#ain't it funny how the thing i disliked most ends up getting the most words?

[toastywatchesstevenuniverse]

S1 E45

Rose's Scabbard

Okay so I've learned a lot today.

Also this episode much like the fireworks one made me..

Very uncomfortable. But even more so than that one did.

This episode was just......really fucking sad man.

First off:

None of the gems seemed to like Greg so far (Except Amethyst) but Pearl especially seemed particularly not very fond of him. I kinda didn't think much about that. I just assumed it was because "Greg is a slob & Pearl doesn't like that he's a slob." And honestly given his current state in the show rn, I ain't exactly too fond of the man either. Though the winter episode definitely made me like him more.

But uh....now I'm starting to think Pearl's distaste for him isn't as simple as that. Because Pearl....

This whole episode Pearl was being like....

Okay look we can't word this in any other way: PEARL WAS BEING A MASSIVE HOMO™ THE ENTIRE TIME LIKE GOD DAMN SHE WAS GAY™ AS FUCK ABOUT ROSE THIS EPISODE LIKE WOAH OKAY NOW I GET WHATS GOING ON HERE. PEARL IS A MASSIVE FUCKING LESBIAN™ FOR ROSE & NOW THAT THIS REVEAL HAS HIT. Well to be honest that actually explains a lot. Like, huh, yeah actually this makes sense & explains a lot about why she's like this.

Guys when I called her a Gay™ Disaster™ all the way back in the start I wasn't expecting to actually be correct. I was like half joking when I said that????

I WAS TRYING TO BE FUNNY I WASNT TRYING TO BE A PROPHET HERE WHAT THE FUCK WHY WAS I ACTUALLY CORRECT¿???????¿¿¿¿¿???

I WAS JUST BEING A GOOF WHY DID I END UP HAVING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY???? FUCK OFF APOLLO.

PEARL & ROSE WERE APPARENTLY 'VERY CLOSE FRIENDS'. ROOMMATES OR WHATNOT. SHE EVEN FUCKING BLUSHED & HAD THE QUEER™ EYELASHES. DAMN PEARL I THINK YOU MIGHT BE SUFFERING FROM A CASE OF BEING A FUCKING SIMP, YOU FUCKING LESBIAN™.

MY GAYDAR™ IS OFF THE CHARTS RIGHT NOW. THIS MF IS GAY™ AS FUCK. 💀 THIS IS BEYOND NORMAL GAY™. THIS IS ADVANCED GAY™.

So idk what happened that led to Rose vetting with Greg but yeah, suddenly I'm realizing Pearl disliking Greg is definitely a case of her being....

Well. And excuse me for the vulgar metaphor here but I can't resist.

Pearl is bitter because Greg was the one who got to put the sword in Rose's Scabbard when she wanted to put her sword in there in the first place.

And honestly if I lost out to someone like Greg who....let's face it is kind of a pretty shit dad so far. Yeah I'd be bitter too. It actually makes the fact she's the one trying the hardest to be Steven's mother make more sense & honeslty it makes her even more sympathetic. He's the closest thing she has left of Rose & the fact she's so caring & all just....if Rose had to sacrifice herself for Steven to exist, the fact Pearl isn't resentful towards Steven at all for that is so nice. Because it'd be so easy for the writers to just have her be like that for cheap drama but no, they don't. Thank you for that writers. That's so wise to avoid that bullshit bc I'd hate this episode if they went that direction....look idk how to word this rn but damn Pearl has some serious emotional issues. And Amethyst had some trauma reveal a few episodes ago too....

So if this pattern continues....

Guys I don't even know if I want to find out what fucked up shit Garnet is going through because I feel like hers is probably gonna be the most fucked up of the lot. Like I don't even think I WANT to find out what shit she's carrying in her head. I mean....like, fuck all of these people need therapy & a hug.

