#i wish we had had more episodes to develop some things so it didn't feel so crunched but i see it i see what they've done

[twelvemonkeyswere]

ofmd season 1: "hurt people hurt people" mostly from the perspective of Stede, who copes with his trauma through avoidance, hurting himself by hurting those around him

ofmd season 2: "hurt people hurt people" mostly from the perspective of Ed, who copes with his trauma through violence, hurting himself by hurting those around him

both seasons have subplots about healing and growth, about finding love, about what to do with those parts of yourself that are drowning you, and what NOT to do with them, and those storylines and themes help support the main ones, seen through the eyes of our protagonists.

in particular, the parallel deaths in the last episodes of each season (Badminton dying in front of Stede, Izzy dying in front of Ed) have distinct thematic beats as well, in different moments of the main characters' storylines, but are still connected in a similar way: both Badminton and Izzy represent the external voices and pressures that have etched themselves in Ed and Stede and have forced them to hide their true selves in order to survive. in Stede's case, the pressure and bullying was always kind of detached, an overwhelming indifference and casual hatred, while for Ed, the pressure and bullying was always up close and personal, given to him by the very people who claimed to appreciate him. that's why Badminton is a villain we don't care much about, and Izzy is a character that was much more fleshed out by the end, because sometimes the call comes from inside the house, and I thought it was nice the team tried to incorporate some of those nuances into the storyline to help develop the main themes.

[teambyler]

New Mil*ven footage: There's a reason they get interrupted (Byler analysis)

Whoever posted this new footage said they're "not breaking up" because El is smiling?

That's presumptuous of you ;)

Source

Maybe they're not breaking up in THIS scene. Or maybe they are, and making clear that things are alright between them. It's possible to be on good terms with someone you break up with. (Shocker!) And even crack a smile while you're wishing the other the best.

One really can't conclude either way. The body language does suggest honesty between them though. (Something not seen in s4.) But that honesty could be about anything.

WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT WE GET THE INTERRUPTION TROPE LOL:

If you ask me, this is CONFIRMATION that not everything's sunny in Mileven land. This is not a "will they or won't they?" interruption of a kiss, because they're already a canon couple. No, this is something closer to the Pineapple Pizza Interruption scene(TM) where SOMETHING the audience is WAITING to be said is NOT said:

In s4, the GA was supposed to think Mike was going to say "I love you." (Or perhaps he was going to call it off after thinking the painting was from Will? Can't say for sure.) POINT BEING: the Interruption Trope is a writing device to tease something, only to deny it. The purpose of it is to set up an IMPORTANT conflict/tension in the story that will be resolved later.

(EDIT: After writing all this I realize that there's another time interruptions happen: AFTER a scene achieves resolution. Will and Mike had one of these in 4x4 with "It looks like it'll be up to us again." "It always is, isn't it?" and Jonathan barges in. For Mike and El, the Painting Lie still needs resolution and is almost certainly related to this conversation. So everything I say here might actually not get interrupted and is actually SAID, leading to a new phase in their relationship. I just think it's less likely because any frank discussion of the Painting Lie makes a Byler conclusion too obvious. Okay, on to the likelier theory!)

Now what is this NEW unspoken thing between Mike and El? Season 4 was all about Mike being unable to say "I love you" to El. And now he has already SAID IT. On paper -- what Milevens call "canon" -- the Mileven relationship is fine and healthy.

So why prepare the audience for a NEW development in their relationship if it's not a breakup, or at least an emotional confession of some kind that threatens the last canon development that made everything "fine"?

The Painting Lie is Chekhov's gun. If this scene is indeed early in s5 (there are very few scenes with Mike and El together in the s5 teaser, perhaps she's with Mike only at the start of the season), then there's very little time for the writers to prepare something ELSE "waiting to be said" that is NOT related to the Painting Lie.

So what is being interrupted? Is it:

Mike asking if she commissioned the painting?

El saying she didn't commission it and telling Mike she thinks Will loves him?

Mike has realized the painting was from Will and is about to confess he doesn't know how he feels about him?

One of them is initiating a breakup?

WHATEVER IT IS, the Painting Lie challenges the stability of Mileven because it was core to the Pizza Freezer Confession(TM) that was supposed to tie up Mileven in a neat bow at the end of s4. The moment the Painting Lie is mentioned, this tells the GA that not everything will stay the same between Mike, El, and Will.

By the time Mike and El get interrupted, (1) the audience has already been made to expect something to come to light between them (likely related to the Painting Lie), and (2) resolution of this plot point will not happen right away and is IMPORTANT to s5.

That's because Stranger Things follows nearly 100% of all TV/movie writing in following a three-act structure. The start of each season sets up the conflicts and character motivations that drive the rest of the season. (Just as the first episodes of s4 set up El's "problem" of feeling like she's the monster and why she went on a journey of self-discovery.)

It's hard to imagine the writers setting up Round THREE of Mike struggling to say "I love you" to El. No, what's being interrupted is the next development, which has to do with the Painting Lie and its ramifications for Mike, Will, and El.

Add to this the fact that all the teasers we're getting suggest that El is separated from Mike and most of the others for some chunk of the season. What's left unsaid between them might remain unsaid. And we know that Mike and Will are side-by-side much of this season. (As promised, Mike said they will "be a team.")

Which begs the question: WHAT is interrupted between Mike and El, and what is it setting up plot-wise? Is it something whose RESOLUTION involves multiple scenes of Mike ALONE with the boy who canonically loves him and made the painting that made him feel so wonderful? Someone who Mike confessed he REALLY missed and Hawkins "isn't the same" without him?

The conflict's GOT to have something to do with Mike's feelings for Will. It FAR surpasses any other possibility, given how much set-up there has been for it.

Another plot point for season 5: on Will's end, he still hasn't come out of the closet. Doesn't part of his "emotional arc" have to include coming out to his BEST FRIEND? This is probably set up in the first episode, also.

That, together with the interruption of Mike and El, helps prime the GA to look at every scene with Mike and Will, reading every interaction and figuring out what will happen between these 2 best friends who have never lied to each other, until now. We'll even see a flashback of when they were younger. How their relationship changes after the inevitable revelations is central to s5.

The ENTIRE SEASON will be the Interruption Trope for Mike and Will, while they confront the full danger of Vecna together. It will be "the painting tucked away in Will's backpack" times a hundred.

-teambyler

(My own theory of how Byler will culminate, in case you haven't seen it!)

[phantomoftheorpheum]

School Spirits Season 2 (episodes 1-3) liveblog/thoughts

**Spoilers for School Spirits Seasons 1 and 2x01-2x03

note: so last season I wrote up a lot of really detailed timeline stuff as I watched, and I don't think I'm going to do that this season, because 1. it's not a murder mystery anymore and 2. since a lot of the "mystery" elements of last season didn't tie back to Maddie at all, I can't expect all the little details to necessarily come together for the main plot. There are a couple of loose threads from that which I will keep an eye out for (honestly, I think they're just accidental loose threads), but my approach this season is more just ~vibes~

2x01

ROFL I completely forget Xavier got hit by a car at the end of season 1, like it completely slipped my mind. I possibly should have done a rewatch leading up to this, but I didn't and I'm here now, so I'm gonna go with it. I am watching the recap, though.

First question remains the same- what does Mr. Martin want? He tells Janet "the only way out is to go back in" and tells her that she needs to "go in deeper" which she does not want to do. He later tells Maddie that he wishes he had never pursued "this," though we know we can't trust him, so who knows if he actually has regrets or not. However, the fact that he runs from Maddie (and vanishes to who knows where?) suggests to me that he is genuinely afraid of something. If he were completely in control, I don't see why he would run away, what are the ghosts going to do him? Kill him?

Okay, Simon, my boy, please think clearly. Maddie literally gave you information that would have been impossible for you to have otherwise. The only reason you even found out Claire was involved in the blackmail was because of this stuff.

Lots of setup, some refreshers for the start of the season, fairly standard for a season opener. The budget feels higher already.

Unsurprisingly, it looks like Janet's past is going to play a big role in the season. Her dad seems like he sucks. I guess my immediate question is- are we getting all this backstory because it's emotionally relevant to Janet's storyline, or are we getting all this backstory because there's going to be a big plot element around it? When Janet goes to the graveyard, we see her grandmother's and her father's grave. Are those characters still in play as ghosts?

So far it does seem like the ghost characters are going to get the majority of the emotional weight. Rhonda, Charley, and Wally all already feel like they've been set up for some character development, while Nicole, Claire, and Xavier (until the end) don't have particularly clear set up for anything. Simon and Maddie have always been central, so no surprises there.

Okay, tbh, I did not think the car hitting Xavier looked that bad, but I'm going to assume he suffered a head injury or like that thing where if you get hit really hard at just the wrong moment it stops your heart, or something like that until told otherwise, because otherwise I can't figure out why he literally died for a minute.

So, my big question for the end of episode 1 is- how will this tie Xavier to the ghost world? Will he be able to see ghosts now? (I can see them not wanting to do this because Simon being the only person who can see Maddie is portrayed so heavily as a special bond, but also linking Xavier to the supernatural seems like the obvious reason they would kill him briefly, so....) Maybe it's just to get him onboard with everything because Claire is clearly not going to buy this story and Nicole seems pretty skeptical, too. I guess I'll just have to keep watching to find out.

Also seems important to mention that Janet is clearly pretty messed up from both what she's been through (and possibly her life before her death) and she appears to have been locked in a basement for like a year and I didn't miss all of that, I just don't have much commentary for it other than- I can't blame her.

2x02

Okay, so far it does feel like Xavier's brush with death is mainly to get him to be more open to everything, but I think it would be cool if he has some sort of lingering supernatural effects of the experience. Having a character die and then be brought back feels like the sort of thing that majorly changes them. If this weren't a supernatural story, I would assume that would be emotional/metaphorical change, but this show is about ghosts, so I'm kind of expecting something more than that.

I hate to say it, because I adore Wally and I hate love triangles, but it's making me itchy to watch all the Simon/Maddie/Wally scenes where Wally very clearly feels threatened. It's not there for no reason.

New additions to the cast, Yuri and Quinn. I wonder why Yuri never thought it was odd that Janet could make permanent stuff? Does he also have that skill? Because if not, surely he would notice that his stuff resets and (at least some) hers doesn't? I do like Yuri so far, though. I'm about halfway through the ep, don't feel like I know much about Quinn yet.

So we now know Janet's dad definitely sucked a lot. With that confirmed, and with the scene of Janet hiding under the stairs (as Maddie) with the person going up and down, do we think that's her father's ghost? (It wouldn't surprise me at all if Janet sees ghosts even though she's technically alive now). And... How did he die? did she (or her grandmother) kill him?

Xavier, my dude, I know I was tough on you last season, but cheating on Maddie does not mean you deserved to be hit and killed by a car.

Mr. Martin is engaged? (well, was) Interesting.

I hope someone realizes how triggering the Mr. Martin & Janet stuff clearly is for Rhonda. Obviously (so far) in the flashbacks we aren't getting the impression that it's an exact reflection of Rhonda's experiences, but close enough.

Okay, I wasn't expecting the Wally conflict to directly come up so soon, but I hope this at least means that we'll get some happy-go-lucky glimpses of him this season because it's one of my favorite elements of his character and (as Maddie basically called out) it's been very lowkey recently. I understand why he's upset/struggling, I like the layers, I just hope that's not the only side we see of him this season.

