verb 탈나다 (an accident happens/have a hitch/run into trouble/fall ill/get out of order or go wrong) or the word 탈 which is a homonym of the mask.

« The word for masks represents something that people hope is only a passing event. Interestingly, people were reluctant to hold onto the word 탈 in its meaning of a mask. In the past, they believed that if they kept a mask nearby, they would be in trouble due to the bad luck attached to the mask. Therefore, they stored the masks in a village shrine or burned them immediately after the ritual for which they were created. People regarded masks as religious objects, something that should be feared, worshipped and enshrined. »

But masks were also considered by ancient Koreans as a sacred symbol of the gods (or a particular god): as such, it was especially valued and worshipped, and always kept a certain distance away from living quarters.

In the drama, the mere existence of Gaetal calls for trouble and the police force endeavors to catch them. Gaetal nicknames themselves 'the citizens' watchdog' who will protect them from evil, and is compared to many heroic figures (eg. Robin Hood, Batman, …) but also to God. For example, Jihoon says to Joomin:

« That devil was set free by our incompetent legal system. If he wouldn’t be punished by the law or by God, I thought he should at least be punished by the people. »

The sight of their figure 'should' be feared by the culprits but only Uhm Eungyeong was really scared ; BGC and Cpt. Oh challenged and dared them to actually murder them. But in the end, the latter begged JJW for his life and promised him money, the thing he cared the most for.

This also ties well with the overall Christian symbolism exhibited in LMS’s room or Saint Michael (see the next point!).

GAETAL AND DOGS

As for the dog part, since one of the main plot points is a commentary on justice and the good & evil in people, it might be a reference to the haetae/haechi (해태/해치), a Korean mythological creature often associated for example to the Chinese guardian lions (also called shishi, lion or fu dogs) or the Japanese shishi/komainu.

Symbol of justice and law, the haetae is a hybrid beast: a mix of a lion, dog and dragon covered in scales or fur, wearing a bell and baring its canines, sometimes winged, sometimes with a reptile tail. It possesses the ability to divine and distinguish the true character in people, right from wrong, truth from lies in people.

The horn on its forehead was used to ram into the guilty in an argument.

It is said to feed off fire ; under Joseon, its statues were placed at the entrance of official places like palaces to protect the capital Hanyang (now Seoul, eg. at the National Assembly and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office) from natural disasters and fires.

« Haetae statues lie on high pedestals at each side of Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace (…) [they] represent the Joseon rulers’ political and philosophical ideals of protecting the nation’s dignity by applying the laws strictly and justly and providing peace and stability to all the people without allowing bias or personal feelings to influence decisions. »

This article explains how the Chinese characters for law (법, 法) derived from the ideogram for haechi.

What I gathered from this page is that law was initially written as 灋. Looking at its structure:

— The radical to the left, 氵, is associated to water (水): which means that the law must be as fair as water — The character 去 is placed under the character ‘chi’ 廌, which depicts the haechi. Making a creature said to judge right from wrong a part of the law character brings out its meaning even more.

The character was later simplified by removing the 廌, thus written 法.

[And as I said in a previous post, the hanja 橅, which means law, can be used for the Mu of Muchan!]

The haechi was also closely associated to the Chinese judicial system eg. on decorations and paintings, embroidered on the robes, crowns with a horn. The judicial officers were also named after the haechi.

It has become Seoul’s symbol since 2008.

The haetae is also mainly assimilated to the Chinese xiezhi, a mythical single-horned creature (a sheep, goat or ox) commanded during imperial criminal proceedings to ram into the guilty in the same manner.

Since Gaetal chases after evil, it could also be a reference to a breed of dogs native to the Korean Peninsula, the Sapsali/Sapsalgae.

Their name literally translates to ‘one that roots out evil spirits’ or ‘drives out devils’. Due to their appearance, they’re often associated to the haetae and sometimes called ‘Lion Dogs’.

Lion dances are indeed performed because it was thought lions contained the power to expel evil spirits and bring good luck.

Sapsali are also nicknamed ‘Ghost Hunters’ or’ Sunshine Dogs’.

Some aspects of the drama also involve dogs:

-> Gaetal used a mail address titled ‘watchdog’ that the journalist wanted to use as a catchphrase for her broadcast ;

-> KMC called KSJ their ‘hunting dog’, urging Joohyun to ‘get him off the leash’ ;

-> Narae’s dog LMS killed and all the past dogs of his family ;

-> The scene at the beginning of ep7 shows BWT beaten by Min Jiyoung’s family as his parents watch powerless. The next shot shows the Dalmatian puppy sitting quietly by his neat doghouse as the violent scene continues to unfold before it off-screen. The absence of pictures of BWT’s family in the house unlike the Dalmatian puppy could be interpreted as a further highlight of the family being poorly treated by Min Jiyoung’s family, even worse than a dog. It also aligns with the classist behavior of Min Jiyoung & co.

-> Indeed, 개 is often used as a prefix to an insult (or to emphasize words in slang, but it’s not used in the drama so far eg. 개싫어, ‘[I] freaking/really hate [it]’).

For posterity also, the word ‘mask’ (탈) is also the homonym/paronym of 달 (moon/month) and 딸 (daughter, perhaps a reference to Narae, since the video test seems to be titled after the day she was missing?).

For the 달 (moon/month), the most relevant connection to the Killing Vote is that they’re held every 15th (new moon) and 30th (full moon) of each month. It also ties up with how the talnori/talchum were originally performed at night.

If there’s also some symbolism with the moon, combined to the fire and dogs, the mythical dogs Bulgae (불개, lit. fire dog) might come to mind:

« According to a myth, one of heaven's realms, the kingdom of darkness, was called Gamangnara, the Dark World. Its king was concerned and weary with the perpetual darkness and desired the light of the sun and moon for his kingdom. He sent one of the gigantic fiery hounds, the Bulgae to chase the sun to bring it to his realm. However, when it tried to bite the sun, the sun was too hot, which made the dog unable to hold on to it, resulting in him giving up, and running back to the king, angry at the failure. He sent another more ruthless dog to steal the moon. When the Bulgae tried to carry it in its mouth, the moon was so cold, that the mouth of the dog was icy and frozen, and caused the Bulgae to drop it. The Bulgae tried many times to grab the moon in its mouth, but eventually gave up and ran back to the king in disappointment. The king never gave up this mission though. He continued to send fire dogs that were fiercer than the others, but none were able to collect the sun and moon. According to the Korean eclipse belief, during a solar eclipse or lunar eclipse, the dark sections are the parts where the dogs are biting. When the eclipses are over, the dogs have given up and run away back to its kingdom. »

Noting it down if it’ll hold meaning in the next episodes, we’ve got two scenes shot in the moonlight:

In the first episode when KSJ looks out from his cell’s window and moonlight enters the room ;

Right after KSJ got his health checked by Jihoon’s grandmother in ep6 and Joohyun gets in LMS’s car!

♦ Saint Michael and Kim Muchan

Following the previous point, in the nightclub KMC was investigating, a big statue right behind where he sat sometimes showed up.

It looks like a reproduction of the St. Michael bronze statue by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt on top of the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome (the set of pictures in the middle).

There are other examples of similar iconography (the two pictures on the right):

— St. Michael defeats Satan by Guido Remi — Fontaine Saint-Michel in Paris (Bvd. Saint-Michel) by Gabriel Davioud, the sculpture, Archangel Michael and the devil, was designed by Francisque-Joseph Duret

I’ll quote this interesting page from EHNE, an online encyclopedia project developed in 2012 by the Sorbonne University.

« Saint Michael was a unique saint. As an archangel, he acted as the preferred messenger between Heaven and Earth. His struggle against the forces of Evil allowed him to serve as both a guardian and a warrior angel. » He’s also depicted as a champion/guardian of justice and a healer of the sick.

'Who is like God?' mmmmh

[What I didn’t know is that he was also considered the patron saint of the police, justice, military and many other trades and places, which is why he’s represented on the Saint Michael pendant!]

« As a victorious angel, defender, overcomer of evil and leader of heavenly armies, Michael the Archangel is often depicted in medieval art as an armored soldier [eg. pteruges, Byzantine armor or a fully feathered body or a mix of both] carrying such arms as a cross-inscribed shield, cross-staff, or the sword or spear he typically employs to fight the dragon during the Apocalypse. Outside of the apocalyptic combat scene, Michael also may be shown trampling and piercing the dragon as part of his overall iconography.  (…) He's also featured in other important episodes, such as the biblical narrative of the Fall of Angels and the Last Judgment [Day of Wrath/Dies Irae, where the just will be welcomed to eternal bliss, separated from the wicked, cast into ‘eternal fire’.]. In Last Judgment scenes, Michael the Archangel is often shown holding the scales of justice laden with good and bad souls. »

This thesis (p. 287 ss.) on Saint Michael’s italian iconography by Clémentine Denèle was also interesting:

[It could align with KMC’s restraint in front of KSJ most of the time, his mainly unreliable narration and expressions you could only interpret in retrospect. The same could be said of KSJ, but it’s less apparent to me: it was strong in the beginning of the drama but by now, KSJ feels less ‘cryptic’ than KMC who’s been hazy the whole time.]

Most of the time, Saint Michael's representations depict him with a neutral expression, totally disconnected to the threat and tension of his whole body engaged in his battle against evil that belie no hesitation: no emotions pass through (eg. compassion, anger, fear, remorse, hesitation, pride, judgment/disgust against the evil’s deeds or the violence he executes), only a solemn severity can be seen. Even for other angel figures of the Christian iconography, feelings were initially expressed through their gestures and hands. This changed at the end of the Middle Ages: angels were depicted with emotions and expressions eg. smiling to suggest their angelic gentleness, especially when represented suffering next to the Christ being crucified. But Saint Michael stays depicted with an impassive/calm expression, at most with a discreet rictus. Clémentine Denèle comments it could be explained by his ethereal nature and superior quality as an angel unlike humans & the overall idealistic representation of angels. She quotes the art historian Jean Wirth: he says the immobility and the impassibility are characteristic of the superior beings, because they convey an abstraction and reflect the stable order of invisible things. To materialize their constant presence by God and humans’ side, angels make themselves visible to the humans by assuming a human form as well. Vivid expressions were exclusive to the damned and the demons. It aligns with the attitude he exhibits in the Epistle of Jude 1:9: « But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” » Passing a partial judgement on the evil is not his mission, Clémentine Denèle says he only assumes his role as God’s armed wing and as such, his faithful obedience and trust in God command quietude under any circumstances: as the executor of divine justice, he knows for a fact his mission is devoted to the good and it must be fulfilled. She reports there were only rare occurrences depicting him with anger and aggressiveness or fear (he’s most of the time confident in the battle’s aftermath), and he’s also rarely present to mourn the Christ as he is crucified: it is not his place.

On a related note, Narae’s name (나래) is the synonym of wing, spelled 날개. 나래 was officially admitted as an alternate orthography for the word in 2011. But from what I gathered, it’s only used in a literary/poetic context, while the common spelling stays 날개.

