#under the skin meta

[lunarriviera]

[overthinking about blorbo follows] [quasi-spoiler for uts s2 e3] look okay so here's the thing. shen yi is an insanely gifted classically trained painter who now lbr spends most of his working life sketching holdup mugshots off of grainy cctv footage, an occupation that at this point for him has to be boringly straightforward. maybe once in a while there's a cool serial murderer and he gets to come up with a way to reconstruct an entire person's body from one molar, or invent some new shrimp colors or something. then he goes home and paints his fucking heart out all night and for what, who is seeing it? who is seeing him? (and don't say du cheng bc i love him but we all know he probably wears black because he's red-green color blind.) so here he is, showing his canvases in a little group exhibition and trolling quietly amongst the clueless spectators, and no one even knows who he is because he's not showing up at the gallery opening in a suit du qing poured him into, clutching a glass of room-temperature champagne. instead here's someone standing the correct distance away from the canvas and you can practically hear shen yi's invisible antennae go sproing. idek who this charismatic pointy-faced guy is yet, maybe he's under the skin's answer to sheev palpatine but the point is, no one who can see what shen yi is doing talks to him about his work. so when weasel man says "he's a genius" and shen yi gives that tiny smile that's so frail it's almost invisible— he gave that smile one time before in s1, remember? when du cheng says "it could be that shen yi is wrong—but that's impossible, so we're crossing that one out." it's a beautiful little character note from tan jianci bc very likely shen yi isn't even aware he's doing it. maybe he's even telling himself "oh please how dare this guy, who does he think he is, clement greenberg"—shen yi who literally set fire to his ambition in the service of honing a moral compass so ruthless and unbending you could set greenwich mean time by it. but somewhere down in there, always—inside any person who chooses a life devoted to making things—is the desire for those made things to be seen.

who was the last person who said "he's a genius" not about his police work but about his painting? the last person who looked carefully at all of his values, hues, lines, shapes, gestural movements, mark-making, brushstrokes, depth of field, play of light, and really saw what he was doing, enough to be critical of it? when you're a working artist and someone sees you well enough to critique you intelligently? the pleasure is breathtaking, frankly on a spectrum with the erotic. (you could also argue he's smiling ruefully at the declaration that the painter's having become a cop is what ruined his work; when shen yi possibly thinks: you know nothing, it opened up everything for me. but i'm not so sure about that. because did it? has it? do we know that?) tl;dr weasel man is holding out an opened box of fresh turkish delight and it remains to be seen whether shen yi is going to faceplant into it. but i for one could not blame him. it is exhausting to have an enormous part of your psyche be all but completely invisible for years on end.

[qpjianghu]

**UNDER THE SKIN 2 FINALE SPOILERS**

man... I have thoughts (and, certainly, feelings)

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SERIOUSLY DON'T LOOK UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED

* * * * * SORRY I HAVE VACATION AND NOTHING ELSE TO DO WITH MY TIME

*

Okay!

To start at the very final scene, I can't believe the season actually ended on the cliffhanger of Du Cheng getting stabbed. I had seen that spoiler ahead of time, though I honestly wasn't even mad because it made the anticipation greater for me -- *extreme Gordon Ramsay voice* "finally, some good fucking whump." And when the credits started to roll on the finale, I was a bit disappointed, but figured the Du Cheng stabbing was just an elaborate deepfake. Because there's no way they would shoehorn that into the last 30 seconds of the season, with no confirmed season 3 at the ready... right?

Ugh. Minutes after finishing the finale, I honestly can't yet tell if I'm mad because I'm excited for more or just mad mad. Either way, it's definitely unsatisfying. Leaving viewers unsatisfied is certainly one way to ensure they all come back for another season, but that approach necessitates there actually BEING another season (prayer circle ACTIVATED), and it is still, IMO, a kinda cheap storytelling technique. ESPECIALLY when another season is far from certain (RIP to all my cliffhanger-ending shows that never continued... Prodigal Son, Flashforward, I will never sleep well at night again because of you...)

But okay, fine, cliffhanger mileage aside: The finale left me a bit cold in the same way that the season 1 finale did. In season 1, there was all this tender and intricate build-up to the resolution of Shen Yi and Du Cheng's longstanding trauma-feud and then one day Du Cheng just... forgives him? And then Shen Yi gives up his artistic destiny and becomes a police officer?? (That image of the two of them standing side by side in their uniforms always rubbed me the wrong way, and I think @lunarriviera put it best by saying it's giving extreme "take your kid to work day vibes," which is SO TRUE lol.)

Also: We never even find out who M was (do we? Did I just totally miss this?) -- which is a pretty bold narrative pivot if you underline and highlight the point you're trying to make (ie: life is messy, you can't solve every mystery, you have to learn to live in the liminal spaces of forgiveness and faith and lack of certainty, etc.). The fact that I'm not even sure if the main mystery / tension was resolved at the end of the season shows that, well, it could have been made clearer either way.

When I started season 2, I was ready to brush all of my previous reservations under the rug, because I'll tolerate almost anything just to watch two gay men solving crimes it seemed like the show was actually addressing my aforementioned quibbles. And not just addressing them: using them as narrative fuel for deep and complex character develoment, and to propel philosophical and emotional tension between our two leads. Season 2 wrestles with ideas about existential responsibility: is Shen Yi misusing his god-given gifts by working for the police? Does a person have a utilitarian responsibility to live their life a certain way? What does real criminal justice look like? And is murder actually okay if you're a lonely opera-loving middle-aged sweetie pie with doe eyes?? (I love you, Ge Yutian)

I mean, shit, this season did such a good job of convincing us that all humans deserve empathy and catharsis, and that maybe Shen Yi is onto something with his criminal psychology atlas thing, and the storylines this season were, brilliantly, devastatingly, not about the crimes or even the criminals but about the humanity of it all.

Which brings me to Fang Kaiyi.

