#The worst is worth like 5 points. and all the in between are like 1 - 4 points or something). So then it is actually possible to have a

[icewindandboringhorror]

Hrmm... put together a roommates quiz finally after years of thinking it would be an interesting idea lol.. Though obviously not meant to be taken super seriously, I just like thinking about this aspect of personality compatibility. Like yeah, maybe you could get along with someone just chatting with them, but living together is such a different thing. .. curiouse...

[solacescastleglow]

You're Not Lazy, You're: A Daydreamer

So, you're addicted to daydreaming, to the point where you're putting aside important real life things in favour of talking to yourself. You're sitting there, watching life pass you by, desperately trying to fill the void with people you made up in your head. Your outer life is starting to look less and less like how you thought it would be, and the worst part is, there's nothing and no one to blame.

I've been there. In fact, when I was 12, it was so bad I literally didn't care at all about my family, I had no friends, and my grades were abysmal, but I was convinced I would be fine because 'at least I have my mind'. What I didn't realise was that I had lost control of even that. Now I still daydream, but I've become much more able to cope, and I can work around it to the point it no longer affects my day-to-day life. What was maladaptive daydreaming has become immersive daydreaming. If you're in the same situation, here are a few tips to get out of that hole for good.

(Remember, this is much easier said than done, so don't feel bad if this doesn't start helping right away. Also, this is not a substitute for therapy.)

Less daydreaming

1. Eliminating the need

I'm gonna be honest, this is the hardest part. Your daydreaming came about for a reason; it's kept you alive and safe for all this time. Daydreaming is a coping mechanism. The problem comes when it becomes your only or primary coping mechanism, and your comfort zone becomes so small that you're using it all the time. Start with the negative things in your life that caused you to start daydreaming. What are they? How can they be mitigated or resolved? What are some other coping tools you can use to get through them? For me, a big part of the reason was unchangeable (untreatable illness), but some of it could have something done about it. I started medication for my mental health, switched schools, went to therapy. Am I cured? No. Did it take a long time? Yes. But was it worth it? Absolutely.

2. Attention span and comfort zone work

Now that your negative situation is ameliorated, it's time to work on getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you don't daydream after a certain amount of time or coming across a trigger, you start to get restless and irritable. You're, unfortunately, just going to have to sit in that emotion for a little bit. Just 5 minutes. If the trigger is media or a conversation topic, try your absolute hardest not to let your mind wander. After that 5 minutes or when the conversation is over, you can excuse yourself to go daydream. Doing this repeatedly will slowly make your brain able to go longer between daydreaming sessions, which means you can function better in your outer life.

3. Don't limit daydreaming, expand your outer life

If you're anything like me, the thought of stopping completely makes you panic. This isn't a great sign overall, but if you feel terrible whenever you don't escape, it disincentivises you from living your life. Instead, start surrounding yourself with people: spending every evening with your housemates, having an accountability partner for work, going on walks in public. The self consciousness alone is usually enough for me to not daydream, so basically I'm just giving myself less time to drift off. Bonus points if it's an activity that gets you where you want or need to go.

4. Grounding

I know, I know. It's uncomfortable when you know that's what you're doing. I personally hate the 54321 method. But you know what does work for me? This one TikTok (I can't find it) where the lady in the video tells you to look at the corner of the screen and tell what time it is, then asks questions like 'what's to the left of the screen?' and 'what are you wearing?' That snaps me right back to the present. The moment you notice yourself drifting off, look at a clock. Then look down at what you're wearing. Then take a second to describe what you're seeing to yourself and do some kind of tactile stimulation (rubbing your hands together or tapping your lap, for example).

More doing

1. Life direction audit

Your daydreams are clues to what you want out of life. Use them to guide how you want your outer life to go:

How does daydreaming make you feel? How can you emulate that without daydreaming?

Related to your daydream self's career, how does it make you feel to think of yourself getting paid to do that in your outer life? What steps can you take to get yourself there, or closer to it?

What can you do to cultivate friendships that are meaningful to you on the same level as your daydream friends? If you have outer friends, what's the most realistic scenario that would play out if you said, "I need more (support/connection/in-person time) out of this relationship"?

Are there any significant personal differences between your daydream self and your outer self? Are you a different gender, do you have a different style of dress, do you have any skills or hobbies you don't actually have? Is there anything that you would do, if only you had the [time/money/energy/certainty that this is the right thing to do/ability to get through hard things]?

Based on what you've written down, make a 10 year plan, then from that a 5 year plan, then from that a 1 year plan. Once you have your yearly plan you have options: split it up into quarters, months, weeks, or some other way. Either way, eventually you'll want to get it down to what you can do on a daily or even hourly basis to make your daydream self your reality.

2. Do it daydreaming, but do it

Now, do it. Sounds way easier than it is, but when I say do it, I mean do it any way you can. Do it upset, complaining, bored, frustrated, scared, badly, adapted to fit your abilities, in a way other people think is weird, crying the whole time, late, embarrassed, inconsistently, from your bed. Do it partway, then decide you want something else out of life. Do it when it's easy, and if you really want it, do it when it's hardest. Do something similar to it if what you want is unattainable. You can even do it with one foot in your daydream world.

As long as you're trying to do what makes you happy (and I mean the real kind of happy, not the kind that's always tinged with the grief that it's all in your head), any amount of effort you put into it is worthwhile.

3. Incentives

I was going to say to follow your plan and not your mood, but that's really hard. What you need is to find a way to make yourself follow that plan happily. For me, that's setting difficult monthly challenges for myself and getting rewards if I complete them. The challenge makes me want to do it because I want to prove my inner critic wrong. Do whatever works for you, because even if it sounds silly, it's not silly if it works.

4. Check ins

Every so often, re-evaluate where you're going. I know I just said to do it bored and frustrated, but if the whole thing is boring and frustrating and there are no upsides, don't keep at it. Check that you're actually happy with the direction your life is going.

---

And that's all I have for you. Remember, daydreaming can still be a healthy part of your life, it's the inability to stop it that's the problem. You can learn to balance it. I believe in you.

[danieyells]

@mayoigotokurousagi TIME FOR OUR FAVORITE FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER INSPIRED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. I mean. Maybe there's another you're into. Idk. I like Jiro. He's so. . .blunt. I'm so curious about him, I really really cannot wait until we get the Mortkranken chapter.

also, uh, brief content warning for a mention of assisted suicide? It's under the 'Default' lines, if you feel the need to avoid that.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Oh, there you are. I was about to go give you a health check. This saves time and effort." ああ、そこにいたんですか。今からあなたの健診に行こうと思ってたんです。手間が省けました

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Are those letters piling up over there? It's interesting that doesn't bother you.  Not that my opinion is relevant." そこに溜まってるのは手紙ですか？よく気になりませんね。 まあ、俺には関係ありませんけど

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"I don't like unproductive discussions. Like this one." 非生産的な議論は嫌いですね。例えば、今のような会話です

"They said they wanted to die, so I prescribed them what they needed. I don't see the point of discussing ethics after the fact." あちらさんが死にたいと言うので、必要な薬を処方したまでです。今更倫理を持ち出されても、困りますよ

Hey. Buddy. Jiro. That's fuckin' dark dude. This is why you don't joke about wanting to kill yourself. Someone will take it seriously. Jiro will just hand you cyanide pills, a bottle of water, and direct you to a hospital bed to die in. Like jesus christ.

"I save lives that can be saved. It's part of my job to decide the order of priority though." 救える命は救いますよ。まあ、そこに優先順位をつけるのがこちらの仕事なので

"part of my job is to decide if your life is worth saving" IS ALSO A VERY DARK THING TO SAY. I love that his default lines are all very dark and callous. It kind of drives home a dichotomy between how he feels about just anybody and how he feels about you. I also like that he's just. . .kind of dark and gloomy and like ASPECTS OF HIM ARE VERY UNPALATABLE. Like I'm sure there are a lot of people who see those lines and think "that's gross why would anyone like him he's the worst" and THAT'S A GOOD KIND OF CHARACTER TO HAVE ESPECIALLY AS A LOVE INTEREST okay moving on

"One of our patients is thrashing around again? That's inconvenient. I'll administer a shot." また患者が暴れてるんですか？ はあ……面倒くさいですね。１本打っておきますよ

jiro stabbing you with a sedative filled needle like 'stop moving. you are annoying.'

"You should—  Hurk... Hm, I let my guard down. I better go back to Mo— Orgh... Hurk...!" あなた、そろそろ…… うっ……まずいな、完全に油断してました。早く帰っえ、うっ……おえっ……

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"Good morning. I'm going to take your pulse, so could you sit down?" おはようございます。脈拍測るんで、座ってもらえます？

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I was in a prolonged coma, so I haven't fully recovered yet. It's been a long time since I ate anything." 俺、長いこと昏睡状態だったんで、ま��本調子じゃないんですよ。飯なんて、しばらく食ってませんし

i wonder when he woke up. it must have been a few months ago at most.

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"What do you want? I'm conducting an incubation experiment. Please wait till I'm finished." なんですか？　今、培養実験中なので。話なら後にしてください

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I'm about to receive my medication. It should take approximately one hour. Are you going to wait for me?" ああ、今から投薬の時間なんです。多分１時間くらいかかると思いますけど、待ちますか？

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I attend classes every day since Yuri does, but sometimes they mark me as absent. I'm supposed to reply when they say my name? I didn't know that." 佑理に付き合って毎日授業に出てるんですけど、時々欠席扱いになってて。 返事が必要？　知らなかったな

"yeah you're supposed to let them know you're there." "i am one of the largest people in the room at any given time. that seems unnecessary." also it's cute that he only goes to class because Yuri does, but also he doesn't learn anything from it since he studied it all independently lol

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"The blood? I believe one of the wounds on my stomach tore. I'll have to get Yuri to suture it." ああ、この血ですか？　さっきから腹の傷が開いてるみたいなんです。佑理に縫ってもらわないとな

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"What's the purpose of educational facilities like this? You can learn everything you need through self-study." こういった教育施設って、なんのためにあるんでしょうね？　勉強なら自分ですればいいだけですし

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Who is that noisy blond person? He runs away whenever he sees me. That's rude, isn't it?" 時々見かける、うるさい黄色の人は何者なんです？　 俺の顔を見るといつも逃げるんです。失礼ですよね？

i love the 'isn't it?' like he doesn't know normal social convention but he's pretty sure you're not supposed to run from people like that.

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"You don't have to mind me. Go ahead and eat. Even in childhood I never really had an attachment to food, clothing, or shelter." 俺のことは気にせず、飯食ってください。元々、ガキの頃から衣食住にあまり執着がないので

hey jiro that's uh that's kinda fucking depressing you good?

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Yuri's holed up in the lab, so I'm going out. If he comes looking for me, tell him I went to bed." 佑理が研究室に籠ってるので、今のうちに出かけてきます。もし俺を探してたら、寝たと言ってください

Wouldn't Yuri just check your bed and not find you there though??? Also when will you sleep???? like i know he doesn't realize a week of allnighters isn't normal but jfc

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"Your face looks terrible. Come over here and inhale this. They're mild smelling salts. They'll wake you up." あなた、ひどい顔ですね。ちょっとこっち来て、これ嗅いでください。 軽い気付け薬です。目が覚めますよ

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Hello. I'm here to pick up Yuri.  Hm, that's strange. I thought he would be here." こんにちは。佑理を迎えに来ました。 ……あれ？ここにいると思ったんですけど

. . .i wonder why he thought yuri would be with you? how often does he lose track of where yuri is? and why pick him up wouldn't yuri be able to get home himself? unless he figures yuri fell asleep somewhere lmao

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I can just manage to ingest water, so I brew herbal tea as an indulgence. Would you like some too?" 辛うじて水分なら取れるので、嗜好品としてハーブティーを淹れるんですよ。あなたも飲みます？

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"Yuri wouldn't get up, so I was about to give up on getting my morning medication. He got up after the ninth time he used the snooze button though." 佑理がなかなか起きないので、朝は投薬を諦めようかと思いましたよ。９回目のスヌーズで起きましたけど

Yuri and Jiro, like Rui and Haru, need healthy sleep schedules please.

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"What's this? A rice ball? I suppose I might be able to eat some of it." なんですか？　これ。 おにぎり？　まあ、少しくらいなら食べれるかもしれませんが……

can't you only eat fluids. . .are you gonna throw that up later. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You already had tea at Frostheim? The tea I make tastes better though, so please drink it anyway." フロストハイムで紅茶を飲んできたんですか？　 まあ、俺の方が美味く淹れられますから、飲んでください

lmao the mortkranken boys really do not appear to have a great opinion of frostheimers!!! "you had tea at--pfffff nah their tea sucks ass drink mine instead."

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"I enjoy being alone. The noise doesn't really bother me when I'm reading though. Can I go now?" ひとりの時間は好きですよ。まあ、本を読んでいる時は、周囲の喧噪も気になりません。もういいですか？

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"What am I doing? I'm making confections. I'm used to making precise measurements when preparing medications, and it's quite similar to that." ���ですか？　製菓をしてるんです。 計量は薬の調合で慣れてるので、まあ、似たようなものです

jiro makes cupcakes and candies and stuff. . .he can't even enjoy them though. . . . .

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"See you tomorrow. ...What? You're the one who told me I should say that while smiling." また明日。 ……なんですか？こう言って笑えばいいと、あなたが言ってたんじゃないですか

i love lines where it's like 'you told me to do this so now i'm doing it.' especially when the pc is shocked when they actually do it lolol

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"We're doing a complete check up today, so please change into these. ... Do you need me to help you undress?" 今日は精密検査なので、この検査着に着替えてください。 ………… 脱げないなら、脱がしましょうか？

strip faster bitch

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"You want to know why I started studying anomalous infectious diseases? I don't know. I just became knowledgeable about them at some point and kept going." なぜ怪異伝染病の研究を始めたか？さあ、気がついたら詳しくなってたので。何となく続けてるだけです

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"My wounds often tear so I've told Yuri deep dermal suturing would be more effective than simple interrupted, but he won't listen to me." よく傷口が開くんで、結節縫合ではなく真皮縫合の方がいいと言ってるのに、佑理が聞かないんですよね

I get the feeling Yuri doesn't listen to most people. . . .

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Yuri's combat skills are poor, so I have to protect him. If he dies, there won't be anyone left who can treat me." 佑理は戦闘が下手なので、俺が守るしかないんです。あの人が死ぬと、俺を治せる人がいなくなるんですよ

"if he dies i die so i'm just kinda protecting him because i have to." kind of an oof lmao

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"It's been a long time since I had a family, so I don't know what you're supposed to do in these situations. Could you teach me?" 俺には長いこと家族がいないので、こういう時、どうすればいいかわからないんです。教えてくれません？

GET FAM-ZONED HAHA aaaaAAAAAA HE SEES YOU AS FAMILY AND HE WANTS TO TREAT YOU THE WAY HE'S SUPPOSED TO TREAT FAMILY. . . . . . ;0; just be yourself jiro we love you as you are, dark and morbid and a little distant but actually quite sweet--

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"There's a high probability that your curse is related to my field of research. It's a problem for me if you die." あなたの呪いは、俺の研究分野に関係している可能性が高い。 あなたを死なせるわけにはいかないんですよ

the bluntness and distance in this one is so perfect for Jiro haha ESPECIALLY AFTER THE "I WANT TO TREAT YOU LIKE FAMILY" ONE BEFORE IT. . .he went from being kind of sweet to being like "if you die it'll be a problem." and not even in a tsundere way just 'it matters to me if you die for academic purposes.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"I'm going to see some flowers on Yuri's orders. Do you want to come? I'll be harvesting mandrakes." 今から佑理の指示で花を見に行くんです。あなたも一緒に行きますか？ マンドラゴラの採取ですが

"Yuri told me to take a break so I'm gonna go work near some flowers i guess."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"Cases of the infectious disease gastroenteritis explode at this time of year. It's boring prescribing the same thing all the time." この時期は感染症の胃腸炎が爆発的に増えるんですよ。次から次へと、同じ処方ばかりで飽きました

attention darkwick students: please catch more interesting illnesses. thank you -jiro

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ha ha ha ha! I observed Yuri fighting the urge to fall asleep during class today. Would you like to see the photos?" はははは！ 今日は授業中、ずっと眠気と戦っている佑理を観察してたんですよ。この写真、見ますか？

i really wish it were during the hours this one can play because i wanna record it lolol Jiro smiling and laughing because Yuri's trying not to fall asleep is so precious. Tiny little humanization for our monster boy.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"There are rumors that pollen contains ephedrine, a central nervous system stimulant. They're false, though." 桜の花粉に、興奮を誘発するエフェドリンが含まれるという噂があるそうですね。 まあ、それデマですけど

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Good, today's temperature matches the forecast. I'll be starting a new experiment this afternoon, but the temperature regulation is difficult. It should be fun." 今日の気温は……予報通りですね。 午後から新しい実験の着手をするのに、温度管理が大変で。楽しみです

temperature regulation experiments are fun! i'm glad Jiro enjoys what he does.

(between 11am and 4pm)

ああ、また手足口病の患者でした。本来子供に多い感染症なんですが、免疫がない人は可哀想ですね "It was another case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. It's an infectious disease usually more common in children. People without immunity are unfortunate."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"A dare? Okay, I'll do it with you. I've always wanted to try screaming in fear." へえ、肝試しですか。 いいですよ、付き合います。恐怖で叫ぶ経験を、一度くらいしてみたいので

"a dare" isn't really a good translation here--肝試し is a "test of courage", an activity usually done on summer evenings where you go someplace scary with your friends to overcome fear together! Or something like that. It's most often done in summer because that's when it's believed there are more like. . .supernatural occurrences? several other characters' summer lines mention more anomalies in Japan in the summer as a result of these beliefs. Either way it's cute that he's like 'oh. that sounds cool. i hope it'll make me experience fear.' I want him to scream in an exaggerated way, just SHRIEKING for the sake of it, not even because he's really that scared just "this feels like the appropriate situation for screaming :)" lmao

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh, sorry. I tried letting the stag beetles I caught for an experiment fight, and it was funnier than I expected." はははは！　ああ、すいません。 採取の時に捕まえたカブトムシ同士を戦わせたら、想像以上に面白くて

i feel like that's something that comes up now and then as like. a thing young japanese boys do. which makes jiro kind of childish in a way which is super charming? it sounds to me like he didn't have much of a childhood. so i'm happy he can explore it now and have fun.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"I don't understand why you would go somewhere without a purpose. Why would you go to a mountain if you didn't need to harvest something?" 行楽ですか？　いえ、単純に何が目的か理解できないんです。採取もせず、山を歩くんですか？

mods, show him the beauty of nature.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I went to the botanical garden to get some ingredients and I was given these yams. Do you like candied yams?" さっき植物園に原料をもらいに行ったらサツマイモをもらったんです。スイートポ���トは好きですか？

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"A lot of people in Mortkranken dislike exercise.The sporting clubs in Darkwick must be made up of people from other houses." うちの寮は、体を動かすことが嫌いな人が多いですね。学内でスポーツをしてるのも、他寮の人ですよね？

i am once again asking why i was put in fuckin frostheim--

(between 8pm and 5am)

"I read books every day, not just in the fall. I like medical journals best. I don't remember what made me start reading them." 秋に限らず、本は毎日読みますよ。特に医学の専門書は好きですね。 いつからなのかは……忘れました

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"Hurk...! Phew... I'm fine... The change in temperature between indoors and outdoors this time of year causes my physical condition to deteriorate more frequently." うっ……はあ……大丈夫です……この季節は室内外の寒暖差のせいで体調を崩しやすいので……

i remember someone i followed also gags when going from a cold place to a warm one lmao. . . .

(between 11am and 4pm)

"I found an anomalous plant that can only grow in extremely low temperatures and successfully created a medication with it. It was just a coincidence though." 極低温のみ自生する怪異植物を見つけたので、試しに原薬にしてみたら上手くいきました。まあ、偶然です

'i made a medical breakthrough but it was just an accident' is the medical equivalent of 'i'm not a model'. also Yuri has a line referencing this one!

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Streptococcal infections are on the rise. They're spread through droplet and contact infection. Have you been taking precautions?" 溶連菌の感染が増えてますね。飛沫感染と接触感染が経路になります。 あなた、ちゃんと予防してます？

jiro says WEAR YOUR FUCKIN' MASK.

(between 8pm and 5am)

"There are no merits to lowering your body temperature when you're not experiencing inflammation. I made some herbal tea that warms the body. Do you want some?" 炎症時以外、体を冷やすメリットはないですからね。体を温めるハーブティーを淹れたので、いかがです？

His birthday: (October 13th)

"Whose birthday? Oh, mine? I forgot. Did Yuri leak my medical records?" 誕生日？　誰のです？ ああ、俺のですか、忘れてました。カルテ、佑理が漏らしたんですか？

"did yuri fuckin dox me--"

Your birthday:

"Oh, it's your birthday today, isn't it? What should I do? I suppose I'll go to your room later." ああ、あなた今日、誕生日じゃないですか。何をすればいいんですか？ まあ、後でそちらの部屋に行きます

jiro no you don't have to do that you are moving so fast WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING FAMILY WAIT--

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. Why are you looking at me like that? Even I celebrate New Years." 明けましておめでとうございます。 なんですか？　その顔。正月くらい俺だって祝いますけど

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"What's this packet? I can't eat solids. You made it? Oh. I can probably eat some of it then." なんですか？　この包み。俺、固形物は食べれませんけど…… なんだ。あなたの手作りなら少しはいけます

bby if you can't eat it don't make yourself sick with it. . . . Actually since the PC feeding him let him eat food, maybe if it's something the PC makes he can eat it???

