#I JUST REPEATEDLY FORGET ABOUT HIS EXISTENCE POST SEASON 1

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Oop

[eddiediazismyhusband]

This is what gets me when people write in depth analysis about how dumb they would be to not go there with queer Eddie and with Buddie. Like yes, I agree it would be incredibly stupid and bad writing - unfortunately as much as I want that to reassure me(and I’ll admit some days when I’m sad and need to not be I pretend to let it), it doesn’t. Just because it would be stupid and bad writing doesn’t mean they won’t do it. We’ve seen this show repeatedly make bad writing choices before. I’ve watched TV shows time and time again screw things up in the eleventh hour, I’ve seen so many shows set things up and then take a hard left turn into the dumbest plots in existence. And they get backlash for it but still do it. So as much as I want to believe that because logic and basic literary analysis says Eddie is queer and Buck and Eddie are each others’ best match - that isn’t a guarantee of anything. I’m also preparing myself that if we actually do get a queer Eddie storyline and buddie canon - there is a high possibility that they stumble through it in a ridiculous and poorly written way. I want more than anything for that not to be true but it is still a very distinct possibility.

this is exactly my feelings- like one of my biggest pet peeves are people making posts as if buddie is 10000% happening and there is absolutely zero possibility of it not going that way which i’m sorry to be a debbie downer once again but that’s just not true

what kills me is everyone in the fandom keeps talking about “it’d be so ooc for _______”, seemingly forgetting the fact that s7 was ooc for so many of the main characters to the point that we were all ragging on the writers about it… like if they were able to write a season so sloppy and terribly ooc what makes you think they won’t continue to do so, especially after tim just said “i don’t like to plan out seasons”

ooc writing happens in tv shows all the time. just because something wouldn’t make sense for a character/plotline doesn’t mean they won’t just do it anyway. like I’ve said before, tim has shown us that he only cares about shock value and drama- telling us himself in a interview that “i can’t just let them be happy, then no one would watch” (which is such total bullshit but this is the man who decided to make eddie have an emotional affair with a doppelgänger of his dead wife rather than just, yk, confirm his queerness)

i get it. it’s disappointing. you don’t want your favorite shows/characters to tank and go off the rails. but unfortunately, it has happened time and time and time again in network tv, and 9-1-1 is not immune to this.

i fully agree with the posts and analyses that detail how the show has set up buddie being the only satisfactory endgame relationship between them, and how it would be foolish and bad writing for them not to, but unfortunately (as you said in your ask) this show has made god awful writing choices frequently (literally the entirety of s7 is proof of that) and they have jumped through hoops to avoid buddie canon countless times— there is nothing stopping them from doing it again.

and this idea that just because they’re talking about buddie openly must mean they’re going canon is ridiculous. the short is reaching the end if it’s run; if it even gets renewed past s8, it’s very unlikely that they’ll go past s10 at the longest. they just moved to a new network, baited the fuck out of buddie pre-s7 and then didn’t give us anything and people are still watching. they know that as long as people think there’s a possibility of buddie canon that they’ll watch the show— it’s textbook queer/shipbaiting. 9-1-1 is not immune to this just because they’ve said “we don’t want to be accused of queerbaiting” in the past. we’ve reached a point where the network queerbaiting won’t cause enough backlash to warrant them being cautious anymore. it’s a dick move, yeah, but these creators are in this job for one thing: money. they have proven they don’t actually give a fuck about meaningful storytelling. it’s why they rely on cheap drama and shock value to get by bc they know people will tune in anyway.

i completely understand wanting to be hopeful and optimistic. i will forever be hopeful for the day that buddie finally go canon (although i hope they ditch the mustache before then because i don’t want to think of my alcoholic uncle when i see eddie kiss buck for the first time) and when it does i will be so fucking happy after waiting for 6 years.

but that’s the thing. i have waited for 6 years. i’m tired of getting my hopes up each season bc “guys this is literally the closest we’ve ever been there is no way they aren’t going to go there now” just to get slapped in the face by the showrunners and writers. i’m not going to get my hopes up about it just to be let the fuck down once again. and frankly, i don’t wanna see the fallout when we are let down again because people decided to convince themselves that it was 100% for sure set in stone happening when in reality it’s really not.

[rinisbowen]

I agree with you that Ricky and Lily broke up four days ago and some people are forgetting this. I know majority of the fandom doesn’t ship Ricky and Lily and we all knew that they weren’t going to last. Now Ricky realizes he has feelings for Gina which might of been there all along who knows. I just don’t see how Rina could happen this season maybe in season 4 even if Portwell did break up because it would be too soon after their break up with their significant others.

lol so update on this one- i feel like this ask was from around episode four ??? if i remember correctly ???

i thought about just deleting this one bc well- y’know… but i decided to go for it with answering it anyway bc some of the points still stand, and others bring room for discussion.

also- please if you want to engage with my posts be respectful / kind. that’s just a good reminder always.

1. yeah- the lily thing was obviously temporary. that said, they didn’t use it as well as they could’ve and i’ll say that forever. (i’ve got so many things in my head on top of what’s already on this blog). also- the fact through episode four she kept coming up repeatedly and then never again was interesting too. i may make a post about the harness getting tossed in the backseat of the car thing bc i have so many thoughts on that and finally free and josh’s interview and such. also the show kinda dropped the ball with the timeline of this season a bit in terms of the time before it and after the s2 finale. that definitely plays a factor into why him having a full on relationship with her for what was likely around two months just doesn’t matter to the viewer. we saw none of that. also people already hate lily, and olivia rose keegan’s got gotham knights to film (so proud of her for booking a series regular gig!). so not a huge loss necessarily in any significant regard for them to break up. But- it still likely should’ve had more impact than it did- and if this season were more reminiscent of s2 then it likely would’ve.

i saw someone say something about how ricky calling lily in 212 may have been done because liv’s fate was still undetermined and lily is a lot easier to undo than many other things ricky perhaps could’ve ended up doing that night. (tbh i mean this in a variety of ways- so… maybe i’ll elaborate if someone wants maybe not- also it’s someone’s suggestion, not objective truth so- take it as you will.)

anyway- no more lily at all- ork’s filming gotham knights in atlanta until like at least mid february. so there’s a likelihood pretty close to zero that lily’s in it even for a single scene. kinda odd that the s2 characters basically failed to have any kind of genuinely significant impact on the plot moving forward… but the s3 ones were given so much it was surprising. (very happy for the s3 newbies, but it’s still interesting to consider). like i know howie and kourtney didn’t ever dtr at the end but- they Were on good terms again. i think it’s possible they just didn’t get back together properly bc he was about to leave for college is the most likely explanation, but they still liked each other a whole lot. and so that would be maybe why she felt insecure about him kissing girls at college. idk. the show may address it in s4 but i’m not holding my breath bc they had all season to make another throwaway comment about him and they didn’t. them going back to east high / utah and north kinda ceasing to matter exist altogether will definitely be odd but the show is kinda resetting after s2 from all tim’s said so- i’m truly not holding my breath for Any real mentions of the menkies / north / zack.

—

2. the feelings have been there all along thing has yet to be confirmed, on ricky’s end. it’s the easiest way for the show to play this, though arguably not necessary the most accurate to what we saw… or the direction that most serves his past character arc considering… everything… for gina though- yep. we got confirmation it’s pretty much been ricky- (though that’s arguably different then her having had the feelings for him never go away, i think my assertion remains decently accurate) not a huge surprise to people i don’t think… though they did a questionable job of conveying that she wasn’t over him in s3, i understand where this comes from on her end. do i think this is progression for her? very much both yes and no from where i’m standing. i could elaborate later if someone wanted me to. (that goes for most anything i say in my posts.)

—

3. we can discuss the time jump until our faces turn blue probably. people obviously have a lot of opinions on that ending- and the time skip itself- the kiss… the speech… etc. i’m not really going to get into mine on here unless someone Really wants to know.

was one month post breakup enough? idk. depends on who you talk to probably. i think the fact rg shippers wanted them to not get together until s4 makes a lot of sense for multiple reasons, but i’m sure at least most? are still good with how it did happen now. i think most pw shippers probably feel like it wasn’t enough, but are likely less focused on the length of time than what was said tbh. so the discussion is hard to have.

it’s one of those questions too… where we have to think about in universe time vs in show time.

it was a month in their world- but a month of which we saw absolutely nothing. And… it took like only a few minutes between the end of the finale which was the day after g and ej broke up… to the scene where g’s confessing to r. so that probably makes it feel even less- like enough time for people.

idk. we’ll see how next season goes. i was saying for a minute there that there’s no chance the love triangle was dead- tbh i expected ej to like- do Something… (i didn’t expect it to be entirely successful necessarily but i expected him to try- if that makes sense?) but i also 100% understand why the writers didn’t have him do anything too? it’s complicated haha. (if anyone wants me to elaborate on that i will).

tim’s saying the triangle’s done at least for now if not forever. he may well be lying (and i think people always need to consider that when reading certain interviews, there’s always a chance it’s not the whole truth), but also… i could actually see it more so being the case. i assumed if this was planned as if it’s going to be the final season they’d just keep that thread going bc they’d probably just give ej a lot to do in the season to have him around as much as possible. that no longer looks like the case.

i will close by saying i’m sorry for your loss anon, assuming you ship ej and gina. this was… an interesting season to say the least, and obviously not the most fun one if you wanted ej and gina to work out in the end.

[norahastuff]

Why do I love Cas’ arc but am so profoundly frustrated with it at the same time? Well from my understanding, for Cas’ arc, there was a 3 pronged resolution that needed to happen - that the show had set up to happen:

1) Cas’ guilt over all the damage he’d inflicted on heaven 

It’s been a running theme for years that all the angels hated him and felt like he had destroyed heaven and had abandoned them, not to mention all the rumours that flew around about his relationship with Dean (that they perhaps knew each other in the biblical sense - that’s barely even subtext, it’s just what all the angels and demons assumed.) That’s not something Cas every wanted, to be hated by his own kind, but I think what truly shook him to his core was his conversation with Naomi in 13x19 (a phenomenal scene by the way, maybe my favourite of the entire season) where he discovered that there were just nine angels left in heaven. Cas was devastated, and from that moment on it was clear that whatever else happened, Cas would have to play some role in restoring heaven. 

Now technically he did get to do that. That’s something right? Yeah sure...a 10 year arc that’s always been one of the primary conflicts for Cas as a character, that’s driven so much of his story, affected his relationships with Sam and Dean in very significant ways, a conflict that was very clearly being set up to be resolved as part of Cas’ character arc in a very tangible way since 13x19, was wrapped up with a two word acknowledgement: 

“Cas helped.”

So yes, that part of his arc was addressed but it was so thoroughly unsatisfying and not given any sort of narrative weight, it almost feels insulting. Those two words are the only allusion to Cas having any kind of agency or being a real character that existed on this show for 12 years. He deserved more than those two words.

