#this scene is just so funny because they are having a very serious discussion

[notoneglance]

HIkawa: Are you and Ryou good friends now?

Shouichi: yeah!

Hikawa, aggressively licking his ice cream: >:( He punched me once! He attacked you!

[ficyorick]

[BE] deleted scenes clean-up :) - ch5

with chapter 6 published, heres a scene i was holding onto from chapter 5 (the one with the kessler reveal). originally, butcher was going to disclose a bit more about his traumatic childhood, prompting homelander to be a rude cunt to him. i removed that scene bc i felt like it was a). too self-aware for both of them b). i didnt want homelander to be TOO feisty from the get-go, i wanted to work up to it. i still like this scene tho, like homelander WOULD just ask someone 'why did ur parents even have you 🤨'. i'm sad we also lost some butcher reflecting on his abusive childhood (and how it might echo what he's doing to HL now) but i do think the chapter is better without this. the scene was cut before the final edits so pls excuse grammar/clunkiness

___________________________

“My da was a proper fuckin’ asshole...” He informed Homelander. The former Supe glanced at him, probably surprised at the topic. Billy rarely spoke about himself, after all, Homelander was the star of this show. But maybe the hangover was making him nostalgic for the good ol’ times. “He’d beat the shit out of me mum and my younger brother.” Butcher conveniently left himself out of that sentence. 

He watched for a reaction. Homelander just slightly reclined and propped his head up with his fist, trying to appear like he wasn’t listening. As if Butcher didn’t know he was dying for anything that wasn’t related to his own suffering. 

“So when I tell you that Soldier Boy would’ve fucked ya up… More than you already are…” Billy raised his palm and swooped it through the air in a cutting motion, slapping his own knee. “You better believe it.” 

“Ugh.” Homelander just made an annoyed noise. “I’m not taking advice from a man who zip-tied me. Or a human raised by other humans. It’s not the fucking same.” 

“How’s it different?” Butcher raised a brow. 

“It just is.” Homelander shrugged. And then, suddenly emboldened, he scoffed at him again: “Why’d your parents have you?” 

Butcher snorted. Another testament to how funny Homelander was. 

“Oi, you rude fuckin’ twat. You can’t just ask people that.” 

“I’m serious.”

”People don’t always… plan for things.” Billy always just assumed he was a happy little accident. Because he could never imagine his mom and his dad sitting down to plan a family, picking out a house and the nearest school, already crossing off days till he was born. Or maybe the worse scenario was that it was exactly how it happened. And then just a few years after he was born, he made everything go to shit. 

“What’s that like?” Homelander interrupted his musings, an insistent question next to him. 

“What’s what like?” He muttered. 

“Having no reason behind your existence.” 

“Fuck me, you’re a rude cunt today.” Billy all but whistled.

”I’m serious. What’s it like to just be born with no committee over your head?” Homelander was now staring at him with a very unimpressed look in his eyes, his head still propped up. Like he just got challenged to a fight he could win without breaking a sweat. “Nobody had to sign off on an executive decision to make you to keep stakeholders happy. What’s that like?” 

Billy just watched him. And looked away. Maybe discussing the finer points of parenthood and child upbringing with a lab rat didn’t make as much sense as he thought it did.

[crystalrainfall]

Dear Izumi Curtis,

Maybe stranding kids on an Island, with no survival tools other than a knife and forbidding the use of alchemy, their only real reliable source and means of survival and way to make things easier, (since these are children) , might've been a mentally deranged decision.

I do not care that an employee was there to take care of the children, if said employee's only purpose was to fight the already weakened, and vulnerable, hurt children and steal resources, such as hard earned food, from them in order to "train" or "toughen" them up...

The real risk of that wound Ed obtained from a WILD fox is nothing to scoff at.

The wound could've been infected if not treated properly, which I don't think a couple of children could've done easily, regardless of if they are geniuses or not ...

It's still highly irresponsible.

That's not to mention the diseases that fox could've carried.

This scenario could've ended in such tragedy which is only caused through pure negligence.

I do not care that Izumi herself was trained in a much harsher scenario, she was clearly an adult during her training in Briggs and thus could probably asses the situation and consent.

Which children just can't, no matter how much a child thinks they know an 10-9 year old just isn't mature.

And I don't even think pinako, the legal guardian for the two boys at the time knew of this, because if she did she rightfully so wouldn't have allowed it....

I hate that this is played off as a joke, that the two were trained in an absurd way...It's so easy to forget that fma is an anime when it's usually very grounded in reality and tries to explore deep conflicts... But when similar serious topics get ignored, the handling of the other topics fall flat and almost ignorant...

Slapstick in 2003 doesn't work.

It doesn't when the show tries to tackle extreme topics and tries to take itself serious...

Edward fearing Izumi and being physically hurt by her isn't funny because it feels out of place in a show that's meant to tackle trauma...

It feels like these issues are ignored and undermined.

Like I get this part was supposed to be a joke but it just comes off as not funny... Because you're just left asking yourself "is this actually trauma or just a joke?"

Which I think is the wrong message.

Just that it unintentionally comes off as extremely manipulative, having someone who's supposed to be a maternal figure for Ed and Al show this much violence...

And mind you, this is exclusive to Ed and Al. No other kid has ever been hit or treated that way, yelled at?, sure, but even then it was mild. Tf kind of messaging is that? It's okay to harm the ones closest to you? You're doing it for their own good? As long as the person treats you good afterwards it's okay to be hit?

Like I know this is probably unintentional, because these issues just aren't addressed in the show, so it's not meant to be taken literally but damn did they miss the mark hard!...

Like this entire sequence just pisses me off, there's already a post on this site which discusses the harsh flinch that Ed had when Mustang approached him after Nina's death in the alleyway...

The 5th picture of him just expecting to be hit again and accepting it... Just is wrong...

Like is this kid just used to it? Being treated like dog shit by authority or adult figures in his life, by anyone that isn't his deceased mother?

And the entire scene is flat, no music no nothing... This is just painful to watch. The hug afterwards just comes off as empty, damage control, to apologize after hurting someone, but doing it again.

[thekatebridgerton]

I like your discussion of Anthony's relationship with his sisters.

For Hyacinth, I have this image of Anthony at her wedding, breathing a sigh of relief. He got Hyacinth married and it didn't involve any of the Theatrics of their other siblings.

Imagine what he would do if he knew about all the breaking and entering & Mattress dancing the bride and groom have done?

Oh I have thoughts about that all right. But on a more serious note.

Anthony's relationship with his sisters is very sweet but also funny because he's at odds with all of them half the time and the other half he loves them to death.

With Daphne, he knew she was going to be the first one he'd have to step up for as a man of the house and she was born in more or less equal footing with him. First girl vs first boy when it comes to society expectations. There is a certain respect there that Anthony has for Daphne, and her womanly intuition. But I think Anthony for most of her life has treated her as an adult, I highly doubt that Anthony did much sugar coating with Daphne, she got to live most of her life in the role of his sister not his daughter and it shows in her relationship with him. The problem in their book was that Anthony at one point started worrying that Daphne wasn't as ready for marriage as she pretends to be and began to be a little bit overprotective over her specifically because of her adventures in the marriage mart. Which seriously weirded her out. And once she got married they went back to their usual relationship where they both respect each other's interests and leave each other largely alone. I'd also like to add that when it came to Daphne Anthony was hurt because he expected a little bit more of her since he always trusted her to be an adult and at one point Daphne was going something along the lines of ' well I'm not an adult, I'm not that mature, I'm just a girl' which really brought things into perspective for him

With Eloise the scene where they're talking things out into tspwl speaks volumes about their relationship. Because Eloise was stuck in the middle between being Anthony's sister and being treated as his daughter, which she never wanted and really rebelled against, both of them wanted to have a sibling relationship and both of them knew they couldn't have it because she was entirely too young when Edmund died and needed a father figure. but she resented that it has to be Anthony, she resented at her playful brother had to grow up too soon and now couldn't play with her, because she simply wanted Anthony to be the guy he used to be before their dad died. So she antagonized Anthony just to be contrary and have her fun. Also she is the sibling who is the most like him, prideful arrogant, I lay the law kind of person. So Anthony was sort of worried for her because he knew she was a lot like him and eventually she would chaff at the weight of the Bridgerton name, he just didn't know if he could protect her from the consequences, so when she ran away to meet Philip he probably had a little bit of a heart attack because he expected something crazy to happen to Eloise at some point he just couldn't prepare for this particular eventuality. Also I think it was a welcome surprise for Anthony to see that his most stubborn sister had actually grown up and was ready to become the leader he always knew she could be, he just never thought that and all this happened while he wasn't looking.

