#anyway i'm not putting this in the main tags

[frozenbluecookies]

Kpop Demon Hunters is one of those movies that reminds me that a thing doesn't have to be an utterly original genius masterwork in order to be good.

I saw a couple posts before watching it that lauded it as groundbreaking, or a masterpiece, and that did set my expectations a little too high. It is not, in my opinion, groundbreaking or a masterpiece. But it is still a really enjoyable watch.

(Quick disclaimer: I'm no film critic, I'm just a rando on the internet sharing my thoughts)

(also, spoilers, in case you don't have the spoiler tags blocked but do want to avoid them)

Like. The plot (at least in the broad strokes) has been done before. "Team of people are secretly fighting against an ancient evil, the fight is going well until suddenly it's not, the antagonist/team of antagonists is causing trouble, but the thing that really breaks the protagonists is emotional turmoil within the team itself. There's a romance plotline in there somewhere. What should have been a big triumphant moment goes catastrophically wrong, the protagonists are hurt and separated from each other, but one of them has an epiphany and steps in at the last moment to rally their team and save the day with the Power of Friendship and Self-Love." None of that is new. Every aspect of that has been done a bajillion times, frequently in that exact combination.

Even the big themes (empathy, and coming to accept the parts of yourself that you had been taught to hate) are common enough. Particularly in media with a younger target audience.

Basically the only thing about the story that isn't super common (at least to a Western audience) are the aspects of Korean culture and mythology. I'm not qualified to speak on those, since I'm not Korean, but it is nice to see more diversity on that front in Western media. Those don't provide anything unique as far as the structure of the plot or themes, though.

And yet, despite the fact that the plot has been seen a million times, it doesn't drag the movie down at all. I wouldn't say it enhances anything, exactly, but it doesn't get in the way of the parts that do shine, and that's good enough for me.

Speaking of the parts that do shine, there are two main parts of the writing that stand out, at least to me. First of the two, I'm going to give the handling of the tone its flowers, because imo it deseves them. The blend of comedy and emotion was excellently executed, in my humble opinion. There was never a joke that made me cringe, or an emotional beat that felt over-dramatic. Beautiful work.

But I think the character writing, fittingly, is the star of the show: it's easy to love the characters, it's easy to get invested in them, and in their relationships with each other, and they're a delight to watch. There once again isn't too much that's unique there, but who really cares when watching it is this much fun, and this heartstring-tugging? Have I seen characters lament that their parent/mentor doesn't love every part of them before? Yes, dozens of times. Did Rumi's "why couldn't you love me?" moment make me tear up anyway? Absolutely.

The music is also a standout: can't have a good musical if the songs are bad. And every one of these songs is a certified bop. And they fit seamlessly into the rest of the story, imo, so no notes there. I was bopping along (or watching with a smile, in the case of Free) the whole way through, and they made the kpop fan in me very happy.

TLDR: This movie isn't super original, except in the finer details, but by god if it isn't a delightful watch anyway. Sure, if I were putting it in competition against the animated greats (the og How To Train Your Dragon, Into the Spiderverse, most of the Disney Renaissance, to name but a few), i don't think it's getting anywhere near the podium. But that doesn't stop it from being a solid, heart-filled, really enjoyable movie. Would watch again, many times over.

[bikananjarrus]

the thing is....... i don't want to complain about sw all the time. but the writers for sw shows/movies make it so fucking hard to be excited bc half of them can't fucking write

[pvtpunsart]

Have you heard of the Open the Flood Gates 2025 Rottmnt event? Just curious lmao

I have heard of it, certainly! I think fandom events are fun, and people should enjoy themselves. I will be sad for all of the art that gets missed because so much gets posted at once, though.

Here's a sketch of CJ for ya

[royalarchivist]

Fit: I get really– I get really nervous in situations like this, Pac. Um–

Pac: Yeah, me too.

Fit: Do you wanna like, bring it in for a hug, maybe? Just like...

Pac: Yeah, no, yeah– I'm down for a hug!

Fit: Yeah, baby steps, baby steps! I'm working on myself, I'm working on myself.

