#kot parallels

[slayerkitty]

On Hidden Agenda And if the Agenda is Really Hidden

Otherwise known as @respectthepetty and I watched episode 11, looked at each other, scratched our heads and pulled the clown car over to the side of the road. Episode 11 was not the traditional "BL Episode of Doom" it usually is in most BLs. Some BLs do purposefully subvert this trope or move the episode of doom to episode 10 instead.

It didn't feel like that was what happened here. So we hopped out of the clown car, whipped out our phones to check our maps and directions, because we were very, very confused. We were so sure we had the show figured out! And...no?

So we decided to backtrack; turn the clown car around and start the trip again from the start. To take this week and re-watch Hidden Agenda from the beginning and figure out what the hell we missed.

We also took a detour into source material territory (aka looked up a summary about the book) which was no help to the current situation, because @respectthepetty discovered that JengPok, Nita's stalker, Puen, and Wave x Trin weren't even in it! The only thing we were able to confirm with it is that it's from Joke's POV, he's unhinged in it, and Zo spends most of it dating Nita.

With all this in mind, I sat down with episode 1 of Hidden Agenda in hopes that I would discover anything that we might have missed. I also have slowly cultivated two theories that as of episode 6 still hold up though I don't know how much weight I want to give the second one (but I also can't let it go).

Before I delve into the theories, I do want to point out a couple things that I have noticed.

Zo is super intense about debate club, NOVA, and the Finland scholarship from episode 1. His coaching of Joke in episode 2 rivals his mother's coaching of him in episode 10. If someone who makes gifs could make a gif set that parallels those two scenes, I would be eternally grateful; it will blow your mind. Zo's issues with disappointing his mom are also there from episode one, but they are super subtle. He doesn't want Kot to tag him in his IG story because his mom might see him at the bar drinking. He mentions in I think either episode 2 or 3 that his mom hasn't visited in a while because she's been busy and the way he says it is so... ugh, he needs a hug.

Zo's trauma from Puen's horrible treatment of him is also evident from episode 1 as well; he is constantly saying that he doesn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, that he's worried he's upsetting people, etc. It's constant. Seriously, someone hug Zo.

Theory 1: Joke did something bad/something bad happened to someone he cared about (probably in high school and appears to have gotten therapy about it based on how he speaks)

Episode 1:

In the flashback to the Freshy Contest, while Joke is scolding(?) Zo, he says, "What you said on that stage won't change a broken system."

Episode 2:

Joke tells Zo, "My tongue gets me in trouble."

When Joke and Zo are debating about hidden agendas in relationships, Joke asks why he should tell someone things when he starts dating them because he should be able to tell things in his own time.

Episode 3:

Joke says "Before you get to know someone, you need to know yourself."

Joke also asks/tells Zo to trust him for the first time.

Joke talks about the Triangular Theory of Love: Passion, Intimacy and Commitment

Joke is pretty worried when Zo crashes his bike and makes Zo ride with him instead.

Joke mentions that he used to go to the restaurant Zo picked out with his dad, back when they used to go out to eat; this suggests a distance between him and his dad.

During dinner, Joke says that "What you see of someone may not be the whole story," and "Stay true to yourself."

In the library, Joke tells Zo "I would never let someone I love face danger alone."

The next day, Zo is sitting outside when Joke finds him and says that Zo wasn't answering his calls. and it's implied he was searching for Zo because he was worried.

Joke invites himself on Zo's trip as if he's afraid if Zo leaves without him, something bad will happen.

Episode 4:

Joke tells Zo he couldn't leave Zo "alone and sad" and "I'll never abandon you"

Joke also says "I only care for those who care for me."

Joke is afraid of the glass bridge but he's also to worried to let Zo go out on the bridge by himself.

After dinner, Joke says "Sometimes people don't show all their cards."

Episode 6:

Joke gifts Zo a sunflower pillow and tells him to look up the meaning, Zo searches up "liveliness sprung from despair."

Joke insists on picking up Zo so Zo doesn't go out in the rain/worried about his health.

Kot doesn't seem to like Joke and extremely overreacts to the way Joke trying to get Zo to eat the food he bought. Now, Joke was maybe a little pushy, but Kot goes off the handle.

When cuddling in bed, Joke says "hugging for 30s releases Oxytocin" and if they hug longer, "it means we feel the same."

Theory 2: Joke is a stalker

Yeah, you read that right. There is ample evidence throughout the first 6 episodes that on first watch, didn't quite ring alarm bells, but on re-watch, are setting off sirens. I kinda had this as a crack theory in the back of my head after episode 8 first aired, but now it's staring me in the face and feels a lot less crack-y

Episode 1:

Joke eavesdrops on Zo recording his podcast

Joke is super intense when speaking to Zo at the studio and manhandles him a little so that Joke can sort of pin him against the wall.

Joke eavesdrops on Zo and friends on the bus and then approaches him after to give advice on Nita

Joke asks Zo if the iced coffee is for Zo and says it's not because "Zo doesn't like coffee."

Joke always seems to be around when Zo is trying to approach Nita.

Joke confesses that he has a crush before singing a song.

