#This gifset takes place like right after the last one I posted for this show | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

annakie · 2 years

Text

A List of Shows I’ve Watched So Far This Year

...and a couple of sentences about each one. Also some movies and podcasts, too.

I started keeping a list around the time the entertainment outlets started publishing their “Best of 2021″ lists near the end of the year so I would be sure to catch some good TV since I wasn’t sure what to watch half the time. So this list is partially from those lists, partially stuff I found in other ways like via tumblr gifsets on my dash, some things I stumbled upon, had already been watching, and some just because I was subscribed to whatever service a show was on and thought “Hm that looks interesting.”

Tried keeping track of movies and podcasts, too. Gonna do video games in a different post. Currently I have 34 shows on my “To Watch / Catch up on” list, and always adding more.

This is in no particular order at all.

Taskmaster (& rewatched a lot of it.) - OK I immediately lied. I moved this to the top because I honestly believe everyone should watch Taskmaster. It is the most joyful thing I’ve ever watched, I love it so, so much. Everyone I have convinced to watch the show has loved it. It curbs anxiety, it always always always makes me laugh, and there’s a lot of it to watch.

Taskmaster is a British... panel/game show, sort of, where five comedians/entertainers are at the whims of the Taskmaster (Greg Davis) and his assistant (Alex Horne, who is the true genius behind the show) and do ABSOLUTELY ABSURD tasks to earn his approval. The same cast stays for an entire season (early on 5 or 6 episodes, then 8, now 10.) Greg scores their efforts, and at the end of the season, the winner takes home... a bust of Greg’s head. Mostly bragging rights and a spot on the Champion of Champions special that happens after every 5th season.

I cannot express how much I love Taskmaster. You can just watch most of it for free on Youtube. Series 1 Episode 1 is a fine place to start, or maybe try season 4 for people you likely already know. Anyway, that’s the sales pitch. Everything else is just my opinions. Watch Taskmaster, unless you hate fun and don’t need a distraction right now?

I started watching it near the end of last year, and then synced up with @ahab99 and we watched the rest of it together. It’s been one of my favorite things to do this year, and the fandom is great. My favorite seasons are 4, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 13, but I love them ALL.

Kongen Befaler (Taskmaster Norway) S1 & 2 - I love Taskmaster so much I started watching the Norwegien version, which is slow going because I have to be in the right mind to watch something with subtitles, but the Norwegian version is very nearly as good as the original. Highly recommend it if you’ve finished with the original. I haven’t yet gotten to the New Zealand version yet because I’m waiting for ahab99 to be ready, but I know it’s also considered to be great.

The Great S1 & 2 - Speaking of great... watched this as it was on Alan Sepinwall’s best of 2021, and I trust him about quality of things most of the time. Enjoyed The Great a lot, not one of my favorite things of the year, but thought the leads were very good and also Sacha Dhawan was a nice surprise. It’s got a lot more grossout humor than you were probably expecting. But I’ll watch S3.

Halt and Catch Fire S1-4 - I’d watched S1 and the first half of S2 when it was airing, then fell behind, and my DVR broke, and I never caught back up. But Sepinwall had mentioned it somewhere in a review I read recently and put it back on the list. It’s a show that got stronger every season. S1 was really trying way too hard to be Mad Men But In the 80′s And About Tech, once they figured out the characters in S2, toned down Lee Pace’s character and made the “mousey wife” not so mousey, it got amazing. Loved it so much.

Station Eleven - The first few eps aired last year, and I watched it in real time, but the last three aired this year. This is one of the best things I watched not only this year but... ever. A story of love and hope after a world-ending pandemic. You would think “I don’t need a pandemic story right now” but yeah, you need this story. One of the most satisfying moments I’ve experienced in fiction near the end of the series, too. So good. Highly rec. This also means Mackenzie Davis was one of the leads of... the last two things I talked about and she deserves all the awards.

Hacks S1 & 2 - I love Jean Smart and had been meaning to get around to this one for awhile, so I got to it like a few weeks before S2 aired. Really funny and powerful story of two women in different generations who were there when they needed it the most. A definite rec.

Starstruck S1 & 2 - I watched this not only because Sepinwall recommended it, but because it was created by & stars Rose Matafeo, who is on series 9 of Taskmaster and who I adore because of it. Really funny, great story, a little frustrating, but well worth it.

Our Flag Means Death (3 times) - Thanks to tumblr for all the gifsets, and finding out Guz Khan (who is in S12 of Taskmaster) is in this show, I gave in and watched it. I didn’t watch it the first time til the week after it ended, but then I signed up for HBO Max to support the show and watched it three times in one month. Loved it. Can’t wait for S2.

Severance - Came for Adam Scott, stayed for holy shit what is going on here why do I have to wait week to week for more? I NEED ANSWERS NOW. Creepy, bleak, and very, very intriguing. Am on the edge of my seat for season 2. Another one of the best things I’ve seen this year/in awhile.

The Expanse (Some in 2021, some in 2022) - One of those shows I’d been meaning to get into for a long time and I knew if I could stick with it eventually I’d love it. I had tried the first episode a couple of times over the last few years and didn’t like it but... I was determined this time and stuck with it. I have LOVED Shohreh Aghdashloo for a long time and she got me to stick around. I honestly didn’t love the show until season 2 or so, but at some point I was all in, and was sad when I finished, though a couple of the seasons were weaker than others for sure, and learning the circumstances behind the removal of one of the main characters, who was another of my favorites, put a small damper on it. But I’m glad I finished it. Someone make a S7. :(

Upload S2 - Watched S1 and thought it was decent, S2 was... definitely affected by the Pandemic filming. It was OK, but not great. The season finale especially seemed cut off too soon. But I’ll keep watching.

Doctor Who Specials (New Year’s special and The Sea Devils) - New Years special was great, other one was okay. It’s nice that they’re addressing 13/Yaz. Even though, ya know, it’s almost regeneration time. There’s a lot about the 13 era I have liked, but also a lot of wasted potential. And I’m not a fan of the Timeless Child thing... have seen few who are, though.

I also rewatched the Husbands of River Song because the Taskmaster himself, Greg Davis, plays King Hydroflax in this episode.

Critical Role S3 + Calamity - Been keeping up with Critical Role still, though sometimes I fall behind a week or two. I have been enjoying S3 a lot, probably more than I enjoyed the first arc of S2. Having Ashley back full time is great, and I like the new characters. Been staying far, far away from the fandom and the drama, though.

Calamity was amazing. I know I posted a thing about maybe not watching but I did because of how everyone was talking about it, and it was everything people said it was. I cried through most of the finale. Thanks to @thequeenofmyownscreen for crying with me. :)

I have very much wanted to get into Dimension 20 since before Calamity and really want to now, but have yet to find the time.

Breaking Bad Rewatch (Just season 2.5 to the end) - After watching the first half of S6 of Better Call Saul, and hearing the second half is going to have more relevance to Breaking Bad, I went back and re-watched BB from the first Saul episode to the end, since I hadn’t seen it since it aired. For like the S2 and some of the S3 part I was fast forwarding through a lot of like, Hank & Marie scenes or parts that were a lot of people staring at each other, but after awhile I just settled in and re-enjoyed the ride. Worth it.

Better Call Saul S6 - As noted above, have been keeping up with BCS the whole time. Love it. Can’t wait to see how it ends. DON’T KILL KIM WEXLER, PLEASE SHOW.

(BBC) Ghosts S1 - 3 - Three of the main characters have been contestants on Taskmaster (Charlotte Richie - S11, Lolly Adofope - S4 and Katy Wix - S9) plus at least two guest stars (Jessica Knappet - S7, Bridget Christie - S13.) So after learning this plus seeing some gifsets on my tumblr dash and seeing it was on HBO Max, I watched. Really enjoyed it, highly recommend.

(CBS) Ghosts - While looking up info for BBC Ghosts, I saw CBS had brought the show to America. I thought “Well, let’s see how bad they fucked this up” and dove in, intending to watch just the first episode or three. I finished the (currently only, S2 is incoming) season in like a day and a half. They did a good job making both the living married couple and the ghosts American, retaining some flavor of the BBC version without it being a direct ripoff aside from the pilot and one ghost being a near carbon copy of the British counterpart. I think they did a good job making it their own. The Brit version is probably still better, but I don’t regret watching both and will watch the next seasons of both, too.

(New) Kids in the Hall - I was in High School when the Kids in the Hall was originally airing on Comedy Central here in the US, and things like “I’m Crushing Your Head” were as cool as Wayne’s World quotes. Wasn’t sure what to expect about the revival but I really loved it, a lot. Be warned if you watch it there is old man full frontal in uh, the first episode, lol. But seriously, it was great. And I’m flabbergasted and mad that it wasn’t nominated for an Emmy.

Only Murders in the Building S2 - I think S1 aired last year? Watching S2 now. What a delight this show is. As an Old, I grew up loving Steve Martin and Martin Short and they’re amazing here. I had no idea who Selena Gomez is before this show, and now I adore her. Enjoying S2 a lot.

For All Mankind S3 - I think I watched S1 & S2 at the end of last year, and except for that mindbogglingly terrible subplot at the end of the 2nd season, I really loved it. S3 has been likewise great so far. Even though the stupid subplot continues into S3. I’m a Margot and a Dani stan.

Mare of Easttown - When this was airing last year it felt like everyone was talking about it and how great it was, so I got around to watching it. It was, indeed, very good, with a resolution that was surprising but didn’t feel like came out of nowhere. Also more Jean Smart = good.

The White Lotus - I mean, I have HBO Max right now and this is another show people kept talking about when it was airing, so I watched it. Eehhh, it was okay. It was a good takedown of white people at their most white-people-ness. Don’t think it deserves the Emmy love it’s getting except for the guy who played the hotel manager.

The Umbrella Academy S3 - I keep up with TUA when it’s on, and enjoy it. Enjoyed S3 as well. Not as much as S2 but hey, enough to look forward to S4. Mostly glad this season Luther got over Allison, but Allison this season was uh... not great.

Stranger Things S4 - Just like most everyone else, watched ST4 and I did love it, though the criticisms of it is pretty valid, too. NGL, got pretty bored with the Eleven subplot in the first half and fast forwarded through it as I thought it was very obvious Henry = Vecna and it felt like otherwise we were rehashing a lot of other stuff. And the Russian Prison subplot could have been cut way down, too. But still, love Stranger Things. Can’t wait for S5.

Murderville - Will Arnett’s improv / cop comedy. Swung WILDLY in quality depending on who the guest of the week was. They were right to put Conan first and Kumail Nanjiani last so it started and ended on its strongest episodes. I adore Annie Murphy but it was uncomfortable watching her stumble through her episode. But I finished it and would watch a S2.

Resident Alien S2 - I think S1 was stronger so far, but still loving this show, and Alan Tudyk is great, so is his co-lead Sara Tomko. Could do with less Mayor and Mayor’s Wife who’s character’s names I can never ever remember, and more of everyone else.

Barry S2 & 3 - I watched S1 as it aired and never got around to picking up S2 or 3 until a few weeks ago. It’s very good, and very violent. Can’t believe they’re still gonna do a S4 after that S3 ending.

The Flight Attendant S1(ish) - I watched the first episode and thought... I am not into this enough to watch the rest of the season but I do want to know how it ends. So I skipped right over to the last two episodes. Maybe I’ll do the same with S2.

Gentleman Jack - Was interested in this from tumblr gifsets. Literally watched the first episode and a couple of hours later the cancellation was announced, lol. Overall, I enjoyed it but I hope Suranne Jones’ back is OK because she carried this show for all sixteen episodes. Anything focused on Anne Lister was great. But they could not write a subplot of side characters to SAVE A LIFE. The cast was great, (I mean they had Five himself Peter Davison!) with what they were given. But so many subplots either were messy, boring or went nowhere and were dropped without resolution. Still glad I watched it but... it feels like only Lister/Walker ever found its footing and everything else was... not there. I’d have kept watching, but not super upset it’s likely not going to happen.

Star Wars

Book of Boba Fett - I think I liked this series more than most when it was focusing on Boba Fett but also like... the criticism was fair. And yeah it felt more like a sub-show of The Mandalorian rather than its own thing in the end. It was quite cool seeing the whole gang, minus Cobb, fighting together in the finale. And also uh, this may be blasphemous, but I am slightly disappointed they brought Grogu back? I think they are victims to their own success if they don’t think the show can survive without Grogu, whereas I was kinda looking forward to Mando on his own. But I’ll enjoy Mando S3 either way, I think.

Even this review of BoBF became a review of The Mandalorian. *facepalm*

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Yeah it was messy blah blah but I really really loved Obi-Wan. We’d been waiting for Obi’s return forever and I think they did a great job making the show emotionally resonate. It was so great seeing Hayden back, too. And it also adds a little more emotional weight to ANH how too, with Obi-Wan having a relationship with Leia.

Star Trek

I watched all the Star Treks. Yesterday was the first NON-STAR TREK Thursday of this ENTIRE YEAR and I AM MAD ABOUT IT. Luckily Lower Decks S3 starts next month.

Prodigy S1.0 - There’s still more Prodigy S1 coming, but I am enjoying this show more than I thought I would, grading on the “It’s for children!” curve. NGL I am most invested in the Real Janeway & Chakotay stuff but the kids and Holo-Janeway are also great. Excited for more. And the Kobiyashi Maru episode was a fave, as well as the 1.0 finale.

