#i'm not gonna survive these next two episodes
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Promo Pics / FBI: International → episode: 4.08, "You’ll Never See It Coming" → airdate: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
source: paramountpressexpress
#oh my gawd#i'm not gonna survive these next two episodes#!!!#fbi international#fbi: international#promo pics#promo photos#jesse lee soffer#jay hayden#vinessa vidotto#maybe i'll add more tags when my brain has recovered from those first 3 pics#it's amazing i got this far tbh#what a day
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I'm gonna be so serious, y'all are remembering POWDER and Ekko and not JINX and Ekko when screaming about how much you "wanted Timebomb endgame over Caitvi"
shoving JINX in a relationship with her current mental state is not a good writing choice whatsoever, because Ekko literally had to keep rewinding time because she kept trying to kill herself. If Anything, That relationship would be rushed and fanservice because they would have jumped the gun in 2 episodes vs the 2 seasons it took for Caitvi and showing their ups and downs throughout their whole relationship.
The alternate universe works because Powder doesn't become Jinx and the two don't separate, unlike this universe where the two have been at odds for 7 years and almost kill each other back in Ep 7 of S1.
"But Cait never said sorry!" she didn't really have to, because Vi never stopped being in love with the girl that she Knows Cait is at heart, the Cocktail Molotov scene in Act 2 makes that VERY apparent. Cait saying that she was waiting for Vi to recover to address Jinx is the start of it because Act 1 Cait wouldn't have even Considered doing that, because she was so gung-ho about putting a bullet into Jinx that she Demanded Vi move out of the way for her to do so. She holds herself accountable with the mistakes she's made ("We can't erase our mistakes. None of us." that wasn't just a line targeted at Jinx to prove a point, there's deeper meaning behind it), and moving the guards out of the cell proving that she trusts Vi and her judgment on Jinx is that apology, Caitlyn has always been an "acts of service" kinda person over being a "verbal" kinda person; it's all over the place in S1 but Especially here in S2. But even after she takes Vi's shirt off, you could tell by her eyes and body language that she was most likely going to stop herself again to apologize for hitting her because the wound was in the same spot she initially hit, which was part of the lead up for This wound to even happen, but Vi's the one that just pulls her back in instead.
I'm also gonna add on that Vi thinks she made the wrong choice in trusting Jinx and thinking Jinx's changed because Jinx locked her in the cell and ran away again. So why in the Hell would Vi go chasing after her Again to be met with the same result time and time again? Vi isn't responsible for Jinx's mental health and y'all saying that are just weird. And I think it's apparent that Stillwater probably wasn't even in the top 10 things in her head being with Caitlyn, she was just running wild on emotions that she hasn't allowed herself to feel like-- Ever. And even if it Was Vi probably would have said she wasn't comfortable being in a jail cell of all places.
What was I talking about? Oh right, Timebomb.
Like Yes, it's shitty that Ekko doesn't get a happy ending considering he's the most unproblematic in the entire show. But people tend to forget that at the end of the day, Arcane is a TRADGEDY. It's not She-ra, it's not The Owl House, it wasn't going to be wrapped up in a neat little bow where everyone gets to smile and walk into the sunset with their loved ones, especially considering the fact that this season's being used as build ups to other stories, it's relatively clear that this isn't the last we're going to see of a lot of these characters. When they come back into play? well... who's to say?
But also, let's address that a lot of the Caitvi hate is just straight up homophobia at this point because a lot of people can understand Mel's admission to manipulating Jayce as an apology but Cait's actions we're suddenly braindead and need shit completely spelled out. like good lord I'm so tired of this. Y'all would NEVER have survived Catradora let me tell ya...
(My next post is gonna be a long winded rant about Maddie so stay tuned for that...)
#arcane#arcane season 2#caitlyn kiramman#vi arcane#ekko arcane#jink arcane#caitvi#timebomb#league of legends#yall are weird#and hypocritical#to say the least#arcane discussion#im rambling again#but i have a point#making timebomb canon would be fanservice not caitvi#im just saying
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ngl, for a good portion of ghostfuckers, I was going, 'I'm not surviving this at all am I? Blitz is gonna be emotionally fucked by the end of the episode.'
But then, we got to this point.
(Thanks to Cipher-Club for the gifs)
And from that point on, my entire mindset I had about this episode changed dramatically, instead of being pessimistic, I was now optimistic that the episode would end on a good note, that Blitz would be able to come out of this experience a better man, and that hope was clearly justified.
The ending was just perfect, it gave me renewed hope for Stolitz, and for his relationships with everyone else. I'm so glad they decided to end the episode on a high note, and give Blitz that win and character growth he so desperately needed at this point in time. I cannot wait to see where the next two episodes go, considering this is how ghostfuckers went.
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tag game
i was tagged by @junonomenon (decided to make my own thread)
last song i listened to: I Will Survive, covered by the puppini sisters (idk how i found it, i've just been listening to my "liked songs" playlist lately)
favorite color: green 💚
currently watching: house md (i'm on season 8 now. trying to finish the show before my student spotify premium/hulu expires at the end of the month cause i'm gonna unsubscribe)
last movie i watched: return of the king extended edition (i got the dvd box set for christmas and am watching them with all the bonus features and everything :) next i'm gonna watch them with the audio commentaries)
sweet/spicy/savory: it varies, obviously. i like all three at different times and for different foods. i'll interpret this as what i'm craving right now, in which case i'll say sweet. i'm gonna go make some toast with cinnamon + sugar after i post this
relationship status: single + arospec. my gf of two years broke up with me a few months ago (said she couldn't handle long distance) but i'm still taking care of her pet inverts until she can come get them
current obsession: uhhhh i've been in between obsessions for a little while. though i'm embarrassed to admit i think i might be obsessed with a mobile game (it's called My Little Universe and i'm adamantly refusing to pay for the ad-free version even though it would probably vastly improve my enjoyment of the game and make my phone not overheat when playing it. it's also on steam but i'm in too deep and just wanna finish the game on mobile first. i'm on the second to last planet)
last thing i googled: arceus (house mentioned it in the last episode i watched and i wasn't 100% sure whether it was a pokemon reference or not. it was)
like any tag game, i don't want you to feel pressured to play if you don't want to or don't have the energy, this is just for fun :)
@drivingthesehillsaway @lemonlimetoast @aro-oak @surrealsloth @kebbopulos @fratboycipher @douglasfeiffel @awoooooubliette @friendofthecrows @pleasantartisanhottea
i think the original had 9 tags but i went for 10 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i don't think it matters
#words words words#tag game#i had to go though my followers list to remember some mutuals#cause for some of you i straight up forgot that we were mutuals. as in you're on my dash all the time but i forgot you also follow me
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Inspired by recent events - how would modern AGSZC handle long haul international travel? The airports, the flights and the inevitable jet lag
♯ Angeal always tries to find the positive and bright side of everything, so he's game for anything. He’s the one making checklists, planning every detail, ensuring everyone’s luggage is in order, and being just a little neurotic (just a little) he sees it as part of the fun and a way to ensure everything goes smoothly. Even jet lag can’t dampen his spirits! He views it as just another part of the adventure.
*Angeal kicks the door down*
Angeal: To whoever had the audacity to go up to the packing checklist I've helpfully pinned to the fridge and write 'calm down Angeal', I just want you to know that I'M FUCKING!! CALM! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO CALM IN ALL MY LIFE—HEY! GENESIS YOU GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN WHY I FOUND A WHOLE BOTTLE OF LIQUOR IN YOUR LUGGAGE? WE'RE GOING ON A BUSINESS TRIP, YOU DONUT, NOT TO A RESORT. IF I GET ONE WHIFF OF ALCOHOL ON YOUR BREATH I'M THROWING YOU FROM THE AIRPLANE!
*Sephiroth and Zack are watching from a distance*
Zack: Why is Angeal screaming at the wall?
Sephiroth: Don't look, Zack.
♯ Genesis loves traveling and views every aspect of it as part of the vacation, thanks to his aesthete heart. Packing is an artform to him, creating playlists for the car ride to the airport is essential, selecting books, and planning which episodes of his dramas to catch up on during the flight. Jet lag would be a downer for him, but he's rarely sleeping on vacation anyway, preferring to be out partying. But once he's back needs at least two days to recuperate.
*Genesis is sitting in the briefing room with sunglasses and a cocktail. Zack is fanning him*
Lazard: Commander, this is ridiculous. Your vacation ended two days ago.
Genesis: On the contrary, director. I'm still on vacation.
Lazard: Your theatrics are disrupting the workspace.
Genesis: No they're not.
*Sephiroth and Angeal walk in and immediately slip and fall on the sand that's scattered on the floor*
♯ Sephiroth is convinced that no one in the world hates taking trips more than he does. Work trips are terrible, and the 'getting there' part of vacations is dreadful no matter the 'distractions' he brings to keep his mind busy. Honestly, he'd be a happier person if teleportation were more widely used so he could just appear at places randomly. He's a homebody who loves the comfort of his own space and values his sleep, so jet lag hits him hard.
Zack: Hey, how are you—
Sephiroth: I haven't slept in 22 hours and if I don't drink something caffeinated and release my anger within the next minute, then I will be forced to enlist the help of the shadow that's been following me around all day to tape your mouth shut.
Zack: What shadow?
Sephiroth:
Zack, panicking: WHAT SHADOW?
♯ Zack loves trips, partly because his upbringing in Gongaga made him eager to see the world. He's just happy to be there, though he hates packing and always forgets to bring essential stuff like his underwear and toothbrush. But that's what Angeal is for! Jet lag is nonexistent to him because he can and will sleep through anything, as long as he has a comfortable enough space. The only thing he can't deal with about trips is the sitting still part... yeah, he needs to stretch his legs or else he starts to lose his mind.
*In the airplane*
Genesis: Are you alright? Your eye is twitching and your knees are shaking.
Zack: I can't take this anymore.
Genesis: Read a book.
Zack: I hate reading.
Genesis: Watch a movie.
Zack: I can't focus.
Genesis: Then do one of the two things I do when I'm bored—either poke Angeal with a back scratcher until he explodes or challenge Sephiroth to an arm wrestling match.
Zack:
Zack: Somehow I feel like Sephiroth breaking my arm is the safer option.
Genesis: It is.
Zack: Alright.
♯ IF Cloud survives the motion sickness, he will not be a happy camper during the trip.
Cloud: I feel like I'm gonna throw up.
Sephiroth: Ginger is known to reduce nausea and prevents vomiting. Consuming ginger in the form of tea, candy, or even chopped pieces can be effective to combat nausea and vomiting.
Cloud: Do you have ginger?
Sephiroth: No.
Cloud: Then why the hell would you bring that up?
Sephiroth: It's always nice to learn something new, Cloud.
Cloud: *visibly annoyed*
Sephiroth: I realize I've made a mistake. I'm in the splash zone.
#ff7#ffvii#final fantasy 7#sephiroth#final fantasy vii#ffvii crisis core#genesis rhapsodos#ff7 crisis core#zack fair#angeal hewley#cloud strife#headcanons
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Good People Part III: As you would have them do unto you. (Platonic)
Note: A summary of episode 3-4-beginning of 5. CW/ Discussions of PTSD flashbacks, trauma - mild mention of what happened in Reader's past; needles
Summary: Capture, being used as bait, having internal spirals you can't control, losing a finger, and almost having your organs harvested; something about that really bonds two people together.
