#and the only reason i haven't watched even more productions is i haven't found any so far but i'm still on the lookout

[kaijudyke]

i did know beforehand that seeing cats live was probably gonna do something to me. did i know it was gonna do this? no i did not

[flanaganfilm]

howdy!! do you rewatch your own work? if so, how often? im wondering if it has the same "artist just sees faults with what they create" thing, or if youre able to appreciate past projects the way they deserve

I don't, typically... usually, by the time we're finished with post production, I've seen the thing so many times that I'm thrilled to stop watching it. I'm either sick of it, or just feeling like it doesn't belong to me anymore. There are other reasons, too - Hill House was a traumatic production for me, for example, I have a lot of complicated emotions woven into it, so I haven't felt ready to rewatch that one since before it aired. Maybe in a few more years.

Somewhat recently, I've revisited a few of the older movies with my eldest son, who is 13 now. He's basically as old as my career itself. We've watched Oculus, Hush, The Midnight Club (which he LOVED, proving it worked for our target audience) and Ouija: OOE together, and each of those screenings was a really cool experience. His reactions and questions were really fascinating, and I felt like I was able to see those movies anew through his eyes. That's the closest I've come to feeling like I was really seeing them, and that's only because so much time has gone by for those. I watched the Director's Cut of Doctor Sleep a few years back at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado. It was part of a live NoSleep Podcast event, and that was the first time I'd seen that movie since it was released. It was also the first and only time I'd ever seen the Director's Cut with an audience. That was a really special screening and it meant a lot to me.

I haven't yet had the guts to revisit any of the TV series other than Midnight Club. As my kids get older, I'm sure I'll watch them all with them. The one I'm most excited to see is Midnight Mass, which remains my favorite of the shows. I haven't seen it since before it came out - I remember the last day of post on that show, watching down each episode with final mix and color. That's a series I wish I could actually watch like a viewer at home, and while I'll never truly be able to do that, I look forward to looking at it with some real distance.

There are a few of the older projects I'd be curious to watch now. I wonder how Absentia holds up - I was such a baby when we made that movie, and it's been so long. I imagine I could watch that today and have a really trippy experience. I also haven't revisited Before I Wake in a very long time, and I always really loved that script. The movie was a rough road, and my feelings were mixed by the time it finally found its finish line (Relativity Media really beat that one up), but that could also be a really interesting viewing experience at this stage of my career.

But generally, each of these movies is a journey, and once the journey is over it's tough to ever really go back. There's little point, and moving forward feels like a matter of survival. The "finished product" is only the tip of a large, deep, labyrinthian iceberg for me. It's impossible to only see what's on the surface, no matter how hard I try.

(Interesting side-note: The only exception I've found to this rule is The Life of Chuck. We just finished post production on the movie, and I've watched it dozens and dozens of times now - but I've never grown tired of it, not even a little bit. That movie is something special, and I am eager to watch it again - and again - and again. I don't know that I'll ever want distance from that one; in fact, watching it brings me a sense of joy, comfort, and safety.)

[sflow-er]

It's Eurovision week, and for the first time in over twenty years, I won't be watching or engaging.

As you probably know, the global BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement has called for a total Eurovision boycott due to the EBU's refusal to ban Israel.

The ESC has been a beloved part of my spring since I was little, and it's really fucking upsetting not getting to enjoy it this year - but that's just it. I know it won't make any difference whether one person chooses to watch or boycott, and that my watching it wouldn't even be registered as a view if I just watched the TV broadcast instead of the stream, but I can't imagine any set of circumstances in which I would enjoy it.

Back when the contest was held in Tel Aviv, I "bought myself a license to enjoy it" by donating to the UNRWA multiple times what I would've normally spent on voting, but no amount of donations would be enough to do that now. Not when every artist will be styled using the products of an Israeli beauty brand (Moroccanoil, a major ESC sponsor and likely a major player in why the EBU wouldn't even consider a ban), and when Israel itself has made its participation a political statement. The only reason their public broadcaster KAN agreed to change the lyrics of their entry, which originally referenced the Hamas attack and is still was called "October Rain" but has now been renamed "Hurricane", was this:

The president [of Israel] emphasised that at this time in particular, when those who hate us seek to push aside and boycott the state of Israel from every stage, Israel must sound its voice with pride and its head high and raise its flag in every world forum, especially this year. (The Guardian, 07 March)

Singer Eden Golan has also said that she believes her "participation is part of a very important mission for the country" and that she expects to begin her compulsory military service soon after the contest:

I still haven't enlisted in the army, and when I return from Eurovision, I'll report for my first call-up. In the first year as a returning resident, they don't call you, but that year passed and I was summoned – and my draft was postponed because of Eurovision. Doing army service is a mission, and I want to take the auditions to the military bands. (Israel Hayom, 22 April)

Yes, really. It's more likely she'll be some kind of PR ambassador for the Israeli army than be sent to Gaza with a gun, but still.

Many people are also upset about Palestinian flags being banned from the arena, and I'm not happy about it either, but I do think it's more or less understandable. The arena is a closed space, and any kind of altercation that might be sparked by those flags would be a big security risk. And at least if we are to believe executive supervisor Martin Österdahl, they haven't actually changed the rules; signs and flags with political messaging were always banned, and in this time, the Palestinian flag does send a powerful political message.

Then there's also the security risk associated with the event itself. Malmö is one of Sweden's most diverse cities, which also has both Jewish and Palestinian communities. According to a survey published on 4 May, 47% of city residents intend to avoid crowds during Eurovision. Mass protests and counter protests are expected. Events such as Quran-burnings by right-wing extremists are still allowed in the name of freedom of expression, even though the terror threat level in Sweden had to be raised to 4 out of the maximum 5 last year/this past winter due to precisely these kinds of provocations, and tensions will be running high. So even if the event itself manages to look as glitzy as always on TV, it will still be shadowed by what might be happening outside. Will there be unrest? Violence? How will the police respond?

There's no enjoyment to be found in any of that, no being "united by music" (the ESC slogan, which is a joke at this point). At least for me.

That being said, I do not judge you if you plan on watching. I understand that it's a huge annual tradition for many of us, and in these times, we need all the joy we can get. I also understand that it can feel like empty virtue signalling to boycott something when millions of others will tune in regardless - although it is good to keep in mind that this isn't some silly boycott started by social media activists on Xitter. It's a serious effort by the BDS movement.

I would challenge you to think about how you engage, though. If possible, watch it on TV instead of on stream, so your view won't be logged. (You could even consider waiting until the show gets posted on Youtube instead of giving views to the official stream, but I get that you probably want to see it live.) Try to abstain from hyping the contest or your fave entries on social media, and also from voting. Consider donating what you can afford to a charity that provides aid to Gaza instead (here's one list I found with a quick search).

And finally, spread awareness of the flip side. Don't be lulled into complacency by the claims of "Eurovision isn't political" when Israel itself has made it very clear it is - and do not make fun of people who want to sit the contest out this year or belittle their efforts.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

My only ask is: the fack is going on in Yves’ mind? No cause I’m eating snacks on my couch, I am lazy, I don’t think I could ever reach this man’s standards so like, why is he here? Going on after me? What’s this man doing 😭😭

Cont from another anon ask: Also idc Yves chose a lazy like me. This man gonna watch My Little Pony all seasons with me, he should have chosen his soulmate better. Silly man

To Yves, no one is lazy. It is the circumstances around someone that influences certain behaviors, which may appear "lazy". Unmotivated, exhausted, afraid- especially of failure. According to his observations, Atychiphobia of any degree is usually the reason for inaction. You clearly have interests, you are sentient and lucid enough to think that you're 'lazy'.

The standards he applies to you aren't the same as the ones others have to meet. Yves is a complicated man, he doesn't want to brainwash you into something 'perfect', though he has the tendency to 'fix' things he thinks aren't acceptable in his opinion. If you spend all day just eating snacks and watching shows, it will be a cause of concern with him. He will talk to you about it, watching his tone and body language. Yves wants you to know that he is acting in your best interests. If that isn't coming through to you... well, he is a reality bender with the world's resources at the tips of his fingers. He knows how to hack into your psyche.

Expect to suddenly lose appetite for the snacks that you're munching on, he will leave you wondering why your brain suddenly finds watching TV torturously boring and irritating. You would rather do something else.

It couldn't possibly be Yves behind this, he is in his office, and you haven't seen him today. Plus, he can't be that powerful, can he? Plus, it is ridiculous how another person can just influence the mind like that, so seamlessly and discretely. You don't get it, it just felt like a flick of a switch. There was no gradual change, nothing around you appeared out of the ordinary.