White Day: (March 14th)

"Here. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, something handmade for something handmade. Eat it here and tell me what you think." どうぞ。目には目を、歯には歯を、手作りには手作りをと思いまして。ここで食べて評価を教えてください

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Yuri's kicking up a fuss and saying I deceived him? I don't remember doing it. It doesn't matter though." 佑理が、俺に騙されたって��いでるんですか？　そんなことしましたっけ。 まあ、どっちでもいいですけど

i wonder if he actually pulled a prank and he's just hiding it really well. . .or if Yuri is just paranoid lol Yuri's for the record:

"Hmph, did you honestly think you could fool me? I won't fall for your cheap tricks. I've already been fooled by Jiro seven times today!" ふんッ。貴様も僕を騙すつもりで？その手には乗りません。今日はすでに、次郎くんに７回騙されたのでね

Halloween: (October 31st)

"I don't know much about Halloween. I can't eat candy though, so I have to play a trick on you, right?" ハロウィン？　よく知りませんが、俺、お菓子は食べれないので。 あなたに悪戯すればいいんですよね

Christmas: (December 25th)

"This tree? It's a fir tree. Yuri told me to get one, so I cut it down and carried it back here. My special artifact doesn't cut very well." この木ですか？　佑理に言われて、モミの木を切って持ってきました。俺の特質怪具、切れ味が悪いんです

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"Are you dead? Oh, you're alive." ……死んでます？　ああ、なんだ。生きてたんですね

jiro poking you with a stick like 'you dead?'

(13 affinity and above)

"Oh, Yuri's calling me. It'll be annoying if I pick up, so I'll just ignore it until you're ready to go again." ……ああ、佑理から連絡です。出ると面倒なので、あなたが動けるようになるまで、無視しておきます

'yuri is the only reason i'm alive but he's gonna yell at me so i'll just wait to pick up the phone' why??? i guess he wants to go back with you if yuri's telling him to come home lol ALSO DON'T YOU THINK IGNORING YOUR PHONE RINGING WILL WORRY YURI. . . .

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"You've skipped too many appointments. It's been a long time since your last check up...  I suppose I'll have to re-examine you." あなた、受診サボりすぎです。前回からかなり間が空いてるな…… まあ、今から再検査すればいいです

time to fill out your whole chart again! examination from top to bottom!

THERE WE GO. sorry that one took so long!! He's actually a bit of a goof but his no-affinity lines make him come off as extra cold and cruel. He just has to get used to you!! But I think it has a very charming contrast. AFTER THIS IS JIN! Tomorrow night maybe? it's almost midnight and i have to wake up early again and my insomnia kicked my ass last night. . . .

[greatwyrmgold]

I glanced at the Silk & Dagger rulebook, and the thing that stood out to me was the Palace Creation rules. Roll up a set of cramped, inconvenient caverns and turn them into a slightly less cramped, mildly convenient mansion! So I wound up making one. (Also a drow to rule it, since some of the drow's stats affect some things. But I don't think the drow I made is worth sharing.)

Chambers:

A: This is actually two chambers, right next to each other, but I really liked the idea of an ampitheater with a throne room looking down upon it. So I put an extra-wide corridor between the two rooms and declared it to be enough to connect the ampitheater and throne room dramatically. I blew a bit over 30% of my Palace Points on these two rooms, which is why the rest are mostly...small.

B: A room I mostly built to because it was a sensible crossroads for the entire palace. But then I realized I didn't have a lavatory, so I put that here and paid an arbitrary 1 Palace Point for a wall between the bathroom and the hallway.

C: This long but cramped room also has one of those arbitrary 1-point interior walls, separating the dining hall from the kitchen and pantry. It also has a heated water channel.

D: The obligatory spider pit, in a chamber which naturally generated at the exact minimum size for a spider pit. Between the size and the untrained spiders, it's pretty much the worst spider pit a drow can maintain.

E: A bathroom. That is, a room for baths, not to be confused with the lavatory. The primary beneficiary of all our water coming in hot.

F: Lament's bedroom. (Lament is the drow.) Not much to say about it, except that it's connected to...

G: Lament's study. Well, technically a "library". I carved this out as a new chamber, expecting it to just be a dozen cubic feet or so of book storage space, but it's probably more comfortable to hang out in than Lament's bedroom. Or any other room except the ampitheater and its throne balcony. Why did I give Lament a library before making the lavatory a separate room? Um...

Anyways, the other map is a loose sketch of the caves around Lament's palace, including the natural resources. She controls most of them, but annoyingly not the ones closest to her actual palace. It aggravates my map-painting instincts.

I kept rolling 5's while seeing what complications lie in the cavern passages, which. Well, at least the caverns are consistent. If you get lost, you're not going to encounter unfamiliar dangers.

[cipheramnesia]

Being wrong on the internet in an imperfect world doesn't have a perfect approach, but sometimes things can help.

1. Does it even need a response? Take awhile to think about it. Let your heart rate slow down. Save large amounts of energy by just waiting 30 minutes and figuring out it doesn't matter what you say. Maybe it's not an important topic, maybe you lack knowledge, maybe someone is clearly just angry or having a bad day.

2. Ask if myself if I was wrong, unclear, careless or so on. Shockingly easy to go damn, my bad. I can't control making mistakes 100%, but I can at least offer an apology if it was a full blown error or correct mistakes or whatever. Someone correcting me or getting mad at me doesn't make them a dickhead, and being a dickhead back generally doesn't fix a mistake or make someone less angry. Now there's two angry people. See item one. I can't un-angry someone, I can recognize a fuck up and step away.

3. Was it really malicious or just annoying? Neither person actually needs a response, but damn it really sucks burning someone's house down just because they commented about their favorite annoying pop music start on a ten thousand note post.

4. People be excited. Between different languages, different dialects, slangs, tones, writing styles, etc it's a pretty solid guarantee we will all read innocuous statements as intentionally hurtful. If you must reply, consider it might not be meant as hurtful. Worst case scenario you do something hilarious being sincere and kind to someone who hates you. It's 100% of the time a better response because it enrages the malicious and stops you being too much of an ass.

5. Damn this argument is so long. Yeah. You gotta let them go. I know what they said you said. I know what they said. And what I said. And what you said. Our participation in arguments stops mattering at a certain point. They are gonna keep saying as long as you keep saying, it's okay to just... leave. Just quit. Take the whole mess and cut the They Said and Their Bad Takes out of it. Nothing requires contextualizing your ideas in the framework of people who think everything you say or do is wrong.

It's really subjective and imperfect and stuff but it's like reblogging misinformation, it gets a lot easier if you stop and ask if it's worth the effort of getting stuck into it, and also just making an effort not to tell people they're stupid assholes in the process. It's not even necessary to be especially polite or tiptoe per say, huge leaps can be casually taken by resisting the urge to make up creative insults.

[stygiansauce]

ok i’m back and my thoughts are mostly together!

1. lore drop. i absolutely adore and abhor the grian-jimmy lore. like it hurts and it’s very real but also the almost discomfort of knowing like “hey as your sibling i understand that you’re an adult but as a parent you’re still my baby” and it probably doesn’t help with their ages being relatively close together!!! ahh!!! i love how grian wants jimjam to experience normal-ish adult things but still keep him so close under his wing. it’s just MWUAH chefs kiss (one day grian and jimmy are going to fight and maybe grian will say “you’re MY son” and jimmy will say “but you’re not mum” and oh it’s going to build until it breaks)

2. oh my god the emotional rollercoaster. i read tension, i giggle (and get weird looks from my friends). i read sibling dynamics, i gasp and clutch my pearls. i read unintentional immortalization of myself, i twirl my hair. i read JIZZIE!!! giggling again. you’re unreal everything is so in character

3. LORE DROP GOD TANGO LORE??? gosh and it’s so understandable with tango trying to feel out how having more friends works!! like zed’s his confidant and his brother in arms and gosh tango feels like he’s doing zed a disservice by confiding in other people!!! oh my godddd sauce you literally have to be omnipresent because ouch??? gosh and adequate!!! stop please my heart cannot take this. tango having the best memories of his life with adequate but having to give him up for a future!!

4. TENSION OH EM GEE. at this point every interaction between them is foreplay. and with etho and bdubs??? AND CLIMB 10. stop i actually almost shed a tear. (and i read the hanging indent i now have an ouchie and no one to kiss jt better). and the grian-tango stare off??? i love how unsettling you make his stare feel. being perceived is probably one of the worst feelings ever and grian is absolutely picking apart every piece of tango to see if he’s really actually just a teensy bit worthy of his baby brother.

5. tango jimmy tango jimmy TANGO JIMMY- LOLLIPOP SCENE ELECTRIC BOOGALOO YOU ARE ELECTROCUTING ME AND I AM BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS

ok this is a long one but holy crap keep up the PHENOMENAL work!!!

- 💿

CD anon...you have predicted so much. Apollo has smacked you with the gift of prophecy. I want...to...share...the...whole plot. SHAKING.

YES. The chill brother and the scared parent are two sides of the same coin and Jimmy has trouble differentiating between them. There is a reason he agrees to the bar crawl so fast and we learn later in the car that the reason is guilt. Tango struggles with a lot, but Jimmy's main villian in this story is guilt and his stuggle to be his own person, that isn't spending all his energy on other people. He has to learn how to be selfish. (see chapter three for more)

I had so much with all these characters. I honestly feel like Lizzie didn't get enough light but I will try to remedy that in another chapter. But for background lore about the Jizzie wedding that doesn't matter: Jimmy says "Either way, I was just there to witness. No one else could do it on short notice.” and we as the readers will never get to see (I might have Joel bring it up later in a small comment) but Jimmy wasn't "just there" he was Joel's best man. They didn't ask anyone else to come. They asked ONLY Jimmy to be there. He's down playing his worth in this scene. Though, I don't expect you guys to notice that because I didn't supply that context yet. we can chat about it here for now, becuase I think it will help you guys see some of the choices I made for Jimmy's character and how the lack of confidence he shows in the backflash hasn't really gone away. Not where it matters at least.

YES! You noticed his sacrifice! In chapter three Jimmy talks about how Tango is a giver. How he's always giving parts of himself away to their friends and being just...Tango. And then we get these bits about his life. Adequate was what he had before he met Zed, his ONE friend. Like he talks about ex-girlfriends and past hookups and all that, but he doesn't mention any other friends besides the one's he has in front of him. Tango had one thing, his horse. and when his father told him, "You’re a waste of a good brain stuck on this ranch, son" and I good will hunting the fuck out his character, we learn that he GAVE UP something he loves because he trusts his father/mentor/Zed and chooses to move away to persue a new, better life. Tango has so much inside of him that he just doesn't know how to talk about. He's a genious. He's smarter than everyone else in this story, including Etho. yet he still struggles academically. He still FEARS his thesis and what that will do for his life. and instead of worrying about that he's worried about JIMMY. He's still giving up parts of himself because it's all he knows how to do. Vs. Jimmy who is so tired of giving parts of himself that he holds it all close to his chest (see chapter three) and doesn't let Tango in. thank goodness Tango is patient because if he wasn't their relationship wouldn't be what it is now.

YEEAAHHH sorry I killed Climb. It was Hermitcraft season 10 lore. It hurt to do. In the orginal draft Tango is the one that had to put Climb down, but then I was like "thats so fucked up for no reason. A recreational horse like Climb would either just die, or be put down by a vet" and in all honesty? calling a vet and putting down a pet is worse than just having someone shoot it. It's dragged out and it hurts and poor Bdubs because y'all dont even know how he got Climb yet, and thats gonna make his death hurt worse when you know. (yum Hanging Indent lore) I REALLY enjoy the differences in reactions between Tango and Jimmy, when being preceived. In chapter three, Jimmy feels really precived (I know you. It echoes and mocks him, makes his breath lump in his throat, thick and awful.) , and his reaction is violence! He's on edge and instantly ready to fight, I wonder where he learned to feel like that... Vs. Tango who instantly wants to hide, and run, and curl into himself. He's a background guy. He isn't used to this and doesn't know how to react. The only time he reacts is when Jimmy is within his reach, almost like protection. Food for thought.

Lollipop scene 2.0!!! GOSH Tango has so much self control, holy cow. I love this scene for them. I LOVE the Etho talk on the porch. The way I would yap and break down each thing Etho does in that scene is crazy. Because Etho is using psychology on Tango, and he used it on you. Did you notice? There are no communication break downs between them. Tango is uncomfortable but Etho still drags it out of him. He says things that get certain answers. It's all casual yet calculated. FOOD FOR THOUGHT!! Hope you guys enjoyed! I can and will yap about this chapter but only AFTER you guys make the connections yourself. its no fun if I give it all to you. Kisses!! xoxo Sauce

[basedonconjecture]

Six Song Soundtrack

I was tagged by @mythals-whore! Not me being so excited to do this and then agonizing about it for days instead 💀

I’m also tagging @thedissonantverses, @rat-spit-village, @introvertedfangrl, @complikatedd, @mercars-musings, and anyone else who wants to and hasn’t been tagged :)

Rules: make a post with links to music and/or lyrics describing six things/events about your OC/story.

These are in no particular order bc I can’t be arsed to figure out priority

1. Notre Dame - Paris Paloma

I rarely go down there / the view's just so beautiful from here / and I can see everybody at their worst points / … / I'm not a higher power / I just live in the ceiling / cause I'm lonely on the fringes / and it gives my life some meaning in the exile / in my exile

This is like…almost too literal for Selora tbh. It’s mostly speaking to the disconnect between her and most people around her. And, at the same time, her version of running away usually involves finding the highest place to climb to (roofs, rafters, attics, etc.) because up is the last place anyone looks 👀

2. Scar Tissue - Moselle

hit hard and ask about the bruise / looks so out of place on a pretty girl like you / low bar but really what's the use / collect the reddest flags / to tie into a noose / … / it's like I'm running / after something / but it doesn't beat my pace / I don't think that it's a race / I think I'm in it for the chase / … / speak up they call it attitude / impress and it makes em' act a fool / praise the ways that you're breaking all their rules

This is probably the closest to her theme song (if someone else me was choosing lol she’d never be this honest even if it’s trueeeee) but it’s more true pre-Veilguard than after because she does grow a lot over the course of that. This is Opportunity era Selora for sure tho iykyk 🤷‍♀️ There’s also like a ton of lyrics in here I could have pulled for her to ahahahaahaha my poor bb.

3. Ready - Hael

ready, set, go / gas to the fire / push a little farther / jump a little higher / fast, not slow / watch me taking over / running right beside you /feel me moving closer / ready right now / paid my dues / standing in your shadow / give me all the power / something to devour / don't let yourself get jealous / it will kill you if you let it

If there existed a Karate Kid-style training montage of her from fledgling to, say, the night she took out the Antaam unit before everything went off the rails, this would be the song set over it. It also would for sure be on her workout playlist in a Modern AU. She’d also probably choose it as her theme song if she had the choice—but she does not :)

4. Take - The Rigs

hit the dirt / stand up and do the work / stealing the devil's purse / this is your lot / quench your thirst / you've got to get there first / no time to question worth / dreams can't be bought / … / heroes rise / legends were born to die / you'll live through the words they'll write

This song is most representative of like the little interior voice narrating her thoughts lol the rhythm of it too is very much like a marching cadence which I think is pretty indicative of how rote some of the things she tells herself really are. Like bbygirl barely even believes these things she says to herself to make any of it worth it but she keeps saying them 🥲

5. Will You Follow Me Into the Dark - Klergy

This one is less for the lyrics and more for the vibes. There’s a turn in Per Essere Veri currently planned for around the 75% mark (which I can say bc none of you know when or where that’ll be) that this track plays over in my brain. If you’ve been here awhile, you might have seen me also attribute this song to Sel & Viago. That remains true and the only clue I will give you <3

6. Picture You - Chappell Roan

Listen, the time between the almost kiss and the lock in was a rough time. That’s all I’ll say. White-knuckling her way through being v Normal and Totally Unaffected and wow the world is possibly ending and we’re spending that time yearning for someone unavailable? Embarrassinggggg. Will go to her grave with the secret of how she got through it djsjsjsjdha

[notfreetoday]

MPW Ep 6 Subtitle Corrections

Masterlist: EP 1 || EP 2 || EP 3 || EP 4 || EP 5 ||

Y: 正直言って　怖い 近づく度に　心臓が跳ねるから 何なら近寄らないで欲しい 住む世界が違うから 好かれたいとかは思わない ただ。。。 嫌われてしまったら死んでしまうかもしれない 想像するだけで　胃液がせり上がった Y: To be honest, I was scared. Because whenever he came close to me, my heart leapt and skipped a beat. I wished that, if possible, he wouldn't come near me because we lived in different worlds. 'I want him to like me' - I never had a thought like that. It was just... If he ended up hating me then I felt like I might die. Just thinking about it made my stomach turn.

We've seen for awhile that Yoh's fear that Segasaki will one day come to disdain him is what keeps him from voicing his thoughts out loud - but it is in Ep 6 that we truly learn the intensity with which Yoh feels, and come to understand why that fear overwhelms him to the point that he is incapable of hearing Segasaki's love for him.

Or, Yoh sees Segasaki for the first time and literally starts spouting poetry in the way only a visual artist can. Get ready for a lot of interaction breakdowns - this episode tells us quite a lot about these two! Same translation disclaimer applies, Ep 6, let's go!

S: 相変わらず　歩くの遅ぇな S: As usual, he walks so slowly

Y: あのさ　実は Y: 出てくるときにケンカしちゃって M: え？どうしたの Y: お前の仕事なんてどうでもいいって言われた M: 瀬ケ崎さんが？そんなこと言ったの？ Y: どうでもいいって　なんだよ Y: 人が一所懸命やってる��とに対して* Y: 最低だよ　あいつ* Y: You know... actually Y: When I was leaving we got into an argument M: Huh? What happened? Y: I was told "I don't care at all about something like your work" M: By Segasaki-san? He said something like that? Y: "I don't care at all"... what's with that! Y: To say that about something that someone is giving their all for...* Y: He's the worst, that guy** **Yoh uses あいつ (aitsu) to refer to Segasaki as "that guy". This is again considered rude, though is often used amongst male friends as well (like calling someone an asshole/bastard). He tends to use this word to refer to Segasaki in his head, especially when he's annoyed with him.

*Just like at the end of Ep 5, where Yoh emphasizes that he will become someone who can earn more as opposed to just earning more, here Yoh specifies that he is upset with Segasaki's response to his work, rather than being upset with the response being directed at himself, as the original subs imply. It's a small difference but I think it's important because it fits with his entire character. He has consistently only been triggered by comments about his work, not about him as a person. Yoh is self-conscious and sensitive about his work, because he sees competence as a measure of worth. It's precisely because he ties his self-worth to his work that he falls into such a deep depression in Ep 5, and it is the same reason why Yoh does not understand what good Segasaki could possibly see in him - after all, there is no merit in just being who he is, only in the work that he can do.

Y: いや　それは都合よく受け取り過ぎだよ Atsuya: ダヨ君　言葉って受け取り方が９割だからさ A: 同じ言葉でも　その時の気持ちやコンディションによって A: 違った意味に捻じ曲げちゃうものなんだよ A: ダヨ君が元気な時だったら     もっと甘～く聞こえたんじゃない？ Y: No, that's just over-interpreting it in my favor Atsuya (Man-san's husband): Dayo-kun, they say that about 90% of the meaning words convey comes down to the way we interpret them, so A: Depending on the way we feel, or our condition in that moment, that meaning can end up distorted and warped, even if the same words are used, you know? A: If Dayo-kun you, had been in a happier mood, might it not have sounded a lot sweeter to you?

Y: ん。。。いや、違うんです Y: 俺とあの人って　そういう感じじゃないんで Y: Mm... No, it's not like that Y: That person and I, well... that's not what it's like (between us), you see

Y: あの人を初めて見たとき この星の生き物じゃないかもしれないって思った   少なくとも地球上で見たものの造形の中で 一番きれいだとおもった 耳の形　鼻筋　 下顎角のライン　唇の膨らみ きっと見えない眼球の形状まで きれいなんだろうなって

Y: When I first saw that person I thought that he might not be a living thing from this planet At the very least, out of all the forms that I had ever seen on this Earth I thought he had the most beautiful one. The shape of his ears, the ridge of his nose, The line of the angle of his jaw, the full contour of his lips Even the structure of what could not be seen - the globe of his eyes - I thought for sure that too must be beautiful.