I think that Anthony's relationship with Francesca is the sweetest one, because unlike Eloise and Daphne, Francesca never actually made Anthony feel like a failure which he often felt like with his other two sisters. But Francesca she played by the rules, she never gave Anthony any trouble she was smart, a little bit sneaky, always there to welcome him with warmth, at home or in Scotland, sometimes you just have that sibling who is a healing to the soul. And I think Francesca was that for Anthony, perhaps that's why she fell through the cracks because she never complained and that made Anthony think that she was happy. I think in his younger years Anthony would just spend time with Francesca because he wanted to be with someone who was just always happy to see him, since everyone else seemed to have all these expectations and demanded so much attention, but not Francesca, she was calm and good and she understood when he couldn't give her as much attention as he gave everyone else. And because he loves her so much I think he also feels very guilty that he missed out on a lot of important things in her life and wasn't there for her when she was passing through her worst moments and he feels grateful to Michael that he made her smile again because to Anthony Francesca is special, out of all his crazy siblings, she's the one he probably likes the most and the only one he's willing to look the other way for. I'm pretty sure that Anthony did find out what happened in Scotland, and he pretended that he didn't know because she's his favorite and he doesn't want to have this conversation with her Anthony has never had to seriously scold Francesca for anything in her life and he doesn't want to start now ( at most he told her off for not inviting him to her second wedding and that was it. )

And then we have Hyacinth, she's practically Anthony's daughter so she is more babied than anyone else, I think Anthony spoiled her too much, and at the end he realized that he had to let her grow up make her own mistakes even if that meant he would have to eventually deal with a scandal (because of course she's wild and stubborn like Eloise but with Daphne and Francesca's social charm). Letting his baby grow up also meant setting her loose to find her own path. And let her be the' joy' of other unsuspecting individuals like Lady Danbury and Gareth for a change.

And that's the tea

[setaripendragon]

Okay so new accidental proposal idea for Bagginshield.

There's a big party in Erebor for reasons. Thorin is still not fully healed and when Bilbo asks if he's ready to go lay back down since he's been up way more for the day, Thorin says he must be the first to dance so everyone else can start too and dance at least a little more than one or two songs and glances tiredly at a group of dwarrow.

So Bilbo stands up, and being a well raised gentlehobbit, dramatically sweeps into a bow and offers his non dominate hand palm up and keeps his position as he asks if Thorin will dance with him. There is a huge pause.

NOW either Thorin can choke out a yes and take Bilbo's proffered hand and the hall erupts in cheers OR for comedy Balin can basically remind everyone that Bilbo is a hobbit and does not know their ways and Bilbo gets to be rather embarrassed that he technically proposed to Thorin in the most serious of ways for dwarrow, one that would only be done for a love match, and so publicly makes it way more intense. While Bilbo was just holding to proper Shire manners by not staring at the asked so they can feel less pressure to say yes if they don't want to.

I think if I had the health for writing that I would go with the first way as accidental proposals are so fun in my opinion but just wondering which way others would take it. So which would you pick if you were writing a story or would you have another way?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer.

Oh, absolutely Thorin would accept! I'd probably write it that Balin or someone would be About To Explain, but Thorin, who 100% thinks Bilbo - clever, sneaky little hobbit - did the research and Knows What He's Doing, says yes before anyone else can jump in.

And then everyone else wonders if Bilbo did in fact, know what he was doing.

And Bilbo gets Very Confused when people keep congratulating him, and very exasperated with Thorin who keeps asking him about Proper Party Planning Procedure, and he keeps demuring because he knows Hobbity Manners, not what's appropriate for dwarves! Which Thorin thinks is yet more Respect For His Culture, and pushes for the hobbity answer anyway, which devolves into hours long discussions of Hobbity Propriety, and maybe that's when Thorin starts to get an inkling...

So he does the sensible, responsible, grown-up thing - hah! - and talks to someone not Bilbo about his growing concerns that he's planning a wedding Bilbo doesn't realise he proposed. And that someone (Balin? Dis?) face-palms because they're a bit too deep in planning a mountain-wide celebration to just drop it now if Bilbo didn't mean it.

And then someone (I'd go with Dain because Dain's my favourite, but Ori or Kili would be funny too) just blurts out something about 'the wedding' and Bilbo gets all 'Oh! A Wedding? Is that a big deal to dwarves?'

'Is it not to hobbits?!'

'Well, the actual... getting married part is important, of course, but we don't really celebrate it so much. It's all very personal and private, you see? It's common knowledge in the Shire that if someone up and vanishes for a little while, they're probably off getting married.' A long pause as Bilbo stares off into the distance looking more and more perturbed. 'Oh good gracious me! Everyone back home is going to think that I-'

'Well, aren't you?'

'Aren't I what?'

'...getting married?'

'WHAT?!'

And then probably cut to an epilogue-scene where Thorin and Bilbo are getting married in some very long-winded, official ceremony deeply steeped in Ritual and Tradition, and in between speeches and vows and probably Balin droing on and on and on (possibly reciting lineages? That seems like a thing that might be very important at a dwarven wedding), Bilbo and Thorin are having a hissed argument on the topic of 'I can't believe you thought I'd propose like that!' 'I can't believe you thought I was asking all those questions theoretically!' 'Oh, pardon me for thinking you might be interested in learning about my culture' 'That is not what I meant and you know it' 'Oh do I? You don't seem to know what I mean by things, so why would you expect me to know what you mean!' etcetera and so on.

I'd probably try to figure out a way to have it devolve into aggressively complimenting (complisulting?) each other somehow, so that Balin could ask for their personal vows/declarations of affection and intent, and they'd just... carry right on without missing a beat.

(Some dwarven songcrafter would turn it into a rom-com duet. In Khuzdul, so Bilbo has no idea it exists for years and years and then gets to reprise the 'Tell Me What Things Mean, You Great Lump!' argument when he finally does realise what it's about.)

[bildads-shoes]

Ever since I saw this incredible post I've been thinking a lot more about the book vs show differences, and one of the things my brain keeps returning to is the very different presentation of Heaven and Hell.

In the book, I feel like the majority of the time Heaven and Hell are mentioned, it's simply in reference to them being adversaries. They're often just referred to in the context of being Aziraphale and Crowley's bosses, both equally uninterested in humanity or the details of their employees' actions. Hence, we really do see them as not being so different from each other, and dislike them both equally. Personally, I feel this is a bit different in the show.

In the show we actually get to see Heaven and Hell. We get to see Beelzebub for more than a couple of lines, we get to meet Gabriel, and we get to feel the atmosphere of Heaven and Hell as settings.

In terms of their general vibe, the difference feels pretty stark. Heaven is empty, cold, unfeeling; every interaction between the angels we see is laced with mistrust and two-faced scheming. Hell, on the other hand, does have emotion; it's a deeply unpleasant space, of course, but the way the demons complain to each other feels more honest. Take Uriel and Michael: we've seen them throughout both seasons, yet I can't recall either of them expressing a single honest feeling. Shax and Furfur, on the other hand, have had a lot of honest moments both with each other and with other characters. In a bizarre way, Hell becomes more relatable, more likeable, in the show.

Of course, there are massive issues with Hell, but they don't necessarily come across at first glance. The really dark aspects are almost always played off with jokes, to the extent that we don't talk about them that much. Beelzebub is pretty well liked from what I can tell, despite evidently having extensively tortured their employees - but it's part of a funny scene so we instinctively overlook it. Gabriel, on the other hand, seems widely loathed; he's just blatantly a dick in Season 1, and we don't see enough of him actually as himself in Season 2 to balance that out. I'm sure that's also in part due to fake-Aziraphale's trial being resurfaced in Season 2 as a serious, traumatic event for Crowley. We aren't shown the impact that Hell's treatment of Crowley had on Aziraphale, so once again Heaven ends up seeming like the more 'evil' side.

So I suppose it's no surprise that we end up having more discussions surrounding dismantling Heaven in Season 3, with Hell's toxicity being a slightly lesser topic of conversation. It does instinctively feel a little like Heaven is the 'bad one' in comparison, whereas we have to actively analyse those throwaway/comedic moments to acknowledge the massive issues with Hell. Therefore, to me, that neutral/equal presentation of the two 'bosses' in the book is no longer the case in the show.

Perhaps this is all because the show is shifting more towards commentary surrounding religious institutions as opposed to the Cold War energy of the book. Or perhaps we'll be explicitly shown more of Hell's dark side in Season 2 and will return to truly seeing them as equally bad. Or maybe you have a totally different interpretation (please let me know 👉👈). I don't know man, I just needed to get this thought out honestly lol.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 18 thoughts

zoo episode! sad zoo episode.

but. i was giggling. because our very serious agents were forced to say lines like "you think it was an invisible elephant?" and i was laughing!!! sue me!! we can hold space in our hearts for the sentiments that both the sad animal story is sad AND ALSO the thought of them doing investigation work at the zoo is comical. like the tiger is INVISIBLE.

okay. from the top we start.

a janitor is grooving. his partner tells him to stop. i say, keep grooving, man. you deserve it.

dancing has been interrupted!!! stuff is exploding and crashing and we hear elephant noises?? invisible elephant.....? that can BECOME visible?

it seems while in invisible it went a bit sicko mode as the kids say and then came back to visibility mode down the road

(where did renting an elephant for this episode fit into the s2 budget....)

so elephant has been spotted. a family calls the cops. and i understand the sentiment but i'm not sure the cops can do a whole lot about the elephant situation.