(Rewatch) Picard S1 & then Picard S2 - I forgot most of what had happened in S1 so I rewatched it. I like it more than most people did, but I mean... there’s like no Star Trek I don’t like. S2 started strong, and I liked the ending, and a lot of what they did in the middle stumbled with some great moments and a few not so great. There were definite parts of S2 that... didn’t work. But it was also fun. Plus my Teenage Dream Crush (lol) showed up, which was a huge plus for me. And uhm... I am absolutely feral about what’s going to happen in S3.

Discovery S4 - I think Discovery had gotten stronger every season, and I again, have enjoyed every season. I do definitely agree I wish every season wasn’t universe-ending threats, and the bridge crew doesn’t get enough to do, but I mean... that doesn’t at all ruin my enjoyment of the show. I thought the universe-ending threat was at least new and original this year.

Strange New Worlds S1 - Ummm... yeah. It’s great. I’m mad about how great it is. It’s not my favorite of the New Treks (Lower Decks is probably my fave) but I do get why so many people say this is their favorite. REMEMBER THOUGH... we wouldn’t have this Pike, Spock and Una without Discovery S2.

MST3K

Mystery Science Theater 3000 S13 + Specials - I Kickstarted MST3k season 13 for uhhhh... more than I probably should have. I am really loving Season 13 so far. Jonah is great as always, I already adore Emily and her bots, and having Joel back in the riffing seat with J. Elvis by his side mashed the nostalgia button so hard. All the episodes have been hilarious, though some are more faves than others, but that’s normal. Really enjoying the “special events” too. Having something to do like, every other Friday by appointment has been nice, too. The chat is very friendly and actually funny. Ready to support them for as much as I can when S14 talk comes around.

The Mads Are Back - MST3k-related, Frank Coniff and Trace Belaiu have been doing monthly riffing livestreams since July 2020 and I’ve been to them all. So another monthly Tuesday night appointment. They also do a guest interview after each, which has been delightful. Was a big help early in the Pandemic to have another monthly “appointment” to look forward to, and I’m glad they’re keep on keeping on with the livestreams especially since Frank’s health problems. And I love that nearly all the old cast plus some of the new MST3k cast has come and hung out in the post-show with them. <3

Along with that, just rando, MST3K and Rifftrax episodes whenever I feel like it, often as white noise when I’m gaming or working.

Trashy Realtiy TV - I make no apologies. I don’t watch a lot of reality TV but I have watched these.

The Circle S4 - I just lilke the Circle, OK? Love is Blind S2 - It’s a dose of drama that I usually avoid. 70% of Love is Blind Japan S1 - Wanted to see the differences. I watched the pods and vacation part, skipped most of the “We’re back at our real lives!” episodes and just went and saw who made it to the altar and who said I do.

JUST STARTED:

The Other Two - Haven’t finished yet, but just wrapped up S1. A Sepinwall rec I wouldn’t have checked out otherwise. The Entertainment Industry Takedown stuff is kinda funny but nothing we haven’t seen before. What has made this show work so far is that yeah the mom + adult kids are very dysfunctional on their own but they love each other and their little brother a lot and that glue makes the show worth it for me.

Blood and Treasure S2 - I would not watch this show most likely but Mark Gagliardi is one of the main stars (probably #3 on the call sheet I’d guess) and when a guy you kinda know is on TV, you usually wanna watch that guy being on TV. It’s a fun cheesy National Treasure like romp. This season was filmed in 2020 and JUST NOW BEING RELEASED and only on Paramount+ so we’re probably not gonna get more. The first two episodes released just this week so, we’ll see how the rest of the season goes. Mark’s character has his own subplot this season though so I’m excited for that.

Movies

TBH I don’t watch a lot of movies? There’s too many shows to watch. But I have watched these in the last 6 months...

Everything Everywhere All At Once - Everyone was talking about it so I wanted to experience it. As amazing as everyone said. I still think about it often. And get Absolutely Story of a Girl stuck in my head.

The Batman - Not a huge Batman fan, (like it’s FINE but whatever) but wanted to see Pattison’s take on it. Thought the movie was a little too long, and I came away with no strong feelings other than Pattison and Dano were both very good, and was excited to see Izzy Hands and Irving from Severance in the movie :v

Star Trek The Motion Picture - I’ve seen this like a half dozen times, and am always amazed at how many reaction shots of the cast’s face they padded the film with. Wanted to see the new enhanced visuals and cut. At least what they were gazing at for 15 minutes of the film’s runtime looked great. I need to finish rewatching the rest of the TOS movies. I’ve been saying that since I finished my All-ST Rewatch in 2020. SO I guess I didn’t actually FINISH that rewatch. Hm.

The Lost City - I truly don’t know why I watched this movie but I had finished whatever show I had been watching and didn’t want to start a new one yet so I watched this for no reason. Cast was good, movie was cheesy but also fun in a Romancing the Stone sort of way. Not great, but fun. Daniel Radcliffe makes a great villain.

Suicide Squad - I’m... trying... to watch the DC movies. I’ve only seen the two Wonder Woman movies, Batman vs.Superman and that first Superman movie, all when they came out. I’ve heard the second one and the Peacemaker show are great though so I’m trying to shove my way through the rest to that. Do I have to watch the Snyder cut? Anyway, this was fine, but felt like it was trying way too hard to be cool. Was entertaining at least.

Podcasts

I haven’t been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, tbh. Mostly I listen in the last hour before bed when I’m playing on my Switch and hanging out with Patchy.

The Taskmaster Podcast and Taskmaster: The People's Podcast - Yep been listening to the companion podcasts to Taskmater, too. The original TM podcast is hosted by Series 9 contestant Ed Gamble and it’s fantastic because he’s SUCH a fan of the show, and he’s a great interviewer. It’s a recap podcast, of the current episode if a series is airing or past series when one’s not.

The People’s Podcast is hosted by S8 contestant Lou Saunders + a guy who’s a fan (and a writer) who keeps meticulous stats of the show. Though there’s a bit of episode discussion it’s mostly a celebration of the fandom. Episodes are a bit more hit or miss depending on who the fan-guest is, but it’s a good effort and usually still entertaining. Especially loved them interviewing Norwegian Taskmaster Assistant Olli Wermskog <3

Hello From the Magic Tavern S4 + Patreon Bonus Content - I’ve been a fan of HFTMT since about episode 24 (When Craig Cackowski guest starred.) Through the years sometimes I’ve kept up, sometimes I’ve fallen months behind, but I have listened to it all, including the spinoff podcasts and signed up for the pateron on day 1. Still love these guys after all these years. If you want to listen to three guys and guests worldbuild a silly magical world, here you go. There’s like 400 episodes including spinoffs and Patreon content, you won’t run out any time soon.

The Delta Flyers - Technically as I’m a Pateron patron I watch the episodes online, not listen to them as a podcast. This is Robert Duncan McNeil (Tom Paris) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim’s) Voyager rewatch podcast, that they started as a pandemic project, and they’re now in season five. I really enjoy their takes, even when I don’t agree with them, and there’s so much BTS content. Also the bonus content includes really great interviews with the rest of the cast pretty often, guest stars, directors, writers, crew, producers etc etc. I pledge at a mid-teir level now and don’t regret it at all. I usually watch while working, and sometimes I get a few episodes behind. And also sometimes I have to rewatch the Voyager episode before listening to the podcast episode. But very worth it. Going to miss this one when they’re done.

The “To Watch / Catch up On” list: Counterpart You're the Worst Miracle Workers Zoey's Extradordinary Playlist Pen15 Derry Girls In Treatment We Are Lady Parts Girls 5eva Squid Game Succession Reservation Dogs Evil I May Destroy You Love Life Shadow and Bone Yellowjackets New Girl Wheel of Time Lovecraft Country Atlanta Watchmen Tuca and Bertie Sharp Objects Devs Yellowstone Gaslit Abbot Elementary Shining Girls The Orville

Catchup: Cobra Kai Downton Abbey (last season or two + movies) Rutherford Falls S2

I am taking suggestions.

And then there are a bunch of upcoming shows or shows with seasons that aired in like 2021 that I haven’t mentioned here to watch like, the Lord of the Rings show, and S2 of Leverage: Redemption not currently on this list that I will watch as they come out.

No idea how someone with an actual life squeezes in more show time. I’m still like 90% in quarantine still (thx immune system) so... at least I’ve got the time.

#television #movies #podcasts #i am not tagging shows individually that's way too much work #If you are looking for a media rec list here you go #media #personal post tag thingy

2 notes · View notes

palmviolet · 2 years

Text

thranduil + the problem of immortality (ie why the hobbit movies got one thing right)

say what you like about the hobbit movies and thranduil's character particularly, but they really were at least trying to head in the right direction with thranduil, and they produced some really interesting stuff.

@the-ring-wasnt-even-pretty did a really good post on this the other day discussing how thranduil is pretty much the first elf we see on screen who has real flaws, ie arrogance, selfishness, isolationism. and they didn't just leave it there, with him as a sort of two dimensional beta villain, but they tried to (tried being the operative word) give him some sort of depth to explain why he's like this. the plot with his wife was hamfisted and unsubtle, in my opinion, but it is an interesting opportunity to explore what death really means when you're a being for whom death is not inevitable. what i really want to talk about, though, is the 'do not talk to me of dragon fire' scene.

there are lots of differing opinions on this, ie. are they actually current wounds that he hides with a glamour vs. are they a memory/manifestation of psychic damage. whatever your opinion (and i can see points for and against each side), this is maybe one of the most important moments for film!thranduil. why? because it tells us he acts out of fear.

he does not help the dwarves after smaug comes because he has been burned before — literally, if you'll forgive the pun. ideally we'd have been given more of a call back to the sacking of menegroth, since thranduil was born in doriath (?) and as such no doubt fears the avarice of dwarves, which in doriath led to the deaths of his kin and in erebor led to their own ruin. add to this his own experience with dragons, and you have a recipe for what on the surface looks a very selfish action — and indeed is a selfish action, but it is done for a reason.

one of the great things about the hobbit movies is lee pace. he does amazing things with a very limited script, and a large part of this is how he presents thranduil's fear. it is scarcely there — he's had several millennia to school his expressions — but it comes out at certain moments. see the orc telling them he serves the one, for example. thranduil decapitates him immediately, takes a second to respond to legolas, brushes it all off but is clearly shaken, and displays a little bit of sadism we never otherwise see from elves, in stamping on the still-twitching body. thranduil fought sauron, he became king when his father died in the battle against him. he is traumatised and that isn't going to come out in friendly ways — and the movies do, for the most part, do a decent job of showing it. (stay tuned for a gifset of thranduil's vulnerable moments ie lee pace's excellent acting)

why is all this interesting? well. elves, who can live for thousands upon thousands of years, are a really good vessel for exploring the impact of past traumas. middle earth is not a very peaceful place — in a couple of millennia, the horrors one elf could experience are innumerable. and yet i feel like this is neglected. so much media is concerned with issues of mortality, and here is the perfect opportunity for exploring the consequences of immortality — how do you face the next thousand years, having felt so much pain in the thousand years preceding them, knowing that it will likely only get worse? how do you prevent yourself seeing patterns in history, when you've lived for so long — how do you convince yourself that the dwarves of erebor are not the dwarves of nogrod? that smaug is not the serpent you faced before? that sauron will not rise again?

you can't, is the answer, and in the last case, you shouldn't. which is the genius of thranduil's fear. because in some places it is isolationist and selfish and in others it is perfectly wise, but all of it is a result of what's happened before. elves represent the very opposite of the problem of history repeating itself. thranduil is so paralytically afraid of such a repetition that he creates new problems. and that's what's most interesting about the elves, in my opinion. immortality would not solve humanity's short memory problem — it would make our memory too long.