There were changes. There are changes. Chemically, biologically, physically and environmentally. You're just unaware of them. His sleight of hand is unreal, his attention to detail is astonishing. Yves drugged you, with a harmless substance, but a drug nonetheless. To make you much more susceptible to his power of persuasion. All he had to do was modify the texture of your favorite snacks. To a regular person, there is no difference; You can't tell the difference either, but your brain can, and it doesn't like the new changes.

Consciously, everything is as it always was. But subconsciously, your altered mind noticed the colors on the screen are horribly off, and the bass and timbre of its voice actors don't sound right. It is exhausting for your brain to keep up.

However, if you keep your habits in check, Yves wouldn't need to resort to psychological warfare. He appreciates what makes 'you' up, he has no problem watching all the seasons of My Little Pony with you.

He appreciates the values that this cartoon tries to spread. Given his nature, he would memorize each and every piece of verified trivia he could find; from naming all characters from all 5 generations by heart (he could even name the characters exclusive to the comics, from the games, from the collectible card games and any other obscure media that Hasbro created around this franchise.), to the strange and sometimes obscene fan culture history around this series (i.e., how a large proportion of Nazis are also My Little Pony fans, the pony torture games, Princess Molestia and many more), to the exact hexadecimal color values of the ponies (He is especially fond of Queen Chrysalis's palette and looking to incorporate it into his home somehow), to the home addresses of the My Little Pony production crew.

But he knows not to dump everything he found at once, it will overwhelm you and not everyone likes to be out-obsessed over a piece of media they were watching from the beginning. Yves will keep to himself. So when you start off by watching the pilot episode, he will don a soft smile, spotting the foreshadowing that Nightmare Moon is going to be this season's main antagonist. He would go through the series with you silently, stroking your head on his lap. He knows more than you think. Yves will know what you're talking about.

Remember, Yves sees many things that no one else sees in you. He's like a phantom that accesses every aspect of your life. Your deepest fears, your ugliest sides, and your happiest moments. Yves can wear your identity like a second skin and he loves every inch of it. You may think you are unworthy of his obsession because you operate on a profit-and-loss mindset, wondering what he gets out of it. Yves doesn't he views you through an entirely different lens. You are inherently flawed and you have inherent value. He loves you for the beauty and goodness that you cannot perceive as someone living as yourself, he loves you for your quirks and curiosity. He also loves you for a lack thereof.

Your imperfections are what makes you human, and his adoration is found within it. He accepts and loves you for who you are, but it doesn't mean he won't try to better you. What he gains from devoting himself to you is virtually nothing to you, but everything to him.

Unfortunately for him, there is nothing he could do or say to make you understand the extent of how much he loves you. It is within the realm of unconditional. It is hard to grasp how a person could love so much while expecting nothing in return, but that is essentially what Yves' affection for you is.

He is a careful man who also has high regard for himself. You think he's careless in choosing his beloved darling? The man whose middle name is probably 'Intensive' and last name 'Research'?

This is no mistake of his. Yves chose you for a plethora of reasons you cannot comprehend.

[phoenixwatchesmovies]

What I'm Watching: April 2024

Back at it again with Rocky Horror Picture Show, A Knight's Tale, The Exorcist, Doom Patrol, Hard Candy, and Dead Boy Detectives. I did a lot of regular writing this month and it used up words that would have gone into this, so bear with me.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.

I think I was still riding the very distinct high of Repo! when I decided to throw this on, and I think they'd make a good double feature. Shockingly, this was only my second all-the-way-through watch, and I can't tell you why that is, because I love this movie. I'm familiar with the discourse, but I'm in the camp of "context is everything" and back in the day? This was groundbreaking. Even now, the general celebration of embracing what gives you joy no matter what anyone else has to say about it is nothing to scoff at. And yeah, I cried at the ending. Do something about it. I am, however, ashamed to say that I did not do the time warp this time around...but I sang along, so that counts.

A Knight's Tale (2001)

After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.

Kind of at a loss for this one, ngl. This was a combined favorite between me and my brother when we were younger, and we did in fact run through two VHS copies over the years (which reminds me that I still need to get my hands on a DVD). Not only does it hold up, but I think it's even better coming back to it after so long. The nostalgia still hits, and age/experience makes some elements hit harder. But god DAYUM, did it make me bawl. Found family, underdogs beating the odds, and Heath fucking Ledger. I'm still mourning that man, and I will until the day I die. If you've gotten used to me yelling about Mike Flanagan ensembles, then apply any one of those tirades here, because the supporting cast is Excellent™. This is the movie that introduced me to Alan Tudyk, Mark Addy, and James Purefoy, who have yet to disappoint me, and it also kick-started my crush on Paul Bettany. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the snarky smooth talkers who are simultaneously the smartest little shits in the bunch and also cringefail losers. And the soundtrack? Speaks for itself. You can't separate the music from the movie, and to this day I'll hear songs used and still think of this movie before anything else. This was the first place I heard my favorite David Bowie song! (I unfortunately lost my train of thought for the rest of this section, but) If for some reason you haven't watched this yet, I highly recommend it. It's fun, hilarious, and occasionally heartwarming. It's medieval Rocky! What else is there to say?

The Exorcist (1973)

When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.

I'm also at a loss on this one. Everyone has a few classics they just can't get on board with, and this is one of mine. Maybe it's just that religious horror doesn't do it for me, or that some nitpicks I have with the pacing and editing take me right out of it. Don't know, don't really care. None of that, of course, is to say that I think this is a bad movie, which is the most annoying part. I want to like it more than I do! Believe me! But the stuff that I take issue with kinda blow the whole thing for me. I already made a separate complaint post, so I'll focus on everything else here. Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn carry this thing on their permanently injured backs (look up the production of this movie if you want to have a bad time) and there's no contesting that. Yeah, sure, the whole question of faith plot is no doubt compelling, it's moving as shit when good triumphs over evil, blah blah don't really care. The strongest aspect of the movie for me is the relationship between the MacNeils. You can't spend so much time establishing how close they are and how much they love (and like!) each other and expect me not to latch onto them. The entire point of that time spent is to make it hit that much harder when Chris breaks down in desperation to help her daughter. Tell me you don't feel something when she's sobbing and begging Father Karras to do something for Regan. Juxtapose that with how detached Karras is from his own mother and his guilt that he wasn't there for her when she needed someone, just for funsies.

Doom Patrol (2019-2023)

The adventures of an idealistic mad scientist and his field team of superpowered outcasts.

Ok. OK. You've been seeing my meltdowns ever since I started this, but that doesn't even scratch the surface of how weird/fun/cathartic this show is. I knew I loved it as soon as I saw certain casting announcements back in 2018 without knowing literally ANYTHING else about it. I'm just getting into season two, and I've already cried so much over these broken, chaotic, disasterpiece losers. Again, not many words for the roundup, but expect more meltdowns.

Hard Candy (2005)

Hayley's a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff's a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff's place. Jeff thinks it's his lucky night. He's in for a surprise.

Impossible--IMPOSSIBLE--to overstate how much this movie means to me. Discovering it when I was getting serious about writing changed the way I write. Learning about production changed the way I watch movies. And finding this story of all stories, exactly when I needed it, probably did more to keep me in one piece than we have time to discuss here. THANK. GOD. It still works. This one is right up there with Perfect Blue in that it skeeved me out so bad the first time I saw it that I had no intention of going back to it ever again, but the longer it sat with me, the harder it was to shake it off. The older I get, the harder it is to sit through, and I think that works 100% in its favor. I'm not about to make this standard practice, but here's the trailer, included because it's still my favorite that I've ever seen:

Leaving aside the story for awhile, the whole thing is top notch. Barring maybe fifteen minutes, the entire movie is one location and two characters. Naturally, things have to stay interesting somehow, and the script alone kicks ass. There is maybe one scene that could be cut, but that's it. Everything else builds off of everything that came before. The cinematography stays dynamic, with gorgeous wide shots and intimate close ups, smooth and sweeping movement during quiet moments and frenetic handheld action when shit goes down. The color palette of the set and the editing is harsh and atmospheric. The sound design is *chef kiss* crisp. And the performances pull all of that together. If the premise of 30-something guy and 14-year-old girl meeting online and then in person at his place isn't icky enough, then seeing how Jeff and Hayley interact with each other will do it. Patrick Wilson sells you on the charming groomer, and his casual delivery of some of these lines are, in context, fucking horrifying. Contrast that with Elliot Page, equally charming in the opposite direction, trying so hard to be mature and impressive. Each one knows they shouldn't be meeting the way they are and acknowledge how inappropriate the whole situation is, and with the first line of dialogue you get hit with this sense of dread over what is going to happen to this kid. And then the first twist happens. It's an interesting power dynamic, each trying to get one over on the other and overlaid with this commentary on predators in online spaces, how abuse victims are often dismissed and persecuted, and how the perpetrators of some of the most vile crimes you can think of never have to answer for what they do. It is baked into nearly every scene, and it could read very easily as soapboxy or heavy handed, but Page delivers it with rage and disgust, and paired with Hayley's moments of distress and vulnerability, it paints a very visceral picture that is so. Fucking. Cathartic. If I have to boil this one down to a single statement, it's "how you wish Lolita had gone."