Part 1 Part 2
"It's smart," you say, carrying the head, "his idea. His head, and whatever the hell is inside it, for your dad. It's a fair trade."
"It's horrible," Lucy objects.
"Most things are here."
"I hate it."
"Yeah, me too," you admit.
"How have you survived all on your own up here? I mean, no weapons or anything," she then realises how that sounds, "sorry."
You wave it off, accidentally waving the head in her direction, "you're good. And, I used to. I wasn't alone. Had some people."
"What happened with them?"
"Most of them took our stash and ran."
"'Our'?" She catches onto.
You pause at a water filled place. No way you'll get through that without something eating you.
You clench your jaw, "yeah...I was the only one left after a few days."
"I'm -" she goes to reach out, then remembers how you reacted before. She doesn't touch you, but her hand hovers near your shoulder, and she instead finishes her sentence, "sorry. I'm sorry for, whatever happened."
You shrug, "yeah, well. Guy pissing on my wound ain't the worst thing in the world, I'll say that," you leave the conversation there.
As you try and find a way through, a gulper jumps out of the water. It grabs Lucy on the leg, and knocks you away.
"Y/N!" Lucy calls out, being dragged, "Y/N, my gun!"
You put a hand to your head, it ringing. You blink to focus your vision, finding Lucy's drug gun in front of you. You crawl to it, the world moving in slow motion almost.
"Here!" Lucy says, throwing you a shot. You open the gun, and slot it in place.
You aim it up, as Lucy tries to kick the thing to get it to let go of her leg.
You fire. It hits the target. It works for a moment. Lucy gets scratched, but she isn't worried about that right now.
"Y/N! The head!" she calls out to you. You're already watching the Gulper run away with it and go into the water. You are already up and running. Lucy isn't far behind you.
"Dang it!" she says, before looking at her Pipboy, looking at the tracker for it.
She takes off her bag.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" You say, putting an arm out to stop her, "I'll go. I can swim better."
"You can't be serious!"
"Like you ain't just gonna jump in there yourself!"
A whistle breaks up your argument. There he is, the Ghoul from before. Lucy is on the ground the next moment, and a pistol is in your face.
"Don't move now, sunshine," he says to you, before asking Lucy about the head.
She doesn't know, she lies. Even saying "I lost it" instead of we.
So, you're both then tied up, and dragged.
To you, it's too similar to...to before.
You go silent, almost numb.
Lucy is dunked in the water. She keeps begging with the Ghoul, that doesn't help with your memories...
"Be like your friend," the Ghoul says, "and be more quiet, huh?"
You don't talk, not for a long time in your journey. You're just stuck in your head.
She's tried to talk to you time and time again, each time getting more concerned - even airing it to the Ghoul - but nothing comes of it. There's only one instance, when he talks to his Ghoul friend, you come back, sensing the atmosphere. You turn to Lucy, and look away from the scene. Lucy looks to you. It's enough to not let her see the man get shot at least. Even if the blood hits you both.
She can see that you've gone back to how you were when you first met, a mess on the edge it seemed. Desperate, and dying.
Now, more than ever, she understands what that's like.
"Y/N...drink, please," she begs. And, for a moment, you come out of your internal hell.
Slowly you approach it. And then human instinct takes over. You drink, as much as you can fit in your mouth, greedily. It isn't like when she met you. Here, you're a survivor. Not a friend.
You couldn't be that survivor right now. So, she would be in your place. She promises to.
It's why she runs, to try and buy you some time to fight back.
She gets lassoed, but rips off a finger. She loses her own.
"Now, as much as I respect you for it," the Ghoul admits, "try that again, and it's your friend who's next. And I'll give them something to stew over, ok?"
She nods, but he see's the threat in her eyes as well. A fire that's there. He looks back to you. someone who is so lost.
It reminds him of himself in the first few years of his search. He doesn't ask you, though. He tells himself he doesn't care - and, part of that is true, you're just cargo to get more of his meds - but, it's mainly because he's scared of what you'll say. And if it'll drag him back there as well. Grief, loss, pain, a hell of a motivator, but something you could also drown in as well. He drowned for a bit, for god knows how long - it's how his legend grew. But, he pulled himself together. Once you're gone, you can pull yourself together or not - that's not up to him.
So, he leaves you alone. Continues with Lucy, shooting the Vault-tech sign and all. He hated putting his thumb up for that dumb advert.
Lucy looks back to you. That gunshot has made you jump, but now your eyes are darting around. You're trying to find exits. You're, somewhat, back in the present.
You look to her, genuinley fearful - but she's just glad you're back with her. That she's not alone anymore. Selfish, she knows, but she's glad. Gets her hopes up somewhat.
You arrive at your destination, a supermarket. There, the trade goes by.
"Nice to have you back with us, sunshine," The Ghoul says to you, "shame it happened too late," he quips before shoving you forward.
You and Lucy enter the market. A Mr Handy robot greets you both.
"You will both be swell in no time," the bot says to you. Another, identical bot, approaches you, "my colleague here will have you in tip-top shape in no time."
You look to Lucy, 'fight' you say to her. She nods; 'be safe' is what she says to you.
You both go to different rooms.
"Now, my friend," the Handy says to you, "how may I help you today?"
"Uh, couple of cuts," you say, "some infection of some kind from urine."
"Oh, I do say, old chap, that does not sound sanitary at all!" you shrug, "well, not to worry. I have just the thing for you here."
You see the robot go past different cabinets. It even spins around at some point - maybe it was the urine that threw it off - but finally it finds something for you. Rad-away, and some antibiotics.
"Get those down you and let the Rad-away do its thing, and you should be good as new in no time at all!"
You inject the radaway into you, and take the antibiotic. You don't know if it's just you making it up in your own mind - fooling yourself - but you do feel stronger.
"How do you feel, old chum?"
"Better," you say, "thank you."
"Absolutely no worry, at all, my friend. Now, just sit still for this next part."
You do so, but soon regret it; as you are forced down onto the chair.
"What the fuck --"
"Now, now, no need for language like that! All will be ok soon. Just a small prick for your organs and then you're free!"
Well, when you put it like that --
A saw starts up. You struggle in the straps. Restrained, and having no choice but to wait for death, you've been here before. It was what made you be alone.
You manage to, just, loosen one of your arms, and turn just enough to make the saw hit the straps. You grab a tray, swinging it into the robot. Using the brief time you have, you undo your other strap and shove the bed into it. Adrenaline at a high. You can fight this time. You can stop it this time.
You grab a scalpel, and jam it into one of the eyes. You do it to another after dodging a swing or two. It falls to the floor, and you begin stamping on it. It won't get up, but you also can't let it live. This isn't a man pissing on you; this was something - programmed by someone - to harvest your organs. This is a threat. A raider like threat.
Still, this Mr Handy isn't to blame. It's been programmed to kill you. That, and it did heal you.
So, you crouch down, putting a hand on its head, say 'I'm sorry' to it, before driving your blade into it one more time.
It doesn't speak after that.
Removing the scalpel, you collect yourself. You did it. You set it right. The ghosts in your head can leave you alone now.
You get up, finding what sharp objects you can, before you start to leave and --
"Oh! Oh, Y/N, thank god!" you run directly into Lucy.
You both give each other a once over, nodding when you don't find any wounds.
"You have colour to your cheeks!" Lucy celebrates, "did yours --?"
"Try and kill me? Yeah. Yours --" you pause, looking at Lucy's, "...didn't?"
She looks back at it, then to you, "Oh, no, it did. I just reprogrammed it."
You put out your bottom lip and nod, impressed, "atta girl."
Lucy chuckles, "alright, what do you say we bust this place?"
You nod, and smile a genuine one, "let's do it," you say.
So, together, you do. Making them release the Ghouls. The last one...however, isn't a good call.
"Move!" you say, dragging Lucy away right as she grabs a gun. It goes off, the Ghoul goes silent. It's just you both left.
Lucy looks at her hands.
You get up, and move in front of her, crouching down, "it - it's ok," you say, not used to being the comforting type after so long...the ghost in your head of your previous time being like this play on you. Lucy isn't like that, like them, she's alive. She's had your back. So far, anyway.
She looks to you again, eyes lost like your one's once were.
"Hey..." you say, putting your hand out, letting it hover near hers. She looks to it, to you.
"How -- I --"
"I know, I know," you say, "it's ok. You had to."
It takes a moment, before she gathers herself. Her eyes go a shade of colder, "the, uh, the man who took us?" she says, seemingly out of the blue, "he traded us for those," she nods her head to something to your side; looking, you see it's vials. Orange ones.
You look back to Lucy, "no one else?" you say, knowing her line of thinking.
She nods, "no one else. Not if we can avoid it."
So, you give the Ghoul some vials, and leave him be to whatever it is that's next for him. It's not up to you.
Now it's you both again, walking side by side with some weapons to your name.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Lucy asks. her voice isn't as chirpy or in awe of everything as before. It's rougher, more serious.
You nod.
"What were you thinking about as we were dragged along?"
"Some people I let down."
She nods, "your family."
"I thought they were."
She nods again, "I lost some of mine, too. I never really knew my mother. I lost some friends to Raiders."
You nod this time, "you know what they're like then."
"Ruthless."
"Brutal."
"Animals."
"Arseholes."
"Butchers."
"You know they made me watch?" Lucy stays silent, knowing that you need this, "they took all my stuff, killed all my friends who wouldn't join them? Left me for dead. A...reminder, or something."
"How long ago was that?"
"Lost my Pip," you say, "didn't really count the days. Just sort of wandered as best I could. Guess I hoped the circles or something would be best punishment."
"You don't deserve that."
"Yeah, well, you don't deserve to be hauled around like cargo," you say, coming to a stop, "you don't deserve to drink that piss water. Or get shot at, or anything. You deserve the vault, and family and not the fucked up place that is up here with fucked up people like me!"
You hate the tears building in your eyes. Lucy hates seeing them.
"I'm not a good person, Lucy. And, to be honest, I don't fully know why you came looking for me."
"Because you're my friend -"
"Am I?" you fire back with, "I mean, jesus, I got you to Filly, got shot, then came with you for my own survival. I didn't help with the Ghoul, or any of that."
"Am I angry at you?"
"I don't know why you aren't."
"Because, and it's why I came back for you; you're my friend, when things come down to it, I know you'll help me," that smile returns, one of a genuine belief in people and her mission. You shut your eyes, your mind and ghosts of past failures telling yourself you don't deserve that look - let alone being called a friend - but you open your eyes and look at them. Not hiding from them.
You hear something, a cry out, and both turn to an abandoned tunnel.
You both go forward. Roaches are climbing over a Brotherhood of Steel suit. You and Lucy shoot the roaches.
"Look, my friend and I here, everyone we've met so far - aside from each other - have tried to kill us," Lucy tells the man in the suit. He promises he won't.
Lucy goes to say more, but instead vomit comes out.
"I have rad-away!" the man says, "I can help. Please, just let me out!"
Lucy collapses. You don't even think, you catch her and lay her down. Trying to shake her back awake.
