#i just watched savage's episode and I have Opinions

[13eyond13]

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[waitmyturtles]

Pain, Suffering, and Narratives in Some Asian Dramas/BLs (An Utterly Un-Scholastic, Highly Personal Big Meta)

I’ve been meditating on the topic of pain and suffering in dramas over the last few weeks, as conversations across Tumblr have been taking place regarding the success (or not) of the Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars episodes. I can’t help but connect these thoughts to some of the fabulous older shows I’ve been watching in my Old GMMTV Challenge watchlist project, where I’m catching up on older Thai BLs in order to better understand the fabulous works that we’re seeing airing now. This Big Meta in part comes out of my having just watched He’s Coming To Me and Dark Blue Kiss, but I was also very deeply inspired by a Japanese BL that many of us here have fallen in love with, Our Dining Table, that features a poignant moment recognizing that feeling pain is a necessity in feeling love for another person -- that accepting pain and suffering is a part of the life we decide to live, from an Asian cultural perspective.

I’m using some big generalities here, so let me explain where I’m coming from. During certain large portions of my life, I’ve explored either becoming a Buddhist, or at least practiced Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism. While the world of Western capitalism has unfortunately taken up the majority of my current time/life, I do still have a desire to learn more about the history of Buddhism and try to incorporate some kind of practice in my daily life.

The reason why I offer that caveat is that a core of teaching in at least the spaces of Buddhism that I’ve been privy to, is the recognition of pain and suffering in one’s life. Suffering is a core tenet of Buddhism, one of the Four Noble Truths, and one that a human being does good deeds or makes merit in light of (as we see quite often in our beloved BLs) in order to receive “good” karma for a happy existence in this life or the next. (Again, mad generalizations here, but you get the point.)

I’ve been thinking about this because I often wonder if us Western viewers (I count myself as one, as an Asian-American) are too demanding for linear, clean, direct, and/or happy communication, narratives, and endings, particularly in the realm of Asian BLs, in regards to either romantic love and/or love from one’s nuclear parents/family. I think about this very much in the context of the Asian BL genre, where queerness -- as accepted, OR NOT, in Asian societies, friend groups, and families -- may indicate an existence that is not necessarily a happy one. 

There are other issues by way of demands from fans that often determine the outcome of a BL script, such as shipper demands for overtly sexual content. What I’m proposing here is that, in my opinion, some of the best dramas/BLs from Asia are rooted in a reflection and acceptance of the tenets of suffering as a natural part of Asian life and, subsequently, Asian art. I further propose that because of that acceptance of suffering, that we — Western viewers — are often left potentially feeling unsatisfied or unfulfilled by a particular ending of a drama. I posit that the linear/binary/clear outcomes that Western audiences so often demand are limiting in comparison to the non-binary, non-linear journeys and conclusions of art that Asian filmmakers can reach in their work, vis à vis à general cultural understanding that pain and suffering are a part of daily life.

Before I give a drama example, let me use one from real life, that is so very often reflected in art: filial piety. I wrote about filial piety quite a bit in my reviews of Double Savage, a non-BL from Thailand that focused on the plight of a discarded son who was judged by his father as a jinx.

When I try to explain to Western friends that Asian parental love is very often conditional (I myself have experienced it, and my experiences mirror those of my friends), I experience a lot of denial.

“There is NO WAY your parents don’t love you.”  “There is NO WAY your parents will ever give up on you. Even if they treat you badly, they love you.”  “In the West, we ALWAYS end up loving our children. That’s what society demands of PARENTS. We’re CONDITIONED to be like that.”

A major cultural competency issue that Western therapists face with Asian clients is when Western therapists say to Asian clients who are having family issues, “why don’t you just talk to your parents about what you’re feeling?” Talking to Asian parents about a child’s feelings, in MANY instances, is not realistic. The language of that kind of emotion may not even exist. AND, there are unspoken social boundaries AGAINST children having those conversations with their parents in the first place. To have those conversations would very well ROCK the foundation on which Asian families are structured.

My parents may love me — the dad in Double Savage mayyyy have loved his son? — but an Asian parent like that, so rooted in their JUDGEMENT AGAINST an offspring, will often not budge. Time and time again, my Asian friends and family will talk about how they felt unloved as a child -- especially if their skin was darker, if their siblings were more successful in school, if they were a middle child, etc. VERY often, our Asian parents don’t know what us children do by way of work -- my parents don’t know anything about my work, for instance.

The Western perspective and social demands for a STYLE of loving one’s children in a very particular, involved, and empathic way -- those cultural expectations don’t necessarily exist in Asia. So we see parents like, say, Non’s father in Dark Blue Kiss; or Korn’s father in Double Savage; or ESPECIALLY Uea’s mom in Bed Friend, a fantastic example of an Asian parent who takes PERSONALLY every aspect of her son’s social and sexual “differences,” blames him for those differences, and accuses him of ruining HER life vis à vis how he was born to be the way that he is.

And yet, at least for Korn and Uea -- we see those children, for the majority of their dramas, continuing to devote themselves to their parents. Because filial piety -- the Asian cultural and social demand for RESPECTING one’s parents above all else -- is existent and EXPECTED of almost EVERY living Asian, no matter where you live on the continent or your various diasporas. 

The equation is: even if you suffer at the hands of your parents, even if you don’t receive unconditional love and empathy from your parents, you must sacrifice in order to respect and serve your parents. You can imagine how much therapy even one individual would need to process that -- if that individual even ALLOWED themselves to think about what was happening, which oftentimes doesn’t even happen. 

I’m not saying that filial piety EQUALS suffering. What I’m saying is that the practice of filial piety will almost always ASSUME a level of suffering that one must undertake to participate in the practice of honoring one’s parents.

Where I felt this *assumption* most strongly and recently was in my viewings of three Aof Noppharnach shows: He’s Coming To Me, Dark Blue Kiss, and Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars, but I think Double Savage and Bed Friend also fall into this category as well. Very quickly:

1) HCTM was rooted in storytelling around the practice of Thai-Chinese Buddhism. Thun’s suffering was apparent: he was fatherless, he was gay, and could see ghosts. AS WELL, Med’s suffering was that he didn’t know how he had died, and why he was being held in purgatory before moving on to his next life. 

2) Dark Blue Kiss was rooted in internalized homophobia. My big review of DBK is coming next week, but quickly, between the two main couples (PeteKao and SunMork), you had internalized homophobia playing various roles of emotional INTERPLAY, that AFFECTED the external emotional demonstrations of the character -- particularly in Pete, who was viscerally working on becoming a calmer person, but was triggered by Kao’s internalized homophobia to not be open about their relationship, and Pete’s jealousy subsumed him. DBK is the only show I’m mentioning here that has a clean happy ending for all couples involved, but more on that in a second.

3) OS2 x BBS x ATOTS, on the Pat and Pran side, was rooted in a clear but indirect conflict between Pat and Pran about openness and independence. If Pat and Pran had been open about their relationship (à la Pete and Kao) -- would Pat have needed to sound tough to his engineering friends that Pran *depended* on Pat to close loops? And on the Tian and Phupha side -- there is plenty we don’t know about Phupha’s past to make judgements, but I think it’s safe to say that he grew up in such a rural environment in Thailand as to make him assume that coming out and meeting his partner’s parents was an non-reality for the majority of their relationship, until the end of the OS2 series. The journey to get to the point of the ring was a tough one, particularly for Tian, who wanted more openness.

4) Both Double Savage and Bed Friend seem to end happily, especially for Uea and King in Bed Friend. But: Uea loses his parent. Yes -- he NEEDED to lose his mom, because of how toxic she was. But from an Asian family structure perspective -- he only has his sister by the end of that traumatic journey, which is not necessarily an IDEAL or complete ending. The bonds among Korn, Win, and Rung are permanently affected by the behavior of Korn and Win’s dad in Double Savage. The ending is a copacetic one -- they have survived, and will learn to survive together, after all the trauma they have lived through. But it’s not necessarily a HAPPY one. Both of these endings do not necessarily reflect the holistic ideal of the Asian family structure.

I emphasize all of this because, as I said earlier: I think a Western demand to CLOSE LOOPS in Asian dramas is unrealistic.

In Asian life (big generalization, but let me roll with it): you are angry at your parents, and you process it internally, very often without any help, and after a couple days, things go back to the way they were. The children do not demand change from their parents.

In OS2 x BBS, what I DIDN’T SEE -- and, from this framework, what I argue that I DIDN’T *NEED* TO SEE -- were any clarifying conversations between Pat and Pran about how either of them would CHANGE for their relationship. The biggest confession we got was Pat telling Pran, “without you, there is no me,” and Pran quietly agreeing (thank you to @lurkingteapot and @dimplesandfierceeyes for the incredible post on the improved translation of “I can’t live without you”).

But throughout the episodes, we saw their existence together, and arguably, their conditions -- how each of them has organized himself to comport to the other’s immediate needs. How Pran’s larger burden of keeping in the closet to keep his nuclear family structure stable kept them from being totally out, and how Pran designed fibs to be able to have at least one public demonstration of love between him and Pat on stage. They know they cannot solve intergenerational trauma in the span of a series. They’re still closeted two years later. And throughout all of this: how Pat digests Pran’s needs, and keeps his (Pat’s) own needs for openness at bay. We know he feels pain, too, when he makes his confession to Pran in Pha Pun Dao. We know he’s watching Pran as Pran hesitates to put on the bruise cream.

I feel that Pat’s acceptance of this existence is both heart-rending and utterly beautiful from the perspective of seeing Aof’s work as *Asian* art. I feel like, as an Asian, that I KNOW, that PAT KNOWS, what Pran has to lose. Pran has A LOT to lose. And so, Pat -- instead of demanding for outing and openness -- will hold what Pran needs him to hold. He knows when Pran is grumpy, and needs to be grumpy. And Pran’s got a lot to deal with. He’s got so much that he’ll need to go to Singapore, likely to get separation from his mother -- and that will result in him and Pat being separated (and I’m intentionally not analyzing Pran’s need for space from Pat here, but I think we can safely argue that, too, as Pat’s helpful attitude may smother Pran at times) (and there’s also the issue of the nuclear pain that Pat himself may feel at losing trust in his father for his father’s past foibles). 