When Zo tries to leave the bathroom after getting sick, Joke actively won't let him, grabbing him roughly and holding him in place.

In the flashback to the Freshy Contest, Zo asks Joke why he won't quit if he hates it and Joke says he has his reasons.

At the studio, Joke says "I love you and you love me" in Chinese and proceeds to do what has been touted as an "erotic wedding based tradition" with drinking the Roselle juice.

Episode 2:

Joke starts pushing boundaries with food

Joke and Zo make a deal to help Zo with Nita.

Joke has a fantasy of Zo winning and them kissing.

Joke pushes boundaries with food again

Joke admits to Zo he has a crush on someone.

When Joke and Zo are debating about hidden agendas in relationships, Joke asks why he should tell someone things when he starts dating them because he should be able to tell things in his own time.

Joke ties Zo's shoe

Joke says he's already started helping Zo with Nita, but has he?

Episode 3:

Joke basically milks all the situations with Zo in his favor under the guise of helping Zo with Nita

Joke admits he listens to Zo's podcast because it helps him sleep.

During dinner, Joke says that "What you see of someone may not be the whole story," and "Stay true to yourself."

In the library, Joke tells Zo "I would never let someone I love face danger alone."

The next day, Zo is sitting outside when Joke finds him and says that Zo wasn't answering his calls. and it's implied he was searching for Zo because he was worried.

Joke insists on driving Zo home despite Zo's protests.

Joke invites himself on Zo's trip really insistently and hugs Zo excitedly when Zo agrees.

Episode 4:

Joke tells Zo he couldn't leave Zo "alone and sad" and "I'll never abandon you"

Joke also says "I only care for those who care for me."

After dinner, Joke says "Sometimes people don't show all their cards."

Episode 4:

Joke knows how long it's been since Zo changed his profile pic.

After dinner, Joke says "Sometimes people don't show all their cards."

Episode 5:

Joke confronts Zo for trying to avoid him and wanting to forget their kiss. Joke is incredibly aggressive and spills his drink on Zo as a result.

Joke continues to message Zo that Zo is avoiding him and that he's going to come over. Zo says not to. Joke does anyway.

Joke gets himself invited to dinner with Zo and his mom.

Joke makes a move while doing dishes and tells Zo he wants to know how Zo feels.

Joke says "why would you hurt me and tell me to forget?" and "you never care about my feelings."

Joke also says "don't run away from me," and "don't avoid me."

Joke confesses through tongue twister.

Joke remembers that Zo hates stink beans.

Joke tells Zo "I would do anything for you," and "I like you Zo, I want to show you that you like me, too."

Asks Zo to let Joke pursue him.

Episode 6:

Joke gifts Zo a sunflower pillow and tells him to look up the meaning, Zo searches up "liveliness sprung from despair."

Joke insists on picking up Zo so Zo doesn't go out in the rain/worried about his health.

Joke pushes boundaries with food again and then fights with Kot.

Zo tells Joke he needs to respect boundaries.

Joke oversteps boundaries again in at debate club.

Joke pushes Zo again for an answer on his feelings; Joke says he "will always wait" for Zo.

Joke also insists that Zo was into him all along and not Nita.

Joke watches Zo at the debate open house and gets jealous.

Joke wants Zo to stay over; he pushes Zo again for an answer to his feelings. When Zo wants to go shower, Joke grabs his arm and stop him, saying that he won't let Zo run away.

Joke gives Zo the arcade t-shirt and when Zo says he doesn't know the significance, Joke tells Zo to take it off. Joke then takes his own shirt off and refuses to put it back on.

Joke asks to hold Zo and Zo doesn't answer, just rolls over onto his side away from Joke. Joke says "silence means yes" (and in this case it did but OH MY GOD) and proceeds to cuddle Zo.

As I go through my re-watch, I'll add more to both theories but as of episode 6, they both hold up. I can't decide of Joke himself actually did (insert bad thing here) to someone, or just knew someone that (insert bad thing here) happened to. Joke being a stalker wasn't that evident at first, but it is now! At a minimum, Joke is obsessive, posessive and overly clingy.

Also, these theories can both be true! They don't contradict each other in any way. Stay tuned for Part 2, probably... Friday or Saturday.

[jamethinks]

So, regarding my previous post: the 3 cats Nightfall has are based on each of the Forgers (not on purpose)

Kot is the adult male Siberian weighing in at about 9kg. His exact age is unknown since she had him since he was an adult. It is known that he is a bit older (notably older than Anya). She got him as a kid, and to avoid talking about her backstory, let's just say at some point she went back to Russia for him. Because of his age, he's not as energetic as most Siberians but definitely more energetic than a normal cat. He's got bone problems and has to take lots of meds.

He's the Loid of the cat team. Very serious, observant, and has no time for Koshka's shit. Because he was alone for so long, he actually prefers solitude. Finding a nice high place to perch up on and watch over everything. He's not openly affectionate and only prefers to cuddle with Fiona. He is a very patient cat though making him the perfect companion for Anya. She loves to pick this big heavy cat up and walk around with him and he just sits there with a grumpy face and everyone is worried she's annoying him but he's actually just chilling and kinda likes her.

