#it was a really funny albeit confusing ep

[dragonsareawesome123]

Still processing my feelings on the new Futurama ep but I will say that it’s good to know that Freela will fall in love in every single universe and lifetime.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

This is the post I was working on that I accidentally sent privately before I’d finished it, LOL. Thanks @imorahtarm107 for sending it back after what must have been a confusing request. 

CONT: Rebecca Sugar  has spoken before about how much they dislike the statement by press that Bubbline only became “canon” in the finale, because Sugar and Muto were working on that pairing all the way back in s3, those characters have been canonically queer the whole time. It’s not some novelty thing that was canonized at the very end just because everyone else was doing it, or that the characters were only queer and dating if they got to kiss on the mouth! 

So yeah, I was a bit salty abouta  few things. I mostly thought that season 10 had been underwhelming compared to the spectacular seasons 7 to 9. Honestly, I still stand by that opinion because those seasons were really good. 

I felt that there were some other things missing from s10, but some of those got followed up either in the finale or in Obsidian, albeit less in depth than I’d have liked (primarily the fallout to Elements on the side of the Elementals themselves - I thought this was only appropriate considering what happened in Jellybeans Have Power. Are they not terrified of themselves? What are the long term consequences of that takeover, if any? It seems much bigger than the stuff with the Lich that barely anyone knew about.)  

HOW MY THOUGHTS HAVE CHANGED

Well, honestly? Just hearing more from the crew about the problems they faced on CN, not just the AT crew but also Rebecca Sugar with SU, it clears SO much up. 

Kent Osborne said to Ghostshrimp in a podcast that, even though they knew the show was ending, the team had no idea how many episodes they had left! Unlike the earlier seasons where CN just made block orders of 52 eps, it seems like from s6 onwards, things were far less stable. CN no longer ordered consistent season lengths. I’m not sure if they instead ordered blocks of eps, or if they gave the crew a flexible budget to work from, like Legend of Korra had. 

From my observations and theories, the reason seasons 7 to 9 have so many miniseries is possibly because Adam Muto was using those as a way to appeal to what CN wanted out of Adventure Time, and therefore, to prolong the lifespan of the show. It worked really well as both standalone miniseries and as episodes of the show. Olivia Olsen commented that there were many times they thought they were on the last season but it turned out they weren’t.  Adam Muto pitched the first eps of Distant Lands originally as miniseries to “extend” season 10. He was probably hoping he would be successful! 

Unfortunately, this time he was not successful, and Kent Osborne said that the crew were taken off guard by Come Along With Me being their last ep. When they started work on it, they thought it was a special in the middle of what could be a longer season. Kent even believed they would’ve had another 26 eps left. Adam had to beg for an extra couple of months so they could figure out how they could turn what would have been a gumbald special (whatever that would have entailed) into a finale for the entire show! 

Watching Come Along With Me with the knowledge that the crew were taken so off guard changes entirely what I think of it, because what originally seemed like lazy rush jobs - Simon turning back but not having any time as himself, the ep havingt so much going on, the conflict between Bonnie and Gumbald being a bit empty - now feels like the best possible outcome!! How on earth did they make Come Along With Me as good as it was?? They gave so many characters good moments, they had the whole thematic resolution to the land of Ooo and the themes of the world going in circles but nothing staying the exact same, they paid respects to Finn’s growth, and had the outro as the finale song while showing life goes on! 

Now that I’ve had so long to process exactly what happened in the ep, I greatly appreciate so many scenes that I previously overlooked or dismissed. The intro sections by Steve and Tom are brilliant at building up tension, which is part of why the second section feels so jarring. However, the dream sequence is so funny, with interesting imagery that it’s still nice to pick apart. Jake gets to be a good brother, Finn gets to battle Fern, and you have that chilling swapperoo epiphany with Gumbald and PB. The scene where they’re all on the beach is so cathartic. 

Then the second half of the special is just intense start to finish - everyone working together at the culmination of their character arcs, to take down GOLB! Until the power of a little robot’s song turns out to be the best tool of holding it back, and Betty performs the ultimate sacrifice for her mistakes with a smile on her face. So good.  The ending scenes with Finn and the treehouse, Shermy and Beth, the music hole, those are a thematic conclusion to the show. 

So, yeah, it did a great job. To an extent it’s better enjoyed if you pick it apart than if you watch it all at once, since it’s unfortunately not as hard-hitting as a lot of the single 11-minute eps of Adventure Time, including the previous season finale Three Buckets. However it absolutely does its job.

As for Bubbline, well...  Adam was trying to get the show extended, and if anyone looks at the twitter comment I currently have as my pinned post, then you’ll understand that there’s no way PB and Marcy could have kissed or made their relationship undeniably explicit unless it was the very end of the show :/ 

Adam said himself that he didn’t see it as much his fight to battle the decisions of execs as Rebecca did. And while that hurts, it makes sense - he was the owner of someone else’s show that is a smorgas board of a large number of people’s ideas, whereas Rebecca was the owner of their own show and felt that if they weren’t able to express themself in their own show, Sugar was willing to completely take down SU. And that actually happened - Steven Universe got cancelled immediately!!! Adam was not prepared to do that with AT, especally when CN were already talking about cancelling it. 

The good news is he didn’t give up on having PB and Marcy’s relationship be at least fairly clear, especially s7 onwards. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but it’s likely a number of the crew members taken on at that time found it important to press for Bubbline, and Adam decidedly agreed. If someone other than him had taken over as showrunner, or even if Pen stayed in charge (he supported it but didn’t want to be wrapped in controversy), I wonder if they’d have never interacted after What Was Missing :/ 

So yeah, with that in mind, as annoying as Marcy and Hunson still is, I can forgive the crew for doing a finale kiss. Rather, I can really thank Hanna K for pressing for one - she knows how important it was to at least confirm what people had expected, without a retroactive tumblr post ala Korrasami. 

[kihaku-gato]

Spoilers of Camp Cretaceous S3 dinosaur incoming

Now with that warning away; the Scorpus Rex;

a horrible Dinosaur (I got a feeling those who did not like the anatomy of the indoraptor will hate Scorpus Rex even moreso), but an EXCELLENT Monster in many parts.

The buildup in the earlier eps till it’s fullscreen appearance in its full reveal episode was excellent; various dinos acting abnormal to their normal behavious confusing the kids, all the while its cause the Scropius Rex is causing havoc to the little order there was. That reveal in a storm, that unholy scream and sickeningly unnatural movement? Actually got my heart pumping. Some of its unholiness makes one almost wish THAT had become the Indoraptor instead. It’s kind of funny that its supposed to be Dr. Wu’s first dino hybrid; that means the Indominus Rex was probably the only hybrid that actually seemed the most competent and healthy looking of the bunch, even if you could argue it may have felt Generic in design.

The venomous (or poisonous as they said) spines were neat and made it seem extra dangerous. Granted we’ve seen venomous dinos in the franchise before (Dilos, Troodons in JP the Game and in JWE, and Compys in the books). Felt like treaded ground but was still appreciated. Venom always gives that extra layer of “you escaped but what it’s done to you will finish you off“ fear to it.

The ARBOREAL TREE CLIMBING NATURE of it though? That was freaking awesome; We’re very used to trees and electric fences meaning “relative safety“ from dinosaurs as arboreal dinosaurs have never been seen the JP franchise before, yet they exist in the real life fossil record (albeit small species). So it definitely left a fearful impression to see a dinosaur who’s very accustomed to almost slithering through the trees, making one of the only safe havens in JP nonexistent.

The fact they fact it could reproduce asexually and make more of itself w/o a mate is another detail we’ve not really seen in the franchise (changing genders to get fucking? yes. Making more with only one? nope) though with how it behaves towards others of its kind (hostile) it felt like a mild plot hole; wouldn’t it have killed its offspring before they would even reach the size/age to attack each other? The fact there was two was a neat thing though, could’ve used a lil more polish but it was neat.

Heat vision? Ok. Being mesmerized by fire probably cause of its heat vision? ehhh a little odd, but can slide since this hybrid was supposed to have very abnormal behaviour.

The fact they both died locked at each others’ throats as the old Visitor Center’s roof came crumbling down crushing them to death? Not what I expected/predicted for their demise, but it was still nice.

Cool creature, lil devil in me hopes for a JWE dino addition mod that brings it in (gross as it is). Very grotesque which makes it a great monster. As a dinosaur though? ehhhh not really, but that was the point; it was supposed to feel very unnatural.

[aangarchy]

it was so interesting reading your plot hole list because i feel like people don't really talk about it that much. like the time it takes to travel distances in that world has always been so confusing. and i'll be honest it was nice to see someone criticizing the southern raiders ep because so many consider it to be like one of the best and while it has some cool scenes its like one of my least favorite episodes because of how ooc and rude katara and zuko were being

Oh me and several of my mutuals have found many problems with the southern raiders. I think a lot of people love the episode bc Katara and Zuko are their favorite characters, and some might even view the episode through their shipping goggles. My issue is especially with the way both of them behaved, but also with the more you look at it the less it makes sense for this episode to happen at that moment in time, right before the finale.

Zuko, the previous crown prince to the nation that wiped out Aang’s entire culture, made fun of said culture in this episode. And the worst part is that in this episode it’s played off for jokes. I get that it was 2008 and jokes like these were not frowned upon, but still, imagine a former Nazi saying “this isn’t Jewish preschool, it’s the real world” to a jew’s face. And it’s also not like Zuko was trying to be funny, he was purposfully being mean because HE was the one that wanted Katara to go on this trip so she’d like him. This was him essentially letting Katara know that Aang’s advice was stupid and she shouldn’t listen to him.

Then Katara was acting absolutely appalling. First she asks Zuko to do something impossible, to bring her mother back, and then she’d forgive him. She blames the Fire Nation for her mother’s death, and Zuko being the only one there that’s Fire Nation gets the full blow. Then when she has a chance at revenge, she takes it and tells Aang “we need to borrow Appa.” She’s not even asking, she’s just telling him matter of factly, as if Appa is anyone’s property. Appa is still Aang’s pet, he gets to decide what happens to him. (Sokka did also attempt to steal Appa for his mission to the boiling rock at first so yeah also a dick move). Then when Sokka tells Katara he thinks Aang is right about revenge, Katara tells him “then you didn’t love her the way I did.” This is such a mean thing to say, it’s implying that Sokka didn’t care enough. Then when Aang didn’t give Katara and Zuko permission to take Appa, they do so anyway. Aang later ends up letting them go, albeit under pressure. Here Zuko also makes the “guru goodie goodie” comment. Well let me tell ya Zuko, Aang is THE AVATAR. It’s his JOB to be a guru goodie goodie, and prevent his friends from, I don’t know, MURDERING SOMEONE.

Then there’s also the potential threat of them being discovered. They basically sneak in and hijack a ship belonging a whole elite section of the Fire Nation navy. They use Appa, the only known Skybison to still roam the planet whom everyone knows belongs to the Avatar, to get everywhere. People will figure out they are affiliated with Aang. They might have been followed, they might have been captured and then used as bait to lure in Aang, they might have just been killed on the spot. They brought the entire mission in jeopardy by running off to a rogue mission to kill a dude.

