#singed is the background character you don't think twice about

[funnyscienceman]

listen listen listen listen. i am never going to get over singed & viktor. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE MENTAL ANGUISH. THE MESS OF EMOTIONS VIKTOR HAS TO DEAL WITH. he's so steadfast with his morals and ideals. hextech must not be weaponized. dangerous science is fine as long as the only person at risk of getting hurt is me. the moment it kills someone else he's fucking BROKEN by it and just throws in the gd towel. YET SINGED WAS THE ONE WHO TAUGHT HIM. like just. imagine, ok. imagine— take the premise that singed & viktor were actually pretty close. viktor was lonely as a kid, but he found company in rio. in singed. singed provides a space and opportunity for viktor to do his science stuff. "we can be loners together." here's someone he probably has a decent amount of affection and respect for, maybe even admires like a kid would a mentor/role model/parental figure. and he hurts rio. and viktor doesn't understand, he can't reconcile this. "we can be loners together," but also, "you did this?" viktor's got like a whole slew of emotions to deal with. What the fuck? How could you? I hate you. But also, "I told you, I was consulting a friend about our quandary."

"You built this? Why aren't you playing with the others?"

"We can be loners together."

Like just what are you supposed to do when someone who provided for you — who took care of you, who looked after you as a kid — hurts someone? Someone that you care about? What the FUCK are you supposed to when that person is willing to torture and kill for science — something that you are also passionate about, the very thing you both found commonality in, bonded over — and does it all without even a hint of remorse? What are you supposed to think?

Are you allowed to find comfort and safety in that person anymore? Can you still have good memories about them, and look back at them fondly? Can you be thankful for all the good that person's done for you?

What does it say about you, if they're the one who influenced you so much so early in your life, and here they are now?

Viktor gets Sky killed, and can you imagine what must've been running through his head? I'm no better than him. I'm turning out just like him. I am just like him. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

AND IT'S JUST.

AAGGHH!!!

[sheep-from-rad]

Idea! Neglected bar singer darling.

The joint they sing in is on the very outskirts of Gotham. The bars in the basement of a restaurant.

Its pretty clear darling is saving up money to slowly inch away from Gotham and from there neglectful and sometimes (often) cold family.

So they dress as a Him/femme/them fatale and saunter up to the stage and sing there lil heart out and get both the thrill of all the attention in a room being on them and the money in there tip jar to boot.

Imagine what happens when a clip of darling singing goes fucking viral. (I'd like to think it's would be "be your baby tonight" give it a listen if you want. I like norah jones' cover)

What I'm saying is there is no way any of the batfam would approve of darlings career choice.

I love this kind of asks!~ Requests are now open again but we warned, I'm a snail paced writer T__T This took a while because I have this habit where I write it down first on paper before typing it. Like I make a draft first and reread before typing it to see if I should add more or remove some. First fic about singer reader: here and part 2 here. 😅

**DC characters belong to DC and I don't give permission to feed my writings to AI. Thank you**

Masterlist(Batfam)

Masterlist (All of my other fics)

divider by: @k1ssyoursister

Okay okay, here me out. I know you said secret bar under a restaurant but my brain read the word ‘bar’ and ran away with it 😭. 

You know what this smells like? Scandal and maybe even a disaster waiting to happen too. You know what's a famous bar in Gotham? The Iceberg lounge that is run by Mr. Cobblepot (Penguin) and  is frequented by rogues  such as Riddler. 

Life in the Iceberg Lounge isn't that bad, maybe intimidating at first but it became a small comfort. Mr. Cobblepot lets you keep the tips, the lounge beauties (Raven, Lark, and Jay) are great companies, and workplace harassment? You don't really have to worry about that. If you ever get flirted on or harassed by small fries and drunkards and then rest assured a bigger, scarier person at the back of the crowd will beat the harasser and throw them out. They might be villains but they have standards and harassing the lounge’s songbird is a big no no! 

The clip of the singer reader went viral for a ton of different reasons: (1) The singing and the amount of simps you raked 24 hours after the clip has been posted. I have a headcanon that Mr. Cobblepot will nickname you as either Nightingale or Songbird to fit the crew because the lounge beauties are nicknamed after birds.(2) People can see villains just chilling at the background of the video. Riddler's nursing a whiskey at the counter, Two face is playing chess with Penguin who is multitasking in helping mix some drinks. Hell, even Harley and Ivy are in the background having a moment with the strippers.

(3) Why is Bruce Wayne’s kid at the Iceberg lounge? I have a teeny tiny headcanon that even though the reader was neglected they are still forced to attend galas once or twice because Bruce won't and then it will be like a big media scandal. Also reader's public appearances with Bruce or with the other Wayne children might be low but they still have hundreds of followers. The Wayne name alone is basically a celebrity name because of Bruce being heavily revered by the public. Think of it like nepobaby shit. (4) That stage presence and sheer seductiveness. Being a Wayne, I'm sure the reader was taught etiquette by Alfred and was taught how to dress properly. They are also taught how to behave. However on that vid, you look like you were dressed by the Gotham sirens (Ivy, Harley, and Selena) themselves. All those good boy, good girl, good child stuff are out of the window. If the reader was just blending in the background before and the video is the opposite. It's almost commanding every viewer to look at them, pay attention to them, worship the very ground they walk on, and love them! At this point just expect simps. 

The family loves the video but at the same time they also hate it. They had their copies downloaded and saved and then they'll immediately task Barbara into scrubbing the video off of the internet but it's too late. The video has been re-uploaded to hundreds of different accounts and some  news outlets had already published articles about it. The articles ranged from sweet ones like praising the reader for their awesome stage performance and singing to downright insane clickbaits like ‘Bruce Wayne secretly allied with Gotham rogues?’ 

The whole thing is very stressful and I pray to the DC gods that Bruce Wayne is very healthy because this guy's blood pressure might as well go high up. Imagine trying so hard to keep up with the ditzy playboy public persona to hide your vigilante secret identity only for your kid to be filmed singing and being cozy at the Iceberg lounge. Not only that! You also placed yourself in danger too! It's not a secret that a lot of rouges knew Batman's real identity (Joker knows it, he just doesn't care. He's so cool for that). Sure they don't attack Batman when he's Bruce and sure they are a sweet pseudo-family to you right now but who's to say that they won't use you when push comes to shove? 

While Bruce deals with the media, Barbara and Tim work on the damage control and tracking every video, expect heavy guilt tripping and interference from Damian, Dick, and even Alfred (in his defense, he wants you safe and will only ask for you to get a better job or at least work in a place not frequented by villains). Dick will be actively poisoning the well. He'll make you sit down and read the crime archives with him (starting from the heaviest crime down to the pettiest crime) and will tell you stories about their encounters with each of them. Damian will try to keep you from getting to work and will try to keep you in your room if you haven't moved out of the estate. He'll ask you to go around with him, feed his pets with him and even asked you to watch him train (he doesn't know how bonding works, please be understanding). If you had left the estate and then expect him to show up and walk in your place like he owns it. He's one of those cats that you feed once and then suddenly shows up and won't leave you alone anymore. 

Oh, you still won't come home? You still wanna continue that dangerous job of yours? Pick your poison then. Do you want them to call Jason to get to the bar and take you home, knowing him some heads will sure go flying. Or do you want the family to stage a stakeout, infiltrate the bar, and capture and lock up all the villains forever. Go on, go choose. 

[best-nun-tournament]

Finals

Sister Beatrice (Warrior Nun) vs Silque (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

Sister Beatrice is a secret Demon-Fighting Warrior Nun of the Order of the Cruciform Sword.

Silque is a mendicant nun serving the goddess Mila

Sister Beatrice

Sister Beatrice is perfect in every way. She had to be. When you're taught to hate what you are, when what you love, whom you love, brings you nothing but pain, all you have left is to be perfect. To hope that, if you excel enough, in enough ways, then you might be found worthy. Instead, her wealthy, bigoted, British diplomat parents shipped her off to boarding school in Switzerland for the crime of being a lesbian. From there, she joined the Church, married God, and became part of a secret order of demon-fighting black ops nuns. Being married to Jesus wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that she's fallen in love with a woman who rose from the dead, a beautiful bisexual savior with golden retriever energy and a heart of gold, and for whose training and protection Beatrice is responsible. Her best friend, no less. And roommate. Their apartment only has one bed. Maybe it is bad after all. But maybe Beatrice doesn't mind being bad anymore. Maybe she would rather worship her love, her Ava, than any God of any church. Maybe she would kill a dozen men who stood between her and her love while Ave Maria plays in the background. Maybe Beatrice would burn the world to save her. Maybe it wouldn't be enough, in the end. Maybe she would have to send Ava through a portal to Heaven, or Hell, to save Ava's life, moments after learning her love was returned. Maybe she would wait for her Ava to return too. Until, one day...

Silque

Beautiful woman... beautiful woman... Anyway she's the first cleric you get if I recall correctly in the game so you rely on her pretty early on and she's a good unit! She learns warp early which is a great spell for all kinds of strategies. But this isn't about her gameplay! She's just a fun character. She's far from your standard quiet nun type. She enjoys the Girl Talk (tm) and tries to have some with Faye (although Faye shuts it down because she hate gossip or something). She's so cool and girlboss. But even with all that she's still very devout! Because it was Mila's teachings that saved her as a child, she is extremely dedicated to serving the Mother Mila. Also she likes to eat raw bags of flour and hard stale bread. The justification for this was that she was raised humbly (first on a pilgrimage with her mother then by the Novis Priory) but I think it's just goofy as hell. Also she has a high luck growth which is also funny because she gets kidnapped like twice and I don't think that's very lucky.

--------

More stuff: this is just more stuff but I find it interesting how her mother served the god Duma while she serves the goddess Mila, opposing dieties. Even though she was raised for the first years of her life by her mother who was a Duma Faithful, she was raised the rest of her life in a Mila-dedicated Priory so she serves Mila although her mother served Duma.

---------

Since people are talking about music for quite a bit of these nuns, her VA sings the ending credits theme for her game! It's not necessarily in character, but it's from the perspective of the Goddess Mila which is really cool. It's a super hopeful song that got me through some really dark times so I'm biased but still.

----------

Silque propaganda: she is one of four people in Valentia who can kill a god. She also used to worship said god, making this even better. She also can teleport people an infinite distance. Please vote Silque.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 94- MAMA Awards 2016 Part 2

Chapter Summary: BTS win their first Daesang! Tensions run high when Jen's friendship with Hyuna ends abruptly due to sneak dissing and a scrapped performance. BTS attends the Mama Awards making iconic moments that leave the world shooked.

Words: 6,000+

Genre: Big Jungkook Fluff. A little chaos never hurt anybody :)

Author's Note: This is the last bit of the chapter that couldn't fit in Part 1 on Tumblr.

Click here for PART 1 of this chapter

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On stage, as it was darkened, it lightened up with red lights in the background, showing off her powerful silhouette. Once the audience saw it was her, they cheered loudly. She then began a dance break with the back up dancers, dancing fiercely.

"Hong Kong! If you don't know my name, you gon' know, tonight!" she shouted and began to sing, bouncing to the beat.

wave ya hands side to side

wave ya hands side to side

wave ya hands from side to side

wave ya hands side to side

Backstage, Bangtan was dancing along while they were being filmed by a Bangtan bomb. They bounced and jumped to her singing. Yoongi had been the one to post the fan chant lyrics on Twitter to prepare fans. His efforts were rewarded as he heard the loud fan chants. ARMY truly never lets Bangtan down.

"Wave your hands side to side," she continued to sing but then stopped as the audience, especially Armies, began to take over to repeat the lyrics.

Pleasantly surprised though pleased, she smiled and even saw the light sticks waving around on beat. As she walked, she placed the mic to her mouth and then the words began to flow while she looked at the camera.

Aye yo, Cube & MAMA, why you lying saying I ain't ready?

Miss Bangtan standin' on business, you know she keep it steady

I'm a savage and tonight Jennie gon' wreak havoc

The way she delivered the last line as she leaned in close to the camera with a wicked grin and head tilt caused anticipation around the venue as they cheered.

Her sudden rapping caused idols to look stunned, especially with the passion in her tone. They expected her to sing but rap? It was about to go down as they glanced at Hyuna.

"Oh shit, it's happening!" Bam Bam started freaking out with Jackson.

"Here she goes," Namjoon smiled, noticing her whole demeanor change.

"Make us proud, smartie..." Yoongi watched on with a smile.

Looking this fine I make em turn quick

I stay bulletproof, I ain't no sidekick

Main character energy, what you mad for?

Haters obsessed with what I got next in store

She turned around with the backup dancers, giving a full view of her backside while rocking to the beat which got reactions from idols who 'whooed' and admired her stage presence. She turned back around to continue to dance as her hair bounced beautifully with the camera following her.

Natural Body looks so good they try to replicate 

No matter what y'all do you can't duplicate 

She was then left alone on stage.

It sucks I gotta work twice as hard to get that recognition

I'm just as good, a bulletproof girl on a mission

Bangtan applying that pressure and we 'bout to do damage

We stay looking fresher while haters be at a disadvantage

Taking a glimpse of Hyuna made Jennie begin to walk right in the direction of where the idols were sitting as the camera followed her. As she walked, people began to realize that she was walking towards her.

"Is she heading in her direction?" Hobi grinned.

"Yes, she is!" Taehyung cheered.

The members watched proudly, anticipating what was going to happen next.

Fans tweet:

'Is she walking over to her!?'

'Wait a damn minute is she about to do what I think she's about to do!?'

'Oh my God I think Jennie is walking right towards Hyuna!'

'Is this the moment where she finally responds!?!'

With the way Jennie's expression changed, Bangtan watched as she legitimately started to get angry.

"Control your emotions..." Yoongi murmured as he watched her.

The idols geared up for what was about to happen, glancing back and forth from Hyuna to Jennie.

'Remember Yoongi's words...stay calm or you're gonna lose focus,' Jennie thought to herself as she kept her composure.

She took a deep breath to relax and continued on the mic.

How's this? How's this? You better reap what you sow

All this buffoonery better stop now cause I'm about to blow

Gave you one too many warnings, let me get this off my chest

What I got to say can't even save you with a bulletproof vest

Tryna tarnish my image you better watch ya mouth

Claim you're a girl's girl yet like to bad mouth

Grabbing a chair, Jennie pulled it right to Hyuna and sat right in front of her as ARMY cheered loudly. She began to look at her dead in the eyes while idols looked around in shock. Some of the IOI members gasped, questioning if this was really happening. Hayoon smiled proudly while the rest of GFriend continued to watch on the edge of their seats.

"Damn," Jooheon grinned. "Right in front of her, eh?"

Bam Bam's eyes looked like they were about to pop out while Zico glanced at Crush and Dean, nodding, looking impressed.

"Oh shit!" Taehyung shouted.

"Did you know she was planning to do that?" Jimin looked bewildered.