Alright, they just said Xaiver has a concussion. I'm no MD, but I did do some sports medicine training (unfortunately saw my fair share of concussions, including a couple that required ambulances, paramedics, and a trip to the hospital) and I do not think if you actually almost died of a head injury that anyone would let you back in school like the next day, even if you aren't expected in class. The lights alone would be problematic. But that's probably just me nitpicking.

So what you're telling me is Yuri saw a ghost with extra abilities and he was just like "eh 🤷‍♂️"? honestly, kinda valid. I'm glad Charley is addressing that.

I just had a thought that probably won't happen, but could be interesting, since Simon & Xavier are headed to the house that Janet is burning down, is it possible that Xavier will see Janet (Maddie) as Janet and not as Maddie? That would be an interesting effect of his death that's different from Simon's ability to talk to Maddie's ghost. I don't know how it would be helpful, but it could be cool.

Also was I right and Janet's father's ghost was actually there, or was she just imagining/remembering him? Clearly we don't know the extent of her abilities, or how the other ghosts factor in, but considering Janet's love of science and all the documentation, it would follow that she was running different experiments and she needed a bunch of different test subjects to do so. The big question being- what negative effects did she know/assume this had on them, because if it didn't have any, there would be no reason to hide it and they might do it voluntarily (they have very little to lose). Is it just that she was actively keeping them from crossing over? It seems like it would be something worse than that.

Mr. Martin is afraid of something "bigger," so clocked that. I do have an idea of what the red light means from the trailer, so not going to pretend to be super confused or speculate a lot, but not gonna explicitly say here because in case people haven't seen the trailer that addresses this.

2x03

So... do we think Claire is going to get an actual storyline, or?

Ah, there's some Wally lightness I was looking for.

Just got to the scene with Nicole's brother who I do not believe existed last season & I could be wrong, but he very much feels like a character that's been introduced to provide Claire with a new love interest and I am questioning if this would have absolutely anything to do with the central plot.

Janet's quite possibly a genius, but also she managed to leave her bag in a bathroom and lose all the money she stole, so brains aren't everything. I can't even laugh at her because I left my purse in a public bathroom a few months ago and didn't realize until I had driven an hour and half away and then had to drive an hour and half back (luckily it had been turned in) and then an hour and half the other way again.

I didn't realize I wanted more Xavier & Simon detective squad scenes until just now, but I do. I think they're really funny together, the actors bounce really well off of each other.

Okay, wait, wait, I immediately take back what I said about Nicole's brother because Janet's just been offered a ride to a college, and they just told us five minutes ago that Diego is in college, so what are the odds on "Diego sees his sister's missing best friend"? High, I'm guessing.

Well. That happened a lot faster than I was expecting it to, but okay. lol.

Can someone explain to me how the hell is Mr. Anderson is not in jail?? Stealing that much money is definitely a felony.

I can't tell if we're setting Nicole and Xavier up for a legit romance or just absolute horror and hilarity, like right now I could honestly see it going either way.

I just had to pause for like ten minutes from the secondhand embarrassment of the Wally/Janet scene. I know that's not the important part of that, but omg.

I don't understand how everyone else thought what Rhonda relayed about the party made Janet look bad instead of Mr. Martin. She literally says "no more experiments" and it seems like she wanted to give back the objects taken from the other ghosts, and I don't really get why Rhonda had to spell that out for everyone, like exercise some common sense my guys. I'm not saying that I fully buy that Mr. Martin is the ultimate evil (the man is scared of something) or that Janet is the ultimate good (setting aside the whole "stealing Maddie's body" thing, she was willing to kill Xavier with a car, so not a paragon of good morals, but still), just that I don't get what they missed about Rhonda's story to see Janet as the bad guy there.

I'm back to "Diego exists as a character solely for Claire" even though they technically used him for the plot briefly.

How did five of you lose Janet? She was literally right there.

So is it (the "hellscapes" so to speak) like a "you have to confront your death before you can move past it" kinda thing, or??

Unexpected MVP dynamic Simon & Xavier! But also Xavier should not be driving either and the girls really should have dropped both him and Simon off.

I'm not sure where Janet falls on a morality scale, but approaching Maddie's mom is rough if she doesn't intend to try to give Maddie's body back, because she has been through enough and like... oof.

It took me several hours to get through these episodes because this show has the misfortune of being on the most buggy streaming platform of all time, so my brain is tired at this point. I'll start a new post if I have any additional thoughts.

[herefortarlos]

I watched the Ronen interview and am sharing some things that Ronen talked about and I encourage people to watch this interview! It was so good and had fantastic questions and answers!

Ronen talking about "Enzo being TK's father figure for most of his young life and that dynamic, compared to TK and Owen is very different. And I think it makes for an incredible love hate triangle between Enzo, Owen and TK."

And then he talks about the Jonah actor and how he thinks he is the cutest kid ever, and how he bonded with him and made him feel comfortable and by the end of it they were inseparable and he didn't want Ronen to let go of him when he held him 😭

He talks about the Owen and TK dynamic during the Enzo episodes and them coming back together this season is one of the most special things he and Rob did. We're getting TK backstory and him getting some things off his chest and letting Owen know! 😭Awww and TK will be there for Owen as a shoulder to lean on while dealing with the Robert aftermath!

Ronen appreciates how paramedic heavy this season has been, and seeing TNT, Brianna, Gina and himself get to shine more! They run like a well oiled machine. Even their paramedic tech who is on set told them, "This is your greatest season as paramedics." We really locked into being badass paramedics.

Once again, talking about the end of Season 5 and how there is still so much story to tell, and there are so many other characters that are not as developed. "Luckily most of the cast lives in LA, and we still see each other and talk everyday, so that's really nice, but I think I'm more sad for the fans who have connected so much with these characters... That's kind of the thing that hurts me the most is to see these characters go for the fans because I know how passionate and how dedicated the fans are to the show, so I feel for them more than anything."

Of course Tarlos will get their happily ever after! Ronen's going to miss TK and thinks he's the most special person he's ever played. "As a human being he's genuinely good, selfless, vulnerable, layered, very aware that he's not perfect but wants to better himself and be a great son, husband friend...he's a very admirable character and playing him is such a treat and TK feels like the big brother you wish you had...He would truly sacrifice himself in order to help someone else. He's a genuinely good person and it's been the greatest treat of my career to play him and I'm going to miss and cherish him..."

Ronen talking about 5x05 and what is to come in Season 5

[mr-payjay]

An essay on Clover :)

after having rewatched s3 in full again, i find that i finally understand the details of clover that had confounded me since forever. i didn't go in trying to study her, but a lot of my nickel analysis actually led me around back to understanding clover. she has a lovely story to her about kindness, generosity, and doing good things with purpose. i am pleased to have finally caught it (i have a few criticisms on the execution of it though, which i will address too). this isn’t a fancy essay, i’d say (i’ve been calling it a “freestyle essay”), but im just trying to summarize what i've talked about with friends and to put together some of my thoughts to present here.

Overview

so, an overview of her development. clover comes into the show, and she is… oblivious! she is self-centred and unaware of her surroundings (mind you, “self-centred” might sound like a negative word, but this is a neutral statement). she walks away from cabby’s presentation in snapshot showdown in the middle of it, not listening to her. in the same episode, she falls into some of nickel’s traps without even noticing, lost in her thoughts. she isnt a particular help to her team for a while. clover doesn't really think about other people or really get them, even thinking that nickel must've been following her around to admire her (self-centred, assuming only positive intent and a positive idea of her). only in tragedy at 60 feet, after box dies, does clover start to feel very self-conscious of her role in people’s lives. nickel specifically blames her, telling her that “what's lucky for her is painful for others”, and she Believes this. in try not to laugh challenge (the next episode), clover is trying to avoid people. she has realized how she can affect others and does not Wish to hurt anyone. nickel only makes this worse by continuing to remind her of it (“awful box-killer”). she refuses to look at the funny note at the beginning and gets awkward when [bow]bot tries to make her laugh, saying she doesn't deserve it. in the episode after that, best served cold, we see clover feeling guilty again after goo saves her when she falls, thinking that the luck had forced him to do it. for whatever reason candle agrees with this (kind of funny. why are you making it worse candle). through all of this, she does retain some of her classic optimism, but it is still very dampened by the guilt and discomfort shes going through now. and out of body experience is where this arc ends. clover starts off happy, telling nickel to stand next to her for a picture (he responds by saying her luck will knock him down a hill, and leaves). she idly goes to wish for an award, before silver spoon stops her, saying he wishes she wasn’t like this. she agrees (“Me too, Silver… Me too.”). and though we only find this out later, that’s what kickstarts the death of all the contestants and the subsequent bodyswaps. clover is overjoyed at losing her luck once she swaps with test tube! she tests out lots of things she could do before, reveling in losing her privilege. she’s comfortable again for once. she isn’t afraid of hurting others anymore and can go back to her regular, self-centred, oblivious mindset. no more Worrying. but then nickel realizes later on that the bridge collapse happened because of her and her wish to be “not like this” (to not have luck), so her luck, ironically, is what gave her this lucklessness. he blames clover for everyone dying, calling her a murderer as he yells about his frustration with her luck. as hurting people like this was clover’s worst fear—something she had been Vigorously avoiding for the past few episodes—she breaks down crying in guilt and runs away. there’s only one more scene before clover is eliminated. it’s when test tube goes to confront bot at the beach, where clover is.

she has calmed down on her own by now, but it’s only when she listens to test tube telling bot she’ll give them whatever she can offer to help that clover finally learns the lesson she was meant to. she forgives herself and finally lets go of that comfortable self-centred world she was living in. once we get to elimination, clover directly allows herself to be eliminated, now having realized she is in control of her luck. she has choices! she knows that now. nickel, still feeling remorseful from earlier, tells clover that her luck is the problem, not her. she responds by saying that the problem with her luck was that she was the only one benefiting from it. now, she realizes that she should put goodness into action, instead of trying to avoid doing something Bad. and she gives nickel the luck. she also tries to give everyone luck after that, but he stops her, insisting in a panic that it’s a curse. i think it’s interesting that she chose nickel for this first before anyone else, such a miserable, self-centred person. im surprised she figured it out so quickly, but they really do have their similarities, living in a self-centred mindset and pushing everyone away. though their situations are quite different, they both need to learn the value of community and supporting others to take the next step. she isn’t afraid of nickel. she isn’t angry at him. she wants him to learn the same lesson she did, which is why she tells him he’ll learn to “share the wealth” too, even after he freaks out on her again. and she remains this way, generous and kind, for the rest of the season. this was her arc.