2) Cas understands the power of love

Oh boy this one. Well we all know about this one. Bobo did a phenomenal job with this. As did Meredith Glynn, it’s her and Bobo who have been setting this up since s14 at the latest (if we’re talking about when I think they started pushing for an explicitly textual love story) but in my estimation since s12. You can disagree with me if you like but I’m just going to yell “mixtape” at you and run away. Anyway I’ve rambled about this enough in the past so instead of writing another 600 words on it I’ll just link to the last time I did that. The main point is to look at how much Cas had changed over these 12 years. His run on the show may have ended like it started, saving Dean Winchester, but Cas most certainly did not end up the same being that he was when he started. All those years ago he saved Dean for duty, this time he did it for and with love. The power the simple act of loving another person could have? The power in allowing yourself to fully feel it? Nobody understood that better than Cas.

This was satisfying. This made sense.

3) Cas gets to hear that he’s loved

And then we get to part three. How long have they been setting up this particular plot point for? How far back do I have to go? Ok to be fair, let’s stick to the Dabb era. How about when Cas told the entire Winchester family that he loved them? When Dean gave him a mixtape that Cas sort of kind of maybe but not quite recognised the significance of? When The Empty told him it knew who he loved and how there was nothing for him there? When Dean lost all ability to function without him and Cas knew nothing about it? When Cas wonders why he was brought back and Dean tells him it was because “we needed you back” and Cas concludes that he was brought back to prepare for war...when the truth was that Cas was brought back purely because of love? He was brought back because of Dean’s love, because of Jack’s love, but that’s something Cas is never made aware of. How about when Michael in Dean’s body tells him that Dean doesn’t care about him and only tolerates him because he feels he owes him for saving him from hell? Or when Michael continues to twist the knife and talk about how all Cas has done since then is make mistake after mistake? Or when in a moment of anger Dean says the same thing? And I don’t think I’ll ever forget when Jack says he know Cas loves him and he wants to love him back but he can’t, and Cas responds with “You can’t yet.” Did none of that feel like it was setting something up? 

Cas’ arc wasn’t just to learn that he could love without expecting anything in return, it was also to learn that he was loved without being expected to do anything for that love. He was loved for him. He wasn’t just needed, he was wanted. 

Cas got to resolve 1/3 of the main story threads that were set up for him, 1.5 if I’m being generous about point #1, which is still a hell of a lot more than any of the other characters, but it’s a far cry from being in any way satisfying. There’s definitely a point to be made about how by not letting Cas hear/learn that he was loved and valued (explicitly romantic or not) they did a true disservice to Dean and who he was a character and how deeply we know, and have been repeatedly been hit over the head with, he feels for Cas, but that point has been made many times in the past few weeks so I’ll just leave it at that.

Anyway, I know I’ve been contradicting myself since the finale about how I feel about how Cas’ story ended, so I figured it was worth it just to put it all together in one post to kind of make sense of it all.

[obsessively-obsessed-fangirl]

Veronica Mars Revival Rant/Review

Obviously this is gonna contain spoils for the season, so if you don’t want to know what happens then pls avoid this post.

I feel numb after watching the Veronica Mars revival. It wasn’t what I was expecting, although I don’t necessarily know what I was expecting in the first place, but I do know that what I saw wasn’t exactly it.

I thought the actual storyline was good. I liked the mystery of it and I enjoyed trying to figure out who the bomber actually was. I also really liked the subplots of the Murderheads and Clyde Pickett. I thought they were interwoven quite well with the main story and made a lot of sense in the end. I especially liked Clyde Pickett because from the very beginning we know who he is and what he does, yet I was still shocked when he gave Big Dick up. Along with this, Keith’s subplot with his health was brilliantly done. I FELT that, when he was angry and upset with himself for forgetting and almost causing his/Veronica’s death. I’ve always liked Keith, and I was really glad to see him be okay in the end.

While I liked a lot of things about the revival season, I still had two very big main issues: Veronica and the last 10 minutes of the season.

First of all, Veronica was a bitch this season. There were so many moments where I just had to pause and take a minute because of how upset I was with her. Personally, how she acted this season really reminded me of where we left her in season 3. She was just as spiteful, cold, and self destructive as she was back then. I found this to be so unrealistic for her character because of the fact that she is 30+ years old and has consistently been in a long term relationship with Logan for 5 years. I couldn’t believe that they hadn’t had a conversation in all that time about marriage and their future together. Now, that’s not to say it’s not in character for her to say no. I fully expected that to happen because of what both of them had been through, but I just didn’t expect the fact that it’s never really come up in a conversation for them before.

I also didn’t appreciate how Veronica was treating Logan throughout this season. Especially when she repeatedly brought up his therapy and mocked him for it. What is so wrong with him wanting to better his life? I applaud him for trying to put his self-destructive behavior in the past and move forward. He’s been angry and had anger issues for so long and I am so glad this was actually brought up as something important that he wanted to work on ...and he was doing such a damn good job of it. I can’t believe how unsupportive she was of him and seriously refused to even try going to couples therapy. Both of them recognized at multiple points this season that their relationship was strained, but Veronica just seemed to want to ignore it and pretend like nothing was wrong. There was even one point early in this season where I was actually disgusted with Veronica. It was when she was having an argument with Logan and pokes at him to the point where he does exactly what she wants and he punches a hole in the cabinet. Why would she even do that? He felt so guilty afterwards and Veronica just completely ignores this. Veronica is many things, but I just can’t believe she’d be so unwilling and so unsupportive of Logan to actually force him into doing the one thing he wants to avoid. It was almost like Veronica didn’t want him to resolve his issues because then it would mean she is alone with her own “darkness.”

Besides this, I, like many other people really did not like those last few minutes of the season. It was not a justifiable death and really did not add to the story. I could imagine it almost like they were trying to bring her back to who she was in season 1, but it just doesn’t work. That girl in season 1 was hard on the outside to deal with the bullies and angry on the inside because Lily. She had motivation to find out who killed her best friend and that was clearly shown in every action and thought made in season 1. We already know who killed Logan, so there isn’t any motivation for her in the future. She has seen and been through too much to ever be the same girl she was in season one. Killing Logan was just a senseless death that doesn’t create anything new for the character other than pain and bitter resentment at the world. Along with that, his death was just done so poorly that I almost believe it wasn’t real. Sure, I cried, but it was honestly more from being right than from the heartbreaking pain of seeing a character I loved so deeply, die. We didn’t see a body/funeral and they purposefully avoided saying that he actually died, therefore until it’s been officially confirmed for real that he is actually dead, I choose to believe he is still alive and they are being cagey for reasons.

Overall, there was a lot of things I enjoyed about this season and this was definitely a step up from seasons 2 and 3. I am always going to miss teenage Veronica because it was the original concept of the show and being a teen P.I. comes with a lot of challenges and restrictions but I am also still glad adult Veronica exists even though she has some serious issues and desperately needs to work on them (at therapy). I can only hope going forward (if there is one) that Veronica finally grows as a character and that Logan gets to live happily by her side, instead of in a coffin.

[naruhearts]

@itsdeanwinchester *waves* idk if you remember sending me an inbox msg last week. I had a nice reply going with a few of my fave moments and was ready to add onto it tomorrow, so I saved it as a draft in the app.

Because it’s 1:27AM and I didn’t save to Google docs, Tumblr ate both your question and my reply, sorry!

Anyway, let’s get on with it!

- - - -

^^ This. They talk. The spousal-coded domesticity and general offscreen routines between Dean and Cas deliberately increased over the seasons since Dabb Not-So-Subtle Destiel Era S12, and now they’ve become more blatant/on-the-nose from S13 to present. A few of my personal faves:

Cas and Dean watching movies together/Dean making Cas watch his favourite cowboy movies

Cas knowing Dean is “an angry sleeper...like a bear” and Cas implied as making his coffee in the mornings (recalling that Cas doesn’t sleep)

Related to the above, Dean’s mancave as D/C-coded by brilliant Jerry Wanek — additionally a plausibly romantic contrast to platonic Joey/Chandler’s living space (consistent romantic vs familial narrative, where Destiel are like brothers but more than brothers, and platonic situations are subverted into/further contrasted with romantic ones on the show) — with Sam, who’s never seen it before and was first introduced to it in 13x16 compared to Cas, who knew its location when he returned to the bunker after his Tree of Life mission. One can suspect that the mancave was built late S12/pre-Cas 12x23 death/post-13x05. The rest of the room’s setup veers into headcanon territory (i.e. Cas helping Dean move the pool tables in, construct a pop cultural environment -- let’s be real, they can’t build a perfect mancave in a single day/night unless they had no hunts or urgent matters to attend to in-between, and it seems likely that making the room took place over time; maybe Dean probably wanted to surprise Cas after he was resurrected, maybe Dean gave Cas the mixtape in the mancave if it was created pre-12x23, alongside the bedroom or the Impala as more feasible locations for an intimate mixtape gifting exchange; anyway, Dean could’ve given Cas the tape anywhere etc), but the solid fact remains that TPTB went out of their way to narratively stress Sam and Cas’ differing reactions/relationships to Dean’s mancave (Dean himself) based off of TFW’s complex personalities and patterns. Is Sam the type of person to spend a lot of time in there? Why are there two chairs instead of one, if the mancave was specifically made for TFW bonding circle-jerks (no pun intended)? The latter logically adds up with Sam first seeing the mancave vs Cas. Don’t forget the visual narrative—

—in that Sam is excluded, conveyed as an independent person apart from D/C the unit (which we’ve repeatedly seen since S12/13). Voila, Dean and Cas are standing behind each ugly plaid chair. 

p.s. Dean’s Halloween dress-up suggestions of Thelma/Louise and Bert/Ernie in 14x04, with Bert/Ernie as best friends and highly-likely-or-even-confirmed-gay-couple — and familial bro Sam responding to Dean’s suggestions with “That’s weird” — thus reminds viewers of, again, the varying nature of Sam and Cas’ relations to Dean. Both pop culture pairings subtextually make sense within the romantic Dean and Cas context.

Also, Eldritch bunker, because where the heck is the mancave located? :P

SPN Blatant Mirror City 14x04: Dean mirror Dirk saying that A. Stuart the Cas mirror is his best friend (with the exact nature of their relationship purposely veiled), and B. him and Stuart watch movies and eat pizza together, highlighting 13x06 and 13x16; persistently linked to Cas = Pizza Man/pizza subtext and continuous interpersonal romance-coded bonding via beer and food with Dean’s telling reaction:

“We’d just eat pizza and watch movies. It’s...zen.”

“Sounds like a good friend.”