♦ More on names & hanja

After all these episodes, some hanja that could be used for KMC, KSJ and Joohyun’s names now seem relevant to note:

— For Kim Muchan

-> Mu in Muchan Law (橅 & 膴, 법) as I mentioned in the first post: it aligns with his ambiguous position on justice on the past (‘a rational justice’ that doesn’t follow the official law if it’s unfair) and in the present (manipulating evidence and proceedings to arrest culprits but still handling them within the law, rejecting Gaetal’s ways)

Deceive/lie (誣, 속이다) & fog/mist/haze (霧, 안개): his unreliable narration, the way he deceived people to catch Gaetal in ep4 & the edit that appears in the preview ; KMC now seems even more ambiguous than KSJ.

Full of rumors (楙, 무성하다): his ‘Wipeout’ reputation

Rough/violent/tough (蕪, 거칠다): his overall reckless and violent behavior as he works

Work hard/try hard and strive/work/endeavor ie. devote oneself and contribute to doing sth (務, 힘쓰다): self-explanatory given what we saw in this episode, combined with the shots of his house and the first episode that explains his reputation!

Stroke/touch/caress with hands and figuratively soothe ie. calm down sb with warm words and acts (憮, 어루만지다 and 애무하다 which can have a romantic tone = caress, stroke affectionately ie. for sb to gently stroke the one they love): his overall restraint to reach out to KSJ and guilt over being too late to save Narae. The new OST’s lyrics also refer to those kinds of feelings (whoever the narrator is), especially ‘Let me hold your hand, 더 가까이 너를’ (‘Let me hold your hand, Closer to you’), ‘익숙치않은 이런 내 모습 미안해’ (‘I’m sorry for this unfamiliar me [I showed you]’) and ‘Oh, please tell me why — 더는 네게 — 늦지 않게’ (‘Oh, please tell me why — I won’t be late for you anymore’).

EDIT: also, some shots indeed focus on KSJ's hands as he buries himself in them to cry in front of KMC!

House (廡, 집): KSJ’s house he seems to know pretty well and possibly holds precious memories to him, and his own house he doesn’t seem to tend to, probably out of guilt (see a previous post, ‘On the frames facing down (ep. 1 & 6), shame and guilt’)

Warrior (ie. person who learns martial arts and practices it as a job) & soldier/military/army (武, 무사 & 병사 respectively): his potential association to St. Michael who led heavenly armies + for posterity, if they reveal later in the drama he also knows martial arts and it somehow involves him with the Killing Vote (the first episode & ep3 at least showed he was quite agile)

Shaman (巫, 무당 ; though the word is mainly associated to female shamans, male shamans can also be called mudang): a shaman « employs magic to effect cures, to tell fortunes, to soothe spirits of the dead, and to repulse evil »

Dance (舞, 춤추다): like… the talchum… masks… in addition to the shaman... you know… haha

— For Kwon Seokju

-> Kwon [You can also apply relevant meanings to Narae, since it’s her last name]

Prison (圈, 감방): both physical and figurative ever since Narae died and he murdered BWT

Abstain/refrain from ie. be careful about one’s speech or behavior (惓, 삼가다): his overall behavior in the present

Tired/exhausted/weary (倦, 고달프다): what he wen through these whole 8 years

Take care of/look after/oversee, heartfelt/caring (惓, 정성스럽다) & warm/friendly: self-explanatory about his character in general when we see his past self with Narae, Jihoon & KMC, and other people in general (BWT’s parents, LMS, his students) before Narae’s case

Loyal/devoted (惓, 충성스럽다): devoted wholeheartedly to his family

Look back/reflect on the past (睠, 돌아보다): also self-explanatory

-> Seok in Seokju

Untie (釋, 풀다 ie. return what has been tied, bound, or twisted back to its original state)/relieve anger or sorrow/get rid of one’s agony by handling it : he’s still waiting for the accomplice to Narae’s murder to be arrested to find some closure after all those years, he perhaps also wants to put an end to it all for KMC to stop feeling guilty over the case.

Night (夕, 밤), tide (汐, 조수 ie. seawater flowing in and out from the shore because of the gravitational pull of the sun and moon) & tideland (潟, 개펄 ie. wide expanse of mud revealed when the tide goes down): [if the moon and sun imagery holds some meaning in the drama] ; also, most of KSJ’s scenes in the beginning were shot in the dark compared to the bright scenes with Narae and Jihoon

... The Mont Saint-Michel is known to be a tidal island and for its fog haha

-> Ju in Seokju [You can apply the relevant meanings to Joohyun too]

House (宙, 집): the house that had good natural lighting (Narae, Jihoon and perhaps KMC) he cherished is now gone, it is derelicted after all these years

Bear/endure/put up with ie. endure sth for a long time, resist (拄, 버티다): self-explanatory too

Sunlight/sunbeam/sunshine (晭, 햇빛): the shots of him mourning or basking in the light

Timely rain but also heavy rain/downpour (澍, 단비 and 폭우) & wick and burn out ie. burn and eliminate sth (炷, 심지 & 불사르다) as I mentioned in the first post!

The fire imagery is also present with Joohyun’s character and her scar.

It’s associated to the tragedy she had to live, and we could project the same theme to KMC & KSJ who went through the same, all linked by this ‘terrible rage’ still waiting to be put out.

The hanja 火 (which is what 炷, the hanja for wick/burn out is composed of) is associated to anger (화, anger, fury) and fire (불).

Given the previous posts, you can also link it to the haetae (symbol of justice which feeds off fire, is said to prevent fires) or the eternal fire at the Last Judgment.

— For Joohyun

-> Hyun in Joohyun

Snoop/nose around (俔, 염탐하다): self-explanatory hahaha

Bright ie. a place being light as a result of getting a lot of sun/light or brilliant (adj.)/break or dawn but also fig. cheerful/bright (炫, 밝다), sunlight/sunbeam/sunshine (昡, 햇빛 and 晛, 햇살) and kind-hearted/benevolent (賢, 어질다): self-explanatory for this lovely character!!

Wise/sagacious/sensible (賢, 현명하다): she has a soothing and mature side to her eg. as she talked to KMC & Jihoon

Clever/bright/intelligent (儇, 영리하다): self-explanatory too!!

Connect/link/join (縣, 연결하다, can also be used for people): she seems to connect with people around her with ease, and she looks like she’s trying to reconnect KMC to KSJ

♦ « The person Kwon Seokju cherished the most »

I don’t know where this will lead, but KMC JJW’s quote in ep6 as he relayed it to KSJ: initially, it was about ‘the person KSJ loved the most’ (가장 사랑하는 사람 ; 사랑하다 = love/care ie. cherish, value, and care for sb with all one’s heart).

KMC quoted it as ‘the person KSJ cherished the most’ (가장 소중한 사람 ; 소중하다 = valuable/precious/cherished/dear): while the two adjectives almost mean the same thing, ‘cherished’ feels more personal than the general ‘loved’ (사랑하다 is also used a lot) and conveys the invaluable dearness better in this situation to me.

[little-watcher]

hey ellery!

i heard through the grapevine that youre questioning whether youre developing a... web mark, was it?

i get that its scary when you dont know whats going on inside you, especially becoming an avatar or experiencing any change related to the dread powers. it sucks, in all honesty.

how about you tell me exactly whats happening, and ill see if i can help?

- @archivalassistantriaan

ye ah, i’ve been wondering ab out it for a whi le, to b e hones t. i wa s raised ne ar hilltop road for the maj ority of my life, and th e spiders there did no t like me. th ey whispered things t o me in my dre ams, and i’d oft en wak e up with spider bit es. on e time i wo ke up with so many i ha d to go t o the hos pital, and we mo ved away no t long after. an yways, no w i feel the urge t o manipulate pe ople al l the ti me, an d ive ev en done it unintentionally. i do n’t like the we b and im al ready an av atar for tw o powers an d i ju st don’t und erstand wh y this is happening. i’d re ally like to understand, be cause not knowing is bu gging me. al so no one i s tak ing it seriously be cause im “loveable” and th at’s why peo ple want to gi ve me th ings and its dr iving m e crazy. lea st my hive agr ees that some thing is u p. als o, i can’t qu ite tell if tha t was a sho ddy attempt a t compulsion, but pl ease do n’t do it aga in. i to ld you eve rything of m y own fr ee wi ll and wo uld prefer t o ke ep it th at way

[southparkdoodlesandstuff]

Notes on SP eps

SP eps I forgot to take notes on the first 3 I do it later lmao fell free to use these stamps for edits or anything

S4. ep16 6:11 Cartman s l i d e s s4 ep17 1:55 Ike and Kyle wholesome s4 ep17 8:03 Mr.Hanky and his wife need to s4 ep17 16:07 KYLE EHAT THE HECK???? s5 ep1 17:54 Uncle Jimbo is a homo (WHAT s5 ep4 11:38 DON'T THINK I DON'T SEE YA s5 ep6 14:39 "Sit down Kyle" Can't ">:("

s5 ep7 00:30 "Scream for me btch" "AAAA" s5 ep7 15:12 "We gotta get rid of the gorls"

s5 ep8 21:01 Highly streaches s5 ep9 14:52 "We're speaking English rn does that make sense???" s5 ep9 21:58 "?!??!?!?" (Idk tbh s5 ep10 12:50 *Background shinanigans the boys and res to town laughing lmao) + Sometime later in ep Style moment lol s5 ep12 I just really like Tolkien's voice s5 ep13 21:00 FCK HIM UP KYLE! (Also dude Kenny really is cared for) s5 ep14 (Entire ep) Butters dude. That is messed uuuupp. s6 ep2 17:00 A SIMPLE LIL MOTAGGGE s6 ep3 4:30 "Star trek dude has an axe in bg) STAN KYLE AND CARTMAN I WILL PUNCH YOU STOP GASLIGHTING MY SON + 16:02 I love robbary and fraud I'm a shoplisting

s6 ep4 3:30 THE WAY THEY ROLL 3:58 STAN BE COMMITING CRIMES 4:30 "W h a t??" Bebe has some other ideas 6:32 THEY GOT CAUGHT 10:47 Kyle take off your hat what the hell 15:25 "Don't have a dad Mike not gonna work" 16:00 FIghting in background 16:40 Stanley :((( Has sores Stan is one big pussy

s6 ep5 6:55 STAN's NOSE PINCH LMAO I low-key really like this ep the subplot of Cheif tryna contorl his TV is gold lmao 14:13 They're excited 18:40 "We'll kill butter's later!" 20:05 "WHOOOO YEAHHHHH!!!"

s6 ep6 5:30 REALITY TV (reanimated THIS) 9:19 are they breaking the 4th wall???

s6 ep7 IDK WHEN BUT TWEEK SINGS HMMER TIME

s6 ep8 4:20 The boys chillin (Where's Ken?) 5:15 Tweek: "I'M A WHAT?!" 7:08 Craig: Walks away 7:42 Kyle: "Get the **** of here." Pure disgust

s6 ep9 4:20 Kyle is confusion It looks really funky witht the art style 14:35 SP creators :DDD 16:28 TWEEK HAS A MISSUL LAUNCHER

s6 ep10 4:50 WHA ape grunts 5:20 I feel you Wendy 7:17 Girls no :( 10:04 "Bebe you're still cool" 13:15 "HAOHAOHA" 16:00 Jeez fanon bebe is insanely inaccurate 17:25 Cute Parent Marshes moment 19:00 HOW WENDY 21:04 THE BOYS ARE HUGGINH

s6 ep11 6:34 Craig deffo got them tall genes 8:58 "I didn't mean to! (be abducted)" 11:40 "Im nugh dune wiuth mgh pizza…" 19:57 "Oh god our parents are so stupid dude." + cute moments 21:20 HELP STAN-