After the OS2 episodes, I didn’t need to know THE REASONS, the stark REASONING for why Pran needed to go to Singapore -- because, indirectly, it was already very clear to me that these young men were already holding tremendous burdens. Singapore, for Pran AND for Pat, could have ultimately been a motivator for growth. But I don’t need to know this. All I know is that they continue to have various levels of pain that they will be dealing with in their nascent adult lives.

While Dark Blue Kiss ULTIMATELY had happy endings -- how it got there was PAINFUL. Kao was ROOTED in fear that he would upend his family’s stability, while being the breadwinner. He was held back by extremely traditional role expectations of an older son. And he had no communication with his mother about straying from those roles. Pete’s dad served as the first -- and, I’d argue, maybe BL’s first -- paradigm-breaker as a parent, being SO open about his son’s queerness as to encourage healthy sex practices. But what I argue in this thesis is that up until the very last, bitter end, Kao was relegated to ASSUME that he would live in pain. His expectation was that Pete would ride with him. Pete couldn’t take it anymore and bubbled over. And Kao was forced to make a decision, for Pete’s sake, literally, to BE open, and to save the relationship. That shit ain’t easy.

Lots of folks who have read my posts on this site know that I appreciate a good Asian drama rooted in family and/or community trauma, like 10 Years Ticket. It’s the way in which Asian filmmakers depict this trauma that speaks very much to my life, my culture, and my viewpoint on what’s realistic in this world, and how that reality can be depicted in art. What I’ve found in watching Asian dramas is... I don’t always want clean endings. I don’t always want loops closed.

Sometimes, Asian kids can’t talk to their parents (Pran, Kao). If you grow up like that, you don’t immediately learn the language of intimacy for your family members, your friends, your lovers (Pran’s struggles after BBS/ep5, Thun’s coming out and not knowing the words for it). It might be EASY, or culturally UNQUESTIONABLE, to not argue with your parents about the ways in which they engage with their children (Korn, Win, Pran). Sometimes, to make a break in order to survive, you need to leave a toxic family member behind, which is NOT an ideal scenario (Uea). 

Sometimes, you lose the love of your life (Ueda-san in Our Dining Table). Sometimes, you fall in love with someone — and you find that you can’t *exist* without them (Pat to Pran). And you have to live with the pain. I might even posit that the risk of that pain makes the love you have, either for the person living or the person passed, that much more meaningful to you.

I watch Asian dramas because I don’t feel like Asian filmmakers are subject to the Western demand to clean up all emotionally questionable loose ends. This is not When Harry Met Sally. Harry and Sally should have only remained friends, and not gotten married -- even Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner knew that -- but they also realized that Western audiences would not accept such an ending.

“The script initially ended with Harry and Sally remaining friends and not pursuing a romantic relationship because she felt that was "the true ending", as did Reiner. Eventually, Ephron and Reiner realized that it would be a more appropriate ending for them to marry, though they admit that this was generally not a realistic outcome.”

If I don’t get clean clarity in Asian dramas, I’m okay with it. My mind switches to the pain POV, that relativity mindset. Everyday life in Asian cultures can handle the weight of the painful and sufferable unknown. And that’s why I love these shows. 

And, OF COURSE, not ALL Asian dramas are like this! Cherry Magic ended wonderfully. Old Fashion Cupcake ended beautifully. KinnPorsche ended sexily, if not a little confusedly (are they related? kinda? or not? whatever?). Minato’s Laundromat ended happily -- although we’ll see their relationship pain points in the upcoming second season. And we see relationship pain points in the ongoing drama of Shiro and Kenji’s relationship in What Did You Eat Yesterday -- all while they share their happy nightly meals together at their kitchen table.

Life is complicated. I posit that Asian dramas, for my taste, satisfaction, and cultural relativity, do a much better job at depicting that complicatedness than the West can ever do, and that’s why I stand so often on my soapbox to encourage Western viewers to understand these Asian cultural touchpoints more -- to learn about how we’ve accepted pain and suffering as an automatic given in our Asian lives, from our cultures, our spiritual practices, and from living amongst each other.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S03E15 - Seeing is Deceiving

Verging on unbelievable. Not quite there but, well. Also, Castle has done an almost identical one. Pun intended. It was the same magic plus twins storyline with a trick-y reveal, the only thing that changed was the murderer as Hudson and Rex added a different plot twist here.

Black letters in quotes: Actual show quotes.

Green letters in quotes: What I come up with my twisted brain.

Practical magic doesn't really impress me.

A mall!

This and the shot of twin babies are the show's very subtle way of telling us that we're going to have twins in this episode.

Otto is training to be a service dog! Good job, Otto!

Also Alan Doyle is back!

Back to the eye-flirting.

Why would anyone watch practical magic online? I mean, if you can pull tricks in front of my very eyes, you can definitely pull more tricks when I'm not physically in the same place as you.

Sarah's job offer just came lol

No, I'm not reading the rest of the messages. What a ridiculous idea. Also, what's this about a 3D printer and Heritage?

"Shut up. My mom is not leaving us."

"Damn it, now I have to act like I'm happy for her when I want her to stay."

Charlie: "What are you gonna do if you get it?" Rex has a lot of loud opinions about this.

And then Jesse interrupts via text. Is there one important conversation he hasn't interrupted? I assume that Charlie locked him in a closet for his confession to Sarah in the season finale of S4.

Aw, and then Rex goes to leave but comes back again and whines at her! Stop this.

We have to sign an NDA just to do our investigation? That can't be right. No, seriously, there's no way that's procedure.

What in the hell is a digifile? Don't tell me it's supposed to mean digital file.

"There's a code in the magic community." "Yeah, there's a code in prison too. Would you like to learn about that?" Savage.

Rex can see the words on the pages but can't read. Charlie and Sarah can read but they can't see the words of the pages. How about you teach Rex to read?

"Rex, that's one hell of a trick." You better be joking.

I hate all of them. Why do they get to pet all these dogs and I can't? (I don't hate them. I promise.)

Well, these cases get weirder and weirder. Also, we've been in that building before.

"Her tricks were so next level you would sleep with her assistant just to get her secrets." Did I mention that men are scum today?

"Score one for Jesse!" "Are we referring to ourselves in third person now?" lol

One minute later: "Charlie is a happy man."

Charlie needs a minute. He just saw that Sarah was selected for the position in London.

Sarah did have that laptop and the e-mail wide open there, though. Maybe she was hoping for a reaction.

I know it's probably so fucking cold but this is so pretty. I want to go there.

It's so funny that they're showing us shots of Margo as we see Charlotte so we can understand that they look the same. No. Pay attention or stay confused forever!

I'm almost sure that they tested this thing on some audience and they couldn't figure it out so they added the footage.

"Why am I going in that box?"

Trying to talk to the girl you like...

Charlie: "This is your dream." Sarah: "Dreams do evolve." Into what?

Why are you looking like a big weirdo, Charlie?

I can't with their looks. I do understand why Peter Mitchell chose for Charlie to say "since you started talking about London". I mean, this moment alone could be showing that Charlie had come to a realization. I still maintain that it was the one where he watches Rex greet Sarah at home, though. But this moment here is lovely. It could also be interpreted as Charlie feeling like he is about to lose Sarah. You can see a range of emotions in those 2-3 seconds. Impressive.

I could do without "That's my partner, always bringing the magic" but I like how happy Charlie looks in that moment. Rex looks happy too, I promise, I just couldn't get a good screenshot lol

Okay, so since the job offer is mentioned in this episode, then not in the last one and then is mentioned again in S04E01, I think it's safe to assume that they switched the finale. Although I think that the other one is more of a finale material. Not by a lot, since it didn't have high stakes or anything. But just case-wise and with the gathering at Charlie's house.

[turtlethon]

The other one is much later in the show's run, in "Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter", when we learn that Shredder continued to experiment on innocent people, over a period of years, to the point where there were so many mutants running around town that a politician could run on an anti-mutant campaign platform.

Do you remember exact dialogue on that? I watched that episode recently and the only thing I remember was that Tokka & Rahzar were stated to be the result of the Shredder experimenting on Zoo Animals, which I assume to be a reference to the Groundchuck and Dirtbag episodes.

As for the other mutants like the Giraffe lady and mutant bird, I assumed they weren't Shredder experiments but just people or animals that got hit by carelessly placed mutagen during the show's shenanigans rather than deliberate experiments.

Also I feel Baxter Stockman's harsh treatment from Shredder and Krang may have been because he was something of an outsider; being coerced into working for them and once trying to betray the Shredder. Rocksteady and Bebop's gangs were thugs that had been working for them to begin with, so I feel they'd get better treatment.

Upon reflection (and going back and watching the opening of the Dirk Savage ep again) I think you're right: the intent seems to be that the events in the zoo during the Turtleoids special have led to the creation of subsequent mutants over a period of a few years. I'm many months removed from watching the show at this point, so I was basing that on what I wrote at the time and my already potentially fuzzy recollections.

Regarding Shredder and the gang (and by extension, Krang/Baxter) I think where you stand on Shredder's willingness to undo their mutations probably depends on how evil you interpret him to be...

This Shredder is presented as a credible ninja master and criminal mastermind, and is the one who mutated the gang members...

This Shredder is considerably less capable, to put it mildly, and if we're being honest more in-line with how he's presented for the bulk of the series. Outside of his feud with Splinter and the Turtles, his desire for world domination seems to be entirely rooted in his own vanity and self-aggrandizement.

His villainy/competence isn't a binary thing IMO, I think it can be charted on a spectrum depending on the era of the show and who's writing, but as a trend it keeps nudging into ineffectual goofball gradually up to the beginning of season eight, when it dramatically swings back in the opposite direction.

On that basis, I think the likelihood of Shredder undoing the mutations of the gang and letting them go depends on which point in the show it actually happens. If we're assuming it's in the window between S1 and S2 then maybe not, but after the S2 opener the way he's presented changes considerably and he seems to be borderline subservient to Krang rather than the two of them being in a fifty-fifty partnership. At that point I could see him just releasing the gang on the basis that he has enough to deal with, and doesn't need them hanging around.