Anyways Pearl was definitely being shitty by the halfway mark (I mean what she said to Steven was legit fucked up I ain't gonna lie, like, damn, you said that to a CHILD, Pearl. Holy shit. I get that you're upset about the wife thing but he's literally a child I think he's probably upset about his mom being gone just as much as you are.) but y'know-

Okay quick side note: Amethyst I get that Pearl was being shitty but you have no right to be talking shit about her like you didn't just do some pretty fucked up shit just a couple episodes ago. Neither of y'all are in ANY position to be acting all high & mighty. Pearl just SAID something but you straight up fucking used your transformation magic to torment a man about his dead wife. You don't have any fucking high ground here girl. Garnet is the only one of you that has any room to be acting above it. She hasn't done anything like that so far so she's the only one that gets to talk shit. Sit tf down ma'am.

ahem, anyways Amethyst was being shitty too just a bit ago. And like I said then: when you're that mentally fucked it leads to that kinda behavior. It's not an excuse but it does mean you know there's a legit reason for why they'd act out like this. And it's not entirely their fault that they have a tendency to be that irrational. But Pearl, like Amethyst, you can tell she felt remorse.

Again, the way they resolve it without a drawn out argument...but instead it's just Pearl openly showing her vulnerability & Steven just showing her a sign of affection. No argument. No yelling. Just a genuine moment of sincere emotion. Steven understood. While what she said was horrible, he gets why she said it. They both miss her. But they have eahcother. I am going to fucking sob typing this oh my god.

Yeah this episode made me cry a lot. Absolutely stellar episode. And the ending was just beautiful.

Further cementing the fact that Pearl is my favorite. I can't wait to see how much the show uses her emotional baggage to rip my heart in half & stomp on it mercilessly.

Second best episode of the entire show so far. Only just slightly behind 'On The Run'. (That one just hit me on a more personal level so it still has my heart by the throat.)

[delafiseaseses]

Ever think about the fatphobia and ableism of Gizmo from Fallout 1's characterisation? I have and I feel the need to say something on the matter because I've never seen anyone point it out and it is very in-your-face (I also get slightly derailed talking about Junktown's endings, but it's tangentially connected).

So, Gizmo. He's an example of some of the oldest of stereotypes about fat people. Lazy, greedy, slobbish. To illustrait my point here's a line given about Gizmo to the question 'Does he have any weaknesses?' that I think is telling of the writing's attitude towards him.

'Only that he thinks he doesn't have any. Well, that and he's a fat slob, who can't move for a damn. He's got to have his guards help him move around. Even then, they gotta use a little tricycle. Heh heh.'

Sinthia, who says this, does have good reason to dislike Gizmo (him taking 25% of her earnings and all), but it's an almost entirely unprompted statement. I very much suspect that 'Heh heh.' is how the writer of that line felt about writing that line basically saying "Hey, ain't it funny that this big man cannot physically walk to bed and needs assistance?".

And, of course, Gizmo is the only fat person in Fallout 1 and one of the only people in any Fallout game who explicitly cannot walk.

Very decidedly Not Great, all of that. Not unsurprising, of course, it's a very textbook example of this kinda thing, but still acknowledgement of flaws and bias is important if one wants to appreciate art.

I also might as well get into the fact Junktown's endings used to be far grayer. The conventionally attractive Killian Darkwater's sense of 'frontier justice' keeping Junktown small due to his 'rigid sensibilities'. if you side with this cop. Even in the final game there's certain undertones to Killian and his ending and some dialogue. Going back to Sinthia she says "Killian sure as hell wouldn't put up with me or my kind." (that being sex workers). And the cannon ending slide sure enough says "Killian Darkwater takes firm control of Junktown, drives out the last of Gizmo's kind, and then enforces his own brand of frontier justice. Life is fair and safe under his law." the last of Gizmo's kind a choice of words that. It says 'Life is fair and safe under his law.', but... wonder what happened to Sinthia. I fear she wouldn't be 'under his law'.

So, they changed the Junktown endings and why? Well, one side they have a stereotype that's very conventionally a 'villian' and they go out of their way to make him very villianous. Then they have an attractive policeman who seems 'fair' and 'righteous', I mean, the man hears the assassin Kenji say 'Gizmo sends his regards' and doesn't go after him right away, wanting a confession to the crime first through a bug or wiretap, don't think about why he has those. He's using them for 'good' and look how ""ugly"" the guy he's against is.