Honestly my headcanon is that after everything happened Toph takes Zuko and Katara apart and gives them a good ole smack to the head asking them what the actual fuck they were thinking, and then forcing them both to apologise to Aang and Sokka. Hell if I were there those two wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Anyway sorry for going off on a lil rant here anon, but I’m glad I found another person who dislikes this episode for similar reasons.

[tfw-no-tennis]

huntoxhunto

we watched 2 whole more eps but we’re abt to vacay so i better recap this biz now before i forget

ok so we finished the zoldyck arc and uhhhh gotta say we werent expecting like any of that to happen lol 

ok ill back up so we start w/killuas mom (i dont think we ever heard her name) confronting gon & co....and canary (i lov her) is not dead which i assumed but thank goodness. 

zoldyck mom was totally using nen. also she is off her rocker gotta say. tho that visor is super cool, albeit confusing - is it connected to a bunch of security cameras or something? how does she see all that shit? 

granpa is wild. his tunic thing that says ‘one kill a day’ or w/e is kinda hilarious, it reminds me of the ‘apple a day keeps the dr away’ saying...a murder a day keeps the....idk away????

i love that killua makes it abundantly clear that he couldve like escaped at any time lol. also tho why didnt he just escape....baby boy just leave 

killua getting all serious and threatening milluki if he messes with gon....my boys got it BAD 

this family has so many communication issues hvbjadkfbjaskdfj nobody is on the same page at all 

the butler guy continued to remind me of kuro one piece this whole time...i was waiting for him to bust out the ridiculous cat claws

oh my GOD wait the flashbacks of EVEN BABIER KILLUA were so precious ;_; he was soooo tiny and cute oh my god. so precious. and canary was also so tiny and cute 

baby killua really just wanted a friend :(((( and canary wanted to be friends w/him but knew that mom zoldyck would kill her if she overstepped like that :( thats so tragic mannnn

also canary is so cool man. her beating up all those guys was epic

ok that whole scene with killua and his dad was like, such a rollercoaster lmao

like....it was all over the place for me...first of all the ambiance was wack, the room lighting was weird and im p sure killuas seat was an electric chair??? and the dad was in a coffin thing..???? like....interesting aesthetic choices all over the place here 

also i see now where killua got his hair and also his catboy tendencies. the zoldyck catboy genes seem to trace back to zoldyck dad, who has kinda scary cat eyes 

also im guessing that the dad is the blood zoldyck and the mom is the one who married in. they sure seem to put a lot of emphasis on like, family legacy or w/e, but the two parents certainty go abt it in different ways 

the whole convo b/w killua and his dad was wild, it totally didnt go where i was expecting it to. his dad was weirdly chill while also being super intense? 

killua happily telling stories abt gon was so sweet....baby boy baby 

and his dad telling him ‘never betray your friends’ was rlly interesting...i wonder what his reasons were for saying that 

cause then he tells killua he can leave, and killua does, but then dad zoldyck tells mom zoldyck (i rlly need to find out their names) that he thinks killua will come back on his own time....inch resting 

i wonder if dad zoldyck made killua promise that bc he was trying to set killua up for failure - as in, he tells killua to never betray his friends, thinking that killua inevitably will & be distraught abt it, and then turn back to the zoldyck family when this happens. idk

also its interesting to me that zoldyck dad wants killua to lead the family someday. like, illumi is right there, hes the oldest and clearly dedicated to being an evil assassin, and he seems p good at it...i wonder why killua is the favorite....the grandpa (i think) did say that killua is Special(tm) which...yes he is a special baby boy i love him. i wanna see more zoldyck family flashbacks/interactions so we can see what led them to this point 

oh lord that reminds me of illumi briefly appearing in the killua flashback and hes just like, suddenly there, wearing some gay ass sweater....like ok dude did you just come back from the Evil Assassin Library or st?????

that reminds me too, ruth tells me that apparently in the manga illumi and hisoka got married or something???? to which i say, thats fucking wild, but also it makes sense, those two are both horrible and disgusting and they absolutely deserve each other hbvajvhsdfjbak peak evil nasty gay rep, i love it. i cant wait to see whatever the fuck the context to that is bc, thats fucking wild

ok back to the plot so like its so wild to me how smoothly everything went hvubsjduhfbjsh like....killuas dad was rlly like ok u can leave and killua just went to the butler house and then canary woke up and was like ok gon & crew lets go to the butler house to see killua, fuck the rules, (and she didnt even get killed for ‘disobedience’ or w/e, or more likely - in most big shounen, she wouldve been attacked by the other evil butlers and gon wouldve had to fight them)

killua Rlly was like fuck this place im leaving my boyfriend and his parents are here to pick me up [puts on gayest outfit he owns and skateboards away] hvbhsjdfbjdkf

i love killuas weird gay preteen fashion so far and i cant wait to see more 

killua telling the butler guy to let him know as SOON as gon gets there cause he wants to see him AS SOON AS HE CAN ;_; bro they r....in love 

of course the butler is trickey tho lmao, any other shounen this wouldve turned into an 8 ep long fight scene sequence where gon has to fight the butlers in order to see killua 

and the of course gon is the same way, gon is like i need to see killua RIGHT NOW take me to him!!! ohhh my god babies

the whole coin game was wild, it was funny when the other butlers got involved too lmao 

when gon was like ‘hey leorio can i see your knife’ i was like OH NO I DONT LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING. and i was right bc OWWWWW baby boy oh my god!!!! but that seems to have solved it even tho thats NOT how swelling works at ALL- 

anyways gon is a cute smart good boy and i also find it funny how killua eventually gets impatient and just busts in on this whole dramatic situation (and the tension immediately deescalates as a result lmao) 

tangent but god its so funny seeing all these butler guys deferring to killua, an actual 12 yr old....i wanna see the hilarious and hijink-filled results of killua being raised as a rich spoiled assassin prince. thats a lethal combo thats gotta result in some wildly skewed perceptions on how things work, especially paired with gon ‘probably eats dirt for fun and sleeps in trees’ freecess 

godddd gon and killuas lil reunion is SOOO cute they were so happy to see each other ;_; bro they are SO cuteeeee augh. two tiny babies

killua being like oh hi also uh kurapika andddd [looks at smudged writing on hand] lorpo 

hvhhbajfbs dont do my man leorio like that killua hes a hardworking father 

the fact that they just like. LEAVE...thats so wild. i cant believe how little fighting this arc had. this all wrapped up SO much faster than i could have ever anticipated lmao 

where the heck was alluka!? i assumed she’d show up here but uhhhh guess not......in the silhouette shot of all the zoldycks she and killua were holding hands ;_; my fucking uwus bro 

we also didnt see the grandma or great grandpa so im guessing theyll appear later 

gon being like fuck it im not using my hunters license til i punch hisoka in the fucking face hvbhahsfbjsk thats hilarious 

also a convenient way to let him have his hunters license but not utilize it til later in the story...its so early for him to have achieved that big chunk of his goal, which just shows that hxh is Not your typical shounen and isnt gonna just be centered around gons quest to become a hunter 

so we finally found out what hisoka said to kurapika....just as i thought, it was st to do w/the phantom troupe. so theres a handy setup for the yorknew city arc later. bam 

hisoka just being like ‘hey meet me in this (presumably) very large city on this date. no i will not tell you where in the city to meet me. bye seeya there’ 

tbf hisoka is very hard to miss 

god when they arrive and kurapika is just like ok well we got killua so im out lol bye everyone....bro hvbjkhgbfjhdksfhjk that felt so abrupt 

and then leorio was like oh yeah same i gotta go study time to take the fantasy MCAT or w/e

AND THEY BOTH LEFT....now gon and killua r chilling but im like oh my god no leorio kurapika come back, we need some (questionable) adult supervision over here 

and like immediately killua is like ok gon do you have money. and of Course gon doesnt have money. so killua is like well you need money and you need to train so you can deck hisoka, so lets go to a fantasy version of an underground fighting ring! this is why kurapika and leorio needed to stay 

tho they probably wouldve just gone along with it 

they did all promise to meet in yorknew city, but thats apparently like 6 months away. are gon and killua rlly gonna spend 6 months at heavens arena

the part where killua draws the diagram demonstrating how much of a n00b gon is....hvbajdkhfbhajskf

AND THEN when he drew himself into the diagram and was like :3c wow im so modest HBJHSKHDFHBJS that was so funny

it was like that post thats like ‘you can tell when a cats pupils change and they just shift into Silly Mode’ thats what killua looked like...catboy

so thats basically it i think, gon and killua are heading to heavens arena to join fight club or whatever. tournament arc time! 

PREDICTION CORNER: 

i doubt this is the last weve seen of the zoldyck family. i mean we havent even met 3 of them, and we barely saw the ones we did meet...idk when theyll come back but i suspect theyll be making some big money moves later on and fucking shit up somehow 

i think maybe illumi or someone will like, spy on killua sometimes to keep track of him. or theyll track him by other means

ill use the prediction corner to reflect on incorrect predictions so heres a few. i rlly thot killua was gonna be more edgy than he is but hes rlly just a good boy huh. like hes a gay baby assassin catboy but hes so cute and good too. he just wants to live his life and hang out with his tiny bf like... omg :’) 

also i thot hisoka held a totally different narrative role lbvahkfjhjjaksfl i thot he was like main villain guy....hes more like an annoying creepy clown dude who (probably) shows up a lot to bother the main cast. we’ll see, but thats what i think of him now

like i thought hisoka would be like p1 dio, where hed be/quickly become a powerful antagonist who would amass a bunch of followers/minions (when actually the only person he seems to hang out w/is illumi, and theyre more like equals than an evil guy/minion dynamic)...or like i thought hisoka would be very well known as a scary evil guy but nope he was just another participant in the hunter exam, albeit a weird freaky one whose rancid vibes everyone seemed to pick up on 

anyways actual predictions, i think hisoka is gonna be at heavens arena, which would be super funny. gon is like im gonna train to beat hisoka and he shows up to do that and hisokas just there like >;) hey

i think if i had to guess, the zoldycks will show up again (in a plot important way) at the end of the yorknew arc/before the greed island arc. i know basically nothing abt any of the arcs but i do know the order they go in so theres that

i do think illumi will show up earlier than the other zoldycks tho, since he seems to be out doing his own thing more than the rest. also we still really havent resolved the whole mind control thing that im still convinced of 

i think nen will finally be introduced/alluded to heavily in this arc...or like, characters will use nen and gon will be like whoa whats that 

i think killua knows what nen is...maybe? it would make sense since im sure all the zoldycks can use it (at least, we saw mom zoldyck use it, probably)

can killua use nen already? that would be pretty funny. i dont think so tho. maybe u learn nen at a certain age. i have no idea what nen is 

also isnt gons nen power the power to like, turn into a really buff version of himself or something. how the fuck does that work 

ok enough nonsense its bedtime zzzzz

[iristial]

kakafukaka ep.8

It got longer than usual, so here it is under the cut

Episode 8 was probably my favourite Kakafukaka episode...because it had a lot of Akari screen time. Because she is rational - she talks about her feelings, how she can’t understand the situation and it makes her feel disgusted, but she doesn’t pin the blame on Aki. Instead, she makes Aki actually think about what she’s apologizing for, and when Aki decides she’s not sorry for any of the things she did with Hongyo, that’s when Akari decides to eat dinner with her

Akari is all about being 100% certain with feelings, which poises her as a foil to Hase, who’s vague, quite messed up and doesn’t pin meanings on certain things - like relationships, the entire arrangement between Aki and Hongyo, and vice versa. I think that’s why Hase thinks that having his mum meet Akari would equal death, because his mum...beats around the bush and tries to conceal her feelings by saying it’s for “someone’s good” (when really, it’s all about her). That’s the kind of language Akari dislikes and she’d waste no time informing Hase’s mum about that. It’d be World War Four

Aki being upfront with her feelings about Hongyo was...something I liked? I think? She often drifts between wanting something to freaking out, but she actually went through with confessing to Hongyo, who responded with all three reactions Aki had envisioned - that part was pretty funny (if I ignore the implications)

Aki: “The one I like is Hongyo. There’s no mistake. But...”