And I mean, Perez penned both 14x04 and 13x06, intentionally poking at us to fill in the concurrent subtextual blanks. Dean and Cas are best friends, first and foremost. And they’re also more. Storytelling always builds on previous emotional threads to flesh out and establish long-running themes like Love and...Love (corroborate pre-existing romantic subtext), and when you have these explicitly parallel characters Dirk and Stuart maintaining emotional links to the mytharc (e.g. brave and kind Dirk defending his family, Stuart and Sam mirror Samantha, from Toxic Father John Winchester mirror David (literal Hunter) Yeager and standing up to him), it’s the most relevant.

Just recently in 14x16: Dean telling Sam early AM about Cas’ whereabouts before the general household is even awake, implying that either Cas told him in the evening or let him know in the morning (face-to-face) or text/phone call

These are all canon.

Again, exactly...regardless of whether or not Dean and Cas’ subtextual inexplicably romantic narrative is textually confirmed, the UNDENIABLE take-home message -> Dean and Cas are best friends and spend time together — more than we’re explicitly shown onscreen (Misha/Cas haters/brosonlies who continue to insist otherwise are still ignoring canon); D/C will reach full mutual transparency.

Positive Endgame’s arrived and I’m cautiously optimistic! 

[rhimorechill]

my bmc au's that are very, very closely linked to minecraft

for that anon who asked some time ago

a little context to these: i love minecraft fan content. roleplays, fanfics, alternate forms of gameplay, the like. and, of course, bmc is severely lacking minecraft content, so i decided to remedy that just a bit with these seven au's !

(please note: the endgame for every one of these is meremine, whether romantic or qpr. the other ships i'm not particularly picky on, but do keep in mind that that is the shipping context on those three. another thing of note is that jenna is aroace, and i tend to lean on making characters aro, just because i want to. they're all tight-knit, too, since i as an aro person desperately want them to be found family-esque. this "shippy" aspect is not up for discussion in any way)

1.

of course, a collection of minecraft au's wouldn't be complete without the ever-standard "they met online through a video game" au. i've got... quite a bit latched onto this au, honestly.

michael runs a faction, whereas jeremy plays on factions without one just raiding and doing whatever. jeremy and christine do a lot on creative, roleplaying their hearts out. and i feel the whole trio plays skyblock. i really like skyblock. it can't be helped.

the squip only appears momentarily in this au as a griefer. they're banned from minecraft forever for their crimes.

the whole squad eventually makes a town together. i forget what i decided the name was but it's funky and they have a blast !! towny is... a delight.

jake is a server staff member and mr. reyes owns the server ! jake enjoys some creative roleplay and he's probably in michael's faction.

eventually they do all meet up ! first they meet in their little mini groupings but they also definitely have a big old get-together where they're like hello fellow minecrafters !!!

it's honestly been a while since i've talked about this au, which is a shame, because it's great fun ! i adore it.

2.

the next au, one of my all-time fave au's, is based loosely on the pixel trapped series by ash schmidt.

i call it the earthcraft au, because the premise is that the worlds of minecraft and earth were once one world called earthcraft, but have since split.

jeremy, michael, rich, thomas (rich's brother), jenna, and chloe live in minecraft, while christine, dustin, jake, brooke, and madeline live on earth. squip is an evil wizard with an extended lifespan who lives in minecraft, but doesn't particularly interact with the squad outside of pulling them into different worlds or sending monsters that have been drained of personal magic after them.

eventually, squip gets shoved into the void, earthcraft is reformed (although.... it does have a bit of a split where all the people i don't want on earthcraft get to rot on a dying world), and the kids are reunited with their parents- except for jake and the goranskis, whose parents can rot in hell.

3.

this one is based off of the minecraft diaries roleplay series by aphmau ! i was a huge fan in middle school, and i'm quite fond of the premise and such. it might have some narrative decisions i disliked, but it was a good story, in my opinion.

so, jeremy wakes up in the middle of the woods, outside a village. he has.... no memory, of anything. in the village, he meets michael and christine, two guards who are glad he wants to join the village and help out.

the village's lord recently died, so they're trying to find a replacement while rebelling against a neighboring evil ruler that wants more territory who happens to be michael's brother (he has two)- squip.

there's also the whole shadow knights thing, which i don't feel like getting into right now, and also the thing where jeremy and his associates are literally godly beings.

(whether it be that they're the latest reincarnation.... or they wiped their memories recently in the hopes of not having to suffer as their closest friends died and reincarnated and died again.... the usual)

4.

this next one is a joyous adventure in learning ! it's based on the wonder quest series by stampylongnose, just the first season, really.

jeremy and christine are an adventuring duo on the search for cake ! just when they manage to find some, though, they fall into the world of wonderburg- a wonderful (hehe) town full of curiosity..... usually.

however, their sense of wonder has been stolen by a heinous wizard named squip, who desperately wants to be found funny ! his brother, another wizard named michael, has summoned the pair to help him track down the pieces of the wonder cube- a magical gem that provides wonderberg with its everlasting wonder- that squip broke.

there's many shenanigans, as squip tries to send his henchmen rich and jake after them- but they mostly just mess around,- and lots of learning ! it all comes to a close with squip realizing they can just subject themself to physical pain for laughs... which is, at the end of the day, all they really wanted.

(i feel i should clarify: the reason they haven't found another way to be funny is because they literally do not understand jokes. they just want people to laugh at their jokes. they do not care what it takes to get those laughs. if getting blasted with fireballs repeatedly gets laughs, they're down for it.)

5.

this au is also one of my all-time faves !! it's based on the fairytale fallout roleplay series by bbpaws and dangthatsalongname !!

(tw for: implications of/references to abuse, mentions of cannibalism, kidnapping, all particularly with children as the victims)

so, christine and michael are two friends that are trying to play some minigames in the multiverse of minecraft worlds, but when they try to jump through the portal into the lobby, they instead wind up in the world of misthaven. while trying to figure where they are and what's going on, the duo stumbles across a tower in the middle of the woods.

this tower is home to none other than jeremy heere, a kid with a really, really long scarf that he knit as a replacement for the lengthy hair he's chopped off. he sends michael and christine on a quest for enough dyes to change his scarf to rainbow, and in return he gives them a painting and joins them on their adventure.

as it turns out, misthaven has been cursed by a witch (note the pattern) so that all the fairytale characters who live there no longer have their happy endings. the town has also been left in ruin.

however, michael and christine were prophesied to arrive and save the land with the aid of jeremy so... now they're doing that. and what better way to fight evil magic than to help out its very victims ?

(rich and his brother are the witch's henchmen, but extremely unwillingly and only to the extent that they carry out her orders while also making it so they're essentially nonfunctional. the witch is rich's squip and her brother is the mother gothel to jeremy's rapunzel- and also jeremy's squip.)

6.

this one's a skyblock au ! i love them funky islands in the sky. basically, the whole squad lives in a skyblock version of the minecraft worlds, in a hub of islands. it's pretty simple, but it's nice. jeremy, michael, and christine are on a set of islands that are right next to each other, so they coordinate island expansion.

7.

this last one is a crack au. it's based off this one post by @/rockflavors, i believe, where minecraft diamonds are declared to have the taste of mountain dew baja blast. please, just... go with it.

naturally, i decided this meant jeremy could and would eat a minecraft diamond as an alternative to drinking mountain dew, given the chance. so, in this universe, minecraft is extra popular ! rock candy for minecraft diamonds that's made with mountain dew baja blast exists.

squip is activated Extra Chill™, fully decked out in vacation gear and a minecraft diamond shovel ! upgrade probably features jeremy eating a second diamond to upgrade the shovel into a sword.

the most important parts of this au are the kickoff and the party: the halloween party where everyone dresses up as minecraft mobs. and michael...... dresses up as a dolphin. the plan is to seduce jeremy into listening to him. i haven't actually thought about the showdown, so whether it works..... is up for debate.

to be frank with you, i have no idea how this one works out. it's weird and i really don't think about it all too much, but it is fun, too.

so that..... is the summation of my au's. i tried to not drown you in too much information, 'cause god knows i could. if you want to hear more about a specific one (not the crack au, though, since that one is mostly a throwaway i had fun brainstorming the basis of and not much more), you could hit me up in dms ? or send an ask. though, keep in mind, i prefer dms because i don't really like building posts about my au's. it makes me feel a lot more exposed.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

thank you so much for those phoebe/cole posts! just warmed my heart so much! maybe moved me to tears a bit. :) what do you think about dexter/brian? and grindeldore! and anything you want with charlie from lost? and boone/locke? thank you! you're so sweet.

Aw, you’re welcome. And thank you so much

As always I’m placing my response under the cut, because it got long (at this point I think we’ve established it’s impossible for me to ever give short responses haha).

Dexter and Brian

I’m assuming this means platonically? I know that some fans shipped them as a crackship, but I was never one of those people. I love dark ships and I’m not averse to incestuous ships either, but it’s too far even for me lmao. I don’t have that much of an opinion on these two. I find their connection interesting, but because it was only really in the first season (and a little bit in season 5 when he hallucinated him) I don’t have strong opinions on it. I think Brian is the literal representation of the darkest version of Dexter or his “Dark Passenger”. Because the thing is with Dexter, despite him being a serial killer and all his repeated spiel about being evil and not having any feelings or compassion, we see that that’s clearly not the case. His humanity grows more and more throughout the seasons, but even in season 1 he still has the ability to show kindness. He cares about Deb, Rita, Astor and Cody. He has strong feelings about children and fights to protect them no matter what, and whatever way you try to spin it, that’s not the way a psychotic cold-blooded killer behaves or thinks. Brian, on the other hand, really is a psychotic cold-blooded killer. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything, not even Dexter. His attachment to Dexter is much more about the thrill of having someone to share his sadism with and to have a partner in crime (literally), who he can learn from and teach so they can both become more ruthless and skilled killers. When Dexter kills Brian at the end of season 1, it’s about more than simply him choosing Deb over Brian, it’s about him sacrificing that darkest part of himself, it’s about him choosing love and selflessness over his Dark Passenger. Brian being the embodiment of Dexter’s Dark Passenger is all but confirmed in ‘Nebraska’ (6x07) where Brian appears to Dexter and consistently encourages him to give into his darkest urges and to let go of the good parts of himself. My perception of it is that Brian is a contrast to Debra - he represents the bad in Dexter and Deb represents the good. Whilst Brian pushes Dexter to embrace the bad in him, Debra encourages the good in him. This all goes back to the scene in season 1 where Dexter has to choose between Brian and Debra, and like I said, the choice he makes shows not only that he loves Deb more but that what she represents - the good - is more important to him.

Grindeldore

Sorry but I don’t really have an opinion on them. I don’t know much about them as a ship apart from the snippets I’ve seen from JKR over the years. I’ve stayed clear of Fantastic Beasts and anything HP related (except HP itself) since HP ended. The reason for that is because I feel that had HP had a well rounded and complete ending and anything else that follows is just a money grab and does nothing to add to the universe or characters.