They could've made a point there, at least, but the message has to be read between the lines and I'm pretty sure most people who've ever played Fallout 1 only see a "handsome" Mayor and an "ugly" crime boss. They could've shown the dangers of trusting someone like Killian with absolute power, but... they decided that was 'unsatisfying'. Which has, ironically, left me unsatisfied.

To add one last insult to the injury, even when you side with Gizmo he dies in his ending. "... he chokes to death while eating some iguana-on-a-stick.". He dies while eating. What a place to end the Junktown conflict.

[bradenthompson]

Insurgent (2015) notes

Give Divergent (2014) this: I did immediately put on the sequel.

>iirc, I bought a ticket to this movie opening weekend, for the purposes of sneaking into a screening of Kingsman: the Secret Service. So I'm partly implicit in this movie being #1 at that weekend's box office.

>by 2015, Lionsgate had acquired Summit Entertainment, further consolidating their power in the bloody history of YA Movie Feudalism. This is important because at the top of Insurgent is a splash logo for Summit subsidiary International Distribution Company LLC, touters of maybe the worst splash logo of all time. Looks like a PS2 game, but like, the ones made when the PS3 was already out.

>also producing is one Red Wagon Entertainment, the production name for one Douglas Wick, producer for all three Divergent movies as well as 2005's Jarhead and Memoirs of a Geisha. So if you want someone to blame for these movies never concluding, well, he's a name that's public.

>Winslet says "...by dividing people based on personality and aptitude..." which goes against what I understood Faction Society to be. Citizens self-select their factions, don't they? Or is forced division a new thing since the Great Beatrice Crisis

>It'd be really funny if Kate Winslet is only seen on computer screens for the entirety of this movie. Just rolled up to the bluescreen studio and knocked out her role in one day

>I miss Jai Courtney. Haven't seen him in a movie for a while. Bro wasn't phoning it in, unlike some of this cast

>New director for this one! Robert Schwentke, also responsible for RED, R.I.P.D., the yet to be seen Allegiant, and Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins (a movie that--get ready for this--I've seen)

>RUNNING👏THROUGH👏FORESTS👏

>lil pissbaby Ansel doesn't get a cool Dauntless jacket lol get fukked bud

>Katniss also started her sequel with the lingering consequences of taking a life, Beatrice. One of you is gonna have to change

>ain't no goddamn way they filmed Divergent 2 with the IMAX cameras

>too many movies feed teenagers the lie of chopping your own hair and having it come out salon-layered and photogenic.

>am I supposed to call him Four or Tobias, because the former is funnier

>"How long do we have to stay here" Bea are you for real

>aw dammit Winslet's in the flesh

>secret box, secret box, secret box, secret box

>gonna start making guesses at what's in the box now and pray they reveal it before the end of this movie a. letter from the founders saying factions are a load of bullshit b. key to door that will be opened in Divergent 3 c. contract buyouts for the whole cast when this series fails to conclude

>"I really don't know how much longer I can do this whole peace and love thing." Truer words wrt Beatrice have never been spoken. She pops more heads in one movie than most YA girls do in a trilogy of books

>Miles Teller is silly now.

>"wait, we're fugitives?" Ansel, what the fuck did you think was happening here?

>"we need to find out what happened to the other Dauntless" presumably stayed in the city, Four, you beautiful cinder block of a man. They certainly didn't run off with you--I would know, I just watched the first movie like two hours ago

>"we need to kill Jeannine" TALK YOUR SHIT BEA

>lmaoo Miles Teller is such a dick, Beatrice is a psycho, this movie's gonna rule ass

>love how Amity has roads but the villain trucks just run over the fences anyway

>the dominant trait of Amity is politeness, which I feel runs counter to what's historically known about the agricultural complex

>hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha (people who have seen Insurgent know what I'm talking about)

>save money on set design with a little bit of the ol' RUNNING👏THROUGH👏FORESTS👏

>do you think Ansel was directed to run like a geek or is that just how he is

>man I hope Veronica Roth eventually got to jump on a moving train irl. Seems like a big fantasy of hers, next to sharing needles (incidentally, injection count's still at zero)

>who could ever dislike Beatrice. She breaks arms. She kicks women out of trains to be crushed under the wheels. She bites hands and doesn't afraid of anything