"She doesn't have long until she's unconscious," the suit says, "I have what she needs to -"
"I know what she needs! Come on Lucy, come on!" You say, shaking her again. More vomit leaves her. You put her on her side.
"Look, just let me out and I can help her! Please! Please!"
You don't have many options. Desperation is a hell of a motivator. You go to the suit, turning the wheel and letting the man out.
"Thank you. Thank you --" he says to you.
"Thank me by saving her," you say, pointing to Lucy.
He nods, grabbing the radaway like he said. You put Lucy's head in your lap.
"You're gonna be fine, ok. You're gonna be fine," you promise her. You move some hair from her face. She coughs.
The man looks to you, and you nod. He injects the needle into Lucy. You see the transfusion start.
It takes time, but slowly the colour starts to return to Lucy's skin.
"Can --" she whispers, quietly, "can I hold your hand?" she asks.
You put your hand in hers.
"I - I knew I was a good judge of character," she wheezes, eyes opening and blinking a few times as she recovers, "I knew you were a friend."
You chuckle, half between that and a sort of sob of joy, "yeah," you say, "yeah, guess you were right."
You look to the Knight you saved, and give a nod of gratitude. He nods back, and sits back onto his hands, trying to recover himself, He's covered in sweat, likely having been put in the suit for a while.
"Thank you," you say to him, gratitude pouring through and walls being fully down.
"Thank you," he parrots back.
You nod, looking back down at your friend. She looks at you, giving you a smile.
You smile back.
She's ok. You haven't failed this time.
You've saved a friend.
You've saved a friend.
Part 4
#fallout x you#lucy fallout#fallout x reader#lucy maclean x reader#lucy maclean imagine#lucy maclean#fallout imagine#fallout
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I'm gonna be honest... And I've felt this way since New Moon started his corruption arc and become Nexus -- this is the feeling this whole arc gave me.
(And, if Nexus is supposed to STAY dead and there's no twist that he survived somehow, or there's no planned revival/redemption at the end of this still-ongoing storyline................)
Honestly, to me.... It feels like the actors just got bored of playing New Moon and wanted to bring Old Moon back. But they couldn't have two "Moon"s running around, so they had to get rid of the other one. So they slapped this arc together as an excuse to throw New Moon in the trash to not have to deal with him anymore. And literally that's all it was.
(It'd explain why so much of the arc was slapdash, rushed, and sloppy. Why they set SO MUCH emotional stuff up for New Moon only to do nothing with it. Because it was all an excuse to just be rid of a character they didn't want to play anymore. They went scorched-earth with wrecking his characterization so the narrative would have an excuse to never have him come back. And, I ALMOST suspect this arc was added in at the last minute, a sudden change after deciding they wanted Old Moon back?? I don't have proof of that, but that's again just the feeling I get, especially if you look back at earlier episodes. If you look in earlier vids where New Moon spoke to Old Moon in the mindscape, many characters HEAVILY INSISTED AND REPEATED that Old Moon was still permanently dead, "just an instinctual copy", and could not come back. They said this repeatedly; Monty said it, New Moon said it to Sun, and Old Moon himself said it. Plus, in the mindscape, Old Moon HAD been absorbing information from New Moon's life -- he knew everything that had happened to the Celestial Family, and even had a big speech about how "I lived how I lived, now you need to live how YOU live," all stuff that was really cementing his "dead" status......... Then out of the blue there's ~miraculously~ a sudden way to revive him. And when he was revived, they retconned it so he didn't know anything about what had happened in the year he was dead. That's why I have this suspicion Old Moon's return wasn't planned from the beginning, and they quickly added the Nexus arc when they decided they wanted Old Moon back instead of New Moon.)
(It's also why they're... pretty inconsistent with their rules for things worked, and things like Nexus's weird sudden 180 character flip and flimsy motivations. Half the time Old Moon "wasn't processing anything while in stasis at all," other times he's like "I absorbed feelings and words every now and then;" one moment it's a funny haha when he's like "Who's Solar??? I don't know who that is?? I was in stasis I don't know ~anything~" the next it's "Solar I'm sorry, I KNOW what Nexus was thinking, I kept hearing him going SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR in his mind in agony, until he just stopped." Like his return was such a sudden change they didn't plan out these things before jumping into it.)
(And as they assassinated New Moon's goodness, they propped up Old Moon on an idealized pedestal going "LOOK HOW MUCH BETTER OLD MOON ALWAYS WAS, HE'S ACTUALLY ALWAYS BEEN BETTER AND NEW MOON WAS A BIG DUMB CHUMP THE WHOLE TIME, LOOK HOW COOL AND SMART AND BETTER OLD MOON IS." )
I'm still wondering if Nexus is not fully dead just yet, but IF HE IS, then this is just how I feel.
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'When the Phone Rings' OST is SO GOOD
I haven't been watching many kdramas properly for the past year since nothing has been catching my eye, but I'm so glad I took the time to watch When the Phone Rings, because my goddd, we are so BACK besties. This is giving all the feels of the 2016 kdramas that I used to be obsessed with. I think the last time I watched a kdrama as it was airing was It's Okay to Not Be Okay and that was a riiddee. I used to freaking analyze each episode and one of the things I loved most about the show was how much the OSTs used to fit the situation and character perfectly.
The first OST they've released is See the Light by Lim Hyunsik.
youtube
First, what a voice. I love it so much.
Second, THE LYRICCSSS. THE MUSICCC. THE VIBBEEE.
The song manages to capture the mystery between these characters so well. One of the most striking things about this show is that both Baek Sa Eon and Hong Hee Joo are very mysterious - not only are they involved in a dangerous threat situation but the audience doesn't know anything about them. Their pasts haunt them and their relationship, and we are uncovering it piece by piece, which shapes how we see them. This is done so meticulously and the piano at the beginning of the song, the melody, the emotion behind it captures this PERFECTLY.
And I mean, some of the lyrics is so striking - it literally makes the audience understand the characters and their dilemma better. For example,
[Pre-Chorus] Your tender lies gonna make me cry tonight Fall like a dawn when the shades are fading out Now
The things that these two hide from each other dictate how they view each other as emotionally unavailable, cold and confusing. As shocking as it is for her to see him be kind towards her, it is as shocking to him to see her emote, to cry, to shout out in anxiety, to smile at her friends. Although it is easiest for the audience to experience Hong Hee Joo's confusion with her husband, this song shines light upon how Baek Sa Eon feels about his wife.
"Tender lies" is such perfect wording for this - neither of their lies, and especially not hers, is done with ill intention. It's almost like it is a way to protect herself against the world, to exist and survive in it. But the nature of lies, of course, is that is hides you away in darkness, it traps you in it.
Truth, here, frees it. It gives you light. It gives you life, a risky opportunity to live it but the strength to be brave about it as well. When her truth is revealed to him, there is no anger - there is only shock and confusion and a bit of happiness in unlocking an important part of her.
[Chorus] See the light waking up an unfamiliar night Stuck in my heart, hiding the cold words I'll hold you See the light open up your broken heart The deeper heart on my lips Wants you more deeply
The light that comes from truth unveils the darkness of the unfamiliar light - it unveils her broken heart to him in a way that makes him want to hold back his cold words, whether he means those words or not, and makes him want to hold her. Because he of all people also knows what its like to have your secrets revealed, to be vulnerable in the face of the one person who brings out your vulnerability - even if he isn't completely in that stage yet, he definitely is scared of it.
This song helps create a feeling of empathy between the characters, where they are genuinely finding reflections of themselves in each other. It helps us to understand what he is feeling as he discovers that she can speak, as he discovers her feelings.
Honestly, I cannot wait for next week's episodes and for most OSTs to release, because I just know it's all going to be perfect.
#when the phone rings episode 4#when the phone rings#yoo yeon seok#chae soo bin#baek sa eon#hong hee joo#see the light#lim hyunsik#when the phone rings OST#kdrama#kdrama ost#why is this song so perfect for this character#i'm obsessed and it's exam week pls save me#Youtube
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y’know I respect a fan’s choice about how they want to view mizu but tiny ramble about it here. this isn’t any sort of discussion or ‘matter of fact’ essay, just a simple rant about headcannons about her being TRANS and her SEXUALITY.
Warning: extremely long.
Given the numerous limitations that would arise from traveling as a woman, I find it very difficult to understand why some people believe Mizu is transgender when it's obvious that she is hiding this information in order to survive. This was particularly true during the Edo period, when women were dehumanized and treated like objects because we only ever see them as a slave or working in a brothel (majority of the show at least). They were also seen having to depend on men for nearly everything, as demonstrated in the episode where the mother and daughter were left outside to freeze to death since her husband was not present to accompany them. Along with that subtle hints were presented to us that show how comfortable she is when in touch with her femininity like a few moments in the episode where she came back to Swords-father Eiji’s hut. Though, I can definitely see why people would label her as transmasc with the theory that she must’ve grown so accustomed to this sort of lifestyle, she’d perhaps just become transmasc in the later episodes. We’ll never know!
Next, not gonna lie, I’m insanely guilty of viewing Mizu as a bisexual women despite feeling that she is leaning more toward heterosexuality in terms of her sexuality. I have the biggest fattest crush on her so I have no problem stating how much I'm crying and wailing over this. Like c’mon, let's be real, I guarantee that 98% of simps are female, and I’m sure every single one of us has mentioned once that we can all treat her better than Mikio and Taigen. Speaking of Taigen, I HAVE to admit that him and Mizu do have the best chemistry compared to everyone in the show. It’s clear in the way she pulls him away from those shooting arrows, knocks him out becahse she fears for his safety if he follows, saving him from Fowler's castle even though she could have easily just left him to die and slain Fowler, etc. At first, I would’ve assumed she’d have trauma with men especially after Mikio’s betrayal which might’ve led her to stray away from any romantic attraction with men—or anybody in general. Honestly, I have dedicated my time to search for ANY hint (ok not rlly) that she might be attracted to women, but the only time I ever see her become flustered by one is when she appears to be taken aback by the prostitues she tried to ask for directions to the Shindo Dojo. Plus, there were only two occasions where she interacted with Akemi that people use to automatically ship them which is when she saw Akemi in her carriage (not sure of the specific name) and pinned her down in Madame Kaji's brothel. I can’t imagine them as a couple in later episodes, something I’m been dying to see. Though, it’s hard to determine what was running in her mind during the scene where they both stole glances at each other, especially since there was no sort of indication in her inner thoughts or emotions, so it’s normal to assume the above as well. (Despite that, I’m still rooting for AT LEAST bisexual Mizu because for the love of god and for the sake of all of the gay women here, PLEASE. /j)
I may make jokes about these headcannons like playfully hating on the TaiMizu ships. All in all, I’m sure the fans are mature enough to understand that these are meant to be lighthearted jokes and that people interpret a character and show in various ways and it’s normal! Even if I can’t comprehend the theory or feel as though it is a little too complicated/really negotiable, remember to support what you want, ship what you want, make whatever headcannons, nobody’s stopping you! Don’t be too afraid to just announce what you feel about the show. All I ask is to avoid SERIOUSLY cancelling someone just because of their own feelings and opinions. In the end, they’re stilll fictional characters (😞😞) who have no sort of physical form of any sort so do whatever, as long as it isn’t really THAT problematic in a sense (e.g. romanticising rape), go for it.