Y: 趣味で漫画は描いてたけど 現実の人間を描くのは初めてだった それに　 男を描きたいと思ったのも初めてだった 今　目に焼き付けて　描きつけておきたい衝動に駆られた たぶん　あの美貌と同じ空間にいた そのせいで　俺は　おかしくなっていた Y: I had drawn manga as a hobby but It was my first time drawing a real live person. And, It was also the first time that I thought "I want to draw a man" In that moment, driven by impulse, I wanted to burn his image into my eyes, to capture his likeness down on paper. Probably, it was because I was in the same space as that beauty. It was because of that, that I began to go crazy.

At 06:44, when Segasaki's green shirt classmate comes in calling his name, you can see that Yoh mouth’s "Mizuki" after he hears it.

(Btw Green Shirt later wears a Red Jacket, and is played by Nishimoto Maiki, the leader of the group Acchan is in - GENIC. Cute shot of the 3 of them here)

S: 直接何かしてくるわけではないし　別にいいと思うけど S: Well it's not like he's doing anything to us directly... I think it's fine actually

Y: 女の子が相手なら　 一目惚れだとはっきり思ったかもしれない でも　ただただきれいな男だったんで 自分の脳が　そこまで処理しきれなかった Y: If it was a girl Then maybe I would have clearly understood that this was love at first sight But it was just very simply, a beautiful man so My brain couldn't handle processing more than that

Most of this is not subtitled, and it’s a little muffled, but as the group walks over you can hear that Segasaki is the center of their conversation here, though he's not actually participating in it much. It speaks to the group dynamics, so I'm including it here (Segasaki is bolded):

Girl: ええ？ S: ちがうよ Red Jacket: 瑞貴じゃん、ね、今ね？ Girl どうせモテるじゃん S: いやモテない Red:モテるよ瑞貴が Girl: 告白されてるよ　どうせ Red: されてる　されてる Girl: あれ！ぼっちくん*じゃん Red: うわっ　マジだ　ぼっちくんじゃん Boy: いつも俺たちのことチラチラ見てる Girl: ちょっと来なよ　おしゃべりしたげるからさ** Girl: Whaat? S: It wasn't Red Jacket: It was (said to) Mizuki wasn't it, right? Just now? Girl: I mean you're popular anyway! S: No, I'm not Red: Mizuki's popular Girl: Whatever it is, that was a confession (you received) Red: It was, it was Girl: Oh hey! Why, isn't it Little Loner*? Red: Oh snap, you're right! It is Little Loner! Boy: The one who always sneaks looks at us Girl: Come here a bit, we'll talk to you, ok?** *ぼっちくん (Bocchi-kun) - Bocchi is slang for loner, and by adding the suffix "-kun" to it, they've turned this into a diminutive, like a nickname. It sounds cute and friendly, but is clearly meant as a casual sort of insult, so I've translated it as "Little" here. **This is an interesting line to discuss. She tells Yoh to come over, using the phrase 来なよ (kina yo) - this is the same "na" that Segasaki uses in Ep 4 actually, when he tells a drunk Yoh to go sleep in the room. It's the exact same word form, but where it was tender when Segasaki said it, it's highly insulting here - and the reason is because of the context and their (non-existant) relationship. She may be Yoh's senior, but this is the first time they're meeting, and they are nowhere near close enough that this phrasing would ever be seen as appropriate. She then tells him "we'll talk to you", using the colloquial form of "~したあげる (shita ageru)" aka "to do for you" - in other words, she's framing the action of them talking to him as if it were a gift from them to him (this word form also implies they are above him in the hierarchy). She also adds the polite prefix "O" to the word for "talk", which in this context is meant to make her appear sweet and ladylike. In other words, with just one line, she has insulted Yoh not only by talking down to him as if he were a small child or a pet, but also by insinuating that she's a sweet, lovely person who has been so kind as to deign to speak to him.

Y: あの。。。俺*　買ってきます Y: 絡まれてるより１００億倍マシだわ Y: Um... I*... will go and buy it. Y: That's definitely 100 million times better than getting harassed by them *Yoh still uses the masculine pronoun 俺 (ore) for "I" here (the same one he's used in every episode) which is remarkable for the fact that he doesn't switch to the more polite form 僕 (boku). Nowadays, it isn't really expected per se that a junior make this switch - especially since "ore" is usually the go-to pronoun for most male university students - but the switch wouldn't be surprising either, given that they are his seniors. Yoh does acknowledge their seniority when he uses the formal -masu form of the word "to buy" - but in the context of them bullying him, the choice to stick with the more masculine pronoun "ore" suggests that he isn't intimidated by them.

Red: セルフパシリって　すごくね？ Girl: やばいよ Red: He automatically offered to be an errand boy! Isn’t that crazy? Girl: It’s nuts!

パシリ(pashiri) - to be made to run errands - is slang, and it is used specifically to refer to cases where someone with more social power orders another around. It’s almost always linked to bullying or misuse of social power – so by using this word, these guys - they know exactly what they are doing.

Y: クソだよ　あいつら* Y: Those bastards*… they’re trash *Yoh uses the same word あいつ (aitsu) to refer to the gang that he did at the beginning of this episode to refer to Segasaki - once again it is the context that changes the meaning of this word. With Segasaki, it is proof that they share a close relationship. With these upper classmen that he's just met - it's definitely rude.

This is a very common form of bullying in school, and evidently, Yoh recognizes it immediately. The fact that he jumps so quickly to cooperating with it tells us sadly that this is something he's familiar with - he's likely been bullied before. This is unfortunately, unsurprising, because Yoh doesn't adhere to social norms very much. He eats alone, he stares at people, he doesn't greet his seniors properly (that slight bow is not enough, there should at least be a verbal greeting of some sort).

In my post on amae, I talked about how the interdependent self-construal means that one's ability to assimilate is seen as a value. In the same vein, people who do not fit in with the group, or who do not conform, are not looked upon favorably in Japan, because it is often assumed that they simply do not want to. It is not that they are unable to assimilate, it is that they are refusing to make an effort to be part of the group, and thus the fault and blame lies with them. Ostracization of those different therefore, is the expected consequence and punishment that the group metes out. All of us have to do our part to adhere to the rules of the group - what makes you so special that you can do your own thing? If you just did your job of fitting in like the rest of us have, well, then you wouldn't be in this position in the first place, now would you? - This sort of justification is the reason why bullying in Japan can become very, very extreme, and why despite efforts, has been so difficult to eradicate.

S: そんなに　一人で持てないだろうと思って S: 貸して Y: ありがとうございます* S: 行こう S: I thought all of that was probably going to be too much for one person to carry S: Pass it over Y: Thank you very much* S: Let's go

*Yoh uses the full, polite version of "thank you" here, and he will, for the most part, continue to use desu/masu forms with Segasaki, and answer him politely, in recognition of their senior/junior relationship. Similarly, Segasaki uses informal forms with Yoh, though he maintains a friendly demeanor and does not drop to rude forms at all, because they aren't that close yet. Note how he says 行こう (ikou) for "let's go" here - different from his present day "we're going", which leaves no room for argument.

(Also, he took the heavier bag of drinks (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡)

S: 結構歩くのゆっくりなんだね Y: よく　言われます S: 君　名前は？ Y: あ　葉って言います　あの。。。葉っぱの S: ふーん　葉くんか Y: はい S: 俺は　 Y: 瑞貴...さん S: なんで知ってんの？ Y: あ　そう呼ばれていたので S: よく　聞いてんな Y: はあ　まあ。。。

Let's break this down to look at some social cues and nuances:

S: You walk quite leisurely, don't you? Y: I've... been told that a lot

This is more than just a callback to the beginning of the episode (or a chance to contrast how much more polite and sweet Segasaki sounds here 😂) - This is another way in which we see Yoh does not fit in. Segasaki is his senior, who has gone out of his way to come help him (never mind that Yoh's being bullied), and he should at the very least, be trying to match Segasaki's pace, not making him wait like Yoh does here. Segasaki's comment should be taken as much as an expression of surprise, as it should a cue to catch up - Yoh glances briefly at Segasaki after this line (which seems to amuse the latter) but he doesn't actually apologize outright or walk any faster. He does admit that he's been told this often - which sometimes can work as a concession, because you sort of validate what the other person is saying, but at the same time you aren't quite agreeing either. That said, it can backfire, because it means you've been made aware of your habit and yet have done nothing to change it. Segasaki doesn't seem to mind though, and actually matches Yoh's pace here.

Speaking of "pace" - "マイペース" or "my pace" is a loan word from English, and is a term used to describe someone who tends to do things, well, at their own pace, or in their own way, and who isn't bother by the people or goings-on around them. Usually meant as a benign, sometimes affectionate comment on someone's personality, it often brings to mind the image of someone who appears to drift during conversations, who might be a little "slow" in social interactions, or who physically lags behind the group. It can have negative connotations, because it means the group needs to make concessions for this person (like looking for them when they've wondered off). Yoh is the epitome of someone who is "my pace", and I'm very sure that the emphasis on his slow walking is not just a peculiar quirk of his character, it's an intentional part of the character design to show how Yoh is different.

S: *You... what's your name? Y: Ah, I'm called Yoh. Um... written with the character for "leaf" S: Hmm~ Yoh-kun huh.. Y: Yes

*Segasaki uses the polite pronoun 君 (kimi) to refer to Yoh here, as opposed to the rougher お前 (omae) that he now uses in the present day.

That little action Yoh does whilst saying "leaf" is him drawing out the kanji character for his name. It's quite common to tell someone which character is used to write your name, because the characters usually mean something, and it helps others to remember. Strictly speaking, Yoh really should be introducing his full name here, but judging by how he's been fiddling with the plastic bag, he's probably just too nervous to realize.

S: I'm Y: Mizuki...san S: Why do you know that? Y: Ah... that's what.. you were called (by them) so... S: You listen closely don't you Y: Ahh.. yea...

Nice save 😂First of all, it's extremely unusual to jump straight to using someone's first name instead of their family name (unless you're still a kid), let alone doing it to an upper classman, though Yoh does manage to tack on the polite suffix "-san" at the back. It's the verbal equivalent of stepping right into someone's personal space and touching their bag or something and then being all "er there was something there...". It's just weird and borderline inappropriate 😂 The fact that Segasaki doesn't scold him for taking such a liberty, or show any sign that he appears weirded out by it (in fact, he actually goes along with it!) tells us that Segasaki is a very kind (yasashii would be the right term here, the same term that appears at the end of this episode) or at least a very tolerant individual though I'd also like to think he just finds Yoh's strange ways a little cute too.

S: いま　楽しい？ Y: え？あ　いえ S: 絡まれて　パシらされてさ Y: ああ。。 S: どう？ Y: いや　たのしくないです Y: 瑞貴さんは？ S: 俺？ Y: はい S: 全然楽しくない S: 内緒ね Y: はい

Continuing with the breakdown:

S: Is it fun? Y: Huh? Ah no-

Segasaki's tone changes here to a more serious one - all he does is stress the final syllables of the word "fun" to indicate he's asking a question, instead of adding any end particles that might give more context, or that might soften the tone. The topic switch is a little sudden, which is why Yoh seems a bit confused. It doesn't help that the words are a little ambiguous - it literally translates to "now, fun?" - except the Japanese word for "now" is often used to mean "just now" as well, because the Japanese concept of time is not quite as linear as it is in West. "Now" doesn't just refer to "this current exact second we are in", it extends from whenever the "current activity" began right up to "this current exact second" - the key is figuring out what the current activity is 😅. Because Segasaki jumps into this topic so suddenly, and without much contextual cues, Yoh can't quite tell whether he means now, as in them walking together, or now, as in, the whole being sent on an errand thing, which is why Segasaki clarifies in the next sentence:

S: Being hassled, and sent on errands? Y: Oh... S: So? Y: No, it... isn't fun.

Segasaki watches Yoh closely whilst he waits for the answer to his question. This is Segasaki checking that Yoh knows he's being bullied, and it's also permission to talk about the topic. Once he confirms that Yoh does know what's happening, he looks away again.

The exchange tells us a lot about Segasaki's character, because often, the reason why bullying goes on for so long is that no one is willing to talk about it. Everyone knows what's going on, but no one acknowledges it. The fact that Segasaki jumps straight into it hints to Yoh that he doesn't agree with what his "friends" are doing (whether Yoh catches that hint or not is a different story). It also tells us, the audience, that he isn't afraid to speak up about things he disagrees with (similar to how he spoke up for Yoh when Yoh was sketching in the cafeteria) - but not to the extent that he'll do something which threatens the harmony of the group outright. This is tatemae/honne, which I talked about briefly in the amae post as well, and linked to this street interview video for real life examples. In short, tatemae is your ability to avoid conflict and smooth over group interactions, and is seen as an essential and positive trait. Segasaki is very good at this, even at this stage in his life, which is part of why he is so well-liked.

Y: What about Mizuki-san? S: Me? Y: Yes S: I'm not having fun at all S: It's a secret, yea? Y: Yes

This is cute, and tells us about Yoh's character too. Firstly, he's still persisting in his use of "Mizuki-san", though he's being really tentative about it, like he's testing whether or not it's okay. Secondly, he's actually asking Segasaki directly to confirm his stand on what his "friends" are doing. Is this Yoh being daring, or just his slightly awkward, somewhat tactless self? I couldn't tell you 🤣 It's likely a bit of both.

In response, you can hear the surprise in Segasaki's voice, but he doesn't hesitate to detach himself from the actions of the group. The way he invites Yoh into his group here, by acting as if he's let Yoh in on a secret, is very charming obviously, and reminds me somewhat of how in Ep 4, he suddenly drops to "Kanami-san" when talking to Man-san too. This again fits with how his "public mode" has been consistently portrayed thus far - nice, charming, polite, good-looking, and obviously popular (Ep 3, the girls in the cafe at the back, Ep 4, the way he talks to Man-san, this Ep, where he's even been proposed to).

Guy: 俺の水がきたかな？　 Red: あいつ覚えてるかな Guy: 確かに　待たせたな S: ごめん　葉くんお腹痛いんだって　だから連れて帰るわ　はい Girl: 瑞貴まで帰らなくてもいいんじゃん S: しんどいのに　一人すんのかわいそうでしょ* S: じゃあ　またね　また　 S: 行こう Red: 優しいな**　瑞貴 Girl: でも　帰っちゃったよ Guy: Is my water coming? Red: Will that guy remember? Guy: Good point, he's really made us wait S: Sorry! Yoh says he's got a stomachache, so I'm gonna take him home. Here! Girl: Huh? But it's not like Mizuki you have to go too right? S: Leaving him all by himself right when he's having a hard time - wouldn't you feel bad for him?* S: So, see you guys later, 'kay! Bye! S: Let's go Red: Mizuki's really kind** isn't he? Girl: But, he's leaving you know!

*Segasaki does a very small switch up to the polite form here, as he takes the moral high ground by reminding the girl that as Yoh's senior, they have an obligation to take care of him when he's unwell. He's still friendly about it though. **優しい (yasashii) - kind. This word pops up a lot to describe Segasaki, we'll talk about it at the end of this episode.

Y: あの　いいんですか？ S: あそこ戻りたかった？ Y: いえ Y: Um... is this okay? S: You wanted to go back there? Y: No

Y: いつも　友達に囲まれてるこの人が なんでこうして　俺と一緒に歩いてるのかわからなくて 不思議だった Y: This person, whose friends were always surrounding him... I just couldn't understand why he'd walk together with me like this It was a mystery to me.

Y: あの顔が　信じられないほど近くにあった 耳元に届いた声の響きまで　良いものであることに 気づいてしまった Y: That face was... so close to me I could scarcely believe it And it dawned on me then How wonderfully pleasing Even the notes of his voice drifting pass my ears sounded

The scene in the library I've included right at the top, but I'm going to add the conversation that happens during Yoh's monologue, since the subs have them sort of mixed in.

S: 葉 S: 何してんの？ Y: え？えと、あの、本を探せて... S: この本面白いよ Y: え？ Y: ありがとうございます S: また感想教えて Y: はい S: Yoh S: What're you doing? Y: Eh! Um, ah.. I'm looking for a book... (inaudible) S: This book is interesting Y: Eh? Y: Thank you very much S: Tell me your thoughts on it next time Y: Yes

Segasaki's already dropped the polite suffix "-kun" behind Yoh's name here, and doesn't actually bother to let Yoh finish saying thank you before he tells him to report back about the book. Yoh on the other hand, is still using the full, formal and polite version of thank you, and answers him properly. Segasaki's taken the initiative to get closer to Yoh - he's already speaking to him like how he does in the present day (just, not roughly), but Yoh hasn't gotten comfortable enough yet to drop the formalities - or, he simply may not be sure if he can.

Navigating formalities and when to drop them is tricky, and requires some degree of social intuition. Generally speaking, Segasaki dropping a speech level should be a sign that it might be okay for Yoh to drop as well (not to the same level of course, just a little less formal) - but given how Yoh sees them as living in different worlds, and how fearful he is of being hated, it's unlikely that he'd want to touch the status quo.

Y: あの人の気持ち？ Y: That person's feelings?

Yoh's pretty much stuck to the phrase "that person" when referring to Segasaki this whole episode, even during his flashback. He tends to do this when he's feeling some distance between them (like in Ep 2).

On screen messages: Y: What is Kintsuba? S: You don't even know what Kintsuba is? Y: I'm sorry [Yesterday] S: I'll be back late today Y: Understood [Today] (unread) S: Just give the editor some kind of excuse, and come back right now

A: 随分　追い込まれてたねぇ Y: 気持ちを言葉にするとか　あんまりしたことなくて Y: 他人の気持ちなんて　なおさら A: You've pretty much been cornered, huh?* Y: Putting feelings into words and all... I've never really done that myself... Y: Let alone (doing that for) another person's feelings. *This is in reference to Man-san asking Yoh to write out Segasaki's feelings

A: めちゃくちゃにしてやる, めちゃくちゃにして..x10 A: Gonna mess you up, mess you up... x 10

Yes, this does sound like a line straight out of a bad Jp AV 🤣🤣. I mean, we're talking about scenes from Man-san's manga right? That they had to mosaic out? 🤣🤣

Now you know why Segasaki is pissed.

S: 可奈美さんも一緒に仕事してるんですか？ M: すみません！瀬ケ崎さんにご報告もせずに進めてしまって S: いや、可奈美さんのせいじゃないですよ S: Kanami-san, are you also doing your work together with him? M: I apologize! We ended up moving forward without even alerting you about it! S: No, it's not your fault, Kanami-san

You can tell Segasaki has misunderstood here - he thinks Man-san has also been called to work at this Editor's place, and is completely not listening to what she has said, hence her ?? reaction 🤣

S: あ、すみません 急用ができてしまったので葉を迎えに来ました S: Ah, I apologize An urgent matter arose, and so I've come to pick Yoh up.

Segasaki's being quite formal here, but this is not the way to be polite. The "proper" way to request leave to go home early on behalf of someone else would be to first, apologize specifically for the disruption, introduce yourself and your relation to that person, apologize that an urgent matter has come up, regrettably but firmly insist that said person must return home immediately on pain of death, apologize again for all the trouble caused, promise to make up for it, humbly ask for understanding, and then apologize your way out the door.

So yes, despite the polite word forms this is quite rude, and is so far removed from Segasaki's usual "public mode" that it cracks me up. Segasaki's composure is unravelling by the second in these next few scenes - he is pissed and absolutely does.not.give.a.shit. 🤣

From right to left: S: So, this bastard is the famed Editor huh... S: Don't you dare try to deceive and pull tricks on Yoh! S: The hell you doing touching him like that so freely!! A: Who (is this)?

The language gets progressively ruder the more the speech bubbles get pointy and the larger the font gets🤣🤣

M: 瀬ケ崎さん　やっぱ強いわ～ M: Segasaki-san really has a strong presence after all~

Y: 黙っててごめんなさい* S: あのさ Y: はい S: ああいうのがいいわけ？ Y: え？ S: 俺より　あの男のどこがいいわけ？ Y: I'm sorry for keeping this from you!* S: Tell me Y: Yes S: Is that what you like? Y: Huh? S: Compared to me, just how is that guy better? *Yoh uses the full but informal version of "sorry" here - gomen nasai. Making a note of this here so I can come back to it in one of the analysis posts.

Y: え、いや Y: 比べるものじゃないと思うけど。。 S: あるんだろうが　俺より　いいところが S: まあ、納得する理由がない限り俺は認めねえけどな Y: 強いて言えば　優しいかな* Y: 人の話を　ちゃんとじっくり聞いてくれるし Y: Um, no... Y: I don't think it's something that can be compared... S: There is something, isn't there? Some way in which he's better than me S: Though, unless you give me something I think is reasonable I won't accept it Y: Well if I had to say something then... maybe, he's kind?* Y: I mean, he listens carefully and attentively to what someone has to say...

*優しい (yasashii) - often translated as "kind", it encompasses the ideas of "caring", "tenderness", "thoughtful/considerate", "warm/gentle". It's often a trait people say they look for in their significant other.

