#that could change the script drastically at least

[justanotheryellowsoul]

I think a lot abt how Loop insists the party isn't theirs. This can't be their party.

Because if it is, then that means Loop doesn't have a party that's theirs anymore. That they can't even grieve their party because they're still alive. They just. Don't need Loop anymore.

But to be so hurt? That these "copies" do not recognize you? To feel the loss of your family because you're a stranger to "strangers"?

Like hey Loop. Buddy. Think we're doing some unreliable narrorator shenanigans here.

I think you're trying to distance yourself from these people because you know they're undeniably your party and that horrifies you. That you really were replaced. That they were never your family, and now they'll never be yours at all.

Toootally unrelated, but does anyone else ever think about how there's The Universe? Singular. And to say Loop is from a "Different Universe" implies that there's multiple of the same "god" in some way? And that the more likely option, canon wise, is that wish craft just made a second Siffrin to fulfill Loop's wish?

There's a deep tragic irony that Loop feels so broken when the party don't recognize them as Siffrin, and yet Loop describes them as copies. The world so familiar and yet to them, Loop unable to connect to it.

Even before they met face to face, Loop tried to separate themself from their family, and it wasn't until they saw them as a stranger that Loop truly felt that loss.

[lucystark12]

what are you thinking, finn wolfhard?

everything i'm about to say aligns with my finn wolfhard is a genius agenda.

it was just made apparent to me that not only did finn wolfhard film it 2017 before season two, but he filmed his scenes as boris in the goldfinch literally DAYS before filming season three. this is extremely hard for me to conceptualize. but it also makes me think about finn wolfhard himself who obviously knows the truth about mike wheeler's sexuality. if byler is as deep seeded as we want it to be, odds are that finn knew what was up from the beginning. which makes a girl think- did he know the same about richie tozier when he first played him in 2017?

lets look at richie a bit.

richie is obviously gay. i will not be taking arguments on this. i'm reading a reddit thred right now where people are debating it and i'm like- are you kidding me. but he wasn't gay in the source material. stephen king has stated as much in a vanity fair article. though he calls andy muscetti's choice "genius" (which it is, btw), he makes it clear that it wasn't his intention. it's explicitly clear in it chapter 2, and being wired like a byler shipper, i was able to suss it out in the first movie, but was that andy muscetti's intention to begin with?

there are many ways this change can be interpreted. assuming that it wasn't something that was explicitly written into the original character description for richie in the first movie, you could see this as something that was put in as a sign of the times, a statement if you will. it chapter one was written in 2015-2016 while we were still under obama's presidency, one that saw drastic improvements for the quality of life of a gay person in america. it chapter two was written during trump's presidency and could have been trying to brand itself as a statement of sorts. i only say this because as far as i can find (and PLEASE tell me if i'm wrong) there wasn't nearly as much evidence hinting at richie's sexuality in the first movie as there is for mike or will to use a relevant example.

the idea that finn wolfhard could have gone straight from it filming (summer of 2016) to stranger things filming (early november 2016) just having played a character who he knows was in the closet and in love with his best friend in the 80s could open up new interpretation to mke in season two. oddly, the reason i bring this up is because richie tozier to me is the mirror image of a kid i was friends with in middle school. they acted the same, they even weirdly looked and dressed the same. the only time i've ever made the comparison between middle school kid and mike wheeler was during season two, specifically in the scene where max leaves them the note, which leads me to believe that he could have carried other things over from other aspects of the it production.

season two isn't what really concerns me though. i'm looking more at season three. the goldfinch only moved to production in albuquerque in april of 2018, which is obviously where finn wolfhard filmed all of his scenes. however, stranger things 3 started production on april 23rd, 2018, which means there might have even been crossover between finn's shooting dates if not at least a very short gap of time between them. it chapter 2 was filmed that same summer likely with some of it's own crossover with stranger things three dates. finn wolfhard's lack of scenes in the second movie are probably what made this possible, but the scenes that he did have tackled very delicate topics that had to be handled with care. most actors get their scripts for minor roles like this a few weeks out from filming, which means that finn could have had his scripts for it chapter 2 that very explicitly make it clear that he's gay during filming for stranger things 3.

so here he is with one gay character right before season 3 and one right after. he knows how to handle these things, which means that every move he's making, especially in season three, is most likely intentional, especially if he knows this far in advance about mike's sexuality. i think it's totally feasible that he does. i'm fifteen and i understand what was happening between byler during the fight scene, finn was sixteen and, being a part of this show, probably understood what was going on too even if he wasn't outright told. doing justice to a season like this when he was also having to figure out scenes like the boreo taxi scene or the arcade scene with henry bower's cousin or r + e was probably at the forefront of his mind.

in conclusion, i just have one question:

what does this mean, finn wolfhard?

[toreii]

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Review

Let me just preface this post by saying I’m still on the fence about sharing my thoughts. Like many, I am highly disappointed with the direction this DLC went. I would have never imagined this was in store for me last year during the summer when I first watched the Lin Kuei trailer. Khaos Reigns provoked two days of awful headaches followed by days of disillusion. Yes, NRS played me for a fool (thank god I did not purchase this). I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and it came to bite me in the ass. If I had a physical copy of the game, I’d chuck it in the trash. I’m finding it difficult to proceed forward which is hard because I like to see things through even if it sucks. All I can do is protect my vision of Bi-Han and staying true to the old lore as I try and move on.

That being said, to address my take on this expansion:

To begin, the elephant in the freaking room--Sektor and Cyrax.

I am a Lin Kuei fan overall. Not a big fan of him in general, but there has been appreciation for him and Cyrax throughout the years. When I learned that both were going to be genderbent, I had a little bit of misgivings suddenly changing things drastically. But, again, I gave NRS the benefit of the doubt. Since this is a new era, I was on board with it until the rumors started circulating about both being love interests for the brothers. I was like "That makes no sense whatsoever." To me, the Lin Kuei has always been like a brotherhood. In no given time, has there ever been any indication of personal relationships outside of camaraderie. For example, Cyrax and Smoke being vehemently upset over Bi-Han's death in MK9, and not just Kuai Liang.

The argument can be constantly made that this is a new timeline, and it's Liu Kang's creation over and over. But, when you have that man (Dominic) constantly saying the timelines are canon, but not really. But, still are. It's incredibly hard to take anything seriously right now especially with the constant flip flopping that man does for the sake of the current script. Which is another point, but back to the bastardization of our two Lin Kuei girls.