In regards to Krang (and his attempted vaporizing of Baxter), I've long been of the opinion that as an alien warlord he likely places little value on human life, but I kind of like the idea that the presence of Shredder, Rocksteady & Bebop in the Technodrome softens him a bit and prevents him from being a total monster, in part because their incompetence invariably scuppers all of his plans and stops him doing any significant harm in the end. It's notable that he ordered Baxter's execution while Shredder, Rocksteady and Bebop were all on Earth, and there was no-one around to reason with him; I don't know if I'd go so far as to say they serve as his conscience, but, y'know... something like that!

[maniacwatchestheworld]

[From Batman: The Audio Adventures, Season 1 Episode 1 "A Fortune in Sin"]

Part 1/2 Part 2

Here is the first half of Two-Face's first appearance in Batman: the Audio Adventures simply because I find it captivating and could listen to them talk all day... >.>

Video transcript under the cut

[buzzing]

Narrator: A rooftop in Gotham's Little China on a starless night.

Narrator: The buzzing sound you hear is 10,000 volts of neon signage, high atop Yin and Yang's Dim Sum Palace and Dumpling House. A blazing electric yin and yang symbol two stories high whose sputtering radiance is presently reflected in the wide open eyes of a terrified hostage.

Hostage: Please don't do this. Don't do this.

Narrator: He's bound hand and foot and standing beneath the sizzling electric advertisement in a rusty tub of water. Nearby, his captor is bickering angrily with a relentless adversary.

The Other: You better watch your big, fat--hey!

Harvey: Oh, pipe down, you simpleton.

The Other: Hey, Einstein, the circuit breaker's over there.

Harvey: This isn't my first electrocution. I know what I'm doing.

The Other: Sure you do. College boy knows everything.

Harvey: Probably seems like it to you, doesn't it, you ignorant malcontent?

The Other: [laughs] Nuts to that. College boy can't wash behind his own ears.

Narrator: Despite how it may sound, his adversary is himself. He is one man with two voices raised in ceaseless squabble. This conflicted creature is what remains of the man who once was Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent. An act of spite left him with half his face and a double occupancy inside his head.

The Other: You know what I think?

Harvey: Yeah, I know you don't think.

The Other: I think this whole electrocution gimmick is for the birds.

Harvey: Oh, then it's a good thing your opinion means nothing to me.

Narrator: At once, he is both Jekyll and Hyde, a smooth gentleman criminal and a cruel and vicious thug. And their disputes are settled by the pitiless physics of a tossed coin.

[coin clinks]

Narrator: Now Gotham City calls him Two-Face.

The Other: I said from the beginning, we should just split this drip down the middle with a chainsaw, problem solved.

Hostage: Ahh!

Harvey: Yes, well, we flipped for it, and you lost. And you know what we always say…

The Other: [groans] Don't argue with the coin.

Harvey: We don't argue with the coin.

Hostage: [shivering nervously] You don't have to do this.

The Other: That is not accurate, pal.

Harvey: We're sticklers for precision. We're extremely thorough.

The Other: Two words, chief.

Harvey: Yes, neat and tidy.

The Other: Uh-uh, tooth and nail.

Hostage: What?

Harvey: And every dish needs its spoon. You understand that? We're not savages here.

The Other: Heh, speak for yourself.

Hostage: [wails]

Harvey: The point is, sir, you're a remainder.

Hostage: W-what?

Harvey: By our calculations, you're a yin without a yang.

The Other: And that's about as useful as a pair of left shoes.

Harvey: So we have to balance the books, do a little creative accounting.

The Other: Don't worry. It's all perfectly legal.

Harvey: No, it isn't. It's murder one with malice a forethought.

The Other: Fine, fine, you're the lawyer in this outfit. I'm just here for the screaming. And lonesome Joe here looks like a screamer.

Hostage: [whimpers]

Harvey: Ignore him please, sir. And stand still while we wire you up.

Hostage: Please, I have a wife at home.

Harvey: Oh, yeah, your better half, huh? Well, you should've brought her out tonight.That would've evened things up but made all of this unnecessary.

Narrator: As the terrified captive awaits his end, he has no way to know his rescue is at hand, for the scene is surreptitiously surveyed by a sharp silhouette on an adjacent rooftop.

[dramatic music]

Batman: Batman to Robin. I'm in position and have a clear line of sight on the hostage and Harvey. He left his thugs with the hostages downstairs. They're all yours.

Robin: Acknowledged. I've secured the alley behind the restaurant, and I'm standing by to kick in the kitchen door and bust some skulls.

Batman: Hmm. Say "infiltrate and neutralize" please, Robin. Stand by for a signal as soon as the hostage on the roof is out of danger.

Robin: You can save him, Batman?

Batman: I'm still calculating that, Robin. I don't yet see a nonlethal option for taking down Harvey.

Robin: Batman, what if it comes to the lethal option?

Batman: Nobody's dying tonight, Robin. Thermal shows you have 32 hostages in the main dining room. Two armed hostiles right behind that kitchen door.

Robin: Bob and Bub, Two-Face's trigger twins. But hostage-taking in a Chinese restaurant? This is real small-ball for a kingpin like Two-Face.

Batman: It's February 2nd, Robin, 2/2, and exactly two years ago today, Harvey Dent suffered the disfiguring attack that created Two-Face. His obsession with his own duality is beyond his control right now.

Robin: I get it now, yin and yang. Holy trigger warning.

Batman: We got here just in time. A review of security footage shows 34 minutes ago, Two-Face took the entire restaurant hostage.

[machine gun fires]

Two-Face: Everybody, hands up!

Batman: He held the patrons and the staff at gunpoint.

Two-Face: You're all hostages now!

Batman: While he obsessively arranged everything in the room into symmetrical pairs.

Harvey: Black and white…

Batman: The furnishings, the food, every last pair of chopsticks, he divided into yins and yangs.

Robin: Whoa. I see where this is going.

Batman: When he tried to divide the hostages into two groups--

Robin: He had an odd number!

Batman: And now he's going to eliminate the extra digit unless I time this perfectly.

♪ ♪

[buzzing]

[spaceless-vacuum]

What if the zeldas from the links like sun and sky being yandere for reader too.

Would they Ally with their links are not are would they break those ally with their links if we're to have reader in their hyrule.

Zelda from koridia game is a savage

So I watched all of the t.v show episodes and I can finally start adding some of my opinions on this, starting with Courage and (I don't think she has a nickname yet I think I’ll just call her Wisdom because it matches her Link’s name but correct me if there's a better one).

. . .

To begin, both of these two can Fight! Wisdom often goes along with Courage to the underground realm where Ganon’s lair is and will help him save the day. While she doesn't like to get her hands dirty if she doesn't have to, she refuses to sit around and do nothing when there's work to be done. She still keeps a strict line between her princess duties and that of a knight. She isn't as competent of a fighter as Courage is so she leaves the heavy hitting to him. She stands back and helps out and manages to keep herself out of trouble just enough that her friend doesn't have to worry about her too much. She doesn't want to be overwhelmed or kidnapped after all.

During her time Hyrule is not as powerful or as present as it once was, and only two pieces of the triforce have been found (in the show they just dismiss the triforce of courage and never mention it so i'm going to assume it’s lost, same with the master sword because they never call Courage’s sword by name and it doesn't seal Ganondorf it just takes him away for awhile.) As such it’s hard for Ganondorf to win; but they also can't seal him away just yet. This means Hyrule for her is a peaceful zone until it isn't for a few days and then it all goes back to normal. Action isn't uncommon but most people live peaceful lives thanks to the efforts and worries from the princess and the triforce’s Guardian.

When you roll into town it isn't under attack but there's still evidence of the terror that rampaged through just a few days prior. It’s clear something bad happened but not bad enough to put a damper on the good peoples spirits. You just finished up booking a room in the inn for the night and you're walking around town trying to figure out what to do when Courage spots you from afar. He stops his morning walk in its tracks just to get a good look at you. A new stranger in town is always newsworthy and he just has to know what you're up to, it might be no good and he reasons that such a pretty thing like you shouldnt be left around with no one by your side. He walks over to you and the conversation is friendly enough, but then he finds out you're an adventurer.

This strikes him as funny because Courage used to be an adventurer like you before he got stuck with a job in the castle. It’s been so long since he's been on the open road and he really misses it. He invites you over top of the castle for some tea and before you can reply he points out that it’s just ahead anyways. You have no choice but to accept as he takes your hand and practically drags you along for the ride. Following him down the brick path through the wide open gates into a stunning and painstakingly kept courtyard the stone brick of the castles waits and beckons you to explore.

He walks down the hallways very casually and asks you lots of questions about where you're from, what you're doing here, how the roads were like, and what your favourite food is. The conversation goes from regular chatting to flirting very quickly. He can't help it seeing such a sweet thing like you all by yourself means you must have plenty of stories to tell and he just can't wait to hear them all.

Wisdom bumps into you two not far from the entrance. She was just about to follow Courage to make sure he wasn't going to shirk his duties as a knight. They didn't have many knights around so it was all hands on deck for this one; and then she sees you. A beauty walking into her castle and where were her manners. She looks more smitten than the hero was and quickly resumes the neutral mask as her role as a princess and takes over interrogating. Where are you from, is this your first time in their kingdom, oh it is? Well you just have to stay for dinner and tea! She’d be more than happy to show you around if you’d be so gracious.

Courage follows behind the two of you as Wisdom takes over the talking. He has to admit that she has a way with words. Watching you two he can see Wisdom slowly sink her fangs into you. One hand is placed gently on your back and he can see an unusual tension in her body. It isn't hard for him to realise that he may have fallen for you but she fell harder. The three of you walk to a side room with a table and you all gather around and swap stories. Courage tells you about his adventures, Wisdom talks about the kingdom and what’s going on with Ganondorf, and you fill them in with how you came to wind up here.

All in all Wisdom offers you a place to stay at the castle as it would be a better spot than any for resting after such a long journey. It is hard to turn her down with how sweet she’s being and she's absolutely right about it being much better than the inn you were going to stay at. Courage goes to collect your bags from your old spot and offers you a room by his. Just in case anything happens, that way you'll be safe. Wisdom tells you not to worry as Ganondorf never attacks so soon but agrees that you should stay close to him. You thank her again and she spends some time talking to you before showing you to your room.

Oh true, it is not befitting of her to marry someone of a lower station but she can't help but be mesmerised by you. Somewhere between the tough and gritty shell of an adventure she can see the soft soul of someone like her. A mixture between gentle and heroic; kind and able to get the job done. It just draws her in like a moth to flame but some part of her knows it is in her duties to one day marry for the good of the kingdom. If it’s in her luck they will be much like you.

