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starcrossed591 · 11 months ago

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KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

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silviakundera · 6 months ago

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Joy of Life Episode 12 and 13 liveblogging

This is my first watch, so don't tell me secrets ;)

A lot of sweet romance stuff. These two do have a very warm chemistry together. It already feels like they've known each other awhile. As the viewer you do believe that they like each other very much.

Now that the idiotic forced misunderstanding is over, I can relax my blood feud. Go forth, my children, and be logical!

ML owes his family SO MANY APOLOGIES for the bullshit he put them thru about this idiocy. It bet it's not over, but at least everyone knows who everyone is now

Hmmmm should I be suspicious about this cold medicine?

If FL wants to get out of this mess she's gonna have to work mom a lot better.

hmmmmm on Si Lili's boat, "that monster??" The white garbed swordswomen? Intriguing.

That FL is lucky. You put me in the past and I could plagiarize at least 5 Supernatural novels but I could do NOTHING for tuberculosis.

What trouble is Sil Lili in and how will ML get her out of it?

....guys do u think all this cutsie time at home for assassin bro Teng Zijing is to make it more sad when mom & kid die horribly ?🤔😶

Look I'm not gonna start lying to ya'll, I don't care about that mom & kid's life or death other than intellectual curiosity and plot reasons.

THE BOX IS OPEN. 🤘🤘🤘🤘

It's.... just a dude with bad hair?

A "Level 8 Master", whatever that means. I'm sure it's a very impressive wuxia ranking.

ML's plan is just to return to the country and tbh that's a good plan, I can't argue with facts

Episode 13

Second Prince's cup breaks... Poison, omen, or badly glazed cookware? 🤔

Oh they're traveling down the street where he beat up the Crown Prince's person and now they're reminiscencing about how great meeting each other was. And just a few scenes ago Assassin bro joked about how he'll run away and leave ML in a fight. I am DROWNING IN FORESHADOWING I CAN'T BREATHE

The knives in coat move returns!

Epic wuxia battles. This is where we could really use Uncle Wu

The 2 bros are not gonna abandon each other 😢

The mountain of foreshadowing's prophesy is fulfilled

ML is super upset about his bro and goes wuxia nuclear

"Tell him to wake up." 😭😭 I really thought we had another 10 episodes before he died tragically

No way, kill the Level 8 master. This is dumb, don't leave your enemy alive. Investigate another way.

Ok WAS it the CP.... Or hear me out, was it the Second Prince who set this up to get ML irrevocably on his side?

Second Prince even knows he's my suspect

Si Lili also a suspect tbh. Too bad if so, friendship CANCELLED

(But let's not forget about Princess Royal)

Loser brother and step mom should give him hugs. They're so worried ❤

awwww even the dad is broken up about this

"Tell me about him" -> ok 🍗 girl said exactly the right thing. As much as I hated this ship in the the earlier episodes, the screenwriter is doing a good job with it now. In every scene, you do sense the liking they have for each other

Fan Xian was his family too! I'm gonna cry

LMAO both Crown Prince and Second Prince are exactly the same.

See I told Fan Xian to just kill the Level 8 guy. Now he's being released like we're in fucking Gotham.

Lord Zhu is the actor who just did the emperor on Blossoms in Adversity! (Hello! Sorry you got bug eyes as an acting partner!)

How much do you want to be that whomever plotted this was well aware of the politics angle with Northern Qing?

Ok ok guys guys guys guys I have a solution to this The Killer's Going Free problem! ML needs to ask his poisioner mentor to murderate him - after he's crossed the boundry!

No? You're gonna kill him in public, because the Inspection Board's operations are above the law? O.....kay. I mean I get the angle but tbh I still would have gone with a secret poisoning.

#joy of life #silvia watches jol #cdrama

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moononmyfloor · 1 month ago

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Snowy Night: Timeless Love Ep 1-2 First Impression

(Contains spoilers, obviously. And I might rant, consider yourself warned)

Ep 1

I like the opening theme instrumental, very soft and soothing

Miss Li Qin you really like that shoulder hunch thing don't you? It gives you 👻 vibes, it doesn't help you are actually literally dressed like a ghost

Even though I was having a complaint right away the following aesthetics are nice.

Oh wow a (literally) fridged character! Cdramaland this year really loves their fridging!

I'm afraid what's with the snow setup of this show and the complimentary heavy cloaks, Li Qin is gonna do a LOT of ghosting (literal)

Xiao Xi is here and once again serving my favorite "light has left his eyes" look as always! I hope he gets a lot of betrayal and mortal injury and torture and piggyback and pregnant scenes once again! 😌

Not the biggest fan of the side character costumes

Ayo is he finally losing the baby fat in his cheeks 🥺

No point, he's the one who still gets the most kid treatment in the show🤣Baby fat or not

Um I was looking forward to this show for a long time because it seemed like a huge portion of photography took place in complete snowland but looks like that exact thing turned out to be its weakness. The CGI is awkward. You can see exactly which scenes took place within a greenscreen set because the background blending is not done seamlessly enough. All the money has gone to keeping the cast and crew warm in the snow scenes from the looks of it 🥲

BUT it's not all unenjoyable! Look, the FL is having an all-girls harem! 😍

Damn girls. aren't you difficult to satisfy…. can't let her rest even one night? 🤭

Ohh look fresh meat arrived on her doorstep 🤭

Oh yeah? 😏

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Brother really nearly offered his virginity in exchange for her help

The harem is like "Jiejie do we kiss/fuck/kill him"

At first I thought this was her wall of Girl-of-the-Night's name tags, too bad it's just a collection of lifesaving coupons lol

Ep 1 conclusion is that even though it fell a bit behind my expectations but it isnt bad, has potential if they want to work on it After all it took CQL 10 eps to get on the tracks!

Ep 2

Those are the longest ass nails I've seen on a doctor

Titanic much?

Yeah ok the costumes aren't costuming in this show except for the fur coat game. Please keep all of them covered in cloaks all the time I beg you

I mean at this point it's not just an aesthetic need but a practical one too because this drama's second name is frostbite.

So he walks all over her property even after being warned to not to AND offer her unsolicited advice about being safe in the woods alone as a girl. Dude she's been LIVING here, WHILE keeping a bunch of other girls safe too. Know your limits.

Why are they getting thrown into unnecessary forced sugar moments, please work on establishing your characters first so the audience can care for them before trying to create chemistry out of nothing, show.

Doctor lady wasn't transparent about the procedure she was going to conduct on the kid, and blames it on the kids' guardians that it was to prevent the guardians' emotions besting them. Like??? Sure they broke your rules but you aren't also completely at the right here, you told them nothing because you were overconfident and haughty is what. "Short time hurt is better than Long time hurt" wtf

And of COURSE they end up dual cultivating under a lake. It's like this show is in such a rush to simply check off all the hot tropes in their list one after the other, with little substance to back them up.

