#i went with a directors' theme lol

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

The closest thing to an OC I have for the Nimona Movie is Ambrosius's mom, and while she started out as just an invention to develop Ambrosius's character I really like coming up with lore for her lol. So if you are interested please enjoy my mama Goldenloin lore (and feel free to use my take on this character if you need a side-character in a fic or smth lol)

CW for mentions of fertility issues, miscarriage, childhood emotional neglect,

She is a descendant of Gloreth and she has a twin brother, due to her parents using fertility treatments (which increases chances of multiples)

Her name is Seraphi, I wanted to stick with the "heaven-inspired" theme Ambrosius set lol

Her brother is sterile, so continuing Gloreth's legacy fell squarely to her. She had no other cousins/siblings on that side, because the Goldenloin line suffers from fertility issues

She struggled with fertility as well, and was terrified that she would fail in her responsibility of carrying on Gloreth's legacy. She suffered many miscarriages and fertility treatments before her rainbow baby, Ambrosius, was born

She had extremely high expectations for Ambrosius, largely because of how difficult it was to bring him into the world, the fact that he was an only child, and the pressure she'd been taught to believe was normal for a descendant of Gloreth

Despite her often unreasonable expectations, she loved her son very much and was extremely grateful to have been able to have him. She struggled to show her love, though, because growing up her own family was extremely uptight and emotionally reserved, rarely showing her or her brother affection of any kind and acting more as mentors than as caregivers

She considered herself to be a very warm and woke parent because she actually occasionally spent time with her child and didn't just have the staff do it, like how she was raised. She even sometimes said things like "I love you" to him!!!! (she was still too emotionally constipated to be able to hug her own baby for more than 5 seconds but she tried lol)

She served as a knight when she was young around the same time as the Director, and they were very close friends. Because of this she trusted the Director to look out for her child when he was training at the Institute.

She still maintained her belief in the Institute even after the whole Nimona-Wall-Canon incident, and did not fully believe in Ballister's innocence, until she found out the Director, her closest friend, STABBED (or thought she did) and SHOT her only child. Finding out this information was the catalyst that led to her finally changing her fundamental beliefs. Even then she continued to idolize Gloreth, but was willing to accept that it was time for things to change even if those beliefs were still dear to her

When they were kids, she actually accepted Ballister as Ambrosius's friend, although she didn't agree with the Queen's decision to let him be a knight. But, she was capable of understanding that the Queen's choice wasn't this 10-year-old's fault, so she was still nice to him

Once it became clear they were dating she had more of an issue with it, mostly because That's Gay and while she fancied herself a #ally, she also knew that her son was expected to sire heirs, and even if they used a surrogate or something, she feared the non-traditional family structure would be a bad look

Ambrosius frequently went low-contact with his parents to protect his mental health, and cut them off completely after they still refused to believe Ballister's innocence after the Wall incident. Once Seraphi learned what the Director had done, she and his dad sent a letter to Ambrosius and Ballister apologizing and begging to be a part of their lives. With Ballister's permission, they resumed low-contact, and eventually his parents had worked on themselves and changed enough to be a more consistent part of their lives

She and Nimona Do Not like each other. They don't antagonize each other, but they do avoid each other. Nimona triggers Seraphi's deeply ingrained fear of monsters that had been hammered into her her whole life, even though she can now control it, and she reminds Nimona a lot of Gloreth AFTER the townspeople destroyed her spirit.

I also like to think that Nimona checked in on Gloreth's descendants through the centuries. She was her best friend, and from the credits it seems like Nimona still loved Gloreth even after what happened. I like to think she peeked in on them and watched them grow up, including Seraphi, and watching them become instilled with hatred and fear and repression broke her heart every time

If Ballister and Ambrosius ever had/adopted kids she would be THE trust fund grandma. They leave baby in her care for 30 minutes and she hands back the most spoiled child they've ever seen. They have to set boundaries when their kiddo comes home like "excuse me dads why don't WE have a swimming pool with a Jacuzzi and a water slide? Are we poor?"

[yanderecrazysie]

Good day, I was actually the anon who requested oshi no ko… I hope you enjoyed it cause I just recently rewatched it cause I couldn’t move past Ai’s death.

But can I have Yandere Aqua and more specifically if you are ok with it, with someone from his past life like his young intern. Like someone he had an attachment to as a doctor as they spent a lot of time working together and become really good friends despite the reader not really being into an idol stuff. So after his death, the reader naturally mourn him and left his hometown because of guilt of not being able to find his body.

So flash forward reader is now a certified doctor for stunt doubles and meats Aqua in a movie set. Seeing you, his once meek intern now a professional doctor brings feelings from him. You are his only connection to his past life as Gorou and he can’t seem to shake you off the emotions you bringout from him. He sees you as someone he has to control to protect you from harm and this leads to yandere obsession.

Thanks for reading my ask and request. Although thinking this more clearly, I feel like there would be a significant age gap between intern reader and aqua but The idea won’t leave my head so I hope you’re ok with it as long as both Aqua and Reader are legal adults

Oshi no Ko was literally so good! I cried at Ai’s death scene, it was so sad! (Then again, I cry at everything on TV these days lol) 

I made Reader young at the start, but there’s still a large age gap obviously. Both are adults though, so it’s technically fine.

Title: To See You Again

Pairings: Hoshino Aqua x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, significant age gap (legal adults)

Summary: Aqua sees someone from his past life again after 18 years. It brings up some darker feelings.

“You know, I can’t really get into this idol stuff, but it makes me happy to see you happy,” you giggled. 

Dr. Gorou couldn’t tear his eyes away from the TV, where a beautiful girl in a pink dress danced and sang on a brightly-lit stage. He gave a grunt of acknowledgment to show he’d heard his young intern. 

At just 18, you were the youngest person working in the hospital. It was clear you weren’t aiming to be a gynecologist like Dr. Gorou was, but your hometown was a small one and there weren't many options to intern at. 

You sat down on the bed next to your mentor, watching Ai blow a kiss to the audience, her eyes shining with emotion. Although you didn’t see the appeal in it, you understood that he had gotten into it from a young patient who had died. You couldn’t help but wonder if that death had scarred him somehow.

Scooting a little closer, you smiled up at Dr. Gorou. He looked at you from the corner of his eye for a moment, smiling back, before he turned his attention back to the idol on-screen. You stifled a sigh.

He’d never notice your feelings, would he?

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aqua stood idly around, watching the other actors practice their lines together. He’d already memorized his part of the script- it was easy compared to all the medical terms he’d had to memorize in medical school. 

“Quiet on set! Quiet on set!” Someone called out. The actors went quiet as a stunt actor got in place on set. Aqua watched silently from the corner he stood in.

The stunt double took a running leap through a glass window, taking the place of the main character, who had performed the scene just before this one. Suddenly, he stood up, clutching his leg and letting out a strangled cry. Sticking out from his thigh was a large shard of glass, blood beginning to seep through his pants.

“Cut!” The director yelled, leaping up from his chair. “Aqua, take him to the doctor on set!”

Aqua bit back a sigh. Why him? He walked over to the stunt double and offered him his arm to take. The stunt actor leaned against him, limping with each step and wincing in pain.

Aqua had never seen the doctor, but he knew where she was staying. He helped the man along the backstage hallway and to the office. He gave a quick knock and entered, helping the stunt double onto the bed.

Once he saw the doctor, his heart stopped. 

You were older now, probably around the age he was when he’d died in his previous life, but it was unmistakably you. He felt an irresistible tug at his heart when he looked at you, reminded of your smile and obvious crush on him.

For a moment, he waited for you to recognize him, but remembered that he wasn’t the same person anymore. Of course you wouldn’t know him. 

You had turned all of your attention to the poor stunt double in front of you, and Aqua was struck by the realization that you’d matured so much since he’d last seen you. You were a fully fledged doctor now, not just an intern. 

He was surprised by the thoughts that crossed his mind. I’m an adult again, so surely she’ll recognize me and want me again. And even worse, the childish reaction he had when he saw the wedding ring on her finger. I knew her first!

Back when he was Dr. Gorou, he had specifically ignored your advances. He was too old for you in his 30s, he had thought. But now, here you were, and the roles had swapped. Now he was the young adult, and the attraction had taken hold of him. Maybe it was hormones or maybe it was the fact that he finally had something from his old life in front of him.

He spotted a photo on your desk and leaned in to inspect it. He was shocked by the image- younger you standing next to Dr. Gorou. He just about choked on his tongue asking, “Hey, who is this?”

You looked up from the leg you were tending and followed his gaze. A sad smile crossed your face. “Oh, that’s my old mentor. He was a kind doctor that went missing, presumed dead. I miss him every day.”

Take that, (Y/n)’s husband. He thought victoriously.

“When can I see you again, Doc?” The stunt double asked as you bandaged his leg, “Maybe at a bar, just you and me?”

Aqua felt red-hot rage shooting through his veins. How dare he?