Not that taking a consort was so out of the question but it's at a time and place in history while Hyrule is starting to rebuild again and she has to plan for the future. When Courage gets back she talks to him about her feelings. She can see how hurt he is at first when she begins talking; but he doesn't say anything as the two have been friends for ages at this point. Even if he does flirt with her and they do fight from time to time nothing can separate them and they know that. The kingdom rests on their shoulders and more than that protecting and retaining the triforce is key for the future of all of Hyrule. 

It isn't until she talks about her final thoughts and feelings; about how she wants you here but can't take you for himself that he realises what she’s after. He jumps in joy when he realises he gets to keep the cake and eat it too. He asks offhandedly if having you here means that he can't ask her for kisses anymore and she laughs before lightly punching his shoulder. Joking about how uncivil he can be before relaxing and asking that he keep you here in the castle, that is both a request from a friend and an order.

Courage looks a little taken back and Wisdom lightly lets him know that she wants to see the two of you happy together and doesn't want to take any chances. The endorsement of your relationship seems to be more of a way to have her cake and eat it too and Courage doesn't believe she is as serious as she seems at first. He gets to have you but by him having you she gets you as well? The concept goes over his head and Wisdom has to gently reexplain the concept several times before he comes to understand what's going on.

The aftermath is both of them taking things lightly while whisking you away. You can defend yourself and they often take you on their journeys together. This is an open relationship where you and Courage are officially dating while Zelda gets to keep you in her life and enjoy sweeter moments and company from you. Courage doesn't mind at all and finds himself happy to share, you're his in the end anyways. You and the princess are seen as especially close friends. Of course your willingness to defend the princess in battle is commendable and from the outside all seems calm and normal. You're just another helping hand and dating the hero. Nothing strange is seen.

. . .

I wrote more for those two than I meant to, anyways here's a flash round of how I think the others would go!

. . .

Dot would love for you to join the knights of Hyrule. This keeps you and Four by her side, while allowing the two of them more time with you. You get personal training from Four and to all outsiders you're just another personal guard who spends all their time guarding the princess, as a good knight should. Why all that time seems to be in her chambers and acting more like a pet than actual knight is rumoured but no one can confirm what’s going on as you are rarely seen. When not with Dot Four has you by his side in a chain that matches your armour. All that training doesn't seem to save you from anything as you're in more of a political bind than physical. It keeps you still more than any physical chain can after all. I’m not sure if Dot and Four would also have feelings for each other, rather I see them as close friends with a shared love interest and they never even have to go through that awkward phase of ‘we both like the same person dont we’. They both just nod at each other and understand that it’s not an issue for them.

. . .

Sky and Sun have a house for you! And if it’s not a house out in the woods it's a special room made in the castle that was renovated with a door that locks from the outside. With all the chaos going on on the surface many people soon forget about the strange room that the queen asks for, and it's only there for when you forget your role by their side. Sky, you, and Sun are a power throuple and everyone in the kingdom knows it. You help Sun rule the kingdom by making sure she takes care of herself and her and you often spar together while Sky watches. You don't join the knights because that would mean going out and doing dirty work, rather your job at the castle is more of a personal friend borderline assistant. It crosses the fine line between royal lover and pet but between the two of them always cooing over you and each other you're being so smothered in love it's hard to tell where one line ends and the other begins. Everyone knows all three of you are in a relationship and everyone is cool with it.

. . .

God Artemis and Warriors… Ok so for this one I think they would have a huge rivals aspect to it. Not in a ‘i hate you way’ rather a ‘I can make them swoon way harder than you can’. Both find it funny and it's all in good faith. You for your part are so confused about how you got these two wonderful people suddenly fighting very hard for affection but it soon gets to be very overwhelming. Openly no one can see what's going on, just more banter between the princess and the hero. I don't see them sharing you together rather one will take you for a while before the other will spirit you away. I can see you being a soldier or messenger during wartime; your position is high enough to draw attention but not so much so you're in the active line of duty. Safe enough to not worry them too much while close enough to the fight to make your presence known. This is what sparks envy in them as you aren't close to either of them but they're both keeping tabs on you. You see none of the behind the scenes but Warrior is asking everyone you've ever worked with what they know about you, what your secrets are, where you live, and he passes it all under the rug as official business and your comrades are all too happy to give you up if it's the captain asking.

Meanwhile Artemis just pulled up your records and got all the information from that. Warrior shows up in her office to brag and she's just sipping tea while calmly explaining she already knows all of that and didn't have to work for three extra weeks to find it out. Trouble ensues.

Warrior gets you when he's not on active duty, and after the war he gets to have you when he returns from his missions. Aremis dresses you up in the finest of clothes she can find and leaves you for him as a present; he deserves to come home to his precious darling after all he's been through. He returns the favour by presenting you in much the same way before he leaves to go take care of business; he also handles any of the dirty work such as removing rivals and taking care of punishments that she can't handle herself. The two share you separately and take on the responsibilities of keeping you quiet together.

. . .

Flora Can see you and how close you are with Wild. She swatches from afar as you two grow closer and she feels a little strange watching how closely you two are. Of course she agrees that you are the most precious gem in all of Hyrule and is so thankful for you; both for your huge heart in helping to restore Hyrule to what it once was and also for helping Wild. She knows she can not be there to comfort him like she wishes to be so having you there to be a shoulder to cry on is so sweet to watch. She just wishes to be there too. Her time alone leaves her with a lot of time to simmer over her feelings and she often finds herself wondering if she can make the three of you work out. She wants you by her side and wants him too, god shes so head over heels and knows that he must feel the same way. If only she was there now, please don't make her wait…

When she is rescued she reunites with Wild, and the two of them talk and are so happy. She avoids the subject of you. Rather she already knows you were safely left at his house in Hateno and wants to say hello to Wild first before making the journey there. She has to test the water and say hello to her close friend first. By the time they make it to the village it's nighttime and you are sleeping peacefully. She goes upstairs to check on you and Wild follows behind. It's not hard to tell from the look on her face to know what she is thinking about. All it takes is one look at each other and the two of them know, in the way only two destined to fall in love can know, what the other is thinking.

For this one it’s a slowish burn between Wild and Flora while they also love you. Another polycue that will only have to face more troubles as a rejuvenated Ganon is on the horizon.

. . .

Fauna and Calamity i'm on the fence over. Some people write him as hating the nobility and his involvement in the war and having a sore spot over how he was treated, and while I have to agree I think he's also a forgive but never forget type of person. Like it still hurts but he wont let that change how he acts around others. This relationship is rough but I can see it having a happy ending. With Fauna and Calamity never ending up together I can still see them reaching a conclusion and sharing you. Especially since after all is said and done Calamity is still a knight beholding to Hyrule and the Princess. Him and Fauna can work together to keep you in the castle, but this is where they start to disagree.

Fauna wants to show you off. She wants to have everyone see you hanging off of her arm so they know you're taken. This sets Calamity off because he's the type to want to hide you away from others instead. This results in a fight between him and Fauna and it isn't until she points out that it's smarter this way; as now everyone knows you're taken and they won't be able to make a move on you because of her power. You Are Safer because you've been marked as off limits. Once he hears this and really processes it he relaxes and realises that she's right. She can do things he can't and after this the two have a heart to heart. What happened during the war was the hardest time of his life and he's always been training to be the perfect soldier and now that it's over he's finally healing. He has a life now and no matter what you’re the make upon it. She agrees wholeheartedly and swears she never wants to take you from him. She wants to see him happy and won't ever cross any line without good cause and reason. They both need and want you and even if they go about it in different ways they both agree that the other's way isn't bad; in fact it blends quite well.

When the loud drum of nobles and the castle becomes too much for you Calamity and Fauna will go on a trip to a quieter part of Hyrule and work out well for all three of you! They need to get out and make sure the rest of the country is recovering well and everyone is always glad to see the hero and princess again. It means a lot to the both of them to take you out and about every so often, even if you are now stuck inbetween the biggest power couple in Hyrule that isn't even a couple.

This matchup is funny to me because I can see Fauna and Calamity healing from everything and reforging their friendship afterwards and being really close physically; being touchy and feely but both agreeing there's nothing romantic about it. You can often find Calamity passed out in the lap of the princess and he stands guard over her so happily that everyone assumes it’s them dating, and in reality they are just extremely close and it's you dating them. They love to gush about you to each other and the kingdom just accepts the princess and her knight have a thing for you, and that she's dating you both but nothing has been made official yet. They saved the kingdom, let them do whatever they want.

...

To be honest I headcanon that polyam is accepted in loz because why wouldn't it be, and also its a bit of a matriarch because its the three golden goddesses and Hylia is the patron goddess to Hyrule, and even in Lorule i'm assuming they also have goddesses? To be honest It’s a very female ruled kingdom as well because it’s Zelda’s blood that holds the power to seal the darkness and also she rules the kingdom. So needless to say no one minds Zelda doing what she wants especially when it's an era with a hero, they saved everyone for god's sake let them have some peace.

. . .

Ok so for the others we have Dusk/Twilight, Wind/Tetra, Fable/Legend, Hyrule/Dawn/Aurora, Lullaby/Time, and Koridai/(I haven't thought of a good name for her yet…) and I will get those done on a later date because this is so long as it is. I know I went hard into the Wisdom and Courage part but in my defence I just finished watching the show and I thought it was goofy and fun!