Ep 2 conclusion is that I hadn't facepalmed nonstop in a single episode this much in a long time, I guess this show is not for me. I mean if it's not serving neither a good plot nor solid characters and not even the hyped and promised aesthetics then what am I here for? Sorry, Zeng Shunxi. I've loved almost EVERYTHING you've been in but looks like this one is an exception .

#cdrama #ramblings #snowy night timeless love #snowy night timeless love spoilers #snowy night timeless love ep 1 #snowy night timeless love ep 2

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misscrawfords · 2 months ago

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Hi, I am going to start watching k dramas, so could you recommend some good ones? Which ones do you like best?

Ooh an excellent life choice, if I may say so!

Honestly, what I'd recommend would depend on what you enjoy. My personal tastes are for:

romcoms very low angst

romances with deeper characters, a bit more realistic

thriller/spy stories, usually light-hearted, romantic subplot

fantasy, romantic subplot

For gateway kdramas, I'd recommend:

What's Wrong With Secretary Kim (romcom, a classic)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha (romcom, a few angsty moments)

Crash Landing on You (romcom... ish... angsty!)

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (romcom with adorable female superhero and serial killer subplot)

If you like predominantly romances, I'd recommend in addition:

Her Private Life (Park Min Young (also in Secretary Kim) is basically a romcom goddess - HPL is v similar to Secretary Kim)

Because This Is My First Life (surprisingly relatable and thoughtful take on contract marriage trope)

Romance is a Bonus Book (less well known as some but just so charming if you like books and bookish people)

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (not usually a fan of historical kdramas and this is light on the romcom and heavy on the palace drama but it's genuinely interesting)

Our Beloved Summer (second chances romance, slow burn)

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (cute university sports romcom

Business Proposal (only watch when you are well-versed in romcoms - it's hilarious because it makes fun of all the tropes)

No Gain, No Love (still airing but doing something similar to Business Proposal but a bit more subtlely)

Dali and the Cocky Prince (had some flaws and some painful moments for the FL but overall excellent)

Love Next Door (still airing and I had to stop watching because it suddenly got serious and I need to know it ends happily before I force myself through the difficult episodes but really excellent up to that point - so I'm hopeful)

If you like your romcom with a twist:

Healer (another PMY drama, lots of rom but also main plot is a thriller - really excellent)

Marry My Husband (look, I just love PMY... time travel and revenge plot and swoon-worthy rom with plenty of com)

Vincenzo (the Ultimate kdrama for me - I adore it; mafia, revenge, hilarity, romcom- got everything)

My Roommate is a Gumiho (kind of forgettable tbh but I really enjoyed it a lot at the time - fantasy romcom)

Crash Course in Romance (romcom between middle aged people, crash course in the messed up Korean education system and a serial killer - IDK what is going on with this drama but overall it worked?)

Terius Behind Me/My Beloved Terius (a rather obscure one but A+ if you like spy comedy shenanigans with subtle romance)

The King: Eternal Monarch (mixed reception for this fantasy parallel universes romance but I had a Good Time)

And finally, standing all out on its own:

Alchemy of Souls Parts One and Two: just brilliant. Pure epic fantasy. I want 10 seasons in this universe and the novelisations. Should be bigger than Harry Potter.

Something to bear in mind is that most kdramas are 16 episodes and around episode 11... bad things tend to happen! Sudden illness/death/betrayal/breakup/white truck of doom... And while some of them deal with this well, others... don't. Usually it's worth getting over the hump episodes but I have to admit I have a lot of unfinished kdramas. I do keep meaning to finish them... but then another one comes along and I start that instead!

I also recommend getting onto MyDramaList to get recommendations and read reviews and find new dramas to watch as well as keep track of your watching. My list is here.

Enjoy! :D

#kdrama #kdramas

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filmnoirfoundation · 1 year ago

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ASK EDDIE returns Thursday, September 21, 7:00 PM PT to our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/filmnoirfoundation/live

FNF prez Eddie Muller responds to film noir fan questions fielded by the Foundation's Director of Communications Anne Hockens. In this episode, we discuss Eddie’s short story “Doc’s Oscar”, the essential Italian noirs and film museums, the disreputable noir characters of wholesome TV icons, memorable bell tower scenes, and more. We wind up the show with a discussion of our favorite film noir openings. On the cat front, Charlotte and Emily are too tired to participate.

Want your question answered in a future episode? We solicit questions from our email subscribers in our monthly newsletters. Sign up for free at https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/signup.html

Everyone who signs up on our email list and contributes $20 or more to the Film Noir Foundation receives the digital version of NOIR CITY Magazine for a year. Donate here: https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/contribute.html

Can’t join us on Thursday? No problem! A recording will be up on our YouTube channel, @NoirCity, on Friday, September 22: https://www.youtube.com/user/NoirCitySF

Note: Eddie will not be able to answer questions posted during the livestream nor ones left on our social media accounts

This week's questions:

In a recent episode, Eddie highly recommended the film ROSAURA AT 10 O’CLOCK [ROSAURA A LA 10]. Is it possible for ROSAURA to be restored by the Foundation and made available through Flicker Alley?

Michael, Post Falls, Idaho

Just read your short story, "Doc's Oscar", in the JEWISH NOIR VOLUME 1. Can you give us a little background on its origin? When did you write it?

Jay and Connie, Ann Arbor, MI

I'm planning a trip to Italy. Please recommend your essential Italian crime/noir films. Also, I hope to visit a museum dedicated to cinema. Any ideas

Steve in Mississippi

Have you read “Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City” written by Nicholas Christopher?

Sean Land O Lakes, FL

For me one of the biggest surprises of seeing familiar actors in Film Noir was seeing Raymond Burr as the heavy. What other later-known actors are the biggest surprises for someone getting into Film Noir.

Carlton, Atlanta, GA

Why does Eddie sometimes use the alias "Eddy von Mueller" for some of his Blu-Ray commentary tracks?

David

The late-'60s and the '70's are thought of as the time of the great neo-noir films, but what about offerings designed to play at drive-in theaters or so-called grindhouses? I'm also curious about regional films or filmmakers since that era was rich with localized film production. Are you aware of any that could fall under the mantle of film noir?

Kathy and Michael, Rockford, Illinois

In the past Eddie has mentioned certain movies that he considers to be more “message pictures” than full blown noir for him. I would love to hear you both talk about what the difference for you is between movies like NO WAY OUT, CROSSFIRE, FORCE OF EVIL etc. and movies that have tinges of Noir but fall into the Message Picture category and maybe some examples of those and why they don’t make the cut. Thanks!