Dead Boy Detectives (2024-)

Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine decided not to enter the afterlife to stay on Earth and investigate crimes that involve supernatural stuff.

WATCH THIS SHOW. FINISH THE WHOLE THING. I WANT A SECOND SEASON.

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Here For You

Prompt: Based on this post by @malthemagnifisent

Pairing(s): Aerin Valleros/Mal Volari x Salem Nightingale (F!MC)

TW: None?

Tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations

A/N: Ok so Salem and Mal are my main pairing, I don't have a separate MC for Aerin. However, Salem being the flirt she is, did flirt with Aerin and obviously my favorite pathetic man started to have a thing for her, so I like to think in an alternate universe they might have ended up together. Maybe one where they weren't stopping the Shadow Court or one where they met in Whitetower. Perhaps one where she was a noble herself. It's just fun to think about, especially knowing she's a realm-walker. Anyways, in the main timeline, Salem is with Mal (romantic soulmates ofc) but she has a deep understanding with Aerin (platonic soulmates, like two sides of the same coin/narrative foils y'know?) Wow this was long, hope you enjoyed this lil mini fic!

"I can't believe we are still arguing about this," Tyril mumbled. "It's too dangerous and I won't let Salem endanger herself!"

"And you think I want to, Elf Boy?" Mal rolled his eyes. "You're the one who even brought it up! She practically ran to get away from you and your horrible plans."

"Say that again, Volari-" Tryil snaps.

"Come on you two, this isn't like us at all, let's all calm down..." Nia stepped between the two of them glancing back and forth.

"I'm being perfectly rational, I suggest you let the Rogue here know that we aren't back at the orphanage and don't have to play by his rules anymore."

"And I was just starting to like you..." Mal muttered under his breath.

"Are we yapping or are we gonna do something?" Imtura comes in, playfully swinging a new sword she found in the hallway of artifacts inside the abandoned elven library.

"We can't do anything until these two stop bickering! I barely got through this scroll on the Ash Empire," Kade whined.

"And I haven't received the elven honey cakes I requested ten minutes ago!" Threep frowned. Everyone else groaned.

Aerin stood back watching the whole ordeal with furrowed eyebrows. Was this the same motley crew who managed to defeat the Shadow Court as effortlessly as they did? They may have been lucky the first time around since it seems impossible to be productive around a group filled with opposing personalities like theirs.

Maybe he could have been like Nia, chiming in to maintain peace but he had a feeling they wouldn't take his words seriously. The only reason he was even out of shackles was because of Salem's request to do so. He shouldn't squander his opportunity to bond any further than he already has.

He wanted to, of course. And he felt like kicking himself for betraying the only people who bothered to be kind to him. They were willing to sacrifice Baldur to the Drakna for Light's sake! Anyone back at Whitetower would have been shocked to even think such thoughts.

He stepped away from the marble pillar he was leaning against and towards the lush gardens behind the library to check on Salem, desperately avoiding the unwanted memories blurring his mind of the night in the forest glade, the night with her.

Our kiss? That was real, Aerin. And it's still real...

He closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't let himself get distracted. Not again.

~~~

She hated this. The soft linen garment she changed into was soaked by the wet grass. The bottom edges of her leather boots were covered in mud. And her hair dampened by the soft drizzling raindrops. One would think a respectable elven library would have more places to hide in, to be left alone. But of course, she wasn't able to catch a break.

In any other circumstance, Salem always found the rain beautiful. Despite the darkened skies and messy aftermath, there was a beauty in the sorrow it evoked. Like the promise of warmth was hidden behind the tears of Light.

Even with his poetic nature, Kade thought she sounded ridiculous. But he liked that she wasn't afraid to be. Salem was honest, and she was able to look past appearances.

At least, most of the time.

Aerin cleared his throat when he found her. "Are you okay?"

She turned around quickly to find a nervous Aerin standing with his arms crossed over his chest and an unstable stance.

Have I been crying this entire time? Salem sucked in a breath, frantically clearing her face of remaining tears. "What do you think?"

"Were you crying?" his voice barely remained even. He steps closer to her.

She chuckled, a few strands of hair brushing over her face. Aerin blushes at her soft laugh, a complete shift from her confident demeanor. "I forget how smart you are sometimes." She stands up and quickly dusts off her soiled garment, turning to face him. "Did they stop fighting?"

"You didn't answer my question, Salem."

"Aerin..."

He hesitates before continuing. "No hero is invincible. You're not an exception."

"Gee, thanks."

He shakes his head. "You've gone through so much..."

Because of me.

Salem rolls her eyes. "There have been others who've lived through worse. Are living through worse." She places a hand over her forehead to quell her head pain.

"You're talking about the children at the orphanage," he says as if it were a fact he was familiar with.

"They're so young, and they've witnessed horrors they should have never seen," she shudders in frustration, her fists clenched behind her back. "And if I can't stop the Ash Empire or Valax, what good am I? I'm no hero-"

Aerin's gaze sharpened. "I won't let you talk about yourself that way."

Salem closed her eyes, slightly pivoting away from him. Aerin stepped directly in front of her and looked into her eyes, clouded by fear, worry, anger.

He wasn't thinking clearly when he pulled her in for a tight hug. Salem gasped at the sudden warmth, but rested her head on the crook of his neck. Aerin ignored how she smelled like warm spices and cedar wood. He ignored how perfectly she fit into his arms. He ignored the temptation to push away the soft damp strands of her hazel-brown hair and stare deeply into her mesmerizing eyes that made him think back to a happier time before things were so complicated.

She laughed softly. "I'm terrified, there's so many people depending on me and I can't mess anything up."

His grip tightens. "And you know that you can depend on me. I'm here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need me. It's the least I could do."

She stayed silent for a second. He was worried for a second. Did I do something wrong?

"You know, you give pretty good hugs. Nia and Kade would be proud." Aerin sighed in relief. He reluctantly leaves her embrace and tilts his head to the side.

"T-Thanks," he runs a hand through his now wet jet black curls. "We should probably head back before we catch a cold huh?" Salem smiles, trailing slightly behind him.

"And Aerin?"

"Hm?" he turns around.

Salem smiles, feeling like a heavy burden that has been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you."

~~~

it's a lil OOC since Mal would obvi be the first to check in with Salem immediately after she left the room but it's for the ✨plot✨ hope you enjoyed reading this!

[duhragonball]

Were you aware of/do you have an opinion on the Dragonball theme park that is starting construction soon? On the one hand it seems like that Harry Potter theme park (which was a dumb idea, nobody serious cares about HP anymore), but Dragonball also isn't shitty, and Akria Toriyama didn't spend the last years of his life making sure everyone knew he was a transphobe (which J.K. Rowling is doing her best to do). Do you have a take?

I was not aware of any of this, so I don't think I have much to contribute to the conversation.

The article I just found was published only a few hours ago, so I guess this is a HOTTT scoop? Also, it looks like the thing is being built in Saudi Arabia, so I guess that's why this got announced in the middle of the night where I live. It's 3am here and I'm up early because I went to bed at 7pm and woke up around 1am.

Okay, so the Saudi connection is something I can talk about, because this sounds a lot like the same agenda that led to the WWE's infamous deal with Saudi Arabia. For those of you who aren't into pro wrestling, in 2018 WWE started putting on events in Jeddah and Riyadh. This has been controversial for several reasons, but the main sticking point is that the Saudi assassination of dissident journalist James Khashoggi took place in October 2018, a few weeks before WWE's second-ever Saudi show, Crown Jewel. The U.S. condemned the assassination, and politicians pressured WWE to call off the show, but the Kingdom paid a lot of money for the deal, and Vince McMahon only cares about himself, so they just went ahead and did the show anyway. There's other issues, but that one especially stuck in my craw, and it's why I canceled my WWE Network subscription and haven't watched their product ever since.