>Four's mom lives in a haunted house lol

>shut up Ansel (I've said this out loud four times, we're thirty minutes in)

>Divergents fit into every faction, like a faction avatar of sorts, and by that token the factionless don't fit into any faction, ergo they are the worst people. With you so far, movie

>hey what's the absolute weirdest thing a mother can say to her son's girlfriend. Because that's what Four's mom just said

>hey what's the second weirdest thing a mother can say to her son's girlfriend. Because that's what Four's mom just said

>we have just received mention of administering a truth system, bringing our injection counter dubiously up to one

>so every faction can hold their own trials? Is that what Four's talking about? Is the Dauntless trial just Thunderdome?

>injection counter now decisively up to 1

>the Divergent series doesn't have a love triangle and thus doesn't have any teams other than Team Four but I'm gonna be Team Miles Teller just to be a pissant

>injection counter: 2

>Candor man asks "did you harm anyone" to which Beatrice, under the effects of truth serum, says "my mom," which literally is not true. Then again, maybe the truth isn't a divine thing, rather whatever the serumee believes to be true. Beatrice could be telling the truth as she believes--ie. putting her mom in the position to be shot is as good as killing her herself. So could a totally delusional person invalidate the serum by just believing incorrect things? Discuss with your table.

>Maybe Beatrice should've objected to Four's "neither of us have secrets worth hiding" thing

>"people get hurt when they get close to me" objection, your honor?? Conjecture???? why is truth serum making her say this????????? Again, I think truth serum has a big flaw someone should reformulate

>what's in the box? d. a ceremonial dagger whose holder gets to be King of Earth e. map to the rest of civilization f. the Allegiant book ie. the scene in Spaceballs where they fastforward the movie

>Divergents are special, but some Divergents are more special-er than others. What the fuck does that mean

>Four has a way of flying in from offscreen for stealth attacks. Refuse to believe he's capable of this. Giant, pretty tree, him. Ain't creepin up on nobody

>Jai Courtney we hardly knew Yai Courtney🙏

>what a fool I was to attempt an injection counter when I should've been doing a popped collar counter

>Beatrice wearing a tactical vest and nothing else; I like her style

>"I'm gonna kill Miles Teller!" "okay" lmao

>nine injections in one scene, talk about a buzzer beater

>back to the simulation fakeouts. Still momentarily fun

>still don't think admitting to insecurities should count as Candor. If anything that should be Dauntless

>Beatrice realizing Four's not actually there by him referencing a line from a scene he wasn't in? Cool idea. Don't think Beatrice had to reiterate that, but it's cool

>women in movies love taking showers while holding some random step of the Macarena

>shut up Ansel

>injection count: 12 (I'm counting all the simulation probes separately) (btw: injection count 21)

>good on them for keeping the "breaking glass barriers" motif for all the big "she's a Divergent" moments. Someone on the storyboard team wants senpai to notice. And I did

>so... am I to understand that Kwinslet unknowngly shut herself out of the box by putting Beatrice in a position where she can't act on her Amity-worthy kindness? I'm not ruling out this scene possibly being a longform fakeout. These movies have set a precedent

>Miles Teller Best Character

>injection count: 30. Allegiant's gonna need a miracle to beat this record

>I did predict Beatrice eventually scrapping with a shadow clone by means of self-discovery. Did not predict the video game graphics.

>Beatrice The Cooler Beatrice

>Beatrice should try the ducking in the corner trick, bug out Evil Beatrice's AI

>taking one more guess at what's in the box, for ol' times sake g. incomplete coordinates. Allegiant is about getting the rest of the coordinates, we never find out because they never finished these movies

>okay I was... almost correct? first answer was almost correct. It's a message from outside the city. If I have this right, the whole Faction Society was just a prank bro a social experiment with the goal of creating Divergents, and their greater purpose will be revealed in the next movie, or maybe not because they didn't finish them

>approximately how much time passed between movies? Kwinslet still has a bandage from Beatrice stabbing her hand. Has it been a week? I'm gonna imagine both movies are set over a week.