Charlie Pace

This is an interesting one for me to discuss, because I recently completed a re-watch of LOST. If you’ve seen my post where I share my thoughts on my recent  rewatch (you can read it here), you’ll know that my opinion on Charlie has completely changed. When I was younger I loved Charlie, I thought he was witty and funny, and I enjoyed watching his friendships with Hurley and Desmond. But my most recent re-watch definitely opened my eyes to the uglier side of Charlie.

The thing is with Charlie is that because he’s used as a comedic character that generally overshadows the shitty aspects of his personality and characterisation. His addition is not the problem here. Obviously, his addiction causes a lot of his problematic behaviours, but that in itself is not an issue I have with his character. Heroin is a highly addictive drug (I believe the most addictive one in existence) which he gets hooked on it due to pressure from his brother. He tries to kick the habit to better himself and he succeeds. This and his death, which is a very selfless act that he does for the benefit of Claire, Aaron and everybody else on the island, are the two main aspects of his character I can praise. Everything else about him…not so much. Before I get deeper into this, I wanted to make it clear that I don’t think Charlie is a bad person, but I do think he’s a very flawed character and he does a lot of things that have led to me disliking him.

All Charlie does is whine and paint himself the victim. He never takes any responsibility for anything he does or anything that happens to him or around him, it’s always someone else’s fault. He blames Liam for his drug addiction; he blames Liam for the break-down of Drive Shaft; he blames Jack for Ethan kidnapping him; he blames Locke for his deteriorating relationship with Claire; he blames Eko for outing his heroin stash to Claire and he blames Sayid for Aaron’s kidnapping (by Danielle). There are probably more that I’m forgetting, but you get the point.

The way Charlie acts towards Claire is a large part of the problem that I have with his character. He meets Claire, develops some kind of hardcore obsession with her and immediately starts acting like her partner and the father of her child despite Claire not giving any indication that she is comfortable with that or even wants Charlie to fulfil those roles. In fact, in season 1, she explicitly tells him that she doesn’t need him to constantly look out for her and that her pregnancy doesn’t mean she’s weak or fragile and needs protecting.  Repeatedly, Charlie over-steps the mark with Claire, particularly when it comes to Aaron. He quite literally berates Claire numerous times for the decisions she makes regarding the well-being of her own child. When she wakes him up because she hears commotion on the beach, Charlie scolds her for it, takes Aaron out of her arms and says something along the lines of, “He’s going to be fussing all night now, give him here”, as though he knows Claire’s child better than she does. It’s one of the most infuriating scenes to watch ever. For some bizarre reason Charlie seems to think he has some claim over Aaron and assumes responsibility for him despite him literally being a stranger to Claire with no rights to Aaron at all, and I will never understand how anyone can view that as acceptable.

As well as the poor way Charlie treats Claire, he’s generally a selfish and egotistical character. All LOST characters are flawed and multi-dimensional, that’s what makes them so fantastic, but Charlie is definitely one of the more flawed characters. His addiction results in him being a pathological liar and very selfish. In addition, because of his failures he has this desperate need to be somebody else, to be this perfect man who is the embodiment of success, strength and responsibility. This is why he fixates on Claire because he sees a beautiful young woman who has been abandoned and alone and he wants to be the one to fix that. He wants to be the patriarch; the father and the husband; the defender of the family because he’s never had that before and when he meets Claire he sees a ready-made family. We know that he desires this from the flashback with Lucy whereby he takes a job and continues in his relationship with her because he wants to be “respectable” and “take care” of her. There’s nothing wrong with wanting this, but he goes about getting it in the wrong way and acts very inappropriately towards Claire.

I feel like this all sounds really harsh, but generally, my opinions on Charlie are very negative since my recent re-watch. Even the funnier aspect of his personality was a complete miss with me (perhaps it’s simply because I’m older now). But like I’ve said, I don’t think he’s fundamentally a bad person, he’s just very, very flawed. The problem with the way he’s written though is that his flaws are never really called out. When you compare him to someone like Sawyer, who also starts out in season 1 as a flawed character, he is constantly punished and called out for that and actively makes an effort to repent and redeem himself, resulting in a beautiful redemptive arc. Unfortunately, I just don’t think Charlie gets the same, because he’s not fully acknowledged within the narrative as being a flawed character that needs to develop. The only aspect of his arc that is acknowledged as a “flaw” (I feel like this isn’t the right word in this context, but I can’t think of a more appropriate one) is his addiction and because he overcomes this by going into recovery, there seems to be this assumption that he does develop, but even when he’s in recovery his behaviour is still shitty. So yeah, that pretty much sums my thoughts up on Charlie. Also I apologise if you’re like a Charlie stan, because this was essentially just a rant about how much I’ve come to dislike him lmao.

Boone and Locke

Now, this is a complicated dynamic to analyse. I like how their bond is developed at the start and I like watching them on-screen together before they find the Hatch. Unfortunately, after that I hate the whole “friendship” (if you can even call it that). Locke uses and manipulates Boone consistently, causes his death and still continues to lie even when Boone is seriously injured. The only reason Locke maintains a “friendship” with Boone is because he just so happens to be with him when he discovers the Hatch. The only way he can stop anyone else from finding out is by recruiting Boone and giving him this spiel about destiny and how they were meant to find the hatch and open it together as part of some grand plan. Locke is so adamant that he doesn’t want anyone else to find out about the Hatch that when Boone tells Locke he wants to tell Shannon, Locke knocks him out, ties him up in the middle of the jungle and drugs him. So not only does he get violent with him, abandon him in the middle of the jungle whilst injured but he also gives him drugs without his consent which results in him having traumatic hallucinations where he sees Shannon die. Locke tries to spin it as being something he’s doing for Boone’s benefit, but it’s not, it’s all about him protecting his secret. He doesn’t care about Boone or how his feelings for Shannon are impacting him, all he cares about is stopping Boone from telling Shannon about the Hatch. In forcing Boone to keep quiet about it, he creates a distance and tension between Boone and Shannon, who is the most important person in his life. Honestly Locke is 100% selfish and delusional in the way he behaves throughout this entire arc. He prioritises unlocking some mysterious hatch in the mysterious jungle over everything else including Boone’s well-being. He coerces Boone into climbing to the top of a massive cliff and getting into a plane which is hanging over the edge of said cliff. Anyone with half a brain cell could see that that plane was unsafe and likely to fall if anybody went inside, but Locke still pushes him to do it. When the plane inevitably falls, he drops him off to Jack in the caves, doesn’t bother to tell him how he got his injuries and runs off into the jungle. Now we all know that even if Locke had told Jack the truth about how Boone had got his injuries, Jack still wouldn’t have been able to save him, but nonetheless, he should’ve come clean before Boone died. What’s even worse about the whole situation is that whilst Boone is dying and Jack, Sun and the others are busting their asses to save his life, Locke is hammering on the Hatch yelling, “WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!?!!!” I’m sorry………………what?????? Locke, I’m pretty sure you’re not the victim in this scenario. Like the fact that he thinks that he’s being punished for what happens to Boone is proof of how much of a shitty person he is in that scenario and how little regard he has for Boone’s life. And afterwards he continues to claim that Boone died because he was a “sacrifice the island demanded”. No, dude, Boone died because of your selfishness and your delusions. I mean, even if there was something spectacularly special in the Hatch or in the plane, how could it ever be worth risking Boone’s life in that manner? And I know that Boone was an adult and made his own decision to climb into the plane knowing the risks involved, but Locke manipulated and coerced him every step of the way. And it’s important to remember that despite being an adult Boone was still very young and Locke as a much older man had a lot of influence over him. Once again, age has changed my whole perception on this relationship and arc. When I was younger I actually thought Jack totally overreacted following Boone’s death but now I stand right beside Jack every step of the way because he’s absolutely right to react the way he does. Locke is an asshole for the way he behaves and his actions lead to the death of an innocent young man for no real purpose at all.

[theclaravoyant]

What do you mean by “persistent rejection of nonviolence in media” I mean I understand media as a whole but this is a superhero/spy/action-adventure show where taking about. It wouldn’t be any of those without “violence” persay, we’ve seen superhero shows without “violence” normally aren’t popular DC’s Powerless for example

Hi there! Thanks for the ask (regarding this post). My feelings on that are a bit complicated and gets into a lot of philosophy and stuff but I’ll do my best to explain what I meant by that particular line in that particular context.

So, re the violence and genre thing, I’m actually on the same page! I’m not expecting violence to completely disappear from our screens, or even decrease that much. I’m not opposed to it as a concept and in fact, I actually like it! I love this genre. I really do. I love kickass fight scenes, I love how visually satisfying they are, and I love MANY examples of violence and badassery being liberating and powerful. I’m not opposed to the existence of violence in media at all, even though it is glorified to some extent and blah blah blah, that’s a Whole Thing. What grates on me is how often nonviolence is thrown under the bus. Not the absence of violence, I mean nonviolence, eg, forgiveness, redemption, and restorative justice (that is, healing through coming to an understanding and fixing a situation, rather than seeking vengeance or punishment). (and which, imo, are especially important in these kinds of genres).

Characters’ willingness to forgive is very often treated as naive, or weak, and all the characters who ‘recognise that the world is a terrible place’ are the ones that know better. We can see this very clearly with Fitz eg at the end of Season 1 where everyone is warning him about Ward, for example. This willingness to forgive is often trained or drained out of a character as a series goes on and characters lose their innocence. Typically there will come a point when it’s Really Important that this particular bad guy dies, rather than being stopped any other way (said other ways being rarely discussed, and sometimes other perfectly good options eg ICERs are taken off the table for no reason) and the ‘naive’ character ‘steps up.’ Sometimes, a character will demonstrate forgiveness only for the bad guy to throw it back in their faces and for something to immediately happen (typically, they fall off something and die) that means they meet their violent end anyway but the hero’s hands are clean. (this happens a lot in Disney, and Doctor Who). That’s a little closer to the nonviolence I’m talking about but because of how common it is as a narrative device, I still consider it cheating: it’s a way for the writers/narrative/moral to be violent and punishing without the character having to take the blame.

Willingness to forgive is also often treated as unjust. People who have been wronged, abused or oppressed in some way are expected to want vengeance on the person who wronged them. Fighting back, injuring or killing one’s enemy is portrayed as a powerful, freeing move. I’m not saying it can’t be - I love me some vengeance/emancipation stories - but what I do not love is when a character (especially the victim) says “hey, maybe we shouldn’t actually kill the person who wronged me” and other characters, and/or fans, respond with cries lamenting their naivity, or Stockholm Syndrome, or other ways of expressing concerns that basically say “aww, poor baby doesn’t want to kill their oppressor? that’s okay we’ll do it for them / coach them through it” or “how can you not want to kill them, something must be wrong”. Again, we saw this with Fitz re: Ward, and also when he hesitated about killing Aida. Jemma noticed this hesitation, but her reaction was not clear. Many fans, however, went nuts going “omg!! he’s still the Doctor, he’s still in love with Aida because he doesn’t want to kill her!!” when really he might just… not want to further the saga of horrible things with another murder? when what Aida wanted was actually quite simple? maybe he thought that the situation could be resolved without anyone having to die?