You giggled your sweet giggle, the one he’d missed for 18 long years, and turned him down. He didn’t deserve your laughter or your kindness, and Aqua seethed silently from it. You had pined after him for so long, why had you moved on?

Maybe your husband had forced you into a relationship. Threatened you. That’s the only conclusion he could make from this situation. After all, you still had his picture on your desk.

He’d take care of your husband for you, and then he’d find a way to make you see that he’s the same man you fell in love with all those years ago.

[stormblessed95]

So I just had some thoughts about the minimoni exchange that I really needed to share - their relationship is so cute. There was one thing that I'm confused about and I wanted to know if it was just me lol, and that's the narrative Jimin was telling about how Muse came about. That Pdogg asked him what his thoughts are, and Jimin said he's been feeling a lot of apathy lately (I'm paraphrasing here cause I can't remember the words!).

Then he went straight into talking about how the album is about having a crush, but he said he can't remember the last time he had a crush. And he had to have help from a younger producer to talk about what a crush was like. He didn't really go into why he wrote an album about having a crush when he said he can't remember the last time, just that he's been feeling not much excitement lately. He even explained this albums emotions as "vague." If I could go into depth about it, my interpretation (could be completely wrong) is that it's an explanation of coming to terms with his sexuality, that the expectation that he fall in love with women but no matter how many relationships with women he's had he just can't find the one. Until JK comes along....

Sorry my thoughts are all over the place 😂😂. I just wanted to know if someone also found it confusing or it's just my ADHD brain!

Hello my love! I'm probably going to use your ask to talk about Muse as a whole I think. Hope that's okay ❤️ I'll make other posts for the songs individually if I have more I want to say in depth about specific songs.... Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and theories too! I love them!

My thoughts and feelings about Muse as a whole below the photo 💜 disclaimer that these are just my thoughts and opinions. I am in no way claiming this as fact or truth and unless I'm quoting something, these are all my own words. Everyone is entitled to agree or disagree as they see fit.

This will be a longer post.... So strap in I guess!

SO! To start, Pdogg shared with us that Jimins album/SMGB was in part inspired by the Beatles conceptual album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." He said, and I quote:

"It was inspired by a conceptual album like the Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' And I tried to incorporate the excitement I felt when thinking of Muse into the songs. The flow of emotions is directly reflected in the track order, so it will be more fun if you focus on that."

Intro: Rebirth and Interlude: Showtime is what gives that connection and crossover from FACE, with its sound and chorus use, into the new concept and album I believe. Which Jimin has explicitly stated that Muse is not connected with FACE really at all. But that does give its connection and crossover from those first 2 songs. So you could EASILY listen to them back to back and find it flows smoothly from one sound into another!

Face is clearly about introspection, facing oneself, that vulnerability and overcoming that pain. It's about freeing yourself. Muse seems to be conceptually about finally feeling free enough to pursue that prospect of love and being open to those feelings. It was brought up by Minseong Kim, his performance director, in VMagazine that (I'm paraphrasing) they basically were focusing more on his masculine side and expressions for Who and in Muse. While in Face, Jimin showcased more of his vulnerabilities and his more feminine side and expressions. Specifically seeking out that contrast. Full interview here:

Now I don't know about you ... But it's giving gender. And I love that. It's not something new for Jimin, he leans into that contrast within himself alot. It's really giving gender fluidity. And I think that's on purpose. Jimin doesn't do things by accident. He thinks through everything and Jimin is in charge at the end for his projects. And considering how OFTEN this concept of *both*, of feminine and masculine, comes up in Jimins personal projects/stages, it's clearly something important to him that he wants to be highlighted.

Jimin absolutely had full control over the stories he wanted to tell in each song, even Who, where he didn't have full writing credits. He explained the thoughts, feelings and ideas he was wanting to express. We saw him in the behind scenes of things having direct input on his songs, the MV, and creating his own choreo. The Talent 😍 we were specifically told that Jimin "directly explained to them what he wanted to convey and the direction he wanted to take for this album and each song. This allowed us to put together tracks that are more musically diverse, but still feel right for him." Quote comes from an interview article from the Clash here

Similarly shared in another article, Pdogg said "We made it with Jon Bellion in New York. I remember Jimin personally explaining to him what story he wanted to tell, and he was really embarrassed/shy. I met Jimmy Fallon by chance in the studio next door. We played the song for him for the first time after we finished working on it. In fact After finishing work on the 'FACE' album, we went straight into the production of 'MUSE' and I thought, 'He's working this hard before his military enlistment?' Thanks to Jimin's hard work, you'll be able to see his musical journey, which has grown even more." From here

Okay, now that we got all those interview snippets out of the way from Jimins team.... We can get into more of Jimins words and my own thoughts/theories here too.... 😏🥰 But we like to work theories off facts, so we gotta get our base line!

Jimin finished recording his album in June of 2023.

Jimin stated in MMM that the first 5 songs in his album were basically the emotions related to having a crush and confessing your feelings. That would be:

Intro: Rebirth

Interlude: Showtime

SGMB

Slow Dance

Be Mine

And then the 6th track, Who, he takes it all back and is like no, that's not really true. Where he also lets us know that there really isn't a connection to FACE in the grand scheme of things.

To start with the title too.... Who are the Muses? The Greek Goddesses of artistic inspiration. Jimin has been drawing from Greek Mythology a lot recently, with Apollo and Artemis featuring in his photofolio too. Now while the basics premise of a Muse is and can be very romantic in nature, it isn't always. Jimins album Muse is inherently full of romantic songs, but I also think it's clear from his talk on MMM that this album is not JUST about looking for your run of the mill, romantic relationship and love.... But being in search of your passion, your heart and your desires. It's the expression of yearning. Yearning for love, for life, for his music, his work, his Identity as a person and an artist, to feel excited over something and look forward to something. He specially says to RM during MMM that he isn't sure if he will ever be satisfied with himself as an artist or find a version of himself that he is fully satisfied with (I'm paraphrasing). It's the idea that this search for his Muse (that satisfaction in himself and as an artist) is ongoing and probably will FOREVER be ongoing. Hence why in the end of the Who MV, after all that back and forth with so many people.... He is still alone. That search is still happening. Hence also why this desperate search of who his heart is waiting for is at the end of the album, not opening it up. He still hasn't found her, the Muses. His satisfaction. The yearning that is driving him forward to grow and learn and adapt and dig deeper into his art, is still there.

Jimin has a lot of control over his projects. His albums, songs, and performances. As he should. But it's important for everyone to remember that this album starts and finishes with JIMIN. And what he wants to say and express, this is his art, his emotions and his ideas, regardless of if he has help writing lyrics or not. To bring this back to my last paragraph above.... Passion as an artist is something plenty of people can relate to, but not everyone. Romance on the other hand is something *almost* everyone CAN relate to. And bringing those feelings of yearning and desire for passion and excitement and translating that into feelings of crushes, first love, romantic connect. Brings that full circle and is the outward Expression he chose to help represent the emotions and feelings he was trying to express through this album. I think it's also important to note that while Jimin expressed his desire for excitement and passion and how he is still looking for that.... He made sure to make it clear that he is happy and content with where he is at and who he is currently. These things can coexist!

Who in general could have some takes and theories about sexuality and what not, like anon said, I've definitely seen a variety of theories out there. I do think Jimin has long since come to terms with his sexuality though, but that doesn't mean that the inspiration from that couldn't still be drawn on. I can talk about that more in a post I make specifically only for Who. Soooo many things could be said for Who! Lol and if you've read this far, look forward to my post for Who and thank you for making it through my ramblings!!

[chaylattes-art]

✨️THE CHAYNEMATIC GALA 2024✨️

PART III: EARTH

this past month i've been imagining what various OCs of mine-- some from a DECADE ago, some of which i've never talked about publicly-- would look like in MET gala style outfits! the theme was THE FOUR ELEMENTS and characters were sorted into whichever element i felt suited them best.

water | air | earth | fire

director's commentary below the cut!

Leo Callisto (The Gemini Heist). i just know Leo looked at the earth theme and went "florals? for earth? groundbreaking," and decided she was gonna be so original doing something she actually likes: gold. i mean, gold comes from the ground, right? ("shouldn't Leo be in fire?" you ask, for some reason. no. Leo is the most earth person ever. Leo is the epitome of a Capricorn, actually. she doesn't even have any major Leo placements in her chart.)

Gabi Franco (The Gemini Heist). idk i just can't see Gabi as anything other than a cute little mushroom gnome kjfsdkd. she's so cute i wanna squish her.

Lily Florès (Aurora Hearts: Mirage). Lily is a super old OC that i repurposed for a friend's universe, and has plant powers. she is... well. she is a lily. (AND YES HER NAME IS A PUN OKAY. 2014 ME THOUGHT I WAS SOOO COOL WITH MY THEMED NAMES. SHUT UP.)