NOOO a child is crying as the elephant is dying in the road... this will be a core memory for those poor girls

(elephant actor is really selling it though... emmy nomination deserved)

back to the scene where the janitors saw things explode. mulder jumps out the window and i can't explain why it was really funny lmao

mulder is convinced that the elephant being found dead some miles away is related to this scene of destruction. and yeah, the dead guy DID have an elephant footprint on him. but no one saw an elephant and the janitors were very much there the whole time. so what's the truth?

this is so silly. i'm laughing.

mulder's explaining his theories and scully deadpans "an invisible elephant?" and i'm laughinggggg. can you imagine an elephant making a huge scene but somehow the witnesses just managed to miss the giant creature responsible.

the zookeeper, whose name is ed, arrives at the scene. scully asks about the dead elephant, and ed corrects her use of the elephant's pronouns, which made me think he was an ally.

(later we learn that he was beating all the animals, so this is decidedly un-allied behavior. ally certificate revoked)

the elephant is named ganesha- hey, i understood that.

mulder says he's heard of the "elephant rebellion" phenomenon, and asks if this is an example. yeah of course this man knows about the elephant rebellion. "fucking nerd", i wrote in my notes.

(actually, i am aware that this season aired in 1996, and the infamous Hawaiian elephant incident was 1994. the phrase "elephant rebellion" sounds very niche and nerdy in 2024, but at the time i image this was still very fresh in the world's minds, and part of a wider reckoning on how animals are treated for the sake of entertainment, and this episode is commentary upon that. i was not around for this national discussion, but i did watch askamortician's video on the incident, which is very good by the way. i have mostly grown up in a world free of animals in circuses and with zoos as conservation agents, so interesting to get glimpses into the discussions that led to the shaping of the world i live in)

but then we see the zoo!!! zoo time!!! there are penguins. i saw penguins like that at the zoo once :)

they go to talk to the naturalist who is basically like "idk how the elephant got out" and i'm thinking, girl shouldn't you be... more invested in this?? like an elephant died. ur not even shedding a tear. i would be in mourning.

they see where the elephant was staying when she wasn't on display, and it's frankly awful. scully asks why it was so small, mulder notices chains on the floor, and she says it was leftover from the 1940's, and that ed is treating them poorly, and i understand why this and other elephants have chosen violence

the folks from a radical anti-captivity group are protesting the whole situation. and she refers to them by some acronym that mulder immediately understands, which is further evidence that he must listen to npr or something. my professor that knows everything all the time listens to npr so i'm guessing that is what mulder does too.

meetup time with the dude leading the protest! his name is kyle, and he is saying that no animals should be in captivity, and he often kidnaps animals from zoos to let them go... and i'm not sure if this is a great idea?? because if an elephant has been raised in captivity its whole life, is it gonna know how to be in the jungle?? idk i am not a scientist.

this episode is suuuuper fuzzy and has a very vhs quality to it... i bet y'all were sleeping on this episode, huh? i'm guessing there wasn't as much effort placed into de-fuzzing it because it was about invisible animals and not one of the "hard hitters" of the season. but i think it's camp and i'm seated.

so kyle reveals that ed, the zoo guy, is treating his animals awfully at this point, which is where i formally revoked his ally status. and he says that the naturalist is too busy being sued over her gorilla to really focus on making the zoo more humane.

yeah, you heard that: she "saved" a gorilla and took it home, and now the government of the country she took it from wants it back.

"i thought you said she saved this gorilla?" scully asks, and i dissolve into further fits of laughter, because that is such a funny line out of context and even in context.

well, she "saved" the gorilla by bringing it home and sticking it in a cage, so kyle isn't pleased by the whole ordeal.

so, what to make of these anti-captivity activists? mulder says he thinks they're all talk and not really apart of the whole crime, but scully says she thinks they are behind the elephant's fate, and will release another animal to get the zoo shut down. this is a deep philosophical difference.

he leaves and says he is going to talk to the animals, because i knew that was the type of guy he is

(he's actually lying, though. well, sort of, because he's calling his buddies at the lone gunman, that conspiracy magazine he is involved in somehow. and it's a video call using a camera and a projector, or as i described it in my notes, "a biblically accurate zoom")

his pals thinks its related to the nearby UFO hot spot, and offer this fun fact:

"no animal at the zoo has ever brought a pregnancy term" <- and yeah. i hit pause and yelled "WHAT" so quickly. hey. what's going on. are the aliens getting involved in their reproductive cycles??

frohike, the strange man who is always hitting on scully, hears mulder's phone ring and adds "if that's the lovely agent scully, let her know i've been working out" and i sentence him to a sentence of 10,000 years in the dungeons. (and this is a reduced sentence for his quick thinking in sneaking out her blood work when she was in coma mode)

she's calling to let him know that someone from the anti-captivity organization is breaking into the zoo!!! not a very good look for their cause!!! he climbs a fence to break in, and she looks around cautiously before doing the same. she is normally a ruler follower, after all.

where is this dude going?? to the... lions? he's setting up a camera?

ed the zookeeper has materialized behind scully, who explains she was following someone else, and then they go off into a warehouse area

but the activist dude is setting up his camera- probably just to record their poor conditions rather than anything nefarious, i think- when BAM! flash of light! terrible ruckus!!! tiger is invisible...?

activist man, you are going to be EATEN!!! and the camera is rolling while this happens!!!!

scully's trying to talk to kyle, the head of this whole organization, who is saying he doesn't know why the dude broke into the zoo, and he had nothing to do with it, and she says that if she finds out he was involved in getting that dude eaten by a tiger that she will have him charged

mulder comes to get her, and it's very cute.

she is mad!!!! "you know, that guy really pisses me off" she says, and mulder asks if she's calmed down- bad move, let her be angry- but he tells her that the video showed the attacker was INVISIBLE! even though she examined the body and it was CLEARLY mauled to death!!!! even more frustration ensues.

mulder decides he must question the gorilla... he is so open minded :)

(the gorilla has been taught sign language, so this is a thing you can actually do. but for a guy big into aliens, i don't think talking to a gorilla is really out of the picture, even if there was no known method of communication)

he asks her a few questions and gets very vague answers, learning that the gorilla really wanted a baby, and i'm like, where is this going... he says he is going to need scully's help and i'm thinking... is he going to have her give the gorilla a pregnancy test.....

not quite! it is ELEPHANT AUTOPSY TIME!!!

he is watching all this go on from above and commenting and NOT soiling his pristine suit by getting inside the elephant guts which made me laugh. just watch 'em do the dirty work big guy. i guess he wouldn't know what the hell he was looking at anyway. but with all the other random shit he knows maybe he WOULD know how to identify elephant pregnancy.

and his hunch is correct: scully says the elephant had been pregnant, delivering this news in very fancy medical terms while her face and clothes are covered in elephant gore. oh yeah baby. that's fbi work.

(she is so brave because i would Not have been able to do any work with elephant blood on my face)

okay okay now the tiger that got out has been tracked to a building... and the naturalist really really does NOT want to have to shoot him... but ed the animal beater does, and he kills the tiger!!!!!! what is he hiding....

this poor naturalist, who i am suspicious of, is just taking L after L, and dead tiger is not helping

and GUESS WHAT? tiger was pregnant at one point, too!!! even though there were no efforts to make that happen!!!! how could this be??

"what do you know about alien abduction?" he asks her, entirely serious. she laughs and we see his deadpan face. it never gets old seeing people think he is deeply strange and unusual.

he proposes that perhaps the aliens are taking the pregnant animals and their embryos, and then dropping them back down on earth, which the naturalist describes as "the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard". she has not opened her mind to the idea of the space-time continuum turning them invisible when they come back.

despite the hostile reception to his theories, he watches intently while she asks more questions to the gorilla in sign language. but as this is going down, she is given an order to put the gorilla into custody. another L.

faced with the thought of losing her gorilla, she goes to kyle, who she begs for help, and when he says that she should let the gorilla go back into the wild, she yells "she's MINE, kyle" which is a lot. and he refuses to help. honestly he was kinda rude about it but i understand sticking to your morals.

but he seems to change his mind, because he comes to the zoo at night, calling out for her. and i'm thinking, no, an invisible animal is gonna eat you!!!! but this isn't what happens... something FALLS ON HIM and KILLS HIM!!!! huh???

scully figures out that kyle and the naturalist knew each other, and asks if she went over to his office to ask for help, which she denies. because she is a liar. and she is also deeply mad, and says "why don't you ask agent mulder, he seems to have a novel theory... maybe it was alien abduction" okay queen this is even ruder like he is trying to HELP you

mulder thinks that SHE killed kyle so she could keep the gorilla... which would be tea...

he investigates the cage and he uses a pen to avoid making any fingerprints... will be employing this tactic if i am ever at a crime scene investigation....

he sees ed, the trainer slash animal beater taking off, with guns!!!

back in her office, the naturalist is packing up all the things from her office, including a framed photo of her smooching the gorilla... (sabrina brier voice) oh!

scully is like well ur actually not gonna leave right away. because it looks like kyle was kinda murdered. and she says it was an accident, ed was scared and hit him with a cattle prod. and out of desperation, she gave ed the gorilla. THE ANIMAL BEATER?? you gave HIM your precious baby??? girl.... these decisions.....

back at a warehouse he tracked down ed to, mulder is holding him at gunpoint, which he is remarkably good at doing

the gorilla is going ham because she is in a weird and dark place and mulder says ed, you're gonna have to tranquilize her... but when they open the door, he doesn't shoot and instead leaves mulder in the room with an outraged gorilla!!!! no, mulder, we all shout!! she pummels him, and he doesn't seem to know sign language, so there is a immovable language barrier!!!!

but she backs off from pummeling him, which is good, because gorillas are horrific and CAN kill you.