(and this was another one of those times, though not so hypocritical and slightly more literal than usual, when a mysterious force of divine judgement took Aida out rather than any of the heroes, let alone Fitz, having to do it. also note that Jemma’s visually satisfying but in the end meaningless (”I just really wanted to do that”) violence against her (by shooting her indestructible body multiple times with a machine gun) has been endlessly praised, while Fitz’s hesitation about killing her is treated as naive and part of his victimhood, and is also often used to ship them rather than like……… in regards to him simply being a good and compassionate person who doesn’t want unnecessary death).

Nonviolence is often portrayed poorly too, which doesn’t help. It’s almost always raised, but often in a way that it is designed to be shut down. For example, “we don’t kill people, unless it’s REALLY important, like now (and that time, and that other time, and-)”, and don’t forget the good old “if we kill them, we’re just as bad as they are” OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE FREAKING NOT. so another character comes along and talks the hesitant character out of that funk, or takes care of the danger for them, because don’t be ridiculous of course X bad guy deserves to die (and/or because the Good Character believes they are protecting the victim character by taking the blow to their own soul or whatever by ‘doing what’s necessary’ kind of thing). Another one of these that shits me is blood-family obligation. “of course they did all these horrible things to you, but you have to forgive them because they’re family”. That’s shit. as is “forgive them because you don’t actually have the power to fight back, so you might as well.”

Basically what I’m saying is, I’m all here for what can be a powerful and freeing experience of violence and even revenge. I’m not opposed to that existing. I’m opposed to alternatives to those kind of stories, and characters who don’t want that, being constantly shut down, punished and infantalised. Forgiveness and redemption (*real, earned redemption, which a lot of TV also fails hard at) takes a lot of courage and compassion and I hate seeing it treated so badly. If characters can free and heal themselves through violence they should be able to free and heal themselves through peace too. What I’m sick of is violence being treated as the only or the best way, and for learning violence to always be seen as an empowering character arc, even when it is not.

We can see this again with Fitz, in comparison with his fellow agents. Daisy, for example, became an agent as part of finding her place within Shield, and her powers help her to do that role even though she could if she wanted to be quite violent with them. Notably, her powers are also emphasised as a positive and powerful part of her identity, and also being capable of creating beauty as well as used as a weapon. This is a storyline where accepting violent or potentially violent elements into her life was empowering and/or brought with it other empowering elements such as her found family. Jemma also, while she has less of the identity aspect going on, somewhat willingly picked up a weapon when she was feeling defenseless and wanted to stop needing help. Though she was reaching out from a dark place, she is now better able to protect herself and the people she loves and she did it by making a choice. While less positive than Daisy’s, this is also a storyline where she has grown in some way through learning violence. (and notably, by choosing it - at least in-universe, though because violence is so favoured by stories and genres like this it was unlikely to go any other way in the grand scheme of things).

Then we have Fitz, whose current noticeably-high levels of violence (he did have some violent encounters etc beforehand, but these are repeatedly identified as more severe/brutal) come directly from his experience in an alternate universe of sorts where he was abused as a child, raised as a violent and ruthless man, and became a top hydra scientist/torturer. He had no agency in that storyline being done to him, with his memories and the love of his life replaced and his entire life trajectory forcibly rewritten. He had no agency in his escape, or determining what he took out from it, he simply remembers that life as well as his real one. The best he has in terms of agency in dealing with it is “learn to use it to your advantage/under your control.” Currently, this is being treated as an empowering thing - he has a tool now, and it is great when he uses it properly. However, given the origins of this violent side, and the fact that the best anyone can do is say that he should make use of what he’s been left with from a horrific experience they otherwise haven’t dealt with much (they’ve dealt largely with his guilt, not with his trauma), to me that is not empowering. To kill Aida before Fitz, her main victim, could decide or verbalise what he wanted to do about her is not empowering. To have the level of brutality of his violence repeatedly shock and worry other characters who know and love him, and yet for the characters and narrative to insist that it’s part of his character now and that he should accept it, is not empowering. (particularly given the uncomfortable parallels between this and his disability acceptance/~recovery arc earlier in the series). This is an example of a storyline in which I believe nonviolence can and should be explored, but because nonviolence is consistently undervalued and poorly treated I don’t think that’s going to happen and that frustrates me.

That’s… basically what I meant. Hope it helps!

[keywestlou]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT ELECT JOE BIDEN

Mr. President To Be: Congratulations! Seventy eight years old! God bless!

You are young in heart and mind. This is your time. America needs you.

America’s Catholic Church has a way of getting involved far more than it should. At a time when its track record the past 40 years leaves much to be desired.

The abortion issue rises again! In a very small minute area.

San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Brennan yesterday urged Catholics not to “jump on the COVID-19 vaccine bandwagon.” He cited certain concerns about the use of fetal cells in vaccine development. He said, “I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m going to rain on a parade today: The vaccine parade.”

Bishop Brennan said that some researchers racing to produce a coronavirus vaccine have made use of cells derived from aborted fetuses and perhaps other “morally objectionable” materials. Apparently most companies producing vaccines use fetal cells at a stage in a vaccine’s development.

His specifics a bit unclear. The  Bishop claims he was referring to fetus cells from an abortion or material cast off from the artificial insemination of a human embryo. It is the second portion that confuses me.

Respectfully, the good Bishop then sounded like Rudy Giuliani. He cited the Pfizer vaccine as involving human cell material.

Pfizer spokeswoman Jerica Pitts responded later saying, “Not a single stage has had it.”

“The Charlotte Logier Institute is an anti-abortion organization. It said that both Pfizer and Moderna were listed by them as “ethically uncontroversial.”

The coronavius vaccine is most important at this stage. The Bishop should check the facts before making a pronouncement on an issue so important.

I actually feel sorry for Giuliani. A top notch prosecutor in his day no longer in his prime or anything close to it. He embarrasses the legal profession.

Trump is taking Giuliani down with him. Trump most likely neither cares nor gives it any thought.

His legal theories embarrassing. He forgets law is required to support such theories.

Yesterday, my heart broke for him. This once great lawyer speaking at a press conference was sweating big time. He repeatedly took out his handkerchief to wipe his wet face.

The worst was yet to come. Apparently Giuliani dyes his hair. His business. However, he should make sure it is done properly. Black sweat lines on both sides of his face were running from his hairline down his cheeks to his jaw.

Would you believe there are persons dying in hospitals who deny having the virus and/or claim it dos not exist?

South Dakota has made it big time as concerns the virus. Its numbers way up. Hospitals packed. Medical personnel beat. Supplies running short.

Jodi Doering is a nurse at a South Dakota hospital. She was interviewed on TV yesterday. She is the person who brought dying patient denial of the virus to the nation’s attention.

Denial of the existence of coronavirus! Wow! The number sick and the number dying speak for themselves.

Nurse Doering says caring for patients in denial is like a “horror movie that never ends.” She has patients on 100 percent oxygen that can only breathe because of the 100 percent oxygen being provided. Some of those in denial are in this group.

Difficult to understand when 250,000 have already died from the virus.

Sounds like most must be loyal Trump followers who drank the “kool aid.”

I have been sharing some local comments about the virus and how Key West is handling it. The comments are taken directly from the Citizens’ Voice. All so far have been by locals.

Today came the first by a tourist: “We visited Key West for the weekend based on a Trip Advisor recommendation. No masks or distancing on Duval. Bars are literally a petri dish. I feel sorry for those that work there. Requirements posted all over Key West but no enforcement at all. We will not be back.”

Coronavirus surging in our tiny Keys. Monroe County registered 300 new cases in less than a week. Positivity rates for Key West all over the place. Read one that was 18 percent. Another, 11.78 percent. Not sure which is accurate. Both too high in any event.

Key West got 49 new cases on thursday. One day. Would you believe?

Key West infections total 1,412. Presently hospitalized 9.

You will recall that last week I advised the City Commission had once again capitulated to the bars and restaurants. Policies have been drawn back some what.

The City is back to work this week re restrictions. Most of those reduced last week have increased this week. The writing was on the wall. The City fathers finally saw it. I hope.

Mask wearing required full time. A few exceptions. Someone referred to the mask wearing increase as “mask gestation.”

Recognized also was that were not a sufficient number of officers out on the street handing out citations to those not wearing masks. Through yesterday, police and codes personnel were utilized. Members of the Fire Department were added.

We shall see. This is friday. The weekend is here. Tourists will arrive in huge numbers. The bars and restaurants will be full. Coronavirus will have its usual weekend feast.

Maybe, just maybe, Syracuse can win its second football game of the season tonight.

Someone screwed up because Syracuse/Louisville is being touted as the Game of the Week. Seven tonight.

Syracuse  has only won 1 game this season. Louisville 2. The season is almost over.

Our 1896 beauty May Johnson was out again last night. La Brisa, of course. “Much dancing……came home 11:30, bed. DEAD TIRED”

Everest is due home this week. Wonder how things will go.

Enjoy your day!

          HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT ELECT JOE BIDEN was originally published on Key West Lou

[the-organizing-principle]

‘Twin Peaks as Fugue’ Theory, Part 2: What is the Black Lodge?

In the second part of my analysis I explore the concept of the Black Lodge as Dale/Richard’s preconscious zone—a place he retreats to in his mind to reset his ‘reality’ when his delusions become too unstable—and I’ll compare the lodge’s inhabitants to the Id, Ego and Superego. I’ll also offer a potential explanation for the significance of the number “430.″

*If you haven’t seen my previous posts yet, you can find my theory summarized here, and Part 1 (about The Log Lady) here.

Continuing with the theory that all of Twin Peaks takes place in Dale/Richard’s mind after suffering a trauma-induced fugue state, I’d like to explore what the Black Lodge could mean in this context. I think one of the biggest clues to understanding this ‘place’ is found by looking at what happens whenever Dale/Richard enters and leaves it: aside from his dreams, we see him first ‘enter’ the lodge in the second season finale, in an attempt to rescue Annie. At this point in the narrative, ‘Dale’ was losing control to Windom Earle and was struggling to save a woman he loved. Windom lures ‘Dale’ into the lodge, and then we get the distinct sense that something bad is about to happen (cue Jimmy Scott!). I’ll get to what happens inside the lodge in a moment, but first, look at what results: ‘the good Dale’ is left ‘trapped’ inside, while his ‘evil doppelganger’ escapes into the ‘outside’ world.

If the fugue theory is true, then this would mean that Dale/Richard’s identity has fragmented into two versions of himself while he was in the Black Lodge. He now divides his conscious thinking into two separate personas, sometimes wandering the ‘outside world’ getting into all manner of dark shenanigans as his doppelganger, ‘Mr. C’; sometimes wandering the lonely hall(s) of the Black Lodge amongst its strange, semi-backward speaking/moving inhabitants, or ostensibly sitting quietly in an art deco armchair and contemplating his mistakes. Who knows what, exactly, goes on when he is ‘in the lodge,’ but suffice it to say that this is a kind of mental purgatory for him.