S6 ep12 1:45 "Mrky" Ok Current realization "KENNY!" 8:11 "Maybe you got brain cancer" "YOU THINK!?" "Cartman don't get brain cancer." 20:11 I'm scared for new Randy

s6 ep13 11:59 "I'm not playing anymore." s6 ep15 7:40 DAMN STAN. 9:25 LET KENNY WATCH FATSO 11:00 Psychic Stan ("No I'm not!") 13:47 Stan pinching his nose 16:30 Stan you're still in the school why are you slaming the door 17:53 Kyle: :o

s6 ep16 4:10 Stan nose pinch again :D 7:10 Stutters duo on an adventure (entire ep) 8:40 "They're lying" 11:40 "how many parents have you enacted revenge on??" 12:21 "18,000$" - "How bout 5 bucks." 13:18 this entire scene is geuninlly interesting to see knowing Eric's character It showcases his COMPLEXITY WHEN DEALING WITH PEOPLE 15:55 POP OFF STAN 16:30 Cartman can speak spanish?? Dude he's dedicated. 17:50 Stan is smart

s6 ep17 (Throughout the ep Jimmy sings <3) 6:16 TWEEK YOU'RE NOT CRAZY 11:50 Kyle and Cartman interaction lmao 14:21 the way Jesus specifies "Eric" Cartman lmao 14:30 JESUS HAS A GUN 15:40 I'm packing 17:40 "Dude this is pretty fcked up." 19:22 Idk who these kids are they're in a different style and its a little odd. 21:10 NVM THIS IS THE SAME 21:20 KENNY! KENNY'S BACK! DUDE WHERE THE HEEL WERE YOU????

S7 ep1 0:50 IKE IS NOT A WEPON KYLE Cartman??? Dude you good?????? I HATE HOW CALLED OUT I FEEL BY THE SCIENCTIST IN THIS EP HE THINKS EXACTLY LIKE ME There is a scene somewhere where Kenny pulls his Parka "Oh shit did we do that??" 20:00 KENNY NO

s7 ep2 1:30 "Oh I'm a dork huh :(" 2:45 Stan and Kyle dealing with Cartman's bs 7:45 Epic scene with Jimmy and Timmy 12:10 An attempt was made to sit 14:40 "Holy guacomole!" 23:30 "Me too-"

s7 ep3 3:50 "Lets go Kyle!" 11:27 "We're not Killing kyle" "Mrph!"[Yeah!] 14:40 "Whoa-o-ok thank you." 16:15 "A present from jesus himself!" Looks up 16:18 TButters? 18:59 Roblox coil sound

s7 ep4 3:34 "SHUT UP AND STUDY." 6:30 Why is he puttign so mcuh effort into the walk 7:47 Uhhh pop off Gerald?? 7:57 STAN NOSE PINCH 8:25 Kenny fucking leaves 13:55 Randy has talent 21:22 Kyle nose pich + "I- I don't know"

s7 ep5 (didn'r take anything ig"

s7 ep6 2:12 "Why won't she let me eat the piee." 3:40 Kenny is an artist (for twitter.) 4:13 WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS CONCLUSION 4:26 TUCKER??? CRAIG'S LONG LOST SIBLING? 5:05 Cartman has no right to be this detailed for a fatass 5:15 Kenny :((( 7:17 Sign languages Kyle: "What?????" 8:34 "hehehe thats gay" "hehehe we're gay" 9:16 "GRRRRR!" 10:27 The girl is so cute though 17:48 WDYM THE MCCORMICKS??? 18:20 "Kenny it doesn't go pekwwww it goes BANG BANG BANG"

s7 ep7 2:44 "26,000 DOLLARS?!?!" 5:30 CHEF!! 5:45 "We've had such great times here" CHAOS WHEN??? 6:51 Kennys cute here 9:17 Sharon and Randy moment 12:57 THOMAS TUCKER'S HEIGHT HELP

s7 ep8 00:55 KENNNYYY'S DESIGN 1:20 We're you guys waiting for the bus how tf are your switching to machovers 1:45 3:55 "OH MY GOD WHERE IS MY HOMEWORK I AM FREAKING OUU~U~UT!!" 4:45 YES CHEF 5:15 Well. Uh. I guess dreams come true. 11:12 KYLE WHERE TF DID YOU KEEP THAT 12:22 why is Liane there she's a whor-

s7 ep9 1:00 The kid's music tastes 2:10 Cartman being an ENTJ 2:54 Tolkien looked really epic 4:40 KYLE WHAT DID YOU DO? "I DON'T KNOW D:'" 8:45 "Why would I be looking way over there??" 10:30 Cartman tugging at Kyle's hat 16:56 Uh- 21:00 HELL YEAH TOLKIEN BEAT HIS ASS 21:25 YES BUTTERS YESSSS

s7 ep10 6:54 "GARALD WHERE ARE THE BOYS??" 8:00 SWEEP THE KIDS 9:26 HELP THE LINE MOVING LIKE A WORM 11:04 "I love youh guys, except for you kyel" 11:15 KENNY HOODIE PULL 13:00 Idk i just love this scene with all the kids :DD 18:17 Stan's Gang devising a plan

s7 ep11 CASA BONITA 1:30 "I have never been a dck to you!" 10:32 CARTAMAN? 11:20 I swear to- 12:00 cartman's little dancin 12:30 Butters singin 14:00 this entire scene with Eric. 17:00 why is Kenny wearing a tuxido over his parka. 19:31 ERIC SPEEDRUN GO

[goatsandgangsters]

I’m doing shadow and bone ep 5 on a Monday like some kind of rebel

bc I’m always like ~~ooooh I have to make an Occasion out of things, I have to make it Special, I can’t watch new things on just any old Monday. OR, I COULD STOP NOT DOING THINGS I WANT TO DO AND DO THEM. anyway, let’s proceed, I Want More Content Goddammit

previous liveblogs

AND A SHARP HORNY INHALE WAS HEARD ROUND THE WORLD FROM THE DARKOLAI CONTINGENT AT “LITTLE PRINCE”

I’m fine. it’s fine. I’m fine. I can cope. I can deal. I’m fine.

“we have to keep our demons at bay” WELL GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. I did cackle out loud like the dramatic-irony-loving bitch I am

also how come every time Alina gets a new boyfriend, one his family members tries to kill Mal? (I sense that this is more a. a plot-required relocating of the Mal and also b. Vasily is an idiot, but personally if I was a conniving little weasel I’d have gone with the angle of “oh look my bastard brother is going to have more bastard children because his fiancee is already having an affair” instead of like, relocating the evidence. just my two cents there, Vasya)

….this was NOT the bed that Wylan and Jesper were in last night, where the hell did they wake up

“Ravka needs saving” is the funniest possible way to intrude. like, there are characters that would DEFINITELY WORK on, but poor Wesper just like “and why the fuck do we care!!”

That’s a bold statement, Tamar, when you absolutely know he IS going to start reciting epic poetry to Zoya. it’s not even a question. it’s GOING to happen

sdkjkhsdkjghsdkg Baghra like “oh you’re all pathetic, nvm maybe my son should kill you”

LIKE. IS IT THAT DOMINIK? IS HE?? ALIVE???? OR IS HE JUST SOME RANDO NAMED AFTER NIKOLAI’S DEAD CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART?? I mean, happy for you Nikolai if your boyfriend’s alive, but him dying in your arms was kind of a formative moment for you so—oh. oh no. is it that dominik but he’s not DEAD YET?? are we about to have some nikolai’s-boyfriend on nikolai’s-boyfriend violence?

“THE PUPPY PRINCE” okay so we got one sobachka from his mother, and one sobachka from his mother-in-law

oh you’ll hammer him will you ;)

look, I know it’s a tense scene, but Baghra and Nikolai SNARKING at each other was my favorite scene in Ruin & Rising, so if I don’t get some quips between these two later on, I will be sad about it

(they’re not..... letting Paddy quip enough? which is really surprising, because my concern going in was that they’d reduce nikolai to “charming funny guy” and ignore his depth. and they’re doing depth in SPADES which I’m grateful about, but they’re not actually letting him do the Showmanship Exterior enough?) (I know this episode is A Particularly Tough Day For Him, Given Events, but just sort of overall) 

I don't hate it, but why is Jesper in a kilt

oh good, I’m glad they kept it in that Tatiana KNEW what the king was doing the whole time and Simply Did Not Care. don’t absolve her. fuck her. 

Daisy and Luke are SO good :3333 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I Am Softe

Tolya Jesper Relationship Advice is so funny

Wylan you can’t just run away holding merchandise, I don’t think you paid for it

Kaz really said “it’s just hot leaf juice” didn’t he

W A F F L E S

this entire cast is extraordinarily talented, but Freddy really is The Absolute Stand Out this season, he’s just incredible

APT!!! PUPIL!!!!!!

oh I see what Jessie meant when they said they borrowed some of Ben’s mannerisms, YOU DO LOVE TO SEE IT

“I’ve feared everything there is to fear,” yes we know, we’re all watching you get hit with the broken dam of 800 years of totally unprocessed trauma and Making It Everyone’s Problem

/KICKING MY FEET AND GO TEEHEEHEE aahhuuhhhhh fuuuuuuuuck we got an apt pupil scene we got an alina making that man’s sub hindbrain kick on the second alina showed him some attention we got a “problem with wanting” we got a version(™) of my faaaave sceeeeeeene

……I love that Mal just like. had this ENTIRE sidequest adventure of being kidnapped and court martialed and escaping, and we never saw a single second of it. it’s. like. a little funny. it wasn’t even plot relevant the way I thought it was going to be. like, all that just happened, off screen 

“You’re barreling through this” you SURE are, season 2. Mal like “I can barely keep up [with what book we’re in] *looks directly into the camera*”

“You just keep eating your walnuts” AND TOLYA LAUGHS awwwwwww he’s fond of Zoyaaaaa

I’m on Zoya’s side in the Nina argument, I’m just ambivalent towards Matthias, I’m sorry

………though Matthias Pekka Hellgate Drama might make things more interesting

Excuse me, I don’t think HE left the wound on the country. Just Fucking Saying. Maybe otkazat’sya should stop committing genocide, idk, how about that. how about that otkazat’sya fix their shit first. like, I’m sorry, your king’s a rapist, you have serfs, everyone lives in squalor while wealth and excess is concentrated in the extreme on just a few, you’ve got a two-front war going with countries that want to see an entire portion of your population eradicated and enslaved via magic drugs and medical experimentation. but sure! it’s the shadow wall that’s the wound in need of healing. okay. sure. I mean I don’t think trying to keep all your friends and your mom from getting murdered when your back is against the wall is like, a wound on your country, I think your country putting your pack to the wall in the first place is the wound, but anyway— 

whatever, I’ll just be over here hoping there’s some Grisha Theorist out there writing a piece called My Words to the Black Heretic Above the Fold: Performing Grisha Rage

iiiif you’re trying to make a metaphor for interpersonal abuse don’t use genocide as a backstory clap your hands. if you’re trying to make a metaphor for interpersonal abuse don’t use genocide as a backstory clap your hands! if you’re trying to make a metaphor, and you want it just about interpersonal shit, if you want to make a metaphor, don’t use sociopolitics-you-aren’t-equipped-to-handle clap your hands (okay, my syllables don’t line up, but you get my melody)

Jack is REALLY good and I’m glad they’re letting Jesper have depth this season and not just reducing him to the comedic sidekick

this is the first episode where I’ve been like eeeeeeeeh. so. season 1 had a rough front half, great back half? don’t tell me season 2 has a great front half, rough back half?