The season very obviously set up Fang Kaiyi as a mirror for Shen Yi. Shen Yi even states this outright, both to Fang Kaiyi himself and to Du Cheng (which honestly felt a bit unneccessary, as it was giving intense Main Character Energy from Shen Yi, geez). Regardless, I actually loved the set-up and development of Fang Kaiyi and Shen Yi as foils. This is an excellent way for an episodic drama to use the B plot to shed light on the relationships and struggles of the main characters.

My problem with it is.... the resolution makes no sense! Not to be an antogonist simp on the main (because I'm really not), but: accessory to murder (which itself felt very cheesy and moustach-twirly, tbh) aside, what did Fang Kaiyi really do so wrong?* The season does such a fabulous job of building up the ethical murkiness of contemporary genetics research, positioning Fang Kaiyi at the center of a very relevant debate that, to most of us, truly does not have a clear-cut moral imperative or resolution. And this plotline so brilliantly intersected with Shen Yi's thirst for knowledge (pssst I love how he calls Fang Kaiyi's lab his "Eden") regarding the innermost workings of the human heart.

And the resolution of all this is: actually, it is all black and white. Fang Kaiyi, who pushed boundaries, is evil, insane, wrong. Shen Yi, who pulled back from the precipice, is good, steady, correct.

(For that matter, what was wrong with a young Shen Yi, that he talks about wanting to "save" Fang Kaiyi like Du Cheng "saved" him? This hearkens back to my s1 finale complaint about Shen Yi's arc resolving with "and now the wayward artist fulfills his destiny of becoming a police officer yayyyy", which I THOUGHT this season was addressing, but it turns out... not really.)

And the TLDR of it all is that Shen Yi betraying Fang Kaiyi was KINDA EXTREMELY SHITTY (Fang Kaiyi tearfully telling Shen Yi "I opened my heart to you and you betrayed me" ... he's right and he should say it!!) and also retroactively subverts all of the delicious tension of Shen Yi's character arc this season. So, was Shen Yi stringing Fang Kaiyi along the whole time, and was not once actually tempted to push past the boundaries of conventional ethics and societal norms? Please, he's an artist; he exists to tug at societal norms. Okay, so maybe he was tempted, but ultimately found his way back to Du Cheng the side of the light, to use the show's language. When and how exactly does this shift occur? It's just frustrating that this entire season teased the idea of Shen Yi hovering over a precipice and then... never actually pushed him over the precipice.

Meanwhile, Shen Yi starts ranting about how Fang Kaiyi is subverting the natural order of things and maybe there is a spiritual reason for the fetus dying (I swear I half-expected him to go on an anti-abortion rant or something). Cut to the Bejiang police crew triumphantly being like yay! we policed so well!! Anyway... it felt icky.

My other complaint with the resolution of this whole plotline is that Shen Yi's grand breakdown / revelation is shown in a flashback. A flashback! Why on earth does that not play out in real time? Was that not supposed to be the core part of what this entire season had been building up to? Also why wasn't his boyfriend Du Cheng there to comfort him??

(Btw: Gay as hell to sit teary-eyed in a room full of paintings of your archnemesis, bereft and aching...god, the fics write themselves...)

Alright, alright, enough of me complaining about subtle copaganda, I obviously knew what I was getting into here. It's just so weird to me that both seasons 1 and 2 set up these juicy questions and encourage us to dig deep into the murkiness of these gray areas only to just circle back around to... criminals bad! police good! law and order 4eva! natural order good! progress evil! Even Shen Yi and Du Cheng's extremely insanely unequivocally romantic reconciliation in the finale primarliy speaks to their recommitment to... catching criminals, I guess??

(Part of me wonders if the show is bending over backwards trying to figure out a way to keep Shen Yi and Du Cheng together without putting them in a romantic relationship, because IRL they can just.... have different jobs and still BE TOGETHER, jeepers, it's not that hard. Du Cheng is a police captain, Shen Yi runs an art therapy studio, and they're boyfriends. DONE.)

On a final note: this truly IS one of the gayest cdramas out there and I am here for ALL of the angst and pining <333

If anyone wants to chat, hmu, I'm vibrating at an intensity heretofore unknown to humankind and would love to DISCUSS. In the meantime I'm gonna go touch some grass.

--

(Full disclosure: I understand that the narrative resolutions may be a result of censored ideas and ideals, so if that's the case, I'm really just venting my frustrations as a western viewer.)

*This is may be an area where I'm just confused about the plot -- everyone was all up in arms about Fang Kaiyi gene-editing the Zhou Shanshan / Cao Jian embryo, but wasn't that... the whole point?? And I'm definitely missing something about the sketchy involvement of the hospital... but all of this is still to say, it would have been more interesting if Fang Kaiyi weren't breaking any actual laws, just psuhing ethical boundaries.

[dodginglife]

Under the Skin Season 2 Subjective Overview - Meta?

+ a little attempt at du cheng x shen yi drabble in the end for welcoming me here so warmly

+ beware of spoilers for the finale I warned you

Every time I finish the second season (if any) of a show, I am hoping there will be no third one no matter how much I enjoyed it (I am not a traitor I swear). Typically, the odds of solid expansion fall dramatically, and there are not many examples that can be called truly successful. The story just eats itself like ouroboros, failing to bring anything new to the table. However, in this series, there is no consecutive plot, as it is mostly centered on cases, so it may work out; the ending is quite unexpected too. Nonetheless, I love skillfully completed piece more than any possibility of continuation.

Let's start with the negative points first, as they turned out more extensive.