(Sorry for bringing her sexuality into this, I’m aware of how the show is definitely not centering on this and not every single thing has to be LGBTQ-related but I noice it’s something constantly brought up in the fandom. As someone whose phrasing and essay writing skills suck, I’m still learning bit by bit about how the world works in terms of differing views on things. I may not support your idea of a character but I RESPECT it! If I came off as rude, I’m sorry, remember it’s just my random midnight thoughts🙏)
#mizu blue eye samurai#bes mizu#blue eyed samurai#mizu#tumblr fyp#taigen#taigen blue eye samurai#akemi blue eye samurai#headcannons#akemi#transgender#sexuality#rants n rambles#late night rambles#lgbtq#random rants#might get cancelled#tumbler explore page#explore
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What your favourite Doctor says about you (just like the Master and Companion lists, this is all just jokes and my own terrible takes, absolutely no offence intended towards anyone). This is gonna be a long one, so good luck:
One (I think):
Is somehow able to sit through The Keys of Marinus whilst completely sober. Their feelings on Twice Upon a Time completely depend on whether they are able to accept that TV shows made in the 1960s will inevitably have some outdated bits or not. Loves slow-burners and less science-heavy stories, and wishes the Doctor would go back to trolling his companions again. Prays every night for The Celestial Toymaker and Marco Polo to be found. Hates the Timeless Child with a burning passion.
Two:
Two fans deserve a lot better. Despite a large chunk of their era being limited to surviving audio, PowerPoint presentations telesnaps and the, er, mixed bag of animated reconstructions, they still contribute a lot to the discussion of Classic Who and are usually well versed in the lore of the EU. 2nd Doctor fans are remarkable, as they are able to get along with pretty much every other group of fans. However, there is plenty of infighting thanks to the UNIT dating controversy and which story should be reconstructed next. If they ship Two/Jamie, they have fully earned your love and are surprisingly good if you pass them the aux.
Three:
Pretty much blows a gasket whenever some idiot says that the modern era is 'too political'. Like, I'm sorry, but was the "England for the English" scene in the Claws of Axos a little too subtle for you? Were Malcolm Hulke's scripts absolutely apolitical in your eyes? Does the mere existence of The Green Death mean nothing to you?! Oh, well maybe you should try WATCHING THE SHOW and DOING YOUR RESEARCH before you start claiming that it's become 'tOo pOLiTiCaL' because the main characters aren't always played by Whiteguy McStraight now, shouldn't you?! YOU AND YOUR MEDIOCRE OPINION SHALL COWER BEFORE MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE THIRD DOCTOR'S ERA AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!
It is for this very reason that 3rd Doctor fans get along particularly well with 13th Doctor fans. Perfectly nice people with a great sense of humour and an excellent taste in episodes, unless a conversation resembling the above occurs, at which point you will see how much damage the repressed urge to do Venusian Akido can do. Refuses to admit that The Ambassadors of Death is two episodes too long.
Four:
Either a child of the 70s or chaos incarnate. Yes, 4 is pretty much the universally recognised Doctor, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most unhinged Doctors. Loves more gothic horror-themed episodes and can ignore the somewhat questionable production qualities of early Baker stories. They have almost certainly attempted to make The Scarf at one point; whether they were successful or not entirely depends on their talent for knitting. Is surprisingly ok with admitting that Tom Baker stayed for a little too long and that his later seasons were a little underwhelming. Hasn't stopped them from watching every version of Shada though.
Five:
The tired parental figure of any group they are in. They immediately related to this Doctor when they saw 5 trying to hold it together whilst his multiple adopted humans argued, whined and got themselves trapped on doomed freighter ships. Has tried to play cricket once, but a general confusion over the rules and a few broken windows stopped that. You can take care of the cinnamon roll that is the standard 5 fan by providing them with cups of tea, giving them lots of hugs and removing all copies of Time Flight from your house.
Six:
Best fashion sense out of all the fans... somehow. Their favourite episodes are usually Vengeance on Varos or Revelation of the Daleks (both bangers), although they lean more heavily towards EU and Big Finish material, where the stories are more consistent and the costumes are less yikes. Either the best or worst fan to be around, either giving fair balanced views on the show or just being an absolute arse. Loves cats. Hates Michael Grade. Kind of ambivalent towards Mel.
Seven:
If 2nd Doctor fans are well versed in the EU lore, then these individuals are fucking academics. Constantly annoyed that 7 had two of the best seasons of Classic Who and was the darkest Doctor but is only remembered for Time and the Rani for some reason. Their favourite companion will always be Ace, which is what motivated them to watch Power of the Doctor. Usually excellent taste in stories, but is completely capable of dragging you to the depths of the EU. Wishes the Doctor would commit a few more genocides. Their religious beliefs can be summarised in the phrase "Cartmel Master Plan". Still annoyed that the most strategic Doctor was killed by the two most American things (guns and bad healthcare), but gets along well with 8 fans despite that. Somehow understands Ghost Light after just 3 rewatches.
Eight:
Big Finish fan. Basically willing to explain the entire plot of Dark Eyes if you ask them. Thinks the TV Movie is just OK, and has rewatched Night of the Doctor too many times to count. Loves a sad boy, and has definitely referred to 8 as a "poor little meow meow" at some point. Wishes 8's TARDIS interior was still intact and that he'll get his own live action series. Had an actual heart attack when he appeared in Power of the Doctor. Usually a bisexual from my personal experience, and looking at Paul McGann in the 90s, I can see why.
War (or is it Nine?):
We're stepping into the depths of the Moffat cult with this one. Wants a more traumatised Doctor, and kind of wishes we saw more of the Time War beyond the laser battle in Day of the Doctor. Content to sit back and watch due to the fact that the War Doctor had the perfect arc in his one episode, although they are happy that the War Doctor still pops up in the EU. Bridging the gap between the modern and classic series means they get along well with everyone except Shalka fans.
Nine (the Curse of Fatal Death one):
Does this one count? Just loves the classic series. Still praying for Joanna Lumley as the Doctor. Nowhere near as obnoxious as the Shalka fans and surprisingly funny.
Nine (the Scream of the Shalka one):
They pride themselves on being 'against the trend' and being fans of an overlooked bit of Doctor Who history. Doesn't quite realise that Scream of the Shalka was basically an B-tier Big Finish story with janky animation. Wants Richard E Grant to show up again. Constantly attempting to upset Eccleston and Hurt fans, only to get angry when everyone forgets Scream of the Shalka existed. They definitely listen to Weezer.
Ten, no, another Nine (the Eccleston one):
The word "fantastic" is permanently superglued to their vocabulary, and yet it never gets old. Owns a leather jacket too. Wishes that the BBC hadn't been stupid and Eccleston had stayed on for another series, but doesn't hold it against Tennant. Knows the Daleks were at their best in S1. Really wants the Reapers to return, and was utterly distraught after Chibs kind of ruined 9's role in the wider arc by blowing up Gallifrey again. Major nostalgia for the 2000s with this one, and is slowly becoming a member of the Big Finish cult thanks to Eccleston's return. Understandably forgot Adam was a thing. Both loves and hates John Barrowman.
Ten? Eleven? Ten and a half? The Tennant one. I hate numbers:
Their first experience to Doctor Who was during the golden age- wait, no, sorry, the RTD cult has threatened to terminate my membership if I'm not honest with this one.
Either a child of the 2000s, a member of the aforementioned RTD cult or someone who just likes the show to be more emotionally resonant. Well, that or they are the blandest person alive. If they acknowledge how good 10's arc was in terms of deconstructing the Doctor and setting up his fall from grace via misplaced attachments and vanity, then absolutely someone to be around. If they simply say "because he was popular", definitely bland. We all know Tennant was popular, it's still not one of the many valid reasons to love him. They have an easygoing relationship with 4 and 11 fans, and otherwise OK relations with the rest of Doctors fan groups, although there is a bit of friction between 13 stans due to 10 being dragged into a lot of 13's media post-2020 to boost ratings. They didn't like it because it cheapned 10's return and era whilst also overshadowing 13. 13 stans didn't like it because it basically gave the message that the BBC had given up on 13 before her era had finished.
Definitely excited for the 60th after the regeneration and the announcement of RTD's return. Has tried owning a pair of converses, only to find out that they aren't exactly cheap. Has fought for the Ten/Rose ship on multiple occasions. Tried hair gel once, with disastrous consequences.
Huh. This one was incredibly easy to write. All I had to do was look in a mirror.
Thirte- no, Eleven:
Major ADHD energy in the best possible way. Saw the chaotic excitable Doctor and immediately fell in love. They will not rest until they have forced every former Doctor to read the "Hello Stonehenge" speech. They have also cosplayed the most out of any fan, due to the availability of fezzes and bow ties. Definitely the most fun to be around at a party. Was disappointed by Matt Smith's decision not to return for the 60th, especially after the absolute banger that was Day of the Doctor. If they ship 11 with River, they're cool, even though 11 was very asexual in S5. If they ship him with anyone else, then yikes. Wishes for the show to return to a quirky fairytale tone again.
If they were present during the SuperWhoLock days, keep an eye on them. You're only one drink away from dragging us back to 2013, and I ain't reading any of that fanfiction again *shudders*.
Fourte- FUCK, Twelve:
A certified member of the Steven Moffat cult, or just someone who likes some of their stories to have a slightly more mature tone. Has tried to play the electric guitar more than once, only to be forced to stop by their partners or housemates. Either willing to admit some of the flaws of the era or strongly defends it, with no inbetween. Absolutely correct in their assertion that S9 and 10 absolutely slapped, although this cam be undermined if they try to defend Sleep No More. If they ship River and 12, then you can trust them with anything, and they will offer you good relationship advice. If they ship 12 and Clara in a romantic way (which is strange to me cos i always got platonic BFF vibes from them, but that's just me), they definitely have relationship advice, although waiting 4 billion years to get your memory wiped is a questionable means of resolving conflict. They have a pair of the sonic sunglasses. Cried when Capaldis majestic floofy hair got shaved off for a superhero film.
Thirteen? That's right? Phew, finally getting the hang of this. Ok, Thirteen:
There are two types of 13 fan. The first is cinnamoniest of rolls. Is just happy to sit back and have fun, thus allowing them to enjoy pretty much any episode (something that a lot of people could learn from). Immediately realised that Jodie is an amazing Doctor and deserves more praise and justice. Definitely shipped Thasmin, and are the best at constructive criticism, recognising what worked and didn't in a respectful, polite way (again, something we could all learn from). Wierdly enough, they get along well with all the Doctor fans, as they are a wholesome ray of sunshine that reminds us that every era has something to offer, no matter the general consensus.
The second type masquerades as the first, but gets all hipster-y and more than willing to use the term 'overrated' when RTD or Tennant are mentioned (so basically a healthy 80% of the #antiRTD tag).
Both are convinced that the Chibnall Era will receive a massive reappraisal like the 12th Doctor's era did, despite the odds of that happening being the same as an on-screen Thasmin kiss. I'm so sorry, that's a really mean line to end this bit on. Let's instead end by saying Haunting of Villa Diodati is an absolute banger of an episode.