The next is Kit. Kit is a purebred Sphynx that Fiona got from a gang of traffickers. It was a bunch of these chicken cats that they were trying to take to the use to sell to breeders and skinners. She rescued all and decided to keep one. Kit is very very affectionate and snuggly. He loves cuddling with Fiona at night and following her around during the day. Whenever she's not around her berries himself in Kot's fur and sleeps right there. He's not very suited for the eternal Ostanian fall so he has to be kept properly warm and is very pampered.

He's obviously the Yor parallel. Initially seen as weird and unusual, most people prefer to avoid him, and some even scream and run. In reality, he's actually the sweetest, most gentle cat of the bunch. Again, he is super affectionate and very extroverted. He's very social and warms up to the Forgers immediately. He even gets along with Bond loving to really get caught up in the big dogs endless fluff. Yor at first was creeper out by him but ended really warming up to him, and he spends most of his time there just following her around and accepting so many pets.

Koshka is the baby. Nightfall got her from the old man spy. He saw how sad she was because Twilight was too busy with Operation Strix and thought she just needed a baby for herself and that she did. Koshka is extremely energetic, like constantly bursting with energy. Stuck in an eternal state of zoomies. She's actually albino with a thick white coat, blue eyes, and partial deafness. She was born on some breeding farm and deemed defective and was set to be put down before old man spy got his hands on her. She's only around 6-9 months, so really a baby.

She's again meant to parallel Anya, I think he description alone shows why. Interestingly, though, she's Loid's favorite. He never liked cats because he thought they were mean and very solitary animals. He liked dogs because they're more social and just seemed more useful. Koshka absolutely broke his brain with her very dog like personality. She was super clingy and nagish just like Bond and would actually start climbing him if he didn't tend to her in time. She would be bolting back and forth through the house, jumping all over the furniture like an energetic puppy. At first, Loid found it annoying, but it also felt so familiar. Because she's so young, she hasn't been trained, so he enjoys dealing with this unpredictable little kitten.

[kotos-and-smiles]

Earned Second Chances

Looking back through kot chapters the other day, realizing this idea that Chika has had with Uzuki about having to move on from the past, that the past won’t disappear so all we can do is act from where we are right now, all that is the same attitude we saw Satowa have in ch.104 towards herself, when she expressed her regret over the way she treated Chika in the past, and came to the realization that there was nothing she could do about that past treatment, all she can do is act in the here and now and never let go of his hand again (a promise she’s kept). Like these panels are near paralleling what people’s attitudes have been to Uzuki lately, and something that Uzuki himself seems to be trying to take in and believe himself worthy of. This also honestly could relate quite well to Tomoe, though on a very different scale as it has for Satowa and Uzuki. Also an interesting difference is that this is something Satowa took on entirely herself, this feeling of responsibility and realization that it was up to her to change her current actions and be better now and in the future despite the past, because there’s nothing she can do about the past. Whereas Uzuki has to be told that he doesn’t just have to wallow in self-hatred, not even he deserves that, and that he and Chika both need to move on because that’s all they can do now. That’s really all there is to do. Chika is the one with enough maturity and desire to not let this have power over him anymore to be able to say that to Uzuki. So interesting that in some ways, both Chika and Satowa have realized this about certain situations, while Uzuki is in a very different place to them. 

Of course, this isn’t the first time redemption has been explored in this manga. Not nearly. Hiro, Akira, and Chiharu (Satowa’s mom) have all had similar treatment. It isn’t really about righting past wrongs, cuz sometimes you can’t, it’s all about moving forward and treating each other better now with the acknowledgment that the past happened but doesn’t have to determine their future.

As Isaki mentioned in ch.124, it really does take great strength to be able to face what you’ve done to people in the past, and also great strength to give people second chances. But it is also extremely powerful to decide to act differently now than you did in the past. It is powerful that Chika and Satowa can both realize and be in a place to not let the past hold the reins on their present life and try to move on from it, with the people who have wronged them and with themselves. And both Chika and satowa have had to find ways of forgiving themselves and moving forward for their mistakes in the past for a better future, and knowing they deserve that which was a hard journey for both, as well as having to do that with other people.

I think this is what makes characters getting second chances so believable. They aren’t just given a free pass and forgiven. Their past actions are acknowledged by both parties, it just doesn’t stop either of them from moving forward and deciding a better future. Slates aren’t wiped clean, a conscious decision is made to move beyond the past. This also involves in depth understanding of the characters on both sides, has to be mutual, and forgiveness and second chances feel so earned. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be, both parties just have to put in the work and open to doing so. And again, it just feels so earned. It’s not that the characters who made mistakes aren’t at fault, it’s that the people they wronged are able and willing to move on from the past together with them.

Anyway, this was far longer of a ramble than I intended and I kinda lost focus, but there are a lot of mistakes made and redemption to be earned in this manga, and it works so incredibly well.

[pathb]

Duke Stelmane and the Emperor

"Belynne became my freedom" … and she is not the only one.