[spadotto-ottodespade]

S P O I L E R details for all the season

Things I don't wanna get:

- Angelica and the toxic man had children.

- Nadia and her 'great love and loss for Aureliano' that wanted to die at 20 years(?)

They said a possible sequel could be on the female characters.... Yeah, great (all the fights at beginning, recreating Spadino/Aureliano moments for nothing)

Useless death, It was like watching a cheap teen drama by Netflix. So Manfredi's son killing her 'sister', even if you tried u didn't get my revival tears😑

Her hairstyle😑

- Alberto killed his 'Spadino' going away from the city, new life, new boyfriend... But at the end he decides that THAT is Its family and he stays... So Aureliano's sacrifice means nothing.

His hairstyle😑

Metus will be part of the gang?!?!?

Burning all the Spadino's clothes (I wanted to die) to say goodbye to the past for nothing. I'm still wondering: where the hell is Aureliano's beanie?

They did it👏👏 they ruined my Spadino.

(I saw Aureliano in Mesut at the end, the laugh I made)

Oh: I'm never gonna wait for them to fu*k, for sure.

- name a more toxic father than Cinaglia. I'm sorry I can't take him as seriously as Samurai/Aureliano. His and Alberto's emotional scenes...please.

- the girl buried in a church case, what a shame to tell a story on THAT way in our country

- I moved forward on every Vatican scenes because I didn't care less, it was boring, including Cinaglia and the wanna-be-prime-minister.

- Okay, It's 3 years after what happened... But I'm watching and I want to feel Aureliano in town, flashback with scenes attached from the mothership isn't enough. It's like that meant nothing especially for 'Albè', I need to watch other useless eps to some words?

Too many action scenes

At some point I couldn't listen to the songs anymore, the rap is missing

Positive:

No tradition at the post credits

- the Luciani's can't become the Adami's, It's science🤷

Guerino and Alberto's moments.

Victor, Alberto can adopt him. Vic take Spadino to the hairsaloon.

Ercole is cool, the Lele💔

Cinaglia's daughter... Got a secret that will she keep?👀

Showing the camps, the shops of Sinti

I can't find more.

[semantic-vegas]

The Eclipse ep. 11 -- *must* I have so many feelings?

Ok. I have never done anything on this godforsaken site beyond reblogging, but my thoughts have been going back and forth since Friday and maybe writing it down will make me stop thinking about it??

It feels like people are removing nuance from the issue of the variety of responses to Thua’s actions in ep. 11. Can we understand Thua’s motivations and feel that he was entirely justified? Yes! Can we understand Thua’s motivations and still feel upset? Also yes! Is it necessary to tell people that they’re watching it wrong or thinking about it wrong if they either *are* or *aren’t* upset? I certainly don’t think so. It’s not really something you can be right about in the first place. 

I think that’s what’s bothering me the most (maybe I’m being way too dramatic about tumblr discourse, but it feels like it’s reflecting the very issue that the show is trying to address: You don’t get to decide what’s right for everyone), but I also just want to explore my *own* feelings about this week’s episode.

Absolute mess below the cut. 

I disagree with a lot of the takes about this episode, which ..essentially means nothing. This is a   t e l e v i s i o n   (web, whatever) show. Everyone is allowed to have their own interpretations and feelings, and no one’s are more or less valid. None of the characters are perfect. They aren’t supposed to be. That’s what makes the show so good. A lot of people have eloquently expressed the “true evil” of this show being the system etc. etc., so I won’t go into it.

I say all that to say that I’m trying to unpack why I feel so strongly about this episode and the “twist”. This is what this post is. Not judgment or character assassination. Just trying to figure out why I reacted differently to this than other parts of the series where somewhat similar ~unsavory~ things were done by our beloveds.

SO. Thua. 

I just saw a few posts that people being upset about Thua outing Akk and Aye is hypocritical/unwarranted, since Aye blackmailed Akk with the cheek kiss picture and told Thua’s own mom more about him and his struggles than Thua consented to. (Note that I don’t have the energy to go back and watch that scene, so ... I’m just talking out of my ass about it, maybe?)

Again, valid interpretation that I’m not discrediting... it’s just that I don’t personally think they’re anywhere near the same thing. I think intention and audience are important things to consider here (though in the end I’m NOT saying simply having good intentions make outing and/or blackmail correct PLS).

When Aye spoke to Thua’s mother, it came from a place of seeing him struggling and wanting to find a way to help. Was it overstepping a boundary and crossing a line? Yeah, sure. Did Thua have every right to be upset about it even if having it out in the open brought some relief? Of course. I didn’t see much discourse about it at the time, but I think we can all agree that even if it wasn’t the best move, Aye was genuinely trying to help. And the conversation took place in a safe space -- a cafe full of queer people and allies.

The “blackmail” thing. I don’t think this even really needs to be discussed. Does anyone actually think Aye would have posted that photo?? We can say that it was an insensitive way to tease/urge Akk into doing what he wanted, but that’s literally their entire relationship. Aye pushes. Akk yields (and is arguably much better for it). The bigger issue to me was the lack of consent for the kiss, but that’s another thing. At its base, this was Aye and Akk doing Aye and Akk things in a car alone together in the parking lot of the Gay Café. 

(Again, maybe I’m doing too much work to “justify” these two events, but also again, this is just how I feel about them. I’m not really wanting to psychoanalyze myself here)

Ok, so. The big scene.

I think the two factors I brought up earlier -- intention and audience -- are part of why this scene was so upsetting to me and thus maybe hard for me to be super objective about.

Do I think Thua was justified in finally snapping after being forced to endure merciless bullying and the other assorted horrors of Suppalo? Damn right. Do I think he was right to bring Aye’s lack of impartiality to light? Sure.

Do I think the outing was necessary or justified? NO. First of all, this was in front of the entire school, which is so very obviously the opposite of a safe space. Thua himself knows how hostile and homophobic the administration and many of the students are.

Second of all, I think it’s pretty evident in Louis’ acting that the outing brought him some sense of schadenfreude. He had a smirk on his face. Imo (and as he later said), he was so angry at Aye and Akk for “covering for each other” that he wanted to hurt them. It was an act of revenge before it was an act of providing evidence of a compromised party.

As other people have pointed out, it was super messed up of him to steal Aye’s dead uncle’s journal to try to get between Aye and Akk... and then go beyond that and read it?? 

And then go beyond *that* and up the ante on the curse? And then shout about how Akk and Aye don’t get to use their love to justify their mistakes.. while conveniently forgetting to own up to any of his own actions? I guess I don’t feel like Aye forcing Thua into a half-assed, explanation-free confession and then Thua offering himself up for punishment (that one can assume would be much less publicized) remedies that. 

I also find his words during that “confession/explanation” scene confusing. Akk asks something like “Why have you changed?” and Thua replies (this is a direct quote from the ENG subs) “I think I just feel ashamed seeing younger students make such sacrifices and then be threatened. I think every change requires sacrifice. If my bad action could change anything at all, it was worth it.”

But his bad actions specifically made things so much worse for the younger students???? Thua was responsible for the banner, the account, and the doll. Arguably, his actions were more mentally traumatizing for The World Remembers than having an errant flower pot fall next to them or having red paint flung on their posters (again, not excusing any of that OR the literal Truck oh my God Akk even if it was idling it could’ve seriously hurt someone).

So that doesn’t feel like a satisfactory explanation. 

I guess at the end of the day, I feel so upset because Thua had more pieces of the puzzle than anyone else -- he knew about Aye’s uncle, Akk’s actions, Teacher Chadok’s wrongs, when the curse started, etc. etc. -- and he chose to do *that* about it.

Instead of talking to The World Remembers members and bringing them in on the plan and offering them a way to fight back, he used them just like everyone else did. And hurt them much more in the process.

Instead of confronting Aye (whose actions made it clear he genuinely cares for and respects Thua) with his knowledge of Akk being the curse, he assumed that they were covering for each other and let spite and jealousy fuel him. If he had just talked to Aye, he would’ve found out that Aye wasn’t going to let Akk weasel out of facing concequences (we all know he’d been pushing him to tell the truth for weeks) – in the moment, he was just trying to avoid Akk’s entire mental state being shattered in front of the whole school.

I guess that’s what makes the whole thing feel so tragic for all the characters. If they had just communicated and confided in each other, they could have all worked together. Something something people feeling alone facing oppressive systems and choosing to try to survive alone instead of coming together to fight... 

So yeah. Again, I love that Thua’s character finally had enough. I love that he was allowed to break out of the goody-two-shoes mold and scream and yell and fight. I love that he was allowed to make that mistake. It’s obviously realistic to just say things to hurt people when you’re angry. I think it makes the show more interesting, and obviously that scene had a huge response regardless of people’s positions on it.

But I do think people are allowed to be upset. I’m upset.

He had *so* much time (planning the next moves of the curse, observing Aye and Akk, deciding how to target Chadok) to rethink his choices, and he just kept doubling down. Again, realistic. Again, upsetting.

And I think the reason people are even *more* upset is because there was no resolution to that blatant shit move of his. I know a ton of people have brought it up, but the fact that we didn’t get to hear an *actual* full explanation of his actions, that no one yelled at him because of the outing specifically, that we didn’t get to see them all fall apart again together and end up with stronger friendships because of it..... bull. 

Ik some people feel as though the point was that everyone let go of their hurt with the whole truth out in the open... but I think that’s a cop-out tbh. And I love the sweet moments as much as everyone else, but for the story this show is telling, I think we really needed that scene, and ik they could’ve done so much with it.

TL;DR: I feel so upset at Thua because it feels like he had a more complete picture than everyone else and simply used that insight to make everything worse. The audience needed more closure than cutting to a scene where everyone was making a BL together.. as much as I feel like watching BL “fixes” some of my issues. I wish they would’ve given us an extra episode with those cute scenes and actually addressed what needed to be addressed in this one.

Wow. Not sure if I feel better, but this is more than I’ve written recreationally in over 2 years, so.. go me?