#tolkien meta #thranduil #elves #the hobbit #lotr

452 notes · View notes

blackstarising · 3 years

Text

coming back to this post i made again to elaborate - especially as the ted lasso fandom is discussing sam/rebecca and fandom racism in general. there are takes that are important to make that i had failed to previously, but there's also a growing amount of takes that i have to, As A Black Person™, respectfully disagree with.

tl;dr for the essay below sam being infantilized and the sam/rebecca relationship are not the same issue and discussing the former one doesn't mean excusing the latter. and we've reached the glen of the Dark Forest where we sit down and talk about fandom racism.

i should have elaborated this in my last post about sam/rebecca, but i didn't. i'll say it now - i personally don't support sam and rebecca getting together for real. i believe what people are saying is entirely correct, even though sam is an adult legally, he and rebecca are, at the very least, two wildly different stages of life. for americans, he's at the equivalent of being a junior in college. there are things he hasn't gotten the chance to experience and there are areas he needs to grow in. when i was younger, i didn't understand the significance of these age gaps, i just thought it would be fine if it was legal, but as someone who is now a little older than sam in universe, i understand fully. we can't downplay this. whether or not you think sam works for rebecca or not, even despite the gender inversion of the Older Man Younger Woman trope, whether or not he is a legal adult, i don't think at this point in time, their relationship would work. i think it's an interesting narrative device, but i don't want to see it play out in reality.

that being said!

what's worrying me is that two discussions are being conflated here that shouldn't be. sam having agency and being a little more grown™ than he's perceived to be does not suddenly make his relationship with rebecca justified. i had decided to bring it up because sam was being brought into the spotlight again and i was starting to realizing that his infantilization was more common than i felt comfortable with.

sam's infantilization (and i will continue to call it that), is a microaggression. it's is in the range of microaggressions that i would categorize as 'fandom overcompensation'. we have a prominent character of color that exhibits traits that aren't stereotypical, and we don't want to appear racist or stereotypical, so we lean hard in the other direction. they're not aggressive, they're a Sweet Baby, they're not world weary, they're now a little naive. they're not cold and distant, they're so nice and sweet that there's no one that wouldn't want approach them, and yeah, on their face, these new traits are a departure and, on their face, they seem they look really good.

but at a certain point, it reaches an inflection point, and, like the aftertaste of a diet coke, that alleged sweetness veers into something a lot less sweet. it veers into a lack of agency for the character. it veers into an innocence that appears to indicate that the person can't even take care of themselves. it veers into a one-dimensional characterization that doesn't allow for any depth or negative emotion.

it's not kind anymore. it's not a nice departure from negative stereotypes. it's not compensating for anything.

it's patronizing.

it is important that we emphasize that characters of color are more than the toxic stereotypes we lay on them, yes, but we make a mistake in thinking that the solution is overcorrection. for one thing, people of color can usually tell. don't get it twisted, it's actually pretty obvious. for another, it just shifts from one dimension to another. people of color are still supposed to be Only One Character Trait while white people can contain multitudes. ted, who is pretty much as pollyanna as they come, can be at once innocent and naive and deep and troubled and funny and scared. jamie can be a prick and sexy and also lonely and also a victim of abuse. sam, however, even though he was bullied (by jamie, no less), is thousands of miles away from home, and has led a protest on his team, is usually just characterized as human sunshine with much less acknowledgement of any other traits beyond that.

and that's why i cringe when fandom calls sam a Sweet Baby Boy without any sense of irony. is that all we're taking away? after all this time? even for a comedy, sam has received a substantive of screen time over two whole seasons, and we've seen a range of emotions from him. so as a black person it's hurtful that it's boiled down to Sweet Baby Boy.

that's the problem. we need to subvert stereotypes, but more importantly, we need to understand that people of color are not props, or pieces of cardboard for their white counterparts. they are full and actualized and have agency in their own right and they can have other emotions than Angry and Mean or Sweet and Bubbly without any nuance between the two. i think the show actually does a relatively good job of giving sam depth (relatively, always room for improvement, mind you), especially holding it in tension with his youth, but the fandom, i worry, does not.

it's the same reason why finn from star wars started out as the next male protagonist in the sequel trilogy but by the third movie was just running around yelling for REY!! it's the same reason why when people make Phase 4 Is the Phase For Therapy gifsets for the mcu and show wanda maximoff, loki, and bucky barnes crying and being sad but purposefully exclude sam wilson who had an entire show to tell us how difficult his life is, because people find out if pee oh sees are also complex, they'll tell the church.

and the reason why i picked up on this very early on is because i am an organic, certified fresh, 100% homegrown, non-gmo, a little ashy, indigenous sub saharan African black person. the ghanaian tribes i'm descended from have told me so, my black ass parents have told me so, and the nurses at the hospital in [insert asian country here] that started freaking out about how curly my hair was as my mother was mid pushing me out told me so!

and this stuff has real life implications. listen: being patronized as a black person sucks. do you know how many times i was patted on the back for doing quite honestly, the bare minimum in school? do you know how many times i was told how 'well spoken' or 'eloquent' i was because i just happen to have a white accent or use three syllable words? do you know how many times i've been cooed over by white women who couldn't get over how sweet i was just because i wasn't confrontational or rude like they wrongly expected me to be?

that's why they're called microaggressions. it's not a cross on your lawn or having the n-word spat in your face, but it cuts you down little by little until you're completely drained.

so that's the nuance. that's the subversion. the overcompensation is not a good thing. and people of color (and i suspect, even white people) have picked up on, in general, the different ways fandom treats sam and dani and even nate. what all of these discussions are converging on is fandom racism, which is not the diet form of racism, but another place for racism to reveal itself. and yeah, it's uncomfortable. it can seem out of left field. you may want to defend yourself. you may want to explain it away. but let me tap the sign on the proverbial bus:

if you are a white person, or a person of color who is not part of that racial group, even, you do not get to decide what is not racist for someone. full stop. there are no exceptions. there is no exit clause for you. there is no 'but, actually-'. that right wasn't even yours to cede or waive.

(it's also important to note that people of color also have the right to disagree on whether something is racist, but that doesn't necessarily negate the racism - it just means there's more to discuss and they can still leave with different interpretations)

people don't just whip out accusations of racism like a blue eyes white dragon in a yu-gi-oh duel. it's not fun for us. it's not something we like to do to muzzle people we don't want to engage with. and we're not concerned with making someone feel bad or ashamed. we're exposing something painful that we have to live with and, even worse, process literally everything we experience through. we can't turn it off. we can't be 'less sensitive' or 'less nitpicky'. we are literally the primary resources, we are the proverbial wikipedia articles with 3,000 sources when it comes to racism. who else would know more than us?

what 2020 has shown us very clearly is that racism is systemic. it's not always a bunch of Evil White Men rubbing their hands together in a dark room wondering how they're going to use the 'n-word' today. it's systemic. it's the way you call that one neighborhood 'sketchy'. it's how you use 'ratchet' and 'ghetto' when describing something bad. it's how you implicitly the assume the intelligence of your friend of color. it's the way you turned up your nose and your friend's food and bullied them for it in middle school but go to restaurants run by white people who have 'uplifted' it with inauthentic ingredients. it's telling someone how Well Spoken and Eloquent they are even though you've both gone to the same schools and work at the same workplace. it's the way you look down at some people of color for having a different body type than you because they've been redlined to neighborhoods where certain foods and resources are inaccessible, and yet mock up the racial features that appeal to you either through makeup or plastic surgery.

it's how when a person of color behaves badly, they're irredeemable, but a white person performing the same act or something similar is 'having a bad day' or 'isn't normally like this' or 'has room to grow' and we can't 'wait for their redemption arc', and yes, i'm not going to cover it in detail in this post but yes this is very much about nate. other people have also brought up the nuances in his arc and compared them to other white characters so i won't do it here.

these behaviors and reactions aren't planned. they aren't orchestrated. they're quite literally unconscious because they've been lovingly baked into western society for centuries. you can't wake up and be rid of it. whether you intended it or not, it can still be racist.

and it's actually quite hurtful and unfair to imply that concerns about racism in the TL fandom are unfounded or lacking any depth or simply meant to be sensational because you simply don't agree with it. i wish it was different, but it doesn't work that way. i'm not raising this up to 'call out' or shame people, but i'm adding to this discussion because, through how we talk about sam, and even dani and nate, i'm yet again seeing a pattern that has shortchanged people of color and made them feel unwelcome in fandom for far too long.

coach beard said it best: we need to do better.

#ted lasso #sam obisanya #ted lasso spoilers #fandom racism

316 notes · View notes

qqueenofhades · 3 years

Note

did you watch lucifer season six and what are your thoughts pls and ty

Ahaha. Yes. Yes I did watch it. Then I cried for a literal hour and attempted to compose myself, only to start crying again when I lay down and kept on thinking about it. Then I had more feelings. Then I slept like the dead due to emotional trauma. Then I reblogged gifsets and had More feelings. Then @buffaluff and @flynnanimal watched it and also required emotional support due to drowning in their own tears. So, uh... we're all fine here now. How are you?

My main takeaway from the final season was the sheer amount of love for the characters, story, and fans that you could feel shining through all the episodes, and which made SUCH a refreshing change. I had feelings in my tags the other day about how a show about the devil was constantly goofy, hopeful, loving, and uplifting, rather than all the grimdark nonsense they could have easily done with it. (As I said, just imagine it as written by the GOT idiots?? NO THANK YOU.) The writing really loved everyone and wanted to give them a proper ending and emotional journey, and it wanted to show the fans that they weren't stupid for having invested six seasons of effort and emotion into this, and just... that is so much rarer than it should be? Compare all the movies and TV shows that treat their fans like the enemy, that want to outsmart them at all costs even if it means changing major plot elements, that ferociously guard spoilers and think that "shock value" means good writing, by throwing hackneyed cliche upon cliche and making everything Depressing, and just... Lucifer had its hiccups and slow points and missteps, of course, but I am SO glad they didn't do that. The entire show consisted of Lucifer slowly but steadily progressing toward being a better man, despite mistakes and setbacks and sometimes a little too much will-they-won't-they. (Season 3 was the only one where I got bored and skipped over the filler episodes with Pierce/Lucifer/Chloe in order to get to the end).

That is an essentially simple premise, but they stuck to it, and they didn't try to create more drama by randomly wrecking what they had already established. I wrote a fic all the way back in mid-season 2 (In Nomine Patris) that ended up predicting quite a few of the future characters who had not yet appeared on the show at that time, including Eve, Michael, and Azrael, and several plot points, including the very major one of Lucifer returning to hell for the sake of his daughter with Chloe. And while this might mean that I am just that good at guessing TV shows (I would like to think this....) it also means that the writers set expectations, followed through on those expectations, and didn't suddenly derail everything or turn it totally on its head just for the sake of cheap shocks. As we can all attest, they certainly caused PLENTY of drama, anguish, pain, and suffering, but they did it in a way that remained faithful to the overall premises of the story and the characters, and wanted to see them become the best versions of themselves. I cried my eyes out at the end and then thought, "hey, I might want to watch the whole series again," which, if you ask me, is the mark of doing your job right. There have been so few TV endings recently where I didn't immediately swear off the whole thing or have to pretend that canon didn't exist, so yeah.

As I said, it was just refreshing to watch something that had that essential deep generosity at its core, where the message is that everyone is worthy of love if they make the hard and painful effort to change and become better, and that even if earthly things feel small next to all this messy celestial drama, they still matter, and that you are loved no matter what. I loved that Amenadiel became God and Lucifer returned to hell as a choice in order to help all the trapped souls be able to work through their guilt and go to heaven. There were obviously certain echoes of The Good Place in that ending; I don't know if it was something they had planned all along or if the success of TGP, another series asking deep questions about life, death, morality, and human nature within the framework of a goofy heaven-and-hell sitcom, influenced it, but either way, it worked so well. Even if it tore my heart out and stomped on it on the ground, it was fitting and oh so lovely to see Lucifer, once the most selfish being in the entire universe, following in Linda's footsteps and becoming selflessly dedicated to helping other people. Just. Chef's kiss.

And of course, Deckerstar. The Hades and Persephone vibes were IMMACULATE this season, and while it did take Lucifer and Chloe the best part of four seasons to get together, they never significantly backslid, never had third-party issues or cheap cheating storylines once they were officially a couple, and Tom Ellis and Lauren German REALLY killed it this season in particular. It was never easy for them and sometimes the drama went on a little too long over the course of said six seasons, but the love story was beautiful and incredibly meaningful and always true to the fact that the actors and characters and writers (not to mention the fans) all loved it so much. They were so much the emotional heart of this, and when they went to hell together in episode 6x03 (where they turned into cartoons because wHAT even IS this show), Joe Henderson said in an interview that this was to give the fans a view into Lucifer and Chloe's future (after) lives post-6x10, and to offer them a basis to write fanfiction. I mean... the showrunner saying to the fans "here, we love you, have something to write fic about!" is likewise pretty shockingly rare. It's again an example of how this show always audaciously poked fun at itself, never took itself TOO seriously, and was always welcoming its fans and the people who loved it to do so, rather than making them feel stupid or taking joy in wrecking beloved characters or plots.

Obviously, I loved Rory, the badass lesbian half-angel goth Deckerstar child straight out of My Immortal (seriously, she was SO edgy, it was amazing), because of the fact that Lucifer's entire arc was always about feeling abandoned by his father and that he was going to have to face it for himself. Dorky Devil Dad Lucifer trying his absolute HARDEST to bond with his daughter was simultaneously hilarious, adorable, and heart-wrenching, and yet again, the Growth. We all remember when he could barely tolerate Trixie touching him, and now we're here. Also, any variation whatsoever of "this is just a brief moment of time that we must be apart, love is eternal and stronger than death and we will never really leave each other" as a line is guaranteed to make me bawl my eyes out. So that was fun.

I got a big kick out of Ghost Dan running around and trying to get everyone to see him, and had feelings about seeing him in heaven with Charlotte and his beloved Pudding Pops at the end. I had feelings about how they handled Ella finding out the truth (or rather demanding to know why nobody had told her) and of course, I obviously loved Maze and Eve and their goth/femme wedding and the fact that they got a good three-season romantic arc (indeed, I wanted more of them). My god, Trixie is SO BIG, she used to be a tiny little nugget. I love that Linda was the moral and emotional rock all along, from the first episode to the very last, and that Amenadiel was Deeply Vindicated when Charlie's wings appeared at his first birthday party. I love how Lucifer in s6 is absolute thousands of light years from Lucifer in s1. And as ever, Chloe was Perfect. I am happy that I spent six seasons with these characters and saw them become better, and that I was never made to feel like an idiot for trusting the writers to end everything in a beautiful and emotional way. Because, well. They did. Sure, maybe I could go back and pick at a plotline here or a detail there, but I don't terribly feel the need to do so? It might not have been perfect, but it was perfect, and I am so grateful that it existed.

