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[max-nolastname]

the thing about queer tv is that every time someone says "why isn't there a queer show where XYZ happens" the reality is that 1) there is actually a queer show where XYZ happens, and 2) that show is almost always either a thai drama or black sails

[max-nolastname]

one of max's best monologues was about her foundational experience of standing on the outside of a warm, well-lit room where love and stability took place, looking in but not participating. and then at the end of the show, when she is offered a place in england's civilisation, inside of a well-lit ballroom teeming with wealth and life, she refuses. she sits outside in the snow, looking out into the street, the windows behind her back. and anne is with her, they sit on the outside together. oh ymgo oood

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the joys of knowing three languages is that, if the dub is available, I can watch my favourite shows and movies three times back to back and it's fun and new every time

[max-nolastname]

here's my concept for kpop demonhunters 2 that continues with the theme of shame and acceptance, and truly elaborates on examining the humanity of The Other.... The monsters and demons, with the "Big Bad Evil Guys" being a rival girls pop trio that are secretly siren ecoterrorists. not that anyone who follows me cares or has watched the movie

we open on rumi zoey and mira performing at coachella, or some other big music festival. they are an international sensation, mostly because rumi is out as a demon, which she receives hate and prejudice for but also overwhelming support.

while they're in California, zoey runs into an old friend/rival she grew up rapping and making music with. inspired by rumi slowly accepting who she is as a half demon, zoey reveals that her "friend" used to be her girlfriend, trusting that her friends will accept and celebrate her queerness as they did for rumi's heritage.

rumi is oddly jealous of zoey, and feels a sense of guilt and shame over that jealousy thinking she's envious of zoey being able to have romantic partners while rumi has never been able to get close with anyone because of her shame and distrust of people (except for that one kiss which rumi tries her hardest to forget but we will get to that later) (rumi laments not having more time with jinu because there could have been something there!). that's part of the reason but not all. mostly rumi is jealous that zoey is so open about her queerness

they attend another show for an up and coming girl trio (think Destiny's Child, flo etc.). They are all enraptured by their voices, which really and truly focus on harmonization and vocals. rumi is especially charmed by their lead, and becomes a megafan. mira, insightfully, pokes fun at rumi for having a crush which rumi adamantly denies.

both groups become fast friends, because it's hard to find people that can relate to your experience as an international pop star AND inspire you to be better performers. there's a fun montage.... a collab even! rumi feels a connection with the lead singer, similar to what she felt with jinu (the lead singer shares experiences of being an outsider with her, of having to hide who she was to be accepted, which Rumi of course connects with).

a battle draws them out into the coast and odd things start happening. they see people willingly walk themselves into the water and as they get closer they hear beautiful singing. they start seeing illusions, manifestations of their hearts desire. rumi sees jinu whole again (jinu is around, still, and manifests as her sword and the occasional feeling of warmth and love in her chest where she holds him). eventually, the girls wake up, realizing they've lost the battle.

zoey guesses that they were up against water demons, with singing magic that allows them to lure people to their deaths. they research similar occurences happening globally: orcas attacking yachts, "pirate attacks" against barges, major canal blockings, and witnesses to these incidents report hearing beautiful singing throughout and strange hallucinations....

(a quick interlude: during these investigations, huntrix run into the rival trio again and do karaoke together. the lead singer picks brown eyes by Destiny's child to sing, and changes all the pronouns from "he" to "she" while looking straight at rumi. Ofc rumi feels some type of way about it).

huntrix encounter these "water demons" again prepared, ears plugged with wax and everything. rumi manages to corner one, slamming them against a wall and putting her blade up against their neck. The enemy is revealed to be her friend, who looks at her with monstrous eyes filled with very familiar human fear. rumi is slightly out of breath, and her friend is breathing erratically and eventually their breathing slows down so it's in sync. They're close quarters, intimate, and her friend keeps looking down at her lips. they meet in the middle in a tentative and shy kiss, sword still between them.

rumi's friend removes the earplugs and cradles rumi's face and explains what she is: a siren, not demon, of this world and of the oceans, and her home has been slowly dying. from her perspective, she is not the monster, for her brethren are not the ones killing all living things in alarming rates. humans have been the greatest cause of their own destruction, not demons, not sea monsters. she is simply trying to save the world. the siren doesn't think rumi is at the stage where she can understand or accept this, that beings other than humans have humanity and soul.... not when Rumi hides so many parts of herself that she deems Other or Inhumane and obviously Rumi replies with wdym im proud to be a demon and her siren friend just kind of looks at her sadly and sings, calls forth a memory of Rumi as a youth, kissing another girl and running away.

the sirens get away and we get to our trio at their lowest point. their role as demonhunters used to be clearcut, but time and time again demons and monsters have shown their humanity to them..... first jinu then rumi and now their siren friends, and it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the blood on their hands. rumi confesses to kissing one of the sirens, to liking girls as much as boys. mira and zoey shrug and said they figured, and that before rumi came out as a demon they genuinely thought she was a closeted lesbian which explained all the walls rumi put up. They sing a song acapella, perfectly harmonizing.

they track the sirens to The Biggest Music Festival In the World extremely conflicted. It's easy to slay demons when you didn't believe in their humanity. now on their way to battle against their friends .... stopping them means killing them which would feel like murder.

I imagine a battle of the bands, pitch perfect sing off between the two, perhaps a remix of the earlier collab song they did. huntrix wins, because they're the main characters, but they ultimately can't kill the sirens. so they get away. the lead siren leaves a piece of advice and a warning: to not follow them into the sea, for they will never find them. and to know no shame.

the movie ends. because this is a kid's movie streaming on netflix, there is no green revolution, there is no sharp pivot to some green new deal. the status quo remains largely the same, except this time the huntrix girls are making changes to be more environmentally conscious, or to join environmental causes. perhaps you see them holding hands out to demons instead of weapons.

if the director was really about that life they would join the sirens in their disruption of seafaring trade and capitalism but alas

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[max-nolastname]

[max-nolastname]

black sails really can just be summed up with "what would you give up for the person you love most" vs. "what would you give up the person you love most for"

[max-nolastname]

black sails should have had a sea shanty or two thrown in there! there should have been a sea shanty that made it's first appearance in a tavern playing in the background and reappears sproadically throughout the series as a leimotif of some sort signifying....SOMETHING... there should have been multiple versions of the same shanty that take on a different meanings depending on how it's sung! fun and raunchy! sad and mournful! a lullaby!! there should have been one shanty AT LEAST about missing the beautiful girl you left at home that would have elevated the yuri yearning to astronomical levels!! 38 EPISODES and you're telling me they couldnt have even thrown a little YO HO HO HO in there??

[max-nolastname]

you gotta break a few jacks to make an annelette

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DAVID CORENSWET as Clark Kent/Superman aka moments that made me go 🤩😮‍💨💘

[max-nolastname]

i have a week long backpacking trip im going on with friends and they've assigned me to come up with entertainment

currently adapting one piece east blue saga into the oral tradition

[max-nolastname]

slipping through my fingers all the time / claudia & louis

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moments before they start mindmelding together

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whole cake island most romantic one piece arc???

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when will black sails watchers also watch one piece

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guy who doesnt realize hes commanding a small army and thinks a lot of people are just going along with his bit

[max-nolastname]

when the fic is a rated t one-shot with a 20k+ word count titled something like "the mechanics of turtle migration" with kudos in the low hundreds yk it's gonna hit