(and i semi-recently saw a gorilla at the zoo so i'm looking at this one, and i'm trying to figure out if it's a real creature or a dude in a suit... pls someone feel free to share what the truth is. i mean if they got an elephant actor maybe they could hire a gorilla one too... but it looks off. kind of like a guy in a suit. so i'm thinking about that episode of spongebob with the scary guy in a gorilla suit. which was honestly a scary episode!!! but i digress. mulder locked in with gorilla)

OH. LIGHT FLASH! alien time....?

he wakes up on the floor with a bloody head from gorilla pummeling, and scully bursts in, trying to get him to stay still because there is a big bleeding wound on his head, a place you do not want a big wound to be. she is really doing her best to wrangle him and take a look, but he is too wiggly for this.

the naturalist is at the scene, and he does the sign language the gorilla did back to her, which was quite good. if i saw a gorilla do sign language after it beat me i would not remember how she moved its hands. good memory on that mulder guy.

they get a call for an animal in a field, and of course, it is the gorilla, who was hit by a car, and the naturalist sobs into her... fur? hair? as she dies. a tragic end to a gorilla life.

mulder wraps the case up, asking the hard hitting questions: are aliens stealing zoo animals to breed them and steal the embryos, and then preserve them? is it archival or conservationist in nature? he gets very philosophical, as he always does when writing a report. and i can imagine skinner reading this and saying "... okay" and then not saying anything else.

so, what did i think? well, i think they aren't gonna want to recreationally visit a zoo for a while, which kills that one fantasy of mine, but don't worry, i'll make them go to a museum instead. and if there is museum related trauma in a future episode we can work around that.

honestly though, was this episode the best? nah. but was it campy? yeah. the aliens made the tiger invisible, dude. how could you not love that?

i do think this episode was trying to partake in the growing discussion of animal captivity and ethics, especially in the wake of the elephant incident of 1994, and i'm not sure if it really takes a stance beyond "hurting animals is bad". i suppose if anything it comes off looking like it supports the anti-zoo agenda, which is still something that is in the public discourse. i know because i follow a lot of zoos on instagram and there is always someone in the comments saying that the creatures should be free and then someone else countering that they are super endangered and actually he is doing just fine in his cage, eating an appropriately designed cake for his needs. but that discourse hasn't left the public sphere, so it's interesting to see it represented here.

and maybe aliens ARE interested in conservation. i would personally just take the whole animals rather than stealing their embryos and leaving the creatures on the side of the highway, but what do i know? not much in terms of tigers.

i liked seeing scully get pissed off, i thought that was really funny. but overall, this episode was more intersting to me in terms of cultural commentary and outlandish plot than character devlopment. which is fine!!! we need a break from the heaviness of the last two episodes.

[mercedesssssss]

insane scene. let's discuss.

first, him watching her walk up, like he Knows who she was probably just with, and the heartbreak but also just *in awe of her* anyways on his face is sooooooo 😵‍💫

the way when she walks up and he just doesn't say anything for a moment, it shows #tome that he's thinking abt It.

secondly, him saying "normally I'd take care of this but the guy looked sketchy" or whatever the hell.... BE SERIOUS what are you talking about "I'd take care of this" like ... can't take him srsly sometimes like okay honey that was an awful excuse but i love you dearly anyways

like he could've called abbott, cho, fischer, but he called lisbon not just bc he prob knew abt the date, not just bc she's his partner, but simply bc he wants to see Her.

At any time.

For any reason.

Ever.

thirdly, her being like "you called me out here for duck tape?" & him being like "you need to trust me" is just so important to me because even though it's glossed over in this scene, (they don't spend any time on it, it's not the main point of the scene) her trusting him has always been so important to him. It certainly would be now more than most any other time considering how Tense everything is.

and then her just not believing him and immediately jumping to the conclusion that he wanted to screw up her date, which honestly as a viewer isn't big of a stretch at all but surface level it kind of reminds me of the s5 "I'm not you're girlfriend" line, bc in terms of the situation it kind of comes out of left field, just like in that s5 scene, but on a *everything* level it's both subconsciously lisbons feelings for jane coming out AND her wanting Him to talk abt his feelings for Her, & it's so insanely good bc she's totally right to think it

and then he continues on to *try* to act like he didnt know! and its funny here especially because, yes, the show has shown he's a great liar, we know this, but sometimes he's not (here) and when it comes to This (the jisbon of it all) it was just getting harder and harder to keep lying and pretending and that's why here he kind of does a TERRIBLE JOB

and in another circumstance that conversation couldve ended up going in a totally different direction, except for the fact that he was being partially truthful in his reasoning for calling her, because while he did have all those other reasons behind calling Her specifically, he also did call her bc he genuinely thought/knew someone was in trouble.

so then #it gets put aside once he convinces her and they go inside.

like I said, insane scene.

in conclusion, jisbon tension angst pining yearning etcetcetc all very loved by me 🫶

[usamifriends]

IDOLiSH7 Anime vs Game Comparisons

First Beat - Episode 5

Getting a New Song! (+ Apologizing to Yaotome Productions)

Small detail, but Tsumugi actually called and was yelled at over the phone first before going to the office for round 2. In the anime, we just see leaving to go to Yaotome Productions.

Tsumugi discusses with Banri about how the overall team morale of IDOLiSH7 has increased significantly after TRIGGER's concert. Takanashi papa overhears this and tells Tsumugi to call the boys for an announcement.

They are getting a new song!!

It's funny because game Takanashi papa was much more serious and toned down. He also speaks in a lower voice. They say the exact same lines: "I've been waiting for you to be ready to sing this song." But in sooo different ways.

Game Takanashi papa was like this:

Anime Takanashi papa was like this:

Anime Takanashi papa seems genuinely excited, like a fan. It's very interesting to see the differences in direction. I think they had a better picture of how they want each character to come off as when they were producing the anime. The small changes to Takanashi papa really sets the atmosphere of Takanashi Productions: warm, supportive, and free-spirited aka the best home for our IDOLiSH7 boys.

The game has an added scene where Iori asks about the writer of IDOLiSH7 songs. Takanashi papa chuckles and says, "That's a trade secret."

The other boys start discussing the writer of the songs in the practice room because Takanashi papa's response caught their attention.

Mitsuki observes that Takanashi papa seems to be quite proud about this writer. Riku wonders, "What if it's the president? It seems like a lot of feelings were put into writing them."

Tsumugi doubts that because she's never seen her dad write songs. Then, she says that she has to go out for something.

Nagi offers to accompany her, but Yamato volunteers instead. Yamato insists saying, "I spent the whole night thinking about the schedule for this date. Let me go this time, okay?" Then, he tells Tsumugi that he will meet her on the way.

Tsumugi waits as she tries to figure out Yamato's intentions. Yamato arrives in a suit, saying he knows that she's going to Yaotome Productions to apologize and wants to accompany her. The anime just skips the whole date thing and starts with Tsumugi and Yamato outside.

We suddenly cut to the practice room with the others. In the anime, Riku immediately brings Iori outside to talk, but in the game, he just shuts Iori’s mouth. Then, they continue practicing. (The anime version is so much funnier. I love it so much.)

Then, we jump back to Tsumugi and Yamato who meet Tenn on the way back. In the game, Tsumugi actually FANGIRLS right in front of Tenn (lmao but I get her): “…Wow…. It’s the real Kujou Tenn… You have such a small face! And you’re so cute! So cool!! You’re really like an angel.”

There’s an added Tenn line when discussing about Gaku: “He[Gaku] is scary, like a werewolf who transforms under a full moon. Roar!”

It was so surprising, I had to add it.

Tenn surprises Yamato who asks Tenn to go easy on Yamato and the rest because they’re all non-aggressive people. Tenn continues to tease Yamato, and Yamato plays along.

We go back to the practicing boys with Banri bringing them lunch. Tamaki reacts negatively to Sogo’s comment like in the anime, so Mitsuki asks for the real reason. Tamaki was actually about to share his reason, but Iori started talking at the same time. He didn’t cut Tamaki on purpose. He was walking from another side to talk about Riku’s sickness to the rest of the members and Banri (as shown in the anime). Riku muffles Iori’s mouth before he could speak and brings him out.

After trying to bribe Iori with ice cream or taiyaki, game Riku actually increased budget in the game to 1000 Yen (around 6.5 USD). But Iori will NOT be bribed! In his response, he actually calls Riku "Riku-san", which does not happen in the anime.

The flow of the scene is very different. In the anime, it starts as a funny squabble with Riku's cheap bribes. Then, they abruptly shift the atmosphere into one that is much more intense with Riku's: "I'll keep dancing even if it kills me."

In the game, it starts out as an outright fight. Even Iori's "Hey. Let go of me." sounds much more angry than the anime's. Right after this, he is hit by Riku's cheap bribes. Iori tends to speak less formally when he is emotional, so I think his "Riku-san" in the game scene was because he was bewildered. He just found out that his center probably has a serious chronic illness. As he was trying to tell the others, he gets forcibly dragged out and suddenly bribed with cheap food, which kind of makes light of the situation (even though Riku does not mean that at all). After this, Riku muffles Iori's mouth a second time, which annoys Iori. The tension is resolved when Riku proves to Iori that he is taking the situation as seriously as Iori is by saying, "I'll keep dancing even if it kills me."