[gaiaxygang]

perth / chimon series recommendations

are you a newer perth or chimon fan (probably from dangerous romance)? do you want to watch more shows with them but don't know where to start? well i have watched majority of the shows perth or chimon are in and i have a few i can recommend (shortened because once i start i wont stop):

the gifted (2018) and the sequel, the gifted: graduation (2020)

i think this is one of the most well-known series chimon is in but i have to bring it up. set in a high school with a mysterious "gifted programme", it follows the newest batch of "gifted" students as they investigate what's going on behind the programme.

season 1 is one of my top gmmtv series of all time and i think its definitely worth a watch.

the stranded (2019)

after a tsunami hits the island they're schooling on, a bunch of teenagers have to figure out how to survive on their own. not a bl, but perth's character (krit) is dating another man (jack, played by mark siwat). a very strong series overall, though not without its flaws.

i think perth is great here for what little screentime he gets (i also think he looks cute here with glasses). the production is also insanely high quality and the show looks gorgeous.

school tales the series (2022): episode 8

a horror anthology series based in high school. chimon is in episode 8, a walk in school. two friends sneak into school late at night to investigate the school's ghost stories. it is horror, though not exactly the scariest (in my opinion). the other episodes are decent but this one has the strongest writing.

its a short watch, just under an hour but i think both actors (there are only two characters in this episode) are great. the storyline also makes me feel like im being turned into spaghetti

double savage (2023)

two brothers who cared deeply about one another are slowly turned against eachother by circumstance. this one is full of writing issues despite the strong setup and premise HOWEVER!

i did enjoy it because of the strong acting, especially from perth. his character is so pathetic and i say this with love. he is worse than chopper on the Down Bad scale. perth himself seemed to enjoy filming this one quite a lot and he's said that it was one of his favourite roles because of the action scenes

other recommendations

please... siang riak winyan (2017). only 4/6 episodes are subbed but the reason i bring this one up is because perth and chimon we're both in this together! in 2017!!! they didn't have any scenes together so they weren't close but perth knew of chimon from here (and it's what he brings up whenever he's asked about how he met chimon)

home school (2023). i'm more hesitant to recommend this one because i didn't like the ending and messaging but chimon's performance as pennhung was incredibly strong.

vice versa (2022). perth is only in 1 or 2 episodes but i think his character is very pathetic. gmmtv seems to like casting perth as the most pathetic man in the show. i wouldnt say to watch this for perth but as a big fan of vice versa before perthchimon took over my brain i cant not put it here

this isn't a comprehensive list and it's far from everything i enjoyed with them in it (and some of this is very, very subjective lol). i just wanted to put this out here because i love talking about perth and chimon <3_<3

[balanceoflightanddark]

Unpopular opinion.

Post-redeemed Azula would agree with Aang that Ozai deserves to live.

Azula's always loved her father and I think, even if she turns against him, a part of her always will and she even learns to forgive him. She'll think that since she, Zuko and Iroh got saved, and Zuko was given the daunting task the save their entire country, it's only fitting that Ozai be saved too.

With her intelligent mind, she may even help Aang actually find a third solution. But I also think Azula would still prepare for the possibility of Ozai being killed out of self-defense.

Agreed. And I think that Aang sparing Ozai would help Azula's development more than you would believe.

Azula is basically a big stand-in for the indoctrination of the Fire Nation. Being raised to believe in the lies and propaganda that supported the war effort ever since Sozin started the Genocide of the Air Nomads. He said it was because they were amassing an army to oppose him, but Aang knows for a fact that there was no army.

What I'm trying to get at here is that it's lies and stories like this that helps paint the Fire Nation's goal as just and noble. To uplift the world and to defeat the savage other nations beating down their door. And the best way to do that is portraying them in the worst light possible. I already talked Azula's rather black-and-white view of the world in a post here, but the crux of it is that when you have a society built on warmongering and waging war, it'll be natural to assume that the enemy will stoop to the lowest in order to destroy you.

However, Aang sparing Ozai demolishes that worldview. He spared his enemy, something that was believed incapable from the biggest enemy of the Fire Nation. And if Azula sees that Aang isn't some monster that needs to be destroyed, that he is capable of compassion even to his worst enemies, then maybe that will challenge some of her beliefs in what she was raised with.

And Ozai DID instill a lot of those beliefs into her, like it or not. Helped shape her into what she was during the war. Which then we get around to something a bit more complicated: Azula's views on Ozai post redemption. I don't think she'll ever get past loving him. Even if it was abusive, it was the only "stable" relationship Azula was familiar with. And even if it was for his own gain, he still encouraged Azula to pursue her firebending and taught her stuff like the value of duty or self-control.

It doesn't mean Ozai ISN'T a shitty parent. No, he was. But it'll be difficult for Azula to completely sever ties with him since he instilled a lot of what she was, or maybe even invertedly fostered some of the positive qualities she could have if she's redeemed. It's an interesting balancing act between admiring somebody for their qualities and how they shaped you, and the brutal reality of their shitty behavior and how awful they are. I actually encourage watching this review of the BraveStarr episode "Fallen Idol" to get a good idea of what I'm talking about since it actually does a pretty stellar job of examining this sort of relationship.

Yes, it's an 80s toyetic cartoon. No I don't care cause the writing and messages are really good and has a cybernetic horse shooting a laser blunderbuss and a snarkyass Mole/Ewok hybrid. Sue me.

Besides, I think it's a powerful message to finally end the cycle of violence for Azula by just stopping the killing. How's she not the ruthless weapon of war anymore, and being a good transition for her character into a time of peace.

[staytinys]

My “Get to Know ATEEZ”

Requested by a new anon Atiny: Hellooo! I'm a new atiny and I was wondering if you could help me get to know the boys a bit, I mean if you could describe them in a few words, what you think about them. I'm also curious who are the trouble makers and who are the mom and dad of the group who keep them in check. Thank you! This is gonna be a some of my opinion since they asked me to describe them. If you disagree, please do so kindly.

This is not a recent picture, I just think it’s cute as fuck.

ATEEZ is an 8 member group that debuted on October 24th, 2018 under KQ Entertainment which is a pretty small company. From what I’ve seen, KQ has been amazing to the boys and I love them. I’ve been a fan since shortly before their debut. Like I literally found them a week before they debuted😂.

Debut songs: Pirate King and Treasure

So before they debuted, they were called KQ Fellaz. Currently, there is a KQ Fellaz 2 group and they’re amazing. Definitely check them out. They opened for ATEEZ this tour and I’m just amazed. Yes, I went to the concert this past month. Yes I went to the rescheduled one earlier this year too. I waited too long to see them.

Fandom name is ATINY: it’s ATEEZ and Destiny combined. Light stick is LIGHTINY. There are currently two versions, I have the second one.

Anyway, back to ATEEZ, here are some MUST SEE KQ Fellaz Content, I still go back and watch them:

Performance Video I

Performance Video II

Performance Video III

Yunho Solo Performance

KQ Fellaz - From (they performed it at their concert and I cried)

Any of the KQ Fellaz Episodes, here’s episode 1

Bonuses:

Demon line: Hongjoong, Seonghwa, San

Now onto each individual:

Captain (Leader if the group) Kim Hongjoong

Rapper and composer

November 7th, 1998

Dad of the group. I feel like 90% of the time he’s a single dad, 10% he has Seonghwa’s help.

One of the best leaders in kpop hands down.

He has an older brother.

He was the first to join KQ.

The laughs in the songs… yeah. That’s him

POSSESSIVE AS HELL OF ATINY. When I went to the concert back in January, he told us we weren’t allowed to listen to anyone but ATEEZ.

He’s my original bias. Please don’t tell him I strayed…

Please listen to this David Bowie cover

INFP-A (yes I’m looking this up bc it matters)

Visual and Vocalist, Park Seonghwa

Oldest member, April 3, 1998.

You honestly wouldn’t think he’s the oldest…

Has an older brother

Mother of the group. Has a love hate relationship with Hongjoong tbh… Not really, don’t send me hate. Jfc. They’re just old and married (I say as I am the same age…)

You will see him referred to as Mars (his name backwards is Hwaseong and it means mars), toothless, and angry bird.

If I remember correctly, it took him and Hongjoong a while to be as close as they are, but they have such a strong bond now.

Has been in a drama called Imitation… Just look it up.

FLIRT FLIRT FLIRT

HIGH NOTES, such amazing vocal dexterity. Bc he also has a deep voice

ENFJ-T

Performer and Vocalist, Jeong Yunho

March 23, 1999

Six foot, fucking one. Tallest member. Y’all king.

Deep. Fucking. Voice. God kill me.

Block B is one of my favorite groups and they covered Nillili Mambo… but here enjoy our deep voice kings (mingi, Yunho, Yeosang…)

His growl is combined with Mingis in pirate king…

He’s also in Imitation with Seonghwa. 👀 look it up…

A GOLDEN RETRIEVER I SWEAR

Energizer of the group

Has a younger brother

Also is a Harry Potter fan

Um enjoy this

ENFJ-A

Vocalist, visual, and performer, Kang Yeosang

June 15th, 1999

Former BigHit Trainee. Yes he’s friends with TXT.

Wooyoung is his best friend… more on this later. I swear there’s so much jealousy

Has a birthmark on the temple area. He’s so cute. Please look up those pics

An MC for music bank!

An absolute savage. No one can escape him. Please save ATEEZ.

I love him. He’s just… 10/10 would be my best friend. Just saying. If anyone in ateez, it’d be him.

Has a sister

Here’s a video showcasing his… yes.

ISFP-T

Performer and Vocalist, Choi San

July 10th, 1999

His name means mountain

Will make you think unholy thoughts 24/7

He’s a child…

Surprisingly introverted. Before their MBTI, I always thought he was an extrovert

Loves Wooyoung with his whole chest

Shiber. He loves his shiber. I’m pretty sure he has to sleep hugging something so there’s that thought for you

Was also in IMITATION with Yunho and Hwa

Trained in taekwondo. He’s a black belt if I’m not mistaken, I cant remember what degree though

His accent when he speaks English is so cute

HAS A CAT

INFP-T

Performer and Rapper, Song Mingi

August 9th, 1999

Princess Minki

He’s fucking six feet tall

Thighs for days but is insecure so his wardrobe is like 98% baggy pants or loose fitting. (Thiccc too. There’s a tiktok. I’ll find it) found it 😁

Thing 2

FIX ON

Growls with Yunho in the beginning of Pirate King

Pretty sure he and Yunho are platonic soulmates and this

(lowkey certain Yunho is borderline his sugar daddy😂)

Big clingy baby

ENTP-T

Performer and Vocalist, Jung Wooyoung

November 26, 1999

Thing 1… him and mingi together. Boom chaos

He and San are besties

But he and Yeosang… yes. This man legit followed Yeosang when he left BigHit So they could stay together. Just remember that.

Hongjoong’s number one problem child. I promise.

Everything about this man is just chefs kiss

He’s a social butterfly and friends with everyone I swear

He has two brothers!