Vanessa Villa-Cortez (Girls With White Teeth). Vanessa's look was inspired to be a bog body. this is because (and this is not a spoiler, this literally happens right at the beginning of the story) she is dead <3

Tabitha & Detroit Lewis (Alloy). these disaster vigilante superhero twins have metal-themed powers, so i had visions of metallic, futuristic outfits for them. and Tabitha doesn't go anywhere without her heelys.

Will Keagan (UnSuper Squad). Will is the kind of person who would show up to the met gala in a plain black suit, but i wouldn't allow him to. he COULD have also been a bog body bc even tho he doesn't die he does a lot of rotting in bed lol but Vanessa already took that theme. so. idk. bugs? i just didn't want to do another floral.

Petra Lacroye & Finneas Becker (Andromeda Rogue). do i even need to explain?

[thehydraethereal]

Outer Banks s4 opinions AND predictions (for part 2) POSTING THESE NOW BEFORE I SEE PART 2 (i had these in drafts for 3 weeks wtf)

spoilers ahead so do not interact if you haven't seen S4!!!

holy moly where do I even start from??!!!! I AM LIVING FOR THIS SEASON, HOW TF AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT 3 MORE WEEKS FOR PART 2 AFTER 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘛 ENDING???

the MAIN thing i love is that its giving s1 vibes and I AM SO HERE FOR IT. also, they focused on each and every couple so nicely, it was heart warming to see them ahh !!! i used to HATE jiara, and even tho they still look like besties or literal siblings, i love them SO MUCH, they are adorableeee...IT IS UNHEALTY BUT IM ROOTING FOR THEMMM, the friends to lovers theme IS THERE AND YEAH- ADORABLE thats it lol

MY FAV COUPLE THO, JARAH !!! WOW- they're the most mature but chill couple and i love how they put all their hearts in the relationship (considering the shit storm they went through in the previous seasons) and I LOVE THE RING SCENE, UGHHH- but john b, dude, CHILL OUT with the thoughts of having children, U R A KID URSELF MY MAN !!!

Pope and Cleo? idk, love them but they're a bit akward (especially pope) but im looking forward to seeing how they'll develop.

MY MAN, RAFE CAMERON!!! here the issue starts and I HAVE A WHOLE MF PARAGRAPH ABT HIM IN S4.

Seems like the directors FORGOT he was a literal murderer, coke addict, schizophrenic man, obsessed to make his father happy, so obsessed that he tried to DROWN his OWN sister (after he shot her) out of jealousy, only that Ward preffered her over him...and now, um...he prepares the bag for a picnic on the beach? a bit (A FREAKING LOT) unrealistic to me. but i believe this is 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢.

Rafe was so derranged BEFORE Ward died, now that he's dead? Rafe should've gone MAD, literally. But i think his peace is temporary and something will make the monster inside him come outside ragefully again (even tho my baby deserves the peace lol). And that 'something'? Sofia's so-called 'betrayal'.

Now yall hear me out on Sofia! SHE IS A QUEEN. this show helped me prove myself HOW MUCH OF A GIRLS' GIRL I AM bc i DEFENDED HER over Rafe (and rafe is the loml). I HATE the way he treats her when he's with his friends aka the Kooks. But behind the close doors? RAFE'S THE SWEETES OML. but dude, u should have the balls to JUST ADMIT U LIKE HER in front of those filthy, obnoxious rich kids.

[lorddeathofmurdermountain]

Also I wanted to share this comment I made on a video bc I rewatched it and damn. I was cooking.

"I miss the more somber themes of some of their older Souls-type games. While Elden Ring's OST is amazing, even the more tragic themes have a lot of bombast in them - I'm thinking of Radahn, for instance. In comparison, Gehrman's theme drags _on_ and _on_ and it never *really* feels resolved - and that's exactly it.

Because you _can't_ resolve this in any good way. Something has to be done, but no matter the outcome, both of you will suffer - the only hope either of you have is to take the heavier burden, by force.

Or, say, Gwyn with his simple yet haunting, infamous "plin plin plon" that has captivated Souls fans for ages - I, for instance, actually lost to Soul of Cinder because I was tearing up so much from hearing the phase transition incorporate Gwyn's theme that I couldn't see what was going on, lol.

Yuka Kitamura is a great artist and I love her work, but especially as her career advanced in FromSoft her work kept getting more lively, and while that has a place in the roster (especially in as colorful and hopeful game as Elden Ring, comparatively that is), I personally feel a much stronger connection to Tsukasa Saitoh (who composed The First Hunter and many of my other favorites like The Final Battle from ER) as well as Kota Hoshino who's done amazing work in their Armored Core series, particularly AC6 (you can thank him for Contact With You, Steel Haze (Rusted Pride) and Someone is Always Moving on the Sufrace, for instance). Of course, there are many great works Kitamura made / helped make, it's just that as time went on her works were more... Epic, I guess. With these sweeping motions and grand gestures... In a way, it felt like she would have plateaued if she stayed any longer, so I'm kind of glad to see her go, for her sake and ours lol. I hope FromSoft keep experimenting more and more with their music as new games come out. Miyazaki gives us hope, though, since in a recent interview he said he'd rely on other and newer directors to make, essentially, "games that will sell well" while Miyazaki can pursue "games as an art form". My expressions, not his quotes exactly.

At the end of the day, I crave the gut punch of works like The First Hunter a lot more. It feels more right, that the ultimate or penultimate boss of a Souls game should be someone you feel sad to fight, rather than just some bastard who you can have no qualms just straight up hating (aka Radagon). Gwyn was a dick but he was trying to do what's right in his own way, Vendrick was just a good guy (I know he's nowhere near the final boss but uhh um SHUT UP), Lothric and Lorian are high-key just right and in one of the endings we end up just doing what they were gonna do, just faster and with more finality. Gehrman needs no introduction, Allant was just giga-depressed, Isshin and Genichiro were decent guys, ultimately."

[herefortayloronly]

Since the very beginning, I said it was a mistake to make Colin a "rake" because that's not his character and it's a complete misunderstanding of his character.

Colin is never meant to be the sexy flirty ladies man. He's a little awkward, silly and mild-mannered, if you can recall that's what he was like in season 1 and 2. He's a soft cinnamon roll but we never got to see him be a soft cinnamon roll. People tried to convince others who criticize this choice by saying it was done on purpose, you are supposed to get "the ick", you are suppose to not like Colin's new personality because it's fake!! That people lack media literacy!!! The point is to show that he's pressured to be a rake because society pressures men to be a MAN™ and Colin will eventually learn that he doesn't have to conform to society dont worry!!! It's a commentary on toxic masculinity!!!!!!!!!!

I disagree lol

Actually the thing is I usually would agree with this except there are many glaring errors and inconsistency that suggest that's not what the writers went for. That's not the message and theme they were going for. They definitely did not intend to make Colin's rakish behaviors cringe and icky. They seriously wanted him to come off like he's this suave hot playboy. They wanted us to believe he is a catch and that he is hot and sexy.

1) No one in the Bridgerton world found him cringey.

Now people are gonna say the writers are going for a dramatic irony where we, the audience, are meant to find it cringe but the characters don't. But when has Bridgerton done any sorts of irony ever?? It's not that kind of show and it's not that kind of story. We are meant to find him sexy and hot because the characters, the young debutantes of the ton, find him sexy. What is the purpose of having the people in-world find him sexy if not to signal to us that we are suppose to find him sexy too? Why would a romance show want their predominantly female fanbase to find the male lead unsexy and cringe? When in the history of good rom-coms have you gotten "the ick" from our lead hero?

2) If he was faking being a rake then why do we never see him be..... himself?? LOL

Let's say he was faking it. If he was putting up an act then why do we never see him break from that act? The way he was behaving at that brothel with those prostitutes is exactly the same way he behaved with his friends and family. No difference!

This is probably the most glaring issue with the writing because they spent way too much time dealing with the LW situation and all the subplots that they forgot to really lay the groundwork for Colin. If they truly had the intent to show us that he is just faking being a rake then we should see him when he's not faking it. We need to see him when he's just being himself. We need to see him when he has his guard down but for all 8 episodes I never see that. The only time he really let his guard down was to admit he was jealous of Penelope's writing but that doesn't explain why he started having threesomes. What about his insecurities for his writing all of a sudden made him horny? We just didn't get to spend enough time with Colin to really understand him. Sure we can infer and read between the lines but we're veering into fanfic territory for me. We shouldn't have to headcanon who Colin is because the writers are too lazy to flesh him out. I don't need to be spoonfed but I was definitely not fed at all lol.

I don't want this post to be too long but I'm just gonna add this. Even the Luke Newton was surprised people found Colin icky!!! And he knew it was a wrong choice for the character but the director and writers have other interpretations clearly.