[pharawee]

okay so i was reading your theory about chains of heart and i just gotta share mine.

din is still alive. i think it's obvious at this point that he is because he managed to survive the fall from the cliff, we saw that in episode two (about twenty minutes in) where he and ken were laying in the river bank and din was begging ken to live for him. i don't think he died after that, though. he somehow survived, the body they found in the forrest wasn't him, and he got plastic surgery to not look like himself so he could continue on surviving. so who is he then? none other than talu/lue, the leather glove wearing weirdo basically stalking ken. and he can't tell ken either because he's afraid word would get out - ken might tell his friends or his family, it'd likely get back to din's parents and since they're "close" with the chief (idk if they gave him another name, the man with the scar and altered eye) whom we just saw was the one who shot din, it'd obviously get back to him as well so din wouldn't be safe still being alive - or maybe din is afraid ken wouldn't accept him as he now looks/is so he's gotta adapt to this whole new persona to survive and he's got no other choice but to start over with ken.

it's the way that "lue" looks at ken, like they already have history and he's already in love with him. his willingness to protect and save ken, a supposed basic stranger. like sure, you can be a good guy, but who would really jump in a fight with a bunch of dudes to save some random guy in the middle of an alley unless you know them personally like din knows ken? "lue" saw his way in and snatched it so damn fast. now that he's wormed his way back into ken's life, there's no way he's going to leave him and that's why he "coincidentally" keeps showing up whenever ken needs help.

it's also strange that he's always wearing clothes that cover his entire body and those leather gloves... in thailand where it's hot as heck. someone explain that to me please, there's gotta be a reason why he has to hide his body.

Hi 💜 and also: yay, someone to talk chains of heart with!

I agree with your whole theory. I think it's becoming pretty obvious that Lue and Din (and Tee? idk if you agree with me there) are the same person (and S P O I L E R someone else has confirmed it as canon in the novel / S P O I L E R).

How Lue doesn't just die under the turtle neck, suit jacket and gloves is anyone's guess. They're not even in North Thailand, I think. But yeah, it must be because of the scars. People in the mdl comments are complaining that no one ever commented on it but the first time Lue and Ken shake hands Ken definitely looks at him funny and then decides to leave it uncommented (which tbh is the polite thing to do).

But yeah, it's the way Lue looks at Ken. There's so much yearning and sadness and love there. And Ken must see it too and he's probably confused about why he reacts to this stranger at all, but he's too loyal to Din to even consider it.

But. I'm not even sure Din/Lue wanted to reveal himself to Ken - at least not that soon. He was totally already watching (over) Ken from afar but he had to intervene in the street fight in ep 1 to make sure Ken was safe. And I guess then he just went with the flow because he couldn't stay away (cue to the many many stares~).

I'm still not sure why he had to explode three random street thugs to do all that but ok 🤣

And I'm also reasonably sure that Ken will be devastated once he finds out. No way this revelation will go over well.

[drawthething]

I wanted to give you an actual ask, unlike last time, haha (hopefully this is a fun one).

What're some of your favorite end credits songs of the show? A few of mine include (but are not limited to, because I know I will forget a bunch that I love):

--"Doing a Dance ('Cause I've Got Pesto in My Pants)" from Season 9, Episode 15, "The Fresh Princ-Ipal") (this one lives rent free in my head oh my god)

--"Wonder Wharf (Wharf of Wonder)" from Part One of the Season 4 "Wharf Horse" finale

--"I Love U So Much (It's Scary)" from Season 6, Episode 3, "The Hauntening"

--"Buenos Dias Como Estas (Me Llamo Tina)" from Season 6, Episode 6, "The Cook, the Steve, the Gayle, & Her Lover"

--"Goblins, Ghouls, Ghosts, & Bears" from Season 12, Episode 3 "The Pumpkinening"

--"Loft Bed" from Season 12, Episode 7, "Loft in Bedslation"

--Teddy's cover of "Somewhere Beyond the Sea" from Season 7, Episode 2 "Sea Me Now" (this one is definitely S-Tier)

--"I'll Be Around" from Season 12, Episode 11 "Touch of Eval(uations)"

--"Morse Code" From Season 9, Episode 9, "UFO No You Didn't"

--"Best Couple Friends" from Season 8, Episode 14 "The Trouble with Doubles" (seriously, why did this one get stuck in my head so easily?)

"We're Just Children Watching You" from Season 11, Episode 11 "Romancing the Beef"

--"Turkey, I Need You Beside Me" from Season 11, Episode 7 "Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid"

And now I need to physically restrain myself from adding more so you can actually answer this with other outros, hahaha

PLEASE the Pesto in my pants song fricking lives rent free in my head too

Thank you for the ask 😭 I was so born to answer this 🤌 The bobs burgers outros are just never not amazing ya know?

• Basically any outro that's like visually stylized 👀: Horse Wharf I? Yes without my Zeke? Eight grade runner? Perfecta! The animation sequences are just so creative and the music is hella epic (hello? Linda's vocals in Horse Wharf? Mind blowing!)

• Taffy Butt: my boy Jimmy Jr dancing like a happy idiot sabotaging the animation budget plus the most catchy hilarious song ever? Gimme gimme gimme

• 99 Red Balloons: this song got stuck in my head for daysss. And the slow mo gig is just too golden and awesome. Fantastic way to end a season 😭

• The Gene Mile: l-look at Bob, look at him in his fanboy CAKE T-shirt, crying jamming to the art of high fiving. Ain't that the most beautiful thing ever 🤣?

• Bad stuff happens in the bathroom: I meannn, no question right? Everyone (and I mean e v e r y o n e) singing and the camera zooming out and oh my god it's a fricking genius finale outro I'm-

• Hot pants rain dance: them muppets dancing and wiggling and having fun plus the song that sooo needs an extended version are just 😌👌

• I've got a Yum Yum: Linda is a national treasure. She's so dorky in this ep 😭😭😭

• Also Teddy's cover for Beyond the Sea: I've really got a soft spot for this Teddy ep and this outro's just too perfect

• Just what I needed: the way they end this ep is just really well done and so is the outro 🤌 I looove the singing and the kiss sequences :D

• Slumber Party Fashion Show: catchy tunes? Check. Iconic catwalk? Check. Also this ep is so good arghh

[fangerine]

sharing thoughts on the last of us ep. 2 (spoilers ahead):

if last week’s episode was about establishing the characters and heart of the show, last night’s episode was about establishing the “game” mechanics of this world. and holy shit, were these mechanics just as brutal and inventive as the game, even with the changes made.

once again, this show is doing such a good job of taking what works in the game but wouldn’t work in this medium, and not just doing away with it but IMPROVING upon it. craig and neil are right: spores just wouldn’t work in this version of this world. from personal experience, i can also tell you that filming people in gas masks like that is kind of a pain. “bUt EvAnGeLiNe, WhAt AbOuT mAnDo???!!!”, you might say. and yeah, it’s not impossible to film people in masks, mando uses a helmet, not a clear gas mask that fogs up, and is much more uncomfortable than the mando helmet imo. it’s not about money and seeing actors faces (which is also money lol) as much as it’s about practicality and creating something realistic.

but let me tell you, craig, neil, and co. MAKE UP FOR IT. replacing spores (which is a great in-game mechanic, don’t get me wrong) with tendrils and this concept of the wood wide web is GENIUS, and TERRIFYING. in-game, spores work more as interesting locations because it’s much more plausible in a video game to have isolated locations like that. when you’re playing, you just rationalize that spores only exist in these dark, damp, places and can’t survive elsewhere. but when you’re dealing with live action television??? not so much, in my opinion.

what’s much more believable is that this infection is everywhere. it’s rooted in the ground. it makes you watch your step every second. at the beginning of the episode, i was intrigued as to why the camera was so focused on their feet, because the cameraman sure as hell wasn’t quentin tarantino. yeah, they’re walking but they’re gonna be walking the entire fucking show. that’s right, death stranding, the last of us walked so you could walk some more.

adding this aspect to the world is so much more scary than spores. the fact that you could wake up a hoard of infected m i l e s away because the tip of your foot slightly crunches a piece of the big ol’ cordycep pie. that was a bad joke, sorry.

but we must get to the elephant in the room: tess.

first off, can we get a moment of silence for a bad ass bitch???

...

okay, so i love that this show is taking the time and taking advantage of this medium to expand on her character. nothing about her time in the two episodes felt like filler. anna torv gave it her all knowing that this journey would not last long, and i love her for that. 

but i really want to talk about her death. we (people who played the game) all knew it was coming but i don’t think i expected it to be so utterly disturbing, which brings me to the tendrils.

they are literally the grossest fucking thing to ever grace my monitor screen, and i’ve pulled up the perverse family (fuck you, tiny meat gang and also, i am please begging you to not look it up...or do, i can’t tell you what to do). 

anyways, for tess’ last scene to be like THAT is really saying something. there’s something so haunting about how that clicker looked at her. how it slowly moved towards her, almost giving this “look” of recognition. this “look” of, “you’re one of us now.”. the “kiss” was a forceful invitation of sorts but tess, with every last inch of her humanity, denied that invitation by being the bad ass bitch she is, and blowing up the place.

poetic cinema, ya’ll. poetic. fucking. cinema. the world of tlou is characterized by the fact that humans are so willing to turn on each other. sarah wasn’t taken because she got infected. she got taken by the fear and selfishness of humanity. it’s a bleak picture but god, does naughty dog paint it with beautifully tragic strokes.

on the other side, though, we have the infected. although grotesque, horrific, and deathly, they are now operating under this hive mind. will they rip you to shreds? oh, definitely. but are they doing it together? absolutely. it just creates this really horrible but well-crafted idea that the enemy, is truly each other, and the infected are really just this scary obstacle. but maybe their togetherness will help humanity come together, once again, to create a more hopeful future.

[thesmithsbackyard]

TOP TEN: i m p o s s i b l e

Really though I’ve been sitting here marveling at the fact that, this show has been on since 2005, it has either 17 or 20 full seasons with two more on the way, (the episode counts are weird) I can pop in Season 2 or Season 16 still have a grand old time. They just do...whatever the hell they want, and it works!

I wracked my brain for several months, I made some painful cuts, here’s my top ten lol. In no particular order. Just barely managed to figure out what my fave ep of all time is

Spoilers!! Kind of. I don’t want to spoil these in case people wanna watch them. But who am I kidding; I’m screaming into a void over here. ANYWHO:

The Life and Times of Stan Smith 12-15

Okay. So one set up in this show is, Stan is against something. Turns out he can’t avoid that thing or it’s a Good Thing Actually. He gets waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too far into it. Shenanigans!! It’s great, I love it. My favorite example is this episode. He gets addicted to dying. Like...like actually dying.

Meanwhile, Steve goes to Arizona State University and does not have a good time

Daddy Queerest 4-19

This episode just warms my heart. Greg and Terry are a gay couple that live across the street. Terry’s dad is visiting for the weekend and doesn’t know Terry’s gay. Dramaaaa!! Oh my god, the ending of this one is so cute and good.

Meanwhile, Roger buys beer for Steve and his friends at a party. For $12 profit.

I feel like i should acknowledge something. *sigh* So yeah. Greg and Terry *are* that stereotypical gay couple where almost every joke with them is that They're Gay. But i dunno, I never got the sense of any malice behind it. They're never put down by other characters for it and there's never any theme or joke that it's bad to be gay and over the top like them?

I understand why it is annoying to only see that portrayal and that the joke being HAHA GAY is bad though so...Your Mileage May Vary

Hayley Smith, Seal Team 6 11-3

Eps like this one make me so happy this show got a second chance on another channel. Hayley ends up mentally regressing to age six. Jeff and Klaus try to get her back to normal. I love all the little bits they do that show how her relationship with her parents was like.

Meanwhile, a weird stranger convinces Steve and his friends to use a slow cooker while making pork. He’s not even a real pervert!