"Nah, she didn't say a thing," Jin looked on.

"She said expect the unexpected. She's doing a damn good job with the unexpected," Jimin watched in awe.

Hyuna looked upset as a frown came across her face while staring at Jennie who continued to rap.

First things first, I am not the one, two or three

You still running your mouth yet you run from me

Bubble bubble pop bitch who likes to burn bridges, 

A storm is coming and you about to get stitches

Jungkook grinned to himself. "That's my girl," he proudly said while Yoongi laughed out loud with the rapline on her bubble pop insult.

She then leaned forward, keeping her eyes on her.

Fake female monsta, you talk when I'm not around but I like to be direct

So I'ma address you on this stage so you can get checked.

Yea I'm the best from head to toe

Still bulletproof, it's ridiculous that you don't know

Miss Hyuna, you stay sneak dissin' but go mute when I'm in your face

Bitches like you make me wanna catch a case

Jennie was surprised the show didn't cut off her mic and kept going, relishing the moment. She flipped her hair to the side and stared at Hyuna, unimpressed.

Face twisted up in anger cause I hit a nerve

I'll be the first to say that it's what she deserves

If you respond, I already know everything you'll say

She's disrespectful, huh?

Doesn't respect her seniors, huh?

She's ghetto, huh?

She's just a little rookie, huh?

I've been booed and hated, I've handled it all

Tonight is just another part of my K-Pop experience

Getting out of the seat, she kicked it to the side and stood in front of her to continue while moving to the beat. She prepared to use every flaw and insult she assumed Hyuna might use against her and twisted it for her advantage.

I got issues with being too friendly, what could I have done differently?

My friendliness can be a disadvantage, you clearly took advantage

Played me for a fool, I am foolish for trusting you

You look nervous, did you realize you bit off more than you can chew?

My voice cracked during my verse tonight but I still kept going

I messed up during the dance too but I'm still glowing

I get overexcited, too passionate, damn, I'm extra, I say it proudly

Sometimes I worry about the growing fame

Sometimes I overthink and wonder if I will end up in shame

Sometimes I think negatively about the what ifs

A habit I need to work on, you know this

4Minute members aren't too fond of you, I know the tea

And it's a good thing now that they are free

So what if I took years to dye my hair?

I trended for weeks while everyone stopped and stared

I don't care if I sound annoying when talking about Nike

Cause guess who got the endorsement, me, all high and mighty

She took a dramatic curtesy with a proud smile as the crowd cheered.

Give me a break, let me breathe

Give me a chance, let me achieve

You don't wanna work with me no more, OK

You mad our music video got more views than yours, OK

You underestimated my confidence and skills, OK

Can't swallow the fact I ate you up in your own music video, OK

Spreading this narrative that I'm a jealous hater

How many more lies does the media need to paint me as the bad guy?

You're not as innocent and unproblematic as you portray to be.

And nothing you say will break me

I love myself. I love my skin, I love who I am becoming

It looks like our little friendship was just a shortcoming

OK I broke a nose but I'm not violent until you put your hands on me first

Veteran or not, don't disrespect me. You ain't gonna coerce

If you dare make a diss track about me make sure it's somethin' they don't know about me

It's crazy how people switch up due to envy and greed

Witnessing it now, what a shame indeed

Never meet your heroes they say and you're the prime example

And I promise you this will age like fine wine in a future scandal

She ended her rap, predicting the future. She spoke over the instrumental while looking up and down at Hyuna in disgust. "This is the first and last time I'm addressing this. Don't you ever in your life play with me,"

Monsta X were grinning to themselves while the audience caught a lot of the idols' reactions and were quite pleased to see the drama. Jooheon thought about Show Me The Money and his fair share of rap battles.

The way Hyuna looked angry and upset, caused Jennie to smirk in satisfaction with the music changing slightly as she started nodding to the beat.

"Yeah. Wave ya hands side to side. Wave ya hands side to side," Jennie sang.

Some idols were waving their hands along with her and the audience with their lightsticks.

"Sing!" Jennie instructed, raising her mic up, as ARMY took over the lyrics.

wave ya hands from side to side

wave ya hands side to side

Bangtan started dancing and jumping around and began singing the lyrics too while getting filmed for a Bangtan Bomb. ARMY never lets BTS down. They were a huge part of this becoming successful as they continued to chant.

Wave ya hands side to side

Wave ya hands side to side

Wave ya hands from side to side

Wave ya hands side to side

Then she proceeded to speak on beat one last time in front of Hyuna. "Yea this trick about to go off, mad 'cause I'm so fresh. Fresher than you. I'm fresher than you. Fresher than you, oh,"

"Ah-Ha-HA~!" Miss Bangtan laughed loudly in a high voice and began to walk back.

Zico laughed at how dramatic her laugh was and applauded with Crush who was amused. Yoongi was proud and loved how she defended herself confidently and aggressively, applauding with the rest of the members.

"That's my fuckin' Smartie!" he shouted proudly.

Jungkook stared at the screen with admiration. This was her moment and she did it justice. She truly soared tonight and deserved this.

"Her rapline initiation is complete," Hobi said proudly as the rapline grinned at each other.

"Yeah. She handled herself well, out there. Cypher Part 4," Yoongi confirmed with a nod.

"The remix," Namjoon added as they agreed.

"Don't let Taehyung hear you say that," Jin laughed lightly.

"I heard everything! I demand a spot, too!" Taehyung whined.

"NO," the rapline shut it down, causing Jin, Jungkook, and Jimin to laugh.

Social media went crazy over Jennie and tweeted:

'The girls are FIGHTING!'

'Jaw is on the floor omfg'

'The presentation! Big Hit let her shine the RIGHT way! Thank you for allowing her to have that much time on stage! She deserved this!'

'Sometimes you gotta go that route and speak directly to the person. Hyuna was playing games,'

'Jennie is ANGRY. Do you see her fierce eyes?'

'The way she criticized herself for her flaws but flipped it,'

'Once she tweeted BET, that was a warning that a disaster was coming. SHE COOKED!'

'Y'all peep the idols eating this up but trying not to make obvious reactions? Jooheon was grinning ear to ear and it had me dying,'

'SHE SAT IN FRONT OF HER! THE WAY I SCREAMED!'

'I owe Jennie an apology. We shouldn't have clowned her for not responding right away,'

'The duality!! Add Jennie to the list of responding to disses on the MAMA Awards!'

'The way she used some of Hyuna's lyrics against her was crazy!'

'That was brutal!'

'Mnet you can thank BTS for the boost in views because this whole stage is about to go viral!'

'If Jennie says "BET." then understand she's out for blood!'

'Mnet can thank BTS for the views because their whole stage is about to be the highest viewed video of all MAMAs and on YouTube!'

'This is going in the top 10 lists of MAMA Moments. Jennie became a history maker tonight! She sat in front of her and addressed her!'

'Oh...my God...'

'We will be posting this diss during black history month!'

'BLACK WOMEN! That's the tweet.'

'This is what happens when you provoke people.'

'BIG YIKES!'

'Y'all clowned Jennie to respond and she finally did and now haters mad!'

'Hyuna deserved that.'

'This is why you leave the friendly people alone!'

'I AM INVESTED!'

'Her response did not disappoint my gawd...I...I'm not even Hyuna but I feel embarrassed for her. In front of the industry like this? Fucked around and found out,'

'Not y'all switching sides and cheering for Jennie after clowning her for taking a while to respond,'

'Why do y'all keep fucking around and finding out when it comes to black women? Leave us tf alone.'

'Jennie is not in the wrong. Hyuna started it. Jennie finished it. End of story.'

'HER LAUGH!!! NEW MEME ALERT!'

'Who said she needed Bangtan to respond? She handled it well!'

'Someone edit Jennie's MAMA performance with Brooke Valentine's Girl Fight in the background!'

'No for real! We need edits of Jennie and Girl Fight in the background! We bout to throw dem bows! We bout to swang dem thangs!'

'Jen's a boss ass bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch-bitch!'

'Stop! Stop! She's already dead!'

'Hyuna just apologize omfg.'

'Time to throw the damn towel Hyuna!'

'4Minute members must be happy af she got called out lol!'

'She gave her many warnings to back off and didn't take them. Now she sitting there looking stupid as fuck,'

'Bubble bubble pop bitch...I...'

'G-Dragon chose to right idol to mentor. I saw G-Dragon in her for a moment,'

'And that is ALL she wrote!'

'Miss Jennifer Walker respectfully...when she turned around and gave us a full view of her ass...God is the greatest,'

'She's not wrong about people trying to replicate her body. That thang was MOVING!'

'And there goes the ratings skyrocketing! It's about to be a girl fight!'

'I'm just happy Mnet didn't cut off her mic. Because this whole moment is going viral and it's good to see people backing Jennie after learning the context. She is not the bad guy here,'

'Jennie said: FINISH HER!'

'Jennie PLEASE! I cannot keep up with all this! First you kiss Jungkook now you going crazy on Hyuna my GOD!'

'This is the exact reason why people anticipate Jennie at the MAMA Awards. It's always a surprise! For a black woman to get this much attention at this show is amazing,'

'Dispatch is shaking trying to keep up with what's happening with Jennie lmfaooo'

'I need reaction videos to Jennie at MAMA 2016 NOW! Tag all the big K-Pop YouTubers!'

'I want them to fight so bad. Catch that case, Jennie, we'll bail you out!'

'Gotta love those Scorpios,'

'I do not want to hear about respecting your senior when she has said some horrible things about her unprovoked. She's a horrible person. Jennie is not in the wrong'

'Stop messing with the most friendly idols in the industry. When they fed up, they are FED UP! How are you going to come after Jennie?'

'One thing about Jennie is sis will make sure to keep herself talked about. And in positive ways. I'm happy she responded. I know the rap line is proud!'

'Y'all insulting her is proving her point lmfao. Hyuna is NOT classy. We don't know these idols or what happens behind closed doors. A lot of these idols might not be who they claim to be!'

-----------

Turning around, Jennie kept her head up high and strutted back to the stage. She proceeded to walk down the ramp as the background turned red to show her silhouette once more and the LED screen and background turned into fire. The music slowly transitioned to the opening beats of fire with the drums.

She broke out into a smile, observing all the light sticks and especially the army bombs still high up and lit for her.

"Hong Kong!" she announced in a shout, earning loud cheers. "I am Jennie of BTS and Bangtan is about to set the roof on fire, baby! Hong Kong are you ready!?"

She received louder cheers and screams as her strong, confident aura radiated off of her.

Fire....fire....

While she stood on the main stage, the rap line popped up to join her and the audience got even more excited.

"It's BTS! And you're now watchin' this one!" Namjoon announced.

"Hong Kong!" Yoongi shouted.

"Blow up!"

"Let's go!" Jennie shouted.

The music intensified as the rest of the group joined and started getting hyped up with the music.

"Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!" Yoongi shouted.

As they performed fire, Jennie kept a big smile on her face, feeling elated about everything happening at the show, popping the moves out powerfully.

Standing near Jungkook, she leaned to the side and locked eyes with him while smiling at each other.

ni meotdaero sareo eochapi ni kkeoya

aesseuji jom mareo jyeodo gwaenchanha

Errbody say La la la la la

"Say what!?" Yoongi called out.

Say La la la la la

"Say what!?"

soneul deureo sorijilleo Burn it up

"Hong Kong!"

Strutting up to the front, Jennie flicked her nose with her thumb, changing her face into a serious expression.

bultaoreune

Going hard in the dance break as her hair flowed, she sang with her mic in her hand. “Eh! Eh oh eh oh!”

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

“Eh! Eh oh eh oh!”

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

Standing with Namjoon she dapped him up as their hands collided perfectly.

“Aye, live it up. Bangtan just exploded on the scene~!”

Hey, burn it up jeonbu da taeul geot gachi

“Aye, shout it out! I’m turnt up, it’s okay, I’m keen~”

Hey, turn it up saebyeogi da gal ttaekkaji

geunyang sarado dwae urin jeomgie

geu malhaneun neon mwon sujeogillae

sujeosujeo georyeo nan saraminde

“So, what~!” she shouted with them, raising a hand up.

"Go, Jennie!" The rapline shouted.

The boys rocked to the beat around her and people noticed the way the rap line smiled proudly at her as she performed her verse.

“Calling us extra yet you still want to hang. Bang to the tan, you wanna join this gang. Keep your eyes on me, I am still that chick! Don’t you stand too close, what, you think you slick? Admit we the shhh as we tear it down!”

The boys dramatically turned to her while she placed a finger to her lips before they followed her around as she continued.

“BTS is the flame they wanna water down! Bangtan is still here and we killin’ it still. We always start the fire, you just a fire drill! AH-HA~!"

(Fire)

geop manheun jayeo yeogiro

(Fire)

goeroun jayeo yeogiro

(Fire)

maenjumeogeul deulgo All night long

(Fire)

jingunhaneun balgeoreumeuro

As the backup dancers danced with them, Jen got hyped, shouting, 

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-“

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!” the rest of the members joined in.

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

(Fire)

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

(Fire)

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

(Fire)

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

(Fire)

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

(Fire)

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

(Fire)

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

"One more time! One more time! One more time!" Jimin announced as everyone went around the main stage, hyping up the crowd along with the back up dancers.

(Fire)

Jennie jumped up and down, repeating her lyrics. “Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

(Fire)

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow

(Fire)

“Errbody throw yo’ hands in the air, we gettin’-”

“Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter!”

(Fire)

ssak da bultaewora bow wow wow 

yongseohaejulge

---------

After performing, Bangtan went backstage and they went in for a group hug, pleased with how their stage turned out. They were all tired and sweaty but still feeling the adrenaline of being on stage and happy for Jen's solo stage.

"Jennifer, that was fucking amazing!" Yoongi grinned and lifted her up, spinning her around as she laughed. "I am so fucking proud of you! You did it!"

He set her down as she felt overwhelmed with joy, thanking him and the rest of the boys for their support as they praised her.

"Undeniable. I told you," Namjoon confirmed with a grin.

"You had us laughing. You really went in. I was a little scared," Jin laughed. "But you looked powerful and beautiful on that stage. My heart leaped with joy watching you,"

"I have the coolest girlfriend ever. She sings. She dances. She acts. And now she raps. I'm a lucky man," Jungkook grinned and pulled her in closer for a side hug as he kissed her cheek. "You never cease to amaze me, you know that? Every day with you is a new adventure and today has been full of fun memories and surprises. I can't wait to see what else you do,"

"All those lessons have been paying off. I'm impressed, Munchkin," Hobi beamed. "You proved exactly who Miss Bangtan is. Your stage presence has improved a lot since last year,"

"That's our Ennie!" Jimin gave her an eye smile. "My favorite part was when you sat in front of her. That caught us all by surprise. You were fantastic out there,"

"I told you she was amazing when I saw her in the practice room! I was the one who believed in her first! Now look at you soar. Soaring like the beautiful butterfly that you are, flying to your full potential..." Taehyung pulled her in for a big kiss on the temple and a hug.

