#go queen go

[mattsmemes]

[tswizzlesfan]

very dear to me how 911: lone star basically goes

everyone: marjan no

marjan: marjan yes

[hydr0phius]

Clarion beat the Ender Dragon and I am so proud of my little Dragonslayer

[spotlightlover]

Turns out the answer to my question of "well how does queen reconcile w her wish that she doesn't want to rely on anyone anymore with the trust value system" was "oh she wants to destroy the trust value system"

[shysheeperz]

[huneydew]

GAUNTLET YEVA: Grand Duke Ravengard could be inside! Don't just stand there - push!

[STRENGTH] Push against the wreckage.

[mistbornthief]

god DAYUM i cannot wait to see carla gugino just FUCK! SHIT! UP!

[blobofcolour]

I would not have even heard of the micro drama 黑莲花上位手册 Go Queen Go if not for the few articles I came across of how it was taken off Chinese platforms for it's 'extreme revenge tactics'. Thankfully (?) you can still view the already aired parts on Youtube and of course I had to go check it out lol. It's very very low budget but I was pleasantly surprise by how pretty the FL was and I'll say her acting was better than some traffic stars hahaha. That said, I also started reading the novel 昭华乱 it was based on and it was obvious the drama cut a lot of characters and side plot lines cos they could not afford hiring more supporting characters. I eventually couldn't get past the cheap looking sets and cosplay-style acting from the Emperor and drop the drama halfway through ... but really that was only 1.5hours of my life, I've wasted more time on worse dramas.

On the other hand, the novel kept me engaged throughout tho' I'm generally not a fan of palace dramas. Maybe cos the FL doesn't have a love line? She's just on a mission to rise through the ranks for herself and does not get swayed by any feelings for the Emperor or trying to help her birth family (in fact she actively plots for their death). Initially it did read like a palace mission game where the main character beats down one obstacle after another and rest of the characters are pretty tropey like the scheming Empress who acts benevolent, or the arrogant concubine with a powerful family that the Emperor placates etc. But eventually it becomes clear that the real 'enemy' was never the women of the harem. No matter how high they rise, they were always playthings and chess pieces of the Emperor seeking to consolidate his power. FL doesn't have a love line, but I enjoyed her friend-line with Ning Wan Shuang (said arrogant concubine) in the later half of the novel... in fact, I would say she had the most moving arc in the story and I might like her a little more than our FL ;)

Concubine Chen (Ning Wan Shuang) in the drama

The only thing I have to pick about the novel is the ending which was such a fairytale that I was laughing and going really???

Song Zhao finally got rid of the Emperor and eventually ruled the country herself when her son expressed his dislike for the role, which fair enough, there were a few female rulers in ancient China. Then the novel went 10 years later ... and Song Zhao managed to overhaul the system/society to grant women equal rights from education, to participating in the imperial exams, to banning polygamy. Besides a few old and corrupt officials, the general public was totally accepting of this because the country was peaceful and rich!

Okayyyyyyyyyy. Looks around the world in 2023 re women's rights.

Oh, and on the 'extreme revenge tactics' point, yea, the novel does not shy away from many, many painful deaths.

Anyway, I finished the novel exactly on the last day of 2023 and it was a fun ride. :)

[ahsokalegend]

One of my favorite choices the Apothecary Diaries made was making the Emperor a “normal guy” (as far as I know as an anime-only). He’s not evil. He’s not hindering Mao Mao’s journey. He respects the concubines.

If anything his lack of autonomy and presence as the most powerful person in the country further enhances the show’s themes of working within the confines of class and gender inequality.

The previous emperor was a horrible, horrible pervert. Okay, then this emperor only weds women of age… Until he’s forced to take his father’s precious wife due to politics. The current emperor reasonably avoids her.

Eunuchs exist? Bam! now the surgery is outlawed, but this will create a reduction in male labor around the palace.

The emperor clearly favors few women. Well, now he must recognize a concubine with a powerful politician father playing the system.

He supports Mao Mao toeing the line of social expectations for women, but hasn’t removed the law against women preparing medicine. It makes one think, if he wanted to, could he make the change at all? For every two steps forward, he’s forced to take one step back.

In this universe even the Emperor is limited by social pressure and the expectations of his station. His life and that of his children is out of his control, and if that isn’t such a compelling piece of world building I don’t know what is.

If that’s how the author twists the narrative of the Emperor you better believe her female characters dealing with women’s issues in this society are even better written.

[floweroflaurelin]

Open your eyes, daughter of fire.

-

Starkid’s new musical is HERE and I’m already OBSESSED!!!

[varpusvaras]

Bruce, for the record, is absolutely stoked when Jason brings Roy around.

Because this now means that he is a grandpa. He is so ready to be a grandpa. Let him be a grandpa. Please please please please-

(finally, he gets to just give things to someone. anything they want. (finally, he gets to give Jason so much money and things and Jason can't say no because they are for Lian too))

The thing is, now he is in a very deep and serious rivalry with Oliver, who will not be replaced as the number one grandpa. Absolutely not. So now they are waging war on each other for Lian's affections.

It's messy and it's bloody.

One day, during a JLA meeting, Green Arrow notices something peeking from underneath Batman's suit. It's colorful, so it stands starkly against the dark suit. It looks very familiar.

Green Arrow looks down on his hands. At the friendship bracelet Lian had made for him. He looks back up at Batman and the very familiar colorful thing he has on him.

"What is that?" He asks.

Batman turns to look at him. He follows Green Arrow's gaze, and looks at the colorful thing on him, and then at the bracelet on Green Arrow's wrist.

"What is that?" Batman asks, nodding at the bracelet.

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

Green Arrow glares at Batman.

"It's a friendship bracelet my granddaughter made for me", he says.

Batman glares at Green Arrow.

"And this is a friendship bracelet my granddaughter made for me", he says.

They glare at each other. The meeting room has become several degrees colder. No one dares to utter a word.

Then they both pull out their phones and make a call.

"Jason-"

"Roy-"

Jason and Roy, in their bed, both realising that their dad's are calling them at the same time: fuck whatever it is, we're going back to sleep

[blairisfuckingdead]

Like you know nothing about me.

[davidtennan-t]

when Conrad leaked those UNIT employees addresses you know damn well Donna was beating any protesters who showed up at her door with a broom stick because she’s looking after a retired alien who does not need retraumatising by mobs of delirious conspiracy theorists - go off queen

[lunar-years]

People declaring they’ve gotten over their Taylor Swift obsession and dramatically taking down their posters of her and stuff on TikTok because they “haven’t really been listening lately” is always so hilarious to me. When I don’t listen to Taylor for a while, I’ll have shuffle on one day and a Taylor Swift song will come on, and then I’ll genuinely have to pause whatever I’m doing to sit there with the song thinking holy shit WHAT a tune! Do you think she realizes what a banger she had on her hands here? And then I go back to living my life with Taylor Swift still in my heart. It has been like this since I was ten years old. We are not the same!

[sunny-boooo]

I HOPE SHE MAKES HIS LIFE A HELL MAKE HIM SUFFER GIRL.

[shysheeperz]