Now how could they had done Colin differently? Of course I can't make a critical post without actually giving some constructive criticism. First, if they really did mean to make him cringe and icky then we need to see him get rejected. We need to see the ladies turn him away because he is so bad at flirting that they can't take him serious. We need to understand clearly that the people of the Bridgerton world also find him cringe and weird. I personally would love to see him fumbled during sex with the prostitutes. It would be funny to see him try to force himself to make the act work and realize he is completely out of his depth. If he's faking it then we need some scenes where we see his real personality. It would be nice to see scenes where he's flirting and hamming it up at balls and then later at night he goes home alone and work on his writing.

Second, his character would improve so much if we see him have some sort of direction. We know he writes. I kinda hate that they made his love for travel into him having sex across the continent of Europe. Would be great to see Colin's love for writing be about his fascination for linguistics and literature and that's why he travels because he wants to learn about other languages and culture. He could've come back from traveling with a new found love for knowledge and learning instead he came back as a manwhore.

Finally, I said I rewatched Emma (2020) the other day and I had an epiphany. I realized that Colin has "Jane austen's male lead" energy. Now I'm not saying Julia Quinn/Brigderton and Jane Austen are even remotely comparable. They are not even in the same stratosphere. However, Colin has that sweet, mild-mannered, calm and subtle humor personality that a lot of Jane Austen's male leads have, at least the Colin in season 1 and 2 did. They could've played into this in season 3. I need to see Colin chasing after Penelope the same way Mr Knightley chased after Emma all the way to her house after dancing with her. I need to see Colin be all disheveled and distraught when he realizes he's in love with Penelope. I can't believe there is a scene right before the fingerbanging scene where Colin does chase after Penelope's carriage but we don't actually see it happen. We don't actually see him running. Like that's actually a great moment to see Colin fully realize his love for Penelope. Mr Knightley getting all flustered running after Emma's carriage and then missing his chance to tell her he loves her is hotter than Polin's fingerbanging scene! In fact now that I'm writing this there is a lot of what Emma (2020) did with Mr Knightley that the writers of Bridgerton could've done similarly for Colin that would've helped his character a lot more especially with the LW situation. But that's another post I think!

Ultimately, the writing failed Colin. This has nothing to do with the lack of media literacy or people not finding Luke Newton attractive and hot. It's just the writing did Colin and Luke a huge disservice.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk!

I was gonna include some quotes from some of my favorite reviews of the season about Colin but I just really wanted to put it all in my own words but here are the videos that made me finally put my issue with Colin into words. Video 1. Video 2. Video 3.

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

'You're reading too much into ATSV.'

[aka meta analysis is good for the soul]

I often get told on this blog that I'm reading too much into plots or scenes or things in general.

And honestly, fair point. I do the most.

And as a writer, I will say that I do it out of pure respect.

[actual photo of me reading the script and going for my 'reading too hard at ATSV notebook']

Movies take years to write.

People spend months of their lives genuinely toiling over these characters, often times creating more work than what can ever be reasonably used. Months of revisions and scraping work.

For weeks, about a dozen people probably went to sleep dreaming or thinking up what Hobie would wear, what Gwen would say, what emotional cues Jess will have.

A lot of people dedicated years of their lives and creative labor into that story.

To me, it isn't at all bizarre to take an hour out of my day to sit and consider the story they spend a lot of time trying to tell.

Compared to the labor they have given me, multiple 40+ hour work weeks for years - an hour or two is literally nothing lol

It's literally the least I can do.

As a writer, I feel like its only right to sit back and look deeper into a story.

To analyze the writer's intentions, or examine their storytelling tactics and abilities.

We are taught to consume media so quickly and rapidly that to offer time to critically analyze a piece of work is considered bizarre, too much work, or pointless.

As if there's nothing to read into. Or as if speculation and meta analysis is helpful to no one.

If someone spends five hours drawing fanart that is accepted. If someone spends two hours writing fanfic, this is expectable behavior.

But I spend the same amount of time to look deeper into the work of the writers, and often times I'm met with surprise or treated as if I'm overly uptight.

It's like snickering at a person who asked there was deeper meaning behind a painting. While standing in an art gallery.

When streaming shows drop all in one day, it becomes about the Easter eggs and watching it as fast as possible as not to be spoiled.

Then at the end of it, you wash your hands of it and wait for the next big release.

People spend years, decades of their writing career trying to write realistic characters with layered motives. Or stories with complex themes.

Comic Book and Screenwriters included.

I myself try very very hard to do so - to provide foreshadowing, and emotional insight into the characters, their motives, their faults.

If I heard someone say that the piece is not worth looking that far into, all the work I've done as a writer gets overlooked.

Writers cannot grow if people are consuming their media without caring enough to look critically at it as the work of a storyteller.

So yes, I'm looking too far into it. Cause writers can write that far into it. And that deserves to be examined, acknowledged, and praised.

To assume less is too assume lesser of the writers who put everything into the media you enjoy.

This year of all years, we should be appreciating the work Screenwriters put in.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - I'm not being an asshole (well, not trying to be).

I'm looking at writers as vital parts of a movies production. Because they are.

We look deeply at the art style, or the animation, or the music. Writers are not shadow figures. They're people with careers. And them and their work deserve to be spoken about and acknowledged as a work of effort just the same as CGI artists or editors, or directors.

I implore you - Read more into it.

If you're a writer yourself, doubly so.

Read FAR into it. Build your analyzation skills, come to your own conclusions. Break the story down every which way and look at the characters from every angle.

It's fun, it's free, it makes the characters so much more real.

So many people on this website hope to one day become published writers. One thing they do to help you achieve that in college, is by racing things like scripts, and looking critically.

Meta analysis is good for you as much as it is the writers.

If you don't think you're cut out for it, or would have nothing to add, still try. Not for the brownie points, but to feel closer to the characters and the story.

If you've seen ATSV (or any Fandom media) and haven't ever really sat and thought about it - everyone's moral stances, why they want what they want, why they've made the mistakes they've had, where you stand on it all - I highly recommend it.

You might come away with some surprising conclusions about characters or even yourself.

Think about your favorite characters, and what might happen to them in the next movie.

There's really nothing wrong with reading that far into it.

Fifteen minutes of thinking, or an hour of writing is nothing compared to the months of work that went into this absolute masterpiece.

Trust me, the first time you catch some shit that makes you go

ITS LIKE A HIGH I TELL YOU.

Touch grass? Nah bro, touch your local library card. Go there right now. Take out this book.

There's gonna be a discussion tomorrow in class.

If you read this far heyhello I think you're rad as hell.

Here's a Hobie for the road because he's a great companion.

Bye.

[quickcharlie]

Denis Villeneuve discussing Dune Part 2 in an interview with the New York Times today, including whether he will be reading any FeydPaul fan fiction lol

He explains why Lady Jessica’s face is so heavily tattooed, whether Paul considers himself the Messiah and what he thinks of those Javier Bardem memes.

This weekend, “Dune: Part Two” muscles back into IMAX theaters with the verve of Timothée Chalamet rodeo- riding a giant sandworm. After nearly two months in theaters, the film is the current champion of this year’s box office race, with a total take of more than $680 million. (It’s also available to rent or buy on some streaming platforms.) The film’s success is thanks in part to audiences that have returned over and over to get lost in the rocky warrens and spiritual reckonings of the planet Arrakis. One admirer reports he’s seen the movie 25 times to date.

That there’s so much to explore in “Dune: Part Two” is a credit to its writer and director, Denis Villeneuve, who boldly reshaped Frank Herbert’s complex and cerebral 1965 novel “Dune.” Villeneuve split the book and its themes into two films: “Dune: Part One,” released in 2021, focused on the political struggles between two families, the Atreides and the Harkonnens. “Part Two” delves into religious fervor as the two surviving Atreides, young Paul (Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), ingratiate themselves with Arrakis’s Indigenous desert tribe, the Fremen, by allowing the locals to believe that Paul is their Messiah — a prophecy that, if it comes to pass, will mean the slaughter of billions of victims across the galaxy.

Villeneuve has yearned to tell this story since he was a in . His devotion is palpable; every frame feels steeped in monkish contemplation. Yet, he’s also a visual dramatist who doesn’t want audiences to get tripped up by too much exposition. His scripts give only passing mention to core concepts like spice, a psychedelic dust that powers everything from space travel to Paul’s clairvoyant hallucinations.

Though Villeneuve doesn’t want to overexplain, he was willing to provide some answers in an interview via video where every question about the film — even silly questions! — was on the table.

Does Chalamet’s Paul Atreides actually believe he’s the Messiah? What’s the meaning of Jessica’s face tattoos? Villeneuve also got into the erotic lives of his desert dwellers and the extra narrative weight he threw behind Paul’s Fremen love interest, Chani, played by Zendaya. As Villeneuve said with a grin, “Chani is my secret weapon.”

Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

The last time we spoke, you weren’t sure what to make of the sandworm-shaped “Dune” popcorn bucket. It went on to be so popular that it sold out in cities before opening day and is being resold online for around $175. What do you think of it now?