Basically, the Saudi government has been trying to revamp their economy to reduce dependence on the petroleum industry. The WWE deal is part of the "Saudi Vision 2030" project, which aims to increase the economic, social, and cultural diversification of the country by the end of this decade. Tourism is a big part of that plan, which is why they're paying big money for sporting events, live shows, and so on. Their plans also include a lot of political and social reforms, but this feels like an afterthought, especially to a lot of critics. For example, they announced a "Red Sea Film Festival" in 2019, but in order to put on such an event, they first had to lift a 35-year moratorium on building new movie theaters. They started allowing women to enter the King Fahd International Stadium for the first time, but that's probably just because they really wanted a packed house for these shows and concerts they're putting on.

The whole thing smacks of propaganda designed to distract the public from KSA's lousy record on human rights. When WWE was promoting their first Jeddah show, they ran a lot of video packages about Saudi Vision 2030 and talked up how cool it was that the country was seeking to modernize. Meanwhile, a lot of their roster couldn't even go to these shows for various reasons. Sami Zayn's a Syrian by descent, Noam Dar is an Israeli, and Montel Vontavious Porter is a former Muslim, so he might get executed for apostasy if he entered the country. The women's roster was a whole other thing. I think they were just left at home for the first couple of shows, and then they gradually started allowing more women to participate. And all those slick Saudi Vision video packages looked pretty hollow when James Khashoggi got murdered.

My take has been that KSA is just throwing money at their problems and trying to distract their critics. Saudi Arabia is practically synonymous with oil, and that's what made the country rich. I watched a video on this a while back, and if I remember right, they discovered oil in the 1930s and wanted to avoid getting exploited by the British and French, so they partnered with the United States. That prosperous relationship allowed Saudi Arabia to become a regional power and basically have things their way. The human rights problems were allowed to persist because they knew the U.S. would always back them up to protect their oil interests.

But over the last fifty years or so, U.S. dependence on Saudi oil has declined. See, it's not that Saudi Arabia has more crude oil than other countries. What made it so important in the petroleum industry is that Saudi crude is much easier to refine than other sources. So Saudi refineries can produce more fuel in a short span of time, which gave them a lot of leverage in that sector. But there's been a big push in the U.S. to seek out and refine more crude oil domestically, and that's cut into Saudi Arabia's prestige. Now, when rival powers like Iran start bothering Saudi Arabia, the U.S. isn't as quick to offer support, and that's why KSA is trying to figure out how to adapt to the changing times.

To be blunt, I don't know how the hell a Dragon Ball theme park helps solve any of this. If the oil revenue is on the decline, then it makes sense for a country to invest in other industries while the coffers are fuil, but now Saudi Arabia has to backtrack a lot of their draconian laws and authoritative policies to improve their public image. And they need to do it quickly, but not so quickly as to upset the conservative elements in the country.

Like, all right, let's say they open this park, and they really want people to fly in from all over the world. I know a lot of women in the Dragon Ball fandom. What kind of restrictions would they have to deal with in the park? Is there a stringent dress code? They made a big deal out of the historic first-ever women's match at one of those Crown Jewel shows, but the wrestlers had to wear black unitards under their usual ring gear. So they eased up on some rules, but you watch the show and you can tell there's still some rules in place.

I've met a lot of LBGTQ+ people in this fandom. Can they go to the Saudi Dragon Ball theme park? Can a same-sex couple hold hands as they wait in line to ride the Ginyu Force Log Flume? And I'm sure there's a guy at the General Entertainment Authority office who would assure me that it's all good, nothing to worry about, everyone is welcome, please come to the theme park and spend lots of money. But once you get there? Remember, James Khashoggi was a citizen of Saudi Arabia, and he walked into that consulate assured that everything would be cool, and then it wasn't.

You mentioned the Harry Potter theme park, and yeah, that whole franchise is a PR hot mess, but at least I don't have to ask these kinds of questions about who can go to the park without getting detained. That's the public relations mess Saudi Arabia has to clean up. At least with Harry Potter, they just have to distract people from one hateful, cranky billionaire. For most casual fans, "J.K. Rowling" is a name they barely notice in the credits. But Saudi Arabia's issues are baked into the government, laws, and history of the whole country. Reform is possible, but it isn't as simple as the propaganda makes it sound. There's a lot of damage that needs to be repaired.

I'm sorry, I kind of turned this into a rambling essay about Saudi Arabia's pivot to tourism, but for me that's the main issue here. The park might get completed and it may even do big business, but I don't think there's a lot of transparency with these projects. From what I've heard, the WWE shows in Jeddah and Riyadh don't actually make a lot of money. Much of the live crowd attends for free just to make the shows look more popular than they are, and WWE only plays along because they're getting paid handsomely for the effort. It just comes across like the country is spending lots of money to imitate a tourist destination without actually becoming one. So the Dragon Ball park looks like it's also going to be a means to an end. Someone in charge liked the idea enough to push it through, but that doesn't translate into success.

Oh, wait, I just realized: What if the park opens, then fails, and it gets abandoned? I really don't have any interest in theme parks, but abandoned theme parks kick ass. Imagine Dogpatch U.S.A, except it's Dragon Ball themed. That would be amazing. I hope I live long enough to see photos of it when it gets all old and decrepit.

[anyataylorjoys]

Okay I know you said not to get you started but I would like to hear about the aliens theory

Oh boy... Well watch Ancient Aliens on history channel if you live in the US but I'm sure it's streaming somewhere or look up videos on youtube. Read Chariots of the Gods. There is so much compiled evidence to draw solid conclusions to what our ancient ancestors saw such as analyzation of glyphs carved into walls depicting modern day technology, what they referred to as "The Gods", and what we know of stories pertaining to Greek mythology. It all makes so much more sense than the things we were taught growing up of these elaborate method theories on how humans could've built the pyramids by hand with absolute mathematical precision (which is impossible) and constructed architecture that humans today with modern technology still couldn't build. The reason as to why these structures were built is still unclear, although they were thought to be used as a power device combined with their technology source. It is believed that there are multiple species of Aliens, including what we call "the greys" who people claim to be abducted by alongside the Reptilians. Over many millennia they been here and at some point the different species clashed and battled over their agendas with the human race. Our planet is unique (this we already know) and likely has resources they need. Our species is unique and I believe they are intrigued by us. I think there are species who have an insidious agenda, or are using us to further their agenda in some way, or a species who are monitoring the human race out of fascination. and others who only care to protect this planet because it is their home too which is why every time we fuck with nukes, ufos show up to the site and deactivate them, this is not classified! People always say they're from space, but I believe some of them could be inter-dimensional and maybe have crossed over to ours by accident.

I think we haven't found "the missing link" because that link belongs to a species of Ancient Alien deities called the Anunnaki and they are long gone but I believe they spliced their DNA with the ape-like creatures that were here on this planet thousands of years ago- stories told that sound similar to the creation of humans in the Bible. There's evidence that suggests Homo sapiens (modern humans) lived alongside Neanderthals (the first human/apelike creatures). Had we evolved from them, this would not have been possible. It also doesn't make sense for us to have evolved from apes because why have they all remained so unchanged? Also if you've ever heard of "Nephilim" they're known as the offspring of "The Gods" and humans. These were the creatures in mythology who are referred to as the giants which lived before the flood but I'm not gonna get into that.

These are my beliefs based on a lot of evidence and readings from vast cultural references but also from watching Ancient Aliens they go into great detail about all this stuff. This is kinda like a religion for me except there is no worship involved, I just strongly believe in it. TL;DR: The "Gods" were not Gods at all, they were aliens with technology too advanced for people to understand or explain and we are the product of ape-like beings and a species of Alien that existed here thousands of years ago. There are people who have dedicated their lives to studying Ancient Alien theory across the globe who will tell these stories. A lot of people don't wanna buy into any of this kinda stuff cause it interferes with their belief system. Even if you think it's insane, it's worth looking into because it's quite fascinating and fact has proven historically to be stranger than fiction.

[threewaysdivided]

Hey ! i'm a longtime follower of your blog and I've read a lot of your YJ analysis and why the latter seasons totally flopped. I haven't seen you comment on Young Justice Phantoms, although I guess your opinion remains the same. However I'd love to read it one day.

PS : I do think Greg Weisman is a decent writer, but not that good at characterization and desperatly needs editors and not enablers *sigh*

Hey nonnie!

Glad you’ve found my YJ writing critiques interesting. 