#lucifer #lucifer spoilers #deckerstar #anonymous #ask

76 notes · View notes

mckkachins · 3 years

Text

gif cut-out tutorial

ok ok so @subtledean requested a tutorial on how to do stuff like this post with the gif cutouts and the text effects. hopefully this helps aria ;w; i’m not the best at explaining things but i included some screencaps for clarity. i’ve tried to compress all the sample gifs and screenshots down to under 3mb to avoid tunglr compression on mobile so if they look a little different from the actual gifset, that’s probably why!

what you’ll need:

photoshop, i’m using PS 2021 but any version of photoshop will work out

a basic knowledge of gif-making (i’m assuming you already know how to make a gif and color it).

step 0: storyboard

this isn’t strictly necessary but i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. you don’t have to do any photoshopping this first step, but it’s really important to check out your footage and the shots you have gathered to see what works, especially if you’re trying to combine three or more gifs onto the same canvas. like literally take a piece of paper and draw out where you want the character’s faces to be, where you want the cutouts to be in relation to their faces, and think about whether or not there’s enough empty space to the right or left of characters heads for a cutout to be placed. is there too much movement that would be distracting or messy in an already busy gif?

things like that really help, and it also makes you double check on your footage quality and feasibility. if you end up making a gif where you want one character’s face to be on the left side of the gif but it turns out there’s not enough empty space on the right side of their face to place a cutout and you then have to hunt for new footage or start all over, it’s kind of a trainwreck and you just waste another hour of your time as you deepen your procrastination hellhole. that’s not a real story—

step 1: make the base gif

i’m assuming you know how to color it already. and aria i KNOW you know how to color already so :) size it accordingly to your desired dimensions.

as you can see, i left enough space on the right side of abaddon for the knight cutout to be placed.

save this as a .psd file. you don’t actually have to sharpen and do everything that comes at the end of making a gif right away, but make sure your layers are clearly labeled. do NOT convert to video timeline/smart object just yet.

step 2: make the cutout gif

this is critical: make absolutely certain your cutout gif has the same number of frames as your base gif. otherwise it could get really messy! abaddon has 20 frames, so the cutout will also have 20 frames. again, do not convert the cutout gif to a video timeline/smart object. just keep it as a frame animation. here’s my cutout gif. it’s just a simple b&w gif but i added a touch of purple for color consistency sake whatnot.

now for this particular gif i’ve actually cropped abaddon to be roughly exactly where i would want her face to be in relation to the first gif, but that is unnecessary. helpful, but unnecessary. you do NOT need the cutout gif to be cropped exactly perfect in order to make this work.

step 3: combining the two gifs

there are many different ways to combine two gifs onto the same canvas. some people like to do it via video timeline. i prefer to do it by frames and convert everything to a video timeline only at the end (it’s just a personal preference). here’s a tutorial if you prefer working with timelines, but i’m gonna go over how to do it by frames.

first group everything in your base gif into one folder. then group everything in your cutout gif into one folder as well. you can name them however you want to keep track of things.

then, select all of the frames in your cutout gif. in this case, all 20 of b&w abaddon get selected. make sure its not just frames 4-20 or whatever, but all the frames you made. you can click frame one and then shift-click your last frame to double check.

click the timeline tab group options bar and then go to options > copy frames

now go to your base gif canvas. select ALL the frames of your base gif as well (it’s critical that all of them are selected).

now do options > paste frames.

a popup should appear and you’re going to select the “paste over selection” option. do not link layers.

your cutout gif should now be completely or partially obscuring your base gif. however, now you should see two groups on your sidebar of layers. one for the base, one group for the cutout. if you labelled them with names you can tell which one is which.

step 4: creating the cutout

in order to create the cutout, we use my favorite thing in the whole world of photoshop. layer masks.

to make a layer mask, you simply select a layer or group you want to mask and then click this little icon on the row of icons at the bottom of your layers panel.

white on a layer mask means whatever group or layer is getting masked is completely visible. black on a layer mask means that the group or layer is invisible. if there is 50% gray on a layer mask, then its 50% visible. so on and so forth.

i love these so much i abuse them on the daily. i’ve made a few gifs where i’ve masked every frame one by one because i wanted to get some cool effects. admitting that kind of embarrasses me but oh well.

anyway this is simple though. just find a picture or an outline of a knight. i used these boyes:

obviously i cropped out the knight of the bunch, got rid of the watermark, and then i placed it on the canvas where i wanted it to go.

select the interior of the knight with the magic wand tool. should be pretty simple since it’s all black.

now click over to your layer mask. make sure you have selected the mask and not the group. you can tell you have selected the mask when a little white rectangle pops up on it.

when you know you have the mask selected, click command+i or control+i to invert. if for some reason you do not have this keyboard shortcut, just take a brush tool and color over the area in complete black. as long as the magic wand tool is still selecting just the interior of the knight, it should be fine.

now once again, black means a layer will NOT be showing, white means a layer will be showing. so right now after i disable the visibility of the top layer we used as a reference for the silhouette, it looks like:

do not fear the clownery. layer masks are great because they are always non-destructive. meaning that even if you somehow mess up and your canvas is showing something completely gross, you can always go back and edit your layer mask and your original gif would be unharmed as long as you did not touch any layers in the group, only the mask. simply invert the mask (again, make sure your mask is selected and then command+i or image > adjustments > invert) to get:

for a layer mask that looks like:

you could have also just made a black layer mask to begin with and then inverted the knight outline to be white. many different ways to do the same thing.

another tip: if you select your outline and then click layer mask upon a group or layer with no mask at the current moment, it will automatically make a layer mask with your selection as white and the unselected pixels as black. this is normally how i do my cutouts, because it’s a time-saver even if it like. saves a few seconds max. but i typed out the above for explanation and clarity, so hopefully i didn’t just make anyone more confused.

anyway.

now say you don’t like where the cutout abaddon is positioned. layer masks can also be linked or unlinked, depending on the little link icon you see between the group and the layer mask in the image above. if the icon is visible, the layer mask and the group are linked. if you cannot see the link icon, they are unlinked.

linked layer masks will move in conjunction with the group if any type of transform is done upon them. if the group moves, the layer mask also moves. but if a layer mask is unlinked, you can move the mask and the group independently of one another. for instance, i can change where the cutout is located on the overall canvas of the gif by simply moving ONLY the layer mask (and thereby changing where the blacks and whites of the layer mask occlude the cutout gif contents). but i can also transform the cutout gif layers without changing where the overall outline is located relative to the canvas itself. basically, i can transform the interior contents of the cutout independently. so here (make sure all of your frames are selected):

group unlinked. i’m also making sure that now i am selecting the GROUP (ie. the frames of the layers you are actually going to move) and not the layer mask. you can tell because the little white rectangle around the layer mask can no longer be seen.

now i can transform/adjust the contents of the cutout solely “within” the cutout, and i don’t have to worry about changing where the cutout is located in relation to the overall gif. when transforming, make sure all the frames of your gif are selected. like select the whole group and not just an individual layer, basically.

i’ve seen a lot of how to combine and cut out gifs tutorials on this website, and here is a really good one that i know sully also used <3 big shoutout to all the photoshop queens being inspired by each other!! however i haven’t seen anything that mentioned the linked vs. unlinked layer masks, which i really feel like deserves a shoutout. you don’t have to crop your gifs out perfectly every time, you can always adjust them later. for demonstration, i’ve positioned abaddon in a few different positions with an unlinked layer mask.

step 5: creating the outline

so in order to emphasize the shape of the cutout (the knight), i simply delete the white space surrounding the picture of the knight in the original silhouette that i used. magic wand tool + delete. you can also make a new layer, then paint bucket tool it. many ways to do the same thing.

now with only the knight on a transparent background, i double click the layer to pull up the effects. select outer glow. i used these settings:

when you are doing this, make sure you are on frame one of the frame animation and the “propagate frame one setting” is selected, otherwise you might end up only applying the effect to one out of your many frames, which blows.

then i go change the fill setting to 0%, BUT i leave opacity at 100%. fill is basically like opacity, but it doesn’t affect layer effects (whereas opacity does). so you basically get only the outline but not the black. you can also set the blending mode of the layer to screen and get the same effect, etc, etc. feel free to adjust however you see fit, in addition to the outer glow settings.

i move this layer over a couple pixels to give it the little offset effect, but you don’t have to.

step 6: adding the text

okay the two fonts i used are avenir and perla. i think a LOT of gifmakers use them because they’re really pretty.

i make TWO different text layers, one with avenir in a smaller size and one with perla in a bigger size. this is because for the perla one, i’m going to be changing the blending mode whereas i don’t want to be changing the blending mode for the smaller text. i position the text where i want it to be and make sure the perla font is in the color i like:

then i change the blending mode of the fancy text (perla) to difference. ONLY that layer, and again make sure to check “propagate frame 1″ and make changes on the first frame to apply the change to all of your frames.

but i still don’t think it produces enough of a difference. so i right click on the text layer for knights of hell, and then go to: select pixels.

then i click the curves adjustment layer. this will automatically make a curves layer with a layer mask that occludes everything BUT the area you selected. beautiful. i drag the curves around until i get enough of a difference that i like. normally i make the lights lighter and the darks darker. yeehaw.

again there are sooooo many different ways to achieve the same effect on photoshop. this is just want comes easiest to me, and it’s totally okay if you find a different way that works better for you at producing the contrast you want or the colors you want.

step 7: export and cry

NOW you can convert everything to a video timeline, put your video frame layers to smart objects, and then apply your finishing sharpening filters. export, cry, and hope tumblr compression doesn’t screw you over.

hopefully this was helpful! pls like... idk support my edits if you found this helpful or reblog this post. feel free to dm me about how u do some of the text effects as well bc i’m always trying to learn new things and i am by no means an expert on like. any of this.

aria please go write your fucking thesis before i delete this entire tutorial challenge. :D

#subtledean #THIS IS FOR YOU #I FEEL LIKE THIS TUTORIAL HAS MORE WORDS THAN UR THESIS ATM SO!!!#tutorials #mine #idk what to tag this but PLS pls pls feel free to talk to me abt ph*toshop #or ask for help or point me towards other tutorials <3 #shoutout to sully too its in there somewhere #resources #100n #ps

187 notes · View notes

canary3d-obsessed · 3 years

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 20, part two

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

So much happens in this episode that I couldn’t stop the meta and had to break it in thirds. Part one is here, part three is here.

Owie Owie Owie

Wen Zhuliu takes exquisitely tender care of Wen Chao, despite presumably disliking him quite a lot. He wipes his tears away, saying that the tears will infect his wounds, which...isn't likely, but ok.

I will note that he didn't get the "no sting" kind of medicine, however, so maybe there's a limit to his kindness. Wen Chao screams and yells at him while he puts a tiny amount of medicine on one tiny spot of owie. It's going to be a long night for these fellas. Except it isn't because they're going to die, so at least they won't have to put more medicine on.

The candles blow out and we hear the sound of a flute, which Wen Zhuliu hilariously says is just the wind when Wen Chao starts freaking out. They have two days to go before they get to safety, and Wen Chao is pretty sure he's not going to last two days. And you know...he's right!

As usual he blames Wen Zhuliu for the situation, but then gets afraid that WZL is going to leave him, and starts making promises of status. WZL says that's not necessary. He is a loyal sonofabitch, I'll give him that.

The Man Comes Around, Redux

And now Wei Wuxian enters the scene, climbing menacingly up the stairs carrying his own hair fan, just like Lan Wangji did in the previous episode. (Gifset here). Wen Zhuliu doesn't look optimistic. When the boys on the roof see Wei Wuxian they don't look too happy either.

Wei Wuxian stops in front of Wen Zhuliu and proceeds to have a philosophical conversation with him. Wei Wuxian has come to fuck your shit up, but he has also come to pass judgement on your ethics because he is, fundamentally, still himself.

Wen Zhuliu takes the opportunity to justify his actions, giving a heartfelt statement about what he owes to Wen Ruohan. Wen Zhuliu knows his number is up and that they obviously didn't kill Wei Wuxian hard enough, but he still feels righteous.

(more after the cut)

Here Wei Wuxian asks a question that shows the fundamental difference between himself and Wen Zhuliu. In many ways they are similar: neither of them was born into their clan. Both were appreciated by the clan leader and placed in high positions. Both feel an obligation to those clan leaders. When Wei Wuxian asks "why do other people have to pay for your gratitude?" he's foreshadowing the moment when Jiang Cheng demands the death of the Dafan Wens.

Wen Zhuliu doesn't hesitate to murder people because his clan leader wants him to. Whereas Wei Wuxian doesn't hesitate to pay a terrible price--his golden core-for his gratitude to Jiang Fengmian. But he won't let the Dafan Wens pay the price of his continued membership in the Jiang clan; he chooses exile while Wen Zhuliu chooses murder.

Wei Wuxian is done talking and very very slowly brings his flute into position and starts to play. Wen Zhuliu doesn't make a move to stop him, but he might be frozen in place...everything happens at weird speeds in this scene.

Lan Wangji is super horrified when he sees what Wei Wuxian is doing with his flute. So horrified, in fact, that by the time they are face to face, he's moved past any other emotion.

Lady in Red

As Wei Wuxian plays the flute, the camera moves around him (or they spin him on a turntable) and the scenery around him shifts to a 360 view of...the burial mounds! That's so fucking cool!

You can take the boy out of the graveyard but you can't take the graveyard out of the boy. He is carrying it within him now.

He summons up the hottest ghost lady ever, to scratch the shit out of the Wens with her fancy fingernails. She's all in red, not the dark Wen red, but super-saturated bridal red.

She's not dressed as a bride, but she is very pretty and the color is awesome, particularly when she turns into red smoke. Presumably having actual ghosts attacking people is ok with the censor board as long as they are pretty ladies in nice clothes, since there are two in this episode and this one is absolutely definitely a non-corporeal being when she wants to be.

Camera Operator: What did I ever do to you?

She fights with Wen Zhuliu, who tries to put his core-melting hand on her, unsuccessfully, and then figures out that Wei Wuxian is the better target, so tries to put his core-melting hand on him.

Wen Zhuliu, you need to have some different moves! Not everybody has a core for you to melt.