1. Shen Yi is too reckless and egocentric. Everybody (except husband Du Cheng) seems to be okay with him violating every possible protocol. As far as I am concerned, no one in the team takes any action until Cheng-dui says so, only the troublemaker himself. That's so messed up the show even had to remind him that he has to ASK for permissions, that he is a police officer and most importantly a SUBORDINATE with (presumably) a bunch of responsibilities, including for his own life (bulletproof vests and guns are for the big boys obviously). I can assume it would not have been so interesting to watch if it had been otherwise, but it is quite strange to justify such behavior with artistry. And yes it was done for the plot. Even Du Cheng gave up in the end (I should not have tried to limit your talent), leaving me disappointed, while Shen Yi himself apparently admitted the problem long ago, not denying anything (You are the center of my circle, preventing me from flying away). Finally the verbal recognition our captain deserves, well done Shen-laoshi!

Still he has some professional qualities. Take for example how unbiased he is. Whether it is Mr. Genes or Cheng-dui, he does not hesitate to dig up the truth. Sorry baobei for thinking you may side with someone other than Du Cheng, my bad. This biology guy is a walking fucking robot after all.

2. Lack of personal stories. Li Han taking almost an entire episode was a daring move, but it was worth it. That's exactly when the bridge between an imaginary on-screen hero and a real person made genuineness the final destination (not including the excellent work of secondary actors, of course). We also got to know Yan (even if it is his daughter) and He a little, and can add Jiang Feng's cute courting to the list, but as I have already said, it seemed not enough. The police side of the characters overshadowed them as individuals, and at one point the neverending slideshow of murders ended up being boring and exhausting.

3. The process of Shen Yi's understanding of the criminals' true motives seemed extremely unproblematic and thus unrealistic, even more so than in the first season. A number of deductions came up too quickly, forcing me to think he is the only one able to crack the first nut—the show's desperate to accentuate this—which is actually far from reality. Moreover, Ao Li's case revealed that reasoning and intuition combined are not enough to predict anything accurately, making the success of Shen Yi's artistic interrogation course largely a question of pure luck (heads up to episode 13), desperate confidence (20), or simple stubbornness (everything coming after 20). The talent is here, no doubt about that, but he clearly had a hard time turning it into a deliberate strategy, for some reason almost completely ignoring the need to consult with teammates or report on progress/plans (he did both fewer times than he should have had).

4. The decision to leave the culmination between the leads for the very end was not such a good idea either (as well as making it so hella theatric), although it is still important for thrillers to boast an intense buildup. The first season did it at the beginning to introduce the characters—I get it—but this is no less important element that kept the viewers on the hook. I imagine the veterans, like me, who are familiar with the story, waited for more details as Shen Yi was obviously hurt greater than it was shown if he burned all his works (not to mention multiple drowning attempts). It is as if he is only living to prove himself useful. All in all, the delay took way too long. This is the same problem I had with Taiwanese First Note of Love—Sea's story was brief and lacked introspection even after the final episode.

And here we are, still with almost nothing about Shen Yi or his past, thank you very much, please rewatch season 1 instead. What darkness is he talking about non-stop (besides the cases being emotionally demanding)? That he may have turned into a murderer? Yeah but what about the prerequisites? I guess they decided to leave it behind together with Lei's case. Or maybe there is not much to it and we are all being too dramatic. Giving the ending, if there is a season 3, I really hope it will explore both of them more. The Shen Yi from 7 years ago appeared for a reason I suppose.

Speaking of the things I liked, it will obviously be acting, cinematography, new forms of art used, and thought-out plot. That's it folks!

P.S. When bros say such deep and emotional lines romantic dramas could never.

The drabble is below - please enjoy!

Du Cheng believed he has been expressing his concerns—both with his mouth and through actions—in a way that is impossible to misinterpret. Direct and authoritative, he strived to make sure his efforts end in nothing but successful, tangible results. Many thought he wasn't good with words, but in reality, he always knew what to say to those dear to him.

Don't make hasty decisions.

Why can't you explain to me what you want to do?

What if I've arrived even a moment later?

I could not take it if you are wrong at least once.

Don't push yourself too hard.

The deeper you dive in, the more painful it will be to surface.

I would try to understand.

Aren't you sleeping well again?

I can't guarantee I will always make it in time.

I've never doubted you.

However, it seemed that Shen Yi's genius yet too head-in-the-clouds brain simply could neither accept nor comprehend the care and support directed at him so straightforwardly. Without exaggeration, such a genuine unmasked fear for his life reflected in Du Cheng's usually steady eyes seven days a week made him open up to a feeling unknown to humanity.

Not everyone has a committed person by their side.

The usual shallow smile glued to his face was like a ballistic vest, protecting him against every worried look, distressed voice, and shaky hand landing on the shoulder as if it were bullets. He never bothered to wear body armor or carry a gun for the missions though, ready to meet any raw damage head-on. Damn, he only recently stopped considering the mere surviving a terrifying outcome.

Constantly taking refuge in baggy clothes, he appeared approachable yet so distant and painfully calm no one could have possibly spotted even a slight hint of other emotions on this beautiful, aristocratic face if it wasn't for the sake of acting. He was bold, cocky and highly independent, but at the same time in ghostly, barely readable need of a strong anchor he eventually managed to find.

Du Cheng had no expectations whatsoever, okay? It was obvious that sensual little tête-à-tête filled with palpable gratitude for keeping Shen Yi grounded would have no particular effect in the long run. He still happened to catch a couple bullets, pass out right on the street from extreme fatigue, and even get kidnapped again. The last straw that almost drove Du Cheng crazy was him hardly emerging from a week-long coma.

He thought, Don't you want to live? Why would you leave me behind like this after all we've been through? Talk to me, get angry, smash some canvases after all. Show me what I can, I would try to patch up.

They have never been targets really, it's just that Shen Yi's nature could not resist kissing the danger passionately enough to feel the familiar metallic fluid smearing his lips like wine red paint. He got too involved, sympathetic, obsessed. Everyone in the department had glimpses of a savior complex, but Shen Yi... Du Cheng often wondered if he blamed himself for not preventing two world wars despite not even being born at the time.