I thought that the bucket was an insane marketing idea. I laughed so much. It is so out there. I don’t know who designed it, but they’re a bit of a genius. I’m at peace with the bucket.

In this film, Javier Bardem’s character Stilgar is reduced to a guileless follower of Paul Atreides, who Stilgar believes is the new Messiah. His conversion is tragic. But also, Bardem’s awe-face has become a funny meme, and the second time I saw the movie, people laughed at almost every line he spoke. Did that reaction surprise you?

No. I am very happy when you say that he is a tragic figure. For me, he is the most tragic figure of all. The idea to bring humor to Stilgar was to make him lovable, to feel the humanity in that character. He’s not an austere figure, he has a big heart. But his beliefs, his faith, his reactions bring humor — and that is something I love about making a sci-fi film, because I can talk about that without offending people because it’s a fake religion. I designed all the prayers myself, so I know it’s fake. I find Stilgar very funny. And when people laugh, I’m happy because that was the intention.

Someone makes a dig that Stilgar has found a savior again. This is not even his first time? All his life he has been raised with that dream. So I suggest that every time a guy comes from outside with a lot of charisma, he hopes he’s found him. Like in the Bible, we have tons of prophets before Jesus came.

The arc of “Dune: Part Two” is Paul accepting that he must become the Messiah — and get billions of people killed. Does he truly believe that he is the Messiah? Or does he just decide to let the Fremen believe that he is? I don’t think he believes that he is the Messiah. I think he feels the burden of the heritage that the Bene Gesserit [the mystical sisterhood that Jessica belongs to] have laid among the Fremen, and he sees the potential to use that religious power to survive. Paul is warned that no man can survive drinking the spiritual water of life. But as that’s part of the lore of a planet seeded with manipulative propaganda by his own mother, I have to ask: Have other men actually been drinking the water and dying? Have they been scared off from trying? Is the warning just a setup for a magic trick?

There are people that have tried it in the past and died. In Frank Herbert’s world, femininity is a power. I think Herbert was fascinated by motherhood, by the power of creation. I love this idea that the power is held by women. It’s something that was ahead of his time when he wrote it and I tried to put the focus on it. You say so much with Jessica’s costuming. In the first film, her look is immaculate and baroque. This film begins with her in rags, but she finds another path to being dressed and treated like royalty. And she gets a lot of tattoos on her face. Why did she get so many more face tattoos than the outgoing reverend mother?

She’s trying to play on the symbolism that was put in the prophecy. She’s supposed to be the mother of the Messiah, so I wanted to bring the idea that she was like the pope of the reverend mothers on Arrakis. There’s some kind of madness in writing elements of the prophecies on her face. Frankly, I think when you drink the worm poison, it affects your sanity — and the same with Paul. I like the idea that we feel she’s going too far. Jessica is already pregnant when the first movie ends, and she’s still pregnant at the end of this film. Which means you had to condense this massive story into less than nine months because her body is a time clock. The idea was to compress the book so that Paul will feel the pressure to get the Fremens’ trust, to start gearing up — but not to succeed, not to have the time to create a real war. Time is against him.

Because in the book, this takes years. Long enough for Jessica to give birth to a very unnerving daughter, Alia. We glimpse Alia as an adult — she’s played by Anya Taylor-Joy — but you skipped over seeing her murder people as a toddler. Was it hard to decide no “murder toddler”?

I think pregnant women look tremendously powerful. To use that power was very exciting. And usually when you see a pregnant woman onscreen, she’s always giving birth. To avoid that moment, to stay in the state of being pregnant, I thought was very Frank Herbert-like. I was going away from the killer toddler, but I thought that was more fresh and original. Honestly, it’s one of the things that I’m proudest of in the adaptation. Speaking of female power, let’s talk about Chani.

Chani is my secret weapon. Frank Herbert was sad to realize that people saw the book as a celebration of Paul Atreides. He wanted to do a cautionary tale against messianic figures, a warning against blending religion and politics. I wrote the second movie trying to be more faithful to Frank Herbert’s intentions than to the book. In the book, Chani is just a follower. I came up with the idea of her being reluctant. She gives us the critical distance and perspective on Paul’s journey. I wanted to make sure the audience will understand that Paul becomes a dark figure, that his choices are exactly what Chani was afraid of. He becomes the colonizers the Fremen were fighting against. And then the movie becomes the cautionary tale Frank Herbert was wishing for.

Paul makes a choice at the end that will go on to kill billions of people. That’s so large and theoretical that it’s hard to grasp. But you structure your climax so that in that moment of betrayal, he’s also betraying the love of his life — a betrayal we understand.

He betrayed her in many ways. But the big thing for Chani is that it’s not about love. It’s about the fact that he becomes the figure that will keep the Fremen in their mental jail. A leader that is not there to free the Fremen, but to control them. That’s the tragedy of all tragedies. Like the Michael Corleone of sci-fi, he becomes what he wanted to avoid. And he will try to find a way to save his soul in the third part.

But “Dune Messiah,” the book your third film is based on, picks up 12 years later with a reunited Paul and Chani. How far did you feel you could push her anger? Because at some point, she’s going to have to forgive him. That anger is tremendous. I don’t want to reveal what I’m going to do with the third movie. I know exactly what to do. I’m writing it right now. But there’s a lot of firepower there and I’m very excited about that decision. In the spirit of no dumb questions, Chani says that Paul sand-walks like a drunk lizard. Which means Arrakis has booze?

Actually, there is spice beer. In the book, there are Fremen parties, even some orgies involving spice. I didn’t bring that into the movies because it’s PG-13.

Body fluids have significance to the Fremen. Spitting is the giving of water, a sign of respect. But tears and vomit are a waste. So what is kissing?

As long as you don’t lose your humidity, you can kiss. It’s an exchange of fluids — an act of love, when you think about it. Fremens love to kiss.

What about the, um, other romantic fluids? You cannot have sex outside, for sure. But they are very sexual. I suspect that all sexual intercourse happens in environments that are protected from losing moisture. When they are in their sietches [or caves] underground, those are sealed. You don’t need to wear stillsuits inside them. We can deduce from that there is no problem to have sex in a sietch.

By the way, who decided that Fremen was pronounced Freh-men and not Free-men? All the pronunciations, I took them from recordings of Frank Herbert’s voice. Frank Herbert used “Freh-men,” which I love. It makes it less on-the-nose.

You kept two major characters out of the first movie and only introduced them now: the princess Irulan, played by Florence Pugh, and the Baron Harkonnen’s nephew Feyd-Rautha, played by Austin Butler. The princess is the first voice in the books, the first face onscreen in David Lynch’s “Dune” [1984]. What made you sure holding them back was the right move, despite three years of fans asking, “Hey, where are they?” When people ask me what was the biggest challenge in making those movies, it’s writing them. In order to make this adaptation, we have to make big, bold decisions. One was that the first movie should be seen from Paul’s perspective. I wasn’t able to do that entirely because I had to go to the Harkonnens’ side to introduce them so that the story will be clear, but I tried to find an elegant simplicity in the story structure. And I wanted, frankly, to keep some firepower for the second movie.

Why is Feyd-Rautha’s gladiator scene in black and white? And what are the splats in the sky above the dome?

Frank Herbert explores the impact of ecosystems on cultures, on humans. How it influences the way we evolve — our biology, culture, technology, mythology, religion. The psychology of a tribe is linked with their environment. If you want to know things about the Fremen, you observe the desert. I wanted to have the same approach to the Harkonnens. They killed nature. It’s a plastic planet. One thing left was sunlight, but instead of a sun that reveals color, it kills colors. When you are outside, it’s all black and white. It gives us ideas about how these people perceive reality, politics, violence in a binary world — it brings the idea of fascism. It also gave me the opportunity to bring images that remind us in our memories of World War II and the Nazi regime. So it’s an idea that I had as I was writing. Then I had the idea to have strange fireworks in the sky that will look like Rorschach drawings. It’s a nightmarish celebration. The perception of a dome is not accurate. It’s just that the fireworks reach a certain altitude and then they explode. But it’s true that it looks like a liquid that falls from the sky.

Forgive me if I am not being fair to sadistic, psychopathic Feyd-Rautha. But all of the gladiators were supposed to be drugged for his happy birthday massacre. The one who secretly isn’t puts up a worthy battle. So I assumed that Feyd-Rautha isn’t that great of a fighter. But at the end, he’s the only warrior who is Paul’s equal?

It’s a show. You see that the Harkonnens are very cruel and their society is very paranoiac. His opponent is known in the books as one of the great fighters, Lieutenant Lanville. I tried to show that Feyd is excited to have a real opponent. He has a code of honor, he respects the effort, and he has fun with it. That’s the idea I tried to convey — he’s not a coward.

Audiences might remember that the Bene Gesserit wanted Jessica’s child to be a girl, that Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides was supposed to be female. And they specifically bred Feyd-Rautha to be a male. Were they hoping these youngsters would mate?