There's a lot to say about the dialogue in the scene where the Emperor is mourning, but I will focus on Belynne here. Note: I gathered everything I could find about her from the dialogues, books/notes, and external sources into a PDF, let me know if I missed or need to modify something (draft version 1): https://jumpshare.com/v/kX5oTLOV3jMHDn5RrBdC Blue: quotes Green: strong evidence Orange: my opinion

Freedom… or control?

The Emperor's pursuit of freedom is deeply intertwined with control and manipulation:

My end is and has always been freedom. Belynne understood this. Belynne became my freedom.

It's tainted by irony and even hypocrisy since she was enthralled to allow him to exert influence over the city through her. The "freedom" he speaks of is actually his ability to control and manipulate her for his own ends. A cruel Tav can express a clear disinterest and shows a lack of respect for the Emperor's past relationship with Belynne: Player: I really don't care what your relationship with her was like. The Emperor: And yet you emulate it so well. It seems he's subtly drawing a parallel between the Tav's current relationship with him and his past one with Belynne, implying that Tav, unknowingly (we cannot know at this moment of the adventure that Stelmane was enthralled), is falling into a similar pattern of reliance and manipulation despite their disruptive stance (or it might even be a subtle threat).

The Descent into Avernus info about Stelmane reveals a situation where her autonomy is destroyed by the Emperor, as he maintains a manipulative grip over her. Aligning his interests with hers during their interactions temporarily restores her mental and physical faculties. _ She got a seizure (expected effect while proceeding the enthrallment) _ Since awakening, her mind has been a battleground between her own psyche and the Emperor's influence. _ She was unable to fully free herself from his control (and in a decade, he could have healed her to restore her free will!) _ During business dealings for the KotS, where their interests align, she regained most of her normal vigour. _ She was visited by the Emperor every ten days, which improved her condition temporarily. By visiting Belynne (#kot_4) and aligning their interests, the Emperor ensured she remained functional enough as a pawn to serve his purposes but reliant on him to maintain her competence. A cyclical dependence that makes it nearly impossible for her to break free… Though Stelmane shows evidence of increasing debility due to some sort of wasting disease, her influence over transfer of contraband in the Gate has only grown as her physical abilities have declined.

The Emperor: It was she who met with the merchants, politicians, patriars. It was she who negotiated deals and signed off on agreements. Wyll: Something's always gnawed at me. At the banquet, Stelmane didn't seem to look at us, but through us. But that second time, her gaze never left me. It was steel, sharp and unyielding. I guess he was able to use his own power through her, thanks to the special bond thrall-master they had.

Allies… or thralls?

Negotiations with prospective clients have proven so difficult that we now believe the Knights exert some sort of influence over their partners beyond the profit motive. The indications are that this influence is psychic rather than magical, but further investigation is required. […] a suspected [REDACTED], has been exerting an undue amount of power over influential actors within the city, including members of the ducal council. This is the proof that there are other 'Stelmane', it's not because we don't cross them during the adventure that they don't exist.

The Emperor: You thought you were my first ally? Far from it. I have long sought the allyship of others - it is the only way to succeed.

Journal of Stelmane Location: hidden room of Hhune Mausoleum. It seems she knew pretty soon that the Emperor were a mind flayer and that she wrote this entry before the downgrade of their relationship.

[fandomhopping]

He'd appeared form a portal, not unlike the ones the Kraang use, but also very different. It seemed... flashier. The Kraang around them seemed to freak out, spouting something about an alternative kraang and trying to close the portal, some actively ran away. Leo wasn't exactly sure why they were so freaked out but I'm hindsight... he should have let them close the portal. What stepped out of it wasn't human, it wasn't even kraang.

It was a turtle, or soemthing that used to be a turtle. His face was covered in this fleshy goo with bulging yellow eyes, he was covered in the stuff rom his shell to a single clawed foot. There's was enough green skin to determine it was a turtle, likely a counterpart of theirs, but kot much else.

"Uh. Guys??? Is that... a turtle!?" Mikey asks, dropping his defensive stance. Leo shifts, covering his youngest brother as he glared at the stranger,

"Who are you!?"

No answer. The stranger stared at him and his family as another figure walked out. This was most certainly a kraang, but one unlike anything they'd ever seen. It was massive, menacing even, and it took one look at his family before letting out a sinister chuckle,

"Ah, so we appeared across a parallel dimension did we? No matter... the jraang of this world is weak, I shall show then what true strength is..."

"Not if we stop you!" Raph growls, charging the monster. There was a growl and the flesh covered turtle moved, faster than even Leo could track, and threw Raphael back with a single swipe of a claw.

"Hm, no... no I don't think so." Kraang mused, smirking, "But I can't have a bunch of turtles getting in my way, so... Pet, kindly handle this riff raff, would you?"

The kraang lazily waved a hand, prompting the turtle to attack. It locked eyes onto Leo and the swordsman barely had time to get his blade into a blacking position as the creature let out a blood curdling screech. It was out for blood.

As Leo fended off the mutated turtle he began to notice a few smaller differences, this turtle was thinner, leaner than him. Built for speed, not strength, and a different species as well. He has these... yellow markings all along his arms and legs, what parts that weren't mutated by the kraang that is, and held an odachi sheathed to his back. There was a scrap of some paper tied to its belt.