Three months have already passed since the artist's official semi-retirement. Du Cheng recalls dozens of nights he spent persuading this stubborn gremlin to continue the work in the beloved branch on a freelance basis, namely at home under state-of-art surveillance, before he started to perceive every incident as his personal responsibility, not just those resulting in murder. He was of no use in physical operations anyway, though Du Cheng made sure he finished several self-defense courses. Fortunately, Shen Yi decided to focus more on his classes and even return to art, albeit gradually. He still draws portraits and visits his friends at the police station every weekend, but as the dark veil of guilt is long gone after a series of quite challenging therapy sessions, he can breathe fully at last, laying out one painting after another in his studio like dominoes.

Turns out people do change, and now every time Du Cheng opens the door to their apartment facing two cats that lean in closer to him so happily—one in his large shirt almost reaching knees and the other with fish toy in its mouth—he is confident this personal victory of his has secured not only the present, but also a major part of their joint future.

He zoned out for God knows how many hours once again. Du Cheng found Shen Yi sitting on the floor against the sofa and drilling the lounge room's bare wall with his eyes as if he was an experienced construction worker or the head of a designer department. The sun's morning rays have already reached his pale cheeks, stained chaotically with oil paint...

“I thought we agreed on not keeping things bottled up,” Du Cheng says, coming down too and clasping hands on the bent knee for support instead of relying on the piece of furniture like the artist. “What's on your pretty mind this time?”

Shen Yi almost jumps out of his skin—he himself clearly does not remember switching off so deeply.

Face softening, he blinks and looks at Du Cheng. As he opens his mouth to reply, he yawns heavily, making the captain chuckle and instinctively sway back a little. Next thing Du Cheng knows he loses the balance and falls on the back with a thunk, hands waving in the air before the impact.

After a single silent second comes the joyful laughter from both men, who gaze lovingly at each other cementing the moment into memory.

“I looked miserable as hell just now, didn't I?” Shen Yi asks after they calm down. “I was actually thinking about the before and after,” he adds melancholically, probably recalling years of self-doubt, search for a place in the world, and fear to accept the consequences. With the look locked on his hands and a little shy smile showing through, he admits, “I never knew my life—not my art—was worth so much until I shared it with you.”

This is the first time Du Cheng struggles to find a fitting answer. Instead, he reaches out and takes Shen Yi's hand to press a gentle kiss to the small palm.

“I hope your gifted hands won't mind another wave of inspiration,” he eventually whispers heatedly in the artist's ear as he lifts him by the hips in one easy move and carries back to bed.

I adore him so much it aches my heart, Du Cheng hears in his head.

Maybe the captain indeed is bad with words, but whatever's coming next, he is ready to remind Shen Yi to take it easy as many times as he needs.

[lauralot89]

One Perfect Moment

(There's not full out vomit in this clip, but the character does gag and spit out food)

In Under the Skin (2014), an alien disguised as a beautiful woman lures men to her home, where they are then trapped and processed as meat for her planet's consumption.

By this point in the film, the alien has decided she doesn't want to participate in this any longer and has run away. Her first act of defiance, of trying to become human, is to eat cake.

It's interesting that it was a genuine connection with a human that convinced the alien to go rogue, but her first human act is so solitary. Maybe it's because she fears being discovered if she interacts with others, or maybe it's because she feels guilt for the men she killed. Or it could simply be that cake is easy. It's food. She understands food, that's why she's here.

Except she doesn't. The alien cannot eat. Whether it's a physiological impossibility or a taste/texture issue or some combination thereof, she can't do it. What should be a triumphant act of defiance, the first step in her journey towards human connection, ends with her gagging as others stare but keep their distance

I love the subtle ways that this outcome is foreshadowed: the extended shot of her hand trembling as she inches the fork toward her mouth, the way her jaw is shaking when she's trying not to gag.

And, as discussed in my last perfect moment, I love that the scene perfectly lays out what's to come. The alien wants to be human. She wants to experience human things. But when she tries, they are painful and impossible. When her later actions put her in direct contact with humans, this becomes even more pronounced.

[Cake is better than sex, but she can't have either one]

It's such a human desire and it's met with such futility. If you had told me before I watched this that someone could give me all these feelings about ScarJo failing to eat cake--well, I'd believe you because that sounds like me, but I wouldn't have thought this was how it would be done

It's a gorgeous tragic movie and it's a gorgeous tragic scene

perfect moment, no notes

[akanemnon]

Wow, not even 5 seconds in and they're already starting a fight.

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[stargirl230]

let the light in

I finished 猎罪图鉴2 and I think at least 10% of shen yi's problems could be solved by not living in a concrete dungeon, so I’m using my art powers to home-ify his house (see tags for more rambling)

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)

[sable-pigeon]

Tingsheng, Mei Changsu, and Xiao Jingyan in the early episodes of Nirvana in Fire

Looking at how early episodes of the show use Tingsheng as a way of bringing Mei Changsu and Jingyan closer together (with an end note about how, having fulfilled that purpose, he remains a connection that they both draw upon to communicate with each other).

Tingsheng is there from the very beginning of Mei Changsu and Jingyan's (re)acquaintance, starting from when Jingyan first notices Mei Changsu; Mei Changsu is talking to Tingsheng (and starting to realize who Tingsheng might be), and this leads into their first conversation:

The subject of this conversation is primarily Tingsheng and, most importantly, what Mei Changsu is offering: to teach Tingsheng, and also to get him out of his present situation, and, to his credit, Jingyan is listening (so much so that he will echo the same sentiment back to Mei Changsu in episode 33):

Checking in on Tingsheng is also what brings Jingyan, who by now has asked around about this mysterious individual, to Jingsu's next meeting, where Mei Changsu is very direct about why he's here, and reflects back what Jingyan has heard about him by recasting the previous scene as something solely towards that purpose:

When Jingyan next speaks privately with Mei Changsu, it's in the aftermath of Nihuang's matter in Episode 5, and a displeased Jingyan lays down an ultimatum about his limits, but is still willing to listen to what Mei Changsu has to say, and what Mei Changsu has to say explicitly links Tingsheng with asking Jingyan to trust him:

Jingyan is shocked to learn Mei Changsu knows Tingsheng's true identity, but he also has to acknowledge what Mei Changsu's silence means. In addition, Jingyan's frustration with having to keep that secret, alongside his recognition of the necessity of doing so provides another opportunity for Jingyan to hear what Mei Changsu is telling him:

The conversation ends with Jingyan continuing to process and getting up rather abruptly after Mei Changsu's salute, but even though he doesn't turn around, he does stop on his way out; he needs to thank Mei Changsu for saving Tingsheng, and we get the reaction shot from Mei Changsu to close the scene:

The next time Jingyan and Mei Changsu are onscreen together, in Episode 9 when Mei Changsu visits Jingyan at the manor he remembers so well, the atmosphere is markedly different from the last time we saw them, and Tingsheng, a settled Tingsheng who Mei Changsu did succeed in getting out, is there:

As in their first meeting, Mei Changsu helps Tingsheng up while Jingyan looks on, but the positions have changed: Mei Changsu has done what he promised and succeeded in bringing Tingsheng out and to Jingyan's side. Tingsheng's bow too, is different, he is no longer cowering, but saluting:

The warmth of the sequence is supported by the accompanying music, and Jingyan's acquiescence to Tingsheng keeping 'Feiliu's' present flows directly into his introduction of Mei Changsu to his subordinates, where, in far cry from their previous scenes, he specifically names Mei Changsu as his friend.

From the initial meeting through this gift sequence (which leads into their first truly collaborative scene), Tingsheng features in each of Mei Changsu and Jingyan's early interactions, and their discussion of him functions as a way for Mei Changsu to show his intentions and for Jingyan to believe in them.

Finally, even when Tingsheng is no longer central to their interactions, as he is in these early episodes, he remains a way for Jingsu to communicate sincerity to one other, whether by Jingyan reaffirming his trust in Mei Changsu after the infamous occurrences of Episode 33, or by Mei Changsu acknowledging his connections in the aftermath of the reveal.

[anyrei-snarks]

A Study in Subtext

Just my funny take on the last scene of Season 2, episode 21 of UTS.

Finally Fang Kai Yi and Du Cheng meet. I was waiting for the moment and I was not disappointed.

My shippy subtext meta with pictures under the spoiler tag! I wanted to make gifs but the program I used was crap and the quality was horrible so I had to use pictures. (sowy)

Shen Yi was super quick to tell Du Cheng that he would join him to visit the company.

And his secret boyfriend was of course happy, only having eyes for Shen Yi (who can blame him?)

Well, Du Cheng can, cuz he immediately is like WHUT? WHO IS THAT GUY?

When Shen Yi admits that he knows Fang, Du Cheng immediately gives him a critical once-over, checking out the competition.

Fang is wearing his civil non psycho face but Du Cheng is still reluctant to shake his hand cuz reasons... He is still like "Who the fuck are you and why do you know my boyfriend.

Shen Yi is probably comparing their height cuz at this point I think it's clear that he likes them tall.

Fang tries his best to show Du Cheng how much he knows Shen Yi and how much he is only interested in him. (Because he knows)

I'm including this cuz when Shen Yi says "desire" he looks at Du Cheng. (And I'm a clown)

And then the camera has this framed when Shen Yi talks about the strong conflict. Well yeah, there will be a strong conflict with those two, I'm sure of that. XD

In this scene Fang is shifting on his leg and tries to appear taller than Du Cheng to look more dominant. (I wish the gifs would have worked out T_T)

Du Cheng is unimpressed.

So Fang proceeds to blatantly flirt with Shen Yi in front of Du Cheng.

Giving him soft longing looks and complimenting him.

He hits a nerve there cuz Du Cheng gets angry now and raises his voice.

Shen Yi is uncomfortable, and it looks like he is fighting two emotions, the wish to calm Du Cheng down but he is also a little miffed cuz he wants them to get along. I think at this point Fang already has his fangs (haha, sorry guys, ignore me) deep in Shen Yi's psyche. Shen Yi sees Fang as someone who understands him on a level no one else can.

When Fang starts to tell Du Cheng how much being a police officer is killing Shen Yi's talent and creativity you can see how Shen Yi looks down. It's not the first time Shen Yi is confronted with that from other people but usually he brushes it off cuz he knows who he is and what he wants to do. He knows his work is important. But this reaction is new. He looks upset and uncomfortable and I think it's because this is coming from Fang. In Shen Yi's perception Fang is someone who sees him, his intellect, his uniqueness. Fang is a genius himself and they bonded over having a special view of the world.

And I laughed so hard when Du Cheng just casually ignored everything Fang had said and just tells him "thank you for cooperating with us" which was basically "I don't care for your input other than stuff that was case related and fuck off"

[quadrantadvisor]

Always wondered what the fandom consensus about this is (or if there is one). Also, why do you think grimwalkers and/or Hunter don't have magic? Is it a natural part of being a grimwalker, is it because their ortet was human, or did Belos do it on purpose?

[moongothic]

I need to make a confession

I genuinely do not understand Buggy simps

Like I thought y'all were joking with the whole rooting for Buggy-thing but. No. People are actually seriously rooting for him. And I just don't get it.

Like. I can't tell if I'm missing something or if people are somehow completely misinterpreting his actual character. Like clearly it's meant to be one or the other and I can't tell which and I feel like I'm losing my mind because of it

'Cause the thing is that. Like. Until now, Buggy has been a pure gag character. He's no different from characters like Ceasar Clown and Spandam in that sense, he's just nowhere near as vile a human being as those other gag characters so he's marginally more lovable in what a pathetic fuck he is. But in the end, Buggy's just been there to be a punching bag (quite literally), because it's funny as hell to watch him eat shit And the reason it's funny IS because Buggy is a piece of shit. Again, not nearly as bad as Spamdam and co, but he's still a lying, cowardly, spineless douchebag who uses others for his own benefit and is willing to ditch anyone to save his own skin. Like Buggy was going to ditch his entire crew and flee by himself when the Shichibukai System was taken down and the Marines came for his head. He was going to leave his crew to die by themselves, without participating in the fight at all. Buggy was the one telling them to do the hard lifting while he'd escape, while the crew had no idea their beloved Chairman was going to abandon them. Literally the only reason Buggy failed to do that was because he was too slow and Crocodile got there before he managed to skedaddle.