Ruth:
Loves the admittedly cool concept of a mystery incarnation. The rest depends on their theory of where the Ruth Doctor fits in. If they use the season 6B theory, then they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical series and the EU regardless of whether they have watched it or not. If they use the Timeless Child/Division theory, then they basically settled for the easier version of 6B after looking into the insane asylum that is classic who and EU discourse (wise choice). If they think she's from an alternative universe, thinks that she's Omega, Rassilon, The Rani, The Master or any other figure, then they practically have a gold medal in Mental Gymnastics. Either way, all of them don't like to admit that they are unfortunately limited to 4 episodes (three of them being fairly mid, the other being a mild car crash) and a pretty good comic. Cool fashion taste. Gets along with 13 stans and, surprisingly, 2nd Doctor fans.
Fourteen- oh for fucks sake:
YOU ARE TENTH DOCTOR FANS. GO BACK TO EARLIER ON IN THE POST. YES, I KNOW THAT'S THE BBC'S OFFICIAL LINE AT THE MOMENT. YES, I KNOW YOU'RE HYPED FOR THE 60TH, I AM A HYPED RTD CULTIST TOO. JUST WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. P L E A S E.
Fourt- no fifteen- no, fourteen- BBC, HAVE MERCY:
Only in the Doctor Who fandom can a Doctor who has only appeared in a brief clip and some photos have a fully developed fanbase. I should know, I've already joined it. Ncuti's photos in that suit sealed the deal. Either an RTD cultist or someone just looking forward to a fresh new direction. Also very fashionable. Has a somewhat complicated relationship with 13th Doctor fans due to the fact that Ncuti's first season and casting completely overshadowed S13 and the specials, but Ncuti also had to deal with the same levels of toxicity from the same 'fans' who threw temper tantrums at Jodie's casting in 2017. Best haircuts out of all the Doctor Who fans. Strange but true.
Full Fathom Five:
Y'all scare me.
Zagreus:
Y'all terrify me.
The Watcher:
Y'all confuse me.
The Valeyard:
Has wanted a darker series since god knows when. Was kind of annoyed when the Time Lord Victorious arc wasn't dedicated to a whole series. Also, the Valeyard is the Shadow the Hedgehog of the Whoniverse. I refuse to elaborate any further.
The Curator:
"Alright gang, let's see who the Curator fans really are!"
Pulls off mask
"Fourth Doctor fans?!"
All jokes aside, they just want a more experienced Doctor. Accepts that the show will have to end one day, and is cool with that, since they already have the perfect ending. Either cool grandad vibes or an actual grandad. Good knitwear. Their response to everything is simply putting the kettle on.
Doctor Moon:
Now these ones are very, very rare. I personally love the theory that Doctor Moon is a future version of the Doctor who is keeping River and the Library safe, but limiting your favourite Doctor to two episodes and an endorsement of the theory from Steven Moffat? Now that takes guts, and I like it. Usually partial to classy clothes, and talks in a very formal tone. Their best subject is usually maths.
Dr Who (Peter Cushing):
Unashamedly insane. Saw the absolutely glorious cheese-fest that was the 1960s Dalek movies and ended up loving one of the most unique versions of the Doctor. Is absolutely fine with bypassing 90% of the TV shows lore, making them really fun to talk to. Time Lords? Nah. Sonic screwdriver? Nope. Their Doctor is a wacky grandpa who built a multi-dimensional time machine in their back garden, and they love it. Is a sucker for Alternate Universe stories and usually loves classic B-movies. Knows that the movies kind of suck as adaptations, but as pure 1960s camp, they are unbeatable. Absolute legends.
All of Them:
The glue that holds this fanbase together. Enlightened individuals who have to check in every now and then to make sure that we mere mortals are behaving ourselves. They just simply enjoy the show and hold no biases. Absolutely infuriating to talk to for that very reason.
#doctor who#1st doctor#2nd doctor#3rd doctor#4th doctor#5th doctor#6th doctor#7th doctor#8th doctor#9th doctor#10th doctor#11th doctor#12th doctor#13th doctor#14th doctor#15th doctor#war doctor#rtd#moffat era#chibnall era#classic dw#nu who#doctor who eu#doctor who meta#doctor who funny#dr who and the daleks#doccy who#doctor who 60th anniversary#ruth doctor#fugitive doctor
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AGATHA EPISODE SIX SPOILER DISCUSSION; HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A GOOD EPISODE!!!!
A LOT happened in this episode, and we got a LOT of answers!
I'm really glad we got Billy Kaplan/Billy Maximoff's full backstory here at the midway point, and I really enjoy the way this episode bridged the gap between WandaVision and Agatha All Along. I'm just really excited to see Billy's story getting adapted here in general too. Obviously it's a bit different from the comics, but they kept a lot of the core ideas of it in tact. And I'm super happy to see that they explicitly kept his Jewishness in tact as well given the MCU's unfortunate habit of erasing or neglecting Jewish identities. We find out here that Billy Maximoff's spirit is inhabiting the body of Billy Kaplan, who died in a car accident the day the Hex came down. We also find out that Lilia was the one who put the sigil on Billy after reading his palm and seeing his broken life line (I was surprised but I thought that reveal was very satisfying). We find out that Billy's boyfriend's name is Eddie, so he's not Teddy Altman and thus probably not Hulkling, which I personally never really thought but other people were theorizing.
Oh and RALPH BOEHNER RETURNS!!!! :D Honestly, I didn't think I would care, but my boyfriend and I went WILD when we saw him pop up. A+ callback right there :D And I like him being the one to sort of facilitate Billy going to Westview after Agatha. After how little he did in WandaVision post-reveal that he wasn't Pietro, it was nice to see him get a bit more relevance again in the overarching plot.
Agatha pulls herself out of the mud and survives, and I also really loved how Agatha wasn't mad or vengeful towards Billy. She was legitimately excited to see him and know who he was. Their relationship is one of the most interesting parts of the show, so I'm glad to see that it's not totally being burned to the ground. Obviously, Billy is fully in the right not to trust Agatha, but we're now at a juncture where the two of them are going to be more open and honest with each other, and that has me excited! We just saw Agatha last episode prove why she is still very much a villain, but we also saw that Billy has a bit of a dark side in him too. I think we're gonna see Billy be torn between good and evil as the show goes forward and deciding what type of witch he wants to be, with Agatha being the proverbial devil on his shoulder. I made the comparison a few weeks back about Agatha and Billy being Maleficent and Riku from Kingdom Hearts in another font, and that seems to be the direction we're heading, which excites me.
Theory wise, there's not a whole lot of new theories for me at least, other than the ones continuing from previous episodes, but I do have a few more scattered thoughts: *Eddie uses the black heart emoji for Billy, so does that mean HE was the black heart that Lilia wrote on the list instead of Rio? If so, it's kind of weird that HE would be a "black heart" in any way. But also this still has me thinking that Blackheart may yet be involved. Not as Rio (who we pretty much know is Death due to leaks), but maybe somewhere else? I dunno, I'm not giving up hope that he or Mephisto are involved, even if it's just as an after credits scene.
*BILLY HAVING A BLACK CAULDRON POSTER IN HIS ROOM MADE ME SO FRIGGIN' HAPPY! To see Disney acknowledging that movie always warms my heart, but to know that Billy is a fan in this universe is REALLY cool and gives me a sort of kinship with him. Love to the underloved!
*Rio is still MIA since Alice died. Is she still tending to Alice or is she doing something else?
*Lilia and Jen aren't dead, and we know as much, but they didn't escape the bog with Agatha, so I'm wondering if the next trial will see the get out or maybe see them waiting there for Agatha and Billy.
*Billy is apparently on the road to find Tommy, which makes a lot of sense. I know people are upset that he's not after Wanda, but I genuinely don't think Wanda's return to the MCU was ever going to be in another TV show. I think, if Wanda returns, it's going to be in Avengers Doomsday, much like her return in the comics during Children's Crusade. But I'm excited to see if Tommy DOES return in this show or if Billy's ambitions are going to remain unresolved at the end of the road. I'm excited to find out!
NEXT EPISODE WITH SPEED PLEASE! I have a MIGHTY need to see Billy in that Maleficent cosplay in what I assume is the next trial… yes, I am, as ever, myself XD
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I've already mentioned the way the conversations both Wang and Tian have with their parents moved me.
This is mostly for the rest of the episodes and things I missed before.
As humorous as I found that literally everyone in Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang's lives found out about them moving into the dorms from (probably) Sheng Wang's father it made me think of the implications for it. Maybe also the repercussions of it in the future. There's something really telling about it, that the dad had no qualms to keep it with him to talk to Wang but rather chose to ask people to counsel him. Makes me think of how things would be handled if and when they actually get together. Same with the way they outted them as brothers and the wildfire that it spread like. The boys themselves hadn't been able to commit to calling each other brothers but they had to accept it by the end of the day without their own acceptance.
Jiang Tian's flashback scene with all the times he spent with Sheng Wang was so beautiful and made me tear up. Especially considering the implication that Jiang Tian is already aware of his feelings.
The final portion where he has unpacked and is for the first time feeling comforted at home is so moving and the hug killed me. I'm gonna keep watching this episode waiting for the next ones. The hug as well.
Big mouth xu is right. The way Wang was messaging was quite evidently someone you love and adore. Wang is just blind. 😭
Lastly but was the first thing that was true, everytime I see Jiang Tian being a kid with Sheng Wang my heart soars and it did so in the swimming pool scene as well.
I'm really happy to see that the dad realised that he needs to be there in actions as well and postponed his travel. I'm just worried that he is now gonna be overbearing to over compensate.
I am curious about two things. Yesterday's episode, Ji Huanyu came back and we didn't hear of him today except for sending money. So where is he? What is he planning? Do we see him again?
Second, this is the first time we don't have some sort of a Jiang Tian's very moment as such. We got a continuation of the scene instead of that. So what does that mean.
Sooo... Yeah there you go. Anyway, let me know what you think of it, how you feel about it and hope you survive till next week. ❤️🥺😭
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This Time on Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains Analysis: How the Fuck Did Aoi's Writing Get Worse
Got sidetracked by GX Week, but I'm back to talk about Aoi again, because oh boy...
So for season 1, I'd heard the rumors of how they screwed her over, and they were mostly in line with the ways I expect Yugioh female characters to be failed by the writers. Overall I still liked Aoi and, while I found some decisions distasteful, I didn't think the actual quality of her writing was worse than other characters'.
Aoi's writing in season 2 is several times worse than it was in season 1. It's truly a disaster, amateurish and baffling, in a way that I think most viewers don't even consciously realize. And while it may not be the worst moment in Yugioh -- it is, in my opinion, the worst writing I've ever seen in Yugioh.
Anyway, that's how I wrote 4k words descending into Aoi madness. Enjoy!
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Before I begin, a fair warning: I'm gonna say some harsh things in this post. Because being mean is funny, and I deserve it after what I just watched.
But I also want say up front that I don't think the Vrains writers are bad writers, and I still have respect for them. Writing for children's television is grueling work that I could never do, and there are many reasons why bad art is released into the world besides simple writing skill. Vrains clearly had a troubled production, and I have other suspicions about why it turned out the way it did. If there's interest, I think that could be its own post, too.
Also, I refer to the "writers" in this post when I criticize Vrains's storytelling, but to be clear, directors, producers, storyboarders, and others can have just as much influence over the show's story as writers, or even more so. I use the term writers for convenience's sake.