^This dialogue here was a definite indication that Aki kind of enjoys the attention she gets from Hase, if only it shows how she can be important to other people

This episode makes it so obvious that Hongyo likes Aki by way of showing his jealousy. An odd kind of jealousy too. He goes from talking about the sexual anatomy of cats to kissing Aki’s neck and then - as Hase put it - Hongyo “marked” Aki. I can’t believe he actually bit her, yikes. He seemed pretty happy about it in a child-(like/ish) way too -_o

Just - here’s the tag ramble I did when I first saw the back of Aki’s neck on Twitter [it was a clip from the end of the episode]

I somehow feel like Hongyo doesn’t understand what he’s feeling, but that’s probably because we don’t get insight into his thoughts and we’re left with what everyone thinks of him: an eccentric and quiet novelist

We get insights on Aki and Hongyo (Akari missed out on her own flashback -_-, which should’ve followed the scene where Aki asks about Akari’s feelings for Hongyo), who are more fleshed out - and that’s why some people ship them over the main pair

As for Hase, I think he’s broken the barrier between him wanting Aki because she “suits him” and his actual feelings. I don’t see what else that micro breakdown at the end of the episode could be. It seemed like his feelings - jealousy? Worry? Confusion? - were going to pop out all at once. Just minutes before he claimed that the arrangement meant nothing, so he had nothing to worry about - and then we see him putting his face in his hands, mulling over the face he makes when he looks at Aki

And then that scene happened. The temple kiss, the attempt to go for her neck when Aki backed off and ran into her room. I have to admit, I saw it as “Kousei doing an intimate scene” rather than “Hase making another move on Aki which is...going to...make her confused again...”

Also, if you’re curious Hase - there’s a reason I said Kousei would be good at the longing look back when LuPato episode 17 aired

I believe this episode is setting up a gateway that’s the end of this drama. The manga is still ongoing but they can’t possibly cover that material without overtaking it, and they’ve got two episodes left. I think it’s going to involve Hongyo accepting Aki’s feelings and they enter a relationship, albeit there’s still some open threads that will make viewers go to the manga

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26/12/2020 (LadBaby, Boris Johnson, Ed Sheeran)

It’s Boxing Day in the UK as I write this and I’m pretty tired but we still have to review those charts regardless, especially this chart as this is the Christmas chart – at least it’s being paraded around as such – and hence we have a Christmas #1. For the third year in a row, family vlogger, pseudo-comedian and amateur musician, not to be confused with DaBaby, Mark Ian Hoyle – more commonly known as “LadBaby”, has bagged the #1 for the holiday season. Every time I’ve covered the Christmas #1 it has been this guy and, yeah, I’m tired of it. At least this year he felt some stiff competition, and hey, the songs’ proceeds do go to charity. Oh, yeah, and this guy is the third act to have three Christmas #1s in a row, putting this nobody from Nottingham with a barebones Wikipedia page and a couple million YouTube subscribers on the level of the Beatles and Spice Girls. God, the UK Singles Chart never fails to amaze me. Anyway, that’s arguably not even the biggest story here so let’s start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

As I said before, this is the “Christmas week” so throughout the UK Top 75 there are a lot of holiday songs re-peaking or reaching new peaks, before dropping off entirely the next week. Let’s start as we always do by listing the drop-outs from the chart, of which there are quite a few notable ones. Most of our top 40 debuts from last week are gone, like Taylor Swift’s “champagne problems” and “no body, no crime” featuring HAIM, as well as “Show Out” by Kid Cudi, the late Pop Smoke and Skepta. We can also say goodbye to “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” by Post Malone and Swae Lee, finally after 54 weeks and a surprise return earlier this month, in addition to other top 10 hits like “you broke me first” by Tate McRae, “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio and “What You Know Bout Love” also by Pop Smoke, as well as some more minor hits like “Wonder” by Shawn Mendes, “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and benny blanco, “Train Wreck” by James Arthur, “Golden” by Harry Styles and “Plugged in Freestyle” by A92 and Fumez the Engineer, but I can see almost all of these rebounding hard next week so I don’t think there’s much to worry about here. For fallers, since Christmas has really consumed everything about this chart this week, we have some big ones that’ll find themselves back in the top 10 or at least top 20 next week like “positions” by Ariana Grande at #19 (the first non-Christmas non-debut song to appear on the chart, by the way), “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix at #20, “Whoopty” by CJ at #22, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #28, “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI at #31, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa at #35 alongside “Midnight Sky” also by Miley at #36, “willow” by Taylor Swift off the debut to #37, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #38 and “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy. We also have “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish at #43, “Really Love” by KSI featuring Craig David and Digital Farm Animals at #45, even “HOLIDAY” by Lil Nas X at #49, “Mood” by 24kGoldn featuring iann dior at #54, “Loading” by Central Cee at #59, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #60, “Monster” by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber at #64, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd at #66, “Dynamite” by BTS at #67, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #72, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa with the biggest fall down to #73 and finally “No Time for Tears” by Nathan Dawe and Little Mix at #74. To put the dominance of holiday music on the charts in perspective, if we take the songs that are not either explicitly Christmas-related or a clear Christmas #1 campaign (i.e. LadBaby), the song at #38 would be at #10 and our #1 would be “positions” by Ariana Grande at #19. “Whoopty” by CJ, that entered the top 10 last week and dropped to #22 this week, would be at #3. There are 11 songs in the top 40 that never made an effort to take advantage of the holiday season. When we get into some of our debuts, it’ll be even clearer how big Christmas is in British pop music. Anyway, let’s skim through our gains and returning entries, most of which are Christmas or Christmas-related. For returning entries, we have the comically awful “Lonely this Christmas” by Mud at #71, last year’s scam attempt at a Christmas #1, “River” by Ellie Goulding at #69, “The Christmas Song (A Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole at #63 (which I’d appreciate more in the top 20 like it is in the US every year – this is a classic), “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders at #62 (again, incredible song that deserves a higher holiday peak each year), “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love at #58, “Santa’s Coming for Us” by Sia at #55, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Sam Smith at #53 and for whatever reason, “Holy” by Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper at #41. In terms of notable gains – and I stress notable, since a lot of higher-up Christmas songs had small gains but still good performance - we have “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by the Jackson 5 at #57, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by Frank Sinatra at #56, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby at #52, “Baby it’s Cold Outside” by Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor at #51, “Forever Young” by Becky Hill at #50 (both off of the debut), “Baby it’s Cold Outside” AGAIN by Michael Bublé and Idina Menzel at #47, “Love is a Compass” by Griff at #46, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano at #44, “Cozy Little Christmas” by Katy Perry at #42, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” AGAIN by Dean Martin at #39, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes at #34, “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay at #33, “Santa Baby” by Kylie Minogue at #32, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber at #29, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms at #27, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney at #26, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #25, “All You’re Dreaming Of” by Liam Gallagher at #24 (thanks to a Christmas #1 campaign that crashed and failed), “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams at #23, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with the Plastic Ono Band featuring the Harlem Community Choir at #21, “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis at #18, “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade at #17, “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #15, and finally, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Justin Bieber illegitimately notching a spot in the top 10 at #8. Finally, we can get onto the new arrivals, although something about this next one tells me that we won’t be in line for anything all that good.

NEW ARRIVALS

#70 – “I’ll be Home” – Meghan Trainor

Produced by Meghan Trainor

...for Christmas. She’ll be home for Christmas. I guess she just can’t finish sentences, even though her cover art has the full title. Anyway, this is a 2014 original Christmas song that went nowhere except Sweden. It’s not anything like the Bing Crosby and wasn’t nearly as successful, mostly because it’s a jingly, inoffensive ballad tacked onto a silly Christmas EP that also features Fifth Harmony and Fiona Apple of all people – who probably should have charted her track instead – as well as the deluxe edition of that debut record Title that nobody liked. At least in this, she’s not going for a faux-retro style, or at least one that I can find the inspiration for, and is just singing over this oddly jaunty piano melody – which sounds pretty albeit bland – as well as some swells of strings and acoustic guitar that do work sonically. The content implies that Meghan Trainor is in contact with Santa Claus personally, and that he gave her the advice to be home with her lover this Christmas and... that’s why this charted, isn’t it? Well, it’s not her fault – it’s not a “stuck with u” moment, but it is dodgy that she decided to put this on her own Christmas record that was released in October of this year, which can’t seem unintentional. I’d be lying to say this isn’t a pretty little tune from Trainor and her voice does fit this instrumental, but a jazzy rendition from someone with a deeper, smoother voice, would work wonders with the content. Oh, and that Christmas record features guest appearances from both Earth, Wind & Fire and Seth MacFarlane, as well as her dad, because, you know, sure, 2020.