>Four's mom taking a little too much credit for this

>if Beatrice and Kwinslet don't get their ultimate deathmatch by the end of these I'm eternal sunshining this series from my head

>Faction Society only needed one "you guys can leave" message and everyone packs their bags, lmao. Solid as a rock

>BOO FOUR'S MOM, DENY ME MY THUNDERDONE

I'm clapping folks, I'm sitting at my desk and clapping. That was way better than the first movie, wtf is imdb talking about. We got Punished Venom Beatrice, Miles Teller talkin his shit, the number one cause of death is shooting in the head, YA Sequel Haircuts, Royal Blood at the end which isn't a great band but they bring some much needed oomph to this soundtrack. You'll take Veronica Roth's needles and jumping on trains from her cold dead hands. What is it with 2010s YA trilogies and the second movie being the best one, and why am I the only one who holds this obviously correct opinion? Glad I bought a ticket to this movie in 2015 and didn't watch it for eight years. Bring on movie three, I crave that total deflation.

[mittensmorgul]

(1) Did you just say Robbie Thompson created Eileen??? Is that why Eileen reminds me of Charlie!?? (2) I don't think Crowley is dumb in 12x17. I mean yeah, he was naive in 12x13, but I think in 12x17 Buckleming were trying to make Lucifer look smart instead, and when you have someone in chains and suffering from torture, that's not easy to write. I know you don't care about Luci, sorry to bring this up. (3) Who is your favorite S12 writer?

1) YES! Robbie created her (and Mildred) for 11.11 Into The Mystic, the banshee episode. (sorry I had major flails over that one, and wrote long meta about Patsy Cline and what that said about Mildred, and therefore what that meant about Dean; sunsets; what Eileen might mean for Sam and the parallels between their meeting and Dean meeting Cas… I mean it felt like a HUGE episode in a lot of subtextual respects.) I was THRILLED last week when we learned she would be in this episode, and also SUPER WARY because of what they did to Charlie. But they actually handled this really well. (plus SHE MADE SAM SMILE MULTIPLE TIMES. SHE CAN STAY. :P)

2) ohmygosh, I might not care about Lucifer’s story, but I’m always down for talking about it. I know that doesn’t make any sense. It was just dull in the show, and really he’s not adding anything interesting to the story except in vague “tidy up loose ends” ways. He is a huge loose end. I just kinda want to set fire to him already and move on. :P

But you’re right. I mean, Davy Perez managed to plant some pretty big seeds of doubt that Lucifer would have any sort of control in this situation. The problem for me is that I just don’t care enough about Lucifer to even make Crowley’s game with him even interesting. Like, we have no idea what Crowley’s ultimate motivations are for not having put Luci back in the cage in the first place, and dragging this out over SO MANY EPISODES without actually advancing the plot in any meaningful way is just… it feels like a pointless waste of screen time right now.

We could’ve been having interesting scenes with Rowena, we could’ve been focusing more on Mary, we could’ve had another episode or two with Jody or Alex or Donna… and instead we’re watching this pointless back and forth between Crowley and Lucifer (and also getting this really ick-worthy nephilim thing that just makes my skin crawl). And nothing is happening with Lucifer. At least nothing that merits the quantity of time he’s been occupying our screens.

Yeah, it’s hard to write someone having the upper hand when they’re in chains… but why was he even IN chains? I think Crowley’s little speech would’ve been FAR more effective if Lucifer hadn’t been in the chains. He’d told Luci in 12.15 (and then proved it) that he didn’t even need the chains to restrain him. It would’ve been a far more effective display of power to have Luci OUT of the chains. Unless they were trying to prove that Crowley was still “10 steps ahead” and therefore that entire SCENE was a show of some sort for the rest of the demons… but to what purpose? All we’re seeing is this long, drawn out power play between them… I get that Crowley may be trying to reunify his control of Hell after Lucifer destabilized things in s11, but sheesh. Locking him back in the cage would’ve had the same effect. WHY ARE WE HAVING TO WATCH THIS BS NOW?! At least give us a reason that makes sense. But no…

I mean, the fact we don’t know if it’s hubris for Crowley to believe he has the upper hand, when the other half of the storyline is focusing on the MoL who we CLEARLY see are being written as either ignorant or incompetent (aside from Ketch and this creepy new Dr. Hess), or inflexibly believing they know better when everything else in the narrative just SCREAMS the fact that they are oh so wrong, that they are the monsters, that they are evil… And that in large part it’s their unwillingness to see the TRUTH of the situation here (like Mick did in the end, which cost him his life, that their “Code” was wrong and their facts were wrong, and their conclusions were wrong…). So, which side of this equation does this put Crowley on, if his attempt to control Lucifer is being mirrored to the MoL vs Hunters thing? Is it an “old ways vs new ways” parallel? Is it about “TFW and their allies vs inflexible evil?” Because I can’t see even that narrative relevance to the larger plot.