I wanted to believe in a strong, female Sektor, who has her own ideals which we can all clearly see. Like her past iterations, she lives, breathes, and bleeds Lin Kuei. I wanted to see a Sektor who slowly, but surely descended into her own madness of corruption as she pursued her goals for the Cyber Initiative. Sektor has always been known for his technological genius, and she would be no different. To see her potential constantly get staunched for her adulation and obsession for Bi-Han was hard to witness. I can understand that this may be a flaw for her, but it is a very shitty flaw. Because this one trait absolutely negates everything she stands for. I can see that both she and Bi-Han use each other to a certain extent where it seems fit. I know her horrible romance is the center of focus right now, but if you listen to her intros with Bi-Han, it seems to be all business between them. There is barely any indication that their relationship goes beyond the realm of the clan and into a personal tryst. Sektor calls it love, but it's not quite there. I mean, there's love for the grandmaster, but the love that seems to be implied between the two is not quite there. At least, in my view.

I don't know about Sektor yet, but I already deduced that Bi-Han isn't someone who's desperate to correct anyone on the spot. He doesn't have to. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, so of course he runs with whatever people say about him. He's unbothered by anyone's opinions of him. When Kuai Liang told Cyrax the truth about Bi-Han letting their father die, Bi-Han could have stepped in at any given moment and contradicted Kuai Liang. Instead, he chose to own every word Kuai said. I've had this feeling since the end of the base campaign that Kuai Liang simply took pieces of what Bi-Han said, and spun them to fit his own narrative. (Killing your father and letting him die because of an accident are two completely different things.)

Anyways, going back to Sektor, that scene where Bi-Han's mind was being restored seems to be the only shoehorned indication that there is more to them than meets the eye. But, again, it was badly placed, badly presented as well. First of all, Sektor really should not have been there in that room at all. From a storytelling perspective, I'm supposed to believe that both Sektor and Bi-Han have this obsessive romance and codependency between each other in a few seconds of frames, than the brotherhood between Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and Tomas??? And this was my worst fear for Bi-Han too. I did not want him to be "saved" by romance. I wanted his salvation to come from within himself as he reflected on his poor decisions and the tragedy of his downfall which sadly we were robbed and negated from. If the scene only involved Liu Kang, Bi-Han, and Kuai Liang, it would have been more poignant. There has always been that story between the two brothers. I understand, this is not the same Kuai of two timelines ago. But, why is MK: Onslaught's ScorpKuai a lot more wholesome than our MK1 iteration??? He was absolutely horrified meeting MK11 Noob. He couldn't understand why Bi-Han became Noob (and how). But, Kuai's first instinct in the DLC is to be absolutely pissed and disgusted? "Your new attire suits you. It is as black as your heart." Darling, no. I would have been more pleased seeing Kuai approach the table and have this conflicting expression. The hatred can still be there, but the concern and sorrow for whom was once family to him, and his eldest brother needed to be portrayed. I mean, we sort of got it with the whole coffin scene at the end. But, in that scene, in that moment, that more than Bi-Han reaching for Sektor and touching foreheads with her is a lot more powerful in terms of storytelling. I don't know why NRS is so against these two hashing it out and resolving their issues.

Now to Cyrax...oh my god...

According to Kuai Liang in the main story, Cyrax and Sektor were supposed to be absolutely loyal to Bi-Han and would abet his corruption than follow him. We obviously see that in Sektor, but what the hell happened to Cyrax? It leads me to believe that Dominic and others suddenly decided to change the script. Mind you, I firmly believe that they did so. Sektor and Cyrax being women in this game must've been a decision that came after everything was said and done for the base campaign. I'm a bit skeptical on Bi-Han suddenly turning on Cyrax because I do recall some time ago listening to some leaked audio in which Bi-Han says "Kuai Liang was supposed to give Cyrax back." It made me think "Oh shit. Does Cyrax get held hostage or something?" Like, what the hell happened? And, I'm realizing, are we missing dialogue now? There is so much that does not make sense!!! Why would they turn on her all of a sudden?!

She's supposed to be close to Bi-Han just as much as Sektor. And suddenly, Cyrax is presented as a free thinking individual who abides by her own ideals and tradition. The moment that is threatened, she feels like she can no longer follow Bi-Han and his ambitions. To make it worse, she feels so much remorse with Kuai Liang that she's ready to give up her life in penance to make up for it. It just makes no sense. And to make it worse, she spends the rest of the DLC following Kuai Liang like a little puppy ready to serve her new grandmaster. Why was she even presented as a strong individual when all she wants is Kuai Liang's adoration as well? Not to mention, it was a really gross line to include in the intros where Noob threatens to spill her relationship with Kuai Liang to Harumi. We're seriously cheapening these two women to typical high school romance tropes? Like others have expressed, this is fanfiction levels of madness.

Kuai Liang is all levels of messed up too. I am so sick and tired of him prancing around like he does no wrong, and everyone believes every word he says. Suddenly, he's the self appointed grand hero of the story when you have Liu Kang's champions sitting around and twiddling their thumbs? Why not place faith in them and send them with Kuai to resolve the current threat. I understand Kuai's Shirai Ryu is now the new protectors, but you also have these other people and beings who are preparing themselves as well for these upcoming threats. I hate that they just suddenly bled into the background, and disappeared completely. Somebody needs to not only knock Bi-Han but Kuai Liang as well a few pegs down. He too is not without his own flaws and they need to be addressed. And Liu Kang's line "Trust your wife. Avail yourself of her wisdom." The same thing with Sektor and Bi-Han. Here too. This fucking trope cannot be it. Love cannot only be the thing that saves the day. His anger, his vengeance, is no where near the levels of Hanzo. Hanzo legit had a reason to be like that. Kuai is literally throwing a bitch fit at Bi-Han, and pointing fingers anywhere but himself. Seriously, his anger and disgust against Cyrax was so unwarranted. And every time she was flustered and tried to explain, he barely gave her time to say a word. Always cutting her off, and rejecting her apologies until the end because it is implied Harumi stepped in. And he seems to just completely simmer down a bit in the presence of Noob. Where was the you who tried to take him on earlier in Chaosrealm? Suddenly, you don't feel like butting heads with your brother? Kuai Liang is such a hypocrite, and I'm tired of seeing it.