Pac: It's all good, Fit. It's all good. 🫂💕

I know everyone clowned on poor cubito Fit for giving Pac a hug on their date instead of a kiss or something, but I honestly thought this was the sweetest possible ending, and it made me happy :')

[ Full Subtitle Transcript + (some RA commentary) ↓ ]

—

I loved how patient and willing q!Fit and q!Pac were to match each other's pace. My age may be showing when I say this, but I really appreciated the slow and steady (or maybe I should say "baby steps") approach Fit and Pac used to depict their cubito's relationship. It felt more realistic, and this specific brand of queer representation really appealed to me. I love them a lot! :') 💕

—

Pac: It's a nice sunset, right?

Fit: Oh, yeah... [He moves to the edge of the dock and stares at the setting sun in silence for a few moments] It is. Yeah, and like– especially with all the fish around, and...

Pac: Yeahhh, right? In the middle of nowhere... Yeah...

Fit: ...Yeah. Um– I- I get really like– I get really nervous in situations like this, Pac. Um, may- may–

Pac: Yeah, me too.

Fit: Do you wanna like, bring it in for a hug, maybe? Just like...

Pac: Yeah, no, yeah– I'm down for a hug!

[They embrace each other]

Fit: Yeah, baby steps, baby steps!

Pac: Baby steps.

Fit: You know, like I said, I- I- I got like... Uh– I'm working on myself, I'm working on myself.

Pac: No, yeah– it- it's all good, Fit. It's all good.

Fit: Yeah. [Laughs] No, thank you.

Pac: Yeah.

Fit: I- I- But–

Pac: [Pac falls off the dock] AY–

Fit: Oh no! Oh– No–

Pac: Ope– No no, it's all good! It's- it's all part of the... [He struggles trying to climb back on the dock] All part of the exper– You know? All part–

Fit: Uh, yeah, yeah! Yeah...

Pac: Fit– [Embarrassed laugh] Fit, oh Fit– Can I destroy a little bit of this? I'm sorry, oh my god–

Fit: Yeah, of course! It- it's just– It's a dock, you know, you just blow it up, yeah– We could destroy this all, if you wanted! Anything you want.

Pac: [Pac repairs the dock] Like this– Boom! Nobody saw it. Sorry.

Fit: Oh, nice. No, yeah– [Laughs]

I know everyone clowned on poor cubito Fit for giving Pac a hug on their date instead of kissing him or something, but honestly, I thought this moment was really sweet! I loved how patient they were, and how willing they were to match the other's pace. My age may be showing when I say this, but I really appreciated the slow and steady approach these two had to depicting their cubito's relationship. It felt more realistic, and this specific brand of queer representation really appealed to me personally.

[aroaessidhe]

I have FINISHED* my Red timewar cosplay! yippee! it was a struggle but worth it

(*I still plan to add some more details, but it's wearable and looks complete which is the most important thing!)

[sebdoesthings]

I'm so glad i watched Sk8 the Infinity as an adult and not a teen so I didn't turn into one of those annoying idiots who complain about "renga not being canon because they didn't kiss"

[uinferno]

I've been thinking about Falin vs Laios on making friends. Laios being concerned for Falin's isolation and his excitement for making a friend of his own.

[necrotic-nephilim]

bro come back we need your commentary more than ever. Jayhelena canon event

AHAHAHA I'VE BEEN LOSING MY MIND FOR DAYS ANON HOW'D YOU KNOW. perfect moment to show off the shitty meme i made based off a random message i sent in a discord server a couple of weeks ago.

jokes aside: i do have a LOT of thoughts on all of this, and even more thoughts on the reaction to it so ty for giving me the chance to rant.

as far as the comic itself goes: i am? cautiously optimistic, personally? hopes are high but expectations are grounded. Gretchen Felker-Martin is a *fantastic* trans horror writer (i highly rec her novel, Manhunt) but she's pretty new to the comics scene. she's written a single issue with Jason, a Beast World story that's pretty polarizing. most fans i know dislike it, my personal opinions on it are... it's a bit lackluster? i think some parts of it miss the mark on Jason's psyche, but the overall theme it's trying to convey about cycles of violence enacted on victims like Jason and police brutality are interesting. while it's not a great start for GFM with Jason, the Beast World event was so shit overall, and the whole concept of all these characters being "not themselves" mentally, i'm willing to overlook it. (idk if there are any good BW stories but all the ones i've read are shite... Helena's BW story has her literally being beaten by Cass using a laser pointer on her so... i will take *anything* over that personally lmao at least GFM seems genuinely interested in exploring Jason's inner workings, yk) it could go really well, or really poorly. i don't think we have enough info on GFM's writing to know how she'll handle an ongoing with these two, but my fingers are desperately crossed.