The rest of the members joined back in for another group hug.

"Thank you for always being my strength. All of you are the best. We did that shit, huh!?" She asked as she pulled away and high fived them when they all agreed. "We all did so well. The dancing, the singing, the rapping...we made a huge name for ourselves tonight. I'm proud of us. I'm proud of what we accomplished so far. Thank you for always creating such beautiful memories here. I can't wait to make more with you guys,"

As the members walked backstage, they continued to be filmed with the Bangtan Bomb.

"I am hot. I am sweaty. I am exhausted. I think I overdid it a bit but I'm standing strong," Jennie put up the peace sign as she walked.

"Ah, I'm disappointed. I could've done better," Yoongi brought up as he thought about his performance.

"What?! You did great! Don't down yourself like that. You had me hyped on that stage with you!"

"Really? Thanks, Smartie,"

"Of course," she smiled and placed a hand on his back, patting it.

As the show went on, Wiz Khalifa finally got on stage. He performed Young, Wild, and Free as BTS were on their feet, dancing to the song as it brought back memories. As the boys watched Jennie be in her own world, dancing happily, they gathered around in a semi-circle to hype her up as she kept moving.

A camera began to film them while she started to rap Wiz's part, not caring who watched as fancams caught idols watching Bangtan.

"It look clean, don't it? Washed it the other day, whatch how you lean on it. Give me some 501 jeans on it. Roll joints bigger than King Kong's fingers. And smoke them hoes down 'til they stingers. You a class clown and if I skip for the day. I'm with your bitch smokin' grade A!"

"You can't take me nowhere!" Jennie laughed as the boys sang the chorus.

"Hands up! Hey! Hey! I see you, BTS!" The DJ pointed out, causing the audience to cheer loudly when the camera showed them.

"I see you, Jennie!" Wiz pointed, shouting her out when she caught his attention as she rapped and danced.

She turned to Wiz and pointed back with a big grin on her face. Yet another fun highlight for the show.

As he performed See You Again, Jennie sang with the boys and laughed when the screen showed Bam Bam messing up the lyrics.

When GFriend won best dance performance for a female group, Jennie cheered loudly and immediately went to hug Hayoon.

Fans tweeted how they loved that it was becoming a tradition for those two to find each other whenever they win an award and that some still shipped them together.

Watching their acceptance speech made her tear up, especially when Eunha began speaking. When GFriend returned to their seats, she went to hug them all and congratulated them again.

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

When EXO performed, Jennie acted like the ultimate fangirl, making sure to sing along and cheer. She had plans to collaborate with EXO for the end of the year shows and she couldn't wait to dance with them. She and Sehun had something special planned as well and she was already practicing with him for it.

"I came prepared this time!" Jennie cheered and took out her personal EXO Lightstick, using it while they performed.

"Seriously?" Yoongi laughed with the boys as they shook their heads.

"What?" she asked with a laugh. "It's frickin' EXO!"

As she waved her lightstick and did some of the fan chants, fans tweeted how she'd be one of the reasons to end the EXO/BTS fanwar and that what she was doing was one of the reasons why Exols liked Jennie the most out of Bangtan. Others thought she was hilarious acting this way and loved how she supported the groups that performed, vibing to their music.

Baekhyun's solo dance at the end had her losing her mind as the members laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Kings! Literally kings! They nail it every time!" she applauded.

After Twice won Song of The Year, it was time for Artist of The Year to be announced. Jennie sat in between Namjoon and Jin as they awaited the results. She sensed her leader's nervousness and the way he was anxiously biting his fingers made her start to rub his back. She then grabbed one of his hands, giving it a big squeeze as they awaited the results.

Will it be EXO again?

Ha Ji Won was the presenter as she opened the envelope.

"The award goes to...BTS!"

It took a few moments for Jennie to register as she sat there dumbfounded. All of Bangtan were shocked while Namjoon looked so relieved and happy as tears developed in his eyes. With them all standing up, they gathered in a group hug as the crowd cheered. The walk up to the stage was a heartfelt one as Jennie felt her emotions get to her.

Artist of the Year. They won artist of the freakin' year!

She stood in between Yoongi and J-Hope while Namjoon began his speech.

"ARMY!" he paused, feeling his emotions get to him. "Really, thank you so much. We went through a lot since we debuted and there were people who said we wouldn't make it. Thank you so much for believing in us till the very end. This was something we could only dream of having, thank you for making that dream into a reality. Those who have been leading us, Bang Sihyuk PD-Nim and Big Hit's staff, Pdogg, Slow Rabbit, Supreme Boi who have been making really good music for us. Also Coach Sungdeuk, Sangeun-hyung, and all our staff. We are really thankful to all the staff who have been with us. Thank you so much for making our dream into a reality,"

He switched to English to continue, "And ARMYs all over the world, let's fly with our beautiful wings in 2017 as well. BTS loves ARMYs as always! Thank you very much, thank you!"

Jennie hugged Yoongi who started breaking down into tears while Hobi also consoled him. Seeing Yoongi cry started to make her cry as she tried not to mess up her makeup. But the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

They all gathered into another group hug.

"Thank you very much. We love you all!"

"Thank you very much!" Jimin added.

"Thank you!" Jennie cheered.

"We hope that our music and stages will become that of many people's dreams and hopes," Namjoon added and went back to English. "I hope that our stage, our performance, and our music can be the hopes and dreams of many people around the world. Thank you very much. We will work really hard, thank you very much,"

They all bowed and clapped. When they were back in their seats, Jennie sat in between Jimin and Taehyung while EXO won album of the year. Bangtan was still overwhelmed with emotions that they won Artist of the Year as they tried to listen to their speech. However, Jennie and Jungkook couldn't stop their tears from flowing as they both began crying.

"Damn...we're artist of the year..." she broke down into a sob.

Jimin and Taehyung wrapped an arm around her to console her and the older members began to notice their youngest members crying.

"Both of them are crying. Ah, it's all right," Namjoon said as he comforted them.

Yoongi gave tissues to them as they wiped their tears. Jen could already feel a slight headache coming from the crying. Before she knew it, the show ended as confetti dropped from the stage. After pulling herself together, she stood up and proceeded to walk with the rest of the group, bowing at other idols and waving at fans, sniffling.

Feeling arms around her, she noticed that Hayoon had approached her to back hug her.

"Jennie~! Aw, you were crying?" she giggled while she turned around in her arms. She wiped Jen's tears. "It's okay! I'm so proud of you and the boys! Bangtan deserved the award!"

"Thank you, I'm proud of you! We're soaring high, huh?"

"Just like we said we would!"

Jennie met up with the rest of the members as they group hugged once more.

"I'm so damn proud of us! We did it!" she jumped up and down with them in celebration.

Still wandering around the stage to bow and say hi to familiar faces, Exols and Armies cheered loudly when Baekhyun and Jennie met up

"Jennie," he smiled warmly and embraced her.

She raved over his performance while he praised her work tonight.

"Congrats on your win tonight! I'm so happy for EXO!"

"Thank you! Congratulations on Artist of the Year! Bangtan is more than deserving. How do you feel?"

"A whole Daesang at MAMA? I cannot believe this is real,"

"Get used to it. This is only the beginning for Bangtan. Enjoy every moment. It's going to be a fun journey,"

She smiled and nodded, feeling the waterworks coming again. To see idols come up and be so genuinely happy for Bangtan was sweet. She thanked him and they embraced again.

"Remind us not to make you angry," Chanyeol said as he walked past, making both her and Baekhyun laugh.

"I would never do that to you, Chanyeol! I love you!"

"I like to be loved. I'm happy we're on the same page. I love you, too," he laughed.

------

As Bangtan walked backstage with cameras still filming them, Sehun called out Jennie's name, causing her to turn and grin. She broke away from the group to chat with him as they were filmed.

"Yo~!" her eyes lit up as she hugged him. "Congratulations! Okay, album of the year! Showing out, huh?"

He chuckled. "Thank you. Congratulations on Artist of the Year. It feels great, doesn't it? Hard work paying off,"

"Yeah! It really does! I'm still shaking. You see my adrenaline pumping?" she revealed her shaky hands as he nodded.

'Heartwarming meeting between two grand prize recipients. Maknaes of their respective groups,'

After chatting, the two embraced and the camera captured the sweet moment between friends. Once she made it to where Angelina was with Bangtan who had been sitting front row in the audience, Jennie happily embraced her. Angelina was thrilled about Bangtan's win and performance, losing her mind about everything.  

"GIRL! GIRL!" Angelina kept shaking Jennie, congratulating her on her successful evening at MAMA. "I am so damn proud of you! The rapping!? Who is this girl!? Suga, you turned her into a monster! That was lethal! Hyuna was so quiet, it cracked me up! She was mad as hell~! Suga, thank you for igniting this fire in my best friend! You should have seen me, I was filming and screaming for you. I am so posting videos and photos when we make it back to Seoul!"

After getting situated, Bangtan and Angelina were at the airport seated on their designated plane, waiting for it to take off so they could head back to Seoul. Jennie sat at a window seat next to Jungkook while the end seat was empty. The rest of the members and Angelina sat near them and all of them were on their phones. It was at this moment that Jennie and Jungkook were going to post everything they prepared for their relationship reveal.

"We doing this?" Namjoon asked with a smile, phone ready on Twitter.

"Just say the cue," Jimin happily grinned.

"Whenever you both are ready," Taehyung added.

"I got a lot to say so just tell me when you post," Angelina brought up.

All of them had their posts ready along with videos, photos, and large messages of support for them. This was a huge deal. This moment. Revealing that they were dating to the world. As if the kiss wasn't a bombshell, this reveal was about to be. A decision they thought over for a long time.

Jungkook blew out some air as he reread the post he planned to publish on Twitter along with the photos. Rereading everything, a smile came across his face.

"Our world is going to change once we hit post," he said as he turned his head to look at Jennie.

She nodded and met his gaze. "I know. And I'm not going to apologize for being in love with someone who has made me the happiest I've ever been,"

"I won't either,"

"You'll stand next to me through this like you said,"

"That I will," he ensured and pressed his lips against her sweetly. "I love you,"

"I love you, too. Okay. I'm ready. Let's do this," she smiled and clicked the post button for her tweet.

Jungkook immediately posted right after and so did the rest while Big Hit posted the scheduled YouTube videos and official statement tweet from Big Hit's Twitter for their relationship. Quickly going on Instagram, Jennie posted her truth there and once confirming everything had been sent, she deleted Twitter and Instagram. 

As she laid her head on Jungkook's shoulder, he laid his head on her head and they both closed their eyes. Might as well enjoy these final peaceful hours on this flight. Because once they stepped foot in Seoul...all that was going to end.

Hello, this is Big Hit Entertainment...

[rosallora]

I SAW WICKED (spoilers)

So I saw Wicked last night with my roommate! We got all dressed up in the girls' colors, got our popcorn, our snacks, and settled in for an AWESOME time. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

NOTE: I am someone who read the book at age 13-14, and has seen the musical twice - once when I was about 13, once in my 20s! I'm almost 30. So I have a history with the musical and the book that do inform my interaction with the movie.

REVIEW BELOW

Music: Yeah it's not a good sign when I have bad things to say here. Despite the fact I KNOW that they must have had an absolute orchestra doing the score, somehow half of the instruments DON'T SOUND REAL. There is a synthesized feel to the backing and even some of the main orchestral pieces that SOAR in the theater but are not good enough in this movie. My roommate was the one who pointed out that the backing track is also at times legitimately not loud enough. They were very disappointed with the part of the score that is supposed to "melt" into the background. It doesn't do its job. There are leitmotifs played throughout the dialogue, mostly to indicate tone and what's going on (eg: oh Fieryo's onscreen! Quick! Play a Dancing Through Life leitmotif!) but there's nothing meaningful. I pointed out that there's something that isn't right in the choice of INSTRUMENT. There is something deeply missing in the Wicked movie's score that has to do with originality of instrument choice. The music from Wicked is GOOD. It is banger after banger after banger (other than you know. Sentimental Man). But they don't take advantage of it. The lower, bassy register of the libretto is strangely absent. There are numbers like No One Mourns the Wicked where the use of STOMPING is good - but there's a strange lack of percussion that haunts the movie. It's MISSING the lower tones. No idea why. The music doesn't stand up to the musical.

To be clear: Most vocal performances are stunning. Our two main girls were definitely GREAT fits vocally for the characters. Madame Morrible and Mr. Oz himself needed to be cast differently - based on just the singing of the characters. Everyone else, vocally, was completely on-point and serviceable. Great ensemble. Unfortunately, because of extended time onscreen, there's also a habit of EXTENDING the pauses between song bits. EG: in Popular, after Glinda does the little transformation on Elphaba, there's a pause. Glinda says Elphaba is BEAUTIFUL, Elphaba is emotionally overwhelmed and has to leave. She runs offstage, and Glinda yells "you're welcome..!" after her before finishing "and although you protest / your disinterest / I know clandestinely / you're gonna grin and bear it / your newfound popularity" does some la la las... and then does the ending "you'll be popular! / just not quite as popular / as / meeee". In the MOVIE, after "newfound popularity", Glinda looks at HERSELF in the mirror and has a "hello beautiful" moment, completely arresting the pace of the song. I have experienced blue balls via Wicked. It's denying the audience the last bit of your song. They also do this during DEFYING. GRAVITY. Can you IMAGINE??

Lighting: Wicked has an atmosphere problem. I wish I had pictures from the movie. There is from the jump in Munchkintown during the No One Mourns the Wicked this BRIGHT, GLARING LIGHT that covers everything. It is absolutely oppressive. When Arianna Grande came down in her bubble, all I could think is that she looked fake and almost GRAY. There is almost no color in the lighting at all. I have no idea why this is the case. There are maybe three scenes where this is different: During Dancing Through Life at the Oz Dust Ballroom, during PARTS of Loathing, and during Popular. At the Oz Dust Ballroom, a night scene (at a now illict club?? Spoilers for the weird reframing of the Oz Dust Ballroom???) there is a cooler toned light, and during Popular there is a section where all the lighting is blessedly pink - during Loathing, which was the best choreographed and shot part of the movie (aside from Defying Gravity, I'm talking about that later) where there was use of pink/green light in the dorm room, but not anywhere else on Shiz campus. The costuming of the characters was pretty spot on stylistically (more on that later) but the light did not emphasize or highlight any aspect of the atmosphere.

The Greatest Showman is an enjoyable movie musical because it does one thing EXTREMELY well: atmosphere. I know I know, I'm bringing up Greatest Showman. The music is nowhere in the same ballpark range of quality. But here's the thing - the deep saturations, moody colors, and beautiful contrast of Greatest Showman's showmanship is a huge reason why I revisit the movie. It LOOKS INCREDIBLE. It is not carried by its music. In comparison, Wicked's atmosphere is oppressively bland. For a series that took something impressionistic and made it dark (in the book) and then extremely saturated (in the musical) the movie has chosen to make a nothing burger of its own atmosphere. The use of CGI for backgrounds and objects is desperately obvious. Everything is too smooth, and it can't be SAVED by lighting. No idea how they messed this up this hard.