Liu Kang was also another that just got dragged through the mud. A lot of his words and actions did not make sense. He's content with disposing of Titan Shang Sung and Titan Quan Chi, but he won't let Bi-Han finish off Titan Havik because he isn't sure how he's tied to his timeline, and doesn't want to kill innocent lives? What about the timelines tied to the other two? Liu Kang had no problem ending those. Why is Titan Havik's timeline any different? Bi-Han is right. Why does that timeline matter when the most important one is theirs, Liu Kang's timeline? He tells Raiden and Kung Lao to do their best and pray they make it out alive, when Liu Kang could have better prepared them. Gets his ass handed to him, can't even go save Geras himself. Sends Kuai, Cyrax, and Sektor to Chaosrealm in blindly. And, snaps at Bi-Han for the most part towards the end instead of having a meaningful talk with him. Not just simply telling him "This is what you are meant to do. Defend Earthrealm." Well, geez, why not elaborate on that, Liu Kang? Can't you give Bi-Han a few minutes of your time to air out grievances and come to a consensus?

And what the hell happened to Titan Havik? Is he dead? Does he still live? Trapped in the void? The Kamidogu were briefly mentioned, and then dropped. They were hyped to be of importance in this DLC. I'm certain they'll make their return eventually if NRS continues the story involving Onaga when the time comes. But, Havik had plans for them as well. And we only see him fusing with the Kamidogu. That final fight with him felt pretty lackluster. Just a regular match like any other.

We are definitely missing script, and scenes. We were supposed to have gotten a whole lot more. Ed Boon said this was their project for the next few years. I suppose they felt compelled not just to omit certain things, but cut out others for future DLCs. This was setup to be more than what we got. The bar absolutely fell short of what the end product was. To charge full price is absolutely heinous. I'm sorry, but I do not have $50 on hand for each DLC that they plan to release. They charged full price for the main game, and now they plan to do so for every little story line that comes after? I can't in good conscious support this kind of marketing. I'm devastated with the story. Like, I could work and make sense and justify every decision made with the main story to a degree. I can't do the same with Khaos Reigns.

I know I was making gifs of Bi-Han last week, but after KR...my heart right now really isn't in MK1. Every time I come across posts and remotely start thinking about it, I get headaches. They are not as bad as they initially were, but this is how horribly this DLC affects me. It keeps giving me headaches. I know I probably regurgitated the same sentiments and ideas as many others have already. But, a friend told me it would be cathartic to do this. So, instead of my journal, I am here expunging these thoughts and emotions. I don't know what my future with the brand will entail, but godspeed NRS. I wish you well on your future endeavors, and that's really saying a lot on my end. I can't even hope anymore. They massacred my heart and left me to die just like papa Lin Kuei (I wish we had a name for him).

[gamerbearmira]

Maybe the movie doesn’t go as planned and the door hits Antonio when casita is crashing. Instead of dying he’s sent back to the beginning of his birthday. Keeps going back until he can notice some thing is wrong at the party (Mirabel not at the party in his room) maybe he could help or something. But every time it resets, someone else also starts to get caught in the loop. Abuela

I LOVE THIS IDEA WHAT‼️‼️‼️

I think it takes a whole nother cycle for him to realize he’s in a loop. The first time he thinks it’s a bad dream; but when everything happens a second time, verbatim, he realizes something is wrong. He thinks that if he can live through the crash, it will stop. So, he tries to get Felíx to help him; I think that in this au, Felíx tries to save Antonio, but barely misses him. This time, instead of Antonio freezing, he runs to Felíx. But Felíx isn’t prepared, and basically tackles Antonio; they end up underneath the furniture anyway.

Keep in mind, Antonio would have been trying to tell anyone about what was happening; Felíx believes him after his first time through the loop. He is also a very big help, as he has, to put it frankly, much more critical thinking than Antonio. Not saying that homeboy is stupid, he’s actually really smart, but Felíx is able to notice things more quickly. He can also do more.

From this point on, they have to be careful. If either of them dies or something goes horrendously wrong, it will start all the way over. Back at Antonio’s birthday. He doesn’t even enjoy the gift ceremony at some point, it’s just a routine that he tries to rush through. But, he (and Felíx), discover that if they move through events too quickly, and something that wasn’t supposed to happen ends up happening that drastically changes the timeline. Boom.

Butterfly effect. Restart. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

This actually leads to the death of other family members and they end up in the time loop as well. Like how Antonio thought that if he told Mirabel about Bruno sooner, they could work things out with Alma. Nope. This just leads to the same argument, but now Bruno gets stuck in the walls and can’t escape because he’s not in the right hallway.

Oh, he wants to make sure Camilo gets to the candle? Well, if Casita goes to help Camilo instead of Mirabel, Mirabel gets crushed. Now she’s in the loop. If Casita focuses too much on Mirabel, Camilo ends up in the loop. It’s a constant gamble of choices that ultimately will end up getting at least one family member killed per cycle. Until they’re just going in circles. The whole family can make up in any given loop, but if Alma doesn’t make up as well, it won’t be for anything.

Alma would most definitely be the last, if at all. To join the loop. She, by some miracle from the Man upstairs, straight up just defies time???? Or at least, manages to evade the events of the time loop and stick to the script. Every. Single. Time. Without even knowing. It’s terrifying.

I really like this idea let me shut up

[johanna-swann]

I'm sorry, I just can't stop wondering what the hell happened to 911. It was never highbrow art, but it was genuinely entertaining and enjoyable. And people keep saying it's been going down hill since season 4, but season 8 has hit an entirely new low. They're really limbo-dancing with the devil at this point.

I mean. I wasn't a big fan of the season 5 opening disaster or the ppd arc, the season sure had its ups and downs. But they also did something interesting with Eddie for once, I am always a Taylor Kelly stan first and a 911 fan second so I enjoyed having her there, the story around Jonah was maybe a little far fetched but still fun, we had May at dispatch wihch I LOVED, Michael and David were still around and the season finale was pretty decent.

Season 6 also had a relatively strong first half. Once again not a big fan of the opening disaster, but Hen's med school storyline was still going strong at first, we got that Henren begins episode, we learned more about Athena's family and childhood (including conflict between Bathena and Beatrice), Madney was house-hunting and then we had the lightning strike and its aftermath of course. So most of the protagonists had stuff going on that we hadn't seen x times before.

After that... well. There was no reason to push Buck back into dating so soon after he had just learnt that being himself and by himself could also be enough. For Eddie it sort of made sense at this point? But it still felt like he wasn't dating because it's what he wanted, he did it because it was expected of him. Madney getting engaged was somewhat predictable though I would've also loved it if they hadn't done that. Lots of families with children and a house are happy without the parents ever getting married. And the finale in season 6 was really bad. Very underwhelming, very rushed.

But at least 6b had an excuse? The show was about to be cancelled. At the time those scripts were being written they probably didn't know yet that there'd be a season 7. And then season 7 had even more excuses why it was, well. Like that. (Network change, multiple strikes, the showrunner changed, a drastically shortened season, etc.) I can forgive a lot under those circumstances.