Zidian’s Revenge

As soon as Wen Zhuliu targets Wei Wuxian the boys break in from the rooftop, with Jiang Cheng snapping Zidian up over a rafter and down around Wen Zhuliu's neck in a single move, and then hauling him up and hanging him.

This is a pretty gratifying moment; Jiang Cheng finally gets his vengeance using the weapon his mother gave him before this fucker killed her. He also gets to come back at the guy who melted his core and kill him with a spiritual weapon. All around nice work, Jiang Cheng.

Meanwhile, Lan Wangji initially placed himself between Wen Zhuliu and Wei Wuxian, which is a pretty strong show of devotion, given that his chest was directly in line with Wen Zhuliu's hand.

He watches intently while Wen Zhuliu dies...Lan Wangji is actually a pretty vengeful guy, isn't he? He's not into torture but he seems to like executing bad people, and he enjoys chopping off arms a whole lot.

Welcome Back

Having disposed of Wen Zhuliu, Team Where The Fuck Have You Been is ready to greet Wei Wuxian. This is Lan Wangji as he prepares to turn around and face him.

This is not "relieved that my soulmate is ok" or even "feeling betrayed because you didn't even send me a text." This is cold, hard, fury. He's plowed right past relief and joy into full on disgust and vehemence.

Jiang Cheng is also pissed at him, but he's so used to being pissed at him that it's not a remarkable emotion, and it passes quickly. He gives him his sword, calls him a prick, punches him in the shoulder while Lan Wangji looks grumpy Wang Yibo tries very hard not to smile, and fails.

Then Jiang Cheng gives Wei Wuxian an enormous squishy hug.

Wei Wuxian, who has probably wanted that hug for the past decade, does not return it, and looks stricken, eventually raising his flute hand behind Jiang Cheng's back.

Lan Wangji glares at him while Jiang Cheng hugs him, and then shifts to glare at the flute.

Let's talk about Lan Wangji's body language here. This scene is often talked about, including by OP, as "Wei Wuxian picks a fight with Lan Wangji in order to push him away." But since their very early days,Lan Wangji's nonverbal communication has been an essential component of his relationship with Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian has been reading his microexpressions from the very start, and he's the only one besides Lan Xichen who does that.

Lan Wangji's anger and disapproval are written all over his face and posture, so much so that even a casual observer can tell what he's feeling. For Wei Wuxian, with his extreme awareness and having shared actual literal telepathy with the guy previously, this has got to feel like Lan Wangji is screaming at him.

Lan Wangji is the one picking this fight. Wei Wuxian is trying to defuse it by giving him time to calm down before engaging. For perhaps the first time since meeting him, Wei Wuxian ignores Lan Wangji to focus on Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng asks him a bunch of questions and Wei Wuxian slides out from under most of them, giving half answers, non-answers, and what All The President's Men calls a non-denial denial.

Wei Wuxian, who is adept at sounding like he's speaking truth when he is lying, here sounds like he's lying when he's speaking something very close to the truth. He spins a particularly outrageous-sounding tale of finding a cave and learning an ultimate power there...but that's actually what he actually did, actually. Xue Yang does this "lie so much that the truth now sounds like a lie" thing by accident, years later in Yi City, but Wei Wuxian is using it as a deliberate tactic to hide the truth from his brother. Which is basically his main occupation at this point.

He acts offended that Jiang Cheng doesn't believe him, but he does it playfully to cast everything in the conversation as a joke.

Lan Wangji is not as inclined to accept utter codswallop as Jiang Cheng is, and he has already figured out an important underlying layer of the situation--the turn away from the way of the sword--while not seeing the very bottom layer, the "I don't have a golden core" layer.

Unfortunately, he continues to be judgy and pissed off. He says "Wei Ying" gently enough, but his body is braced for conflict.

Wei Wuxian looks at him wearily and stands up to have the fight Lan Wangji is asking for.

Maybe you were right But baby I was lonely I don't want to fight I'm tired of being sorry

I'm standing in the street Crying out for you No one sees me But the silver moon

Soundtrack: 1. Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones 2. Tired of Being Sorry, by Ringside

Writing Prompt: Who is the lady in red and what is her deal?

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #wangxian #chengxian #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #my gifs

220 notes · View notes

captainpikeachu · 3 years

Text

Steve & John: shared similarities

People have talked endlessly about Steve and John’s differences that made Steve worthy of the shield and John not worthy (plenty of gifsets are all about that), but for me, the contrast of their personalities and how they handle things only really work because the two characters actually share many similarities at their core. And I don’t just mean because superficially they are both blond haired blue eyed white dudes with military experience.

So in this post, I’m going to talk about the ways Steve and John are much more alike than people would like to admit.

---------------------------------

1. Shy down-turned smile (also Imposter Syndrome)

Steve always had this shy/nervous downturned smile when someone took a genuine interest in him, and no doubt much of that came from how often he was looked down upon before his transformation. So he’s genuinely surprised/pleased that someone is interested, and a little nervous too. Because even if he is the big strong man now physically, I think there is always that bit of imposter syndrome with Steve where he still thinks of himself as the scrawny kid from Brooklyn and not this big tall hero that people see him as. John when he gets teases from his wife and his best friend in those locker room scenes does this same shy downturned smile, as if he’s still that nervous anxious high school kid with a lot of expectations on his shoulders, a side that he doesn’t really present to anyone but the people he trusts to let his guard down with because John also has a huge case of imposter syndrome as his past experiences and trauma doesn’t make him feel so strong and qualified and heroic. Everyone may call him the hero, but in his heart, he doesn’t feel like the perfect righteous hero that people expects or sees him as.

2. Discomfort with their public roles + Just want to do the job

Steve was notably uncomfortable being thrown into the USO tours. It’s not what he wanted, it’s not what he intended. He felt like a dancing monkey, performing for people instead of doing the things that he wanted to do to actually help people. And while he reluctantly accepted that all the autographs and fake smiles and acting and fame was part of the job, all he really wanted to do was actually do the real job and save lives, to have the chance to make a difference and do the right thing. This same sentiment is echoed by John, who is equally as uncomfortable being placed into a public role that he clearly does not want to be in. He’s a soldier used to serving a silent and thankless role, we see his discomfort with publicity in his GMA interview, and we see it later in the show when strangers come for autographs. Yes, like Steve, he has accepted this is part of being Captain America, but he doesn’t want it, he just wants to be able to do his job, complete his mission, and keep everyone safe.

3. Loyalty to their loved ones

Steve will always come for the people he loves, he will always stand by them, he will fight for them and die for them. Numerous times now Steve has been willing to risk everything to protect Bucky or anyone else that he cares about, even if no one else is willing, even if the world is against him or his own life is on the line. John carries that same loyalty for the people who matter to him. When Lemar is taken by the Flag Smashers, John’s immediate concern isn’t even about the mission or his job, it’s getting Lemar back. When they were fighting on top of the trucks in Episode 2, when Lemar’s life was in danger, John puts himself at a disadvantage to take a shot at the guy holding Lemar even though it leaves himself open to attack and nearly kicked off the truck roof. And then he throws the shield to cover Lemar’s landing despite it would leave him weaponless as a regular non-powered person to face off a super soldier. Steve and John would both do anything for the people they love.

4. Self-sacrificing

We’ve seen Steve willing to throw himself on the grenade, so to speak, time and time again. He did it in his first film to send the plane into the water. He does it for Bucky in Winter Soldier. And not to mention actually jumping on grenades, even if that ended up being a test. Steve’s instinct to throw himself in danger and sacrifice for others is well documented, but John matches that self sacrificing instinct as well. He’s jumped on grenades before as an active duty soldier. He has three Medals of Honor that would only be earned through willing to sacrifice himself above and beyond the call of duty to save others. And even in the final fight in Episode 6, we see him fighting off the Flag Smashers while trying to pull that truck up even if the Flag Smashers pull him over the ledge. When push comes to shove, Steve and John’s instincts are to jump into danger to shield others with their lives, no hesitation. They both would see it as their duty.

5. “I can do this all day”

This is Steve’s signature line. He doesn’t give up, he can keep standing up to fight for what he believes in, whether against bullies, Red Skull, Tony, the government, Thanos, and even a version of himself. Steve is resilient and his endurance goes beyond just his physical abilities. He has the heart to keep fighting, the stubborn tenacity to never give up even when all seems lost. Yet John has that same stubborn tenacity that Steve has. Those three Medals of Honor are proof of that. You’d have to be able to walk through hell to even get one medal, much less three. The mental endurance required to keep going would have been enormous. And even after Sam and Bucky broke his arm in that warehouse, John got back up and tried to keep fighting, they had to bash him into unconsciousness to even stop him. And even then he went on to forge his own shield and got back into the fight. Much like Steve, he doesn’t know when to give up.

6. Lying (in an attempt to protect themselves and others)

Steve lied to Tony about the truth of his parents’ death. He knew and he kept silent, lying by omission, and he was going to keep lying until Tony finally confronted him for a simple clear answer. Steve even admits that he thought by not saying anything, he was sparing Tony, but he realizes that he was really sparing himself. It was a selfish choice, one born not out of malice, but perhaps a misguided attempt to keep the peace, thinking if the truth isn’t out there then maybe any conflict is unnecessary and everyone can have their peace of mind. And that same line of thinking is what drives John’s lies to Lemar’s family too. A part of him wants to spare them further pain, because what good would come from telling them that their son/brother’s killer is still out there and that he failed to stop them? He wanted to spare them, he wanted to give them closure and peace in their grief, to not burden them with an open ended story with no justice. But he was also sparing himself, because he’s afraid admitting the truth that he didn’t kill the person directly responsible might lead to Lemar’s family hating him and he’d lose them and his last connection to Lemar. This is not a decision of malice, this is a decision born from fear. Steve and John both lie in trying to spare others from pain but also selfishly spare themselves from the further conflict that the truth may cause.

----------------------------------

In a way, yes, John was designed to be a darker mirror to Steve (less solid morality, less emotional control), but that darker mirror only works when they share some core similarities. Their differences are in how those traits can manifest outward into different actions.

Perhaps shockingly, I think Steve would have understood John and his choices more than most, and may have been able to talk him off the ledges better anyone else besides Lemar, and maybe with some more understanding guidance, John might have made for a good Captain America. After all, Steve did say once say in that letter to Tony, “I know you’re doing what you believe in, and that’s all any of us can do, that’s all any of us should.”

#these two are a lot similar than people like to think they are #and i needed to talk about that #steve rogers #john walker #captain america #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #tfatws meta #mcu #marvel #mcu meta

54 notes · View notes

what-breaks-my-heart · 3 years

Text

DanHwa Couple: Happy Ending versus Sad Ending

Note: I did plan to publish this post in conjunction with the last day of Run On Week when I came up with the idea for this post but I never thought this post would eventually be this long so I’m not going to ruin it for everyone 😂🙈

Previously, I’ve touched on the main theme of DanHwa’s storyline - goals & dreams.

Before I continue, I wish to extend my heartiest gratitude to @belsmultifandommess for taking my gif requests specifically so I could include them in this post ❤❤❤ You can click on “GIF by belsmultifandommess” to view the full sets from which the gifs I’ve included in this post were sourced. If you haven’t already, give some love to those beautiful gifsets.

This is going to be one hell of a long post so hydrate yourselves, get some snacks, prepare a box of tissues if you are a softie like me, and buckle up.

Previously in my series of write up on DanHwa storyline...

About Seo Dan Ah

Seo Dan Ah, Her Little Brother Seo Tae Woong, and A Planned Coup in Seomyung Group

Goals & Dreams - The Main Premise in the Live of Seo “Rapunzel” Dan Ah

Goals & Dreams - I Need You to Cooperate with Me

I have to be honest. The finale left me with so much feelings that made me struggle to understand how DanHwa’s storyline was concluded. There have been various takes on the conclusion of their storyline and I cannot totally disregard each of them because they do make sense in a way.

After seeing the preview for the finale, I did pose a question whether Young Hwa would agree to cooperate with Dan Ah’s potential goal to stop seeing each other, while still holding on to his dream of not breaking up with her.

As I was starting the finale, I saw the episode description on Netflix and giggled at how the storyline of DanHwa was described.

Mi-joo’s work gets a director noticed overseas. Yeong-hwa and Dan-ah achieve their own goals. Seon-gyeom officially becomes a sports agent.

Earlier, I did a write up about how Dan Ah was plotting a coup in Seomyung Group. Later in the finale, it was revealed that all along, she had been waiting for her father to pass away so she could take back what’s rightfully hers. I stand corrected. Dan Ah sweetie, I should have thought better than slandering you 🥺

True enough, she needed Tae Woong’s support in the coup, but she didn’t say the situation might call for him to turn against her because she wanted him to come clean about his paternity, but she said it because she knew how the bastard ‘older’ brother would blackmail Tae Woong into voting for him for the position of the successor in Seomyung Group by abusing his power and influence in Seomyung Group. I bet he was the one who started the rumour about Tae Woong’s paternity in order to control Tae Woong.

However, Dan Ah needed Tae Woong’s support as one of the major shareholders so that she could obtain enough support to be in a position of power in Seomyung Group. And thanks to his support, Dan Ah was promoted as the youngest Vice President of Seomyung Group. Yes, she was not yet wielding the power as the Chairwoman of Seomyung Group, but being a Vice President of Seomyung Group was itself a shorter-term goal, or a milestone towards achieving her dream of taking back what’s hers - her title as the rightful heiress of Seomyung Group.