Side note: When Iori gets emotional, he often addresses people less formally. We'll see that in a future scene in the game.

Iori calms down and returns to calling Riku “Nanase-san”.

During the performance in a typhoon, there were some details that changed. Tenn was worried because he heard there was a typhoon, not because he noticed Riku going out of breath. Also, Riku was about to go for another song, but Iori announces the end of the performance.

Riku's Dream Scene

Game Tenn asks Riku what kind of performance he wants to see. He offers The Wizzard of Oz and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Based on this, it seems like Riku and Tenn's parents had some kind of troupe or theater that does musicals and other plays. I like this because it explains Tenn's connection to musicals. In part 1, Banri said Tenn caught the attention of Broadway people + if you know you know ;-)

Also, Riku wakes up in his room instead of a hospital bed in the game.

Teasing Riku

After Iori calls Tsumugi to talk, which happens in the anime, we get an extra scene with the rest of i7 left in the other room.

Riku observes that Iori and Tsumugi would often go somewhere together and wonders what they are talking about.

Sogo asks if Riku is curious. Yamato teases Riku for wanting to know. Mitsuki jumps in saying, "Should I teach you how to say, 'Stop right there!'" (stopping Iori and Tsumugi lmao)

Riku says, "It's not like that!"

They also shuffled some scenes. For example, the scene where Tamaki talks about being followed by HS girls and the Iori & Riku fansite comes after Iori talks with Tsumugi in the game but before in the anime.

Side Story I: Nanase "Tenn's little brother" Riku

We start with Riku worrying that i7 will treat him differently, knowing that he is Tenn's younger twin brother. He didn't plan to tell them, but because he was overwhelmed at that time (having to face the reality of his brother leaving him and not being able to sing to process those feelings), he impulsively told everyone.

He's stressing quite a lot over this that it's starting to affect his health.

He wonders if he should tell the others about his sickness too, but he's scared that they'll make him leave IDOLiSH7. In the end, he decided not to think too much about it because it won't get him anywhere. He leaves to see the other boys.

He swings the door open and greets everyone with the sunniest, "Good morning!" (There is no sound for side stories, but I can hear his voice🥹)

Yamato and Iori greet him back. Mitsuki asks him if he wants to eat breakfast. Their response makes Riku happy because they're treating him as usual. (Happy Riku, happy life ^o^)

Well... that's what they say out loud, but in their minds, they are thinking wayy differently, haha.

Yamato: "That's Kujou Tenn's younger brother..."

Iori: "That's the younger brother of TRIGGER's Kujou-san..."

Mitsuki: "That's the twin younger brother of a super idol...."

Sogo: "I'm living with the younger brother of the person whose concert I went to yesterday...."

Tamaki: "Rikkun, I heard your older brother is in TRIGGER. You know, I gave him a piggyback ride yesterday."

Riku responds saying that he heard about that and asked if the bomb thing was a joke... 😭 Tamaki frustratedly shouts that everything he said is true!

Riku asks Tamaki about what was Tenn like. Tamaki says that Tenn gives him good vibes. Riku probes for more information, asking if Tenn talked about family or more about his health condition.

Iori asks why Riku is suddenly so fidgety about the topic. Iori observes that Riku spoke with more resentment that day before the live (yesterday). Iori asks, "Didn't you want to prove yourself to the heartless person who abandoned you?"

Riku is surprised that he came off like that. Tamaki says that he won't talk about Tenn again if Tenn makes Riku uncomfortable. Iori continues, assuring Riku that he will definitely be able to prove himself. Someone with a voice like Riku will not only prove himself but also surpass that "heartless person".

Riku gets mad at Iori for calling Tenn a heartless person. He says that he's going too far! Iori defends himself, saying that Riku said that himself. Riku replies, "Well... but Tenn-nii might have had his own reasons..."

Iori asks if Riku wants to reconcile with Tenn, but Riku quickly denies it. He adds that even if Tenn apologizes, Riku will never forgive him. Iori is confused.

Sogo understands Riku's feelings and says, "I am grateful for my family and love them dearly, but that’s also why I feel such deep resentment." Listening to Sogo, Riku thinks that just might be it.

Riku thinks, "I wonder if Sogo-san understands that feeling because he also abandoned his family..." Sogo reads Riku like a book and seems a bit sad.

Iori breaks the heavy atmosphere, saying, "That sounds complicated." Mitsuki comments, "Iori is sensitive, but his motives and goals are aligned. So these kinds of conflicting feelings might be hard to understand?"

Iori responds saying, "...No, I can understand them." Tamaki jumps in saying, "Don't force yourself to understand." Iori angrily replies, "I don't want to hear that from you!"

Iori explains that he wants Riku to be clear about his goals because indecisiveness may lead to less than desirable results. Riku retorts with "It's not that easy."

Iori says that it might not be easy, but if Riku doesn't sort his feelings out properly, he will end up regretting it later. Yamato takes Riku's side.

Nagi wonders why Tenn didn't try to enter the entertainment world with Riku when Riku is so good at singing. Mitsuki adds that Riku does not have good stamina, but he can work on that. Riku smiles and promises to work hard.

Iori:

Yamato speculates that it's out of rivalry because he can't think of any other reason.

Yamato leaves to go to Yaotome Productions with Tsumugi.

After meeting Anesagi, Yamato and Tsumugi introduce themselves and immediately apologizes.

Anesagi is furious and says, "Do you think that an apology is enough?" Anesagi can't believe that IDOLiSH7 started dancing just because they were "feeling pumped". If IDOLiSH7 could dance anywhere if they felt excited, then Yamato should dance right here, right now.

Yamato says that right now he's not exactly "feeling pumped" right now. Anesagi replies, "Then, I'll make you 'feel pumped up'. GO! GO! GO! GO! Well!? How about now!?"

Yamato shocked, says, "I.... I'm at about 70%"

Anesagi furiously retorts, "70%!? Then make up the rest on your own!! Do you rely on others to get things done?"

Yamato apologizes.

Anesagi criticizes Tsumugi for just blankly observing the situation even though she's the manager.

Tsumugi also apologizes. She also starts cheering, "GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Yamato is shoookk.

Both managers are cheering now....

Yamato decides that he'll just dance. He says, "I'm sorry! I'm pumped up now! 100% pumped! I'll dance. Manager, can you hold my suit jacket?"

Just as he was about to dance, Anesagi shouts in disbelief, "What!? You're dancing!? I thought you came here to apologize, but you're dancing!?"

Yamato angrily replies, "Then, what do you want me to do!!" Yamato quickly catches himself.

Anesagi continues to express disbelief.

We cut to TRIGGER who could hear Anesagi screaming from another room. This part is in the anime!

TRIGGER catches Tenn up on their beef with i7 because game Tenn was delirious. They show Tenn some pictures, and this is when Tenn learnt that Riku is in i7 in the game.

We get a funny scene about Gaku's impression of the i7 members. At first, he thought they were talented, but because of the audience stealing incident, he started seeing them as shameless people, especially the center. Tenn chokes at Gaku's assessment of the center. Gaku adds, "Wasn't he [the center] smirking with a sinister smile?"

Ryuu doesn't think that the center was smirking. He thinks they seem like good boys. Tenn says that Gaku is not a good judge of character and shares his experience with i7.

He talks about Tamaki's cheap taxi fares, Nagi's love for role-playing, and Yamato's passiveness. He adds that if anyone has a dark side, it would be Yamato. He also says that he doesn't mind i7 dancing because it means TRIGGER's stage was that infectious.

He says but does not explain that i7 will not be able to continue if they do not change their center.

Side Story II: Confronting Yamato

Mitsuki asks about Yamato's "date" with the manager. Yamato said that it was great. Mitsuki whacks him.

Yamato teasingly asks if Mitsuki is jealous. Mitsuki says, "Why didn't you tell us? I didn't appoint you leader to wipe my ass." (to make him do all the hard stuff).

Sogo joins in and also asks Yamato to be more open with the members because they want to share the burden with him.

Yamato tries to play it off as no big deal, so Mitsuki whacks him again. 😂 He tells Yamato not to take on these kinds of things by himself more forcefully.

Then, Mitsuki cues Sogo who says, "Thank you for doing that for us. You've worked hard, Yamato-san." Mitsuki chimes in with another "You've worked hard!"

Yamato calls them idiots and then thanks them. Mitsuki says, "That's our line." Then, he invites all three of them to go drinking. (It would be their first time drinking together)

Mitsuki says that he knows Yamato often drinks in his room and asks Sogo how much Sogo could drink. Sogo said this would technically be his first time. Yamato tells Sogo that he can count on Yamato to teach him. Mitsuki is happy that they get to introduce Sogo to alcohol.

Nagi and Tamaki are watching anime together in Nagi's room. They were crying over a touching scene when Tamaki brings up how Riku and Iori has been kind of weird lately. Nagi agrees. He feels like they're hiding something.

Tamaki thinks that they're fighting, but Nagi said that he saw Riku treating Iori to some nice food recently. Tamaki suggests that they should try out what Iori did to Riku. Nagi agrees.