Season 8 though? Season 8 had it all. They had their og showrunner back and he had already had time to find his bearings. They knew about the renewal very early this time, so they had a lot of time to prepare. There were no more huge strikes. They got a full length season again. The network wasn't new anymore. Despite season 7 being a bit of a clusterfuck, they did manage to set up a few storylines to explore further in season 8. Everything was lining up perfectly!

And then they completely dropped the ball. I already went into detail post-8x06 on a different post, I didn't even watch 8x07 in full because it sounded rather boring (and police brutality heavy). Then they gave us a mid-season finale that was centered around an irrelevant comic relief side character who most people found annoying or boring. On the side we had another Athena B plot that had nothing to do with the rest of the episode and didn't influence any of the main characters in any way. Eddie announced that he might consider moving to Texas which for now doesn't mean anything, nothing else of importance happened. And that was the mid-season finale! Like. Guys. The episode wasn't horrible, but for your "great fall finale"?

And Eddie STILL hasn't put even a little bit of work into processing his trauma around Shannon's death. He was told once by a stranger that he deserves nice things and that fixed him? He's ready to confront the conflict between him and Christopher now? Yeah, sure Jan.

Maddie is attacked in her home and gets abducted by a violent and dangerous criminal who has the intention to murder her? Wonder where I've seen that before. Oh right, it was on the same show and it happened to the same character. Cool. Glad to see I won't miss anything new when I don't watch 8b next year.

It's not even funny anymore and I sure hope they have a reason for this and they haven't just lost all their braincells over the summer hiatus. But we won't know if any of the conspiracy theories about impending cancellations or main cast members leaving are correct until sometime next spring.

[chaifootsteps]

Vaggie is a wasted character… She can almost be my top favorite but she doesn't even has a reliable background. In this new lore of hers she used to be one if not the best exterminator for maybe years, decades, centuries, who knows? they never explain it but they do show her saying that it has been a lot since she really meant to stab someone and missed it, so she was a merciless killer but suddenly felt guilty/pitty out of nowhere and had mercy on a child which is actually a hellborn since he looks a lot like a cannibal and exterminators are supposed not to kill hellborns? Wtf. Also not knowing angels can be harmed but her eye was stucked out and her wings ripped off by an angelic sword? And one of the worst is her being Charlie's simp…Her whole role and arc is based on her struggling with herself not being enough for Charlie and that's it, but not satisfied with that she didn't even managed to be useful neither for Charlie or the hotel... MY GOD! What was the point of her recovering her wings by the power of love/script, which is also ridiculous, if she didn't even used them from the very beggining and got Dazzle killed?! Also why didn't she recovered her missing eye if already her wings? On battle, even with one arm left Lute still gave her a hard time fighting her an Vaggie struggled with that as if she didn't had both of her arms..!! This only exhibits that she was not even written, if we remove all relationships from her and just let her be she would still be as unnecesary and irrelevant for the sotry events, she never did something meaningful; the commercial? Alastor himself did it, acquire weapons from Carmilla? Again Alastor could have did that, they are overlords…

I hate to say this but if we remove her from the whole story as if never existed it barely changes and not even as a drastic or remarkable one…

Can you imagine how cool that could potentially be, an arc that really rolls up its sleeves and delves deep into how much Vaggie loved being an exterminator, or at the very least loved stabbing people?

[flanaganfilm]

Hey Mike, can you talk about your work on Revival? What was it like reading the book, writing the script, making it all work? I know people thought it was going to be like Midnight Mass, but King is tackling religion far differently & I would have loved to see your adaptation of that. Furthermore, why did you decide to leave the project? I read somewhere it had to do with the film rights, but I’m sure there’s more to that story & id love to hear your side of it.

Also, Life of Chuck…. 1.85:1 or Scope? C’mon, Mike! Spill the beans!

Thanks!

I was very excited about Revival. King had given me the rights after I finished the script for Doctor Sleep, and we took it around town as a pitch. Warner Bros. picked up the project and commissioned the script.

I wrote a script I love, and turned it in to Warner Bros. It couldn't be more different than Midnight Mass; that was always a very weird and unfair comparison. The only thing they have in common is that each story features a priest; any comparisons wouldn't have survived opening weekend, that was never really a thing.

Revival is one of King's scariest and most effective books, and I was madly in love with the movie. I stayed very true to the book, and the story spanned over decades. It was a character-forward epic about mortality, and the futility of hope, dealing with themes of lost love, addiction, and hubris. In fact, it has way more in common with Frankenstein than Midnight Mass, and I was stoked to make it. It wasn't cheap, though - the set pieces were big, the VFX budget was intimidating, and it fit into a type of budget that isn't typically made these days.

For those reasons, ultimately, after Doctor Sleep's disappointing performance at the box office, Warner Bros. didn't want to pursue the movie. They had really liked the Frankenstein comparisons, but that only comes into play at the very end of the story. Their pitch was to start the story there, and jettison most of the actual novel in favor of a new, heavily Frankenstein inspired narrative. It was a bridge too far, and changed the source material too radically.

Warner Bros. faith in the project had been seriously damaged by the box office performance of Doctor Sleep, and the character-forward epic I was pitching was just too risky given the hefty price tag. Ultimately, I wasn't willing to change the story as drastically as they wanted to, and it just didn't make sense to make it for that budget - so they opted not to make the film, and that was that. I didn't leave the project at all - the studio just didn't want to move forward with it. Revival is not the most obvious project. It is more expensive than a lot of comparable horror titles, and we didn't want to do it as a streaming movie - we bet the farm on a theatrical feature, and the cards didn't fall in our favor this time. My window of availability as a director rapidly closed. I was heading fast into Midnight Club and Fall of the House of Usher for Netflix, so without a viable attachment from me for at least a few years, the project couldn't move forward at all, and the rights reverted back to Stephen King. We discussed whether we wanted to try to keep it alive, but we were already deep into talks about The Dark Tower, whose rights were about to become available after years of being tied up. Steve doesn't like to give the same person multiple rights as a general rule, because he doesn't want his projects to stall out in development, which makes good sense. Given the choice, we absolutely wanted to focus on The Dark Tower. We let Revival go, and last I heard, some other people were developing it as a TV project. I absolutely love the script I wrote, and I'm disappointed that Warner Bros. didn't want to make it, but it's their studio and their prerogative. I can't say I blame their reasoning. In fact, I completely see their point. I could have dug in and fought harder to keep it, but that might mean I wouldn't have gotten the rights to The Dark Tower.