Yeah. They are trying to increase the potential of humanity by breeding the best specimen of each tribe or family. A baby between Feyd-Rautha and an Atreides daughter would have brought peace between Harkonnens and the Atreides, and created an über being.

Will you read any of the internet fan fiction spawned by the idea of Timothée and Austin hooking up?

[Laughs] But you know, we approached their fight at the end like some kind of symbolic union. The way their bodies get close to one another, there’s something animalistic, an intimacy, I was looking for.

I rewatched the first film again recently. It opens with a quote in another language: “Dreams are messages from deep.” I love that quote. It feels like how a film resonates, too. But it wasn’t until I had subtitles on at home that I realized who said it. Of all the important characters and cultures to establish, you gave that major moment — the very beginning of your franchise — to an anonymous Sardaukar from the murderous imperial army that we’re cheering to see get killed. Why?

I love your question. The Sardaukar are the dark side of the Fremen. I thought it would be interesting to have a tiny bit of insight that they are not just tremendous warriors, but they have spirituality, philosophical thought. They have substance. Also, their sound was designed by Hans Zimmer. I absolutely loved how it feels like it’s coming from the deep, from the ancient world. Frank Herbert said beginnings are very delicate times. By starting with a Sardaukar priest, I was indicating to the fans that I was taking absolute freedom with this adaptation, that I was hijacking the book. But you also deeply love the book. So when you make these bold changes, do you feel like asking Frank Herbert for forgiveness?

Yes. There’s so many darlings that you kill. An adaptation is an act of violence.

“There’s so many darlings that you kill,” Denis Villeneuve said of filming “Dune,” a book he loved. “An adaptation is an act of violence.”

[i-rebelled-for-this]

Agatha all along episode 6 Part one

Familiar by thy side

It was beautiful and honestly answered a lot more questions than I expected it to do.

Seeing Agatha from Teens perspective was hilarious.

Both Williams was handled very beautifully and Joe did a fantastic job!

The chair that resembles a toilet seat at William’s Bar Mitzvah really throws me out of it though. I’ve seen it about six times now and I just can’t with that chair. Who saw that chair and went, yes this is it?!

Billy is going through a blue drapery to get to a mostly red space about his future. I see what you did there.

Also I love the lamp

Lilia herself in gold and blue, no necklace.

Very nice blue and red colours together in Lilia’s tent.

Also notice the tower tarot card, representing Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation and awakening.

And The wheel of fortune card, representing karma, good luck, life cycles, destiny and turning points. Notice that I’m not a that good at tarot so I may get it wrong.

Also more sun symbolism with Lilia

Upside down Billy

Lilia says the tower reverse, a big personal change and transformation coming. Make total sense

Lilia just remembering something, once again, kin implies she exists out of time, what is time for her, how does she experience it, can she affect it?

I yelled when Billy said he loved the vibe in the tent, very early Argento. I had to take a break.

Argento, the director and writer of Suspiria, the witch movie which was the inspiration for episode 4.

This is huge! This indicates that it’s actually Billy that keep the road in movie/tv-themes, not Wanda or any leftover of her spells. Which we also see mote of later in the episode.

Of course, now we have new questions.

Like does he know?! Or is he trying to cope with losses like his mom?

The sigil is interesting, (not just because it’s a beautiful nod as a W or WW) but does it hide Tommy too? Since neither Wanda or Billy can find him. Also notice how later Agatha will say there are two of you, implying the are one or two pieces of a whole.

Why does Lilia want to hide them?

Interesting that the radio air the first episode of WandaVision.

William shouting “mom, look out” as they get in the car crash. Don’t touch me!

And the dome and the dead tree by the car. Beautiful but hurts.

Red glass shards. Once again beautiful but hurts.

Bye Tommy

ALICE! Good to see you darling!

Greg knowing what’s up.

WILLIAM/BILLY’s room!

His signature blue

The movie posters and the actual wizard of oz toys in his bookshelf.

I started writing down all the movie posters but some were obvious or too hard to make out so I let it go.

Eddie being cute.

Freak like momma.

And he taking everything Billy tells him better than I would have.

Nice trans flag.

Now as he have grown up, it’s all horror movies and the occult.

We’re off to my second scream and had to take a break in this episode.

But first, their usernames? lol. They worked hard on those two.

Ralph/Randall/Pietro/Peter (in my culture we have a saying that goes, a loved child has many names.) You are doing great sweetheart!

I gotta admit I thought they were gonna let us wait for VisionQuest to see him again. I’m thrilled!

Not really a fan of the red hair they gave him but, I get it. It matches Wanda

Also, love his stealth, very stealthy.

Nope, sorry Ralphie, can’t call a a kid Bub when you willingly goes online as Bohnerrific69. There are rules. And also made me google that just to get the spelling correctly.

Notice how he talk about Wanda, ge calls it sad but he talks gently about her and the one he is actually actively angry about is Agatha.

Also notice how when Billy asks about if it changed him or if he can do stuff now, he gets very serious for a moment and ask him what he is talking about.

Billy, I need to know if that water actually hurt you.

And never, ever yell Mr. Bonherrific.

I really can’t make out what Ralphie is shaking? First. Thought it was mr Dibbles or hoped. lol

The market value? Hon, she is still in the house! Priorities here.

My sweet baby, but yeah, keeping Monica in the attic was a bit much.

RIP Sparky. It was Ralph all along.

Speedster and mind reading brother. Babies!

Wanda is dead, sure jan.

Not the blu-ray collection!!!

Another movie buff in the Maximoff family. I get emotional writing this.

Agatha can keep his Bow-Flex, thread mills. Funny, not liked he needs it.

Go to his one man show in Paramus please!

Dreadit lol

Down the road baby!

[kenjiyabuki]

gmmtv 25 ql musings :0)

ok so gmmtv went into oprah mode and said you get a series you get a series you get a series you get a series you get a series you get

Dare You to Death

JoongDunk said "no, we are not turning in our fake guns after the THK shoot". i like their sexy and cheeky flirting, it fits them. and speaking of things that fit... that slim cut suit, it really fits Dunk 😜

i like the plot, with the slasher, mystery, whodunit vibes... and i liked seeing the new faces as side characters (the victims, more like) especially Ohm and Pahn.

Head 2 Head

i dont know anything about these actors. apparently they are beloved enough to get a second series but i never saw anyone i follow talking about them, ever. most of the time i watch series through my following's incessant posts lol but w them, i am in a blind spot. and it seems that will stay the same w this series as well.

Burnout Syndrome

hey, did anyone see my wig around? it seems i lost it the moment this trailer come on?

when it first started i was like WAITTTTTTTTT am i getting that SATC Gun series by Jojo but the mood was too mellow for him. but the universe had even better plans for me. i am not embarrassed to admit i DID a little jig when Nuchy's name came on the screen. maybe God is real because all the collective praying about OffGun working again w Nuchy paid off. i am attracted to Off always and forever but he is even hotter through Nuchy's lens like she knows how to serve him up... Cold, sexy, confident, smoking Off... Call boy Gun, a love triangle, just mess all around. The way it already looks like not a pilot but a final trailer. Thank you for your service Nuchy, you are unmatched. I will be tuning in every week with drinks and snacks.

Whale Store xoxo

My girls MilkLove out of the uniforms, now that's a sight i like to see. i like that this time the main plot is more relatable to me: nightmare that is being in your 20's. very cute without being saccharine and i like when Love gets flirty. and no comments about Milk licking cat food, i understand how lesbian flirting can get very strange.

Only Friends : Dream On

can i just say upfront, the trailer was just gorgeous?? i loved the perfectly choreographed beginning. i was watching it with my mouth wide open, just trying to register all the information. and it DID look like a fast paced ensemble theater play. very meta haha

siren Mix in a frilly shirt, Earth in those glasses, Leng twinking it out, Ohm playing the saxophone???, JOSSGAWIN again, that Challengers ass music, everyone in those slutty tank tops and see through shirts, BOSTON my favorite troublemaker showing up just to bless this mess... i wish i can delete this from my memory and be gagged again and again and again

i love Only Friends' chaos and i think its stupid to take these messy shows THAT seriously. even though there is a hefty amount of loud shipper fans demanding for their fav actors to ONLY play morally good characters, ONLY in their brand pair, i ADOREEEEEEE that they didnt back down and doubled down on this entagled, morally gray mess with even more beloved actors to piss off more delulus... yes, I will be tuning to the mayhem on the screen and on the social media every week.

also, cant wait for the rock theme song sung by Gawin, bc they would be stupid to not do that!!!!

EDIT: lmaoooo i thought, as the trailer had lots of Jojo-isms (he loves his Shakespeare and energetic trailers), he would direct this but he will be only the producer (i was actually surprised he would come back to this project as some people act like he killed their dog because the series ended in an disappointing way). so, okay, WHOOOO is the director then bc i didnt catch it?