Just like what Young Hwa - bless his young, optimistic yet immature self - told Dan Ah when she first came to his college after he kept crossing the line; if a dream seemed impossible to be achieved, focus instead on shorter-term goals while working towards chasing that dream.

By the way when I think of it, it was never made clear if the ‘older’ bastard son was appointed as President of Seomyung Group. Imagine if he was, because it wouldn’t be surprising, but he could never have things done his way because Dan Ah would keep having his ass handed to him by convincing the board room just how stupid his ways were.

Anyways, the way the story of DanHwa was concluded could be open to various interpretation, and I now believe it was intentionally done so. Why?

Exhibit 1

Young Hwa telling Dan Ah that his new goal was to watch her from a distance neither too far that he could not see her, nor too close that his field of vision would be blocked, so that he could always see her wherever he was.

He did so by asking her to just stay where she was. Of course the moment he said it, my alarms were buzzing because of how the story had compared her to Rapunzel living in a castle.

It was when Young Hwa looked “Seo Dan Ah” up on the internet when he later realised that he had forgotten how Dan Ah had been living in a castle that a peasant like him could never even dream of entering, since she was Rapunzel.

Exhibit 2

When Young Hwa and Dan Ah finally met again in front of his painting at the gallery, Dan Ah said that she was going to make that day to be her real birthday, before Young Hwa was finally able to wish her happy birthday.

These lines did seem rather out of place, but when I think more about it, it was Dan Ah cooperating with Young Hwa’s goal for both of them to celebrate her real birthday together.

This was in contrast to when she said her birthday was far away. This to me, seemed like both a literal and figurative remark.

In the literal sense, she was not sure at that point in time if they could still see each other when the day would eventually come.

Whereas in the figurative sense, celebrating her real birthday would symbolise a celebration of her successfully claiming her rightful title as the heiress of Seomyung Group - which seemed like a stretch to her at that time because she didn’t know about her father’s health condition.

But when they finally met again, she realised that there was someone who cherished her and kept her inside his radiant heart. And this person wanted to celebrate her real birthday with her because her being born was a miracle (just as other birth), because she was healthy, and because she was seeing him.

And he wanted to celebrate her real birthday with her as a way of expressing his gratitude to the heaven for all of these.

But ultimately, Young Hwa wanted to celebrate Dan Ah’s real birthday with her to get her heart in return.

And when Dan Ah decided to make the day they finally met again as her real birthday, it was symbolic that instead of obsessing over her dream of getting back her rightful title as the heiress of Seomyung Group which might require her staying in her castle, she finally gave her heart to Young Hwa, even though she was desperate to keep her heart intact due to her health condition. Maybe it’s just me but I think it’s poetic in a way.

And when she made the decision, it was symbolic to her accepting living with a fake birthday as long as someone truly cherishes her, because it may be fake, but her feeling was otherwise as real as it gets.

Exhibit 3

When the four besties met up and discussed about endings, Young Hwa told the group that his happy ending would be living well, giving birth to children like a rabbit with the person he loved (no joke that’s exactly what he said in Korean, hence the look of disgust on Dan Ah’s face).

And when he asked Dan Ah about what she wanted as her happy ending, he also asked if they could share the same happy ending, claiming their love would last forever (ah, the pure innocence of first loves).

Dan Ah then argued that she even faked a coming out to her family specifically because she did not want to get married, so sharing the same happy ending with Young Hwa like what he imagined would totally be out of the question.

Exhibit 4

DanHwa official Before poster

I’m sure many of us didn’t see this poster before the drama started airing. To be completely honest, I was not anticipating for this drama to air. There I was, minding my own business, when I saw gifs and screencaps from this drama’s first 2 episodes suddenly showing up on my dash. And then I read the usual caption spam by @dangermousie for those episodes and those caption spam actually piqued my interest.

You could see a sense of giddiness in this poster, as if they were playing a game of cat and mouse with each other. For those of you who don’t read hangul, the lines highlighted in this poster read as below:

“Don’t keep crossing the line.”

“But you came to see me because I crossed the line.”

DanHwa official After poster

And on the day the finale aired, JTBC released this official After poster. In this poster, both of them were portrayed to be lost in their own thoughts, no longer giddy and teasing each other.

Again, for those of you who don’t read hangul, there was only one line highlighted in this poster which reads:

“Don’t get sick, my first love.”

Special shoutout to @its-chelisey-stuff for highlighting the differences in these two posters in a post of its own.

Exhibit 5

After everything was said and done, the two of them kept hanging out together and seeing each other. They even went as each other’s plus one to the premier of Yook Ji Woo’s movie, Killing Day. And it was a public setting where people could gossip about them going together too, so it was clear she was not bothered by the possibility of people gossiping about it.

So with these 5 exhibits, it was clear that the drama was intentionally sending us viewers mixed signals about the conclusion of the story of DanHwa. But what exactly should we take from this intention?

Now, let’s talk about Young Hwa. Our precious little crybaby goof ball. We’ve seen lots of movies (or Young Hwa (영화), geddit??) with happy endings. Some gave us sad endings, but those sad endings were not unrealistic.

Throughout the drama, we could see the growth of both Dan Ah and Young Hwa since they first met each other.

In the beginning, Young Hwa told Dan Ah that he was too busy with what was in front of him (life of a college student coming from a small town in the rural area) that he never got to have a dream. When he finally had one, i.e., to not break up with Dan Ah, he gave her the assurance that he would make that dream comes true. He even tried delaying their breakup as soon as he realised that she would be breaking up with him. Not breaking up with Dan Ah was Young Hwa’s first dream ever, but he eventually learnt how hard it was to chase his dream.

But going back to the episode description, why did Netflix say that both Young Hwa and Dan Ah achieved their own goals? I’ve argued earlier in this post how Dan Ah’s appointment as the youngest Vice President of Seomyung Group could fit in this narrative. Young Hwa’s goal to keep watching Dan Ah from a distance neither too far nor too close could arguably fit in this narrative too.

I know, I know, the irony of me spending so much time thinking and talking about the ending is clear to me. But to me, the whole story of DanHwa was cleverly concluded. If we go back to episode 7, Dan Ah expressed her regret that she let go of her dream to play professional soccer (I much prefer the word ‘football’ but Koreans use the word ‘soccer’ so I’m sticking to it for consistency purpose) so easily and that she was still looking forward to having chances to kick the ball every now and then.

Later on, Dan Ah disclosed to Young Hwa how desperate she was to make time for her to go running to him despite time being of utmost importance to her, and how she desperately wanted to grab onto the little time she managed to make to be with him.

We also saw how despite being so desperate, she had initially tried to resist her urges to just run to him. Because to her, she could not afford to be distracted from running towards her dream. But she eventually ran towards him and gave in to her feeling nonetheless, albeit timing herself so she wouldn’t forget about her dream altogether.

I personally believe that their relationship would keep on going the same way it had been going - them chasing after their own individual goals, them cooperating with each other to make sure their individual goals would be achieved, Young Hwa keeping Dan Ah deep inside his heart with more subtlety just like how his painting evolved from a big drawing of Dan Ah to the silhouette of Dan Ah hiding in his painting which was displayed in Seomyung Art Gallery, while Dan Ah grabbing onto what little opportunity she would have to spend her time with Young Hwa, even if it was only for a short, sweet moment.

They might live the rest of their lives together, or they might not. But what Run On managed to tell me is we should not be too obsessed with our endings which may or may not be far away from us. Instead, we should focus on what’s right in front of us.

Instead of obsessing over our dreams and happy endings which may demotivate us if we keep stumbling onto boulders while chasing our dreams and happy endings, we should focus on shorter-term goals. Because who knows what great opportunities and sweet moments are standing right in front of us, waiting to be grabbed, if only we allow ourselves to cherish them and in return, being cherished ourselves.

And that to me, is the biggest takeaway from the story of DanHwa.

#jtbc run on #run on #kdrama #kdrama opinion #long post #kang tae oh #sooyoung #well when I said this is going to be a long post I really meant it

71 notes · View notes

agendratum · 4 years

Text

the mind-melt gifset got me thinking, so please allow me to mumble some more

there are always a lot of discussions of like who fell in love first? who realised his feelings first? is wei wuxian actually that dumb? (spoiler: he isn’t and i will fight you) and so on and so on. and i have some thoughts on the subject and the mind-melt scene is helping me to form those thoughts. i don’t claim to be right and those thoughts to be canon (even though i just said that i will fight you), but here they are

they definitely notice each other at almost the same time. lan zhan’s first appearance is a very fond memory for wei ying and he holds on to that memory even after he died and came back to life. and i mean you also can just see his reaction, it’s not rocket science.

lan zhan doesn’t notice him immediately as he’s kinda busy and so he doesn’t pay attention to people. and you know how he is, always alone, used to his peers seeing him as some kind of perfect standard. but then wei wuxian says something smart about a “corpse” that no one else notices and, wow, that is exactly a way to get second jade of lan’s attention. better not ruin that first impression by yelling and breaking a bunch of rules later. oh well

then the rooftop fight happens and i would say that for lan zhan this is it. he yet to really love wei ying with his full soul (you know, at least get to know him first, also get through all this repression), but he’s in love and he’s pissed. wei ying? i think he’s Impressed. i don’t know at what point he really falls in love (but i’m going to tell you by what point he’s definitely in love already), but he meets his equal and he’s impressed and he likes him and he wants to be his friend. and then he likes him a lot. a lot

please gaze upon this screenshot that perfectly captures the dynamic in the begging

i don’t think cql wei wuxian is oblivious (and i don’t know anything about any other wei wuxians so this all is just about cql wwx (and cql lwj)). but god, i think he is a teenager, and he needs time to understand what he’s feeling, and also he has this very twisted relationship with the idea of being loved. and also lan wangji isn’t very good at not being pissed at wei wuxian at any given time. but look at the fondness on wei ying’s face in this screencap. it’s a very brief moment, and lan zhan is too drunk to notice anyway. he knows he likes lwj a lot, he’s perfectly aware of that. but there are still miles and miles to go before they both can peacefully accept this wild concept.

fast forward to the cold caves, that is where lan wangji just accepts his fate. he’s still pissed about that, but now he knows that he can’t outrun his feelings and he’s stuck with wei ying, both metaphorically and literally. so he binds them with his ribbon, because at this point why the fuck not? it’s too late anyway, he’s too far gone. might as well get engaged.

by the way place your bets on the time period when lan wangji writes wangxian. cause i have no idea.

then lantern ceremony happens and dare i say that by that point

the boys are both in love

but i would say that lan zhan is in love and still doesn’t fully understand what to do with that. he’s quite repressed, confused and very not used to that. while wei ying is in love and he doesn’t think that he’s good enough, so he just doesn’t think too hard about it. why focus on it, when you can focus on having fun and spending time with lan zhan who’s slowly getting less pissed of with you? sounds like a plan

then they go on a little adventure, and by that point lan zhan is actually happy that wei ying is going with him. they meet their relationship goals, (spoiler: maybe don’t make xxc x sl your goals, they kinda really fuck up in the process of their relationship) they yearn, they pine and then they part. by the time they are parting, both are pretty much aware of what’s happening. lan zhan doesn’t really want to leave, but he has to. and wei ying, well, he wants to sleep on lwj’s roof.

when they meet next time, they are already at this point of relationship where you will never admit your feelings to each other, but you will jump in front of a sword to save the other’s life. we’ve all been there, right?

and then there is the cave.

i need to remind you and myself that after they leave this cave, the next time they’re going to see each other will be in the 20th episode. a reunion after one or both of them have been through hell.

but back to the cave. after all, this post started because of mind-melt gifset, remember?

the cave may be famous for the “you are fond of mianmian?” moment but remember, wei ying is trying not to think to hard about his own feelings, and lan zhan isn’t very good at conveying his, soooo you can see where the problem is, right?

there are other factors too, of course. they’re stuck in a cave with a deadly monster, lan wangji’s sect is in danger right in that moment, his brother is missing, the war is coming, he’s in pain, he’s tired and on top of all that, the boy he’s in love with is right there in his face being very helpful with his wound but not very helpful with lan zhan’s confused feelings getting more confused.

same goes for wei wuxian, who knows that the cloud recesses was destroyed, knows that his sect is in danger next, has to worry about his little brother getting somewhere, ideally home, safely, also aware of the fact that they are stuck in the cave with a deadly monster and there is one very wounded lan zhan on his hands who isn’t being super cooperative right now

it’s not the best time to think about all those feelings but it’s the only time they have.

and we all know lan zhan is going through some shit with all this “mianmian” nonsense. but let me point out some ways that wei ying shows his love in this scene without saying anything. rushing to tend to lwj’s wounds and giving him all the medicine that’s left, trying to comfort him and distract from the thoughts about his sect, covering lan zhan with his robe when he finally fall asleep

and then waking up before lan zhan (did he even have any sleep?) and putting his ribbon back on him, so lan zhan doesn’t feel nervous about it. (allow me to scream about that for a sec) (also he takes his robe away before lan zhan wakes up so don’t tell me this boy doesn’t know what he’s doing, he’s just, you know, being wei wuxian in the process)

so take into account all this wall of text i wrote and consider what happens next. mind-melt. and listen, i don’t know how this spell works. who even knows? cql lore doesn’t explain shit and for that scene i’m actually glad it doesn’t. because i can just imagine how it works. ha!

and how i imagine it works, inspired by some other posts, is that some of your thoughts and feelings melt too, not just the thoughts you want to transfer.

it’s the face he makes. why does he smile like that? why why why

i already mumbled a bit in the tags of that post but here is what i think. they may not get the full picture from that mind-melt, but they get the idea. maybe it’s the warmth, maybe it’s the comfort, the trust, the fact that they’re already been through so much together and did so much for each other. but it’s all in there.

another reminder. by that point lan zhan already wrote wangxian (and he will later transfer it right into wei ying’s mind alongside a canonical wangxian fanvid).

lan zhan opens his mind to wei ying and wei ying give his that smile in response. and i feel like they just pour their feelings into each other’s minds. not all of them. and they don’t have time to reflect on it. but here they are. really makes me wonder how their reunion would look in other universe, where wwx doesn’t come back as a traumatized necromancer.

there are reasons why wei ying decides to push lan zhan away when he’s back. and some of the reasons come from this cave, this exact moment, i think. he know he earned lwj’s trust, he knows lwj cares about him, he knows what it’s like to make a second jade of lan smile. and he’s afraid to lose it all so he just doesn’t allow himself to have it back in the first place. he also knows that lan zhan can see through his bullshit. and he in so much bullshit now, he doesn’t want to scare him? dissapoint him? make him more worried than he already is?

and i’m sure he knows exactly why he cares about lan zhan so much but now he cannot be allowed to think about that.

and you know when he finally think about that? when that sinks and he breaks his own heart because it’s too late now and they run our of time? their reunion in burial mounds. that is when, i think, wei wuxian finally admits how far gone he is for lan wangji but it’s too late. he’s allowed to have this last happy memory of lan zhan and then he has to watch him leave forever.

when wei ying is back to life 16 years later, they both are both aware of their feelings. they just don’t know how the other one feels now. they need some time to figure it out but they catch up pretty soon. the end :)

#ok how did this happen #why is that post that long #i don't even remember if i got to my original point but i think i did??#screenshots are there because those two are adorable #and i love them #the untamed #cql #wangxian #meta #me mumbling #also i'm not checking for typos for tenses im not checking anything im going to sleep #wwx #lwj

224 notes · View notes

buildarocketboys · 3 years

Note

8 and 12 for the autism asks?