Critique (constructive!)

i do have some criticisms on how her arc was executed. i think that her storyline is a wonderful lesson to teach children (as inanimate insanity IS a show for kids), and that once you can grasp it, it’s really beautiful to watch her mature. However. i do not think it is particularly clear. i think my biggest issue with it lies in out of body experience, after she runs away when nickel says it’s her luck who killed everyone. we only see one more scene with her before the elimination, where she is silently listening to test tube talk to bot while making little expressions about it. it is not clear what she is getting from this unless you sit down and Think about it. multiple of my friends actually said they thought clover was a stand-in for test tube because they had bodyswapped and that she was just reacting in general, not to signify anything about her story. i didn’t even remember her being here at ALL until i rewatched this episode specifically to find clover scenes. and ive watched s3 multiple times!! i should know she's there! i think the problem is that she is entirely quiet and that there are a ton of other scenes playing between her running away and the scene at the beach, which sort of fill your head and make you forget why she’s even here. bot really overshadows her too, their story reaching a very important point in this episode. and i think (with input from friends) that it would’ve made for a more harmonious episode, solid storyline, and well-rounded character relationships for clover to have been friends with bot. clover only has one interaction with bot before this (as far as i remember) while they are still very much bowbot, in try not to laugh challenge. if we had had an actual friendship between the two of them, their stories could’ve converged smoothly in out of body experience, instead of bot accidentally taking the spotlight and clover being relegated to a silent bystander listening to test tube’s speech. it could’ve led to them comforting each other (which fits into clover’s story as it’s about learning to help others) and providing clover with a connection to another character that isn’t nickel. clover and nickel’s stories are very interesting together, but the fact is that nickel isn’t really a friend to clover, even now. he’s her miserable therapy patient now, which is not friendship. i believe clover deserves someone who is truly her friend in canon to have helped her development come to light (ie a scene with her talking to someone would be much more memorable and comprehensible than her smiling at test tube and bot). it wouldn’t have to take away from her self-isolation either, it could add to it. bot trying to cheer her up and her awkwardly declining it in try not to laugh challenge is a great example of that. i’d love to have seen more of that. i can’t say for sure if this would be a flawless idea (as i do not know the process of writing the other storylines either), but i think it’s fun to ponder either way.

Clover’s perspective on Nickel

so i did learn how clover worked through understanding nickel first, as once i got what was going on with him, i could see through her eyes. for ages, i could not fathom WHY clover is so nice to him after he hurts her over and over, WHY she chooses to give him the luck, WHY she gets him to open up in blue buried and gives him advice. but now that i know him, i get why she has no hard feelings towards him. i lost all resentment towards nickel after analyzing him (even as a long time nickel fan, he still used to make me mad sometimes!). once you really grasp him, you realize that he is just… sad and scared! he acts like he’s constantly trying to survive. like a typical very traumatized and mentally ill person, in fact. clover, after learning that she can make her own choices and that she can Choose to help others, matured enough to understand him. she is not afraid of him or upset with him because she realizes that he feels helpless and like he isn’t able to change, like she used to worry about. he is self-centred like she used to be until she understood that she can make the choice to help. so she sympathizes. she tries to help him learn the same lesson. nickel never apologizes to clover, but she forgives him anyway without resentment, because she is above this now (note: completely different situation for suitcase, im not saying anyone and everyone should forgive nickel otherwise they’re immature, im just highlighting clover’s agency when making this choice). she recognizes that he is emotionally immature and approaches him with gentleness. i really love her persistence in trying to help him (even if i have qualms about the therapy thing). after nickel gains and loses her luck without learning the lesson she hoped for, clover doesn’t give up on him! she pushes further in blue buried, really trying to get him to understand this. she continues to give, to be kind, to help. she’s dedicated to her cause. it’s sweet. 

going back to the therapy thing, my issue with it is mostly the part in the interview where nickel implies he’s having continuous therapy with her. i would’ve preferred if it was a one-time thing in the episode itself, though i think it should’ve been presented a different way. as i don’t… really like that she’s a girl giving therapy to a boy and taking on his emotional issues as a whole job. rather than just someone helping another who’s in need. you know. a random act of kindness. and when it becomes a continuous thing (as mentioned in the interview), it feels like the wrong connection for them to have. they can be friends, but not a therapist and patient. that changes things a lot. i also don’t like the way it reduces clover to being a Literal therapist taking care of the emotions of someone who’s hurt her over and over in the past. yes, she is allowed to choose to help him even with what he’s done to her, but once it’s repetitive… it does feel kind of exploitative, if that’s the right word for it. more than a therapist friend, an actual therapist to someone you have personal experience with (which is also an issue for the therapeutic relationship, as you are Not supposed to take on a client you already know personally, even casually). i may be taking a one-off line a bit too seriously here, but where would i be without driving myself crazy over every single little detail in inanimate insanity that i could possibly notice? i sure wouldn’t be writing this essay!

i did start writing more about nickel and the luck and how clover affects him, but im going to put that into a nickel essay. this is about clover. and i love her! she is someone who started off with no bad intentions but a lack of awareness, who learned how she affects others around her and decided to use that power to be Good. putting Effort into being good, Choosing to be good. she is intelligent, kind, optimistic, and has shown great maturity through her development. i think she is a wonderful gem of a character.

[sarasade]

It's been pretty interesting to follow the

"Why Didn't Viren Get Redeemed vs Viren Got What Was Coming To Him"

discussion after The Dragon Prince's 6th season got released.

Hot Take

I think Viren got redeemed.

Because to me Viren humbling himself and acknowledging the hurt he has caused was redeeming. His conversation with Soren was the main event. His rather heroic death was only the cherry on top of the character development cake that has been baking since s4.

I think Viren dying wasn't as significant as what he did before that and how he tried to provide Soren with some kind of comfort and closure, you know, as a parent should, before going. Viren's redemption wasn't just him dying for Katolis but acknowledging his wrongdoings and trying to salvage what he could.

That was pretty redeeming for me at least. Viren did the right thing even when he knew there wouldn't be any reward for it. Even if he couldn't stop Aaravos from destroying Katolis or manipulating Claudia even after his death. Like, man, I kinda feel for the guy.

I think it has always pretty easy to feel sympathy for Viren. Viren wants to matter and wants to be important. However, his grandiosity, as psychologists would call it, keeps him from creating genuine connections with others. His friends, wife and children are only there to prop up his ego or get rejected if they fail to live up to his expectations. It's also pretty damn tragic that Viren opens up about his deep insecurities to Aaravos of all people. Someone who was the most likely person in the world to exploit these insecurities for his own gain.

Viren had to taste his own medicide but I don't think TDP says that's an objectively good thing per se or that we should enjoy this sort of revenge fantasy uncritically. Viren is still portrayed rather sympathetically and of course there is the part about his actions affecting others and the world in unpredictable ways. It's still a tragedy because Viren's actions and personal problems have caused so much collateral damage. The Why behind Aaravos exploiting Viren and Claudia is part of that tragedy, too. There are no winners here. In a way Viren is a victim of his own narcissistic tendencies, too.

This isn't just about the final episodes of Viren's arc. To me it's essential to ask What was Viren's biggest sin he should be redeemed or punished for? Depending on your answer you may have a relatively different reading of s6 story development compared to mine.

To me it's not a specific action he took but his whole worldview. Viren is a fictional character (duh!) so his story isn't exactly literal but metaphorical, a representation of certain values and morals real people and society holds. In s3 TDP draws a pretty straightforward, though brief, comparison between Viren and reactionary right-wing ideologues. It's not exactly subtle.

It's just one way TDP goes to show how toxic and abusive Viren's core values are. that gets reflected both in Viren's personal life aka how he treated Lissa, Soren and even Harrow and Claudia (last two more indirectly). Since he also had a ton of political power as a high mage and briefly as a king we see what he did with that power. It's a pretty clear take on people who dehumanise others, fetishise power and see all living things as something to exploit. TDP explores that both philosophically and psychologically through Viren. Dark magic encapsulates this philosophy well since using magical creatures like tools or objects is essential for it to work.

Also also- I don't really get why people see redemption or atonement as something black and white. It's not bad or anything but Redeeming Yourself For Your Sins is a very Christian concept and Christianity isn't the only way to understand villain story arcs. Like I wish there could be more discussion about WHY redemption is the main analytical framework we impose on villains when villainous characters have a ton of variety anyway.

I don't really have anything to complain about Viren's death itself and I'm not surprised that he ended up dying (for real this time). Aaravos seemed like someone who'd turn against Viren the moment he stopped being useful to him so Viren's life has been hanging by a thread since s4. Viren was the best part of TDP and every scene he's been in had been a delight, well expect the s5 dream sequence because it was too long-winded and obvious, anyway, I'm sorry to see him go and I look forward writing AU fix-it fics where he and Aaravos are married and run a hot brown morning potion shop with all their four totally not dead children. RIP Viren. You lived like a messy bitch and died like a messy bitch. Iconic.

[zengguos]

lottie rambles featuring shauna dynamic talk (made before season 3 episode 6 so my interpretations may change! also I believe the wilderness as a deity is purely psychological created by lottie so I will be talking about it like that).

do you ever think about how lottie was always told in life that all she is, is selfish, dangerous and hurts people? to the point she tried to be helpful and understand people all her life, projecting the way she wished she had that support system, was understood and listened to. she tried to be selfless by taking and sharing others pain with herself (even if it was enabling dangerous ideology like the deconstruction of reality, objectivity and subjectivity post-crash — carrying that on into the adult timeline with the people in her commune).

(she was doing this, having a need to be there, trying to help out way before the wilderness too — being first member to try and comfort allie, having her say in the freezing her out talk & shifting tai's aggression from shauna onto herself during the pit fight. these are core fundamental traits of hers we are introduced to in the pilot, to be involved, righteous and caring).

yet, post-crash, into her adulthood you can understand both sides — the selfishness & the selflessness. that is what lottie's character encapsulates, she is both of many contrasting emotions, thoughts, feelings, descriptions. showing you cannot be one or the other even if they are paradoxical concepts. you can't be black or white going through life, you're bound to always be grey...

the wilderness just broke those insecurities and desires she had internalised about herself free into the forefront, enhanced by her psychosis and fragmented identity/sense of worth leading to the creation of this prophet role. the desire to be someone people can rely on instead of being a liability, someone that can bring people together instead of break them apart, someone to bring some guidance instead of uncertainty, someone that is seen and has to be listened to instead of pushed to the side. to bring love, protection, security, sense and clarity of the madness (things she wanted deep down).

this event transformed the negativity surrounding her schizophrenia as she no longer had those external stressors and pressures. as all throughout her childhood she had been silenced, ignored, shamed and blamed for who she is by the people around her, by her environment. it was drilled into her so much that she also came to hate and deny herself (it even still effects her into adulthood too).

that when her hallucinations were acknowledged and called a "gift" by laura lee — someone who was part of the only place she had ever felt some semblance of security and love in — it had made such a huge impact on lottie's life. taking those words to heart (for many years) as she tried to make it one, a literal gift. however, this would soon be harming as much it was euphoric. as her need for support, love and acceptance for who she is got distorted with the association to faith as she developed the role of the prophet...

it didn't help that her deluded reality with the self created threat (and her denial coping mechanism) of the wilderness soon became shared by the group, that her thoughts and beliefs became based in actuality making it harder to be challenged. the wilderness becoming more of a threat through her as she mystified it, unconsciously controlling its narrative, causing lottie to be a victim and a instigator.

which spirals her into desperation (showcased through her tendency to self harm) and frustration based in anger (as a teenager) in the periods were she could no longer connect to the wilderness and make sense of her situation and her actions through it, or when the rituals are not fulfilled correctly and belief of the wilderness is shaken by others.

this erratic behaviour is further facilitated through the position and power the group has given her. at first she didn't understand, but her impressionable mind twists their perception of her into it making sense in her own reality. especially with the skewed association she has with love, faith and devotion — she sees her "gift" through being their prophet as the bridging connection to get what she deeply wants and she clings onto that (even if it is harmful) by maintaining the need for the wilderness. she wants to keep that feeling of importance with them. not to be forgotten, abandoned and turned on like in her pre-crash life. she wants to fulfil those expectations for others now, unlike she couldn't pre-crash from the people around her, but just like pre-crash they're impossible. yet in the wilderness the impossible seems possible — everything from the old society they knew is deconstructed and reformulated in this brand new civilization here in the woods.