ENFJ-T

MAIN VOCALIST, performer, fucking love of my life, Choi Jongho

October 12, 2000

I literally love him so much

Maknae

He was in IMITATION

Has a younger brother

STRONG BOY… literally used to break apples in half all the damn time

Can be quite the annoying little brother

Loves his hyungs though… so much

Look at him

I’m literally cryingggg

Be afraid

High notes vs the reactions

ISFP-T

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 10/02/2024

Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” is still #1, it’s a short episode, you really probably should skip it - there's nothing of value discussed here... welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

This is not a good week. You could call it a stale week, it’s probably accurate, because there’s not much of interest and what is here is mostly utter garbage. Potentially, up there with the worst weeks ever in terms of new arrivals to the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, and speaking of what I cover, notable dropouts are songs exiting said top 75 after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40, and this week, we bid adieu to: “Skin and Bones” by David Kushner, “neé-nah” by 21 Savage, Travis Scott and Metro Boomin, “Practice” by Drake, “Pink Friday Girls” and “Everybody” featuring Lil Uzi Vert by Nicki Minaj and finally, “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat. One highlight of this dire week is that I’m not really complaining about any of that.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” returns to #67, what a joy, as well as “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #62 and “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus at #51. Can’t help but think the GRAMMYs had some influence on these. As for notable gains, we see boosts for Taylor’s “Is it Over Now?” at #68, “MY EYES” by Travis Scott at #65, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish at #58, “Would You (go to bed with me?)” by Campbell and Alcemist at #52, “Perfect (Exceeder)” by Mason vs. Princess Superstar at #39, “Runaway” by Ye featuring Pusha T at #35, seemingly because well, there may or may not be an album coming because that’s what we needed: more discourse. Then we have “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #31, “Selfish” by Justin Timberlake at #29 (why are we doing this?), “exes” by Tate McRae at #23, “Alibi” by Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental at #16 (Christ), and we end with two positives at least, as YG Marley and Benson Boone both get their first top 10s with pretty damn good songs, in my opinion: “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” at #9 and “Beautiful Things” at #5, which brings us to that top five, which is otherwise completely the same as last week. Jack Harlow’s at #4, Teddy Swims at #3, Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #2 and for a sixth week, Noah Kahan at #1. You know the song names off by heart by now, and I need some time to let off a deep sigh before rattling off the new songs. Oh, boy, the new songs.

New Entries

#75 - “Out for Love” - Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft and Daphne Rubin-Vega

Produced by Andrew Underberg and Sam Haft

So, Hazbin Hotel was a web pilot by Vivienne Medrano or “ViziePop” that was later picked up by Amazon as a television series this year. It is a musical animated series hence has several soundtrack singles, and given the weak charts and viral nature of the show, some of them have ended up here. I watched the pilot and first four episodes of the series, and found it genuinely quite difficult to stomach - I love adult animation, I love musicals, I actually even like the art style - it was the narrative elements of the show that killed it for me, and this is not a TV review blog, it’s a music review blog. I knew at least one song would debut as the midweek update showed one song at #73, I figured that would be the only song and it could potentially not even appear, so I wrote a very tersely-worded review for that song in particular. It’s a bit… not all that useful anymore, for lack of a better phrase. So I’m largely not going to be covering these. This is from the seventh episode, which I haven’t seen. Song doesn’t make any Goddamn sense to me. Journalism.

#74 - “Thank You (Not So Bad)” - Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, Dido and W&W

Produced by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, W&W, Bassjackers and Renze Michels

Okay, if you’re going to credit a grand total of five EDM producers, why not go the full mile and have all eight pick out a lead? Also, I would ask how eight people were involved in producing this if I had any doubts that it wasn’t just an uncredited guy who got paid to sell this lazy sample flip off to people with actual star power. A sample flip of what, you may ask? Sigh… well, if there’s anything vaguely positive I can say about “Alibi” is that it’s influential. This is somehow even lazier, however, so I guess let’s start with some kind of history.

First of all, Dido’s “Thank You” is a perfectly fine, honest song that peaked at #3 in 2001 - “Do You Really Like It?” by DJ Pied Piper & the Masters of Ceremonies rightfully took #1 that week - and whilst I’ve never been a big fan, I can definitely see why the melancholy downtempo ballad resonates with people, and on a bad day, I can definitely throw this on and feel a little hope. This is a bad chart day, and if “Thank You” were to chart in its original form, it could perhaps be a reminder that things are, despite everything, it’s not so bad. So I imagine rap fans will know one of if not both of the uses of this song in popular hip hop, the first being Eminem’s classic “Stan”, probably my second favourite of his. It actually did #1 for one week in 2000, before the original had charted. It’s a stark and incredibly clever recontextualisation of the song that I’m pretty sure has already been discussed as much as possible, there’s a reason why many consider it Em’s crowning moment. Rae Sremmurd, “Lean’s Gone Cold”… maybe not so much. That one didn’t chart, but it’s funny.

Now there is precedent for house remixes of “Thank You”, and whilst I’m willing to consider interpretations and reimaginings of practically any song as any different style, I feel like making “Thank You” more danceable than just a vague nodding of the head skews some of the narrative’s tone? It definitely makes for a weirder, more dissonant listen, and whilst the Deep Dish remix, actually a GRAMMY Award-winning remix, does its best to maintain the atmosphere in its nine minutes, turning “not so bad” into a faint, looping mantra under a constantly developing house groove, to the point where it is a genuinely pretty great house song production wise… it still doesn’t feel like a great adaptation of “Thank You”, just a different product entirely, which makes sense and honestly makes for a better song. It doesn’t try and be “Thank You”, despite not even registering itself as an original song, just a remix of the original still credited solely to Dido. In 2016, European electro house duos Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and W&W made a song called “Arcade”, it’s a loud, compressed smorgasboard of cheap synth sounds made for a live festival setting and being practically unlistenable outside of that context. In 2020, German producers Felix Jaehn and VIZE made a much more conventional and, at least in terms of how much it cribs from the original, a more faithful rendition of “Thank You”, subtitled “Not So Bad”. It’s a flavourless tropical house riff that I think the world would be better off not hearing, it’s like “Thank You” by Dido if she was commissioned to make it by an advertising company looking for a soundtrack to gym commercials.

Somewhere across the line, I guess it must have been Tiesto who said, “What if we made a version of that Felix Jaehn song but basically in the soundfont of “Arcade”?” - the latter even being directly listed as a sample on Genius. I mean, otherwise, I don’t know what the Hell Tiesto is doing here but, generally, you have to be shitting me, right? This is two minutes and 20 seconds constructed out of bits and pieces of songs I may not like but had a lot more purposeful artistic intent to them, if that’s a correct way of phrasing it. This is a vaguely functional crap-shoot molded from genuine song ideas, starting with a gentle singer-songwriter track that actually means a Hell of a lot to millions of people. I’d believe that to many fans, that Rae Sremmurd rendition means a lot to them. What does this mean to anybody?

#63 - “Bandit” - Don Toliver

Produced by ReidMD

I don’t like Don Toliver, really, or Tame Impala for that record, but there’s a level of inherent quality here, right? Don can sing, Tame Impala can construct a vibe and the sample here is “One More Hour” from their 2020 album The Slow Rush, it’s completely serviceable, could make for a good song. So why the sample is rendered in such low quality screeching is beyond me, but hey, maybe a powerful beat could work? Oh, the trap skitter is not only completely rote and overdone, it’s really high in the mix and distracts from the bass, which could really help make this song work? Okay, well, what’s Don doing? Being basically a cartoon character with his flows and incessant ad-libs? Well, that could be fun - oh, he’s comparing himself to Marilyn Manson? Barely rhyming? Catching a good, intense flow only to mumble repeated lines mostly about having sex that make up much of the song, with a tiny verse in the middle? Well, maybe the outro can make up for it - oh, he’s doing a Cookie Monster impression. Welp, all hope is lost.

#55 - “Poison” - Blake Roman, Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

Produced by Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

This is an upbeat synthpop jam that soundtracks a sex slavery montage. It sounds like a song by The Weeknd covered by a SpongeBob AI voice model. Next.

#53 - “Loser, Baby” - Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft, Keith David and Blake Roman

Produced by Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

This was the song that made me turn the fourth episode off in disgust. I had a massive review prepared, covering its treatment of sexual abuse, which probably gave it a higher degree of nuance and generosity than many others are willing to give it, but I’m not compelled to rant about cartoons in this series. I want to write about animation more often but preferably animation I like or actually find compelling. With all respect to those who enjoy it and power to them, Hazbin Hotel was not something I would like to grant any more attention than the brief necessity of my format. Thanks for understanding.

#40 - “Home” - Good Neighbours

Produced by Good Scott and Oli Fox

I was very much willing to give this one a good shake because, I mean, what else do we have? Scott and Fox teased this on TikTok months prior before releasijng this as their official debut single together, after malformed, quickly aborted solo runs a few years ago. Sounds like a recipe for chart success and oh, the song’s terrible. It has a whistle about as charming as the American Authors’ milennial whoops, really insufferably screeching vocal tones that remind me of Passion Pit more than anything - that isn’t really a good thing - and sentimental lyrics about what home means to him, which would be completely serviceable without the stiff, grooveless splodge of grey matter that calls itself a chorus. Oh, and you know those sentimental lyrics? They’re gone by this point, it’s an incredibly manipulative breakup song with some really gross attempts at poetry - “wrap my name across your mouth when I let my feelings down”? Ew, man, Charlie Puth is less contrived than this. Naturally, the song goes nowhere and sadly, that probably won’t be its chart trajectory. Yet, once again, this song is practically unlistenable.

Conclusion

…Don Toliver gets Best of the Week. Somehow. Thanks for reading, I guess? See you next whenever.

[adultswim2021]

Squidbillies #45: "Confessions of a Gangrenous Mind" | June 15, 2009 - 12:00AM | S04E05

Tonight’s episode of Squidbillies mostly involves Granny just flapping her dang jaw to the other squids. She mentions Rusty’s great grandpapa, a man Early has disdain for. This doesn't actually have a pay off, because the man is shrouded in mystery and he seems to be surprised by the reveal himself at the end of the episode.

Granny begins to tell various tales about how she met the man she calls grandpapa, but keeps telling tales that mislead Rusty (and the FUCKING BEAUTIFUL bloggers watching) into thinking she’s talking about the man in question, but she’s actually talking about some random dude she gave a handy to. We never do find out who she’s talking about, as she seems to just pull the name General Sherman out of her ass, which would make the squids Yankees. This is overshadowed by Early’s realization that means they won the war, causing him to shoot his gun into the air in celebration. 