That Summer

hmmm, okay. these unrelated plots piled over each other sounds exhausting to me, like here is an unruly kid sent away to get disciplined, then someone gets washed up ashore, identity mystery, then he turns out to be a PRINCE, there is mystery behind that too?? i am not smart enough for this… but i am sure WinnySatang will improve as a duo and actors even more w this project.

that shot of Satang holding up a pair of undies with abject horror on his face did make me genuinely cackle like, i love Satang's comedic timing (his performance was one of the best things about We Are).

alsooo, Neo must be the luckiest BL actor ever bc while some actors get flack for breathing next to a woman, he gets to not just openly be w his gf but also star in series w her now. i mean, i am glad for him, that's how it should be. and i cant believe i have to defend heterosexuality because of insane delusional fans.

My Romance Scammer

i love that after the wake of Thai Marriage Equality, instead of going full on romance drama about the sanctity of marriage with sentimental vibes... GMMTV decided to make a slapstick romcom about scammers using marriage law to deceive and steal. Love that. Big brained shit haha. I dont really care for these actor pairs but who knows... Plot made me laugh and I like being surprised.

Melody Of Secrets

i know this might sound VERY stupid but the reason ForceBook sometimes feel repetitive isnt just they keep playing the same dynamic (stoic Force, innocent Book) but also because they LOOK repetitive. they seem to always have the SAME styling, same makeup and even the same hair. Let's change it uppp, someone slap some fake tattoos on Book or put them in leather or something. Or at least, give me Force's long prince hair from Enchante back...

but I do like they went darker w the plot this time! and Jan looks hot and all serious in this role, i will be skimming to get to her scenes.

Love You Teacher does this count as born sexy yesterday lol? only BLs can get away w these weird plots, its their charm. i dont know if can watch this though as i still suffer nightmares from my teaching English to kindergarten & primary era. i felt it deeply when he was screaming about hating kids lmao (i DONT. but that teaching in a exploitative school really tests your mental health).

but as always, happy to see Sammy!!!! hope her screen time will be even more than the trailer and i love that it features an established couple, we dont get them often.

Mu-Te-Luv

every time i thought the trailer ended, new actors showed up. i am positively confused but kind of intrigued. and also positively gagged by Neo in that wig. happy to see Fluke, Lego, my queen Jan. also GMMTV dont play about OhmLeng, didnt foresee that, wow...

Cat For Cash

not for me but i feel like this specifically was made as a compensation for the ones who shipped FKT in Moonlight Chicken and were disappointed w the crumbs. I am sure FKT will have the time of their lives with surrounded by all those cats but filming with animals is a such a pain in the ass so i wish patience and luck to the crew...

Girl Rules

more like, girls rule, am i right :dddd the messy ensemble GL we were begging for finally arriving by Jojo himself........... NAMTAN AND LOVE KISSING??????? confident, kinda asshole-ish playgirl Milk?? Love bouncing on Milk to make out against a wall???? like did you read my diary or something??? also i cant w Film's name being Bambi... yeah, look at her, she is Bambi.

we know MilkLove and NamtanFilm will BRING it but curious to see ViewMim as well!!!

Boys In Love

GMMTV said "we have BEEN doing Heartstopper way before Heartstopper but just in case you forgot, here is us doing Heartstopper again." very cute, very lively. happy to see they decided to forgo the uniforms and opted for a pastel, colorful styling. that way, it does differ from other high school bls aesthetics-wise and it fits the youthful tone. PoddPapang as the sides... maybe it was too ambitious of us to imagine them getting mains immediately, they had just let been out of the basement, might take a while to get used to the sun and all...

what the fuck is up with that lazy title tho?

My Magic Prophecy

maybe bc it came on when i was at the point of "when is this showcase endingggg" but i am not feeling this. but glad to see jimmysea not separating this year and acting in a series w a layered and intricate plot again. plots wise, they really do have one of the most varied filmographies a BL couple could have.

A Dog and A Plane

so Jojo wasn't joking when he said he would have a sweet love story for 2025. Tay with those tattoos, New as a flight attendant, MarcPoon being lil weirdos again, the guy from LYKN, OAB??????

this kind of comedy is perfect w Jojo's fast pace. i can see like, remnants of maybe The Warp Effect but mostly i think this is a new territory for Jojo. its fun to see his evolution as a director and i trust his vision for this show as well.

Me and Thee

people asked and cried and begged for Phuwin to be the one pursuing Pond for once and GMMTV deliberated on it and said, "No. But you can have Est in a suit." Okay, that last part was for me. I decided to imagine this is the new gig of Est's character from Naughty Babe.

i think this is a great role for Pond bc he is perfect for goofy comedies (see Dirty Laundry), maybe because he is goofy and funny in real life too haha.

Wu

i think it would be hilarious if this turned out be another bromance...

Memoir Of Rati

period drama is a good choice for both couples but like. literally fuck everything else, did you see how Aye looks GORGEOUS in those period costumes??? are you kidding me?????? looking that good and she is playing the black cat lmaooo i wish she had her own couple so would have more screen time :(

yes, i am focusing on my attraction to Aye to suppress my rage about AouBoom being put into side couple prison again.

Ticket To Heaven

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh this eatsssssssssssssss. do i need to put that bald ariana gif again?

sometimes BLs do tackle heavy subjects but kind of shy away from fully opening up discussions (it happens a lot w SA and homophobia). glad to see this series going full on w the themes of religious guilt, homophobia, figuring out and developing your sexuality in an hostile environment, complex relationship between queerness and faith. and ofc Aof and GeminiFourth are skilled enough to pull it off. excited for this one. what a perfect one to finish this exhaustingly long showcase.

[vvooper]

next up in my ffvii character pokemon teams is reeve. he's just a normal businessman nothing to see here

as always, details below

ok first of all, I just think this is hilarious: I did not edit this sprite at all. this is just straight up a clerk from gen v. suit and tie? check. dark hair? check. running on not enough sleep and far too much caffeine? check. no changes needed

species: banette

ability: cursed body

item: spell tag

moves: poltergeist, facade, role play, destiny bond

ok so some Deep Lore about reeve is that he can control cait sith because he is an "inspire." to my knowledge this is only ever mentioned in supplemental material and there is not much detail at all on how this works or how common it is or... anything. wondering if they will address this in remake part 3.

banette is a marionette pokemon. now I know what you're gonna say. when you think about ffvii and puppets, reeve is NOT the character who comes to mind. I initially considered golurk or golem for a pokemon named inspire because a golem is a perfect fit as a being animated from inorganic matter. BUT neither of them really have movesets that are fitting, so I went with banette instead.

facade and role play represent how reeve hides his identity behind cait sith and acts very differently than he does irl. destiny bond I guess is because it doesn't super matter if cait sith dies because reeve can send a new one

species: persian (alolan form)

ability: fur coat

item: loaded dice

moves: foul play, fury swipes, switcheroo, parting shot

here he is. the little guy himself. I chose alolan persian because he's got a bit of a dark side, and also because he looks a lil silly with his round noggin and big kitty cheeks. the ability fur coat is just because he's a cat, I didn't consider what it actually does at all lol.

the loaded dice item is a reference to his dice limit break in og as well as his roll o the dice ability in rebirth (which I assume is based on the og limit break anyway). in general many of cait sith's abilities and attacks are rng-dependent.

fury swipes is just a move that works well with the loaded dice, but fits the cat theme too. I chose foul play and switcheroo because of cait's shenanigans with the keystone

species: clefable

ability: magic guard

item: sticky barb

moves: moonblast, metronome, misty explosion, trick

clefable is much cuter than cait sith's moogle, but it's a chunkier fairy with lil wings on its back so I liked it for this.

the sticky barb is not super specifically linked to anything in particular, but cait sith has a bunch of tricks up his sleeve so it seemed like something he'd do.

metronome is another nod to how much cait sith's moves depend on rng, and you could even say it specifically represents his moogle magic ability in rebirth, where he uses an ability from his equipped summon. I chose misty explosion due to the moogle kaboom ability, where the moogle just fucking explodes when it leaves. trick is another nod to cait sith stealing the keystone

species: exploud

ability: scrappy

item: throat spray

moves: boomburst, uproar, disarming voice, roar

hp shout is cait sith's ultimate weapon in ffvii, although really I chose exploud more generally because all of cait sith's weapons are megaphones. the item and moves are all sound-based. not much to it other than that tbh

species: conkeldurr

ability: guts

item: flame orb

moves: facade, hammer arm, brick break, bulldoze

if anyone saw the name of this conkeldurr and had a fight or flight response, never fear - I'm not bringing gackt into this. yet. the world regenesis organization is basically the government or whatever that steps in after the events of ffvii when shinra is pretty much toast. and reeve is in charge. conkeldurr is kinda weird, but I chose it both because the wro is working to rebuild after meteor and because reeve was the director of urban planning in shinra.

the move facade is similar to the theme I went with for some of his other pokemon, since reeve kinda hides behind cait sith for a lot of his taking action. the other three moves are just based on construction-related tools, materials, and activities

species: blacephalon

ability: beast boost

item: air balloon

moves: mind blown, shadow ball, psyshock, trick

the gold saucer is cait sith's stomping grounds. blacephalon is just a silly little guy and a clown, which seemed fitting for an amusement park. he's carrying around a balloon for a similar reason. the balloons in the gold saucer in rebirth are so freakin cute.

mind blown could be based on the fireworks at the gold saucer, but I could also point to the moogle kaboom ability again, just for fun. trick again for more item snatching.

next up should be vincent. in the meantime, other characters are found here

[smokin-symbiotes]

for this month i've been watching horror movies (trying to write reviews as best I can too, lol) and i've seen the cronenbergs' movies, david the elder and brandon the younger.