This word has come up often to describe Segasaki - in Ep 2, Segasaki uses it to describe himself, in Ep 3, Yoh uses it to describe Segasaki's voice, and of course here in Ep 6, red shirt uses it to describe Segasaki again. Even when the word isn't said out loud, a lot of Segasaki's actions would fit this word - In Ep 2, when he picks up after Yoh and comforts him during their not-argument. In Ep 3, when he passes Yoh his gift, and implies there's nothing to be sorry for. In Ep 4, the way he coaxes Yoh. In Ep 5, when he takes care of Yoh. In Ep 6, he speaks up for Yoh in the cafeteria when he doesn't have to, when he goes to help Yoh. The irony of this moment is that Segasaki puts in a lot of effort and probably does pride himself in being yasashii, and he listens to Yoh better than Yoh listens to himself, and yet he hears from Yoh that he isn't yasashii or attentive, which explains the pained expression on his face.

S: あ、そう S: 俺先行くわ* S: Oh, is that so? S: I'm going ahead then* *わ (wa) - this ending particle puts emphasizes one's statement, but is not one that Segasaki usually uses. It's less forceful that his usual speech, because he's quite hurt by Yoh's statements.

Y: かばんに入ってたやつ　戻しといてから Y: The thing that was inside my bag, I put it back so... The way Yoh ends this sentence leaves room for a follow up - it's an invitation to continue the conversation, which we actually have not seen him do with Segasaki, and that's why he looks so dejected when Segasaki rejects that invitation by walking away.

Though it's been hinted at throughout the show, Ep 6 is where we get confirmation that Yoh's just never quite fit in with the crowd, and that Segasaki has always been in the center of it. The stark difference explains why Yoh is so afraid that one day he will do something to make Segasaki hate him, and why he reflexively rejects the idea that Segasaki could possibly love him.

This episode is painful, for both of them. For Yoh, because from the intensity of his monologues, we finally get a sense of how big a presence Segasaki is to him, and therefore, how devastating it would be to lose him. For Segasaki, because for all that he can read Yoh, for all that he has done to try and reassure Yoh of his love, he still cannot make Yoh see, cannot make Yoh hear.

"If he ended up hating me then I felt like I might die."

It is precisely Yoh's love for Segasaki that makes Yoh fear the possibility of losing him, and it is that fear that blinds, deafens and mutes Yoh to the very thing he hopes for. And it is in trying to protect himself, that he inadvertently hurts the very person he loves so much.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (3x01): “Suzie, Do You Copy?” Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things reviews!

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

Season 1:

The Vanishing of Will Byers

The Weirdo on Maple Street

Holly Jolly

The Body

The Flea and the Acrobat

The Monster

The Bathtub

The Upside Down

Season 2:

MADMAX

Trick or Treat, Freak

The Pollywog

Will the Wise

Dig Dug

The Spy

The Lost Sister

The Mind Flayer

The Gate

Stranger Things Play:

Stranger Things The First Shadow

NOTE: If you'd like to listen to the Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things 3 Podcast, this link here will take you to all three videos.

Well, I finally got to season 3. Halfway done, and only 17 more episodes (including this one) to go. 

I’ve said this several times now, and I’m going to  repeat it for the sake of consistency: These reviews are mostly for me and my small group of mutuals. They’re the process through which I’m conveying my opinions and theories about the show while also untangling myself from past fandom perceptions and dogmas. This is my pet project for 2025, at least until season 5 drops in November. I’m aiming to get all the episodes and supplementary materials reviewed before then to see which of my predictions pan out and which don’t. I’m not here to cater to the fandom or specific shippers, nor do I give a shit about “popular takes” or what’s trending on Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter/X, TV Tropes, etc. The days I might have been invested in that are long gone, and my general attitude towards fandoms is cynical and disillusioned. It’s why I’ve been scathing in past reviews when I’ve talked about fandom attitudes and prevailing takes. Ditto for social media. Life experiences, combined with getting burnt over and seeing how nasty people have become, has motivated me to move on once I’m done. This is my last hurrah on Tumblr, and I’m going to make it count for what it’s worth. I hope my mutuals have enjoyed these reviews. At the very least, I am getting some sort of catharsis from writing them.

Anyways, I bring this up because I’m aware of the reputation season 3 has with the fandom. It’s ironic because I remember it briefly getting praise when it premiered in 2019. Then, within the year, the reception turned chilly. Suddenly, fans were nitpicking this season to death, pointing out everything they didn’t like, complaining about how the show felt different and how the characters were unrecognizable, that the humor was bad, their issues with the Russian arc, etc. I don’t know if it was because of COVID, the 3-year gap between seasons 3 and 4 (which is the same amount of time we’ve had to wait for season 5), or if people were caught up in the elation of seeing the new season and then started looking at it more critically once the hype died down. Either way, whenever I see people talk about season 3 these days, it’s usually with a withering tone.

I’ve been a part of fandom discourse for years (even if I’ve grown to regret ever associating with it), so it’s sometimes hard for me to differentiate how much of what I like or don’t like is truly my opinion, or how much has been influenced by past experiences with the fandom. I’m hoping these reviews help sort that internal dilemma out. I’m also hoping a rewatch of season 3 will give me a different perspective on the show and a better understanding of why/how they wrote certain characters, themes, and arcs the way they did.

Despite this, I’ll be honest in admitting I wasn’t a fan of “Suzie, Do You Copy?” I warned about this in my review of “The Lost Sister,” and rewatching it again confirmed that. I don’t think this is the worst episode of the show (“Vecna’s Curse” takes the cake in that regard), and there were some enjoyable moments sprinkled in, but “Suzie, Do You Copy?” is arguably my least favorite season premiere, and there are aspects established in this episode I have issues with. Season 3  is a mixed bag overall. I don’t have the same burning hatred for it that some fans do (to say nothing about all the Youtube video essays that have cropped up tearing into the season), and I would rather rewatch season 3 compared to the first seasons of The Boys or True Blood. However, if I were to pick which Stranger Things season is my least favorite, it’s this one. There were choices made (some of which are set up in this episode) that I didn’t agree with, and colors the way I view season 3. This isn’t to say that I think the season is trash, or that it derailed the entire show. They’re just choices I would have done differently if I was writing it.

Speaking of which…….

Part 1: The Russians

If you were to ask me back in 2019 what my opinion was about the Russian Arc in season 3, I would have said unnecessary. And judging by fandom reactions at the time, it seemed like that was the consensus. Today, I don’t know if I’d use that same word (for reasons I’ll get into in a minute), but my feelings about the Russians on Stranger Things are complicated at best. I even discussed this in my review of Stranger Things Kamchatka, and I’m going to repeat what I said there: 

“On paper, the writers wanting to explore themes relating to the Cold War and delve more into the paranoia surrounding the Red Scare wasn’t a bad idea on its own. The way it was executed on the show, however, left a lot to be desired.”

Out of all the directions the Duffer Brothers could have taken the story, introducing the Russians to Hawkins was likely not an arc fans were interested in exploring, and I’m one of those people who understands the sentiment. I know Matt Duffer mentioned in the Podcast for Season 3 that the logic behind the decision was they didn’t want to keep using the U.S. Government as antagonists because there were only so many times the main characters could beat up federal agents or military personnel before it would break suspension of disbelief that they weren’t in prison. I personally side-eye this excuse because a.) They walked back on this in season 4 with the introduction of Lt. Colonel Sullivan and reintroducing the U.S. Government and Military as antagonists to El, and b.) They already had the Mind Flayer and the monsters of the Upside Down that the main characters were fighting against, who (with the exceptions of Vecna and Dr. Brenner) were a lot more compelling antagonists than the humans to begin with. If they were worried about breaking suspension of disbelief, that ship sailed as early as season 1. 

In any case, a big reason I wasn’t interested in seeing the Russians as antagonists is because I believe they worked better as the hidden boogeymen in the background. The insidious threat in people’s minds that was used to scare the American population into conformity and loyalty.

My parents both grew up during the Cold War, and have told me about the dread that existed in the United States prior to the fall of the Soviet Union. Not just in regards to the threat of nuclear annihilation, but also the idea perpetrated for decades that there were Russian spies and sleeper agents operating within the United States seeking to undermine democracy. This is a theme played with in fictional movies like Salt and The Manchurian Candidate, or even in historical films based on real events and people like Bridge of Spies and Oppenheimer. It’s the idea that a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or even a family member could secretly be a communist, a Soviet agent, or someone working with the KGB or other American enemies. The Red Scare was a fear weaponized, pushed through with U.S. propaganda, and used as a justification for many historical actions, including President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, the Space program, the proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam, McCarthyism, MKUltra, CIA programs, the desire to outspend the Soviets, and so on. In Stranger Things, the Russians were a major reason Dr. Brenner used Henry/One/Vecna’s blood to create more special kids and train them as remote assassins and spies against the Soviets. It’s also the reason Dr. Owens gives in season 2 to Jonathan and Nancy for why he doesn’t want the truth about the Gate to come out: He fears the Russians would try to weaponize the Upside Down (which he turns out to be right about). In any case, the way the Russians were talked about in the show presented them as an obscured intimidating presence that invoked a sense of foreboding and distrust in the atmosphere.

By physically introducing the Russians to the show, it ends up undermining that. The Russians themselves are not only underwhelming as antagonists, but come off as every single unironic cliché Americans had about the Soviet Union played straight, all without offering any new insights or commentary. I know the Duffer Brothers mentioned in the Season 3 Podcast that they based the Russians less on historical events at the time and more on their portrayal from movies like The Hunt for Red October and Red Dawn, but aside from style, aesthetics, and physical looks, the Stranger Things writers don’t do much to develop the Russians. They function more like Saturday Morning Cartoon Villains for the heroes to defeat, and even have the personalities of such. They don’t invoke the same intimidation, dread, or even complexity which villains like Dr. Brenner and Vecna had. The result is it makes them hard to take seriously as a threat. Matt Duffer admitted it himself: The Russians were introduced to be the new punchable bad guy. Unfortunately, the idea doesn’t seem to have developed beyond that stage. Even Alexei, who’s supposed to be the most sympathetic Russian this season, suffers from this with how thinly-written his personality is.

On top of that, any sense of paranoia about whether people in Hawkins are Russians, or are working for them, is thrown out the window. They sorta play with this idea several episodes from now when Dustin and Steve follow someone who turns out to be an aerobics instructor, but that’s mostly done for comedy, and it’s pretty easy to predict the guy wasn’t a Russian before the reveal. The only American who turns out to be in cahoots with the Russians is Mayor Kline, and that isn’t a surprise either considering how they set him up as a slimeball to begin with. For the most part, the Russians are easily identifiable mooks (and are even cast as such), to the point the show doesn’t even try to hide that fact. It’s a shame because I see that as a missed opportunity to capture the real-life suspicion of neighbors, family, and friends during the Cold War. They try to invoke that feeling with the Mind Flayer possessing people this season, which…………I will talk about this plot-point in later reviews, but the way that was handled was flawed.

There’s also the question of how quickly they were able to build Starcourt Mall with the base underneath, and open the Gate within a year. I know they establish that the Russians bought up a bunch of property and land, and that they were using hidden transformers to steal power from the Hawkins power grid for their operation (which is why the power went out across Hawkins in this episode when they finally opened the Gate), but the timelime for when all of this occurred has been somewhat………...questionable. There was promotional material released prior to season 3 suggesting the Russian operation in Hawkins and buying up property started a couple of weeks after El closed the previous Gate (i.e. November 1984).

I know I tentatively suggested in my review of “MADMAX” that the Russians didn’t arrive in Hawkins until after the Gate was closed at the end of season 2 (which the promotional material seems to support), but I’ll admit that stretches believability in several ways. Shopping malls, especially one as big and elaborate as Starcourt Mall, would take more than a year to build. It’s a complicated process with a lot of factors, including environment, resources, utility installation, construction, etc. That’s also including the illegal underground base and how detail-oriented and elaborately designed it is. That’s not something I buy could be completed in just under a year.

In fact, this more than anything is what broke my suspension of disbelief: How the Russians were able to not only get Starcourt Mall built within a short amount of time, but also construct an underground base without slipping up and alerting the U.S. Government, all while getting it to function properly and making it look polished. Something like this should have taken more than a year to develop. I know Alexei and the other Russians were on a deadline, and there’s Erica’s comment about Russians cutting corners, but the problem is that isn’t reflected in the design for either the mall or the underground base. If they were on that kind of time crunch, they would not care about putting that much detail into the aesthetic of the place, or making it look as clean as it does on the show. The construction would have been haphazard (except for the bare essentials to keep things running), there would have been notable unsafe conditions (and not just the lack of stairs and emergency exits either), and the place should have looked a lot more like the underground bunker from George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, which was bat-infested, unsanitary, and slowly beginning to fall apart.

Speaking of Day of the Dead, aside from Mike and his friends seeing the movie at Starcourt Mall, it intentionally parallels the Russian arc this season: Both plots center around an underground base overseen by scientists and military personnel, and both involve a “Gate” where they extract monsters. In Day of the Dead, the wooden gate holds off the hoard of zombies in the caves, but is also designed as a vetting system where an individual zombie can be lured into a trap that isolates them from the hoard, which enables the humans to capture and restrain them. These zombies were then taken to have their anatomy examined. Dr. Sarah Bowman, the main character for the movie, was interested in finding a cure for the zombie outbreak, whereas Dr. Logan (nicknamed “Frankenstein”) believed those efforts were fruitless and that their best course of action was to try and domesticate the zombies while conditioning them to not eat humans. He even had a pet zombie named Bub that he was training, feeding, and analyzing, which somewhat echoes the relationship Dustin had with D’Art in season 2. There’s even the parallel of Bub and D’Art recognizing Dr. Logan and Dustin as their caretakers and developing some sort of affection for them as a result.

In Stranger Things, the Russians proceed to use a vetting system at their Gate where they capture a Demogorgon, multiple demodogs, and a piece of the Mind Flayer (as we see in season 4). While they are interested in studying their anatomy (the vivisection of the demodog Hopper encounters at Kamchatka), their primary goal is to weaponize the monsters of the Upside Down for their own ends. There’s even a similar conflict between military personnel and the scientists that exists in both the show and Day of the Dead: Alexei is given a deadline by General Stepanov to open the Gate unless he wants to end up dead (as Grigori brutally demonstrates to Alexei’s colleague). Likewise, the unhinged Captain Rhodes from the movie has lost patience with the scientists and demands that they’d better start showing results, or else. There’s a recurring theme of dehumanization where the military treats their underlings and everyone else they consider beneath them as expendable, which even extends towards the monsters they round up. In both cases, that attitude comes back to bite them in the ass. By the end of Day of the Dead, the zombies overrun the underground complex, and Bub takes revenge against Captain Rhodes for Dr. Logan’s death by shooting Rhodes (having learned how to use a gun from Dr. Logan). Likewise, while we don’t see it in this season, karma eventually comes back to bite the Russians during season 4 when the Demogorgon turns on its captors at Kamchatka, frees the piece of the Mind Flayer and the rest of the demodogs, and proceeds to go on a rampage throughout the facility/prison. It hearkens to the theme of hubris I analyzed in “The Mind Flayer:” Both groups played with a power they didn’t understand or respect, and it cost them.

Personally, I wish we had seen the vetting process the Russians used to capture the Upside Down monsters as opposed to it happening off-screen. We get hints of what was going on when Dustin and Erica later find the cattle prods and cages, but we never witness the process for ourselves. That comes off as a wasted opportunity. I would have been a lot more interested in seeing that, as opposed to how many episodes it takes for the main characters to get on the same page as the audience in realizing the Russians are behind opening the Gate. I still want to know how they got that separate piece of the Mind Flayer from season 4 in its container. Were they just lucky in capturing it, or did it manage to infect other Russians who were quickly killed off before they could do any damage? What about the Demogorgon and other demodogs who were still alive AFTER the Gate closed at the end of this season? How were they able to salvage those creatures? No matter how slick this operation looked on the surface, I’d have to imagine it was a messy affair rounding up the monsters, and that they managed to slaughter a few Russian soldiers and scientists before they got subdued.

There’s a lot of unanswered questions in the Russian arc that the show has yet to address: How did the Russians find out about El opening the Gate in season 1? Was there a mole at Hawkins Lab? Do they know about El and the previous special kids under Brenner? Are they only aware about the accident without knowing who or what caused it? Is it possible they may have known about the Upside Down even before El opened the Gate? Alexei tells Joyce, Murray, and Hopper that Russia designed multiple keys, and while that may have been due to hearing about the aforementioned incident, it’s also possible the Russians may have been exploring the idea of other dimensions prior to that. There’s also the question about how much they know about the Mind Flayer and how it operates. Do they know about Vecna or the hive mind? Are there other bases in Russia that contain Upside Down monsters, or was the Kamchatka Facility the only base where they were housed?

I know there are fans who probably aren’t eager to revisit the Russians again, but I hope they do for season 5 because there needs to be closure. They’ve already spent two seasons on this arc, and they might as well wrap it up and start providing answers. Plus, given how Vecna opened a larger Gate in season 4, as well as the year and a half time jump between seasons 4 and 5, I am hard pressed to believe the Russians wouldn’t return to Hawkins to get their hands on more Upside Down creatures, especially if they lost all the ones they had at Kamchatka. That’s also including how the KGB would want revenge against Hopper, Joyce, and Murray for screwing up their operation.  

I will talk more about the Russian arc as it unfolds in later episodes, as well as the inspirations for it, but I do want to acknowledge a few things before we move on.

First, there are subtle nods to both WarGames and The Hunt for Red October in the opening scene.

Alexei and his colleague invoking the two-person rule in turning the keys to start the machine parallels the opening of WarGames when two Air Force personnel (one of whom is played by John Spencer, who would later go to star in The West Wing) undergo a surprise nuclear attack drill and are required to input codes and turn their keys to launch a nuclear missile. In this scenario, John Spencer’s character is reluctant to do so because he believes the drill is real and doesn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of 20 million people once the nuke is launched. His reluctance, combined with the reluctance of other men who are responsible for turning those keys because they don’t want to be responsible for starting Nuclear Armageddon, kickstarts the main plot of that movie where NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) decides to move the responsibility of launching nukes to a designed supercomputer named WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) and remove the human element in making that kind of decision. That is NOT the case with Alexei and the other Russians, who know perfectly well what they are doing by opening another Gate to the Upside Down, regardless of how many human casualties that rakes up.

Likewise, the opening scene for this episode parallels the opening for The Hunt for Red October, not just with the ominous music and Russian choir singing, but also with how its filmed: Notice how the camera slowly pulls back from Captain Ramius (played by Sean Connery) to show the size of the submarine and Russian fleet, similar to how the camerawork in Stranger Things pulls back from General Stepanov as he goes outside, demonstrating the extent of the Kamchatka Facility.

There’s also how the structure of the underground base at Starcourt Mall mirrors the interior design of the Red October. Likewise, the tunnel system at the NORAD Combat Operations Center in WarGames holds some similarities to the one Steve, Robin, Erica, and Dustin travel down in later episodes. WarGames even opens with Air Force personnel arriving at what appears to be a house on the surface before revealing it’s a missile launch base, similar to how Starcourt Mall disguises the Russian base underneath. The Season 3 Podcast credited the Death Star from Star Wars as inspiration for the architecture of the underground base, and production designer Chris Trujillo also looked into Soviet Era Brutalist Architecture and underground bunkers and tunnel systems (specifically the design for an electro hydra dam and its tunnel system) for inspiration.

I want to be clear: I recognize that, for a show like Stranger Things, suspension of disbelief about certain science-fiction/horror elements is needed. I don’t have an issue in that regard. I’m also not petty, and I give credit where credit is due. The aesthetic for Starcourt Mall and the underground base is amazing to look at, and hearing about the inspirations the production team used to design the set is respectable.

That being said, the timing in-universe for how the Russians managed to accomplish building this base in under a year is something that raises my eyebrows. If season 3 had been set in the Summer of 1986, or even a little later than that, I could swallow that plot-point easier. I’m sorry, but I just don’t buy that they got it done that quickly and managed to make the base look that clean and intricate while also having it function properly. I know some fans might argue the threat of death from superiors like General Stepanov may have motivated them, but people are vastly different with how they handle pressure. Some work well under it. Others don’t. And I’m hard-pressed to believe there aren’t Russians who wouldn’t have done a hack job if it meant getting the operation finished as quickly as possible so they could meet the deadline and save their necks.

Finally, when it comes to how I view this arc, I will be talking more in future reviews about how current events in today’s culture (i.e. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump’s relationship with Putin, the weaponization of disinformation and propaganda from Russia, Tankies/Leftists/Useful Idiots making excuses for Russian atrocities, etc) have colored my perception. Suffice to say, I’m a lot less harsh in judging this arc than I would have been in 2019. Like I said at the beginning, life experiences (for better or worse) have changed my outlook.

Part 2: Karen and Billy

If I can pick one aspect that highlights why I don’t like this episode, it’s this moment between Karen and Billy, combined with Karen almost cheating on Ted to hook up with Billy. I HATED this entire dynamic, and judging from what I’ve seen online, so did most of the fanbase. Not only was this gross and unnecessary on so many levels, but it managed to degrade Karen’s character in a way that she hasn’t been able to live down. Whenever I’ve seen Karen discussed in fan circles, this episode and her interactions with Billy are inevitably brought up.