Set Design:

This is building directly off of lighting so I want it here - it's not great, but other parts are FANTASTIC. There are sections of Munchkinland (the girls' house in the art deco style, as well as Shiz University's hallways) that are really beautiful. External environments suffered from the worst of the LIGHTING issues mentioned above, which made them hard to save. I was really aware that they were probably shooting on a lot or a sound stage or something - and if they weren't, it was impressive that they gave off that feeling so effortlessly.

When you look around at Oz in any shot of externals, it looks bland and white. The colors are completely washed out in all directions. I would expect this maybe of the BOOK in a way, in which there's definitely a more dreary tone, but that isn't what the movie is going for at all. Wicked is supposed to have some fun, iconic looks! Where is it?

The forest and green spaces also have this surprisingly bland feel to them. Maybe because they FEEL (granted, I don't know for sure) extremely CGI. There isn't a feeling that the characters are able to really interact with their surroundings in a meaningful way. I think that there needed to be more lighting contrast between layers of the forest, or more... grime? I don't know how to express that the movie needed more TEXTURE. Everything felt very SMOOTH.

Also. The field that Elphaba runs through in Wizard and I is absolutely unforgivable. Nothing more to say on that front.

Cinematography: There are two modes for this movie: commercial footage and everything else. There is a blandness to the camera angles that when the movie decided to do SOMETHING INTERESTING, I immediately took notice and was like "wait what the heck, why haven't we been having interesting camera shots???". Loathing, Dancing Through Life, Popular, and Defying Gravity are the only places in the movie where there are more interesting camera techniques happening. Especially when it comes to Defying Gravity, there's a full sense that they only used interesting camera angles on the parts that would be in the commercials and advertising???

In Dancing Through Life, there's the use of this rotating library set that looks straight outta cirque du soileil. They get points for that one. Again (gestures above) the lack of proper, toned lighting makes it less exciting than it should be. At the Oz Dust Ballroom portion, there's some good use of close-up to show Elphaba's feelings vs. the mask she puts on to try and convince people she doesn't care. It's effective, but it's basic. There's some camera tracking on movements as well, but the pacing of the scene is TOO SLOW for it to be fully effective. The movie is ALLERGIC to letting things like, "pass by?". Like no no, we need to SEE Glinda getting ready for Oz Dust Ballroom, we can't just let them TRANSPORT there or go there via montage. it's insane. There's no artistry.

Loathing is the best choreographed and shot part of this movie. The use of pink and green lighting to show struggle is good, they FINALLY do some interesting match cut shots and some time-passing shots as well. There's also some good dance choreography here. Unfortunately all I can say about Loathing is that it wasn't nearly as bland as the other pieces?

Popular has actual props. Glinda has all sorts of shoes and makeup and stuff that spring out of her travel boxes. The two characters interact with mirrors, vanity lighting, the props that were obviously THERE WITH THEM IN THE SCENE. It highlights that in other areas of the movie, there's a lack of ACTUAL sets/props. There's an amazing overhead shot of Glinda as she pushes herself around on the floor doing the la-las. They leaned into Popular and what it should be, there's more interesting things happening here. Popular kind of needs that to be the case though.

Defying Gravity was so focused on being part of the commercial. It is the only part of the movie where we have VERY interesting angles (like a low shot of Elphaba from the floor/broom's perspective) and the use of slow-motion for emphasis on action and motion. It makes the scene stick out like a sore thumb. All I could think was "oh this is where they're stylistically trying to do something because these are all shots for the commercial". Extremely disappointing. The techniques used in Dedying Gravity, mind, are GOOD. They're not even REALLY GOOD. But they are at least interesting.

Other than these exceptions, there were extremely simple shots. No fun angles, no hyper zooms, nothing. In the sequence for Defying Gravity when the girls are running from Chistory and the other monkeys, I should be on the EDGE OF MY SEAT. There was nothing done with the cuts and angles to make it seem like they were in more danger. I knew what I was SUPPOSED to feel - worry for the fate of our duo heroines. What I got was "oh the monkey has Glinda's little jacket I guess". There's a lack of originality and creativity in how the movie is shot. It's suffering from lack of style because of a desire to be universal, would be my diagnosis.

Costuming: There's a consistent commitment to structured, well-tailored garments in an off-kilter Edwardian style. They took notes from the musical's way of costuming for sure, though elements of it are toned down. However, there's a lack of more textured fabrics that are interesting??? Glinda's classic pink ballgown and the "petal dress" she wears to the Oz Dust Ballroom are the exception here. I don't know why they decided that everyone at Shiz was going to wear uniforms, this isn't a prep school. It makes everyone seem younger than they are, which they shouldn't be doing seeing as the actors are adults PLAYING adults (college age ones at least!) and the intimate content that will be present in Act 2. At Oz Dust they're also some girls in FLAPPER attire - My roomie mentioned that they would've loved to see more of that style incorporated as well. I completely agree. Something I liked is the "off-kilter"ness of the costuming. Everything's sort of costumed at a Dutch angle, with small exceptions like Morrible's outfit (even if her hair abides by the rule). And I think it adds style to almost every piece of clothing. Fieryo does not have the blue diamond tattoos that he has in the book which was personally distressing for me. It made me sad. I was so hoping they'd do that. The costuming otherwise was solid! Not INTERESTING, not offensive.

Plot/Changes: Yeah I know I'm doing this last. Sue me, honestly, it felt both the most and least important. Elphaba is mostly raised by a character named Dulcibear (cute portmanteau of Dulce, sweet, and bear) which gives her the sort of spark for being kind to or having a connection to Animals on the whole. Honestly I'm not a fan of this. Elphaba's struggle for Animal rights should not have to be connected to personal early experience with this group. It should be enough that they're oppressed and she is disgusted by their treatment. I don't DISLIKE Dulcibear but I don't enjoy that she represents an ongoing trend in video-media that in order to CARE about a cause, you have to have an individual, personally invested moment of CONNECTING with an oppressed group on an interpersonal/emotional level instead of just understanding that it's. Uh. Wrong. Duh.

Elphaba not originally intending to be a student and being DISCOVERED by Morrible, I think, is a good change. It makes everything a bit more charged, there's that inciting incident with the magic - I just think it adds to the narrative and flows well.

They have Chenoweth and Menzel (the OG Elphaba and Glinda) in the middle of One Short Day do this little Wizomania mini-song/explanation. This is PARTLY in the musical, but partly new. This addition is the BEST of the entire movie because it explains the Grimmerie and how no one can read it, and that presumably Oz can read it (it is later revealed that he cannot). The explanation of the Grimmerie is MISSING in the stage version and always struck me as a weird bald spot in a really solid musical, so I was happy to see that amended very naturally via the Wizomania section of One Short Day.

Something Bad is now an Animal meeting! This was a great choice - smaller set, the lighting is finally less harsh because everything's sort of in this secretive yellow-candlelit tone, and there are shadow effects to tell parts of the story that are genuinely interesting to watch (borrowing from Greatest Showman though, haha). After the "Animals Should Be Seen and Not Heard" is on Dillamond's board, he leaves the school to go talk to other Animals in town about what's happened and the whispers he's been hearing about Animals going missing or being oppressed. Elphaba is listening from the sidelines, being a bit of a sneaky gal. Dillamond LATER realizes someone is there, everyone else flees, and then he and Elphaba do the last bit of the song as a duet after he realizes it's just her, and she has a rapport with him. it's a great choice to allow the audience to see and experience the perspective of Animals in Oz and feels like a natural change to the story. The stakes feel much more real, and it feels like a nice reference to the darker tone of the book.

Fieryo and Elphaba meet via meet-cute in the woods a-la Ella Enchanted or Ever After. He immediately hits on her???? WHY??? My roommate pointed this one out because they're like "it undermines I'm Not That Girl" and they are COMPLETELY correct. Fieryo should think Elphaba is stinky all the way up to the Lion Cub Rescue. He should have eyes for Glinda and only Glinda because after all "now that [they've] met one another / It's clear [they] deserve each other", etc etc. This was a STUPID decision. Do not let them meet cute! They also commented on this saying that everything involving Fieryo being a bit more attracted to or pulled towards Elphaba is likely to be in order to soften the blow of his infidelity in Act 2. I completely agree, but coward's move.

Speaking of Fieryo. Fieryo's actor feels much older than the girls when he is OSTENSIBLY the same age. He just... he doesn't seem right. I think his acting is great! I just don't think he quite fits in the case the same way with the way he's lit sometimes (I mean it, he's cute, but there's a way that they're lighting him that isn't charitable). They also have him be more reflective, more thoughtful, than he should be. He should only REALLY be changing during Lion Cub Rescue and then he goes back to normal until the start of Act 2 when he's like "wait!!! that's a lie!" when everyone's talking about Elphaba being the epitome of evil. There's way too much of him being thoughtful. Remove that man's brain (iykyk, ofc).

The changes with Nessa were greatly appreciated. The way that her narrative is constructed around her independence and wanting to have control of her chair, choices, and life are really peak. I appreciated that when Boq says "let's dance", he comes around to the FRONT of her wheelchair to offer her his hands - he doesn't take the chair, which is oftentimes how it's choreographed in the musical. I also like that Boq says she's beautiful in RESPONSE to seeing Fieryo and Glinda kissing - good change! Gives his character a little bit of a cutthroat edge.

Anyways, those are all my thoughts. Maybe you disagree with me. Maybe you agree! I'd love to hear about them regardless.

[unearthlytwilight]

starting this again, I think.

last time: lotta shit happened. Lisa got retconned into an idol, fulfilled part of the Evil Prophecy by singing, and then some jackass tried to blow up the venue and her friends got drained of their dreams and all that. weirdly poignant moments about her feelings as an outsider, too. then the same guy tried to blow shit up again but we stopped him. also he kept calling Tatsuya "Cursed Star" but it's probably fine

I really do like how they handle Lisa. like, considering how they handle the Lovers girls in 3/4/5 I was not expecting much. but wow. sucks that you lose her for the entire dungeon though

also Eikichi clears again. my man. it's that whole "two bickering characters care about each other deep down" trope but it's done well. you never get the sense that they actively dislike each other, it's just that they're teenagers and Like That sometimes

yeah get his creep ass

also we stopped bombing guy again. twice. well we only beat him up the second time but we evacuated people from the place he was going to bomb the first time so. small victories.

but wait! before bombing guy died he said some important stuff about Mr. Kashihara, who was important to the Evil Prophecy plot before he died. so that's a lead we follow up on

excuse me the WHAT. man you can't drop stuff like that and not explain (I'm sure it was explained earlier but. I forgor)

and but so anyway Lisa wants to go to Mt. Iwato because she wants us all to remember some stuff that happened. we get there and find out, through a series of flashbacks, that the gang knew each other as kids but forgot about it. they also called themselves the Masked Circle because they all wore masks, which if you're keeping track is also the name of the villain conspiracy behind the bombs and stuff. at the end of summer Lisa, Eikichi, and this strange Jun kid lock "big sis" in the shrine (so she can't leave at the end of the summer, this is explicitly referred to as dumb kid logic) and by freak coincidence, the bombing guy went to burn down the shrine because pyromania that same night. Cue Tatsuya's Personas awakening and giving bombing guy his big ol' burn scar, which he was really salty about still. fine, except Maya has been acting weird and keeps saying shit like this:

weird, huh? Yukino is off in the background saying "Jesus fucking Christ" to all of this and I don't blame her.

anyway! it's revealed that 1) Maya is "big sis" and remembers being locked in the shrine and dying, and resents the gang for it enough to try and kill them and 2) psych, it's actually an evil copy of her created by the rumors that the party was actually the terrorists, because the real one shows up and is like "nah, go home, man". Joker shows up and freaks out for a little bit, insisting that Maya is dead. hmm I wonder who he could be.

after the fight, fake ghost kid Maya rolls up, explains the deal (she exists because of the rumor that "a kid died in the shrine fire ten years ago", rumors becoming reality, etc etc) and I am left with a new existential contemplation, because fake ghost kid Maya is self-aware that she's fake and talking to the real one. idk man something about that sits weird with me.

anyway! a golden butterfly shows up and we're whisked off to Philemon's place, where he's like "yeah, get that kid some help, man" (and gives you the Prime Personas if you made the right decisions).

we are shunted back to reality only to find, I shit you not, a Nazi air raid happening. I'm not lying, the cutscene is on YouTube and everything. feel free to check. they're going to a place mentioned in the Evil Prophecy to uncover alien artifacts and ascend beyond humanity by killing almost everyone else.

next time: hopefully we don't, y'know, let them do that. that would be really bad.

bonus:

pov: when cosplaying goes too far

[hyog-blog]

A Journey to Love I don't even know where to start with this show... spectacular visuals, nearly impeccable writing, breathtaking OST? Anyway, if you still haven't watched it and you love wuxia - do not even think twice, it's one of the really good ones.

It's so cinematic in a way it's been shot - some frames are pure orgasm for the eyes. You can see it in the colours, in the clothes, in all the styles. The music everywhere just fits so RIGHT. Most of the time it's just so good you don't pay attention because it's well-matched, but having watched so many cdramas you just learn to appreciate the not-so-small things that make a masterpiece.

I was pleasantly impressed to find out the plot was original - it's so well-written and you can see the character growth and changes of the leads and many other characters as well. You will find everything here - quirky romance, amazing brotherhood, a load of fresh almost anime-style humor that will get you rolling, proper wuxia mood, lots of murders and killings done in style, lots of plotting, revenge, and a FL courting the ML like I've never seen before XD They're seriously gorgeous together both visually and personality-wise.

A story about killers, heroes, and killer-heroes, as well as rulers, power-hungry royalty, war, the role of a woman in a not-so-modern society, and the badassery that comes with it once a woman does decide to take her destiny into her own hands. The FL, Ren Ruyi, played by Liu Shishi is vicious, strong, professional, stabby, murderous, looks stunning in red, and doesn't think twice when she sees a man she likes. The ML, Ning Yuanzhou, played by Liu Yuning, is tall, handsome (with long legs and a kind heart (c) he-he). Not-so-former leader of the emperor's special force, also stabby, murderous, and looks dashing in a uniform. Their relationship is mature but also cuddly and a bit kinky. Still, they are one of my most favorite CPs out there (and oddly healthy despite their flaws and backgrounds). They just match so well.

Ning's brotherhood of nosy and highly talented boys is truly unmatched both in the looks and gossip department. There is literally no privacy for anyone, there was so much comedy built around that, I didn't know a show could be this good.