Nathanael from New Braunfels, Texas

I recently watched the Douglas Sirk 1951 film noir, THUNDER ON THE HILL, and noted the similarities between the bell tower scene in that movie with the great bell tower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 VERTIGO. Are there other films noir that include a bell tower scene? And, more generally, what other films noir have great staircase scenes?

Cliff in Fort Collins

Wondering if you know anything about scenes cut from THE MAN I LOVE DVD. The film is listed as being 96 minutes long, but the DVD version is only 90 minutes.

Michael, Chicago, IL

My question is about some very difficult to find Alan Ladd titles, specifically, CHICAGO DEADLINE with Donna Reed and SAIGON. Are these Alan Ladd films tied up in litigation or bound in some type of financial dispute? Is there any hope for their release in the US?

Don

Openings. I have always been fascinated by the first 90 seconds of noir films and I’d just like to pay tribute to my favorite openings and listen as you add in yours as well.

Chuck

#film noir #noir city #eddie muller #anne hockens #film noir foundation #jewish noir #raymond burr #william conrad #grindhouse films #odds against tomorrow #the stranger #i the jury #criss cross #crossfire #doc's oscar #noir city detroit #noir city dc

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smolwritingchick · 11 months ago

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Forced to Believe Chapter 6- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 1

Author's Note: Usually for the Total Divas episodes, I just put in the scenes that I wanted Melanie to be in. These are going to be pretty short chapters. But once in a while it'll be long

Just so there isn't any confusion This in bold and parenthesis: Melanie (hey guys! I'm Melanie) This means talking in the confessional. You know when they are on the green screen discussing what happened on the show. That's what I meant.

if it is in italics then that means it is showing what is happening on TV.

If it is in normal font then that means it is happening in real time, right now. Hope that helps.

Chapter Summary: Melanie stars in the first season of Total Divas and prepares for Wrestlemania while befriending the new girls, Jojo and Eva Marie

Words: 3,000+

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

'10 days before WrestleMania, Tampa, FL'

Melanie walks into the gym, wearing gray sweatpants, sneakers, a sports bra, and a gray hoodie with her gym bag over her shoulder.

Melanie (Hey guys! I'm Melanie Laurer, better known as the violent and wild Morgan Lopez. I'm more nicer than my character and am sometimes laid back. But when I bite my tongue for too long, I keep it real. When it comes to being a WWE diva, all I want to do is entertain you. That's it, no being jealous of anyone being in the spotlight, like, I will find a way to entertain you. If I gotta get put through a table for entertainment, haha, then I will do it)

"There she is," Jon greeted with a grin, wearing shorts. Melanie laughed and hugged him.

Melanie (Ever since I started the storyline with The Shield, we all got to hang out more, so it was a win win situation. We all go way back. Especially Jon and I. Way, way back.)

"How was Philly and your flight?" Colby asked

"Not that bad. The fam are coming to support me. So, I have to manage Randy's team and have a match. Stress..." Melanie sighed, hoping everything goes well. She really wanted to give it her all.

"Yeah, I see some grey hairs." Colby pointed out.

"You fucking serious!?" Melanie exclaimed as she looked at her hair in the mirror.

Colby laughed. "Nah. Just fucking with you."

Melanie hit him on the shoulder. "Jerk..."

Joe walked over to the gang with a water bottle. "Hey Mel."

"Joe!" Melanie happily yelled and ran to hug him.

Melanie (Joe is...like my teddy bear. He's super sweet. Colby is the guy who always likes to have a good laugh with me and mess with me. And Jon is my best friend. We helped each other out in the ring, practiced our storyline, talked about our memories in the indies, and we really got closer. I am grateful for my boys. They are the best.)

"Hey! I didn't get a hug!" Colby playfully pouted.

"You have to earn one." Melanie pointed

"Bull, come here." Colby gave her a bear hug as she laughed

Melanie (When I met the three of them, we all clicked. We've known each other for years and to do this storyline and stuff, it's so fun. I did...a lot of damage to The Shield. But I liked it because it was a challenge to be able to act out a very violent, feisty, personality like Morgan so it took me a while to adjust to the character. I hope I'm doing a good job. If it wasn't for the fans, I wouldn't be here today. Right now, I cannot wait for WrestleMania. I have to manage Randy Orton's team to decide my fate at WrestleMania and I go up against Alicia Fox. It's going to be off the chain!)

"Can we practice the pose? How do you do it?" Melanie asked.

"You stick your fist out like this," Jon demonstrated

"Cool, but I'll be doing it my own way."

"Already being a rebel," Joe said with a low chuckle.

"See?" She looked for approval as she had her fist up in the air and looked up.

"You know, I like it." Jon nodded.

"Yeah." Joe agreed

Colby nodded. "Awesome."

Melanie (I haven't been in divas matches in a while so I can prepare for WrestleMania. I have been training a lot. I can't wait for my first match at the PPV. This is going to be awesome.)

After their workout, Colby tried to hug Melanie while he was sweaty. "Who wants a hug?"

"Ew, get away!" Melanie exclaimed and he chased her around the gym with Jon and Joe laughing.

"Fine, I'll take your grapes in your bag," Colby said and went through her gym bag.

"No! Not my grapes!" Melanie yelled but Colby grabbed a handful and started eating some. "Colby! You jerk!" she threw a water bottle at him but he ducked and it hit Jon in the face.

"Wow!" Colby laughed out loud with Joe.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Melanie covered her mouth, looking shocked while Jon playfully glared at her.

'7 days till WrestleMania, Newark, NJ'

Melanie walks in to see Jane (Head of talent relations) and Mark talking to Nattie.

Melanie (So I get a call from Jane about some new girls that we're getting. New girls, huh? Interesting.)

"Hi, is this a bad time?" Melanie asked.

"Oh no, I'm glad you're here." Jane greeted.

Nattie smiled and hugged her. "Melanie!"

"Hey Nattie!"

Nattie (Melanie is one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth women I know. Completely different from her in-ring character. She really has potential in the WWE and I am looking forward to watching her match to prove it at WrestleMania.)

"So there are two new girls coming here. Nattie will be showing them around." Jane informed

"Awesome." Melanie said with a grin.

"You seem excited."

"Yeah, I actually wouldn't mind showing them around too if that would be okay."

"You want to show them around with Nattie?"

"Why not? Nice to know new people. Well, if you're okay with it."

Melanie (Sometimes I can have a bad habit of putting myself into situations without people's say in it. I should stop that...but hey, it'll be cool to help them out, why not?)

Jane chuckled. "It's alright. You can show them around too."

Melanie (When I looked into Nattie's eyes, all I see is pain and disappointment.)

"Are you okay?" Melanie asked her.

"I um, won't be wrestling in a match at WrestleMania." Nattie revealed with a frown.