the main concerns i have about the comic are firstly the plot itself: which is described as Jason tracking down a cop-killer, and how that could so easily become copaganda. however, the Beast World issue GFM wrote was incredibly anti-cop. (and she even said on her bluesky that ppl shouldn't be worried about this run being pro-cop) so, i do think there's hope there. my other worry is the history of these characters GFM can't control- this story is happening right after H2SH which is frankly, a fucking disaster for Jason. and Helena's biggest Rebirth feature was Batgirl & the Birds of Prey, which was an even bigger disaster for her mythos. neither of these characters are standing on great foundations, and i haven't cared for either of their current characterizations for the past decade or so. it's an uphill battle for even a fantastic writer to try to meld good characterization with the current state of these two, and i could see it screwing GFM over, which rlly sucks she's not getting as fair of a shot as she could be.

all that said, the aesthetics look fantastic (tho, i'm not personally the biggest fan of either suit redesign) and i do love getting Helena and Jason out of Gotham, bc it means we won't have the everlooming Bat presence hanging over their actions. and as for the romance? i'm CACKLING. i've *always* suspected that if we ever were lucky enough for a Jason/Helena team-up, they were bound to end up fucking, and i'm DELIGHTED to be vindicated. this ship is one i do adore in concept (mostly as a hatefuck sort of thing) but could see go horribly. i trust GFM to write women, so i don't think Helena's going to get sidelined as a one-dimensional love interest, which is the biggest fear i've seen expressed. it's not *entirely* unlikely she'll be OOC (i don't think we know enough to comment either way atp, given GFM has never written her) but i do think she's going to be dynamic in this run. and honestly? with the shit content Jason has been getting recently (Robin Lives, the current fuckass Jaybin comic) and Helena having her backstory mutiliated and getting sidelined to hell as current comics don't seem to know what to do with her, i want this to go well *so* badly. i'm rlly hoping it will! and i do think the romance can absolutely work in a fun and interesting way. wouldn't be my top canon pick for either character, but i love the intrigue of it and how these two could (and hopefully are going to) challenge each other and find solidarity in their respective victimhoods.

that said, i certainly don't begrudge Helena fans for being pessimistic about this comic, or disliking the concept in principle. i'd far prefer Helena be getting a solo than be a supporting cast/love interest for a man's run. that said, i think calling this run a "power fantasy" and "wank content" (takes i have seen) is absolutely asinine. we don't have it in our hands yet, we literally can't say until it's out. (and tbfh- these takes are transphobic against GFM, even if unintentionally.) but at this point, i think anything is something for Helena, and i am not going to insult the concept until i've seen the story. if Helena fans don't want to read this bc they don't like Jason or just don't want to see her sidelined, i get that entirely.

beyond that, the take i am *not* a fan of is that this is bad bc Helena has been Dick's love interest. anyone who says *that* loses all validity to their argument for me. Helena has been a dynamic character long before she met Dick and to *only* view her as an extension of Dick and thus define every future relationship she has through Dick is the most ass backwards misogyny i've seen. also. it's comics, man. everyone's going to team up with everyone and fuck everyone. it's just the nature of these characters getting used over and over and over. it's so wildly degrading to Helena to pretend you're protecting her dignity and honor by not wanting her around Jason, or by treating her as just "Dick's love interest". (when she and Dick never properly even *dated* and have never been right for each other. that was sort of the whole point. but i digress.) i also think some takes from Helena stans about Jason are made in incredibly bad faith, just because some Helena stans find some sort of superiority complex in liking her and hating him. it has always read incredibly performative to me.

in summary: i have been deserpate for *years* for these two to interact, and i'm genuinely looking forward to reading this comic. i have reasons to be a little doubtful of some issues that *might* come up, but GFM is a great novelist and i hope that translates to her ability to write a great ongoing. did i ever *actually* want this ship to go canon? no, but under a queer woman whose pretty solid at exploring intersectionality and leftist politics in her works, i'm willing to hear it out.

and just so we're clear: the *second* this comic is out i'm putting the Robles variant cover where Jason and Helena are almost kissing straight on my wall. even if the comic is shit. i'm forever immortalizing it as a giant win for me personally, one of the few ppl capable of liking Jason Todd and Helena Bertinelli at the same time and being cool with the idea of them kissing, lol.