Tamaki puts his ear on Nagi's back. Nagi says that it feels like someone is wiping their runny nose with his shirt and that it is very unpleasant. 😂

Tamaki: Oh, you found out. (L.M.A.O)

Nagi: SHIT.

Tamaki immediately apologizes, and Nagi tells Tamaki that he should be glad that Nagi is not wearing his Kokona t-shirt.

Next, Nagi muffles Tamaki's mouth and asks him how he feels. Tamaki, obviously, can't speak properly. Finally, Nagi releases Tamaki and Tamaki says, "That was on purpose, wasn't it." Nagi admits yes. Tamaki says that this is making his nose runny, and he wipes it on Nagi's shirt... again 😭

We see Iori in Riku's room. He is still trying to convince Riku to tell the others about his sickness. Riku refuses and insists that it's not that bad of a problem. He asks Iori to leave because he wants to sleep early.

Iori refuses because he can tell that Riku is about to have an attack. Riku lies, saying that it's just a cold. And tells Iori to leave because he doesn't want Iori to catch it.

Iori gets angry and says that he is worried about Riku. He threatens to tell the others, and Riku finally admits that he is about to have an attack. But it's not a bad one. Iori asks Riku to be honest and tell him everything because he wants to help.

Iori starts asking some questions, but it seems like Riku was answering more about his resolve rather than his true physical condition. Iori restarts and asks another question.

Iori: Am I... Are my expectations for your singing putting pressure on you?

Riku says, "No." He is happy that people are happy to see him dance and sing. He dreams of being for others what Tenn was for him. He wants to stay with i7 and says, "Instead of giving up on my dream and living to a hundred, I'd rather die singing a hundred year's worth of songs."

Iori is surprised that Riku used the word "death". Riku assures him that it's just a figure of speech. He assures Iori that he won't die because Riku has become stronger and the disease is not life-threatening.

Riku says that he's really happy to be chosen as the center because he feels needed. He says, "....For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm truly living for myself."

Iori calls Riku an idiot and says, "Even if there is someone with your level of singing but with a healthier body and more stamina than you, I chose you to be the center. Because you are truly valuable, IDOLiSH7's center, Nanase Riku-san."

Riku says that he's touched but adds a question, "Did you even have a choice? Shouldn't it be either our manager or the president?"

Iori also says that it's just a figure of speech. Riku teases him a bit. Then, repeats a "Thank you."

Riku asks for details on what his value is because he likes being praised. Iori says that it's a secret for now. Through Iori's thoughts we learn that Riku's value is in Riku's ability to make people love him. Iori says that while not everyone might wish for Riku's happiness, no one is rooting for Riku's misfortune.

Then, Iori talks about his own dream, which is to be of use to another person. He is glad that he finally found someone who he can support without hurting. He says, "Even if Nanase-san has to walk down a thorny path, if that is what he wishes, I can play the role of a demon king."

[olderthannetfic]

i saw this post today where this person was talking abt fandom racism and was pointing out some real issues within my fandom and favorite ship that I too had noticed… but then kept bringing it back to the lack of one particular other ship they liked, when it's like, no that's not the problem, and that ship is unpopular because those characters have zero romantic or sexual chemistry and barely any scenes together. (it was really funny that someone had reblogged this to take their 'lack of seeing this one character in a sexual way in fic miiight be racist' complaint to be like 'i think you're right! we should have more fic about [a long list of different ships involving that character with people they have ACTUAL chemistry with].' it was really funny. ofc op totally missed the point they were making there.) anyway i just feel like way too many useful conversations about this stuff are ruined by people making it about shipping or other really subjective fandom preferences. i get that this is because something like 'number of fics X ship or character has on ao3' is an objective measure, and something like 'level of orientalism in how a lot of people are writing this desi character' is not, but i wish people would realize it tends to alienate more people that it converts. and ime, it's often the people who maybe would most benefit from hearing those criticisms (e.g. are writing unintentionally racist stuff in their works, and are someone who would want to know about that and how to do it differently) who tune it out the second you make it into insulting their shipping preferences.

i mean, there WAS some real racism in the star wars sequels fandom, including among the fanfic/shipping side. not just the shitty dudes harassing kelly marie tran. we saw the really bizarre 'predator' language people directed at john boyega just for making some joke posts on instagram about disliking reylo and its shippers. it was the very classic racist thing where people see something as automatically more threatening when a black man does it. ....but how many people had already tuned all that out because the people most outspoken about the racism in the fandom kept reducing it to 'if you ship reylo over finnrey, or kylux over finnpoe, you're a racist'? it's like a boy who cried wolf thing. if you've shown that you can't uncouple serious discussions and concerns from just being pissy that your otp is not more popular, people are going to see you as someone who can't be taken seriously and then ignore you when you do have a real complaint. it's like how i'm sure that some of stitch's essays are thoughtful and important, but i have no desire to read stuff by someone who is infamous for harassing people just for what they ship. i don't feel like i can take any of that person's judgments about fandoms i'm not in, for instance, seriously.

that's not to say fandom preferences in shipping can't ever be influenced by racism (or other 'isms') but is it ever really *that* specifically that is the problem, or the broader pattern it is part of? and i feel like 'maybe fandom is a little too focused on het and slash ships between two young skinny conventionally attractive white people' is a message more people are open to than 'your specific white M/M or F/M otp is racist'

anyway it reminds me of the stuff i've seen sometimes in academic fandom studies about how you can't really honestly study a fandom where you're deeply mired in its discourse - you need to focus your work on fandoms that you're familiar with but not in that way. and i think that maybe also applies to some of these discussions about fandom racism and misogyny. maybe you're just going to have better takes on something when you're not deeply invested in other unrelated arguments about it, like about which ship is the most popular. like i could not care less about star wars shipping and have zero take in reylo vs. finnrey, so that's why i feel like i could trust my perception that the way a small minority of reylos were posting about john boyega's instagram posts was racist. it didn't matter if he was genuinely being a jerk to them or about their ship. he obviously wasn't a 'predator' and it was pretty telling language for a group of largely white people to use about a black man making fun of their ship on a different social media site.

--

The laying pipe thing was blown so out of proportion, yes. Call it sexist, sure, but it wasn't fucking predatory.

[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

Episode thoughts under the cut

I loved Morty knowing Rick so well that he just straight up lies about the coffee lmao. Also the way he says 'hey buddy' like he's a dad entering his kid's room when they're in a depressive episode is so funny to me

Rick just literally saying 'family' to address the family

I thought the ghost/unfinished business joke was funny

I also love Rick being so petty (and Summer being petty back about the portal). It's so funny that he just calls the family 'stupids' as well. Devastating insult bro

Interesting that Gearhead was the first person he went to? He definitely needed someone to give him the courage to get the rest of his friends for an intervention (especially BP)

'Told you he wasn't dead' killed me

BIRDDAUGHTER. Funny name, love her being an emo teenage edgelord who just goes round killing Gromflomites. 'This is worse than prison'? Love it

Also I really liked that we got to see this side of BP's character this episode? He's so funny and I love getting to see him be a shit. Him trying to parent his daughter and just drinking wine? We love another alcoholic girldad

I really liked getting to see Rick/BP/Squanchy actually hanging out as well? I feel like it's a good insight into how they probably were back in the Flesh Curtains days

I like the 'birthday, birthday, birthday' gag

Also Rick immediately being like 'fuck this we're getting wrecked'

The honey scene was definitely for the Rickfuckers

Can we talk about the fact that Rick was definitely trying to impress BP by bringing up the fact that he hosted the Oscars? Which is definitely why he wanted that gig in the first place

Once again I love getting to see this side of Birdperson. Definitely makes sense why he and Rick get on so well

I liked the visual gag of Rick being high

Also BP and Squanchy playing the knife game lmao

Rick sits so fucking dramatically

Look at BP's face, he definitely wants to fuck that Predator guy

Son heist

I love that Rick can immediately identify Squanchy's shit based on the smell? Like he knows it's his and no one else's

BIRDPERSON PUTTING HIS HAND OVER RICK'S MOUTH

(You know Rick is gonna be thinking about that forever)

I like the recurring Squanchy tooth thing

'Why is this my thing' lmao

Poor poopy child

WAYNE

Them all just chilling together waiting for their drunk food? love it

I love BP leaving to collect his daughter from attacking a Federation outpost with the exact same energy as a parent collecting their child from school after they got suspended. It's so funny to imagine the GF having the same sort of vibe as they do with Rick and just texting BP like 'yo we got your daughter here' (I know that's not what happened but it's a funny mental image)

Lmao Squanchy

I did like the fading pill bit

Poor Gene

Overall I liked getting to explore this aspect of the dynamic between Rick/BP/Squanchy/Gearhead (+ the others of course but they're the OGs yk?) and also the concept of intervention/alcoholism. I think it's interesting to see that Rick does want to help but his support system is so fucked that this ends up happening and it makes a lot of sense when it comes to his own issues. I really like the way they handle Rick trying to get better and do the right thing but struggling so much to break out of unhealthy behaviours/habits. He's painfully aware of how fucked up he is and how much of a bad influence he is but he doesn't know how to fix the issue/be a positive influence and he definitely views abandonment as a good thing because he's removing himself from the situation. Very interesting way to explore this aspect of his issues, especially since all his friends are also alcoholics with that level of denial/refusal to get better

I had this discussion with @hazelnut-u-out before the episode aired but I do like that they're showing Mr PB directly suffering as a result of Rick's actions in canon? Considering that he started as a joke/meta character it's very interesting to show him actually shifting to more of a serious character who appears in the actual show and experiences real issues, especially since the show becomes less and less sitcom-y as Rick becomes more aware of the reality of how fucked up all of these things are.