#65 – “Gnat” – Eminem

Produced by d.a. got that dope

I can’t tell if I’m underestimating Christmas or overestimating Eminem when I say I expected an album bomb – or whatever that equivalent would be in the UK and our land of silly chart rules – from the deluxe edition of his pretty damn terrible album, Music to be Murdered By. This 3/10 trainwreck consists of two hours I’ll never get back of either great beats wasted by Eminem’s corny, stiff flows and painfully unlikeable delivery or obnoxious, unlistenable beats that are dated enough for Eminem to start going on his Relapse “killing women in funny accents” shtick, which was awful then and even worse now when he tries to replicate it. Marshall, you’re 48, and I know that you’re just “messing around” but if you’re going to treat the album as a cinematic masterpiece within the album and its thematic Alfred Hitchcock interludes, you have to understand that the audience will see it as that way as well, so you having fun and being painfully unfunny in the process over cutting-room-floor trap instrumentals cannot slide. At least Kamikaze had some genuine anger and dare I say some actual balls in how it tackled controversy and dissed everyone he could think of off the top of his head. The last record was angry and bitter, this one’s just tired and lazy, and that’s before we get into some of the ugliest bars, instrumentals and cadences Slim Shady’s ever put on record, which is especially present on “Gnat”, a lightweight trap banger with some acoustic guitars not dissimilar to those that would appear on a Lil Baby mixtape, complete with questionable bass mixing and really bad hooks. On the verses, he sends a death threat to Mike Pence, but on the chorus, his bars are “like COVID” because “you get them right off the bat”. I don’t know about you, but in 2020, I don’t want to hear Eminem harmonising with producer tags, making topical and insensitive pandemic references, or spitting sex bars with coughing ad-libs. Before the beat switch, his flows are some of the sloppiest and drawn-out he’s ever used, and yes, I’ll admit, that second beat is a lot better and Em kills it over that instrumental – but only for a brief moment before we have a third beat, which Eminem is pretty great over, especially with that sax and sweet piano keys overlaid with hard 808s and Eminem’s rapid-pace, quick fire flow... and then he raps the chorus again and I want the song to end as quickly as it started – thankfully, it does end rather abruptly. Just wasted potential all throughout – if that beat switch and flow was a guest verse on damn near anyone else’s record (Em has made tracks with Don Toliver of all people, and he could work), this could be great. For now, Em, you know Kris Kristofferson? I think you should Piss Pissofferson. Forever. Look that up, by the way, that’s a lyric on the record because of course it is.

#61 – “In the Bleak Midwinter” – Jamie Cullum

Produced by ???

I had only briefly heard the name “Jamie Cullum” before this, but he is an English jazz-pop singer and pianist who’s basically useless and uninteresting but, hey, at least he has a radio show on BBC Radio 2. Sure, I mean that might have been the reason that Amazon Music picked him up for an exclusive project for which this is the biggest single. It’s not on Spotify, it’s not even on Genius, and it’s barely on YouTube but since it is, I should tell you that this is his first charting single since 2009 and it’s a remarkably uninteresting rendition of a Christmas carol done a lot better by Jacob Collier – and that one’s on Spotify – so yeah, your sleepy piano arrangement and tone that makes you sound like Robbie Williams half the time and Beck the other, doesn’t interest me. Goodbye.

#30 – “Afterglow” – Ed Sheeran

Produced by PARISI, Fred Again and Ed Sheeran

If we inexplicably remove everything Christmas-related on the chart, Eminem’s “Gnat” would have debuted at #20, and this new track from Ed Sheeran, already stunted from being released on an unconventional day, would have hit #5. Regardless of chart position, Ed Sheeran’s back with his first solo single since Divide. Yes, I’m purposefully ignoring that collaborative project he put out in 2019 because as far as I know, it doesn’t exist. At the end of the year, when things are looking as if he could start touring again, Sheeran predictably releases his lead-off single. This song in particular is a heartfelt ballad from Ed to his wife, who he wishes to be there forever and even if they aren’t together at any moment, whether he’s touring or they separate for whatever reason, he’ll “hold on to the afterglow”. I won’t lie, it’s a really sweet and convincingly sold love song from Ed, even if it’s not anything new, it does feel like a different approach since he’s a newly-wed man now. Although I’m not a fan of this somewhat muddy mixing that somehow messes up just a guy and his acoustic guitar, making what should be a really pretty, ethereal and mellow track sound almost ugly, which doesn’t flatter Ed and his limited delivery at all, especially when he starts getting multi-tracked in the second verse and whooshing sound effects of strings pop up in the mix, and, yeah, it just sounds cheap and gross at this point, which is really a waste of incredible content and a great performance from Ed, who sells everything as well as he can. I understand how this is supposed to be down to Earth, so a perfect mix wouldn’t make sense, but if you’re going to make him harmonise with his own background vocals and even show signs of belting, give him some more grandiosity and go full out instead of restraining him so that it just sounds jarring. With a different mix this could be one of Ed’s best tracks since the melodies are on point, the song feels really heart-warming and sincere, especially coming from Ed to his wife, but we won’t get a remaster anytime soon, I imagine, so for now this is just pretty damn good. I love the cover art as well, painted by Ed himself, and released alongside the single as a bit of a Christmas gift to fans, as well as the start of what I’m pretty sure will be a promo cycle. If this is a good peek into what that album will sound like, it’s safe to say I’m more than excited than ever to hear from Ed Sheeran.

#5 – “Boris Johnson is a Fricking Jerk” – Kool & the Gang

Produced by ???

Okay, so the song’s calling Boris Johnson something stronger than a “fricking jerk”, and the song is decidedly not by soul legends Kool & the Gang, although I’d love for that to happen sometime. This is a family show, of course, so we have to take some liberties. This track originates from a comedian from Basildon, Essex of all places, and whilst we don’t know his name, the songwriting credit on Spotify is given to contemporary British poet Wayne Clements so maybe he’s behind this, who knows? Whether he is or not, I can tell you the history behind this comedian’s music, as he has been making crude short singles about controversial topics in British society and politics for a while, including some about Nick Clegg that charted, although never higher than #63. He retired in 2016 but after writing an autobiography, the guy’s back and he released a compilation of punk rock tracks, all of which are small and profane, with a “band” of puppets that I also can’t name. State-controlled Russian television networks – because, sure, again, it’s 2020 – say that he will start touring in 2021, mostly because he’s finally reached that mainstream audience with this family-friendly tune about Boris Johnson. Here’s how Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton introduced it live on air during the mid-week chart reveal.

Now at #19, we've got a track about Boris Johnson that has so many bad words in it, we can't play it on daytime Radio 1.

Ah, you cowards. Wait... Anyway, I’m pretty happy that the British public can stick it to Boris and the heartless Tories that follow him and currently rule the country, even if it is all a bloody stupid joke from an anonymous punk rocker. We can dig into Boris for his failures on Brexit, mishandling of the pandemic, disgraceful reality-star-esque personal life, that he wasn’t even born in the UK yet is basically a nationalist, his history of Islamophobic commentary, his crap excuses for journalism back in the 2000s or even his clown-nose, blonde bowl-cut “hair style” he adopts whilst addressing us on live television feeding us lies and misleading statements that turn into retcons the next time he has to address the nation, whether it be on Brexit or COVID-19 tiers and regulations, both of which are a confusing mess to both sides of Europe that exist to drift us away from where we should be going as a nation, and further into the realm of political party tribalism that we know absolutely does not work in the States and that we mock the Yanks for. We’re more than the sick man of Europe, we are the America of Europe. I guess you could say Ireland is our Canada, but we don’t even have a Mexico to make us look better, we just have other western, central and northern European countries that may be flawed but are far ahead of whatever the hell this shell of a union is in 2020, less than 80 years after the creation of our National Health Service. People will look to pundits and newsreaders like Piers Morgan, entertainers like Phillip Schofield, war veterans and charity-givers like Captain Tom Moore, and even politicians like Boris Johnson, as the “heroes” of Britain’s 2020 but it’s increasingly clear that absolutely no-one is a hero, and it’s the people’s right to be upset. Hence, nearly exactly a year after Boris Johnson cheated his way into power by smear campaigns and elitism, we have this song debuting at #5. Unfortunately, the song doesn’t go into any of that. It just repeats the title in an anthemic – and considerably agreeable – refrain that is an undeniable punk hook. The riffs and guitar work here isn’t of any interest, but the guy’s delivery is powerful and furious, so I’ll give the song credit: it’s not just correct but it’s really good, especially for a one minute runtime. He also released some satirical MIDI-level synth-pop remix with gross Christmas sleigh bells and hi-hat skitters, because, say it with me, it’s 2020. I wouldn’t recommend the album though, it overstays its welcome by the time you get to “Jesus Died of a Stranglewank”.

#1 – “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’” – LadBaby

Produced by who cares?

I can’t get mad at this lazy “parody” of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” about sausage rolls, or even its Ronan Keating remix, which is LadBaby doing a favour to Ronan Keating, if anything. Sure, my blood boils with the idea that this incompetent Internet personality from the East Midlands – which I think I’m sadly also able to describe myself as – got the #1 over Mariah Carey, or even that Boris Johnson diss track, but it’s going to the Trussell Trust and it’s ultimately an inoffensive, vaguely happy track that even gets the vegans involved. I, for one, prefer “Boris Johnson is a Sausage Roll”, a version of our #5 you can – and should – play on the radio even after Christmas. I don’t have anything more to say about this guy so piss off, LadBaby, you can’t even get the album cover right to the song you’re parodying, thrice in a row.

Conclusion

Best of the Week is definitely going to the Somethings for “Boris Johnson is a Something Something”, with an Honourable Mention to Ed Sheeran’s “Afterglow”. I can’t bring myself to give a charity single Worst of the Week so I’ll spare LadBaby the honour and grant it to Jamie Cullum for his greedy Amazon exclusive trite, with a Dishonourable Mention for “Gnat” by Eminem, for just being wasted potential all across the board. Next week, everything Christmas-related will be gone and we’ll get a bunch of returns and hopefully some new, interesting returning entries. We might even get the impact of Playboi Carti’s long-anticipated album – and I hope so because it’s fantastic – but that’s wishful thinking. Anyways, I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. Here’s our top 10:

Thank you for reading. You can follow me @cactusinthebank for more rambling about pop music and occasionally politics, and I’ll see you next year.

[somevestrit]

Radio Romance | Ep 1 & 2 Review

So I have attempted to watch Radio Romance and I barely finished the first two episodes. I wasn't interested at first because the description on Viki makes it sound really bad, but then I found out Kim So Hyun is in it and became interested. She's been in so much that she's definitely had her fair share of duds, but she's a really strong actress and has been in some really good stuff as well (Moon Embracing the Sun and everything she's been in written by Park Hye Ryun to name some).

I feel like I started this show with reasonable expectations. They might have been low because the premise sounded bad or they may have been a little high because of Kim So Hyun, but either way my opinion of the show in the beginning sharply nose dived not long after it started and did not plateau until I stopped watching. Kim So Hyun, who is 18, is playing an old and tired heroine archetype that was finally left behind only a couple of years ago, and seems to be part of a weird trend to bring back old elements of K Dramas that were left behind for a reason and should never be brought back, but I won't get into that here. She's driven, brazen, and fighting to keep her head above water. Or in this case, to stay in her chosen field. Also she has the super curly, wild, and unruly hair that not so subtly represented her personality. Did I mention she's brazen?