The sad thing is I liked Karen. She is one of the examples from the show of a parent who is flawed but loving, and has more hidden depths to her than she’s given credit for. Karen’s in a relationship with a man she doesn’t love, and there is the sense she’s trying to recapture her youth and the years she feels like she wasted (look at the amount of makeup she uses even though she’s at the pool). At the same time though, unlike Ted, she’s tried to be an attentive and supporting parent to Nancy, Mike, and Holly, and there is an effort on her part to be emotionally available to her children while keeping the family dynamic together. Considering the number of parents on this show who’ve been presented as abusive, neglectful, or absent, that’s saying something. She cares about her kids.

So to have her almost throw that away for a one-night stand with a dude (whose motives are suspect and has a history of misogyny towards women) without first considering how inappropriate the relationship was to begin with, or how it would impact her family, is infuriating. I know she backs out at the end and doesn’t go through with it, but the fact she was close to doing it lowers my opinion about her.

I don’t know if the Duffer Brothers have cited this movie as inspiration or not, but it did come to mind when I was thinking about this entire dynamic: The Graduate. 

The Graduate is a 1967 film starring Dustin Hoffman (in what would become his breakout role) as Benjamin Braddock, a 21-year-old recent college graduate who’s become aimless in his life and struggles to escape the suffocating expectations of his parents and neighbors. During his graduation party, an older woman named Mrs. Robinson (played by Anne Bancroft) offers Benjamin a brief reprieve by trying to seduce him and later conducting an affair with Benjamin behind her husband’s back. Initially, the affair is for both characters to pass the time to escape their mundane, uneventful lives. However, when Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine, returns briefly from college and Benjamin takes an interest in her, things become complicated since Mrs. Robinson does NOT want Benjamin hooking up with Elaine. 

The Graduate acts as a deconstruction of what it’s like being in an extramarital affair. Both Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson are only engaged in this not because they love each other, but because they’re both unsatisfied with their lives. For him, it’s a new experience that gives him a brief thrill before he returns to feeling empty. For her, it’s an escape from a loveless marriage she never wanted, and it’s implied she’s doing this because she wants to feel young again (similar to Karen). The point is these are two unhappy people chasing something that was never going to work out, and in the process cause themselves and the people they love a bunch of unnecessary grief. Doesn’t help that neither of them is sympathetic (or in Ben’s case, he loses any sympathy he once had by the end of the movie). Mrs. Robinson’s “seduction” of Benjamin is predatory by today’s standards, but Benjamin doesn’t come out looking any better, especially when he goes after Elaine later without caring about the impact it would have on their families. By the end of the movie, both characters end where they began: Unfulfilled, and stuck in the same rut. Likely the same direction Karen and Billy’s relationship would have gone if they had followed through with sleeping together.

Like I said, I have no clue if the Duffer Brothers used this movie as inspiration for the Billy/Karen dynamic, but if they did, it would at least explain why they chose to go this direction aside from playing it as a sleazy joke that wasn’t funny to begin with. 

I know the show has taken pangs to show Karen is unhappy with Ted and that her relationship with him is soul-crushing, but having her pursue a guy who’s under half her age makes Karen look a lot shallower and more superficial than she really is. That’s also including how inappropriate the age difference is between the two of them (Billy being 18, and Karen being 41). I know the show plays the older women at the pool ogling at Billy for comedy, but I honestly found that to be creepy and pathetic. Imagine if Nancy’s sexist bosses and adult male co-workers at The Hawkins Post took their already awful behavior to the levels of ogling at Nancy: Would any fan out there be okay with that? At all? Just because the genders are reversed here doesn’t make it acceptable.

Since I’ve seen this accusation hurled at Karen by a few fans, it should be noted that, even if Karen had hooked up and slept with Billy, it would not constitute statutory rape. The legal age of consent in Indiana (even in 1985) is 16 years old. Billy at this point was 18. You do the math. I’m not saying this to defend what almost happened between these two since I find it to be just as disgusting as everyone else, but let’s not throw around terms willy-nilly, please. If that term was to apply anywhere, it would be to the sexual encounter between 15-year-old Stacy Hamilton and 26-year-old Ron Johnson from the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Words have meaning.

Despite this, I’m not happy with Karen, even if she ultimately didn’t go through with it. I’m also irritated that the show went this direction. We know that Karen still cares about her family when she sees Holly and Ted asleep on the couch and chooses not to meet with Billy, but that emphasis on Karen putting her family first could have been presented without this icky almost-hookup. It also does diddly squat to advance Karen’s story. By the end of season 4, she’s still repeating the same arc she had as early as season 1: Being stuck in a loveless marriage with Ted. Are they planning to move past that anytime soon?

This isn’t to say I have much sympathy for Billy. Aside from legally being an adult at this point, as well as his history of going through girls like used tissue paper (something conveyed in both season 2 and Runaway Max), his reasons for wanting to hook up with Karen despite her being a married woman have me side-eyeing him hard. I’ve seen plenty of theories about Billy’s motivations, ranging from him being genuinely interested in Karen (which I’m skeptical about given his past behavior), to having a fetish for older women, to projecting his mommy issues onto Karen given the absence of his own biological mom, to hooking up with Karen as revenge against Mike and Max for humiliating him at the Byers house in “The Gate.” I don’t care much to psychoanalyze Billy’s reasons because it’s a moot point: The hookup doesn’t happen, and Billy ends up dead by the end of this season, with this relationship going nowhere.

I remember a former mutual (whom I lost contact with several years ago) pointed this out to me, but Karen arranging to meet Billy didn’t need to happen plot-wise for Billy to become possessed by the Mind Flayer. They could have substituted Karen for another girl Billy was seeing, and still have the same story beats of Billy crashing his car near the abandoned steel mill before being dragged off. Personally, I think it would have been better if that girl was Heather Holloway, Billy’s coworker at the pool, who takes an interest in him and was also the same age as Billy.

The next few episodes place an emphasis on Heather, and since she was briefly in this episode anyways, why didn’t they take the chance to expand on her character? I don’t give a damn about Billy’s love life, but this was a missed opportunity to develop Heather and show what kind of person she was prior to her being taken by Billy and possessed by the Mind Flayer. What little we did see of her indicated she was a nice girl who took her job seriously (and was a lot more professional about how she disciplined kids at the pool compared to Billy’s public fat-shaming), but we could have gotten to know her better the same way expanding Barbara’s character in season 1 allowed the fans to know more about her (and made us devastated when the Demogorgon killed Barbara). There’s also Heather’s connection to her father, Tom (the Editor-In-Chief of The Hawkins Post, who was also Nancy's boss), and the question of what kind of relationship Heather had with him given his sexist views. Or even what relationship (if any) Heather had with Nancy.

Heather reminds me of Patrick McKinney from season 4: Both characters had potential, and were shown to have a decent side to them despite being around hotheads like Billy and Jason, yet the show doesn’t do much writing-wise with them aside from turning them into victims for the agenda of the main villains: Heather gets taken by the Mind Flayer so she can infect more people, and Patrick is murdered by Vecna to open a Gate.

Getting back to Billy, the final thing I’ll say about him before moving on to the next topic is that this is the last episode Billy spends as himself before he’s possessed. They could have done anything with his character to show he’d grown as a person since “The Gate,” or was beginning to improve himself prior to being taken by the Mind Flayer. We could have even gotten some kind of scene in this episode between Billy and Max to show that their relationship had changed for the better since season 2. Instead, what we get is Billy fat-shaming a kid (I get the “lard-ass” comment was a nod to Stand By Me, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still fat-shaming), and intending to hook up with a married woman. Keep this in mind because it factors into how I judge Billy’s overall arc this season.

Part 3: Mike, El, and Hopper

I make no secret I wasn’t a fan of the direction Hopper and Mike’s characters went this season (El’s is a different matter). It didn’t taint my opinion about them the same way it did with other fans (there were so many articles and videos for a while blasting Hopper for being the embodiment of “toxic masculinity” following season 3, as well as harsh criticisms hurled at Mike), but it doesn’t mean I was a fan of how their characters were portrayed starting with this episode.

I’ll begin with Mike. When it comes to the way teenagers have been portrayed on this show, I’ve never had an issue. I’m sure fans have nitpicked the actions and motivations of every “wrong” thing the teen characters have done, similar to what the Cobra Kai fandom did on Reddit with its teen characters, and that’s something I’ve tried to stay away from. This isn’t to say I’m above calling out heinous behavior, which is why I’m NOT lenient with characters like Billy or Angela (and have zero patience for fans who either normalize their bullying or try to use their age to absolve them of responsibility for their cruelty), but the way Mike gets treated by the fandom, like he’s the worst friend in the world because he wasn’t sensitive about every single issue regarding his friends, feels disproportionate. It’s one of those cases where purity culture has an ugly chokehold over fandom discourse. I know that was a thing with Steve for a while (something I talked about in my review of “The Bathtub”), and it looks like that’s carried over to Mike in seasons 3-4. Given the way shipping wars tend to go, I’m worried Mike’s going to get put through the shredder regardless of whether he stays in a relationship with El, or ends up with Will by the end of the show.

In any case, the way teens have been portrayed on Stranger Things has not only been realistic, but also conveys their positive qualities along with their flaws in a way that’s grounded. Look at Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy in the first two seasons. All three of them have made bad decisions, and even been mean or insensitive to others on occasion, but they’ve also demonstrated they’re capable of empathy and growth, and have worked to improve themselves and lift up others. People have shades of grey. The same can be said for Mike.

Was Mike at his best in this episode? No. That’s a given. I wasn’t impressed with the disrespect he showed Hopper (even if Hopper didn’t come out looking good in this either), nor was I impressed at him and El ditching Dustin (and lying about curfew at 4pm) so they could continue making out in private. Do I understand that he’s a teenager in love for the first time, and is putting more priority on his relationship with El over his friends? To some degree, yes. One could argue that both Mike and El are trying to compensate for the year they spent apart by cramming in as much time with each other as possible (even if it annoys everyone around them). 

There’s also Mike’s desire to keep impressing El. We see that at the beginning of this episode when he’s singing “Never Surrender” by Corey Hart. The scene reminds me of the Pilot episode “Brother’s Keeper” from Miami Vice when Ricardo Tubbs is ecstatically singing “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell at a strip club. Like Mike, he’s putting on a performance. Unlike Mike, Tubbs is undercover attempting to track down the drug dealer responsible for his brother’s death, and the performance is less for the stripper and more about fooling the men watching him at the club into thinking he’s something he isn’t.

In any case, if it gets a laugh or a smile from El, Mike’s gonna do it. Since she finds it amusing whenever Hopper gets mad because Hopper (correctly) thinks there’s something going on with them behind his back, Mike keeps pushing the joke until it backfires and he finally crosses a line with Hopper. Fuck around and find out indeed.

That being said, the idea that Mike has completely neglected his friends in favor of El isn’t true, and is massively blown out-of-proportions by certain fans. Even in this episode, he still shows up with the group at Starcourt Mall to watch Day of the Dead, he still checks up on Will when Will is visibly disturbed after feeling the Mind Flayer’s presence (similar to how Mike was there for Will in season 2), and he did come with the Party to welcome Dustin home. His interest in prioritizing El hasn’t gone unnoticed (and is even talked about by Lucas, Will, Max, and Dustin), but that doesn’t mean he’s abandoned his friends either. 

His attitude towards Hopper, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired.

What disappoints me about the dynamic between Mike and Hopper is how it skated over the opportunity to develop a relationship of mutual respect, or even have Hopper be a parental substitute for Mike considering how nonexistent Mike’s father/son relationship is with Ted. They try to convey that in the season 4 finale when Hopper returns to Hawkins and hugs Mike, but that moment never felt earned to me for several reasons: 

Mike and Hopper’s scenes during the show have been few and far between, with them mostly in conflict with one another. Whether it was Mike looking for Will in Mirkwood during season 1 against Hopper’s wishes, or Hopper betraying El to Brenner (I’m sure Mike was savvy enough to figure out how Brenner’s men were able to locate them at the Middle School), or Mike’s anger at finding out Hopper hid El for a year without telling him. 

Even in this season, their interactions are limited. Hopper blows up at Mike over his behavior in this episode, and then they don’t see each other again until “The Battle of Starcourt” where they don’t have a proper conversation with one another over how they’ve both acted before Hopper descends below Starcourt Mall to stop the Russians, is presumed dead in the aftermath, and isn’t seen in Hawkins again for 8-9 months. Even tie-ins like Lucas on the Line and The Dustin Experiment placed more emphasis on Mike missing El and Will when they moved to Lenora over any grief Mike might have had regarding Hopper’s supposed death.

The result is this comes off as two people who tolerate each other at best, and are antagonistic towards one another at worst. This was not a close relationship, and the only link these two had was over protecting El and their knowledge of the Upside Down. 

Friday Night Lights (one of the shows that inspired Stranger Things) had a complicated dynamic between Coach Eric Taylor and football player Matt Saracen that may have been an inspiration for how they wanted the dynamic between Mike and Hopper to be. The difference is Friday Night Lights did it better and gave more screentime between Coach Taylor and Matt to make it believable. In that show, both Matt and Coach Taylor are thrust into spotlight positions: Coach Taylor becomes the head coach of the Dillon Panthers, and Matt is forced into the position of star quarterback after the previous one (Jason Street) gets paralyzed. Both characters end up depending on one another to make it through the series: Matt comes to view Coach Taylor as a father-figure, especially given his real father was serving overseas. Meanwhile, Coach Taylor is reliant on Matt to be able to lead the Dillon Panthers to victory in their games. Both must endure the media’s bullshit, as well as the harassment from their town if they mess up and lose a game. There’s also Matt developing a relationship with Coach Taylor’s daughter, Julie, which Coach Taylor voices his disapproval of (similar to Hopper’s disapproval of Mike’s relationship with El). Both Matt and Coach Taylor had their disagreements, and even butted heads on occasion, but there was a genuine respect Matt had for his Coach, and he NEVER would have dreamed of acting the way Mike does in this episode in front of Coach Taylor. Likewise, while Coach Taylor wasn’t happy about Matt’s relationship with Julie and even tried to keep them apart (which was usually played for comedy), it wasn’t to the mean-spirited extent Hopper took it in this episode, and it was rooted in Coach Taylor not wanting his daughter to get emotionally hurt as opposed to Hopper’s petty reasons for wanting Mike and El apart. Coach Taylor slowly warms up to Matt and Julie’s relationship (helped by Matt being a decent guy compared to some of the other sleazebags Julie dated) whereas I never got that sense with Hopper’s outlook on Mike's romance with El.

In shorter terms, Coach Taylor and Matt’s dynamic during Friday Night Lights was organic and better fleshed-out, which is why I liked it. By contrast, Mike’s dynamic with Hopper was underdeveloped (with the show focusing more on the negative aspects of their relationship) and the conflict between Mike and Hopper in this episode was written in such a contrived manner where both characters were jerks for one plot purpose: To drive a wedge between El and Mike for most of the season. As a result, I didn’t care for it. 

Speaking of Hopper, this show was NOT subtle about going full Magnum P.I. with his character. The mustache. The Hawaiian shirt Hopper will later wear paralleling the ones Thomas Magnum wears. Both characters being former Vietnam veterans who are emotionally stunted. The way they get an adrenaline rush chasing after a case (and even breaking rules to do so) while sleeping with women on the side to pass the time. Hopper’s even watching Magnum P.I. while El and Mike are making out in the next room.

On the one hand, I see the parallels between both characters clearly. On the other hand, I question the attempts of the Duffer Brothers trying to force Hopper to be an exact mirror of Magnum for this season, especially when there are subtle differences between the characters.

Take the reasons both men sleep with women for example. For Magnum, whatever fling he has with the woman of the week is just for fun in between the cases he does. For Hopper, it’s more about escaping his depression by indulging himself in one-night stands the same way he does with drugs and alcohol. It’s not meant to be fun for him.

There’s also how their trauma has shaped both men: Magnum’s time in Vietnam is something he has flashbacks to in several episodes, and at one point he mentions that the reason he resigned from the Navy was because “One day I woke up at age 33 and realized I never was 23.” This is seen in his carefree attitude and how he mooches off the estate of Robin Masters that he’s staying at, from using the expensive Ferrari as he pleases, to sneaking priceless wine for himself out of the basement, to taking advantage of all the perks the rich estate has to offer (much to the chagrin of the estate’s caregiver, Jonathan Higgins). It’s the kind of behavior expected from an entitled manchild. The difference is Magnum is self-employed, and the implication for why he acts like this is because he’s compensating for the loss of his youth during his service in the Navy.

With Hopper, while he’s mentioned Vietnam, we never see any flashbacks or PTSD tied to his service over there. Instead, the show emphasizes a lot of his trauma comes from Sara’s death and the realization he may have been responsible for giving her cancer due to working with Agent Orange. Prior to season 3, his behavior was depicted as self-destructive and rooted in grief. It wasn’t about trying to get a rise out of people (like Magnum sometimes does with his friends and Higgins) or about living a carefree lifestyle because he enjoyed it. He also lacked the entitlement Magnum sometimes displayed in his episodes, and he sure as hell didn’t whine the way Magnum occasionally did when things didn’t go his way.

These may seem like small differences, but they’re significant enough that when the Duffer Brothers try to pigeonhole Hopper to be a replica of Magnum, it’s noticeable, and not in a way that reflects well.

I get the feeling we were supposed to sympathize with Hopper when he was complaining to Joyce at her work about Mike spending too much time with El, but I instead found it annoying. The way he whines about it to Joyce made him look petulant. I also rolled my eyes when he tried to frame the constant kissing between Mike and El as unhealthy and not normal. This is the same dude who’s slept with multiple women in town, and (even before Sara was born) had a reputation in high school as a player in a way that would put Steve Harrington to shame. It makes it look like Hopper’s projecting his own past behaviors onto Mike without any self-awareness. Mike was due to be taken down a peg over his disrespect to Hopper, but the way Hopper acts beforehand makes it seem like he was already looking for any excuse to go after Mike, which undermines his credibility.

Then there’s the way this episode portrays Hopper like he’s never heard of a “heart-to-heart” conversation, and has to be instructed by Joyce over how to do that. Did the Duffer Brothers forget about Hopper’s conversation with El during the drive to Hawkins Lab in “The Gate?” Or any of the numerous “heart-to-heart” conversations he’s had with Joyce in previous episodes? Come on! 🙄

The Season 3 Podcast talked about how Hopper’s main conflict this season was about him grappling with change and time, how he’s being forced to face the reality that El is growing up, and resenting all that. While I can see where the latter claim applies (which ties into the heartwarming letter Hopper leaves for El at the end of the season), the former claim…………….not so much. Specifically, the idea of Hopper struggling with change in his life isn’t conveyed in the way I believe the show intended for it to be. Hopper’s establishing character moment, for instance, is him gorging on junk food while having developed a beer belly.

This is a guy who looks BORED out of his mind, is sick of the constant snogging Mike and El are doing in the other room, and is waiting for something fulfilling to happen. This doesn’t come off as someone who resents change and wants things to stay the way they are. This is someone who craves it, whether it’s putting an end to Mike’s visits to the house, or wanting to start a relationship with Joyce (such as when he asks her out for dinner in this episode). I would go as far as to argue that Hopper’s secretly thrilled to get back in the action once the Russian conspiracy is brought to his attention. Even his temper (which is more explosive and frequent this season compared to past ones) reflects that. He’s NOT happy with the way things are, almost like he’s craving a rush or an excuse to let loose. That’s also including the number of times he gets into a shouting match with Joyce this season, or picks fights with people (regardless of whether or not it's warranted).

All of this contributes to the accusations of “toxic masculinity” that I’ve seen thrown at Hopper from fans. It’s like the Duffer Brothers took the worst aspects of Magnum’s character (as well as other 80s cop characters I'll discuss in later reviews), exaggerated them to caricature levels, and applied them to Hopper in a way that feels forced.

Yes, Hopper’s had a temper, but it wasn't constant like it was in this season, and it wasn’t set off easily. Case in point: When Joyce and Hopper got into the argument in season 1 over whether Joyce truly heard Will’s voice over the phone, and Joyce brings up Sara to Hopper despite knowing that’s a sore point for him, Hopper is clearly hurt by Joyce’s remark, but he doesn’t take his anger out on her, nor does he hold it against her later. Contrast that to the way he acts when Joyce doesn’t show up for their date in the next episode, and spends the rest of the season pissed off and shouting at her about it.

Yes, Hopper had flaws in the previous seasons, but entitlement, petulance, and whining weren’t among them like it is for this season.

Yes, Hopper has struggled with opening up to people emotionally in the past, but he wasn’t ignorant about concepts like having a “heart-to-heart” or establishing boundaries. His whole conversation with El in “The Gate” is one of the best moments on the show BECAUSE he opened up to her and was honest about it. With this episode, it’s like that got thrown completely out the window for the sake of turning Hopper into a manchild whom Joyce had to emotionally guide, and it’s both degrading and infantilizing. Doesn’t help that they try to play it for comedy despite it not being funny.