[fandomfaeofveryfewf4cks]

Things I noticed the nth time watching Nimona:

Knight armour can get sliced through like nobody's business (Balister's arm), but can take a laser hit without serious, body-altering consequences (Director hitting Ambrosius with a laser made from the same one that apparently has the power to wipe out half the realm, or kill an Immortal being who doesn't feel severe pain from an arrow wound)?

...is this because Ambrosius' armour was made to be more protective than Balister's?

"She manipulated BOTH of us." Ambrosius says this about Nimona, who he had very few interactions with aside from her very blatantly fucking shit up for the institute. How did she manipulate HIM?

I guess it probably makes sense when you consider he was going to arrest the director, implying that he believed Bal AND Nimona, but I dunno. The little rat in my head started running on its brain-powering wheel at all the possible fanfic plots this could lead to.

Nimona as Ambrosius grabbed the Gloreth statue when they fell to the ground.

On the one hand, this could just be actor!Nimona putting dramatic emphasis on how even in death, the leaders of the realm will cling to their hopes and beliefs, or the golden boy finally getting to join his ancestor.

On the other hand, we could make it deliciously angsty (yum yum) and say it is Nimona's personal desire to grab the statue of Gloreth for reasons such as: taking down the monster-killer image of her former friend out of anger and sadness because she never wanted that image to be so true in representing one of the few people who ever cared about her even briefly;

OR, While trying to think about how she would act if she were actually dying, she reaches for the closest thing to a friend that she has, but this is her staging a false death, as that particular friendship was false so this is just fitting, isn't it?;

OR, They wanted it to spread a message that with the fall of the director, would come the fall of the corrupt system they live in, as well as the fall of this narrow-minded view of both Nimona and Gloreth's story as well as Gloreth and Nimona themselves.

Nimona freaking out about the arrow in their leg in the comic vs Nimona treating it like a little scrape not to be worried about in the movie.

This is really interesting to me. In the comic, it's played up for humor like Nimona is almost overreacting, then having Bal take care of her because he does care about her. This shows it as a bit silly, but so very meaningful.

Then you have the movie where Balister is freaking out and it's kind of funny because clearly Nimona is relatively fine about it, so he doesn't really need to make a big deal out of it. Then he helps her and is still very careful about it like with anyone else's arrow wound, and asks her questions so he can better understand them. Again so very important.

I love both versions of these scenes, I just am so curious about why they made such a drastic change.

I love this movie so freaking much. (I knew that already, but it bears saying for the thousandth time. It's just so fucking good.)

For this last one:

TW: mention of police brutality (discussed as a theme in the movie, nothing specific outside of the Nimona movie)

"He's got a weapon." It's not a weapon. It's a phone. But Todd (and who knows how many of the other knights) didn't choose to see it as anything other than what the director told him it was, and destroyed it as he was trained to do. This screams messaging about the stupid, dangerous, and harmful actions of too many police officers who don't check the situation for themselves before acting on "information" they gathered from insufficient data and/or unreliable sources, and combine that with profiling to make decisions that so often end up being harmful and even fatal to others.

[misspermitted]

Being a sex-repulsed asexual a lot of coming out stories don’t really speak to my experiences. Because I don’t date, never will date, experienced dating exactly once (in a hetero-conforming relationship) for like 3 days and wanted to die. Generally I don’t even participate in LGBT+ discussions because I don’t have a lot of sexuality experiences (and if i start talking about my gender i might cry). I just linger in the background of my friend groups and give relationship safety advice. Offer pizza. Call out toxic behaviour. Offer more pizza.

The thing about communities is to share your experiences they need to fit into the community’s categories. And I don’t think that’s bad. LGBT+ spaces are safe spaces for those in the community, and in order for that to happen they have to exclude certain discussions. It’s like female-identifying only spaces should exclude male-identifying people. It’s the whole point of a community.

This said, the other point of community is feeling less alone via shared experiences. So I thought I’d share a funny part of my sexuality journey which did seem pretty queer:

How I Made My Family Believe in Asexuality by Being So Goddamn Asexual They Actually Couldn’t Not

My family is generally really nice and supportive. But they’re also low-key homophobic. They’re getting better, but my mother straight up didn’t believe bisexuality existed for most of my childhood because “Everyone is attracted to men and women, just pick one.” (Yeah. She identifies as bisexual now.) Every so often someone says something transphobic and I get to call it out. Last I checked my sister still thinks gender fluidity is just people being attention seeking.

So when I came out as asexual, my sister sat me down, very well meaning, and told me that she also didn’t feel a lot of sexual attraction but when she started dating it came (yeah, I know, demisexual coded, but I’m not touching whatever the hell is going on with her). And because we’d both grown up without a lot of physical affection it’s just that. I should just try dating someone. No matter what arguments I made to the contrary both her and the rest of my family would often make comments to that vein (because internalised homophobia doesn’t listen to reason).

My mother did a retrospectively hilarious The Sex Talk: Pt. 2 “there’s nothing wrong with you and you’re definitely not asexual don’t worry.” She sat me down, very serious, and assured me that women get turned on less easily than men. So not being turned on by porn or being able to masturbate was normal for some women and didn’t mean anything was wrong with me and I was “asexual.” That was a fun conversation.

Somehow, despite their inability to listen to reason, I solved this problem about two years after coming out.

The thing about coming out is that you slowly stop pretending you’re straight. I didn’t even realise I was pretending before I came out (because, you know, I wasn’t dating anyone). But I was actually masking hard. I talked about dating way too much. Made way too many dirty jokes. It was weird. I was overcompensating the hell out of it. Which, after I came out, I slowly called myself out on until I stopped.

And it turns out when I’m not pretending to be attracted to people I am hilariously, almost stereotypically, asexual. For example, about a year after I came out I was watching Thor with my sister and this shirtless scene happened:

My sister: 😳

Me (turning to her): Hey did you know that when Chris Hemsworth filmed this movie he was so dehydrated that he almost died? Actually that might’ve been the movie after this. But it’s a huge thing to get actors to look like that they dehydrate them, which seems like a lot of health concern just to make them look like Greek sculptures. I mean I know he’s supposed to be a god but i really don’t think it’s necessary. Like Norse gods had different beauty aesthetics anyway.

My sister: (just stares at me for a second) It’s not so he looks like a Greek god it’s so he looks attractive

Me: I know but do the aesthetics really matter that much?

My sister: No, like, people watch this specifically because they’re attracted to Chris Hemsworth in these scenes

Me: Oh. So it’s for audience engagement?

My sister: I… guess so?

And that is how I acted so asexual I actually convinced my sister to believe in it. She has not made a comment about my asexuality since.

The same thing has happened with the rest of my family members. One by one they have become corrupted because I am just too asexual to be denied. You cannot meet me and maintain a state of disbelief.

We’ve gotten to the point where my mother is so certain about my sexuality she got offended for me, because “someone was calling themselves asexual but was in a sexual relationship with someone.” (We had a lovely discussion again about asexuality being a spectrum and just reflecting you having a not-normal level of sexual attraction. She still thinks this invalidates my experience and struggles which is very nice of her but once again I do not care. If people want to be one of the only sexualities still classified as a mental illness in the DSM-5 then the more the merrier. Gatekeep pizza not oppression.)

[andros-paidophonoio]

My other controversial trait is I don't care for but I also don't hate Lore Olympus lmfao. I think it's frustrating to me for various reasons but all of them are completely different from the main reasons I see people hate it and I rarely see MY complaints and critiques come up which is pretty funny. Not that some critiques don't have merit, but a lot especially I remember from several years ago were ur run of the mill "sexualizing fetishizing & the young women r being led astray" from the same people also being nostalgic about their effervescent Twilight phases and problematic cartoon husbandos and it's like, let's be fucking real

I understand the being concerned about it giving the Wrong Impression of the mythological characters etc but it's just visually and stylistically SO different and distinct and basically looks and comes across like Teenybopper Inside Out. I feel like thinking it represents anything realistic to the irl material feels a little idk.....losing chess to a dog-ish. Losing chess to an archie comic. Personally I get more concerned about adapations that have an appearance and sheen of being "accurate" or educational and serious while peddling more misinformation XD So that in mind, most of my evaluation of the story is a bit separate from that aspect, which has already been discussed and analyzed a lot–i generally try to evaluate based on the internal world that a story creates and how it comes across to ME.

More of my thoughts (playing defense AND personal haterisms)

I personally find the main Fantasy of the comic to be extremely vanilla LMAO and Fine...its basically "what if I was a super hot and pretty girl but ALSO sort of underdog-ish but ALSO I had sexy older BF who was kind and listens to me and wants to worship the ground inwalk on and we have cute little fluffy conversations and dates and ALSO I'm super sexy and evil and powerful but ALSO Good and Innocent and Blameless--" it's kind of an incoherent mess, but it's trying to appeal to a variety of fantasies all at once, and I think the desires that are expressed are pretty basic ones lol. I know there's also the rumor (?) of the Hades basically being authors self insert Mads Mikkelsen au crush or whatever which ppl made fun of but like genuinely What is Wrong With That. It's a bit silly but how is that problematic or my business.