Putting this aside since I've never liked this caricature of a strong and independent woman and the fact that even though she started off pretty weak I had faith that Kim So Hyun could layer the character and do her well, I also had issue with the age range between her and the male lead. Now, I don't have an issue with him per say, I only know him from the movie Splash Splash Love which in spite of its terrible title was actually pretty cute. The problem is that he, Yoon Doo Joon, is 28. A full ten years older than the lead actress which wouldn't be so terrible if only Kim So Hyun didn't still look very much like a teenager, maybe just turned 20, and Yoon Doo Joon didn't like very much like he was in his late twenties, maybe just turned 30. What makes it even worse is they are both apparently supposed to be the same age. The Same Age. But this is also something I could over look. Like I could over look how Yoon Doo Joon's character's friend/therapist is awkward and cringey and hard to watch and not at all funny like he's so clearly supposed to be (I'm chalking this up to bad writing or possibly a miscast or a mixture of the two because I've seen the actor, Kwak Dong Yeon, throw out some decent performances). I could also, possibly, maybe, ignore the fact that Kim So Hyun's character keeps getting mad at Yoon Doo Joon's character for always smiling even though I was always initially confused by this because I couldn't tell he was supposed to be smiling because whatever emotion the actor was going for he was most definitely not getting at.

However all these little problems, together with other things like the cheesiness that is Kim So Hyun's character's love for radio shows, together make it progressively harder to be forgiving and really distract from any good the show had to offer. Because I was interested, and part of the reason I'm frustrated is because the show had legitimately good elements that were heavily brought down by bad ones.

But honestly, the biggest offense this show had for me was something so obvious and brazen, something they didn't even try to hide, something I cannot begin to fathom why they would do it, is that Radio Romance is, at least so far as the first two episodes go, a cheap knock-off of Uncontrollably Fond. What's weird to me is I recently saw this happen with The Bride of the Water God being a cheap knock-off of Goblin: The Lonely and Great God, and while I was annoyed with Habeak (The Water God) for assassinating its source material in an attempt to get name recognition from the Manhwa and also ride off the waves (I honestly didn't mean to make that pun but since we're might as all own it) of the success of Goblin by lifting elements of it, it was at least its own story with its own characters. Radio Romance, so far, essentially lifted the bare bones of the story of Uncontrollably Fond, the characters, and the relationships between the characters. So while I can forgive one story lifting elements from another, such as a male "god" that's a couple of centuries old being magically bound to a mortal woman in modern day Korea and the woman is struggling for whatever reason, as pretty much all heroines tend to do as has been touched on previously, it's not quite the same as regurgitating the same set up for a story and characters and back story for those characters.

What's worse is once I realized just how much Radio Romance is like Uncontrollably Fond I also began realizing the elements of Radio Romance I liked were things lifted almost directly from Uncontrollably Fond. There were definitely elements lifted that I really hated, like Yoon Doo Joon's character picking up Kim So Hyun's character to carry her to his car, but most of the elements from the show that elicited any response from me were from Uncontrollably Fond.

But this is observation from the first two episodes, and maybe they get better as the series goes on. But these are serious foundational issues that I don't believe the show could recover from hardly at all in the remaining 14 episodes because the issue is the foundation itself. What's weird about this show for me, though, is I don't think they were trying to capitalize off of Uncontrollably Fond or were intentionally being lazy. There's a lot of sincerity in it already, albeit misplaced and pretty over done—and this from someone who loves a lot of sincerity in her stories—but it seems like the creators are trying to tell a well constructed story with fleshed out characters. It never felt like it was assumed the audience had watched Uncontrollably Fond so Radio Romance was building off of it.

I have absolutely no idea what the creators were thinking making an Uncontrollably Fond 2.0, nor why something that seemed to have had a lot of care put into the script was produced so poorly. Because a lot of my issues stem more from bad production than bad writing. All I do know is that if I, or anyone else, want to watch Uncontrollably Fond, then just watch Uncontrollably Fond. And this from someone who has attempted to watch the show twice and always starts off loving it but then unable to watch past episode 10 or 11. And some people will like Radio Romance. The main script wasn't terrible, if you can look past the blatant plagiarism, and there are some solid actors on the main cast, Yoon Doo Joon's and Kwak Dong Yeon's respective performances so far not withstanding. I just doubt I'll ever watch more of it.

[rediscoveringwords-blog]

Learning to Live

Henriette O'Callaghan was in possession of a highly proper name, but she slowly found herself rejecting it. In her youth, she wanted to be called Ri. That was it. She wrote songs of love and heartbreak that she had never experienced, even as her peers began to get a taste of what they couldn't put a lyric or a chord to. She was a hopeless romantic lacking actual romance. She would pour her heart out in her songbook for those who she could never tell. She cried to the voices of those more famous she wished to be with. And she held fast to the hope that love might come her way. That, finally, a boy would notice her as a woman, not just a friend.

Never did she imagine that college would be her... cynical awakening. She got what she wanted. She fulfilled her own songs, like flowery prophecies that would begin to tarnish her core belief in romance.

The first one to tarnish her view of romance was called Tyler.

Ri met Tyler at a party. One of her first college parties. She had a couple wine coolers because she detested the taste of beer. Not than anyone could blame her, she hadn’t been treated to a very good beer. She handed it off to someone else, and her companions (annoyed) found something else for her to drink. She sipped it with apprehension, but was pleased to find that the taste of alcohol wasn’t smacking her in the face as she did. She did a little more than sip it. After one, she felt a little cloudy-headed. She wanted to stop. But those with her kept encouraging her to drink another. So she did. Ri had to be the most notorious lightweight, but she was drunk after the second one. Tyler had a couple beers that night too. He had one thing on his mind. He sidled up to Ri as she was leaning against a wall, enjoying the music. She glanced at Tyler out the side of her eyes, giving him what she hoped was a seductive glance, but most likely just looked confused. None of that mattered to Tyler. He started dancing with her. If only it was the thing to be polite when dancing with a lady, but it wasn’t. Nowadays, dancing like that was predatorial. Not that Ri particularly noticed. She had a small gut feeling, but it was clouded by the liquor. She let him. Tyler kept glancing at her lips, trying to move closer to her, resting his hands on her hips. Ri’s head swayed side to side, back and forth, just a little. And she bit her lip. She decided to tease a little. Ri rested her wrists on Tyler’s shoulders, swayed her hips, and flicked her eyes down at his lips. At least, she was pretty sure she did. Next thing she knew, Tyler had guided her over to a worn-in couch and leaned in so close she could smell the beer on him. But she kind of wanted it. Everyone else she knew had done it already. She was okay with going this far to try it out. Tyler leaned in, and touched her lips. At first, it was alright. But then it wasn’t. Ri didn’t want any more than she had already gotten. They kissed. That was it. But Tyler wasn't done. He didn’t pull back. He opened his mouth, and tried using his to force hers open, like a slimy jaws-of-life. He gripped her harder, squeezing her forearm with his vice grip, digging his chewed nails into the small of her back as he tried to force her closer and closer. He slid his tongue in her mouth when she opened hers to protest. Ri wasn’t having it. She finally sobered up enough to push him off. Putting both hands on his chest, she thrust them forward and knocked him off balance. At that moment she stood up and walked away. Ri went to go find one of her sorority sisters. She didn’t want to be alone and end up with Tyler again. Ri wiped her mouth with her shirt and went in search of water. That was disgusting.

The second boy to strip her of her rose-lenses was called Mason.

Mason was almost everything— physically— that Ri was looking for. He met her height requirements (at least 5'9", to come slightly above her 5'7"), had luxurious hair that swept over his eyes sometimes when he looked down,  a smolder that could light a flame in anyone's heart, and just enough definition in his arms that Ri could imagine being comfortably swept off her feet. As for personality, Ri had never dated before... so she didn't quite know what she was looking for. But Mason had a laissez-faire attitude about life. He wasn't exactly the life of the party, he didn't exactly wake up every morning with a goal in mind... he didn't commit. Like a stoner or a leaf in the wind, he let life take him without truly realizing the damage he left in his wake.

Ri knew this... sort of. She was too enamored by his good looks, suave yet ballsy physical advances, and climax-inducing kisses. Of course, she never let it get that far.

"I'm not looking for commitment," he would say, and then continue to feel around as much as Ri would dare let him.

But he felt like a boyfriend. At least, Ri thought so. He had gone as her date to formal, they cuddled on his couch, slept together once (but no funny stuff. That just wasn't Ri's style), hung out at least weekly, and even been out together... with other people... while one of them was more than a little tipsy.

So it should not have come as a shock when the summer approached and Mason's attention waned. A lot.

But Ri was a romantic. It didn't make sense right away. They had something, right? After checking her phone everyday for even a “hey,” she began to lose confidence in what she thought was there. Whatever it was, it wasn’t there.

After doing a little social media stalking, Ri found photo after photo of Mason with another girl. Albeit, she wasn’t nearly as pretty as Ri… but she was still another girl. It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out what was going on, Ri got it. She soon stopped responding to Mason’s mass-snaps and occupied her time by talking to her trusted sorority sisters and drowning herself in relatable poetry. But she would still dwell over Mason. Damn that boy, she would think, why’d he have to affect me like this? When Ri wasn’t avoiding staying at home, she would be out with friends. Coffee once a week, twice a week she would go out, sometimes she’d get a shift at her summer job. All the while, Mason occupied her mind.

Yael: u there, ri?

Henriette: sup, el?

Yael: u gon bring the banner for ep nu rush?

Henriette: totes, el. I got it

Yael: kk, but u been off

Henriette: ?

Yael: come on, grl. I see what u post on twitter

Henriette: yeah… lotta poems.

Yael: is this about mason?

Henriette: i can’t forget him!

Yael: u gotta date other guys, girl.

Henriette: news flash- i don’t know any

Yael: what about will?

Henriette: your ex?

Yael: he’s a great guy and i think u guys would hit if off

Henriette: that’s sweet, el. But no thanks.

Yael: i gotchu, fam. Imma text him ur number.

Henriette: el!! Rlly???

And so Will started texting Ri. It was awkward at first, but then Ri finally had a guy to talk to about her troubles with Mason. And Will finally had someone to talk to about his long-time crush he’d had and not been able to get through to. Ri and Will found friendship in each other, friendship they both desperately needed. But Will told Ri the things that she had been hearing from pretty much everyone: give it time and you’ll forget about him. Except that Will learned Ri had never been on a proper date, so for the sake of her knowing how she should be treated… Will decided he’d take her on one. During this time, Ri was getting DMs from another guy who she went to the same university as, but had never met. His name was Garrett.

Garrett was dangerous. Ri could tell. But not because he was necessarily a bad guy. Garrett was like Ri, a hopeless romantic. Except, Ri didn’t want it to be that way anymore. Garrett reached out to Ri. He texted her about music, then about hockey, and then about how they’re both in greek life organizations. Garrett wanted to marry a sorority girl. He wanted to marry a girl who loved her sorority as much as he loved his fraternity. And after a few mentions of this, Ri quickly tried putting Garrett at arms’ length. She was not about to have this. She still wasn’t really over Mason.

But one night she had an epiphany. She was scrolling through her twitter feed while pondering what kind of quote she could post next, and she noticed that there was no sign of Mason anywhere on her feed. He hadn’t been posting. It was almost as if he really didn’t matter in her life.