And I hate to say it, but Revival would have taken a similar narrative approach to Doctor Sleep, and - well - audiences just didn't show up for that movie. It's entirely likely that the same would have happened here - this was another long, character-centric story that wasn't entirely a mainstream horror tale, and it was expensive. And this didn't have The Shining connection to lean on. I am so sorry to say this, but I don't have a lot of faith that audiences would have supported us if we'd bet the farm on a theatrical release of Revival as I wanted to make it. So honestly, I think it all worked out for the best. You win some and you lose some in this business. Who knows, maybe it'll come back some day - I also lost the rights to Gerald's Game back in 2014 when we couldn't find a partner who wanted to make the movie. They eventually came around again, and the timing worked out. The same could happen here - maybe we get another chance, or may we revisit it down the line as a limited series. Stranger things have happened. Ka is a wheel. Or, maybe this new television production of Revival will get off the ground, and if it does I wish them nothing but the best with it. It's a phenomenal story, and I'll be first in line to see it.

[sweettoothvn]

Hello, can you post the script about your latest audio pls ? For those english isn't their main language.

Sure thing! ^^

The setting is in a science lab and Tenylia is complaining about her day to her sister Becca who is not listening.

Tenylia: “Mr. Ravenar always makes the Bodross Biology class such a pain in the ass. I know I’m both halves of a freak of nature, but damn what do I need to know about gene mutations for??”

Becca does not respond so Tenylia keeps yapping.

Tenylia: “And THEN he rambled on and on about the silly Myconia and which one is more deadly than the other and what likes to be comfy around Jinns, I almost passed out at least twice– uh, thinking about it I might’ve because my head kissed the desk for a split second– anyway, it could kill a man if you weren’t already a nerd for the subject in general and I have a solid C, so I’m not a complete failure”

Short sarcastic 5-second pause on Becca’s device before it starts buzzing again

Tenylia: “But also if it weren’t for Eddie I have no idea how I would be able to get through it. Oh, speaking of him, I hope he’s been doing okay lately. He’s been more tense ever since he met this one guy at the Wild Witch. The dude’s a total creep by the way. You should see the way he acts around Eddie. It's… uncomfortable…”

The sounds of tech buzzing and small zaps from a pen to a board answers mostly between them

Tenylia: “On a better note though- I’m relieved that this guy seems to be distracted by something else– or rather someone else. But at the same time, I feel bad for them cause now he’s acting creepiER and hyperenergetic like he piped down a two-ton pack of steroids”

The sounds stop

Tenylia: “I see him lingering around Botanique sometimes and just… watching… He doesn’t even buy anything. He just chats with the newbie for a bit then pretends to leave. But he doesn’t. They don’t seem too bothered by it… or…. Or even worse….maybe they don’t know? What makes this awful is that they haven’t been in the Intrepid for a month and they’ve managed to capture the attention of a Gilvan?! Worst of all– a very sick one… in the head I mean. I’m just hoping he doesn’t do anything drastic like… I dunno… break into their apartment…?” 

Something snaps and Tenylia looks over to Becca, only to flinch as she sees her sister’s facial expression

Tenylia: “Did… uhm… Did I say something wrong? H-how about this, I’ll change topics-”

Becca cuts her off immediately with a serious tone, almost threatening.

Becca: “Who.”

Tenylia: “Pardon?”

Tenylia asks meekly, having not caught what her sister had said

Becca: “Who.”

Becca says more sternly

Tenylia: “Oh! T–That’s- I-I don’t think I should be talking anymore– this was a bad idea knowing how you–”

She stammers over her words, they crack a bit as she is clearly nervous and regretting having brought up the current topic. The sound of a chair creaks as Becca gets up from her chair and starts to approach Tenylia who backs away anxiously.

Becca: “Who. Are. You. Talking about?”

She says slowly, clearly not messing around as she wants the information that Tenylia is refusing to give up.

Tenylia: “Why are you suddenly so interested?!”

Tenylia blurts, feeling like a cornered animal. Becca grumbles under her breath and leans away from her sister with a sneer. Dragging a hand down her face she sighs then speaks with a frustrated but cold tone.

Becca: “....Forget it. I’ll figure it out myself.”

Tenylia begins to panic, stammering again before rushing off after her sister, her voice fading out.

Tenylia: “NO NO NO! BECCA DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!! LEAVE THEM ALONE!!”

[foreignswaggersession]

one unfortunate reason iwtv takes can be so bad is the subtitles - they are not complete. for a script as dense as this, missing lines of dialogue can result in drastic misinterpretations of the show. and it sucks that non-english speakers have to watch without important lines translated.

another reason is that people watch the episodes once and rely on out-of-context clips to support their takes. this is also why reactions are underwhelming. iwtv rewards rewatches, and it's easy to miss important details on the first viewing.

for example - i've seen many transcripts of the loumand fight from ep 12 (2x05) that include "picking lint off the sofa?!" but not louis's next line, "you sat on your hands and put your ear to the wind." this line is harder to hear because we go back to the recorded version in dubai, but it's there (and i get so annoyed when i don't see it!)

this line and armand's mimicry of louis's interview undermines armand's claim that he was home alone bored - he was listening to louis and daniel the entire time and could have stopped the interview at any point (louis asked him to come and he said "have your fun"). armand just didn't want to b/c a) he's not over lestat; b) he's jealous of louis's relationship with lestat (he wishes he was louis btw); c) louis is talking about lestat in a way armand hasn't heard before, and armand hates when louis deviates from his script. too many people act like armand's poor fee fees are hurt cause louis didn't come home, but armand is just lying y'all!

another example - people act like the fight in ep 5 (1x05) was completely one-sided with no clips of louis fighting back. but that's not true! we see louis tackle lestat at least twice in that episode! i know this is because people were scared to watch the episode again and just relied on their memory. louis was willing to fight to the death for his daughter and no revisit of that fight changes that! fuck lestat and his banged up face i don't give a fuck! for the record, i think louis said all that from ep 14 (2x07) and HE WAS RIGHT TO SAY IT! it changes nothing!

[topwright]

ARE YOU AN ASPIRING ACTOR AND INTERESTED IN HORROR? IF SO, PLEASE READ:

Hey all!! I'm Tim, the creator of the in progress Slenderverse series Anniversary Log. Anniversary Log is a free volunteer project my crew and I are creating for fun. It takes place in the Slenderman Universe and follows protagonist Sam Moreno's search for his missing girlfriend Emilia Hall.