In psychoanalysis, the “preconscious” mind exists between the conscious and the unconscious mind; preconscious thoughts are those that have been repressed or that originate in the unconscious, but have become available for recall and can be made conscious. It’s a liminal state of awareness, just as the Black Lodge is a liminal space between the world of Twin Peaks and the ‘spirit world’; the void of non-existence; the ‘real world,’ etc., depending on where we are in the narrative.

Later, when Mr. C is confronted with the prospect of returning to the lodge, he takes great pains to stay ‘out.’ If the lodge represents Dale/Richard’s preconscious awareness, then it would make sense that Mr. C would want to avoid it because this is where integration would take place. Mr. C is a product of Dale/Richard’s unconscious; his ‘shadow self’ made conscious. One must always have a shadow self to occupy the unconscious, though, so if Mr. C is ‘out,’ then who is ‘in’? The ‘good Dale’ is in the lodge, i.e. the preconscious zone, so he has virtually been subducted into the unconscious for the duration of Mr. C’s takeover. But the ‘good Dale’ is not fully unconscious, either; I believe the ‘true’ persona (Richard?) has become the shadow self, now.

When ‘Dale’ gets violently ejected from the lodge by The Arm’s doppelganger (this is a tricky one, but I think “The Arm” / the Man From Another Place might be a kind of personification of aspects of Dale/Richard’s Ego in conjunction with the one-armed man—they are the “moderators”—while the Giant/Fireman is the Superego and BOB is the Id... more later!), he ends up falling through a void before being briefly suspended in Mr. C’s monitoring device, then lands on the patio of a structure on some kind of interdimensional island where some weird stuff happens before he travels back into the ‘real world’ through an electrical socket.

I’m not even going to attempt to unravel all of this, but I will mention that the scene in this strange, interdimensional space seems to be a kind of representation of the innermost workings of the ‘hydraulic mind,’ a concept that Freud adopted which seems to recur throughout several of Lynch’s works (Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Inland Empire, aka the “blurred identity trilogy”). The hydraulic mind concept views the psychic apparatus in mechanical terms, wherein pressures (from various stressors) build up within the psyche and are subsequently absorbed or discharged. In the interdimensional scene, we see Dale/Richard and Naido reacting to a banging on a door, causing her her climb up onto the top of a TARDIS-like structure and pull a lever, thus seemingly releasing the pressure in a burst of electrical energy that ultimately zaps her into the void. I’ll discuss Naido/Diane in part three, but for now let’s view this scene as a descent into a post-lodge, sub-preconconscious zone, ostensibly taking place in the actual unconscious realm. The ‘sea’ that Dale looks out on from the balcony of the structure is significant, as ocean imagery is commonly associated with the unconscious. 

Recall that this sequence precedes ‘good Dale’s’ transformation into ‘Dougie.’ Something forced ‘good Dale’ out of the preconscious zone / lodge before he was ready: I believe this may have been something occurring in the REAL ‘real world,’ e.g. a new treatment being administered by his doctors, possibly shock treatment given the importance of electricity in this transition. Medication might also produce a ‘shock’ to Dale/Richard’s system, simulating electrical impulses as his brain activity changes. This is pure speculation, but not entirely unsubstantiated.

So now we see ‘Dougie’ inhabiting a new world: ostensibly the same Twin Peaks universe, just 25 years later. This becomes his new ‘reality,’ but it still isn’t real. It’s just a new narrative he’s living out after exiting the lodge. He hasn’t lost touch with the lodge, though: he still experiences visions of the lodge and the one-armed man throughout his ‘Dougie’ arc. This is important, because if he did go through shock treatment or something similar, a moderating aspect of his ego is attempting to break through to him from his preconscious awareness. He needs to “wake up” from the deep dream that is Dougie Jones—from his post-treatment stupor—and recall his ‘good Dale’ persona, who still has unfinished business. Before Dale/Richard can ever become fully conscious, he needs to integrate all of his fractured personas into a single, multidimensional self and this can’t be accomplished until each have been deconstructed.

Without straying too far off topic, let’s briefly consider that the world that Dougie and Mr. C inhabit are meant to be one and the same, but when we follow their specific arcs, we can observe distinct differences in tone between Dougie’s world and that of Mr. C. The former is somewhat kitsch (think: the Lucky 7 Insurance Agency, the Silver Mustang Casino, even the local police station), whereas the latter is much darker (Buella’s house, Yankton prison, The Farm). We can assume that the environment and ‘interpersonal’ interactions that Dougie and Mr. C (as ‘alters’ of Dale/Richard) experience are influenced by and structured around each persona’s unique worldview. When these worlds collide—when Hutch and Chantal arrive on Lancelot Court along with the Mitchum Brothers’ troupe (and don’t forget the FBI stakeout, representing the hovering Dale persona)—chaos ensues.

I can’t claim the ability to diagnose a fictional character or anyone else, but I should note that Dissociative Identity Disorder doesn’t seem to be Dale/Richard’s only problem. He’s probably also suffering from psychotic depression with symptoms of depersonalization and derealization. If this is the case, and if he has been hospitalized as a result of his psychosis, he probably would have spent a lot of time lying in hospital beds while being dosed with all manner of medications; and if this was also true, he would have overheard a lot of medical talk as doctors checked on him and discussed his treatment with family, staff, etc.—whether he was conscious of it, or not—and do you know what medical term he might have heard repeatedly throughout this process? “DRG-430.”

The DRG (diagnoses-related group) is a system hospitals/physicians/insurance companies use to classify a disorder and establish a treatment protocol. DRG-430 is code for a patient suffering from psychoses. If my theory holds up, it would be highly likely that Dale/Richard would be classified under DRG-430. When the Giant/Fireman tells him to remember the number 430, I believe that the Giant/Fireman—as an agent of truth (recall my discussion of “fire” and “truth” in Part 1) and as a personification of the Superego—was trying to remind Dale/Richard of who he really was (Richard, probably) and what he was supposed to do (integrate). More on this later.

A quick note about parallels to other works by Lynch: I mentioned the “blurred identity trilogy” earlier, and should point out that these films all include scenes wherein characters who are experiencing identity crises (e.g. fugue states resulting from the unconscious trauma of unrequited love) encounter mysterious but revealing clues about their true selves after passing through/entering a space involving red curtains. We see these prominently featured in Fred’s home in Lost Highway, and in one scene he’s seen disappearing into a darkened space with a red-curtained background as he goes deeper into the mystery (read: his preconscious mind). We see them again when Betty and Rita enter the red-curtained Club Silencio in Mulholland Drive, and Betty finds a significant clue in the blue box. Then in Inland Empire, we see Sue pass through a red-curtained hallway before she enters into a convoluted, increasingly dreamlike sequence of events before the “valley girls” give her a clue about what will happen in the future, when she wakes from a kind of sleep. All of these scenes can ostensibly be linked to these characters’ preconscious awareness of their true identities. 

Let’s look at the lodge scene in TP:FWWM, now: this is after Leland kills Laura, when we see him standing in the lodge’s “red room” in front of the one-armed man, who is seated beside the Man From Another Place. BOB appears beside Leland after his body moves around strangely, then floats up and remains suspended in the air at an odd angle. The MFAP then places his hand on the O-AM’s shoulder and seems to speak through and with him in unison, saying: “BOB... I want all my garmonbozia (pain and sorrow).” BOB angrily complies, pulling a bloody wound out of an unresponsive Leland’s belly and depositing it in a splatter on the lodge floor, which the MFAP then seems to absorb and covert into creamed corn, which he proceeds to consume.

This exchange seems to support the idea that the MFAP and the O-AM represent aspects of Dale/Richard’s Ego, in that they share a kind of moderating role in the lodge, and have some degree of control over BOB (as Dale/Richard’s Id). Freud has said of these concepts: “The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world. ...The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions...in its relation to the id it is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse.” Its main concern is with the individual's safety and allows some of the id's desires to be expressed, but only when consequences of these actions are marginal. "Thus the ego, driven by the id, confined by the super-ego, repulsed by reality, struggles...[in] bringing about harmony among the forces and influences working in and upon it," and readily "breaks out in anxiety—realistic anxiety regarding the external world, moral anxiety regarding the super-ego, and neurotic anxiety regarding the strength of the passions in the id.” (x).

I don’t want to go too deep into an examination of how these psychoanalytical roles are mirrored in each of the four characters discussed above; hopefully their relationship to Freud’s concept is not so far-fetched when viewed in this light. We can interpret the lodge scene with Leland as a kind of preconscious integration of this character’s emotional trauma, without speculating on who Leland represents in Dale/Richard’s dreamworld (yet). This process is happening without Dale/Richard’s conscious awareness, but it is preconscious rather than unconscious, because he is present enough for us to hear his voice as the word “Judy” is whispered when the monkey’s face appears onscreen. I discussed the significance of this transition already, but to briefly reiterate: “garmonbozia”/pain and sorrow is synonymous with trauma, and though the garmonbozia seems to be the trauma surrounding Laura’s murder in this scene, Judy’s whispered name in this moment strongly supports the theory that the real, underlying trauma involves something that happened between Judy and Dale/Richard.

Once again, this analytical tangent has already gone on much longer than I intended but I can’t bail out without mentioning the very important Black Lodge scene in the final act:

This time, Dale/Richard enters the lodge without any more fanfare than hearing a backwards rustling/scratching sound, then looking to the side toward a red glow. In the next moment he is seated in the red room again, and the one-armed man is asking him “Is it future... or is it past?” (we can liken this transition to a kind of “waking up” from the nightmare of losing Laura in the woods; Dale/Richard’s mind compensates for the trauma of this nightmare scenario by abruptly returning him to the preconscious zone for a veiled ‘reality check’). Soon he’s meeting the evolution of The Arm again, who asks him “Is it the story of the little girl who lived down the lane? Is it?” We’ve seen this before, just as we’ve seen the following scene where Dale/Richard is seated as Laura Palmer approaches to whisper something in his ear, causing him to gasp. I may be mistaken, but I believe this is the only time we see Dale/Richard moving in semi-reverse motion in the lodge just like the other lodge inhabitants, which would be significant (he moves with rather than counter to them, perhaps suggesting that he is closer to something in that moment than he has been at any other time). Also, if you compare Dale/Richard’s reaction to whatever Laura whispers to him in this scene to it’s nearly identical one in the beginning of the season, you’ll see that in the earlier scene, Dale reacts with a gasp of apparent horror whereas in this finale scene, the gasp has more of a confused/disturbed tone (more like a “huh??”). Whatever she communicated to him seems to have a profound effect, because after she screams and is ripped up and away by some unseen force again, we see a new persona emerge for the first time. For clarity’s sake, I’m going to just call him ‘Richard.’ Now we see the curtain part and a more ashen-faced, serious ‘Richard’ emerges, briefly encountering Leland again who tells him to “Find Laura.” Something has changed; ‘Richard’ even walks differently. With a wave of his hand the lodge’s curtain is manipulated into opening to reveal Glastonbury Grove, where Diane is waiting. She asks “Is it you? Is it really you?” and he confirms that it is, but somehow neither she—nor we—are entirely convinced, especially after what follows.