Anyway, it's not a detailed review, I'm just trying to vent a little bit having watched the finale. The show did make me cry quite a lot, that happens only when you really get invested in the characters and the plot - and everything is written so well that by the end of it, you're just lost to the amazing production, great acting, and world-building. Just a stunningly made wuxia piece that has a little bit of everything we love so much - romance, revenge, murderous husband and wife, brotherhood, love-love-love, bad guys showing their good sides, the baddest guys getting what they really deserve, lots of heroism, lots of beautiful fights, great music, and a highly entertaining plot.

That's about it for now, I'll probably sing some more praise later, but need to recover after the show's ending first.

[sparkanonymous]

Alright... who's ready for me to talk about Hazbin Hotel?

⚠️ Spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Below ⚠️

I'll most likely do this for Helluva Boss as well, if I even finish this, but I don't promise anything. If you're unfamiliar with how this goes, I jot down notes while I watch the episode. Most of the time, it's probably easier to watch the episode while reading the notes so that you know what I'm talking about, but it's not necessary if you just want to read someone's random thoughts on something.

I have not heard a lot of great things about the HH and HB fandoms. I'm not gonna try and be mean or anything, I'm just writing this stuff down for the shits and giggles. I don't see this doing well on my page anyway since I focus on Total Drama and Ninjago of all things. (I will most likely not join the HH and HB fandoms after this, either. I lurk a little bit in those spaces because of the art, but I don't really participate or go looking for anything related to these franchises... except for rewrites that I don't end up reading.)

Towards the end of this, I became increasingly more distracted and tired, so it's kinda just me listing things that I liked.

Have fun!

Hazbin Hotel - The Pilot

(I've watched this twice, but that was when it first came out.)

The song the pilot starts on is actually really pretty, imo. I've started getting sick of the songs that come from Spindlehorse (I watched the first episode of HH on Prime a bit ago, and I didn't really like either of the songs in it), but this song reminds me of why I wanted to watch this series back then.

Maybe this show is why I like the color red so much, lol

I've seen some spoilers on TikTok. I recognize the design of that one angel character by Adam- I think I saw Adam's silhouette for a moment too, that character that's Alastor's bestie, that techie demon, and maybe I'll recognize more. But how much of this story did Viv have planned before her show got the go-ahead?

(30 second unskippable ad after about 2 and a half minutes into the episode)

I remember when I saw this when it first came out, and I did not understand the point of having the snake villain. He was stupid, his egg minions were stupid, and there were clearly bigger things to focus on- like Charlie's hotel idea and advertising it, and then later, Alastor's whole thing. I had thought this entire battle between Cherry Bomb, Angel, and the snake (what is his name again) could have been cut, and there would be no issues. I still kinda think that this could've been written around. But I do like the snake guy. He's fun and eccentric.

(Another 30 second unskippable ad. We're 5 minutes in. Is it because I keep pausing to write?)

Wow, there are a lot of sound effects.

Where did those goat guys come from?

I wouldn't think that the princess of Hell would be this... innocent? Like, she can't seriously think that this whole hotel ordeal would be that easy, can she? She was literally singing at her balcony over the dozens of fallen demons. Is she just trying to stay happy and hopeful, or is she really just like this?

"I don't touch the gays-" So Charlie and Vaggie are open about their relationship? Or do they just do a terrible job at hiding it? I don't know why, but for the longest time, I thought that their relationship was secret. Damn, I'm just dumb.

"- I have standards." "Oh, yeah? How's that workin' out for ya...?"

Did we really have to cut to Tom in the middle of Kill Joy's rant? It takes away the focus.

Why is she threatening the princess of Hell? Charlie could break her scrawny neck with a hand and wouldn't be told off for it, or Charlie's father- fucking Lucifer- could catch wind of this and kill her himself. Does she want to die?

That quick sweep of the random characters and Vaggie behind the cameras was definitely sped up due to how short Charlie's "well" was. Or to save time. I don't know.

That one background character looks WAY too close to Blitz's design.

Damn. For how feared Alastor seems to be, he was able to walk behind those characters with no one screaming.

Was that Loona? Or that one character from Viv's Timber animation?

A lot of the scenes are way too quick. There are too many quick cuts, and some of the animations seem to be sped up?

During the song, Charlie's singing gets too high-pitched; I couldn't understand some of what she was saying. It's a nicer and shorter song than what Spindlehorse has been coming up with recently, though.

Is Kill Joy supposed to be cicada? Is that why the cicada sound effect keeps playing whenever we zoom in on her? I'm sorry... but if that's the case, she looks nothing like a cicada.

I know realistically bombs would make it hard to hear, but, realistically, being too close to bombs would also make your ears ring and would knock you off your feet. I don't know half of what Cherry Bomb or Angel are saying.

"Oh, harder, Daddy!~" "Son?!" I remember this clip being everywhere. I still like it. But, also, to the snake, have you even fucked anyone? Why would you immediately think that this is your kid? I honestly don't see this snake character enjoying the thought of sex.

The hat on the snake has teeth sometimes, and only sometimes. I can tell this character was probably HELL to animate.

Aw, Angel saving Cherry? Sweet...

So Angel can pull a Stitch and grow another pair of arms? Why? Spiders can't do that, so why should Angel?

I really enjoy Tom's design. He reminds me of a Looney Tunes character.

So... what happened to the turf war? We had like three different fights going on at the same time, and we see none of them? Do we hear more about that later?

Vaggie and Charlie's relationship here is really sweet.

You really thought anyone would want to stay there with how the place looks, Charlie? You're supposed to have the place ready before advertising.

So, wait... I thought Charlie's dad was really nice in the spoilers I saw. Did Charlie's dad say Charlie was useless, at least based on the intro?

How has Angel not heard of Alastor? Ah... for exposition purposes. Nevermind.

I'll be honest, Alastor's hair bothers me. I've never liked how it looks.

Was that an early design for Stolas in the Radio Demon exposition?

Alastor's colors were flickering a tiny bit when Vaggie and Charlie were talking about him.

Alastor clearly does not care about Charlie's dad being king of Hell or Charlie being the princess of Hell. He's just doing this for the shits and giggles.

"What can I do for you, my feminine fellow?" "Uh- I can suck your dick!" "HA- No."

"You think I'm some fuckin' clown?!" "... Maybe."

I thought HuskerDust was supposed to be canon. They're acting like they've never met.

I love the outfit change.

Alastor's reprise of Charlie's earlier song.

So, wait, when was Sir Pentious's first encounter with Alastor?

Alastor's smile when supposedlh killing the snake guy.

Episode 1

(Watched this when it was released on YouTube. After this, everything's new.)

So... new backstory. Also, new backstory for Charlie's dad?

New voices.

Alastor's little commercial is so lazy. He wanted entertainment. How will he get entertainment if the commercial doesn't sell it?

The sound effects haven't exactly been toned down.

The animation feels a little stiffer.

They noticed the fan love for Angel and decided they really wanted him to talk.

The threatening angle on Alastor is not as threatening as in the pilot.

What's up the random scene changes within scene changes? It's cutting randomly.

The first song is alright... for the most part.

I thought Charlie's thing was to not curse, at least not as frequently.

Adam's ramblings remind me way too much of Fizzarolli's boss. They're kinda the same in that aspect, and it doesn't really work for me.

Wow, the acting for the commercial.

How has Adam not been banished to Hell.

Nifty's great.

"You're doin' great, Vagina." lmfao

Exactly. Vaggie speaking facts.

The outfit changes are so nice.

Do sins not count once they die?

Adam should not be cursing, imo

If rules are black and white, you would be banished to Hell, Adam.

The second song with Adam is pretty good... for the most part.

You can't wait to murder? That says bloodlust to me.

Come on, let us see the commercial.

Tom's voice should have stayed the same.

But the body is just sitting there. How have more demons not seen the dead angel.

Damn, this outro song is sick.

Episode 2

That little cat thing is adorable. Kinda reminds me of the cat from Ruby Gloom.

Ooh, Sir Pentious is back.

"-battle, like, 20 times?" What? When? How long have you known Alastor.

I feel like Vox's voice should've been different. Like... imagine if he had Husk's VA.

How many accents does Valentino have?

Valentino x Vox?

Angel encouraging Alastor.

How many times does Sir Pentious have to die? Stop killing him :(

Vox trying to put a bad name on Alastor. He's so petty lol

"That's the tea-" Who told this old man about this generation's lingo?

Overall, the song's actually pretty good.

Face first into the sofa. Same, Charlie

Yay, more Sir Pentious! I actually kinda like him now.

Aw, poor Angel. But Charlie and Vaggie have a point.

Sir Pentious and Nifty give off Damien and Scary Girl from TDI, respectively.

Alastor burning the little piece of his coat in front of Sir Pentious, lol

Sir Pentious is so adorable.

The drug PSA with Angel and Pentious, lmao

The pig from the music video.

So Angel has self-worth issues, got it.

Well, that lasted all of five minutes. Poor Sir Pentious.

Charlie's bedhead is awesome.

His theatrics and the self-depracating comments don't really make Sir Pentious sound so serious about his apology.

This song was meh.

Episode 3

Why do you keep bringing that up, Vaggie?

I think a writer came on to the team and didn't look at the previous scripts very thoroughly.

Charlie, why do you look so uncomfortable with Pentious crying? You should've known that you would've gotten a lot of that.

Is Alastor trying to keep the egg minions safe? If so, cute.

"We have names?" Lol

Damn, they don't give a shit about Alastor. He got too comfortable with everyone knowing him.

The Velvet song reminds me of a different song. Pretty catchy, though.

Their definitions of trust are so different. Awesome.

Poor Nifty lol

Vaggie's army voice doesn't really work imo

Why are Carmine's earrings hanging off her hair?

The second song isn't really my thing, but I can understand why someone may like it... except for the green guy's echoing voice in the song.

Vaggie's singing voice is way too different from her speaking voice.

Pentious redemption. I like that Angel is warming up to him. The snake's precious.

Episode 4

Here's the episode on SA. Guess I'll finally be able to form my own opinion on this.

Poor Charlie and Pentious.

Aw, Husk being a people reader.

Goddamn, what did Nifty do?

So after ignoring Val's calls for days, he's suddenly answering? Maybe he realized it had been too long, and it would be worse if he continued to ignore him?

Charlie, you should've known that this would be difficult?

So Val knows to "respect" Charlie to her face, but

Angel's real name is Anthony?

Angel's VA is selling the performance here. It's gut wrenching.

Angel's song is okay.

I think the writing has been pretty solid since the song. I like Husk and Angel's dynamic.

I like the HuskerDust song and the visuals going with the song.

Goddamn the song's cut off, lmao

I dunno, besides the abuse part, I think the episode was solid. I can't speak on how well it handled SA, so I won't.

Episode 5

Why is this episode so much quieter than the rest?

Why is clown music Lucifer's ringtone for Charlie?

I like Lucifer's design, and his voice matches him, but I don't think he works as Lucifer, y'know?

Where was Alastor for that little meeting?

Alastor's eye twitching just the tiniest.

So Lucifer hasn't heard of Alastor? I thought he was the most threatening demon? Also, why is Alastor testing Charlie's dad?

Lmao, Pentious meeting the king of Hell.

Do people ship Lucifer and Alastor?

Nifty being in the song.

Alastor trying to insert himself as Charlie's father figure.

Oh, yay. Mimzy.

I like the song, besides when Mimzy came in from nowhere.

Lucifer's face in the background when Alastor's pushing Charlie away.

How does Mimzy know everyone? Did she meet Husk and Nifty because of Alastor?

New Alastor lore. I thought people would call him the Radio Demon, not that Alastor named himself that.

Alastor being owned by someone else makes sense.

Poor Husk.

Why does Hell even use money?

Aw, Pentious saving Nifty.

Angel and Husk enjoying the father-daughter drama.

So, does Alastor actually want to keep the hotel safe, or is it because of a deal?

The song reminded me of a Greatest Showman song. It's okay.

Vaggie, you're acting sus.

Episode 6

Yo, Cherry Bomb is back, and she's Aussie.

Pentious lol you're so nervous for nothing.

I love Sera and Emily's designs.

Heaven's song should've been church choir-esque y'know?

Adam has already talked about the exorsists with angels around. There's no way that more people haven't heard about them by now.

Adam named Vaggie? Wth

Damn, they ripped Vaggie's eye clean out with no struggle or hesitation.

Sarah's voice did not hold much confidence for Adam.

Why is Pentious trying to hit on Cherry?

Adam, you fucked multiple times. What the hell are you talking about, you hypocritical asshole.

Aw, poor Nifty. I like Angel and Nifty's dynamic.

Aw, man, poor Pentious.

Why did the music stop when Angel and Val argued? Let him argue without causing a scene.

I don't like that the song has to do with the plot so much, but I like the song.

Please banish Adam to Hell.

I love Sera and Emily.

Episode 7

Aww, Pentious petting the kitty thing.

Alastor is pushing Charlie a little too much.

Alastor kicking his feet while laying on Charlie's bed.

Charlie is going to push Alastor to beating her shit.

"I know something you don't know~" Love this guy.

Charlie's demon horns coming out when making the deal.

With how much they made out Vaggie's past angelhood, I would think that Charlie would be more offensive?

Ah, there it is.

"I know you're an ace in the hole-" "A what now?" Lmao

I love Rosie.

Rosie and Alastor's dynamic is lovely.

They have a month to prepare. What are they gonna do to keep their defenses up within a MONTH. That's like no time.

Who voices Carmine? She sounds mildly familiar.

Why did they have to introduce Susan?

Carmine basically calling Charlie a dumbass.

Vaggie getting her wings back is kind of bullshit. Or am I missing something?

Carmine's song is alright, but give it a little. The UnderTale fandom will get to it. There'll be a parody.

Rosie and Charlie's talk is so nice.

Alastor and Rosie kinda being the parents that Charlie needs is mad deIicious. Love me parental figures.

Despite the name, Cannibal Town is amazing.

I love the song here in Cannibal Town.

I love this episode.

Episode 8

Vox is here. Again. Yay.

Wrong Angel, Nifty lmao

I still love Sir Pentious. He has reserved a place in my heart.

Love this small peaceful scene.

Aw, Alastor and Nifty interacting.

Angel admiring Husk.

Pentious and Cherry? Kinda nice, actually.

Vaggie's song to Charlie is pretty sweet.

I can't... who's righting the relationships in this episode? They're all so lovely.

Adam's rocking "ATTACK!"

The 3 V's watching from the TV.

The outfits the main guys are wearing.

Vox getting turned on by Alastor's impending doom.

Beat his ass, Alastor!

Alastor's staff breaking and him mildly panicking.

Husk enjoying the sex jokes.

Alastor fake out death.

Angel saving the egg.

Cherry and Pentious kissing in front of explosion.

No, not Pentious!

Loved the animation where Charlie and her goats transformed.

Damn, Vaggie fighting even with a hole in her hand.