This one has a lot of flashbacks, and some bits of business where they huff gasoline and Early goes out to buy some of those bullethole decals for his truck. Also the start of the episode has Granny trying to get laid by a trucker on a CB radio. Okay, I know what a lot lizard is, but the guy on the other end of the radio conversation says he’s hauling pine cones. Is THAT trucker lingo? Is it fake trucker lingo? Was it meant to be literal? To all the truckers reading this, please illuminate me.

Granny claims sexual encounters with Rhet Butler (from Gone with the Wind), Julius “Dr. J” Erving (from the world of professional basketball), Nitro (from American Gladiators), and Jesus Christ (from S01E04 of Squidbillies). She also credits a Frankenstein monster of her own creation might’ve gotten into that sweet squid puss. 

Some of Granny’s flashbacks have to do with her being a slave, and she has a delusional memory of her and all the slaves being really happy. This is maybe the biggest laugh of the episode, and is likely inspired by a similar characterization from the withheld Disney film Song of the South. The brilliant mind that runs the Squidbillies wiki writes: “The African slaves are revealed to pick up cotton during the past.” Hey, thank you for that. That’s the best part of the episode. The rest was okay. I don’t mind this show, really.

MAIL BAG

Let's face it folx, chalet 2000 sucks and if you like or try to defend it you're retarded. facts!

It is in the running for their worst sketch, and it's a good thing they made it show-length, so you can just skip that entire episode. When that sketch where Scott plays the queen and thinks Canada is leaving the Monarchy you have to fast forward and try not to miss the next sketch. Hey, isn't it weird that that queen sketch is in a best-of? It literally might be my least-favorite sketch of theirs. Huh!

Besides Ben from Dr. Katz (which you don't like that much because you put it behind Workaholics for clicks) and Coach McGuirk do you like H. Jon Benjamin in anything else? Curious.

Folks (or folx, as some people like to say), he's referring to a twitter thread where I ranked every Comedy Central show. I am going to think about this without looking anything up. I liked him when he called into the Best Show on WFMU. I liked him as the voice of the canned vegetables on Wet Hot American Summer. I liked what little of Jon Benjamin has a Van I saw. There's a current commercial where he's the voice of a pigeon and I detest it with all of my soul. Just keeping it real.

Can I spit some real at you, kimosabe? When you said "I didn't know Adam Savage could be so savage" a few years ago...fucking hilarious. He's an okay dude though you should be nice to him. That whole scene was messed up but I think our boy came out clean. See you on the Mybusters forums, broshoes.

I think it's a good idea to just not care about Adam Savage, that way you don't have to have an opinion. I think I must have momentarily thought he was Adam Ruins Everything guy, which I would've gotten significant schadenfreude off of finding out was rude to his sister.

KON! writes:

Mick Foley aka "Mankind" has multiple claims to fame even to the non-wrestling aficionado: 1. being from Long Island 2. looking like Kevin Smith 3. officiating a wrestling match between Eric Matthews, Matthew Lawrence, and the giant redhead in an episode of Boy Meets World

BIG LOL at calling her the "giant" redhead. I know what you mean. She's large and in charge and I think of her often.

I always thought it was weird that they banned the confederate flag episode of Squidbillies considering "The Fine Ol Solution" is way worse imo

I didn't know about that episode being banned, damn!

[waitmyturtles]

Your post about your upcoming Bad Buddy meta got me thinking about Bad Buddy (again), and I remembered one particular thing that had an impact. Apologies if this is long and rather incoherent, I wrote this past midnight.

In the final episode, the part where we see Ming and Dissaya turn a blind eye to Pat Pran's shenanigans really struck a chord with me.

[I'm an Indian, born and raised, and queer, but it's well worth mentioning that my experiences are not universal- in fact, they may be the exception rather than the rule; I'm not quite sure.]

What it reminded me of was, that asian parents tend to come around eventually- in particular mothers. We've seen time and time again in series' that deal with difficult/not accepting family members; Bad Buddy, GAP, Wedding Plan, maybe even Double Savage (haven't watched this one but I believe the dad feels bad in the end?), that even if the parental figure(s) doesn't agree with their children's choices, they learn to compromise. Because the difference in opinions isn't worth losing their children over. Obviously, for every parental figure that comes around there's one that the children cut ties with (Wedding Plan remains a good example), but I think it's something worth seeing.

It made me think of how I was never scared of coming out to my mother, because I knew that, despite the difference in views, and her prejudice, she'd accept me, no matter whether she thought it was a phase or not.

Do I know what the point of this ask is? Not really, I was rather nervous sending this ask, especially not on anon, but I'd love to know what you think of this, since I've come to really enjoy reading the thoughts you have on these shows.

Ohhhh, wow. @starryalpacasstuff, come 'ere for a big mom hug! HUGE HUGS!

I'm gonna unwind a little randomly; I hope this is coherent. A ton of what I write about on my blog vis à vis Asian dramas are the unique characteristics of Asian families and an Asian upbringing. Parental conditional love, competitiveness, our unique experiences with intergenerational trauma. I write a lot about how Asians, in our cultural expectations of life, accept pain and suffering as an assumed part of our existences. The reason why I watch Asian dramas exclusively is that, as I'm Asian-American, I just connect far more easily to the Asian cultural experience of growing from a child into an Asian adult, than I do the experience of white Western folks growing into their adulthood. I grew up intimately with Asian cultural practices and expectations; but I also grew up with racism in my external American world, and came to my adulthood in a society that still values white Americans above all other demographics.

But one thing I'm cognizant of, that I don't think I write about enough, is that many of these characteristics of the Asian cultural scopes of life are indeed similar to those that a fully American person (for example) might experience. It's not like intergenerational trauma doesn't exist in the West. It's not like homophobia in families against a child doesn't exist in the West.

However. As an Asian-American, one thing I note about many (not all, of course) Western families and family systems is that very often: Western adults will give up their agency to be loyal to what I might call a "higher power" -- a philosophy, a political preference, a religion. If a queer person wants to come out in a conservative American family, that queer person may very well be risking cutting permanent ties with their family.

That, of course, also happens in our Asian family systems. But I think you're onto something, @starryalpacasstuff. While divorce rates are sky-high in the West -- there is also a paradigm of family systems being and looking different in the West than they do in Asia. Asian family systems still don't accommodate for divorce and blended or chosen families as they do in the West.

The Asian family systems and paradigms that you and I grew up with as Indians absolutely still value a heterosexual two-parent household -- and I'd posit that our past generations, our grandparents and great-grandparents, put HUGE, HUGE pressure on our parents to keep the two-parent family systems together and whole. And to keep the children close. It's a huge value in our Asian cultures to have whole and complete families. The West has become far more accommodating, culturally, on this issue.

And, so. I totally agree with you, @starryalpacasstuff. I think we do see the beginning of a coming-around on the parts of Ming and Dissaya. And that coming-around is certainly something we can relate to. Our parents will likely accept us for our differences. I fucked a lot of shit up with my folks when I decided to live independently of their desires -- and I don't think things really healed (and I still carry tremendous traumatic baggage) until after I had my own kids, and expanded all of our families. Because in the end, the value in our Asian cultures is that keeping the family complete and close still matters more than any one's individual biases or desires.

Ming and Dissaya are remarkably traumatized people. Ming was traumatized by the expectations of his father. He screwed Dissaya over, and literally handed his trauma to Pat on a silver platter, for Pat to embody for most of his life. And Pat flipped that platter over in his father's face and ran away. Ming, at the end of the series, is passive-aggressive with Pat, despite Pat's efforts to try to work with him. And yet -- Ming still sips Pran's scotch.

To your point -- does time heal everything? I'm not so sure in the West, with the Western predilection for Christian/Puritanical/conservative values to supersede reasonable family resolutions. But I think, because of the value that Asian systems put on having complete families, that you are right -- that there may be more room in Asian family systems for eventual acceptance of a child's "differences," despite us living in collectivist societies. This is definitely not an absolute. There are environments in which it's still dangerous to come out. But the value that Asians put on family does indeed give us a tiny bit of comfort that our cultures can move the needle on acceptance in different ways over time.

[chrispychanniem]

BL Title: Fahlanruk

My Honest Opinion :

Okay, I finally finished watching this series and I must admit, this series is something. Of course, the storyline is quite unexpected. Yes unexpected and not unique. There are many series based on the "friends with benefits" concept in the West, both homo and hetero. But this is my first time watching an Asian series talk about this topic. Also, I just love that this series has tried it's best to show the complicated emotions which we go through. My only complaints are that the story of the love triangle between Charles, Tar and Pink was rather poorly written. It had a lot of potential to be a rather funny story where a Fujoshi has no idea of two guys fighting over her. Also, they could have given us more comic relief. Talking about rather serious stuff for about 40 minutes with barely 5-7 minutes of comic relief was a little overwhelming for me.

Let's talk about the couples now. The Fahlan and Sherbet pairing was really well done and actors portrayed their roles to absolute perfection. Also, their journey from sex to love making was really beautiful. In the beginning, they were fucking like nasty rabbits but as the episodes went on, it was clear that both Fahlan and Sherbet didn't give a shit about the "friends with benefits" tag and Sherbet especially, only used the tag as a sheild to chase Fahlan away. Fahlan's character is my personal favourite. I just love how he is respectful yet savage. He didn't cuss anyone yet managed to tell them off, making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with them. As for Sherbet, he is a typical artist, drunk and talented. And like any other artist, he feels many emotions, all at once. Also, having to deal with the separation of his parents at an young age and always longing for love and affection, made him yearn for love yet skeptical of it at the same time.

Now, let's talk about Prince and Gear. This is the only chill couple in the entire series. Gear was jealous of the closeness of friendship between Sherbet and Prince, yet he never gave up on Prince. And that's a green flag right there. He trusted his boyfriend entirely. As for Prince, he is my second favourite character after Fahlan. My boy stood his ground throughout the series and not for once did he let anybody take him for granted or talk shit about him.

Now, this is where I have some serious problems with the writers. The build-up that this pair got was really amazing, and I was really looking forward to see their dating era. At least, I wanted Ping to have a few heartfelt dialogues where he finally confesses to Tap. Alas! That didn't happen. I honestly felt like their ending was rather rushed. Nevertheless, we got a happy ending.