Woops, sorry anon, you gave me the opportunity to infodump about autistic!Nathan and I'm afraid I took it lol

8. If you have any, what are your special interests?

Honestly at the moment it's probably mostly just Heroes (and specifically Nathan and Peter Petrelli lol). Like I usually say cooking/baking but somewhere in the past few months that's kind of faded out a bit and I don't love doing as much as I did, which is a shame. Apart from that I've kind of been having fairly short-lived hyperfixations (I'm currently watching season 4 of Glee after stopping at s3 last year, which was probably the wisest place to end but never mind).

12. Do you headcanon any characters as autistic? If you want, tell us why you headcanon them as autistic.

Aha...see my previous post. But I'm gonna give a rundown on why I headcanon Nathan as autistic, because I think it's a headcanon with a lot of evidence:

- Fake smile/exaggerated facial expressions

- makes weird/awkward comments/jokes (gifset)

- Stims (even though he masks a lot) (gifset)

- Scripting (gifset) - also his career/s as lawyer/politician are ones that involve a lot of talking/interacting with people but a. They're things that you can probably script/practice a lot of, go over every scenario etc and b. Nathan sucks as a politician lol. Like he can deliver a speech OK, but he was gonna lose (and knows he's going to lose) when he's running for Congress which is why Linderman has to kidnap Micah to fix the vote and also he literally only becomes Senator in s3 bc the Governor sees him having a mental breakdown on TV and obviously thinks 'this guy will be so easy to manipulate'

- Echolalia (there are several examples of Nathan repeating back something someone's already said to him, I think my favourite is in the s1 finale when Claire tells him that "the future isn't written in stone" and he repeats that back to her later when he flies in to have his Big Damn Moment

- Tripping over his words/words running into each other (gifset)

- Black and white thinking ie in Haiti when he's like ‘If I don’t save the world I’m basically evil’

- on the other hand, difficulty knowing what the right thing to do is, relying on other people to tell him - His whole ‘what is right/why can’t I tell the difference speech’/asking Peter what he should do

- in .07% - difficulty comprehending/empathising with a large amount of people/finds empathy difficult for people he doesn’t know/care about - I have a fairly developed headcanon that's pretty much canon about Nathan's Big Damn Moment saving Peter/New York really being entirely bc of Peter and his empathy for him (and knowing/being told by Claire how much it'll kill him to be responsible for the deaths of millions of people, since Peter has a hyperempathetic streak bigger than he is) - but yeah, that. (Actually I might make a post about this bc there's a fair amount of detail in it that's basically what I take from what we're actually given in canon and I think it would make a nice piece of meta. I talk about it with Anni all the time.

- despite not exactly being the most honest/moral person, Nathan's also really not that good at lying, especially when he has to do so spontaneously/improvise. Family brunch is probably the best example of this

- the people that Nathan most vibes with (as in, makes a real connection with that isn't shallow and based on him masking and trying so hard to fit in) in the show are characters that are either neurodivergent/mentally ill in canon or who I headcanon as neurodivergent/autistic: Nathan+Hiro (who I also headcanon as autistic), Nathan+Matt [who's canonically dyslexic], Nathan+Niki [DID(/multipersonality disorder lol, which is obviously poorly handled by the show but still, the mentally ill/ND vibes)], Nathan+Peter obvs. Claire's probably the only one who doesn't fit this but a. They don't vibe immediately, Claire takes a while to actually understand him and b. Claire's best friend is Zach and her S4 gf is Gretchen. Both of whom have incredibly autistic vibes. Claire is basically the ND equivalent of a fag hag (in the nicest possible way - I love her)

- kind of a sad/horrible one, but when Arthur says ‘I made you’ to Nathan in s3 it really gives me Lovaas being like with an autistic person you have to build the person from the ground up gross dehumanising vibes. Arthur is the worst lol

- Is actually extremely emotional (and a lot of his actions are extremely emotionally motivated - for better and for worse) e.g. Angela talking about him being ‘overly theatrical wrt Kelly’s death/calling him a sap, and him not even being able to look at the photo Meredith shows him of Claire (that whole scene really shows how hard he tries to mask his emotionality to his own detriment; he can barely look at the photo bc it's so much, and then he doesn't get Meredith to call Claire back - even though he basically came down to Texas to meet her - because he doesn't know how to handle his emotions about finally meeting the daughter he thought was dead without losing it)

- Obsessiveness (the hundreds of photos of Peter thing+him literally calling himself obsessive)

- Mostly blank/unemotional facial expression and relatively monotone voice even when talking about/in extremely emotional situations (e.g. I’m not leaving you Peter). His voice *does* show emotion sometimes but only in really intense situations and even then rarely (I think this is partly masking, partly his natural expression)

- Doesn’t like touch (apart from if it's Peter/someone else he feels safe with) especially when emotional (gifset) also his and Claire's hug in s1 is extremely awkward lol

- Burnout/losing control of his life (s2 and also kind of s3 - Nathan's a mess). Basically all the mentally ill Nathan stuff - side effects of autistic burnout/masking for basically all his life

#anon #asks #autism tag #actuallyautistic #nathan petrelli #actually autistic #ask meme #autism headcanon #autistic headcanon #autistic Nathan petrelli

5 notes · View notes

vaguely-concerned · 3 years

Note

I saw your(?) gifset about Boba Fett over the years, and after having just read a bunch of your thoughts on the ways the Crest is a metaphor for Din, it got me thinking. In this last episode, Boba's armor actually looked nicer than back in ESB and RotJ. Do you think that symbolizes some change in him, his view of himself, and/or his view on being a Mandalorian? Or is it just that his armor desperately needed repairs so might as well do it right?

Oh it was definitely not my gifset, I don’t actually know how to make them! (as far as I’m concerned that shit is some magic and all you gifmakers out there are wizards)

but absolutely, I do think the change to the armour is thematically significant! this show is very deliberate about that kind of symbolism, and we already have a similar journey with din’s armour in season 1. in this show a mandalorian renewing their armour is a symbol of a sort of spiritual death and rebirth/big life change, which would fit very much with what boba’s been through. (I wonder a lot about those years he seems to have spent without the armour post sarlacc-ing, what he was doing and who helped him, why he didn’t find it sooner)

I also think it’s meant to say something about a change in his place in the narrative and how comfortable he is about it -- I love both boba and jango A LOT but they’re uuuuh morally complicated characters haha, and boba’s role in the original trilogy is as an antagonist. now this next part of course wasn’t intended at the time ESB was made, but from the way his armour is scratched and dented, somewhat unmaintained, back then I think we can reasonably read into the new framework set up by both prequel-era stuff and the mandalorian that it symbolizes him neglecting his values and place in his own story for a long time. (in din’s words, something about him is slowly ‘losing its integrity’, he may need to begin again) he says in the mandalorian ‘I give my allegiance to no one’, which I think is an incredibly vital element of his character and very understandable considering where he comes from, but after his ‘death’ he might have found a less corrupting, soul-killing way of upholding that basic truth about himself, without dabbling in stuff like, y’know, doing busy work for the empire. (which he does Not seem happy to see back in any capacity, interestingly) he’s saved fennec, someone who’s very much a mirror of himself. he’s helping din, for free!!!, because he gave his word he would. (side note but I think this is the first time someone has twisted their own word a bit in order to HELP din instead of to screw him over, which is both hilarious and touching lol) no one owns him or his allegiance, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make the choice to have his contributions to the world be worthwhile instead of damaging. (i.e. he’s more of a cool uncle true neutral in this story, not an obstacle/antagonistic force)

one detail I fucking LOVE is that he integrates the armour with what he’s been wearing on tatooine (right down to changing the colour of the tubing fksadjhfjsd fashion king). he’s returned something that’s vital to himself -- his father’s armour, which is now his armour, the ties to his family and history and culture -- while also acknowledging and accepting that he’s changed. he understands what and who he is more than before and sees the value in that, is what I’m taking away from it.

(I’m very emotional about the fact that the armour is now back to the pristine condition jango seems to have kept it in ;_____; your dad would be proud of you boba)

#dragonladyzarz #star wars #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #well I can't QUITE express what I mean here but it's. something in the neighbourhood of this haha #maybe I'll find better words at some point #boba fett

35 notes · View notes

cowboyshit · 3 years

Text

twenty questions

tagged by: @dustofinsanity (thank you so much my dear!!!!!!)

what do you prefer to be called name-wise? honestly I’ll probably answer to most things as long as they aren’t mean. but ash, ashley, doe, those seem to be the solid three I’m known by around here when is your birthday? november 30th! where do you live? in a tiny, backwoods cow-town smack dab in the middle of california three things you are doing right now? filling this questionnaire out, eating dinner I just finished cooking, and petting sadie with my foot since she’s curled up at my feet after she finished her dinner four fandoms that have peaked your interest. I guess I can go with four I’ve been heavily involved with, even though there’s plenty more than that since I’m a little fangirl at heart, but wrestling (obviously), black sails, the night shift, and pirates of the caribbean how has the pandemic been treating you? uh, I mean, it hasn’t been great and I’ve had to deal with some pretty bad shit as all of us have, and probably some of my worst mental health battles I’ve had to face in about a year or so, but honestly? I just kind of count my blessings these days. lucky to still be employed, even if my pay got a little cut it was nothing that keeps me from paying my bills. all I had to do was take away a few luxury things to make ends meet, and that’s a lot, LOT less than other people have had to do. so yeah, it’s been pretty shitty, this year has been bad news after bad news both personally and globally, but whatever. it could be worse. a song you can’t stop listening to right now? it is no-joke like a four-way tie. a bunch of good songs were in my discover weekly and I’ve been playing four of them on non-stop repeat one after the other. oh! and one my best friend showed to me. this baby don’t cry by k. flay, rock bottom by grandson, ok ok by hoko, and insurgents by the poolside by denny recommend a movie. i’ve jumped into holiday mood early af because tbh I need the holiday cheer, so keeping in that theme, I suggest the holiday with jude law because DUH how old are you? thirty! school, university, occupation, other? had some college, been working in my current career for the past ten years. hoping to pursue a promotion finally since my supervisors have been telling me for the past eight years that I need to promote do you prefer heat or cold? cold pleeeaaaase! I’m a radiator and put off heat like nobody’s business. I’m always warm. name one fact others may not know about you. this is hard because I just constantly blab everything about me, and I have two people who literally know EVERYTHING about me lmfao uhhh I guess... something people may not know... uhhh... on my dad’s side of the family one half was ashkenazi jewish who had to flee germany to avoid the holocaust, where they went to live in italy, while the other half were nazi’s committing some pretty bad stuff that my family won’t talk about, even to this day. funny how two descendants eventually met in america and fell in love, huh? and when they DID fall in love one of them was half italian and in the mafia! so I always joke that my bubbly cheerful self is a descendent of some pretty evil shit, and it feels like a nice little stab at those shitty ancestors of mine. are you shy? uhhh yeah and no??? like. I think I’m shy, since all interaction terrifies me and exhausts me, but everyone tells me I’m a social butterfly? and I’ve noticed in places I’m comfortable and confident, I do tend to be less shy and more involved and interactive? but I think I can be shy. a lot of waiting for other people to initiate because I’m too afraid to, struggling to talk or carry a conversation at times... I don’t know I think I’m overcomplicating this answer LOL preferred pronouns? she/her! biggest pet peeves? gatekeeping, to be perfectly honest. I stopped following wrestling back in 2014 because when I first tried to get into the fandom, someone was trying to gatekeep a wrestler I also liked and had started making content for and they made me feel like shit for liking them, and I absolutely hated it. that’s why it took me an entire two years of quietly lurking in the wrestling fandom before I finally got brave enough to come out of the woodwork, and I’m grateful I’ve been so well received this time around. but now I’m hyper-sensitive to gatekeeping and I fucking hate it. no joke. and since it’s a pet peeve and I’m irked just remembering all that bs I went through, ima say I’m only a part of fandom to share my love of whatever that thing is with other people who love it too. I can’t stand anyone who thinks they have some sort of “claim” over a celebrity or a show or anything. get a different identity that isn’t wrapped up in that thing and stop seeing it as a threat when other people like it. be happy someone else is as passionate about that thing as you are and make a friend. damn. what is your favorite “dere” type? I’m pretty sure this is something with anime or that originated from anime, right? unfortunately I don’t know what they are so I can’t say LOL I don’t even know if I’m right about it coming from anime tbh rate your life from 1-10, 1 being crappy and 10 being the best it could be. 4, 5, but I’m putting in the foundation now and working to make it a 6, 7, or possibly 8 by a year or two from now. what’s your main blog? funnily enough? this one. my OTHER blog that was my main blog since I joined tumblr in 2009 got shoved to the side for this one last year LOL I assumed I’d log onto this blog once in awhile, but now it took over my whole damn life so here I am I guess list your side blogs and what they’re used for. I’m going to be fair and ONLY list my active ones because I have a few side blogs from when I role-played on tumblr that I haven’t touched in over a year. @doedreamss is my non-wrestling blog that WAS my main blog before this one, @cowboysht is my archive where I am ONLY putting my original gifsets/analysis/fanfiction so that one day I can offer people a blog of just my original work and no other posts (the queue is very slowly catching up I think I’ve queued posts up until june this year), @illfatedandstarcrossed is just a non-frequently used outlet for me to mope and dump emotions when I get sad about my relationship things (like a diary! but... public? and not my original thoughts? LOL), and then I have one more blog but it’s locked and private and it’s LITERALLY my diary where I can just vent when I got shit I wanna get off my chest but don’t necessarily want people to see it. Is there something people need to know about you before becoming friends? I probably won’t talk to you daily, tbh. I may not even talk to you weekly. socializing takes a lot out of me, on top of an already energy draining day-to-day in my personal life. I have a handful of people I connect with who I talk with frequently, but unfortunately as much as I’d love for it to be endless, I have to keep that list short for my own sanity. my infrequent conversations mean absolutely nothing about my lack of interest in you or how much I care about you. my granny once said I would be the perfect friend for someone you only want to talk to twice a month and she thought she was insulting me, but deadass I just said “YEAH! EXACTLY!!”