I wanted to tell yall that auditions are open again. Now that my break is over, (I was going through some self doubt and missing motivation for my project and made a brash decision to drastically change it which has now been revoked) we'll be resuming the auditions for Marina Collie (koh-lee) and James Haddonfield!! If you're interested, here are the requirements below:

-must be 18 or older

-follow our YouTube channel

-must be okay with showing your face/using images + videos of yourself (basically like you would be a real actor)

-must have a flexible schedule (or at least be free weekends)

(Your information will not be shared with anybody, but your full name will appear in the credits)

This role is not local!! Any footage we will need of Marina or James will not have them interacting one on one with the main characters. They will be interacting only over phone calls and maybe (emphasis on maybe) over video call. We will also need to use pictures of you (your best ones!!) to use to create convincing social media posts and other intriguing things my crew and I have in mind for the series!!

AUDITION PROCESS:

Once you sign up (with the link I will provide on this post) you will receive your audition script once I have completed it. This will give you a few days (up to a week) to memorize your lines (if you would like) and practice by yourself and with the others in our Discord (pm me for the Discord invite or I will send you an email with the link when you sign up)

From there we will begin PRIMARY AUDITIONS where you and the others on the Discord will wait in the waiting room while the casting directors (myself, Emilia and Sam) are on the call. Once we call you in, you will perform with either Sam or Emilia (depending on which role you're going out for) and once you finish you may leave or stick around to offer the rest of the auditioners support!!

It will take a couple of days for us to release the CALLBACK LIST, but you will either receive an email with the new script linked or an email with a polite let down explaining other roles you have an opportunity for or crew member positions.

Callbacks are usually held no later than a week after primary auditions.

Callbacks work just the same as the primaries. The role is usually announced right after the performances, but if we can't decide it may take up to a day or two after.

BEING AN ACTOR IN OUR SERIES

Marina and James are minor characters in our series, so you will appear occasionally in a few entries as well as referenced in others. (Whether that be your character name is mentioned or you're shown in a picture). You will have opportunities to work one on one with our acting coaches (me as well as a few others) as well as have the opportunity to join the BTS Anniversary Log Discord chat as a CAST MEMBER. This is where all crew discussion as well as plot explanations, costuming choices, props and etc are kept. You will also be able to have VIP access to the script writing processes as well as the editing processes.

If you receive the role, you will be shouted out on our social medias (here and Twitter) as well as thanked and listed in the series' credits. If you could also support us by posting about the project and spreading awareness so we can grow our audience (regardless if you're casted) that would be wonderful!! (But ofc making sure you keep all the plot and scripts and things a secret 🤫)

If you choose to audition, you have the chance to meet a bunch of other auditioners (some from previous auditions) and learn more about the process. (I promise this isn't a scam, we have held auditions before :)))

Thank you so much !! (Links are below)

[yezielmoore]

8. (Make-up day) Morsel

Sooo. Inspiration has been thin on the ground. Then i got an idea so I reread Himeko's sparce wiki entry to get a better grasp on her timeline and bro. As is appropiate for a character in these kind of games, Himeko was a teenage genius that got into Uni at 15, finished her phD at 18, suffered greatly from a tragedy that drove her into giving up her dreams and signing up to the shady secret force fighting the deadly secret alien plague. Then she, a woman with no honkai compatibility, did all the training required and joined her squad at 19. Dear god fam.

And if you're into HSR, then it suddenly makes a lot more sense that her counterpart repaired the Mystery Space Train created by an Aeon (god) all by herself and probably with only her guts and a scredriver. I love this woman.

*.*.*

Himeko’s second week in this new world brought about as many surprises as the first one, if not more. Maybe she should stop thinking in terms of surprises when literally every single thing was a surprise in one way or another. At least her first days here had been spent aboard an isolated merchant ship and her only contact with the wider world had been with the crew.

Now, however, they had docked in a small town named Aleport which, by its nature as a port town, saw a lot of traffic from merchants and travelers of all kinds. Here, Himeko finally got the chance to experience how… colorful and diverse the people of this world were. The crew had been a mix of what she learned were hyur, miqo’te and roegadyn, plus whatever race she was. 

(There had been no mirrors on the ship, but Himeko had seen her reflection in a bassinet full of water, morbidly curious about her own appearance. Seeing a reflection of herself, but with leonine characteristics, had been a shock. In a way, she suspected it’d have been less strange if her body had been drastically changed; instead, she looked almost identical while not looking like herself at all. It was eerie).

Aleport, on the other hand, welcomed even more races, from the pint sized hobbit-like people, to literal elves; from rabbit people, to tall men and petite women that had scales, horns and tails. She had even seen a male of her own species (she assumed) pass by while she stood in the plaza with the floating crystal, gawking like a bumbling tourist who had never set foot into a city before. 

She was trying to not think about the floating crystal.

Or the magic.

She was failing on all accounts, but it was the thought that counted, right? 

Himeko had so many questions. All the questions. And no way to ask them without coming off as a crazy hermit that had lived under a rock her whole life at best, or the worst infiltrator to ever exist. When she took into consideration that these people seemed to be in conflict with some “beast tribe” and “those fucking garleans” (epithet courtesy of her erstwhile crewmembers), and that being seen as a spy may wind up with her taking a long walk off a plank, then it became obvious that discretion was the way to go.

Unfortunately, being discrete wasn’t exactly compatible with being expedient, and, for someone who had wrapped up her phD at 18 years old, the forced ignorance grated like nails on a chalkboard.

Integration would be a lot easier if Himeko could read the local language. Because oh yeah, that was also a thing. Despite having no trouble verbally communicating with everyone she met, Himeko could not, for the life of her, read the local script that had, as far as she could guess, some passing similarity to a few of the romance languages she studied, but only in appearance. Even then, the similarities were few. 

Truth be told, Himeko had no idea why she could understand everyone and be understood in turn, but she wasn’t fool enough to look a gifted horse in the mouth. She just hoped this wouldn’t end up being a monkey’s paw situation. That would suck even more than trying to pick up morsels of valuable information from conversations she just happened to overhear. 

Himeko sighed as she watched the sun finally rise over the horizon, painting the sky a fiery orange. She climbed to her feet and stretched in order to work out the kinks in her back, then holstered the old but serviceable ax that Swift River had gifted her as thank you for saving his life.

Yesterday, Himeko had spent the day familiarizing herself with the town and the people that lived in it. She observed their routines and exchanged words with bored dock workers and idling guards, as well as haughty scholars and enthusiastic children. 

All information was valuable information at this point in time, but one of the most valuable things she learned during her little information gathering the day before was about the existence of adventurers: people that traveled around and did odd jobs in exchange for money. The best thing? Anyone could be an adventurer, even dimensional travelers with no papers. 

Sure, apparently there was an Adventurer’s Guild, but while signing up was recommended, according to those yellowjacket guys, it wasn’t mandatory. That was good news, since the Guild was in the capital and currently Himeko was a penniless, nameless nobody as far as this world was concerned.