Leo wondered why the turtle didn't even bother to try to use his sword, but didn't have time to wonder for long as his brother's jumped in. No matter what Raph or Donnie did the turtle didn't give up its attack. They threw everything they had at him while the Kraang watched, but to no avail. If Raph knocked him down the Turtle got back up, if Donnie tried to use his tech the turtle would switch target an pressure him, if Leo got in the way he'd either move around his blades or throw him to the side, he'd consistently knock Mikey aside whenever he tried to jump in. They couldn't stop him, and eventually Leo made a mistake.

He lost hus swords after a bad call and wa disarmed, the other mutant poised to plunge its claw into his neck when Mikey let out a shout, jumping in and covering his body with his shell.

"Mikey!"

"Mikey, no!!!"

Leo gasp, terrified that he was about to see his little brother killed in front of him as the turtle struck... only for it to stop right before it hit the box turtle. Huh?

The turtle's claw began to shake... his let out a screech, lunging backwards as he grabbed at his head, clawing at his face. The kraang noticed, letting out a furious shout and struck. Leo and his brithers were knocked back while the Kraang grabbed the mutated turtle, the both of them disappearing into the city from a nroken window. A lone scrap of paper fluttered to the ground in front of Leo. He bent down to grab it, noticing it was a picture of soem sort of cylinder with a key before flipping it over.

Four turtle's, a rat, and an African American girl were celebrating in the picture, all of them looking happier than he's remembered feeling in a long time. His eyes was drawn to the lanky figure in the top right corner, a red eared slider with the same yellow markings the turtle he'd fought had... wearing a blue bandanna.

oh. My. FUCK!

If you don’t make this a fic I will cry!

[thegayestofagendas]

The other day I watched Space Sweepers, and to no one's surprised Bubs really spoke to me both in terms of identification but also of course in terms of attraction because I'm just the way I am.

But it got me thinking of how much I love trans robots as a concept.

Bubs and FL4K are just so good to me. And like of course I'd really like if we had more rep of trans humans, and I understand the frustration of representation so often coming out of robots and generally non-human characters.

But trans robots are so good to me because I really parallel socialisation with the robot's programming.

I don't remember the details of FL4K's back story before they gained their whole sentience and how they were referred to prior to it, so I don't want to go in details with how relevant they are to this thought. I don't know how much they qualify as a "trans robot" since I don't know much about pre-sentience FL4K.

But Bubs.

Bubs seems to have been programmed to be a 'man' in the broadest sense of the word (minding that in the course of the movie, the subtitles indicate to me that she gets referred to as "he" or "it" before getting her new body and that it seems like when Kot-nim calls her "sis", it appears to be the first time someone indicates seeing her as a woman (mind I don't understand Korean enough to capture how it comes off in the original language, I only know a bit of basic vocab. I'm only talking about how it's subtitled and how it's visually conveyed)

Like I was raised with an assumption that I was a girl and would grow to be a woman. And I was raised to display as a woman and respond to woman/girl-hood and to being addressed as a woman/girl. I wasn't a girl when at 5 I was questioning if a mistake was made when assigning me my gender based on my external sex characteristic.

How different is this really to a robot programmed to be a "man" but clearly identifying with womanhood? How much does my socialisation into girlhood and my moving away from it when I could feel safe and capable to do it differ from Bubs being programmed as a "man" robot referred to with "him" when not "it" and moving away from that and getting her new body in line with how she wishes to be perceived when she could afford it.

Like I doubt this is a hugely widespread opinion, but my opinion/perception is that trans robots are a beacon of hope. It spits in the face of the idea that someone else can control who we are.

I love robots made of miscellaneous metal bits with wires showing. I've been known to complain about robots with human-like skin.

But Bubs...

Bubs, in the strangest way, makes me think of me, who wishes I could cover my body in a suit that conveys no gender perception. She wasn't built with this body in mind for her, she chose her body, and somehow this makes me very okay with her having a body indistinguishable from a human's.

[cinnamonsikwate]

just rewatched space sweepers (2021) on netflix and realized something which i don't think is ever actually addressed in text & am not sure if it was supposed to be obvious (bc it didn't even occur to me until now) but - spoilers ahead! -

are james sullivan's occasional body horror episodes a result of a nanobot treatment gone wrong/gone right? like it may be what's keeping him alive well beyond typical human life expectancy, but it's also putting him through excruciating pain. bc we see the veins on his face receding as the hydrogen bomb goes off, and we know that the heat output from an h-bomb explosion is the only thing that can kill nanobots (except the langrangian ones apparently), so.....?? is the reason why sullivan showed up out of nowhere at the last minute bc he was already supposed to be there, trying to get away from the bomb as well?

anyway. the film's been out over a year but i don't remember seeing anything about this particular aspect before. would be pretty interesting if it's actually canon!