"Oh man..."

"There will be two divas matches. You and Alicia Fox, to prove you should stay here, and the Bellas..." Jane began.

Melanie (Well, once I heard the Bellas I was like, go figure.)

"...with Cody and Damien against The Funkadactyls, Brodus and Tensai." Jane continued

Melanie (I'm glad Trinity and Ariane have a match. They really deserve it.)

"Mark." Brie greeted, walking over to them.

"There she is." Mark smiled and gave her a hug.

Brie (Oh look...it's Melanie...icing on the cake...)

"Hey!" Melanie greeted politely

"Melanie, hi. Nattie." Brie greeted with a fake smile.

"Brie," Nattie said with a smile.

Melanie (Yeah the vibes are weird. I know her and sister don't like me. But I don't care, I'm going to keep it cordial)

"We're getting new girls," Melanie announced with excitement.

"Really?" Brie raised a brow.

"Yeah. So I heard you will have a WrestleMania match."

"Yeah, I'm so excited."

Brie (Newbies...first we got to deal with Melanie who is a high rising diva because she feuds with The Shield and is among the top superstars to go against them and now we have to deal with two more? Newbies are not divas, they're trying to be.)

JoJo and Eva Marie arrive. "Hi!" They both excitedly greet with a smile.

"You're JoJo and Eva Marie, the new girls right?" Mark asked.

"Yes." JoJo responded.

Eva Marie (When we meet Jane, I'm already freaking out. Like, this is a dream)

While JoJo and Eva Marie talk to Jane, Nattie and Melanie sit down.

"I really want to be in a storyline with you one day. Maybe I could be a heel and you a face or something. I just really do wish that you had a match." Melanie told Nattie.

"Melanie, this match is for you to prove that you should be here. There's always next year. But you earned your match. It's just unfair how the Bellas get to be the center of attention and be on all these shows. That is what I'm upset about." Nattie frowned.

"Yeah, I kind of agree."

Jane walked up to them with Brie, and the new girls. "Come meet the new girls."

Brie and Nattie introduce themselves.

"Hi, I'm Melanie!"

"Hi, I'm Eva Marie."

JoJo smiled. "I'm JoJo."

JoJo (There is something about Melanie that just made me feel back at home and just reminded me that everything is okay. I can see her as a sister figure to me.)

"Nattie will be your guide along with Melanie who will keep a lookout for you." Jane informed them.

"So excited. Like, if you guys need anything, we're here for you. Like if you have hair problems or a midlife crisis." Nattie added.

"I'm glad you said that. Eva here will be a blond." Jane announced

"I think you look nice like that. I mean, there's only room for one blond." Nattie said as everyone laughed. "I'm just kidding."

Nattie (WWE wants the divas to stand out. Eva can't have brown hair because she'll look like a Bella twin. But Hello! Heh, heh, Natalya's blond. I'm right here, you have a blond girl already.)

Melanie (Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? Blond? What the heck? I'm sorry but I can't imagine her as a blond. I would do a hair color that will really make her stand out and look different. Do blue or purple or something. Make her really stand out instead of it always being a blonde, brunette or a raven-colored diva)

"What do you think about that?" Melanie asked.

"Freaking out." Eva Marie replied

"Welcome to WWE." Brie replied as everyone chuckled.

'5 days till WrestleMania, WrestleMania Dress Rehearsal'

Melanie (I have been working on a nice entrance for WrestleMania, in honor of my cousin Chyna. So, I got permission and everything is going well)

Melanie walked backstage in her WrestleMania ring attire with The Shield.

"So can somebody drag or carry me out the ring? When The Shield win the match? And I can try to struggle and stuff?" Melanie thought of some ideas for the match.

"Dibs." Jon raised his hand with a grin.

"I'm not surprised."

"This is going to be funny at WrestleMania." Colby said as Melanie and The Shield agreed.

All of a sudden, they see Vincent (Ariane's boyfriend) getting angry.

"I'll talk to his ass. Fuck this job. He shouldn't talk to you like that. I'll kick his ass. I'll go to the locker room right now and fuck his ass up." Vincent exclaimed angrily

Trinity (Me and Ariane are like in a marriage. If something happens to her, it happens to me. You can get fired over stuff like this.)

"I don't care who you are. You can be the President of The United States. I don't give a fuck." Vincent went on.

"I'm just gonna get dressed," Ariane said and walked away, upset.

Jon (Jimmy Uso) said to Vincent, "You're not going to do anything."

"No, I'm gonna fuck his ass up." Vincent huffedd

"No, just try to relax. Just step outside and go." Nattie replied, trying to calm him down.

Nattie (Luckily I was able to calm him down and prevent him from getting his ass kicked.)

"I hope everything is okay," Melanie murmured.

"They'll handle it." Colby patted her on the shoulder.

Melanie (I'm just going to mind my business and hope that everything will get settled.)

'2 days till WrestleMania'

Jon, wearing jeans, a shirt and a cap meets Melanie in her hotel room.

"Knock knock." Jon announced, opening the door.

"Hey." Melanie greeted with a grin and hugged him.

"You looked stressed."

"Why is everyone saying that? I'm all right."

"It's WrestleMania. You're not all right." Jon let out a laugh. Melanie stuck her tongue out at him and sat down on her bed. "So what are your plans tonight?"

"Well, I'm going to the Sandy Relief Party. Wanna come with me?"

"Oh boy..."

Melanie laughed. "I have no problem dragging you there. Come on. And plus, you can help me pick out a dress."

"Mel, you're going to be the death of me. I'll be with the boys tonight, was wondering if you wanted to hang with us. But since you'll be at the party, maybe next time."

"You know who I want you to be for Halloween?"

"What?"

"A wild guess."

"The Joker?"

"Yes! That'll be awesome. Have the makeup and stuff."

"How did our conversation change from the party to Halloween? You're goofy."

Melanie hit him with a pillow. "I am not."

Melanie (You know, ever since me and Jon started to work together in the WWE, we've gotten closer and our friendship has gotten even more random. Haha. We sometimes talk in random conversations and say random words. This started a few years ago actually)

"Bananas." Jon said.

"Grapes!"

"Sweet."

"Sour!"

"Why are you yelling?"

"I'm not yelling!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes-" Jon began but got attacked multiple times by Melanie's pillow. Jon laughed and started to tickle her as Melanie laughed.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Melanie exclaimed.

'WWE Sandy Relief Party'

Melanie wears a nice black dress and has her hair up into a bun with hair on the side. She gets out of the limo and sees white flashes as people take pictures.

"Wow." Melanie looked around in amazement.

Melanie (This is my first red carpet. So it was really cool.)