There was a way Hopper and Mike’s characters could have been written where their flaws were highlighted that didn’t resort to turning them into jerks. I would have welcomed an arc where Hopper and Mike learn to develop mutual respect for one another despite their differences in the same way Coach Taylor and Matt from Friday Night Lights did. But not like this. Not by having Hopper deliberately drive a wedge between El and Mike, blow up at Mike in the car at the end of this episode, not interact with Mike again for the majority of the season, and then later try to act like that mutual respect has been earned between them. Same goes for El and Mike’s breakup. I would have welcomed a temporary break from their relationship where Mike reprioritized his friends while El developed a closer friendship with Max and expanded her interests past Mike, but not at the expense of degrading Mike’s character, and not in the contrived way the Duffer Brothers wrote it. Same with Hopper: They really want to make Hopper similar to Magnum? Fine. Infuse more of the positive aspects of Magnum’s character into Hopper, and actually start showing flashbacks of Hopper’s time in Vietnam as a young man and how that psychologically impacted him. There were ways this could have been handled without it being artificial and off-putting. Alas, that wasn't how it happened. 😒

Part 4: Starcourt Mall

Hearing from the Season 3 Podcast about the levels of detail that went into designing Starcourt Mall, which included using a real mall for filming (Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia), was impressive. Visually, this is one of the best set designs the show has ever done, and it’s great to look at. The level of detail to the stores, costumes, interiors and exteriors, the lighting…………..all of it makes for a great spectacle. And they did plenty of research to make sure the stores, merchandise, furniture, and look was accurate to the time period. Bravo!

I’ve always had a soft spot for malls. The intricate architecture, the maze of stores, always something new to see. There’s a sense of grandeur that’s easy to be swept up in. Our nearest mall is about an hour away from where I live, but the times I’ve gone to it have been fun. Sometimes, it’s just enjoyable to wander aimlessly, regardless of whether you buy anything.

Even when I saw this season back in 2019, the themes of major corporate chains and department stores driving out small businesses was not lost on me. I live in a small town, and I’ve noticed a major shift in the last 10-15 years of bigger companies trying to set up shop to mixed effect. Our local movie theater used to be popular (and even had an arcade at one point). However, when one of the big theater chains built a brand new one 15 minutes away, that quickly sucked away the patrons, and now the local theater barely has anything and is run by a skeleton crew. There have been multiple fast food joints like Cold Stones and Sonic Drive-In that briefly opened……..only to close down because they weren’t getting enough customers. That doesn’t surprise me since our town tends to be more supportive of individual restaurants because of the quality of their food and unique menu choices. The biggest corporate chain we have here is a Walmart, and the location it was built at ended up negatively impacting local repair and auto shops situated next to the store. It was to the point some of them had to either close down or move to a different location.

In the case of the Hawkins residents who are pissed about Starcourt Mall driving them out of their small businesses, I get it. I remember working briefly for a rental company in my town after high school where we delivered and set up furniture and decorations for parties, weddings, and special events. It was an independently owned business with a small crew. We worked efficiently, and we delivered well, but we also were obscure compared to other larger rental companies. The result was the place I worked at struggled to stay afloat. And when there’s competition, that doesn’t help. Either you rely heavily on word-of-mouth (which can go both ways), you make drastic changes to draw in new customers (and that’s assuming you have the resources to pull it off), or you go under.

The revelation that Starcourt Mall was a front for the underground Russian base makes me wonder how much money the Russians made off tenants who rented spaces in the mall for their businesses, as well as the percentage rent agreements. We already know they screwed multiple people out of their land and businesses (some of whom depended on those businesses to make a living), and I’m sure they were looking for any means to have a steady supply of revenue to continue their operation. Talk about the biggest scam Hawkins ever experienced. While I still have mixed feelings about the Russian arc, the theme of Russian interference in American affairs, as well as how certain people (Mayor Kline) can be bought if the price is right (*cough* Trump *cough*), is sadly relevant to today’s culture. Unlike Stranger Things though, the real life use of disinformation, lies, and propaganda that Putin and his cronies gleefully spread, combined with the number of useful idiots on both sides of the American political spectrum who’ve cropped up to deny/downplay Russian atrocities, is a lot more infuriating and insidious to witness. As I’ve said before, Stranger Things does a great job exploring themes from the 80s and showing how they continue to be relevant in today’s society. 

Anyways, circling back to something positive, I did appreciate the homage to Fast Times at Ridgemont High where the opening of that movie is invoked briefly in the scene when Mike, Max, Lucas, and Will go to see Day of the Dead.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High alternates between taking place at the titular high school and the mall where several main characters like Stacy Hamilton (whom Nancy’s costume design in season 1 was based on), Mark Ratner, and Linda Barrett work at. For the most part, the movie focuses on the daily events of the teenagers as they juggle school, jobs, and relationships. While Stranger Things has subtly referenced the movie in past seasons (the costume designs for the Hawkins High School teens were also based on the ones from this movie), this episode is more upfront about its homages: Dustin’s comment about how Suzie is attractive like Phoebe Cates (who plays Linda in the film), the way Karen exits the community pool paralleling Linda’s famous pool scene from the movie. And, of course, Steve’s sailor outfit being inspired by the humiliating Captain Hook’s Fish & Chips costume Brad Hamilton is forced to wear at his new job in the film.

The Duffer Brothers did NOT mince words in the Season 3 Podcast about how Steve’s costume was meant to be embarrassing. They wanted to knock Steve down a few pegs by forcing him into a demeaning job. There’s an irony in that the Scoops Ahoy uniform was likely meant to make Steve look physically unattractive (something that’s even talked about between him and Robin in this episode), yet not only did he continue to appeal to fans despite this, but that Scoops Ahoy uniform proved popular outside of the show, and has even sold well as a Halloween Costume. Even when it comes to Funko Pops, there are several sought-out ones of Steve in the Scoops Ahoy uniform that are rare collectibles (and therefore pricey). Steve (and by extension, Joe Keery) made this look work for him.

I remember fans questioning in season 4 why Steve didn’t take a job as a lifeguard around this time when it’s later revealed he worked as one previously. This post puts it in more humorous terms, but considering Billy was already working at the pool, I doubt Steve had any interest in being anywhere near the guy. He likely decided that wearing a humiliating uniform, serving ice cream, and dealing with Robin was preferable to being in the same area with Billy again. Robin may have been snarky (which Steve likewise returned), but it wasn’t the mean-spirited put-downs he would have gotten from engaging with Billy. Plus, why would anyone want to be in the same room with someone who nearly beat them to death?

A big reason Steve’s arc this season (and even Brad’s arc from Fast Times at Ridgemont High) appeals to people is because most of us have been in the circumstances they’ve been in. Whether it’s retail, or fast food, or custodial work (which is what I currently do for a living), or any other minimum-wage jobs, we all get what it’s like to scrap by and save money, all while putting up with irritating customers and pedestrians. We also get what it’s like to be treated like shit. I’m blessed in that I currently have a great job where I’m treated decently (and get paid well over minimum-wage now compared to other jobs out there), but I remember one of my former jobs from a decade ago involved working at a call center where I had to deal with some deeply nasty people. It was my first foray into experiencing just how cruel people will be to you at your job when they think they can get away with it. I ended up quitting after 3 weeks because I had zero interest in putting up with that. The whole reason Brad ends up at Captain Hooks Fish & Chips is because a customer at his previous job purposefully went out of his way to be an asshole to him because he didn’t like the food, and got him fired out of sheer pettiness. Said customer was only in Fast Times at Ridgemont High for a few minutes, and yet he was arguably the most loathsome character from that movie. It invokes sympathy on my behalf for Brad. Same goes for Steve. His situation thankfully improves, and Steve even befriends Robin and Erica in the process, so there were some positives despite how he felt about the job.

On top of that, Steve has continued to show his character development from the previous two seasons. While Mike and his friends are clearly taken advantage of Steve’s job to be able to sneak into the movie theater, the sense is Steve’s still maintained contact with them (likely helped by Dustin). While I like Steve’s friendship with Dustin, I wish there’d been more coverage on the show regarding his interactions with other members of the Party. I would have liked a little more expansion into the brother/sister dynamic he had going with Max, or even the different ways he related with Mike, Lucas, Will, and Eleven. Supplementary Materials like “The Game Master” and “Winter Special” have briefly touched on this subject, but they’ve never gone as far in exploring this topic as they could have. Dustin seems to be the linchpin when it comes to any interactions Steve has with the rest of the Party.

Adding onto this, there’s the fact that even though Steve is in a demeaning job, he’s still showing up. He may hate it, and is only here because of his father, but he isn’t trying to look for shortcuts out of his predicament. There is an attempt at taking responsibility on his part for his life choices and making the most of what he has, and that’s admirable. Even with Robin, despite the snark she directs at him, there’s a part of Steve that secretly likes being around her. She’s interesting as a person, she doesn’t fawn over him like other girls have in the past, she isn’t above calling him out when he’s acting badly, and regardless of her quips, she does provide a listening ear for Steve. The way Steve talks with Robin about his reasons for not being in college and why he's working here at his dad’s behest (as well as how Steve knows about Robin’s hobbies) indicates he’s comfortable discussing personal matters with her despite the initial disdain she showed for him. 

By the way, fun bit of trivia: Steve’s application to Scoops Ahoy was part of the promotional material they released prior to season 3:

Speaking of Robin, I will talk more about her in later reviews as her arc develops, but I will say that I think she’s one of the best characters the show introduced, and I like her dynamic with Steve. The book/podcast Rebel Robin goes more in detail about how she perceived Steve back during season 1 and why she initially views him in a negative light. Even without the tie-ins though, I get how Steve’s previous reputation as a douchebag colored her perception of him, and that’s why she’s taking shots at his expense. I’m not in a place to judge her because I’ve also done that with people who’ve been purposefully vicious to me (unlike Steve, these people have never apologized or owned up to their awful behavior). There’s a reason I’ve scathingly name-dropped certain individuals in the past and have been upfront in publicly calling them out. Most people unfortunately don’t have Steve’s humility and would rather go to their graves doubling-down before ever admitting to any wrongdoing. Robin got lucky when she met Steve and discovered a decent side to him.

Part 5: Miscellaneous

There are a lot of character and story arcs set up in this episode that I’ll elaborate on in future reviews as they develop. Because they’re in the beginning stages though, I’ll just cover the essentials briefly.

This is a small detail in the background, but that’s El’s mask from “The Lost Sister” when she was with Kali and her gang. Even though it’s not plot-relevant to this episode, I’m curious if El ever told Mike, Hopper, or anyone else in the group about Kali or her brief time in Chicago. I’m also still waiting to see if Kali will return for season 5, or if the show has permanently dropped her character.

When it comes to the theme of change the Duffer Brothers push this season, I’d say Joyce is probably the most receptive out of all the characters. There’s a sense of quiet resignation we witness from her multiple times during this episode as she accepts sweeping changes around her. We see that at Melvalds when she’s putting up discount prices and isn’t upset about the lack of customers at the store. We also see that with how she remembers Bob: She isn’t ready to date Hopper yet, but she has come to accept Bob’s death despite wishing he was still there with her. 

This was a poignant moment. It’s also the theme of missed opportunities when someone you love passes on. It reminds me of certain lyrics from “Forever Young” by Alphaville: “So many adventures couldn’t happen today. So many songs we forgot to play.” Joyce and Bob can no longer watch anymore episodes of Cheers together, they’re not going to move to Maine like they originally planned, and whatever adventures the two of them could have had as a couple are officially over. It’s that finality that comes with loss, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow. What Could Have Been is one of the saddest phrases there is.

Jonathan and Nancy’s arcs this season I’ll discuss further in future reviews. I did take note of the Back to the Future homage with Jonathan haphazardly getting dressed similar to Marty McFly. I find it amusing how it’s an open secret in the Byers house that Nancy is sleeping with Jonathan in his room. I almost question why they’re still putting on the pretense of pretending Nancy isn’t there (as she’s sneaking out the window) and that both of them aren’t making out behind closed doors. 

As for Nancy, we’re already seeing the sexist crap she’s having to put up with at her job, and I can understand why she wasn’t thrilled at Jonathan’s well-meaning (but also somewhat patronizing) pep-talk in the car: She’s heard it before, and it’s not helping her.

There isn’t much to say about Lucas, Erica, and Max in this episode. Maybe this is just me, but I’m not someone who goes for cringe comedy (i.e. Lucas drinking all the water from the bottle and then regurgitating it when Max is irked, Dustin spraying Lucas’s eyes, the childish barbs Erica and Lucas exchange, etc) so I wasn’t really interested in those scenes. I’ll talk more about Erica as she becomes integrated into the main plot, but I will say that I’ve loved her character development throughout this series. It ranks right up there for me with Steve and Lucas. As for Max, it’s noteworthy she says that she finds Mike and El’s relationship to be “romantic.” Contrary to what’s been suggested before in the fandom, I never got the impression Max ever had a problem with Mike and El as a couple. It was when she thought Mike was treating El badly that she started to take issue, which likely comes from her experiences witnessing Billy’s treatment of girls. More on that in the next review.

The Duffer Brothers were pretty on the nose with how they wrote Will’s attitude in this episode. The word “gross” was not only used by Will to describe how he feels about Mike and El leaving to make out, but also how he perceives Jonathan and Nancy sleeping together. Speaking as a gay man, I understand feeling alienated from your friends as they’re developing romances with the opposite sex while you’re being left behind. Unlike Will, I have accepted my orientation, but I’m also not in a relationship (nor am I currently looking for one). I also understand that feeling of repeatedly telling yourself that you’re not going to fall in love (like Will tells Joyce over breakfast) as a way of coping with future disappointments. A lot of fans are rooting for Will to get a happy ending, and I’m rooting for that as well. I still wish El happiness and that she finds acceptance and love similar to Will, but I’ll admit to being more interested in Mike/Will as a couple than Mike/El.

Finally, there’s Dustin and his relationship with Suzie. I’m happy things are looking up for him after suffering setbacks and disappointments last season, and his inventions (forever clock, the slammer, and Cerebro) were creative. For those who are interested in what Dustin’s experience was like at Camp Know Where, there is a comic called “Science Camp” that goes in-depth over how Dustin met Suzie, what took place during his time there, and why “The Never Ending Story” became their anthem. I don’t want to give too much detail away because there is a central mystery plot, but it’s one of the better tie-ins Dark Horse Comics has done for the show.

As for Dustin’s claim about Mormons: Speaking as a former Mormon who left the Church years ago (for reasons you can probably already guess), I’d like to say for the record that 1.) Mormons do use phones, 2.) There are Mormons who’ve married people outside of the Church, and 3.) It’s not just composed of only “super religious white people.” I’ve seen and met Mormons who were Black, Hispanic, Asian, and come from different parts of the world. The reason I say this is, while I suspect the Duffer Brothers are purposefully being cheeky about the stereotypes surrounding Mormons (something we will see again in season 4 when Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle visit Suzie’s family in Utah), I know there are plenty of idiots online who take that stuff unironically at face-value and regurgitate a lot of misinformation/disinformation as a result. Like I said, I’m not associated with the Church anymore for personal reasons, but that doesn't mean I don’t get annoyed whenever I see that kind of crap spewed by people in real life who don’t know what they’re talking about.

Last, but not least, there are two movies referenced during this episode in certain scenes: Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind and its influence on the show (specifically Joyce’s character) has been brought up in past seasons, but this episode pays several homages to specific moments from that movie. The power going out throughout Hawkins as the Russians open the Gate is a nod to the power outage in Muncie, Indiana once the extra-terrestrials show up in the movie and Roy encounters them. Likewise, Dustin’s toys seemingly coming to life at El’s direction is a nod to when Barry’s toys start acting up on their own because of the alien presence.

As for Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the aforementioned incident with Dustin’s toys contains several musical tracks from that movie. Not only is it a great use of the music, but it’s also nuanced foreshadowing for the direction the plot will go this season. Killer Klowns from Outer Space deals with an invasion of malevolent aliens known as Klowns in the California town of Crescent Cove as they proceed to kill and kidnap various humans with circus-themed weapons (i.e. popcorn guns, acid cream pies, etc) while putting the townsfolk in cotton-candy cocoons so they can drink their blood. It’s as bizarre and ludicrous as it sounds, but it’s a fun, creative movie, and the theme of an invasion with the town none the wiser ties into the theme of Russians invading Hawkins for malevolent reasons.

Part 6: Song Choices and Final Thoughts

Lots of songs to cover. Because of this, I won’t be posting Youtube videos for every song (since Tumblr only allows 10 videos per post). Just for the ones I consider essential. 

First song is “The Red Army is the Strongest” (also known as "White Army, Black Baron"), which is heard when Grigori strangles Alexei’s coworker and General Stepanov warns Alexei he has one year to open the Gate.

The song was written in 1920 during the Russian Civil War for the Red Army, the main military force for the Bolsheviks. It serves as an anthem praising the military might of the Red Army and its resilience (“For from the taiga to British seas. The people’s Red Army’s at the peak of strength!”). Without going too much into a history lesson (since this review is already long enough), the Russian Civil War ended with a Bolsheviks victory, paving the way for the rise of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism throughout Russia, which would eventually lead to the Cold War after WWII. The song is meant to inspire the spirit of the Revolution, as well as the determination to get the job done no matter the cost (“Let the red army take in its journey. A bayonet with its toil-hardened hand. And we must all, unstopped by walls, go into one last deadly stand!”). In the context of the show, when it plays following the deaths of multiple Russians and the ultimatum delivered to Alexei, it takes on an insidious meaning: Alexei is going to get the task done “unstopped by walls” or he is going to lose his life. The cause is the only thing that matters, and human life is expendable.

Next we have “Never Surrender” by Corey Hart, which plays when Mike and El are making out in her room, and Mike sings the lyrics to impress El.

In application to Mike and El’s situation, like I said earlier in my review, this is both characters making up for the lost year they were apart from one another (“Just a little more time is all we’re asking for”). I would even argue some of the lyrics apply to the loneliness and depression they were experiencing last season (“So if you're lost and on your own, You can never surrender. And if your path won't lead you home, You can never surrender”). It’s a song about hope and pushing through when things look bleak. It also ties into the overall theme of the show in regards to overcoming despair: (“Cause no one can take away your right, To fight and to never surrender.”)

Next is “Open the Door” by Gentleman Afterdark. This song plays when Nancy and Jonathan hurry out of the Byers house after oversleeping and drive to work just as they pass Dustin coming back from Summer Camp.

The song contains a lot of metaphors describing a chaotic relationship and the mixed feelings surrounding it as the singer tries to get a handle on their emotions. (“Love that was new to you. You open up the door. I fall in love with these. I crawl out on the floor.”) Jonathan and Nancy have been in this relationship for about 8 months now (they got together in November and it’s near July) and while they still love each other, it’s pretty clear the honeymoon phase is over, and they’re now juggling their relationship on top of maintaining jobs. We will see strains begin to develop between the two of them as the season progresses.

Next song is “Rock This Town” by Stray Cats, which plays at the pool where Karen is hanging out. The song itself conveys a sense of fun and is centered on enjoying yourself (“We're gonna rock till we pop, we're gonna roll till we drop. We're gonna rock this town, rock it inside out”) which is what most of the Hawkins residents are doing as they either sunbathe or enjoy the cool water.

Next song is “Moving in Stereo” by the Cars, which plays when Billy arrives on the scene and all the older women (as well as some of the girls) are ogling over him. The song was also featured in Fast Times at Ridgemont High during a scene when Brad sees Linda in his backyard pool, and has a sexual fantasy of her that he jerks off to in the bathroom. I’m……….just gonna leave it at that. In the context of the show, no matter how much this scene tries to frame Billy as physically attractive, his hateful and cruel personality is an instant turn-off. Only thing I’ll say is the lyric “It’s so easy to blow up your problems” is darkly ironic considering Billy ends this episode planning to sleep with a married woman, and that choice blows up into something that eventually costs him his life.

Following that, we have “The Touch of You” by Andrea and Ervin Litkei, which plays when Hopper visits Joyce at the store to complain about Mike and El spending too much time together. The song has a jazzy tune, and reflects the longing the singer has for someone (“When will this pain be gone? When will this night be through? Must I go on and on? Wanting the touch of you.”) While I’m sure the song was meant to reflect both Hopper and Joyce’s unresolved feelings for one another, I see it applying more to Hopper than Joyce, especially with him asking her out for dinner and Joyce declining because she isn’t ready yet and is still in mourning over Bob.

Then we get another song, “Anthony,” from the same duo in a similar scene when Joyce gives Hopper advice about Mike and El’s relationship and how to talk to them. Again, the song serves the same function as “The Touch of You” in highlighting Joyce and Hopper’s unresolved feelings (“I love you so, you are my love.”). I understand this is being sung from the woman’s perspective (“You're the guy I'm dreaming of. And if you promise to be true. I'll make history with you, yeah.”), but in the context of the show, I see the feelings of desire more strongly in Hopper than Joyce. I’m not saying Joyce isn’t attracted to Hopper. I’m saying she’s still processing her grief over Bob, and the change she’s focused on is moving out of Hawkins away from the trauma that’s built up around her.