There’s this adorable part when she does patty-cake with Roger which shows they used to like each other too.

EXCEEEEEEPT!! [extra nerdy glasses on] In season 2, Roger sings a song about how he used to be close friends to Steve. And in that, when they first met, Roger is shown to be given to Steve as a birthday present.

While Hayley and Francine freak out, and the design they use for Hayley is her mid-puberty design in a later ep

THEREFORE they did not meet when she was six. Episode recalled

[i’m kidding it’s delightful and I’m just a freak about this show go watch it lol. it might not even be exactly how they were, just showing how they would be if they met back then]

Lost in Space 8-18

Jeff is trapped on the ship of Roger’s people. Pretty much every episode about Jeff going to, being in, or result of space is really good. I could shove them all into this...part of this non-numbered list

It's adorable! Like almost painfully so. Whenever I hear people say this show is too mean or gross I can think of several episodes where they're not lol

Haylias 3-5

This one was my top fave for the longest time. Hell it still might be. Turns out Hayley was trained to be a CIA sleeper agent. Stan re-activates her so she’ll be independent in the way he prefers...kind of. He actually feels a little guilty about it.

Meanwhile, this is also the ep when, the myths, the LEGENDS, Wheels and the Legman are born!! Fantastic [Steve and Roger pretend to be detectives and half the joke is they're making it up as they go along. it's one of my favorite plot threads ever in this show]

Flirting With Disaster 6-18

Soooo...Stan and Francine. I love them so much. They're insane. Ohhhh my god. In this one, it’s revealed that Stan flirts with other people at work. Nothing that leads to an affair or anything. Francine ends up working there and everything’s fine until something happens that renders her horrifically scarred. Now they gotta learn how to flirt with each other again.

It starts with an...homage? Parody? Of “The Office”, but with who Stan works with at the CIA. They keep with that parody in how the scenes are shot and the general humor, until the first commercial break. They also explain that in-universe in a funny way that isn’t too meta. (Oh man, I could go ON about how this show does meta humor) The humor they do isn’t too far off from how the show generally is, so when it goes back to how the show is normally shot it’s not too jarring.

Meanwhile, Steve builds birdhouses as a hobby and Roger starts a business with that. There’s this one part with birds that leaves me in shock and awe every time like jesus christ it’s just soo...the efforts they go to just for A Bit in this show. I need to make a separate post about that I just sfhdjsjfhsdklghdslkgds

Yule. Tide. Repeat. 15-22

The Christmas eps of this show. SHIT GETS WILD. Almost every one that’s come out has been in my top fave episodes. Stan wants to have a normal, “Norman Rockwell Christmas,” because every one they’ve ever had has been very bad and very weird. His words, not mine. Something goes terribly wrong, and Stan ends up caught in a time loop where he has to pick the right path to find his family.

There’s a part with gore, and honestly gore jokes are one of my least favorite parts of this show. BUT. It’s used effectively in this story. (and I will acknowledge that even though I don’t like gore jokes. at least when they happen on this show it’s actually a joke or part of the plot sooo whatever)

The Two Hundred 11-10

It’s the apocalypse for some reason. Stan wanders the earth with tattoos feeling real bad about how he treated his family. Greg is there too. He’s fun, I like Greg

West to Mexico 12-22

So every once in a while there will be an “au” episode, where the characters aren’t related to each other but still do a Thing. (I mean every once in a while; there’s only been like two or three over 300 eps and I’m not sure if one is even ‘canon’)

In this one, Stan’s an outlaw in the United States after the civil war. Wild west stuff happens. I think it's based on a movie. But when this show does movies they don’t just do a movie scene but it’s the characters and they’re meta about it, they’ll just do a scene or something similar to it. Like no one turns to the camera and says “heeey this is just like Djanjo Unchained!” or whatever it was. It’s based on something but it’s still done in the style and humor of the show, which is neat.

One Little Word 4-3

Oh god. THIS ONE. You know what, I’ve finally decided. This one is my favorite. This ep is like a culmination of everything I love about this show. The cringe AND the good shit. This was an ep that when it came on I’d feel like YEESSS IT’S THIS ONE. You know that feeling?? Like you know you’re gonna have an excellent time for the next half hour. I just...there’s so many little details and bits that are expanded upon later and little cute character moments and everything just builds to this hilarious payoff and AAAAAAH

There’s a couple jokes that are kinda...well not the worst thing ever but I can see why today people might be like...mmmm No. But mostly I just. Oh god. I just love I was able to fall in love with this one all over again. Christ I haven’t even said what it’s about yet.

So Stan wants to be Bullock’s number one at work. (there’s already Layers here) He goes so far to bring back his wife from being captured overseas. Meanwhile Francine wants to celebrate with Stan up alone at a lake. Unfortunately Bullock’s family ends up staying at Stan’s house…

(Lake Fraiser. I havent seen much of that show but recently I’ve been wondering if this episode is a parody of either an episode of it or just its style of writing in general?? I’ve wanted to watch Fraiser but never got around to it. The syndicated channel I watched reran this show, Two and a Half Men, and Friends instead. Baaarrff lmao)

Oh dear god I've done it. Kind of. See I’m looking at this list and there’s STILL sooooooo many I love where I’m like “what about this ep. And this one. And this one. Technically there’s infinite numbers between one and ten” There’s at least on ep per season in that top five list I did where I KNEW I’d be like “why isn’t This one on the list goddammit”

[allkinds-oftrash]

The Crown S5E5 Commentary

Non-Spoiler Thoughts: So this is a Charles centric episode so heads up and honestly I was thrown for a rollercoaster because of the way Peter Morgan had set this up. I was looking forward to this season specifically for the Tampon Call. I know I’m a weirdo but honestly once I got my disgust out of the way when reading the transcript, I just realised exactly how hilarious a live reenactment could be. And oh boy, well read on to find out what happened. Heads up, half the time it was just me screeching not knowing where this episode would go tbh. Also there is a rare moment of me going Huh maybe Charles did some good,,, shocking I know but I can give credit where its due. 

I knew it's a Charles centric ep and I'm looking forward to the Tampon call but still sighhh 50 mins of Charles ew

They're so bored of his whining lmaooo They're just being polite Chucky

APB is so done with his shit lmao

Also omg is this it IT'S THE CALL?? I WON OMG Wait why are we going wide Peter No Peter show meee the bit PETER MORGAN I WANNA SEE THE EXACT LINES PLAYED OUT COME ON

Oh??? We see it from the eavesdropper’s pov?? Oh dammit lowkey wanted to see C&C's faces This set up is wayyy too long Mister Peter Morgan

OH THERE WE GO DHKSJDKD THEY DID NOT PAUSE IT BEFORE THE GOOD BIT HOHOHO THERE WE GO Damn the way Peter Morgan teased me NOOOO PETER YOU DID NOT BLUEBALL ME I WANTED TO HEAR DOMINIC SAY THE WORDS AND LAUGH AT HIMMM

Well that was disappointing NO NOT THREE YEARS LATER 🤡 I should not be this disappointed he didn't say the line SIGH I know I know I'm a weirdo for wanting that bit re-enacted live but COME ON GUYS THE COMEDY OF IT ALL it would have been h i l a r i o u s Instead we got his boring ass speech that the kids at Oxford probably fell asleep to.

But yay Diana is freee and they're divorcing Awww poor Di I wanna hug her

Not a whole taskforce to safeguard the monarchy in changing world dhdkkd Just be human and less stuffy lmao Also I'm SHOOK at how similar the new Camilla looks to the actual Camilla, the resemblance is uncanny

Charles having liberal ideas whattttt Are these actually his policies??? Well they did allow Charlotte to assume her current succession position He's so progressive in this meeting and yet couldn't handle sharing the spotlight with his wife 🤡 make it make sense

OOOP HE DIDN'T BRING UP THE POLL BRO YOUR MOM IS RIGHT THERE DHDKJDKD

Also dunno WHAT Chucky was worried about this. This episode makes him look good! And Peter could have easily added in the Tampon bit of the call and embarrassed him further

I need to look into these policies if they're true or not if he did believe in this and if it is then good for him but I can respect his policies while being disgusted at the way he treated Diana and later Harry and Megs.

"It was a different Charles today" Lmao yes indeed it was Lizzie this man surprised me You're right Lizzie THAT'S WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT Oh shut up Phillip you outdated dinosaur

I know its his episode but there's too much Charles in this I would find it more tolerable if we had gotten the tampon line but it is what it is

Oopp his secretary got the news He doesn't remember the call 🤡🤡 OHMYGOD MORE PHONE CALL FLASHBACKS AM I GETTING THE LINE?? PETER MORGAN DON'T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME GAJSHJS NOT THEM BEING HORNY TEENAGERS

BROOOO AM I GETTING THE LINE IT'S SO CLOSE SCREAMINGGGG IT'S HAPPENING I WANNA VOMIT AND LAUGH AT THE SAME TIME Alll the ladies in his family reading it in the paper omgggg I'd be mortified

YE S PETER MORGAN YOU DIDN'T LET ME DOWN YALL IF YOU COULD H E A R THE PURE JOY FROM MY LAUGHTER RIGHT NOW

This IS hilarious I told yall the comedy of it all would be iconic as disgusting as the lines are The completely serious way Dominic and Olivia play this is brilliant it makes it EVEN funnier I just really wanna thank them for doing this when Josh O'Connor didn't want to bsjjdkd (like I get it Josh but you and Emerald would have KILLED IT)

HE SAID IT HE SAID HE WANTED TO BE THE TAMPAX AND BE FLUSHED DOWN THE TOLIET I'M CACKLING She's so right HE IS A COMPLETE IDIOT DHDJJD

Everyone's mortified reaction to it IS THE BEST Peter Morgan I LOVE YOU

Also WAIT THIS IS THE ARTICLE THAT PROMPTS THE REVENGE DRESS RIGHT FUCK YES I'M GETTING IT ALL IN THIS EP

I WISH YOU WERE PRESSING MY TIT LMAO Chucky BE SERIOUS

Oh gosh Diana this must be so humiliating for her too my poor babeyyy Go on baby go wear THAT DRESS

Lmaoo all the reports I'm cackling this should be fun to see how they navigate this "An assassination" BITCH YOU SAID IT no one is assassinating your character lol be serious TELL HIM ANNE He did bring alot of problems on himself

Okay I will say as funny as the live reenactment was, it's not nice that his privacy was invaded but by god is what he said was funny af Like boi time to sharpen up your dirty talk skills

Ahhahahah Anne's reaction lmao don't wax poetry about this. Drag him some more please that's what sisters are for. That was a sweet moment but they don't have the easy sibling chemistry Josh and Erin had in the last two seasons

PHILLIP NO DHDKSJ NOT ADMIRATION OH HSJSJJS HE'S RIGHT THE LECTURE IS SO FUNNY PLS Hey let him speak Welsh! Lmaooo Edward is so awkward pls it's like he's on the Office with all the looks he gives

Not them starting the PR redemption arc for him This should be fun, spoiler alert; It's gonna be dull as hell

Lmaooo it IS puffery and chocolate box rn though What is this documentary it's so funny pls Dominic sounds so much like him I'm shook and impressed Mans seems so inclusive,,, I don't believe it not after what happened with H&M

Oop Dimbley dropped the marriage question Damn he did not pull back the punches Charles' answer should be fun That's the most bullshit cop out answer ever lmao

God what a spineless little shit "Friendships" K buddy k "Forthright and honest in your response" AS IF SHDJKD

APB is DONE Mans is YEETED

Have you changed tho Chucky HAVE YOU?? Not from where I was sitting since 2017 Not the dwindling cheering crowds for him I'm laughing what is this

YES DI WEAR THE HELL OUT OF THAT REVENGE DRESS HONEY YESSSS THE REVENGE DRESS GOD IT LOOKS WONDERFUL!