also. i hate sullivan's backstory and the bizarre anti-semitic implications; it puts a v significant dampener on an otherwise good film (aside from tiger park's dreads jfc). my proposal for an alternate backstory (developed with my sib) goes:

push back the timeline. make it the 2100s or 2200s. doesn't really matter

following this, sullivan would have been born some time in the first half of the 2000s

instead of a war orphan who turns to eugenics (bruh???), he's instead born into privilege and his dad is basically elon musk. uts corp starts out as basically spacex

keep the nanobots bit! they're injected into him at some point - to cure a sickness, just for the hell of it, whatever. whether or not his dad has a hand in it depends on how heavy-handedly we want to draw the parallels with kot-nim and *her* dad. in any case, seeing how kot-nim's nanobots protect and help her, unlike his, will fuck sullivan up and contribute to why he so badly wants to destroy her after he's done exploiting her

this sullivan is a man obsessed with legacies (and not the "purity" of the human soul holy shit). he struggles at first to uphold his father's legacy. when he surpasses it by building eden, it's a slippery slope. now he wants to leave *his* own mark as flashily as possible, collecting orphans (including tae-ho and captain jang) & "raising" them in his own twisted version of parenthood to be "geniuses"

i think captain jang should have been more sullivan's protégé than tae-ho, which could also explain why she's more reluctant to "parent" kot-nim bc she doesn't know what a healthy parent-child relationship is supposed to look like. would have also given more weight to the revelation that she's tried to kill him multiple times. i like to think tae-ho had a mentor he was close to in the space guard - the closest thing he had to a parent, maybe the one who actually found him first before sullivan literally carried him in his arms to uts. maybe they died just before the mission where he found su-ni, and that's partly why he decided to save her

this film has everything - anti-capitalism, the juxtaposition of blood ties with found family, breaking cycles of abuse, nanobots!

this is A Lot of backstory though - which is why i wish space sweepers had been a tv series instead, so we could also have gotten more on everyone else. in any case, it's still a p good film with a lot of heart and great rewatch value! two hours just fly by!

[lovelesserum]

Kot Bonkers

[helifotios]

Day 02: Parallel

[ancientmoderntimes]

hi lali!!! just wanted to say that i started watching chihayafuru bc of you and i just finished the first season and im SO IN LOVE!!!!!!! ❤❤❤ i dont understand why i had never heard of it before! are you reading the manga too?

yeah chihayafuru needs more attention, I think ppl dont watch/read it for the romance part but like... ye there are those annoying parts with taichi but chihayafuru remains a sport anime so 😑😑😑 like chihaya is 100% a sport anime protagonist that fell in a josei world. I think the only character that is living in a josei is taichi lol, anyway I'm glad u started it!! I think s1 is the best season btw like s3 leaves u a bit yk... that's why I'll start the manga

[writesailingdreams]

I think the Aladdin sequels and Series might be the only other continued Disney canon movie story that matches Tangled and the Tangled Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure in narrative breakdown:

Series set up = Return of Jafar & Tangled: Before Ever After

The Series

Series conclusion = Aladdin and the King of Thieves & Plus Est En Vous

In Tangled these are narratively connected; in Aladdin these had the same people working on them (just like Tangled), but were more narratively isolated.

[kazumahashimoto]

RIN!?!?!?? OKUMURA!?!??!?!?!? erm this is so unexpected it's good to see you........

[ssho25]

I won’t stop posting about this manga until I’ve convinced someone to read it and fall in love with it as much as I have. 

[kotos-and-smiles]

The Parallel between Ch.32 and Ch.103

KoT Spoilers all the way through Chapter 103!

Firstly, thank you all so much for the support on my first post! It means a lot and I’m really happy so many of you enjoyed it!

Secondly,

I’m still not over this parallel from chapters 32 and 103, like at all. Chika and Satowa are both revisiting dark times in their lives through these videos but facing it together this time. Even the simple act of being with each other, lending each other their strength, allows them to face these events that still so strongly affect them. Both of these videos are ones of them hurting people and being in so much pain themselves.

For Satowa playing that song and then her mother telling her that her koto playing is like a weapon is probably her single darkest, lowest moment. Then everything went from bad to worse in her life after that. The video of her playing the song is representative of her relationship with her mother deteriorating and of all that came after it for a while, how she ended up alone and cast out, the hope she had and how it shattered. It’s the song she bet her very self on, that hurt her mother, and that finally broke that already fractured relationship. Her mother’s reaction to that song still affects Satowa, yet she faced this song first with Chika and then with everyone else. Satowa must’ve been really worried about everyone’s reaction to this song, about if it would somehow hurt them too or that they’d judge her failure of a sound, but she’s still able to open up about it and ask Chika about what he heard in the song and listen to what he had to say because they’ve already been through quite a bit together and really trust each other. Despite her fear and apprehension of ever playing this song again, or even listening to it, she was able to perform it and grow because first she faced it with Chika and was earnestly able to see the emotion she put into the song and how much her life had changed. Even just sitting down with Chika and finally listening to the song resolved some of her inner turmoil surrounding that performance.

The video Uzuki posted of Chika is part of a string of similar moments in the darkest time of Chika’s life when he was a person he wasn’t proud of, when he felt alone and was venting all his anger, frustration, and depression into fighting. It was a time Chika was hurting random people, but it was also connected to a parental relationship falling apart, the one with his father. Chika isn’t proud of his actions back then, but he will face them if he has to.