It’s like a thematically different story altogether. If they wanted to continue telling his story, at least they could make it clearly relevant to everything else they’re doing this season, because right now, it just feels jarringly like the wrong story. Like it’s just filler, or tacked on as an afterthought. Because it doesn’t connect up with anything else thematically.

3) Who is my favorite s12 writer? Everyone else. I think they’ve all had some great episodes so far this season. Davy Perez, Steve Yockey, Meredith Glynn, and of course Bobo and Dabb. And next week we’ll see the first solo effort by John Bring, who co-wrote 11.15 with Dabb last year (aka, the wrestling episode). I’m really looking forward to it. :D

As for my favorite episodes, I’m going with the midseason triptych for now (10, 11, and 12), one each by the three new writers. 

[rottingmanifesto]

9, 14, 17, 24, 5 !! (Mafia Ask)

Bug, I love you, but WHY IS THE 5 AT THE END I guess you can say it’s bugging me

5. Which characters do you dislike and why?

Remy Duvall, for obvious reasons. Salieri, due to how little he cared for anyone but himself and his precious goddamn money. Sal Marcano— he’s a fantastically written villain, but there’s also personal reasons why I don’t like him. Cassandra, because she’s insufferable as a person.

9. The last Mafia game you played/watched, you so happened to get trapped in. How would you react and what would be the first thing you did?

Mafia 2: I think I’d be surprised and not really do anything for a second, before just wandering around I guess. Maybe, Marty and I would meet and talk, as we’re (now) the same age, 17.

14. If you could meet any character and just ask them anything you’ve always wanted to know, who would that character be? Along with the question(s) you would ask.

MDE: Sam. Why’d you do it, what was the motivation, did you really value Salieri over Tommy and Paulie? That kind of stuff. I’d slap him most likely too.

M2: Joe. Did you know you were a bad influence? Do you blame yourself? Did you ever plan to actually betray Vito? Jokingly, where did you learn to write?

M3: So many characters, but mainly Giorgi and Donovan.

For Giorgi: Why did you value your family over your friends? What really are your beliefs? Would you do it again? Should love really be based on fear, man? (That ain’t love. That’s abuse.) Who really are you? What would’ve happened if you loved yourself more than you feared your dad?

For Donovan: Do you feel responsible? Why can’t you see yourself as human? What’s with your hatred of Father James? Are you afraid you’d turn out like Aldridge? Why did you leave Lincoln in the end? Jokingly, where the fuck do you get the money to kill senators/the people that killed JFK— also, that’s an awkward work reunion, isn’t it?

17. Favorite quote(s) from the Mafia trilogy.

Tommy’s ending speech. For your sake and mine, I’m not taking the full thing. “You know, the world isn't run by the laws written on paper. It's run by people. Some according to laws, others not. It depends on each individual how his world will be, how he makes it. And you also need a whole lot of luck, so that somebody else doesn't make your life hell. And it ain't as simple as they tell you in grade school. But it is good to have strong values and to maintain them. In marriage, in crime, in war, always and everywhere. I messed up. So did Paulie and Sam. We wanted a better life, but in the end we were a lot worse off than most other people. You know, I think it's important to keep a balance in things. Yeah, balance, that's the right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely everything. Of course, the guy who wants too little from life, might not get anything at all.”

Vito’s statement of “you think war was any different?” just kinda sticks with me. I don’t know why. But it does.

Father James had a point. Really only one, but it’s a damn good one. “We sent kids off to die, for what? So someone can make a few bucks? Lincoln was right. He was always right. There ain't never gonna be another Dr. King or Bobby Kennedy. But there's always gonna be another Sal Marcano. Another Sammy Robinson. Another Lincoln Clay. We are a cruel and wicked people.”