she does want to help and protect them, but in her own way that uses the wilderness as an unconscious external source for that gripe of power and acceptance within the group hierarchy she is still after deep down (although, currently she doesn't explicitly have the leadership role right now like before, she does have majority infulence and the power to change the leader of the group still — which that is interesting to her dynamic within the group and herself — hopefully we will see more of that unspoken imbalance show itself).

however, misty saying that she could possibly angry that the wilderness didn't want her to be the leader anymore and her delayed reaction is a very interesting moment showing her psyche. her slow responses, expression shift and eye movements. she is upset because the wilderness gives her a voice she felt she didn't have, a purpose, importance, to become part of her identity and not having that leaves her insecure and vulnerable again.

lottie has shown she can be selfish, pressuring, aggressive and manipulative here within the guise of selflessness and protection too. especially during this time in early season three by trying to force other characters like travis and akilah into channelling their connections to the wilderness for her own needs which is different to the needs of the others that use her visions/connection with the wilderness. she targets that emotional fragility of others for her own gain as well shown how she pressures akilah into going back into the caves and how she'll use the bonds the others have each other to her advantage (despite their trust in herself). for example akilah's trust in travis, she stopped travis from going in straight away even though he promised that he'd go get her as soon as the rope stopped. we can see how good her observation and intuitive skills are, how they can be a comfort AND a manipulation too depending how people perceive and respond to her words of advice (these traits in particular carries on into her adulthood too).

again, she does genuinely want to help, she does have good intentions at heart, but it's how they are performed and executed which places lottie in a complex dilemma, making us the audience question is this behaviour/action truly for the greater good and benefit of the group as a whole? or is this individualistic ego talking.

then you see that anger she had when she was younger transition into desperation and frustration based in sadness when she is an adult experiencing the wilderness once more.

she has heavily educated herself on this, she's experienced this slip so many times, she know the signs, she know the exhaustion that comes with this on-going battle of self yet... she can't stop it no matter what... it's even more tragic as she falls back into it. being aware, but unaware at the same time.

(I just want to point out how fucking fantastic simone is here in this scene with the bees, showcasing lottie's restraint erratic-ness, but not in an aggressive frantic manner like teenage lottie is seen a lot in with courtney's amazing performance. I really love this scene).

now the mask she had created for herself in her adulthood is broken again as she battles her self identity once more. she sees the antler queen telling that this life she is living in now is self-repression, that this is not her true self, that she was free in the woods. which in a way it is true...

in a state where she was heavily traumatised to the point of mutism when we see her in the rescue scene, she went back to a life where her agency was removed and her voice she found fully ignored, her wilderness identity full crumbled as it was a life once again full of denial, neglect and abuse when she was rescued. her parents put her through shock therapy, heavily medicated and sedated her, sent her away to another country, stripped her from any sort of connections she had with the other survivors, the people who she loved. you can only assume how horrible the reports on her would have been in the media, how she must have been seen, how her story must have ran around, the narrative of her life once again out of her control. it was like it never happened, yet it did, she had all these experiences and was still deemed crazy before and after this event. she was the only one to receive that treatment, that pressure with no support system. she was back with everything she hated. but, she was not that person anymore, she was made in the wilderness. she had more freedom and control in the wilderness setting despite it being horrific and life threatening which says a lot. especially with how it left her when she got rescued.

she had to find a way to get that feeling of self again. being able to sympathise with others expriencing the similar troubles as her as shown in that hospital scene, having them rely on her she falls back into the closet thing to that moment — fully immersing herself in the journey of healing.

but, it's tragically ironic.

she falls back into that pattern she knew that kept her stable, secure and loved even if it is harmful to herself and others that facilitate this balance and power dynamic for her. the association of a cult, centered around things they did out there, still partaking in her self harm habits, overlooking a wilderness, overlooking a lake... she never got over it, she never escaped it, she would and could never deny it the way the others were able to. she kept the cards... she kept the necklace... she kept re-opening those wounds... she kept hold of everything physically and internally for years while everyone tried to move on and construct a disconnected life.

a luxury she could not have.

then a chain of unfortunate events all occur at once where it just seems too good to be true, setting her off again. to have nat come in — after being saved by lottie after a failed attempt — and say she is insane, to say that all she does whenever she tries to help is hurt people.

to literally see it in front of her again with travis dying that she could have stopped it (but it was not fully her fault, if going by her events, that he called her thinking she would have the answers, when the idea of the darkness returning was placed into his paranoid mind while under the infulence, re-triggering lottie too with such a traumatic event).

the guilt of laura lee's death coming back that she could have stopped (she mistook that traumatic stress inducded hallucination as a sign of the darkness and the vision of laura lee being this harmful monster this time may be caused by the after effects of the shock therapy due to its associations).

with everyone else arriving from the past she regresses further and that isn't her fault, but the hunt on shauna she could have stopped that and misty telling her the death of nat is much on her hands too, another thing she could have stopped from happening (yet, they were all equally guilty for falling back into that and allowing it to happen with their collective paranoia).

somehow, she's the only one that is consistently punished for it despite others involvement of these events. and unfortunately this perception the characters have about her being selfish, dangerous and harmful post-crash was constantly reaffirmed within these narratives that she had faux power in, as this falsely sanctified image. when realistically, she was powerless in these events just like everyone else, yet she is still blamed for every part of it, fully... even by herself (her self harm, destruction and guilt coming back).

and we see that's one ways they survived — just as quick as they are to rely on her when good things happen and they need support, they are just as quick to put the blame onto her without thinking how that would still impact her to this day. thinking she's too "crazy" to process it and understand the weight of her actions... which is so wrong. it always stays with her deeply in her mind — "how much do you guys remember."

and how can she not forget.

they (misty voiced it) blamed her for the necessity of all the hunts to begin with too after shauna's beating. all these deaths were technically on her hands despite her having no control over it, never wanting it yet... she comes to accept it.

her defense mechanism being the wilderness... in her mind, in this moment where they hug her, physically hold her and affirm they are glad and happy that she is okay and still alive — I feel it is the moment the hunts soon enters the conception of the wilderness. to make the killings make sense and denounce their whole responsibility over it. protecting them again and allowing them to blame her. it's a selfish and selfless moment. the love she receives contrasting with the horrors committed, she now fully takes on both. she tells herself she needs to do that subconsciously. even as she denounces her leadership, she's already taken a more serious and deeper role within the group.

that's why, years later, she once again takes it into her hands as a felt responsibility to restart the hunts as she attempts to control the situation the only way she knows how, thrown back into that survival mindset, despite not needing to.

it's tragic to see her life fall apart in front of our eyes as she subcomes to the paranoia. we clearly see her battling this dilemma internally over the reality of the situation throughout the episodes until 'it' fully takes over her, transforming from her therapist to the antler queen. indicating she has fully entered a psychosis episode and is the prophet once more. emotionally, she feels the need to enforce a new hunt because only she can do it and only she can supposedly handle the repercussions of it (even though she clearly cannot).

yet, this time the wilderness was the start of her undoing, there were two fates sealed that night.

lottie begins to fully regress. this is the circle that is her life, making her loop back to the start...

this moment, in the kitchen, had so many layers to it — through shauna's anger here, you can tell she saw everyone blurring together.

(god simone's facial expressions in this scene again, her eyes say a thousand words with lottie! I really love her acting).

"it never meant what you thought it meant."

lottie like always tries to challenge shauna's perspective once more, tries to challenge the narrative of many things within shauna's life and get shauna to stop running — this is an attempt to move forward, not back. here I do not believe she was under any deluded infulence.

(even if back then she said callie was powerful in her psychosis episode after she just took a shot to the arm like it was nothing — but maybe I'm wrong with future episodes... but for now this is my thought on the scene).

because in many of lottie's climatic moments with shauna, you can feel the emotion between the two is clear, real and raw. lottie's placement with shauna in these big moments through her perspective is usually trying to ground her and makes her look at everything. she deeply cares for shauna enough to even allow shauna to beat her to a plup in grief to clear her mind and how she defended shauna's grieving actions from tai during the jackie body fight, attempting to give shauna some closure.

however shauna's perspective of lottie is the opposite, changing from needing to be defensive to aggressive with her as shauna further breaks down. we can see that with how she views lottie with her child in her dream, how she outright rejects lottie's mysticism and guidance for something dangerous, obsessing over the potential threat she may cause (despite shauna being a threat herself). lottie gave herself up as a punching bag, as someone for shauna to vent out her frustrations on and shauna has ran with that even since to the point it has clouded her judgment of lottie. it created an antagonistic dynamic in her mind, despite that never being reciprocated.

and because of this dynamic: they bring out each other's fatal flaw — lottie's love & shauna's rage.

so, I believe we exprience this reaction to the necklace in the kitchen through shauna's perspective as she voices her distress.

but, lottie is right, the necklace was never meant to be about death, it was always meant to be a symbol of protection, love and comfort. she tries to get that through to shauna. yet shauna sees it at face vaule, a symbol of death not the one of hope and luck jackie meant it to be. the one of comfort it originally was meant to be when lottie gave it to shauna back when they were about to burn jackie's body.

this moment forces shauna to panic, due to her denial and guilt, over being faced to acknowledge that once again she changed the meaning of something that belongs to jackie, what she left behind for shauna, when she placed it on nat during the first hunt for the worse. the meaning jackie put onto necklace, the meaning lottie gave to the necklace by giving it back to shauna — that's what lottie is telling her to remember, not what it became, but what it was.

also this may be a far assumption, but the "you can feel it too" — the emphasis and tension in that, through shauna's perspective, she chooses to focus on that being about death, making it sound more sinister than it is through the emotional roller coaster she is expriencing right now.

but, really this is about jackie, not the hunts, not the wilderness chosing — it is jackie because this moment of returning the necklace to shauna as adult is calling back to the body scene. it gives a hint that lottie understands the turmoil going on beyond callie's inquiries into the past with what shauna is go through. adding more to the connection between callie and jackie that the story has visually alluding to as well.

lottie has always been quite intuitive when it comes to shauna's emotional wellbeing especially in these situations. coming back to when they were all together drinking when shauna said she would rather not know what she is suppressing and lottie said she'll have to face it eventually as it manifests itself sooner or later in life...

now this scene in the kitchen, it may have been interpreted as a gesture of kindness on lottie's end compared to shauna. this is what jackie may have wanted, this is what might have happened to the necklace in another reality if it kept its original context. a hand me down vs a death sentence. this is just a really scene that shows what yellowjackets is about, the double narrative, the double line of reality, the double perspective. how shauna sees, in her reality, lottie as the main antagonist to her protagonist in the narrative of her life. but, in actuality lottie is one of the most loving presences shauna has ever had in her life.