But for Satowa to see him the way he was, as that other person, the one with dead eyes where nothing in life seemed worthwhile, he’s worried about how it may affect her view of him, which is why he tried to stop her from seeing it at first. She’s only gotten to know him after he joined the club, she only knows the person he is now, the person he wants to be, not the one he used to be, and so it makes perfect sense that he’d be worried because he really cares about her and cares about her opinion of him. However, Satowa starts getting really upset only after she sees the comments on the video, which builds up to what she says in ch.104. So while Chika was probably very worried about Satowa seeing the video, it obviously didn’t have the effect he was worried it would have on her. Of course, with the video being newly uploaded it’s bringing Chika’s past into the present, which is something Chika doesn’t want and shouldn’t have to deal with, especially right before nationals, which he and the rest of the club have worked so hard for. But Satowa is willing to face it all with him, just as he was willing to face her darkness with her. Just as long as they’re together, they can face it.

In both of the videos, they’re so alone and each hurting so much, in so much pain themselves that it spreads to others, whether intentionally or not. Both Chika and Satowa are “venting their own pain and suffering” at the time of their lives these videos represent, and now they’re in a place to realize that and have grown past it. Both of these moments led to them losing their homes and their parents in some way. But now, they’ve found a new place that feels like home (the club) and all the people in it, who feel like family, and they’ll protect it, including each other, no matter the cost. They accept each other wholeheartedly. In fact, accepting one another’s pasts and who they are now and how they’ve changed but also never backing away from who they used to be is a theme with both the entire club and Chika and Satowa specifically, which is shown in these 2 moments.

Also in ch.103 when Satowa makes this face and determines to watch the video that was uploaded about Chika, to me it’s expressing “I’m not afraid of who you are or who you used to be. I know you now, and your past won’t change how I see you.”

I could examine these scenes for ages! And, as you can see, already have.

I love how Satowa’s friends react, they’re so great. Honestly, with the video coming out I thought they might be judgmental of Chika and possibly tell Satowa to stay away from him? But I love how supportive and worried they were about both of them, not just Satowa, and immediately asked if the club was okay. I love Tetsuki’s reaction, too, and how he’s trying to be protective over Chika while understanding that Chika needs to face this and can handle it.

In conclusion, stab me through the heart, I bet it’d hurt less. I love Chika and Satowa so much and they are so in love I can’t handle it!

I’m hoping to post more frequently, especially as I have some things I’m hoping to post before the new chapter, but posting might stay kind of sporadic. First fanfic coming on Chika’s birthday, so yeah.

[awardseason]

42nd London Film Critics’ Circle Awards — Winners

FILM OF THE YEAR Belfast Drive My Car Dune Licorice Pizza The Lost Daughter Memoria The Power of the Dog — WINNER The Souvenir Part II Titane West Side Story

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter — WINNER Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person in the World Joanna Scanlan – After Love Kristen Stewart – Spencer

ACTOR OF THE YEAR Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog — WINNER Adam Driver – Annette Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… Boom! Oscar Isaac – The Card Counter Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter Ariana DeBose – West Side Story Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog Rita Moreno – West Side Story Ruth Negga – Passing — WINNER

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR Richard Ayoade – The Souvenir Part II Ciarán Hinds – Belfast Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog — WINNER Jeffrey Wright – The French Dispatch

BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR (for body of work) Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter/Mothering Sunday/Ron’s Gone Wrong/The Mitchells vs The Machines/The Electrical Life of Louis Wain Ruth Negga – Passing/Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché Joanna Scanlan – After Love Tilda Swinton – Memoria/The Souvenir Part II/The French Dispatch — WINNER

BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR (for body of work) Riz Ahmed – Encounter Adeel Akhtar – Ali & Ava/The Nest/The Electrical Life of Louis Wain/Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog/The Electrical Life of Louis Wain/The Courier Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… Boom!/The Eyes of Tammy Faye/Mainstream — WINNER Stephen Graham – Boiling Point/Venom: Let There Be Carnage

BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR (Attenborough Award) After Love Belfast The Green Knight Limbo The Souvenir Part II — WINNER

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog — WINNER Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car Joanna Hogg – The Souvenir Part II Céline Sciamma – Petite Maman Denis Villeneuve – Dune

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza Wes Anderson – The French Dispatch Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe – Drive My Car — WINNER

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR Drive My Car — WINNER The Hand of God Petite Maman Titane The Worst Person in the World

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR Flee Gunda The Most Beautiful Boy in the World Summer of Soul — WINNER The Velvet Underground

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER (Philip French Award) Prano Bailey-Bond – Censor Rebecca Hall – Passing — WINNER Aleem Khan – After Love Marley Morrison – Sweetheart Ben Sharrock – Limbo

YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER Max Harwood – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Jude Hill – Belfast Emilia Jones – Coda Daniel Lamont – Nowhere Special Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon — WINNER

BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM Diseased and Disorderly – dir. Andrew Kotting Expensive Shit – dir. Adura Onashile Know the Grass – dir. Sophie Littman Play It Safe – dir. Mitch Kalisa — WINNER Precious Hair & Beauty – dir. John Ogunmuyiwa

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Cruella – Jenny Beavan, costumes Dune – Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer, visual effects — WINNER Flee – Kenneth Ladekjær, animation The French Dispatch – Adam Stockhausen, production design The Green Knight – Andrew Droz Palermo, cinematography The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão – Hélène Louvart, cinematography Martin Eden – Fabrizio Federico and Aline Hervé, film editing No Time to Die – Olivier Schneider, stunts The Power of the Dog – Jonny Greenwood, music West Side Story – Justin Peck, choreography

[bowieexaminprogress]

I'm curious to know if you have an own theory about Sander knowing Badr maybe?