I actually liked Perse's character and parts of her arc, I think the strongest parts of the comic was parts like the gentle romance portions where characters got to "be themselves" and just hang out in more slice of life style stuff (before it weirdly delved into therapist talking). There are some really great expressions of emotion and nervousness around sex and desire and shame. And the fantasy of having an understanding person to be a friend and talk to and open up to and speak in a respectful way was pretty sweet, and a lot MORE gentle than tbh a lot of Edgy Romance where theove interest is just Mean and Insulting for a while. So while I find aspects of maybe the characters getting flat, I found that personally kind of more positive in terms of "lessons and takeaways." So it's funny to me when ppl talk about the comic as The Most Evil Fetishizing Ever when so much of it honestly feels sanded down to Niceness lmfao. I also weirdly found that it felt at times very sexually or sensually restrained–like I get it's for more younger audience, but the kind of coy dancing around stuff at times (I wonder from webtoon meddling) felt weirder than maybe being more open about it. In a weird way, the rape scene from earlier on in the story felt more explored in how it had an impact than later parts. I wonder if that's because it was before it became so popular and also started getting more attention and criticisms that then seem to have subsumed into the work in weird ways.

I guess it's overall, in the end, one of those stories that is very much speaking to the modern age and the modern (straight ig) young women; where the OG Story and hymn was about grief of losing child to a marriage out of ur control (and includes the comfort of other mothers or matriarchs), I feel this (clumsily) speaks to a kind of different struggle. Aka the issue of wanting to express and enjoy sexuality freely but being faced with the prospect of interpersonal sexual violence, or people seeking to control said sexuality either out of protection or their own gain, the idea that you become seen as "evil" once u express ur sexual desires or become "tainted" by association with a man in a way that isn't a Socially Sanctioned way. It's clumsy, but it's real, and a lot of stories I see in this subject are grappling with this a lot. Esp for an era where many women do have a lot more freedom to pursue and find partners by choice than in ancient times, but the journey to that kind of happiness can be held up by such adverse experiences and subsequent emotional states/expectations.

I think my problem with a lot of romantic stuff, including this, that wants to balance these twin fantasies–one of being Very Powerful and Dangerous, but also of being Blameless and Good, are often kind of at odds and can result in some pretty Bad Storytelling that often ends up kind of trying to backtrack and do apologism for the Bad Actions in a way that just feels weak And noncommittal (if ur gonna be evil girl BE EVIL), and also kind of gets weird because The Protagonist, and the Couple(tm) must Always Be Good, and this cannot always be the case!!! In fact, it can make characters end up looking worse lol. Solomon's Crown does this too and that I am offended by for the same reasons!!!

Anyways, I haven't finished the whole comic, although I found a lot of the later arcs very intriguing although it took too fucking long to get to it because of the other problems that irritated me which consist of the following in no particular order:

THE VERY UNFUNNY HUMOR. I hated the jokes so much. I feel this is a problem with a lot of serials where they try to stay topical but boy I do not give a shit. That and when characters started speaking more like therapists, it brings the Drama to a screeching halt. And we are supposed to be HERE for drama!!! This is the main reason it always takes me so long to read like there will be an interesting serious scene and then the jokes will be so bad and deflating the impact. Sad!

Minthe. Treatment of her character left a bad taste in my mouth; last I left off I kind of liked more time spent on her, but in general i just felt really weird about the role her character played

Generally disinterested in all the other characters aside from the main couple. Perse is really fun and I feel there's the most "real" experience poured into her mixed with fantasy.

The opening episodes are indeed extremely off-putting to me so I don't blame people for not getting into it bc it starts off with some bro-y behavior that is corny. And it never quite feels "established" in its setting which is an issue to me with a lot of webtoons but for here especially it feels very like I said earlier like Teenybopper Inside Out. These characters are fantastical concepts, but only at times do they feel real as People

Anyways it's one of those things where I can genuinely see the charm in it--i can see exactly why it blew up how it did, but also like most webtoon it invites the most simplified types of comments ever where every single character has to be Good or Bad and if anyone does anything complex everyone throws a riot. So I don't doubt that the environment in which the story was produced affected the way that it is formatted and created. In this sense it's an interesting work to consider culturally and sociplogically. I think it is part of the greater conversation of why such works connect to people for greater or ill at all. Still, the Bad Jokes will keep me from probably having the true knowledge and I definitely will continue going my own way

(I do have a few AU concepts tho I'd like to think about sometimes....infeel like some aspects of the story I think a transmasc perse is interesting to think about, especially the whole weird definitions of the "fertility goddess" and "pure maiden" aspect, and the desire for LO!Apollo to want them to embody kind of an Ideal Wifepartner to gain power and prestige...more disturbing but also interesting implications and stakes to think about. canon LO I see seems to be about moving from maiden to the fertility goddess aspect but what if there were other identity avenues to be explored? Also I was thinking that a lot of the LO haters I get it we don't like cringe heteros that's fair but I know a lot of y'all r reading BL that use the EXACT SAME TROPES but even more corny and it's like.....sometimes humans crave corniness I get it. It would be too many layers of gender for the original to even be considering lmfao but since a lot of the story is about finding the Self and also facing resistance for it, I don't think it would be unthinkable....the fantasy worldbuilding going on is like ??? But sometimes it produces some stuff I think more deeply about)

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 1

Ok, but The Sign has everything I like (at least for now):

coherent plot

good pacing and editing

good acting

great chemistry, relationship, interactions, scenes of the main couple

the actors and the plot sell me the romance

I support the main couple, I am so invested in their romance and story

both main actors and both characters are EQUALLY interesting and attractive to me, this is unfortunately very rare in my case

novelty of the story, unusual for BL series main couple, more reminiscent of Manner of Death than traditional BL

authentic, effortless sexiness of the romance, scenes, characters and actors

very good side characters

a well-shown "men's world" with everything: competition, proving one's worth and masculinity, cockiness, silly conversations, jokes about sex, making fun of each other, but also brotherly bonds and supporting each other

already in the first episode we have so much of good stuff: a romance between interesting guys, a whole lot of other relationships, a truly repulsive villain, a murder, mystery and fantasy. As if the series was specially created for me 😍

good balance between fun, humor, silly tropes like falling with a kiss or running away holding hands 😆, and serious scenes. The funny scenes don't overshadow/ruin the serious scenes, which unfortunately happens all the fucking time in other series

this is the third series recently with virginity discussed and the first in which a person who has not yet had a sexual debut is 1) not forced to do so, 2) not ridiculed, comments are limited to light teasing, 3) Tharn is simply asked about it and he has a chance to say why and is heard without judgment

I like literally everything

Chart is an extremely bad character, at first I hated him because I was programmed that way by ThanType. But no, he deserves complete contempt, and no Tharn, he is not a good cop and never will be, this man should be eliminated from the cop selection at this stage, he will get people killed.

Did the murder actually happen? Is this maybe one of the training sessions like we thought they were actually freeing the hostage at the beginning of the episode? 🤔🤡

Anyway, give me Billy, an equally lovely and cool actor to match, a compelling love story, a water dragon and I'll be fed with it for weeks. (also, the scene in the bathroom when Tharn reacts to Phaya's voice, the hug from behind is, I'm sorry, I don't want to offend fans of other series at all! but it is hotter than other high-heat series currently airing. Heh! even the way Tharn looks at Phaya's hand on his shoulder was hotter to me than the entire last episode of Playboyy, sorry, it's not a diss, Playboyy is fun! but, well, that's just how I feel 😉)

This is my fav series currently airing 💖💖💖💖💖

[rikeijo]

Today’s translation #773

Animage Feb. 2017, Shishido Jun's interview (Chief Episode Director)

Part 7.

-- Georgi so annoying to watch that it makes him popular (laugh).

Shishido: Georgi does not have any ill intentions whatsoever. But he gets on everyone's nerves - he's just this type of a lovable character (laugh). Victor was also annoyed by him, but I think that he's simply a type of person that Victor dislikes [Victor's heterophobia confirmed... 😡]. And, my personal favorites are the Three Skating Otaku Sisters. They are so cute, and I wanted them to have more screentime, but after the action of the story moved abroad, it couldn't be helped that the number of occasions to see them decreased. I wanted to watch more of them being so active and cheerful!

-- How beautiful the music for this show is was also a popular topic of discussions. Could you please tell us which song is your favorite?

Shishido: All are amazing, so it's hard for me to pick one, but I think it would be 'Yuri on ICE'? And Otabek's both programs, short and free, have very cool music - these are my favorites, too. Music memorable to me, because of the skating is Phichit's 'The King and The Skater'. His choreography, which is heavily inspired by Thai culture is so amazing. In case of Popovich, it's not so much about his programs, because I can't watch them without laughing - the cringy flashback scenes are just too funny.

-- It's his art of making funny faces, isn't?

Shishido: Jumping with tears in his eyes etc. But he's very serious about it. It's only that his aesthetic sense slightly differs from everybody else's.