"Morgan! Morgan! Over here!" Paparazzi yelled as she smiled and waved

"Hey!" Melanie said and then walked in as she saw Eva Marie and JoJo. "Hey guys! I love your hair." She hugged them.

Melanie (Eva Marie's hair looks awesome. She really stands out. Red suits her really well.)

"Jane was okay with it?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah, but she gave me a warning," Eva replied.

"It looks really good." The Bellas come by.

"Wow." Brie said.

Nikki (I thought Eva Marie was supposed to be this blond bombshell.)

Later on, Melanie gets ready to go out to the red carpet but Jon walks up to her in dress clothes. Melanie laughed and clapped her hands. "You have got to be kidding me! Why is it that you like to surprise me and prank me?"

Jon laughed and hugged her. "Couldn't resist." They walk to the red carpet.

Melanie (I feel bad for Nattie and how she has to work. I thought Renee Young was supposed to do this.)

Nattie (It sucks working while the divas have fun. Once again, I'm on the sidelines looking in.)

After taking photos with some divas, Melanie takes some photos with Jon which sparked interest in the crowd and then they all go inside.

Let the dating rumors begin.

"We are here with Dean Ambrose and Morgan Lopez, how are you two?" The interviewer asked

"We're loving every second of it, it's just so awesome to be here," Melanie replied with a smile.

"Yeah, supporting charities, it's been a hectic week so far," Jon added.

"So are you two dating or whatnot?" The interviewer asked abruptly.

"Um..." Jon and Melanie look at each other.

Melanie (I dunno, something about that question made me think more about Jon. It's like...when people ask you questions about if you're dating your best friend, it sometimes gives you thoughts in your head.)

"You'll find out pretty soon," Jon smirked and put his arm around Melanie's shoulders.

Melanie (Huh?)

"Interesting. Well, enjoy your night, thank you for your time."

"What was that about?" Melanie asked as Jon shrugged. "I'm gonna go hang with the new girls for a few, you cool?"

"Yeah, Colby and Joe are here, I'll be fine."

"Okay," Melanie said and walked over to the new girls. "How do you like it so far?"

"It's my first red carpet." Eva Marie happily said.

"It's my first too. Isn't it awesome?"

"Yeah." Eva Marie replied as they all laughed.

Meanwhile, Steve Tisch, the owner of the NY Giants, talked with the Bellas.

"You see the three newbies over there?" Nikki asked.

"Well, two of them." Brie corrected

"Actually it's the three of them." Nikki pointed to Melanie as well. "Look how comfortable they are."

Nikki (We need to get our intimidation on. We are veterans)

Melanie walked over to Jon, Colby and Joe to hang out with them. Eva Marie and JoJo were taking pictures with one of the celebrities but then Nikki came over.

"I don't mean to be a photo bomb but I need some more champagne." Nikki gave a glass to Eva. "Oh, and Brie needs a glass too. She's really thirsty."

Melanie (Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not going to just sit here and let you do this. Are you kidding me right now? No one is your maid, get your own freaking drink. Seriously? Who does that?)

Eva Marie (Are you kidding me right now? Like bitch, please.)

Eva Marie and JoJo come back with the Bella's drinks. "Wait a minute," Nikki said as she took some photos with Brie.

Melanie walked over to the Bellas. "That was uncalled for." She said with disapproval while Nikki shrugged and smiled. "No for real, grow up,"

Eva Marie (That will only happen one time. One.)

Melanie (Shit like that makes my blood boil...)

JoJo and Eva give them their drinks. "Thank you!" Nikki replied.

"So much!" Brie added

Melanie (Jeez, it's like they are full of themselves because they are dating big time superstars and think they have power over the divas division. It's corny. They need to cut it out)

Melanie walked with the new girls. "Don't let them walk all over you just because you're new. And JoJo, don't let them manipulate you because you're young. I'm here for you girls."

Eva Marie and JoJo thanked her and hugged her. "That will only happen one time though." Eva Marie declared as Melanie noddded

'1 day before WrestleMania'

Melanie (Well, after I got done talking to the Technical producer, he said there was a problem with the bazooka gun. So there's a chance I might not do the entrance I want to do. I'm worried and have my fingers crossed that everything will be okay. I really just want to rock this entrance.)

'WrestleMania day'

Melanie (Today is the biggest day of my life! It's WrestleMania! Everything is alright with the match with The Shield, but I still have to see if the firework gun is working. I hope they'll still let me use it.)

Melanie is backstage with the technical producer. "The bazooka had some kinks in it but it's fixed now and you'll be using it for your entrance."

"Yes!" Melanie shouted happily. "Thank you so much!"

Melanie (We are in business baby!!)

'Later'

Melanie has her casual attire on as WrestleMania starts.

Nattie (We get to see Melanie in action.)

"You think she's nervous?" Eva Marie asked as she watched the TV with the others.

'In The Ring'

The Shield go to ringside and get together as they look at Randy and his team. Dean stares at Morgan and smirks. He blows her a kiss and Morgan starts to have a worried look on her face and looks away from him.

"Oh wowwww, he blew her a kiss!" Jojo exclaimed.

"That's hot." Eva Marie grinned

"Who do think is going to win?" JoJo asked.

"I'm rooting for Orton." Nattie said

"The Shield." Eva Marie replied with a grin.

"Spear by Reigns!" Cole exclaimed as Ambrose covered Orton.

"I think he has it," JBL said.

"1! 2!" The ref began.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" King exclaims.

"3!" The ref said as Morgan screamed "No!"

"Here are your winners! The Shield!" Lilian announced.

"Oh my gosh!" Eva Marie exclaims. "Awesome!"

"Oh no, they won." JoJo says.

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

'Moments later'

Melanie goes to meet up with the new girls. "That was an adrenaline rush. Over 80,000 people. It's crazy." She said with a grin and hugged Nattie.

Melanie (My night isn't over yet, I still have a match.)

She puts on her ring attire. She goes to sit on one of the storage boxes and listens to music to calm herself down.

Melanie (I'm shaking, my body has butterflies all over. I'm so nervous...)

"Melanie is up next!" Nattie announced with a grin.

Morgan's theme comes on and the crowd screams

"Do you hear how loudly the fans are cheering?" JoJo asked in amazement.

"That's insane." Eva looked impressed.

Morgan walks out with a bazooka gun just like Chyna and looks at the crowd with a smirk. She shoots it as the crowd goes wild.

Nikki (That entrance was too explosive for a WWE diva. Period.)

Alicia picks Morgan up and throws her to the turnbuckle. She walks over and picks her up onto the top and then prepares for a suplex.

"Oh no no no!" Eva Marie exclaimed and looked away as Alicia hits Morgan with a suplex.

"I hope she's okay." JoJo looked on with worry.