24. A scene that you can’t help but laugh at every single time.

“He pissed all over the joint!” scene from Mafia:DE. Reminds me of an old friend of mine, and it’s just funny.

Every funny scene from Maf 2. That’s it, that’s the post.

Lincoln talking about Roxy’s attractiveness in front of her fucking DAD (look, I’d do the same thing. I probably already have, at some point) and “who the fuck am I, your girlfriend?” scene. John blushed so hard at Lincoln’s response y’all know I’m right.

Thanks for asking!

[konpithepuppy]

[TRANSLATION: WiNK UP 02.2021]

7 MEN SAMURAI CROSS TALK

Scans not mine

Neither an English or a Japanese native speaker

Feel free to correct me, thanks

WHAT SHOULD WE DO TODAY?

This month, images of before going in a date with the girlfriend who works in the same company were photographed. With the 6 of them in a round table discussion, they talked about the theme 「7 MEN 侍 Popular Guy Championship 」. The member who shined as the most popular is...?

If you date Katsuki, it feels like all her data will be gathered by Katsuki...

Yabana: Today's theme is "7 MEN~ Popular Guy Championship"! The winner is Reia-kun!

Nakamura: Thank you very much!

Sugeta: Wait, wait a minute! After taking time away from the topic, I think that Rinne is also popular!

Nakamura: What do you mean by that? LOL

Sugeta: I think each member is popular. But, in the end, it makes me think that Rinne is the most popular after all. Moreover, if we probably do a "the member you want to be as your lover" ranking, Reia would be in the 1st place. Well then, since we answered the question so fast, shouldn't we add some variations?

Nakamura: I see. How are we gonna expand it?

Sugeta: Like "Who is the リア恋枠?" Rinne thinks it would be these two (Motodaka and Rinne). (T/N: リア恋枠 = ria-koi-waku; a term for the idol who you want to be your bf/husband, he doesn't have to be good looking or your favorite member)

Konno: To be in love with Yabana?

Yabana: Am I not kind of like that? Since it seems like there's this sense of closeness with me. But, I think it's different with Daka-san. Since he is super smart, it seems like there is a high hurdle so I feel like the girls will have a hard time approaching him.

Motodaka: I think that's not true.

Nakamura: No, if you date Katsuki, I feel like all her data will be gathered by Katsuki...

Konno: He'll make his partner something like a report card LOL.

Sasaki: That thing that looks like a hexagon (radar chart), right? LOL!

Nakamura: Yes, that. Look, during the end of the year, we get a report card from Katsuki every year, don't we? He'll do that to the girl too LOL.

Motodaka: Stop it, people will probably really believe in what you said! To the readers, I don't do that kind of stuff! I don't do assessment of other people!

Konno: Then, who is the リア恋枠 (ria-koi-waku)?

Sasaki: Isn't it me?

Nakamura: Well no, since you (Taiko) are still a high school student. I think it is still early to be a partner for that.

Sasaki: So what you mean is that I should not yet talk about love, right? LOL

Nakamura: Yup. When you graduate from high school, I will let you join in this theme.

Sasaki: That means I'm on hold for now LOL.

Konno: But, I feel like older girls think that Taiko is cute.

Yabana: Nope, I think the the one who the girls think they want to protect is Konpi. Your atmosphere too provides healing.

Sugeta: What? There's no doubt that the guy who you want to protect is Rinne, right?!

Yabana: You can run for this position thoughtlessly, but wanting to protect that kind of body...it's impossible! Since the one that you would like to protect is a guy who is like a puppy LOL.

Konno: Rinne is rather a Tosa LOL.

Yabana: Exactly! Since his muscle is amazing LOL. That's why, ain't Rinne-kun No. 1 in popularity in "girls who like strong men"?

Sugeta: No, I am thinking that I want to be popular so I am doing muscle training, but a person who doesn't like that kind of person will not like him/her after all...

Nakamura: Ah, you were told about that on YouTube. Someone said "I don't like that much guys who are macho."

Motodaka: That can't be helped. It's just natural that there are also people who are like that.