The angel bitch Vaggie was fighting ripping her arm off was a bit much for me.

Lucifer appearing and fucking Adam's shit up.

Adam's mask falling off.

Nifty getting the last hit on Adam. Awesome.

'Shitting and cumming' being in the headline during the news is fucking hilarious.

Lucifer is fucking fruity.

Lucifer and everyone cheering Charlie up.

Velvet recording Vox and Val dancing.

Sir Pentious's memorial.

Alastor showing up for the last bit of the sing.

I liked most of the song.

YO Sir Pentious showing up in Heaven?!

What was Lilith's agreement?

Overall, I enjoyed watching this show. The pacing and writing could use some work, but yeah. Mimzy was kind of annoying, but she was only in the show for a few minutes in one episode, so it was easy to ignore her... unless you're listening to the song that she so rudely interrupted at the very end of. The constant need to bring in new characters is kind of annoying, but I enjoyed at least half of them.

If I were to draw fanart of any of these characters, it would probably be Husk, Nifty, or Sir Pentious. I'll be patiently waiting for a second season. If there ever is one.

[djuvlipen]

What your opinion on the hate Rachel zegler is getting like I seen it's from woman twice her age and from grown men and at this point it's getting supper misogynistic cuz now men and sadly some woman are talking trash about her looks and saying she can't play snow white cus she "not white enough" like what

I have many thoughts.

I don't really talk about this here but I'm a big musical theater fan and I've been following Rachel Zegler for a few years now, since 2020 I think? She is a really talented actress and singer, she is a much better actress than some older, more famous celebrities. I like that they went for a young woman who actually has a background in musical theater. I am so tired of musical movies casting actors who can't sing and actors who aren't age appropriate (Rachel is 22, Snow White is a teenager, that's better than having some 30yo play the role imo). So I think she'll be perfect to play the part.

I really don't understand the harassment she is getting. She is just a 22 year old woman who made the mistake of being a talented actress and singer cast in big productions. She deserves much better than that. I have seen YouTube videos mocking her, making fun of her being upset, for having feelings, etc. And I think it's kind of a consequence of Amber Heard's harassment campaign that made it trendy to make edits to villify women for having emotions, to dehumanise them on absolutely every social media platform (cyber bullying women was a thing before the AH trial but it reached unmatched proportions during the trial and now you can see it's just become a genre of internet memes)

I personally don't care about Disney remakes, I think they should stop doing those, and I'm not gonna watch Snow White because you just know Disney wants our nostalgia money (there is literally no need for a Snow White remake, the 1937 movie is literally one of the best Disney films). When it comes to casting actresses of color to play white characters I am personally team 'they should give attention and adapt stories that already have characters of color instead of race swiping a story that's already been told', like there actually are stories that feature women of color that should be told but instead we are lazily taking a story that's been told countless of times but changing the main character's race.

And part of me thinks Disney is doing this on purpose so that they can get free advertisement from all the noise this harassment campaign is causing, and if the movie flops, they can blame it on their young actress of color instead of blaming it on their lazy writing

[acacia-may]

He is very muchba side character in Black Clover, but a penny for your thoughts on Hamon Caseus 🥰

Hello friend and fellow Little Tree appreciator!🌲 I'm always happy to hear I'm not the only one who gets attached to the tiny side characters! Hamon is great, and I had a lot of rambles about him. However, I've put them under the cut because spoilers.

Thanks again for the ask and for playing my Penny for Your Thoughts ask game! 💖

(Warnings: Black Clover Spoilers)

Hamon is just delightful! His magic is really cool and very creative, and he's just a nice guy--what's not to like? 😊 He has such a positive attitude towards everything. There's this scene (in Episode 80 during the Royal Knights' Exam) that always makes me laugh where Charmy is literally climbing him like a tree in the background looking for food, and he just shrugs the whole thing off with a laugh. 😂

I'm fairly certain that Hamon is just the type of person who is pretty much up for anything, and it was really such a great moment when he offered his support for Finral and his plans for their team in the Royal Knights' Exam. He basically had the: "Well that sounds good to me!" attitude without a lot of question or hesitation, and the reader/watcher (having been following the Black Bulls around) knew what that meant to Finral and it really endeared Hamon to me.

Also, it's nice to know the Golden Dawn isn't entirely full of stuck-up, snobby sticks in the mud, right? I'm kidding. I love the Golden Dawn, but they certain have a lot of really intense, overachieving, type-A personalities there, yes? Whereas Hamon certainly has that desire to succeed, but he still seems to know how to have fun. I love that scene where he puts together that impromptu "concert" for Puli to sing to the rest of the Royal Knights. (Speaking of, I have no idea what was going on between them but I'm here for it! Hamon and Puli friendship? Camaraderie? True Love? (I don't know) for the win, y'all!)

It was very tragic how his story ended so prematurely, but he proved what a brave and outstanding person he was in the end when he was literally willing to die to protect his friends and his squad.

And for that reason, I've picked the song "For You" by Keith Urban for Hamon who made the ultimate sacrifice for his friends.

I’m not trying to be a hero I don’t wanna die But right now in this moment, you don’t think twice And I wonder, would I give my life Could I make that sacrifice If it came down to it Could I take the bullet, I would Yes I would, for you

For You - YouTube

[animehouse-moe]

GUND-ARM: A Ray Of Hope

So, definitely a lot going on with the episode, but I've got to start off with the little promotional video they did for the new company. Incredibly cute and actually impressive how well they animated it. The tine of green around Aerial from the green screen. The slight desync between Aerial and Suletta. The off-key singing, the background noise from animals. There's a lot of effort put into making the quality of the video seem low, which is pretty impressive in a way.

A quick interlude before the meat of the episode however, featuring Suletta and her mother. I do feel really bad for Suletta, because she just wants to feel safe and loved, rather than discerning the truth from her mother's words.

But unfortunately Prospera and Suletta are on different wavelengths, as is evident in Prospera's comment about people attacking Gundams.

There really is something that feels sinister to Prospera's words. She's taking Suletta's passion and desire for love from her mother and twisting it to the benefit of her plot, which is hard to experience when viewers get to see it as that rather than how Suletta is processing it.

As a side note I feel like that's something they've done really well. Typically it can be hard to understand things from the perspective of a character when you see them as something else entirely, but I feel like GWitch has done a really solid job with that, though I can't quite put my finger on why.

Anyways, the real content of the episode starts as Shaddiq begins his attempt to schmooze the girls to get in on GUND-ARM, and overall I think it's a compelling piece to the story that works. Sure, it's already happened twice in different capacities, but Miorine is Delling's daughter, and Suletta has the best and potentially only "accepted" Gundam currently. It's a gold mine that everyone wants a piece of.

What I find interesting though is he's the first with agency out of all the contenders. He goes against his adoptive father's ideals and provides a fresh angle in the contention of Gundams in this world.

And I mean, it both fits his character and works. He's been passive the entire time we've known him as character, letting everyone else do the heavy lifting. And at the same time, trying to seize Aeriel through direct means has proven to fail countless times, so Shaddiq is certainly finding himself on the right track.

I do enjoy this final scene with Shaddiq though, as once more he allows others to do the work for him. He has an interesting emotion lingering on his face though. It's a bit hard to put into words, but to me it feels almost like rumination. He's definitely deep in thought because he doesn't move the cup anywhere, and casting his eyes downward make it feel like a more negative thought process. He talked about a prior business affair with Miorine when they were younger, so it could be that he's lamenting over what could have been since she denied his involvement. Regardless, it's a nice touch, and presents an interesting tidbit, all the girls have strongly isolated personalities. The smug "you get what you deserve", the empathetic "I feel bad for her", the enthuastic "don't worry we'll cheer her up!", and the cold and calculated business personality.

The other bit from this episode was the politics of the Earth house. I really, really enjoy the different perspectives and worldviews that this small little group possess. They've all been exposed to varying influences and challenges, so they all come out with different opinions and ideas. Yeah, they definitely have overlap, but at the same time, an Earthian that doesn't want to stand out and is somewhat placative to Spacians is in direct opposition to another Earthian on the same issue. It's not a black and white image made by these characters, nor is it really even that gray. There's lots of approaches and understandings that sell the politics and ideals of the world incredibly well. Given how some series handle the concepts of racism/xenophobia/etc, The Witch From Mercury really is proving to provide a great measuring stick for other storytellers.

I just really love it as an emotional piece to the story. It shows how prejudice and war has fractured communities and peoples, without getting into traumatizing or terrible actions to prove it. It's a rare case of words speaking just as loud as actions, and I think it works great for kids that are trying to lead a normal life at school. They're not trying to delve deep into painful memories, but rather make the most of the present and provide change.

All that said, I'm really curious to see where this next episode takes us. There's potential for Prospera and Bel to play more active roles since they're under Suletta and Miorine now, but that all depends on the outcome from the changes Shaddiq made now.

[herroyalbubbliness]

The Harder They Fall

Photo Credit: IMDb

This movie looked stunning with the stylish costumes, set designs, fight scenes, cinematography, like it looks good and you want to watch it.

From the vibrant lighting to the interesting and deliberate camera angles which added a breath of fresh air to the depiction of the scenes.

And the nod to Chadwick Boseman with his name engraved on the train, I loved it so much. He lives on in our hearts.

I loved how the camera will zoom in on a character to a beat whether it was music or the sounds of firing shots. When we are introduced to Stagecoach Mary, the camera zooms in on her legs with the pistol being stomped on the ground as the camera zoomed in on Nat Love to the beat of the stomps. I loved it!

With the introduction of a particular character, how the camera focuses on two gold guns about to be fired with a blurry shot of the character in the background, I thought that was a really cool shot.

I loved the introduction of every character. We get to know them and their capabilities very quickly whilst shrouded in mystery that we just want to know more and can't get enough.

This movie was hilarious and had me laughing at intervals but with heartfelt moments too and a lot of violence and gore. I was fully invested in the fight scenes. I mean they were badass!

The music had me jamming and bobbing my head like I came to a concert or something. I mean we've got reggae, hip-hop, everything. As soon as I heard "Fela Anikulapo Kuti's song, Let's Start" , I was screaming, Naija to the world! The film soundtrack was beautiful. Even the characters were singing with beautiful voices. I need the whole playlist like yesterday!

You could feel the love among the Nat Love Gang and the mutual respect, loyalty and love born out of many trials and tribulations together, between Rufus Buck and Treacherous Trudy. The looks exchanged among the Rufus Buck gang on the train were so relatable and funny. I felt like I was a part of the crew too.

The monologues were delivered with so much emotional depth, I felt it in my heart piercing my very soul.

The ending took me by surprise and left me heartbroken and crying, a testament to the phenomenal acting. And I have to say that was my favourite part of the film. In the words of Confucius, "before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

From the cold-hearted Cherokee Bill whose calmness and faux politeness was in dark contrast to his deadliness to Rufus Buck with the constant death glare in his eyes to Treacherous Trudy who commands everywhere she goes and oh, you better not fall for her smiles, she is just as deadly, if not deadlier and please don't make her ask twice! Nat with every facial expression, I kept saying I understand you boo, my gun slinger, Jim with the confidence, swag, humor and so many tricks up his sleeve to Pickett, a man of few words, he lets the songs and oh his gun do most of the talking to my girl Cuffee, ever underestimated but I think it's a superpower. They just never see you coming! And to Stage Coach Mary, in charge and in control! I loved every single person in this cast.

I need a prequel, sequel, give me something please! And we need to see more black cowboys and cowgirls on screen, because oh my did they look good!!! And badass, you mustn't forget that! I think this is my first time of seeing black people in the western genre looking good and stylish in their costumes, owning businesses, having power, just doing their thing and not being portrayed as slaves and I loved it. I want more! I need more!

[auxiliarydetective]

Since you infected me with A-Team brain rot, what would their musical AU be like?

Ooooh, this is actually a bit of a challenge. Something tells me The A-Team and musicals aren't supposed to mix - well, unless you're looking at Murdock. He thinks he's in a musical either way. I won't be mentioning all of the songs on the show, but they have to be a part of the musical au. Finding 100% accurate songs will be hard sometimes, but I'll still give you vibes.

Speaking of Murdock, since he already sings on the show from time to time, he should be able to sing longer and you'll never know if it'll turn into a full-on number with choreo and everything or if B.A. will interrupt him with a record scratch or smashing his casette player. In taking all the songs I know that have been sung on the show and that I thought would fit, I saw that most of Murdock's were Beach Boys songs, so... That's his show-assigned vibe, I guess. Something that I think would be super funny would be a huge, flashy number of Happy Pills by Weathers in the VA - or literally anywhere - , led by Murdock of course.

B.A. probably wouldn't sing but I can see him doing a spoken word piece, like something Hamilton-esque. I could totally see something like My Shot, except less about US independence. That kind of song could also work for plan-making or building something, so maybe he only ever "sings" in those group performances.

Now, Face. Oooooh boy. You just know Face's songs would be good. The first song I thought of was Joel Grey's cover of Razzle Dazzle from Chicago, but that's honestly also a Hannibal song, so... both it is! His song, the song that would be his "character theme", so to speak, is definitely Good Old-Fashioned Loverboy. On a darker and more symbolic note, I could definitely see him singing Take Me To Church, interpret into that what you will.

Hannibal, as I said, gets Razzle Dazzle together with Face, but I could also totally see him sing something older or something that shows his role in the team as the dad figure. Something a bit sad, but maybe Smile by Mikky Ekko could work. Then again, he also has huge vibes for Feeling Good. You know, THAT song my Michael Bublé. Perfect for scheming Hannibal. Another song I think could work is Specialization by Marilyn Monroe and Frankie Vaughan - something older, something that has to do with movies, old Hollywood... I don't know who'd sing Marilyn's part. Amy doesn't really have the vibes, but she's my first pick for now.

Amy would slay Face with Womanizer, let's be honest. She's got the attitude and it could even fit her voice. Similar vibes: Confident by Demi Lovato. She's a queen, no doubt about it.

And because I love her too much...

Kit gets songs too. Her introduction song could so be The Greatest Show because her circus background is so vital to her character. One more cheerful and upbeat one would be I'm Still Standing by Elton John. Maybe even as a duet with Murdock, just for the vibes? Staying with duets, she could sing Faith by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande with Face or, even better, Do I Wanna Know. Another great song: Do It Like A Dude with B.A. as her hypeman. She could also really belt out Church by Fall Out Boy.