So what has happened? I think Dale/Richard came too close to the truth this time in the preconscious lodge zone when Laura whispered in his ear, but instead of retreating into another safe, Dougie-like persona, something got through to him and one of the false layers fell away, leaving a persona that was more true to his actual identity than any other we’ve seen before. This ‘Richard’ persona still goes through the motions of trying to fix the broken dream, just like ‘Dale’ would, but he is tiring of the pretense. He is losing control of his own narrative and can’t maintain it for much longer. He leaves the lodge having come close enough to its preconscious information for some of it to leak through to his conscious mind, and the effect of this leak plays out in the rest of the episode as the false ‘reality’ becomes increasingly unstable: ‘Richard’ wakes in a strange motel that is different from the one he arrived at to find Diane/’Linda’ gone and a different car parked in a different place. This happens after he and Diane pass through a point in the road that is apparently 430 miles from somewhere. I think this transition is actually the point at which real world Dale/’Richard’ agrees(?) to undergo some kind of new therapy that his therapist, Diane (Linda?) warns him could have negative side effects. The number 430 marks this point of transition because 430 is the code for the diagnoses-related group (DRG) that Dale/Richard, the patient, has been assigned (psychoses). It is a kind of subliminal clue from his subconscious mind, as well as from the remote Superego (Fireman). I’ll explore what happens next—along with an explanation for why Naido’s face became the Black Lodge for a moment before she transformed into Diane—in Part 3. Stay tuned!

[paulisweeabootrash]

First Impression: Kaguya-sama: Love is War

I have nothing clever to open with, so instead:

"You fall in love with someone, confess that love, and become a couple.  Everyone would say that’s a wonderful thing.  But they’re wrong!  Even among sweethearts, there exists a distinct power relationship!  A side that exploits and a side that’s exploited, a side that’s devoted, a side receiving devotion, a winner and a loser!  If you’re trying to live a noble life, then you mustn’t become a loser.  Love is war!”

— from the opening narration of today’s topic, Kaguya-sama: Love is War (2019)

Episodes watched: 9

Gigguk summed this show up in his video summarizing the Winter 2019 season by saying it poses "one of the most important questions in modern philosophy: if a tsundere and a tsundere liked each other, would they ever find out?"  Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are, respectively, the vice president and president of the student council at their elite private school.  The former is an heiress waited on by servants, the latter worked his way in from a family that is poor by elite private school standards.  Both are serious, brilliant, and manipulative, but totally inexperienced in romance and consumed by crushes on each other that they are unwilling to confess because they each suspect the other's crush and want to get the other to admit it first.

This is all summed up at the beginning of episode 1 in the melodramatic intro narration which starts with what I quoted above then carries on for three additional minutes of exposition explaining the main characters and setting.  Then again at the beginning of ep. 2.  Then just when you think they'll pull it a third time, they fast forward through it at the beginning of ep. 3 and from 4 on they switch to either cold opens or jumping directly into the opening theme.  I bring this up because it’s exactly the kind of nice touch this show relies on as it makes the serious and kind of pompous into the hilarious.  They knew just how long to keep that running joke going.

Kaguya and Miyuki's almost-a-relationship is shown to us in slice-of-life vignette style, usually three per episode.  Like Azumanga's vignettes, these start out as self-contained shorts but gradually turn into multiple segments of episode-long stories as the season progresses.  Their strategizing about trying to initiate a relationship is, as you might expect, the main driver of the show’s plot and comedy.  Mundane conversations turn into extensive exposition dumps in the characters' imaginations and almost heist-movie-like walkthroughs of their plans as they try to guess what the other will do, and the show finds humor in the sheer self-consciousness and absurdity of those plans -- as when Kaguya and Miyuki both lie about forgetting their umbrellas in hopes that the other will romantically offer to share their own and go through strategic inner monologues about how they contrived this.  The show also exaggerates the mundane visually by borrowing from the particular kinds of shots heavy on motion lines and exaggerated movements that would be used for straight drama in an action or sports anime.  Miyuki's utter failure to play volleyball would not be nearly as funny if it weren't presented as a training montage.

Each vignette is framed as being a contest between them, and a winner and/or loser (usually just a loser) is declared at the end of most of them.  This format is pretty funny on its own, but it would probably get tedious if not for recurring characters who stir things up and upend their metaphorical chessboard mid-game, often leading to vignettes that conclude with neither winning.  Student Council Secretary (and close friend of Kaguya) Chika Fujiwara is much more expressive and extraverted than the others, introducing her own colorful and eccentric interests and habits and small doses of chaos that interfere directly with the would-be couple's predictions of each other's behavior -- and turns out to have at least as thorough an understanding of Kaguya and Miyuki's thought processes and habits as they do of each other's.  Treasurer Yu Ishigami, a first-year the others do not know well but recruited due to his sheer skill, is the polar opposite of Chika: pessimistic to the point of likely depression and terrified of Kaguya.  He is, if anything, the closest the show has to an antagonist when he does things like obliviously offend the other councilmembers or attempt to institute a "happiness tax" on students in relationships.  And that's not even getting into Kaguya’s valet/confidant Ai Hayasaka, or the other budding couple who come to Kaguya and Miyuki repeatedly to receive their questionable relationship advice.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War is just delightful and I strongly recommend it.  The manga is still ongoing and even though I'm not done with this season yet, I already want a second one.

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W/A/S: 5 / 2 / 3

Weeb: More foreign in execution than content, although there are some specific Japanese tropes that come off as nonsense if you're unfamiliar with them, like Chika saying the thunder god will take her belly button.  As mentioned above, there is a lot of visual style borrowed from action and sports anime used for comedic effect, and it's probably funnier if you've seen some uses of that seriously first.  Some points at which a joke neither quite translates well nor gets replaced by a joke with a similar that works better in English — most egregiously, an entire sketch that is built around a pun that doesn't translate but also isn't explained, leaving the audience potentially shocked and confused (see Stray Observations).

Ass: No fanservice.  Lots of sexual jokes, mostly playing off of Kaguya being not only inexperienced with but sheltered from sexuality, plus the general kinds of comments you might expect real teenagers to make.

Shit (writing): A few bits of the subtitle translation seem clunky or off but I can't quite place why.  The melodramatic narrator is very funny at first but his exposition/explanation dumps eventually get tedious.  Otherwise, no complaints here.

Shit (other): Yet another show suffering from occasional very low frame rate, but it otherwise looks great and is absolutely full of those exaggerated reaction faces that you get in a lot of comedy anime.  There are two different ending animations, which is interesting.  Other people online are fixated on Chika's dance, but I really like the other ending, Kaguya's elaborate dream of an action-adventure with the rest of the Student Council.

Content: Nothing in particular.

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Stray observations:

- Hey, uh, translators writing subtitles?  Please, please, please, if there is a pun that can't even be replaced by a joke with a similar format in English, put some kind of note explaining it.  I had to end up relying on an unverified forum post and Google Translate to piece together the "wiener" sketch in ep. 7.  Allegedly, "chinchin" means "begging", then somehow obtained a euphemistic use as a term for penis (the use most weebs are familiar with), then because of that euphemistic meaning also got used as an informal term for sausage.

- My wife has described Chika as basically her type.  This comes as a great relief to me, as her usual comments on anime girls consist mostly of identifying way too strongly with all the yanderes.

- A recurring background music piece, used approximately as a leitmotif for Kaguya, reminds me a lot of the theme from Doki Doki Literature Club...  Oh dear.  Maybe that’s why Yu is so scared of her.

[toraonice]

Yuri on Ice BD booklet translation (with Kenji Miyamoto interview) - Volume 2

Finally a new translation… This is a full translation of the booklet contained in the BD/DVD vol.2. This time I also decided to translate the captions under the pictures in the “TOPIC” sections because some of them actually have important information (like the one about the 3 sisters). Since it would be weird to only translate some based on what they say, I just translated them all and added them to the translation of the vol.1 booklet as well (you can find that here). If you check it you will understand why I hadn’t thought of translating them in the first place…

Like vol.1, the booklet has 3 parts: 1) Character introduction for Yurio and (short ones) for most characters living in Hasetsu like Yuuri and Nishigoori’s families. By the way, regarding Makkachin’s voice actor listed as “?”, I read in a recording report on Otomedia Plus that (at least in one of the scenes) Suwabe offered to voice him, lol. (I’m writing Makkachin as “he” but actually the gender is not officially confirmed yet) 2) “Topics”, in other words random curiosities. This time this section has some interesting information, especially if you are not too familiar with figure skating. (It also clears up why Yuuri and Victor are always alone in the rink and why they necessarily need to practice very early in the morning) 3) Interview with the choreographer Kenji Miyamoto. It explains more in detail some of the things that were mentioned in the commentary to the choreography footage of vol.1. The parts in round brackets are exactly like they are in the original text, it’s not something I added.

Hopefully I will be able to translate the audio commentary and choreography footage (which I still haven’t even had time to watch of course) too by the end of Sunday…

***If you wish to share this translation please do it by reblogging or posting a link to it*** 
***Re-translating into other languages is ok but please mention that this post is the source***

A beautiful monster that continues to grow

Yuri Plisetsky voiced by Kouki Uchiyama

Russian Height: 163 cm Date of birth: March 1st Blood type: B

Past record: 2 times consecutive winner of the Junior Grand Prix Final 2 times consecutive winner of the Junior World Championships

Introduction He debuts in the senior class at the age of 15 after repeatedly winning the Junior Grand Prix Final and Junior World Championships. Now a pupil of the noted scouter of young talents Yakov, he is Russia’s new hope. During his junior years he already mastered quadruple jumps, but his coach prohibited him from using them in matches. With his sharp jumps, he is in the focus of attention as everyone is curious to see how far he will be able to go in his first year as a senior. His talent was noticed when he was still little and he left his family in Moscow to train under coach Yakov in St. Petersburg. On the ice he is as beautiful as a fairy, but off the ice he is quite mischievous and is known for the striking aesthetic sense of the outfits he wears in the selfies posted on his SNS. He’s also famous for his devoted fan group Yuri’s angels, who cheer on him wearing cat ears. His favorite food is his grandpa’s pirozhki. Katsuki Family

Mari Katsuki voiced by Kyouko Sakai Yuuri’s older sister who works at “Yutopia Katsuki”. She likes idols and has a thing for blond boys. She named Yuri “Yurio” when he came to Hasetsu.