(hey maybe wearing blue flannel again and kicking someone out is shauna soulmate-ism LMAO. but with lottie's death and the events of episode 5, you can now see shauna is starting to fully face her reality, what lottie wanted and the real truth of the situation. questioning the narrative she's placed on lottie as she starts this journey of uncovering her death — I hope she comes to see that and the tragedy of lottie and their relationship outside of what was just mentioned).

anyways, back to the main point...

lottie is rejected once more by shauna. seeing that her actions have hurt her, someone she loves once again and she is forced to leave before she can even explain herself. the meaning her actions have once again been misinterpreted — vilified by shauna's viewpoint of her. she is abandoned by another loved one. this is the final nail in the coffin with how she has been rejected fully by the only people and place she could call her safespace.

lottie is now fully pushed into that vulnerable insecure state. returning her mentally to her child self, that literally leads her physically back to her first childhood home — where it all started. we saw how her life was forced to move backwards once the wilderness started showing itself to her again. forcing her to face everything about it once more.

how she lost everything she built as an adult.

how she was sent back to the ward.

how she returned to someone part of that only place she ever felt accepted, herself in, loved in, that she cared deeply for and wanted that understanding back.

how she was doing things she did as a teenager again.

how she went back to her first childhood home. a place where she was still being seen as her younger self by her father who has an even more warped sense of reality than herself now.

still apologising repeatedly for her actions that hurt people, to what feels like everyone here and not here, but also — with the visual cut to her young self... it is to herself. with how her life has ended up, with how everything she has ever loved has gone, how she could not protect herself still, everything she tried to do in all of her attempts to rebuild and break free of the cycle of self harm and self destruction she finds herself in... 25 years after such a terrible situation that basically made her, this now is breaking her. she couldn't escape (shown by the location where she ends up dying — she predicted it, she couldn't break the cycle).

that she was not lottie here, she was charlotte.

dying in the place where her life ended, but also where her life began...

alone.

she was left alone from the beginning.

she was still alone until the end.

the moment she was never alone was one of the worst events of her life that was paradoxically probably the best time of her life with the people she loved the most.

she was a victim of her environment, a victim of others and, sadly a victim of herself... she was dangerous, she was hurtful, she was selfless, she was helpful, she was kind, she was manipulative. she was so many things, but there is nuance to it, she transcended the typical description for these words.

she is a tragic character through and through.

[thecoolerliauditore]

anyway stuff i really liked about the WL finale and WL as a whole, because I genuinely don't think I'll ever talk about it again in a fandom-y way:

(spoilers, obvs)

whatever the fuck ren was doing. i. i still don't know what treebarks deal is, I feel like god intended me to be a martyn guy and something got fucked up along the way and now I'm really scared of him in an animalistic sense. i feel like in another life i would've had a lot to say like a lot alot to say oh my god.

whatever the fuck scott was doing. so many moments from this episode that gave me the "neuron activated!" reaction image response with him and pearl. majormoon kiss didn't happen but like that would've been somehow less intimate than whatever this is. the murder camel sequence especially (where they hunted down GEM?) gave me that same feeling as when I watch smth like utena and spot visual parallels. this is insane but i can't find the screenshots like that one scene from utena where she's standing in the doorway kanae did in an earlier scene to signify that she acts as her replacement it's like that.

speaking of scott i do think he underwent a bit of character development and that makes me happy. he's absolutely still like. insane but i appreciate him making an effort to be nice to Pearl. the bar is on the floor. i love that one of the first things he says is "oh my god I can't believe we stuck together even though EVERYONE (grits teeth) thought we were gonna betray eachother <3 <3" the copium is so

pearl. oh pearl. it really does feel like pearl out of the entire cast got her "plans" most sidetracked but she still got in some good hits near the end. her reaction to gems death oh my god. her calling murder camel in SL a "fond memory". it feels like her character really never achieves any closure at all and that's the one thing that i think is REALLY awesome genuinely. so many of the deaths had me squinting at my screen going "that's it????" but it feels fitting for her, especially in this season.

JOEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! joel not only got the win he deserved but he also got revenge on scott which is amazing and incredible. i wish it happened in a season i was more on board with but for what it is it is really awesome to see. his pop off pvp battle at the end is the highlight of the episode for me, big last life flashbacks.

team BET/tuff guys were the one team i enjoyed from start to end, there's something magical to me about the way they NEED to involve eachother in everything and make bits around eachother specifically like idk you can really tell these three enjoyed themselves and that's all i really want at the end of the day (and i feel like that really saved them from what a lot of the other teams fell into with not really interacting). the fact that they all died next to eachother placement-wise and tango finally got his revenge on bdubs COMPLETELY ON ACCIDENT is amazing. tango in general has been a massive stand out to me this season with his antics, I'm so not kidding when I say extended exposure to redstone does something to these guys. really amazing 10/10 team, welcome back BEST etc etc i can't wait to watch more of them on hermitcraft.

[toomanythoughts2]

I've been thinking a lot more of Post-Klok Pre-Series Toki and I keep coming up with so many missing scenes on his development.

I've been really thinking on how Toki's role in the band, a lot of times, is the "younger brother" arche type, which is obvious, but there's also a lot of snippits in the show that really highlight just how ingrained it is in their mind that Toki was once a child or very young when he joined. In "Dethclown", Nathan yells at Toki to not run because it's wet (near the hot tub) when Toki goes to get the door for Rockso (also the whole, "I thought we agreed--no clowns?"/"No, we didn't agreededs on nothings. We all just yelled and then he was beaten. That was our conclusions." - Very older brother/younger brother argument) (Also, Skwisgaar telling Toki he doesnt have to overcompensate, that they'll all pay more attentions to him -- very older brother energy). In "Dethecution", Nathan tells Toki, "Toki you may clear the table when you feel it is time." How many times do you think Toki cleared the table as a kid when he was living in the apartment or wherever they stayed before Mordhaus was complete? Toki can barely cook (granted, he made chicken tenders in "Diversityklok" but this like a decade after the time we're talking about, so that doesn't count.) but the others do have a few skills. It was probably a chore of his while living with the band. In "Dethcamp", (which is arguably the most family dynamic-esque episode in the entire show) Nathan is seen picking up Toki's clothes, helping him pack for camp, gifting him something he knows Toki would like, and defending him from bullies. He also called Toki, "Little guy" when he said how much he misses him. Pickles is seen defending Toki from Skwisgaar and Murderface's bad talking, while Murderface and Skwisgaar rag on Toki because deserts always have to be made sugar free and they can't watch scary movies with him around. In the episodes where Toki gets wrapped up in Murderface's schemes, a lot of the hatred or aggravation from the other three, never seems to be on Toki, but more so Murderface. Like how parents get mad at older siblings for getting their younger siblings into stuff because they don't believe that the younger siblings would have done it by themselves. Like in "Dethsiduals", it's very clear that Toki is just along for the ride, even going against some of the things Murderface says while in court. All of this just screams that Toki is, unfortunately, still seen as this younger "child" because that's how the band first met him and treated him. Now on to the fun part!

I don't think that the band was overly parenting, they're still rockstars, they're still assholes. But this is a level of care and structure in the band that definitely shows that they did something to help Toki. Or things they they choose not to do if Toki was a minor when he joined.

For one, I've been really loving the idea that Skwisgaar had a very strict "No sex in the house if Toki is there" due to his own personal traumas with his mother. Toki did a lot of 7/11 runs with other band members or by himself if Skwisgaar brought someone home. Like, he would see Toki and a part of him yearned to be protect in the way he wishes he was protected. So, he did not have sex when Toki was at the house. Now, once he's 18, that goes out the window but Toki is now a legal adult and needs to deal with it.

I also like the idea that Toki did not understand a shower set up and was taking baths from the sink. Like, he would look at the shower knob and immediately freak out. He just wouldn't understand it. So, Pickles ends up teaching him the basics and Toki is so enthralled by it, he strips down immediately and gets in with Pickles still right there. (I see Toki as being very unashamed of nakedness) Pickles also helped him understand shampoo, conditioner, and basic hygiene using modern "gadgets" (deodorant in a stick or toothpaste from a plastic tube.) Pickles just didn't want another Murderface. 1 Murderface stank was enough for all of them.

Another idea that I'm honestly thinking about writing is Charles taking Toki to the mall to spend his first paycheck and going straight for the toys only to get overstimulated and freak out. Charles has to take Toki back to the car to calm down. When everyone comes back with their purchases, Toki is embarrassed that he didn't buy anything. On the way home, they pop a tire while getting gas, and the guys have to change it. Toki doesn't help (he has no idea) but he spots a store across the street from them and decides to go in without telling anyone. It ends up being a hobby store and a cashier spots him staring at the model plane, and starts explaining them to him. Toki has no clue what is being told to him, but likes the attitude of the man, so he buys one, plus some paints and brushes and other gear to go along with it. Charles rushes in after the purchases, slightly alarmed because Toki just disappeared. But Toki doesn't notice and is ready to go back to the car to show off his purchases. (Charles ABSOLEUTLY makes him hold his hand across the street and tells him to look both ways.)

I've also been thinking about what did Toki and Murderface's first scheme look like? Was it something really simple like Murderface using Toki to ask one of the guys if they could have Mexican instead of Chinese food tonight? Or was it something sneakier, like using Toki as a distraction to steal booze? Did Murderface teach him bad words with wrong meanings, and tell him to say them in front of the others? Did Murderface also get some hero worship from a very young Toki because he too played a guitar-like instrument? Murderface was probably a bad influence on Toki (they all were but...) with how to act in public, his view points on women and children, how to talk, how to have his form of "confidence".

Toki was probably never allowed to partake in interviews without Skwisgaar, Nathan, and Charles present. Skwisgaar to translate to Toki and Charles to make sure the questions were "within legal right to ask a minor". Nathan was there to make sure that their image was upheld and to intimidate the interviews from asking anything non-metal. But a lot of old footage of these interviews actually show Nathan doubling as a bodyguard around Toki from interviewers on his back and show him gently guiding him through crowds and away from people who keep asking odd things or just generally gave him an uncomfortable vibe. Nathan definitely has some kind of guidance/caregiving vibes when it comes to Toki. He does not do it to any other bandmember, just him.

Anyway, the band looks at Toki and they probably still see this version of Toki:

Ok, that's all :)

[spaceorphan18]

Okay, some Glee discourse, because it's been a while ::

@lilacdaisyrose mentioned in a comment :: I’m so shocked that Ryan Murphy actually revealed that!! Also, I’ve always wondered (sorry kinda related), at the time was Adam quite a big thing in the Klaine fandom? To me I find Adam so confusing because there’s so little character development and I always wish there was even a bit more, but also wonder why they introduced him if they weren’t going to really add to his character? 🙂

Okay. So. There are a lot of components to this. In order to understand the whole Adam thing, you kind of need to have the context of what was going on within fandom at the time.

The short version (because this deserves it's own psychological thesis piece) is that Kurt Hummel had a huge fan base that had been fractured into many different sub fandom groups, all of them centered around shipping him with different characters. But mostly the big divide was between people who liked Kurt with Blaine and people who didn't.

[This whole sub culture fandom thing is so fascinating, and I really should write up a giant master post about it some day.]

So, we got wind that Adam was coming some time around Christmas (And, I mean, originally his name was Paul, and it was Paul's Peaches. I wonder why that didn't clear Fox Standards and Practices, huh.) And so the Anti-Blaine Kurt Stans got a hold of this info and just raaaan with it. Like, it did not matter who he was or what kind of character he was -- he was not Blaine and that's ALL that mattered.

So, Adam became a thing before he was even a thing.

A couple of things happened, though. First of all, like usual and typical, the Klaine fans (and I mean, I'm not even getting into the sub culture of Klaine fan divides either, because that is another post) began harassing everyone - including the actor, which, you know, made him a little cold (understandably). He did one interview attempting to insinuate that his role was important, but it definitely bristled and I don't think it was his best PR move, but that was lower compared to all the rest of the nonsense going on.

The big thing that happened was that Adam's first song -- the remix of Baby, Got Back, was tied up in some legal issues. Basically, Ryan Murphy used the mix without crediting or even asking the person who mixed it if they could use it. Now, they got permission from Sir Mix A Lot (or whomever did that song originally) but then it got into some weird legal gray area stuff, and blew up in the media and left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. So the general audience soured on him pretty quickly.