Group songs! The first one might be an odd choice, but... California Dreamin'. Simply because of Murdock's show-assigned Beach Boys theme and because it sounds like something they could sing in the car. Maybe Murdock starts it or Hannibal does and the others join in or do backup vocals. Or in B.A.'s case, he might just tap the steering wheel in the rhythm. The second one is even weirder: You Are My Sunshine. If I had a nickel for every time this song appeared on the show, I'd have two nickels, which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice. Because of this, I image them quietly singing or humming it at some point. But this last one should really fit better: Walk on Water by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

So, without further ado: Here's the playlist and the story behind it

We get introduced to the team and Hannibal and Face make a plan to get Murdock out of the VA. Then, the whole team hops in the van and we get to my fanfic on how the team meets Kit during Children of Jamestown. The story is pretty much the same as in the fic and she joins. Now, we get some more Murdock shenigans and Kit and B.A. bonding. After this, Murdock and Face do their little bit with surf city, showing Face's attitude towards women and setting up the beach theme of the whole musical/movie. Face tries to flirt with Kit but she declines, causing Amy to comment on him being a womanizer. The team arrives at their beach destination of choice and the audience is shown that Kit and Face do have feelings for each other but Kit is just blocking everything out and Face doesn't wanna be pushy because she's a team member. After that, more Murdock shenanigans and Hannibal making a plan, the attempt at executing it and its failure, after which Hannibal tries to "cheer up" the others. Face and Kit are still very much in love and we get a mashup between Church and Take Me To Church to show that. The two of them team up to save the rest of the team and we get a super fun happy end for both the idiots in love and the team as a whole.

[ladyc0312]

A Jikook Guide to RunBTS: 112-121

Yes, I'm still doing these! It's just happening more slowly than I'd like because writing for work + writing fic + trying to go to bed before midnight + so much amazing content being released that clearly must be poured over and dissected = less time to make guides. For anyone still with me, he's the next section!

Ep 112 “Dalbang School Part 1” (Ep: 5 / KM: 4)

The ones with BTS in a classroom driving Teacher Jin insane

5:58 - JM declares that he and Taehyung will pair up (by being the first to hug each other in a game), but then when Hobi blows the whistle at 6:38, JK runs over to hug JM before Tae can get to him.

6:58 - Jin asks why JM said he wanted Tae and then hugged JK. JM explains that he didn't hug him, he just found himself in JK's hug as JK cackles in the background.

7:24 - When Jin blows his whistle at the class, JK and JM mirror each other in putting a finger in one of their ears.

7:35 - Teammates JK and JM are immediately on the same page about wanting their team name to be Kim Seokjin. When they have to change it, JM quickly picks up JK's suggestion that they call their team Bang Sihyuk. These don't sound like particularly unique moments, but when you watch it, it just really strikes you how in sync the two of them are in terms of physicality, ideas, and sense of humor.

9:52 - After Jin comments that he heard JM did very well in school, JK adds that JM was the top student. When someone else asks if JM was the best or second-best, JK forcefully reiterates that he was the best student.

12:45 - When they get a question right, JK and JM clasp hands and bump their shoulders together.

13:10 - JM and JK both goof around, speaking in satoori and challenging JHope to a fight of sorts.

13:27 - When Jin repeats that they got the question right, JK and JM do exactly the same as 12:45, but seated this time.

14:22, 14:36, 15:13 - In all three of these moments, JM nearly falls over laughing at something JK did that no one else found anywhere near as funny.

23:36 - When JK says he's good at this game, JM laughs and pokes JK in the chest with a marker.

BEHIND 2:30 - JM takes a selfie of him and JK with his personal phone while they're supposed to be paying attention to Jin.

6:35 - JK cheers on JM and calls him Jimin-ssi when JM announces he's doing well on this spot-the-difference round. When Jimin modifies the brag to say he only found four, JK says "that's still quite impressive."

Ep 113 “Dalbang School Part 2” (Ep: 5 / KM: 4)

4:50 - We all know how JK is when he gets into his "focus" zone, especially in a competitive environment. But here, when JM rather rudely interrupts JK's melodica practice, JK just starts playing around with him and giggles.

7:41 - As RM & JH take their turn, jikook are whispering to each other in the back row.

11:42 - After quickly agreeing on a lunch option, jikook do a high five / handshake thing and then JM says "we think alike" and "we get along pretty well." JK responds "that's exactly it" and the on-screen captions tells us they are a "good match."

22:20 - This is where JK and JM start switching back and forth carrying each other on their backs to get under a limbo stick.

They go again at 23:35, 26:11, and 28:13.

And again at 30:22 and 32:16 and 34:30 because, even though they lost, they want to try to do it again to show that they can as a "matter of pride."

25:00 - JK points something out to JM and then pats his butt.

33:33 - JM announces they lost, and then jikook do another handshake / high five thing.

34:33 - JM does an... interesting pose for the camera where he puts his hand on a bent-over JK's back and smirks.

34:56 - Yet another handshake and JM pats JK on the back when they finally pass the limbo challenge.

BEHIND 5:55 - While examining the limbo setup, JM comments that JK is good at this. JK comes over to give a demonstration and JM watches him be silly with it and says "he's a strange kid" fondly.

6:21 - Another jikook limbo attempt - this one was cut because they did it too easily.

Ep 114 “League of Number One Part 1” (Ep: 3 / KM: 1)

The ones where BTS play games with League of Legends world champions

3:55 - After Jimin protests that he shouldn't be out, JK tells his hyung to turn around and face the back.

14:40 - JK fake-boxes JM after losing the hammer game.

18:18 - JK mimics Jimin's BWL intro.

Ep 115 “League of Number One Part 2” (Ep: 2 / KM: .5)

BEHIND

7:05 - JK comes over to check on Jimin's phone to make sure he's actually visible in the selfie the teams take.

Ep 116 “Team-Building Special Part 1” (Ep: 4 / KM: 1)

The ones with random games in that rec room-looking place that are a lot more fun than they sound

22:14 - JM and JK play around with the jump rope during breaktime.

22:26 - JM and JK play around like they're boxing with each other.

BEHIND 5:15 - JK appears to take an interest in watching JM's... back as he moves around acting out potential poses.

Ep 117 “Team-Building Special Part 1” (Ep: 4 / KM: 2)

5:30 - Despite showing pretty much everyone else touching everyone else in the pose guessing game, we don't get a single shot here or in the behind of JK feeling up Jimin. The above photo proves that it happened, though, so definitely side-eyeing the editors, here.

BEHIND 5:35 - JK keeps throwing water bottles when they're supposed to be taking a group photo. Jimin pulls him back next to him and puts an arm around his neck. JK puts an arm around Jimin's shoulders in return.

7:51 - After it's explained that JK is staying late to watch Jin do his penalty, a packed-up Jimin comes over and stands next to JK, waiting until they're done to leave.

Ep 118 “Photo Story Part 1” (Ep: 3 / KM: 3)

The ones where BTS play a Samsung-sponsored game involving getting specific pictures while a spy tries to ruin the fun

4:22 - JM appears to direct JK to go punish Tae and pats JK's back when he starts to obey. Something happens that we don't see when the angle changes - next thing we see, JM seems to be pushing JK? JM then giggles at JK pretending to beat up Tae. (After this, JK spins around like a ballerina. Not jikook-related, just adorable.)

29:51 - JK calls Jimin twice without adding "hyung."

32:28 - JM pulls JK along by the wrist. Meanwhile, J-Hope once again mixes up their names.

32:44 - Though there is now a group walking slowly together and he doesn't need to pull him along anymore, Jimin takes JK's hand again.

37:02 - There are a bunch of seats open in the room, but Jimin walks over to sit right next to JK.

BEHIND 5:40 - When JM tries to steal a post-it from JK, JK scolds him in satoori banmal. JM calls him out for not calling him with hyung and JK quickly apologizes (in a way some k-army jikookers have said is like how a married person would respond to their nagging spouse!).

6:09 - JK and JM meet up and JK tells JM he's exhausted. There's a kind of weird moment that I fully admit I may be reading too much into where JK seems to be walking right towards JM, then abruptly stops and turns, looking at the camera, before walking with Jimin in a different direction than he had been heading. Then, JM says he thinks their matching shirts are hilarious and that it's funny they're wearing them for the show.

Ep 119 “Photo Story Part 2” (Ep: 4 / KM: 3)

8:21 - "You are me, I am you" moment: Jimin does a ballet spin the same way JK did in part one.

11:18 - JK is the only one to vote for JM to be able to keep a picture in other than Jin (who has nefarious reasons for doing so).

29:40 - JM goes over to help JK see how many of his photos the spy ruined and almost falls over laughing when it becomes clear it's nearly all of them.

34:21 - JM puts his hand on JK's shaking leg to help calm him (see above photo), but JK is so irritated that it doesn't work like it usually does. Poor bunny!

35:17 - JM pulls at JK's shirt and hand, then folds over his back while trying to get him to confess that he actually lost.

38:24 - JM has a comforting hand on JK's neck when he's acting upset about losing.

38:32 - When it seems like JK is struggling to come up with an ending statement, JM helps prompt him.

BEHIND

0:55 - JK talks about how amazing it is that Jimin found so many cards.

3:51 - When JK is playing with the sequin art on the front of his shirt, JM leans over and starts rubbing on them, too.

5:11 - Jimin tells JK that, if he wins, he's going to make the loser hike Mt. Achasan. JK asks why he's looking at him when he says that and they both laugh. Jimin pats JK's chest and they laugh even harder. Jin and Tae both have "omg, these two" looks on their faces.

Ep 120 “Reply BTS Village Part 1” (Ep: 3 / KM: 2)

The ones with a real-life Mafia game inexplicably set in a 1970s village. It's... fairly difficult to follow, but the guys are into it and the outfits are great!

24:40 - Jimin breaks character and laughs when asking JK if he's the culprit.

29:40 - Caption: "The air is undeniably tense between Gamer Jeon and Chief Park." Not explicitly jikook, I just find it funny that the writers seem to be playing with some real life relationships, making sope best friends and jikook have tension that leads to banter...

BEHIND

5:34 - When Jimin is playing with the yo-yo, JK expresses concern that he's going to hurt his fingers (caption: Kook is just worrying for his hyung). Then, JK asks poutily and in banmal if he can play with the yo-yo multiple times and Jimins says no. Like, JK straight-up gives his hyung a command ("let me try that") using informal speech and no one bats an eye!

5:58 - Jimin starts singing a song about an ants. JK watches him. JK initially says to Hobi "look, he's a fool/dummy!" (in banmal again), then starts singing along. He jokes that JM doesn't know all the lyrics and Jimin says back "quiet, you."

Ep 121 “Reply BTS Village Part 2” (Ep: 3 / KM: 2)

38:48 - After having asked for it a bunch in the Behind of the previous episode, JK now has Jimin's yoyo.

non-jikook note: At the end of this one, they "time travel" to solve a mystery in Joseon-era Korea and I can't express how badly I want to see that. Please come back to that, Run!

BEHIND 0:58 - Jimin and JK play around accusing each other with exaggerated accents and formality. Jimin comes up behind JK and reaches out to touch his shoulder, but stops when Tae joins them and accuses them of plotting together.

9:05 - When JK says everyone else is so good at acting, Jimin compliments him that he was very funny towards the end.

[deke-rivers-1957]

Girl Happy Review

Apparently this is one of the first films Elvis made that were considered "low-budget, formulaic productions". Yeah it turns out that because Viva Las Vegas went over budget, Colonel as a "technical advisor" would cut the budgets for later films. See Elvis firms weren't made in the same order they were released. Long story short, some films in around 1963 to 1965 are going to very in quality depending on when they were filmed because of the effects of Viva Las Vegas which was filmed in 1963 but wasn't released until 1964.

Girl Happy, however, is the official film where you can see the decline in quality being put into the scripts specifically because of the lower budget and less time spent to make the film with Elvis not even filming outside of Southern California despite the film taking place in Florida. This is why I'm watching these films out of order because other wise it would just be watching increasingly bad films. Spacing out the films from this era would be the best way to give them a fair chance.

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

So we get introduced to where the main location of the film is going to be and let's face this is a beach film in the 1960s so expect a lot of shots of guys ogling girls in their bikinis. The title song Girl Happy is ok and it does introduce our characters, Rusty and his band members. Big warning to those that are photosensitive to flickering colors and specific types of red. This movie was not made for you in mind. If have a system that could adjust the color on your screen temporarily, please use it. I do like that it was used twice at the beginning and end as book ends though. I like how we have an actual reason for the film to take place in Florida. The guys have an annual commitment to play in Fort. Lauderdale, however their current boss only allows them to go after Rusty agrees to look after the boss' daughter, Valerie, during her college's spring break. Did every college go on spring break at the same time? It's not necessarily important to this story, just an interesting question because we see a lot of actual colleges be represented in this film.

The following 3 songs are so close together and it's shockingly jarring how many quick shots we have. I don't care about Spring Fever. You can tell this was filmed using rear screen projection as the background just looks separate from the foreground. Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce only exists because the film needs to have Elvis sing to girl at set points in the film. It serves nothing to the plot since Valerie is uninterested and Rusty flirts with another girl anyway. Startin' Tonight and Wolf Call occur not even 5 minutes afterwards. Both are just meh and are only there because you need to show what colleges are there and that Rusty actually works there.

So far things are slow and I can't tell any of Rusty's friends apart. I do think it's funny that whenever the three guys are together without Rusty, the instrumental version of 3 Blind Mice plays. They're really just comedy relief under the guise of being Rusty's backup group. Valerie so far is just a 21 year old woman that just wants to have fun, but there's nothing special about her. Romano is just there to put a damper on Rusty's chances of scoring. Speaking of which Do Not Disturb and Cross My Heart and Hope To Die are pointless because we just know, the woman he's trying to get with is just a red herring. It's just unnecessary conflict that's only meant to be comical seeing Rusty getting interrupted. The motel owner does his part as providing actual boundaries the characters have to follow. He threatens to kick out Valerie after Rusty finds out she has Romano in her room. Knowing the kind of trouble this can bring, he complains to the owner only to find that they were only paying bridge. To get in Valerie's good graces so they can keep an eye on her, Rusty sticks up for her and asks her to return the favor.

Meanest Girl in Town is actually pretty good. It moves the story along and serves the purpose having Rusty kill two birds with one stone: keep an eye on Valerie while still meeting his commitment to performing at the night club. Things go wrong because of "comedic" shenanigans and once again Rusty got interrupted to find her. Turns out Romano took Valerie to a strip club and then the beach. The guys trying to find her is just padding for comedic purposes. It only has a plot purpose once Romano and Valerie arrive at the beach. They perform Do the Clam and my god this is the worst song I've heard so far. It's the definition of cliche for a beach film and the fact that you can clearly see that they're not actually playing is just frustrating. I'm ok with them using this as a distraction so they can get rid of Romano, but this song needed to be better. Puppet on a String however I love it. You feel bad for Valerie because she just wants to have fun and knows nothing about what Rusty is doing. At the same time you start to understand that Rusty is actually falling in love with her, so you now have a reason to care about both of them. It also gives Rusty the motivation to want to "sacrifice" his chances with Dina so he can keep an eye on Valerie alone, while his friends can go on their dates.