You know what's super interesting I believe there's 3 options here...

1.- Sander knows Badr, this way could be used as a way to answer our questions about why Sander so sudendly go back to Britt and avoid going to police after the gay bashing on s3, on my opinion this is a super smart move because this could help us to know more about Sander trough Yasmina pov too and is like Sander is also a layer of Bel!Mikael they kinda change the roles since in OG Even is the one trying to kill himself and Bel!Mikael is the friend so Robbe knowing there was a boy before him make him a little bit insecure an that leads to a little misunderstanding and that's it, there's not an extra person.

2.- All I said before but we also put into the mix our Bel!Mikael this been Adi or Younes roommate OR Sander been Younes roommate and still get our Bel!Mikael as a friend of Sander that makes Robbe insecure knowing about Badr and then seeing Sander being close to someone else.

3.- Badr is not related to Sander at all but we still get our Adi/Bel!Mikael jelaousy plot this been Younes roommate, Adi or someone else from Sander uni, if there's this last option then Adi and Younes roommate aren't relevant.

So this is MY theories but with your knowledge and your way to analyze stuff what do you think could happen? What's your theory on this? If you want to share ofc.

TW suicide and homophobia (please don’t read further if you are triggered by any of the topics)

Hello nonnie!

Here we go let’s discuss theories.

So for me there are two options either the Sobbe plot only stays as part of the hate accounts (so they are used only for Yasmina to have access to Sander’s messages with Britt and then Robbe taking the bullet for Yasmina and step up as the creator of the Britt hate account) or that plot extends further than that and we have a deep connection with Sander, Yasmina, Younes that creates some waves in the water between Robbe and Sander.

I feel like so far we have had way too many hints and parallels between the Badr story and the Sobbe story to ignore them. So her is how I think a subplot further than the hate accounts might develop if there will be one.

Badr was part of Sander’s past. Sander was probably Badr’s first boy he fell in love with. I don’t know if the feelings were mutual or Badr was just developing feelings for Sander while they were very close friends. (So we have a reversed Mikael, Even storyline). Badr, as those feelings grew, started blaming himself and judging himself due to his deep rooted inner homophobia. That led to a downward spiral where he tried “healing” himself and finally ended up taking his own life. That event traumatised Sander deeply. He started feeling responsible for what happened to Badr and that’s when his own feeling of destruction of others started growing. That episode didn’t happen long before he met Britt. That will explain why he stayed in an extremely toxic relationship at the time, because his own self worth was extremely low at the time. That would also explain why Sander forgave Robbe so quickly after the f slur event, he had seen and experienced through Badr inner homophobia, why that event triggered him so much (remember the let me out sketch he posted that day), why he blamed so much himself for the attack and pulled away immediately from Robbe when he told him that in another universe they might have been dead, why he didn’t want to go to the police since they mislabelled Badr’s death as an accident, his words of “everything I touch breaks, I am toxic”. It will explain why Sander was so scared and was reaching low points everytime he realised that he hurt Robbe in anyway. Not telling Robbe about that event will also be very true to his character because we have seen how Sander deals with trauma. He pushes it away, buries it deep in his mind and moves on. He is not disclosing it unless he really has to.

That poses two further questions:

How does Yasmina figure out this story? Probably through Younes. Does she find out that they know each other because they live in the kot, or while Sander visits Adi at the kot, she asks about it and then Younes tells her the whole truth?

How does that start a little conflict between Robbe and Sander?

Does Younes post a photo with Badr and Sander at some point on his social media and Robbe sees it when Yasmina is checking his insta? He probably had seen a photo of Badr somewhere in Sander’s room. He asks how those two know each other. And Yasmina appears reluctant to answer and that pinballs Robbe being suspicious and slowly the truth coming out.

Yasmina not disclosing the truth about Sander’s past will also be a good explanation for why Sander will probably not get pissed off at Yasmina for hijacking his private conversations. He will feel that he owes her for letting him tell his own story when and how he wants.

If that will be the way that story progresses, Sander immediately becomes an extremely tragic character, so multilayered even further than before. Also that will strengthen Robbe’s and Sander’s relationship so so much more, as they will finally deal together with deep rooted trauma. In a way I wish Sander’s POV includes their talk about how they move forward together now that they have dealt with all the skeletons in their closet. I think it will be extremely powerful.

This is me and my thoughts on that matter. We will have to see how deep will that subplot go.