[slutforpringles]

You know Red Bull reaaaaally fucked up when even the F1 reddit peeps are defending Daniel and criticising the way this entire situation has been handled. And this is just a small selection of these sorts of comments and they aren't even from huge fans of DR - just regular F1 fans with two eyes and a brain able to see this clusterfuck for what it is. 🙃🙄😤

[sparky-is-spiders]

In honor of Rift-closing day I am doing a little TMA Pacrim Poll <3

There is no "other" option. You Must Choose. You can interpret platonic or romantic if you want tho. Ships are listed by "order in which I thought of them." If you explain your choice in the tags or replies you will be my friend forever <3

[solidwater05]

I don't think that PICS or whatever we're calling them are doomed because doomed implies that it just always goes wrong and nothing can be done about it. But PICS could do well if Scott and Cleo would take Pearl seriously for once-

[pumpkinspliice]

I wanna let u all know before I finish any other shadowvanilla drawings that I draw them as genderless creatures.

Not yaoi, maybe yuri, possibly het. A secret third thing only some may understand.

This stands for every version of shadowvanilla possible. I also just like drawing shadow milk in dresses. I'm having so much fun with the two now

[prince-liest]

I am so sorry if i come off stupid with this ask but i’m not very educated on this topic and my english isn’t that good so pls dont take any offence but i’ve read some of ur fics (ur very skilled btw!!) and in some of them vox and alastor are depicted to be sexual at times but isn’t alastor acesexual? I used to think that ace ppl were repulsed(?) by sex and touch in general and now im a bit confused is he only comfortable with touch because they have a deep bond or is him being repulsed by touch just an act?

No worries at all, I think this is something that a lot of people get caught up on! Asexuality isn't very commonly talked about in terms of actually explanations, so a lot of folks tend to have the impression you did.

Asexuality is a spectrum that often correlates with but isn't actually inherently linked to comfort with touch! Asexual people can be sex-favorable, sex-neutral, or sex-repulsed—or a combination of those three things depending on the context and their feelings at the time. I always write Alastor as aromantic and asexual, but I play around with his comfort levels regarding all those things depending on the fic or even how he feels in the moment, oscillating between sex-positive to fully touch-repulsed (or sometimes both, which causes some complicated feelings for him). (There are also demisexual and graysexual people but I'm just going to talk about asexuality here.)

I think a key point to understand is that for an asexual person to have sex, they're just going to have different reasons from an allosexual person. Alastor is never having sex in my radiostatic fics because he thinks Vox is hot and is super attracted to him (unlike Vox, whom I write as allo and who pretty consistently thinks Alastor is hot and wants to fuck him). Instead, some of the reasons he's slept with Vox in my works include: curiosity; societal pressure; nonsexual enjoyment of kink; sexual enjoyment of very specific acts (again, still not the same as "being sexually attracted to Vox"); seeking intimacy; being under the influence; etc.

If you think about it, allosexual people also have sex for reasons outside of sexual attraction. Lesbians may have sex with men out of social pressure or personal exploration; a lot of people have sex just because they're lonely and it's how they find intimacy; you can even imagine the stereotypical frat bro who has sex with a girl because he sees her as a status symbol; etc, etc. Just because someone is ace doesn't mean they can't have sex, it just means that their reason isn't going to be sexual attraction.

[six-of-cringe]

So the "Jesper is Wylan's sugar baby" jokes don't bother me TOO badly, but they irk me slightly because they're pretty much based on the fact that no one knows what an allowance is beyond the context of "spending money a parent gives to their child". An allowance in business is an amount of money given to someone for a specific business-related expense, so the "allowance" mentioned at the end of CK is just the amount of money they budgeted to put into the stock market, which Jesper is in charge of. Because you know, he's smart and also Wylan's business partner, not his incompetent pet. Ok maybe the jokes bother me some

[crescentfool]

the persona 3 protagonist 25th anniversary nui in food appliances!

[datapilled]