On top of that -- there was a shit ton of stuff going on BTS -- Cory's addiction was becoming a problem, the network wanted to kill the show, the tinhatters were driving Chris to murder, like there are a bunch of layers of stuff going on that made all this complicated, and it all kind of results in Season 4 just being wonky on a lot of levels.

(Btw - do Kevin and Jenna talk about Adam at all? I haven't listened to the podcast in a long, long while, so I don't know, but my curiosity is piqued.)

But during that time, this was when the Glee cast was finally beginning to set some boundaries concerning social media, but Ryan Murphy was beginning to try to use it -- and he kept getting himself involved in fandom, and flying a little too closely to the sun. I do think Klaine was always where he wanted to go (because the actors (mostly Chris) did complain -- which, again deserves it's own post). But they were loud, and they were obnoxious about it.

No, Klaine fans did not like Adam. At all. They wanted him gone, and we wanted reconciliation. But the Anti-Blaine Kurt stans made Adam the measure of who Kurt's bf should be. They did not really care that Adam only had three episodes and very zero development and was clearly dropped like a hot potato because it's obvious Kurt still has feelings for Blaine because, you know, Kurt's sleeping with Blaine while this whole dating Adam is going on but...

It was just a mess.

The other thing you have to remember is that -- while this was live, we didn't get the chance to just watch quickly in succession and go onto the same thing. Those of us who were spoiled knew of this character for months before he appeared. And it was a whole fucking long time before Love Love Love finally closed the door on it officially. So while he was only around for those three episodes, the open endedness of it last a LOOOOONG time. And no one knew what was going on.

So the shipping wars, as usual, continued on and on and on.

I'm trying to think if I at all answered your question, lol.

Why did they create him? the tl;dr version is that since Season 3, they had Klaine (the now b-couple) mirror Finchel (the a-couple) -- prior to that Finchel was the b-couple and Wemma the a-couple, and Glee loved to do parallels with them. But Wemma really wasn't a thing much by season 4, and Klaine was much more popular, and my god they just loved having Kurt be Rachel lite sometimes that they're basically telling the same story with both couples.

So, Rachel gets a season long boyfriend only to wind her up with Finn again (only the cory stuff threw a wrench into that). So, clearly, Kurt needed to have one, too. But also -- they needed to have Kurt do something. They weren't going to put Klaine back together until sweeps week, or the finale because that's how network tv paced things back in the day. So Adam was just subpar character development.

I don't know what their original intentions for the character were. I don't know if they knew. I think they had their story up until 4x15 (overall) and then it got rocky because things with Cory were getting weird and it all just fell apart.

I do think, like Darren, the actor playing Adam got a three episode contract, and they wanted to test the audience's reaction. Clearly, it did not go well, and the added legal issues of the song just kind of made them sweep it under the rug all the faster.

Hopefully, some of my rambling made sense.

Maybe at some point in the future, I'll do an expansive history of the Kurt fandom series.

Or y'all can keep asking questions. What ever you'd like to do <3 lol

[melonteee]

I've seen many people complain that Oda in Post Time skip One Piece spends a lot of time worldbuilding and making up side characters on every island that distract from the main ones and the plot. While I can see where some people are coming from, as someone who reads comics from Marvel, I WISH the wordbuilding and side characters were that developed because most of the time, unless it's about space or magic or directly related to the plot, the world feels genuinely dead. Even the main setting of a story sometimes feels so dead, like for comparison

Around 2 years ago, they had an event where, at some point, an inhabited island got pretty much nuked. We spent 3 real life years on that island and the writers really couldn't make any readers care less about all the civilians (men, women, children and babies) dying as they wrote them as a single minded entity who didn't mind that fate if their government told them to do it so they used two of the "main characters" (the most selfish pricks imaginable who never even cared about the island and the people there as they are long-established villains + due to plot, were made part of the people who rule over the place and get the most privilege and best life there compared to everyone else), to pull the heartstrings of fans on how terrible it is for them to die this way and how tragic that these two had to die in this event... All because the plot hyperfocused on the island's government (not even interesting to read and full of what felt like highschool drama) instead of the people the government looks after and who would be the greatest casualty here. All of this didn't matter either because everyone on that island was brought back to life (that plot device was present even before the event so caring about anything was going to be hard from the get go) including the "main characters" that died.. Guess who got to come back to life first while many others were on a waiting list years down the line still ?

Now compare this to Oda and what he did with Lulusia. All things related to this island were mostly cover stories, many cuts back and forth in a "meanwhile in...", ... But once Chapter 1060 hits, we feel the tragedy and horror, we are at awe at how much destruction was unleashed on these people. That scene was made even more horrifying and sad when it was animated in Episode 1089...and then we learn the reason the island was obliterated had nothing to do with Sabo being there. Any island we knew who partook in a revolution could have been a target. We find out that even that was an excuse because the main goal was to test a weapon and nothing more. Oda is using a tool here called "less is more" for this island and it was sincerely enough for me to care A WHOLE LOT about Lulusia even if the main characters never set a single foot there and it wasn't part of the main plot. There wasn't even a main character who "died" there either to pull on our heart strings. We just saw these people triumphantly come out of a political crisis and enjoy their first hours of freedom after lord knows how long and then

They were all gone. Erased. And even if they didn't all see what was about to happen to them, they felt it. They died in fear

Oda is very very good at his world building, because he makes sure these islands are LIVED in, not just that they EXIST. It's all well and good to wipe out an island to show the political and immoral powers that be, but we don't feel the impact unless we SEE the people and culture existing on the island.

It's why now, with Vegapunk explaining the state of the world, we are getting reactions from EVERY corner of the globe. We are being reminded how big this world is, how lived in this world is, and how many people are suffering under the world gov. We CARE about this world, we care about the PEOPLE in this world, and Oda's spent years building his world up for THIS moment. It's really spectacular.

[sokkastyles]

I have some thoughts about Mai and Zuko, their relationship, and also how it ended up kind of connecting to the final interaction between Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula. I don't want to get into Maiko discourse here, so I'll just say that Mai and Zuko were very incompatible, and the way they were written in the Beach was not very good at all, it felt incredibly OOC and Mai's backstory felt disingenuous (if the writers genuinely wanted to give her depth, they should have made a sincere effort to do so). My larger issue with Maiko is actually how that relationship was made the sort of lynchpin for Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal of Azula in The Boiling Rock. It honestly feels like the writers forgot that in season 2, they set up a dynamic between these three characters that honestly had very little to do with Zuko. He's tangential to their dynamic because of his relationships with Azula and Mai, but he's not the center point of it. I honestly wish there had been more development and tension between the three of them in terms of growing tensions due to Azula's need to be controlling. I also wish we'd seen more moments of Mai and Ty Lee gradually becoming less fearful of Azula. I think the Beach was meant to serve as one of those moments of tension, but the episode's writing leaves much to be desired, so that didn't work. I saw a post somewhere that said that Azula's most interesting relationships in the series are with women (Ursa, Mai, Ty Lee) and I think the relationship between Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee deserved to be explored with more depth and deserved a much better pay off than the one we got which was centered around Zuko. What are your thoughts about this? I'm hoping I sounded coherent here and didn't misremember anything.

I absolutely agree. The most interesting thing about Mai saving Zuko is that it's not really about Zuko, and it shouldn't be. Mai's rebellion against Azula would have probably happened no matter whose life was on the line in that moment. And it wasn't just Zuko's, but Sokka's and Suki's and Hakoda's. And the Warden, Mai's uncle? Why is THAT never even mentioned?? Azula would have asked Mai to watch her own uncle die in addition to four other people, but for some reason Mai's priority is the guy who broke up with her.

The show makes it about Zuko and it makes Mai seem even more like a clingy obsessive girlfriend because he had just left her a second time after she tried to lock him in prison for breaking up with her to save the world. Then she comes back in the finale to tell him to never break up with her again. This is. Not good writing. It's misogynistic writing. It's not good writing from a relationship standpoint. It's not good writing to have an abuse survivor's happy ending to be in a relationship like this. It's bad.

I mean, I get the impulse to want better for Mai but at the same time, you don't have to try to rehabilitate badly written female characters. They are not real. I like ATLA, but there's tons of media with better written women. I don't need to cling to scraps, because I have more media awareness and self respect than that. And I certainly am not going to make excuses for female characters who act toxic and pretend that that's feminism, because it's not.

[jenlrossman]

Tuvix as a metaphor for Janeway's mindset throughout Voyager

When Tuvok and Neelix merged into a new individual after a transporter malfunction, Tuvix was born. Possessing a combination of the memories and personalities of his component parts while still being his own unique self, Tuvix quickly proved he was more than just a transporter accident, showing he had potential to find his place among the crew of Voyager and settle in to this new normal.

And when Janeway learned of a way to separate him, bringing back Tuvok and Neelix, Tuvix was killed. Against his wishes, against the doctor's ethical subroutines, Tuvix was killed.

I'm not going to discuss whether or not this was right. That's an entirely different subject that many people have debated ad nauseam.

I just want to talk about how the decision to kill Tuvix and bring back Tuvok and Neelix might actually be the defining moment in developing Kathryn Janeway's mindset for the rest of the series. The sometimes questionable mindset best described as

"There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Janeway."

To Captain Janeway, Tuvix is a problem to solve. He is the thing standing in the way of the status quo, the thing preventing her from seeing her loved ones again.

She says as much, when Kes is expressing reservations about developing feelings for Tuvix and says she hasn't given up on the idea of him being separated.

You’re experiencing what people on this crew have been going through since we first got stranded in this quadrant. Do we accept that we're separated from our loved ones forever, or do we hold onto the hope that someday we'll be with them again?

Tuvix, therefore, is a physical representation of being stuck in the Delta quadrant. He is the thing preventing them from being with their loved ones, and she might not be able to get everyone home right now if ever, but she's going to do everything she can to see Tuvok and Neelix again.

Whether or not it is right for her to kill Tuvix, that isn't as important to her as proving—to herself and to her crew—that she is going to do anything she can to get them home, and killing him is a symbolic representation of that.

We see this mindset continue throughout the series, and the Lower Decks episode Twovix gives us some great examples.

While most of the crew is dealing with another transporter malfunction, Boimler and Rutherford are dealing with holographic representations of various things the Voyager crew encountered. And they just happen to be some of Janeway's greatest hits… Or misses.

Michael "delete the wife" Sullivan—Janeway's holographic Irish boy toy, who she widowed and altered to suit her preferences even though those episodes deal with the possibility of all holograms having a chance to achieve sentience

The macrovirus—which was dealt with by Janeway unleashing it on a crowd of (again, possibly sentient?) holograms

The personification of fear—the clown who was defeated when Janeway went so far to save her crew that she literally made the concept of fear afraid of her

Chaotica—Janeway didn't particularly want to play the role of Queen Arachnia but she got very into it because when push comes to shove, she really doesn't mind being the villain if it means protecting her crew

And of course, the Borg…

The series finale of Voyager is the ultimate example of the "anything to see our loved ones again" mindset Janeway shows in Tuvix.

Voyager gets home. It takes 23 years, but they get home.

However, Seven is lost along the way, Chakotay dies after reaching earth, and the delay in getting home has exacerbated Tuvok's Vulcan equivalent of Alzheimer's to the point that he is not himself anymore.