The reason why I haven’t commented on Young Justice: Phantoms (or the final Targets comic) is that I haven’t watched it, haven’t read a synopsis and have no plans to ever do so.  My interest in the series went pretty cold as far back as Invasion but at the time I was willing to give the showrunners good faith on their claims that they had a plan to bring things together and that the problems were mostly production issues.  However, after how bad Outsiders was (and having seen similar awfulness from Greg Weisman in other franchises) I don’t have any good faith or trust left to give them.

I talked at length about how Outsiders left the show with no compelling narrative as part of this big Invasion breakdown (grumpier TL:DR version here), but here are the most relevant sections:

In terms of the Central Conflict, the Light are proved utterly correct: by Outsiders the Original Team are callous, hollow husks of their former selves, who have replicated a worse version of the same status quo the Team originally formed in response to. Dick, Kaldur and M’gann’s Anti-Light are a new upper echelon of older heroes who keep even more secrets from the next generations, who exclude the new generations far more strongly from knowing their plans, who give them even less reason to trust or communicate with them, and who do so for less just, less honest and less narratively justified reasons than their own mentors’ understandable (if condescending) desire to shield the proteges from the parts of the Life they may not yet have been equipped to face. Not only that but their constant lying with the intent to control others, and refusal to hold themselves accountable for those actions goes directly against both the League’s stated heroic ideals of “Truth, Liberty and Justice” and Red Tornado’s conclusion that caring is “the human thing to do”. By the end of Outsiders, even the existence of the Team itself is undone; decommissioned into the exact kind of safe training space that the Season 1 characters were desperate for it never to be. […] With Outsiders, any actual narrative set by Young Justice Season 1 is over. By their own standards the Team have lost, and lost entirely.

The meta-narrative of Young Justice Animated is that of a show that started with a promising initial season and strong sense of narrative identity, only to discard every part of that identity.  With Invasion the show discarded its original characterisations, themes and ideologies; replacing them with contradictory and often antithetical ones.  Outsiders would then shed even the surface trappings of its aesthetic (in favour of the more generic “modern DC” art-style) and mission-based narrative structure.  There is nothing left, save for some superficial proper nouns and call-back references: the textbook definition of an In Name Only Sequel.

I didn’t bother with Phantoms (and am frankly a little artistically insulted by its existence) because I knew it was doomed from the start to be a narrative stillbirth.  Having actively abandoned its original identity, Young Justice was left desperately scrambling to forge a new one, by clawing at the one thing it had left: people’s nostalgic attachment to the Season 1 iterations of the cast.  But this could never work because every season since has been engaged in a performative pretense of not acknowledging the character-breaking contradictions and hypocrisies forced upon the original cast by the poor writing decisions.  Phantoms would have to thread an impossible needle: wanting to be about the “journey” of the original cast for nostalgia reasons, while not being able to acknowledge that the last two seasons (and attaché comics) have resulted in all of them either actively failing or being tragically soft-locked out of their explicit character arcs without breaking that kayfabe of performative ignorance.  And, in trying to tell a story without engaging with that story's content or how broken it had become, what would they have left but to fall back yet again on canonical filler, sidequests and references held loosely together by contrivance? 

It could only ever be a zombie-fic of itself: having long-since concluded or abandoned any remaining character or plot threads, driven forward solely by the stream-of-consciousness compulsive-writing of a production team desperate to remain present, relevant and profitable.  And from the feedback I’ve heard from the general community and fandom friends who kept watching, it seems like Phantoms did indeed pull down the curtain on that empty, directionless, hollow-automaton-filled narrative for a lot of people.

As for Greg Weisman himself, while I agree that he is a particularly poor character-writer, I will respectfully but firmly disagree that he’s otherwise decent.  I think the fact that we have to caveat “he’s a decent writer” with the condition “so long as he’s surrounded by a team of strong editors and directors to keep him from being awful” kind of reveals that he isn’t.   I also don’t really accept the premise that the main fault lies with the people around him for not stopping that.  They certainly haven’t helped but he’s a grown adult who can make his own decisions. Enablers don’t generally induce behaviours; they simply amplify or become complicit in the behaviours that are already there.

In the video Plagiarism and You(tube), Hbomberguy did a great job of laying out the difference between “honest mistakes” – which can be easily cleared up by good-faith apologies and explanations – and “dishonest behaviour” – where the person(s) is aware that what they are doing is not appropriate and falls back on reputation-protecting deflections and “non-apologies” to avoid consequences when caught.  Weisman would not so-frequently disrespect his colleagues’ work with contradictions, or write patterns of misogyny, queerphobia, casual racism/ableism and abuse apologism into his stories if he did not fundamentally feel entitled to do so, was not comfortable and in agreement with those beliefs, or did not think he could get away with it.  And the way he has routinely responded to even gentle, good-faith comments by fans expressing frustration/confusion with inconsistent characterisation/structure indicates someone who knows he has done the wrong thing but resents being questioned or held accountable.  And then we see him continuing the same behaviours.  A “decent writer” should not need an editor to hold their hand and explain why directly contracting explicitly-stated characterisation is bad practice.  A “good ally” should not need someone to tell them that disproportionately subjecting queer/non-white characters to shock-value violence, writing minority characters to be dirty/dangerous/less valid in their identities, erasing/demonising/misgendering AFAB trans and bisexual identities, rewriting strong female characters to need motherhood or men to “tell them who they are”, writing gay men to be secretly misogynistic/racist, and framing victims as being equally responsible for their abuse is offensive.  All of which he has either directly done or tacitly allowed under his lead.  Multiple times.  Across multiple series.

These are not isolated incidents of “good-faith mistakes” from a newcomer learning the ropes (if they were, it wouldn’t bother me like this).  Weisman has had multiple seasons - multiple franchises even - and decades to show himself to be the kind of sincere ally and visionary artist of integrity that myself and his fans wanted him to be… and that he has so benefited from presenting himself as.  He has chosen not to. Say what you want about their stories, but you can’t claim that marginalised creators like ND Stevenson, Rebecca Sugar, Dana Terrace and allies like Neil Gaiman didn’t push back hard against their own publishers and make a lot of careful compromises in order to tell those stories in a way they felt was respectful. Weisman is in a very privileged position, with a resume that carries a decent amount of clout. He could have held himself to the creative standards he publicly expresses; could have worked improve his craft, could have examined his own biases and actually learned from the communities his stories speak about/over.  But he didn’t – because obviously it's easier and more comfortable to keep being lazy, keep relying on his colleagues to carry him, to not question his own biases/privileges and then lie when caught.  And with the money he makes, and all the second chances and new jobs he keeps getting handed, what incentive does he have to change that behaviour? 

So, personally I don’t buy his attempts to position himself as an UwU Nice Guy Ally whose haters are taking him out of context and whose nasty publishers keep forcing him to do incoherent bigotry.  He’s a grown-up, who can own his own behaviour.  And, even with a generous reading, this is at best the behaviour of a fair-weather sell-out who is willing to abandon his principles at the slightest hint of pressure from above.  That is not what respect looks like.  I wanted to give him good faith, but in light of all this, I find I can no longer trust him to keep his word or be honest about his intentions.

This is kind of the other reason why I choose not to support or engage with YJ Phantoms (or the revival in general): on top of being utterly disinterested, I just don’t want to incentivise this kind of creative behaviour with more money or attention.  I also can’t ignore what could be a pattern where Weisman makes grand promises that he likely never has a plan or intent to fulfill, then deliberately leaves holes/timeskips/inconsistencies in his narratives in order to generate ongoing demand for separate-purchase side content which promises to “fill those gaps”… but which never does because there isn’t actually a plan to facilitate that (thus creating an endless cycle of demand and profit).  To me that cuts a little too close to the potential for a privileged creator to be exploiting their clout and the good-faith belief of their fanbase in order to grift those fans out of their time and money.  I don’t find that acceptable.

So, yeah.  Not to deploy the GIF again but:

It'll be a big, fat doughnut on YJ Phantoms content from me 🍩. Sorry!

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

I'm sleepy and sad, so take this thing I wrote

《~~~~~》

Today marked at least 13 or so years without Kiyotaka's mother. The day she died. The day Takaaki found her lying in their bed, lifeless. Peaceful.

Takaaki all day didn't feel great. But he still got up and did chores.

He worked.

He moved around.

If he sat down he'd fucking lose it.

Kiyotaka as well found himself a little upset. He barely remembered his mother. Just about 4 when she died. He remembered how sweet she was…but he found himself forgetting her. What did she look like? What did her voice sound like? What was her smell? Was she really kind?