He is essentially Usopp if Usopp wasn't willing to get beaten to death to protect his friends and their honor. Even fucking Luffy thinks Buggy is a pathetic idiot, and Luffy is the biggest indicator in the whole series on how to tell whether or not the readers should like a character or not. Not to mention, all the in-universe Buggy simps have been portrayed as (precious) idiots who can't see through Buggy's bullshit. Like every step of the story Oda has been trying to tell us that Buggy is an absolute loser.

So when people are like "Mihawk and Crocodile are going to see Buggy's ambition and become full Buggy supporters themselves!" I just

Are we reading the same comic???? HELLO????

Like I'll give you this, it would be objectively the funniest fucking outcome imaginable, which would be on-brand for Buggy and his trend of falling upwards.

But between Mihawk respecting people who are willing to abandon their honor to protect someone dear to them, and Crocodile's deep trust issues (possibly rooted in being betrayed in the past), I can not fucking fathom the two ever genuinely siding with Buggy the "I will leave you to die by yourself to save myself" Clown. Not when the two (and most other characters, including fucking Galdino and Daz) have been able to judge Buggy's character accurately (like how Crocodile was like "I thought you'd have ran away by now" when he arrived at Emptee Bluffs, and Buggy was like "yeah no shit")

Not unless Buggy grows enough of a spine that he'd be willing to sacrifice himself for someone (or at least get hurt on someone else's behalf to protect them), more specifically Mihawk and Crocodile. And let's be real, right now, Buggy probably wants nothing more than to run away from the two before they do actually kill him.

I just

Buggy simps. I do not understand you. I don't understand how you've reached your reading of the character.

[lunarriviera]

under the skin meta: The Monologue™ (part 1)

[spoilers for s2 in general and ep 20 in specific—which, trust me, you really don't want to watch out of order. it's worth waiting for this one.]

if you’ve seen The Monologue, you understand. this is why tan jianci fans are somewhere on a spectrum from chronically bitter to unendingly distraught about never not yet getting to see him play gu yun in sha po lang/winner is king. if uts were a north american prestige drama, tjc would have just handily won an emmy. as it is he’ll probably just be in a bunch of romcoms and do more goofy stuff on hi6, and that’s fine too. i guess we’ll always have “wet the bed.”

where was i oh right The Monologue. this will be long but it’s possibly the most glorious moment in this entire drama so here we go.

to build up to it, tho, we need backstory: namely, season two's gradual unraveling of shen yi. we know he can’t sleep well and has ghastly nightmares about a little girl he didn’t save, mostly because he didn’t consciously know she was in any danger. in her red dress, like the little girl in schindler’s list, she stands out, tragic amidst the desaturation, and shen yi makes a variety of horrified faces about having failed her. (horrified faces seem to be his main ones this season, which is partly what makes The Monologue so exciting.)

anyway shen yi has already been pretty thoroughly harrowed by this particular case as it is, having been the one to figure out (of course) the serial murderer’s ritualistic pattern and motive. shen yi turns his most Horrified Face to du cheng to warn him that the next victim's in danger, and they have this exchange, which will be important later.

(what du cheng says is 别担心, which also gets translated as "rest assured"—like, don't let your heart be uneasy. i got this.)

so du cheng takes off to save the victim, and shen yi goes back to his office to do…actually, what does he think he’s going to do? some paperwork, a little light filing, maybe sharpen some pencils? instead he predictably goes into a glass-shattering fugue state, and imagines the little girl. this begins the monologue scene, even though it all takes place in shen yi’s head. pls indulge me by watching it again, bc i assume you’ve already seen it anyway, and my god it’s such a gorgeous piece of face journey that ALSO sets up what’s to follow.

in some ways this compressed little piece is even better than what comes after. the way he FLIES to her and FALLS to his knees, just rushes up to her stammering and devastated and PROMISING he'll save her this time. honestly it destroyed me, i watched it like 5 times in a row before i could even move on. the unheld-back generosity of this brief performance, the way he’s completely focused on her and then just FALLS APART, it snapped my heart like a carrot stick.

me, a fangirl: SHEN YI SHEN YI NO BB NO PLS SOMEONE HELP HIM me, film nerd: huh fascinating never seen an actor's lips shake before

so now he understands what he needs to do. what he MUST do. having had this revelation, shen yi shows up at the killer’s door, creepy-smiling at him and barging inside. and then he delivers The Monologue, ten solid nearly-uncut minutes of sheer batshit insanity.

shen yi rants. he raves. he paces and pivots and gestures, he thinks aloud, he surmises and expostulates and revises and reverses and exclaims and delivers each conclusion with rabid glee. he scowls and shouts and is sinister and grins and is just one thousand fucking percent unhinged.

we have never, ever seen shen yi like this before, and thank god, because he would scare people on the regular, and he’s scary enough as it is. why do you think he wears all those baggy pastels and smiles so sweetly. why do you think he tries to pass as an unassuming twink, it’s because if people knew what was really going on inside his head half the time, they’d be screaming crying passing out. (tho the beauty of shen yi is: he also really is just an unassuming twink.)

anyway there i was, like a bonehead, stupidly trying to screenrecord this scene before i realized it would be like fifty gig of fire emoji, and then my hands fell limply at my sides, bc it dawned on me what was actually happening. sort of like that moment in “free churro” when you realize bojack horseman really is going to keep giving this heartbreaking eulogy for the length of the entire episode.

because The Monologue is virtuoso. it's tour de force. this is the kind of thing they play at the oscars during your "in memoriam" clip reel. this is what undergrads copy for their audition pieces. this is some heath ledger shit. it's jack nicholson in the shining, al pacino in scarface. this is about one inch away from brando.

as a result of all this, shen yi has the serial killer (whose name is ge yutian by the way) eating out of his goddamn hand within like half a minute, absolutely spellbound—which is the entire point. if shen yi doesn’t convince him, all of this glorious sorcery is for nothing.