"The Crown itself is a unifying symbol" Lizzie please you mean it's a colonising symbol that forced everyone together under your rule without their consent

Not him doing a book Yes Anne tell him He can be so delusional I swear Him and his gardens 😂😂

Okay I am warming up to this version's dynamic of Charles and Anne The cast chemistry is just a little bit off this season I can't place my finger on it. It's not bad but just not as strong as S4's chemistry. Which I get - it's all of their first time together as a cast so they need more time to get used to each other

Anne being the family tea spiller and informant always gets me - its so amusing Her defence of her brother is very sweet but she feels like she has gone soft Ik ik he needs someone in his corner I just like it when she's sardonic it's amusing

OH that's his court lmao I was like Is he tutoring some Uni kids?? Good to know I wonder if these same people still stayed on with him til now that he's reigning?

The way the audience looks so bored and unimpressed I'm cackling OHMYGOD CHARLES DID NOT JUST COMPARE HIS SHIT TO BEING RACIALLY MAGINALISED Bro what the fuck is wrong with you You're a rich, privileged, white straight cis man. You do not know how they feel or go through on a daily basis AT ALL This engagement is so painful to watch it feels very cold djdkrk

Okay I will admit irl he did good work with the Prince's Trust which just boggles my mind with how everything with the Sussexes was handled. Like bro the call is coming from inside the house why aren't you helping to fix it??

HE'S BREAKDANCING OMG I'M CACKLING

Well this episode was a rollercoaster but I was entertained for most of it!

[airadam]

Episode 166 : Public Art, Unseen Artists

"Godbodies behind bars, y'all see the barcode."

- Pharoahe

The month went from the ridiculous to the sublime, but as always, here we are right on time! This episode we pay homage to Phife and Biggie Smalls, and bring out some great recent releases alongside some older tracks that I think will have escaped the notice of many - after all, there's so much music out there! Almost an hour-long mix this time out, let's get to it...

Twitter : @airadam13

Twitch : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

E-40 : On The Case

One of the hardest-working men in Hip-Hop, E-40 has recorded twenty-six studio albums, and still sounds as dope has when he debuted back in 1992. This is from his sixteenth, the second in the "The Block Brochure : Welcome To The Soil" trilogy, and as the prisoner quoted in the hook says, it does indeed slap! Chris "THX" Goodman gives him a dark, stomping beat which is a perfect backing for 40's flow as he gives you some free game. Whether you're facing a case or just a tough week at the work, I hope this helps!

Lsdream & Z-Trip : Space Funk

Giving exactly what it says on the tin, this tune is heavy instellar bass business. Z-Trip is better known to many of us as a turntablist and DJ, but his collaboration here with the former Brillz is a beautiful slice of bassy, floaty, vocoded production goodness!

Semi Six & Ilajide : Too Code

Going back to the "Park Orange" collab between these two Detroit natives, we have bump in abundance on this one. If one part of the track stands out, it's the fact that clearly, the roads in their neighbourhood and those in Manchester have a lot in common. Don't ride your 23" rims round here, for your own good!

Karl Hinds : Don Gramma

Twenty-two years on, some of these terms may have been superseded, but you get the point! Essentially the UK (or London, at least) version of Big L's underground hit "Ebonics", Karl runs you through a selection of the local slang, and handles the squelchy, bassy production on top of that. I'd only be half-surprised if it turns out he did the 12" cover design too...

Bumpy Knuckles ft, Sy Ari Da Kid : Word

It was a struggle to find a tune to fit into this spot, but I'm pleased with the choice - very much a deep cut from Bumpy, taken from the now ten-year-old "Mix Files, Vol.1" EP, which seems to be little hard to find nowadays. In fact, it's not even listed on his Discogs discography at present, which makes me wonder if that's just an oversight or if it was actually some kind of bootleg! Note : Feburary 29th does come, just infrequently...

Rich The Factor & DJ.Fresh : White Party

I've been playing this one in the car so much over the last year or so, it's about time it made its way onto the show! Kansas City's incredibly prolific Rich The Factor isn't coming with particularly complex bars, just vibing to the 80s-flavoured beat from DJ.Fresh from their edition of the "The Tonite Show" series, sampling a great bit of jazz-funk to great effect.

Tavaras Jordan : Photogenic (Instrumental)

It was great to see a complete instrumental release of Le$' "E30" LP, which was produced by Tavaras Jordan, who is rapidly becoming a personal favourite. Smooth synth and drum machine action with a lot of polish. Definitely one to hear in the car!

Slum Village ft. Phife Dog : Push It Along

Marking the anniversary month of Phife's passing, I thought I'd share a track of his you may not know. The circumstances are beautifully circular - Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Q-Tip make up Tribe. Q-Tip puts J Dilla on as part of The Ummah, a production unit that worked on the later Tribe albums, which ultimately gives a boost to the early career of Slum Village. Years later, Slum Village, after the passing of J Dilla, bring Phife of Tribe in for this feature - named after a track from Tribe's debut. You can find this on Slum's "Yes!" LP, with Young RJ representing lovely on production.

ILLAMAN & Pitch 92 : Sometimes Relax

Great new single out of the UK, with ILLAMAN (all caps?) of Pengshui flowing over a Pitch 92 instrumental that is built around what sounds like reversed strings, wrapped in warm bass and a suitably-relaxed drumline. As the song says, sometimes we all need reminding to take a breath. Great to hear Pitch continue to build on his early catalogue with Plato and The Mouse Outfit, consistently releasing high-quality music.

Kardinal Offishall ft. Glenn Lewis : The Naked Truth

This one from "Kardi Gras Vol. 1 : The Clash" went down well on a Twitch stream recently, so I thought I'd finally include it on the podcast for all the subscribers! It's an all-Toronto affair, with R&B vocal master Glenn Lewis adding the perfect accompaniment to Kardinal's loverman lyrics with a hook that I think really makes the track.

Chris Mazuera : Inspiration (Statik Selektah Remix)

NYC's Mazuera was already onto a winner with this track from his debut LP "Let's Take A Trip", but getting Statik Selektah to remix it lifts it to an even higher level. It's still subtle and considered though, with Statik not overwhelming the original, and making it very much a joint piece of expression.

Benny Reid & Havoc : Temperature's Rising

Tracks from this combination between the jazz musician Benny Reid and Hip-Hop production legend Havoc have been trickling out over the last couple of months, and this version was one I was especially glad to hear, with the original "Temperature's Rising" being a personal favourite from the classic Mobb Deep LP "The Infamous". An all-instrumental remake, it of course derives from "Where There Is Love" by Patrice Rushen, but works in a live version of the boom that made the Mobb track such a killer.

Alaskan Fishermen : Fire & Ice

No hook, no radio appeal, no R&B affectations, just aggro underground rawness. The MCs build the lyrical structure in extremely short four-bar blocks, taking turns in trying to spit the most killer lines before passing to the next man. The final cut on Thirstin Howl's "Brooklyn Bullet Goldcard Membership" 12", the dramatic production brings exactly the right vibe.

Will.I.Am ft. KRS-ONE : Take It

It somehow feels wrong that KRS isn't officially the headline artist on this track, but aside from the hook, he is the only one on the mic! This 12" really deserved an airing after it made it into my digitised collection, as I realised that very few people have heard it. The beat is an interesting one, with the timing/programming being a little "off" in a way that makes it hard to mix with but also gives it the hard-to-place feel, and the hardness can't be denied. "Where Is The Love?", this is not.

Ras Kass : TV Guide

Dopeness from the eventually-released "Van Gogh" album, Ras takes inspiration from tracks like GZA's "Labels" and "Publicity", folding the names of dozens of TV programmes into his verses, while simultaneously making a critique of the medium itself. There's an alternate version with very different production courtesy of Carlos "Six July" Broady on the 12" of "Tha Dopest", if you can find it!

Pharoahe Monch : YAYO

The transition here is so swift that you might miss it at first, but we hand over from Ras to Pharoahe with the quickness for a fierce cocaine-themed cut (no pun intended)... Lee Stone's guitar-laden production on this single is heavy, and it's all topped off with some exceptionally sharp cuts courtesy of Boogie Blind of the X-Ecutioners - not seventeen-click flares or anything, just absolute mastery of the fundamentals and great scratch composition.

[Le Damus & SLA] Kwest, Gauge, and Eddie Broke : 718 (Instrumental)

This isn't even my favourite cut on the "Get Large Productions" 12" (that would be the mighty "Get Large"), but the horn-laden production on this instrumental would easily cut the mustard as an A-side on another release!

The Notorious B.I.G. : Real N****z (Do Real Things)

Excuse the sound quality as I share a piece of history - a legendary entry in Biggie's unofficial catalogue that you may never have heard if you're a little younger than me! This is drawn from the "Best Of Biggie" mixtape by Mister Cee, who of course was a critical figure in Big's early career. Sadly ironic given the eventual drama that played a central role in his premature death, the soundscape is pure California, with Biggie freestyling over the instrumentals from some of the biggest West Coast classics of the era. RIP.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

[amtrak12]

Lucifer Rewatch Liveblog: 1.03

OMG if I don’t liveblog an episode tonight I’m going to be so distracted and upset so ep 3 it is! I have no idea what episode it is! And neither the title nor the description is enlightening me lol S1 really went in one ear and out the other, didn’t it?

And because I haven't said it yet, I do enjoy that the episode titles are lines of dialogue. It does nothing to help me remember what title matches what plot but it does provide me with an easy-to-replicate formula for fanfic chapter and story titles which I am always grateful for *tips my hat in thanks to the writers*

Playing!

Ah right, recap. Cause we definitely need a TWO episode recap before moving on to the third episode ever of a show. *skips*

I can't decide if I hate fake out cold opens or if I'm neutral towards them. But I'm pretty sure I don't love them. Because I’m well trained on them so I always know they’re fake -- but is that the point? Is wondering what the real explanation behind the scene the real hook?

Meta things to ponder later.

A four-leaf clover and a unicorn had a baby --- but would the baby come out more unicorn or clover? Would they still have four leaves? This scene is boring so I'm utterly distracted by this image now. Is it a unicorn decorated in clovers???

Oh the scene got interesting again when this woman accused Lucifer of stealing his own identity ROTFL I have no memory of this subplot

'debunking hypnotism' -- Dude, you are obsessed with Lucifer. Like OBSESSED. You’re even answering unknown numbers in case it's him!?

Sorry, that's horrifying. There's no saving you.

The look on Trixie's face is that childishly fiendish grin of delight that says ‘Maybe I gave him your number when he asked. Maybe he found it on his own. Either way I’m thrilled by this development.’