"She is. She's been through worse. She got triple powerbombed by The Shield once." Nattie mentioned.

"What!?" JoJo yelled while Nattie nodded in response.

Morgan starts to fight back and gain momentum. She kicks Alicia and runs to the ropes to do a hurricanrana but Alicia counters with a powerbomb as the crowd yells 'Oh!' Morgan holds her head.

"Oh my god, she looks really hurt." Nattie said with worry.

"I hope she's okay. She did take a hard fall." Eva Marie looked on.

Morgan sits on her back as she is lying face down on the mat. She grabs hold of Alicia's wrists and crosses her arms under her chin and pulls back on her arms to cause pressure, like a straight jacket as she yells a long and loud battle cry.

"What kind of submission is this?!" King exclaimed.

"Oh my god, that looks so awesome!" JoJo cheered.

"Wow." Eva Marie said in amazement.

"That submission looks painful, I would never want that on me." Nikki shook her head.

"Do you submit!?" The ref asks.

"Yes!" Alicia choked out and the ref signaled to ring the bell.

After Melanie's match, she walks backstage to get hugged by Nattie, Eva Marie and JoJo. Melanie laughed as she had tears of joy in her eyes.

"Congrats on the match! You did so good!" JoJo said with a smile.

"Thanks guys." Melanie sniffed

"Aw, come here." Nattie pulled her in for another hug

Melanie (I have never felt so electrified besides going to a wrestling event to watch The Rock in action. I can't believe that I just had my match. My body is aching but it was all worth the pain.)

Melanie hung out with Nattie and the new girls. "The Bellas are up! The Bellas are up!" Nattie exclaimed as Undertaker's match ended.

"Awesome!" Melanie cheered. "I can't wait to see Trin and Ariane!"

Melanie (I really can't wait to see them all in action. I'm curious to see who will win.)

All of a sudden, Cena's theme comes on. "What?" Melanie asked in confusion.

Nattie (I know something's not right here because all of a sudden, I see John Cena out in the ring. The girls were supposed to be before this match.)

"Weren't they supposed to be up before this?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. Let's see what's going on." Nattie said and they walked to where the Bellas were.

"What happened? You guys should be up." Melanie said.

"When are you coming out?" Nattie asked.

"Uh, never," Ariane replied in disappointment.

"We got cut." The Bellas, Trinity and Ariane say in a disappointed tone.

"Why?" Melanie asked.

"The match before us went way over." Nikki replied as Melanie, Nattie and the new girls looked shocked.

Nikki (This was supposed to be me and Brie's first WrestleMania match. For it to be taken away like that, it hurts. And it sucks that Melanie gets to have a match and she hasn't even been here for a year.)

"I feel like if I show any emotion, I'm going to flip." Nikki huffed.

"I'm so sorry you guys," Nattie frowned.

"I gotta take a second." Trinity said and walked out. Ariane and Melanie walk after her to hug her.

Nattie (I'm just glad we had at least one divas match.)

"Are you okay...?" Melanie asked.

"Just so...disappointed." Trinity sniffed as they walked into the diva's locker room. "I only have a couple more years here. I want kids and stuff. Four more years, I'm gonna be 30. Am I still gonna be chasing for WrestleMania?"

"Yeah, we're gonna get to Mania." Ariane said as they all laugh

"We'll try again next year. Phew, I need a drink or two."

"Drinks are on me tonight," Melanie suggested with a grin.

#forced to believe #total divas #the shield 4th member #dean ambrose x oc

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nysocboy · 1 year ago

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Spider-Man: The Dark Age. Fan-movie with little Mary Jane and a lot of gay subtext

I have been eagerly anticipating the fan-movie Spider-Man: Intro the Dark, directed by Timmons Flowers and Gemstone alum Jak Kristowski: no girl is mentioned in the trailer or in any of the comments by the frontrunners. This is a big deal: the Spider-Man mythos is usually loaded down with heteronormative erasure ("Like all stories, this story is about a boy and a girl.")

Scene 1: After a news report about an explosion in Rosenberg Labs, we cut to a high school shot. Peter Parker (Joshua Morgan) enters his class and talks to his bud about asking "Ruby" out. Ok, so he's established as heterosexual at minute 0.30. Two other guys discuss meeting at Peter's house after school.

Scene 2: Home. Peter is greeted by his mom Cut to breakfast, where they all discuss the explosion. Dad says he's going to be gone three days to help with cleanup, and he'll be back tomorrow night. That's two nights. Continuity?

Scene 3: Peter playing chess with his bud, whom he calls Veon, although he's listed as Eddie in the closing credits(Jaizier Mallett, listed in the closing credits as Ja). He says "checkmate," although the pieces on the board are random; no checkmate. Eddie/Veon leaves.

A Harvard recruiter calls, wanting to talk to Peter because of his excellent skills on the guitar. Really? Does Harvard have a big guitar program? Could we see Peter playing this guitar?

Later, Dad gets home and tells Peter that all of the animals in the lab died. Except for the spider crawling p his sleeve...which, the minute he leaves the room, bites Peter!

Scene 4: That night, Peter dreams of having super powers. He wakes up, goes to the kitchen, and eats a lot of pizza and chips. He goes back to bed, wakes up with a fever, and stays home from school.

Scene 5: Cut to Peters' femme friend Hunter (Tyler Inabinette, who is queer in real life) eating dinner with his dad -- pizza. Is that all people eat in ths town? Dad upbraids him for just getting a B on the quiz. Then Dad, who owns Rosenberg Labs, gets a call that they lost something valuable, so he leaves. Um..dude, the place was exploded. You lost everything of value.

Scene 6: Peter in the garage gym, doing lots of pushups and bench presses (fully clothed). He can attach himself to the ceiling! He calls Hunter to come over, and demonstrates. They deduce that he has developed superpowers from the bite of a genitically altered spider.

Scene 7: At school, Hunter wants to be Peter's lab partner, but he picks Ruby, the girl he likes, instead. Not cool, bro! Hunter has to pick someone else. He approaches Eddie/Veon, who is surprised: "Aren't you and Peter best friends?" "Yeah, but he likes this girl..." Eddie/Veon criticizes him: "Sound like you don't have the guts to ass it out." This phrase is not in the Urban Dictionary, but I imagine it means something like "fight for him."

Scene 8: Hunter and Eddie.Veon working on their project, a 3-d model of an atom (which we don't get to see). They decide to take a break and go fishing. That's a break? Won't it take hours? Hunter reveals that he likes Ruby, but Peter already has her torn up. Ugh! What happened to "just us guys?"

On the way back from fishing, they discuss their interests. Hunter asks Eddie/Veon to see a movie with "me and Peter." He agrees, except "No Peter." Want him all to yourself, Eddie/Veon? Think of your answer carefully -- you're my last hope.