And he didn’t.

Mason had been clear that he was never interested in seriously dating Ri. He never took her out on a date. He had never been solid about anything. Except that he was definitely emotionally unavailable.

So why was Ri spending so many of her precious neurons on this guy?

She wouldn’t do it anymore. He didn’t matter. His song in her life was over. She needed to focus on herself. She had so many more important things to do. She wanted to get back into reading. She wanted to be able to help with recruitment for Ep Nu. She wanted to make money. She wanted to write music again.

Ri went back to her songbook. The one that she had jotted down notes for lyrics, chords, and full songs. In there, she had so many songs about heartbreak and wasting her energy on a guy who was never going to love her. She wrote this two years before she had ever felt anything of the sort.

Why’d you leave me? Why’d you leave me this way?

I can’t feel anything I used to

It’s like I’m numb to everything that matters

I don’t know how it got to be this way

But somehow, here we are..

or here I am…

You used me up more than I thought was possible

You took my heart without my letting you

And yet you said you don’t want anything from me…

Not my love.

Not my love.

You wouldn’t give me your love.

Your love.

Your love…

Was it there?

Did it even exist?

Was it air?

Did I make the whole thing up?

Tell me!

You used me up more than I thought was possible

You took my heart without my letting you

And yet you said you don’t want anything from me…

Not my love.

Not my love.

You wouldn’t give your love.

Your love.

Your love…

Was it there?

Did it even exist?

Was it air?

Did I make the whole thing up?

Tell me!

Here I am.

Broken down.

All day and all night thoughts of you swimming round

In my head.

On my phone your contact stays there so I know

If you call

If you do

Then I won’t answer.

Because you won’t answer me…

Was it there?

Did it even exist?

Was it air?

Did I make the whole thing up?

Tell me!

But you won’t.

You’re not there…

But I don’t think you ever were...

Holy crap. Ri looked over the lyrics that her fifteen-year-old self had written. And it was spot on. It was almost as if her song predicted the future. She combed through the rest of her songs. They all said the same things. She was deceived by a guy. She let herself get caught up in a guy. She let herself be deceived by a guy. They were all about Mason before Ri had ever known Mason. She opened the page with her first full song. A tear slipped down her cheek. She knew it was coming, she knew she would suffer, and she let herself suffer. But no longer.

Ri closed her songbook and went to her desk chair. She pulled out her favorite poetry book and looked for the poems on strength. She would have strength. Ri would focus on herself. No more Mason, and no worrying over Garrett. Garrett wanted to date her, that was for sure, but Ri wasn’t about to be swept up in another guy before she had a stronger sense of self. She would focus on being the best the she could for her, and nobody else.

Henriette O’Callaghan was her own person, and no tragic song she wrote when she was fifteen would dictate her life again.

For those who made it to the bottom, thanks for reading my first entry! This story was inspired by a friend who gave me permission to turn her story into short literature.

[sulietsexual]

Angel the Series - Reunion and Origin? And SPN - Houses of the Holy and Fresh Blood?

Nonnie, I gotta be honest with you, Houses of the Holy andFresh Blood are episodes I tend to skip when re-watching, as I find bothepisodes a bit dull. Honestly, I can barely even remember what happens ineither, only that the first has some preacher who believes he’s an angel andthe latter has Gordon turned into a vampire (which was a nice bit of poeticjustice). But I don’t really have a strong opinion on either. However, I’vewritten you some nice, long meta on both AtS episodes, so hopefully that makesup for my lack of opinion on the SPN eps.

Reunion

Shortopinion: Angel’s been a baaaad boy.

Longopinion: Who doesn’t love Reunion? It’s such agreat episode, narratively and thematically, bringing the Darla storyline tothe boiling point and showcasing just how far W&H have pushed Angel. Thisepisode marks Angel’s start of darkness and underlines what I’ve always stated– that Angel himself has capacity for great and deep darkness and that is why Angelus is so sadistic,because Angelus is Angel without the control of a soul.

The opening scene of this episode has Angel near breakingpoint, babbling and incoherent, horrified at the events he had just been forcedto witness and desperate to save Darla. I’ve written previously about theeffect Darla’s return has on Angel, the emotional marathon he goes throughbecause of it, and the way human Darla completely messes with his state ofmind. Which, of course, was always the point. W&H always planned to have Darla turned into a vampire, not only tofurther torment Angel but to push him into going Dark Side. The original planwas for him to turn her, but whenthat fell through, they had her turned infront of him (make no mistake, that was deliberate, an extra touch oftorture, forcing Angel to watch Drusilla drain Darla while he could do nothingto stop it). And it works, Angel almost loses his mind in the aftermath, sotormented by failing Darla that he is determined to kill her before she canrise again as a monster.

However, he’s tripped up by the fact that he no longer sees Darla as a monster. His experienceswith her as a human have left him unable to distinguish between Darla with asoul and Darla as a vampire, which is why he hesitates when he has the chanceto stake her. Things are no longer black and white, Darla has become someonereal to him, someone whom he cares about. The torture she and W&H put himthrough has left him confused and torn between his feelings for her and theknowledge that she is too dangerous to be allowed to live as a vampire.

Darla, meanwhile, is in a state of utter confusion andhelplessness at first, having risen for a second time and with the memory ofbeing human so new and fresh. Due to the fact that as a human she had actuallyaccepted her death and let go of her desire to be turned, she is at first furious at finding herself a vampireonce more, taking her frustration and rage out on Drusilla, who is now hersire. Her tormented cry of “Why?!”really resonates, showcasing just how conflicted she is regarding her siring.Drusilla’s tearful reply of “It’s what you wanted” seems to bring Darla back toearth, and the demon’s nature takes over, allowing her to feed off a nearbyhuman and prompting Drusilla’s delighted “You’re all new again!”. However, asthe next episode shows, the confliction Darla feels due to being so recentlyhuman has not entirely been resolved and is a driving factor in a lot of heractions for the remainder of the season.

The climax of this episode has Angel crossing a line which hethen has a hard time coming back from, but it’s hard to blame Angel for his actions,as they are a direct result of the torment W&H have put him through in thepreceding months. I actually think that in-Universe Angel is treated tooharshly regarding his actions over the latter half of the season, as W&Hhave basically been torturing him through Darla for the entire first half ofthe season, and he pretty much reaches his breaking point. Closing the lawyersin with Darla and Drusilla was a result of that torture, and pretty much gavethe W&H team exactly what they deserved.

Now, firing Wes, Gunn and Cordy was a pretty shitty move but,once again, there is a deeper reason going on. I’ve spoken about this in anearlier meta. Angel knows that he needs to kill Darla and normally this wouldnot be an issues (we see him kill her with ease in BtVS Season 1, when Buffy’slife was in danger). However, Darla is no longer just a soulless monster. He has known her as human now. He hascared for her, loved her, offered to die for her. He has connected with her ona level he never expected to and so, in order to kill her, he needs to becomedark. He needs to cut himself off from his own emotions, become cold andcalculated and access the Angelus part of his personality. And he cannot do that while Cordy, Wes and Gunnare around because they are his link to humanity. They are who keep him feelinghuman, able to suppress and control Angelus, able to function in the humanworld and feel and experience emotions such as love, compassion and empathy. Heneeded to get rid of them to become dark enough, to become cut off enough tonot only kill Darla but take down Wolfram & Hart. And while that sucks for Cordy, Wes and Gunn, it was anecessary step Angel needed to take.

All up, this is an amazing episode, opening up new threadswhile tying together old ones. The return of Vamp!Darla is awesome and watchingher and Drusilla get up to all sorts of evil hi-jinks is always fun, if a littlemacabre. Angel gets some great characterisation and the start of a new, albeitdarker path. It’s easy to see why this episode makes IMDB Top 10 highest ratedepisodes of AtS.

Origin

Shortopinion: Cries forever because Connor and Angel.

Longopinion: This episode – like all Connor/Angelepisodes – kills me, but this one especially so because we actually get to seeConnor and Angel interact without animosity or hatred or resentment and Connor doesn’t remember who Angel is.Excuse me, I have to go cry for twenty years, because this relationship turnsme into a blubbering mess every time I talk about it. But seriously, this is agreat episode, which once again showcases what a victim of his circumstancesConnor was and how he would haveturned out fine, had Holtz not stolen him as an infant.

Angel’s interactions with Connor in this episode are funny,sweet and absolutely heartbreaking, as he struggles to maintain a neutral frontwith Connor and not let anything suspicious slip. The helplessness on his facewhen he first sees Connor at Wolfram & Hart is heartbreaking, as he looks so shaken and devastated. Angel neverexpected to see his son again, so when Connor shows up on his doorstep, hisfirst impulse is to turn him away, to make sure that Connor stays as far awayfrom his world as possible. He gave up Connor to protect him and has everyintention of making sure that sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.

Of course there are bigger forces at play here, and Angel isforced to allow Connor back into his world, first saving him from the demonswho attacked him and his family and then bringing him back to W&H to train.Angel tries his best not to get emotionally involved but as this is his son, he inevitably ends up gettingcaught up in interacting with Connor. It’s so cute to watch the two actuallytalk freely and without animosity and it’s especiallyendearing how impressive Connor finds Angel, admiring his fighting movesand eagerly asking him what it’s like to be a vampire. Angel, in turn, justlights up around his son, obviously thrilled at spending time with him, butheartbreakingly reminded time and again that Connor is no longer his, such aswhen he first saves Connor’s family from Veil’s demons and Connorenthusiastically remarks on Angel’s moves, before rushing to his father,exclaiming “Dad!”. The look of sorrow on Angel’s face is almost too much totake.

Through this episode and Connor’s well-adjusted persona, theaudience gets to see a different Connor, a Connor without trauma, without pain,a Connor who was never taken through a portal, who didn’t hold his dying fatherin his arms, who wasn’t manipulated by Holtz or Faux!Cordy, who was never rapedor tormented, who didn’t live the life which was originally his. And he is agreat kid. He’s smart and funny and has a good head on his shoulders. He’s alsofair and stands up for his family. He tells Angel that he’s not a bully andwants a fair fight, but is also smart enough to know that he needs help. Hisinitial interactions with Sahjhan are hilarious,especially his polite “There’s some weapons here, if you want” line, completewith considerate gesture. Of course, once the memory cube gets broken we havethat glorious shot of the old Connor,rising to meet his opponent, blood on his face and the classic Connor sneer onhis face.

Of course I can’t talk about the cube being broken withouttaking time out from my Angel/Connor heartbreak to rage about Wes and his ridiculously selfish and self-indulgentattitude in regards to Fred’s death. This episode underlines, once again, howobsessive, selfish and gross Wesley is when it comes to his feelings for Fred,even after her death. He doesn’t give a shitabout Angel’s warnings, doesn’t even contemplate that Angel might have hadreasons for signing a contract with W&H, no, he just assumes the worst of aman (vampire) whom he has trusted and respected for years and decides that Angeltraded Fred’s life for his son’s (like, honestly, why the fuck would he assume that?!) and smashes the cube with noregards to what it will do to anyone, only caring about his own grief and pain.