Well, hopefully her experience swinging around a greatsword would translate to swinging around a war ax. She could use the exercise. And the stress relief.

[yanderes-galore]

Sorry to bother, but i wanted to share some opinions about Self-aware AUs. I think it's a fascinating topic in horror stories due to traumas it may cause to the character who suddenly realizes their world is false, just like their friends, family, even enemies. It's such a drastic realization, bringing the character to an existential crisis, slowly driving them insane.

Every character in any movie, cartoon and game has a set of recorded voicelines they say exactly when they have and repeat once they need to say it again. Knowing that, i think about three scenarios that could happen in an self-aware case:

The one affected is the only one who can think by themselves, and not by a code or script. But this leaves them alone, since whenever they will talk with other people, the only answers are the same, repetitive phrases and movements, no matter what the question was.

(This is a variation of 1) Character A is self-aware and goes to B to explain everything. But, instead of saying what they were programed to say, B stops, frowns and says a simple "What?". Those actions look insignificant, but they are already the start of B's self-awareness. They already broke the code by saying something that shouldn't be there, and soon, they will understand what A means. So one self-aware character consequently would make everyone else also self-aware of their situation.

(This one is the most grotesque and violent. Let's use Sonic for this, since this is an AU, there's no problem changing his personality, right? This could be a continuation of 1) A self-aware character like sonic would become insane eventually. Being forced to live in that limited, small world, hearing the same things every day. Does time even pass? He can't tell when he hears Tails asking his help to gather the Chaos Emeralds by the hundredth time. Why should he care about "saving the world" anymore if the cycle will repeat exactly as it happened before? Nothing he does really matters. This fills the hedgehog with anger, which brings a psychotic desire for anything exciting. When he looks at Tails, the only idea on his mind was killing the fox (like Sonic could even say "kill". His best friend is not real, he was a bunch of codes in a game and he'd come back later, of course. There would be no consequences). The next thing Sonic knows, is that he's brutally punching Tails into a pulp, letting out all his frustrations on his virtual friend, staining his white gloves with Tail's blood. At least now he has something different to do with his "friends".

(Well, those were my ideas. I think i've put more tought on the third one than i expected. Sorry if it looked weird and creepy, or that i hate Tails. I don't, this was just a example of what could happen in a self-aware story, i don't wish to make anyone uncomfortable)

Self-Aware stories are not my favorite to write, but they are fun to read.

I do like your ideas even if they weren't entirely Yandere ^^

That does seem really accurate to how things would go.

[thewitchesworkshop]

Hello there everyone- I’ve said this before but My name is Alistair.

My name is Alistair… and I need help.

I’m a survivor of domestic abuse and discrimination. May 2024 I had to leave my mother’s house out of both psychological and physical safety. I tried to stay with my father for about 2 months but i’m gonna be honest the guy is batshit crazy and doesn’t want me living with him anyhow. (I’d be honest some people may say that I just poked the crazy bear with a stick if I ever tell anymore about it but to be fair the bear had already charged at me from 50ft away and tried to eat my face off) so. I’m living on my own now- i’m trying to get through college while living on my own with multiple disabilities. And so… i’m gonna need help.

But also i’m not gonna just ask for money and hope people are kind enough to donate. I want my little song and dance to be worthwhile for you. And i’m both an artist and writer. I have this world i’ve been working on for… years atp and I think i’m ready to begin to tell it’s story. So! I’m gonna start telling you this story, and i’m gonna give some options to people in the story! Not everything of course (gotta maintain a sensible plotline) but! Newcomers could potentially and drastically change the story at hand all with a simple vote.

So; if you sit and listen to my story, i’ll give you a thrilling script of an intricate world and life and if you want to you can potentially change the story, see some cool art and writing, and if you want give a few bucks my way?

If you like sound of that… then I suppose you get cozy as I begin!

*Ahem*

————————————————

Today was the day. The final day they were there.

Xey had set their alarm for an hour earlier than usual that morning. And now the soft golden dawn began to fill up the room. Their head swam with the dream of the might before whilst xey reached out to pick up the fingerpad next to their head.

Pressing a button finally turned off the ringing alarm of digital nonsense that was sounding out and had woken Key in the first place. Stiff joints worked to turn the hologram of the device on so its owner could view any messages, mail, etc that wasn’t seen the night before.

Though not before out of the corner of xeir eyes- Key noticed something shift across the room. A small groan or perhaps snore came from the same offender, and xey looked over to the bed on the other side of the room. Key’s little sister was still asleep despite the alarm going off. Her river of garnet hair only broken up by the blanket and her slowly growing white wings. Key themself couldn’t say anything about how she practically looked buried in her own hair. Xeir own scarlet cloudlike curls usually was covered their face at the time of waking up.

But back to the matter at hand- it was 5am according to the time on the hologram. Dawn had barely even broken- which meant it was the perfect time to pack xeir car and leave. Why exactly were they even leaving?? Well… it was a long story, but Key had gotten into a university and hadn’t told a soul about it. Xey already knew their parents would be angry and would want them to work where they were living in their hilly green town of absolutely nowhere’sville and help support their siblings. It would be something that the high school graduate would’ve considered… if it weren’t for their stepfather.

Key called him Dad- that was true… but the man acted nothing like a father to them. Compared to xeir half Etherian half siblings; he didn’t seem to really like his Angeical stepchild very much. Along with that- he made it clear about the fact that he didn’t like Key. And their mom was no help. Xey were… frankly tired of it. They needed an out. Getting into an Ivy League University was that out.

And so- in secrecy from parents… they needed to get up and pack their car with xeir things. Though- before that… xey felt like they needed to at least tell their siblings and perhaps get a little help from them. Telling Ruby was a cause of concern though… xey weren’t sure if she’d understand why Key was leaving since she was so young. Xey sat up in bed and stared at the little girl asleep on the other side of the other room.

What do you think xey should do?

Pt 2

[bardic-perdita]

King of Hearts and Alice for all your guys!

Ooh, these are interesting questions! Thank you!!

King of Hearts: How are they most likely to die (If already dead, how did they die?)

Breoch

Breoch has already died once at the hands of his necromancer ex-boyfriend, so he is reluctant to die again. After the events of the game, Astarion and Breoch move to the Underdark with the 7006 spawn they spared. And Breoch is very aware that he is the only mortal amongst swathes of ravenous vampires. He's also very aware that he will grow old and die, but Astarion would not. Alongside building a city for 'immortals', he'd also seek out his own form of immortality and try to learn/ find someone who can cast 'True Polymorph'.