Without further ado...
⇀ Losing My Mind Immediately
Akira lets Aoi go into the restricted area, which nobody has ever returned from.
Ahem... WHO ARE YOU??? Why is Akira, overprotective onii-san numero uno, extremely willing to put his sister on house arrest for her own safety, has never given Aoi his permission to fight, suddenly letting her go off into a danger zone with a 0% survival rate, right after she lost to Spectre immediately in the Tower of Hanoi conflict.
Oh, so now you think she's capable? Why???
Not only that, they make Ghost Girl be the one to say it's too dangerous for her. What?? Ghost Girl is the one who encouraged Aoi to sneak out and into the danger zone in season 1. These are literally the last two characters who would say these things to Aoi.
Then, when they enter the restricted area, Aoi immediately gives up her emergency logout program to an NPC. Normally I'd brush this off. Naivety being used to emphasize female characters' moral virtuosity is passé, but it's not a big deal. It wouldn't be, if the next 30 seconds didn't make me completely go off the rails. This is the speech that is possibly the worst writing, line by line, that I have ever seen in Yugioh.
Roll the tape...
Aoi: Recent events have taught me that I'm still a child. I took on Hanoi for my brother, but look how that turned out. I troubled everyone, and they needed to save me. I was full of myself, thinking I can do anything on my own, but in truth, the world is full of people and we're all connected. Everyone saved me. So this time, I want to save everyone. I'll become stronger, so this time, I'll do everything I can!
Literally none of these sentences make sense... Half of them aren't even true. It reads like ChatGPT asked to write a shonen speech -- the facade of being inspiring, but ultimately empty and nonsensical.
"I took on Hanoi for my brother," This is blatantly false. She had a whole goddamn episode focused on why she decides to fight Hanoi, it's her duel with Baira, and it's specifically about how she's not doing this for her brother, she's not doing this for herself, she's doing this for everyone. If anything, she disregards her brother in order to fight Hanoi.
Blue Angel: I learned something from my duels. When people believe in you, you're fighting for everyone. So I will fight for everyone from now on!
Sound familiar? It's the same goddamn thing she's saying right now, "this time, I want to save everyone." Why are they framing this as Aoi having a new realization, having learned her lesson? What they demonstrate with this is that Aoi hasn't learned her lesson. The reason she lost to Spectre is because trying to save everyone includes trying to save him, and he takes advantage of her naivety.
Blue Angel: You're the same as me... When you were alone, you sought love, and Blue Angel's blue is the ultimate love! Blue Angel will descend into your heart, and save your soul! Spectre: Really? *bows mockingly* Please, then, save my soul!
Naively trying to save others is exactly what she's doing right now, by thoughtlessly giving away her emergency logout in a place that nobody has ever returned from. Her character has gone completely backwards. I said in my last post that losses are good because we get to see characters grow -- I stand by the opinion that they could have made the Spectre loss work -- but they've bungled it on three different levels. She loses horribly, then they retcon her reason for losing, in order to make her character regress.
Apparently, the real reason Aoi lost to Spectre, is because "she was full of herself, thinking she could do anything on her own." I'm so mad. First of all, Aoi clearly wasn't acting on her own and never thought she was, Go and Yusaku were both fighting Hanoi too. Why are they acting like Aoi lost because of hubris?
You know who thought he could do everything on his own? Yusaku. But clearly he didn't need to learn that "the world is full of people and we're all connected." He clearly believed the opposite, because he did everything by himself and tried to reject allyship at every turn and yet lo and behold, he hasn't lost a single duel.
"Everyone saved me. So this time, I want to save everyone." NO, LITERALLY ONE PERSON SOLO'D HANOI, AND EVERYONE ELSE DID JACK SHIT. This resolution that Aoi comes to not only regresses her character, but it makes no goddamn sense. Who is the everyone you're talking about, Aoi? Are they in the room with us right now?
Who am I kidding, it's obvious who the "everyone" is, because as she says it, the clip that plays is Akira's manpain as Aoi gets turned into data. Because even in this moment that has nothing to do with Akira, the writers cannot resist bending Aoi's character to revolve around how much she loves her beloved onii-san, even though it makes no sense in this context of trying to save a random NPC.
Frankly, the whole "everyone saved me" also makes no sense in the context of trying to save a random NPC. But like, even less sense than that, because the actual context of this "heartfelt" shonen speech is that she's trying to get Ghost Girl to give up her emergency logout button. Ghost Girl, established to be self-serving and willing to throw others under the bus to advance herself. Why does this speech convince her? It doesn't even have anything to do with her.
Great, so now not only have they botched Aoi's character, but for the rest of the show, Ghost Girl is stripped of the characteristics that actually made her engaging.
If they wanted Aoi to convince Ghost Girl to give up her escape program and become more selfless, it's simple. Have her say, "We saved you." Ghost Girl wouldn't be standing here right now, if Aoi and the others hadn't risked everything to save everyone.
There's more I could pick on about these 30 seconds, like how the writers aren't content with handing Aoi a humiliating loss, but they also make her act like she deserved to be "humbled" by that experience: "Recent events have taught me that I'm still a child," "I troubled everyone, and they needed to save me." It's like they're not content with infantilizing her in the narrative, they need to make sure she infantilizes herself.
Which brings me back to the point about Aoi's "hubris." Because what is implied by saying that Aoi lost because of hubris when nothing she said or did suggested that, is that it was hubris for Aoi to fight at all. It was hubris for Aoi, and the audience, to believe she could do anything. Which is just maddening.
And to top it all off, to add insult to indignity to injury to insanity, she finishes her speech by saying, "I'll become stronger! This time, I'll do everything I can!"
AND THEN. SHE LOSES. IN THE NEXT EPISODE.
This speech reads like a bad influencer apology. First they "admit" their mistake (that Blue Angel didn't do anything in the Hanoi fight), then they deflect and change the story about what actually happened (it's because she was being full of herself! That's definitely why she lost), and finally they promise to do better (don't worry, this season, Aoi will get stronger and get some wins!), but they don't.
I can talk more about how the writers give Aoi shallow girlboss speeches instead of actually demonstrating her strength in duels, but that will come when I talk about Blue Maiden.
Right now... it's time to talk about Blue Girl vs. Soulburner.
⇀ What's in a re-introductory duel?
Something that's pretty standard in Yugioh is the concept of the season 2 "re-introductory duel." Think Shou's promotion duel in GX, the filter episodes that came before the World Grand Prix arc started, the Sector Security battle royale in Arc-V. They can be story-relevant, or completely filler, but the point is to re-familiarize you with the main supporting characters. If you look at the first 10 episodes of a Yugioh season 2, you'll generally see all the main supporting characters represented in a duel. And if they aren't, it may reveal something about how relevant they are to the writers (Misawa GX, Ruka 5D's, Yuzu Arc-V...)
Go gets his re-introductory duel against Soulburner, and though I have my issues with how they handled Go in Season 2, which I went into in my previous post, it succeeds in every way a re-introductory duel should. It addresses the transition of his character between seasons, sets up his conflict for this season, introduces his new cards, adds character to Soulburner, and establishes a dynamic between the two. Their opposition is natural, and if anything, the season fails to capitalize on how well this duel set things up.
Aoi's re-introductory duel... is also against Soulburner. And their opposition... uh...
Look, I'll be frank, there is only one reason for Soulburner to duel Aoi, his third duel already in 10 episodes: they are fast-tracking him into main character slot #2. I talked about this in the Soulburner analysis.
Aoi and Soulburner have no reason to be fighting, this match-up is completely artificial. They went "well Aoi needs to get a re-introductory duel because that's the Yugioh formula, and Soulburner needs more screentime, so let's shove them together," regardless of how it doesn't make narrative sense. How do they do that?
Blue Girl: We came to find the Ignis. SOL-- I mean, my brother can help you. Soulburner: You don't understand. The Lost Incident made us suffer for a long time. SOL Technologies was partly responsible for that. Entrust our future to them? Thanks, but we'll solve our own problems. Blue Girl: *frowning* In that case, those Ignis originally belonged to SOL Technologies. Give them back. Soulburner: What?
This is completely out of character for her. She knows that they're victims of the Lost Incident, she knows what they've been through, and they've just told her they're trying to save someone whose consciousness was stolen. She just said that her motivation is saving people, specifically to pay back the people who saved her. Guess who the only person who saved you was, Aoi? It wasn't your onii-san.
It would've made more sense for Ghost Girl to duel Soulburner. She's the one who was established to be a self-serving bounty hunter in Season 1. Oh, but if you gave Ghost Girl a re-introductory duel, it might give off the wrong impression that she's relevant?
This duel doesn't even add anything to Soulburner's character either, the way that Soulburner vs. Go did.
What could they have done if they were actually thinking about Aoi?
How about Aoi vs. Akira? Akira tells her that if she can beat him in a duel, he'll believe that she's strong enough to go into the restricted zone. Or they could do Aoi vs. Ghost Girl -- same thing, Ghost Girl tells Akira that if Aoi wins, it proves she's equally capable of going on this mission.
Either of these would check all the boxes for a re-introductory duel. It's a memorable matchup, it re-establishes the personalities and (IN-CHARACTER) relationships of these three, and it addresses the transition between seasons -- we left off from Aoi's devastating loss, and this duel would bridge her into an upwards character arc in Season 2.
Of course, if they did that, they would have to make an upwards character arc for Aoi.
These two episodes have succeeded in the exact opposite of what a re-introductory episode is supposed to do. It's a garbage fire of bad writing. They regress her character, and call it progress. She's out of character, in order to be unsympathetic. They don't set up an arc for Aoi this season, because they haven't thought of one. They introduce new cards that never come back. But none of it matters anyway, because Aoi isn't actually important! We'll just make up something new the next time we're contractually obligated to give her a few episodes (but not too many, god forbid!)
I guess there's one part of her character they make consistent, which is making her lose in the worst ways possible.
⇀ Blue Girl vs. Soulburner
You know how in my last Aoi post, I said that it's good when characters lose duels, and that "X should have won that duel" is a comment that often misunderstands how outcomes are about narrative purpose rather than deck matchups?
Forget everything I said. Aoi ABSOLUTELY should have won that duel holy shit. I just witnessed a goddamn crime.
So there is actually one more reason that Soulburner duels Aoi. It's that it's a good concept for a duel. Aoi should annihilate Soulburner. Go ahead with your 72 step Salamangreat combo I dare you. Go ahead and use Burning Draw I dare you. Everyone likes seeing how the underdog comes out of a pinch, and if I came out of the duel thinking, "Wow, I can't believe Soulburner pulled that off!" I could have forgiven it.
Ha ha... wow..... I can't believe Soulburner pulled that off......
I'm not usually that bothered by hyper specific made up anime cards, but what the fuck is that trap that negates effect damage under 300. Countering exactly 1) Skull Invitation 2) Ojama Trio 3) Every one of Aoi's cards. Yeah okay, fuck you Aoi.
And Aoi still should have won, if Soulburner didn't one-up Aoi's own Fusion Summon by Burning Draw YOLO topdecking a fucking Salamangreat Super Poly out of nowhere. Why??? Because the scripter couldn't think of a way out of the situation other than copying one of the strongest cards ever designed?? Fuck you Aoi.