Toshiya Katsuki voiced by Souryuu Konno Yuuri’s father. He owns “Yutopia Katsuki”, the only day onsen in Hasetsu. He is not very familiar with figure skating and actually likes soccer.

Hiroko Katsuki voiced by Kei Hayami Yuuri’s mother. She runs “Yutopia Katsuki” with her husband. She knows Minako-sensei from when they were students, and Hiroko is the younger one. Nishigoori Family

Takeshi Nishigoori voiced by Jun Fukuyama Yuuri’s childhood friend and former rinkmate. He works at “Ice Castle Hasetsu”, is Yuuri’s good supporter and helps him with his basic training.

Yuuko Nishigoori voiced by Mariya Ise She is Nishigoori’s wife, works at “Ice Castle Hasetsu” and Yuuri has always admired her. She is Victor’s fan and doesn’t only care for Yuuri but for Yurio as well.

Axel, Lutz, Loop Nishigoori voiced by Akiko Yashima The 3 twins of the Nishigoori family, also known as the “3 skating otaku sisters”. They skillfully use their parents’ smartphones to post on the SNS and they organized “Onsen on ICE”. Their potential is bottomless. Minako Okukawa voiced by Yuka Komatsu Former ballet dancer who currently teaches a ballet class in Hasetsu, she is Yuuri’s strict but affectionate teacher. She travels around the world to support Yuuri and as a personal hobby.

Makkachin voiced by ? Victor’s pet dog, a standard poodle. He came to Hasetsu together with Victor. He is quiet and friendly to people, but is a bit greedy when it comes to food.

YURI!!!’s TOPIC

TOPIC 1: Skate Otaku Sisters The triplets of the Nishigoori family. Since they can do anything people tend to forget that they’re still 6 years old kindergartners. Axel, Lutz and Loop can be distinguished by their hairstyle and personal color. The reason they are called “skating otaku” sisters is that they use their parents’ smartphones and PC to check information about skaters on the social media and enjoy watching real time live streamings of international tournaments. By watching their behavioral pattern you will be able to understand how skating otaku all around the world live. Their parents work at an ice rink, but it’s not clear whether the 3 sisters can skate too.

*Each of them has an assigned task: taking movies, pictures or uploading *Their carefree action strongly influenced the story *A perfect spin. Maybe they can skate…? *They are even good at drawing, but they use crayons *Axel has pigtails and her color is purple. Lutz has a bun and her color is light blue. Loop has a ponytail and her color is pink.

TOPIC 2: Off ice training Of course, figure skating is mostly practiced on the ice. However, there are also many kinds of training that must be done off the ice, like fitness training, stretching exercises, core training and so on. Beside running and stretching, many skaters also incorporate ballet lessons into their basic training. In addition, some of them take lessons or hear the opinion from dancers and performers of various genres, to improve their expressiveness and understanding of the program. Sometimes they might even go stand under waterfalls to train their mental strength… maybe. There are no restrictions on the types of training, as long as they can improve their skating skills and expression.

*It’s a tough sport that requires lots of basic training *It’s important to have a trainer that supports you *Stretching exercises at any time *Russia is the home of ballet *Training your mental strength might be the hardest

TOPIC 3: Music Choosing music is important to create a program. Cases where music is created from scratch, like for Yuuri’s FS, are actually rare, and most skaters choose existing songs and have them edited so that their length is according to regulations (in case of the men’s senior class it’s approx. 2:40 min. for the short program and 4:30 min. for the free). Usually songs are edited by either the choreographer, music professionals or skaters themselves. Most of the times they use the original title of the song, but in cases of original songs such as “Yuri on ICE” or when the skater wants to deliver a certain message they use a different title for the program.

*It’s important that the song gives you an image *Sometimes they choose from what are called “standard songs” *The CD is an important object that they must hand out at tournaments

TOPIC 4: Choreography Program choreographies are commonly created by coaches or professional choreographers, but there are also skaters who create them on their own like Victor, and some who order them from professionals unrelated to the skating world, like for Yurio’s FS. When a choreography is created by a dancer or someone who doesn’t skate, usually the steps and exact footwork will be thought by the coach. Most professional choreographers aren’t always by the skater’s side, therefore skaters practice the choreography on their own and then have the choreographer come over a few times during the season to adjust it. Yuuri is really lucky to have a coach & choreographer teaching him on a one-to-one basis every day.

*Victor was already creating his own choreographies when he was competing *Yurio’s choreographer is a legendary prima ballerina *A choreographer that skates together with you is very precious

TOPIC 5: Ice rink Every skater has a home rink that they use as their base, but rink conditions are very different depending on the country. In Japan, except for the rinks owned by a few universities, most rinks are open to the public, therefore if athletes want to reserve a rink for personal training they need to book it outside of normal opening hours. Yuuri and Victor also look like they’re comfortably training alone in a large rink, but actually that’s usually in the early morning or late at night**. In some countries with better conditions there are many rinks and some of them even have different training hours depending on the level of skaters, therefore some Japanese skaters choose to have their home rink abroad. Yuuri must be really grateful to Nishigoori. [**translator’s note: for your reference, most normal rinks in the Tokyo/Kanto area are open to the public from 10:00 to 18:00]

*The Detroit rink Yuuri used to belong to *Yurio’s home rink in St. Petersburg *The Thai rink is downtown

Figure skating choreography Kenji Miyamoto interview

I said that if I was going to do it I would do everything myself, and choreographed about 20 songs.

The first time I was asked about the choreographies was in the summer of 2015. The first meeting was around October or November. My first thought was that it sounded like fun. There were countless possibilities, and I thought that we might get more people interested in figure skating, therefore I was really looking forward to it. At that time I didn’t think about the difficulties, and replied that I definitely wanted to do it. When I received the first request there were lots of songs and I was told that since it was hard schedule-wise they might have to ask someone else, but I said that if I was going to do it I would do everything myself, and adjusted the schedule.

-Choreographies were created at night, over a short period of time-

If I were working with a skater normally it would take about 3 days to create a program. We talked about the fact that it would have been difficult to create programs for dozens of songs right away, but since I was going to just skate them myself (instead of teaching them to a skater) I guessed it would have been faster. In the end I created choreographies for about 20 songs. I left 2 weeks of my schedule free from any other job. Every day I’d sleep during the day and we’d start from 23:00, after the rink’s business hours, until about 5:00-6:00 in the morning. It was still early spring, but everyone was freezing and every time we’d come out of the rink all clad in down jackets. We must have looked like some suspicious gang (LOL).

-Programs were conceived based on the songs and a little information-

On the day I had to choreograph a song I received information from director Yamamoto and Kubo-sensei, like what kind of person the skater is, where he’s from, what kind of songs he likes, the way he usually lives and so on, and I would get into his role and create the choreography. I only received 2-3 songs in advance, and the rest all came basically the day before choreographing. The songs were mostly original so it took longer to work on them, it was really a tight schedule. In some cases they said “today we were going to choreograph 2 songs, but 1 isn’t ready yet”, so on that day we only did 1 song and the next day we choreographed 3. If I were working with a skater it (3 songs in 1 day) would be absolutely impossible (LOL). All songs were difficult to choreograph. I was told that the programs need to be used in tournaments and skaters must be able to get levels for them, so even though the songs were edited slightly shorter than what you would normally use in a match, they include all necessary elements (required in a competitive program such as jumps, spins etc.). A program that was easy to picture is the protagonist Yuuri-kun’s. Also, Victor-san. About Victor-san I was told that “he is an absolute champion with a stately presence, a skater that no one can surpass”, so I created “Hanarezu ni Soba ni Ite” as a majestic and excellent performance. I made him raise his head in a way the line of his throat would look beautiful, like a white stone statue. It’s not something I was told by Kubo-sensei and the others, I came up with that idea myself. A program that was hard to imagine was maybe the FS of Thailand’s Phichit-kun. The reason is simply that I’m not familiar with Thai folk songs, so I had to look up pictures and movies and it took some time. Just at that time I couldn’t lift my left shoulder anymore and had my trainer come over and tape it, I guess that was really when I had the hardest time. I had to do movements for many different skaters, some of which are not movements I normally do myself, that’s why I ended up injuring my shoulder a little.

-Trying different camera angles and clothes-

There were 4-5 fixed cameras on the side of the rink, and Kanako Odagaki-sensei skated after me with another one. The sense of speed feels different when looking through a camera compared to looking normally though, so whenever I sped up I would end up going too far from the camera. In the beginning it was difficult because I kept leaving too much distance between us, but we got better with each time and in the end we were able to basically move in synchrony. For every program I told the director and the staff what the skating course would be in advance, and depending on the choreography we discussed on what would be the best way to film it, for example if it was better to film it from the center of the circle or from the outside, and I discussed with Kubo-sensei as well. Even for the clothes, in the beginning I was skating with a pitch black outfit, but I was told that it was hard to distinguish left and right and so I wrapped tape on one side. Also, since all athletes skate with costumes, I tried to wear clothes like large blouses so that the staff could see how they flutter in the wind when you skate. I always used to set my hair, but I also skated without setting it so that they could see how it moves when you turn around, how you sweat and so on. (We didn’t only film each program once,) I repeated every program a few times. However, doing everything again from the start to the end was difficult, also because my body wouldn’t last. (When I felt that it was difficult) there were times when I asked them to film as best as they could because I was only going to skate the full program once. If it still wasn’t enough, I skated just the parts they needed to see again the next day. (As it also happens when I create choreographies for real skaters) sometimes I would realize that I needed to shorten the skating part, or that even though the sequence was very difficult there was still a chance that they could land a jump. The rink was small, so jumps were done differently than normal ones, and I thought it could be fun to change the curve too.

-People who started skating after watching Yuri-

To be honest, I thought that once it became animation it would look very different from the actual thing, but in fact it was almost the same. Of course flat pictures are not the same as tridimensional reality, but it got really close to the essence of skating. I was surprised at how realistically they recreated muscles and other details. The staff is seriously amazing. Some shots were different than what I had created, because when the director, Kubo-sensei and the staff watched it they thought that another form would look better and so they changed it. It was interesting to see how different people see things in different ways. But they really did a wonderful job, because when I watched the programs they were indeed beautiful. I see a lot of response now that the series has started airing. (The other day when I went to a tournament) a foreign coach grabbed his pupil just before they were going to skate and told them “you know, Kenji did all the choreographies for Yuri!” (LOL). I replied “you don’t have to tell them now” though. It’s great that it’s having so much response, and I’m very happy about it. I was asked to do choreographies for those songs, and there was even a boy who said he started skating after watching “Yuri on Ice”, that really made me happy. Looking back, I’m glad that I said I would do everything myself.

Kenji Miyamoto / Born in 1978 in Hyogo. Ice dance winner of the Japan Figure Skating Championships in 2001-02. After retiring from competition he became one of the leading choreographers in Japan, creating programs for skaters of all ages, from children to world champions, both Japanese and foreign.