I expected a cliche and I got it in like the worst way possible. His friends feel guilty about letting Rusty do their job alone so they set up a date with Dina hoping she'd take him back. We the audience understand that he doesn't care about her anymore and enjoys being with Valerie. She falls for him too and you realize "yes this is a new couple that has the chemistry to work. How do we make conflict to setup the 3rd act"? Oh they did in the form of super forced comedy. Rusty naturally doesn't expect Dina to be there and he can't just kick her out because movie logic so he of course has to go back and forth between the two ladies. I wasn't laughing at all and the other cliche of the liar reveal made this worse. Rusty has no chance to state his case and had no involvement with getting Dina to be in his room.

Valerie of course reacts within reason by wanting to actually enjoy her time with Romano. She decides to go buck wild and get drunk. Rusty realizes that Valerie is at strip club and the song he was playing is just as forgotten. He tries to get Valerie to get off the stage because she's drunkenly dancing. Naturally a fight breaks out because Romano protests Rusty seemingly trying to steal Valerie and surprisingly Rusty actually loses this film's only fight scene as Valerie gets arrested. He gets picked up and thrown into a decoration, plant, I don't know what it is but he gets knocked out from it which is shocking for an Elvis film. Once he gets out after his band mates arrive, they realize that Rusty is in love with her and wants to get her out of jail. This is the biggest laugh I got because you have Rusty trying to get arrested, the frat boys helping him dig a tunnel underneath the jail, and him having to wear a dress to get out of jail. All while Mr. Frank already bailed out Valerie making this whole plot pointless. I'm ok with this because it shows that Rusty cares about Valerie more than just because he's afraid of her father.

Because this has to have a happy ending, of course the father realizes that this wasn't Rusty's fault. Valerie of course realizes that Rusty actually did love her. You really feel bad for Valerie because she just wanted to have fun and maybe find love. She didn't expect to be lied to by both Rusty and her father. She's actually a pretty natural character. You understand why she does the things she did, so of course it would make sense for her to go to Rusty's show to see him again.

I’ve Gotta Find My Baby is a nice song because it's meant to reflect how Rusty is just as dedicated to wanting to make amends with Valerie. When we see the loose ends with the side characters it's nice that we see him address Dina and literally lets her go. This was a good way to say "I'm moving on from you, you're free to be with whoever you want". It also tells Valerie that despite what she may have seen or heard, he's 100% dedicated to being with her. He gets Mr. Frank's approval and of course it's a happy ending with Girl Happy getting a reprise. Rusty and Valerie kiss and you really get the idea that they have the chemistry for a long term relationship.

I give this film a 6/10. Ultimately, this film was just ok. It's the definition of meh. There were a couple moments where I laughed, but I wasn't laughing so hard I was falling out of my seat. There were some moments where you don't know how or why they felt it was a good idea to do something because you're just laughing at how absurd it is. The songs were just meh as a whole with Do the Clam being horrible and Puppet on a String/I've Gotta Find My Baby being pretty decent. From a fan service perspective you could've had Elvis shirtless and it would make sense because it's a beach film. But no they were more worried about his nonexistent weight issue by having him wear long sleeved shirts and full on jackets despite it being in Florida.

I wouldn't watch it on a regular basis, but I think if you watched every now and then it'd be satisfying enough. To me there are better Elvis films that he did, however there are definitely films that are worse than this. There are some unexpected moments that I thought were entertaining like Rusty driving Romano's boat into the motel pool so Valerie doesn't get in trouble with her dad, Rusty losing a fight against a bunch of drunken college students, the frat boys literally digging a tunnel under the jail, and Rusty having to crossdress when he got trapped inside. If you enjoy beach themed films, this is the film for you. If not, I still think there's enough of a plot to get some enjoyment out of it.

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After talking about it with my besties on the Elvis Discord, I will be reviewing Jailhouse Rock next. It's very fitting because this will be the 65th anniversary of the film's original release.

[anasticep]

Why Julie and the Phantoms is a masterpiece of a show. Part 2. Heroes and Villains or Let that foil shine

NOTE: Thanks again for your kind response to Part 1. I never expected that. It being my first tumblr post and a first meta in quite a long time I was blown away. I read all the tags, some were really hilarious. About having more than one brain cell xDDD I laughed so hard. It means a lot.

NOTE2: Please remember that the gifs are made by me, so don't crop, edit or give as yours.

Part 1.

Before diving into meta, I have to mention that the Villain of the story is actually one of the best in the decade. He’s cool, evil from the start, we understand his motives and we certainly are not supposed to love and make excuses for him. The writers made sure of that. So back to the main topic.

A foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist

Foils in literature are not necessarily antagonists. A friend can be a foil or sometimes even a thing, a song. Whatever can make a good and real contrast to the protagonist. But it’s not very simple to use this author’s device and not fall down a deep hole. Because you have to make sure you did just the right amount of work to make it understandable for a reader, the things you want to contrast are definitely there and still you don't waste a character. On TV it can be even harder given limited air time. And, well, I don’t come across this device being used in full very often nowadays. It’s usually good and evil fighting for the plot. That’s why I personally appreciate JaTP so much.

Caleb is clearly a foil to Luke. As much as I’d love to say that Julie also has one, that’s not entirely true, at least not this season. Carrie is not her foil though it may seem so, and I really think that’s cool as Julie’s journey is being presented through her own demons and I'm going to cover that next. That being said, of course Caleb doubles as an antagonist plotwise, but I personally consider him being written more as a contract to Luke so we could see and appreciate his character and journey better.

1. Origins

Caleb and Luke have extremely similar backgrounds. They are both natural performers. They know how to deliver, because c’mon, “Now or Never” is something and so is “The other side of Hollywood”. Stage is their natural habitat, their element, power. Although they channel this power from completely different places.

Let’s start with our little ball of energy. It’s emphasized TWICE that he doesn’t care about the money aka the physical side of art.

All Luke wants is to make music. Connect with people. He is so happy just to be heard despite him loving to perform. Making music is what makes him feel alive and basically that’s enough. I think if there was no “hologram” magic at all, Luke would have still been extremely happy to make music with and for Julie. Because that’s the way he is.

But Caleb doesn’t know that. He knows, and I’m standing by that, right away that Luke is the one to aim at. Because we always feel the similarity in people. If Luke said yes, Reggie and Alex would have followed. So Caleb recognizes the passion and shoots at them what he thinks is appealing. And, oh boy, he delivers.

“The Other Side of Hollywood” is a perfect song to emphasize Luke and Caleb being foils for each other. Follow me here:

But these lines come from very different places. For Caleb the only thing that matters is himself. He owns the show, he IS the show. It’s about being famous, drowning in applause, admiration. Look at how he performs. Confident, yes, but still very much in control. He must keep his perfect face. No flaws, no real emotions, no real connection (Did you miss ME? I did too // This band is back). Whereas Luke is simply living the best time of his life each time he performs. Is it just jamming? Bring it on. Doing fun riffs? He’s all for it. He doesn’t care how he looks (though who could deny gorgeous sweaty Luke), he owns the show just because he is a natural.

So back to the business. Caleb immediately puts the boys in his own shoes:

On the other side we live like kings // Your soulprint on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams // I got your glamour, got your gold, got all you’ll ever need

And, I mean, he is not that wrong. You can see the appeal on the boys’ faces. They are young, passionate, handsome, talented musicians. Of course they wouldn’t deny fame. Of course they would want all that to some extent. And Caleb is very sure he pulled the right strings.

Watch me make a move, I’m your number one choice

Also I have to mention, as we are talking about TOSOH (IKEA name again) and it being a foil for Luke, thy lyrics still don’t forget about what is important for Reggie and Alex (we’ll talk about that just a bit later):

Welcome to the brotherhood -> Reggie

Where you won’t be misunderstood -> Alex

Then again, lots of foreshadowing in the song, if you listen carefully the lyrics are stressing the true colors of the offer:

A tomb with a view

Man, what a metaphor. I would have run out of there the minute I heard this line. But our boys share one brain cell (I can’t get over how funny this is) and it’s currently taken by Julie, so I don’t blame them.

Disappointment is huge. Caleb read it all wrong. So we are moving to the next point in our Heroes and Villains essay.

2. Recruitment

It’s very cool that Caleb offers the boys to join his band right after Luke offers Julie to join Sunset Curve. They both are going out of their ways to get that (although have different budgets apparently. But look, they live in a garage). Luke made a hit with a bunch of Julie’s not very well structured lines (I love Flying Solo with all my heart as a song, but as a poem it just looks weird to me) to impress her, and we all saw the show Caleb had thrown to impress the boys. Plus food. And fancy dancing. But here is where contrast comes again.

Caleb offers to join the band, yes, but only as backup singers. It’s his show, remember? It’s only about him. He doesn’t care if they are even good. He wants their magic under control.

Share the spotlight with ME / How do you like MY new band?!

Luke offering Julie a spot in the band is a completely different story. He saw what she is capable of. He instantly knows she must be the key to a new sound, a new level. And he, a natural performer, frontman, lead guitarist, steps back and gives the spotlight to Julie. To think about it, he could have just got her magic under control by giving her simple lines, incorporating piano in the songs and that’s all. They would be visible, he would still be a center of attention, and Julie herself wouldn't mind that much. But that’s not who Luke is. Yes, there is a funny scene of “Hey, I’m your lead singer” and “you don’t have to be mean”, but it’s just messing around. Because right after that he finishes Flying Solo, writes several other songs with Julie, seeks her approval of Sunset Curve songs and basically follows her around like an adorable excited puppy.

Moving on and back to the rejection. Again the writers are mirroring them. Julie quits the band & the boys decline the offer. What does Luke do? Well, he tries the way he knows: books a gig, makes Reggie and Alex sing in perfect harmonies and does his puppy eyes thing. And it doesn’t work. And Luke goes to reflect and then probably try to come up with a plan. But something tells me he would not have haunted Julie until she joined them.

What does Caleb do after the initial rejection? Puts a cursed stamp that leaves them no choice but to join HGC. You don’t need to say more.

But in fact the more I think about it, the more I suspect Caleb also not possessing enough mental capacity for a human being. Like, if it wasn’t for Willie, how would they even know? Has Caleb planned to simply show up one day and casually explain? Look, foils in everything.

“You’re in a tough spot… So, you wanna join the band?” | “Looked like it hurt… you know where to find me”

But we sidestepped a bit.

3. Pulling the strings

After the song Caleb comes out to consolidate his success. What he does is clever and, btw, that’s the only time he becomes Julie’s foil. They are stating basically the same thing.

Again, Julie is concerned about the band and the boys, while Caleb is only concerned about having them under control. But they both are pulling basically the right strings.

What is interesting, Caleb actually impressed the wrong person (and that person is our sweet Reggie). Luke follows the string Julie pulled. Although the offer is tempting, he insists twice that they are in a band already directly to Caleb and then in Eats&Beats he says "It's like Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound». No matter what Caleb promised, Luke is not affected at all although Caleb’s offer is a very-very safe choice.

Speaking about using friends as foils, Alex and Reggie also serve as contrast characters for Luke at some points. Luke’s indifference to money is first stressed through Alex who is clearly the chief accountant for the band. His lines about not getting tips, living in a garage and «it’s a little bit about the money» are waved aside by Luke. Reggie is clearly the most affected by the whole Bobbie thing. His lines «I don’t care what Julie said, I’m glad we scared Bobbie», «So we’re gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?» are getting a clear contrast by Luke’s «It’s what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound» and «He has to live with that guilt».

While editing the article I realised a very cool thing I haven't noticed before. How badly Luke wants to go on tour. And again that's another thing Caleb offers as if reading his mind. That's actually brilliant, to think about it.

Caleb is a VERY good reader. He tests the waters with a speech about disappearing from stage and going around the world and all dreams coming true. Still he doesn’t know the boys and especially Luke, so his phrase “no real connection” doesn’t register that much.

But he learns. Remember the lines I’ve marked before?

Reggie is afraid they will not be together after they cross over. He is in desperate need of a family. So wouldn’t it be nice to spend the rest of your afterlife with your brothers? (Reggie's main insecurity is loneliness, feel of a broken family. That's why he is the most concerned about crossing over. Will his family stay intact?)

Alex is insecure, and not being understood by the people closest to him will always hit hard. So welcome to a place where you won’t be misunderstood. And actually we know there is a guy you like and find comfort in. (Alex's insecurity is growing up in times when he could not truly be himself even with his family and for sure not believing he would ever be able to find someone meant just for him)

That mirrors the whole Luke’s beach speech perfectly. Only comparing them we can truly appreciate why Luke is the leader. He shuts down his own demons to make Alex and Reggie remember that they are not alone (“and I believe in you”. sorry. Olicity fan).

Caleb makes them suffer to get what he wants. But this time he is careful with the words aimed at Luke. Yes, he repeats his words about vanishing and applauses BUT he makes sure that his words about CONNECTION are the key words for Luke. Intense look, calming voice, touching - these are all elements of hypnosis. And Luke is in a daze. (Continuing the parents' thing, for Luke the main insecurity is not managing to connect with his mom. Maybe that's such a big thing for him: through all these people he wanted to find that connection with her)

4. The Hero’s journey

That’s the best part actually but I won’t be saying anything new or that you don’t know. Luke is made of lyrics and music. That’s his soul, heart, that’s the feeling running through his veins. He doesn’t need anything other than that in his life. Playing for eternity is “a gift no musician would ever turn down”. But he actually does turn it down. As well as his dream to go see the world with his band (is there covid in jatp universe?). He is the one who resists the hardest to the pull. Luke, who always has a guitar in his hands, doesn't want to play. Because it’s not only about the music now. He has this amazing girl in his afterlife who was willing to accept them for who they were, helped Luke battle his own demons, eased his pain and made him open up. And it doesn’t make sense any longer without her anymore. “And you’re a part of me now till eternity”.

Caleb, being Luke’s foil, completely misses the whole point of connection. It’s not in his nature. His house band are just recruits (Just so happens you’re in luck we’ve got a vacancy). For Luke his band is his family (We are the only family we ever gonna need). The Connection theme is one of the main in the show. And it’s so cool to show it focused through Luke whose best way of interaction is a touch. But not being able to touch Julie Luke has to find other ways, although it’s not that simple for him. And Julie backs that up: We connect in so many other ways. They literally touched each other's souls. Without knowing she put a stamp of her own on Luke, Alex and Reggie. They’ve never felt loved enough, appreciated enough, supported enough. They’ve only had each other. And Julie’s stamp is love. And for Luke (as well as Reggie and Alex) from now on this girl is worth dying for all over again.

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So yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, as I for sure enjoyed writing. There is gonna be a part 3 about Julie and a few honorable mentions of parallels of the Pilot and the Finale (I hope at least to do all that). I’ve also figured very very cool connections in the songs and I can’t wait to share.

Also as I was heavily speaking about The Other side of Hollywood, @catty-words has a wonderful meta on rain metaphors here (sorry for tagging, if you don't want to be tagged), check it out if you somehow missed it. It's super clever.