Kiyotaka just laid in bed, not really feeling up to it. Even when his father asked if he was hungry, nothing.

Even now as his father called him to eat dinner at the table, Kiyotaka still didn't want to get up. He didn't know why. He always enjoyed dinner time. It was him and his father…in pleasant silence with the occasional small talk.

Kiyotaka watched as his father place down two plates. Small portions. Takaaki's smaller. So small Kiyotaka could barely call that a good enough meal.

His father rested his head on his hand, staring down at his own plate. Just as Kiyotaka did. Kiyotaka kept his hands on his lap as he watched the steaming food sit on the table.

"Not hungry, too?" Takaaki asked softly.

Kiyotaka lifted his head up to meet his father's own red eyes. "Hm?" Kiyotaka looked confused. "I asked if you weren't hungry as well. You haven't…started eating." Takaaki said. "Oh. Yes. It seems I haven't had an appetite all day." But Kiyotaka could admit, he was hungry. He just couldn't feel himself feeling the want to eat.

"I see. Well, neither have I." Takaaki chuckled as he looked down at his plate. He gave himself such a small portion for that reason. Even though he knew he couldn't stomach it. "Let's maybe try again later. Hm?" Takaaki gave a quick, sad smile. Kiyotaka nodded. Takaaki got up and took both of their plates back into the kitchen again.

"Want ice cream? It'd make you feel better." Takaaki asked as he put their untouched dinner in the fridge. "That'd spoil our appetite." Kiyotaka said. "It's basically already spoiled. Come on, we can sit on the couch and watch shitty movies. There's this one movie me and your mother watched that was awful." Takaaki said with a sad fondness. Kiyotaka stared at his father.

"Okay." Kiyotaka agreed as he got up. It was better than laying in bed being unproductive. Not like this was any more productive, but Kiyotaka could kind of feel that they both needed this. Kiyotaka leaned his head against his father's shoulder as his father handed him a spoon with the ice cream sitting between them.

"Father?" Kiyotaka spoke.

"Yes, Taka?" Takaaki answered.

"I miss my mother." The boy replied. He finally realized what had made him so sad.

"I miss her as well." Takaaki only said. After a brief moment, almost hesitantly he added, "But, I'm glad to have you. Our son."

Kiyotaka didn't look at his father as they sat in silence as the movie played. He wanted to say how glad he was to have his father still, but he couldn't seem to find the words at the moment.

[aliencatadventures]

Black Hole and Cosmic Lensing

Once in my early youth, I watched a sci-fi movie about space travel that supposedly featured a black hole. It resembled a galaxy, which I found quite amusing—how can you see a black hole if no light can escape from it? Much later, I realized that although the depiction in the movie wasn't accurate, and yes, we certainly can't see the black hole itself, there are still many fascinating phenomena around it that can be observed. So, what exactly can we observe?

First, imagine Saturn with its majestic rings. Then, imagine this Saturn turning black, becoming invisible—and you'll get the picture. There are luminous rings rotating around something that, in reality, we cannot see. But it's definitely there. These rings, or more accurately, the matter drawn in by the black hole, spin at tremendous speeds and are located in the equatorial plane—just as in any galaxy formed around any massive celestial body. Unlike the tranquil, icy rings leisurely circling our native gas giant Saturn, this matter is accelerated to nearly the speed of light. It may be dense and heated near this celestial body and becomes more sparse and slower farther away. Another way to visualize it is like a whirlpool, only much faster.

But in the picture (below), it doesn't quite resemble rings. It looks more like a strange, faceless smiley wearing a hat, reminiscent of what some viewers might have seen in the movie 'Interstellar.' The reason is that space is distorted so much, so what lies behind this celestial body appears partially above and partially below it. The image seems almost turned inside out. Thus, the depiction is akin to Saturn's rings, if they were reflected in a curved mirror, or more accurately, viewed through a powerful lens.

I highly recommend clicking on the link on the video (below) to see it in action - it's absolutely spectacular!

Also, if you haven't seen the movie 'Interstellar,' I strongly suggest watching it. A group of scientists, including Kip Thorne, participated in its production. Thorne even wrote a book titled 'The Science of Interstellar' with scientific explanations. He explains how the film crew aimed to create images and visualizations as close as possible to what is actually known in science, or at least to use real scientific hypotheses. For the visualization of the black hole, they employed real scientific models, and the visuals were based on the latest scientific understanding. This approach was validated by the recent actual photograph of a black hole.

In this visualization (below), it’s easy to observe dynamically why the rings around a black hole take on such a peculiar shape. The image displays a computer model showing how a black hole would appear if it passed in front of a distant galaxy. Note that the galaxy itself remains unaffected; it is far away, and nothing is happening to it. It's just the image of the galaxy that changes - it resembles what you would see if you took a thick, convex lens and moved it across the backdrop of that same galaxy or a simple geometric pattern. If you have such a lens or a glass sphere, try this experiment. It’s a straightforward way to help understand this phenomenon

So, the biggest difficulty in understanding is that the picture appears static to us. As soon as you see it in motion, there's a moment of recognition of the phenomenon, and then it's no longer a problem to understand why you see rings both around the shadow of the black hole and above and below it.

Furthermore, the ability to view images dynamically also facilitates the discovery of new black holes. When astronomers notice that an entire sector of a previously familiar scene begins behaving strangely — with stars moving erratically or stretching into curved lines, and the image becoming blurred — it strongly indicates the presence of an invisible object traveling between us and this background scene, distorting the image. But we'll discuss this in more detail next time. Stay tuned!

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

What are some Spanish shows you would recommend to someone wanting to learn more Spanish through shows? Preferably shows that where they’re streamed at have a subtitles option

(Same anon, meant to include movies as well but forgot before sending)

Hello anon!! Let's see:

Shows:

I am currently watching El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Ministry of Time), it's a great show to not only learn about the language but also about the history of Spain as the show is about these time travelers trying to mantain history untouched, it's pretty neat! I've done some googling and it used to be on Netflix, but I don't think it is anymore. I've seen there's some English subtitles you can download, but I don't know how you can integrate that into the original video. Here is a post about someone using like a plugin to see the subs directly through the RTVE Play page (where it's still available) so maybe try there.

I just spent fifteen minutes looking for Spanish shows that have easy access to English subtitles but I haven't found any (at least of the ones I like), so I think they might be a bit tricky to find; I'll recommend them to you nevertheless in case you manage to get a hold on them.

The quintessential Spanish TV shows are imo Los Serrano (The Serrano Family) and Aquí No Hay Quién Viva (Nobody Can Live Here); they both have very simple premises and are just lighthearted sitcoms (Los Serrano is more narrative while Aquí No Hay Quién Viva is more similar to The Office). The latter is probably the most iconic one of the two, it is quoted daily and it is really good, while the former just exemplifies the 00s in Spain (keep in mind the shows are form the 00s so some of the plots might have not aged so well).

Paquita Salas is a modern classic, this one is definitely inspired by shows like The Office and it's also incredibly iconic, memeable and quotable. Anyways, it's about this washed up talent manager and her agency, and it has tons of cameos from famous Spanish people, it's very fun. It is on Netflix but I do not know if it has English subs (I think it does tho. Maybe? There's a possibility that's for sure). Also the seasons are like 6 episodes each so it's very easy to watch.

Skam España :) It had to be here :) And I know it has English subs cause I helped translating it lol. It's basically the Spanish remake of Skam, it's very good and I really recommend it. From season 2 onwards you can watch it completely in Youtube (just search for skam españa season x in the search box and you should be fine), or you can go to the best place in the universe, where you can find all episodes in true skam fashion :)

I am kinda embarrassed cause I haven't watched many Spanish shows so I cannot really speak for myself, but here goes a list of shows that I've heard are pretty good and where you can find them (maybe subbed!): Las Chicas del Cable (Netflix), Sky Rojo (Netflix), Merlí (Amazon Prime), Vis a Vis (Netflix), Veneno (Netflix), and El Internado (Netflix).