tagging: I really like this one so I WANT to tag people, but I feel braindead and also just want to post it cause I feel like I am definitely gonna forget to tag someone tbh aaaaahh okay okay I’m just gonna throw some names out there but please don’t feel pressured to do this (it is TWENTY questions) @kennyhoemega, @champbucks, @superkickparty, @adampage, @hintsofsunshine, @audreyhrnes, @sheslikealostflower, @lancearchers, @champnick, @janelanutella, @edgecution, @superrezzy00, @wardl0w, @writinglionqueen, @orangechuckiet, @hungmanhorsecarriage, @icouldbesus, @thatnerdwriter, @rampagewriting, @snarkandsarcasmftw, @tetsuyainthesky AND I DUNNO JUST ANYONE WHO WANTS TO OK I LOVE YOU ALL BYE

#ashleys playin #not wrestling related #long post for ts #long post

47 notes · View notes

canary3d-obsessed · 3 years

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 18, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Hey OP where’s the funny header gif for this post? Sorry, it was murdered by an angst demon and the framing of these shots.

My Found Family Came to Find Me

Continuing our flashback from last time, we see Baby Wei Ying up a tree, refusing to come down because he's afraid there are dogs. Eventually he falls out of the tree, like a dumbass a child, and Yanli tries but fails to catch him.

Unlike his grownup counterpart, Baby Wei Ying doesn't pretend he's unhurt when he is hurt. I'd like to put the change at Yu Ziyuan's door, but actually he admits to being hurt during his Gusu summer - he mimics Lan Zhan's stoicism when they're getting beaten, but it doesn't come naturally to him, and he whines a lot afterwards.

By the time of the Animatronic Dog incident, however, he's laughing off obvious injuries that have secret trauma behind them. By the time he comes back, coreless, from the burial mounds, he won't confide in anyone about his hurts any more, except possibly Wen Qing.

Yanli carries Wei Ying, in a sequence that will be echoed much later in his life when Lan Zhan carries him (gifset here). While they head back, she tells him that Jiang Cheng has a bad temper and to ignore whatever mean things he says. This will also be echoed in the future, when Wei Wuxian says it to Lan Zhan after their argument with Jiang Cheng in the shrine.

Yanli also explains that Jiang Cheng loved his dogs and that he's been very sad since Jiang Fengmian sent them away, demonstrating once again that Jiang Fengmian is a terrible father. Yanli says that Jiang Cheng will be happy to have a friend with him, though. This kind of makes Wei Wuxian's role in Jiang Cheng's life "replacement dog."

Jiang Cheng, after getting over this particular snit, got worried about Wei Wuxian and woke up Yanli to find him, and then went wandering around in the dark like a dumbass a child, and is banged up and crying when the other two find him. Yanli encourages him to apologize to Wei Wuxian and he does, which will not happen again until the very end of the show.

They all smile and laugh together, as Wei Ying looks to Yanli to guide him through the insanity that his life has suddenly become.

(more behind the cut!)

They head back to Lotus Pier in a sweet montage of walking and smiling together, with Jiang Cheng carrying the world's most beautiful candle holder with the world's most wind-resistant candle in it, to light their way back. Back in the present day for a brief moment, Jiang Cheng pretends to sleep and listens to his sister insisting that the three of them should always stay together, while a single tear rolls down the side of his face.

Soup is Love, Chapter 1 of 1000

Then we head to the past again. In Jiang Cheng & Wei Ying's now-shared room, Wei Ying sits on the bed trying to figure out how to deal with his grumpy new roommate.

Wei Ying is unsure what to do when confronted with pajama game this strong. Tiny Jiang Cheng is already a fashion king.

Then he tells Jiang Cheng he's not going to narc him out to the clan leader, since it was his own fault that he hurt his leg. This is all Jiang Cheng needs to hear to decide Wei Ying is all right, and he says that he will help Wei Ying chase away dogs in the future. In fact, Wei Wuxian will protect Jiang Cheng from punishment basically forever, while Jiang Cheng will continue to threaten Wei Wuxian with dogs...forever.

They shake hands on their new understanding and then jump up and down laughing, Wei Ying's leg being all better now, apparently. When Yanli arrives (carrying a tray of...can you guess? I'll let you guess), they stop jumping. Wei Ying dives in to give Jiang Cheng a little tickle/embrace in an adorable moment that would have me saying "oh, my ovaries!" if I hadn't surgically sent my ovaries to hell a few years ago.

Yanli introduces Wei Ying to the emotional and gustatorial miracle that is her lotus and ribs soup. He hesitates a long time before tucking in because he's so unused to being fed.

Consent? I Don’t Even Know Her

The flashback wraps up with Yanli conked out on the table from the drugs in the incense burner, while Wei Wuxian, who is somehow unaffected despite sitting almost as close to the smoke as she was, checks on her. Jiang Cheng and his Uggs period-appropriate sock thingies get out of bed to come stand with Wei Wuxian, and have feelings about sending Yanli away after she JUST said she doesn't want to be parted from them.

Wei Wuxian: If she didn't want us to do this, she shouldn't have signed that blanket consent-to-medical-treatment form. Jiang Cheng: Wen Qing made me sign one of those plus a durable power of attorney, is that bad?

This episode is all about people overriding each others' agency and making massively important decisions without the consent of the people who will be affected. But in a feudal context, it's not a violation, no matter how it feels to the person being controlled. In feudal life, your body belongs to your lord -- your sect leader, in the world of CQL. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng's choices are overridden by their clan leader's final command to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian's core is arguably Jiang Fengmian's property--Wei Wuxian certainly sees it that way, just as his hand was Yu Ziyuan's to take if she wished.

The brothers tenderly tuck Yanli into bed in the rolly cart and hand her off to Song Lan. They talk about how important it is to get her to Lanling and that she's probably going to be mad, as they thank Song Lan for helping them.

Yanli listens while she sleeps and, in what is becoming a trademark Jiang move, lets a single tear roll down the side of her face. Jiang Cheng points out that Yanli never gets mad at Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is like, true dat.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Song Lan is always so emotional about every damn thing, I love him. Here he's like OH GOD NO DON'T FORMALLY THANK ME! STOP!!!

Then he starts to ask Wei Wuxian to pass a message to Song Xingchen for him, but then decides not to say anything, making it super obvious that they fought and aren't together.

Wei Wuxian reacts to this with confusion and distress, probably because he doesn't want to imagine ever having a breakup with his own soulmate. Which he soon will be having. But possibly he's just upset that his OTP broke up.

After Song Lan takes off, Jiang Cheng gives Wen Qing a rude & perfunctory thank-you bow, turning away before she can return it. Wei Wuxian tells her not to take it to heart - basically everyone who deals with Jiang Cheng gets a version of the "ignore what he says" speech. She says she understands and that in his place she would have behaved worse, which is so totally not true.

Then she asks Wei Wuxian if he's sure about the core transfer (not in so many words, because the script is being kind of being vague about it, without actually hiding what's happening). His reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then he and Jiang Cheng walk off, with Jiang Cheng giving us a rear view that had me googling Wang Zhuocheng's fashion shoots to determine if that wagon he's draggin’ is really as delightful as this belt makes it look. Alas, there is not a wealth of photographic evidence for this research, as compared to, for example, photos of Xiao Zhan's outstanding ass.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning see them off, with Wen Qing wishing they valued their lives more. Although, what she and Wen Ning are doing is massive treason, so their lives will be pretty much forfeit if they're caught, so...

The Sunshot Campaign of Like 60 Dudes

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng walk up the mountain for the whole beginning of the Sunshot campaign, which...okay. Maybe it's like Dunkirk or The Witcher where they intercut stuff that is happening in different timeframes, which is one of my least favorite new film style thingies.

You know, for a guy Wei Wuxian constantly calls "peacock," Jin Ziyuan really doesn't wear a lot of adornment; just some subtle metalwork on his belt with no dangly bits at all, and a single reasonably-sized hair crown. Compared to the extremely fancy Lan Wangji he's almost plain. We already know that Wei Wuxian is a massive hypocrite when it comes to his idea of a perfect boy, however.

So, this is the Lanling Jin army, which consists of literally 60 guys, including the ones on the stairs and Jin Zixuan and Douchebag Dad. How are they going to fight a war with this tiny group? Why do they have such a big plaza? Hasn't anybody on this production learned CGI cloning?

That’s better.

Nie Mingjue and his best bitch Baxia make quick work of the 4 Wen guys who were assigned to hold the Unclean Realm.

Hello, Daddy Da-Ge!

Squeeee, it's Lan Wangji! He's taking back Cloud Recesses! Ooooohhh we've missed you Lan Wangji.

Look guys he's here! Look how beautiful he is. He's looking at the gate of cloud recesses and thinking thoughts that Lan Xichen or Wei Wuxian could probably see in his bewitching eyes if they were here to see him, which they aren't. But at least he is here!

....and now he's gone again. *cries*

Hares On The Mountains

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian continue roaming prettily around this pretty mountainside. The locations in this show are such eye candy.

Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains If I was a young lass I’d soon go a hunting

Jiang Cheng starts to have doubts about the whole Baoshan Sanren thing. Wei Wuxian's reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then we have just the tenderest blindfolding scene, (more gifs here), which is fodder for your ChengXian dreams, if you have those.

Here's a good place for a sidebar about what is and isn't incest. Whee! In the CDrama context, relationships tend to be more clearly defined than in western media. The mechanism of confession & acceptance means that people either are or are not in a romantic relationship, with few grey areas. So a character can literally say "we grew up as brother and sister, but now we are dating" and when someone looks startled they just say "there's no blood relation" and everyone is like "cool cool" and that's the new definition of the relationship.

For a strong example of this, the extremely wonderful Go Ahead is about a contemporary family in which a girl and two boys, who are not blood relatives, are all raised together, and call each other brother and sister. When they become adults, they and everyone around them expect the girl (now a woman) to marry one of the two men who have been her brothers, while whichever one she doesn't choose will carry on as her sibling. It's treated as the most natural, logical thing in the world; the only question is whether she wants to make that transition, and with whom.

Looked at through this lens, Wei Wuxian's relationships with his adoptive siblings have just as much potential to turn into romances as his relationships with his friends do, and there's nothing creepy about it. As such you can expect my meta to always get into ChengXian moments without treating it as a wrong or forbidden love. Hopeless, of course, because Jiang Cheng is such a prick the power of WangXian is stronger, but that's a different matter.

What is wrong is wearing this fantastic hat & veil combination when the most fashionable person on the mountain is blindfolded and can't see it.

In the course of this blindfolded encounter with Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng gets to kneel before a powerful woman, be led along by a length of silk that's placed in his hand, and then knocked the fuck out and operated on. He'll wake up in a hotel room in a tub full of ice with "we took your kidney" written on the mirror in lipstick, and he'll love every minute of it.

Soundtrack: 1. Still Fighting it, by Ben Folds 2. Hares on the Mountain, by Steeleye Span

Writing Prompt: The NEXT time somebody blindfolds Jiang Cheng

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed gifs #chengxian #cql #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #my gifs

265 notes · View notes