Now, before I forget, Sher's twin,Tam, is hella fine and him in a bar, dressed in a white shirt and gray trousers, and drinking, is what I live for. I mean, that was freaking hot. Also, his calm and controlled character was hot as hell. Ahem, we must stay focused brothers. In conclusion, it's a pretty good series and is definitely worth watching.

[hamuchustartea]

The Guzma fandom is still strong in this platform and also my lengthy thoughts about him

I know Guzma is not as excessively popular comparing to the past 6 years but he still has a solid fanbase and I’m so happy to know this amazing fellow still thrives with lovely fanart, fanfics, gifs and other interesting stuff created by talented artists here in this platform. 

But it saddens me that Guzma got a lot of negativity after he debuted in the anime. The anime had a few number of episodes centered on him, but since he is such an important character, it wasn’t enough to prolong his story and flesh out his character even further. So people, both fans and haters have their own opinions and even headcanons about Guzma’s detailed personality. 

Most of his haters are outside of Tumblr, particularly in Youtube, Twitter and Reddit. The comments of these people are so savage they put Guzma down without even trying to understand who Guzma really is. Comments such as, “Nobody cares about Guzma.” or “Guzma is such a terrible character others deserve better” and etc. I know they are entitled to their opinions but it really hurts me to know that these people are so narrow-minded that they refuse to watch, listen and understand the character better.

Guzma is supposed to be a flawed but relatable character. He may appear cool and badass but deep down he has issues that needs to be overcome. His debut was very timely for young adults as myself during that time (I just turned 25 last May 2016), when we were faced between the bitterness of our shortcomings for not being able to achieve what we wanted during our youth and the aching desire to move on despite the pain. Guzma is a lot like us struggling young adults. He’s not like the easy going Raihan who is insanely popular, successful and almost appears to be flawless. Most people like good looking characters with amazing personalities but tend to be very judgmental to imperfect characters because they project their own insecurities. 

But I’m the person who loves a character who has a lot imperfections and needs to overcome their inner demons because these characters teach me to accept my weaknesses and inspire me to learn and grow. Those who are the most flawed and work out their imperfections come out as a polished diamond, full of wisdom and experience and are able to relate and share to those who are in need of polishing.

I’m glad that Guzma has been redeemed in the games, manga and the anime. Also, the fact that Guzma fans keep creating lovely art of him, whether funny, dark, sad or encouraging, it uplifts my spirit everyday in both good and bad times. Thank you so much Guzma fans and artists out there who continue to create amazing Guzma stuff! Keep on doing what you love, Guzma is happy for all of you too. 

[alex-the-moss]

Had you finished all new dw? Or had you dropped it?

If you watched magician's apprentice/witch's familiar(season 9, I guess?), what is your opinion on this episode?

Yep, I have finished it! I love this universe too much to just drop New Who.

So about Witch’s familiar (and magician’s apprentice), I like how it’s literally a film based on that line from Genesis about "the child". I was very excited when I watched it for the first time. Tho I was a bit skeptical as it was neither my favourite season nor Doctor&companion duo. Eventually I’ve most enjoyed scenes between Davros and Doctor and how gradually but persistently those have escalated. And also Missy, she was gorgeous as always. Regarding escalation, I’m still not over Doctor tossing Davros out of his life-support chair and taking it for himself. This looked so savage and I love it. But then where did you fit your long beautiful legs Doc??

Overall I think the importance of an idea that "Doctor had created his own enemy" is too exaggerated in these episodes.. I also feel like it doesn’t fit Davros’ history (even the pure canon one from the series) that well. I think his character was mostly shaped by 1000yo war and we shouldn’t forget about that. The idea that Davros is fighting because he’s scared is great to have as a point of view on character, I find it a pretty interesting take, but it’s a bit oversimplified in my opinion (Especially considering the work done by authors of I,Davros).

And I sure love that these episodes have confirmed that Davros has blue eyes, my colour palette’s been approved xd

Also the "last chair on Skaro" line was priceless

Then in my head I love to combine the way these episodes picture young Dav with his life in the Innocence🌚 And it’s like

HOW THE HECK did he manage to ran away into the fields of wastelands?!

Was it the day Calcula went grey???

Did she actually become overprotective for a reason, like her son lacked basic self-preservation instincts at some point?

And If Doctor helped little Davros get home did he receive a personal slap from *the mother* as he usually does?

[mdhwrites]

I feel like something funny about people saying S2B was written with the shortening in mind, and so they had little time to spend, is that the majority of the time travel plot in Elsewhere Elsewhen is rendered redundant by Hollow Mind. The Savage Ages not being that bad, Philip always being a jerk, the Collector being revealed: all accomplished by the trip into Belos's mind and memories. The only thing the time travel thing does is explain why Belos hasn't gone after Luz, and set up Luz's arc of guilt for the rest of the series. Seeing that Belos is at his core pathetic and being beat up by Lilith was great, but he's also played completely seriously as a threat for the rest of the show. Even Luz's encounter against him in King's Tide draws more on the events of Hollow Mind then in Elsewhere Elsewhen.

I personally think Elsewhere Elsewhen is the worst episode of the show. It solidified that Lilith wasn't someone you could take seriously anymore and a whole new character, it ruined anything interesting about Belos' rise to power, it uses just a DUMB time travel mcguffin to have its plot, there's very little actually entertaining about it besides Luz's little jokes here and there, it RUINS the Isles in my opinion and anything interesting about them and... Yeah. It's a complete fucking waste of time. (It also introduces BS trauma for Luz which made me make a writing lesson blog about trauma in fantasy stories you can find here.) And I was saying that BEFORE Hollow Mind because... Yeah. Hollow Mind was always coming. It's impressive how redundant Hollow Mind makes Elsewhere Elsewhen but also, Elsewhere Elsewhen only has two minutes of screen time that is actually important. That progresses the narrative, in part for much of what you said. Though I do want to point out that the episode never paints him as pathetic. Physically weak perhaps but he somehow manages to trick the ex-head of the EC and Eda's apprentice with a bare bones scam and gets away almost scot-free for it. But that is not the larger problem. The problem is that the stinger at the end of Elsewhere Elsewhen is a waste. Of. Time. Let's actually talk about stingers for a moment and their uses and why Elsewhere Elsewhen's is the worst kind. First, of course, what is a stinger? It's a small thing at the end of the episode that is usually at least slightly disconnected from the rest of the episode and often serve as cliffhangers. This can be done in multiple ways like just five seconds of showing someone is watching, cutting away for a minute to a different character and what they're doing, etc. like that. Amphibia and TOH actually both start using them in S2 of their shows (just another WEIRD connection between the two where it feels like TOH is badly copying Amphibia's homework) and Amphibia does it better. Amphibia mostly does the building tension form of a stinger. This is because the stinger only ever is about Frobo (I haven't actually gotten to him yet, still only halfway through S2) and once with King Andrias and his chess board. Both are hinting towards future villains and have a tone of a looming threat but incorporating them into the episode would be awkward and so they're placed at the end as effectively a cliffhanger. TOH tried to do this in their first episode of S2 with the scrying potion. It was dumb and obviously just a fake out to be like "OOOH, BELOS! Luz won't see him again until S2B!" It's... Not as effective as Amphibia showing Frobo emerging and starting to follow the Plantars. I will give that the stinger of creepy Luz back home with Camila IS a good version of this sort of stinger. Another version is just moving the plot along. This is one that TOH does a lot more and to mixed effect. Escaping Expulsion, Them's the Breaks and Elsewhere Elsewhen (theoretically) are three I can name off the top of my head if you count them. The first is just functional. It gets the point across but also feels anti-Isles because sure, someone with enough money tooootally couldn't recruit enough greedy people to make their own army. The abomatons are totally a new concept for this place. Second has the problem of being ALL the plot we get on that front when there was so much more you could do with Raine and his rebellion. And Elsewhere Elsewhen, besides the issues I'll bring up soon, has the problem of making the reveal of Belos is Philip in Hollow Mind, which is done shockingly well, weaker. You can also use stingers to help add clues to a mystery and the like which creepy Luz theoretically does. I could probably also cite Gravity Falls but I haven't watched enough of that show.

All of these... are actually good uses of Stingers, at least conceptually. They have a function to the narrative. The version of Stinger that Elsewhere Elsewhen is... Is the only one that doesn't. It's the Stinger for the audience. It serves no other purpose than to give the audience information and shock that will HAVE to be gone over again. Notice that the rest of these are pieces of information that would be troublesome to tell in the main story. They're not vital but they foreshadow, expand or move a tertiary element forward. Philip being Belos was never something Luz wasn't going to find out. It's too big and it's too important. She would have always found out about the Collector too since Belos works with the little guy. These were elements that were ALWAYS going to be covered and in a grand and spectacular way. And you know what? THEY WERE!

In Hollow Mind, they just ignore the fact that they've already revealed all of this information to the audience and go the whole nine yards to make the reveal as big as possible. It's a good reveal even. But the audience doesn't gasp because they already knew. And for what purpose? Well... To post on Twitter about it. I'd really like to be nicer about this but that's really it. It's a Stinger purely to give the fans something to talk about. It doesn't serve any other purpose. AT BEST, if you're REALLY invested already, you get excited for Luz to find out herself. But if you're that invested (or invested enough to talk about this with more than a fellow fan)... You probably didn't need to be pandered to. You'd have rather gotten either those two minutes back or just had the entire episode focus on something ACTUALLY plot relevant. Which, I do want to admit one thing: It really fucking sucks that Elsewhere Elsewhen is filler because it's one of the way too few episodes dedicated to the effort of making Luz a way home, especially for how important Luz claims it is to her. Talking about the bad job they did with the portal door plot, or just how bullshit magic becomes in S2B simply to get rid of the Titan's Blood, are different blogs. For now... Elsewhere Elsewhen is a bad episode that is a waste of time. And the fact there are two episodes in S2B that I can call a waste of time is a real rough spot for the show to be in when at this point, yes, the shortening should have mattered. But really... Just look at the show. They were never going to prioritize in ways that made sense for needing to tighten up their story. Not when they've never had proper priorities. Last note: I am actually out of asks. This may lead to me slowing down with blogs, we'll see. *shrug*