Movies:

I have watched even less Spanish movies so yeah. But I can still recommend some let's see

La Llamada (The Call, in English is called Holy Camp! for some reason) is the only Spanish musical I respect, I've seen both the movie and the original musical and I love them both so much, the movie is great (with the original actors of the stage production) and yeah I couldn't recommend it enought. It basically is about these teen girls who are at bible camp and one of them starts dreaming about God. It sounds boring now that I think about it but it's not I can assure you. It isn't really religious either don't worry. It used to be on Netflix but I don't think it is there still, I'm sorry :(

This one's a bit controversial but I'm putting it here cause it really shows the contrast between different regions in Spain; Ocho Apellidos Vascos (Eight Basque Surnames, once again, the English name for this movie is Spanish Affair for some reason???). Anyways, this one was a revolution when it came out, I don't know how many times I watched it in the span of like 2 months, it was a lot. The actors are all great, the story is pretty solid and it's generally funny I think (albeit maybe perpetuating certain stereotypes). It is a very simple premise; guy meets girl, guy falls in love with said girl and follows her from Sevilla to Euskadi. On Google it says it's on Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO so... yeah.

The most beloved Spanish filmmaker is Pedro Almodóvar, and his movies are classics (that I have yet to see). Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and Volver (Return) are probably his best works, and I really recommend them! They are both available on Netflix :)

Last week I watched another really famous Spanish movie from a director who passed away earlier this month, ¡Ay Carmela!, a movie about this troupe of itinerant artists during the Civil War that really shows how both sides of the war were. It's on HBO Max.

As with shows, here are some rapid-fire Spanish movies I've heard are pretty good: Los Santos Inocentes (Amazon Prime), Bienvenido, Mister Marshall (HBO Max), El Laberinto del Fauno (HBO Max and Disney Plus), Celda 211 (Netflix and HBO Max), La Lengua de las Mariposas (Amazon Prime), Mar Adentro (HBO Max), and Amanece Que No es Poco (HBO Max and Amazon Prime). I have actually watched the three last ones lol, I just didn't remember them.

Hope these recommendations serve you well, and please let me know if you watch any :)

[whoaffle]

I got asked about Defeated By A Mere Child...

I didn't want to go and answer the asks with a huge dump of text, so I decided to post this separately to whoever is interested in reading a bit more about my reasons for being in a hiatus.

There was more than only one factor that led me to the hiatus.

First of all: time. I graduated in 2019 from Language Arts course, but back in 2021 I started another course (Game Design), and I also got a job in 2022… So for the past 1 year and a half or so, I've been not only studying again, but working too, meaning that time has become scarce… And here I need to mention that DBAMC is not my only creative project, even though it is one of the only projects I ever managed to actually "put out there in the world", I guess… But with all the games I'd like to make, all the unfinished fanfictions in my AO3 (Including the DBAMC one!), all the other comics I still want to create (fancomics and original projects), drawings I still want to make, RPG campaings I'm playing (with sessions that I owe my friends), yada yada, DBAMC has become only one of thousands of things "in line", and yet another project that I keep thinking of and wishing to some day finish. Specially because the little free time I've got, at the end of the day, always ends up being consumed by playing Baldur's Gate or watching Youtube, simply because I'm too tired to produce actual content after a whole week of work (that's modern capitalism for you)…

All that aside, there are emotional factors related to it as well. (Sad Backstory Unlocked).

Jokes apart, I lost a dear relative around the time Legends Arceus was first around, and it was a difficult period for me, meaning I found it hard to keep up with the Pokémon franchise (and any other franchises to be fair). Pokémon released Legends, the Sinnoh remake, DLCs, and in the middle of all that I was still trying to successfully incorporate the characters from SwSh into my comics... I had no time and energy to look up the new content, couldn't play the games since I don't have a Switch, and just ended up stressed abouot not knowing the new content, thinking I should be working on it to keep up with the fandom for the sake of the comics - Now, I want to clarify, I created this problem myself, in my head, on my own (as one with anxiety does). No one from my followers ever pressured me to keep up with releases or anything, but I ended up turning it into a problem in my head and couldn't tackle it in a productive manner.

The fact that now ScaVio has also launched and I still haven't even touched anything from Legends or even the SwSh DLCs should explain how much I distanced myself from the new Pokémon content ever since, in part due to bad emotional associations with the loss I experienced, but also due to not liking how GameFreak / Nintendo have been managing the development of their games recently, AND also due to simple lack of time to go after anything other than "let me take a look at the new pokémon" (Tinkaton is my favorite Fairy Type ever, just in case anyone is interested).

Thing is, I couldn't keep up with the new content, as much as I love Pokémon and as much as I love all the content up to SwSh. The fact I couldn't keep up led to my anxiety acting up (plus emotional difficulties due to personal life stuff), leading to me deciding to take a break. Lack of time in general ended up becoming the main reason why the break hasn't ended yet, unfortunately.

So, all the context aside, am I gonna get back working on DBAMC content?

The short answer is: I don't know. I want to, but I don't know if I'll manage. I do want to do it, eventually.

I still have no idea when I'll be able to work on comics again, being 100% honest. But there are two things I can tell:

First, it's not gonna happen before July 2024, because that's when I'm expecting to finish my graduation project. I'll still have to finish one or maybe more disciplines after that, but the most difficult part should be over by the middle of next year... Still, this is not a promise DBAMC will be back after I finish college. I'm just saying that it will certainly not happen before that.

Second is that, whenever I manage to get back, I have decided that I will not incorporate newer content in the comics, at least not so soon. This has to do with the reasons cited above, of course, but also has to do with all the complicated "logistics" that adding new characters to comics turned out to be (incorporating Rose and Piers was a lot harder than I expected, since I had to re-write and change already written scripts and change the order of comics and etc... I won't be able to do that again with even newer characters).

All that said, I have at least ONE good thing to say: I've been revisiting my written content in AO3, wanting to get back writing some projects, and that includes the prequel I wrote to my DBAMC comics! I've been wanting to at least publish the last two chapters so that the story can be complete! So this is something I am planning to do in January, if everything works out. :)

I understand that it's definitely not the news any old follower of the blog expected... But it's what I can do for now...

If you read everything... Wow. Thank you!

Happy new year, everyone!

[meimi-haneoka]

Thank you so much for everything. Yes, real life gets hectic and unfortunately, it will be more hectic for me for a while soon. ;-; Hope everything is going fine for you now. As for the chocomint post, hmm, I don't remember the exact chapter number (probably 60/61/62-ish?) but it had Lilie and Kaito in it and because I had never picked up Clear Card as I wanted to binge read/watch it, I was left very confused as to who these two were once I began coming across them in Tumblr. The reason I even came back into the CCS tags because I am actually taking a hiatus from Boruto (yeah, I will confess that I am one of the rare few who went straight from Naruto to Boruto and actually enjoys its sequel). Boruto right now is in a "let's torture the protagonist" phase ala Tsubasa style and it's actually becoming painful to read (actually good writing, it makes you squirm and feel pained for Boruto, he is shaping up to be one of my most favourite shonen protagonists). I am thinking of keeping my hands off it for a few months for binging purposes and thought why not check out my first preteen/nearly teen OTP. And yeah, I come back to find that it is nearly in its arc end. And then I search tags and of course, I find very confusing and disconnected things, especially with random chocomint references, and people being very critical about a lot of things. I totally understand the valid criticisms now that I have caught up but I admit that I did enjoy a lot of things in Clear Card as well and I am looking forward to watching season 2 on weekly basis just because of this. I wonder when that is going to be aired because I can't find any info regarding it beyond its production announcement.

And now I can proceed to reply to this ask of 20 days ago 💦 I'm sorry, but I reaaaaaaally wasn't in the mood to write anything, back then.

Thank you for explaining how you reconnected with the CCS franchise and how you found my blog! 😆 AH yes, our main chocomint sponsor Lilie 😂😂😂😂it makes me laugh so much everytime I think about it...

Now that the manga is ending, I can start working again on the long list of posts addressing many topics, and one of those (I think it'll actually be my next one in line, after the one I did of the literary references) will precisely be not only about the significance of chocomint inside the story, but actually all the food and all the handmade stuff. Yes, they're there to bring a very special message and not only to waste time in the plot. 🙂

And yes, we're all waiting for more info about the sequel of the Clear Card anime, because ever since the announcement on April 1st they haven't said anything else. I expect we'll hear something along with the release of the next chapter, the final one!!

[food4dogs]

WEEKEND CHAT :: 9 JANUARY 2023 :: TV DRAMA

Hello all,

I'm trialling a new home for my YouTube Weekend Chat longer writings - especially for TV/MOVIES/BOOKS - as Tumblr makes the writing & publishing process a lot easier. I hope you don't mind; do let me know if you have any problems accessing these posts here.

I'll catch up with three big Netflix TV productions today; before that, a quick bit of news:

The new show by the team who brought us DarK was .. not successful enough? 🤔

‘1899’ Canceled After One Season At Netflix

We don't know all the reasons of course (we DO know that Netflix is scrambling to cut costs) - but it looks like cost could be an important factor in this case.