From David, I've seen 'The Fly,' 'Videodrome,' 'A History of Violence,' 'Eastern Promisies' and 'Crimes of the Future.' From Brandon, I've seen his first two movies, 'Antiviral' and 'Possessor' (hardly know 'or—ba-dum-tss).

Anyway, when i went into Brandon's movies I was little worried that he would try to copy off of his dad, but I'm happy to report that this is not the case.

Of the two I'd say David is the "warmer" director. He includes much more humor/satire in his works, and his body horror is much more fantastic and organic. I also think his "body horror" is weridly positive in some ways, though he doesn't shy away from showing the drawbacks of his leads' metamorphoses.

Brandon, meanwhile, is more focused on creating a cold and alienating atmosphere. He likes worldbuilding: exposition is often provided seamlessly or not at all, leaving you to pick up on context clues. From his Dad I think he picks up the theme of "the dehumanzing effects of violence" through his use of gore; it reminds me a lot of 'A History of Violenece'. I think his movies are as satirical as his father's ('Antivirial' is about celebrity cultural and commericalization, 'Possessor' is about the numbing effects of corporate jobs) but he isn't as humorous. it's all played very straight, which I'm fine with. again, I think he's going for a cold, alienating tone. Not saying David's movies are laugh-out-loud funny but they feel more playful, at least his '80s output does.

Either way, theyre both great directors, and it's incredible that they're able to work in the industry at the same time.

[herejusttosufferalong]

It gave me WOW 😮 moment reading the pr strategy from anon........

But was EVERYTHING merely choreographed and scripted? I doubt that.

Many things flashed before my eyes, one of them was Nic's family reaction when she and luke met and hugged her mum. I mean, I doubt that they can script her mum starting to liking him and all the green light enthusiasm and excitement we saw from her family. Her sister and brother were very nervous and excited upon watching the moment, and her sis in law was literally bawling her eyes out.

Every show that is pushed to have promotion and even promo tour must have a VERY WELL planned PR because after all, it's all big chunk of cash being invested to promote the show. The theme of press, interview, and content, also the countries being visited (and mind yall in Brazil they literally went honeymoon phase long before the actual wedding lol maybe to make up the honeymoon polin never had).

Well, the wedding dress in London premiere could also be one of the plan but the Cladagh ring???? I doubt that. Nic has history of supporting small business from Ireland and she's been making things for personal use, gifting friends, and also charity. The moment was right, she was back home, and this season is her big moment and life turning point, hence newly designed Cladagh ring.

In the end, it's still up to the actors' will to act upon it and play it well. The chemistry, the tension, and the bond are another level of discussion. It's not something that can be made up for the sake of pr. We saw many promos from other actors without that much amount of sparks and love. We cannot fake eyes and body languages. And Nic has been sooooo constant and open about her admiration for L so it's not something new for fans maybe for GA, but back then there was a clear BOUNDARY as L was with J and I always get the feeling that J is very protective and jealous hence N said they stopped repressing their chemistry because it's finally their season and we need to see Polin madly in love.

I don't know about the director who wanted to see L actual feelings? and reaction upon seeing pen and debling dance, but for the wedding dress first time reaction, I remember they did the same for Charithra if I'm not mistaken Simone said that in interview. I guess it's not something so uncommon.

SO..... YEAH I'MMA RIDE OR DROWN WITH THIS SHIP.

.

[canmom]

l'aventure de canmom à annecy - épisode deux: jeudi 1 - kimi no iro

kimi no iro/the colours within: for real great movie. naoko yamada once again the goat. if you like stories about girls making a band (one of them is supposed to be a boy but like. so fucking eggy lmao). if you want emotions. or gorgeous character animation. or even if you like a catholic school setting (i won't judge). or if you want to see a movie in which a theremin player has a major role. go watch this movie.

but let's say a little more. since i recall people wondering, is it more Liz and the Blue Bird or Koe no Katachi?

hmm. the musical focus and like, focus on vibes over plot is definitely more Liz. not that there isn't thematic or emotional conflict but it's deliberately a little understated. likewise, it's got that theme of kids facing an uncertain future where they'll have to part. and like Liz, it's quite gay. despite the title and marketing, the visual metaphors are less on the nose than koe too. but it's also not as tragic a movie as Liz. it is ultimately pretty hopeful. it's a story about finding connections, and releasing secrets, so in that regard it is like Koe.

the religion element probably deserves some comment! it's set at a catholic school, and besides the main trio the other major character is a nun - but a kind and forgiving nun with a rather open interpretation of the religion, who covers for the girls. to her mind, just about any honest expression is in a sense a hymn. the main character is herself quite sincerely religious. but it feels more like an element of characterisation - of both girl and setting - than religious propaganda. often it seems that characters are kind despite, rather than because of the rules of the school, which punishes Totsuko for faking illness to cover for Kimi.

the other two face their own conflicts, and one is a dropout from the school - a choice that is never questioned or explained, though she has conflict over disclosing it to her grandmother who looks after her. it is kind of interesting in a way - Kimi is the character with the biggest emotional conflicts, but it's not her eyes we see the movie through, but the much more upbeat Totsuko.

i never managed to be in a band at school, but now I'm coming back to music, and playing in a band with people, it does feel strangely relevant lol. of course it's got that classic anime thing where the technical skill of these high school students is waaaay higher than is actually plausible but the music slaps so so cares lol. it's kind of a fantasy of what being in a band could mean - yamada 'admitted' on stage that she 'secretly' used to be in a band herself, and this is what she wanted it to have been.

it is technically excellent - science saru really went off with Inu-oh before and here they're showing they can stand up alongside Kyoani pretty damn well.

I was so glad to get to go to the showing where Yamada herself was present, and be part of the crowd applauding her. She really is such a special director. This film is full of Yamada-isms of course - the physical camera emulations, acting shots of feet, the wash of colours and symbolic cuts.

Of course I bet Eunyoung Choi is really happy too to have her on board as a new star director as Yuasa steps down - I heard things were bad at science saru work wise a few years back during Heike, and I don't know if they've improved. With Kyoani you have the assurance that nobody was overworked half to death to make the movie, and I feel much less confident saying that of modern Saru. Still. They did good on this one.

We are truly so back.

[spiderpussinc]

i know it's not gay old man related but have any thought on trans Gwen?

She's Real True and Necessary. At first (ITSV release) that seemed just like a nice/fun HC to have, especially to make up for the fact movie miles and current canon miles no longer *get* to have a connection with trans spider-woman jessica, due to her origins being so set in the ultimates universe clone saga and whatnot.

But ATSV really surprised me (in a good way) with the depth and care that went into making Gwen's story feel trans-coded and relevant to the current climate. Using the dead peter as a stand-in for her past self and reading her dad's angry bitter grief over "losing someone he thought of as a /son/," is deeply affecting and so uncomfortably true to life i kind of struggle rewatching the movie without some aggressive grimacing. I only did my proper rewatch during the digital release lol. But still in a good way! It's refreshing and heartening to have a production embrace a trans HC the way spiderverse did and i think it speaks volumes about the series' investment to metanarrative and how the 'canon' of these characters can so often be improved by new creative input and letting diverse voices have a say. Like, I don't think oldschool gwen is trans, I don't care about arguing that with oldhead gwen waifu comic fans; but spider-gwen is ABSOLUTELY a trans woman. From her themes to her setup to her personality and the way she pushes people away as self-defense, it all feels so incredibly right.

That being said, I hope BTSV has a broader focus on her forming deeper relationship links with the *whole gang* and eventually come to the same conclusion her comic self did wrt not actually wanting anything romantic with miles. For the longest time she existed in the shadow of peter's trauma and now that she gets to be a spider-person having that same thing happen with miles seems very shortsighted -- and a bit upsetting as well, when the comics and games are trying to build up black femcs to /be/ a staple of miles' love life -- my greatest hope is that they let her own universe expand outwards. It would be baller to see trans spider-gwen get more explicit stories across all her media appearances.

I read the directors are planning to tackle "other gwens" and their implications next movie and im really looking forward to that.