(Though, not because she has designs on making Lucifer her stepdad because she was definitely trying to get Chloe and Dan together again two seconds before this. I’m pretty sure she thinks she and Lucifer are already besties and just likes the idea of her bestie hanging out with her mom so they can all be besties.)

I mean, really it would be 249 suspects wouldn't it? Cause one of the suspects is in fact the murder victim? So that’s one less person for you to question, Chloe! #helpful

'detectiving'

Did I mention that I'm too ace for S1?

Boy you sure jumped to arrest pretty quickly there, Chloe. He got peeved about being filmed but didn't even rage or punch anyone before you stopped watching. Why are you pulling out the handcuffs already then?

(Obviously, she’s displacing some frustration too this episode. Sorry, Ty. :/)

ROTFL I love how much Maze is enjoying this identify thief problem.

'is it possible you might be overreacting a bit?' -- 'No!!' -- Yeah... he’s a bit of a slow learner, Linda. Like r e a l l y slow, but he’ll get there! I promise!

Mr Joe Agent, sir, it is always best to not say anything without your attorney present.

I'm pretty sure the killer is the agent, but I still don't remember the plot at all. Specifically about this allegedly crazy ex--

HOLY FUCKBALLS THE CAR JUST EXPLODED :O

DEFINITELY DID NOT REMEMBER THAT!!! Holy fuck. The only exploding car I remember is during the stupid Sinnerman storyline.

Well, they certainly scared ME with the bomb and I wasn’t even up close and personal with it like Ali was.

'As good as he is at football, that's how good I am at being his girlfriend!' -- She scares me too, actually :S

Since it's just case stuff, this seems like a good time to say -- I really like Dan and Chloe as exes. Their romance was utterly obliterated by Dan’s pre-series betrayal but their friendship remained and I adore that. And not just as co-parents either! They stayed genuine friends with each other!

I maintain that Lux can stay high end if it wants, but it needs to be about 1000 times gayer. He's the fucking Devil for pete's sake. This whole show should be 1000 times gayer.

The singer for whatever song is playing in the background of this fixer scene sounds exactly like the singer of the credits song for Ghostbusters 2016.... I can't decide if I care enough to go investigate if it is the same singer, though.

Lucifer, I would like to know how this dude got your credit card number. Though I guess even the Devil isn't immune to data theft once you're living in our lovely capitalist hellscape.

Oooo.... the punishing yourself phrasing was triggering for Lucifer O_O Definitely not foreshadowing for S4 there.

... Does California still have the death penalty??? Cause Chloe definitely implied California still has the death penalty. I didn't think they did. I thought the death penalty was only left in a few states, but I guess I haven’t researched that lately.

Oh god hang on, I just spotted Chloe's back shirttail was fully untucked and hanging out of her jacket and I swooned a little. Just give me a second, I'll be okay.

OH SHIT WAIT Lucifer throws the AGENT out the window???? This is the window throwing scene from the fanvids??!!

I should've realized that from Chloe's coat but I was too distracted by her shirt tails in the previous scene lol

First, 'I squeezed too hard' should never be a problem because you should never have your hands around someone's neck. That should never be one of your anger responses. There’s no excuse there.

Second, 'I'm out of here'? After admitting to murder in front of a cop??? That agent was a bit delusional too there, wasn't he?

Oo, very much enjoying Chloe keying into Lucifer feeling guilty for Ali's death even though Lucifer still isn't self-aware enough to acknowledge that.

And the therapy session after with Linda, too. See? This is the kind of character growth that I wouldn't care about if I was starting from the pilot because I don't care about Lucifer yet. But watching it AFTER watching the later seasons and very much caring about Lucifer? Yeah, it's brilliant. It's meaty stuff! I love it!

It's six seasons of baby steps that build on each other so much that the S1 characters wouldn't recognize themselves in S6. They wouldn't even recognize themselves in S2! And yet those character differences are never a flaw in the show. It's all natural character growth instead. Amazing.

I can't relate to their day-to-day lives (especially Lucifer's) but damn do I have a lot to learn about writing from this show.

And now I can fall asleep happy tonight because I saw my blorbos :) Specifically, I saw them in their natural environment and not the captivity of fanvideos because apparently there's a difference when it comes to my happiness vs depression levels? I never registered that before this show. (Though, I've also never struggled with embarrassment over rewatching full episodes of my favorite show before Lucifer. Obsessively rewatching a show was a normal hyperfixation response. I still don't know why I've been fighting myself on it lately.)

Be back with ep 4 at some indeterminate time later! :)

[janetbrown711]

“Do you have any idea how many secrets they’re keeping from you?” Said by anyone, to Huey

They said letting go or facing your worst fear face to face was the first step to recovery. Who ever they were, Huey thought they were right. He had felt a lot better since staring Clarisse down and telling her to get out of his life.

But still... those words she said, they were so ominous and promising. You'll regret this. A part of him would like to see her try to hurt him again now that he was with his whole family, but the other half knew she found ways.

She always did.

But that was in the past. He wasn't with her.

What was happening now was good. It was growth. It was change. Change with a sort of cause behind it.

He was gonna be an uncle.

Boy those words sure felt odd. Came out of nowhere too, but hey, he had been gone for... forever. So...

But hey, he had a reason to stop drinking.

...but he still couldn't do it.

The detox was just... the worst thing he had ever gone through.

He'd try so, so, so hard, but it was just... so much. He would try for a few days but then get sweaty, anxious, start seeing her again and those damned words whispered in his ear, and he would go mad trying to find a drink. It was torturous. He just couldn't do it.

Then she got her revenge.

And she got it in the best way possible.

"Still awake?" Dewey asked. Huey looked at his watch and realized it was two a.m. he nodded.

"You're dressed though..." Dewey eyed him.

"Your point?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm not accusing you of anything... but if you're going to go do what i think you're going to go do, then you better not be," Dewey accused.

"Hey," Huey got defensive, "I'm going to drink i just-... need some fresh air," he huffed and put his hands in his pockets.

"You can get that here. We can go out to the balcony if you want and just have a nice chat til your insomnia wears out and you can sleep," Dewey suggested.

"You say that like it's easy," Huey twitched.

"I know, i know, I'm the only one who doesn't get it. C'mon, it'll do you some good," Dewey put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mmm... maybe one walk around the mansion. Not sure if I uh... trust myself with balconies right now. Specially since most have a mini cooler with what im trying to avoid here," Huey scratched the back of his neck.

"True true. C'mon let's go," Dewey and Huey walked down the stairs. Dewey went off to the side to grab a coat while Huey opened the door and waited.

"You ready yet?" Huey rubbed his forehead.

"Har har, safety first," he rolled his eyes as he zipped his jacket. Huey turned to walk out when he saw a box with a note that read "Huey" on the outside. He picked the note up and opened it.

"It.

Clari~"

"What you got there?" Dewey peered behind him. Huey ignored him, picking up the box and taking it inside, setting it softly on a table.

"It?" Dewey read aloud.

"This... must be the thing she said I'd regret later..." he realized.

"Do... do you want to open it?" Dewey asked. Huey pondered a bit before nodding.

"Best we get it over with," he didn't quite believe himself but the words were spoken so he opened it nonetheless.

Inside was an egg.

An egg.

An egg.

Huey's brain filled with so much panic and questions that he couldn't process them all. He stepped back and away from it, unable to react any other way.

"Y-you don't think-...?" Dewey left the question up in the air.

"I-i..." Huey ran fingers through his hair as he tried to think.

"But we don't know if it's- well... ya know... yours, per se," Dewey tried to put a spin on it but Huey shook his head.

"Couldn't be anyone else's. I-it... it... it's..." Huey couldn't finish his sentence.

"But you don't... know that. I'm just- do you even know how many secrets she may be keeping from you?" Dewey thought the words would be comforting but they weren't. Huey didn't respond, but his eyes quickly filled with tears but he burst out laughing.

"Oh of course! This is what she does for her grand finale!" He shook his head, tears now streaming down his face. "She leaves me with one last job. One final reminder that i am nothing without her or her help. That I need her," he walked away, not being able to contain his laughter.

"Huey, you don't need her," Dewey frowned.

"Oh yeah? What the hell do you suggest I do then? I-i can't do this! I-i've never been a bigger mess in my life!" He gestured to himself.

"Huey..." Dewey struggled with what to say. Huey turned his back, so he got out his phone and texted someone. In not too long Della came down the stairs in her pajamas without Huey taking notice. Della and Dewey shared a look and Dewey went away.

"Huey... are you okay?" She asked. Huey looked at her and ceased his laughter, silent tears still streaking down his face.

"Mom, I-i... I..." he glanced at the box on the table. He put a hand over his mouth and shook his head.

"I really screwed up this time," he looked at her. She didn't say anything, this time just going in to hug him.

"I-I'm not ready for this," he sniffled.

"I know baby, it's okay," she soothed.

"I-i can't possibly do this alone," Huey said.

"But you won't be, Huey. You got a family here that loves and supports and understands you all the way. I mean hey, look who you're talking to here," she leaned back to look him in the eyes while still hugging.

"I-i guess you're right..." he sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"As always, i am your mom after all," her joke managed to make him chuckle at least a little.

"I-i just... don't even know where to start," he admitted.

"Don't worry. I'll help you with that," she comforted, "where is it and we can get started?"

Huey pointed to the box and they walked to the table together before Della examinded it.

"It's a tiny lil' guy. You boys were much bigger, but even the doctor admitted jt was a bit of an abnormality," Della nudged Huey, which made him briefly crack a smile. Della touched the egg and had to stiffle a gasp.

"Huey, get some blankets. I'll turn some light on," she ordered. She tried not to sound worried but Huey could tell and quickly ran to the living room and grabbed some blankets. When he came back Della was cradling it in her arms.

"Put the blankets in the box," she said. Huey quickly obeyed and Della then set it down.

"Is something wrong already?" Huey asked, fidgeting nervously.

"No no, its okay. It was just... a little cold, but nothing that can't be fixed soon. It'll be okay Huey, just take a deep breath," Della instructed, and Huey copied. He looked at the egg for a long moment and realized he no longer felt the paralyzing fear he had felt earlier. He smiled at his mom.

"I'm glad to have you back Mom," he side hugged her.

"I'm glad to be here too, kiddo," she hugged him back. They stayed hugging in silence a moment before Della asked him when he was going to tell Donald.

"I uh... was hoping never?" He sheeped. Della broke out laughing.

"Trust me when I say this kid: that doesn't work. I tried," she snorted, "it's like he has a sixth sense for it."

"Okay, okay, when he wakes up then," he chuckled too.

"Good. Cuz there really is no need to hide it. He can't hurt you, he's Donald. Loves you al to death," she punched his arm. He nodded.

"Yeah, i know, i know," he yawned.

"You should go get your rest. I'll find a heat lamp and we can talk more about this tomorrow. You're gonna need your beauty rest while you can get it," Della told.

"Oh shoot. I guess you're right, huh," he chuckled nervously.

"Hey... relax kiddo. You got this. You'll be a great dad," she put her hands on the sides of his head and embraced it.

"Thanks Mom... it means a lot," Huey said.

"Seriously though, don't worry though. You have all of our support and together we can help you get through any troubles you might have. Just say the word and any of us will be there, got it?" She said seriously. Huey nodded.

"Of course. I have the best family in the world, and i am never going to run away from them again."