On Reddit, there was a discussion about it:

The sad implication is that this type of decision does affect how people watch (and will watch in the future): They will become more cautious and not watch the first season any more but wait to see if a second season is greenlit.

We haven't watched 1899 yet, but I believe it ends on a big cliffhanger, so naturally people are upset.

As I've pointed out before, Netflix is not the only service struggling with decisions over expensive series and long-term planning (we've seen equally upsetting decisions by Amazon Prime, for example). But Netflix does seem to go through these issues more frequently (which indicates there's a problem with their streaming & financing model).

So, what does that mean for the future? It means with more cautious viewing behaviour, many shows (especially smaller, more niche, more unorthodox ones) will struggle even more to make an impact and get renewed. It doesn't bode well for fostering creativity in my opinion.

==========================

OK, on to our first Big Drama series: Alice in Borderland (adapted from the manga by Haro Aso) Season 2. (Note: If you haven't watched S2 yet, there will be a few unavoidable, but minor, spoilers in my discussion)

Netflix has an article about the actors and changes for season 2:

‘Alice in Borderland’ Levels Up in Season 2

Season 2 really felt very different to us: in terms of production value, cinematography, choreography of fight scenes and much more, this was a BIG step up. It really looked and felt superb. 👍🏻

Question for those of you who have watched S2 : did you have a strong "The Last of Us" impression, too, from the way the Tokyo Borderland city scenery was portrayed, all overgrown? I just couldn't shake it. And then ... SPOILER ALERT! ==>

... there was the ... scene with the elephants! My brain just wired "Giraffe"! 😁🦒

==> END SPOILER ALERT!

Is that just me?

We thought the second season was overall better than the first (the first had various issues with strange pacing, sometimes unimpressive acting, the story veering around at times) and we were truly hooked.

The big divide for most people will be over whether they found the ending (and therefore explanation of the true events) believable and satisfying.

If you feel the need to either 'study up' more, or don't want to watch Season 2 but want a summary of what happens, then Netflix obliges with this article: Game Cleared: ‘Alice in Borderland’ Season 2 Ending Explained

I won't discuss the ending too much, since many may not yet have seen it. But while it is obviously pretty 'out there' - what else could it be with a story like this, seriously? - we didn't think it was unbelievable. In terms of bringing closure, a death game story like this with an apocalyptic setting really has its work cut out. What matters is the journey, and the final episode had enough twists and turns to satisfy, we felt.

You could call it a bit of an easy 'cop out' kind of ending. But what kind of ending can you possibly have for a story like this? I haven't read the manga, but I assume from what I've read online that the adaptation sticks pretty close to the conclusion (?).

However - BIG HOWEVER - there are enough questions that remain, unresolved or without clear explanation, to warrant some probing. 'Alice in Borderland': 11 Unanswered Questions After Season 2

The really 'teasing' issue is of course the zoom in on the Joker card right at the end. Woah - is that an indication of more Alice in Borderland coming? It could be, couldn't it? (I believe Joker is actually a character in the manga, but doesn't appear in the TV series. Maybe this is a chance to propel the story even further?)

PoodlePa and I obviously talked about AiB for a long time afterwards, and something strange happened. PP quoted - off the top of his head - some lines from a TS Eliot poem (ya know, the guy who wrote famous poetry a hundred years ago, including The Wasteland).

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

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock - from "Prufrock, 1917"

Do I dare

Disturb the universe?

In a minute there is time

For decicions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

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

If you remember the significance of the "one minute" in the AiB ending, then you'll see why I thought this was eerily hitting the mark!

Had enough of Death Games? 😯

Let's move on .. to more grisly deaths and murder mystery investigations!

I'll discuss The Pale Blue Eye next in Part 2!

[kpopper]

hi!!! mouse anon here

sorry it's been so long :3

how are you? I hope you've been doing good!

I've been pretty busy with work and I didn't have a lot of energy to watch the kdramas I had on my list but I've been reading a lot on my commutes lol im past my goal of 50 books for this year!

I did watch good detective season 2 which was honestly pretty good!! I didn't remember too much of the 1st season but they gave enough flashbacks that it seemed familiar idk if you watched it but every character except for the dad character was good. I kept getting reality checks of this is just the problems of the top 1% in society so I couldn't relate or care at times -_-

I had save me on my list for so long but I'm so hesitant to start cause I heard it's kind of a lot 😭 I just know the religious schtick of the cult would make me pissed like you said. I've been wanting some lighter shows lately but I'm not taking it off my list!

I still haven't gotten past the 1st ep of 2521 because of the finale!! how can I sit through a cute relationship only to get that ending 😭😭😭 you're so right, we're over relationships in kdramas! I need a good plot and found family and I'll be satisfied (extraordinary attorney woo had such a good couple even if we'll never know taeoh's backstory 😌)

omg I'm glad you liked the killer's shopping list! it's such a weird mix of genres but I think they handled it very well! (cafe minamdang is also on my list! ooh I'm glad it's similar!)

I've had to skip through many scenes of itaewon class :| the writing was just so weird but ahn bo hyun was done dirty by that show! that dye job/color was just so bad 😭

I'll start big mouth ASAP then! I kept seeing super cute gifsets but then people would comment and say the show's actually dark and emotional lol but I like a good mix of happy and sad (just not too sad)

I still haven't resumed dark too 😭 I haven't been productive at all 😭

my mom watched little woman I think and she liked it and I love the cast! it's also really short for a kdrama so it could be another short and good show!

from the new releases, I've heard cheer up was not what people were expecting and i saw mixed reviews so idk if I want it on my list. I do want to watch rookie cops and I heard glitch on netflix is very lesbian coded so it'll be up my alley! I'm also planning on starting law school soon even though it's been so long since you recommended it! I also heard somebody on netflix was good but I didn't hear as any people talking about it so I'm just basing that off of the 2 reviews I've seen lol

sorry I couldn't give you as any recs as I wanted to but I hope all the good recs find you anyway!!! <333

Mouse anon my beloved!!!! Didn’t think I’d hear from you again after changing the url on this blog actually, hi I hope you’ve been well!!!!

Honestly we’re IN SYNC cause I haven’t had the energy to watch a lot of things lately. And I think it started cause I, too, went on a reading binge since September / October of last year that completely shut off my brain for television. What types of books do you read? Is it the same investigation detective streak as your personal taste in tv? I’d love to talk about it

I haven’t watched good detective 2 yet for the reasons mentioned above…… I’ll def have to read about the plot of season 1 first because even with flashbacks I need to know I’m keeping up with the story as it is. It’s on my list for a unforeseeable future.

Yes save me is a lot honestly. I have an overbearing catholic mother so it was. A difficult series to swallow but for some reason I couldn’t stop watching it. It def awakes some raging feelings in you though, I believe even if you don’t have a strong feeling regarding Christianity in the first place like I do.

Bahahahaahahahha about2521 I FEEL YOU. But it’s also so incredibly in touch with the human experience of love and loss and life. It’s more brilliant because it’s over honestly, it sets the show apart from usual romantic dramas. But it’s still a heavy weight in the chest and something lodged on your throat so I get it if you can’t finish it

I never finished big mouth actually T-T I dropped it off by the few last episodes I believe…. It did got a bit dark by the end but the medical improbabilities of it kind of threw me off. It coincided with me dropping television altogether basically so there’s that

(Honestly it’s been so hard for me to enjoy a tv show lately. I kind of fell down the Thai tv rabbit hole and have occupied my mind with that. Some of their shows are really good. From kdrama I think the last one I truly enjoyed was weak hero class 1. The characters are layered in a way that they feel like book characters, it’s something I don’t usually feel when I’m watching television. It was honestly very very good. I’m trying to distract myself with reborn rich now. It’s better than most things in the sense that I can watch perhaps two entire episodes without exhausting the reels feed on my instagram)

Little woman was good!!! I kept up with it as it came out so I think that’s why I managed to get thru the entire thing. That and my love for Kim goeun. Wi hajoon was his usual extremely charming self also.

I didn’t know glitch was lesbian coded but I can assure you from the 2 and a half episodes I watched of somebody, that one Is heavily lesbian. I’ve also started a few episodes of awaken (Netflix) and it sounds like the type of show you’d like. Not even midway thru tho so I can’t promise it’s gonna be good to the end.

I hope you had a good end of the year and that your job treats you kindly. I also hope that you see this <3 and that maybe I can hear from you again <3