Even Ghost Girl knows how robbed she was.
It's salt on the wound to cap off her "I'll get stronger speech" by having her lose a duel that was 99-1 in her favor. Soulburner deletes her life points in one attack, she screams and gets slammed into a cliff, and Soulburner stands over her and says, "Blue Girl, you're stronger than before."
Jesus, just look at that condescending framing.
Aoi doesn't show up again in a relevant capacity for 20 episodes, and doesn't have another duel for 30 -- that's a quarter of Vrains. Her last words as Soulburner stands over her are "You won because of the bond between a duelist and an AI?" before she passes out.
This, I suppose, is their weak attempt at introducing a plot for Aoi this season. It's... well...
⇀ Aqua and Miyu
The Miyu backstory is lazy as hell.
I'm sorry to all the fans rooting for female characters and wlw ships, but this writing was unbelievably sloppy. Someone put "Aoi's childhood friend was a victim of the Lost Incident and that's how she gets the Water Ignis" into the show notes and then didn't think about it until it was time to write the episode.
Miyu is not a cardboard cutout. She's not cut from cardstock, both of those at least have structural integrity. Miyu has the character solidness of wet tissue. She's an NPC, a parody of a generic little girl. The only reason to care about her is if you buy into the cheap writing shortcut of damselling little girls, or you're a desperate lesbian. I'm sorry, lesbians.
They could have done anything to give Miyu an actual character, I'm not asking for a lot. Give her any kind of trait or interest -- maybe she loves the ocean and shows Aoi her collection of seashells, and she says they should go to the beach together one day but they never do. They could talk about idols, and maybe that's what inspires Aoi to later become one. They could talk about Duel Monsters, it's Yugioh for christsake. A playground duel would be adorable.
There's a million things they could have done that are more compelling than playing on the slide, but there's one that's so obvious it pains me.
The Blue Angel picture book. The one that Aoi said was her childhood treasure in the duel with Spectre, the one that motivated her to try and save him, a victim of the Lost Incident. The book that's an established part of her backstory, which made her take on the Blue Angel moniker. The book that's about a girl who is all alone until she makes friends and no longer has to cry blue tears.
Could it be more obvious? Have Miyu be the one who gave the book to Aoi. It's a backstory on a silver platter. If the writers cared about Aoi at all, if they didn't immediately forget every single thing about her the second they turn in the script for the contractually obligated Aoi episodes, they would know this. But they don't. Because even the Blue Angel picture book was clearly something they made up on the spot.
Imagine if Aoi's season 2 climax duel was vs. a controlled Miyu (à la Jin), the themes from the Spectre duel returned. Aoi questions if she really can save someone from the Lost Incident, or if it's just her own naivety, destined to be crushed over and over. But she breaks through, because this time it's her turn to save someone who's all alone. This is how you connect seasons 1 and 2, this is how you take a loss and turn it into a payoff. We can even get Spectre's perspective, he's there in the final fight.
But that's not what we get. Instead, they play on the slide, and then Miyu drops a ring down a drain, which I guess is what they think is a relatable cause of conflict for little girls. I can guarantee they would have come up with something more substantive if these were two male characters. And the pacing is just comically clunky. "Aoi-chan, look, it's my mother's ring! Isn't it pretty? Oh no, I dropped it! Wahhhhh!"
Aoi lies to Miyu's mom and says she's the one who dropped the ring, even though Miyu denies it vehemently, clearly crying and in great distress as her mother drags her away and never lets her see Aoi again.
This, we're told, is how Aoi "saved" Miyu.
Aqua: While she was imprisoned, you kept her strong, Aoi. No matter how many duels she lost, no matter how much pain she endured, even after her meals were reduced, she never broke and promised to escape. So she could see you again and apologize for that day.
.........APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT???
What the fuck kind of message is this supposed to be? Aqua is supposed to be the Ignis of TRUTH, why are she and Miyu glorifying Aoi's lie as some courageous, inspirational action, when clearly it did nothing but harm? I'm not crazy, am I? The obvious takeaway from this flashback is that even if you had good intentions lying to protect your friend, it caused miscommunication, distress, and led to their friendship breaking apart? Like, their lives would have been just fine if Aoi didn't lie, and Miyu learned a reasonable lesson about not being careless with other people's expensive objects?
This backstory is comically bad. Just imagine Miyu, going through kidnapping, starvation, and torture, sustained only by the thought that one day... she can tell the girl that she played on the slide with years ago... that she's so sorry... that her hand slipped when taking off a ring and it rolled into a drain 5 feet away.
The story would make more sense if it was me in the Lost Incident, and I was plagued by guilt over dumping Cheeto crumbs on Rachel from Pre-K, because at least I actually did something bad.
It's difficult to even articulate how much all these sloppy writing decisions compound on each other. Because they wasted Aoi's introductory episodes and didn't set up anything for her, she has no role in the story for 30 episodes. Because she was given nothing for 30 episodes, they have to shove an entire backstory for Aoi into one episode. Because they shoved the backstory into one episode, Miyu and Aoi's relationship with her are painfully rushed, generic, and flimsy. Because their relationship is so flimsy, this whole backstory, Aoi's motivation to fight, her entire season 2 plotline, is soulless garbage.
Aoi didn't remember Miyu until this episode. The writers didn't create Miyu until this episode. You cannot ask the audience to be invested in Aoi rescuing Miyu, when you don't even care enough to conceptualize her.
And this is the most damning conclusion of this post. The writers don't care about Miyu. And they don't care about Aoi. And they don't care if you care about them. You weren't meant to care about them.
Again, I'm not saying that the Vrains writers are bad writers, or they hate women. There are other factors to consider, like the specifics of gender relations in Japan, how Yugioh animes primarily exist to advertise trading cards to young boys, the fact that there has not been a single female writer on Yugioh since season 2 of GX. And obviously, Vrains had production issues, and every character suffered from flawed writing.
But my point is, Aoi suffered the most for it.
⇀ Final Thoughts
There's a lot more that I could say about Aoi for the rest of the show. Like how she gets a magical girl transformation sequence, only to be irrelevant for 10 episodes again, and we have to wait that entire time to see her new deck. Then the duel, which really needed to be a two-episoder, is about Haru instead. The pointlessness of the Bohman duel. The pointlessness of Yusaku's "identity reveal" to Aoi. How they needed to have a third and fourth Akira manpain scene as Aoi is "taken away" from him, though I guess in that last one Aoi gets to have some girlpain too.
I did plan to talk about each of these duels, and more about how I would do an Aoi vs. Miyu conflict, but this post has gotten way out of hand already, and I've made the points I wanted to make.
I hope it was cathartic for everyone who was disappointed with Aoi, and perhaps gave language to people who were frustrated but unable to articulate why. I did some research into what other people have said about Aoi's character, such as this video by YugiohEverything, but I find that a lot of discourse in Yugioh is not very good at pinpointing why something works or doesn't work, and the actual skill of writing is oversimplified. This is especially true when it comes to Yugioh girls, and criticisms tend to fall back on losing duels or getting put in a coma, and while those can suck, they aren't the real problem.
In my last Aoi post I said "I'll just have to hope that they don't fumble whatever new thing they give her... but things tend to get bleaker for female Yugioh characters as the show goes on and whatever initial involvement they had in the story fizzles out," and this, I think, has been the real problem persistently for Yugioh girls. The writers are contractually obligated to come up with something when a series is first pitched, but when that period is up, or when concessions have to be made, the female characters are the first to be forgotten.
I just didn't think it would be this bad for Aoi.
Well. Expectations lowered.
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First Aoi analysis
All Vrains season analysis
#if you read the whole thing you a real one#yugioh vrains#vrains season analysis#aoi zaizen#ygo#pico commentary
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I so much enjoyed this episode after dreading it alot(because of negativity on TL).
I loved this episode. It was Love.
And few things that must be studied for science purpose ofcourse are:
-The way energy of JK changes when he is alone with jimin and in a group, i.e. from oppa hyung to baby of group
-Group dynamics is so cute. Three boys being boys and two of them having their radar fit on JM
-the way every episode is turning this show into JIMIN SURVIVAL SHOW is hilarious and cute.
-What was going on in JKs mind while checking sleeping Jimin out looking like 🔥
So looking forward to next episode and last leg of tour in ❄️
Hiya!
Unfortunately I haven't watched all of the episode yet. Had to take care of some things that dealt with the passing of my mother in June.
I did see that clip of him checking a sleeping Jimin out and...sir. This is a kids channel. I'm gonna need you to keep the eye-fucking to a minimum.
I should be able to watch it later today.
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Wonderhole E2, E3 & E4
I am going to write about these three in the same post because there is significantly less to write about episodes 3 & 4 than about the first and the second episodes and even last year's monthly videos. I am hoping there will be more to discuss in the upcoming Red vs Blue episode. I wonder whether they considered the Flight Simulation and the Time Capsule so "heavy" that they decided to ease it a bit before the finale. I guess we will find out soon.
We Time Traveled to the Year 2224
Certainly, the Rhinkiest of these three episodes and the one which certainly belongs to the One Story saga.
Rhett and Link decide to pursue extended longevity and eternal life. Rhett explains how they just have to survive in a good condition for 20-30 years more and then they will be able to achieve it. At face value this is not exactly Rhett's crap by the way. I was reading a book about the progress in geriatric medicine and this was stated there; whoever makes it to twenty years from now will hopefully have a lot of new age medicine available to delay growing old and the health issues associated with it.
This episode has some of the most lewd jokes Rhett and Link have ever made. However, they are often given so offhandedly that I did not see much seriousness, any significant symbolism in them. For example, yes, they suck anal toys (Link sucks Rhett's heavily used one) but this was just meant to be an adult joke, I'm not gonna derive any meaning for their relationship through this. Another example is Rhett's titanium - tight ass or the "I don't think I can last much longer with you inside me".
"From journeys long and miles worn, within these walls you are reborn. When weary soul sole is stripped away, whether from work or whether play, come to me with offerings and I will show you fresh new strings." Now, that's more interesting. Rhett points out that there is a double meaning in this. This totally reminds me of the concept of the Bahau Moon riddle, although there the allegory was a little different. Here it is nowhere as serious but it remains 100% sexually coded.
There are two mentions of their wives, one is that they are waiting for their wives "to be thawed", the other is that they both look distressed and uncomfortable when the letter from their past selves assumes their families are doing all right. My speculation is that their wives' bodies were cryopreserved until a revival became scientifically possible. So they are waiting for them to be thawed but it has not happened yet. What does this tell us though? It tells us that whatever knowledge or decision they had to make to achieve eternal life, they shared it with each other and not with their family members. Somehow, there was a choice made or there was a consequence that led to Rhett and Link living forever together but the revival of the wives, maybe even the children, was desirable yet secondary, optional. That's... that's something, for sure.
Did you guys notice the name of the shop next to the shoe repair shop? Their commitment is crazy:
We actually do get some pretty interesting themes here. Rhett and Link visit a shoe soul sole repair shop and the owner promises to keep their clue for the time capsule hidden inside a treasure box, protected very well. This just seems to hint at somebody keeping a secret very well and Rhett and Link completely trusting them to keep doing so. Is the time capsule an allegory for... truth? The official premise (or whatever it is) seems to further support this:
Keep it buried... as long as possible.