(the guy who plays ge yutian is good too, a perfect scene partner for this. he picks up every cue and lets tjc have all the room he needs.)

just a few more notes on the performance, both tjc's and shen yi's:

1. where it really goes off the rails is when shen yi shrieks, DAMN POLICE! and ge yutian JUMPS in alarm. this not only made me laugh (him being so bonkers that he actually frightens a serial murderer!) but is also the moment when The Monologue stops being "aw haha such a fun thing for an actor to get to do" and “…jesus christ what the fuck am i watching." look how i couldn't even get a non-potato screencap. it's from this point on that shen yi is possessed.

2. because he has to show that he identifies with ge yutian, that the killer can and should trust him because they think alike. but that’s just the old “FBI profiler eventually becomes his prey” cliché, so there’s more to it. he also has to convince ge yutian that his ideas, shen yi's, are ge yutian's ideas, from the inside out—and therefore he's the right candidate for the sheng role. and finally, that it's precisely his ability to act, to be a strong performer, that makes him the right choice. that it’s shen yi who’s most suitable, thanks to his convincing mimesis of ge yutian’s highly suspect “thought process."

3. to really pull this off, even as shen yi builds him up (cf. ge yutian clapping enthusiastically, enthralled by this flattering vision), he also has to tear him down. so he plays two roles at once: ge yutian and an unknown theatre critic—who’s also shen yi, because he’s still the righteous officer of the People’s Police, here to inform ge yutian that his vision is sick and twisted, and not anything his gentle-hearted lover would have wanted, not her way of being in the world.

4. finally i would argue that shen yi's admittedly shaky s2 state here suddenly seems a lot more bolted-on. a few viewers have worriedly described The Monologue almost as some kind of psychotic break but honestly i read it as so very controlled and so very deliberate. while he’s desperate (must save victim this time. must not fuck it up again.) he’s not deranged. he absolutely knows what he’s doing.

i'm sorry to say part 2 will follow. but to conclude for now:

• actors are witches. • 16:9 can no longer contain tjc’s talent this man needs 1.85:1 • you hardly ever get to see someone just NAIL IT TO THE WALL like this, what a time to be alive • (and these were long takes too. there wasn't that much editing. that was all him. and you can see three uncut minutes of it here) • pls watch under the skin for some unexpectedly fine acting as well as ofc crime drama, ensemble comedy, weird art historical facts, and captain du cheng (jin shijia), who alternates between being a giant goofball and an aloof occasionally scary badass. also they’re in love.

[qpjianghu]

**Under the Skin 2 finale spoilers**

I am screaming into the void completely deranged about that last rooftop conversation between Shen Yi and Du Cheng (though the first one was also Gay As Hell -- why were they sitting like that??? if not to peer into each other's eyes????). I am severely aro and squicked out by most romance stuff so when I say this scene made me want to hurl (affectionate), it indicates to me that some Extreme Romantic Shit is going on. Unhinged!!!!

Here are the lyrics of the song that plays in the background (if you can call "blasting straight into our heart valves" something that is considered "background music") -- "Go with Light,"** sung by (of course) Tan Jianci:

I'm here waiting for someone to cut me open Look at my deepest, silent monologue The world has to separate everything: Love, hate, good or bad Existing in contrast I'm waiting for you to feel relieved Whether I say it or not you'll understand anyway When I fly to the sky turn around and you're still there I won't wander away Have you seen the light between the black and white? A ray of light between our locked gaze There is a world Where our original hearts remain I can be sure you will take my hand

????!!!!!

Give me a teardrop that smears open Maybe it can blend in a new color The lines cross paths creating a gap for a place the light can shine in Have you seen the light between the black and white? A ray of light where our original hearts remain I can be sure you will take my hand

please get a room oh my god

Have you seen the light when shadows overlap? A light shines in the blur between our locked gaze That's the world flowing with our true hearts and intentions Will you also think that the world is flowing with our true hearts and intentions Will you also think of walking with me Along with the light...

Just two good buddies solving crimes guided by their individual passions and skillsets and nothing else going on here amiright???

And then, of course, we have Du Cheng's entire soul cracking open with adoration as he tells Shen Yi "you're a genius," and there's Shen Yi telling Du Cheng he loves working with him and he feels safe and supported with him and that Du Cheng is the center of his whole entire world.

In conclusion:

(**translation from iqiyi subs and creative credit goes to all respective copyright owners, though if you do come after me I have some QUESTIONS ABOUT AUTHORIAL INTENT)

[artbyblastweave]

Drop your Lois Lane hot takes

(also if you're not a Superman fan, what would you recommend starting off with?)