Next song is “Workin’ for a Livin’” by Huey Lewis & The News, which plays as Nancy rushes to work with food for her co-workers and bosses.

It’s a perfect song for Nancy’s situation. “Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm supposed to get a raise week, you know damn well I won't.” She is stressed “workin’ for a livin’” with people who don’t value her and don’t appreciate her despite the hard work she puts in. She spelled that out for Jonathan in the car ride: “They don’t actually like me or respect me as a living, breathing human with a brain.” The good news is, unlike the singer who claims that “I’ll be working here forever, at least until I die,” that won’t be the case with Nancy. Bruce and Tom will bite the dust, and Nancy will still have that passion for investigating and reporting news come season 4.

Following that, there’s Patsy Cline’s “She’s Got You.” This can be heard playing over the speakers at Melvalds following Joyce and Hopper’s conversation when Joyce rejects Hopper asking her out for dinner, and goes to help a customer who just came in while Hopper looks longingly after her. The song refers to someone who’s broken up with a former lover, with said lover having moved on to another person while the singer themselves is left with tokens of their past relationship (picture, records, ring, etc). As they forlornly put it: “The only thing different, the only thing new (ah, ah). I've got these little things, she's got you (ooh-ooh).” In the context of this moment, I see it applying to how Joyce’s heart is still with Bob, even after his death, and Hopper recognizes that while still hoping to pursue a relationship with her.

Next song plays at the pool when Billy is watching Karen swim: “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner. Once again, this song has the subtlety of a neon sign in conveying how Billy has the hots for Karen (“I’m hot blooded, come and see. I’ve got a fever of 103. Come on, baby, do you do more than dance?”) or how he wants to engage in a tryst with her later in the evening (“Now it's up to you. We can make a secret rendezvous. Just me and you. I'll show you lovin' like you never knew.”). There’s a sleaziness to the lyrics that’s likely intentional, and only highlights how skeevy Billy is (though Karen doesn’t come out looking any better in this either).

Following this, just like “Never Surrender,” we get another song for Mike and El to make out to, with the difference being Hopper interrupts to talk to them with the preprepared speech Joyce coached him with: “Can’t Fight This Feeling” by REO Speedwagon. This song gets a lot of airplay, to the point most people know what it’s about. For Mike and El, it’s them celebrating their first romantic relationship. (“My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you. I've been running 'round in circles in my mind. And it always seems that I'm followin' you, girl. 'Cause you take me to the places. That alone I'd never find.”).

Next song is “Nothing to Say” by Head On. This song is heard in Billy’s car as he’s driving to what he thinks is a night of sex with Karen when something far worse is in store for him. The song’s title is self-explanatory, and given what’s about to happen to Billy, there really is “nothing to say.” His fate is sealed.

Finally, I wanted to end with this song: “I Just Died in Your Arms” by Cutting Crew. This plays when Karen is getting ready for her rendezvous with Billy, but has a change of heart when she sees Holly asleep with Ted and realizes she can’t do this to her family.

I saved this song for last because this is arguably the song of the episode. It’s also one of my personal favorites. I love its placement in this scene. Regardless of my negative feelings about the Karen/Billy dynamic, “I Just Died in Your Arms” captures the regret and emptiness Karen would have felt had she gone through with seeing Billy. The song refers to someone who’s been in multiple meaningless relationships to the point they’ve become disillusioned and trapped in a cycle they can’t escape. (“I keep looking for something I can’t get. Broken hearts, they’re all around me, and I don’t see an easier way to get out of this.”) I know the song is from a guy’s perspective (“Who would have thought that a boy like me could come to this?”) but despite the gender difference, I see this song applicable to Karen over Billy for one important reason: She is the one who would have been living with that regret for the rest of her life if she had gone through with this affair, and it destroyed her family in the process (“Now it’s over, the moment’s gone. I followed my hands to my head. I knew I was wrong”). Billy doesn’t give a shit. He’s been through multiple flings with girls, and unlike the singer who at least feels some level of guilt for his behavior, Billy doesn’t. This is just another Saturday Night for him, and regardless of whether it’s successful or not, he will move on and not bat an eye over it. Karen doesn’t have that luxury: This would wreck her marriage, it would devastate her family, and it’s not something she’d recover from. And it’s for that reason, no matter how unfulfilled she feels in her relationship with Ted, she finally backs down. It probably saved her family in more ways than one.

[gumnut-logic]

Lego Volcano (Part 6)

Alexander Sweetapple series | Lego Volcano - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

I wrote more :D And this was fun :D

Still @idontknowreallywhy, @sofasurf @womble1 and @sailing-on-a-puddle and other wonderful Thunderfam peeps’ fault :D

Extra special thanks to @onereyofstarlight for actually writing a few small bits of this as I fell out of my knowledge zone and needed serious help, and also for Kiwi advice regarding Alex - gotta help an Aussie speak Kiwi because I miss lots of things. We all speak English, but differently :D Couldn't do this without you.

All the hugs to those who commented and reblogged yesterday's chapter. You guys keep Alex alive :D

This little fic is now nearly 10,000 words long, like 9,950+

M/M and full of fluff still.

I hope you enjoy this bit :D

-o-o-o-

o-o-o-

Scott woke groggy and hot.

It was to be expected. Apparently he was sick. Damnit. Anger and frustration flared in his belly and most of the groggy part of waking up was washed away.

A tickle in his aching throat had him swallowing hard.

He opened his eyes to the infirmary. He sighed. Grandma and Virgil were going to be intolerable.

His throat tickled again and he shifted on the bed, looking for the expected cup of water. Sure enough, there it was on his bedside table. Virgil was wonderfully predictable at times.

He reached out and his body creaked as he sat up, but the cool water was a balm on his throat and worth every movement.

His tablet was sitting beside the water and he grabbed at it eagerly. He needed to reply to Jack, their lawyer, regarding the latest suit from Fischler. Jack quite enjoyed tossing Fischler’s lawyers around the courtroom, but Scott would prefer a quick end to the latest shenanigans, both he and Jack had better things to do.

His tablet lit up…in green. Oh, damn.

John has restricted your access. Play a computer game, read a book, or watch a movie. International Rescue and Tracy Industries are all being expertly handled. Carly has her instructions. John and I have your back. Relax, Scooter.

Scott let air out between his teeth.

PS: Please look after Alex for me.

Huh? Scott frowned. But as if to answer his unspoken question, a snuffle alerted him to the fact there was someone else in the room.

The tablet landed on the sheets as he realised Alex Sweetapple was sleeping in the chair beside his bed. The lanky engineer was sprawled haphazardly across the furniture, blond hair sticking out in all directions.

Virgil had obviously snuck in at some point as there was a pillow in the man’s lap.

The thought of Virgil sobered him. His brother had been so sick, and now Scott was off rota…damn. He shifted on the bed, frustrated.

Alex muttered something, curled around the pillow and onto his side, now looking even more uncomfortable than before.

He snorted in his sleep.

Scott eyed the man. He couldn’t ask for a better employee, but he was a walking hazard, mostly to himself and apparently he was hazardous in his sleep as well.

And Virgil loved him.

The thought brought a small smile to Scott’s face. It was so good to see Virgil so happy. Alex was smart, goofball or no, and seemed to be able to match his brother on engineer topics - the two of them could babble excitedly for hours.

He was also very loyal. Tia’s reports were shining, Alex was definitely an asset, he worked hard.

The worship in his eyes was occasionally hard to handle. ‘Mr Tracy’ wasn’t sure he could live up to the reverence accorded him.

But Virgil loved Alex.

And that was enough.

He sighed again and let his gaze rest on the ceiling. The very worst part of being sick was the boredom.

His tablet bleeped.

He grabbed it.

A system of equations filled over half the screen.

Oh, so that is how it is, John? Going to distract me with math, are you?

But even as he thought it, the numbers started taking shape. He'd need a Jacobian matrix to approximate the first part of the solution, unless he applied an RK4 numerical method... knowing John, he'd need a justification showing the minimisation of error.

His lips curled up to one side. Okay, let’s do this.

-o-o-o-

Alex woke to humming.

He cracked open an eyelid to find he had shoved his face into a pillow at some point - explained the struggle to breathe.

His neck creaked as he moved and as his body came online, he realised he had fallen asleep on the wrong furniture again. Erica probably had photos.

Again.

The humming was interrupted by a dry cough, but after a moment started up again.

It sounded happy.

Alex unfolded and found himself in a hospital room? Wha-? But then his brain booted fully, supplying him with details of last night and Mr Tracy-

Mr Tracy!

Alex sat up straight and the chair teetered. A wobble, two feet on the ground and he managed to prevent himself from falling on his head, but it did all get the blood pumping and consciousness clear and functioning.

Mr Tracy was sitting up in bed and…writing on the bed sheets.

Wha-?

His boss had a black marker in his hand, had spread out the sheets on the bed and was methodically making notations.

While humming some triumphant overture, his voice cracking here and there, proving he was still the sick man Alex had caught early this morning.

What was he writing?

With yet another creak, Alex quietly pushed himself to his feet and every muscle complained. Wasn’t the first time he had slept awkwardly, wouldn’t be the last, but he was more concerned with the numbers Virgil’s brother was writing down…was that a Jacobian matrix?

His eyes danced over the somewhat smudged digits on the bed. Numbers and letters lined up in chains, reading them…omigod…

“That’s beautiful!”

The humming ended in a squawk. “Alex!” The ‘A’ in his name cracked and Mr Tracy sounded more like his youngest brother than himself as his voice skipped up an octave.

But Alex only had eyes for the work on the sheets. “How did you get such a perfect solution?”

“Wha-? Oh,” he cleared his throat again, “John likes to distract me with math.”

“I’d say he succeeded.”

Mr Tracy grunted and coughed again.

There was a smudge of black ink on his cheek.

The numbers were just amazing. “How did you get that solution?”

Mr Tracy’s eyes darted between Alex and the numbers on the sheets “You can read that?”

“God, yeah.”

He stared at Alex a moment longer before pointing out a particular section. “John thought he could catch me here. The variable could easily be switched out and replaced with a static whole number - it would solve it perfectly, but a bit on the boring side. If you input an exponential function here, however, it creates a whole array of possibilities.”

Alex focussed on the equations. Whole number, yes, he could see that, the answer was clear. But if he threw in the function…the numbers just danced. “That’s so elegant. The pattern is perfect.”

“Yeah.” Scott was grinning.

Alex looked up to see those tired bruised eyes lighting up.

John was apparently right.

Scott liked maths.

Now this was a language Alex could speak.

“What happens if you put in a polynomial?”

-o-o-o-

Virgil yawned. He really wasn’t up to it, but he had to do it. Much better than Scott killing himself.

Two would be landing momentarily, with a furious Gordon aboard, and he needed to help his brothers with post-situation protocol…and possibly talk Gordon down from something vicious…that John had probably already enacted…yeah, his brothers were chaos itself.

But their hearts were in the right place.

Earlier he had checked on his biggest brother and found both him and Alex asleep in the infirmary. Grandma had left firm instructions with John adding his own version of early morning events.

Fortunately, while Scott was still very warm, he was finally getting some rest. The bed readings provided some reassurance.

Alex was a gymnast in sleep as usual. The man could sleep anywhere in some of the most outlandish positions. It certainly wasn’t the first time Virgil had needed to dig up a pillow or picked up his boyfriend and haul him off to bed.

He was adorable when he was asleep.

Of course, mentioning this when Alex was awake brought on all the flushed embarrassment which had its own adorableness that always needed to be kissed away - any excuse, really.

So Virgil was smiling when he gently tucked the pillow under Alex’s head.

And the thought had him smiling right now.

But before Two landed and almost inevitably disturbed Scott, Virgil wanted to check on him.

To his surprise, as he approached the infirmary, laughter was echoing down the hall.

“He really thought that?”

“Yeah, to infinite decimals and beyond.”

That prompted more laughter which suddenly dissolved into coughing and had Virgil hurrying into the room.

Which was not the room he had left earlier.

The infirmary was draped in bedsheets, a cupboard left askew where they had originally been folded neatly. Now they were stuck up on the walls with surgical tape and draped over the curtain rails.

And covered in mathematical notation.

At the centre of the room sat Scott in bed scribbling with the black markers Virgil had left behind earlier in the hope that John would be able to trigger a math distraction.

Apparently, he had.

But he hadn’t thought his boyfriend would end up with black smudges all over his face and hands.

Because Alex was beside his brother, holding the bed sheet so Scott could write on it.

“I think we should cube this.” Alex pointed at a spot on the sheet. “It will look good.”

“Hmm, I think a factor of…seven will be prettier.”

Prettier?

“You could be right. It definitely needs to be an odd number. Even would be too regular.”

“Yeah.” Scott scribbled something. “What if we cube this and seven that. They’ll work nicely together.”

“Oh, I like that. Follow that one through.”

As Virgil watched, Scott jotted down several lines in his smooth precise hand. His tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth as his eyes darted back and forth, calculations bouncing in the blue.

Alex’s eyes were following the numbers and every now and again, he would make a suggestion or ask a short question…

“Oh, I see what you mean. The seventh iteration is just perfect.”

“The third isn’t that bad either. That’s why they work so well together.”

Virgil found himself grinning like a loon. He knew Alex could speak math. You didn’t get to do any engineering without math. But he had no idea he could speak at Scott level math. Hell, even John got lost sometimes at Scott level.

And to see the two of them so relaxed in each other’s presence…

“Virgil?” Scott was suddenly frowning at him. “You okay?”

“Virgil!” Alex dropped the sheet and hurried over. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, I was helping Scott and then fell asleep and then…did you know Scott likes maths? Not just maths, but real maths? The fun stuff?” His boyfriend was positively vibrating.

Virgil couldn’t help but grin. He placed his hands on Alex’s arms. Seriously, the man was bouncing. “I’m fine. And yes, Scott likes math. I didn’t know you liked to play, though.”

“Oh, um, sometimes.” His eyes darted back to Scott for a moment. “Usually I stick to applied math, and I’m certainly not at Tracy level.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He leant up, kissed Alex gently on the cheek and whispered in his ear. “If you can keep up with Scooter here, you’re definitely up there.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Alex brushed his fingers across Virgil’s left temple.

He let his head drop against his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’m tired, but I’m fine.” He looked over at his brother. “I’m more concerned about Scott.”

But his big brother was peering at the sheets again, eyes wide. It was obvious he had thought of something.

The marker came down and scribbled another line.

“But then again, he’s resting and amused.” Virgil’s ears picked up the approach of Thunderbird Two. He looked up at Alex. “Keep him distracted a little longer?” Alex really did have dark eyes, Virgil could stare into them all day.

“Sure.”

Scott was muttering something about a polynomial.

“Thank you.” Thunderbird Two roared into land as Virgil leant up and kissed Alex, clinging just that moment longer before letting him go.

“Hey, Scooter, zero point nine to infinity still doesn’t equal one.”

“Virgil!” His brother’s outrage was echoed by Alex’s sudden ‘What?!”

Virgil just laughed as he left them to it.

Their discussion of his lunacy followed him down the hall.

-o-o-o-

TBC

[lyinginbedmon]

What's the deal with airplane food Octavia?

Being that I am a completely shameless Stolas fan, it's natural I should also have some Opinions about his beloved daughter Via.

Much like Stolas, I think there's one key facet to her character that underscores her entire character arc through both season 1 and season 2.

Namely, that she's a 17 year old girl.

Let's set things out for a moment:

Octavia was not a wanted child, insomuch as she was not created by loving parents desiring her in their lives. She was created solely out of obligation between two parents who hated one another. Her entire life therefore is spent with them screaming at one another (albeit usually with her mother shouting loudest).

Despite these unfortunate circumstances, her father does undeniably love her. He doesn't have as much time as he may once have had to dote on her, but we see the clear evidence of his affection. He takes her to Loo-Loo Land because he remembers her enjoying it (even if that's an outdated understanding), he lines the corridors of his mansion with portraits showing them happy together, he likely gifted her the guitar she plays ("Love Dad" is written on the back, the side facing her, instead of any conceivable audience). And above all, he stuck it out in his arranged and abusive marriage as long as he could.

So why does she act so cold to him in Sinsmas, seconds after saving his life? Why does she believe he wasn't happy, so he ran off with Blitzo? Even after he chased her to the human world to make sure she was okay? When he just beat the tar out of her uncle trying to see her again? When he won't stop telling her how much he loves her?

Well, because she's a 17 year old girl.

More than that, she's been raised in an environment where everything around her made her father utterly miserable. An environment where she's regularly seen him look utterly pathetic and then turn around and beam a smile at her. When she finds Stolas' antidepressant stash, it's all but confirmation that she hasn't ever seen him happy, that he's never been happy around her.

Which we, the audience, know isn't true. Via isn't an obligation to Stolas, if anything she's the thing that made his obligations worth enduring. But Via isn't like the audience, at least we'd hope, because she's not an adult and she's had a traumatic upbringing that has led her to believe that happiness is found somewhere she isn't.

Stolas didn't expect to survive the trial in Mastermind, we watched him put his head on the chopping block fully expecting to die in Blitzo's place. An admirable sacrifice that reinforces the idea that Stolas will do anything for those he loves. Finding out that he was, instead, to be exiled for a century was the worst thing that could have happened to him. And sure, we can argue that execution being the "good" outcome was selfish thinking, neglecting how it would make Octavia feel, but I think it's plain that Stolas finds death preferable to life without Via.

Indeed, he outright says that "selfish men like (me) don't deserve to live" whilst having a depressive episode at Sinsmas. He clearly knows on some level it was selfish of him, but the court was rigged anyway, he would have lost someone no matter what he did. Selfish, somewhat, sure, but ultimately completely reasonable.

From her perspective though, as a child (albeit only just at this point) who still doesn't fully understand how things work in Hell's royalty, she watched her dad get himself exiled away from her for more than 5 times her entire life to date. With the man he cheated on her mother with, no less. Despite this, we actually see her smile when he first tries to call her, right before Stella snatches the phone away.

But the next time she sees him, he's cuddled up to the literal impetus for leaving her mother, and she's just discovered the physical proof of just how miserable he was for her entire life. Every time she saw him smiling, every time he laughed with her, played with her, fawned over her... he was on those drugs. Not bad drugs, necessarily, but still something that made it easier for him to seem happy around her.

So I think in Sinsmas, she's just kind of over the illusion.

"How could you lie to my face? And did our time mean nothing to you? Were you bluffing all along?" Via's song is pretty clear, she no longer believes Stolas' words, she doesn't think he was actually happy with her. "I'll know I was right to doubt you."

I don't think she loves her mother more, I doubt she even likes her uncle, but she's done imagining that her dad ever actually genuinely cared for her. She's at a place where anything Stolas says to the contrary is just another fake smile, another imitation laugh, another disingenuous hug. She stops Andrealphus mainly on reflex, most likely, because she wants her pound of flesh before she's finally rid of the man who lied about loving her for 17 years.

She's wrong, terribly wrong, we know she's wrong, but she's not in a place to realise it. Not yet.

Because she's just a kid, whose parents just divorced, whose dad is forbidden from seeing her, who has had this itch at the back of her mind that he was never happy with her, and just found the evidence that she was right.

I think giving Stolas his meds is a positive sign, that Via isn't a bad person, that she can be good to people even when they've hurt her. And maybe that's the sign that someday, eventually, with time and some effort, she'll see her dad again, and she'll smile to see him smile.

[burnoutsyndrometheseries]

1st quarter of 2024 shows ranked

n° of shows watched from january 1st to march 31st: 13

1. analog squad: 9/10

I deeply regret not watching this one in 2023 when it was released bc it would've been my number one favorite show of that year ;_; it's such an original and touching show with one of my favorite tropes (found family) and some of the best characters I've ever seen. definitely already an all-time favorite and a comfort show for years to come <3

2. cooking crush: 8,5/10

y'all know how much I love offgun, and while this was no not me or theory of love, this show really brought me back to my early days of watching thai dramas and freaking out over any cute interaction on my screen & I love it for that! while this show has a lot of flaws, most of them are easily forgettable when faced with such great characters & one of the cutest relationships ever! I truly thought offgun's chemistry had reached its peak in not me but I was wrong, these two never cease to amaze me they really can play any role to perfection <3

3. ready set love: 8,5/10

this show really surprised with how pretty much flawless its execution is! it's hilarious but also deals with very deep & interesting topics well, and day might be one of my favorite female leads ever! a super solid show that is honestly gonna become a classic for me, I can feel it :)

4. love for love's sake: 8,5/10

this was a super sweet show that's very well done, I was dubitative of the plot at first but it really managed to pull me in & make it worth my while! one of the best kbls out there :)

5. the believers: 8,5/10

this is definitely one of the most innovative thai shows out there, dealing with a topic (religion) that I didn't think anyone would dare touch. the story had me hooked all 9 episodes & the acting performances were amazing, however I have to say this didn't pack as much of a punch as I expected it would. it's a very good show, but it stays a little surface level & doesn't explore its characters enough for me...