You know, I don’t think there’s a character out there who Ilove and hate in equal measure as much as Wesley. Give me Season 1 Wes, awkwardand mildly sexist but who tries and fumbles and falls and is always striving tobe his best self, or Season 2 Wes, slowly settling into his role within AngelInvestigations, growing in confidence, able to take the reins when he, Gunn andCordy break away from Angel. But don’t give me Seasons 4 or 5 Wes, arrogant andmisogynistic, selfish in his grief, screwing everyone over because he can,treating women like shit and believing he’s right in doing so. God I hate laterseasons Wes. But I digress.

The real emotional crux of this episode comes in the finalfew minutes, with Connor visiting Angel to say goodbye. Those final two lines “Yougotta do what you can to protect your family. I learned that from my father” absolutely kill me, because theytell the audience that not only has Connor regained his memories, he understands why Angel chose to remove themin the first place. That final line is so powerful and it gives Angel hope,hope that one day he might be able to know his son, to be a part of his life. Itwas the most beautiful and fitting way to end the episode, finishing on abittersweet note and giving hope to Angel and the audience.

Now excuse me, I have to go cry forever *ugly sobbing because Angel loves his son more than anything in theworld*

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before The Dramacourt: 20th Century Boy and Girl Eps 29 to 32 (Final)

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether Young Shim’s character developed at all.

Whether the sudden love line between Anthony and the Director was necessary.

Whether the Lawyer Boss is still super awkward.

Whether Ah Reum’s “break up” with Woo Sung made sense.

Whether Young Shim’s Mom should have got a divorce.

Whether Ji Won not going to meet the ex is the best way to deal with the ex.

Whether Jin Jin and Ji Won are #relationshipgoals

The Rule(s):

Not really. We think she had the least character development of the lot.

Not at all.

Yes!!

No. Why all this angst at the last minute?

Definitely.

100%! This is exactly how exes should be dealt with.

Absolutely!

Analysis:

RedRosette J: IT’S OVER!!!!!! Now I have to go back to hating Mondays. Ugh. But real talk: overall, I thought the drama did very well is definitely in my top five dramas of 2017. The only problems that I had in these last few episodes were with the side characters and not really Jin Jin and Ji Won. It just feels like the writer spent all this time creating the perfect main leads and then scrambled at the last minute to finish the side characters so it felt a bit messy and all over the place. The biggest plot point that I wanted wrapped up was Jin Jin and her sister Ho Sung making amends. We did get a scene with Jin Jin at Ho Sung’s and I think that was the first step in them rebuilding their relationship. Everything worked out well for the other smaller characters too like Mi Dal and Assistant Boy who got married (!!) and Jin Jin’s little brother Min Ho who got rid of his pink hair and got a real job (LOL!).

Jubiemon J: Overall, I did enjoy this drama a lot, mostly due to the girls’ strong friendship and the cuteness between Jin Jin and Jiwon! Jiwon and Jin Jin seriously are relationship goals. I haven’t seen such a mature couple in a Korean drama for a while, so their dynamics were refreshing!

Like RedRosette said, there are still a few issues with how things wrapped up for the other characters. The biggest mystery of all is related to Ho Sung and her husband. At the end of the day, I still don’t understand why the family was so against Ho Sung and her husband. I wished that that had been explored in a deeper level. I also really didn’t like how stunted Young Shim’s character turned out to be. She seemed to be growing as seen from her attempts at punctuality and her standing up for her mother. Then . . . she just showed that nothing had really changed in the last episode. She suggested that her mother get a divorce and then later get all mad at her mother for wanting to go through with it. Like what? How immature are you? You’re not a middle school student or some kid anywhere. You’re already 36…. -0-‘

Making amends like…

When you aren’t buying whatever scheme your friend is trying to sell…

Such cuties

Super adorbs ❤

RedRosette J: I only wish that Jin Jin’s parents hadn’t found out about Ji Won and Jin Jin through the news like everyone else. It would have been nicer if they had just told them (but Min Ho’s horrified reactions made up for it so I’m not all that mad about it). Dad’s reaction bugged me a little but then again, I guess it can be disturbing for a parent to find out their “pseudo-son” is seeing their daughter LOL! I’m glad we also got some explanation as to why Jin Jin and Ji Won lasted all of three seconds together back in high school! Spoiler: Dad caught them kissing in the elevator!!

Jubiemon J: I was really confused about the dad’s reaction to Jin Jin and Ji Won. In previous episodes, he seemed to have noticed something between them and was all supportive and what not. Then when he really confirmed that they were together, he even threw out Ji Won’s shoes and started going all aggressive at him. Okay . . . Jin Jin is already 36 years old; she’s no longer a baby. It’s not like Ji Won is some criminal . . .

*cringe*

Hugs solve all problems

When your family finds out you’re dating someone…

This is what horrified looks like

Dealing with scandals head on

  Happy family 🙂

Issue 1: Whether Young Shim’s character developed at all

RedRosette J:  Young Shim’s character was the least well written. Her mousy, pushover persona didn’t change at all throughout the show. It would have been nice to see some character growth with her because she needed to change to stand up to her father and to be better at work. Although there was some change in her relationship with her father, there really wasn’t any change in her attitude or behaviour. But then again, in real life, people don’t really change all that much and maybe that’s what she represents.

Jubiemon J: I sort of alluded to this issue in the beginning of this post, so the short answer here is this: No, she did not develop at all as a character. I have to mention it again. I really was irritated when she told her mom to have a divorce and then the next day when she found out her mom wanted one, she got all angry at her mom. Okay . . . you’re the one that pitched the idea so own up to it.

Girl, you need to change.

Issue 2: Whether the sudden love line between Anthony and the Director was necessary

RedRosette J: OMG where did this come from? This whole Anthony ❤ Director Lady was done for “jokes” because actress Kim So Yeon who played the Director Lady is Lee Sang Woo’s real life wife. What the hell? It wasn’t even funny or cute and tbh there was like zero chemistry between the two of them anyway. This Anthony story line would have been so much better if he had retired from acting gracefully, got a real job doing something much better, the manager girl found a real actor for her agency, and if he went and found a normal girl and called it a day. Either that or if I was the writer, I would have sent Anthony on a Eat, Pray, Love style “self-discovery” journey abroad and called it day. Anthony seriously needed to get his priorities straight. Ugh.

Jubiemon J: The last part was totally unnecessary. I think the writer wanted everyone to have his/her happy ending, but life isn��t like that. Not everyone needs to be in a relationship to be content, okay? Not everyone gets together at the same time period, all right? I also don’t think it was fitting that somehow Anthony had some happy ending. He, as a character, didn’t develop much either. Sure, he did try his best to act, but . . . there didn’t seem like a difference. He also still liked to play the hero. So ugh.

Issue 3: Whether the Lawyer Boss is still super awkward

RedRosette J: Every week I keep hoping for him not to be awkward, and every week he ends up becoming more awkward. I can’t. I’m done with him.

Jubiemon J: The awkwardness is born within him. That random “you can hold my hand” scene made me laugh so hard and cringe on his behalf.

  Issue 4: Whether Ah Reum’s “break up” with Woo Sung made sense

RedRosette J: I really didn’t understand why Ah Reum wanted to break up with Woo Sung. It seemed like she was afraid of the person she was becoming in front of her potential in-laws but that hardly seems like a reason to break up. She talked about how she just wanted to married and didn’t really think about what marriage actually entails and then maybe I missed something but somehow all of that got resolved and there she was getting back together with him. Huh? And girl, you can’t be doing this to the poor guy. Breaking up and getting back together with him whenever you want; that’s some serious emotional mind games girl. Honestly, Ah Reum seriously needed to grow up. She was constantly behaving like a teenager and come to think of it, she didn’t really change much either.

Jubiemon J: I think Ah Reum just got cold feet with all the seriousness of what a marriage entails. Getting married doesn’t just mean marrying the guy; it’s about marrying the family too. I think she was also super worried that her own lifestyle would be changed and just wasn’t ready to face that. Her idea of marriage had always been this super idealized, albeit Disney version of this. Then when she met those sisters, reality sort of sunk in more and she probably got scared and thought everything would be better if she were single. I wished she had dealt with her fear better and talked to Woo Sung about her worries instead of running away from her fears. That made me feel like Ah Reum, as a character, had fallen flat.

Issue 5: Whether Young Shim’s Mom should have got a divorce

RedRosette J: Absolutely she should have got a divorce! She lived in actual fear in her own home! Young Shim’s Dad may not have hurt her physically, but he was emotionally abusive to her to the point where she was afraid to eat in her own home. What the hell? that’s not a good environment to be in. At the end, we do see Young Shim’s Mom fighting back by not responding to every demand the Dad makes but it hasn’t lessened his barking at her at all.  Ideally, she should have actually gone through with the divorce. However, the reality is that for many women like Young Shim’s Mom, divorce would leave them with no real way of supporting themselves financially, so this means that many women like her end up staying in toxic relationships.

Jubiemon J: I think it’s hard to say whether or not she should have gotten a divorce because divorce is really a sensitive/personal topic. I, personally, don’t feel comfortable saying directly whether someone should have divorced/not in this case. I can see why she chose not to and I’ll list them here. First, her mother has no source of income and doesn’t seem to have much money saved in her own account, and so she is very dependent on her husband. Second, her mother doesn’t seem to be the type that is strong enough to just start living independently and to find any type of work by herself. Third, Young Shim showed that she was against this divorce, so the mother might have felt that and was influenced by Young Shim’s behaviour. Fourth, perhaps Young Shim’s mother is scared of being alone.

RedRosette J Aside: Also Young Shim giving advice to her Mom regarding her divorce in a professional capacity is a no-no because there’s a huge conflict of interest when it comes to family and is generally not recommended.

Get someone else to help.

Issue 6: Whether Ji Won not going to meet the ex is the best way to deal with the ex

Jubiemon J: I am so happy that Ji Won didn’t go off to meet his ex and resolved this situation over the phone. I think Ji Won is one of the more developed characters in this drama. He realizes that he can’t keep dwelling on the past and to move on, he has to directly respond to his ex. The only thing that I wished he had done was to tell Jin Jin about his ex, instead of Jin Jin confronting him. Jin Jin was seriously super kind and open minded to not get mad at Ji Won for hiding this past of his.

RedRosette J:  I agree. I really wish more drama male characters would make choices like Ji Won. It was enough to resolve his issue with the ex over the phone. All it required was an honest conversation and didn’t require a face o face meeting. Also, calling your ex under the pretense of returning old shoes? Really? Does she honestly think that Ji Won was born yesterday? What a snake! I also agree with Jubiemon that Ji Won should have told Jin Jin about the ex first. She’s already so open minded and accepting, its the least he could have done. And honestly how refreshing was it to see two drama characters talk about the ex in a mature, logical way instead of behaving like hormonal pre-teens?