Breoch would give Astarion the choice to become mortal again by polymorphing him into a normal high elf, or Breoch would polymorph himself into an adult white dragon and drastically increase his lifespan. Either way, Breoch will grow older with Astarion (and Shrike and Halsin) until he falls in battle, or dies of old age.

Shrike

Shrike has also died once (thanks Bhaal), but they do not fear death. They carry an immense guilt about their role in the Absolute plot as well as their actions as Bhaal's chosen. After the events of the game, they'd join Halsin to help rebuild Rethwin and offer their services as a paladin to protect the land and its people. They'd be particularly protective over the tieflings, and would be instrumental in securing a safe place for them to live.

They would most likely die to an enemy they never had any hope of defeating, but felt compelled to fight to allow weaker companions to escape. Much like most of their life, their death would be an unexpected tragedy.

Zeke

Now Zeke is much trickier as he'll only die once his patron/devil 'father' says he can. There's a good chance that he'll outlive Gale by several decades, all whilst looking the same as he always has, until he can finally convince his father to let him go. Or, at least let him die so he can be reborn as a lemure (with the eventual aim of becoming more powerful over time and 'levelling up' the ranks of fiends)

Alice: (for fic writers and fan artists) What future scene with this OC are you looking forward to writing/drawing?

Breoch

In terms of fic writing, I'm looking forward to writing a series of interactive romance scenes with him (like a reader insert, but also a choose your own adventure). I've already written a couple of character intros here.

With art, I have the script for a comic page that I've wanted to draw for months but haven't felt I could pull it off yet and I'm also tempted to try drawing something ✨️spicier✨️ with him at some point

Shrike

Fics: I'd like to write some scenes of pre-tadpole Shrike. Like, how were they when they were fully committed to Bhaal and meeting Orin for the first time, and how did they change as they realised how devastating the Absolute plot would truly be? How did Gortash change them, and they change him?

Art: I've also had a comic script written for ages about their pre-tadpole life (mainly reminiscing about their mother)

Zeke

I'm always looking to draw some silly comics with him, maybe with his adopted devil parents. I'd also quite like to write about the first meeting between Tara (a tressym), Zeke's parents (an archdevil and an erinye), and Mrs Dekarios

I've also got a cool idea for the mermaid AU prompt that I'm pretty stoked to attempt drawing!

[all-soul-crossover-comic]

BIIIGG ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL SOUL!!!

I know I haven't been posting much, but trust me, it's for a damn good reason. That reason being...

I'm making a webcomic!!! An original one! This is amazing! (For me at least.) I haven't really felt anything with my past stories aside from this one because they've always had to be something, and I could never figure out how to get from point A to point B in a "respectable" way. (That way being with no fun or whimsy or glitter and sparkles). It's been occupying my brain just as much as All Soul usually would. So much so that I might either leave all soul off here or write the chapters exclusively in text. Script form, of course. Descriptive writing isn't my strong suit, I've realized...

I'm still working out the details of the story but it still feels like that all soul thing where a lot of different lore from different things are mixed and matched. A bit from kaiba, a bit from moomin. That sort of thing. I'm trying not to give too much away in case I either end up dropping it due to lack of motivation or the story changes drastically, but I can confirm that it shares a lot of DNA with All Soul (due to them having the same mother lmfao) so if you liked this, you might like my future original work! I'm really excited about it and worldbuilding has been so fun, and I haven't been so invested in writing since I started with the basic concept of All Soul 7 years ago. I think about it often still, just not in the way I used to, yk? Like I finally feel content with just having it live in my head again. It doesn't need to be a whole thing, it doesn't need to be like that one loud house fanfic that gets updated every few hours and has more than 1000 chapters.

More about the webcomic

My plan isn't set in stone (mostly because that's the only way to go assure that I won't complete anything at all) but I plan on releasing it on webtoon canvas, tapas, or Tumblr itself! Will she go to boarding school or will she stay in public school with her older sibling? Find out in about a year from now!

That's right! It's January, and i said a year! I plan on using 2024 as my sort of planning phase. I don't want to rush into this like I did in the past with my other abandoned projects. I hope to reveal the main plot for it in at least a few months, if I don't forget. It stars a female protagonist (because I can only read books or watch movies about womengirls or I get so bored that my brain functions start slowing down and my eyes start rolling into the back of my head), and that's pretty much all I can say! It features a straight romance because I love prettyboys and none of you can stop my teenager brain from being attracted to men, and borrows a lot of worldbuilding things from Winx Club. I hope I can share it with you all soon! See you all next time!

If you wanna maybe see some of the details about it sooner, or just see what else I got on my mind, follow my main blog, @eepop-stuffs .

[mihaser]

I feel like it is time for some serious thoughts even though I don't really have any.

Ha Yunsang.

Honestly it is hard to define which role he had in the drama. Let's be honest if we took him out of script nothing would have changed at all. The finding out about the priest and others leaving arc? Could absolutely be carried out by Ina and the military base which they practically did. It is not like Ahin's character was written good enough to be interesting to watch. He also was not a part of Sekyung's character development. He did not in any way change the course of action or at least someone's mind.

I want to mention that I felt like they changed the scriptwriter at least two times. At first I liked Yunsang after the laboratory scene but when he came back to the town he was like a completely different person. I understand that some torture may do that to a man (also an undisclosed arc) however still it was weird to watch. If I didn't know the actor I would think he just had no skills but Ahin did maybe even too good here. Secondly it is about the drastic change in Yunsang and Sekyung's relationships three episodes before the end. It was so unnatural that from total misunderstanding and a huge rift they went to exchanging rings and living happily till the last day.

The entire time Yunsang was simply there mostly just crying. For real in every scene where something stressful happens he just starts crying... Moreover he failed the protecting mission. While Ina sent entire military units to make sure Sekyung is safe, this boy couldn't stop her from committing suicide via going into the lion's cage. He was unable to endure brutal reality and instead of fulfilling the unspoken promise he decided to go down himself.

As i've seen some posts people say that Ahin is sort of being neglected by the prods and seeing this character i might agree. Yunsang is the second most useless character i've ever seen (the first one is Soohyun from tdj and even she had more to add to the plot than him).

Theory about Yunsang exemplifying a bridge between before and after was good tho, but the entire time i just thought he was added to say Sekyung is straight and she has a boyfriend. I mean it. Because if producers truly wanted to show their love story through the hardships of oncoming death they would've done it. We could've seen a story focused on these two but instead it is Sekyung and Ina who is so clearly in love with her best friend. Damn those Koreans would do anything but let some queer characters have their happily ever after.