Scene 9: Cut to Peter testing his spidey powers by jumping off the roof. No problem. Mom and Dad are both out for the evening, so he cooks dinner -- not pizza. Whoops, some burglars break in! Peter clobbers them, but he's injured in the leg. The police arrive and help him limp out. Wait -- it was night, and now it's broad daylight!

Scene 10: Peter's bestie Hunter calls and invites him to participate in an underground fight thing. They wear masks so no one knows who they are, but his opponent, Flash (Ben Beauchamp), recognizes him anyway, calling him "Penis Parker." What's wrong with being named after your penis? He beats Flash, who goes home to get beat up by his dad.

Cut to Peter and Hunter going home, laughing and grabbing each other. The fight was at night, but now it's daylight. Dad is watching a news story about how strong spider webs are.

Scene 11: Peter and Hunter designing a spider-man costume, with special equipment so he can extrude webs from his wrists and stick to things. They test the elasticity by holding hands.

Peter admits that he's kissed Ruby, and Hunter gives him effusive congratulations. "You've proven that you're hetero, bro! Want to hold hands again?"

Then Peter's spidey-senses kick in: his mom has been kidnapped by a katanga-wielding bad guy. Peter rushes to the rescue, but she sees him -- what if she recognizes him?! He rushes back to his room to hide -- and takes his shirt off and lies down on the floor. Beefcake alert!

Scene 12: He awakens, still shirtless. Mom wants to talk to him, so he slowly puts a shirt on -- beefcake alert!. Fortunately, they don't know that he's the spider-dude. They just want to know what's going on, with his late nights, fights, and girlfriend. He blows up and storms out.

That night, Peter's little brother Sam appears to yell at him: "You left me! You were the worst big brother ever, to let me die like that!" Why haven't we seen Sam or heard of this guilt before?

Scene 13: In the morning, Peter rebuffs Mom's attempts to connect. She asks "Did you hear what happened to Aunt May?" Another character not mentioned before, but maybe she was the kidnapped lady.

Peter walks for a really long time. Now it's night. He runs into Flash, the guy he beat at the fight earlier, being beat up by his Dad, I think, and intervenes. Flash thanks him.

Scene 14: Peter standing atop one of the pylons on the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, flexing in his Spider-Man costume.

Cliffhanger: The Big Bad decides to lure him out by kidnapping someone he's close to. The end.

Beefcake: Peter with his shirt off for about 5 minutes.

Gay Characters: None specificed.

Gay Subtext: Hunter seems be interested in Parker, and Eddie/Veon is trying to woo him away. I wish they could have been more explicit, but the guys were probably worried about scaring away homophobic viewers.

Heterosexism: In spite of the four throwaway lines about liking girls, there is no hetero-romantic plot.

Continuity Errors: Lots. It's night, and then it's day. You think it's dinner time, but they're having breakfast. Characters are discussed without being introduced. Plotlines are introduced, then dropped.

My Grade: For a fan movie written and directed by two teenage dudebros, it has competent production values. The acting is a bit amateurish, but then, these are amateurs (except for Tyler), so you can't expect drama school graduates. The gay subtext and lack of excessive heterosexism push the grade up to a C+.

The full review (many more pictures, no nudity) is on Righteous Gemstones Beefcake and Boyfriends

#the righteous gemstones #Jak Kristowski #Spider-Man #fan movie #gay subtext

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pruneunfair · 19 days ago

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Rating FL's part 3

Shuri

12/10: I just started reading A step mothers marchen (and it's probably gonna take a while to finish it since Bato doesn't have a full English translation) but from the few chapters I read I agreed with fans of the book that Shuri is without a doubt one of the best FL's. There's actual development between her and the step-children and she succeeds at being relatable without making her too overpowered.

Athanasia

7/10: Okay while I don't really care too much about WMMAP, I still think that for one of the first most popular otome isekais Athy was a pretty good protagonist and most of my complaints about her are mostly just ant hills. I don't have much to say on Athy other then she's a good start for OI protagonists but could be a little better.

Aisha

9/10: Is she generic? Yes, does that make her a bad protagonist? No. I don't understand what people mean when they say Marianne overshadows her unless they're talking about the fandom specifically because as someone who also really loves Marianne, she barely shows up on screen so to say that she overshadows Aisha just because Aisha is a typical sweet saintess heroine is stupid. Sometimes ITLA can be a little on the nose with how nice she is but I still find Aisha pretty well made.

Sienna

9/10: Okay I officially love manhwa where the maid is the protagonist instead of a noblewoman and as short as the manhwa she's from is, I still think she's a sweetheart. My only complaint is that the story keeps randomly inserting sad backstory memories so you feel bad for her, like one minute she'll be doing something ordinary and then next she's basically just like "This reminds me of when my step-mom hit me with jumper cables after I spilled one drop of tea." And then it goes back to the present within one panel.

Hae Soo

6.5/10: I'm sorry but people meat ride her WAY too much. She's not a terrible FL but there is so much better and she's really not all that because you can kinda tell by the way that she's the only female character thats likable and with that bodytype that she's just a self insert character.

Ruby

8/10: For once we have a piece that actually looks into the typical white lotuses point of view, Like Helena except way darker when it comes to backstories. I like that Ruby is shown to be more emotional cause I never liked how a lot of manhwa imply that emotions=crybaby FL, it all depends on how it's handled and I think thr author was very respectful when it came to her abuse and ED. However like Sienna there are times when the author is trying too hard and ends up forgetting certain parts of Ruby's trauma. For example they mentioned early in the chapters that Ruby's beloved older sister had died but it's barely mentioned in the future on how it affected her, so it ends up feeling like it was just a way to feel bad for her even more.

Aria

6/10: so on one hand I'm really glad that Aria is actually evil instead of the comic just saying " Oh no! She's not evil! She's too nice for that" because if villainess is gonna be in the title then she should keep some of her villainous traits, but I really don't know if I should see her as super smart if all her enemies are too stupid to combat her, it makes Aria look really stupid when she got killed in the first timeline if they're so bad at crimes.

Eris

10/10, Love my girl Eris! Kill the villainess was great for a lot of things, a knight for the ML instead of the prince, the ogfl not being a white lotus out to ruin Eris's life, and morally corrupt villains that felt like obstacles, but what they did the best was the FL because Eris actually retains her goal on going back to her world instead of shrugging it off and going to sleep because you know most people would be freaking out if they woke up as a historical woman in a time period where women had no rights and it was easy to die after getting sick once.