That’s right. Don’t be meeting your snake of an ex!

Issue 7: Whether Jin Jin and Ji Won are #relationshipgoals

RedRosette J: These two have been by far my favourite kdrama couple of 2017. It’s rare to see a mature, loving relationship with two well written characters and these guys are definitely #relationshipgoals.

The feels…

Awwww

Cake Proposal: simple yet super romantic

When you wanted to go out but he takes you to your usual hangout…

Did it just get hot in here? *fans face*

#goals

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 5 = KYAH! ❤ (We absolutely loved this drama and it will be sorely missed!)

File No: 20th-Century-Boy-and-Girl-EPS-29-to-32 (Final) Appearing before The Dramacourt: 20th Century Boy and Girl Eps 29 to 32 (Final) ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Bungou Stray Dogs 24 (FINAL) | Flip Flappers 11 - 13 (FINAL) | Classicaloid 11 - 12 | ConRevo 19 - 24 (FINAL)

I’m currently having trouble with Crunchyroll videos, so it may take a while to get to some of their stuff...

Yellow + blue = green, not blue.

Dramatic falls really shouldn’t take that long.

Get out, Igarashi humour.

Oh! Hell~o, Fyodorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Face stealing aliens…again.

Aww…sweet reunions.

Just one word from Dazai and he (Akutagawa) falls backwards, LOL.

Blue background, white and black text. Huh, nice colour palette.

LOL, Ango. You’re back.

Whoa?! Was that in the manga, that Herman was the Guild leader two gens back?!

Smol whale…aww.

Twain, you dumb butt. Stop working on your biography.

Lovecraft’s eyes were showing just as he dove into the water. (sarcastically->) Creepy.

Why a tomato during the “Cheers?!”

LOL, did I only just notice the ahoge on Kyouka? Yeah…I guess.

That was me…y’know. End of 2016 apology?

Ahaha, sweet lil’ Poe. That’s me though.

What a lolicon you are, Mori.

Whose painting is that? But…Dazai, you apparently once did a horrible self portraint…

Fyodor looks so good animated! Aww yeah!

…Dazai, you mean Shin Soukoku, yeah?

“My friend said to me…”

Teni Muhou is, of course, an Oda work,

“See you…” – Huh? This is even more open ended than “See you next level” and such. It’s a complete “in the air” thing! I wonder, since Bungou seems to be very popular amongst the Japanese fans, will we meet again?

Flip Flappers 11

Uhh…what now? I’m so confused…so Mimi = Cocona’s mother and yet a doppelganger of her?

Bu-chan basically wet himself…eww.

That shot of Sayuri, with Hidaka behind her, was vaguely disturbing due to the angle…(By the way, Hadaka = no clothes whatsoever, Hidaka = the name of the pink haired character. I’ve only now made that connection.)

Ick, reaaaaaaaaally compromising shot there between her (Mimi? Cocona’s mother?) legs.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay. Now it makes sense regarding Cocona and her mother.

Honestly, where are all the guns coming from?! Salt probably had one in his jacket but Nyunyu probably didn’t. She doesn’t even have a jacket!

Back to being confused. Meanwhile, Elpis.

Who is Cocona’s dad, by the way?

A middle aged man bowing down to a young girl? Now that, in Japanese culture, is desperate.

Flip Flappers 12 

I only just realised when Sayuri said their names, but Papika and Yayaka are very similar names. I hope Cocona never gets confused between the two.

That mailbox looks like a mushroom…or worse…hahahaha. Sorry, won’t tell you what it looks like to me. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Yayaka’s got a lot of attitude – I like it.

Hidaka’s EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSss! They’re NORMAL! Dang, the sight of Hidaka’s normal eyes makes my own eyes BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnnn! ARGH!

Yeah…one does not simply have an emergency button labelled “Muscle”, ‘kay?

Idiom mode? Someone get these guys a dictionary.

“Why do you wish…”

That was one of the fastest KOs I’ve ever seen of a final boss. Ever.

That hand in the ED (during the part where Bu-chan becomes a duck)! That’s what it means!

My video keeps stopping at weird spots in the next ep teaser, which shows that one of the images is the muscular monster Cocona and Papika kicked the butt off before, but in blue. Another is a mixture of the worlds, but there’s the kanji for “snow” in one corner. One with Papika and Cocona shows that they’re rough sketches for the show. Oh, whatever…here you go. Some screenshots I took for this express purpose.

Flip Flappers 13 (FINAL)

How did she eat the watermelon with all the seeds in it? I once at a watermelon’s black seed at a buffet…and it ended with me barfing! (I haven’t quite liked watermelon as much since and since it was my favourite fruit up until then, I’ve never really been into fruit since. Haha.)

Okay, we still don’t know who Nyunyu is…

Giant artichokes! At least, that’s what I thought when Nyunyu shot Bu-chan’s brain.

Oh my…that’s some fine Salt you’ve got there! (tee hee)

Scary trees remind me of the ED.

Yay! Beast man Uexkull came back!

Bu-chan…he LIVES!

It seems highly likely Salt is Cocona’s father. My brain can’t quite wrap itself around that fact.

Sailor Lune. LOL.

I think “School Investigator” (School Keiji, shown on a wall while Sayuri looks away) is a Sukeban Deka parody.

Cocona’s in middle school now…wow. Time sure flies, doesn’t it?

Welp, that was slightly confusing, but overall a fun ride. Reminds me of ConRevo, which (at the point of typing) I still need to finish rewatching…

Classicaloid 11

It’s a pretty light episode, but considering that there’s (almost) another season left before we wrap up, it’s allowed.

LOL, I can relate, Schu.

This episode is pretty good when it comes to LOLs - I haven’t laughed like this in a while.

The “JESUS!” in the back was hilarious. (Sorry, Jesus.) Speaking of Jesus…I once saw an ad for this, and Asian Jesus? Whoever decided on that?

What song is this one if they didn’t even use a song this ep? A CLA:KLA song?

“Great Bach says…” – Uh, who’s narrating this? Bach himself?

Classicaloid 12

Ooh, serious mode. They haven’t done that since the guitar contest.

Why is Bach speaking normally?!

What was that, with the beeping…? Cho*bleep*, that is? I dunno.

What’s with those dancers and their makeup?

Hmph. Deep stuff, but I get it.

More bleeping…

Turning point, eh? (Plus, badass helicopter ride. LOL.)

Emails? You weak willed…Sousuke, dangit. Plus, does Mitsuru have a Pad-kun or the Pad-kun?

So Bach is white, as well as dark blue? OK.

Oh no. I just had a hideous fantasy of Schu turning into a fish. It’s more likely Schu will get eaten by the fish instead…or something. *shrugs*

(ConRevo 19)

Terra Australis. I know from history lessons that’s Australia. Magallanica is an alternate name of it.

Uh, definitely not true, Mr Abel Tasman my man.

The ice effect is nice.

Oh, “the tall nail gets the hammer” seems to be a scolding regarding tall poppy syndrome.

Issun boshi aka One Inch Boy. Momotarou…is Momotarou.

The tomb exists. by the way.

Earth-chan went “!!!” at the beam of light, LOL.

Raito’s such a fanboy, albeit a subdued one.

The large object is of course a torii gate.

CGI puzzle…? That’s the weirdest thing I’ll say in a while.

How much would an Equus kick hurt to Koma though? A lot…ouch.

Those red flowers…I recognise them, but I can’t remember their name…*searches* Camellia. That’s the one.

Raito’s face…is so off model, it’s disturbing.

Don’t go around underestimating politicians. (I’m still laughing though...just ignore it…)

Renderer Brace = Satomi, obviously.

(ep 20)

It’s the one Urobuchi episode. I didn’t particularly like it, but when you see what I’m capable of today, I acknowledge I am a hypocrite. The lowest of low beings.

Mekong Delta. That outright confirms it’s Vietnam.

I never really realised how I was so insensitive to POSA colour due to ConRevo…

There’s a distinctly different flavour of story here. Fuurouta, for example, isn’t his usual playful self and is merely a very serious messenger.

Kikko is always treated like a child, huh?

Who’s the bigger monstrosity, Jirou or Jonathan?

At a bar. Just like villains normally hide out.

Shellshock…

“National interest”? Global politics taught me that aside from power, national interest is the most paramount thing there is.

El Coco.

The Middle East? Of course, the ol’ fogey saying that isn’t a coincidence, considering 9/11 and such.

“Cursed bogey”? Never heard that one before.

Wasn’t Urobuchi the one who suffered from depression then decided to kill all his characters? Or was that Yoshiyuki Tomino? Update: Yup, it was the Urobutcher I was thinking of, although I got the story wrong.

Those statues seem to be more Cambodia, but meh.

Of course, that’s deinitely the Urobutcher at work now. To think I used to have stories that were similar to his, because I thought I was capable of writing apocaplytic endings and it was much cooler to kill everyone off…huh. Ro.Te.O is such a weird edgelord amongst all of my stories…

Daizoukyoujiyama.

(ep 21)

The Kachoudou sign actually says August 31st, not October.

The sign in the alley said “Ko-ruten Street”, but I’m not sure what that means.

What’s better than plain ol’ sakuga? Sakuga explosions!

“[N]one of the things that try to trap us are gone”? The syntax is funny in that phrase.

Yee-haw! Sakuga fight!

“No one called you.” – LOL, Raito.

Judas smokes now. What has the world come to?

Arakawa, eh? They’re trying to make the oil spill be water under the bridge, so to speak…geddit? Haha. (Update: Arakawa Under the Bridge. That’s what it refers to.)

(ep 22)

Welp, here’s the Show Within a Show episode…take it as you will.

Gigantopithecus giganteus.

Semiconductor processor.

Such irony in the “You’re still a boy” between Maki and Fuurouta.

Who’s the girl with the yellow headband with Judas?

(ep 23)

Sometimes I wonder if we all wake up from our dreams someday…I think even rewatching this show and finally understanding it, I’m waking up in my own way too.

CGI Equus. Dangit, I thought this show was above that by now.

I didn’t think about why the iron plate thingy is shaped like a fish. Then I realised…taiyaki. They’re shaped like fish and have those sorts of moulds. Just as Fuurouta says.

I forgot Raito dies…*sobs*

Oh? What’s this? Not a complete episode yet?...(Eheh, I just wanted a chance to invoke a meme or two.)

One helmet with a streetlight behind it looks like a bomb…

ConRevo 24 (FINAL)

Final ep…again.

See? Jiro does look like Cyborg 009!

Daitetsu has grown up to be the symbol of justice for Japan and Imperial Ads and to tear him down would mean even more blasphemy on the state than before, eh?

Waitasec…Satomi is basically the Fitz (Bungou Stray Dogs), but without the blonde hair and the (fake and/or crazy) wife.

Jirou disappeared just like Devila and Devilo.

Mm-hm. I do like me some good shirtless Judas. *thumb up*

Aww, Daitetsu. Being the Rainbow Knight for a new generation. Isn’t that sweet?

Hope we can meet again soon!