The next clues lead them to the desert, the same desert where they dug the medium (and the huge) sized holes. They even wear similar outfits; some of the garments are the same and some are changed. This was clear homage to the Hole Digging video. Besides, Rhett and Link have said there is connection between all these videos (although they probably have made it too hard to discern this for their own good).
There they pick up a fight, disagreeing about the direction they should follow. Rhett prefers the one way, the main way, the standard way pointed by the play button, whereas Link argues they should try "all the ways". The argument escalates and Link screams how Rhett's longevity idea has stuck them into an eternal hellscape (the 2224 universe seems to be particularly unfree and restrictive). Link also adds he 'd rather be with Rhett at their pod watching a sequel of Fast & the Furious than in this adventure, hunt and all, which must be 2224's equivalent for domesticity. Link protests that Rhett is not always right but he simply never changes and in his fury he missteps and falls from a cliff to his death.
During Link's last moments, Rhett desperately considers carrying Link to the nearest cloning facility and put his chip to another Link, a loud nod to their Sketchtober 2015 BFFs video. With the very subtle prompt "Put me in you" Link implores Rhett to put his chip in him, in an attempt to rescue his consciousness. Rhett complies, so he tries to save Link. We return to the One Story tropes (not that we ever left them with this one) where Rhett needs to save Link from something and like we will also see here the only outcome is that Rhett gets destroyed as well. Rhett finds the treasure box only to see there was a whole lot of nothing inside it. In a deteriorating condition he returns to the former grounds of Mythical where the semi-android hacker working there gives him two options: a) they yank Link's consciousness chip out and he's gone forever but Rhett lives on or b) they yank out both chips which have merged and become one and save them in a deadlock in a hard drive.
A deadlock is a situation in which two computer programs sharing the same resource are effectively preventing each other from accessing the resource, resulting in both programs ceasing to function.
Rhett opts for the latter. He sacrifices his life and follows Link. Meanwhile, the hacker indeed saves their consciousnesses - which have become one - in this deadlock, "alone" in a hard drive and hides the hard drive in the previously empty box. They place the box in a dusty shelf and there is this implication that nobody will know or care about this ever again. Also, the fact that it is a deadock is important as well: we have two consciousnesses operating like computer programs which are apparently assessing data differently and this leads them to a deadlock that neutralises them both. So, to bring this to reality, the reason there is so much delay or nothing happens at all is because they have completely different mindsets about what's to be done and how it should be approached. This is actually something we have discussed several times before, how they seem to be on a totally different page.
Beyond the interpretations that can be made for this, we see again a conclusion that we have seen before in several scripted videos. In Hazel, they end up trapped in the woods of the middle room for eternity, in the Brown Diamond they remain trapped to the Bahau Moon to their deaths, in the Unhaunted House they are murdered inside this house without any witness. We have this theme of their souls, their consciousnesses, sometimes even their physical bodies being trapped together, as one, forever without anyone knowing.
So, if we attempt to connect all these pieces together, first of all we get the "wherever you go, I go", the timelessness, the forever. This is a promise to each other, they will be together forever. Then we also have the buried time capsule, which Rhett wants to keep buried for as long as possible, which eventually leads to a long, torturous life that frustrates Link deeply. Link tries to distance himself from this situation but he falls to his death (because it's impossible for him to just let go). Rhett has the choice to go on on his own but instead he opts to try and save Link or die along in his efforts, which is what happens. Ultimately what remains of them is their love, their joined souls, consciousnesses and how they poured their truth in their creation and although it endures forever, it is for nobody to see.
Again, this is the classic story arc we see in most of their scripted videos. Whether it is because he loses control (Digging a Medium sized Hole), memory and freedom (Hazel, TLCOBC), his very life (UnHaunted House, Time Capsule), Link needs to be saved by Rhett but Rhett falls in the trap even more deeply and condemns them together.
Regarding the emptiness of the box, an Anon I just received has a great interpretation that finds me very agreeable, I am linking their mail here. What I will write here is basically the same or very close to what they describe, maybe with a slightly darker twist. Throughout the video, we have the concept of time which seems to be eternal but is not (at some point Rhett says about eternity that it feels like "you have too much time yet not enough") and even though current Rhett and Link seem to be amused by the idea of a scavenger hunt for an empty box, the surviving future Rhett found it disappointing. We can only imagine how mad it would make Link, had he not died already, because he was already frustrated and angry for the hunt alone, so he would probably be furious if he saw what the "reward" was. Moreover, Link puts the blame on Rhett for all of this and it's true that Rhett came up with this idea.
It's like an allegory for Rhett who has this drive and ambition for their career, their creativity, a life of adventure in this context and with this obsession he overlooks and delays other things that in truth may be more meaningful. Years will pass and Rhett will be looking for his masterpiece, their peak creation, recognition and eventually they will go, retire, withdraw, die and nothing will remain behind except for their love, the connection of their souls, which was what was truly timeless about them yet it was the one thing that was kept buried in a box in the dust and never brought to light properly. In the end, nobody appreciated it for what it truly was, neither an observer nor they, for they wasted their time delaying it and trying to find meaning elsewhere. By "they", let's be real, I mostly mean Rhett.
To my understanding this is self-reflection, maybe also a critique of Rhett to himself, a warning of what could be coming, something that Link seems to have notified him about multiple times (the e-mail, everybody?) but maybe it's poor timing to say this now, I sense there is a lot of distance to be run still from theory and creativity to actual action. This video alludes to a reality in which the action was not taken.
We Went to Extremes to Drink a Cloud
Episode 3 is not as heavy with meaning and symbolism. It is surely a "retelling" of their childhood dreams and their commitment to bring them to fruition. Young Rhett and Link promised to do something great together when they grew up and drinking a cloud is likely the symbolism of this struggle. They try a lot, in many different ways, but it's never exactly what they are looking for. In the end they are very happy they managed to do it, although the method they employed seemed very underwhelming and fake to me, which might be the point, I don't know. Of course this is a huge part of their relationship; achieving something great together. It's just that I did not find anything to mention beyond this, except of course for the very heavy deepthroating insinuations when they were drinking the fog.
Now to the important stuff, will the Fog Chasers song be released? SOON PLEASE???
We Chopped Down a Tree with a Peanut Butter Axe
To be honest with you I don't want to write about this episode because I don't want to watch it again. Not because it made me emotional but because watching the squirrel family again is equivalent to torture for me. I am sorry but I actually really disliked this episode. Fortunately, there is still not much to say here either. Or maybe I did not notice because I was impatient to be done with it....
The episode is largely a tribute to Ben and it offers this exposition they had also done in a very heartfelt Ear Biscuit episode. In Ben's memory they chose to chop down a tree in their state with a peanut butter axe made by their university; peanut butter because Ben died from testicular cancer and tree chopping because Ben thought it was fun.
The only thing I wonder is whether there is any meaning with what happens with the squirrel family and whether it is a side story not associated to Ben's life. I wonder this because Rhett and Link seem to have thought about it thoroughly; the tree would go down anyway, they will plant 1000 trees in its place, so it's all good. Even though they have thought this through, it turns out there will be victims due to their decision. A flying squirrel family, with a non-winged squirrel stepfather whose home is obviously going to be destroyed. Rhett and Link cause the dissolution of this family and this is what I find interesting. The kids eventually try to see the positive side: they are close to adulthood anyway, so they choose to leave home behind and start their own lives. The stepdad, the non-winged squirrel, literally opts to stay at home and die. The mother squirrel tries to change his mind but it's not like she's losing her mind about it to be honest and soon she goes too and leaves him behind. Who the stepfather squirrel stands for - if he stands for anyone in the first place - I cannot say. But I did find interesting this side theme of Rhett and Link's action basically leading to a family falling apart and everyone taking a separate path in life (or death).
One Story Masterlist here
#rhett and link#rhink#wonderhole#randl#r&l#rhett and link's wonderhole#mythical#it has always been one story#long text
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I-LAND : EPISODE ONE
8thmember!oc
wc : 0.5k
After all 23 male trainees entered, many of them assumed that everyone was here and were not expecting anymore trainees. So many were left shocked when more trainees made their way down the corridor to the main stage. “Wait, more people are coming?” “Who else is coming??” “Who is it?”.
As they reached the stage everyone sat shocked as three female trainees stood in front of them. Roza and fellow trainees Nari and Jihyun were also shocked at the sight of the male trainees. “They’re really pretty!” “Were gonna train with them?”. The girls sat down between Heeseung and Jaebeom, Sungchul and Jimin's unit. “I didn't know you were gonna be here,” Heeseung whispered to Roza. “neither! I thought this was gonna be all female trainees??” she said as her eyes looked around at the other trainees. “This is gonna be interesting!” Nari says as she giggles not quite minding this arrangement.
“Roza is definitely an all rounder,” Bang Sihyuk said. “She has a lot of talent and is very promising”. “Ive seen lots of her skills in previous shows” Zico replied as Rain nodded his head in agreement. “Jihyun too. Despite her age she's a very good vocalist” Bang Sihyuk continued.
“I'm so confused…” Jay said as more female trainees arrived, everyone was left just as confused. The room filled up quickly, leaving everyone sitting shoulder to shoulder as the last female unit containing Sooyoung and trainees Meko and Yunah walked in. “Yunah has great stage presence and is a strong dancer,” Bang Sihyuk said, watching the girls walk in. “She has very nice visuals” Rain said as the camera closed in on Sooyoung. “She's also a good vocalist and Meko, she's a talented dancer” “is the requirement for I-Land good visuals?” joked Zico. “everyone has good visuals”.
After all the trainees sat down an announcement came over the speakers. “Dear 46 applicants, Welcome. This is the stage of I-Land and this is the place to show your ability. Not all of you will go to I-land, only 20 trainees can go to I-Land.” “Oh my goodness!”. “this is a real survival show”. “Those 20 will be decided by you. Every decision is in your hands. We will now start the entrance test with the performances you prepared.” “right now?”. “Only those with the majority of votes can go to I-Land. You will perform in your units but votes will be for individuals. You will pick the order of performances.” excitement and shock go through the trainees as this revelation.
Seon went first followed by Jay and Sunghoon. After a couple more performances, Sooyoung, Meko and Yunah went next. The three girls performed Miss A’s ‘Bad Girl, Good Girl’. “Woah, they're so good!” “they look like they already debuted”. When it came time to vote Sooyoung got 24, Yunah got 27 and Meko got 15 leaving Meko behind as the two girls went into I-Land.
As more performances come and go and more trainees get voted into I-Land. Roza starts to feel more nervous until it becomes time for her unit to perform. Roza, Nari and Jihyun perform Red Velvet’s ‘Bad Boy’. “Wow they're really good!”. “im glad we didn't perform after them". After performing, Roza gets 30 votes, Nari gets 25 and Jihyun gets 24 letting all three girls into I-Land. Thus rapping up all the performances and episode one.
a/n : I changed the numbers of votes for things to make sense.
#kpop#added member#enhypen 8th member#enhypen added member#enhypen eighth member#enhypen female member#enhypen female addition#kpop oc#enhypen female oc#enhypen scenarios#enhypen ff#enhypen reactions#enhypen x oc#female!enhypenmember#8th member of enhypen#enhypen oc#enhypen recs#enhypen imagines
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