Yabana: Since it is impossible to be popular to everyone.

Konno: But I definitely think that there are people who are "I like those well-built type of guys."

Nakamura: Certainly. It will be impossible for the other 5 of us to be popular to people who like that type of guys.

Konno: But, me being want to be protected is somewhat...

Motodaka: Konpi, I understand!

Konno: Coz I'm a guy.

Sugeta: Actually, you're probably the manliest among us, right?

Yabana: He is like a good old Japanese man.

Sugeta: That-is-why!! The person who you want to protect is Rinne!!

Nakamura: Okay, I get it LOL. Well then, when you (Rinne) see this girl, what would be the thing where you would think that you cannot compromise?

Sugeta: I don't like people who gives in to temptation too fast~

Yabana: You're stoic after all!

Sasaki: Maybe that not all you want to say but you can't get your words out LOL.

Motodaka: There's no concrete words for what you want to say?

Sugeta: There is! Colored contact lenses are iffy~ right?

Motodaka: That is very specific LOL.

Sugeta: In make-up and fashion too, I think it is better if it is natural.

Nakamura: You want someone who looks neat and clean, right?

Sugeta: Yeah! That was what I wanted to say!

Konno: Reia-kun is difficult on the contrary. Since he is cute that even girls look jealous of him.

Yabana: Since his disguise already came off in front of us so we are really not affected by that LOL, but maybe for people who don't really know him will see him like that. For Reia-kun, what kind of girl is okay for you?

Nakamura: An omoshiroi person I guess. Even though I said "omoshiroi", I don't mean someone who is laughable, but the type "the more you know that person, the deeper you feel for that person" is good. (T/N: omoshiroi can either be "funny" or "interesting")

Motodaka: Ah, someone you'll have fun with when you're together, right?

Nakamura: That's why I think I like someone who is well-mannered.

Motodaka: Well-mannered, or rather, someone who is refined, right?

Sugeta: Rinne also like that type of girl! I like someone who will not say "umai" but "oishii" during mealtime. (T/N: umai and oishii both mean "tastes good" but umai is an informal/slang kind of saying it, while oishii is the standard/formal way of saying it)

Motodaka: The words they use, right? That's important.

Yabana: I also like a person who is polite. Like someone who will not cause a trouble in store. But, I don't mind if she is being sarcastic if she is only in front of me.

Nakamura: Well then, is it okay if she is like Katsuki who can get hold of himself when she is outside but she is like Taiko when she is inside the house? LOL

Yabana: I'm okay with that LOL. Rather, with that, I think I will be glad that she is a careless grace at home. Also, a cheerful one is better after all.

Nakamura: That cheerfulness may help you, right?

Yabana: Yeah. Since I am already gloomy, if I go out with the same type, we will become gloomier LOL.

Motodaka: Me too, I'm about the same with Yabana.

Yabana: Yey! (Did an air hightouch with Motodaka)

Nakamura: What type do you like, Taiko?

Sasaki: Someone who looks clean and tidy is second to none I think. If I talk about visuals, more than being pretty, I prefer someone who looks cute.

Nakamura: How about Konpi?

Konpi: I like someone who is pretty. But it's not about visuals, it's about fashion. Her sense with clothes is quite important.

Yabana: What will you do if that person is your super type but her fashion is different from your preference?

Konno: I'll give her clothes as a present.

Other 5 members: Woah~!

Yabana: That is so manly!

Konno: Ah, but, saying something like this, I think I will be disliked by girls who are thinking of wanting to protect me LOL.

Yabana: Or perhaps I should say, if we put in total this discussion, the member with largest gap is Konpi, right?

Motodaka: Certainly. It seems that there are a lot of people who go "kyun" with that gap. (T/N: kyun = momentary tightening of one's chest caused by powerful feelings)

Nakamura: Well then, all in all, it is decided that Konpi is the No. 1 popular guy.

Konno: Really? Yey!!

Nakamura: Rinne, are you okay with that?

Sugeta: I'm fine with that. Here (Sugeta did an air pass).

Yabana: Just now, you (Rinne) handed over to Konpi the trophy that looked like it was in your possession until now but you really don't have one LOL.