6. sing my crush: 7,5/10

this was very much adorable, however two things bothered me: 1) I didn't like the time jump from ep 1 to ep 2, I wish we could've seen the friendship between the characters developed more, and 2) I feel like them not revealing their feelings for each other felt a little forced & random. apart from that it's a very cute show!

7. intern in my heart: 7,5/10

this was a really enjoyable romantic comedy that I had a lot of fun in front of :) is it much more than that? not really. pretty basic but with charismatic performances that carried the show well!

8. perfect propose: 7,5/10

really sweet show that I wish was more developed & gave me more, but a good time nonetheless!

9. sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka: 7/10

this show got me, lost me then got me once again lol. I thought the chemistry for an established relationship was some of the best for a jbl, and the story was simple but endearing. but tbh something was kinda lacking for me, which made this ultimately very forgettable imo.

10. the outing: 7/10

I was SO looking forward to this show without much expectation but it still managed to disappoint me lol. the acting was very solid but there's too many characters that get introduced too late & I failed to really understand what the point or purpose of the show was. it seems to me as if this show took all of the worst points from remember 15 (the sex, the chaos, the betrayals & annoying characters), without the substance that remember 15 actually had. it's not a terrible show, and I was intrigued during it, but tbh it could've been so so much better.

11. love class season 2: 7/10

this had some of the strongest and most interesting ships I've seen in a kbl, however the writing & execution of the show was very frustrating. early on the characters barely get introduced & we struggle to understand how they're all linked together, leading to a lot of confusion on my part. it's sad bc it had a very solid story but bad execution imo :(

12. chaser game w: power harassment: 7/10

this had me very excited but sadly didn't deliver at all for me. the story is kinda all over the place & while the chemistry was really good and it's important to have japanese characters clearly labeled as lesbians, I found the acting kinda over the top as well... but it's a start for gl I guess 🥲

13. sahara sensei to toki-kun: 6/10

this is the kind of show that I managed to watch until the end... for whatever reason. but the age gap icked me out & I found that the main ship didn't have much chemistry. overall this story is very empty & didn't add anything for me, but I really liked the character of toki & would've loved to see him in a better show & ship.

[altschmerzes]

THE 13 BOOKS I READ IN 2023 IN ORDER FROM BEST TO WORST + THE PROTAGONIST'S SUPERLATIVE. PART 1.

NOTE: this ranking is entirely based on how much i enjoyed the thing and not necessarily on anything quantifiable or concrete. except for 1 and 12 those are just i think empirically true. also, this got very very hard between 2-8 and i enjoyed everything above 10 like, immensely. that said:

1. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. fucking gorgeous book. the writing was incredible, it made me feel like i needed to write right now right now right now or i was going to die and also why would i ever write again when i didn't write this. made me REEL several times and need to put it down and process it. i need to read it again and again. so much in there about the structure of story and fairytales and roles within a story and just. augh. man. i have at least a thousand words worth of highlights of quotes that make me completely insane. i want to write a dissertation on the interactions of amalthea and lír.

Protagonist: Amalthea/The Unicorn. Best Gender Moments And Unmatched Aro Vibes.

2. Blackcurrant Fool by Victoria Goddard. someone designed these books in a lab just to kill specifically me. i'm so thrilled i'm like, mad about it. this is book four in the series and included some MASSIVELY fun payoffs for some background references and foreshadowing that had been building for a while. some of my favourite tropes on this here earth are contained in this book and they make me insane in their execution. beloved. i kept having to put my face in my hands and shriek. like. literally. i liveblogged the last like ~30% of the book to several people. in detail.

Protagonist: Jemis Greenwing. Most Likely To Respond To A Given Situation With Both The Most Sincerely Heartfelt And Most Dramatic Option Possible And Then Insist That This Was The Obvious And Logical Thing To Do.

3. Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard. some really excellent introductions to characters and concepts in here. did a good job as the second book in the series to continue keeping things interesting while maintaining and expanding on what was good about the first one, introducing new elements and making them play well with the established dynamics and situation. some really fun exploration of 'what if your two favourite people met each other and how would that go'. some delightful stuff about bees also which gets me in my feelings and the pov character has a good cry a couple times which he damn well deserves at this point.

Protagonist: (since there are two, i'm alternating for this series' superlatives) Peregrine Dart. Best At Being Totally And Completely Fine (Lying).

4. Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard. YES. I LIKED THESE BOOKS A LOT OKAY. THREE OF THEM IN A ROW. WHAT OF IT. very fun introduction to a series, it was a great first book. it delivered its worldbuilding in my favourite way for a fantasy series to do so, which is to just sort of drop me right in and explain as we go in a naturalistic kind of way. it meant i had to accept i just didn't know what was going on several times but that was fine. excellent combo of silly and serious and the characters are just. so charming and i'm so so fond of them. also i love a really stuffy strict distant society. bc then i'm like OHO TIME TO BREAK THESE RULES!!!

Protagonist: Jemis Greenwing. Most Likely To Have Everything Happen To Him So Much And All At Once.

5. By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar. this book would probably have been ranked higher if it weren't for all the Someone's Got Their Dick Out. which is fine, go for it, but it felt like all the like. someone is getting their guts stabbed out and someone else is fuckin every other page is mostly a thematic thing that is supposed to drive home how gritty and grimy the narrative is. which y'know. not my bag. i like a gritty and grimy narrative but dude we know. that said it was extremely fun except for that, and i liked the way the characters were described a lot. they were not good people and it was deliberate and compelling. it was a lot to process all at once and i wish i'd slowed down with it - the last fourth of the book particularly hit me like a train. special shoutout to everything this book did with pelinore and the questing beast.

Protagonist: Arthur Pendragon. Most Doomed By The Narrative.

[sophieops]

Chapter 7: A Fire Worth Hiding

“You can’t save everyone. But sometimes, you try to save the one that proves you haven’t become everything you hate.”

Mira didn’t pack for reassignment.

She packed for desertion.

Just enough: a medkit, a backup comm chip, two rations, and the drive with emergency escape routes she’d originally given Dabi.

The uniform stayed behind.

So did her rank. Her clean record. Her chance at promotion. Her name, eventually.

She left all of it on her bunk like dead skin.

The walk back to Sector K-17 was different this time.

Not routine. Not patrol.

It felt like a confession. Like every step admitted something she hadn’t dared to say aloud.

That the system she’d given everything to was built to erase people like Dabi.

And maybe people like her.

She reached the ruins just after midnight.

The moon was thin and mean, casting sharp angles over the rubble. No drones tonight. No patrols. Just the wind whispering through melted steel.

She moved fast.

Back through the hallway. Past the caved-in stairwell. Into the room where she had found him six days ago.

He was still there.

But worse.

Dabi hadn’t moved in hours.

His skin was pale — not just from blood loss now, but fever. His lips were cracked. The bandages on his chest had soaked through again.

He didn’t flinch when she stepped inside.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t even look up.

“Hey.”

She knelt beside him. Poured a few drops of water between his lips.

“Hey, come on. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

His eyes flicked open. Barely.

“Mmm. You’re late,” he rasped, voice dry as paper.

“I brought snacks. Don’t complain.”

He gave the weakest ghost of a grin. “Didn’t think you’d come back.”

“You say that every time.”

“Thought maybe you finally realized I’m not worth it.”

She held his gaze. “You’re not.”

Pause.

“Doesn’t mean I’m leaving you here.”

She set the bag down and pulled out the datapad.

Started pressing sequences into the drive — mapping a route out of the ruin through the lower metro tunnels. It would take them past sensor checkpoints, bypassing patrol zones.

“New plan,” she said. “We leave tonight.”

Dabi raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“You’re not walking. I brought a board stretcher. Don’t get sentimental.”

He blinked at her. A long pause.

“You’re giving up everything for this.”

“For you,” she corrected. “Just this once.”

His voice dipped lower. “Why?”

Mira swallowed.

Not because she didn’t know.

But because saying it made it real.

“Because they told me we were fighting for justice. And then they told me to forget the people who burned in it.”

“And me?”

“You’re what’s left.”

Silence.

Then Dabi whispered, “This isn’t redemption.”

She met his gaze, hard.

“I’m not offering it.”

They moved in segments. Slowly. Mira hoisted him onto the board, strapping him down, careful not to jostle the worst burns. Every step through the hallway was a gamble — old beams groaned, cracked tile threatened to give way — but she kept going.

Because stopping meant the Commission would find him.

Stopping meant he’d die as quietly as they wanted him to.

And that — she wouldn’t allow.

They reached the metro access point just before 1:00 AM. She punched in the code. A rusted hatch groaned open, revealing blackness below.

She turned back to him.

He was watching her. Not with gratitude.

But with something more dangerous.

Understanding.

“You’re not a hero anymore,” he said.

“I know.”

“You sure you’re ready to burn the bridge?”

Mira looked down at her hands — stained with soot, blood, and betrayal.

Then back at him.

“I’m not burning it.”

She stepped into the dark.

“I’m crossing it.”

“In the end, it wasn’t about saving him. It was about saving the part of herself that still believed he deserved a chance to crawl out of the fire.”

[End of Chapter 7]

Check out the rest of the chapters :

[popculturebuffet]

Next for MTV animated originals, favorite character from the 1998-2016 era: Celebrity Deathmatch, Super Adventure Team, Downtown (created by the same guy behind Motorcity), Station Zero, Spy Groove, Undergrads, Clone High (which bounced between MTV for season 1 and Max for seasons 2-3, being a victim of the chaos of Max with a cliffhanger ending), Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, DJ & the Fro, Popzilla, Good Vibes, and Greatest Party Story Ever. Skipping 3-South since it was covered in WBA asks.

I know this is a lot with 12 shows, but I'm sure you didn't see several of them so maybe it evens out and saves me the extra ask followup.

Noticing how MTV sorta just gave up on animated originals after 2003 aside from the brief revival attempts in 2009-11 with DJ & the Fro, Popzilla, Good Vibes, and the revival of Beavis & Butthead (though none lasted long) and in 2016 with Greatest Party Story Ever, with the future revivals of Beavis & Butthead and Clone High being on other networks or streaming instead of MTV. This is now the second network of animation (after The Hub/Discovery Family) I covered where they gave up on producing their own animated originals after a certain point.

Okay so let's go. I haven't seen Super Adventure Team, Downtown (Though it's been on my radar a LONG time), Station Zero, Spy Groove, DJ and the Fro, Popzilla, and Greatest Party Ever. I"m also adding Where my Dogs At? because why not. Also I do find it intresting as they gave up, they TRIED again in the late 2000's.. but most of those shows died because MTV2 gave up after 5 seconds. or because they needed to be sent back to the stygian pit they were spawned from like the Celebrity Deathmatch reboot. Speaking of CD

Celebrity Deathmatch: I've actually covered this show on here. And this show is.. eh. Not bad, I get why it has fans and it has a lot of stone cold steve austin. Plus Vince Mc Mahon gets killed at one point, something we can all celebrate. It's just not my speed as it relies heavily on me carring about a bunch of celebrties which varies. There are ones I genuinely do care about, but even then I don't track their lives. Keith David is god tier to me but I generally don't follow his personal life. Let him have a life outside of being one of the greatest voices in human history. He's earned it. I'm not immune, i'm human after all. But I don't get the joy some do after zinging a celebrity unless their that level of asshole. I can say though I respect the original and the revival, which I had to review, is one of the worst things i've covered. And when you remember what's at the bottom of that bar

Undergrads: SO COME AND TALK TO ME, ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN... this one I remember largely because I had the dvd in college. Wish I still did. One of my early amazon purchases. Good stuff.

The show itself is decent, albeit focused on the wrong character as main man nitz is your standard oblivoius guy chasing after a girl while another girl fawns over him. It was to the point I forgot.. how good everything else was. Gimpy (A name that will likely be changed for the movie) can be annoying at times but his hammyness helps him, Cal is fucking god tier himbo, and thent heirs my faviorite.

Rocko is if they took Homer Goes to College and made it a series, a stupid frat bro whose in a frat who doesn't have the time or patience for his hyjinks. Rocko plays off everyone else well, paticuarlly cal who he hates and is just likeable enough to understand why Nitz puts up with him. Nitz works better as Rocko's straight man than in his own love triangles and shit.

This was a solid series worth a review or revisit down the line and i'm glad you brought it up as looking it up... had me find out their making a movie. Funded in 2018, planned for this year. And it's creator Pete Williams FOUGHT for years to get the rights back or do a revivial coming close in 2004 but MTV shut down the proposition. He then had to swim through a sea of lawyers to get the rights back as not only does viacom have high turnover for lawyers but kept lowballing him.. despite having oft forgotten they even OWNED the show

But he got the pre productionf unded through kickstarter, full production started two years ago and odds are even if it's not this year this film WILL happen and honestly.. when it does I pledge to review it. I liked the original well enough, i'm curious how they wrap it with the movie, and frankly it feels nice to reward this much effort. The show came and went here but it was MASSIVE in canada. Thank you Canada for this and so many other national treasures.

Clone High: WAY WAY BACK IN THE 1980S SECRET GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES DUG UP FAMOUS GUYS AND LADIES AND MADE AMUSING. NOW THEIR CLONES AS TEENS WERE FROZEN, THAWED OUT DECADES LATER WHY, LEARNING LAUGHING SHARING JUDGING, TIME TO LAUGH SHIVER AND CRY. CLONE HIGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.

Look my love for this show isn't a secret. I was excited when the reboot came out, and while season 2 was bumpy season 3 was an excellent return to form. The original run was fantastic satire of 2000's teen dramas while the max run again started bumpy but got real good as it went. Plus it gave us confucious. Hopefully they get the chance to end it.. again. Clone HIgh is a genius pile of great jokes, great performances and great satire. The revival I feel is mostly on par. Season 2 had some growing pains to get through, but i'm understanding as it was essnetially season 1 again and the new characters had to find their rythm. It's fantastic stuff. easy faviorite is scudworth, who steals the damn show every time he shows up.

Spider-Man: The New Animated Series; Another one to watch. I saw it a bit here and there as a kid and i'm curious about it now as it's an intresting artifact, following up JUST the first Rami film and then going in it's own direction. As such it's in a weird and intresting position in spider-man canon as one of two adaptations to take heavily from the movies (The other being of course friendly neighborhood which is just flat out in an alternate MCU)

Good Vibes: Was okay. It's a pretty standard teen sex comedy, which of course teen me enjoyed. But Josh Gad does a good job as the lead, there's a few nice gags and unlike a lot of the shows here it got a proper ending at least. Nothing exactly stand out, but nothing horrible either. Just kinda there but I still remember it for ti's theme song and ok go episode.

[marinagail]

@marqenobi thank you for asking my thoughts on Berlin show.

First of all, first time they mentioned the spin off I was very excited. I love LCDP so much, even some of the things I disagree in later seasons, season 4 & 5. Still, my god. It was authentic, thrilling, made you doubt that this teams could ever get away. Both heists were very AMAZING, one of a kind. The show that never been created like that.

The mint heist still and will always be my Fav. But the Gold heist, it was Grand. The mint heist was like Classic Noir Suspense, thrilling and dramatic, holding my breath most of the time. The gold heist was loud, a touch of war, a test for the humanity, shocking, and didn't give us the audience mercy by UNAFRAID to kill our fav characters 😢 both heists were showing us a very thin line between bad guys and good guys. Okay i'll stop ranting now before it gets too long lol.

Now comes the Spin off. Berlin fans favorite.

We expected the background stories of this maniac, his sly and intelligence ways to do the robberies. Why he never get caught. (This one I believe it had something to do with Sergio). And other things that We're so excited to found out about this man. I don't think fans care whether he turns out to be worse than we want him to, or not as evil as the fans thought he might. Fans would love any kind of representation on his arc. And this is why I love fan base, they can cook whatever there is in canon and made their own interpretation on him. It'd be fun. But not the overly obsessed in love with a stranger middle aged man.

When I watch the spin off. I finished them in one day lol. I'm sure some of us did somehow. We've been waiting. If I can be honest,

Berlin is the worst character on his own show. First, the fashion. That man cares about his look, his fashion is quite bad there. I'm sorry. The turtle neck is too much.

Second, Andres in LCDP season 1&2 were a fucking professional who would kill a witness, Advicing sergio to kill Angel in the hospital to cut a loose end, and other rational smart decisions in regard for his teammates, which some of them I agreed with him. That's why He's known to be a ruthless professional with a brain. That's what makes him worth to be the Captain that you can actually depended on.

Andres in the Spin off looks like a cartoonic character chasing a woman he fell in love with in 5 seconds, and for those who haven't watched, that's what He'll be doing until the end of the show. He forgot about Everything and it makes me so mad, because he doesn't care about his teammates, doesn't give a shit about the plan, he looks more of a dumbass than Arturo. A professional thief would never did that, especially if He's the one who leads the team.

The kind of love story is almost similar to Sergio and Raquel. The difference is Sergio really were a fucking cruel professional. Sergio still rational even when he knows He's falling for her. But his priority is the plan, the teammates, to get them out safely. He's willing to leave Raquel and even thinking of killing her mother (lol), ruin Raquel's career and possibly life, ALL PART OF THE PLAN. it wasn't just a sudden choice, it was all planned down to the last details, and that is the cruelest most ruthless Romance and revenge to the cops, that one could possibly think or interpret what Sergio experience weren't love but infatuation and adrenaline in the midst of heist. I'd like to talk about this some other time, it's gonna pissed off some Serquel fans. But We're not here for that.

Whereas Andres, the cold hearted Sociopath, he chased down Camille into the elevator and kissed her (cringe), singing Felicita with Damian with no care while his team being chased down by the cops (ok). Taking care of camille's best friend's kid (wtf), going to see Camille's husband in Jail and offer him help, because he is so in love with her, and tried to freed him. what is the point of helping her husband? What does he get from it?! I mean... They want to make him look like the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man lol.

They also tried so hard to make him look like a psychopath but failed, the worst trials. First he threatened that guy in the opening scene, that was quite good actually, probably the best scene in the show, but it went down hill from there. Second, looking at the fork in the restaurant because he's angry lol, Alex Pina. You don't have to do that. That was very unnecessary. Andres killing a guy in the restaurant with a fork is done. And no need to remake that scene. And then, he threatened the Lawyer, I just realized that Andres is all talking, and talking, trying to scare people with his threats. Nothing much.

Third, the heist in the spin off. The advertisement of Berlin Spin off is that the Red Gem that They're gonna steal. The mystery heist we've been waiting for. And in the spin off, I don't know when did the heist ended. Just like that. What did they steal anyway? Only jewels. There weren't any red gem. How much? And what about the tunnel they made under the chapel? Did they just leave it like that? There are too many loose ends and of course the heist, the plan weren't great. I can say it was a very bad bad robbery, and an easy one too. No wonder sergio and martin weren't there. No need for the masterminds help.

The members of the crew were just like bad copies of the original. Nobody can change my mind on this. Tried so hard to bring back the old vibe gang, doing Everything wrong in this show and they have the audacity to promote it by saying "We're making a thing better than the LCDP". At least have some respect with the former show. The former actors also work hard to achieve a great show together.

Damian and his problem with his wife, Cameron and her past which Nobody cares, Roi (rafael 0.2) that's why andres asked him to wear glasses. Perhaps it reminds him of his son. But how does he know how his son looks like when he never ever seen him? (Season 5 plot), Bruce (i've got no problem with bruce, the dude didn't try too much, He's cool), kaila (Surprisingly I like keila more than the rest. She's not Trying to be somebody in the past, she's more of a fresh character than Berlin ever could).

Now Alicia and Raquel. They were meh. Their dialogue were bad. The chances of these two could thrive in Berlin if they have their own story. Instead of forcing their friendship on our faces. I was excited about their roles. But it turns a bit forced??? Idk if it's just me I guess.

The whole story line could work if they focus more about the robbery. And see where the characters develop from there. I thought perhaps if they gonna ruin Berlin character at least perhaps with a great heist plot could save this spin off. But it turned out to be a bad heist nobody even really care about.

Still there are some moments where berlin were tolerable and ofc great on some scenes. I have HUGE respect on Pedro for his acting skill but even a great acting skill couldn't save a bad plot and direction. The potential were there, but they are TOO focus on the Nostalgic that they ruined the chances to bring out the origin stories for Berlin.

The fans could do better tbh. Making gifts like @marqenobi did, or @pedroalonso did with their arts. And perhaps creating a better story lines like @roccinan fics for examples lol. About Berlermo and Hermanos. And others I too enjoyed very much. Since I guess we do it out of love for the characters themselves and not for anything else.

Strange that I still hope for more seasons you know why? Because I love the character. And yearn to see more of them. I was left disappointed. But what can I do but cringe all the way through watching berlin spin off.

Pedro you did great. But i'm sorry. Berlin spin off were very bad. And that's my honest opinion. If you have your own thought on this @marqenobi please don't hesitate to share yours too. Even if you disagree with me, I'd be delighted to hear another opinions. That's what i've been doing here on blogs reading different thoughts n opinions about things. Xoxoxo happy new year.