Three of the most important people in her life, gone.

So what does she do? Of course she doesn't accept that, she can't, she never has been able to.

Kathryn Janeway goes back in time, erases the lives of everyone in the universe to rewrite history on her terms, she defeats the goddamn Borg—just to see them again.

And of course she does it herself. As we learned in Tuvix when the doctor refuses to separate him, Janeway doesn't care. She'll do it all herself, ethical consequences be damned, she just needs everyone she loves to get back to the Alpha quadrant.

So whether or not it was right to separate Tuvix, it doesn't matter. The right way, the wrong way, none of that matters. Not to her, not as long as doing things the Janeway gets everyone she cares about home safely.

[xserpx]

Finished! I enjoyed it sort of about as much as I thought I might, in that it's too much style over substance but has moments that shine amidst it all.

I enjoy humour-filled books, Abercrombie could rewrite the phone book and make it interesting, so it was still a fun read for me but it really does lack the dark complexity of character that I've come to know and love (Vigga's ending is kind of pitch-perfect for what I would have liked more of throughout, just grittier, meatier stuff - the good meat, if you will. There were also aspects of greatness with some of Vigga and Jakob's earlier POV chapters). I thought all the characters were solidly decent for the most part, save for Baptiste who felt undercooked (why was she there??). I can't easily pick a favourite, I ended up liking them all. Rikard, if you had to twist my arm, which is impressive considering he doesnxt have a POV, but I do love vampires.

The plot was frustratingly predictable (not helped by the fact that all Jakob's fights lack tension, even though I wouldn't necessarily want to change his immortality for that, because I like his POV, just wish there was less focus on his fights) and as a result the climax just didn't work that well for me. The conclusion was excellent, however.

The ship battle was my favourite set piece, to no one's surprise. I also did like Marchian, because lion man, and I didn't mind the fact that all four of Eudoxia's sons were pretty much the same, I'm a fan of posh wankers getting their comeuppance and thought they were fun enough.

The main thing for me particularly towards the end was simply how much it felt like a repetition of so many First Law beats. As Jov on Discord put it, it's a Frankenstein of the First Law: a little BSC, a little RC, and a tumblr-vanilla-essence-sized drop of LAOK at the end for some absolutely baffling reason. Entire plot points and some phrases are repeated wholecloth, which could be chalked up to nudge-wink references or plain Abercrombieisms if you're generous, but overall make the book feel like it doesn't know if it wants to be its own thing or not - or, worse, hints that Abercrombie is out of ideas 😬 Especially post-TWOC, where one of my bjg criticisms of that book is also that he clings too hard to LAOK, it's just... weird. And yes, LAOK is great, and so this book (and TWOC tbf!) still mostly works, but as with Star Trek SNW and Bridgerton, I wish it would simply spread its wings and fly the nest, rather than sticking too much to what the writer thinks people want. It feels lazy. Again, just too much style over substance.

I almost wish this were a more structured trilogy bc I think there's a hell of a lot of potential for it to develop, especially if it leans more towards the moral and philosophical. But I don't think that's really where it's going, based on how Abercrombie talks about it as fairly episodic. I will definitely keep reading, but I hate to say at the moment it feels quite First Law lite, rather than it's own beast.

Kind of as a result of that, I also think my knowledge of TFL actively damages my enjoyment of this book. Not just the repetitive elements but also just the fact that it's tantalisingly close to TFL but it doesn't reach it. I feel spoilt by AoM in that the characters were so fucking good, the way they fought amongst themselves made the trilogy so dynamic, and it's hard to go back to a book where everyone's working together and what resistance there is to doing the right thing feels cute rather than existential.

It also really wasn't as horny as advertised! It was much more romantic, which is a good thing, but I am a little disappointed that we didn't really get any extended scenes like Savine & Leo in TTWP. AoM and RC were vastly hornier IMO.

If I had to judge it out of 5, definitely a 3-3.5 compared to all other books, but 2 when compared to all other Abercrombie books. Better than Half a King, probably on par with TBI? But it's swings and roundabouts: TBI is a 500-page advert to read BTAH but the characters really draw you in, while this book is much less original but benefits from the superior, tighter writing of more recent Abercrombie. If I was coming in fresh and had never heard of the First Law, I think I would have liked it way more, but at the same time I would still reach for BSC as the quintessential Abercrombie book. You need that depth!

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

My favourite Kdramas (so far)

My favourite Cdramas (so far)

Currently watching: The Haunted Palace, Newtopia (5), & Love in Pavilion

My to watch list, Venn Diagram of my favourite kdrama things, favourite male and female actors, my parent trauma tracking, my Truck of Doom tracking, and my Text Posts

I occasionally write k/cdrama fan fiction

My Main is about Jane Austen

For tracking purposes. But feel free to suggest me new Kdramas

When the Phone Rings: What a fun insane show! It was bonkers from beginning to end. The acting was great, the OST was awesome, the story was insane. Everything you want in a makjang drama.

Text Posts

Alchemy of Souls: Visually beautiful, wonderful soundtrack, casting is amazing, story is very well thought-out, world-building is on point, loved all of it.

Trope subversions, Love Maps, Plot driven by fear

Moon in the Day: The most angsty enemies to lovers you will ever find in your life. It's completely enthralling. The past scenes with Do-ha are amazing. There are some plot holes and the secondary characters aren't very well developed, but I don't care. It was so good!

Text Posts, On the ending, the emotional journey, Webtoon vs. Drama

Doom at Your Service: The world-building is really well done, as is the symbolism. Doom is so weirdly lovable. Also has a great soundtrack.

Extraordinary You: the story gets a little drawn out in the middle episodes, but the concept is so gripping that I forgive it. The main character is really spunky and fun and the villain is probably the most interesting character in the show.

Lovely Runner: This is one of the cutest dramas I've seen in a while. Top tier cuteness. The story was really fun and I laughed a lot.

Text post, Another, Google Searches

W: Two Worlds: So good! So unpredictable! So Male Lead who was smart and actually acted smart! This is the dark companion of Extraordinary You and I loved every minute.

Happiness: the whole point of zombie horror is that the humans are the real monsters and Happiness delivered on that 100000%. Turns out Park Hyung-sik can also be serious and very good at punching people! Han Hyo-joo was also amazing. The slow burn romance was so cute. Loved it so much. Also, more of a murder mystery than a zombie show.

Zombieland Rules, Webtoon vs. Drama

Sh**ting Stars: the voluntarism in an unnamed African country wasn't great, but the rest of the show was so heartwarming and cute! There were lots of lovable characters, mature relationships, very cute friendships, and hilarious antics.

The Forbidden Marriage: The plot had lots of fun twists and the resolution was satisfying. I wish we got more So Rang hijinks in the later episodes, the hunting episode was my favourite with her running around everywhere like a maniac.

It's Okay to Not be Okay: My only critique is I wish they did more of the animations for fairy tales, but it's so good. The female lead had the most amazing outfits. The story is so good and the way they portrayed the brother's autism.

Revenant: I'm not usually into horror, but this wasn't too scary. It was very well written, the threads in the mystery all came together well. The characters were interesting and the supernatural stuff was cool. Really great acting.

Flower of Evil: Everyone was right again, it was really good. So many twists and turns, such good romance, so many good reveals. Loved it. Loved it enough to forgive the amnesia part.

Kdramas I have liked:

Vincenzo - technically I'm at 19/20 but I don't want to watch the Himbo die so I might just stay here? Overall it was an enjoyable watch but the genre (Revenge comedy) didn't really click with me. There were often no consequences to anything anyone did and eventually it got a bit silly. The end of 19 was kind of a character assassination of Vincenzo.

Light Shop - it was pretty and creepy and well-acted, but I was left wanting more depth.

Family by Choice - this drama always felt so calm and happy, even when something terrible was happening, because Noodle Dad was always there to make everyone feel better. A great comfort watch.

The Judge from Hell - very interesting premise and solid execution, Justitia was believable as a demon and I like that she an Da-on met in the middle. The ending kind of dragged and it had some unexplained plot points (like the defeat of Satan)

Text post

Penthouse War in Life (S1 - 3): This is an over-the-top rich people problems revenge drama and it delivers. The writing was surprisingly good, the acting was great, and the costumes were very fun. Seasons 1 & 2 were very cohesive, S3 jumped the shark right away and everything that followed was nonsense, especially the ending. But hey, what a ride!

Twinkling Watermelon: It's good, it just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the female characters more than the main male characters (especially young Yi-chan, he really annoyed me). Eun-gyeol was too unrealistically perfect at everything. But it had nice character development and I shipped all the couples.

Kingdom: Loved it! But I refuse to put it in my top kdramas since S2 ends on a huge cliff hanger and apparently they aren't making any more. Boo to Netflix. This was more gory than Happiness, but I loved having zombies in a historical setting. (This one doesn't go in my terrible ending category because it's just the last ten minutes that suck, not the last one or two episodes)

Ending fix, why the ending sucks

A Shop for Killers: an interesting action drama. I was surprised by one or two of the reveals but they were well written, I liked the non-linear storytelling and Jian as a character. The backstory about Bale got a bit too dark/gory for me but I should have expected that with this genre.

Haechi: Really strong beginning, lots of action, I enjoyed the court drama and the action bits. The only problem was that once the main character stopped being a scrappy underdog, it was just a lot of him winning which got slightly boring. The ending was very pro-monarchy, but from everything I've been able to read in English, this guy was a good king so good for him I guess? Also, the female lead went from interesting to doing nothing with heart eyes.

The Atypical Family: A very interesting superhero/time travel story with a fun ensemble cast. I didn't love any particular character (except I-Na), but the story was really fascinating and I was never bored.

Doctor Slump: Very cute and relaxing watch. The FL's family was really cute, especially her mom! The focus on mental health was nice, though there was a bit too much of an idea that a relationship can fix your depression/PTSD. But still good!

Text post

Daily Dose of Sunshine: this made me cry multiple times. The visuals for how different disorders feel was fascinating. Good resolutions for the characters. I loved it all despite the unrealistic endings.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: I'm blown away by their portrayal of autism. They don't shy away from making her ticks and mannerisms off-putting, awkward, and even somewhat annoying, but Young-woo has joy, she has imagination, she loves life. It's so much better than anything with an autistic character that I've seen in Western media. Not 10/10 because I did get a bit uninterested in the later cases when I wanted to know where the love story was going.

Choi Su-yeon

Oh My Ghost: I loved this one! Park Bo-young did an amazing job playing an oppressed shaman and possessed-by-a-ghost. It was very well written: there weren't any ridiculous sideplots and I was never bored. I did think the ending dragged a little bit, but overall I loved it.

The King's Affection: I think it probably could have been cut down to 16 episodes instead of 20, but very good. The female crown price is so scared all the time and I want to hug her, but also badass! It's a very hard line to walk but they do it well. Also, the bodyguard who is also an assassin is so hot and the costumes are great.

My Lovely Liar: very cute and occasionally very scary. Probably one of the most normal relationships I've seen in a Kdrama, no destiny or fate just two people who like each other. The murder mystery was well done, though I'm not sure how I feel about the final reveal.

Hospital Playlist: The epitome of slice of life. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Lee Ik-jun, The Ghost, and Long Winter (Jang Gyeo-ul) and the cute kid! I love the mom and the hospital director hanging out together. The band! I cannot stop listening to their songs!