So MAWS Lois Lane very pointedly has some significant character flaws, generally justified by her backstory and often the opposite side of the conventional "positive" Lois Qualities that she exhibits. Trust issues stemming from her canon-typical dysfunction with her father, upstream of her whole truth-to-power thing. Self-esteem issues and a sense of inadequacy, upstream of her tenacity and singleminded pursuit of her goals. Downstream from her self-esteem issues you've got a sensitivity to perceived betrayal or the idea that people are only pretending to value her. Self-assurance and confidence... that manifests as bouts of myopic thinking or lack of consideration for others. There's a level on which I like this more than S:TAS- she was fun in that, but the purpose there wasn't to give her any kind of arc. She's much more dynamic in this, she has a palpable crisis, and it all combines into a perfect cocktail demonstrating why she reacts so very, very badly to being out of the loop on Superman. In her position it's not insane to assume that Clark expressed interest in her just to jerk her around and sabotage her investigation more thoroughly. But in practice... I (and those watching with me, who joined me in screaming at the TV a bunch during the last couple episodes) felt that the narrative was both-sidesing the dynamic a bit uncomfortably, because Clark has very good reason to not trust Lois specifically with sensitive information. Their first interaction involved her manipulating him for the sake of advancing her career. She's been screaming from the rooftops that she dislikes Superman, wants to expose Superman's secrets, and he was on the verge of coming clean with her before that came up. She functionally threatens to kill herself to force him to out himself, right after he got back from the government (and very likely her father specifically!) trying to assassinate him. Very little of this was coherently voiced when they're having it out, and as a result it felt like the narrative was much more sympathetic to Lois's stance than Clarks, treating his concealing the information as the root of the problem here. And when Jimmy brings up that he's known for years but understood that it was probably a deeply personal situation that Clark would bring up when he was comfortable- that's not a catalyst for introspection about whether Lois is entitled to the information, it isn't used as the point to push the idea that both parties have valid motivations here. It's mostly just the catalyst for another gag where now Jimmy is upset that Clark told Lois first (without. You know. the context.) I walked away thinking that Clark doesn't have a disproportionate amount to apologize for in this situation. Not nothing, but not the brunt. The reconciliation arc really breezed past the fact that she threw herself off a building to force the issue. Any relationship where throwing yourself off a building is a tool in the toolbox seems like it might be on shaky ground, communicatively!

The thing is, well, honestly there's a few things. I'm willing to accept off the bat that I might be lily-orcharding a perfectly unobjectionable creative decision to some extent, because by default I'm really biased in favor of anyone trying to keep deeply compromising information about their identities away from their loved ones for fear of their negative reaction, and that's coloring the intensity of my negative response. Another thing is that I think the show is kind of a victim of the megashort season runs of contemporary cartoons- I mean we'll be lucky if we get 30 episodes of this show total, every arc is gonna be at least somewhat pinched when you get 10 episodes and change per season. And a third, final thing is that the season isn't over yet, and they've left themselves with a great springboard from which to address my misgivings.

Clark leans into the idea that he's the one at fault, begs forgiveness, and so on, but that's actually in character for this version; given that one of his biggest drives is to be accepted, it makes sense that he'd do whatever he thought he had to get things smoothed out as quickly as possible, even if there's still a lot going unaddressed below the surface. And Episode 7 (6?) is basically entirely about how Lois's character flaws, scaled up and appended to power, can turn out really really bad. Kryptonite is introduced in this continuity by a bunch of alternate-universe Lois Lanes who try to kill Superman without giving him the benefit of the doubt- all while never expressly communicating to anyone that the root of their concern is how badly things went with their own Supermen. Lois meets an army of herself and immediately, correctly assumes that they aren't on the up-and-up, that they're holding something back. And the episode ends with her in possession of both a Superman-killing tool and information engineered to set off her well-established paranoid tendencies about Clark.

So if the show is being smart- and there's a very good chance that it is- the next leg is going to be about how for a superhero, just being open about your secret identity to your loved ones isn't necessarily going to be enough to defuse the underlying tensions and failures to communicate; the fact that they really speed-ran the reconciliation is going to turn out to be deliberate, a bandaid fix on the deeper problem, and a much worse reckoning is in the pipes once it becomes obvious that Task Force X is headed by her estranged father. (Which seems like the twist they're going for with that- they've never said the general's name out loud, so I think they're going for a fakeout where we all assume it's Wade Eiling but it turns out to actually be Sam Lane.) However. I've definitely watched a bunch of shows where I kept going "If the show is smart," "If the show is smart," and then the show wasn't smart, and it just turned out that the writers themselves hadn't chewed on the implications of what they were depicting as much as I had. I've got high hopes, though.

(tagging @st-just, @best-wizard, and @howlingguardian, who all also asked for the elaboration.)

[saturnskyline]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: รักโคตรร้ายสุดท้ายโคตรรัก | KinnPorsche: The Series (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Pete Phongsakorn Saengtham/Vegas Kornwit Theerapanyakun Characters: Pete Phongsakorn Saengtham, Vegas Kornwit Theerapanyakun Additional Tags: No Smut, Subspace, Subdrop, Aftercare, Pete Phongsakorn Saengtham Needs A Hug, and similarly, Vegas Kornwit Theerapanyakun Needs a Hug, Vegas Kornwit Theerapanyakun Tries, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Shibari, Rope Bondage, as a calming mechanism, basically pete struggling to acknowledge his needs, and vegas trying to help, but don't worry they're working it out, Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Boundaries, Angst with a Happy Ending, no beta we die like elizabeth and sebastian Summary:

“Vegas,” he starts suddenly, then stops. He has no idea how to ask for what he wants.

Vegas’ brow furrows. “What is it, love?”

Pete inhales deeply. “Could you… do you think you could tie me up?”

—

Or, after a scene ends poorly, Pete has an idea for how Vegas can help him feel better.

— 

AHHHH it’s done!! i am so nervous and excited to post this, it took so long and i legitimately had a crisis over every word lol, but here it is!!! tagging the people who offered kind words during the writing process and/or asked to be tagged: @ba0shanblack @justanothervariant @thisautistic @t4tvegaspete @oceannacaldin @fanastraea @witski ily all mwah!! 💞

[lingeringscars]

i don't think shauna ever forgives misty for calling her and telling her about travis the way that she did

[sophiethewitch1]

will we ever get to see the Undertale fic? just out of curiosity :)

i mean yeah probably even if i don't actually want to be working on it. i have brain worms they must be expunged. but also which one are you talking about? maybe i can post a poll with the options and ppl can vote and ill do that one instead of bouncing around literally 4 separate ideas... even if i know nobody here wants to read sans undertale x reader in the year of 2024... bizarre girl bizarre