Roxana

9.5/10: She's overrated but that doesn't make a character bad by default. When I finally read Roxana after seeing the hype I could understand why they loved Roxana so much. Now as much as I don't like evil protagonists who don't suffer consequences, the story makes up for it by being self aware that the Agriche family are a bunch of lunatics with the exception of Roxanas mom and her late brother. Being chaotic is simply part of the plot so I don't think it's fair for me to fault it. That being said as much as I loved her I do think that her takeover during the end chapters shouldn't have been done and done so easily and quickly.

Verta

7/10: similar to Roxana, Depths of malice is self aware that Verta is a terrible person even though she has a tragic backstory, it's only an explanation for why she's like this not an excuse. If you know me, you know I love the white lotus women so seeing one as a protagonist was something extraordinary since I thought everyone but me and a select few hated two faced women. She only really earns a 7 because as good as she is, there are better ones.

#a stepmother's marchen #who made me a princess #into the light once again #The princesses maid #tears on a withered flower #how to get my husband on my side #the villainess reverses the hourglass #kill the villainess #the way to protect the female leads brother #Depths of malice #webtoon #manhwa #tapas

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accidentallyadramablog · 2 years ago

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Dropped Dramas in 2022

I saw @rain-hat's drop list and was inspire to make my own. I dropped a lot this year because I've been trying more drama genres outside my comfort zone and finding that...they are still outside my comfort zone. Urban fantasy kdramas and fantasy sageuks are where I thrive.

Since most of these were dropped due to my dislike, I will not be tagging this so that I keep my criticism out of the tags. List under the cut with progress in parentheses.

A Business Proposal (8/12) I normally don't like CEO romances because I'm not a fan of those types of power dynamics and gave it a shot after I saw gifsets of the "removing glasses" kiss. I found it enjoyable until the hiking scene for the 2nd couple because I love hiking and I personally would have left her on the mountain. I can't stand immature characters.

Between Us (2/12) I watched UMWA and it's a favorite of mine but I was really taken aback seeing Dean & Pharm in so many scenes when I've seen their story already. I started fast-forwarding the drama and by the end of episode 2, I no longer cared. I am watching Waan & Tul play out in gifsets though. I will probably binge this on fast-forward once it's done.

Blue Birthday (3/16) Too slow for me

Check out the Series (2/12) I loved the special Episode 0 but the full treatment was a mess and I didn't find anyone likeable.

Cherry Blossom After Winter (5/8) Too young for me and a lot of places it was cringey for me to watch. Sometimes highschool/college dramas are just too immature for me. I'm over 40.

Cutie Pie (5/12) Miscommunication as a plot driver is not for me when it's not written well, and they had that with both main couples. I'm also not a fan of this power dynamic. They had chemistry, I'll give them that. The actors for the 3rd/side couple have a drama coming out next year and that's on my to-watch list.

Enchante (7/10) Honestly, I was working a lot when this came out and I was behind most of the people watching and talking about it. By the time the ending rolled around, it seemed like a messy end, so I figure I ended on a high note by not finishing it. I enjoyed the hijinks up to that point.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo (6/16) - I loved it! Except I was behind all of tumblr and basically was able to watch it all via gifsets and short clips without having to slog through the legal cases and mother drama. I only dropped it because I basically saw everything on social media and didn't see the need to watch the full episode when I got home from work. 10/10 recommended!!

First Love Again (3/6) I was bored. I also did not like the age gap or perhaps it was the boss/employee relationship.

Falling Into Your Smile (22/31) I just could not stand the way they wrote the leads' characters. There was a ton of sexual harassment of the FL on the part of the ML in their workplace and in the public and the writers tried to play it off as flirting. I would have filed a lawsuit. Jeez. Also, the director never let the FL emote. I know she can act as I've seen her in other projects. They even had her fall down the stairs at one point and her face never changed expression. This is a failure of the writers and directors.

In Your Heart (7/8) I stopped watching an episode before the sexual assault based on recommendations from reviewers on MDL.

KinnPorsche (8/14) As mentioned above, I'm not a fan of boss/employee relationships and I was tired of Kinn never having to apologize.

Love Mechanics (2/10) I would have loved to finish it but I don't have WeTV and was too lazy to look for it on a grey site and then forgot about it when it was released for non-subscribers. The chemistry and War's acting made my sternum ache. A++ acting on his part. I will finish this one day. (I did watch the original short version.)

My Bossy Wife (7/12) I was in it for a webdrama with a crime solving noblewoman but there was some serious homophobic plotlines and they hated GNC women too much.

My Tooth Your Love (6/12) Cute but I was creeped out by the doctor-patient relationship. I was getting sucked in and then would get hit with how unprofessional it was.

Once Upon a Small Town (8/12) Cute but I was bored. Everyone was pretty.

Our Blues (2/20) I started watching for Shim Dal Gi and her cute HS romance before I realized it was an ensemble drama. I dropped because of Lee Byung Hun. Why would the drama gods pair Shin Min Ah with him? She deserves a better acting partner.

Plus & Minus (4/12) I was behind a couple of weeks and spoiled myself on the messy break-up and reconciliation. I dropped before I could watch that.

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! (5/8) Not my style. I could not stand Kaneda's character being so completely in panic mode at all times. I tried, I really did, to stick it out to see if he ever got over it, but he didn't by ep 5.

Sh**ting Stars (11/16) Loved the main couple but the 2nd couple ruined it for me. Yoo Sung with Ho Yeong was icky for me because of the working relationship and the age gap. I was rooting for Seunghyub (I should confess to being a fan of N.Flying) and I thought they were more suitable with their ages and their personalities. Dropping was not the fault of Lee Sung Kyung or Kim Young Dae who were great. I love their style of comedy.

Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart (3/8) I found Mek's character Khuafah unlikeable. Too bad, I liked Star in Your Mind (the first part of the series with JoongDunk).

The Eclipse (10/12) Perfect drama. Great chemistry. Loved this. I just hated the teachers and the school and noped out of that even though I ended up missing out on the couples getting together. There's always a supercut I can watch later. I will watch anything with Neo Trai in it. I hope he gets like a million lead roles down the line.

Vice Versa (6/12) Honestly? I'm just not a fan of Jimmy's acting (in this or in Bad Buddy) OR the way his character NEVER REVEALED HIS NAME UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. Eff that. Talay deserved better. I do like Sea and his acting. I want to see more and I hope he doesn't become co-branded with Jimmy. As mentioned above, I will watch anything with Neo Trai in it. I got excited when his character said Phuwadol was his type. I'd love to see a dude pursue a Tom in a Thai drama. Also, I was desperate for screen time for Jeab Lalana who I've loved since Club Friday.

You're My Sky (7/12) Good and it gave authentically queer vibes. The track stars were stressing me out though. Cheating story lines are not for me and I dropped it. The jock/nerd duo were more my style but they had less screen time. I also was completely bored by all the basketball so I tuned out the main couple.

#critical #drama critical #2022 drama year in review

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