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim: I liked that for once the big trauma didn't come from the parents, what a twist! I actually loved how ridiculously narcissistic the ML was and I loved the competent and mature FL. They didn't have any ridiculous misunderstandings and they never broke up. And the ML's friend was very funny.

King the Land: The show got better as it went on. The female lead was so competent and sure of herself. The parts about the friends' struggles was heartbreaking a lot of the time. I also loved how positive the female relationships were.

Kdramas with Great Beginnings and Terrible Endings (I don't mean sad, I mean they squandered their potential):

No Gain No Love: this drama barrelled through every sexually conservative expectation for Kdramas. They really defeated a bad guy with glow-in-the-dark dildos. Who would have ever imagined? I loved the leads, but the ending was lacking in that Hae-yeong never achieved her career ambitions. The love story was great though.

Text posts

Because This is My First Life: The ending was terrible and gross, but the female characters were so well written and fleshed out that I can almost forgive it. I related so much to all of them. Also, the best explanation ever for why a woman would choose a marriage without love.

Queen of Tears: I loved the set-up but for me it lost it's way at the end. Too many dramatic moments and the Magic Cancer surgery and Magic Amnesia Month were just too much of a strain on my ability to suspend my disbelief. But the performances were very good, from the leads and the secondary characters, and the premise was good. I enjoyed like 80% of the show.

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Captivating the King: I'm struggling to rate this one. The ML was amazing, but the FL seemed to just always be wide-eyed scared/worried. The writing was great for the first half, but the ending was ambiguous in a way I didn't enjoy. The intimate scene in Ep 8/9 was awesome, but then we didn't really get more. I wish they had stuck the landing. Smart character became dumb.

Marry My Husband: very fun drama, I especially enjoyed Su-min and Min-hwan, who were some of the most deep villains I've seen portrayed. However, I hated the Yu-ra storyline and I felt like the ML kept the secret of his death for way too long. Also, no happy ending for the secondary couples! I wanted more screen time with them.

Webtoon vs. Drama, Text Posts

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract: It was fluffy and fun, I loved Sa-wol the maid, we should have had more of her! I hated the ending though, so much. Just so bad.

Kdramas that are So Bad They Are Somehow Good:

Buried Hearts - the point of this drama was to watch Park Hyung-sik suffer beautifully, and suffer he did. Honestly not even sure what else happened, except him thinking at one point he had sex with his own sister. The ending was satisfying to me, now that I think of it.

Perfect Marriage Revenge - This show did exactly what it set out to do, be completely over-the-top dramatic. The male lead looks like a Ken doll dressed by an eight year old, the mothers have the most over the top outfits and hairstyles ever, someone eats DNA test results, it's a delight to watch.

Hwarang: really great acting despite a mediocre script, but man so many plot holes and unresolved plots. I never totally decided if the Queen Dowager was actually trying to help her son or just holding on to power and I feel like they should have made that clearer. Also, what was that love triangle??? But I did enjoy myself the whole time.

Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale: the acting was good enough that except for the first episode, I enjoyed myself the whole time. Also so many good kissing scenes! Fun subversion of the Cinderella trope.

Other Kdramas I've watched:

Hyper Knife - what did I just watch? It made so little sense. They made blood very pretty though, somehow, and Park Eun-bin did a great job... at whatever it was she did

Cinderella at 2am: It was cute, but I ended up liking the second couple more and I wish they'd had more screen time. I don't think the male lead is a very good actor either.

Perfect Family: the story was engaging enough but it had such a weird ending. Like not dissatisfying, but just strange? Also, my favourite actor was dead basically the whole time, which I knew going in but it still made me sad.

The Red Sleeve: full review here and also here, but basically, I loved the Crown Prince's story, but the female lead fell flat. They never sufficiently explained the FL's emotional journey and they also kept ruining female characters. Justice for the Queen Dowager!

Soundtrack #1: I hate endless, hopeless pining and that's all this was. It had it's cute moments, but I always felt like the male lead was in pain and I didn't enjoy that.

Hospital Playlist 2: Somehow it wasn't as good as the first season, I found myself actually getting bored. But it was nice to see all the couples get together.

Goblin/Guardian the Great and Lonely God: The roommate stuff is hilarious! It did move slowly at times, I wanted the Grim Reaper/Sunny stuff to move faster. I got really annoyed at Kim Shin for not being honest with Eun-tak. Sometimes the product placement annoyed me. But it's very beautiful and I was very invested in everyone. Problem is, I don't think I ever want to watch it again.

Tale of the Nine Tailed + 1938 - It's fun, but the lore/world-building don't make a whole lot of sense. The Serpent is pretty over powered in S1 and really ought to have won. 1938 was better but the female mountain goddess made zero sense as a character. Lee Rang is probably the best part of the whole series, and his little murder fox girl in S1 or mermaid girl in S2.

Castaway Diva: I love the songs and the found family parts, but the story was lacking. Especially the older singer's story made very little sense and didn't come to a satisfying conclusion. And why not show us a little of the main couple being together?

Hotel del Luna - I enjoyed the ghost parts but the dynamic between the main couple was a mess. He is so unconditionally nice and she is such a jerk to him!

Strong Girl Bong-Soon - I loved all the parts with Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk, like he was the cutest, sweetest boy ever, but everything else was kind of annoying. And the kidnapper parts were really creepy! I just wanted Bong-Soon to smash more things. I also hated Guk-doo and I wanted all the women to dump his ass.

Business Proposal - It was cute, but it bothered me that Ha-ri wouldn't just talk to Tae-moo about her concerns about dating him. Ha-ri may be the only female lead ever with a healthy family dynamic, yay for her! The secondary couple was fun.

Death's Game - I enjoyed the genre and actor switches at first, but then it seemed to veer into being about the serial killer CEO and then back to being about suicide and the resolution left me unsatisfied.

Webtoon vs. Drama

My Demon - It was fun, but the world-building wasn't great and the ending was fine. I felt like it tried to be Doom at Your Service but failed (there were many, many references/thefts).

Destined with You - I really liked some parts of it, especially the leads and I actually liked the office romance with Hong-jo's boss (until the last episode), but they left so many things unanswered that I wish were revealed! It's like the writers forgot it was a fantasy drama halfway through and just went in a totally different direction. It makes me angry.

The Uncanny Counter - The concept was good, the actors were good, the chemistry between the actors was amazing, but the story went way off the rails. So Mun just became way too over-powered and the plot needed more balance. I wanted more demon catching and less mayor stuff. I did like the bully being saved and reformed.

100 Days My Prince - I hated the main couple, he was just too distant and she should have figured out who he was like 10 minutes in. It felt like they only got together because he was obsessed with her, I would have preferred the nice face-blind guy. I ended up liking the peasant friend couple and the murderous princess and her assassin boyfriend better.

Started but not finished:

Melo Movie - I finished Ep 2 and it frustrated me that The Trope Guy fell into a stupid trope. Maybe I'll pick it back up. Hometown Cha Cha Cha - I hated it. Dropped at 9/16. Review. Frustration. Moving - I started it, it seems really slow. I think I'm four or five episodes in. The Crowned Clown - First episode was way too dark! Live Up To Your Name - Acupuncture is magic? Moonlight Drawn by Clouds - the first episode seemed bonkers Strong Girl Nam-Soon - could not even force myself to watch it. Total mess The Impossible Heir - Even Lee Jae-wook couldn't save this messy plot. My Sweet Mobster - stopped watching at Ep 10, I couldn't handle the jealousy and I found the FL really boring. River Where the Moon Rises - the pacing is bad (always seems like they are running around) and for some reason I cannot with the ML's super white teeth in the year 500 A.D. Ep 11/20 Our Blooming Youth - it has it's moments, but it started out creepy and most of the time is just silly. I do want to know how the mystery unravels but not enough to care right now 12/20 Fated to Love You (You are My Destiny) - I really liked the first episodes but after the miscarriage, it just seems like unnecessary delay of getting them back together. 14/20

[realchemistry]

"Masks" - A few things about tonight's episode and what's ahead

~9-1-1 spoilers ahead~

Let me get this out of the way first: Eddie sucking on that ring pop... I never understood the "don't ask me the color of anything" and "babygirl" concepts more than I did then. Also: both Buck and Eddie having the same Christmas picture of them with Chris and abuela? I'm fine. The ending montage with Eddie being alone looking at his pic from Halloween with Chris... no, I'm really, I'm okay.

The BuckandEddie of it all:

It's interesting that they kept pairing Eddie up with other members of the team during calls but Eddie was all over Buck still. Like... they are partners, and they continue to be like at the pumpkin call (LUBE? PLEASE, I AM BEGGING), but Eddie was with Buck at the hospital (both for Buck and Denny) and at Buck's loft and at the station too.

Buck and Eddie are always entangled in each other's business but this season's been like a whole other level. The framing, the dialogue, everything about them is pointed as fuck and it's no coincidence (the lube, I can't get over it!!!), of that I'm sure.

This episode, which had a lot of Buck and T, had a ton of Eddie in between them which allowed us to see their dynamic and it was a sight. We had Eddie in the hospital room, by Buck's bedside, asking the doctor questions, while T was on the other side of the door, observing. Eddie was there to tend to Buck's boils and reassure him it'd be fine and even bet and shake on it to try and keep Buck from spiraling while T was just... there. Eddie was apparently distracted on his phone, sucking on a freaking ring lollipop (looking at Buck like that!!!!!) but he was actually well in tune with Buck and what he was doing and Buck protested his boyfriend's claims that he had been picking on his boils but he didn't argue with Eddie about it at all.

So yeah, Buck has a boyfriend that could fit right in, being a firefighter and getting more into the 118's business and sharing time with Buck and his BFF in the whole wide world. This episode showed in part how T didn't fit exactly right (why were they not sleeping on the bed, I'm so confused...), how Buck realized that and sent him a message that he wanted him to. And I think they will make it past the next episode, actually, because I have a feeling that if tptb are going where we all think/want them to go with Eddie, they might want to establish that on its own.

And they would also want to do what Oliver said and take it slow on the Buddie front, and I know it's been slow enough, but Oliver and Ryan have alluded to wanting the story to develop naturally and to not have them be bi/gay and into each other because of the message that could send. I have a feeling that means reaching Buddie after both have time to go through self-realizations away from each other and having Buck be in a relationship actually serves that scenario better. At least for a little while, then they can let the pining begin.

Some other things:

The thing about this show that I both adore and dislike is that I know every main is gonna be okay (there was only ever one exception to this) and they're not going to kill one of their children either. So I simply couldn't get into the mindset of feeling sad over Denny dying because I knew he wasn't going to.

I love that we got more HenRen and I wish next time Karen and Eddie share a scene, it'll be a less tragic one. I love Denny so much, the actor is so good and such a cutie, I'm glad he got to shine. It's also funny that once you get old enough in the show, you're fair game to be in harm's way. Rite of passage.

Chim was so scary and cute and great as well. I just think Kenny's so good at everything and the show sometimes failed to properly take advantage of his skills so I'm glad they're finally getting to showcase his range fully and all at once.

Peter was also having the time of his life being a carefree version of Bobby, and I'm here for it.

Josh's whole costume being Eddie's mustache. Plus Buck also having one. Ryan, the man that you are.

Maddie, once again, going for the kitty ears.

The teacher... I know her pain.

About the next episode ~more spoilers~:

They really are having an "Eddie Begins" type of emergency on an episode called "Confessions" which will focus on Eddie. I'm sure it's gonna be just fine. I'm sure nothing major will happen with my favorite character in the world, Eddie Díaz. I'm sure.